𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗦 ⌈𝐈⌔𝐌 ✗ 𝔽!𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹⌋

Chapter 079

CHAPTER 79: Beyond the Flames

The dorm was quiet-eerily so. Even the hum of everyday life at Heights Alliance seemed to have vanished as every student in Class 1-A sat, stood, or leaned in toward the common room's large television. The news broadcast had taken over every channel. A red emergency banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen, the word "LIVE" flashing in the corner. The image: a burning skyline, smoke choking the night sky, and two professional heroes locked in a battle that could determine the future of Japan's hero society.

Endeavor, the current number one hero, hovered high above the city, his flames casting a blazing glow against the steel and glass of surrounding buildings. His opponent loomed massive and terrible: a High-End Nomu, far more powerful and intelligent than anything the students had seen during the U.S.J. attack or even during the Shie Hassaikai raid.

You sat beside Izuku, your hand unconsciously gripping his. His fingers squeezed back tightly, knuckles white with tension. "This Nomu... it's nothing like the others," he muttered. "It's regenerating even faster than the ones at U.S.J."

You could barely breathe. Each time Endeavor struck, searing flames erupting with devastating force, the Nomu endured. Flesh stitched itself back together, muscle regrew before their eyes. The sheer endurance of the monster felt impossible.

On screen, Hawks swooped through the air, red feathers dancing like blades as he sliced through falling debris and helped evacuate civilians. His movements were fluid, graceful-a crimson blur weaving through the chaos-but the focus remained on Endeavor. This was his fight. His trial.

"He's flying using his flames," Momo noted softly, her analytical eyes narrowing. "He's shaping the output from his feet and back for propulsion... That must take an insane amount of control."

"He's not flying," Katsuki scoffed from the couch behind you. "He's falling. Aggressively."

"Kacchan..." Izuku sighed, but even he couldn't deny the truth. Endeavor was struggling. Each of his blows, no matter how powerful, was met with relentless resistance. The Nomu wasn't just strong-it was evolving, strategizing, adapting. Every time Endeavor increased his output, the Nomu countered with new abilities. Its arms split apart into bladed tendrils; it fired off spikes from its back; it moved with terrifying agility despite its massive size.

You glanced toward Shoto, who sat frozen, eyes glued to the screen. His expression was unreadable-a mix of concern, doubt, and something deeper. A shadow of the past.

"Todoroki..." you said gently.

"I know what everyone's thinking," he murmured, not taking his eyes off the screen. "They want him to prove he deserves to be number one. But right now... I just don't want to see him die."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Suddenly, Endeavor's flames surged into a twisting inferno, his body spiraling upward in a column of fire. "Prominence Burn!" the hero roared, unleashing a jet of white-hot flames toward the Nomu.

The students leaned forward in unison, hearts hammering.

The blast engulfed the Nomu-and for a heartbeat, it looked like it might be over.

But as the flames cleared, the creature still stood. Charred. Smoking. Regenerating.

"No way..." Denki whispered, his voice hollow.

Minoru's eyes bulged. "That thing is still alive?!"

"It's... it's even stronger than before," Izuku breathed.

The Nomu lunged. In a blur of motion, it closed the distance and slammed Endeavor through the side of a high-rise, the force of impact shattering windows across the block. Blood splattered across the screen.