CH. 11: The Monster Yearns The Abyss, The Demon Yearns Paradise

[Mountainside Musutafu, 11:11 AM JST]

3rd Person POV

Izuku and Bastrael were still in the air with their fists clashing, vibrating the air around them while making the pressure around them heavy. Izuku was growling in anger and pain, gritting his teeth as the pain from the clash and the drawback of his 'quirk' began to mix together. All the while ecstasy was clearly seen on Bastrael's face, grinning madly while drooping down his tongue as if he was mocking the burning teen in front of him.

"C'MON, IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?!" Bastrael mocked as bone-like jaws emerged from the wrist of his hand. The jaws then snapped down and clamped Izuku's fist inside, making the demonic teen scream in pain as he felt the teeth dug deep inside his wrist.

"GET STRONGER!" Bastrael grunted as he flailed his arm like a whip onto the ground below, causing Izuku to crash headfirst onto the dirt. Bastrael then shortened his hand like a grappling hook. He zipped down in a blink of an eye towards Izuku and socked the demonic teen in the face with a powerful right hook, causing him to crash onto multiple trees in the distance.

"SATISFY ME! MAKE ME FEEL THE THRILL OF BATTLE!" Bastrael shouted with frustration and hunger in his voice.

Bastrael bent down as his legs became spring-like, before blasting off towards where Izuku was at high speed, causing the ground below to crack and lift itself under the force of his jump. But as he arrived a few moments later, Izuku was no longer there, as only broken trees were seen by his eyes.

Bastrael's eyes began to move around at rapid speeds trying to find where the demonic teen went, but it was fruitless, as only trees, fire, and ashes were seen by his black orbs.

'Where did he-'

Bastrael's thought was caught off as an enormous amount of energy was then felt coming from above him. The red-haired demon widened his eyes and quickly turned around to face it, but he couldn't react fast enough to block the flaming fist that was coming at him. The fist then came into contact with Bastrael's left cheek, erupting an enormous shockwave and causing Bastrael to be launched at high speeds away from where they were.

Before Bastrael could land– or crash, onto the ground, in his eyes he caught the sight of Izuku flying towards him at insane speeds. A sinister smile formed on his face. He then licked his lips as if he was looking at a fine meal, and elongated his arms until it caught on a tree. He then zipped down and landed on it, turning his legs into springs, and leaped towards the demonic teen who was preparing his attack.

Bastrael then shot out his arms towards the darkette, elongating his hand while turning it into a clawed abomination as his fingers morphed into long, dangerously sharp steel blades. Seeing the threat zooming right at him, Izuku stopped charging his attack and made a sharp maneuver, executing an aileron roll and skillfully dodging the incoming attack in the nick of time, impressing the red-haired battle-crazed maniac.

"HAHA! WHAT REACTION TIME! THESE CLAWS CAN CUT EVERYTHING THAT'S LESS THAN 4 METERS FROM THEM, YET HERE YOU ARE DODGING IT LIKE AN ACROBAT!" With a gleeful smile, Bastrael stated.

Bastrael retracted his arm before cocking it back while inflating it until it became four times bigger, still in the air blasting towards the demonic teen he proclaimed his opponent.

Izuku, who was now only a few meters away from Bastrael began to concentrate his grey flames onto his palm. He then quickly swiped his hand upwards, sending a gust of wind that interrupted Bastrael as his arm deflated and became normal-sized again, flowing upwards as it was being carried by the wind. Seeing that he now had an opening since Bastrael's hands were open, Izuku cocked his right hand far back as he clenched his fist hard, grey flames bursting out aggressively as if it had a mind of its own.

'Sorry dad, gonna steal a move of yours for a sec.'

"SMASH!!" Izuku roared as he drove his fist straight onto Bastrael's gut, resulting in him spitting out droplets of blood from his mouth.

"Wha-" Bastrael's eyes were fixated on the blood he spewed out. He couldn't even form his sentence properly, as he was too shocked beyond belief seeing such a rare sight.

'I bled for the first time...'

He was then sent flying down towards the ground, crashing onto multiple trees before being embedded into the earth in an explosion of dirt and rubbles.

Without stopping to give Bastrael a moment to take a breather, Izuku appeared on top of the crash site with his left leg raised high, swirling with grey flames as he was ready to bring him back to his home in hell. But before he could deliver the–presumably, finishing blow, Bastrael suddenly appeared in front of him with a maniacal grin on his face, shocking the darkette by his speed.

"Hello there~."

'What the-?!'

Before Izuku could even attempt to guard himself, a thunderous kick struck his right side, sending him crashing at high speeds onto the ground, causing an explosion of rubbles, trees, and dirt to erupt.

Izuku spat out a rock that went inside his mouth and looked up to see Bastrael high in the air with a fighting stance, his crazed grin even wider than before. But then, a sudden shock struck the darkette's side. He flinched and put a hand on his right torso, which made it even worse as he jolted his body in pain.

"Gah! What the hell?!" Izuku growled as his 'quirk' dissipated into thin air, showing his bare body. A deep purple bruise was seen on his right torso, exactly on his right ribs. Seeing him deactivating his power, Bastrael's grin turned into a frown.

'He broke my ribs?! How?! I didn't even see his attack!' The thought began to race in the darkette's mind, as the feeling of fear began to creep up inside his consciousness like a stalking predator, silently gazing at its prey from the abyss.

"Oi, Oi, Oi c'mon now, is that all you got?! Show me that immense power you used against the witch earlier! Entertain me! Make my blood boil! Make my heart race! Make my body tremble in excitement! Satisfy me!! I spewed out blood for the first time and it's because of you! That's not the best you can do right?! You can make me bleed more right?!" Bastrael impatiently shouted at Izuku whose attention was still towards the deep bruise on his body, not yet satisfied with what he got. But instead, Bastrael yearned for it even more.

'Did the three UA students get away safely? I hope so... I was too focused on my opponent, I completely forgot about them. Thank god they didn't look injured. It seems that this guy wasn't even being serious towards them, or else they'd be dead right away judging by how fast he broke my ribs.' The darkette pondered before looking at Bastrael dead in the eyes with his red orbs.

In his vision, Izuku saw a raging, dark red aura emitting out of Bastrael as if it was an awoken monster, ready to flatten the earth upon its wake. It was far more sinister and powerful than anything he had ever felt before, far exceeding that of Vhesvia's. He felt his heart suddenly weighing him down, his skin shivering, and his fingers trembling as he gazed upon the red-haired demon.

'He's powerful. So powerful just looking at him makes my body shiver. Just one successful strike from him was enough to break my right ribs. I don't think I can fight him by myself, even if I let out my flames to my max output. I need somebody to fight together with me– no. That's selfish of me. I have to finish this on my own. I don't want more people to risk their lives for my sake.'

Izuku staggeredly got up to his feet, tumbling here and there trying to find his footing on the rocky crater he was in. After finally stabilizing his balance, Izuku adorned his own fighting stance, a Muay Thai stance.

Seeing his opponent get back on his feet ready to face him again, Bastrael's face contorted into that of happiness and excitement, as a wide-open smile formed on his lips.

"That's it! That's what I like to see! Let's fight until we're puddles of blood on the ground!" Bastrael said a little too giddily, slowly descending to the ground still with his hands raised in his fighting stance.

Izuku's 'quirk' began to emerge from his skin and began to cover his body up to his neck, coated in the grey flames that he relied on so much in just two days. He hissed in pain as all of his injuries began to pile on top of each other, from his bruises, his strained muscles, to his broken ribs, but he still endured it and kept his 'quirk' activated, full of vigilance so that if Bastrael wants to suddenly attack him, he'd be ready for it.

'I need to rely on my instincts more. I've been too analytical, and I use my head too much. As much as I hate to admit it, Bakugou's fighting style fits my quirk perfectly. My shoot style's also built for me to fight with rapid movements while striking my opponents with momentum-based strikes, inflicting heavy blows on my opponent while still being light on my feet.' Izuku thought to himself before relaxing his stance and turning it into a more flexible fighting stance. He closed his eyes for a moment while huffing smoke out of his mouth, before opening them back with his crimson eyes glowing brightly.

'Here he comes.'

As Bastrael's feet touched the ground, he immediately blasted off towards Izuku with both of his hands cocked back, enlarged until it was 100 times the size of regular hands. Bastrael then drove both of his fists forward, intending to strike Izuku with a double punch. But unfortunately for him, Izuku was no longer there as Bastrael's giant fists only hit the air. The unsuccessful strike then sent powerful gusts of wind forward, blowing the trees away.

'Did he get faster?' Bastrael thought a little surprised.

Out of nowhere, Izuku suddenly appeared right beside Bastrael with his right foot up in the air in a downwards roundhouse position. Bastrael widened his eyes as he felt Izuku's presence and quickly retracted his arms, bringing them over his head to block the incoming strike.

Izuku brought down his foot towards Bastrael while also swaying his hips to add even more force to the strike, grey flames bursting out so that the kick became even more powerful. Bastrael blocked the explosive strike, but the impact resulted in the ground below him cracking and lifting upwards as the force from Izuku's kick was pushing him downward.

Izuku quickly retracted his right foot while rotating his body in the air. He then brought his left leg up to his chest, and struck Bastrael with a back kick, sending him back a few meters away. Unfortunately, Bastrael's guard was still up as his feet were still planted on the ground.

'Dammit! I can't use my right too much or I'll make my injuries even worse.' Izuku thought as he landed on the ground.

'His movement is more fluid than before, but it lacks force. Maybe it's because of the injury? He also said to not destroy him too much, but He wanted me to enjoy myself a fight of a lifetime. But what's the point of excitement if there is nothing at stake?' Bastrael asked himself.

Izuku wasted no time and continued with his attack, blasting off towards Bastrael and striking him with a combination of punches. His body was positioned low near the ground, and his strikes were mostly aimed towards Bastrael's body. Unfortunately for him Bastrael only got pushed back, as he blocked and deflected all of Izuku's strikes, showing Izuku his experience in combat.

'I need to strike him with an even more diverse combination! Don't give him a chance to attack!' Izuku thought as he growled in frustration, seeing his strikes not bearing fruit at all.

Izuku grunted before planting his hands on the ground. He then lifted his legs and swung both of them towards Bastrael's left side. Bastrael didn't seem to be fazed and blocked the strike rather easily, but he certainly felt some force pushing him back as the ground on the opposite side of him cracked and got blown away by the shockwave.

Izuku used his hands and pushed himself into the air. He then began to rotate his body to the left, supported by the flames that burst from his back to give him more speed while also keeping himself in the air. He then began to rapidly spin in the air like a propeller. Then, using the centrifugal force and speed he created, he struck Bastrael with a powerful kick, breaking his seemingly impenetrable defense and making him stumble a few steps back.

'...What?' Bastrael thought in surprise seeing his seemingly impenetrable defense being broken

As soon as Izuku's feet touched the ground, he immediately blitzed towards Bastrael and attacked him with a flurry of punches that were faster than the eyes could see, bending low towards the ground to avoid getting hit by Bastrael's fists while also making it easier for the demonic teen to hit his target. Hooks, straights, uppercuts, jabs, he threw it all with no thought of stopping. Faster and faster he threw the punches, combinations after combinations he executed, Izuku followed his instinct and went with the flow. Grey flames emitting out of his fists so that he actually damages the opponent in front of him.

Bastrael was slowly getting overwhelmed by the unrelenting strikes that Izuku was sending him, slowly getting pushed back as he could only block or tank the strikes with his body. 'His fighting style is different than before. He's getting faster and faster! I think he's starting to become as fast as that blonde powerhouse earlier! I can also slowly feel the impact of his fists!' Bastrael thought as he kept moving away from the demonic teen, who relentlessly chased him while inflicting him with body shots while still being low on the ground.

'Don't mind the pain! Push through it!' Izuku motivated himself before driving a big uppercut to Bastrael's chin, who unfortunately dodged it in the nick of time. 'Perfect! He dodged it!' Izuku internally cheered. Turns out Bastrael dodging his uppercut was part of his plan.

Bastrael felt the impact of the uppercut, which was a powerful gust of wind, blowing right in front of his face, making him realize that if he didn't dodge that uppercut in time, he would've had blood flowing down his mouth. But there was one more thing that he realized as he looked at the streams of wind blowing right in front of his face,

'Ah, I knew it. This fight is gonna be the best.' A blissful smile formed on Bastrael's lips.

Still in his forward momentum, Izuku flipped over Bastrael while wrapping his hands on Bastrael's head. As he was upside down in the air grabbing Bastrael's head like it was some sort of stress ball, he rotated his legs so that when he fell to the ground, he's going to face the other way.

'Shit! My ribs hurt like hell! It could pierce my lung at any moment!' Izuku thought, gritting his teeth as sweat drips down his forehead. 'Don't you dare stop your legs from moving! Who says that I can have a moment to take a breather?! No one! Push through! Don't mind the pain! This doesn't even compare to the pain and suffering that the people are going through! DON'T YOU DARE FALTER WHEN YOU HAVEN'T ACHIEVED ANYTHING IZUKU MIDORIYA!!'

Then, as Izuku's feet touched the ground, his grey flames immediately exploded out of his body, making his strength skyrocket. Shouting with all his might, Izuku used his abdominal and overall strength to throw Bastrael forward in an overhead throw, sending the red-head demon flying at incredible speeds crashing through hundreds of trees in his path.

The force of his throw was enough to shatter and lift the ground below him, sending the rocks and rubbles away by the powerful gusts of wind he caused by the sheer power of his 'quirk'.

Bastrael came crashing down on a mountain far in the distance, caving in a huge portion of it as the impact of his crash was enough to destroy multiple city blocks. As the red-haired demon felt rubbles toppling over him like droplets of rain falling to the ground, a small chuckle escaped from his mouth. In his mind, he began to wonder...

~OOO~

Bastrael POV

'Heh, fuckin' hell... He's something else, that boy.

The feelings I've lost... I've longed for it to resurface for a long time.

Countless battles and wars I've been through, hoping for someone to rekindle the flames that had dissipated even before I could barely remember anything.

It's alien to me, yet I yearned for it like it was the most precious thing in the world that even the greatest treasures of Ed'aorth couldn't compare to.

Emotions... Feelings...

It is unfamiliar, yet whenever I gaze at it... it feels as if it was the very thing that was missing from deep within me.

It was as if I was yearning for the abyss itself... for it to envelop me in its mysterious, alluring, ...beautiful embrace. For it to seep inside me and rest inside this empty shell I call myself.

For me to be whole.

Yet for some reason which purpose is still unknown, covered deep within the noir-colored tenderness lies something that I should dread, something that could destroy me from deep inside my beating heart if I was careless...

...and yet...

This human boy... gave me more thrill than anyone I've ever faced.

Me, The Stone-cold Reaper from The Red Field, The Vanguard of Delzalredd who slaughters whole armies with an emotionless face...

I, Bastrael, one of the [§⅋;#\@ʓ] had more thrill and excitement fighting a human than anything else...

Hah, how low have I stooped down?

No... I didn't stoop down...

It's just that the boy is powerful...

Powerful enough to rekindle this forgotten, unknown, yet desired flame...

Powerful enough to urge the abyss to reach out to me, wrapping its cold, bone-chilling, eerie, yet somewhat... kind... arms around me.

Powerful enough to make my emotions... this unknown thing I've never felt before... resurface as if it was right here inside me this whole time.

...

..

.

I want more.'

~OOO~

Izuku POV

Immediately after I threw that red-haired guy far away from where I was, I began to pant like a dog, exhaling tiny clouds of smoke each time. I had no time to rest, I knew that, but suddenly, I felt a sharp pain coming from the right side of my torso. It was so unbearable, I instantly knelt down as my strength to stand immediately faded away. It felt like something was nudging my right lung, getting deeper and deeper as more air went inside my lungs. It took me no time to realize that a small, fractured part of my rib was the culprit.

I inwardly sighed before calming my breathing down. The feeling slowly started to fade away. But before I tried to stand up again, I tested the limit of how deep I can breathe, which was still in the safe area, making me exhale a sigh of relief.

'I somehow need to finish this up quick without anyone's help.' I thought to myself as I looked at my hands, muscles and veins bulging out as the result of me overusing my quirk too much. It felt like my hands were being stretched out, but it wasn't an unbearable feeling since I've felt a similar feeling before, lots and lots of times.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and gazed in the direction where I threw that red-haired person, clenching my fists while activating my quirk as grey flames exploded out of them.

'I can't rely on anybody else. I don't want them getting involved in this. I have to finish this by myself. I don't want any more lives getting hurt because of me... There are already so much...'

The feeling of guilt that keeps on looming over me began to creepily wrap its cold and dreadful fingers around my heart. I hated it. I hated it so much, but I couldn't do anything about it. I could only accept it. No, accepting it is not the right term. I could only live with it.

-You should have never been born.-

The same dreadful saying began to echo inside my head again.

'I know that... I know that, dammit... I hate myself because of it.'

As the saying kept on going, darkness slowly began to surround me, making me not aware of my surroundings. As black enveloped me, coldness soon followed. The fighting spirit I had began to dissipate, and my flames followed right after. Like a pathetic child, I wrapped my arms around my knees and tucked my head between my knees and my chest.

'It's cold...' I thought to myself, bringing my knees up closer to my chest, hoping that the little warmth I had doesn't go away.

'Mom... dad... Ochako... it's cold...' My feeble 14-year old mind called out, yearning for their loving embrace. My voice echoed, yet no other voice echoed back to me.

-The destiny bestowed upon you is both a curse and a blessing.-

'Please, stop... whoever is talking to me... I don't wanna hear it right now. It's noisy...' I tiredly uttered to the void. Tired of it all.

-Death is not an option. Your only option is to suffer as you move forward.-

I sighed in defeat. I wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them even closer to my chest. My right ribs were broken, but I didn't care nor think about it at the moment. The cold numbed me of my pain. I didn't even think about the intense fight that I just had. Guilt washed that all away. I closed my eyes as despair and hopelessness were the only things left.

I felt lonely.

'I never asked to be born with such fate.'

'I know right?~ Maaan, I should've jumped off the roof like what 'Kacchan' said to me~... This whole thing wouldn't've happened in the first place if I did that!~ This sucks!'

An unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke. I slowly opened my eyes and saw dark-red rubies staring right through my being, sending chills down my spine.

The person in front of me had a dead-pale complexion. He was so pale, almost all of his veins were visible to my eyes. It was as if I was looking at an untouched corpse.

An unkempt, black mop of hair similar to mine was on top of his head. The scleras surrounding his pupils were also black, making it look like the two red rubies were floating in mid-air.

But as soon as I saw those freckles, the feeling of utter shock and terror began to overtake me, as I finally realized who I was facing.

I was looking at myself.

'What's poppin' good lookin'?~ Your inner demon here~...' The other me uttered before a maniacal grin formed on his face.

[11:20 AM JST]

To be continued.