Chapter 176: do you still want to be a hero?

With her heart filled with panic and terror for the safety of her little Oliver, Eva, inside the cocoon, wriggled like a worm trying to escape—until, for some reason, she suddenly fell unconscious, and when she opened her eyes, the very first thing she saw was the worst piece of human trash she had ever had the misfortune to encounter: the leader of that tribe of savages.

That man—that trash—was revered almost like a kind of god, since, for some reason, he was the only one who could communicate with those spiders; consequently, from the moment they arrived at that place, everyone was forced to follow the madman’s every whim—a madman who seemed to harbor a peculiar curiosity for those who appeared less “human.”

Yet, the kind of curiosity that this garbage of a person was capable of having could only be depraved, leading those two terrifying spiders beside him to break the legs of Darel—Eva’s friend from college, who had four arms—and Sophie—who looked like a humanoid fox. Then forcing them to act like circus animals, marveling at their superhuman physical abilities.

On top of that, that lowlife scumbag had a special penchant for taking women by force, and worse still, for “sharing” them with the other savages as some kind of “prize.” A macabre event that happened a couple of times a week, always including Eva, Sophie, and Chloe—the only three surviving women—something not only the savage men took part in. Even the women joined in to humiliate them in every way they could think of. Eventually, that ended with Sophie’s death.

Meanwhile, the more “human-looking” men in the group had it easier, generating little attention. They were “only” forced to do heavy labor for those savages, which somehow turned into a kind of saving grace for her little Oliver. As long as she finished the tasks they imposed on her, the savages would not bother him.

But their already dramatic situation on that island took a sharp turn for the worse on the first full moon night they spent there. That was when they took Darel to a secluded hut while controlling everyone else with the help of the spiders. Then, when the moon was at its highest point, the savages began performing strange dances around a bonfire at the same time as they raised a huge wooden pillar.

Under the horrified gaze of all the survivors, and while Eva did everything in her power to prevent Oliver from seeing or hearing anything, the savages carried Darel—wrapped in webs—over to the wooden pillar. At that very moment, the leader beat him until he grew tired, leaving Darel covered in blood. Afterward, they tied him to the pillar, and then a strange spider with metal jaws appeared and devoured him in a single bite.

While the savages danced and chanted with glee, the survivors could only weep in despair, the sounds of bones crunching coming from the metal-jawed spider searing themselves into their minds. It was a sound Eva would hear again every full moon, until she became almost numb to it.

…

“…Eva… Eva!”

As Eva lost herself in her painful memories, clenching her fists with all her strength, she suddenly felt someone shake her by the shoulders. At that moment, she heard a soft feminine voice right beside her, prompting her to turn her gaze and find the beautiful blue-haired woman standing there.

“… Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts…”

After taking a deep breath, Eva remarked—feeling a slight pain in her throat from the tight knot that had formed and threatened to make her break down into tears at any moment—which led Yumiko to speak in a calm and kind tone, visibly more relaxed.

“I could see that, but Doctor Tsunashi has finished examining Kai now. Luckily, he’s only suffering from mild dehydration and other equally minor issues. And your son will spend a few more hours in the MedPod, so you should rest a bit.”

“That’s not necessary; in fact, my quirk allows me to sleep like a dolphin, sleeping with only half of my brain at a time, and I only need a deep sleep of four hours once a week.”

Eva replied with a gentle smile as she turned her gaze to the blue-eyed young man, who was still unconscious on the bed but now had an IV drip connected to his arm. Four beautiful young women with different hair colors—black, blue, turquoise green, and gold—were seated around him on the bed, while two gorgeous cats, one black and one white, slept peacefully in a corner. At that moment, Yumiko’s calm voice sounded again.

“That’s impressive, but I still think you should rest. You’ve been through so much and need some time to process it; besides, you should have a moment alone to figure out what to do next. There are plenty of explanations to give about your sudden appearance and everything.”

“…That’s true…”

Turning her gaze back toward Yumiko, Eva couldn’t help but murmur in a soft, distant voice—almost for the first time seriously considering what she would do next, something she had long stopped worrying about while her mind was completely focused on surviving and taking care of her son. This left her with a strange sense of loss and confusion—something Yumiko quickly noticed, and she commented kindly.

“For now, get some rest. After daybreak, we’d like to talk to you to better understand the situation and also to square away the story of your rescue because Kai is still a minor and isn’t even a pro hero. So we’ll say All Might rescued you to avoid complications.”

“…He's a minor?” Eva couldn’t help but open her eyes, filled with shock. Yumiko nodded with a somewhat bitter smile and explained.

“Yes, Kai is barely 16 years old.”

A bitter smile inevitably formed on Eva’s face upon hearing the true age of the young man who had bravely saved her—leaving her feeling even more guilty, for it was through her fault that a young man with his whole life ahead nearly lost his life. This prompted Yumiko to speak in a calm tone.

“Don’t worry. Kai did what he did by his own choice, and he’s mature enough to make his own decisions. For now, let’s go greet All Might—he’s the one who’s going to ‘save’ you, after all.”

“…Alright…”

After replying in a complex tone, Eva followed Yumiko out of the medical room, where she encountered the imposing hero—over two meters tall—engaged in serious conversation with three beautiful women and a muscular man, all of whom turned to look at her. At that moment, the great golden-haired hero greeted her in a firm voice.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“All Might… it’s an honor to meet you.” Eva replied somewhat shyly, prompting the Symbol of Peace to smile confidently before he spoke firmly.

“You have nothing to worry about anymore; you are now completely safe. I would just like to know a little more about the place you were in, as we still have many questions, and that place is far too dangerous to leave alone.”

“I understand. I’ll do everything I can to help…” Eva said in a serious tone, prompting Nemuri to speak in a somewhat weary voice.

“Let’s talk in the lounge.”

After everyone nodded, they headed as a group to the mansion’s main room, where, after calming down with the help of a delicious tea served by Mrs. Yoshiko, Eva began to recount all her experiences—explaining in detail everything she knew about the place and what had transpired. Inevitably, halfway through, tears full of pain and bitterness began streaming down her face.

…

…

…

In the room of the medical ward where Kai was resting, Momo—who had remained completely silent—was gently stroking the sleeping face of her beloved with her fingertips. Her mind was lost in thought, not even worrying about how late it was, even though she was supposed to return to UA in a few hours.

In her short life, Momo had possibly never felt as much fear and pain as she did tonight, not even when she snuck into her mansion with Kai’s help and ended up discovering that damned note left by her father—which her mother destroyed afterward. Truly, the notion of losing her Kai was something she had never considered. It was such a great terror that it even cracked her iron will to become a pro hero.

After all, one question kept recurring in her mind: if she were to become a hero, would she eventually find herself caught in such a dangerous situation? Very possibly yes—after all, she would constantly be risking her life to help others, something she fully understood and accepted. Yet what she could not reconcile was the certainty in her heart that if such a situation ever arose, Kai would leap across seas and storms to rescue her—even at the cost of his own life.

Today’s event was nothing but a confirmation of a fact she already knew: Kai, for some reason, seemed to value his own life very little, considering his family far more important, to the extent that when his death was imminent, the only thought in his mind was their safety—accepting death with a smile.

That, although undeniably moving, also filled Momo with sheer terror. For if the worst were to happen, and she found herself in a desperate situation with little chance of survival, it was certain that Kai would sacrifice himself without hesitation to give her a chance to survive—something she could never live with. The very thought sent a shiver down her spine; she would rather die than let Kai sacrifice himself for her.

Thus, the only logical conclusion to avoid such a terrifying outcome was just one: to reduce the chances of ever being caught in a situation like that to the minimum—or, in other words, to give up on her dream of heroism and live a more normal, safer life. Though it would be a bit sad, it would be infinitely better than losing the love of her life, and worse yet, because of her.

“…Momo… do you still want to be a hero?”

Amid her reflections, Momo suddenly heard Nejire’s soft, husky voice—worn by so much crying—which caused the beautiful black-haired girl to turn her gaze. She found the beautiful blue-haired girl leaning on Kai’s shoulder, her eyes completely red and her expression almost lifeless. This brought a bitter smile to Momo, for it was clear she was not the only one with such thoughts.

“…I don’t know…”

After a few seconds, Momo replied in a low, melancholic voice—a response that made Ryuko, who was at the head of the bed gently combing Kai’s hair, smile bitterly. She understood where those thoughts came from—she herself had them—but with over a decade of experience as a pro-hero, she felt compelled to speak.

“Situations as dangerous as the one Kai found himself in on that island are very rare; in fact, it’s the first time I’ve seen 'animals' with such dangerous quirks—even All Might in that situation could have died. Moreover, think about this: If being a hero is your dream, are you sure that in time you wouldn’t end up resenting Kai for ‘preventing’ you from achieving it?”

“I never…” Momo and Nejire quickly replied in unison, but Ryuko shook her head and added in a serious, calm tone.

“Think about it for a moment before you answer: How would you feel 10 or 20 years from now when you see your UA classmates accomplishing great things as heroes? When you watch them shine on the news while you stay home, terrified that Kai might get hurt while saving you? Would you really be able to accept that fate without the slightest bit of resentment?”

“…”

Ryuko’s words left the pair of beautiful young women in silence, and they inevitably exchanged glances as they imagined themselves—later in life, with several children—watching their classmates become heroes on television, while they themselves never even tried. Although that scenario wasn’t entirely unappealing, they still couldn’t help but feel a slight bitterness—a feeling that was clearly reflected on their faces.

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