Chapter 163 : The Chessboard and Echoes of the Past

For two full days after the training session with Endeavor, my body finally stopped screaming. The sharp pain had subsided into a deep, dull muscle ache, a constant reminder of the limits I had pushed. I spent most of that time resting, eating, and sleeping, allowing the healing abilities embedded within Incursio to slowly do their work.

That afternoon, Akame entered my room carrying a tray of food—a large bowl of rice with grilled meat and vegetables. It had become a strange routine between us. She didn't talk much, but her actions showed the concern of an old comrade.

"You look better," she said, placing the tray on the table.

"I feel like I was hit by a train, then set on fire, then hit by a train again," I replied with a weak smile, trying to sit up straight in bed. "Endeavor's training... is different."

"Endeavor teaches you how to withstand the storm," Akame said, sitting in the chair across from me. "I teach you how to be the blade within it. You need both. Power without control is destruction. Control without the power to withstand is pointless."

I nodded, chewing my food. Her words made sense. My fight against Esdeath was clear proof of that. I had survived, but it was more due to the Tyrant's durability than my own skill. I needed more than that.

"Your break is over," a familiar voice came from the doorway. Hawks was leaning there, not in his hero costume, just casual clothes. "There's one more type of training you have to go through. And for this one, you won't need your muscles."

Hawks' office was the nerve center of their secret operation. A digital map of Japan covered an entire wall, while several screens displayed a constantly changing stream of data. This wasn't a training arena; it was a war room.

"Your raw power and your armor's adaptability are what make you an invaluable asset," Hawks began, pacing in front of a large holographic table. "But even the sharpest sword is useless if swung without purpose. Today, we train your mind."

He tapped a few icons on the table, and a scenario appeared. A map of a bustling shopping district with moving red and blue dots.

"Scenario one," Hawks said, his tone turning serious, like a general giving a briefing. "Our target is a Paranormal Liberation Front lieutenant with a Quirk that turns inanimate objects into time bombs. This red dot is him. The blue dots are a squad of underground heroes tailing him. According to intel, the target will conduct an illegal arms deal in this warehouse," he pointed to a location on the edge of the district.

"Your mission: Plan the capture operation. How will you neutralize the target, secure the weapons, and ensure there are no civilian casualties in an area this crowded?"

I stared at the map, my mind immediately going to the most obvious solution. "I could go in at high speed from the roof, ambushing him directly before he has time to react. Akame could secure the perimeter. Quick and efficient."

Hawks smiled faintly. "A good answer for a soldier. But not for a commander."

He zoomed in on the map. "First, you assume our intel is 100% correct. What if the transaction is a diversion? Second, a direct ambush in this area would trigger a panic. What if the target, when cornered, activates his Quirk on every car on that street before you can reach him? Third, 'securing the perimeter' isn't enough. There are sewers, subway lines, and hundreds of apartment windows. You can't watch them all."

He looked at me, his sharp eyes seemingly stripping me bare. "A true hero doesn't just think about how to win. He thinks about all the possible ways he could lose, and closes those gaps one by one."

I was silent. My mind, usually focused on the fight, was now forced to see a much larger and more complicated picture. This was a different kind of battle, one fought with information and probability, not with fists.

After a few exhausting hours of analyzing scenario after scenario, Hawks swiped the screen and displayed something else. A folder labeled "The Anomaly Case."

"Now, for something different," he said. "This isn't from the PLF, and it's definitely not Esdeath."

On the screen, a report appeared about a series of kidnappings that had occurred over the past few months. The victims were scientists and researchers specializing in Quirk amplification theory. There were no witnesses, no ransom demands, and the locations were scattered across Japan.

"The police are stumped. The HPSC thinks it's just a talent hunt by an ordinary criminal organization," Hawks continued. "But my analysis team found a pattern. The abduction methods are too clean, too professional. And at one of the locations, our satellites picked up a faint residual energy signature."

He enlarged a blurry image showing a pale purplish energy spectrum. "This energy doesn't match any Quirk database we have. But there is one exception."

Hawks looked at me. "This energy signature is identical to the residual energy found in Otheon after the Nejire Hado kidnapping incident."

Humarise. The name made my blood run cold. I thought they were finished after Flect Turn was defeated.

"Impossible," I whispered.

"I thought so too," Hawks said. "But the data doesn't lie. Either a Humarise cell is still active and operating under the radar, or another party is using their technology. This is a mystery we have to solve, but for now, it's a loose thread that's too dangerous to pull."

In a dark room illuminated by the light of monitors in the Gunga Mountain Villa, Skeptic of the Paranormal Liberation Front growled in frustration.

"It makes no sense!" he said to Geten, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "The data on the 'Ice Queen' is contradictory. One report says she's a Commission biological weapon, another says she's an independent villain. It all feels... fabricated."

"Perhaps it is," Geten replied, his cold eyes staring blankly. "Perhaps someone is playing us. I'm more interested in the reports of Endeavor 'coincidentally' being near the island when it happened."

The door to the room opened and Re-Destro entered, his face as calm as ever. "Cease this unproductive speculation. The information about the anomaly is intentionally muddied. Focus your resources elsewhere."

He threw a datapad onto the table. "New intelligence has come in. These are the security blueprints for I-Island from several years ago. It seems a disgruntled technician leaked them. Study this. Find a weakness we can exploit for our upcoming 'festival'."

Skeptic picked up the datapad, his eyes gleaming at the new, concrete information. "Yes, Grand Commander."

The seed Hawks had planted had found fertile ground.

I returned to my room that night with a head that felt more tired than my body. The chessboard Hawks had laid out felt so vast and filled with pieces I didn't even know existed. The PLF, Esdeath, the HPSC, and now... the ghost of Humarise.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Back in my world, the enemy was clear. The corrupt Empire. Night Raid was the resistance. The goal was simple, even if the path was bloody.

Now, the lines were blurred. Allies were enemies, and enemies might have other, bigger enemies.

I remembered Hawks' words. A true hero thinks about all the possible ways he could lose.

Before, I only had to worry about the enemy in front of me. Now, I had to start worrying about the enemies I didn't even know were there. And that was a far heavier burden than any physical fight.