Chapter 142 : The Hunt in a Rusted District

The world outside U.A.'s walls was a painting of despair. Cities that once shone with the light of hope were now dimmed by the shadows of fear. Heroes who were once celebrities were now targets, many of them retiring or dead, leaving a vacuum that was quickly filled by villains crawling out of every dark corner. This was a world that had lost its Symbol, and was now learning to live with the consequences.

For an ordinary civilian named Kaito, a factory worker in the industrial district of Hosu, daily life had become a struggle for survival. The district where he lived and worked was now under the grip of a new tyrant. A Tartarus escapee who called himself 'Kain', a man with a Quirk that allowed him to turn his body into molten metal that could harden and sharpen at will. Kain and his followers had taken over the factories, forcing workers like Kaito to continue producing goods for him, seizing food and resources, and ruling with an iron fist. Every day, Kaito would see one of his neighbors punished in the factory square for trying to hide food—their bodies partially encased in a shell of hot then cooled metal, a horrific statue of suffering. Hope had long since died in this district. All that was left was a compliance born of terror.

That night, while hiding in his small apartment with his family, Kaito peeked through a crack in his boarded-up window. He saw Kain's thugs patrolling the dimly lit streets. But then, he saw something else. A shadow. A movement on the rooftops that shouldn't have been there. A dark figure moving with the speed and silence of a predatory cat, leaping from one steam pipe to another without a sound. It wasn't one of Kain's men. It was something new. For the first time in weeks, a flicker of dangerous curiosity, which almost felt like hope, appeared in his tired heart.

The figure on the roof was me.

I moved through the labyrinth of steel and rust like a ghost. My new costume, made by Momo, felt like a second skin, its deep black color blending with the industrial shadows. In my ear, Ryukyu's calm voice provided updates.

"Thermal data from the satellite shows the highest energy concentration is in the central smelting tower," she said through the encrypted communicator. "That is most likely his 'throne room.' Be careful, Tyrant. Reports say he has set traps throughout the district."

"Understood," I whispered. I didn't need her report to know that. I could see it for myself. Puddles of molten metal that looked like ordinary oil spills under the dim lights, ready to ensnare anyone not vigilant. Low-hanging cables, electrified with the Quirk of one of his lieutenants. This was a hunting ground, and I was the hunter.

I spent almost an hour just observing, mapping patrol routes, identifying every trap, and looking for the safest path to the smelting tower. I used everything I had learned—the analysis from my past life, the combat instincts from the echo of Tatsumi's soul, and the discipline taught by Ryukyu. The dragon's heartbeat in my chest pulsed slowly and steadily, my senses sharpened to an inhuman degree. I could feel the vibration of the guards' footsteps below me, feel the heat from the steam pipes, and feel the cold of the metal from Kain's traps.

While I began my hunt, in another city, Akame was also on her own hunt. She had tracked one of the Yozakura Clan's arms smuggling operations to a remote warehouse. She infiltrated it with her signature silence. She didn't come to destroy; she came for information.

Inside, she found more than she had expected. She incapacitated a Yozakura lieutenant and in a brief, cold interrogation, she got a horrific truth. Yozakura wasn't just working with the remnants of the Meta Liberation Army. They were the main suppliers for Dr. Garaki and All For One.

"We don't just sell weapons," the dying lieutenant hissed with a laugh. "We provide 'subjects.' People from another world who sometimes manage to pass through the 'Gate.' People like you... and like that boy. We capture them, study them, then hand them over to the Doctor to be used as raw material for better Nomu."

Akame's eyes widened in horror. So, this was more than just a conspiracy. This was an inter-dimensional human trafficking operation. And she and Tatsumi were their main targets. This information changed everything. Her struggle was no longer just about revenge or clearing her clan's name; it was about closing that gate to hell for good.

I didn't know about Akame's horrific discovery. I only knew that I had to stop the one tyrant in front of me. After finishing my reconnaissance, I began to move toward the smelting tower. I moved like water, using every shadow and every pipe for cover. I manifested my short Incursio blade for just a moment, cutting a power cable to disable the only security camera blocking my path. I summoned my leg guards to make a silent landing from a ten-meter jump. I was a predator in enemy territory.

Finally, I arrived at the base of the smelting tower. At its peak, I could see the light from the control room, where Kain was. The entrance was a giant steel door guarded by his two strongest guards. I couldn't get past it without a major fight that would alert the entire district. I had to find another way.

I looked up. Along the side of the tower, there was a series of large, rusty heat exhaust pipes. It was a dangerous and nearly impossible climbing path. But it was my only way.

I began to climb. I used the small claws I could manifest on my fingertips to get a grip on the slick metal surface. The cold night wind whistled around me. One small mistake, and I would fall to my death. But I kept climbing, meter by meter, driven by determination and the shadow of Eri's smile.

After a climb that felt like an eternity, I finally reached a small window near the top of the tower—the window to the control room. I peeked inside. There, sitting on a 'throne' made of melted metal, was Kain. He was laughing, enjoying his victory over this small district.

I knew I had to end this quickly. I had no time to sneak in. I had to make a statement.

I backed up a few steps on the narrow ledge where I stood. I took a deep breath, focusing all my strength on my right arm. I felt the familiar heat of Incursio, my dragon's heartbeat accelerating in anticipation. I didn't just summon a gauntlet. I summoned the power behind it.

I charged forward, running along the ledge, and leaped. In mid-air, I drew back my fist, now fully encased in Incursio's jagged black gauntlet. I aimed my punch straight at the giant steel door below the control room.

Time seemed to slow as my fist shot forward.

The first sound of my real battle in this new, broken world was not a war cry, but the deafening boom of steel hitting steel.