This article will contain spoilers from My Hero Academia Season 6, episode 8, "League of Villains vs. U.A. Students", currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Shigarki is putting up a stellar fight, even if he is currently "Quirkless," all thanks to Aizawa's crucial intervention. Deku is fully aware that he is the Symbol of Fear's #1 target, however, he would rather risk his life (and One For All) to save his beloved Sensei because he knows the Heroes have no hope of success if Shigaraki is allowed to fight at full force.
Back at the Villa, Gigantomachia still runs rampant, making a bee-line towards the Hospital while Mount Lady, Kamui Woods, and Ms. Midnight try their best to slow the beast, but are caught unawares by the League of Villains hitchhiking on his back. The injured and outnumbered Ms. Midnight sends out instructions to Creati to anesthetize the colossal creature at all costs, as she is incapable of putting him to sleep herself.
Team Creati Takes Initiative
The perceptive Momo Yaoyorozu rapidly assesses the situation and correctly assumes that Gigantomachia, towering at 25m tall, is transporting villainous forces undercover. Flexing her incredible intelligence, Momo formulates a plan of action and puts her team of Class 1-A and B heroes-in-training to work. Juzo Honenuki starts out by softening the ground while Minoru Mineta scatters his sticky spheres everywhere, and Creati drops some dynamite into the depths of the liquid earth. All the while, Setsuna Tokage has turned the top of her head into a sentry ward with Lizard Tail Splitter to warn the troops of Gigantomachia's progress through the forest.
Thankfully, the monstrosity heads straight into the student's trap, while Mount Lady and Kamui Woods hold on for dear life. Machia sinks right into the treacly floor and gets tangled in Grape Juice's adhesive web, with Sugar Rush, Battle Fist, and Beast doing all they can to keep his head above ground. Vine and Cellophane add their own tethers to the assault as they desperately try to access Machia's mouth, for the only plausible way to incapacitate the brute is with one of Momo's orally delivered tranquilizers.
Meanwhile, Mashirao Ojiro, Mezo Shoji, and Yuga Aoyama sneak up from the rear to give the League of Villains some unexpected attention. Reiko Yanagi joins the fray by telekinetically transporting Denki's pointers amongst the foes so that he can release his electric charge without harming any allies. Everything is going according to plan, the picture of perfection! Unfortunatley, Mr. Compress has experienced Denki's power before and suddenly launches his remaining debris-filled marbles at the Hero, which practically knocks him unconscious.
Phase Two, Initiated
On the other end of the mammoth, the students find their opening and hurl their debilitating capsules at Gigantomachia, who simply blows them all away with an almighty breath, which Dabi quickly piggybacks onto with his formidable inferno. The forest is quickly overwhelmed by the blue flames, which have little effect on the walking natural disaster due to his lack of pain receptors; and with most of the cumbersome "fleas" at bay, Gigantomachia can finally stand up again. As a last-ditch effort, Momo sets off her explosions to pull Machia back into the liquified earth while Mount Lady pops out of nowhere and attached herself to his back. Realizing that the kids are targeting the monster's mouth, she grabs onto his jaws just as Mina Ashido makes her move, shrouded in her Max Viscosity Acid Man armor to protect her from the intense flames.
It seems that Gigantomachia is much smarter than he looks, as he takes a moment to reassess his situation, chiding himself for poor decision-making and reprioritizing his mission. Mina is about to receive the full brunt of his frustrations with no escape in sight until Red Riot shoots in to take her place as the recipient of Machia's mighty blow. Steel is not far behind and reassures Mina that the wildfire is being dealt with, just as Kirishima determinedly climbs the formidable foe and aggressively makes his way towards the humongous head. Red Riot's second attempt at administerings Momo's "medicine" rings true and the immobilizing liquid gets ingested, but they must get the beast moving for a quicker tranquilizing effect. Majestic takes the lead on an aerial strike, but apparently, this is not Gigantomachia's final form, as he suddenly shifts his jaw upwards to form a protective helmet of sorts while the rest of his body bulks up to even greater proportions, as the Heroes look on in disbelief.
Back at Jaku Hospital
Shigaraki's situation seems significantly less fortunate than his subordinates, as he should certainly be knocking on death's door by now? Scarlet scars snake their way across the villain's body as he gets surrounded by some of the strongest Heroes in existence; however, Shigarki's motivation does not falter in the slightest. After making a heartfelt speech about how Heroes willingly hurt their families in order to save complete strangers, he rebuffs the attacks of Endeavor, Gran Torino, and Ryuuku, before Deku gets his turn. Launching One For All at 100% with a Wyoming Smash, Izuku realizes too late that Shigaraki has a game-changing secret weapon up his sleeve. Leaving the Heroes with no time to react, the Symbol of Fear shoots a "deleter round" at Aizawa, nullifying his Erasure Quirk almost immediately; dooming everyone in the process.
Next Up: Katsuki Bakugo: Rising
The worst-case scenario has arrived, as Shigaraki now has access to the full force of his overpowered Quirks. As what remains of Jaku City crumbles further, the last Heroes standing have the weight of the world on their shoulders and fewer combatants still capable of fighting. It appears that Endeavor may have run out of steam, but fortunately, Shoto arrives on the scene (it's about time!) and the Big Three of Class 1-A are reunited on the battlefield once again. It seems the Gigantomachia is not the only one capable of kicking things up a notch, as Bakugo looks like he is planning to pull out all the stops and potentially steal the spotlight right out from Deku's feet, proving his superiority once and for all (oh, and hopefully putting a spanner in Shigaraki's works!)