As Raiden used life dew, his wounds gradually mended, and his breathing stabilized as the Life Dew took effect.
Raiden took a deep breath and, feeling his health return, used the ability once more. It was the last time he could summon it today—his limit had been reached.
Exhausted but determined, he scanned the area, his gaze locking onto the place where the scientist had been moments before.
Of course, he was gone. Without hesitation, Raiden shot into the sky, his eyes quickly spotting the man fleeing on a motorcycle below.
With incredible speed, Raiden surged towards the bike, his telekinesis flaring. He stopped the motorcycle in its tracks, sending it skidding as he ripped the helmet off to confirm his target.
The man's face was unmistakable. Raiden wasted no time. With a powerful mental push, he sent the scientist flying, slamming him against a nearby building.
Before the man could recover, Raiden pinned him to the ground with his telekinesis, rooting him in place.
At that moment, the boy felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. His energy was nearly spent, he had been fighting the whole night after all non stop, the red man, the dog-cat and now that thing.
Then, a chilling sound came from behind. Raiden's eyes widened as he turned to face it. The creature—the one he had just nearly destroyed—was still alive.
Floating weakly, it dragged its barely functioning body towards him. It was a slow, painful movement, the thing had only part of this body, at this point it was more painful to see than threatening.
But, Raiden knew he couldn't fight anymore. He was too drained. but still, he could launch one more attack so he had enogy, the battle was already decided, he had just enough stamina for one more Hyper beam.
The creature raised what remained of its arms—or perhaps tentacles—and prepared to strike. The same did Raiden; he knew he was going to faint after the attack, but he was ready for that.
But before it could act, the temperature around them skyrocketed. Raiden, the creature, and the scientist all felt their skin scorch, the heat nearly unbearable.
They all turned in the direction of the source, and standing in the middle of the street, engulfed in intense flames, was none other than Endeavor.
His eyes locked onto Raiden, then shifted to the creature and the scientist. Understanding the situation in an instant, Endeavor's flames flared even brighter.
In a flash, he appeared in front of the creature, a trail of fire following in his wake.
Without a word, Endeavor extended both arms, with a quick motion, Endeavor activated one of his signature techniques: Prominent Burst.
The burst of flames consumed what little remained of the creature's body, reducing it to nothing but ash. The only thing left was a small, dark triangle shaped gem that tumbled to the ground with a dull thud.
Endeavor stood still for a moment, his eyes scanning the area to confirm that the weird being was truly gone.
Satisfied, he turned toward the kid still holding the villain in place and began walking toward him.
"Brat, where's the rest?" he asked, his voice gruff but steady.
Before Raiden could answer, a series of explosions rumbled in the distance. Endeavor's head snapped toward the source, and the rising plumes of smoke told him everything he needed to know. The other heroes were still engaged in battle.
"Good job, brat," he said—an unexpected compliment from someone as harsh as him. Then, shifting his attention to the man, he asked, "Is this the one behind all of this?"
Raiden only nodded. As he did, his body finally gave in, and he sank onto the ground, exhausted.
But before allowing himself to rest, he did one last thing. Using his telekinesis, he gathered scattered pieces of the wrecked motorcycle and twisted them into makeshift restraints around the scientist's wrists and ankles.
Only then did he lean back, sitting on the ground for the first time since the battle began.
Victory had never felt so hollow.
In the end, he hadn't truly fought the one responsible to the end, nor had he gotten the revenge he sought against Edward.
That man—the one bound before him—had stolen that right from him, leaving him with nothing but a brutal, desperate struggle against a beast that barely had concious.
Technically, he had won.
His gaze drifted to the side, where the creature had fallen. His eyes landed on the small, unassuming stone resting in the dirt. He let out a quiet sigh before tilting his head back to look at the darkening sky.
"I guess not everything goes the way we want," Raiden murmured, the only good thing was his knew move and the fact that his forearm glowed, the 17 turned into a 18, he had level up.
At his words, the two men beside him reacted in different ways. Endeavor frowned, his usual scowl deepening, while the scientist—despite his restraints—let out a smirk.
"You're annoying until the very end," Raiden muttered as he lay on the ground, exhausted.
The man only laughed. "I already told you—I've won."
At first, neither Raiden nor Endeavor understood what he meant. They dismissed it as the usual delusions of a defeated villain—empty words spoken by someone who refused to accept their fate.
But 72 hours later, Raiden finally understood.
The samples.
The scientist had claimed to have created five doses of his serum. One had been used on Edward, turning him into that monstrous creature. But the other four? They were still missing, they didn't appear in the lab.
Panic spread through the heroes, police, and government forces.
A desperate search began. If even one of those serums fell into the wrong hands, the consequences could be catastrophic—not just for Japan, but for the entire world.
Two grueling weeks passed before they found anything.
Through a joint effort, two of the remaining serums were finally recovered.
They were placed under maximum security, and locked away for research and protection. But that still left two unaccounted for, luckily for what the researchers in charge explaining, both serum make a forced evolution in the Quirks, nothing more, they weren't to make another thing like the one Raoden fought.
Maybe, this was the real goal of the man, two serum to the heroes, and two to the villains, perfectly balanced.
Still. The search continued, now an open investigation. Time was running out. If someone found the remaining serums first—if they used them—there was no telling what kind of horrors would emerge, any villain with an evolved quirk could be a menace.
But that was a pro hero dilema, for Raiden and Tamaki, the mission was over.
Their time under the mentorship and protection of the heroes had come to an end. They were being sent back to their families, back to their normal lives. And Raiden didn't mind. He had done his part.
Not only had he helped put an end to the Evolver experiments, but he had personally captured one of the three great symbols of the underworld.
For now, that was enough.
for now, It was finally the moment to go back home, everything had ended. And after two days more, after recovering, Raiden stood in front of his old home, staring at the familiar door. After weeks of investigation, both he and Tamaki had been given the all-clear to return to their normal lives.
Yet, now that he was here, he found himself unable to step inside.
It was strange. He had missed his family, and thought about them constantly—but he hadn't spoken to his parents in nearly three months. He knew they missed him too. But because of him, their entire routine had been thrown into chaos.
Their lives had been turned upside down. Their work schedules had changed daily. They had lived under constant surveillance—all because their son wanted to be a hero.
But he couldn't hesitate any longer.
Taking a deep breath, Raiden pushed open the door and stepped inside. The house was quiet. He walked straight to the kitchen, finding it empty. But when he turned toward the living room, he saw them.
His parents sat on the couch, their eyes locking onto his the moment he appeared. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then, without warning, they rushed at him.
His mother threw her arms around him, squeezing tight, while his father wrapped them both in an embrace.
His mother's body trembled as she sobbed against his shoulder. Even his father, usually composed, had reddened eyes as tears slipped down his face.
Raiden hugged them back, careful with his strength. He had surpassed normal human limits long ago, even in his human form. But right now, more than anything, he just wanted to hold them close.
Their family was whole again.
"I missed you so much," his mother choked out between sobs. "There were nights I feared the worst. Sometimes, I even wished you had never gone to U.A…"
Raiden didn't argue. He understood. This entire ordeal had been a nightmare for all of them.
But then she surprised him.
"Still," she whispered, pulling back just enough to look at him, "I'm so proud of you. Of the person you've become."
Her words, full of warmth and love, made his throat tighten. His vision blurred as he hugged them even tighter.
"Thank you," he murmured. "For everything, Mom. Dad."
That night, they spent hours together, making up for lost time. They ordered pizza—Raiden's go-to comfort food over the past few months. They watched a movie, talked about everything that had happened, and laughed despite the lingering weight of the past.
Eventually, exhaustion caught up with them. One by one, they drifted off, curled up together on the couch.
For the first time in a long while, Raiden felt at peace.
For the next two weeks, Raiden stood in his home, the U.A. gave him time to catch up, they went to see movies, some barbecues, and even a small family trip to a lake.
After the two weeks ended, it was finally time to go back to his school, returning to U.A. felt similar to the first time he stepped here, it was like months ago, but this time, Raiden wasn't alone, to his side it was his friend, Tamaki.
The moment he and Tamaki stepped through the doors of the classroom, their classmates greeted them with a massive group hug.
Tamaki, caught in the middle of it all, felt incredibly awkward. He wasn't used to this kind of attention, but at the same time, he couldn't deny that it felt… nice.
Everyone was genuinely happy to have them back. After months of chaos, they were finally home, back to normal classes with their friends.
To celebrate, the class threw an impromptu "party."
The U.A. provided the food, and both hero classes gathered for a special event designed to strengthen their bonds and welcome back their two missing members.
The principal was the first to attend—something that surprised nearly everyone.
Snipe was there too, chatting with the students, until he made his way toward Raiden and Tamaki. They were deep in conversation with Mirio and Nejire, catching up on everything that had happened in their absence.
Mirio and Nejire eagerly shared their own progress, explaining how they had pushed themselves to get stronger, even if they hadn't been on the front lines like Raiden and Tamaki.
Then, Mirio grinned.
"You know, we should spar," he suggested, with his eyes glinting with excitement.
"That's a good idea, Let's see how much you two have changed, I'm pretty sure we will have plenty of surprises, for each one of you" Snipe, who had been listening, hummed thoughtfully as he suggested this.
He turned to the principal, who gave him a small nod as if they had reached a silent agreement.
"We can make that happen," The director said, crossing his arms.
"Given everything that's happened, we're looking into re-evaluating the hero course—maybe making some adjustments. A spar between Mirio, one of the top students, and Raiden, the former number one in the festival, would be a good way to measure how much things have changed."
The moment those words left his mouth, Mirio jumped up, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Yes! Let's go, Rai-kun!" he cheered. "Time to fight, hahahaha!"
Raiden chuckled, caught off guard but amused. He hadn't expected this, but it felt like the perfect way to be welcomed back.
Besides, he wanted to know—just how much had he grown compared to the others? Before everything, he had been stronger… but not by much.
Now, he was eager to see if the gap had widened or if his classmates had closed in on him.
More than anything, he wanted to see how much they had all improved.
End of the chapter.
End of the Arc.
As I responded a review just before, I know this arc had his problems, I wrote after all, but above all I hope it was at least enjoyable.
As I said at the beginning of the book, this is the first one, and I never thought I was going to write so much haha but hey! It just happened.
Thank you for the power stones.
And now we are going for the next arc.
Back to the U.A.