𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗦 ⌈𝐈⌔𝐌 ✗ 𝔽!𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹⌋

Chapter 114

CHAPTER 114: Through the Rift of Blood

The dormitories of Class 1-A were cloaked in an uneasy silence as the students returned from their skirmishes with the jailbreakers. Every hallway felt colder, every footstep echoed louder. The usual banter and laughter that once filled these halls had been replaced with a suffocating quiet. Their bodies bore the fresh bruises of battle, but it was their eyes—hollow, tired, hardened—that spoke volumes about what they had faced, and what they knew still lay ahead.

No one said a word as they filed through the dorm entrance. Even the most spirited among them—Ejiro, Denki, Mina—walked with heavy steps. Ochaco gripped her jacket tightly, her expression unreadable. Shoto had been quiet the entire trip back, and even Katsuki, though scowling as usual, hadn’t said a single thing since the fight ended.

It was as if time had slowed, the world holding its breath for what came next.

Then, the main door creaked open.

All Might entered first, followed closely by Detective Tsukauchi and Principal Nezu. Their expressions were grave. Gone was the warmth that usually accompanied the former Symbol of Peace—he looked every bit the soldier preparing to send his troops into battle. The air shifted the moment they stepped inside, growing dense with the weight of unspoken truths.

The students gathered instinctively in the common area. No one had to be called. They already knew—this wasn’t a routine meeting.

All Might took a deep breath, his voice low and deliberate.

“All For One will attack in four days.”

The words struck like a thunderclap. The silence that followed wasn’t stunned—it was resigned. Like they had all known, deep down, but had clung to hope anyway.

“This isn’t a drill. It’s not an exercise. This is real,” he continued, meeting every eye in the room. “The culmination of everything you’ve trained for... it’s here. And I won’t lie to you—it will be brutal. It will be dangerous. But you are no longer students. You are heroes in every sense of the word.”

Even Katsuki didn’t scoff at the praise. No one moved. No one dared breathe too loudly.

Nezu hopped up onto the desk and adjusted his glasses, his usual playful spark extinguished. “You’ll all be relocated to a temporary stronghold—Troy. It’s been engineered for situations like this: hidden from enemy surveillance, reinforced for defense, and isolated enough to buy us time should things go south.”

The silence that followed was heavier than before.

“You’ll be transported there within the next twenty-four hours,” Nezu added. “Until then... rest. Train. And say your goodbyes.”

Those final words hung in the air like a guillotine.

Say your goodbyes.

No one had to explain what that meant. It was the kind of goodbye you gave when you weren’t sure if you’d return. The kind whispered over phone calls, in long hugs, behind trembling smiles. The kind that etched itself into your soul because you knew—it might be the last.

Ochaco's knuckles were bone-white as she clenched her fists, her brows furrowed with a fiery mix of fear and determination. Tenya stood beside her, posture stiff and hands trembling ever so slightly despite his best efforts to maintain composure. Near the back, Kyouka leaned her head lightly against Denki’s shoulder. It was rare for her to show vulnerability like that, but she didn’t pull away. Denki, usually loud and goofy, was uncharacteristically still, his eyes on the floor as he gently reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.