Chapter 159 : An Alliance Born from Ash and Ice

The silence that followed Esdeath's departure felt heavier than any battle roar. I lay on the cracked obsidian ground, my body a symphony of pain. My Incursio armor had been destroyed, and all that was left was an exhaustion so deep it felt as if gravity itself had increased a hundredfold, pressing down on every cell in my body. Around me, the island that had been a fiery hell was slowly cooling, leaving a scorched and smoky landscape under a now-calm night sky.

In the midst of the destruction, I was not alone. Three figures stood around me, their presence so powerful that the air around them seemed to vibrate. Endeavor, the Number One Hero, his flames still burning with a lower intensity, his face a mask of exhaustion and disbelief. Hawks, the Number Two Hero, his red wings slightly spread, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings with the alertness of an eagle. And Akame, the assassin from another world, stood with her sword Murasame in hand, her ruby-red eyes looking at me with an unreadable expression. This was a meeting that should never have happened, an alliance born from our own little apocalypse.

"Who are you, woman?" Endeavor's heavy, hoarse voice was the first to break the silence. He looked at Akame, not with the hostility of a hero toward a villain, but with the wariness of a warrior facing a power he didn't recognize. "And what did you mean earlier? 'You have no idea what you've just faced'?"

Akame didn't turn to him. Her eyes were still on me. "Esdeath is not just a villain with a strong ice Quirk," she said in a cold, flat voice. "She is a conquering force. She doesn't want money or power in the usual sense. She wants total domination. She will not stop until this entire world either bows at her feet or freezes into ice."

"Nonsense," Endeavor growled. "I just turned her entire island into a sea of fire. She's gone."

"She will be back," Akame replied with absolute certainty. "She didn't flee because she lost. She retreated because she found something more interesting than just conquering an island." She finally turned, and her cold gaze met the fire in Endeavor's eyes. "She found her new toy." Her gaze shifted to me, lying on the ground.

Hawks, who had been silent all this time, stepped forward, taking on the role of mediator. "Easy there, Endeavor-san. I think we're all on the same side tonight, whether we like it or not," he said with his usual smile, though it didn't reach his sharp eyes. He looked at Akame. "You seem to know a lot about our 'Ice Queen.' And you also seem to know a lot about this kid."

"I know enough," Akame replied curtly.

At the U.A. underground command center, the tense atmosphere had turned into a controlled panic. They had witnessed everything through thermal satellites and energy sensors. They saw Endeavor's Prominence Nova. They saw the clash between the two extreme energy points. And then, they saw Esdeath's energy signal vanish from the island, while Tatsumi's signal flickered weakly before finally stabilizing. But then, two other pro hero signals appeared at the location.

"It's Endeavor and Hawks!" a technician reported. "They've landed near Tatsumi-kun's location!"

"And there's one more unknown life signal," another added. "Not registered in any hero database. Moving at extremely high speed."

Ryukyu gripped the arms of her wheelchair. "It must be her. That assassin. 'The Ghost'," she whispered. She looked at Nezu, her face pale. "They're all there. In one place. This could be a disaster."

Nezu looked at the screen calmly, but his claws were tapping rapidly on the console. "Or... this could be an opportunity," he muttered. "An opportunity to form a most unconventional alliance."

On the island, Akame was the first to act. She knelt beside me, gently checking my wounds with the efficiency of a field medic. "His bones aren't broken, but there's severe muscle tissue damage," she said, more to herself. "And his stamina... is almost zero. He pushed the armor's power far beyond its limits."

"What armor?" Endeavor asked, approaching.

"Something you don't need to know," Akame replied without looking at him. She looked at me. "We have to get him out of here. His body needs to recover, and he's not safe as long as Esdeath knows his location."

"I agree," Hawks said, landing lightly beside us. "The Commission will be sending a recovery team here soon. We don't want them to find our valuable 'asset' in this condition, do we? Too many questions would be raised."

Endeavor snorted, clearly not liking to be ordered around. But he was also not a fool. He looked at me, the boy who had been the bait in his plan, who had withstood the final attack of that ice monster alone. He saw the mysterious assassin girl who seemed to have deep knowledge of their new enemy. And he saw Hawks, the cunning politician. He knew that the battle they had just won had created a shared secret, a secret that bound the three of them.

"Fine," he growled. "What's your plan, winged hero?"

Hawks smiled. "Simple. We get him to a safe place before anyone else arrives. And then, the three of us will have a very, very long conversation."

At the U.A. dorms, the news of the "Battle on the Volcanic Island" had become the top headline worldwide. Amateur footage from ships in the distance showed an island exploding in fire, a scene like an apocalypse. The official report from the HPSC was very vague, only mentioning a "successful high-level villain deterrence operation."

Momo, Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Nejire were gathered in front of the television in the common room, their hearts pounding every time Endeavor's name or another hero's was mentioned. But my name never came up.

"Why... why is there no news about Tatsumi-kun?" Uraraka whispered anxiously.

"Because his mission is secret, remember?" Momo said, trying to calm her friend and herself. "He's a 'ghost.' The less news about him, the better. It means he's safe." But the doubt in her own voice was clear.

I began to regain consciousness in a strange state. I didn't feel pain. I just felt movement. I opened my eyes with difficulty and saw a starry night sky moving quickly above me. I felt something soft and strong beneath me. I turned my head slightly. I saw red feathers. Hawks. He had created an emergency stretcher from his wings and was flying me, with Akame and Endeavor flying by his side.

I tried to speak, but only a weak groan came out.

"Easy, kid," Endeavor's heavy voice came from above me. "You've done your part. Now rest."

I felt my consciousness fading again, but before I completely passed out, I managed to see the strangest sight in this second life of mine. The blazing Number One Hero, the cunning Number Two Hero, and a legendary assassin from another world, all flying together under the night sky, united by one purpose: protecting me.

I passed out again, but this time, there was a different dream. Not a memory of battle. It was a calm dream. I saw my original self, Tatsumi, having his wounds treated by Akame at the Night Raid base after a difficult mission. There was a comfortable silence between them, an understanding that needed no words. I felt his feelings—gratitude, trust, and an absolute sense of security when he was near her. She was his comrade, his family.

As I felt the warmth from that dream, I felt a gentle touch on my forehead in the real world.

I opened my eyes. I was in an unfamiliar room, a luxurious bedroom. I turned my head and saw Akame sitting in a chair beside my bed, changing a cold compress on my forehead.

"You're awake," she said flatly.

"Where... where am I?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"A safe place," she replied. "A private villa belonging to Hawks."

I tried to sit up, and a sharp pain reminded me of the fight. I looked down. My body had been cleaned and my wounds bandaged.

"You slept for almost twenty-four hours," she said. "Your body... your healing ability is incredible."

The door opened, and Hawks walked in, smiling. "Ah, our hero is awake! Just in time for the meeting."

I looked at him, then at Akame, then back at him. I looked out the window and saw Endeavor training in the garden, releasing small bursts of fire. The three greatest powers I knew, all gathered in one place. Because of me.

"What meeting?" I asked.

Hawks sat on the edge of my bed, his smile vanishing, replaced by a very serious expression. "A meeting about what we're going to do next," he said. "Because you, young man, have just officially started the War of the Three Powers."

He looked at me, and I saw it in his eyes. The game had changed. I was no longer just an asset or a secret weapon. I had now become the center of the chessboard, the king piece that had to be protected at all costs, while also being the only piece that could possibly win this war. And around me, the most dangerous and most unstable alliance in the world had been formed.