HEART OF A HERO [BNHA]

[73] The Thrill Of Destruction

Chapter Seventy Three
The Thrill Of Destruction

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THERE WAS ONE THING THAT THEY HAD failed to consider — that the League will just stand idly after getting their hands on Kusanagi Umeko. That the League will not do anything after going through all that trouble of getting her. The moment Yukio broke her out of a capsule, the moment Yukio confirmed that he had found and secured her, they felt relieved. Relieved because they were not too late. Relieved because she was still alive. Relieved because...

"What are you going to do against the real High-End, heroes?!"

Nothing. They can't do anything against Umeko, of all people. Their instinct as heroes would be to fight her in order to save her. But their instinct as her mentor, her teacher, and as her family, told them not to hurt her. She was, after all, a victim here. She was captured and tinkered with by Garaki and the League. It's wrong to fight her. It's just so so wrong.

But as the No.1 hero, Endeavor cannot be the first one to cower. Steeling himself, he stands up, leaving Mirko in X-Less' care, turquoise eyes looking at Umeko as she steps out to face him. From the back, being held back by Crust, Yukio staggers back once he got a good look at Umeko. Nothing changed. At first glance, that is. But the look in her eyes was different. It was the look of someone in a cold rage. Rage over what? Was she angry because they tried to hurt Shigaraki? Was she angry because they got in the way? Was she angry because they were heroes?

She doesn't recognize them, doesn't know them. In her eyes, they were a nuisance to Shigaraki, enemies to All for One.

"Destroy it all, Umeko!" Garaki yells, already on the move of waking up Shigaraki. The machines are busted but the data are still safe and intact. But the fluids inside the capsule were rapidly decreasing. So, he has no choice but to wake him up now. Even though, he's half-baked. But looking over to Umeko, seeing her moving independently without further orders but the one implanted into her and how she could still use her Quirks, Garaki is confident that Umeko reached at least 90% of her completion status. With that alone, she can cause great devastation.

Eraserhead turns to Mic and Gold, "Mic! Gold! Get to the back! Don't let them wake up Shigaraki!" He says to them. Mic nods, taking Yukio, who's still stunned at the state of his cousin, by his arms and dragging him around the lab, hoping for a passage that'll take them around the room where Shigaraki is without Umeko standing in their way.

"Umeko is...!" Yukio tears up.

"Not now, Yukio! Focus on what we're here for first! Leave Umeko to Endeavor and the others!" Mic says to his junior.

Umeko notices them, of course, but Endeavor, Aizawa, and Crust are holding her back. She looks at them, eyes trained on the Erasure Hero as if she already knows what he's capable of. She tries to use her Quirk but finds that she's unable to. Fire. Shield. There is only one hero remaining who's capable of erasing her Quirk. Need to get rid of him. Using Thunderclap, she hides away the Erasure Hero by running at full speed. With the speed she's going, there's no way the Erasure Hero can keep his sight on her, which leaves Crust and Endeavor to go after her.

It was somehow a relief for the heroes to know that Umeko still has her Thunderclap and Frost.

Suddenly a hexagon-shaped shield was tossed in her direction, blocking her vision of Endeavor fast approaching with his Flashfire Fist. Umeko touches the shield and it instantly disintegrates but Endeavor was faster and landed a hit on her stomach, sending her crashing into a tanker above.

Crust sees the shield Umeko turned into dust. "Endeavor, don't let her touch you! She's got Shigaraki's Quirk!" He tells Endeavor who looks down at his exposed fingers, seeing a small crack on his middle and ring fingers. He had felt Umeko touch his fingers when he had punched but he didn't feel the pain. That's a good thing, at least. The bad thing is that Umeko now has Shigaraki's Quirk, which means that Garaki had started planting new Quirks on her while she was being held here.