Changing the Tide of Battle

More than ten minutes later, Chiffon got to his feet. He had only recovered a little stamina—enough to keep moving—but fighting like he had before was impossible unless he used his last Quirk Supplement.

"What do we do now?" Shoto Todoroki unusually sought Chiffon's opinion. He had always been one to do things his own way, but with Chiffon here, he wanted to hear what he thought.

"Simple. We support Teacher Thirteen first, then figure out how to take some pressure off Teacher Aizawa. Black Nomu is far stronger than this one." Chiffon looked into the distance. The commotion all around them was intense, and their classmates seemed to be locked in difficult battles.

"I remember there's still another Nomu that hasn't been dealt with."

"That one's already dead." Chiffon smiled at Shoto Todoroki. "Did you see that storm earlier?"

Shoto Todoroki's expression changed. "You're saying you created that storm?"

But then he felt that couldn't be right. Chiffon's Quirk was a Thunder Quirk. Where could Lightning possibly produce a storm? How could a storm even form from it? Shoto Todoroki could not figure it out. It never even occurred to him that Chiffon might have two Quirks. He had two himself, but that did not mean everyone else was the same.

Chiffon did not answer, but Shoto Todoroki knew that meant he had admitted it. The winged Nomu had died at Chiffon's hands; that could be inferred from the earth-shaking Lightning storm.

It seemed he had underestimated Chiffon after all.

"Twenty-three seconds." Shigaraki Tomura finally made his move. He was getting impatient. Too many unexpected changes had happened today. Both of his Nomu appeared to be dead, yet he had no time to verify who had killed them.

Those other two Nomu had been specimens he had brought out in advance. Though they were not as powerful as this Black Nomu, they were certainly not something ordinary Professional Heroes could handle. Yet both had died inside the facility.

That meant the students had done it. Among those little brats were Quirks and methods comparable to those of Professional Heroes. Even if All Might did not come today, he would kill these troublesome kids so they would not interfere with the League of Villains' will in the future.

"Twenty seconds." Shigaraki Tomura kept muttering numbers as he approached Shota Aizawa. Shota Aizawa drove an elbow into Shigaraki Tomura's stomach, but it was blocked by the latter's hand.

"Though you've been running around so much that it's hard to tell, there is always a moment when your hair falls down. That means one of your actions has ended. And that interval is getting shorter and shorter." Shigaraki Tomura stared wide-eyed at him. "Don't push yourself too hard, Eraser Head."

Shigaraki Tomura had crippled Shota Aizawa's elbow. Izuku could only worry helplessly from the side. With his current strength, he simply could not fight the enemy unless he used one hundred percent of his power. But what if the enemy dodged it? Or blocked it? Then he would only become Teacher Aizawa's burden.

Izuku was not the only one anxiously helpless. Mineta Minoru and Tsuyu Asui were just as worried, but they had no solution either. Their Quirks were both support-oriented, and their offensive capabilities were still too weak to be of any help.

Under such circumstances, Shota Aizawa still had to face numerous enemies. With one arm unable to attack, his combat ability would be greatly diminished.

"That Quirk of yours isn't suited for prolonged battles against multiple opponents, is it?" Shigaraki Tomura seemed to see through Shota Aizawa's weakness at a glance. "This is completely different from your usual work, isn't it?"

"What you excel at is ultimately short, decisive battles launched through surprise attacks, right?" Shigaraki Tomura analyzed him like a parasite clinging to bone. "Even so, you charged in from the front. Was that to reassure the students?"

Shota Aizawa knew his situation was terrible. His right elbow was nearly immobile, and the injury affected the entire joint.

To avoid putting pressure on the students, Shota Aizawa continued moving. After taking down several enemies, he stood there panting and stared at Shigaraki Tomura. This guy was the mastermind behind this battle, making him extremely important.

"How cool, how cool!" Shigaraki Tomura laughed, spreading his hands. "But speaking of which, hero—"

Before Shigaraki Tomura could finish, Shota Aizawa sensed something wrong. He turned his head and saw a massive black enemy standing behind him. This had to be the "Nomu" the enemy had mentioned earlier.

"I'm not the boss." As soon as Shigaraki Tomura finished speaking, Nomu raised its hand and grabbed for Shota Aizawa's head.

Shota Aizawa had no time to react. He could only watch as the enormous hand reached for him. Was he going to die here?

"Thunderclap Spear!"

A thunderous roar came from afar, followed by a streak of azure light that struck Nomu's hand. It gave Shota Aizawa enough time to react, and he swiftly dodged aside.

At that moment, Chiffon and Shoto Todoroki arrived as well.

"Chiffon, Todoroki!" Izuku excitedly got to his feet and walked toward them. At that moment, he actually felt safe. Was it because Chiffon and Todoroki were here?

He could not explain it, but his heart simply felt steady.

"Chiffon, thank you." Shota Aizawa stood weakly beside Chiffon. As a teacher, he should have been protecting the students, yet today he was the one being protected by them instead.

At that moment, the tide of battle began to shift without anyone noticing.

"You again?" Shigaraki Tomura scratched his chin in irritation. "My two Nomu are dead. Did you have anything to do with that?"

"Two Nomu?" Izuku and the others froze, then looked at the black Nomu and instantly understood. But who could have killed what seemed to be the leader? Chiffon?

Shoto Todoroki stood silently at the side. Only he knew who had killed the Nomu—it was Chiffon, standing right before them. One had even been killed right in front of his eyes, leaving him utterly shaken.

"Well, who knows?" Chiffon spread his hands, neither admitting nor denying it.

Shigaraki Tomura stared at Chiffon for a while, then suddenly widened his eyes and laughed. "Every last one of you is like this. Now even some little brat dares talk to me like that. Looks like it's time to make the League of Villains truly unforgettable in your eyes."

"Nomu, kill that brat." Shigaraki Tomura gave Nomu the order, his fingers constantly scratching at his chin until red marks appeared.

"Chiffon, take Izuku and the others and leave first. Leave this place to me." Shota Aizawa spoke weakly, but he still activated his Quirk, and his hair floated upward.

Chiffon placed his left hand on Shota Aizawa's shoulder. "Teacher Aizawa, Quirk Erasure won't work on this Nomu. Leave it to me. I think once Iida gets out of the facility, Teacher All Might will arrive soon too."

When Izuku heard the words All Might, the hope in his eyes shone even brighter. Shota Aizawa, however, turned back to look at Chiffon in confusion. "How do you know erasing its Quirk won't work?"

"Even if you erase its Quirks, it'll be the same. Its physical body alone has already reached this level of strength. Having several more Quirks only makes it a little stronger. So let's wait until Teacher All Might gets here." Chiffon lowered his hand as Thunder God's Arrival fully activated.

I hope everyone can send more recommendation votes and give me some motivation!