Chapter 17
All Might moved.
In a single, explosive burst of speed, he scooped Izuku into one arm, gently lifted Nerissa's still body with the other, and grabbed Aizawa with his free hand. The Symbol of Peace didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. He launched himself up the stairs in one powerful leap, landing at the top where the remaining students had gathered — the ones who hadn't been scattered by Kurogiri's portals.
All Might set the three down as gently as he could.
"Do what you can," he said, voice low and urgent, eyes burning with restrained fury. "Protect them."
Izuku, barely conscious, forced his head up. His voice was a broken rasp.
"please Help Nerissa… and Aizawa-sensei… please…"
All Might didn't wait.
He turned and blurred back down to the plaza in an instant, appearing directly in front of the Hood Nomu.
He was not smiling.
He was not holding back.
All Might launched into a barrage of rapid punches right from the start. His fists moved so fast they created afterimages, each strike landing with the force of a cannon.
The Hood Nomu tried to counter, jets firing and transforming arms whipping out, but the damage Izuku had already inflicted had slowed its regeneration noticeably. This Nomu wasn't tailor-made to counter All Might like the purple one had been. Its movements were just a fraction slower, it also didn't have shock absorption.
All Might didn't give it a chance to adapt.
He hammered it relentlessly, punches raining down in a storm of raw power. The Nomu staggered back under the onslaught, purple blood spraying from its body with every impact.
With a final, devastating uppercut followed by a powerful downward smash, All Might drove the Hood Nomu straight into the ground. The creature slammed into the tile with enough force to crater the entire plaza floor. It lay motionless, body twitching once before going still and its head splattered on the ground no longer regenerating.
Shigaraki stared from his position in the plaza, face twisted in disbelief and fury. His hand was still raised to his neck, nails dug deep into raw skin.
"Master was wrong…" he muttered, voice cracking with rage. "All Might isn't weaker at all! He's still the same damn monster he always was!"
Kurogiri's calm voice cut through the chaos from a nearby warp gate.
"Shigaraki Tomura, we must leave. The situation has deteriorated too far. We cannot win here."
Shigaraki's head snapped toward the mist villain, eyes wild.
"Shut up!" he screamed, voice high and childish. "If that stupid brat wasn't here, things would have gone exactly to plan! He ruined everything! That cheating little shadow freak messed it all up!"
He scratched at his neck frantically, drawing fresh blood as his tantrum escalated.
"I hate him! I hate him! I HATE HIM!!!"
Kurogiri remained composed. "We must retreat now. More heroes will arrive any moment."
Shigaraki let out one last frustrated scream before turning and walking into the nearest warp gate, Kurogiri following close behind. The remaining portals began to collapse as the villains made their desperate escape.
The U.S.J. plaza fell into a heavy, broken silence.
All Might stood tall in the center, fists clenched, but his eyes quickly turned back toward the stairs where he had left Izuku, Nerissa, and Aizawa. Then back to the usj, he knew he needed to help the other students so he took off to do that.
At the top of the stairs, the remaining students had been staring at their classmates and teacher. The ones who hadn't been scattered by Kurogiri's portals stood in stunned silence, eyes wide as they took in the sight of their classmates and teacher lying broken on the tile.
Izuku.
Nerissa.
Aizawa.
A few students crowded around Aizawa, Nerissa, and izuku, voices overlapping in panic as they tried to do what little they could.
Izuku lay on his back, breathing shallow and ragged. His eyes were open but unfocused, fixed on Nerissa's still form a few feet away. His right arm reached out toward her, fingers stretching desperately across the tile as if he could pull her closer by sheer willpower.
"Nerissa…" he whispered, voice cracking.
His arm went limp, hand falling to the ground with a soft thud.
He kept staring at her, even as his eyelids grew heavier. The edges of his vision darkened. The world started to fade.
He fought it as long as he could, eyes locked on her motionless body, willing her to move, to breathe, to be okay.
Then his eyes slowly closed.
He lost consciousness.
---
**Narrator POV**
The U.S.J. entrance became a whirlwind of chaos the moment the first teachers broke through the remaining warp gates.
All Might had already started to rescue the students still trapped in the zones — including Momo and Shōko as well as informing them they needed to go be with Izuku and Nerissa. But the rest of the faculty arrived seconds later: Cementoss, Midnight, Snipe, Present Mic, and Ectoplasm's clones pouring in from every direction.
Paramedics and medical heroes were already waiting outside the main gates, stretchers and kits ready. The moment the hero's cleared and called the initial area safe they rushed in, voices shouting orders over the noise.
"Multiple critical injuries!"
"Get the oxygen on the girl first — she's not breathing!"
"Eraser Head is down — possible internal bleeding!"
The students who had regrouped at the exit tried to help where they could, but the professionals took over quickly. Nerissa was lifted onto a stretcher first, her body eerily still, chest not visibly rising. One paramedic pressed two fingers to her neck, frowning.
"No pulse… but she's warm. Start giving CPR, we're moving her now!"
Izuku was next. They carefully loaded him onto another stretcher, noting the black, inky substance still slowly leaking from his wounds. No one understood what they were seeing, but they worked fast, hooking him up to monitors and starting emergency treatment.
Aizawa was moved last, his condition critical but stable enough for immediate transport.
Outside, ambulances waited with lights flashing alongside the police car lights. It set an ominous tone for those outside the facility.
Inside the dome, All Might's booming voice could still be heard as he tore through the remaining villains single-handedly clearing the last zones and bringing the scattered students to safety.
The battle at the U.S.J. was finally over.
But the real cost was only just beginning to show.
Izuku's consciousness slipped away the moment his head hit the stretcher.
The world went dark.
Then… light.
Not the harsh fluorescent lights of the ambulance, but a soft, multicolored streked glow that felt ancient and familiar. He was standing, or floating, in a vast, empty space filled with floating platforms and drifting embers of power. The vestige realm.
The past users of One For All were all there, their glowing silhouettes watching him with varying degrees of concern.
Before Izuku could even process where he was, panic slammed into him like a freight train.
"Nerissa—!" he gasped, eyes wide with terror as the memories crashed back in full force. "She's—she's dead! I couldn't—"
He staggered forward, chest heaving, shadows flickering wildly around him even in this mental space.
Nana moved first.
She crossed the distance in an instant and pulled him into a tight, motherly hug, arms wrapping around him like a shield against the world.
"Shh, Izuku… breathe," she whispered gently, one hand stroking the back of his head. "You're safe here. Just breathe."
He clung to her, his body shooking as the full weight of what had happened finally hit him without the adrenaline or the battle to distract him.
"She's gone…" he choked out, voice breaking. "I couldn't save her… I tried— I really tried— but she's dead because of me—"
The sobs came hard and ugly. He buried his face in Nana's shoulder, shoulders heaving as all of suppressed grief, fear, and guilt poured out all at once. Nana held him tighter, murmuring soft reassurances, rocking him like she would a frightened child.
The other vestiges watched in heavy silence, their glowing eyes full of sorrow.
Then a deep, booming voice echoed through the entire realm — powerful, ancient, and calm.
"The girl is fine."
Izuku froze mid-sob.
Everyone turned.
"W-what?"
Standing on a higher platform, cloaked in pure darkness with glowing purple energy crackling around him like living lightning, was a towering figure. His presence alone made the air feel heavier. Massive, regal, and radiating overwhelming power (the Shadow Monarch, Ashborn).
Izuku didn't even register that a stranger had appeared in the One For All realm. He looked up with desperate, tear-filled eyes and asked, voice cracking with fragile hope:
"She's… not dead?"
Ashborn's glowing eyes softened slightly as he looked down at the boy.
"No," he said, voice deep and resonant. "She is not. Your original quirk mixed with the power I granted you… saved her from the very brink of death."
Izuku stared, completely still, processing the words as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks. But instead of sorrow these were tears of relief.