After the boy king who had admitted he still could not reach that level withdrew, the time came for the fallen king to face the Hero who had once driven him from his throne.
The clash of superhumans that had reduced a quiet city to ruins quickly seized the public’s attention.
The media launched helicopters in an instant and began broadcasting the scene live.
One of them was a reporter in a helicopter, relaying the situation with a trembling voice.
"It’s a scene straight out of a nightmare! Without warning, Kamino Ward has been left half-destroyed! At this moment, All Might is engaged in combat with the Villain believed to be responsible! It’s unbelievable! There’s only one Villain! And yet he’s collapsing the city while fighting the Symbol of Peace on equal footing—or better!"
His voice spread through televisions and the internet to countless people.
The reactions varied.
Nezu, who had been quietly waiting for the operation to succeed, broke into a cold sweat, while Aizawa stared at the screen with bloodshot eyes.
Some wondered where Kamino even was. Some reacted lazily, saying they might get to skip work tomorrow. Others were horrified that All Might was being pushed back.
Some complained that Villains had been running wild too much lately and voiced their dissatisfaction with Heroes.
But in the end, all of their thoughts rested on the same assumption.
In the end, All Might would somehow handle it again.
"What a mess. Do they think fighting is some kind of child’s game?"
"That’s just how people are. Why get worked up over it now?"
Kirishima clicked his tongue as he watched people reacting to the live broadcast playing across a giant electronic billboard while he trudged forward.
Unexpectedly, Rumi’s response was calm.
Kirishima looked at her with fresh surprise.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me all over again."
"No, not that. I just figured people change when they get older. Back in school, you were seriously out of your mind."
"I wasn’t crazy. The world was just too boring. And since most people in the world are boring, what can you do? I had to adapt. More importantly, how do you know what I was like in school?"
"Because you told me, Rumi. About sneaking off to underground fight clubs at night while you were still in school, breaking out of the lodging on school trips to go to underground fight clubs, beating up punks wherever you found them. That kind of stuff."
"Oh. Did I tell you all that?"
"Yeah. You’re only twenty-six. Your memory shouldn’t be going already."
"Why you little— Anyway, this is what I’ve realized after working as a Hero. Ordinary people don’t really understand what a fight is until it comes right up to their doorstep. They live like sheep grazing in a field, never giving it a thought, and only wake up when a wolf’s fangs sink into their throat. That’s when they realize. So this is what fighting is. So this is what death is."
She had been joking around until then, but suddenly her expression turned serious.
Kirishima dropped his smile too and looked back at her with quiet eyes.
Her large, fluffy ears, rising high above her head, twitched as she continued.
"That’s why people don’t think much about Heroes. They don’t even have the basic awareness that this is real fighting, with blood spraying and flesh tearing. To them, it’s not that different from watching some character they pulled from a mobile game gacha go out and win a fight. Of course, not everyone is like that. But most are."
"Yeah... I guess that does sound about right. It’s not like there’s any real media that shows what Heroes actually do, either."
"If people really looked, they could find out. The problem is they have to go looking in the first place. Socially, what people focus on with Heroes is popularity, income, victories, stuff like that. There aren’t many outlets that focus on what kind of pain we have to endure, or what goes through our heads when we fight. I get it. It’s capitalism."
Kirishima gave a bitter smile at her words.
That word, capitalism, did not simply mean that flashy things became mainstream because they made money.
It also meant that no one invested in what did not make money.
It was not quite that simple, but broadly speaking, she was right.
"Capitalism, yeah. Not that we can suddenly turn red now. An ideology that got crushed over a hundred years ago isn’t about to rise again."
"That’s not what I meant. Anyway, if things keep going like this, Hero society is going to take a huge hit sooner or later. I’m a Hero of this era too, and I still think everything that Stain said was bullshit, but honestly... it’s also true that there are a lot of people who aren’t worthy of being called Heroes."
"What can we do? It’s the tide of the times. All we can do is prepare."
Shadows cast by the sea of brilliant city lights fell across their faces.
In an age where a brief peace had ended, where the current that had been dammed up would come crashing all at once and turn into a raging torrent, the worries of any one individual were painfully insignificant.
That was why he had built up his forces and gathered strength to create the Hall of War.
It was still a group far too weak, just like himself, still unable to reach that demon king. But one day, it would become the wheel that turned the flow of the age.
He would. And the Hall of War would.
Kirishima clenched his fist and swore that next time, he would not be the one forced to retreat.
At that same moment, as All Might coughed harshly and steam poured from his entire body, All For One spread both arms wide and spoke.
"I’ve been thinking about something. Would it really be all right if I were the one to put the finishing touch on the trust in Heroes that Tomura has been so diligently tearing down? But then again, All Might... just as much as you hate me, I hate you too. I may have killed your master, but you stole away everything I had built. So I’d really like for you to die in the ugliest, most miserable way possible."
Both of his arms swelled as black lightning coiled around them.
Seeing the sign of that devastating attack he had witnessed again and again, Gran Torino dodged away and shouted.
"Something big is coming! Evade first, then counterattack!"
"Can I afford to evade?"
At All For One’s easygoing reply, All Might’s eyes widened.
Behind him was a person pinned beneath the rubble of a collapsed building.
Just as the bastard had mocked.
He could not dodge.
"I’ll take away what you protected!"
A massive blast of wind erupted from him, whipping into a storm that destroyed everything in its path.
The shockwave spread in every direction, making the earth groan once more as a cloud of dust rose into the air.
All For One had not thought that would be enough to kill him, but when the night wind cleared the dust, the sight revealed was still horrific.
The great, powerful figure was gone from the All Might who stood frozen with his fist extended.
All For One declared it coldly.
"First, let the world see that pride you clung to while forcing yourself onward through your wounds! Show them that pitiful form, Symbol of Peace!"
A gaunt face, sharp as though skin were stretched directly over bone. Hollow eyes. Thin arms and legs.
This was the body he had been left with as the price of the bloody battle he had fought to win a brief peace for the world.
He had tried so hard to hide it, but in the end, he could not stop the tide of a changing age.
He could not remain an invincible superhuman forever.
"Sunken cheeks, hollow eyes—what a laughably frail top Hero you are! Don’t be ashamed. That’s your true form, isn’t it? The real you."
Even under that deliberate mockery, All Might kept his bloodied fist extended and let his blue gaze burn.
At the sight of that same noble, unyielding spirit, All For One spoke in a deflated voice.
"I see..."
"Even if my body withers and crumbles away... even if this form is laid bare before the whole world! My heart is the Symbol of Peace! Not even a single fragment of it can be taken from me!"
Watching All Might shout as he clenched his fist, All For One’s interest cooled rapidly.
That was the kind of man he had always been.
If he were still the boy who had bared his fangs and charged in to seize the throne, he would never have said something so dreary.
A noble man who cast himself aside and burned himself up for the sake of justice alone was certainly worthy of respect, but he was not an interesting type.
Still, he was his archenemy, so All For One raised both hands and answered.
"I concede. I’d forgotten what a stubborn old fool you are. Then I wonder... would even this fail to shake your heart? The truth is, Shigaraki Tomura is Shimura Nana’s grandson."
The blue pupils set deep in All Might’s shadowed eyes shrank.
As his expression hardened in an instant, All For One tasted the revenge he had prepared for so long.
Well-aged revenge was not as satisfying as he had expected.
Maybe it was because he had gotten old, but he found himself missing something wilder, something with blood still dripping from it.
Even so, he did not stop.
Leaving things half-done was not the way of a king.
"I spent a long time thinking about what would hurt you most. I arranged for you and Tomura to meet. You condemned him, didn’t you? Smiling like you’d already won, without knowing a thing."
"That’s a lie..."
At the words All Might forced out through parted lips, he calmly gave him the truth.
As a mark of respect for his longtime foe.
"It’s true. You know it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d do. Tsk. What happened to the All Might smile? Aren’t you the Symbol of Peace?"
As All Might stood frozen like a statue, a memory surfaced—his master from long ago, showing him a broad, dependable back as she spoke.
"To save someone means, in other words, that they’ve gone through something terrifying. You’re only a true Hero if you save not just their life, but their heart too! That’s what I believe. No matter how frightening it is, you smile and tell them you’ll be fine! Because in this world, the one who smiles is the strongest of all!"
He remembered her turning back and pulling up the corners of her mouth with two fingers. No matter how dearly he longed for that sight, it was one he could never return to.
Feeling as though his heart might stop at any moment, he muttered,
"You... bastard."
"Hm. Well? Have I succeeded in taking even a single fragment of that heart of yours?"
"That child... is my master’s grandson? Then what... what have I done...?"
Seeing All Might filled with grief and despair, All For One smiled quietly.
It was not as exhilarating or fulfilling as he had imagined, but he had at least given a fitting end to a magnificent enemy.
He had done what ought to be done. There was no reason for him to feel bad.
All Might, on the other hand, had fallen completely into panic.
Regret and agony swirled inside him like a storm.
The one who awakened him from that petrified state was a single person.
Not someone extraordinary. Not a Hero.
It was the powerless civilian trapped beneath the building—the very person who had forced All Might to stand his ground and take the attack instead of dodging.
With great effort, she stretched out an arm and cried out.
"Don’t... don’t give up. All Might, please... save me!"
It was the cry of an individual standing at the edge of death, nothing more than a helpless and innocent victim.
That primal, desperate voice begging for salvation in the face of approaching death reached the heart of a man crumbling into ash.
A spark touched the ruins that had been slowly collapsing and scattering, and a miracle occurred.
The great will that had protected the world across generation after generation blazed to life once more.
The giant who had burned himself away to protect the world rose again.
The bloody battle was not over.
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