Although All Might was furious that he had let Shigaraki escape because of a momentary lapse in judgment, he did not fall into despair.
On the contrary, his fighting spirit burned even hotter.
He had already decided.
Since this entire incident had begun because of him, then he would personally end it.
With that thought, he threw a punch into the empty air before him.
Then another.
And another.
He was not acting recklessly.
The moment he saw space crack apart when he struck Shigaraki earlier, he had already found a possible escape route.
If he couldn't find the exit—
then he would simply destroy the space itself.
After all, this wasn't the real world.
It was merely an alternate dimension.
And anything created had limits.
As long as he exceeded those limits, he could force his way out.
That was his conclusion.
And immediately afterward, he acted on it.
Every punch he threw caused cracks to spread through the empty space like fractured glass.
Seeing this, All Might instantly understood that his judgment had been correct.
So his attacks grew even faster.
One punch after another.
Each strike stronger than the last.
Each blow faster than before.
Within a single breath, countless fists blurred into overlapping afterimages, slamming violently into the surrounding space.
Crack.
Shatter.
Burst.
In the next instant, the entire grassland trembled violently, like a wooden box being smashed apart by a giant hammer.
"Shigaraki Tomura!"
"You'd better wait for me!"
"Once I destroy this alternate dimension…"
"you're next!"
…
Inside a hidden room somewhere within the mall, the Sludge Villain and Muscular exchanged glances.
Then both instinctively looked around.
After confirming that they had truly returned to the real world and were no longer trapped inside that dimensional space, they both let out long breaths of relief.
No one knew how tense they had been earlier.
After all, a man's reputation cast a long shadow.
The title Symbol of Peace was not just for decoration.
The strongest man in the world was not merely a slogan.
Even though they knew All Might had been aiming for Shigaraki and not them…
Even though they knew the Shigaraki standing there had only been an illusion…
that punch had still been too terrifying.
That single strike had shattered space itself.
Who could believe something like that?
At least, not before seeing it with their own eyes.
But now?
Heh.
For the first time in their lives, they genuinely believed there were monsters in this world wearing human skin.
Thankfully, they hadn't charged forward to fight All Might head-on just because they possessed powerful Quirks.
Thankfully, the Sludge Villain had noticed Shigaraki's signal in time and activated his Quirk while All Might's emotions were shaken by Shigaraki's words.
Otherwise, all of them might have ended up hospitalized today.
Thinking of that, both Muscular and the Sludge Villain silently felt grateful that they had obeyed Shigaraki's core rule for survival.
Stay alive first.
Otherwise, they might not have made it back at all.
At that moment, a faint breeze drifted through the room.
Only then did Muscular and the Sludge Villain realize that their backs were completely soaked with cold sweat.
That alone was enough to show how much pressure All Might had placed on them.
Taking a deep breath, the Sludge Villain gritted his teeth and muttered,
"All Might definitely used his full strength just now."
Even as he said it, however, he lacked confidence.
Despite facing All Might multiple times before, and despite once being stuffed into a plastic bottle by him, he still couldn't say for certain whether that space-shattering punch had truly been All Might's limit.
Because no one could accurately measure All Might's full power.
And no one who had taken one of his full-force punches had ever gotten back up afterward.
Well…
Except for that other monster who also wore human skin just like All Might.
Thinking of that terrifying existence, the Sludge Villain subconsciously glanced toward Shigaraki.
He knew very well that the monster standing on the same level as All Might…
was Shigaraki's teacher.
At the same time, he also wanted to know what Shigaraki thought after facing that punch directly.
Would he continue the plan?
Or would he choose to retreat for now?
Then he saw it.
Shigaraki, who had just narrowly escaped death, was sitting leisurely on the sofa.
He calmly sipped the tea Kurogiri had handed him while casually chatting with a silver-haired man nearby.
His expression was utterly composed.
Not the slightest trace of fear or lingering tension remained on his face.
Seeing this, the Sludge Villain's mouth twitched.
His boss's mentality was terrifyingly stable.
That had been a situation where one mistake would have meant instant death.
Yet after experiencing something like that, Shigaraki could still act as though nothing had happened?
That level of composure was absurd.
At the same time, the Sludge Villain finally understood why Shigaraki was the leader while he himself remained only a subordinate.
In terms of mentality alone, the gap between them was enormous.
Thinking that, his admiration for Shigaraki deepened even further.
Noticing the strange look in his subordinate's eyes, Shigaraki stopped talking with the silver-haired young man All For One had sent to assist him—Yūhyo Kūgai—and turned toward him.
"What is it, Mud?"
Hearing that, the Sludge Villain respectfully asked,
"Shigaraki-sama, what should we do next?"
"Hmm. Let me think."
As he spoke, Shigaraki looked toward one of the large monitors in the room.
Several different images were displayed across the screens.
Each one showed a completely different alternate dimension.
At this very moment, All Might's group and the civilians from the mall were imprisoned inside those spaces.
Shigaraki's gaze lingered particularly on the middle screen, the one displaying All Might's dimension.
Watching All Might furiously punching apart the surrounding space, Shigaraki rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then he turned toward Muscular with a strange expression.
"Muscular…"
"Weren't you always saying you wanted to challenge All Might?"
"That he was the perfect opponent? A true feast?"
"Well, now seems like a pretty good opportunity."
"Why don't you head back into that space and fight him?"
"Help him vent a little."
"Because if he keeps punching like that…"
"…it's going to become a problem."
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