"Let's see how you handle this—"
She held her hammer by the tip of its handle, and then she tossed it right at him, the wind trembling as the hammer cut through the air—
Orion's eyes widened in shock, all the tentacles he could summon rushing to his defence.
Boom!
The hammer cut through them like they were twigs, slamming into his chest and sending him burrowing deep into a nearby building.
The walls were caved in from the impact, the road covered in nasty scratches from his vain attempts to remain rooted.
While Tsumi landed on the floor, staring at the dust-covered impact zone.
"At the end of the day, he was all talk…"
She raised her hand and her hammer flew out of the dust cloud, charging right into her hands.
Then Tsumi turned around to stare at the crowd. She could not count the number of people present, but she was sure it was well over a hundred…
"What were these guys planning? And why were they so interested in quirks?"
No matter how much she thought it through, it made no sense that a foreign gang would fly over to Musutafu just to find people with quirks.
More than half the population of the world had quirks after all. But that was not the most concerning part.
'How have the heroes not spotted this yet?'
Although Tsumi could hardly call herself a fan of theirs, the heroes in Musutafu were no slouches.
They took turns in observing the city, following a strict schedule created by their regulatory body.
'Did something happen to them?' Tsumi sighed.
'I won't put it past these people to do something so nasty…'
She pulled out her phone and began to type in the emergency number. "I guess I'll call them to clean things up." She muttered, planning to be long gone by the time they arrived.
But before she could even dial the number, a nefarious shadow washed over her, moving so fast that she barely had any time to react.
Tsumi spun immediately, lifting her hammer to deliver a bone-shattering strike, but the monster had already caught her in his trap.
With both hands placed by her sides, Orion smiled as his monstrous lips parted.
"Nightmare Gate!"
Tsumi's arms suddenly felt weak, her eyes turning pink as she stared blankly into space.
She tried to hold onto her hammer, but her attempts were futile— it was as though she was holding the clouds.
The war hammer slipped out of her hand and fell to the floor with a clang.
The world around her shifted, the cityscape giving way to another city, only far older.
Tsumi looked around, cautiously observing her environment. Then it hit her, the strong smell of gasoline wafting into the air, the crackling sounds of destructive flames that sent black smoke high up into the sky, and the groaning of metal.
"Ack!"
Tsumi raised her hands, her eyes widening as they changed before her.
Her fingers shrunk until they were no bigger than a child's, and suddenly blisters began to bloom atop her palms, spreading all over them.
She took a step back, her heart racing and her breathing erratic, only to stumble and fall.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the fire, gliding down her cheeks in unending waves.
"Mum… dad…" she muttered, her heart tightening.
She was back to that day, the day she had lost everything…
The very day that would set the course for her life. This was the place where Tsumi had lost her parents.
Outside the dream prison…
"Ahahahaha!" Orion burst out with laughter as he watched Tsumi's saddened face.
"You may have broken out of my mind-control quirk back then, but the Nightmare Gate is several times more powerful!"
Humans were complex creatures. They appeared bold and confident, unwavering in their morals and unshakable in their beliefs.
But there was one thing that was a constant amongst all humans.
Fear.
And regret.
There was no human alive that lived without these two factors, and when they did exist, it was merely a matter of time before they experienced both.
The Nightmare Gate preyed on your darkest fears, and pulled at your deep-rooted regrets, trapping you in a world of dreams.
Orion's monster body slowly began to come apart. "That bitch did a number on me…" he cursed, wiping the blood off his lips.
"Consider this my repayment," he said to the frozen Tsumi as he caressed her cheeks, ripping off a tear that drifted down.
"The Nightmare Gate will eat at your mind, until all that is left is a mindless husk…"
Orion chuckled as he watched her, then he was about to retract his hand from her face when Tsumi suddenly grabbed his arm, her eyes locked on him.
"You'll die for this," she said, her voice layered with bloodlust.
Orion nearly melted. "I-impossible, how did you break out of my—!"
•••
Moments ago…
A younger Tsumi was seated on the floor, hugging her knees and lamenting as she stared at the fire, unable to look away from the grisly sight—
Of her burning parents.
It was a nightmare she wished would end, yet she was sure… that she would see this sight for an eternity.
But the longer she stared at the fire, the more the fire seemed to change, and then suddenly, the fire flared, the yellow flames turning crimson.
And out of the fire came a voice.
[Nightmares are a foreign concept to you]
Tsumi's eyes widened. "How could I forget?"
Immediately she heard those words, it was as though her mind was reset. The world around her no longer seemed as terrifying as it once did.
The fire, her blistered hands….
"Everything is just a dream."
Her childish body faded away as cracks split the sky, the anomalous world unable to contain the overbearing weight of truth.
A higher compulsion had shattered the futile imitation.
Orion's eyes widened. "I-impossible, how did you break out of my—!"
Bang!
The hammer flew from the floor, snapping Orion's head upwards with a devilish uppercut.
Tsumi waved her hand, the hammer swirling in the air as it came back with even more force.
But before it landed, she drove her elbow into Orion's face, knocking him back, then delivered two chops to his throat that made him gasp.
Crash!
The hammer rammed into his head, blood spewing out of his now-broken nose.
Yet Tsumi did not relent.
"Wait, please no—!"
Whoosh!
She delivered a low kick to his knees, sending him tumbling to the ground, then she lifted her hammer high above him, mercy devoid from her eyes.
"Do you know why no one has ever caught the War Hammer Witch?"
Orion had his hands in front of him, trying to shield his bruised body from her onslaught.
Tsumi smirked, a crazed look in her eyes.
"It's because no one has ever lived to tell the tale."
She lifted her hammer, about to drive it down, when a dark shadow appeared by her side.
"?!!"
Crack!
Yellow lightning pulsed out of his body as he drove his fist, digging it into Tsumi's side. Her flesh burned on contact, she heard a snap as one of her ribs came apart, and then the force sent her soaring through the air.
"Argh—!" She held back a scream, clutching her sides in pain as blood spewed out of her mouth.
And then—
Bang!
The villain had not moved from his spot, and yet, a second invisible force exploded into her, only this time with two times the impact.
Her body was knocked back in an awkward angle, her arms flailing by her sides as she landed roughly on the asphalt, her body rolling several times before coming to a stop.
'W-who are you?' Tsumi wanted to ask, but she could not summon the strength to speak.
The man was wearing a pure black super suit, with yellow pulsing streaks resembling lightning lining his body.
There were several horns on his head, each one different shades of yellow, and his eyes were like wildfire.
To Tsumi, it looked like he merely took a step, yet, in a flash, he was right in front of her, his feet hovering just above her head.
And without a word, he brought his foot down, blood spewing all over the pavement.
..
..
A/N
Another chapter coming up!