Chapter 123 : The Dragon's Sacrifice and a Flight of Sorrow

Ryukyu's command echoed in my ears, a final sentence that left no room for debate. "THAT'S AN ORDER, SOLDIER!"

I looked at her—my mentor, my commander—in her magnificent dragon form, preparing to face an entire army alone. In her golden eyes, I saw no fear. I only saw a burning determination, a resolution to protect us, her students, by staking her own life. The echo of the warrior's soul within me screamed to stay and fight by her side. But my logical mind, the mind from my former world, knew that it would be suicide. We wouldn't be reinforcements; we would just be an additional burden for her to protect. Her sacrifice would be in vain.

"I'm sorry, Tatsumi-kun."

Nejire's sob-filled whisper snapped me back to reality. Before I could protest further, she gripped my arm with surprising strength. Blue spiral energy exploded from her feet and hands, and we shot into the night sky like a reverse falling star.

I struggled, screamed, but my voice was lost in the roar of the wind. I could only look down as the scene of the battle grew smaller and smaller. I saw the giant silhouette of Ryukyu charging toward Geten's ice wall. I saw flashes of light as the Meta Liberation Army soldiers swarmed her like ants attacking a giant. I saw a devastating explosion of fire and ice as the battle between two dragons—one of flesh, one of ice—began in earnest. And then, the clouds covered the scene, and all that was left was a deafening silence and an overwhelming guilt in my heart.

Our flight back to the pickup point was the quietest and most painful journey of my life. Nejire said nothing. She just focused on flying as high and as fast as she could, silent tears streaming down her cheeks, freezing in the cold night air. I myself could only stare at my hands, feeling utterly useless. I had the power of a dragon within me, yet I was letting another dragon fight to the death for me.

"It's my fault," Nejire whispered after a long while, her voice hoarse and broken. "If only I were stronger... if only I hadn't run out of energy... I could have helped her. I wouldn't have just been a burden she had to protect."

"It's not your fault, Hado-senpai," I said quietly, finding my voice again. "It was a commander's decision. A leader's. She wasn't sacrificing herself. She was ensuring the mission succeeded. The information we carry... about the scale of their army, about their lieutenants... that information has to get into the hands of the heroes. That's what she's fighting for right now. Our job now is to make sure her sacrifice is not in vain."

My words sounded hollow even to my own ears, a feeble attempt to comfort myself as much as to comfort her. But I had to believe in it. I had to hold on to that logic to keep myself from total despair.

While we flew through the dark sky, below us, in the forest torn apart by battle, Ryukyu unleashed her fury.

She was the personification of a force of nature. She knew she couldn't win a battle of attrition, so her goal was to create as much chaos and damage as possible to buy time. Her heaven-shaking roar made the weaker MLA soldiers tremble in fear. Her devastating breath of fire was no longer focused but swept in all directions, burning trees and creating a wall of fire that hindered the army's movement. Her claws tore at the earth, throwing chunks of rock and soil into the air. Her massive tail swung like a giant whip, shattering the formations of soldiers who tried to get close.

But her opponents were not a disorganized mob. They were an army.

"Team A, hold back the fire with your energy shields!" a field commander shouted. "Teams B and C, attack from the flanks! Aim for her wings and legs! Team D, distract her from the front!"

They moved with a terrifying discipline, sacrificing a few soldiers to open a path for others. But the real threat was Geten. He stood atop a high ice pillar, acting as a general on his own battlefield. He didn't fight Ryukyu's fire with his own. He fought it with ice. He created ice projectiles the size of cars and launched them like artillery, forcing Ryukyu to keep moving. He froze the ground around Ryukyu, trying to trap her massive feet.

"You are strong, Dragon Hero," Geten said, his voice cold. "But you are alone. And we... we are legion."

Ryukyu roared in defiance and unleashed another, larger torrent of fire. But she knew she was tiring. Every movement, every attack, drained her stamina. She was starting to take small wounds, scratches from Quirk attacks that managed to penetrate her scales. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold out forever. But every second she held on was one more second for us to escape. And for that, she would fight to the end.

Far from the battlefield, in an emergency command center in Tokyo, the higher-ups of the Hero Public Safety Commission and several pro heroes stared at a data screen with tense expressions.

"We've lost audio and video contact with Ryukyu's team," a technician reported. "The entire Gunma mountain area is now a communications dead zone. Something there is actively jamming all standard signals."

"Our thermal satellites are detecting an incredibly large energy surge," another analyst said, pointing to a blazing hot spot on the map. "Something on the scale of All Might's fight in Kamino is happening there."

The President of the Public Safety Commission looked at Hawks, who stood calmly in a corner of the room. "This was the 'information' you gave Ryukyu, wasn't it, Hawks?" she asked in a dangerous voice. "You sent her there."

Hawks was unfazed. "I gave her a tip about potential terrorist activity. She chose to investigate it herself. She is a Top 10 Hero. She knew the risks." In his heart, Hawks felt a cold unease. He knew he had underestimated the scale of this threat. He had sent Ryukyu into something much bigger than he had anticipated. He could only hope that the 'anomaly' he was betting on could make a difference.

After a flight that felt like an eternity, Nejire and I finally arrived at our helicopter's location. We climbed inside, and Nejire immediately slumped in her seat, exhaustion and grief finally overcoming her. I immediately went to the encrypted long-range communication panel. I didn't contact the Commission. I didn't contact the police. I contacted the one person Ryukyu had ordered me to contact in an emergency like this. Principal Nezu.

The channel connected almost instantly. "Tatsumi-kun," Nezu's calm, intelligent voice came through. "I've been expecting your call. Ryukyu-san informed me she might send you. Give me your report."

With a voice I tried to keep steady, I reported everything. I reported about Deika City being a facade. I reported about the army of tens of thousands of Meta Liberation Army soldiers hiding underneath it. I reported about their lieutenants. And with the heaviest voice, I reported Ryukyu's decision to stay behind, to sacrifice herself so we could escape with this information.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. I could imagine Nezu's super-genius mind processing the information that had just shaken his world.

"I understand," he said finally, his voice filled with a cold seriousness. "This information... is invaluable. Ryukyu-san's sacrifice will not be in vain." He paused for a moment. "Return to U.A. as fast as possible. Avoid contact with anyone. This is now a matter of the highest level of national security."

The line went dead. I leaned back in my chair, feeling the weight of the entire world pressing on my shoulders. I had completed my mission. I had delivered the message. But the price was my mentor.

I looked out the helicopter window, toward the distant mountains where I knew an epic battle was still raging. A faint light was still visible on the horizon, like a dying star. I clenched my fists so tight my knuckles turned white. This wasn't over.

'I will come back for you, Ryukyu-san,' I thought, a silent vow in the quiet of the helicopter. 'I swear it.'