Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 36 ~ Part 2||

The skin along her right arm pinched as it did earlier when she created the blanket. An image formed in her mind. "Do you have any fire magic left?"

Todoroki shifted. He drew in a deep breath. His lips pressed into a firm line as though he were pulling on his last reserves. He probably was. "I don't know. Maybe an attack. Not much. Not enough to defeat him."

Momo nodded. "That will have to be enough." Her arm glittered, and a sealed spherical clay pot pushed through her skin. "I'm going to throw this. Then I need you to release all the magic you have left when I tell you," Momo instructed, already positioning herself.

Todoroki gave her an incredulous look but didn't comment as the ice around the god's feet shattered. Shigaraki was free.

Momo launched the sealed pot towards the god.

"Do you think this will stop me?" The god scoffed. He reached out towards the sealed pot. Black magic erupted along his fingertips.

"Todoroki!"

She heard Todoroki hiss, then scalding heat burst from behind her. Blood red and yellow flames of magic whooshed past her side and towards the god.

"How foolish." Shigaraki sneered. He realigned his focus from the pot towards the flames. Black magic seeped from his fingertips.

It was impossible, but for a moment, it felt as though time slowed when Todoroki's magic slammed into him. Momo watched, heart in her throat, as the sealed pot above Shigaraki's head shattered. A white powder rained down onto the god. Then Kronos' time resumed.

Shigaraki screamed.

His body lit up like a torch in Hephaestus' forge. Embers of amber, cobalt, and rust greedily consumed the powder coating the god's arms and traveled up towards his face, engulfing him. Transforming him.

Shigaraki stumbled backwards. Black magic shot out of his hands, disintegrating everything it touched as the god writhed around blindly, but the flames wouldn't let up. The embers burned brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the god's screams died. His thrashing slowed. And Momo watched, almost too afraid to breathe, as Shigaraki dropped to the floor.

The black magic froze its destructive thrashing and retracted. It slid over the god's body like sludge, cocooning around the god's burnt corpse and sucking up the flames until all that was left was an orb of darkness and a disturbing stillness.

Momo's heart pounded in her ears as she waited. The dark magic didn't move. Was it over?

The smell of burnt flesh stung Momo's nose as she strained to listen for any indication of movement. There was a muffled sound in the distance, but it was too far away to discern clearly. If Momo were to guess, she'd say it sounded like someone running at an incredible speed, but she didn't have the energy or strength to speculate. All Momo knew was that it wasn't related to Shigaraki.

The god was defeated. The battle was finally over.

Momo let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and pressed a hand to the middle of her chest. Her body shook with relief and intense exhaustion.

Todoroki sank to the ground next to her, panting.

"Flour?" he asked after a moment. His voice was weak.

Momo inhaled slowly and nodded. "Yes. If we'd only relied on your magic, Shigaraki could have absorbed the flames or dodged them. We needed a way to ensure your magic reached him. Fire is naturally attracted to alcohol and flour. It was the best idea I could come up with."

Todoroki nodded. "It was a good plan."

Despite her exhaustion, Momo couldn't help the swell of pride that expanded in her chest. She looked down at Todoroki. He knelt on the ground, spent. His hand trembled as he held onto his sword for support. The blood on his chiton had darkened.

Momo frowned. "Let me take a look at your wound."

She sank down onto her knees in front of Todoroki. Her skin sparkled. A wave of lightheadedness passed over her that Momo ignored.

Withdrawing cloth from her skin, she pressed the fabric against Todoroki's side. "I'll do a temporary patch for now. We'll need to clean and dress it once we've found shelter." Momo looked up. "Fuyumi should be able to enter now, I'd imagine -"

"Do you think that would defeat a god?"

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Happy Holidays everyone! Thank you for reading and supporting this story! :D I'll be taking the rest of the year off of writing for the holidays. 

Have a wonderful holiday (no matter what you celebrate!) and a happy new year! I'll see you in 2024. <3