Chapter 41 is here! After all this time, you'll get to see the kind of unbridled fury and chaos ?% will bring now that it's finally appeared! So enjoy!
The heroes were frozen. Their skin crawled as the pressure around them continued to grow. The red, malignant aura that had begun shrouding Mob grew even more prominent.
Mob sent a small burst of psychic energy to free himself from All Might's grip. As he got himself back on his two legs, his eyes opened. Instead of the regular brown eyes held by Shigeo Kageyama, which reflected his overwhelming kindness, they were now blank white, devoid of any compassion or humanity. This only made the heroes even more uneasy.
"Mob? You ok? What's with that look?" Hawks cautiously approached his intern to try and de-escalate the situation. But the esper ignored the hero and placed his hand over his chest. A rainbow aura began glowing from his hand as he sent energy into his body. The rest of the heroes stood perplexed, but All Might could tell he was using his power to heal himself. Why would he blatantly expose that power in front of the heroes?
All Might didn't have time to ponder this. After restoring his broken ribs and respiratory system, ?% began walking in the direction he'd first started. As the esper took his first step, the ground trembled. Tree branches slowly rose, and a gust of wind flew around the heroes. With every step the esper took, the ground fractured, buckling under the weight of this unyielding power.
Endeavor tried to place a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Kageyama, don't ignore us. Tell us what's-"
A burst of rainbow energy came from ?%, knocking all the heroes back and creating a large explosion. They struggled to comprehend what they were witnessing as they got back to their feet. Why was Mob ignoring them like this? Why did he say nothing?
"What's happened to him?" Edgeshot asked, "Why is he giving off such a malevolent aura? Do any of you know what's causing him to behave like this?"
"Not a clue," said Hawks, "But you don't need to be a genius to figure out that whatever's going on with him can't be good."
"Kageyama!" The Symbol of Peace rushed before his student and stretched his arms. "Stop this! Get a hold of yourself!"
The esper's eyes widened. Another burst of white psychic energy was unleashed from his body. All Might could feel this overwhelming power surging against him. The number one hero was slammed across the forest, barreling through dozens of trees.
"All Might!" Jeanist yelled.
The aura around the teenager continued to grow. The trees were beginning to uproot themselves. A swirling vortex of air was forming around the teenager. Beneath their feet, the heroes could feel the tremors growing stronger.
"Kageyama, what do you think you're doing?" shouted Best Jeanist, "How could you attack All Might?" Shigeo ignored the number four hero. Infuriated, Best Jeanist attempted to restrain the student by manipulating the fibers on Shigeo's clothing. To his shock, the esper only took seconds to break free from the bindings.
In the forest, All Might was quickly recovering from Mob's attack, baffled by what was occurring. This power was unlike anything he'd ever used against All Might before. This pressure, this sense of fear... He'd remembered the sensation of feeling Mob's rage back at the U.S.J., but now, it was as though that sensation had been amplified many times. And then there was his sudden shift of demeanor. Usually, Mob would always hold back to make sure his attacks didn't hurt All Might, but this? There was no hesitation.
The number one hero quickly recovered and jumped back toward the other heroes, all growing more unnerved by the second.
"With every moment that passes, he's unleashing more of his power!" Edgeshot shouted, "If this keeps going, he could destroy the entire city!"
"Mob, please talk to us!" yelled Hawks, "I know what you heard must've been tough to process, but you don't have to freak out like this! If you don't stop, then people are gonna get hurt! I know you, of all people, wouldn't want that to happen!"
Despite the number three hero's attempt to reason with Mob, the esper paid no heed and kept his pace. Hawks grimaced: was he going to have to take drastic measures to stop him? With every second that Mob walked, the tension in the air grew. It was as if some primal force had been awakened inside Kageyama, an entity with no regard for others, solely focused on its objective. Hawks remembered what Mob had told him back at his internship, that whenever he was freed, he ended up hurting people. Hawks had assumed he was referring to experiencing a sense of overwhelming thrill, but could this be what he'd truly meant? The freedom to unleash all the power stored inside him to his fullest extent?
"Kageyama isn't himself!" The four heroes turned their heads at All Might's voice, laced with a mixture of fear and horror. Like Hawks, All Might had some understanding of the trauma and fear Kageyama possessed over losing control of his powers, but he never knew that it could get as bad as this. "The Kageyama I know would never think of attacking me with such malice! He'd never think of using his powers to hurt others in such a reckless manner! He must be going through an episode of some kind, and he can't think straight!"
"So then, what should we do?" yelled Edgeshot.
"Let's try to restrain him! I'll try using my feathers! Jeanist, Edgeshot, help me out!" The number three hero unleashed a copious amount of feathers. He accurately targeted those feathers to the sleeves of Shigeo's arms and upper legs and pinned him against a tree. While Hawks did this, Best Jeanist again manipulated the fibers on Shigeo's clothing to keep him in place. Then, Edgeshot used his Quirk, allowing himself to flatten and fold his body into a pointed string, which he then used to wrap himself around the esper's body as an extra measure. With all three heroes coordinating their attacks, the young esper's arms and legs were immobilized as he stood pinned to the large tree.
"That should hold him!" Hawks shouted.
The number one and two heroes took the opportunity and rushed toward Shigeo. The two pushed the esper against the tree as the final measure to keep Shigeo in place. This combined technique with all five top heroes indeed must've been enough to keep Kageyama restrained until they sorted this mess out.
"We're sorry for this, Kageyama," said All Might, "But we're going to need to keep you like this until you calm down and come to your senses!"
Alas, the heroes would quickly learn the futility of their efforts. Shigeo's malevolent red aura burst around him and mixed with his rainbow-colored aura. The feathers that had been keeping him in place were ripped to shreds. Edgeshot's thinned body was sent flying as the hero regrouped his body back into one. As before, Best Jeanist's control of Mob's fibers was broken. Edgeshot and Best Jeanist collided against the trees, blood forming in their mouths. More large quakes vibrated from beneath the esper's feet, now beginning to reverberate across the city.
Mob lifted his hand toward Hawks. Using his telekinesis, ?% wrapped Hawks' wings around his body and sent him flying through the air and into several trees. Then, the esper lifted his hands towards All Might and Endeavor, firing a large sphere of psychic energy.
"Texas Smash!"
"Flashfire Fist: Jet Burn!"
Combining their attacks, the two top heroes clashed with the energy sphere in another fiery explosion, barely repelling the psychic energy sphere. The collision of their attacks sent another quake throughout the ground, destroying the few trees that had still been left standing. When the explosion's smoke cleared, the heroes could see that the esper's energy had grown even more violent. The tremors shaking from ?%'s energy were increasing.
"All Might, Endeavor! Are you two ok?" Best Jeanist yelled.
"We're fine!" All Might replied, "Both of you, go check on Hawks to make sure he's alright! Endeavor, and I will handle this!"
"Ok!"
"All Might, you felt the power of that attack, didn't you?" Endeavor said, "If we're not careful, he could actually kill us."
"I know..." Even now, All Might struggled to come to terms with what was happening. What could have taken control of Mob to cause him to act this way? Was it some evil spirit from his original reality that had infected him? It must have been something along those lines.
"I don't want to admit it, but we might not have the luxury of holding back right now," said Endeavor. "It may pain us both, but with the power Kageyama's exerting, we'll have to use your full power to stop him."
The Symbol of Peace clenched his fists. Deep down, he knew that Endeavor was speaking the truth. Kageyama's power was only growing by the minute. If it got too out of hand, Edgeshot's prediction of the city being laid to waste could come true. So he had to end this as soon as possible.
"Carolina Smash!" The hero crossed his arms into an X shape and lunged toward the psychic teenager. At the same time, Endeavor rushed behind Mob and enveloped his hand with flames.
"Vanishing Fist!"
A large burst of air pressure came forth, decimating all the trees within half a mile from where they were. But the two top heroes were shocked when they saw the teenager had caught both attacks with his hands. In his right hand, ?% squeezed Endeavor's fist, and in his left hand, his grip was on the intersection of All Might's arms. Then, from his back, a series of air whips formed, grabbing onto the number two hero and slamming him into the ground before throwing him across the forest. The whips then wrapped themselves around the number one hero. All Might grunted as he felt the whips tightening around him like a snake that caught its prey.
The hero yelled, unleashing the full power of One For All inside of him and breaking free of the constraints. All Might would have to apologize for this next part when Mob's senses returned.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
Using all his power, All Might unleashed a devastating uppercut to the esper's chin. The air pressure from All Might's strength was incredible. It was as if a supermassive tornado had been formed. Had this attack not been directed upward, it would've surely destroyed all the buildings in its path. The hero stood in anticipation. Undoubtedly, one of his ultimate moves at point-blank range must've staggered him.
?% was motionless. A tiny drop of blood appeared from the corner of his mouth. ?% felt the blood on his mouth and brushed it with his thumb. The sight of the blood on his finger brought forth another surge of massive energy. The number one hero couldn't help but shudder in terror at the unbelievable aura emanating from Shigeo. What had happened to him?
White bolts of electricity began to form around the esper. The esper grabbed All Might by the throat. The hero desperately struggled to break free, unable to escape this monstrous grip. From his other hand, a telekinetic helix began to form. With a single punch, ?% barreled the telekinetic helix straight into All Might's chest, the scar from his fight with All For One.
With unbelievable, blinding speed, the number one hero was sent soaring through the air. The power in the esper's telekinetic helix was unlike anything before. Sent flying at speeds far surpassing sound, All Might could not recover as he soared through the air like a missile. So great was the speed he was traveling he reached a mountain range in only seconds. The hero crashed through the mountain, moving at strength and speed, allowing him to come through clean on the other side. Another peak was situated right behind it, and it was adorned with a giant hole that came clean out on both sides. At last, All Might crashed into the ground, destroying dozens of more trees and rocks unfortunate enough to be in his way and lay unconscious on the ground in defeat.
Back in Musutafu City, the number three hero was lying with his back against a large tree, reeling from the damage of being rammed through two dozen trees. From within the forest, Best Jeanist and Edgeshot quickly found the hero.
"Hawks!"
The two heroes rushed forward and lightly shook the winged hero. Hawks quickly regained consciousness and stood back on his feet.
"Are you injured?" Edgeshot asked.
"Nothing serious," Hawks replied, "But now's not the time to worry about me. Let me take a look at what's going on." Hawks took to the skies to see what was happening now, and it was worse than he feared. He saw the violent energy swirling around Mob, watching as the ground shook with even more violence. He never thought he'd say this with the Symbol of Peace fighting alongside them, but it looked like they'd need some backup. He reached for his phone, which thankfully hadn't been destroyed by the impact, but when he tried calling the Hero Commission for reinforcements, his phone wasn't getting any reception. That didn't make sense: it had full bars last he'd checked. Could it be Mob, then? Could his powers somehow be affecting all electronics in the area? That only made things even more complicated.
Hawks grimaced when he took a look at the buildings near the forest. The growing intensity of the earthquakes was spreading throughout the city. With his keen eyes, he could see the few people in the streets losing their footing, trembling with fear at the sudden earthquakes. The hero's body shook in horror when he saw the buildings near the forest beginning to crumble. The buildings couldn't withstand the intense vibrations so close to the epicenter of the quakes.
"DAMN IT!" Hawks rushed over at top speed to the unstable building. The other two heroes noticed this and decided to follow him. With his Quirk, he sent an array of feathers into the building, sensing the vibrations in the air to locate any people in the building. Thankfully, it was late in the afternoon, so there weren't many people still at work. He breathed a sigh of relief when the feathers brought all the citizens back into the streets.
"Get away from here! It's not safe!" Hawks yelled. The citizens heeded the words of the number three hero and ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Hawks noticed the surrounding buildings: he could already see cracks beginning to form in the foundations of buildings all across the block. If Mob didn't stop, all these buildings would be destroyed, just as Edgeshot had predicted.
Both Edgeshot and Best Jeanist arrived at the street. "We need to evacuate everyone we can from the buildings! Find whoever you can and get them out before the buildings collapse! We don't have long!"
Without warning, the three heroes heard a sonic boom thunder through the air. They turned their heads and saw some high-speed object jet through the air like a missile. The heroes felt their hearts drop to the ground. What just happened?
"I'll check it out! You two focus on evacuation!"
Hawks sped over to the sight of this high-speed object and found Mob walking as usual. Several feet away, Endeavor was struggling to get back up. A horrible sensation crept up when he discovered All Might was nowhere in the area. Then did that mean...
"Endeavor, where's All Might?" Hawks yelled.
"He was just sent flying!" Endeavor replied. The hero's wings shuddered: so it was just as he feared. So then, what happened to All Might? Was he ok? There was no way Mob would kill All Might, right?
A tornado began to form around ?%. Unfortunately, the trees and nearby debris were caught up in this newly formed tornado, creating a violent wind threatening anyone it touched.
"Dammit, what's happening? What the hell is Mob so determined to do that he'd fight us all like this?" Hawks needed to think this through. Clearly, Mob had an objective. When he'd first awakened, he had begun walking, only fighting them when they'd tried to stop him. The hero gazed in the direction Mob was walking and saw the answer clear as day. He was walking toward U.A. High!
"Endeavor, I think I know how to get Mob under control! I'll be right back! Just try to keep him occupied until I return!"
The number three hero soared at top speed toward the school. It was all making sense now. Mob had first tried to head over to U.A. High to talk to Eraserhead and convince him not to expel the rest of his class. Something inside him must've snapped and taken control of him to continue that objective, no matter who got in his way. So if Mob could hear Mr. Aizawa tell him his class wasn't expelled, then it'd be enough for him to calm down and stop this rampage.
It only took a few seconds for the winged hero to make it to U.A. High. He did a quick surveillance of the campus: where would the teacher's offices be? Even though he was the number three hero, he never actually went to U.A. High, ironic as that sounded. Hawks noted the largest building shaped like an H and decided to start there. Once he reached the ground, he barged through the doors and started sprinting through the hallways.
Luckily for Hawks, it was still summer break, so no groups of students were hanging out in the hallways. Still, he needed to look for directions. So, as he continued sprinting through the hall, he looked up at every sign hung on the wall or above the doors. One of them had to be the teacher's office.
Running through the hallway took more than 20 seconds before he finally found the teacher's offices.
"ERASERHEAD!" Hawks slammed the door open and yelled out the hero's name, hoping he wouldn't have to waste more time searching. Instead, to his relief, he saw the hero popping up his head from behind his desk. "Thank god you're here! You need to come with me right now!"
"Hawks? What're you doing here?" Aizawa said.
"It's Kageyama! Something's wrong with him! COME ON!" The erasure hero's entire body tensed up. Something was happening to Kageyama? Aizawa rushed off of his desk and went out the door with Hawks.
"What do you mean something's wrong with him?" Aizawa asked.
"When he heard you'd expelled most of Class 1-A, he panicked and tried to rush over here and change your mind," Hawks explained, "But his powers were starting to go out of control, and All Might knocked him out to be safe. But somehow, that made it even worse! Now he's completely out of control, releasing his powers with no restraints! He even attacked All Might!"
"WHAT?!" Mr. Aizawa gasped. For Mob, of all people, to attack All Might? He'd thought that All Might would've been able to calmly explain the situation to Mob, that given their connection, All Might would be able to reason with the teenager. So then, how could things have taken such a drastic turn? Now that he realized it, he thought about the light vibrations he'd felt for the past few minutes. He'd assumed that it was simply the electric or heating system of U.A. High or someone in the Support Course who'd whipped up a new invention. But were those tremors really caused by Mob?
"So those quakes I've been feeling, is Kageyama responsible for those?" he asked.
"Yeah, and they're only getting worse by the second? Can't you feel the ground shaking more even from here?" Eraserhead paid attention to the vibrations beneath him and to his horror, realized that Hawks was correct. The tremors were becoming more violent!
"He got this way because he heard you'd expelled his classmates, so if you tell him that you've changed your mind, that might be enough to bring him back! Or use your Quirk to erase his Quirk!" Mr. Aizawa internally grimaced. No, he couldn't just erase Kageyama's Quirk. It'd be pointless, but none of the other heroes could know that! The teacher sprinted with even greater intensity: if this was caused because of his decision, then he had to fix it immediately!
"Come on, take us there now!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" As the two heroes found an exit, the number three hero picked up Eraserhead and soared into the sky. This had to work!
In the Hero Commission headquarters, the heads of each department were having another meeting. After their previous meeting with the police, the Commission realized the opportunity presented before them with Shigeo's rising popularity. Even now, his name and his battle with All For One continued to trend worldwide.
"Look at these numbers," Nakatomi said, "The popularity polls for Kageyama keep rising. The news video that captured the fight already has more than five hundred million views on Youtube. And public opinion on heroes has started to rise again after it'd taken a dip when the camp was attacked."
"Well, that's a relief," Hano said, "I was beginning to worry that we'd be experiencing a more severe loss of trust from the public. As you said, Nakatomi, it looks like Kageyama saved us."
"And it's why we need to take advantage of this momentum!" she continued, "Right now, the world is foaming at the mouth, waiting to see him back on camera, to hear what he has to say in the wake of his legendary battle with All For One. I've already contacted some of the top news agencies from around the world. They were just as desperate for this interview as I thought. So we've got some of the top interviewers in the world who want to get this story."
"That sounds golden," Kamori uttered, "I can start drafting some legal contracts for the distribution rights. We'll want to ensure that the interview has the right sponsorship and streams and that most of the profits go to the Hero Commission. This interview's going to make an unprecedented amount of money."
"What about the other heroes? Should they be a part of the interview?" Fujino questioned.
"I think it would make things easier if we just focused the interview on Kageyama," Nakatomi replied, "Perhaps another time, but for right now, it would be easiest to get a one-on-one interview with Kageyama."
"And you're sure he'd be ok being paraded around like this?" Fujino remarked.
"Look, Fujino; we've been handed a golden opportunity here." Nakatomi's voice was stern and confident. "This is our chance to build up Kageyama as the next symbol of peace. If we do this right and sell his image in a way that enamors the public even more, think of what that would mean for the Commission and Hero Society."
The Commission's president agreed with her fellow worker's reasoning. "Nakatomi's right. The possibilities presented before us would be too big for us to ignore. If we explain this to Kageyama, I'm sure he'll understand our reasons."
"Excuse me!" Though the heads of the Hero Commission were eagerly deliberating on the best ways they could utilize Kageyama's newfound popularity, a member of the Commission barged into the door before they could get into the more important details. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it appears there's some sort of incident occurring at Musutafu City."
All the people in the room perched their bodies up. "What kind of incident?"
"I'm not sure, but police are reporting tremors throughout the city and some violent explosions occurring in Yavin Forest! They also caught sight of Hawks flying in the air! From what it looks like, it seems he and some other heroes are engaging with a villain!"
The four heads of the Hero Commission began to exchange uneasy looks.
"Yavin forest isn't too far away from the hospital Kageyama was staying at," Fujino replied, "And we know that the top heroes were guarding Kageyama at the hospital. So what could this mean?"
"We need more information," realized Hano, "Let's get Hawks on the line and have him give us an update."
"But what if he's in battle?" said Fujino.
"I'm sure we wouldn't be interfering. He excels at multi-tasking, and we need an update now." Hano picked up her phone and called the hero, but to her surprise, his phone immediately went to voicemail. The Commission President and the others were beginning to grow more worried. What could Hawks and the others be doing right now? What was responsible for causing another large-scale incident like this? Was it another attack by the League of Villains? Could they have countered so quickly after the training camp?
Endeavor was staying strong against this tremendous power. As Hawks had flown away towards U.A. High, it left the number two hero alone to fight the esper. It was up to him to hold off Kageyama long enough for Hawks to return with whatever solution he had. But could he hold him off by himself?
As much as he hated to admit it, his strength couldn't hope to match All Might, and Kageyama had just sent him flying as though it was nothing. In that case, the best way to hold him back would be to use long-range attacks. He'd have to use everything in his arsenal against a power such as this.
"Ignited Arrows!" Endeavor created a series of flaming arrows and launched them at ?%. But the esper casually knocked all of them away with a wave of psychic energy from his palm. Endeavor grunted. How much more serious was he going to have to go? Would he have to use his more deadly moves? He loathed the thought of possibly burning Shigeo after everything he'd done for Endeavor, but lives were at stake. He couldn't let Mob escape this forest, no matter what.
"Hell's Curtain!"
Endeavor threw his fists back, concentrating his flames into a single point. He then threw his arms forward, emitting a massive fire blanket onto his opponent. The hero felt horrified as he saw the flames circle the forest and char the fallen trees. He prayed that Mob could escape from this attack with only minor injuries. With his power, Endeavor was confident this wouldn't do much more than light burns at most. But at least with this, the esper would be occupied for a bit.
Alas, the Flame Hero was about to be proven very wrong. Within a few seconds, ?% dispersed the flames with a massive gust of wind, emerging completely unharmed. The entity stared at Endeavor and raised his index finger. He immediately prepared to go on the defensive: was it another energy attack? But, to the hero's shock, it was something else entirely.
From the esper's finger, a massive torrent of flames emerged. The flame hero gasped: Kageyama could generate flames?
"Jet Burn!" Endeavor acted instinctively and unleashed one of his ultimate moves to defend himself. The two whirlwinds of flames collided in a glorious inferno. Endeavor couldn't believe what was happening: How could Kageyama generate flames that were powerful enough to match one of his strongest moves with only a single finger? Just who the hell was he?
As their flame attacks continued to clash, ?% raised the intensity and used his entire palm instead. In an instant, a vortex of blazes erupted from the esper's hand, rapidly overcoming Endeavor's flames. Endeavor felt himself being pushed back, nearly engulfed by Shigeo's flames. He had no choice: he had to unleash his strongest move!
"PROMINENCE BURN!"
The flames around Endeavor's body flared up in a brilliant light. The hero unleashed his maximum firepower, concentrating everything he had into a monstrous beam of heat that would leave any regular opponent nothing but ash. The full power of Endeavor's flames managed to push back ?%'s attack, and now the two attacks were at a stalemate, clashing together like an uncontrollable wildfire. The heat produced from these combined flames was burning as hot as the furnaces of Hell itself, sure to incinerate anyone else unfortunate enough to come across its path.
?% felt a rush of anger. It placed its left hand in front of itself, cupping its hands together to form a massive beam of flame. The orange flames generated from the esper's attack were now turning blue. Within seconds, these brilliant blue flames swallowed Endeavor's flames, and the Flame Hero watched helplessly as this inferno washed over him like a shower of heat.
?% lowered his hands. As the smoke cleared, the fallback of this unreal clash of flames became visible. The number two hero was still standing, but anyone could see that the attack had made its mark on him. His breath was haggard, and the trademark flames around his shoulders had disappeared. Behind him, the trees unfortunate enough to be in the path were completely vaporized. Thankfully, Endeavor's Prominence Burn managed to push back the esper's flames sufficient to limit the scope of ?%'s attack, but it had taken its toll.
Endeavor was at a loss. How could such unbelievable power exist? While Endeavor was fighting just to stand, Kageyama looked like he'd barely broken a sweat. Even labored breathing was absent from the esper. Who could stop someone as powerful as this?
As before, ?%'s red aura grew around him, and he slowly approached the number two hero. Endeavor's mind was racing: what else could he do? He'd already unleashed his most powerful attack. He had nothing left! Where was Hawks?
?% looked up at the sky. The number three hero came soaring down to the scene with Eraserhead in tow as if on cue. Looking at the destruction from above, both heroes were utterly baffled by what they saw. An entire section of the forest had been incinerated as if it were nothing but a desert wasteland.
The esper immediately noticed Eraserhead, and his aura again burst to life. Without warning, Hawks and Eraserhead felt a massive push of gravity around them, sending the pair plummeting to the ground. Aizawa felt a telekinetic pull bring him right before the teenage esper. ?% gripped its hand around the hero's throat.
"Kageyama, listen to me!" The eraser hero ignored the pain of the psychic's hand on his throat and stared straight into ?%'s white, lifeless eyes. "I've changed my mind! I'm not going to expel the rest of the class! They'll still be a part of the hero course! You don't have to worry about them anymore! So please, stop this!"
The two remained motionless, frozen in time. ?%'s blank eyes continued to look deep into Aizawa's gaze as if looking into the depths of his soul to see whether or not there was any hint of deception. At last, after this standoff had continued for what felt like an eternity, ?% slowly loosened his grip on the hero's throat and crumpled unconscious on the floor.
Mr. Aizawa caught Shigeo's body before he could fall to the ground. Had it worked? Was Mob finally back to himself?
The number two and number three heroes rushed over to the esper's side, but before Hawks could get there, he heard his phone ring. He looked at it and saw the Head of the Hero Commission had called him eight times. So she must've been trying to contact him to figure out what the hell had been happening.
"Hello?"
"Hawks! We've been trying to get in touch with you for the past five minutes! First, we've heard reports of tremors across the city, and now we heard some massive flames in Yavin Forest! What in god's name happened?"
Hawks struggled to reply, for he hated to admit the culprit behind this disaster. "...It was Kageyama." The hero heard a chorus of gasps on the other line, which meant Hana must've been with the other heads of the Commission.
"He heard his class was expelled by Eraserhead and rushed to U.A. High to talk to him. All Might knocked him unconscious, but then... something happened to him. When he woke up, he started going berserk, attacking us all and unleashing his energy. Thankfully, we managed to stop him, but the damage was pretty severe. All Might was blown away during the battle, and he hasn't come back. Endeavor's injured, and Best Jeanist and Edgeshot are helping the citizens."
The president of the Commission stayed stunned silent for several seconds, unable to process this unbelievable turn of events. "Don't let ANYONE near Kageyama, and wait for further instructions until the Hero Commission Task Force gets there!" The winged hero sighed as he hung up the phone.
"Endeavor! Hawks!" Best Jeanist and Edgeshot were rushing to the scene from within the forest. The two heroes panicked when they saw the massive clash of flames from a distance and came to see what in the world was happening. But as they arrived, they found that the battle had apparently ended, and the boy who'd been fighting them was now unconscious in Eraserhead's arms.
"Eraserhead, when did you get here?" Edgeshot asked.
"Hawks brought me here to stop Kageyama. From what it sounds, he freaked out when he heard his classmates were expelled. Thankfully, once I told him I'd reversed my decision, whatever switch had been flipped inside him turned off."
"And is Kageyama going to-"
Before Best Jeanist could finish his sentence, Shigeo Kageyama's eyes began to flutter open slowly. Opening his eyes, he found his homeroom teacher hovering above him. Now was his chance!
"Mr. Aizawa, please don't expel my class! They didn't mean to go against U.A. High by breaking the rules! They were only trying to help me! It isn't..." Shigeo's voice petered out when he started noting the scenery around him. This wasn't where he was just a few seconds ago. Instead of the lush green view, instead, there was nothing but smoke and ash. Charred, uprooted trees littered the area all around him. It was as if he'd been taken to a war zone.
"Where are we? I thought we were in a forest."
The heroes all exchanged glances with each other. "Wait, you mean you don't remember anything that just occurred?" Best Jeanist asked.
"No, I..."
96%
The horror dawned upon him as he realized what must've happened. "No, please don't tell me it happened again..."
Hawks took note of that last word. "Again? You mean this has happened to you before?"
"Yes. Sometimes I lose control of my psychic powers, and it's always happened whenever I'm unconscious..." The teenager's brain was flooded with the horrible images of his unconscious brother, of Salt Vinegar Middle School wholly demolished. But before he could dwell on those thoughts, another horrible realization occurred. Looking around him, one person was missing.
"Wait, where's All Might? He was here before." He gazed at the faces of the heroes to see their reactions and immediately noticed both Hawks and Endeavor looking away.
"Don't tell me I hurt him!"
"Calm down, Mob." The number three hero kneeled and touched Shigeo's shoulder while reassuringly smiling. "You roughed him up a bit, but it's nothing he couldn't handle. He's probably just shaking off the damage and will be back here any minute." The truth was, Hawks wasn't even sure whether All Might was alive, but he had to try and give Kageyama at least some words of comfort. But the hero's efforts were in vain.
97%
Shigeo knelt and placed his hands on the ground. He couldn't believe this was happening.
"I thought things were finally starting to turn around. When I beat All For One, I felt... proud. Not because I beat a strong villain but because it felt like it was a sign everything I'd done to improve myself had worked. I pushed past my limits, saved my friends, and found out how to perfect my healing. It made me think I could finally move forward and use my powers to really help people for a change. But..."
98%
Tears were forming in his eyes, dripping onto the ground. His body began to tremble lightly, and his hands clenched into fists. "Here I am again. I lost control of my power. Everything around me is destroyed. People got hurt." Shigeo's body trembled with even greater intensity, and the tears were beginning to pour out of Shigeo's eyes like a dam with a leak. His breathing was quickly being replaced with sobbing, and his psychic energy was swirling around him.
99%
"No matter what I do, no matter where I go or how hard I try, I always end up right back here! Why?! Why does it have to be this way?! WHY CAN'T I CHANGE?!"
100% Sorrow
The dam of emotions inside Shigeo Kageyama had now burst. All the frustration, confusion, and sadness swirling around inside him like a hurricane had now been unleashed. Shigeo sobbed like he'd never sobbed before. Every ounce of agony was being spilled through his tears, fueling his powers not through the uncontrollable, untamed anger displayed before but through the helpless cries of a child caught in a cycle he believed he could never escape. Even the sadness he'd felt witnessing the destruction of Salt Vinegar Middle School could not compare to the despair drowning Shigeo Kageyama.
Watching Mob cry with such raw emotion, the number three hero could feel tears of his own forming in his eyes. Never in his life had he seen anyone sob with this kind of sadness. Unable to stand idly by as his pupil suffered, Hawks knelt down and gently hugged the esper, wrapping his arms around his chest. Endeavor followed Hawks' lead and tenderly embraced the sobbing teenager. Mr. Aizawa joined the other two and placed his arms around the esper's back. Even Best Jeanist and Edgeshot could not bear to watch this young child crying alone like this and affectionately placed their hands on the esper's back.
Mob desperately held on to the embrace, and his tears stained the number three hero's jacket. But as the heroes held him, they began to feel something shift within their hearts. Just as All Might had experienced when he'd kept the crying Mob in his arms, the esper's energy was spreading, seeping into the hearts of the heroes and carrying Shigeo's sorrow with it. But whereas All Might had only gotten a taste of Mob's emotions, the intensity of Mob's 100% state magnified the feelings in his energy.
Before they knew it, all five heroes could feel the tears falling uncontrollably down their cheeks. None of them could believe what they were feeling. The heroes thought they'd gotten a decent idea of the sorrow that had overcome Shigeo, but it was only now that they shared his energy that they could genuinely comprehend how deep his despair had overtaken him. It was as if they'd been on a stranded island surrounded by an ocean of sadness and wondering about the empty coldness in those waters. But now, they were drowning in that ocean alongside Kageyama, feeling the cold emptiness of the dark blue sea.
The heroes held the young esper for ten minutes as he poured his tears out. From around the forest, the police were helping with the wounded, getting anyone out of the buildings that Edgeshot and Best Jeanist hadn't. Though many wanted to go to the heart of the incident to find out what was happening, they'd been given strict orders by the Hero Commission not to move in. So instead, a private task force for the Hero Commission was moving in.
After ten minutes of grieving, the esper lifted his head when they noticed a large van arrive. The heroes pushed themselves back to their feet and wiped the tears from their eyes. Hawks easily recognized this van as belonging to the Hero Commission. A group of six Hero Commission soldiers came out from the back of the van. The heroes tensed up when they saw the soldiers dragging out an iron maiden.
"What's going on?" asked Hawks.
"Orders from the heads of the Commission. Shigeo Kageyama will be detained and monitored in Tartarus until further notice."
The heroes had been expecting something to address what'd happened, but none of them imagined that the Hero Commission could ever resort to something so drastic. What could've possibly compelled them to make this decision?
"You've got to be kidding me. Are we sure we all heard him right?" In the top office of the Hero Commission headquarters, the heads of the Commission were still trying to process what their top agent had just told them. Right now, Nakatomi was pacing in the center of the room, frantically deliberating on this sudden news.
"I can't believe this is happening. How could the boy who'd been showing such promise suddenly do something so drastic?" Nakatomi continued.
"Just calm down, Nakatomi," the Commission President said, "We don't have time for you to wrap your head around this. Right now, time is of the essence. We need to decide what we're going to do."
"But this ruins everything! If the public found out that the boy they thought would be the next Symbol of Peace lost control and nearly leveled an entire city, they'd lose all faith in him! Everything he did and said before would be completely forgotten! They'd turn against him. Some people might even demand that he doesn't become a hero."
"We can't allow that to happen." Hano sat still in her seat, her hands clasped together as she mulled over the best option. "As you mentioned, Kageyama gave us a golden opportunity to promote hero society. It's the Hero Commission's job to maintain the status quo and make sure this society doesn't crumble into chaos as it did several decades ago. Until we get an understanding of what happened with Kageyama, this must be kept a secret. The world isn't ready to hear about this, not now of all times."
The rest of the heads of the Commission silently nodded their heads in agreement. "So then how do you suggest we deal with Kageyama?" Fujiro asked.
"For now, I think he needs to be placed in Tartarus." Kamori finally decided to speak up. "Navigating all the legal matters and charges that could be filed against Kageyama would be a nightmare. But if he's truly capable of this destruction, keeping him under maximum surveillance would be safer. We'd make sure he won't have any chance to use his Quirk and lose control again."
"I know we need to analyze the situation properly, but Tartarus?" Fujino exclaimed, "That's where the worst of the worst are kept. Don't you think that's going a little too far?"
"We can't be too safe about this. We're talking about someone who could be stronger than All Might."
"Kamori is correct." Being the pragmatic leader she was, Hano felt monitoring Kageyama extensively with the strictest security in the world was the proper choice. "We'll send our private task force to take him to Tartarus. No police can be allowed to go to the scene of the disaster. We need as few people to know about this as possible."
"We'll also need to make sure things are cleared up at the hospital," Kamori added, "We can't let anyone know that Kageyama left. The public must believe he's still in an injured state. If any eyewitnesses glimpsed Mob leaving, we must find them now."
"Fujino, get to work on the hospital staff. I'll send the task force to the forest. They'll only be a few minutes before they arrive at Kageyama's location. Nakatomi, see if you can find out where All Might is and how badly injured he could be. We'll need to fill him in on what's happening to ensure he doesn't leak anything to the media. The same goes for any heroes fighting against Kageyama in the forest."
"Kageyama, please step into the iron maiden." The task force for the Hero Commission stood in silence. Like the heads of the Commission, it'd been quite a shock that the student who'd defeated All For One and fought for his life to save the city was the very one who'd been responsible for this devastation. But still, orders were orders, and they knew better than to disobey the heads of the Safety Commission.
Shigeo lifted his foot, somberly preparing to be taken away, but before he could place his foot on the ground, Endeavor and Hawks immediately stood before him, preventing him from going further.
"No. I won't allow you to take Kageyama to Tartarus as if he were some psychopathic criminal," The Flame Hero snarled.
"You've got that right." The number three hero took a feather from his wings and pointed it toward the task force like a sword. "I'm drawing the line here. You're not taking Kageyama out of here in an Iron Maiden."
Eraserhead's binding cloth floated into the sky, staring menacingly at the task force with his Quirk active. "We're going to sort this out, but not with Kageyama in a prison cell."
"Agreed." The number four and five heroes joined the other three, all five heroes standing together against the task force. Kageyama and the task force were baffled. Were they actually defending him? How could they be so openly defiant against the Hero Public Safety Commission's direct orders?
They failed to understand that all five had been connected to Kageyama's heart. They all shared his pain and suffering: they could fully comprehend the helplessness, grief, and inner hatred that this young teenager was feeling in the wake of this destructive rampage. It was their jobs as heroes to protect people, and the last thing they were going to allow was a hurting, confused child to be shipped off to prison and treated like a criminal.
The task force felt like they were about to soil themselves. Five of the top heroes all threatening them at once? What the hell could any of them do to convince them to stand down? As it happened, they wouldn't have to.
"Stop." The esper pushed himself to the front of the five heroes. "Look, I'll go with them."
"Mob, come on!" Hawks placed a hand on his pupil's shoulder. "You don't have to do this. We can work this out another way." The esper looked at the number three hero with a face that had given up all hope.
"No, we can't. Please. I don't want to make this harder than it already is." The young teenager continued forward. The other heroes wanted to stop him, but they could all tell by the look in Shigeo's eyes that any fight inside of him had long vanished, and any of their words or efforts would fall on deaf ears.
Mob walked into the iron maiden, and the task force gently secured the lockings over the psychic's body.
"Sorry about this." The esper heard one of the soldiers mutter this into his ear as he secured the bindings.
"I swear I'll get this mess straightened up, Mob!" Though the winged hero tried to give Shigeo this reassurance, it hardly mattered to him. At that moment, nothing could give him any sort of comfort or relief. He'd utterly failed to change himself as he'd hoped, and now, he was paying the price for his actions and being carted away in chains. Whatever hope for improvement he'd experienced before was now gone, like flame in the night snuffed out of existence.
The sun had almost completely set over Japan. In an apartment complex of Musutafu City, far from U.A. High and Yavin Forest, Izuku Midoriya sat in his darkened room alone. When the teenager had returned home, he'd directly avoided his mother. He didn't want to explain the reason for Mr. Aizawa summoning him and the rest of the class to U.A. High. Izuku knew that the letter of expulsion would be arriving later tonight or tomorrow morning, but he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to be the one to tell his mother the news, or if he'd let her see the letter first.
Regardless, both of them were a reminder of the same thing: that he'd failed. He'd gone against U.A. High's rules, put his friends in danger, and ended up getting almost his entire class expelled from one of the top hero schools in the world. He'd risked all of their futures as heroes. Even if they could get into other hero schools, it wouldn't remove the mark on their resume, a permanent scar that would remind anyone who saw it of their failures.
And then there was All Might. What was going to happen between him and his mentor now? There's no way Izuku could ever ask All Might to leave U.A. High to join another hero school. That was his alma mater, the place where he'd trained to become the number one hero. It would be too cruel to ask that of him. Not to mention, it would mean leaving Shigeo behind, too. His best friend was still a student at U.A. High, and he'd finally started to receive the recognition he deserved. Shigeo would need All Might by his side to help him navigate his life and hone him into the best hero in the world. Maybe that was the only thing left to do: let All Might and Shigeo go and work hard to train alone. Maybe then, he could stand beside Mob as his friend and hero.
On his desk, Izuku heard his phone buzzing rapidly. It looked as though he was getting news notifications from multiple news channels he'd subscribed to. He'd been hearing the notifications going off on his phone for the past thirty minutes, but he'd decided to ignore them. But now the notifications were arriving at such a fast pace... It must've meant that something big had happened.
Curious, he grabbed his phone and clicked on the news notification. He looked down and noticed there was a breaking news report. The teenager's eyes widened: it was on an incident in Musutafu City. Izuku read the headline-
Massive Villain Attack in Yavin Forest
"At 6:00 this afternoon, an unidentified villain caused a rampage in the Yavin Forest of Musutafu City. Citizens report feeling tremors shaking all throughout the city, as well as massive explosions and infernos from the forest. Buildings within a one-mile radius of the forest have been seriously damaged or destroyed. 53 people have been reported dead, and 103 are seriously wounded." Izuku gasped. There was another villain attack? And with so many casualties.
"All Might is confirmed to have been one of the heroes who fought the villain, though he was knocked out of commission during the battle. A group of hikers came across his unconscious body, and a shocking discovery was made."
The teenager scrolled down, and felt his heart stop beating at the image below. All Might was lying unconscious in a crater with his true form completely exposed. "All Might's body appears to have been dramatically weakened and reduced to a frail, broken state. All Might was flown to a hospital in Jaku City, though reports say he remains in critical condition. The details of what this means or the incident with the villain are unclear. We will be waiting on updates from the Hero Commission for more information."
Izuku lost feeling in his legs and dropped to the ground. He couldn't believe it. All Might's secret had been exposed. And as if that wasn't enough, now he was in the hospital in critical condition. How could this be happening? Why was everything around Izuku suddenly imploding?
Jaku Hospital was surrounded to the brim with news reporters. Just as the media had hounded Shigeo Kageyama in the wake of his victory over All For One, the world was now relentlessly sinking its teeth into this new, utterly world-breaking incident.
The Hero Commission had desperately hoped to avoid something like this. But, unfortunately for them, they had been too late to find All Might before the hikers had posted the pictures on social media. By then, the news had spread across the world like wildfire. The indestructible Symbol of Peace was nothing but a small man who looked like a living skeleton. People had to know what this meant: was All Might always like this? Was he weakened specifically from the fight with this villain? Did he plan to retire? When was he going to wake up? These were the questions that the public was desperate to know, yet not one reporter would be getting an inch.
In the hospital, Gran Torino stood over his pupil's unconscious body. From what the doctors had told him, it was looking very bad. They'd gotten a look at the massive scar on the right side of his chest. After conducting a thorough medical examination, they came to realize how utterly damaged the hero's internal organs were. Any regular person would've been forced to stay bedridden for life with injuries like these.
Unfortunately, ?%'s telekinetic helix had directly hit the scar. As a result, the red skin that'd discolored his chest before was now purple. His respiratory system was almost completely ruined, requiring the doctors to hook him up to a respirator.
"Toshinori..." The old hero placed his hand over All Might's chest. It pained him to see his pupil lying beaten and broken on a hospital bed, just as he'd been six years ago after his battle with the Symbol of Evil. But Gran Torino couldn't hide the damage done to All Might anymore. Now, the world could see that the indestructible Symbol of Peace was a shell of his former power. What would happen now? Who would take All Might's place now that he was injured? Gran Torino didn't know. He could only pray that the number one hero could prove his strength and make it out of this alive.
Oh my god! Shigeo's in Tartarus! All Might is in a coma! Just when everything appeared to be looking up for Shigeo, things take a dramatic 180-degree turn! What's going to happen to All Might? How long will Mob be stuck in Tartarus? Guess you're going to have to wait until the next chapter to find out!