Nani? All Might is dead? How? He got pierced by only 3 little fingers. Sure they were enhanced by a quirk, but the man survived having his stomach gouged out. How the fuck does one die from simply getting pricked by what would be nothing but needles to him?
The shock of this information jumpstarted a frantic memory gathering moment from the chibi me's in my head. Slowly information specifically about this returned to my head.
I see. I understand now. All for One… he's a lot more cautious than expected.
All Might shielded Rumi from All for One's attacks. But that attack was 'the straw that broke the camels back'.
When All for One forcefully teleported All Might away from him, he also used this chance to deal a heavy blow to him. The sludge that came out of All Might's mouth that teleported him away… was infused with his Destruction Attribute.
Because it came out of his mouth, it also dealt damage to All Might's already weak internal organs. Because of this, All Might should have been permanently taken out of the fight, which is why he didn't come back immediately and I ended up receiving assistance from Rumi instead.
But surprisingly, even if it was threatening to his life, All Might felt the danger from the massive wall of wind All for One made at the end of the fight and broke through it with nothing but his body. Finally, he defended Rumi from All for One's attack, but because his body was completely pushed past the limit, he collapsed and died not even an hour later.
All Might- "Arata."
Hmm? Something else came up in my memories… right after All Might collapsed.
All Might- "I… I'm not going to live for very long… hah… this is where it ends…"
I couldn't respond due to the still lingering effects of the now deactivated [Awakening] skill. But I could at least listen to him. And All Might realised that, so he continued talking.
All Might- "I felt the anger you had towards him… but I beg of you, don't kill All for One."
Even while he was dying, he continued worrying about other people.
All Might- "It's not worth it."
I know what he was talking about. Killing people will weigh on your mind and the guilt will eventually consume you. It's true, without Accelerator's strong mental fortitude and [Gamer's Mind], I would have most likely collapsed from the guilt too.
All Might- "Izuku always looked up to you. I ask you to continue being a good role model for him."
Izuku? He looks up to me?
All Might- "*Whispering* Master… I saw it… All for One has been defeated by someone other than me… All for One will now continue to be defeated again and again. He will never hurt people as he did ever again…!"
And then he laughed. The happiness radiating off him made it seem like he wasn't actually dying. He continued laughing knowing that the future will be in safe hands. That I will lead the way to a new generation of heroes. And that Izuku will be safe until he can properly wield One for All.
And like that, he continued laughing to his last breath. I never moved from my spot. Standing, looking down at All Might as he slowly dies. I wanted to move. I wanted to do something. But I couldn't do anything anymore. Staying conscious was already taking a lot out of me and even then I couldn't do it for long.
But I felt like I had to witness the Symbol of Peace's last moments. It's the least I could do for him after all.
Recovering those memories I find that my cheeks are wet. Tears are pouring out of my eyes. Everyone else next to my bed is also in a similar state, with Izuku taking the hardest hit.
Although I rarely talked about it, we both spent a lot of time with All Might. From the moment Izuku started training to inherit One for All, All Might was always there cheering and encouraging him from behind while I sat back and watched the whole thing.
In his free time, All Might asked many questions about the gadgets I brought to help Izuku out. I always tried to explain it in a way he could understand and he always patiently listened while trying to understand how things worked.
We all had memories together. I even started to see All Might as something of an uncle. Honestly… how could he keep laughing even as his body was breaking down. He really was…
Thoughts constantly flickered through my head.
I could resurrect him with the [Resurrection] card I pulled on my first draw using the [Lucky Draw] skill.
But that thought got eliminated. The quest I received said that no one could die. But All Might is now deceased. I should have received the death penalty. So…
Checking Inventory-chan confirmed it. The [Resurrection] card was used on me once I failed the quest. It's no longer there.
Eijiro- "So… what now?"
Once everyone calmed down again, Eijiro asked this question. It caused everyone else to stiffen up.
Indeed, what now? The Symbol of Peace is no longer here. Not only that, but he was killed by a villain. Don't get me wrong, there's no better way for a hero to die than while protecting other people. But the problem is… the invincible Symbol of Peace is no longer invincible. And if he's not invincible, that means other heroes aren't unbeatable either.
The villains realise this and now, villain attacks and crimes will continue to rise to an all-time high. Order will now be replaced with chaos and many people will die. So the question is…
What do we do now?
These guys are all only 15 years old. There's no way they can answer that.
But I can. If All Might is dead, someone else has to take the lead. I can't be a 'Symbol of Peace', nor do I want to be. But I partially feel responsible for his death. If I prepared more, if I were smarter, I could have let All Might live.
And so, I will at least take the lead for these new generation heroes. I will protect them and show them the path until they will be able to light their own way. It's the least I can do.
Arata- "What do you mean 'what now'? Isn't the answer simple? We're heroes. There's only one thing we can do."
They all look up back at me. I smile as confidently as I can. I'm not used to this…
Arata- "Continue moving forward. Continue growing. And when ready, be the hero everyone needs. All Might is no longer here. But that doesn't mean this world is done for. More and more people will stand up to the villains. Us included. So we can't continue moping around."
Their eyes are slowly regaining their light. I raise my fist.
Arata- "We've only got one job. Be the best hero we can be! And there's no way we're stopping now!"
They look at each other.
Izuku- "Arata is right. We can't stop here. When school starts again, let's put in 110%! Plus Ultra!"
Everyone- "Plus Ultra!"
Oh my god, I'm dying internally.
Wait, fuck god.
We continue talking with each other for a bit until they had to leave. Other classmates arrived and visited me to see how I'm doing. Toru even came along with her parents. Or rather, our parents.
Still don't understand how they fucking lost me but I got over that. We're on good terms now.
Visiting hours are now over. But as soon as I decide to sleep again, I see a piece of paper sitting on the table to the side. A letter.
For some reason, I'm getting some nostalgic vibes. I remember the last time a letter suddenly appeared on my desk, that it ended up with me getting an explosion to the face. Literally.
If I get hit with one of them, I might die. Really. I didn't get out of that fight scot-free after all. Sure, [Gamer's Body] recovered my body and my arm is back, but…
[Abnormal State: Weakened. -95% in all physical stats. 29h 23m 59s]
If I take an explosion in this state I could die. Well, I can easily mitigate the damage with [Vector Manipulation], but it's the threat that counts here!
*Sigh* Let's just get this over with.
I open the letter and start reading.
[Hello, human-who's-name-I-forgot.]
And I already regret my actions.
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A/N: Ok, new chapter done! Im planning to have MC be somewhat of a role model to class 1A and take the lead in many things from now on.
MC: I dont want to do this. Im not a leader...
AN: Deal with it.
MC: But the cringe!
AN: I dont care.
MC: I-I know! Maybe the readers dont want this!
AN: I dont know. We'll have to wait for them to comment.
Momo: I wouldn't mind if you led everyone...
MC: Momo, I love you, but now is not the time!
AN: Comment below and let me know what you think!
Also let me know if I missed anything!
ALSO! Consider dropping a power stone! Maybe! If you have a spare one...