Chapter 40: The Symbol of Peace Strikes Back! U.A.’s Perfect Ambush and the Monster That Should’ve Never Existed!

The Nomu's body went flying through the air after taking the full force of All Might's Texas Smash. Its massive frame tore through several concrete pillars before crashing into the back wall of the facility, the impact strong enough to leave a huge crater.

All Might stood at the center of the destruction with his fist still extended and steam rising from his knuckles. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, but his smile never wavered.

"YOU HAVE QUITE THE JAW, VILLAIN!" he bellowed across the plaza. "MOST OPPONENTS WOULD ALREADY BE UNCONSCIOUS!"

The Nomu climbed out of the crater with no apparent difficulty. Its exposed brain pulsed with a sickly purple light, and its muscles tensed beneath dark skin. Not a single scratch marked its body despite the devastating blow it had just absorbed.

It lunged forward again without a sound, closing the distance between them in three explosive steps that tore up the ground beneath its feet.

All Might met the charge head on.

Their fists collided in midair with a thunderous crash that sent a shockwave through the entire facility. The force of the impact shattered several windows on the observation platform and sent debris flying in every direction.

"MANCHESTER SMASH!"

All Might twisted his body and drove his elbow into the Nomu's ribs with enough force to lift the creature off the ground. Before it could recover, he followed up with a brutal hook that connected square on its jaw.

CRACK!

The Nomu's head snapped back from the blow, but it didn't fall. Its hand shot out and clamped onto All Might's arm with a crushing grip, yanking him forward while its other fist swung in a wide arc aimed at his temple.

All Might ducked under the swing and drove his knee into the creature's stomach, then twisted away to gain distance before the Nomu could catch him in a hold.

This thing's shock absorption beats anything I've ever come up against. I'm gonna have to hit it harder than I've ever hit anything in my life if I want to put it down.

The Nomu charged again with its arms wide open, moving with terrifying speed for something its size. All Might planted his feet and braced for the impact.

"CAROLINA SMASH!"

His fist slammed dead center into the Nomu's chest with explosive force. The creature's feet carved two trenches into the concrete as the momentum drove it back, but it didn't fall.

All Might pressed his advantage and unleashed a rapid combination of punches that would've reduced a normal villain to pulp in seconds. Each blow landed with the force of a small explosion, creating a steady barrage of impacts that echoed throughout the facility. Left hook to the ribs, right cross to the jaw, uppercut to the chin, spinning backfist to the temple.

The Nomu absorbed every hit without flinching and answered with a devastating overhead strike that All Might barely managed to dodge. The creature's fist cracked the floor right where he'd been standing a moment before.

All Might jumped back to recover his stance, his breathing noticeably heavier.

This is wearing me down way too fast. My time limit's running out quicker than I expected.

Across the plaza, more heroes started emerging from the concrete structures, just like Midnight and Present Mic had done moments earlier.

Vlad King burst through a wall with his fists already glowing red from his activated blood manipulation. He shot a glance at the remaining villains and charged in with a war cry.

"We're the pros of U.A. and we're not taking a single step back! You picked the worst place in the world to play criminal!"

Cementoss rose up from the ground. Huge walls sprouted from the earth to cut off escape routes, while smaller pillars shot up to rip the weapons from the villains' hands.

Ectoplasm appeared with a dozen clones forming around him. The copies fanned out to surround the remaining enemies with flawless coordination.

The villains rushing toward the students stopped dead in their tracks as they realized that pro heroes were suddenly pouring out from every direction.

One of them, a man with fire manipulation powers, took a shaky step back.

"What the hell is going on?! Where'd all these heroes come from?!"

Vlad King didn't give him time to finish the thought. His blood-hardened fist slammed into the villain's face and sent him flying across the ground, knocked out before he hit the floor.

Ectoplasm's clones moved through the remaining enemies with brutal coordination, disarming and subduing them with skill. In half a minute, another fifteen villains were on the ground and restrained.

Cementoss raised his hands and brought them down hard. The concrete beneath a small group of fleeing villains rose up to form a cage that trapped them in place.

"Surrender peacefully and this'll go a lot easier for everyone," he announced calmly.

Shigaraki watched the systematic destruction of his forces from where he stood near the fountain, his fingers clawing at his own neck with a blind desperation that threatened to break the skin. His voice, tight and hoarse, quickly climbed into an unhinged shriek as he took in the failure of his assault.

"No, no, no... No! This doesn't make any sense! Everything's wrong! Where the hell did all these npcs come from?! We had the right data! We had the perfect strategy! They were supposed to see the Game Over today! It was supposed to work!"

His red eyes darted desperately between the heroes taking down his allies and All Might, who was still locked in combat with the Nomu. The chaos in his mind showed in every spasm of his body.

They knew exactly that we were coming and got ready to greet us in this damn ambush, turning us from hunters into hunted in a split second because the game was already rigged against us long before we showed up on the map.

Kurogiri called out from across the plaza, where he was still tangled up with Aizawa.

"Tomura Shigaraki, we must retreat immediately! The situation has become untenable!"

"SHUT UP!" Shigaraki screamed back at him. "I'm not running away! I REFUSE TO RUN AWAY!"

He turned his wild gaze on All Might, who was trading blows with the Nomu in the middle of the destruction. He clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his own palms.

"YOU CHEATED!" he roared at the top of his lungs. "THIS ISN'T FAIR! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DIE! THE GAME SAID YOU'D DIE! THIS IS A BUG IN THE GAME!"

All Might's attention shifted to Shigaraki for just a fraction of a second, the exact moment when the Nomu drove its fist into his ribs with crushing force.

"Gah!"

The blow sent All Might skidding back across the concrete, his feet carving grooves into the floor as he fought to keep his balance. He could feel his ribs protesting the impact even through his enhanced durability.

Shigaraki saw All Might struggling to recover, and a twisted smile spread across his face beneath the hand covering it.

If I can't kill All Might directly, then I'll kill him psychologically. What better way to destroy the Symbol of Peace than to murder one of his precious students right in front of his eyes?

He spun around toward where the Class 1-A students were huddled near the entrance and broke into a run.

"IF THE GAME WON'T LET ME WIN THE RIGHT WAY, THEN I'LL BREAK THE RULES MYSELF!"

All Might caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and felt his blood run cold.

"NO!"

He tried to wrench himself free of the Nomu, but the creature locked onto his arm and dragged him back into close range. All Might gritted his teeth in frustration as Shigaraki closed the distance to the students with terrifying speed.

Shigaraki's hand stretched out toward the closest student, fingers spread and ready to disintegrate anything they touched.

BANG!

Shigaraki's right leg buckled as a bullet tore through it.

"AAAAAAGH! MY LEG! WHO?!"

Snipe stepped out from behind one of the concrete pillars with his revolver still raised and a thin trail of smoke curling from the barrel. Nezu stood beside him, paws folded behind his back and a serene expression on his face.

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced yet," Nezu said with impeccable courtesy. "I am the principal of this academy, and I'm afraid you've just made a very serious miscalculation."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three more shots rang out in quick succession. The bullets caught Shigaraki in both shoulders and the other leg, pinning him to the ground while he screamed in agony.

Snipe kept his revolver trained on the writhing villain.

"Stay down, kid. The next shot won't be so merciful."

Kurogiri saw his partner fall and desperately tried to open a portal to rescue him, but Aizawa's erasure kept his Quirk locked down. He tried to break free physically from the hero's capture weapon, only to feel someone grab the metal collar around his mist-like body.

Midnight appeared behind him with her fingers wrapped around his restraint device and a smile playing on her lips.

"Going somewhere, handsome?"

She yanked him backward with surprising strength and slammed his containment unit into the concrete wall hard enough to crack the surface around the point of impact.

"Ungh!"

"What a terrible mistake you made, picking this academy to play villain in..." Midnight purred as she tightened her grip. "And trust me, sweetie, you're gonna regret ever setting foot in my territory."

The last few villains still standing looked around at the devastation surrounding them. Their leader was on the ground, their escape route was blocked, and pro heroes were closing in from every direction.

One by one, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

Vlad King moved through the group and secured them with plastic zip ties while Ectoplasm's clones stood watch. Cementoss molded the concrete into holding cells that would contain anyone who tried to escape.

In under two minutes, every single low-level villain had been neutralized.

The only threats left were Shigaraki, who was screaming and writhing on the ground while Snipe kept him in check, and the Nomu, still locked in brutal combat with All Might.

BOOM!

The sound of their battle echoed through the facility like a string of continuous explosions. Every impact released a shockwave that rattled the observation windows and sent debris flying in every direction.

All Might dodged a powerful cross by ducking at the last instant, using the momentum to land a devastating hook that lifted the Nomu clean off the ground. Without letting it fall, he spun into a relentless kick that drove the beast into a concrete pillar.

"DETROIT SMASH!"

His fist slammed straight into the monster's face as it tried to get back up, burying it into the pavement with brutal force and opening a massive crater.

The Nomu rose to its feet again with no visible damage. Its exposed brain pulsed faster as it prepared to launch another attack.

I need to find a way to overload both defenses at the same time.

Midnight stood over Kurogiri with one hand still on his restraint, her eyes following the titanic clash. Her gaze narrowed as she took in the destructive power on display.

This isn't a simple invasion anymore.

That monster is fighting All Might on even footing...

How terrifying.

If even he's being held back, then we're dealing with something completely beyond normal. What kind of monster is that thing?

She glanced over at Shigaraki, who was still screaming on about cheating and unfair rules while he bled from his own scratches. Her attention bounced between the leader's delirium and the unstoppable creature holding All Might at bay.

An idea struck her, and she looked down at Kurogiri.

"Tell me something, fog man. Does that creature take orders from anyone besides the lunatic covered in hands over there?"

Kurogiri's yellow eyes flickered with what might've been hesitation.

"I cannot..."

"Wrong answer."

Midnight cut his words off with a sharp strike from the handle of her whip, right into the metal plate at his neck. His protests cut off mid sentence as unconsciousness claimed him within seconds.

She turned her attention to Shigaraki and started walking toward him with firm steps.

Snipe saw her approaching and gave a small nod of understanding. He kept his revolver trained on the villain but held his fire as Midnight closed the distance.

Shigaraki looked up at her from the ground, his eyes filled with tears that burned with hatred and madness in equal measure.

"Everyone's cheating! The game's broken! None of this was supposed to happen! I'm gonna kill All Might! I'm gonna destroy everything! I'll make all of you understand that heroes are a lie, that nothing matters, that everyone dies, and..."

Midnight crouched down beside him and smiled sweetly.

"Sweet dreams, villain."

She released her Quirk at point blank range. The sleep-inducing aroma filled Shigaraki's lungs before he could take another breath to scream.

His red eyes rolled back, and he fell face first against the concrete, unconscious before he finished hitting the ground.

Then, without warning, the Nomu stopped moving.

All Might's fist was already in motion for another devastating blow when the creature simply... froze. Its arms dropped to its sides, its muscles relaxed, and it stood completely still.

All Might pulled his punch at the last moment, stopping his fist mere inches from the Nomu's exposed brain. He stared at the motionless creature in confusion.

"What the hell...?"

Someone had flipped a switch; the creature had just shut down.

All Might took several cautious steps back while keeping his guard up, but the Nomu didn't do a thing.

Midnight stood up from where Shigaraki lay unconscious and dusted off her hands.

"Well, isn't that convenient," she observed. "Looks like the toy shuts off completely the moment you knock out its operator."

******

Announcement

Hey, my dear readers — have I ever told you how much I love you all? Yeah, I figured I should lead with that before I ask for your patience again lol.

I owe you guys an apology for updating once every thousand years, but I actually have a reason this time! August 1st is my university graduation exam — as in, my last exam ever. So yeah... turns out studying kind of takes up your entire life? Who knew. I'm sorry for the wait, but if I don't hit the books they're gonna fail me, and that would be very bad lmao.

Anyway! For anyone who wants to read ahead on this fic, don't hesitate to check out Patreon.com/itszeroo

And while you're there, you'll also get access to 21 extra chapters of another fanfic I'm writing before it goes public here, 20+ advanced chapters of Only Smut, plus a bunch of other stuff I've got going on. Seriously, don't sleep on it — come join us over at

Patreon.com/itszeroo