Chapter 39: A Blaze in Scarlet Silence

As that blade slashed through the air, the flames surrounding Nietono no Shana instantly dimmed. Fire scattered like embers drifting through the sky, and the weapon returned to its normal form.

"Hah… let's hope that did the trick…"

Sensing that her transformation was nearing its limit, Konata didn't bother trying to locate the three villains in the sea of fire below. She immediately used the crimson wings on her back to avoid the remaining flames and descended to the lakeside.

But before she could fully land, searing pain from her knee caused her body to falter. Midoriya Izuku quickly caught her in a panic.

"…Can you let go now?"

Konata muttered with a twitch in her lips, clearly annoyed.

It wasn't because she was embarrassed or anything—being cradled like that just felt plain awkward. She hadn't even hugged Shana herself before!

"Your leg's badly hurt… Let me support you," Midoriya offered, gently helping her stand.

"You seriously think they're gone that easily? A space-type Quirk user's best skill is escaping," Konata said, exhaling heavily as she let Midoriya help her.

She turned her gaze toward the slowly dissipating fire ahead.

Those small-time thugs were smart—they'd fled together the moment she began fighting Nomu. They even carried off their unconscious allies, showing surprising team spirit.

Now, the plaza was completely empty—except for the two of them.

"But that warp Quirk clearly takes a bit of activation time. Unlike a certain creepy teleporting esper... Otherwise, we really would have died back there," Konata said with a bitter chuckle. "You can still move, right?"

"…I can still fight!"

Midoriya looked at his own hand and clenched it tightly, determination burning in his eyes.

"Great. Then I need you to run—now. They're targeting me. I'll hold them off. Aizawa-sensei has already been rescued, so it's just a matter of time before the teachers arrive. You just need to last until then."

Her eyes never left the fiery wreckage ahead as she spoke.

"Konata… you—!"

Only now did Midoriya realize something was off. The temperature around her had suddenly skyrocketed. The air shimmered with a deep red glow, and countless tiny crimson particles swirled around the girl.

The heat was so intense that Midoriya had to let go and stumble back into the lake.

"You what? Don't you realize how many times you've interrupted my skills now!?" Konata snapped, rolling her eyes.

"If you screw up my ultimate again, I swear I'm done with you!!"

Midoriya: "…"

Despite the crisis, Konata's complaints weirdly defused the tension. The atmosphere just wouldn't stay serious around her.

Midoriya clenched his fists as he watched the girl—standing there, blood still pouring from a deep, bone-exposing wound in her knee. Yet she stood firm on one leg as if the pain didn't exist, stubbornly telling him to run while she stayed behind…

If only he had better control of One for All… if only she didn't have to protect him…

Just then, a black silhouette burst from the burning wreckage and hurtled straight toward them.

"I've been waiting for you!!"

With a cold smirk, Konata raised Nietono no Shana again.

"Judgment!!"

At her shout, the red particles surged toward the blade, reforming it into the massive sword from before. With a sweeping motion, she brought it down in a powerful arc.

One clean strike—Nomu was sliced completely in two.

"It's not over yet. Now comes the real finale… Heaven Rends, Earth Shatters!!"

With Konata's cry, a scorching wind swept through the entire USJ arena. In that instant, flames erupted from thin air like a volcanic explosion, engulfing the entire plaza in a sea of fire.

The flames, stretching more than ten meters into the sky, boiled like a tidal wave of magma. Everything was consumed—earth turned to gleaming crystal under the intense heat, and the very air twisted in the inferno.

Nomu, who was almost finished regenerating, writhed for only a moment before the overwhelming damage outpaced his healing. He was reduced to nothing but ash.

Amid the blaze, one figure stood—unfaded, unshaken.

A girl with flame-colored eyes, holding a fiery greatsword, crimson hair fluttering like a banner in the firestorm.

Standing knee-deep in water, Midoriya could only watch her in awe—this girl, this "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" warrior. Something in his chest stirred.

"The toughest one's finally down…"

As she watched Nomu disintegrate into ash, Konata let out a long sigh of relief, exhaustion washing over her.

"If I remember right, Shana didn't die after using this move in the anime…"

She mumbled that last bit to no one in particular.

A moment later, her transformation was forcibly canceled due to the time limit. The flaming sword and firestorm vanished along with Nietono no Shana. The wound in her knee reappeared, followed by the broken limbs from earlier.

Her body collapsed backward, completely spent.

Midoriya caught her in his arms.

"You…"

And that's when an icy, venomous voice rang out before them.

Shigaraki Tomura.

Twisting black mist gathered nearby as he and Kurogiri reappeared in front of them, eyes burning with rage.