Summit

I activated Azure Dragon's Ascension and could feel as my energy was sapped from my body, leaving me with less than half of my MP bar. The skill seemed to keep taking more and more and more, until it sapped from a level deeper than just my MP bar.

However, unlike my Plasma transformation, it stopped. And when it stopped, I was filled with a raging storm of energy that would certainly erupt if I didn't figure out how to use it.

The mana I could see under the vision of Vasukak I could now interact beyond the use of my hands. I feel like I could push it together with my thoughts, like how my elemental skills would interact with the surrounding area.

My new skill didn't grant my incredibly strength, durability, or speed. Beyond the increased mana attack damage and speed, it granted me one ability that would allow me to win this fight.

I let out a nonchalant sigh before a purple spear of swirling energy formed behind Midnight. The weapon rushed towards the Pro-Hero, spurred on by my silent orders. The spear cut through the air and almost slammed into Midnight's side, only for her to just barely dodge out of the way, getting slightly scraped by the attack.

Blood spurt from her new wound, the only real wound I'd made on her this entire battle.

This was the most powerful ability I had to date. With the ability to create my attacks beyond the limits of my hands, I could barrage my enemies with attacks from every direction without moving.

Three Mana Blast's soared towards Midnight, their enhanced power not increasing their size or decreasing their speed. In fact, their speed increased with my new skill.

The three attacks became blurs of powerful energy, all of them rushing towards different places on Midnight's body.

The Pro-Hero seemed to catch onto my new skill rather quickly, choosing to dodge my attacks rather than defending against them. She tried running from my attacks, but they moved fast.

She grabbed her arm, clearly deliberating over something. She flipped over one of my attacks before barely dodging under another and twisting out of the way of the last one.

The biggest problem with a skill like this one was the overwhelming amount of MP it would cost. I didn't rush in to meet Midnight because Azure Dragon's Ascension when stacked atop of Mana Javelin and three Mana Blasts was… draining enough. I didn't know if my physical skills were worth adding on top of that.

I peaked into my Inventory, noting the six mana crystals I had in there. Two of them would equal a full heal and with the time limit I was on I couldn't risk taking a loss now.

I prepared myself to Dash towards Midnight, but I blinked and suddenly she had the same plans as me. She faced me head-on, a fist launching towards me before I could react.

The Mana Blasts were still chasing her, but if I were here, it'd make sense to think I would have to pull the blasts away. She thought quickly, as expected of a Pro-Hero of her caliber.

Her fist slammed into my mask, certainly breaking bones underneath Vasukak. I stood my ground, pushed backward but stayed rooted in the ground.

I smiled despite the HP lost, forcing the three Mana Blasts to combine into one blast, then compressing that blast and turning it into a super-powered Mana Javelin.

I didn't even know I could do that, but I didn't give it much thought. I had other things to focus on.

Midnight tried to flee, leaping back. Her back slammed directly into my attack, and before she could react, I tried to pull the javelin straight through her.

To my surprise, she barely dodged my attack, the spear flying through her arm before it disappeared, having faced its use.

Blood flowed from the wound, dripping onto the ground nonstop. Midnight swayed in her spot, clearly trying to stay standing despite her injuries. She took half a step back, stumbling and panting before she shook her head.

My eyes stayed entirely focused on Midnight, trying to understand something.

She hadn't used her Quirk once yet.

It was unusual.

Midnight's fighting style―her use of her whip, her agility over strength, and her way of keeping distance between herself and her enemies―was all built to assist her Quirk, which was named Somnambulist.

It would forcefully put her opponents to sleep by exuding a sleep-inducing aroma from her skin. It even worked more effectively on men, but she wasn't using it.

I didn't know if her Quirk could even work on me at all, but I really wasn't trying to see if it could. I needed to win this fight, not satiate my curiosity.

I readied myself to leap towards Midnight before I could feel my MP reaching dangerously low levels. I took a moment to let it heal naturally, trying to desperately conserve my numbered mana crystals.

As if to answer my curiosity, Midnight spoke up.

"I didn't want to leave those children without anyone to look after them, but I clearly cannot afford to let you get away. This is your end!" She yelled, a purple mist filling the area with astonishing speed.

I didn't attempt to jump back or move, staying firmly planted in my spot as I Observed Midnight.

There had to be a reason why she was unwilling to use it, and at first, I felt like her words were odd, but they made a lot of sense after checking her status screen.

Her Quirk had recently had an odd "growth spurt" and she couldn't control it with the same efficiency as before. Now it'd affect her enemies, her allies, and even herself.

But… would it affect me?

As if to respond to my question, an admittedly worrying notification appeared.

[Time until forced unconsciousness: 1 minute and 58 seconds.]

I could barely hold back a sigh.

I was already on a strict time limit with heroes arriving, but this basically guaranteed that I'd lose everything if I couldn't win in time. And I had to win in less than 2 minutes, which was brutal.

Well, that just sounded like an average Tuesday to me.

I think I've been in more high-stake fights more than not, so I'm pretty sure I'll manage.

I crushed two of my mana crystals, throwing away all worries in hopes of succeeding at all.

My feet left the ground as soon as my power came back to me, pushing me with more strength than I could handle. I could feel my HP drop in response, but I didn't hesitate to push even more.

Midnight leapt back, jumping to the top of the ice dome behind her. She was about to leap back again but I was faster. Or maybe… she'd gotten slower. Far slower than she was at the beginning of this fight.

As seven sticky orbs of mana began forming in the air, I steeled my nerves.

My Pop-Off balls were off limits for the mission because I didn't want Minoru Mineta to be connected to this situation in the slightest, but I only had one good try in a situation like this one and I wasn't particularly willing to give it away.

The Pop-Off orbs latched onto Midnight's arms, head, back, and legs before pulling her down onto the ice dome with a thought. She was trapped onto the ice, and I had no plans of giving this one up.

I kept her pushed down with Electricity Manipulation, Air Manipulation, and Azure Dragon's Ascension as I soared through the air.

Several Pop-Off balls appeared before me and I was quick to use them as steppingstones, held up by my skills and powered by Ascension. I reangled myself and launched up high into the sky, feeling the falling sun's incredible heat bouncing off my skin.

My Pop-Off balls floated perfectly, waiting to be used. My feet pressed hard against them as I readied my body to rocket downwards, but I didn't shoot off just yet.

As I hung upside down within the sky, meeting eyes with Midnight, I could see the mana in the air around her fading.

Powerful mana blasts filled the air, raining down onto the trapped Pro-Hero. When they completely covered her figure, I was about to move then―

[You have activated Azure Dragon's Ascension for 100 seconds!]

[Due to this, you've received the title "Azure Dragon's Vessel!"]

I could feel my MP falling to zero, so I equipped the title and crushed two more of my mana crystals.

I could feel an odd pain shoot through my body, seeming to force some of my body outwards in a way that couldn't have been safe if not for Gamer's Body.

I could feel my canines growing as my fingernails extended into something that could only be classified as talons. My fingers were covered in purple scales, soft to the touch but certainly hard to crack.

A thin, scaly tail moved as if it was another arm, and I wrapped the tail around my waist, trying to ignore it for the time being.

The changes probably should've shocked me into silence or caused me to ask more questions, but if there was anything I'd learned as I trained and got used to my Quirk it was that the only questions worth asking were the questions that I could possibly get answers for.

Things like this just aren't worth questioning, at least, not at a moment like now.

I pulled myself back to reality.

As I launched myself off the Pop-Off balls, using not only all my skills to assist me, but calling upon the wind, sea, and storms as well, I Mana Empowered my body, using the Ascension's buff to enhance my speed and power, and I pulled myself towards Midnight with everything I could muster.

For just a moment, it felt like I had all the time in the world before my body came rocketing down towards the earth with power, I wasn't sure I could control.

My fist slammed into Midnight's face, pushing her and myself right through the ice dome and into the asphalt below.

Air rushed out in all directions as I could feel my certainly broken fist healing back up.

I didn't even take a step back as I stood up, the ice dome shattering around me.

I looked down at Midnight, confident that she was unconscious, and began walking towards Manami.

Did I feel bad for certainly breaking several bones in Midnight's body and putting her through enough pain to put her out of being a Pro-Hero for a while? Yes, certainly.

But I could also tell that she'd be strong enough to survive. If I didn't want her to be stuck like that, I'd just sneak into her hospital room and heal her later, problem solved.

I'd be needing to work on my recovery skill anyways, for Kazuho's sake.

Just as I bent down to take Manami into my arms―

"…Don't… hurt… her…!"

Midnight's voice, tired, strained, and pained called out to me. As if I hadn't just hit her hard enough to send most other Pro-Heroes to meet their maker, she slowly crawled to her feet. She was coughing, swaying, and probably couldn't see straight, but she still had a fire in her eyes only fitting of Pro-Heroes.

"I… won't let you take her away! I'll die before I―" Midnight couldn't finish as she barely held herself up.

"Sit still, hero. Poison is rushing through your veins. It would be best to sit this one out," I told her, and my words held no lies.

Every single one of my attacks was assisted by Poison Affliction. Every mana attack, every punch, even the wind that rushed past her was filled with poison, and even in small doses, poison was dangerous.

"The hole in your arm is especially bad. Don't move and you'll―" I flipped around, reaching my hand out and grabbing Midnight by her face.

"You won't… succeed…!" Midnight growled.

I formed a small ring of mana around her stomach, hooking her onto the wall of the opposing building.

"You're a good Pro-Hero, you truly are. Now, let go," I ordered and through a combination of the insane blood loss, the poison, the broken bones, and the exhaustion she faced from fighting Tomura earlier, she finally fell unconscious.

[You have leveled up.]

The levels were a night gift, but I was waiting for something much, much more important.

In under a minute I'd need to find the Primordial crystal and take Manami to her house without getting caught. Recognizing the impossibility of that, I sent Dabi a message, telling him where I'd be and what to do.

I didn't give him much explanation, but I trusted him to figure it out. He was pretty smart from time to time.

With that handled, I was about to take a step towards Midnight's unconscious body, but I could see the mana around her swelling. It swirled around her before suddenly stopping and being pulled into one place.

In no time, a purple Primordial Crystal appeared above Midnight, floating in front of her. I tried to pull it towards me with some help from Electricity Manipulation, but it didn't affect the crystal in the slightest.

Noting that as odd, I shot from my spot and snatched the crystal from the air before stuffing it into my Inventory. I was back at Manami's side before gravity took hold of me.

I picked her up and leaped onto the nearest building.

With every step I Flew as far as I could, and I could feel relief wash over my body as I say Dabi and Gentle in the distance, rushing towards us at high speeds.

"I'm… glad," I let out, before I could feel the effects of Midnight's Quirk begin to settle in. Dabi jumped into the air and was launched by what I could assume was Gentle's Quirk.

"Damn it, you trust me too much…!" Dabi groaned, catching the falling Manami out of my arms.

"I'm glad I can," I smiled.

And for the first time since I'd received The Gamer as a secondary Quirk, I fell unconscious.

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