Chapter 129 : The Fire That Melts a Mountain

My words hung in the tense air of the Mobile Command Center, a gamble so insane it made the technicians around us stop working and stare at me in horror. I had just suggested deliberately causing a structural collapse in a mountain filled with allies and enemies.

"Tatsumi, are you insane?!" Aizawa-sensei's panicked and angry voice came through the communicator, full of static. "That could kill everyone, including us! Retract that order!"

Across from me, Principal Nezu looked at me, his black beady eyes showing no surprise, but rather a flash of cold, rapid analysis. He processed my plan, comparing it to the projected casualties if this war of attrition continued, weighing the risks and potential rewards in a split second. All Might, standing behind me, placed his thin hand on my shoulder. I could feel the tremor in his hand.

"Young man," he whispered, his voice heavy. "Are you sure about this?"

I didn't turn around. My eyes were fixed on the tactical map, on the dozens of trapped and flashing blue icons. "This is our only way," I said, my voice steady, hiding the storm of doubt within me. "We can't win their war. So, we'll destroy their battlefield."

Nezu made his decision. He pressed the priority communication button, his calm, sharp voice cutting through all other channels, including Aizawa's protests. "Endeavor," he said. "You have your new target from Tyrant. Execute his command."

A moment of silence on the communication channel. Then, the heavy growl of the Number One Hero. "Finally... an order that makes sense."

Nezu looked at me. "Alright, Commander Tatsumi. You've thrown the dice. Now, manage the chaos you're about to create."

I immediately took over the main microphone. "All teams, this is Tyrant! New orders, listen closely! Disregard all enemies! Your top priority right now is survival! Find the strongest structural support in your area—concrete tunnels, basements, anything! Take cover now! I repeat, brace for a massive tremor and structural collapse in..." I glanced at a timer. "...ninety seconds!"

Inside the vast ice cave, Endeavor heard the order. He looked at Geten, his frustrating opponent. Then, he smiled, a wild smile full of fire. "Playtime's over, ice villain," he growled.

He ignored Geten completely. He flew high up to the cave ceiling, toward a point on the wall that had been marked on his tactical map by me. That point was a thick wall directly adjacent to the core of the mountain's geothermal support system.

"What are you doing?!" Geten yelled, realizing that Endeavor was no longer targeting him. He sent a wave of giant ice spears toward Endeavor.

Mirko, hearing my command, shot forward. "I'll buy you some time, Number One!" she yelled. She leaped onto the walls, kicking the ice spears with her powerful legs, shattering them into fragments before they could reach Endeavor.

Endeavor arrived at his target. He took a deep breath, his entire body beginning to glow like the sun. The heat inside the cave increased drastically, making the surrounding ice hiss and vaporize. "I've spent my whole life trying to surpass All Might," he muttered to himself. "Let's see if this power is enough to... move a mountain."

He pressed both his palms against the wall. "PROMINENCE BURN... PLUS... ULTRA!"

This was no longer a torrent of fire. This was a concentrated release of pure energy. A blinding pillar of white-blue fire shot from his hands, piercing through the concrete and steel wall as if it were paper. He didn't stop. He kept pushing, pouring every ounce of his power into the attack, drilling deeper and deeper into the heart of the mountain.

Throughout the underground facility, hell began.

Geten, from his ice throne, was the first to feel it. The ice foundation beneath him, connected to the groundwater reserves throughout the mountain, began to tremble. Then, he felt an incredible heat from below. The water that was the source of his power began to boil. The underground glaciers he had created over the years began to crack and melt catastrophically. "NO! IMPOSSIBLE!" he screamed as his throne shattered and a wave of boiling water erupted from the floor. His greatest strength had turned against him.

In the constantly shifting corridor, Aizawa's team felt the first tremor. "Everyone, hold on!" Aizawa yelled. The floor beneath them buckled upward, and the ceiling began to collapse, dropping car-sized chunks of concrete. Fat Gum, without hesitation, jumped and absorbed most of the rubble with his pliable body, protecting Kirishima and Amajiki. "This... this is worse than an earthquake!" he yelled, his voice muffled.

In a narrow, dark service tunnel, Akame felt the vibration. She didn't panic. Her instincts, honed in war, immediately told her what was happening: a total structural collapse. She ignored the Yozakura trail she had been following. Her priority now was just one: get out. She began to climb upward, moving through pipes and cables, looking for a way to the surface, her movements fast and efficient amidst the chaos.

In the MLA command center, Re-Destro was thrown from his chair as his entire room shook violently. The monitors flickered and died. Red emergency lights came on, filling the room with an eerie glow.

"REPORT! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" he roared.

Skeptic's panicked face appeared on one of the few functioning screens. "The geothermal system... someone destroyed it! There's a chain reaction! The mountain's foundation is unstable! Mr. Re-Destro, the entire headquarters... this entire city... it's going to collapse!"

Re-Destro stared at the screen in disbelief, before his expression twisted into a crazed grin of anger and admiration. "Brilliant..." he whispered. "Absolutely brilliant and insane. They decided to destroy the entire chessboard." His stress skyrocketed, and his body began to enlarge and blacken.

At the U.A. dorms, the students watching the live news broadcast stared at the screen in horror. The news helicopter, hovering from a safe distance, captured the scene. The entire peak of the mountain in Gunma began to smoke, glowing red from within like a volcano about to erupt. Then, with a massive explosion of steam, a part of the mountainside gave way, releasing a wave of rock, soil, and hot water.

"Oh my god..." Momo whispered, her hands covering her mouth. "What... what is happening over there?"

Inside the MCC, we watched the apocalypse we had created. One by one, the monitor screens connected to the heroes' body cams went to static. The voices on our communicators turned from panicked shouts to an endless white hiss. We had lost contact with all teams.

The room was deathly silent. The technicians stared at their dead consoles, then at me and Nezu with eyes filled with fear and awe. I had given the order. I had pressed the button. And I might have just killed everyone on that mountain. The weight of that decision felt like the weight of the mountain itself on my shoulders. I felt nothing. Just a cold, heavy emptiness. Had I just saved the day? Or had I just become a mass murderer?

In the midst of the suffocating silence, a small light on one of the most advanced long-range communication panels began to flicker. Red. An emergency signal trying to break through all the interference.

A young technician stared at it, then turned to me and Nezu, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Principal... there's... there's one signal coming back online. It's very weak."