Endeavor, fist aflame, thrust his hand into the Nomu's chest and ripped out his heart.

He squashed it as it burnt, pieces of shredded flesh gliding through his now-closed fingers.

The Nomu fell to his knees, the shock pinning him down.

Endeavor grabbed his head with both hands and snapped his neck as he set fire to his corpse.

The air whistled behind him ; Endeavor, eyes narrowed, whirled around, elbow raised, to strike at the one who'd crept up behind him.

Simultaneously, the sound of wet flesh gliding and grinding was heard.

Endeavor came face to face with a Nomu whose skull had been pierced by an ice arrow. Blood flowed from his forehead, splitting at the bridge of his nose.

On Endeavor's right, Shoto's backhanded kick sent one Nomu crashing into another, effectively knocking them to the ground.

When his sole barely brushed the first Nomu's torso, blue fire burst from his foot and spread like wind onto the pushed Nomu, lighting him up like a torch, flames then spreading to the fallen Nomu behind him.

The skewered Nomu's hands shook as they slowly and inexorably rose towards the ice arrow to yank it away.

Endeavor grabbed his skull, his fingers on either side of the arrow, and roasted him in a split second. He sharply pushed his charred body away.

It reeked of burnt flesh, shit, corpses and death.

Hundreds of bodies littered the ground around them, half-eaten or yet to be touched.

Endeavor and Shoto stood in the center of the square, Endeavor burning hotter than the sun to draw the creatures' attention, Shoto fading in the shadows, leaving a wake of corpses behind.

Far behind them, civilians continued to stream through the tunnel of ice that spanned the stairs from the first Torii to the second, at the very top of the steps.

The ice was thick and solid, ensuring safe passage as long as no Nomu attacked. When they did, Shoto was forced to go all the way back, kill the Nomu, then return as fast as he left.

It had happened three times already.

The Nomus loved loud noise and the bright flashes of fire. Once Endeavor and Shoto had teamed up to fight, they had mostly left the civilians alone.

They were like flies, always drawn to light, whereas the real threat spread quietly in the darkness.

Three Nomus appeared in front of Endeavor, trapping him within a triangular configuration.

Simultaneously, a shadowy figure - more like a gust of wind than someone - flashed behind them.

The three Nomus collapsed to the ground, tendons severed, wriggling like worms.

Fire burst from Endeavor's body : he burnt all three to crisp.

Endeavor paused briefly to steady his ragged breathing.

He then unhooked a small cutlass from his tool belt and finished the job, walking round to each and striking precisely three times into each of their exposed brains.

Meanwhile, right in front of him, Shoto was caught between two Nomus.

There was a ripping sound.

With a swift gestyre, he could barely make out in the dim light, Shoto sent one of the Nomus tumbling towards his father.

Endeavor, anticipating the gesture, caught him by the skull.

The exposed brain melted the moment Endeavor's fingers touched it.

He smashed the brain as much as he burn it.

Shoto's figure leaned dangerously close to the Nomu's, their shadows merging.

Another ripping sound.

The wind picked up and a play of light lit up the figures of Shoto - drenched in sweat - and the Nomu.

Endeavor clearly saw the moment when Shoto, mask torn and red eyes flashing angrily, ripped out the Nomu's windpipe with a snap of his teeth.

He spat out : the piece of flesh flew up in the air. Blood dripped from his lips down his chin.

The Nomu couldn't even scream.

Shoto's hands closed ominously over his skull as the wind swung the other way, darkness engulfing them once more.

Endeavor caught a flying Nomu which, propelled by his speed, had tried to take him by surprise.

He slammed him to the ground so hard it shook.

Endeavor's hand, hot as iron, left red scar on his throat.

Endeavor was a pragmatic man ; he knew that the brain - or the heart and then the brain - was the best way to go about killing Nomus.

But the longer the battle dragged on, the more exhausted he grew, the more Nomus appeared, the more civilians screamed, the more bodies littered the ground, the less pragmatic and logical he felt.

Endeavor tore the Nomu's throat in half with a vicious, sick satisfaction.

Then he crushed his skull with his bare fist ; his head popped off like an overripe fruit.

Blood splattered over his mud-stained shoes.

Slowly, Endeavor raised his head.

A few Nomus were hunched over human corpses, feeding hungrily on organs and innards, their small, sneaky eyes warily locked on Endeavor.

Endeavor's face hardened as he watched them.

He had no idea why they ate humans - necessity or cruelty, it didn't matter - but he hated the sight of his fellow used like food.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Endeavor checked for a second that no one - except Shoto - was in near vicinity before he blew up, a ring of fire shooting out of his body and devouring everything in its path.

Every bodies - Nomus and humans alike - went up in flames, the supernatural fire catching quicker and fiercer than what ordinary fire would've done in such pouring rain.

The eating Nomus were hit by the tidal wave of fire head on.

Shoto didn't even let them hit the ground ; he went from one to the next in a blur, shattering their skulls and shredding their flesh with horrifying savagery.

Shoto suddenly appeared at Enji's side, panting, soaked in blood from head to toe, as though he'd been swimming in it.

His clothes were torn to shreds, bloody scratches streaking his forearms and neck.

His face was uncovered, his torn mask hanging limply from either side of his ears.

The synchronicity between Enji and Shoto was perfect.

Had he known that he had the slightest inclination to becoming a Hero, Enji would've instantly offered his son to become his partner.

"I have to take care of him", Shoto grumbled quietly, still slightly out of breath.

His bright, fierce eyes were trained on Black Mist who, on top of the overlooking building, kept spawning portal after portal, Nomus pouring forth by tens.

Enji tore off a piece of his shirt and wordlessly handed it to his son.

Without taking his eyes off Black Mist, Shoto tied the black cloth around his face.

"I'll make the opening you need" Enji murmured, alert to their surroundings, "And you get rid of him"

Such a large quantity of civilians had initially prevented Endeavor from going all out, for he had to protect them ; despite all the trouble he and his son had gone to to protect them, the Nomus had killed them by hundreds.

Now it was the sheer number of Nomus that hindered him : he wanted to use God Mode, but the civilians were still too close for them not to die.

Fighting at high intensity without being able to go all out and end the fight quickly tired him out more than anything else.

In truth, fighting at high intensity against foes whose ranks kept growing was strenuous for both Enji and Shoto.

Adrenaline made them alert but even so, they started slowing down, reacted less quickly, took longer to catch their breath.

"We need to-"

An alarm wailed loudly through the city.

The Nomus raised their heads simultaneously, their attentions drawn momentarily by the sound.

Shoto took the opportunity to spear two of them mid-air, causing them to fall like shot birds.

"What's that ?", he asked.

Endeavor, eyebrows furrowed, tried to listen closely to what was said.

"It sounds like..."

Shoto, whose hearing was sharper, repeated the words echoing endlessly around them.

"Martial law has been declared : proceed to go home and wait for further instructions"

Shoto was silent.

The alarm was on full blast.

Wrinkles creased Enji's forehead.

Suddenly the Nomus turned around and moved farther away.

Enji squinted to see what was go-

A Nomu exploded in a shower of blood, as if a confetti cannon full of human flesh had been fired.

Enji didn't even have time to blink that Shoto was in front of him, ice sword in his right hand, posture both threatening and defensive.

He looked at him, surprised.

He didn't need to see his face to know that he was incredibly tense.

The Nomus kept bursting like over-inflated balloons, fireworks of guts and organs flying everywhere.

The crowd of Nomus broke up and parted, obviously allowing something - or someone - to walk through them.

Any Nomu that got in the way blew up on the spot, organs flying high up before falling back down with the reddened rain.

"Ah, I've dirtied my cloak"

A tall, black haired, golden eyed man stepped out of the crowd.

He wore a fur coat whose back was blood stained.

Shoto lowered further, a second sword forming in his left hand, looking even more threatening than he did before.

The newcomer eyed him curiously ; he stayed at a safe distance, his back cheekily given to the Nomus.

"Who are you ?", Endeavor asked authoritatively.

He knew his son ; he would not waste time with pointless questions and would rather choose to strike swiftly and deadly.

Given the worrying Quirk of the newcomer, Endeavor preferred not to.

"I've been sent to help you"

Something stirred beneath Endeavor's foot.

He looked down at his shoes, which were bathed in darkness.

Like a puddle into which a pebble has been thrown, the shadows stirred.

Enji didn't have time to process what he'd seen that a shadowy figure, fully shrouded in darkness, sprang up from the ground.

"I come in peace," the figure said, a smile in his voice

Shoto's sword was already at his throat.

Shadows dripped like ink from his body as the shifting darkness reverted to human shape.

Endeavor recognized the individual at once.

Standing to his right was Sung Jin Woo.

*

A/N : If you like the story and want to read ahead of schedule, go check the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

See you in the next update everyone !