Chapter 138 : Silence, a Dream, and an Awakened Mentor

The blinding white light was the last thing I saw before my world vanished into a sea of pain. The impact from Re-Destro's final attack wasn't just a physical blow; it was a pure release of concentrated stress and hatred, a force designed to annihilate anything it touched. I felt the Incursio armor on my arms shatter into pieces, its black fragments piercing my own flesh as the shockwave threw me backward. The darkness that welcomed me felt like a merciful relief.

In the ruins of the now-rapidly-melting ice cave, the sudden silence was deafening. The battle was over. Mirko and Edgeshot stood panting, staring at the scene before them. Re-Destro's giant body had collapsed, turning into a massive pile of black dust, with his small, unconscious human form in the center. On the other side, in a small crater created by the final impact, I lay unconscious.

"The kid... he took it," Mirko whispered, her voice filled with a mixture of disbelief and pure admiration. "He actually took that attack head-on."

Edgeshot quickly moved to my side. He checked my condition with a calm professionalism. "He's alive," he reported, his tone laced with relief. "But his condition is severe. The armor on his arms is shattered, his bones are broken in several places. We need to get him out of here immediately."

Akame landed silently beside them. She looked at my helpless form, then at the still-unconscious Ryukyu. Her red eyes held a cold understanding. She had seen this before. Heroes sacrificing themselves. It was a beautiful foolishness, a concept that constantly confused and impressed her.

"Don't remove the armor fragments," she said suddenly, making Mirko and Edgeshot turn. "Let his body absorb them back or reject them on its own. It's a part of him." Her strange knowledge of my power was another puzzle they had no time to solve right now.

They worked together. Mirko, with her remaining strength, carefully lifted me, while Edgeshot lifted Ryukyu. Akame acted as their scout, her sharp eyes scanning the darkness, ensuring no other threats were approaching. Their rescue mission had now entered the extraction phase.

In the Mobile Command Center, the tense atmosphere had reached its peak. "Visual contact with the Rescue Team lost! The tremor was too strong!" a technician shouted. Nezu stared at the now-static screen, his claws gripping the edge of the console. All Might prayed silently.

Then, after a few minutes that felt like an eternity, a new signal appeared. An emergency signal from Edgeshot's communicator. His calm, professional voice came through, though there was a slight tremor of exhaustion in it.

"This is Edgeshot. Mission successful. Re-Destro and Geten have been neutralized. We have recovered Hero Ryukyu. She is in critical but stable condition." He paused for a moment. "Tyrant... Tatsumi-kun... is also severely injured. He took a direct hit to protect Ryukyu. We need a medical team and evacuation at our location now."

An overwhelming wave of relief swept through the MCC. They had succeeded. They had won an impossible battle. Nezu immediately gave a series of orders, coordinating a secondary rescue team to go in and evacuate all the injured heroes.

At the U.A. dorms, the news of the victory finally arrived through a choppy emergency news broadcast. "The battle in the Gunma mountains appears to have ended in a major victory for the heroes!" the reporter exclaimed joyfully. "Although details are still unclear, Number One Hero Endeavor and many other top heroes are reported to be safe!"

Momo, Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Nejire, gathered in front of the television, hugged each other, crying with relief. They didn't know the details. They didn't know the price that had been paid. They only knew that their friends and mentors had won. But amidst the relief, there was a lingering anxiety for one person whose status was not mentioned in the news.

My world was an endless gray landscape under a blood-red sky. I floated in a void, the pain from the physical world gone, replaced by a profound exhaustion. In the distance, I saw him. The giant Tyrant dragon, wrapped in chains of light, sleeping restlessly. Beside him stood a familiar shadow. The original Tatsumi.

He turned to me, and on his face was a sad yet proud smile. "You're a real idiot," he said, his voice not heard, but felt within my consciousness. "I would have done the same thing."

"Why?" I asked in the silence of our minds.

"Because that's who we are. That's what Incursio is. It's not just armor. It's the embodiment of the will to protect. The stronger your desire to protect someone, the greater the power it will grant you. But that power always demands a price."

He walked closer to me. "You have proven yourself. You have used this power not for destruction, but for protection. You have shown respect for your comrades. This dragon soul... it's beginning to accept you. Not as a vessel, but as its new master."

He placed his hand on my chest. I didn't feel a physical touch, but a warm wave of energy and information flowed into me. "I don't have much left. The echo of my existence fades every time you force this power. But before I disappear completely, take this. It's not power. It's understanding. The key to unlocking your true potential."

I felt a new knowledge flood my mind. Not just memories of fights, but a fundamental understanding of how Incursio worked. How to shape it, how to adapt with it, how to make it a part of me. It was the legacy of a true warrior, passed down to me.

"Now go," the shadow said, his form beginning to fade. "There are still many you must protect."

I opened my eyes.

The smell of antiseptic. A white ceiling. I was back in the hospital. But this time, it felt different. The pain in my body was gone, replaced by a strange warmth. I felt tired, but also... whole. I looked at my arm. The silvery scale patterns under my skin seemed slightly more pronounced, but they felt more natural, as if they had always been there.

My room door opened slowly. Ryukyu entered, pushed in a wheelchair by Nejire. Her arm was in a cast, and there was a bandage on her head, but her golden eyes were clear and looked straight at me. She had survived. She was recovering.

Nejire ran to my side. "Tatsumi-kun! You're awake!" she exclaimed, her eyes welling up with tears.

Ryukyu asked Nejire to give us a moment. After Nejire left, Ryukyu pushed her wheelchair closer to my bed. We looked at each other in a long silence, two survivors of an underground hell.

There was no more suspicion or anger in her eyes. Only a deep respect and immeasurable gratitude. She didn't need to say anything. Neither did I. We both knew what we had been through together, and the bond forged between us was now unbreakable.

She finally broke the silence, a faint, sincere, and tired smile gracing her pale lips.

"So," she said hoarsely. "I hear I owe you my life, intern."