Arata's eyelids felt heavy as he slowly opened his eyes, his vision still slightly blurred. The first thing he saw was Melissa's anxious face hovering above him, her blue eyes filled with worry and relief at the same time.
She was holding his hand tightly.
On her fingers were two of his rings.
One was the lightning manipulation ring—the same one she had used back on I-Island when she attacked Samuel after he betrayed them and shot her father.
The other was the ring Arata had told her to use before he lost consciousness.
This ring contained the healing quirk chip—a carefully engineered artificial quirk that allowed the user to heal others, though at the cost of draining the patient's lipids.
Arata let out a slow breath as clarity returned to his mind.
With Melissa's support, he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Easy… don't push yourself too much," Melissa said softly, helping him steady himself.
Arata gave a faint nod. "…Thanks."
She quickly handed him a glass of water.
He took it and drank deeply, the cool liquid soothing his dry throat as he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Only then did his gaze drift downward.
To his right hand.
The infinity gauntlet.
It was… damaged.
Cracks ran across its surface like fractures in glass, spreading from the base toward the fingers. The once-stable glow of the Space Stone flickered faintly as if even it had been strained.
Arata's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Just one or two more uses like that… and this thing might completely break.'
The space stone, however, remained intact, glowing faintly as it sat embedded within the gauntlet.
Melissa took the empty glass from his hand and placed it aside before immediately asking, her voice filled with urgency,
"What happened after you teleported me? Where is my dad? And… that monster… what happened to it?"
Arata took a slow breath.
Then began explaining.
He told her everything.
How the brain monster—no, the Nomu, as he had heard the villains call it—had gone completely out of control after being enhanced by the quirk amplification device.
How it had rampaged across I-Island, tearing apart entire sections and using the debris to grow into a gigantic entity.
How it had reached a point where it was on the verge of self-destruction, threatening to wipe out not just the island, but even the evacuation ships.
Melissa's expression grew paler with every word.
Then Arata continued.
He explained how, when he went to retrieve David, he had found him nearly killed—By Hawks.
Melissa's eyes widened in shock, her hands clenching tightly.
Arata continued, his voice calm but firm.
He explained how Hawks was not just a hero, but also an assassin working under the HPSC—someone who handled missions that involved eliminating threats… whether they were villains, heroes, or even civilians.
He told her how he had placed David in space stasis and teleported him to his base for safety.
And finally—He explained how he had destroyed the Nomu.
How he had used a massive black hole to erase both the creature and the island itself, ensuring that the explosion would not reach the evacuation ships.
By the time he finished—Melissa was completely silent.
Her face showed a mixture of fear, anger, and disbelief.
Her hands trembled slightly as she spoke,
"…Where is my dad?"
Her voice was shaky.
"I need to see him. Right now."
Arata nodded slowly.
He stood up, still slightly unsteady, and raised his gauntlet.
Space twisted.
A portal opened in front of them.
Without another word, both of them stepped through.
They appeared inside Arata's hidden base on Aka Island near Okinawa.
Melissa barely registered her surroundings as her eyes immediately locked onto the figure lying on a table nearby.
"…Dad!"
She rushed forward.
David lay there, unconscious, his body still partially covered in faint blue space energy. His wounds had been frozen in stasis, preventing further damage.
Arata walked over slowly and sat down on a nearby chair, grabbing an energy bar from the table and eating it while activating a console beside him.
Within seconds, two robotic medical units activated and moved toward David.
They began their work—cleaning the wounds, removing dried blood, and carefully stitching the injuries.
"Use the healing ring after they're done," Arata said, his voice calm but slightly tired.
Melissa nodded, her eyes never leaving her father.
An hour passed.
The robots finished their work, replacing David's bloodied clothes with a patient gown and discarding the damaged ones.
Melissa stepped forward and raised her hand.
The healing ring glowed.
A soft energy flowed into David's body, gradually repairing his wounds.
After a few moments, Arata spoke,
"Stop."
Melissa hesitated but obeyed.
Arata continued, "That ring consumes lipids. Your dad's condition shows he doesn't have enough left. Any more and it'll do more harm than good."
Melissa nodded slowly.
Arata then deactivated the space stasis completely.
David's body resumed normal function, though he remained unconscious.
"He'll recover on his own now… with proper support," Arata said.
Melissa looked at her father for a few more seconds before turning toward Arata.
Then—She bowed deeply.
"Thank you… for saving him."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You saved him… three times."
Arata looked at her for a moment.
Then turned his gaze away.
"…Follow me."
He led her into the communication room.
A round table sat in the center, surrounded by chairs and multiple laptops.
Arata took a seat and gestured for her to sit across from him.
Melissa complied.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Then Arata spoke.
"You probably have a lot of questions. About who I am… why I have these inventions… whether I was lying about being your friend."
Melissa shook her head immediately.
"You're right about the first two… but for the last one…"
She smiled.
"I'm sure you're my friend."
Arata paused, then gave a faint smile in return.
He took a deep breath.
"What I'm about to tell you… you can't tell anyone. Not even your father."
Melissa nodded seriously. Arata activated the laptop.
A hologram appeared above the table—DNA strands, quirk structures, chip designs.
He began explaining.
About his father.
About the research.
About the evil doctor—Garaki.
About quirk cloning.
About Nomus.
About the hidden data left behind.
He explained how his father had expected his own death and tried to leave behind evidence for heroes to expose Garaki.
But fate had intervened.
His father died.
Then his mother—a pro hero—also died in the line of duty.
Melissa listened silently.
Then Arata continued.
He spoke about his own life.
How he had been treated as a useless piece of garbage for being quirkless.
How he had been isolated.
How everything changed when he found the pendrive.
How he decided to use his intelligence to change the world.
How he created quirk chips.
How he built artificial quirks into technology.
Melissa's eyes widened with every revelation.
Her respect for him grew.
'A boy my age… did all this…?'
Arata paused, then his expression changed slightly. Now came the part—Where truth and lies would intertwine.
He resumed speaking.
He explained how, while gathering information, he had discovered dark truths about the government and the HPSC.
The hologram changed. A long list appeared.
Illegal operations.
Cover-ups.
Assassinations.
Exploitation.
Melissa's expression shifted from shock…To disgust…To anger.
Arata spoke calmly, "This is only a fraction of what I found."
He changed the hologram again.
Two faces appeared.
Hawks and Lady Nagant.
Melissa's expression darkened immediately when she saw Hawks.
Arata watched her carefully.
'Now…'
He leaned slightly forward and began his next words.