Chapter 22: The Golden Valley & The Tale of All Might

Chapter Summary: Shouta and the others finally make it to the land of the elfs and to All Might, but will he be able to help?

Shouta never thought about gods before, but if they did exist, then they were bastards. What kind of being, holy or otherwise, would reunite Shouta with his love only to force them apart again. Not only that, but under the worst circumstances in the world.

Shigaraki was possessed by a Demon King and had not only brought an army but brought it in the form of the forest that would haunt his dreams till he died. On top of that, said woods were already taking over the planes, corrupting and destroying them. And not he had Hizashi in there. The Demon King had already cursed him, and Shouta's retched the of what else would he do. Shigaraki might have kept Hizashi alive to use as bait, but would the Demon King? Or would he-

Shouta almost ran back. He would have too if not for the tiny hands he held.

"Mr. Aizawa…" Shouta looked down into the teary eyes of Tsuyu. "Th-The forest it's…" Fear swallowed the words and she pushed out blobs of tears. The rest of the dwarfs looked just as frightened as she. The imp children weren't as scared, but that was because they were more confused than anything. That being said, their features were creased with worry.

"Is everything going to be okay?" Mina asked. Seeing the other children so afraid fed her own terror. After Shoto saw her expression, a protectiveness flared in him.

"What the hell is going?!" he demanded.

Shouta glanced at all of them and took a breath. As much as it pained him, Shouta had to be rational now. Especially now. Running back wouldn't help anyone. It would just get him killed or worse while leaving the children alone, and they needed him now. They needed him to be strong.

"It's okay," he tried to assure them. "The demons don't seem to be able to get past the barrier. We're safe."

"That's what you said last time, and then this asshole attacked us!" Denki bit out through clenched teeth. He pointed at Bakugou, who was still being carried by Shoto. "You keep saying that everything will be okay, but it never is! The only thing that's changed is that we have new things trying to kill us!" Shouta tried not to wince at the accusation in the tone. He knew that the boy was just overwhelmed, they all were. Still, it was hard not to feel the sting of the words.

"I know things have been hard," he said. "But we're almost there. Soon, it'll be over and we won't have anything to worry about." Right? That's what he was told and he believed it, not out of actual belief but because if he didn't, then there was no hope for anybody.

Everyone was silent as they fought their emotions down. Shoto, who had more control than the rest, shifted Bakugou entirely over to Mina.

"Go with them to the elfs," he ordered her. "I'm going back to help our people." Mina's eyes rounded at his words.

"You can't be serious!" she balked. Shoto gave her a look too determined and stubborn for one his age.

"My father's been letting them die for years! I'm not going to let demons finish them off!" he snapped. Shouta understood the reasoning and feelings but knew that going back would be a death sentence. Having no desire to see a child run off to their death, he stepped forward.

"I understand your concern, I do," he said. He had to fight to keep the irritation from his voice. Shouta wanted to get to the elfs as soon as possible, but he was aware that as the only adult among a sea of frightened children, he had to be the rational one. "However, going back now-"

"Would be stupid. Brave, but very stupid," A female voice echoed out around them. Shouta only then realized that they were surrounded by a light violet mist. Suddenly his body felt weary, his eyes heavy. As he swayed back and forth, he saw the dwarfs and imps collapse.

"No!" He moved forward to help, but his body refused to cooperate, so he stumbled to his knees.

As he tried to push himself up, someone spoke into his ear.

"Why don't you all rest and cool your heads for a bit, hmm?"

"N-No!" It was always something, wasn't it?! Always-! Shouta tried to fight it. He even activated his Erasure. It was for naught though as he too fell forward into a deep sleep.

777

When Shouta awoke, he thought he was dreaming. It wasn't completely peaceful, as everything seemed to carry an undertone of foreboding, but there was a gentle light that streamed through the window along with a soft breeze that brushed against his cheek, and everything was quiet. Not the unnatural quiet that he had come to dread, but comfortable peace that he used to be able to enjoy at the palace once in a while. After all the chaos he had been experiencing lately though, the peace almost felt unnatural.
Cautiously, he opened his eyes and saw that he was lying under a golden ceiling with a hanging light above. In a darker gold, there were sea patterns with seashells and fish dancing. There was a soft chuckle as he studied the art.
"My, you've all had a rough time, huh? Though I guess, that's putting it lightly." Shouta's brain snapped to attention as he turned his head. His jaw fell open.
"Chiyo...?"
The old witch of the Daemonium woods smiled at him. "It's good to see you." Either Shouta was dead, or this was a dream.
"I don't understand. How..." So many questions filled Shouta's head but he struggled to get even one out. His mouth felt as if it was full of cotton while his mind was dazed. Chiyo ran a hand over the blankets, the weight of her hand showing Shouta that this was all real as she calmed him.
"Cementoss and I left a while after you and your dwarfs," she explained.
"Cementoss? He's alive."
"He is. He had to dig himself out of the cave, but he managed to return to me. I fixed what the forest broke." Shouta was relieved to hear that. After all the bad things that happened, it was nice to hear good news. He had been trying to block out the thoughts of the old woman being all alone in the woods or killed. So seeing her alive and well with the knowledge that Cementoss was also fine brought him a bit of relief and joy.
"I'm glad," he said honestly. The comfort of the room filled him. He could hardly remember when he had felt like this. The last time it was in the forest after he had met the dwarfs. It felt so long ago-! The dwarfs! Where were the dwarfs? The last time he saw them, they had been so scared. And weren't there others, too?
He sat up in bed with a shot, the sleep nearly banished from his mind. "Where are the kids? Are they all right-?"
Chiyo stopped his rapid questions with a soft coo. "Everyone is fine. Some of them are still resting, but they're fine. You're all safe now—for the time being, at least."
Shouta fell back in relief. He wanted to get up and check on the children himself, but his body wouldn't allow him, and considering the way he had been pushing it lately, he gave in. He trusted Chiyo. If he said they were safe, then he believed her.

"But why are you here? And how?" he asked, his tired mind trying to word the questions. Chiyo sighed and leaned back, ready to share her tale like a grandmother would tell a story to entertain the kids.

"After I reunited with Cementoss, we went to what remained of the dwarfin home. Most of the jewels were destroyed, but I managed to find one still intact. I used its power to watch your journey. But then I received a vision about the demon king."

Shouta scowled in thought as the image of Shigaraki-or the Demon King as he claimed to be—came to mind.

"Speaking of which, what's going on here? Shigaraki showed up in the Ashen Plains, but he… I mean, I didn't know the King very well, but he didn't seem to be himself. In fact, he, whoever he was, said that Shigaraki was gone?" The question was difficult to form, but Chiyo understood what he wanted to ask. Her whole body seemed to slump with pity and sorrow as she took in a deep, heavy breath.

"...It's never safe to play with demons," she stated. "If you can master them, they are a great and terrible power. However, all it takes is one slip to lose everything.

"Shigaraki had the Demon King trapped behind a diamond mirror and used his power for his own desires. But he slipped. In a fit of anger, he lowered his guard. That was all the demon king needed to swallow him."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you never have to worry about Shigaraki again." That was all she said on the matter, and that was all she needed to.

Shouta was conflicted. After everything he did, the man didn't exactly feel sad. Shigaraki took away Shouta's title, all his family's estate, and made him feel like he was a prisoner in his own home. He hurt Hizashi, imprisoned him, tortured him, then cursed him into a giant demon bird. Then there's what he did to the imp lands. No, Shouta couldn't be sad about Shigaraki. But he wasn't happy either. Despite everything, Shouta did feel a bit of remorse for his stepfather.

Chiyo continued; Partly to fill the awkward silence and partly because she wanted to finish her tale.

"When I realized the Demon King was coming, I knew it wouldn't be safe in the forest any longer-"

'Like it ever was.' Shouta kept his mouth shut though, and let her continue.

"—so Cementoss and I grabbed what was important and decided to meet up here. On the way, we met the trolls from the mountain."

"Were they-"

"Everyone I met was fine. They were sad to lose their mountain but with the help of the jewel, they can rebuild it. I hope the dwarfs won't mind." Shouta shook his head. He didn't know how the jewels would help, but he knew the children wouldn't mind. That just the kind of people they were.

"We offered what help we could to the Troll folk, but I had a feeling I would be needed here. Once I explained that Power Loader showed us a tunnel which led to the Elfin lands and under the imp plains."

Shouta blinked a couple of times.

"There was a tunnel. That went under the plains? Meaning we didn't have to…"

Chiyo gave a small chuckle. "'Fraid so." Shouta groaned. Well, shit. All of that could have been avoided-

Wait a minute.

"Chiyo, where are we?" he asked.
"You're in the Golden palace of the Elfs." Another voice said. Shouta looked over the witch and saw a gorgeous woman leaning on a doorway. She had blue eyes that glimmered with mischief and interest. Long black hair hung loosely around her as it draped over her shoulders and trailed down her back. Under the hair were long pointy ears decorated with red earrings. An almost flirtatious smile graced her lips as she stared at the only man fairer than her.
"So, I've been told you went through a lot to find us," she said. "I'm Nemuri, by the way."
Shouta's mind shot into overdrive.
She was an elf! That means they made it! Which meant-!
Exhausted or not, Shouta threw back the silk sheets that covered him and tried to stand. His legs fought him on this, but he fought harder.
"Easy now!" Chiyo warned. Shouta ignored her and staggered towards the elfin woman.
"I need to see All Might! Or anyone who can help!" he pleaded. "Hizashi-! I have to—I need…" The elf caught him as he stumbled.
"Take it easy," she said. "I know you're eager to get moving, but-" She winked at Shouta with a look that would have had anyone else turned to jelly. "Maybe you should think of putting on some pants first."

After an embarrassing endeavor where Nemuri and Chiyo had to help him into a shirt and pants, Shouta was taken to a hallway. There he saw the whole group of children surrounding the familiar stone figure of Cementoss. The children appeared to be glad to see that he was all right. It was nothing compared to the joy that overcame them when they saw Shouta.
"Mr. Aizawa!" All the dwarfs crowded him, some jumping to hug him. Shouta released the breath he had been holding, glad to see that they were all okay. He counted each of them to make sure they were all there.
"Where's Toru?" His heart jumped a beat in a brief moment of panic before a voice called out, "Here I am!" Toru wasn't wearing a hat, but Shouta saw a sleeve move as she waved.
"You're lucky we found her," Nemuri said as she folded her arms over her well endowed chest. "I would have missed her completely if I hadn't tripped over her." It was meant as a joke, but after almost losing Toru in the past, Shouta knew this was a very real possibility.
Shouta caught a glance of the imp children out of the corner of his eye. They hung back with Cementoss, the pink one was having fun as she swung on the arm of the golem, but the boy seemed nervous. At first, Shouta wondered if there was something wrong, then remembered that everything was wrong. He wasn't the only one here for help.
"Wasn't there a third one?" Shouta asked after a moment's thought. Everything had happened so fast, but he was sure there was another imp.
Behind him, there was a forced laugh.
"Ah, yes. He was—very animated when he woke up. He wanted to rush back to the planes and fight the demons, but well…" Nemuri pointed out the window.
Past the barrier of flames, Shouta could see a red sky. Occasionally an unnatural shape would soar cross it. The trees reached up like claws attempting to rip apart the sky.
"We knew that if the loud one rushed back, he would be killed or worse, so we're keeping him asleep for the time being." Nemuri continued. She kept her tone light, but hidden under it was worry that grew as she stared at the scene outside the window and beyond the valley.

A small part of Shouta thought that it was mean to keep someone asleep, but the rest of him agreed with the action. Cruel or not, letting a child bull rush an army of monsters was irresponsible. Putting him into slumber was arguably kinder than locking him up.

'And at least he can't hurt anyone this way.' he thought as he rubbed his arms. While he did this, he noted his wounds were gone. He deduced that Chiyo must have healed him while he was asleep with her magic.

He turned his focus to Cementoss as the golem set the impette down. Cementoss had literal cracks scattered over his body, and an eye was missing, but otherwise, he appeared to be in fair health.

"I'm glad you're alright," Shouta said truthfully. Cementoss returned the sentiment with a nod and a smile.

"As am I," he said.

Now that Shouta was sure that the dwarfs were alright, his thoughts were moving on to other matters. He insisted that Nemuri take him to someone he could talk to about getting help. Nemuri had wanted Shouta to rest some more, but his set jaw told her that wasn't going to happen. So she led the entire party down the golden hall, decorated with pearls. Along the way, they were joined by another elf with sea-foam green hair. She whispered something to Nemuri.

"Oh? Already?"

"Yup! King Nezu is explaining everything now." the other woman said. She looked at Shouta with a wink and a grin.

"I'm Emi, by the way! Whoa! You're a pretty one, aren't you?" she said. "Fair as a princess, even!" Shouta reminded himself that he needed their help, so he bit his tongue.

"He's a prince!" Toru told her.

"No, I'm not," Shouta said automatically. The elf woman ignored him.

"A prince?! Hey, neat! We should get married!" she said with a bursting laugh.

"Hard pass," Shouta said with zero hesitation. Nemuri giggled.

"Now, now, Emi, don't tease the boy," Shouta tried very hard not to be offended at being called 'boy.' "Besides, he's already taken. The whole reason he's here is to save his lover." Shouta didn't think to ask how Nemuri knew that at that moment. Emi's shoulders dropped slightly.

"Really? Aww, how do you like that? First new face in a hundred years, and he's taken. Oh well!" She let out an overly dramatic sigh. "Anyway, we should get going. Something about the red sky says that there's not a lot of time. Besides, it's rude to keep people waiting!" Shouta fought the urge to mention that she was the one who stopped them.

They came to a door that seemed to be woven of golden trees decorated with emeralds as leaves. Shouta quickly realized how the valley got its name.

They entered a large room with a green carpet that led to a throne. There a toy-like figure was talking to a man who turned when they entered. The man was so thin he seemed to be more of a tree than a man. His limbs were thin as twigs, and everything about him gave off the feel of frailty. Blue eyes widen under a gaunt brow as they gaze upon the dwarfs.

"You're dwarfs…?" he gasped, the words holding more emotions than Shouta could process. "But… how?" He looked like he could have broken into tears. Seeing this, the dwarfs instinctively wanted to help but had no idea how. Plus, the journey thus far made them wary of strangers.

"A miracle indeed," a voice behind him said. Sitting on a throne was a critter around the same height as the dwarfs. He gave a friendly wave as they approached.

"Greetings, everyone!" he said in a pleasant tone. "I welcome you to our valley of gold!" The children stared at him.

"What are you?" The question slipped unbidden from Tenya's lips, who fretted when he realized how rude the question was. "Ah! My—My apologies! I didn't mean to-! That is-!" As he stumbled over his words, Shouta was trying to figure out the answer. The figure was an odd creature that he couldn't place, and neither could Shouta. On one hand, he seemed to resemble a mouse on the other, he could have been a small dog, but then again, there were some bear features, as well.

The ruler didn't appear to be insulted and took the question in good humor.

"Hm? Good question? Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear?" he teased. "All you need to know is that I'm the Ruler of the Elfin people of the Golden lands, King Nezu!"

The king seemed jolly enough, and while he knew he should mind his manners, Shouta was impatient. He traveled all this way, and Hizashi was in more danger than he could imagine.

"I was told that All Might was here," He looked to Chiyo for confirmation. She nodded as the dwarfs gave tiny gasps of surprise and started to whisper to each other, Izuku was practically glowing with excitement. Shouta ignored them "I need to see him right away, please!" he begged.

The room fell silent. The gazes of Chiyo, Cementoss, and the elfs drifted to the thin man who stared hard at the floor. Obviously, he knew something, and he was the one to ask about the legendary hero.
"It's vital that I see him!" Shouta begged. "Please!" He moved forward but halted as the man raised a hand.
"You have," he said. Then after a long breath and silence, he revealed, It seemed every word was being dragged out of him by will and guilt. "…..I am All Might."
Surprise filled the room as every eye belonging to Shouta and the children fell off the tall, frail man who shifted under their gazes.
"WHAT?!" The kids all let out different sounds when the revelation finally managed to process. They looked him over with disbelief.
"But All Might's supposed to be a giant with muscles and stuff!" Izuku said, trying to connect the mental picture he had to the man before him.
"Well, he used to be bulk," Nemuri mused. "But well—let's just say he doesn't get as much sun as he should." The man ran a large hand through his wild blond hair, before tugging on one of the low-hanging bangs.
"...it's been a long time since I've been All Might," he murmured.
Shouta looked to Chiyo again, who confirmed that he was telling the truth. A part of him still didn't believe it, but then Shouta rationalized that stories tended to exaggerate. Not to mention it had been over a hundred years, so things probably changed. Honestly, Shouta didn't care what he looked like if he helped him saved Hizashi.
"I need your help. Hizashi-" All Might raised a hand again to stop him.
"I know. I just heard everything from Nezu who learned to from Chiyo," he explained.
Shouta held his breath and called on all his royal blood to stand as straight as he could. "Then will you help me?"
The silence felt like it went on forever. The man—All Might-looked at Shouta with the most sorrowful gaze he had ever seen. He knew the answer before the other spoke it.
"...I'm sorry. But there's nothing I can do."
Shouta's heart came to a complete stop.
For a moment, nothing happened, then Shouta's whole body began to shake like a volcano about to erupt. He clenched his fists and teeth, his blood-red orbs glaring at the man before him.
"What do you mean you can't help?!" he snarled, though his voice was also shaking. His gaze flickered between All Might, Chiyo, and the other elfs then back to All Might. "You're the greatest hero in history and legends! You're known for slaying demons! I—WE-were sent all this way to find you! And now you're saying you can't do anything?!" His voice echoed around the room. The children flinched back while the adults appeared to be sympathetic.
All Might, however, just looked very, very sad.
"I wish I could help," he said. "I wish there was something, anything I could do for anybody—but I can't. All Might's been gone for over a hundred years now." He motioned for them to follow him. Fighting the urge to lunge forward and strangle the man, Shouta kept a steady pace behind him. The dwarfs trailed after him in a line like tiny ducklings, followed by the imps, then the rest of the adults.

The blond led them all to a room adorned with rubies and dark sapphires on the walls in a spangled decor of the stars. At the far back, along a wall hung a sword larger than all seven of the dwarfs. Izuku's jaw dropped with a gasp of amazement.

"Is that-!" All Might nodded and went into his tale.

"When I was a kid, I met a warrior named Nana Shimura. I always dreamed of being a hero like her, and I wanted to help people, so I begged her to take me on as an apprentice. She agreed almost immediately, though it was harder to convince the rest of my people to allow it."

"Why would your people be against it?" Momo inquired. All Might paused.

"Well, back then the dwarfs didn't like fraternizing with outsiders." There was a collective gasp of shock.

"YOU'RE A DWARF?!" Everyone exclaimed. No, Shouta didn't believe it. Dwarfs weren't well known, but the one thing everyone knew was that dwarfs were little people and All Might stood at least a foot taller than Shouta. The "dwarf" actually chuckled at their expressions, bemused.

"It's not well known, like a lot of things about dwarfs, but our growth depends on sunlight. Most of my—our people—tend—tended to hide away from the rest of the world and kept to their mines and only came out at night. When I became Nana's apprentice, however, that wasn't an option so I grew taller than all our folk ever did." The dwarfs thought about it and realized that before they left the forest, they never saw sunlight before.

"So, if we stay in sunlight, we'll grow big too?" Ochaco asked.

"Probably." The dwarfs were amazed at the idea of growing as tall as All Might. The atmosphere fell as he continued the story.

"There were a lot of demons back then, and it was nearly impossible to fight back. When Lady Nana perished, the mantle and the sword, 'One for All' fell to me. One for All was a powerful blade, but it wasn't enough to face down the demons. One day when the war turned desperate, I decided to use our jewels to embed it with Elfin magic." Tenya perked at the mention of the gemstones. "Our jewels?" All Might nodded.

"Yes, dwarfin jewels are very special, more so than any jewel across the land."

"Special?" the boy repeated. There was an odd tone of hope in his voice before All Might went on to explain.

"You all know how runes work, right?" They nodded. "When a rune is carved, a caster embeds the item with their magic. Our gems are used to amplify the magic by ten folds, or more, and store it. More than that, they were the only things able to hold elfin magic."

"Why was that important?" Denki asked.

"Because elfs have light magic, which are the only things capable of destroying demons," This time, it was Nezu who spoke. "However, it's difficult to focus the magic without assistance, which is where your jewels used to come in."

All Might picked up the Blade One for All and held it out so that the children could get a better look at it. He pointed to a slot.

"After the elfs carved their rune on a gem, I would place it in, and it would give One for All and myself the power I needed. With it, I became the symbol of peace I thought the world needed, to stand against the darkness."

"You did! My mom told me all the stories!" Izuku said suddenly. He tilted his head. "…Why did you stop?"

A feeling of sorrow filled the room, so heavy everyone felt their hearts break and shatter. All Might looked away as if staring into their faces hurt too much. He sank to the steps and dropped One For All to the side. The sword clattered and echoed throughout the room.

"One day, The Demon King discovered what I was and where our people dwelled, though I didn't realize that till later. I was lured away during and my absence, the demons attacked our village and the mines," He folded his arms over his legs. "He wanted to punish me for standing up to him, for defeating his armies time and again. He also knew that my powers came from the jewels. It was two birds with one stone. He destroyed everything and everyone—until I was the last one. Or so I thought," He finally looked at the dwarfs, a hundred years of pain and regret in his large, gaunt eyes. "When I found out, I was too late. Too late to save any of them. They were all gone. Either crushed underground or burned to ash."

Shouta stood like a statue as the realization hit him.

"So now that there are no jewels left… One for All is worthless," he said. "Meaning you can't fight the demons?" All Might sighed.

"A rune's magic runs after a number of uses. In the past, I had a ton of runes made so I could switch them out at moment's notice. But everything's gone now. The mines, the village—I don't even think my cottage made it."

"But you still defeated the Demon King." Shoto, who had been quiet in the back, pointed out. All Might shook his head.

"No, I didn't. The jewel in my blade was nearly dead. With the rest gone, I knew that I had to stop the Demon King then and there before—before he could hurt anyone else," All Might swallowed back his grief so he could continue. "So we confronted him one last time, hoping to end it all. I took an army of elfs, but… But I underestimated his power. He cursed the elfs, twisted their bodies into demonic trees that nearly killed me and everyone else." Realization dawned on Momo's features.

"The Demon King turned the elfin army into trees?" she said as the pieces fell together in her head.

"Hold on! So you're saying those trees, the forest we've been living in, were elfs turned into demon trees?!" Denki squeaked. Tsuyu shifted, wringing her hands. "That explains a lot though…"

All Might continued, "I was running out of time and magic, so I used a dwarfin mirror, the only thing to survive the demon attack, and used it to seal the Demon King within. Sadly, the fight had taken a lot out of me, and I collapsed." Nemuri stepped forward.

"With the Demon king's influence, the forest went wild and attacked us. We managed to save All Might but were forced to leave the mirror. We retreated here so All Might could heal and be purified, but while he was healing, Endeavor created the barrier, cutting us off from the rest of the world. We tried to remove it, but something was powering it, something that made it stronger than us. And All Might's power had run out. In the end, we could do nothing."

"We still can't. Despite being taller than all seven dwarfs put together, All Might looked very, very small.

"Now he's back. And who knows who he hurt along the way? All of that happened because of me. And now there's nothing I can do to stop him," he said. He looked regretfully at Shouta, who had gone completely numb. "And there's nothing I can do for your Hizashi. I'm sorry."

No.

No, Shouta couldn't accept that! He wouldn't! Not after he had come all this way! Not after everything that had happened! Not when they were his only hope-!

"What about you?" Shouta turned to the elfs, desperate. "You must be able to do something!" Nezu sighed sadly.

"I'm afraid we're not really fighters. In the past, we depended upon the dwarf gems to amplify our purity powers. Without them…" he didn't finish. Instead, he looked into an unseen distance. "For now, the barrier keeps the demons at bay. And the land itself repels them, but it won't last forever. When the demons come… we'll fight, but I can't promise victory. And as for your friend—I'm sorry. I truly wish we could save him."

Just like that, Shouta's world crumbled.

{To be Continued…}

Dwarf Notes:

*It's not well known, but despite living underground dwarfs need SUNLIGHT to grow, much like how a tree needs sunlight. This is why dwarfs are so short; because they feel they need to hide themselves and their secrets they hinder their growth by hiding underground. All Might on the other hand spent most his life in the sunlight and so he grew like a tree.