Chapter 60: The Great Fear
Mountain Disaster Area
"Ah!!"
"They're here!!"
Two sharp female voices pierced through the air, the sound echoing across the rocky terrain. The villains, who had been teleported in advance, sneered as they looked up at Kaminari, Momo, and Kyoka, who were in free fall.
"This isn't good!" Kaminari thought, realizing the danger. Acting quickly, he activated his Quirk, his body surging with golden electricity. Twisting mid-air, he spread his arms wide, grabbing the panicked Momo and Kyoka, one on each side, pulling them close.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Just below them, a villain with two dog heads for hands grinned wickedly, ready to strike.
"Future Heroes? Even better!" he snarled. "Regret your choice to become heroes in your final moments, kids!"
With lightning speed, the villain's dog-like hands snapped toward Kaminari's legs, aiming to bite down hard.
"Get lost!" Kaminari yelled, kicking the villain square in the face, sending the snarling creature flying back. Using the momentum, Kaminari angled their fall toward a nearby hill.
"Crackling—"
"Ah!!"
"Ugh!"
A split second later, they landed hard on the ground, but with Kaminari's quick thinking and lightning reflexes, the impact was softened. The two dog heads groaned in pain as electricity surged through their bodies, leaving them twitching on the ground.
"Boom!"
The surrounding villains hesitated, eyeing the fierce dog-head villain who lay smoking and unconscious. For a moment, they were stunned, uncertain whether to advance.
"There's… a lot of them," Kaminari muttered, sizing up the situation. At least sixty villains stood before them, and although they'd just taken one down, the odds were far from favorable.
"Kaminari, we need to focus on defense!" Momo said, her expression serious as she quickly created a knife and staff for herself and Kyoka to use as weapons. Kaminari didn't need any his lightning was more than enough.
"Hmm."
Kaminari nodded, moving them slowly toward the mountain wall. "Stick close to the rock face. Momo, make more speakers and set them up in a semicircle."
Kyoka's mind clicked into gear. "You want to use my Quirk to amplify the sound and counterattack?"
"Exactly!" Kaminari replied, keeping his eyes on the villains.
"What about you?" Momo asked as she began forming the speakers.
"Me?" Kaminari grinned, the golden sparks dancing around him. "I'll buy you time."
With that, Kaminari launched himself forward, turning into a blur of electricity as he rushed toward the advancing villains.
"Be careful!" Kyoka called out, her grip tightening on the staff.
Momo didn't flinch, focusing on her task. She knew that completing the defense as quickly as possible was the best way to help Kaminari right now.
"You think you can handle us by yourself, kid?" A villain with four legs and massive arms charged at Kaminari, swinging wildly.
"Stop looking down on us, brat!" another villain growled, activating his Quirk to create a barrier of sharp spikes.
But Kaminari didn't flinch. He weaved through their attacks effortlessly, dodging the massive arms and spikes with lightning-fast movements. With a single electric-charged punch to the gut, he sent the four-legged villain flying. In a swift move, Kaminari leapt out of the encirclement, only to be surrounded again by more enemies.
The villains weren't prepared for Kaminari's speed and agility. In mere moments, more than a dozen of them lay unconscious, twitching on the ground from electric shocks.
But Kaminari knew he couldn't keep this up forever. His Quirk didn't generate electricity, it stored and released it. If he kept using up his power on individual attacks, he'd be drained before long.
"I need a better strategy," he thought, dodging another attack. "But I also need to buy more time for Momo and Kyoka."
Then it hit him.
After knocking another villain out with a lightning-charged fist, Kaminari glanced around. About thirty villains remained, but the time for hesitation was over.
"You're all done for if you keep coming at me!" Kaminari's voice dropped, the usual playfulness gone. His eyes burned with intensity. "Don't blame me for what happens next!"
Up until now, Kaminari had held back. He didn't want to seriously hurt anyone, but the reality was simple: if he showed mercy here, he and his friends might not make it out alive.
"I'm sorry," Kaminari thought to himself, his expression hardening. "But I'm not ready to fall here."
Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple one-hundred-yen coin. He flipped it into the air, catching it between his fingers with practiced ease.
"If someone has to be taken down…" he muttered, electricity crackling up his arm. "Then it's going to be you."
A ring of electricity formed around his hand, glowing brighter with each passing second. The villains immediately sensed the threat.
"What… is that?" one of them stammered, his eyes widening in fear.
"Not good! This is bad!" another shouted, terror flooding his voice.
Those closest to Kaminari could feel it—the raw, unfiltered power gathering in his hand. They could feel the danger radiating from him, sharp and palpable, like a blade pressed to their throats. Their instincts screamed at them to run, to flee, to do anything to get away.
But their legs refused to move.
Under the crushing weight of fear, their bodies froze. Despite the frantic orders in their minds, their limbs wouldn't respond.
They were paralyzed by the sheer force of the moment.
"Bah, bah, bah—"