A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 4: Up the Dragon Tower

This was the first time Izuku had seen a living creature regenerate after being bifurcated from shoulder to waist. He was certain he hadn't missed the monster's heart, an organ most beings need to survive.

Izuku might've drawn his sword before the duel when he assumed the monster only had super strength—super speed being a component of super strength because of the force involved.

"What's the matter? Can't stand up against Nomu?" The handy man cackled as he gloated like a madman. "Super strength isn't just his quirk. He also has regeneration."

Now this was news to him. Last he heard from research studies from quirk analysts before he got sent to The Lands Between, a person couldn't hold two or more quirks because of incompatibilities. Sure, there were instances of some people dual quirks or even multi-faceted quirks, but they mostly stem from the same source.

It wasn't impossible for someone to have both super strength and regeneration, but the handyman mentioned a second quirk. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that the monster had more than two quirks.

What if super strength and regeneration weren't just its quirks? What if it was tacked on with even more quirks?

That was a scenario he dreaded to picture. Just imagining the mind-boggling amount of human experimentation, one must've done to create such a being was horrifying. The less said about the victims, the better.

Izuku gripped All Strike's handle tighter and hefted it over his shoulder. Spine straight and legs tensed, Izuku looked at the regenerating monster, combing all over its body in search of a weakness.

Admittedly, Izuku was a bit of a dunce for not realizing it sooner. Its brain was exposed., something he didn't notice when they were locked in melee combat.

It was time to rectify that.

"Oh? Mini-boss is still trying to fight the Nomu? It's useless! Useless!" Handy man continued cackling like his weaponized monster was invincible, but if there was one thing Izuku was sure of, is that invincibility did not exist.

He's killed Godric, the Grafted. A demi-god.

This monster in front of him was but an ant against that horrible experience.

Calling upon his dragon incantation once more, his left hand transformed into that of a dragon's claw. He charged towards the regenerating monster, already having attached itself together and mending its wounds. Its beady eyes glared lifelessly at him, and it roared.

Its shriek was loud enough, it managed to ring inside Izuku's ears, but it didn't stop his frontal assault. He brought his dragon claw up, and the monster stood defiantly against the enlarged appendage.

It prepared to catch the falling dragonclow, but here the monster made a mistake. Izuku had another weapon in hand.

All Strike sliced upwards, amputating one of its arms. Blood leaked out of the wound, but the monster paid in no mind. It began bubbling again, muscles beginning to take shape of a muscled, black arm.

But it was too late. With only a single arm meeting against the dragonclaw, its defenses broke, and the sharp claws tore through its body again. This time, it went through both of its shoulders and the middle of its head.

The monster split into four parts, blood and gore gushing out of the fatal wounds. Brain matter splattered on the ground, and for once, the handy man was silent as he witnessed the death of his weapon.

All was silent for a moment, and Izuku stared at the gored corpse, waiting for the time it regenerated again.

It didn't.