NOVEL NEXT Phase III.
[Downtown LA, California, US || 8:00 AM]
On normal days, the streets of Downtown LA would've been bustling with people as 8-10 AM is the rush hour time. The roads would be filled with engine sound and cars moving in a direction slowly like ants. But the current scenario was completely different. The streets were bustling but with soldiers and reporters. The roads were filled but with military vehicles and news vans.
It looked as if the Federal Government ordered instated the state of emergency and the reason was apparent. After the video of Night Slash challenging Genesis went viral, the authorities rushed to evacuate the people from Downtown LA. The video went viral at midnight, so they did whatever they could in such a short deadline.
The people didn't resist the authorities and cooperated in evacuation as they saw what happened when Night Slash last fought with the Phantom 5 in Los Angeles Sports Arena. The whole stadium was destroyed in the fight between some of the most dangerous villains and the Quirkless Hero.
Some people thought it was just an exaggeration, and the authorities were extrapolating the effects of Night Slash and Genesis' fight. But only the authorities knew the reality of the situation.
AVL contacted them yesterday and told them about the mass use of PX-41 & Trigger in today's fight, and after they saw what PX-41 was capable of, they rushed to do whatever they could to evacuate people. Downtown LA is a huge place, and evacuating all residents was impossible. So they asked Knuckleduster what would be the place they had chosen for the fight, and the answer was the area near US Bank Tower.
For the general masses, it was going to be a battle between a newly announced quirkless hero and an upstart quirkless villain, but in reality, it was going to be the battle between two Law Holders... two Gods.
____________________
Shido and the team landed in front of the US Bank Tower and found the area swarmed by soldiers and reporters. The soldiers were trying to push back the horde of reporters who wanted to interview Night Slash and his new unknown teammates. This confused Night Raid. They clearly said they wished to have a clear area as they didn't know what Genesis would do while fighting Night Slash, but now they see so many people here and two helicopters flying above the site.
A man in a black suit, shades, and clean black shoes came out of the horde ran slowly towards the team. Everything about him said he was an agent.
"Good Morning, Sir and Madam. I am Alex Piker from AVL. The evacuation has been done as per your suggestion. The civilians are sent to a safer location, and the National Guard has been deployed for your help. Pro-Hero Star & Stripes will also be joining you in a short time to help you. I wish you all the best in defeating Genesis." He said to Shido.
But instead of thanking the agent for the wish, Shido asked, "I am sorry, Alex... but does this look like an evacuation?" Shido pointed to the horde of reporters, "This is not an exhibition match between Genesis and me for the people to enjoy. He is not going to attack me while considering the safety of the reporters. And why is Star & Stripes is coming here? Doesn't she have to save Capitol Hill from the insurgents?"
"Insurgents in Washington DC? I am sorry I didn't get it... Miss Secretary said you will fight Genesis in Downtown LA and reported this to the White House, but there was no mention of any Insurrection. She said we only need to secure the citizens of Downtown LA as to protect them from the causality caused by your fight." The words coming out of Alex's mouth confused the hell out of Night Raid. Shido turned to Knuckleduster but shrugged his shoulders as he didn't know about this either.
Shido turned back to Alex, "Alex, I want you to do a job for me. I don't know why the Secretary didn't inform others about this, but there will be an insurrection by Quirkless Welfare Organization. And it is going to be all over America in every major city. My challenge to Genesis was only to make sure he stays in LA and doesn't attack anywhere else. Contact Homeland Security Department about it as soon as possible and make sure that this place is spotless. No National Guards, No reporters. Understood?"
Given such a big task, Alex was entirely out of the state of calm.
"B-But... I am just a foot agent. I don't have the authority to contact Homeland Security without my seniors... You can contact Miss Secretary or the Director to do this," Alex tried to deflect the responsibility by citing his low position among the agents.
"Listen, Alex. There will be casualties if the inserruction breaks out... It is inevitable, but if you have to choose right now. The Choice is yours either to lessen the casualty or let one person more die unnecessarily. I am going to fight Genesis and try to hold him back as much as possible, but I cannot save every major city. That's why... It needs to be done by you. Your Secretary didn't do it; I don't know why but I don't think she would do it even if I ask her again--" Shido turned around mid-sentence as he heard something. It was the sound of drums.
And it was not Shido alone who heard the sound. Everyone heard it. The restless reporters trying to push the National Guards suddenly stopped resisting and started looking around to find the source of the sound.
[ Brothers of Blood --||-- God of War III Theme ]
A big black portal opened up from which Genesis walked out. But today, he didn't wear his usual hoodie. He walked out wearing regal attire with a cape waving behind him and his black helmet shining in the sunlight. To Shido, he looked like Zero from Code Geass.
Beside him walked a black woman with red-rimmed glasses. She wore office attire and had her hair tied in a bun. Night Raid couldn't recognize the lady, but the agent Alex was slack-jawed to see the woman walking with Genesis.
"M-Miss S-S-Secretary..."
Hearing this cleared all the doubts. Why was all this happening was because the Secretary of AVL was colluding with Genesis, or...
While walking, the woman's skin color started changing. Even her facial features changed. And soon, the reality became apparent to all. Her body changed completely, and she turned into something recognizable to Night Raid, Caos.
"So... You called for me? Here I am!" With his hands spread wide and the war song playing in the background, Genesis said. This made him look like a final villain. Caos, who was standing beside him, bowed a little towards Shido.
Shido slightly turned and tapped onto Alex's shoulders, "Go... Call Homeland Security and tell them about the inserruction. Stop the insurgents from creating havoc. Go!" Shido said and turned to Genesis.
"Should've worn a better suit, Hero... It's a big occasion after all," Genesis said, and then he looked at the rest of the Night Raid. His gaze fell on their new equipment.
"It seems you all came quite prepared for me. I am flattered that you decided to take me seriously. So--" Genesis was expressing his gratitude, but he was cut short when someone from the horde of reporters shouted.
"Start the fight already!"
And this triggered Genesis. He turned his hand towards the reporter, who shouted and curled his fingers. And in the very instant, the reporter was in front of Genesis. Nobody was able to see when did he flew towards Genesis. He grabbed the collar of the reporter and asked in a low tone,
"Do you know how important this day is to me? I have waited for 29 decades... just for something like to happen. And when I am enjoying my moment and expressing my gratitude, what gives you the right to ruin it? Tell me, What gives you the right to do so?"
The reporter was scared shitless even to mutter a single word. But he quickly steeled his mind. Years of being a journalist have made him think straight in dire situations.
"W-We were standing here for hours... and you we-were just wasting time by talking nonsense--" The reporter tried to put up a strong front, but he was cut short in between.
"Hmm... Hmm... I understand. Me showing my gratitude must have been tiring as you were waiting for hours to see me fight Night Slash for the profit of your media house. Completely understandable. So forgive me... I wasted your precious time..." Genesis apologized to the reporter.
This surprised the reporter, but his surprise turned into horror when he heard Genesis' following words, "Then why don't you rest? Rest in peace, maybe," Just as he heard these words, his body started swelling up, and soon it blasted into a bloody blast, splattering the road with flesh and blood. But the attire of Genesis remained spotless.
"You are not the only one who can do this trick..." Genesis said to Shido, and then he continued, "5 vs. 1, Not fair. Let me bring me some backup as well," He said and pointed his hand towards the black portal. From it, NRG came out. Shido squinted his eyes when he saw NRG. Last time, he was unable to beat this guy.
But NRG was not the only one who came out of the portal. First came the thunderous sound
People started coming out of the portal. They walked out of the portal in an orderly manner, and their footsteps caused the ground to tremble slightly, but those trembles could be felt by everyone present. After the death of the reporter and Agent Alex telling the national guards about the situation, the reporters were about to flee but seeing the large convoy of people coming; the horde started thinning out as they ran for their lives. At the same time, some stayed to cover the story of a lifetime.
Shido and Night Raid's breath started to get faster when they saw the sheer number of people Genesis brought for the fight.
People stopped coming out of the portal, and it soon closed. But in front of the Night Raid stood an army.
"5 vs. 1000... Now we are talking business. So, Hero, It's time for the final part of our game, Phase III. NRG, the stage is all yours!" Genesis said and started flying up. Caos looked at Shido, "Good luck, Master Shido. I hope of [Law of Fate] bless you," After giving her weird wish to Shido, She teleported beside Genesis, who stopped at a certain altitude while looking over everything.
"Master, I would like to suggest you reconsider once again... Once the fight starts, I would become a neutral party, then even if you are about to die, I wouldn't be able to move a finger," Caos said to Genesis in her usual stoic tone.
"I won the moment I passed half of [Law of Chaos] onto him... No need to worry, Caos. Just remember to execute my last order," Genesis said and looked down to see the fight.
"Night Slash, what now? We are 5, and they are 1000... It is impossible!" Knuckleduster said.
Shido turned and shouted at Agent Alex, "Can we kill these guys? Apprehending every single one of them would be hard."
"Yes, You can! There is martial law in Downtown LA right now, and these people are violating it. The Military Court has given us the nod to kill those who violate martial law, but please keep it a minimum. And please focus on killing the PX-41 Mutants first! It's a request from Director Ramsbottom," Agent Alex shouted back.
'Yeah, Yeah. You guys want me to fix your problem first and then focus on saving the city... Typical Secret Agency,' Shido thought and then turned to the army of 1000.
"Want to compete, Old Man?" Shido said to Knuckleduster while looking straight at NRG, who stood 500 meters away from him.
"I don't like the idea of killing, but the situation is asking for it... So, what are the stakes?" Knuckleduster asked.
"The one with the most kills wins, and the loser needs to put 'I LOVE COCKS!' in his social media bio for a week... So how about it?" Shido said.
'This guy... His soul is on the line, and his mind is churning out shit like this in such a grave time. God knows what he is thinking. But. I won't refuse this opportunity; He said I was buttering him to marry Tamao... Well, bastard, You just dug up your own grave.' Knuckleduster thought and had a sinister internal smile.
"Fair Enough... Let's do this." Knuckleduster said with a grin on his smile. He can't wait to shame Shido after what he did yesterday. With Plasma Blades and his Quirk Overclock, Knuckleduster was sure that he would be the victor of this competition.
"Yeah, let's do this..." Shido said and started walking. Night Raid followed suit and started walking behind him. Seeing them moving forward, NRG, too, started walking towards them.
"Mr. Fantastic (Danjuro) and Nova (Kaina), Form a Defensive Line and don't let a single insurgent pass through you. Behind you are the National Guards and the Reporters, Death of a single one of them would lead to us being criticized by the Internet and the whole Media even if we save the entire city. And I don't want that.
La Brava, Confiscate the communication medium they are using and try to enter into it. We could send information about their next move to Homeland Security, and they would be able to save more people," Shido started giving orders while walking.
» » {MONSTERMASH} - Spawn Monster Truck *5
» » [Cheat Activated] *5
Shido spawned five monster trucks in succession in a way it acted as a roadblock and separated the Military and Reporters from the fight. Mr. Fantastic, La Brava, and Nova stopped and spread across the roadblock made by Shido.
Slowly and gradually, Shido's speed increased, and from a slow walk, it turned into brisk walking and then sprinting towards the enemy. NRG did the same. Even if he was wearing his hulking big metal suit, he was not slow at all. The army of 1000 started running slowly behind him too.
"Mutant Squad, Use the Serum. Quirk Squad, Use the Trigger... everyone ATTACK!" NRG shouted.
"OOO!" The army behind him shouted in unison and injected themselves with Trigger and PX-41. Changes started occurring in them, but their movements didn't falter. When a person uses a trigger, the power-up comes up with excruciating pain, but these guys were not grunting in pain.
"Why are not they suffering pain and going mad?" Shido asked Knuckleduster, who was running beside him.
"It happens when the person is exceptionally durable, or the other situation is... if they are accustomed to using it on a fairly regular basis," Knuckleduster said in a grim tone. But under this grim tone was a feeling of excitement—the excitement to kill powerful opponents while being at a complete disadvantage.
Meanwhile, Shido had all his focus on NRG. Last time, he fled away, and he wasn't able to hurt him. This nagged Shido after he returned. He gave a lot of thought to how to kill a man made entirely of energy, and now the answer was right in front of Shido. NRG himself was the tool to destroy himself.
NRG stopped 20 meters away from Shido and stretched his hands forward, shooting Laser Blasts. Knuckleduster used his quirk to dodge the attack while Shido had other plans.
» » {BAGUVIX} - Semi-Infinite Health
» » [Cheat Activated]
The laser blasts hit Shido, but there was no damage to him. Instead, he kept moving forward. NRG started increasing the output percentage of the energy in the blasts, but nothing was happening.
"Why don't you die?!" NRG shouted in anger as his attacks seemingly did no damage to Shido.
"That is because... I cheat," Shido said and readied his fist for a punch.
» » {IAVENJQ} - Super Punch
» » [Cheat Activated]
'Super Punch 30%'
He punched NRG right in the center of his suit, and cracks started appearing on the suit in no time. Soon, the whole suit broke down to shards. This dumbfounded both Shido and NRG. Single Hit. It took only one 30% hit to destroy NRG's armor. Shido clearly remembered that he used around 60-70% in Phase I to break NRG's suit, but he used only 30% now, and the results were much more drastic than earlier.
'Did my basic strength increase because I got Super-Power from El Macho? And it increased it by around 30%?'
"Stop looking at your fist like you are going to fist yourself with it! Start moving your arms to kill these bastards!" Knuckleduster shouted while running like flash with his plasma blades wide open, in between the insurgents who were trying to move towards the roadblock. Whenever he waved those Plasma Blades, limbs and heads flew off like a fountain. But he had to jump sideways when a PX-41 Mutant tried to punch him.
Some insurgents were about to attack the destabilized Knuckleduster, but their heads exploded like a balloon. The reason was Kaina used the Energy Assault Rifle given by Dr. Nefario.
"Old Man, Send two insurgents towards the roadblock. La Brava would need their devices to find the communication channel they are using," Shido said in the Comm Device in the helmet.
Regaining his focus, Shido looked at NRG because he knew the fight was far from over. And as his expectation, a giant orangish-red humanoid came out of the debris of NRG's suit. Without waiting for a second, NRG flew straight towards Shido in his unrestrained state.
Shido - who was expecting an energy blast- braced himself for the impact as he thought {BAGUVIX} would save him from the damage, but things went south when the opposite happened. NRG, instead of attacking, suddenly accelerated and flew right through a surprised Shido.
Shido looked down to see his chest and saw his suit was burnt. He then felt an excruciating amount of pain as his internal organs started burning
» » {HESOYAM} - Repair, Armor & Money Cheat.
» » [Cheat Activated]
Shido felt relief as his organs healed back to normal. He looked in the sky where he saw NRG making a U-turn and flying back to do the same trick.
'Underestimating an approximate S-Rank Villain was a mistake on my part, and over-trusting the cheats was a bigger mistake,' Shido said to himself and then released a big sigh. he then crouched down a picked up a big part from NRG's broken suit.
"⁅ Overhaul-Fusion ⁆," Shido said in a low tone, and a bright light shot through him, and dust started swirling around.
NRG didn't feel intimidated instead he accelerated towards Shido even more, deciding to kill him. Even if it was against Genesis' orders, NRG wanted to kill Shido very badly. He was the one who killed Jetstream, Breeze, and El Macho... his friends.
Carrying all those good and bad memories with his friends, He used them to fuel his anger and pushed his quirk to the limit. Knowing Shido was able to withstand the last attack, he knew he would be able to withstand this one as well. Thus, he took out an American Trigger and injected himself with it. American Triggers are known for their better potency and time duration than their Asian Counterpart.
Just after injecting, Changes became visible to others. NRG - who was around 8 ft. tall and slim - turned into a 15 ft. giant and bulky as hell. That bulk represented the energy he was carrying inside him.
"300 Members from Quirk Squad and 100 Members from the Mutant Squad... Destroy this city!" NRG shouted mid-flight, He then accelerated as much as he could. Now, it was sure that Shido would die after he passes through him. This much energy would be enough to burn him to cinders from the inside out in a second.
Hearing NRG's command, the army followed what he said. From the back of the army of insurgents, 300 members of Quirk Squad and 100 Members from the Mutant Squad ran in any direction they could find and started using their quirks to bring destruction. The Mutant Squad was much more proficient in bringing destruction as they simply ate whatever they could get their hands on and acted like a raging gorilla.
He aimed towards the blur spot filled with bright light and dust and then flew right at it as if he was a bullet train. With a smile of agony on his face, NRG increased the energy radiating from his body and flew into the dust cloud surrounding Shido.
While Night Raid was trying to save the reporters and buying time for them to leave, Instead of leaving, the reporters decided to stay under the protection of the team and continue broadcasting the whole fight to the world. A battle 5 vs. 1000. This once-in-a-lifetime story was the one that everyone wanted to cover, and they are not going to leave such an opportunity.
Currently, Reporters focused every camera on Shido, who was clouded in light and dust.
NRG flew straight into the cloud and was supposed to come out in seconds, but he didn't come out. But then a strong wind force blew and cleared the light and dust cloud around Shido. After the cloud was subsidized, NRG struggled to move forward as he was stopped by Shido's single hand. He increased the energy output, but nothing happened to Shido or his suit.
Something was different about Shido's suit. It was bulky and entirely metallic and looked like a Metal Robotic Knight.
"How?!" NRG roared in anger. The trigger was already making his emotions go haywire and turn into madness.
"Simple. If the suit can restrain you, then its material can stop you. Even a monkey can figure it out after seeing how much it restrains you. This is the NRG-Buster Mode," Shido said.
"AA!" NRG roared and punched Shido, which made him take a few steps back to stabilize himself. The force contained within that punch was evident from the size of NRG.
"At LA Sports Arena, I wasn't able to touch you, but this time... I going to punch the hell out of you," Shido said and jumped with his fist ready.
'Super Punch 30%'
Shido punched NRG in his abdomen, and NRG was sent crashing into a building.
"Old Man, Use your Quirk and handle the ones who are rampaging in the city; I would take care of the rest," Shido said in the Comms Device. Knuckleduster complied and used his quirk to go to the ones who were rampaging swiftly.
Shido then looked at the huge army he said he could take care of.
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*
Many weapons like Minigun, Rocket Launchers, etc., started appearing around Shido and fell on the ground. He then crouched down and touched these weapons. He then closed his eyes and started channeling [Law of Matter].
» » Overhaul + [Law of Matter] = Overdrive
*[ Overdrive - the Superior Version of Overhaul ]*
» » ⁅ Overdrive Fusion ⁆
Again, the bright light covered, and then it subsidized quickly, revealing Shido's suit laden with Miniguns, Rocket Launchers, and Guns.
"Warmachine Mode," Shido said and stretched his hands forward and aimed at the army who was about to pounce on him.
» » Radio Function - [The Only Thing They Fear Is You || Doom Eternal Soundtrack]
*Grrrr* *Grrrr* *Woosh* *Woosh*
The Miniguns and the Rocket Launchers started firing on Shido's mental command as they were fused to his body and acted the same way as his limbs. On the other side of the battle, the army faced significant issues in marching forward as Shido released enormous firepower. It turned into a one-sided slaughter, but it didn't continue for long as the PX-41 Mutants came forward and acted as a wall to all the bullets and RPGs.
Shido used his Jet Boots to fly above the army, but he didn't shoot a single bullet. Instead, he just flew above them without doing anything. Even Genesis was curious about what he was about to do. And then all of a sudden,
» » {ITSALLBULL} - Spawn Dozer x ???
» » [Cheat Activated] x ???
Bulldozers started spawning around him everywhere, and since he was flying, those bulldozers fell straight on the army of insurgents. He was spamming the spawn cheat as fast as he could. After he was satisfied with the number of bulldozers he had spawned, he looked down to see the situation, and it was not a good picture for the army.
The members of Quirk Squad were squashed under the bulldozers, and the PX-41 Mutants were unscathed as usual. But the Quirk Squad was still standing with a substantial number of people in their Squad. The Mutants were about to use the Bulldozers are projectiles and throw at Shido but before they could do that, Shido had another present for them.
» » {CPKTNWT} - Blow up All Vehicles.
» » [Cheat Activated]
*Boom* *Boom* x ???
And the numerous spawned bulldozers exploded at the same time, blasting the remaining insurgents who survived the rainfall of Bulldozers. These explosions not only killed the Quirk Squad members but literally destroyed a few blocks from the city. The only survivor remaining were the members of Mutant Squad and some members of Quirk Squad who had high resistance to explosions. Shido knew the solution to deal with the Mutants but the question in his mind was where is NRG?
He perfectly knew a single punch was not enough to kill the S-Class Villain. He wanted to deal with him but it was important to kill the Mutants first or if they are let loose, then it would be a tough job to chase each one and kill it.
So without further ado, Shido stopped the Jet Boots and started falling down. During mid-fall, he used {HESOYAM}*Rewind on himself to rewind from [Warmachine Mode] to [NRG-Buster Mode].
'Super Punch 50%'
Shido punched the ground while landing and breaking the ground into small pieces. The ground under the insurgents started shaking and broke down. Shido, taking advantage of this situation started running towards the mutants with his palms wide-open.
The mutants stabilized and all of them rushed towards Shido. One of the Mutants threw a punch at Shido but he caught that punch and punched him back on the face. With this, the fistfight between Shido and the Mutant started. But soon, other Mutants arrived near Shido and directly pounced on him.
One, Two, Three... Thirty, Forty.
Forty Mutants were now lying above each other, trying to squash Shido under them. Their weight didn't kill each other but it was enough to squash a bulldozer flat. They knew Shido won't be coming out alive, either he is going to die by flattening to become paper thin or he is going to die by Asphyxiation (Death due to lack of Oxygen). Whatever the reason be, the result was the same. Death of Shido but the outcome was very less likely, because,
"⁅ Overdrive Reassemble ⁆"
Soon the mountain of Mutants blew up like a water balloon filled with blood and flesh. When it exploded, blood splattered everywhere and started falling down like it was raining blood and at the center stood Shido with his suit now completely colored red due to the blood.
The reporters had their hands trembling after seeing the scene of blood and gore. When the blood rain subsidized, the aftermath of the explosions also became clear. Dead bodies... some charred, some with lost limbs... some with no resemblance to the original. This particular street in Downtown LA currently resembled a warzone; Explosions, Dead bodies, blood, and gore... Everything could be seen in this single street.
Even the National Guards were affected by the scene. Some of them had seen what it it is like to be in a warzone but a single person doing this much damage was too much for them.
One of the terrified reporters brought the mic near to her face and said the following which was broadcasted to the world and made them ask the question as well.
"I-Is... Is h-he... really a... H-Hero?"