Authors note:
Speaking: "..."
Thinking: '...'
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„Alright, it's worth a shot. Let's do it," Izuku said, heading into battle with his best friend right by his side. As they ran towards their enemy, a single thought was always on their minds: Let's win this.
The Ruin Kobold Sentinel guards led the charge on the enemy side while the boss followed behind them, gripping his shield and axe tightly. Izuku took the lead on their side of the confrontation, with Katsuki falling back, preparing to jump. Then, the first morning star from the enemy made contact with the green-haired teen's sword. He made sure not to lose sight of the three guards and the boss, knowing he couldn't let up for even a second.
While Izuku was busy stalling the three guards, Katsuki leapt over them, intending to confront the boss, his blade shining a deep blue above his head. "Waterfall Slash!" he exclaimed, meeting the boss's shield head-on, sparks flashing from the clash. It seemed like an even confrontation until Ilfang slightly turned his body, revealing his axe, already within striking distance.
"Don't think it'll be that easy to beat meeee!" the crimson-eyed swordsman exclaimed, mustering all his strength to push the shield out of the way and duck under the axe. With the boss completely exposed, Katsuki unleashed a barrage of sword slashes, taking over half of the first health bar.
Getting back on its feet, the boss charged again. The greatsword wielder, already anticipating it, readied a sword skill to meet the boss head-on.
Meanwhile, Izuku was dodging swings left and right. The three guards had successfully surrounded him and were continuously hacking away. ‚Good, stand in that circle like a bunch of morons, just a little bit closer... There, now.' "Rising Dust Storm!" Izuku yelled, making several whirlwind slashes above his head. The wind generated knocked the three guards back and disarmed one of them.
Before the disarmed guard could retrieve its weapon, Izuku slashed both its arms off, effectively killing it. He then turned to the other kobolds, bloody sword in hand, and asked, "Who's next?"
Rushing at them head-on, he blocked both their swings and drove them back. Now standing back-to-back with Katsuki, the green-haired teen said, "One down. Let's proceed with the plan, Kaachan."
"Understood," the silver-haired teen replied, gripping his sword tightly as they both sprinted toward their respective opponents.
Katsuki blocked a swipe from the axe, using the force behind the blow to let the axe glide across the flat of his blade. Spinning with his sword, he cut into the boss's back, now turned toward him, before yelling, "Izuku, now! Get him!"
Hearing this, Izuku quickly pushed his opponents back, jumping toward the boss. With his arms crossed in front of him and his sword on his left glowing bright blue, he exclaimed, "Shifting Flow Slash!" Aiming at the monster's left bicep, his blade struck, cutting halfway through. A second later, the arm was off, and with the shield gone, Izuku turned back to the remaining minions, the third guard already respawned.
"Good, just as planned. It always summons three guards, and now two of its health bars are gone. Two more to go—this'll be a cakewalk," Katsuki said, ready to go into battle again. But to his surprise, the boss let out a roar, driving both him and Izuku, along with the three minions, back.
Looking around, small parts of the wall opened up, revealing four Ruin Kobold Sentinel Archers with their bows drawn, aiming directly at Katsuki.
The archers released their arrows straight at the crimson-eyed teen, who, despite the situation, still grinned heavily. Katsuki crouched into a low stance, his blade glowing orange behind his body. He swung it with all his might, creating a small shockwave and deflecting all four arrows as he whispered, "Purgatory."
Sighing heavily, he then yelled, "Izuku, change of plans! Kill all three of the guards, and while they respawn, deal with the archers. I'll hold the boss off in the meantime. Don't worry about the arrows—they're targeting me. Just kill them, and I'll handle the rest."
"Got it, Kaachan," Izuku said, dodging the guards' hits. Crouching and stretching out his leg, he swiftly swept them off their feet. Ready with his sword, he called, "Claw's Purifying Wind, threefold!" He released three claw-like slashes at their chests, breaking through their armor and leaving fatal wounds.
As the guards fell and disappeared, Izuku quickly moved toward the first archer. With one quick stab, he killed it. Not giving the others a chance to fire more shots, the green teen continued, stabbing them one by one.
Meanwhile, Katsuki had his hands full fighting the boss while deflecting the occasional arrows—some even grazing him, but none hitting. Luckily, now that the boss had lost its shield, it was easier to exchange blows without nearly getting hit in the process.
It took Izuku about three minutes to get rid of all the archers and one of the new guards. As soon as Katsuki saw the monster fall dead from the corner of his eye, he knew it was now or never.
He tightened his grip on his greatsword and held it above his head, the blade glowing a calm orange. Swinging it downward with all his might, he snapped the already battered axe in half, yelling, "Sunset Swing!" Looking back at his comrade, who was already charging up a sword skill in mid-air, his blade shining bright white above his head.
"Again, Izuku, hit it with all you've got!" Katsuki exclaimed.
"Now, Eagle's Claw!" the green-eyed teen shouted, making three high-power slashes across the boss's chest, bringing it down to its last health bar.
Not wasting any time, Katsuki charged, intending to finish the beast with his strongest skill. "Now that you've lost your weapon, you can't block this anymore! Lion—" But before he could finish, the silver-haired teen saw the monster grab the hilt of another sword strapped to its lower back. It was a long, straight cleaver-like sword with no guard and two spikes on its tip.
"It's a Nodachi, Kaachan! Watch out!" Izuku yelled.
The monster readied its strike and clashed with Katsuki's blade. To the boy's surprise, the boss completely overwhelmed him and sent him flying into the wall, taking over half his health. Not giving the other teen a chance to think, it started bouncing around the room at high speeds. Then, readying its sword again, it bounced straight at Izuku, who barely managed to dodge, losing his left hand in the process.
'So fast! Good thing I dodged—if that had hit me straight on, it would've broken right through my defense. Not even Kaachan could block it' Izuku thought, hissing in pain at the loss of his appendage. The onslaught continued, the boss already bringing its blade down toward him again.
Closing his eyes, Izuku expected the pain to come—but it never did. When he opened his eyes, he saw Katsuki standing in front of him, his blade glowing a bright silver and blue, energy forming into a white tiger from the sword. Blocking the incoming strike, Katsuki yelled, "You won't get rid of me that easily! I'm not done yet!" Pushing the monster back, he helped Izuku to his feet.
"Let's beat this thing together," the silver-haired teen said, grinning confidently at his friend.
Yeah, let's g...ooo," but Izuku couldn't finish his sentence. While they were busy with the boss, what they had failed to realize was that the three guards had respawned, and before they knew it, both boys had lost the last sliver of their already low HP.
Falling back, Izuku saw one last thing before passing out.
[You Are Dead. Now blocking user interface and transferring to the last checkpoint outside.]
______________________________
Midoriya Residence
12 AM, Friday
"Ahhhhhh!" Izuku yelled, breathing heavily while looking around the room, which he identified as his own back at his house in the real world.
"Huh, so I guess my Quirk wasn't lying when it said that I wouldn't die for real," he sighed softly before intending to stand up from his bed, where he had woken up, but instead, he spectacularly fell on his face.
"Right, I forgot about that. I'm no longer in my avatar body," he thought, standing up and pondering for a moment before intensely looking down at his left hand, only to find it fully intact. "Good, I was worried that I might not get my hand back until I restore it in Aincrad," the green-haired boy thought, sighing again.
After that, he thought back to the beginning of his adventure in Aincrad and what the message had said. Intending to test his suspicion, he swiped his right hand downward like he had done hundreds of times in the last two months. But to his surprise, something actually happened—though not what he had hoped for.
[You are not permitted to use the menu right now. Time until menu is unlocked: 183 days.]
"Figures, so I really can't go back for another six months." After realizing this, the now swordless swordsman quickly adjusted to his old body again and walked downstairs to the kitchen to grab a snack. Walking in, he tapped on the fridge, expecting it to open, but when nothing happened, Izuku realized yet again that he wasn't in Aincrad anymore.
Opening it normally on his second try, he looked around to see if there was anything he could warm up to eat. When his eyes found a bit of leftover katsudon, he immediately grabbed it and started warming it up.
"Luckily, kitchen appliances have the same kinds of buttons Aincrad does, or I'd be lost right now without my..." he paused. "I completely forgot about my mom! She's gonna be so pissed when she sees me after I've been gone for two months without a word," Izuku exclaimed, frustrated with his situation, clutching his head with both hands and crouching down.
Then, to the boy's shock, he heard the door open. "Crap, crap, crap, what do I do now? That's my mom!" the green-haired boy thought, but before he could do anything, his mom stepped around the corner, looking a bit depressed and worn down. Noticing Izuku, her eyes opened wide, and she dropped her bag on the floor.
"I-Izuku?" she said in a confused manner.
Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, the boy answered, "Hey, Mom... how have you been lately?"