A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 40: Undead Horde

"The fuck were those things?" Katsuki pointed at the mangled body of what was once a puppet he had exploded into pieces. The crossbows it used were collateral from explosion radius, bits of wood and metal scattering around the floor.

"First time fighting those things?" Izuku's amused grin didn't help wonders for Katsuki's increasingly irate mood. "I don't know what they're called, just know that they're a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, I saw that." Katsuki grouched, his boot coming up to stomp the intact head of one of the puppets without remorse. His hand came up to his neck, his fingers rubbing against it. "Fucking hell, nearly had a bolt clip through my neck."

"Anyway, let's tie this one right next to those outside. At least he'll have company when he wakes up." Izuku approached the downed sorcerer, All Strike laying right beside him. During his charge against the other puppet, Izuku had thrown his trusty zweihander – pommel first – directly into the face of the sorcerer. He didn't want to skewer the poor man, plus, he thought it was funny.

Grabbing the unnamed sorcerer by the scruff of his neck, he dragged the man across the floor, the carpet and his silky robes ensuring his poor rump didn't get scratched from the friction. Once outside, they gave him the same treatment as the other two, then went back inside the building.

"This way." Izuku gestured towards the left side of the hall, leading into a corridor that went both ways. A hint of gold caught his eyes heading left and he immediately pursued, leaving Katsuki a bit confused at the sudden act. At the end of the hall, he found another Site of Grace. It was just as warm and soothing as all the others.

"Izuku? The hell you doin'?" Katsuki followed him, his boots stomping along the concrete floor.

"Just found something." Izuku replied while holding out a hand in front of the Site of Grace. Katsuki was clearly confused as to what the armored greenette was doing, but this wasn't the first time he'd seen him doing this.

It was a point of curiosity for the ash blond whenever he saw Izuku doing this in one seemingly random place. But with how many times he'd done this during the past week, he'd gotten used to it already.

Doesn't mean it didn't confuse the hell out of him every time he did that.

Izuku felt his hand tingle at the sudden surge of warmth coming from the Site of Grace, his lips threatening to split his face in two as his chest heaved up and down in a slow and relaxed manner. Slowly getting on a knee, his worries all washed away, as the only thing his eyes and body could focus on was the Site of Grace once lost, now found once more.

"Whooo... That felt good." Izuku grinned, his hand waving around the golden Grace hovering above the ground, bobbing up and down as motes golden light orbited around. There was also a streak of golden aura trailing above and into a ceiling, guiding him to his journey's end... for this place at least. "Didn't expect to find one here, and it's been too long since I've seen another."

"Find what?" Katsuki suddenly popped up from behind him and Izuku had to stop himself from beheading the ash blond due to his instincts.

"Not really important to you..." Izuku started, only to trail off for a bit. "Actually, maybe it is. This spot right here, if for some reason I die, head back here and wait until I revive. Also, grab my bottomless box, it has all of our supplies inside so you won't go hungry."

"... Riiight... How long should I wait exactly?" Katsuki crossed his arms and Izuku hummed for a bit, before he snapped his fingers.

"Maybe about a day or two, up to a week." Izuku concluded, only to get a quick outburst from the ash blond.