The Final Battle

This is a story I found on fanfiction.net and I would like to bring it to you guys here on WebNovel so you can enjoy it also. THIS IS NOT MY WORK but I couldn't resist sharing with you guys. The authors name is 'CiscoTheSoto'. If me sharing stories that aren't mine offends anyone please let me know. I don't wish to offend anyone I just want to bring these great stories to you all. If anyone is offended LET ME KNOW and I will take them down!

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"Listen very closely, Mob. You and I are different: we were born with special and unique powers that other people don't have. But even so, we mustn't let it get to our heads that we're special or above them."

Almost half a decade ago, these were the words that a deceitful yet wise man said to a young esper who lived in constant fear of his powers and had no one to guide him. While it was rather ironic that these words came from someone with no psychic powers at all, the message they carried was still powerful. He had no way of knowing that thanks to his words, this esper would never use this amazing psychic power for himself. Thanks to the words of Arataka Reigen, Mob managed to prevent himself from falling under the delusion of superiority with his psychic powers. But it wasn't just Reigen who made Shigeo realize the limits of his psychic powers in several areas.

As a child, Shigeo Kageyama once thought his powers made him cool. Why he thought this? Simple: it was his powers that made his crush, Tsubomi Takane, laugh and smile.

"Look! I can make the bar wiggle like a snake!" The young girl's eyes sparkled with fascination, and her heart reached out for the amazing things Mob could do.

"That's amazing! You're so cool, Mob!"

But for Tsubomi, Shigeo's psychic powers soon came to be old news. "Look!" the young child exclaimed while lifting a cat in the air, "You're the only person I've shown these things to!" The young Tsubomi did not look at these feats with the same awe she did before, and pursed her lips in a small line.

"Eh, it's kinda boring now."

Shigeo's sparkling eyes dimmed, and his proud posture now sunk as he looked to the ground with disappointment. His psychic powers weren't enough to make Tsubomi smile anymore.

Later that day, Shigeo participated in track and field events, and was carrying the baton for his team as he tried to pass it on to the next person. But his endurance was failing him: several boys passed him with confident smiles and strong bodies, while Shigeo was barely able to keep a running pace and had sweat pouring from all parts of his body.

Once the race finished, Mob laid defeated on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath and feeling his shirt drenched in sweat. Standing a few feet away from him though, Tsubomi was admiring the winner of the race with the same sparkle in her eyes she had once given him before.

"I can't believe how fast you are, Akira!" exclaimed Tsubomi. As Mob heard Tsubomi's words of amazement towards Akira, Shigeo came to a strong realization: his psychic powers weren't enough to gain her affection or true interest. To some, they would view this as something trivial: sure, the girl Mob liked may have gotten bored after seeing him using psychic powers all the time, but there were still probably plenty of other girls that would fall for Mob and his psychic powers, right?

But that wasn't what Shigeo Kageyama wanted. He didn't want just any girl: he wanted to be with Tsubomi, his first crush. And to win her over, he realized he would need more than psychic powers.

Tsubomi never had any idea what kind of impact she had on Mob, nor would she ever have any real understanding of how much she meant to him or just how significant her very existence was in making Mob the person he was. But that didn't matter: once Mob came to this realization, and once he came across his master, Reigen, that was the last piece he needed to make Mob understand that his psychic powers didn't make him better than other people. For such a powerful being who could have the world in the palm of his hand if he so desired, it was exactly the thing he needed and the thing that would make him the pure-hearted soul he was today.

"Ha ha ha ha! Fear not, citizens! Hope has arrived, because I am here!"

In another world, another young boy was watching a video of his ultimate hero. He was watching the video he had watched since he was a child hundreds and hundreds of times. He was watching the Symbol of Peace of his world, All Might, debuting himself to the world on a video captured several years ago.

In this world, most of the citizens were gifted with supernatural abilities called Quirks. These abilities gave people unbelievable powers, allowed them to do things that seemed impossible, but with these powers came individuals who wanted to use them for evil. So to fight these villains and to fight the rising crime that came as a result of the spread of Quirks, people rose up with their own quirks and their own training to stand against this evil. It was the rise of supervillains and the rise of superheroes. But standing on the top of every supervillain and every superhero in the world was the Symbol of Peace, the man who could defeat any opponent he came across with a smile on his face, the one and only All Might.

Ever since he made himself known to the public, the people came to adore him. They came to view him as everything a hero embodied, the guardian angel that watched over society and would never let any villain enter their lives. It was this man that gave inspiration to millions of children to improve their quirks and become heroes just like All Might. But not everyone had the luxury of quirks to rely on: in this world, about 20% of the population was not born with a quirk. These people were just the regular citizens of society, the ones who lived normal lives and served to maintain peace and the function of society on a lower level.

Alas, not every Quirkless human was pleased with the lives that were destined without quirks. Some of them wanted to reach for more. Some of them so desperately wanted a quirk, because a quirk was the thing that made people special. It was the thing that defined All Might and basically all heroes. One such person was the young boy watching All Might on his computer: Izuku Midoriya.

When he was a young boy, he'd been sadly informed by a doctor that he was Quirkless. Once he heard this, it seemed like his dreams were shattered: without a quirk, could Izuku follow the path of a hero? Ever since he learned he was Quirkless, he desperately wanted to look past this, to believe that there was still a future for him as a hero even without a quirk. But everyone around him was telling him it was impossible, that it was just a stupid pipe dream that would never come true.

Even his mom didn't seem to believe in his dream: the night after learning he was Quirkless, he asked his mom whether or not he could become a hero. He wanted her to say yes, that his dream wasn't outlandish or impossible, that there was still hope. But that night, what she said to her son was,

"I'm sorry, Izuku. I wish things were different."

With tears rolling down both of their faces, the young child was stunned silent by what he was told. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. What she said... made it sound like she didn't believe in him.

But even that never wavered his resolve! At age 14, Izuku Midoriya was still desperately clinging onto the hope that his future as a hero was possible! It was why he studied everything he could about every hero, analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, fighting styles, quirks, anything that he could use to become a hero. But oh how desperately he wanted a quirk! How deep the hole in his heart felt, knowing he was born powerless. In the end, unlike Shigeo Kageyama, Izuku Midoriya would have given anything to have the powers the young esper had. To him, psychic powers or powers of any kind would be the answer to his dream and to living life to its fullest.

Ever since that day when the young boy and self-proclaimed esper met, Shigeo had worked under Arataka Reigen, acting as his disciple for Reigen's line of work as a psychic, eliminating evil spirits that haunted innocent people's homes. To the young esper, this was simply a job, and it was never something that he took pride in because he knew that in almost every other aspect of life, he was severely lacking. Thanks to his master's advice, he understood that without his powers, he was just a regular person.

However, during his youth, he came across several espers that had unfortunately allowed themselves to become enamored by their power and convinced themselves of their superiority to others. The first esper who had this god complex was a teenager named Teruki Hanazawa. His whole life, he'd believed he was on the center stage of the world thanks to the amazing psychic powers he was given with no one else to contest against him, and when another esper came that dared challenge that title, his whole world came crashing down around him. This time, it was Shigeo who would give his wisdom to this young esper and make him realize that his psychic powers didn't make him better than others.

But there were more espers like Teruki Hanazawa out there, more self-righteous and power-hungry psychics who wanted to use their psychic powers to take over the world. In fact, there was an actually an organization composed of espers like these, an organization named Claw. Shigeo fought this organization alongside his master, his brother and Hanazawa, and actually managed to turn most of these espers to the side of good. He thought he'd seen the last of them, but it turns out, he was wrong.

Hiding in the shadows and waiting until the right moment to strike, the leader of Claw had decided to begin his plans for world domination. This man, Toichiro Suzuki, was unlike anything Shigeo had ever encountered before. Not only in terms of raw power, but in terms of ruthlessness and depravity. When Shigeo heard about how he had beat his own son into submission without hesitation, the young esper was appalled. Who could do something like that to their child? Despite this, Shigeo was trying his best to reason with Toichiro, but it was not enough to get through to the esper, and Shigeo was quickly overwhelmed with the Claw leader's formidable power.

But then, when he was put in a corner, his master had come to his rescue, to do his best and try to aid his disciple against this terrible foe. Thanks to his level head and intelligence, he was able to feign support for Suzuki and managed to land a powerful punch to the esper's face. Or so he thought. Turned out Suzuki managed to create an etheral clone with his psychic powers, avoiding the hit and preparing to eliminate this bothersome man.

"Hold on, let's cool down for a minute!" Reigen said while nervously walking backward, "I'll back down, I'll do whatever it is you want me to do!"

The psychic was not feeling merciful. "You have managed to put me in a very rotten mood, and for that, I will make this building your official deathbed." Suzuki raised his hand, which began to glow with red energy, and Reigen could do nothing but watch in horror as his life flashed before his eyes.

"NO!" Shigeo felt his blood run cold when he saw Toichiro create a massive explosion which enveloped his master, spewing up large fire and dark clouds in the process.

"That's better," Toichiro said with a smile on his face, but that smile quickly disappeared when he saw what was hidden behind the smoke: an umbrella protecting Reigen. That umbrella belonged to one of Toichiro's top commanders, Katsuya Serizawa. Sent to take care of Shigeo, he was one of the espers fortunate enough to be affected by Shigeo's words and feelings, and thanks to that young boy, he was finally taking a stand against his former boss.

"Thank god I managed to get here in-time," exclaimed Serizawa. Sweat beads rolled down the esper's face as he gathered the strength to speak his next words. "For the first time in my life, I'm trying to actually do the right thing and be brave! That means standing up to you and stopping you from hurting others!" Despite his heart pounding, his veins throbbing, and his hands shaking, Serizawa still found the courage to stand up and fight against evil. This was the action of a good man. No, this was the action of a hero.

"So you've betrayed me," said Toichiro, looking irritated but not saddened or shocked by this defiance of his most powerful soldier. "Then that means your punishment is in order."

"Enough!"

100% Rage

The leader of Claw widened his eyes when he felt a strong pressure envelop him.

"I think the time for talking is over."

"Huh?" Suzuki was not startled or afraid of this increase in power, for he knew it was still leagues below his own, but it was still a substantial increase nonetheless.

"Before we continue this, let me give you one last piece of my wisdom," said Shigeo, his aura now rainbow colored and pixilated, "Those who can't understand the feelings of others-" The esper tried to continue, but stopped himself when he realized the futility of his words. "Forget it. A guy like you isn't gonna listen to any advice. No, the only way for me to get that advice through your head is if I jam it in there the hard way."

Reigen and Serizawa were observing this sudden burst of anger from Shigeo with cautious eyes and sweat falling down both of their faces. "Mob's really going all-out."

"What should I do to help you guys?" asked Serizawa.

"Leave with my master and everyone else waiting on the ground and get a safe distance."

This was something Toichiro would not allow, not before enacting his punishment. His red aura formed around him, and he lunged toward Serizawa. "You will not escape the wrath of Toichiro Suzuki!" The evil esper formed a large ball of psychic energy in his hand and attempted to eradicate Reigen and Serizawa, but Mob rushed to their defense and put up a psychic barrier. The friction between Suzuki's energy blast and Kageyama's shield intensified and quickly created an explosion that propelled Reigen, Serizawa and Suzuki's son out of the building.

Shigeo's little brother, Ritsu Kageyama, was looking up and seeing the bodies falling, some motionless and some desperately attempting to break their fall. But then, he noticed something odd forming from the ground.

"Plants?"

Indeed, these plants were being formed by Minegishi, one of Claw's Ultimate 5, comprised of the five most powerful espers of Claw, to save Serizawa and the others from falling. This member of the Ultimate 5 knew what their actions would lead to: this was an act of betrayal against the boss, and it would have dire consequences. But that didn't matter to the esper. "So, the boss really did cast Serizawa aside. Even though I knew from the start what relationship we were in, I still owe Serizawa one, and I don't want the boss to end his life."

"Stop it, Minegishi!" Another one of Claw's Ultimate 5, Hatori, ran up to Minegishi to try and stop them from doing this. "If you do this, you'll majorly piss the boss off, and then you'll definitely be killed!"

"Glad to see you're alive, Hatori," Minegishi said.

Toichiro Suzuki walked to the edge of the building and noticed the plants formed to save Serizawa. Only one person he knew could do that. "So Minegishi has turned against me as well. It seems that now, I have been forced into a situation where any of my Claw members can betray me." But this leader's heart was not filled with true compassion for any of his Claw members, and with all of the psychic power he had stockpiled for the last 20 years, it was more than enough to compensate for the betrayal of his Ultimate 5. "Back to the drawing board, then." Suzuki formed a ball of red energy at the tip of his finger.

"Disappear."

With his psychic energy, he created concentrated laser beams that he fired down at the Ultimate 5 and pared the giant plants. The powerful esper gleefully smiled as he laid destruction to the traitors and enemies.

"Disappear! Disappear! DISAPPEAR!"

His fun was quickly interrupted when Mob tackled him at amazing speeds, yelling as he allowed his anger and willpower to fuel his powers and force him back.

"YYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Even though Shigeo was feeling the intensity of the battle while shoving Suzuki through concrete, the adult esper was still not nearing the physical and emotional turmoil his opponent was in now. "My my, I didn't take you to be an enthusiastic type," said Suzuki with a neutral tone, preparing to use a mere 10% of his power to strike. He raised his fist, and with a single downward smash, sent Shigeo through three floors.

"With such low power, you're still not even close to my league. That strike was only using 10% of my power, so if what you're showing me now is your 100%, further fighting will lead to one inevitable path."

Out of nowhere, the entire building began to shake. The people on the ground were baffled to see what was happening here, not sure what Mob and Suzuki were doing up there. But for Suzuki, things were beginning to come together.

"Oh, so that's it," said Suzuki, a newly formed smile on his face and a creeping sense of anticipation and pleasure building up inside of him, "You've been provoking an internal reaction to further increase your power."

The young esper knew it was time for him to unleash the fullest extent of his psychic powers, and with the rage building inside of him, he hoped it would be enough.

"Now I'm ready to fight you with everything: all my power, and all my rage!" The showdown between the two most powerful espers on the planet was about to truly commence.

While the intensity and the stakes were never higher for Shigeo Kageyama in this monumental battle, Izuku Midoriya was having another regular day at his school, Aldera Junior High. The young Midoriya was diligently writing notes down while his teacher lectured to the class, taking in all the information he could. At the moment, this teacher was attempting to impart some wisdom on their futures and their careers.

"Now I've got a list of possible careers," the professor said with a sly smile on his face, noting some of the students growing excited and preparing their quirks. His smile increased, and in a dramatic fashion, he threw the papers into the air.

"But it's pretty obvious you all want to become pro heroes!" The students leaped with joy, unleashing their quirks into the air and yelling in excitement; well, everyone except Midoriya, who was awkwardly looking to the side while he had his hand raised, and another silent student with blonde, messy hair who had his feet reclined on his desk and his eyes staring down at his lap.

The teacher attempted to regain control of the classroom and quell their excitements. "Now now, I know you all have some very unique quirks, but keep them to yourselves! No using quirks in school!"

The silent student interjected with a harsh tone. "Come on, teacher. Stop trying to give these guys false hope: I'm the only one here who's got a real shot at becoming a pro hero." This young man, Katsuki Bakugo, had known praise and greatness all his life. Born with a very powerful quirk that allowed him to create explosions, everyone knew he was a prodigy among quirk users in their town. Ever since he acquired his quirk, he'd been led to believe that he was better than everyone else, that his power made him amazing. But that didn't make his words annoy his peers any less.

"Hey, what are you talking about?"

"Don't think you're all high and mighty!"

"Oh yea?" Bakugo cockily stared at his peers, more than willing to take on any sort of challenge, "If you wanna fight, I'll take on all of you at once! Just say the word!"

The teacher looked at his notes and knew that Bakugo was indeed exceptional. "Your test results are indeed impressive. With scores like these, a spot at U.A. High is indeed within your reach." Gasps of shock befell all of the students in the classroom, and murmurs spread as well.

"U.A. High? That place has a .2% acceptance rate!"

"Going there's impossible!"

Bakugo relished the shocked expressions on his classmates' faces, and his cocky smile only widened. "Which is exactly why only someone like me is worthy of getting into there!" The hot-headed boy jumped off of his seat and stood on top of his desk, preparing to boastfully gloat his excellence.

"After acing all the mach tests, there's no way U.A. could reject me now! And once I get in, I'll train to become a better and more powerful hero than even All Might!" Bakugo clenched his fist in excitement, "I'll become the richest hero of all time, and everyone around the world will remember my name for generations!"

While Bakugo monologued, the teacher looked at his notes and realized something else interesting. "I forgot, Midoriya. You also want to attend U.A. High, right?"

Bakugo instantly froze up when he heard this, and Midoriya felt his cheeks become as hot as magma, hiding his face in his arm with utter embarrassment. Everyone in the room looked at Midoriya in silence for a second, leaving the boy confused by what they were thinking. But Midoriya had that made clear when everyone in the room, barring the teacher and Bakugo, burst out in complete and hysterical laughter. Every student in the class knew Midoriya as the only one without a quirk.

To everyone in the class and quite frankly the world, it was Quirks that made people special. It made them recognized, it made them popular, and most importantly, it made them heroes. To them, the idea that a Quirkless kid with nothing special and an idiotically optimistic attitude was just the pinnacle of humor.

"That can't be right!"

"Does Midoriya have a screw loose or something?"

"My god, he can't even apply to U.A. High without a quirk!"

Midoriya tried his best to defend himself. "No no, they got rid of that rule! If I tried out for the exam, I could become the first Quirkless student to pass!" This statement caused the blood in Bakugo's body to boil, and in an anger-driven moment, he slammed his hand down on Midoriya's desk. The boy landed on his butt and looked up with utter fear while Bakugo stared him down with enraged eyes.

"Now let me try and put this through your head, Deku!" That was the derogatory name Bakugo had given Midoriya ever since they were kids. "Even among these weaklings, you're in an entirely different and more pathetic level! Do you really delude yourself into thinking U.A. would accept a Quirkless nobody like you when they have a powerful hero like me ready to join them!"

Midoriya backed up to the wall in a hurried panic and held a hand up to try and defuse the situation. "Wait, you're getting things mixed up, Bakugo! I don't want to try and compete with you or take away your spot at U.A.! All I want... is to become a pro hero. It's what I've wanted ever since I was a kid."

"Oh come on!" Bakugo began to form smoke from his hands, and his eyes began daggers. "When it comes down to it, you'd never be able to keep up with pro heroes! Hell, I'm positive that even the entrance exam would be a death sentence!" This comment elicited a few chuckles from the students in the class. "This school doesn't need to have its reputation get any worse with you trying and failing the entrance exams!"

Izuku Midoriya couldn't help but look down in disappointment and embarrassment as everyone in the class mocked his dream. He knew he didn't have any powers, but it didn't mean that it was impossible to get into UA High. In his heart, Midoriya still felt there was a good chance for him to become a hero, to become the savior of the public and to defend them from the worst of villains with a confident smile. And he would never let anyone trample that dream!

Shigeo Kageyama was practically living a pro hero's best and worst nightmare: fighting the boss of an organization of superpowered humans while everyone cheered him on and the fate of the city rested in his hands. It was the classic telling of good and evil: Shigeo Kageyama, the hero who was blessed with psychic powers and a pure heart, was fighting for his life against the villain Toichiro Suzuki, an evil man who wanted the world in the palm of his hands. To many people, such a despicable monster had to be defeated without mercy because it was the only option. It was a hero's duty.

But Shigeo Kageyama didn't see it this way. Quite frankly, he never once viewed himself as a hero or really factored in whether or not what he was doing was in the name of justice. To him, all that mattered was protecting the people he loved, and what made him even more pure was that he actually wanted to try and change the villains he was fighting: in his heart, he felt that all these espers and enemies he fought were simply misguided souls, and all Shigeo wanted to do was guide them on the right path.

This was why he cried actual tears for his opponent: in the intensity of battle, as the immense psychic powers were used to lift dozens of buildings into the sky, his emotions toiled and churned, and the grief of fighting to mortally hurt this man was too much. He still tried to get through to him, to make him see the error of his ways and why his path of world domination was wrong. This was who Shigeo was, and it was why he cried when he tried to crush Suzuki with more than one hundred buildings all crammed into a giant sphere.

But the terrible truth was that it STILL wasn't enough. The darkness covering Suzuki's heart and the lack of true understanding of the emotions of others prevented Shigeo's actions from having the impact they would usually have. So as Suzuki rushed Mob, the darker impulses beginning to run him as the battle extended, the young esper was at a loss for what to do. Now using 80% of his power, Toichiro's veins bulged, the crimson aura around him growing larger and more malevolent, and with this rage now fueling him, he grabbed Shigeo's ankle and tossed him to the ground at amazing speeds, sending him crashing through the sphere of buildings.

As Mob laid on the ground, a feeling of hopelessness creeping into his heart, he did nothing as the giant sphere of buildings came crashing down onto him, creating a huge cloud of dust.

In the sky, Suzuki was trying to get a handle on the amount of power he was exuding. Never before had he unleashed even 40% of his power, and now he was releasing twice that amount. This power was coursing through, emanating from his eyes as streams of red energy and acting like a monstrous river that was unleashing his darkest side. These were the emotions of a true villain!

"I've never felt like this before. It's my first time ever using 80%!" Suzuki had been pushing his psychic powers more than ever before: the overwhelming energy, the rush of the battle, the basic instinct to survive and overpower his enemy, it was distorting his brain, making it more twisted, battle-hungry, and barbaric than even he thought possible. It was why even as the child laid motionless on the ground, he could not simply wait for him to recover. His primal urge for combat and blood were too great.

"What's the matter? Weren't you just giving me some big moral lecture?" The psychic lifted his opponent into the air. Then, from the palm of his hand, he released an explosion. Even a single explosion had deadly power, creating a blast more than a dozen meters in diameter. However, Suzuki wasn't going for something so small. The malicious esper proceeded to release dozens upon dozens of blasts, maintaining a continuous barrage of immense explosions that enveloped the entire area they were fighting, expanding more than two thousand meters in diameter and several hundred meters in height. All of the nearby buildings were obliterated, bits of stone and glass flying in all directions.

"Aren't you going to give another sermon? What else do you have to say? What can you possibly teach me now?" The psychic decided to follow up with some more basic but still devastating psychic powers. He reached both of his palms outwards, and a miniaturized blizzard blew out, sweeping through more than a third of the city and freezing everything in its path. Then, a small orange ball of fire flickered to life in between his hands. At first, it looked gentle and harmless, like the flame of a candle on a dark and lonely night.

But the ball of fire began to churn. The psychic energy being channeled into it caused it to bulge, spewing out flares and scorching the nearby concrete. Even more frightening was how the soft, gentle orange changed into a deep blue. Miyagawa, a Scar and an experienced wielder of pyrokinesis, couldn't hope to increase the heat of his flames to such high temperatures. Suzuki cackled with glee, and unleashed the firestorm onto his enemy. The ice melted away in an instant, along with the concrete and other debris, leaving nothing but smoldering lava and the smell of burnt rock.

To finish the combo attack off, Suzuki raised both of his hands up and thrust them down, unleashing massive gusts of wind that blew throughout the city, putting the fires out and sending the young esper flying through the air like a ragdoll.

Watching from afar, the spectators were at a loss for what they were seeing: the raw power Toichiro Suzuki was displaying was unlike anything they had ever seen before. So many powers, such devastation they could bring, it only showed them how wide the gap was between them and him. With this kind of strength, they weren't sure who would emerge the victor: for Arataka Reigen, his thoughts were only on ensuring Shigeo's safety.

"Come on, Mob. If you feel you can't win, then it's okay for you to run away. Defeating this guy isn't your responsibility!"

The unbelievable display of psychic powers could not persuade the teenage esper to retaliate or even get up to his feet, so he continued to lay on the ground. "Get up!" The leader of Claw used his telekinesis to lift the motionless Mob up to the sky again. "This battle is not over, not even close. Simply surrendering and acting like a punching bag isn't going to cut it!" Letting his rage and lust for battle consume him, Toichiro grabbed Shigeo's jacket and screamed, "STAND UP AND FIGHT"

"No, I'm done."

Suzuki let out a faint gasp. What did he say? Was Mob actually surrendering? It appeared he was: unlike the traditional hero, Shigeo Kageyama simply didn't have the drive to keep on fighting, to stand up against true villainy. It just... wasn't in his nature.

"It pains me to say it, but I'm just not strong enough. I don't have what it takes to show you a better path to follow in life. Sorry."

Alas, the dark impulses running Suzuki would not allow this to stand. He yelled and formed a whip of psychic energy, lashing the young boy multiple times, drawing blood and destroying his outfit.

"You're the one who's awakened these dark and destructive impulses! It's your responsibility to deal with what you've brought!"

Shigeo tried to form a barrier to block the attacks, yet it proved to be futile. "I won't allow you to run off and hide in your shell now!" Suzuki formed a red stream of energy which effortlessly tore through Shigeo's barrier and sent him flying to the ground. The leader of Claw followed up by extending his palm downward, using his telekinesis to create a giant imprint of his hand in the ground.

Then, a very unexpected thing happened: Suzuki's hand twisted. The adult esper convulsed when he felt this new, malevolent energy.

Turned out, something inside Mob had snapped. After witnessing the destructiveness and hatred Toichiro Suzuki was displaying, how little his words were having on him, and what more he could do if left unchecked, the young esper realized that he was fighting someone that couldn't be changed by him. However, Suzuki was someone that could be stopped by him. It wasn't so he could be the hero, it wasn't so he could claim victory, it was simply to stop all this destruction. And another thing was certain: at that moment, Mob did not feel like a hero.

100% Resignation

"I give up." The esper's pupils were now maroon red, and all sense of light or compassion within them was snuffed out. Now, cold-blooded ruthlessness was fueling his powers. "I was desperately hoping that I could change you, make you turn over a new leaf to become a better person, but that hope is gone." While he was speaking, Suzuki's entire arm was now twisting like one would twist a wet rag, and quickly followed the rest of his body, which was turning in places the human body was never meant to turn.

"It appears-" said Suzuki while groaning in agony, "That we're both influencing -GRRAAHH- each other quite a bit!"

"You're right, but despite my best efforts, I failed at being a positive influence on you. So with this, we both lose!"

Now Toichiro's body and limb location was barely recognizable as human. No one could possibly continue after being so terribly disfigured like this. Or so Mob thought.

As a last resort to survive and reign victorious, Toichiro unleashed the maximum extent of the power he stockpiled for 20 years.

100%

"Wait..." The red murder in Mob's eyes faded when he saw the bright light beaming from Suzuki's body. That light was psychic energy, which formed into multiple balls of energy that shot out in multiple directions. One of these balls sent Mob flying, and the sheer energy channeled into this attack was more than the young esper could handle. The force of the attack caused the left side of his shirt to be ripped apart, leaving his left shoulder and arm exposed and vaporizing a small bag of seeds in his shirt pocket.

"I think... this is the end for me!" The looming fate of death was close to consuming him, and the esper was ready to accept this inevitable fate.

"MOB, NO!"

Shigeo drew a sharp breath. It was his master calling out to him, yelling out in fear for his life. That's right. They were all waiting for him to win, to come back to them so they could go home, enjoy their time with him. Everyone he cared about, everyone he loved and who'd done their best to support him, made a difference in his life, made him smile. It was thanks to them he was who he was. All of those people were counting on him to keep on living! And he couldn't just leave them behind and accept death like this!

So instead of accepting his death and leaving everyone he knew behind, he dug his feet into the ground, clasped his hands around the ball of energy, and prepared to finish this fight.

"No, I can handle this. It doesn't come close to the fear of losing everything I have!" Shigeo gathered the strength to crush the ball in his hands, splitting it into hundreds of tiny pieces of psychic energy.

A sensation he had felt only once before was now returning to him. It was during his battle with Keiji Mogami in the mental mindscape to save a girl, when he came to realize what he could with these powers, the good that could be done by saving people. When he entered this state for the first time, he felt all sense of fear and panic leave his soul, and the only thing that was on his mind, even when staring in the face of the most powerful opponent he ever met and his army of malevolent spirits, was fighting to save the life of a young girl.

He didn't realize it, but it was in this state that he was at his strongest. That determination to save life, to stand up against the evil threatening innocents, it was the strongest fuel for his powers he ever imagined. When he was in this state, it was only then that he became a hero of justice. Body, mind and soul.

So as he fell down into an underground reservoir and began sinking into the water, he dug deep, drew upon the willpower to stand up and fight against evil, and began to power up for the fight of his life.

100% Courage

Izuku Midoriya was still having his own conflict. After class ended, he was only further tormented by Bakugo and his lowly accomplices. The blonde-haired bully took the notebook Izuku was writing in, where he kept all his notes about being a hero, and did a truly despicable thing: after burning the outside, he threw it out the window, to the horror of Midoriya. Then, for the creme de la creme, he actually suggested to Midoriya that he commit suicide in hopes of getting a quirk in a new life.

Izuku wanted to stop it. He wanted the confidence and the will to stand up against his oppressor and tell him he would not tolerate being treated like scum. But fear and hopelessness still stirred in his heart, knowing the undeniable gap in power between himself and Bakugo, and that any attempt of combat would result in broken bones and damaged organs.

With his hands firmly gripping the straps of his backback, Midoriya walked outside with a scowl on his face. "What kind of bastard would tell someone to kill themselves?" mumbled Midoriya, "And what if I actually went through with it? Would he just laugh and say it was for the best?"

The student's eyes caught some fish trying to chew on his burnt book. "Would you look at that. My dreams are now fish food." The boy picked up the book and looked at it with a growing sense of frustration. The hopelessness of his dreams coupled with the anger towards Bakugo didn't make a good mix, and all it did was make Midoriya's soul turn bleaker and bleaker.

"Jerk..."

Standing on all fours like a beast was Toichiro Suzuki, looking for his enemy. The effects of all that psychic energy stored in his body were quite dramatic: his muscles had increased to drastic size, tearing off most of his clothes. His skin was pale grey, but most dramatic was with literal fire engulfing his head and some of his body, making him appear like a monster of death.

When Suzuki noticed Mob within the water, he leapt down and prepared a punch, but this time, Shigeo was more ready than ever. The water began to swirl around the young esper like a vortex, and in the center of that vortex, a newly empowered Shigeo Kageyama stood. In this state, his eyes sparkled red with passion instead of hatred, and his hair stood up with anticipation. THIS was the ultimate climax of the battle: the moment when the lines between good and evil were decided, and when the hero and the villain became their true selves.

The phenomenal esper released his aura, his bravery and shining spirit giving him renewed passion.

"BODY IMPROVEMENT! FIGHT ON!"

Shigeo craned his arm back and swung his fist, colliding with Toichiro's fist and creating unbelievable force, though the teenage esper felt a quick jolt of pain. All of the water in the reservoir was dissipated throughout the chamber, destroying some of the pillars in the process, and the two espers were sent flying back. But as Shigeo attempted to get his footing, Suzuki appeared from above him and slammed him through a pillar. While the young esper was flying, he sent a pillar at Suzuki to stop him, but the villain's intense psychic energy and heat allowed him to easily make his way through the pillar.

Shigeo noticed his enemy rapidly approaching, and prepared another punch, which clashed yet again with Suzuki's punch and created powerful shockwaves that reverberated throughout the chamber and destroyed even more pillars. This time, however, the esper could not keep up with his opponent's superior power, and he howled in pain when he felt his arm muscles contract and blood draw from his upper arm.

Suzuki slammed him with a right downward punch, causing the teenage esper to cough up blood and be momentarily disoriented as he crashed into the ground and created a very large crater. The leader of Claw leapt down to land another punch, when suddenly, his left arm bulged to massive size, releasing bright white energy. Then, all of his muscles began to increase to ridiculous sizes. It was the strain of the overwhelming energy: Suzuki had unleashed too much of his energy at once to sustain this new form, and he could no longer maintain it.

Mob noticed this and realized the golden opportunity. "I can end it right here!" The esper unleashed a wave of energy which blew away all of the light and fire, revealing an extremely charred, frail body. But what Mob didn't realize was that inside this seemingly broken body, lied energy with cataclysmic potential.

Several beams of white energy burst out of his body, and the black skin now had lines of white being etched into him. Mob could feel the immeasurable energy slowly being released from Suzuki's body, and knew that this could only mean trouble. "If all this energy comes out at once, it'll... it'll..." The realization caused his stomach to twist in knots and send his brain into panic mode.

"It's gonna explode!"

The first thought that crossed his mind was alerting everyone else of what was about to come.

"Everyone, get out of here now!" The esper sprinted out to the spectators, all of them relieved to see that Shigeo was still alive. However, the first thing that caught Reigen's attention was the blood streaming down his disciple's arm.

"You all have to leave, right now! This entire place is going to be leveled!"

"But Mob! My god, what did he do to you," exclaimed Reigen, "You're bleeding like crazy!"

"Never mind that!" replied Mob, "Suzuki ended up releasing too much energy at once and lost control! With so much psychic energy left unchecked, it's just gonna keep growing and churning until it explodes! It's a ticking time bomb!"

Hanazawa realized the gravity of the situation and knew they didn't have any time to waste. "If what you're saying is true, then it looks like we don't have any choice but to run! Everyone, come on!" All of the spectators took the hint and began running without looking back. They all felt that there was nothing left to do, no way to stop the impending annihilation of the city. But there was one soul who did not want to think like that, one soul who couldn't help but feel sadness, knowing Suzuki would be left alone in his final moments.

As Toichiro Suzuki laid with his knees bent in front of him and his hands resting on his thighs, his body glowing white and small cackles of black electricity shooting out of him, he could sense the presence of his foe and knew what was going to come next.

"You're making the right move. It's the one that has to be made: to end my life, severing the source of the energy before the explosion happens and saving the city." But Suzuki didn't know Shigeo well enough: instead of making the simplest choice of ending his life, the young esper put up a barrier around both of them.

"What is this? What're you doing?" said Suzuki.

"Containing the explosion," replied Shigeo. Now that the two of them were alone and the battle was over, the adult esper lamented his failures and the failures of Mob.

"So despite your best efforts, you haven't only failed at defeating me, but you couldn't save your friends, your family, or even yourself. How tragic. With the unbelievable power you have, this situation should have been handled much better."

"I may have psychic powers, but they can't solve all of my problems. But you know what? They don't have to." This statement caused Suzuki to let out a hum of confusion, and his confusion was only heightened when he saw the smile on the teenage esper's face. What purpose would he have to smile like this despite knowing both of them were now very close to their deaths?

"Because even without my powers, I still have a choice, and I control my own destiny. I get to be the protagonist, it's my life." The adult esper could tell that the teenage esper's words were honest, his smile was real, a genuine demonstration of personal affection towards him, though Mob's words were only surprising him even more. After seeing the lengths he went to try and end him before, why would he be attempting to show Suzuki support?

"That's the reason I came here to be by your side. Because no matter how much I dislike you, how disappointed I may be in what you've done, I can't just leave you here to suffer on your own. That would be too sad.

"And that's why... I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you."

100% Kindness

At long last, the rays of light began to break through the veil of darkness covering Toichiro's heart. With this feeling of empathy and compassion Shigeo was showing him, it reminded him of a feeling someone very close to him once shared. The only person Toichiro Suzuki ever felt true affection for: his wife.

Memories of their time together came flooding back to Suzuki: she had tried to show him how love and gentleness were key to treating others. But Suzuki stubbornly refused to listen: convinced of the undeniable truth that power was the way to win the hearts of people, as well as the necessity of ruthlessness and violence, he did not take the words of his wife to heart, and then, she walked out of his life. When she left his life, a part of him left with her, though all these years, he was too proud to acknowledge that.

"I thought I could reunite with her once I conquered the world." Suzuki didn't realize he'd said this out loud until he saw Mob's eyebrows furrow upward. Even then, the adult esper didn't stop, speaking with the same honesty Mob had used all this time. "It turns out my way was wrong." Suzuki's eyes were downcast, and he hunched his shoulders in shame. "Now, I don't even have the chance to apologize..."

So these were his emotions, the soft side of him hidden deep away in his heart covered with darkness and selfishness. He felt actual regret. He actually cared about someone and wished to reunite with them.

"Is that right?" Now that Mob could see what his enemy was really thinking, it only heightened his resolve not to let him die.

"At least let me end it myself." Suzuki wanted to at least go out with some shred of dignity and respect, curling his hand into a fist to stab himself in the chest.

"Then I'll give you that chance! This can't be your end!" The young esper grasped Suzuki's hand to stop his suicide attempt, and as soon as he did, his entire body felt like it was lit on fire. The young boy was screaming in pain, the white energy that enveloped Suzuki now shifting to Shigeo's body and causing his eyes to turn white as well.

"If I can absorb this," yelled Shigeo, "I can save you!"

"No, it won't work! You'll die if-" The boy's screams became louder, and the energy only increased. While he was absorbing Toichiro's energy, he managed to get faint glimpses of his memories, and could see it was his wife, someone he loved, who he wanted.

"You said you wanted to apologize to your wife, right? Then find her! Say it loud and clear!"

Shigeo didn't know whether or not this would work, or whether or not he would die absorbing this energy, but it didn't matter to him: right now, the only person on his mind was Tsubomi. "You have to! The same goes for me! I need to tell someone how I feel about them too!"

What Shigeo failed to realize was that his confession would have to wait a while. As the energy stored inside of Suzuki combined with Shigeo's psychic power which was elevated to 100%, something insane was happening. As the two powerful energy sources clashed and combined within Mob's body, the insurmountable energy created a rift which broke through the very fabric of space and time.

Shigeo nor Toichiro could have ever imagined that their psychic powers would be strong enough to tear through reality. The white energy around Shigeo began to change into multiple colors, forming many different textures around him. Then, the young esper screamed, and with a brilliant final flash of light, Shigeo Kageyama was sent through the timespace rift and into another dimension. And little did this dimension know the kind of power and change that was coming its way.

"Come back here, you crook!" In a city that had just dealt with some bothersome villains, a sludge-like monster was sprinting through the city. This monster was merely a criminal with a quirk that allowed his body to turn into sludge, which gave him several useful features and allowed him to carry the money he stole in the folds of his sludge body.

"HAHAHA! Too late now, suckers! I've got your cash, and there's nothing you can do about it!" As this villain continued sprinting through the city, the bystanders watching this were shocked by how no resistance was being mounted to stop this villain.

"Hey, how come there aren't any heroes stopping this guy?"

"Doesn't make sense."

"I guess it's because of all the drama that unfolded with that villain from this morning."

"Guess he's just gonna get away."

A group of three civilians were conversing among themselves. Behind them, an ordinary man with a very frail figure, a white t-shirt and baggy green pants had just finished purchasing some groceries. But this ordinary man had an absolutely astounding secret. If these three men had decided to turn around, they would have discovered the man behind them beginning to bulk up his entire body, managing to gain a few feet in height.

"No, he will not," the man said, overhearing the conversation the three citizens were having. They turned around, and gasped: standing before them, the number one hero, All Might, was ready to get into action. "Do you know why?"

The sludge villain turned his head when he heard the sound of someone rapidly approaching him, and he felt he was about to faint.

"Because I am here!"

Walking home alone, Izuku Midoriya reminisced on the day when he learned he didn't have a quirk, the day when his mother didn't tell him the words he needed to hear. "Why couldn't you understand that?" said Midoriya, "Was it so hard?"

But the quirkless boy would STILL not let the lack of faith from others and the seemingly large obstacles in his way stop him from achieving his dream. "I can't let Bakugo get to me! Whether he cares or not, my dream of becoming a hero is a part of me, and I can't just let that part of me be silent! So to hell with what he says! I'll be a hero, whether he or anyone else thinks I can't! And I'll do it with a smile, just like All Might!"

Out of the blue, Izuku was rocked by a sudden loud burst. In a field of grass to his right, the young boy saw some sort of sphere of energy appear out of nowhere.

"Whha-wha-What is that?"

This sphere of energy was emanating all sorts of colors and shooting out some sort of lightning. The power of this thing was enough to knock Midoriya off of his feet and create strong gusts of wind. But wait! Midoriya squinted, and noticed a humanoid form in the center of this sphere. He clutched his heart and squealed. "A villain! Some sort of villain is here!" The young boy quickly got up to his feet and prepared to sprint. "I have to run and call for help, or else I'll be-"

Midoriya stopped his sprint when the sphere of energy began to quickly run out of energy. Once this happened, the young student was able to get a better look at exactly who it was inside that sphere of energy, and whether or not it was a villain he recognized. Well, his guesses were proven very wrong: not only was it not a villain inside of that sphere, it wasn't even an adult. It looked like... a kid!

"That's... a kid? He... he looks like he's my age!" Once the light completely faded around this unknown child, he could clearly see the school uniform he wore, as well as the tears on that uniform and the blood running down his arm. For a moment, this unknown person just stood perfectly still with his eyes looking aimlessly into the sky. Then, he fell to his knees and passed out cold on the ground.

Izuku Midoriya was unsure what to think of this. He cautiously walked toward this stranger, making sure to be alert and to be prepared for any surprises. When he finally stood over this young man's body, he very slowly reached for his arm and turned him so his face was looking up.

"Who are you?"