The entire MHA came for me.
And when I say the entire MHA...
I don't mean a few hundred hunters.
I don't mean a few thousand.
It felt like the entire organization had been unleashed.
Billions.
Hunters surrounded the streets.
They filled rooftops.
They stood on buildings.
They blocked every road.
Everywhere I looked, there were people wearing the MHA uniform.
Weapons.
Techniques.
Explosives.
All pointed at me.
I stood in the middle of the open street.
Alone.
I looked around.
"So..."
I clenched my fists.
"...I've officially become the MHA's biggest enemy."
Someone shouted:
"GET HIM!"
They came at me.
I moved.
One hunter attacked from the left.
I dodged.
Another came from behind.
I turned and knocked him away.
Three more attacked together.
I jumped over them.
The battlefield became chaos.
I wasn't fighting because I wanted to.
I was fighting because I wanted to survive.
And maybe...
Just maybe...
I was fighting for the people who couldn't fight back.
Then—
BEEP.
I stopped.
I looked down.
Something was underneath my foot.
A bomb.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
I quickly picked it up.
The timer was almost finished.
I looked toward the army of hunters.
"Here."
I threw it.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the entire street.
Smoke covered everything.
I stood there, breathing heavily.
Then I heard voices coming through the smoke.
"He's still alive!"
"Get him!"
"Don't let him escape!"
More hunters emerged.
And then...
I saw the person leading them.
My heart dropped.
"...No."
It was him.
Dr. Akira.
My grumpy neighbour.
The man who had told me about Nanami.
The man who had cried in front of me.
The man who had told me:
"Kyoren, please don't let anyone die because of these monsters."
He was holding another explosive.
He looked at me.
"Dammit!"
"He got away from my last bomb!"
I couldn't move.
"Akira..."
He raised the bomb.
"You..."
My voice cracked.
"...you were behind this?"
He didn't answer.
Something inside me broke.
I remembered the day he told me about Nanami.
I remembered hugging him.
I remembered promising him I'd protect people.
And now...
He was trying to kill me.
I lowered my head.
A single tear rolled down my cheek.
"...Why?"
Akira stared at me.
For just a moment...
His expression changed.
Almost like he regretted what he was doing.
But it was already too late.
I stepped forward.
One punch.
BOOM.
Akira fell.
I stood completely still.
My fist trembled.
I had defeated monsters.
I had fought Monster Kings.
I had survived Kaijunoo.
But this...
This hurt more than any of them.
I wiped the tear from my face.
Then I looked at the army surrounding me.
There was no going back.
They had made their choice.
And now...
I had made mine.
I raised my fists.
"Come."
The MHA charged again.
And I fought.
Not because I hated them.
Not because I wanted to become a monster.
But because I had finally realized something:
I couldn't trust the people who claimed to protect me.
And as the battle continued...
The boy who had once wanted nothing more than to be accepted by the MHA...
Was gone.