MHA: LAW OF MOTION

CHAPTER TEN

"I advise you all to surrender quietly. Pro-heroes and the police have you surrounded," O'clock said as he adjusted his neck.

"HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU INFRINGE UPON THIS SACRED CEREMONY?!" the archbishop shrieked, her voice dripping with fury.

"Look, lady, you and your people have done some pretty heinous stuff. Any more, and you'll be shipped off to Tartarus. So I suggest you surrender quietly," O'clock stated, cracking his knuckles.

"DIE, YOU HEATHEN!"

The archbishop slammed her hands against the ground, and instantly, the entire room trembled. A massive pillar of rock shot upward, heading straight for the hero.

The attack landed with a deafening boom, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing through the air.

Rio stood frozen in shock, utterly astounded by how easily the pro-hero had been taken down. But before he could process it, he suddenly found himself—along with the two captives, now untied—at the far end of the room.

O'clock had used himself as bait, creating just enough of a distraction to free the hostages.

"Listen, kids. I'll only say this once—the police will be here any minute. I need you to be brave and hide upstairs until they arrive," O'clock instructed, his voice firm.

But the children weren't listening.

The two girls clung to each other, sobbing in relief, while the boy simply stared up at him, wide-eyed and confused.

"Get out of here! It's danger—"

Before he could finish, O'clock grabbed all three children and, with a burst of acceleration, moved nearly ten meters away.

The spot where they had just been standing erupted as four jagged earthen spikes shot up from the ground—their deadly intent clear.

"YOUR INSOLENCE KNOWS NO BOUNDS! DO YOU STILL REFUSE TO RECANT?!"

With a furious wave of her hands, the archbishop unleashed a devastating assault—a symphony of earthen constructs surging from all directions, an orchestra of destruction.

Panic erupted among the cultists. Some managed to throw themselves out of harm's way, but others weren't so lucky. The relentless onslaught of stone crushed the unfortunate few, their screams lost in the chaos.

Rio quickly shielded the children's eyes, refusing to let them witness the carnage unfolding around them.

"Get out. NOW!"

O'clock wasted no time. He scooped up the three children as a flurry of stone spears tore through the air toward them. Moving in a blur, he twisted and tumbled, ensuring no stray attacks struck the kids clinging to his shoulders and arms.

With no other choice, he mouthed a quick apology—then hurled the children across the room.

Before he could confirm their safety, a jagged shard of stone shot toward his face. He barely dodged it, the deadly edge slicing through the air just inches from his eyes.

Rio's body still throbbed with pain, but he had no time to dwell on it. He shook his head furiously, trying to dispel the dizziness clouding his senses. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the girls by the scruff of their necks and activated his Quirk—his body screaming in protest with every movement.

The battle raged on behind him, but Rio blocked it all out. There was only one goal.

Run.

With a burst of speed, he tore through the chaos, weaving past obstacles in a blur. In mere moments, he reached the top floor of the complex, lungs burning as he struggled to regain his breath.

A loud thud slammed into Rio's back, nearly sending him sprawling to the ground. Instinct took over—he spun on his heel, fist clenched, ready to strike.

But he stopped inches from the attacker's face.

Hana.

She stood before him, tears of undisguised resentment streaming down her cheeks.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I could have hurt you," Rio snapped, his voice sharper than intended.

"Where were you?" she spat through her sobs. "You promised, Rio-kun! You promised!"

The words hit harder than any punch.

Guilt curled around his chest, suffocating. What could he say? That he was working on a project? That it was the only reason he'd made it to her in time?

None of that mattered.

"I'm sorry."

It was all he had. All he could offer. And it wasn't enough.

"I hate you, Rio."

He bowed his head, the weight of her words pressing down on him. "I'm sorry," he whispered, repeating it over and over like a broken record.

The distant wail of sirens jolted him back to reality.

He staggered toward his backpack, rummaging through its contents. All that remained were a few cans—smoked meat and green peas. Without hesitation, he tore them open, shoveling the food into his mouth without even bothering to chew.

It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

With one last glance at Hana, he turned away.

She stirred from her sobs at the sound of his footsteps. Eyes red and swollen, she watched as he made his way back down—back into the abyss they had barely escaped.

Her small hands reached for him in a silent plea.

But Rio didn't stop. Not even to comfort a crying child.

Step by step, he descended the ladder, his healing factor already kicking in. With every motion, his body absorbed the nutrients, replenishing what had been depleted.

Rio navigated the labyrinth, mentally reviewing everything he had gathered so far. The enemy's quirk revolved around earth manipulation.

At first, she had to make physical contact with the ground to summon her attacks—like when she raised that thick pillar to crush the hero. But later, she had been able to control the earth without touching it.

That meant something.

He had a working hypothesis. Now, he just needed to test it.

The sounds of grunts and screams echoed ahead as Rio neared the battlefield.

What he saw made him pause.

O'clock stood completely unharmed. Nearly a hundred cultists lay sprawled around him, unmoving. The only one still standing was the archbishop—her once-grand appearance reduced to that of a disheveled vagrant.

A tense silence hung between them. A stalemate.

One Rio was more than happy to break.

"She needs to be in direct contact with the earth to summon those heavy attacks," he warned as he stepped into the warzone.

O'clock didn't even glance at him. "I thought I told you to leave, kid." His voice was flat, unimpressed—either he already knew or he simply didn't care.

"ENOUGH!" The archbishop's voice rang with finality. "It seems my defeat is inevitable." Her words turned to an incoherent mutter. "To think... our mission will fall with me... lamentable."

Then, her gaze sharpened.

"But it matters not. Like the immortal phoenix, we will be reborn. As long as those creatures continue to resist, humanity will rise in opposition."

O'clock scoffed. "You're insane, lady. This ends now."

Without another word, he moved in to apprehend her.

"Your enemy is not me, hero. It is far more formidable. You may break its body, but never its spirit."

With that final declaration, the archbishop raised a shimmering blue syringe to her neck and plunged it in deep.

O'clock's expression shifted the moment she revealed the syringe—he knew exactly what it was. Without hesitation, he dashed toward her, reaching for her outstretched hand in an attempt to stop her.

The world convulsed. The earth surged in violent waves, sending both O'clock and Rio tumbling across the floor.

Thick chains erupted from the ground, encasing the archbishop in a cocoon of stone. More chains shot out indiscriminately, slaughtering the remaining cultists. O'clock darted through the chaos, desperately trying to save as many as he could, but dozens perished in an instant—powerless against the relentless assault.

Rio weaved through the onslaught effortlessly. Pushing his quirk this far had yielded unexpected results. Nearly a year of relentless training had shown little progress, yet two near-death experiences had triggered a surge in his growth.

O'clock turned toward him, exhaling in relief at the sight of Rio still standing. But that relief vanished instantly.

From the shattered cocoon where the archbishop had fallen, something monstrous emerged.

A stone-gray behemoth loomed before them, four meters tall even while crouched on all fours. Eight metallic legs gleamed under the dim light, its grotesque form an unholy fusion of a spider and a greyhound.

With a bone-chilling screech, it lunged at them. Chains burst from the ground in its wake, homing in like satellite-guided missiles.

The two shot out of the way, regrouping near the entrance, panting as they exchanged a desperate glance.

"What the hell are we supposed to do against that?" Rio cursed, ducking as another chain speared past him. "There's no way we can take it down on our own."

O'clock didn't hesitate. "I don't know what you mean by 'we,' kid. I'll stall it until a pro with enough firepower gets here."

Rio wasn't having it.

Logic dictated that stalling was the best course of action—but Rio ignored it completely.

For a while now, he had felt a strange tingling sensation crawling under his skin. It came and went in short bursts, elusive yet persistent. And now, with this moment before him, he knew: if he didn't lean into that feeling now, he might never get the chance again.

Then, for the first time since his quirk awakened, the lightning within him surged outward.

Dark blue streaks of electricity crackled across his body, wrapping him in raw, untamed power.

And for the first time, Rio felt unstoppable.

In that moment, he knew he could do anything.

The world slowed to a crawl, becoming a still picture. The only thing moving—albeit sluggishly—was O'clock.

Rio took a sprinter's starting pose, a wide grin spreading across his face.

He was about to do something so unbelievably stupid that every ounce of reason screamed at him to stop.

He ignored it entirely.

If this worked, he would know for sure—whether he truly had it or if it had just been something similar all along.

With the imaginary crack of a starting pistol, he shot forward, tearing through the air without resistance.

As he neared the monster, he abruptly deactivated the lightning aura surrounding him. Instantly, the air pressed against him from all directions. The pressure was immense—but instead of pain, all Rio felt was intense pleasure. He nearly screamed from the overwhelming sensation.

Then, just as his fist was about to make contact—mere fractions of a millimeter away—he reactivated the aura.

All the resistance vanished.

For a split second, he could have sworn the world glitched.

The mass-energy equivalence principle came into play.

An object traveling at extreme speeds gains massive amounts of energy—and by extension, mass.

And with the velocity Rio had reached, the result was devastating.

A resounding explosion erupted, shaking the entire cavern as the very foundations crumbled.

The monster seemed frozen in place—until it was abruptly launched backward, embedding itself into the cavern wall.

The grotesque armor melted away, revealing a passed-out woman.

"Infinite mass punch," Rio whispered, staring at his fists in awe.

"This is definitely the Speed Force."

While that attack hadn't even come close to a true infinite mass punch, it had still worked under the same principle.

This... this changed everything.