The classroom became thoughtful after Midoriya's question. The small bird still rested calmly in Momo's hands, completely unaffected by the tension filling the room.
Kaminari scratched his head uneasily. "That's actually a good question… maybe Todoroki is right. He is watching us right now."
Iida adjusted his glasses, thinking carefully. "Or perhaps something else entirely is happening here."
Then everyone slowly turned to the same person.
Koda.
He didn't need anyone to say a word. The moment he saw their faces, he already understood what they wanted. Quietly, he stood from his seat and walked toward Momo. She hesitated but didn't stop him as he leaned closer to the bird perched in her hands.
"Why are you not attacking us?" Koda asked gently. "Didn't Junsei… I mean the World Soul… order you to?"
The bird chirped several times.
Koda listened carefully, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"What did she say?" Kaminari asked immediately.
Koda turned back to the class. "She said Junsei told them it is time to unite and end the enemies of Life. But she won't hurt Momo because Momo has always been kind to her and feeds her. And if she attacked Momo's friends… it would make Momo sad."
Mina blinked in surprise. "That's… actually really nice of her."
"She's loyal, that's unexpected," Shouji added.
Midoriya raced. "Wait. If Junsei can control animals, then how is she resisting him? Is it distance… or something else?"
Koda repeated the question to the bird.
More chirps followed.
Koda listened and then looked back at the others. "She says there is nothing to resist. Junsei can't control her or anything else. He only tells them what the right thing to do is and asks them to help. It's up to them whether they agree or not."
Iida's eyes widened. "He can't control them? But he still can see and hear through them. And why are they all attacking humans if that's true? Someone asked them and they just agreed"
Koda relayed the question again. The bird answered.
Koda took a moment before translating.
"She says humans are bad creatures that stole from the soul for too long. Animals couldn't fight humans before because humans were too strong and had torn Life apart and stored it inside themselves. They were afraid of humans."
The classroom remained still as he continued.
"The soul told them they could win if they unite, that humans should be the ones to be afraid. There are far more of them than humans. If they work together… they can get their peace back and restore Life. He promised that he will put the humans in the same pain they put them through, he will tear them apart and take from them just as they did to them."
No one spoke for several seconds.
Then Jiro broke the silence.
"Holy shit," she whispered. "Nature hates us… and Junsei united them under a common goal!!"
Bakugo frowned deeply. "That still doesn't make sense."
He pointed toward the bird. "Reports say even pets are attacking their owners. But that bird isn't attacking anyone. What's the difference?"
Tsuyu spoke slowly. "People don't really understand how animals feel, ribbit. What if pets resent humans for trapping them… or castrating them? They might hate it but can't do anything because their survival depends on humans."
Midoriya straightened.
"So Junsei isn't forcing animals to fight or controlling them in any way," he said. "He gave them a cause and motivation."
Uraraka stared in disbelief. "This is insane. Animals have a cause to unite now? How to even stop something like that?"
Todoroki answered quietly. "We probably can't. And even if Junsei is defeated, he might become a martyr for them. He already proved they can hurt humans. Why stop now?"
Tokoyami folded his arms thoughtfully. "Calling him the World Soul makes sense now. He's like the arbiter of the animal kingdom, giving them guidance and leaving it to them to carry out the will of the whole."
Kaminari suddenly looked toward Koda and said "Ask her something else."
"What?" Koda asked.
"How long has Junsei lived?"
The room looked at Kaminari.
Kaminari raised his hands slightly when everyone stared at him. "His speech sounded crazy… but what if it's true? The bird called him 'The Beginning' when we questioned her last time."
Iida shook his head immediately. "That's absurd. There is no way someone or something existed for that long. Junsei is delusional and crazy."
Still, Koda turned back to the bird and asked the question.
Dola chirped softly in response.
Koda listened, then slowly looked back at the class.
"She says… he is the beginning of life. The one who started it."
Even hearing it again, none of them could believe it. The answer is just too hard to accept.
Midoriya finally spoke. "I don't think we should release the bird… or hurt it."
He looked at Dola carefully.
"She isn't hostile. And she might answer more questions we could have later, even if the answers are vague."
Several students nodded, though some still looked uneasy.
Momo remained silent for a moment, staring down at the bird resting in her hands.
Then she lifted her head.
"There is something I need to tell you," she said slowly.
"It's about Junsei… and the principal."
The class immediately focused on her.
"It's hard to believe," Momo continued. "I doubted it myself."
She took a slow breath.
"But after everything that has happened… I'm starting to think it might actually be true."
After Momo told them what she knew, complete silence and dread filled the class.
——————
Junsei moved across the city like a calamity given form.
Wherever animals struggled against humans, he appeared. When birds were driven away by gunfire or when desperate survivors tried to burn away swarms of insects, Junsei arrived at impossible speed to tip the balance. His claws tore through flesh, his blood bullets pierced skulls, and those who survived his attacks often rose moments later as infected puppets to continue the slaughter.
He attacked everyone he saw.
There was no hesitation anymore, just his hatred and determination. Humans were the enemy. If animals faltered anywhere in the city, Junsei sensed it instantly and rushed to their aid, cutting down the defenders and allowing the creatures to continue the purge.
The great extinction of humans was progressing well.
Entire districts had already fallen silent.
Without realizing it, Junsei passed through a familiar street and approached a large iron gate. His feet moved automatically, carrying him along the road as he continued his search for surviving humans.
The sign beside the gate read Aichi Elites Private School. The school he had attended with Momo just one year ago.
Junsei did not react at first. He simply continued walking past it, his attention already shifting toward distant cries and the sounds of battle deeper within the city.
Then his body stopped.
Abruptly.
As if something had pulled on an invisible thread within him.
Junsei slowly turned his head back toward the gate.
There, lying on the ground just inside the entrance, was a body.
His old PE teacher. Yajiro Kuma.
The man still clutched a wooden baseball bat tightly in his hands, even in death. The bat was cracked and stained dark, evidence of a desperate last stand. Around the body, dozens of dead insects and a few broken bird feathers littered the ground.
It looked like he had tried to fend them off. Tried to protect the school and failed.
Not far from him, another body lay collapsed against the ground.
The school headmaster.
The elderly man had wrapped his arms around a female student, shielding her completely with his own body. Even now, in death, his grip remained tight as if he had refused to let go until the very end.
The girl was motionless beneath him.
Both of them had died together.
Junsei's gaze drifted past them and into the school grounds.
The campus had become a graveyard.
Bodies of students and teachers were scattered across the yard and hallways, some of them still recognizable. Juniors he had once passed in the corridors. Teachers whose classes he had sat through.
Familiar faces.
All dead.
For the first time since the war began, Junsei felt something shift within him. The burning fury that had driven him forward suddenly cooled, replaced by a strange hollow feeling in his chest.
Loss.
He stood there silently for several seconds.
Then he shook his head.
His six glowing eyes ignited again with renewed resolve.
Humans were the enemy.
Every single one of them.
Junsei turned away from the school and continued moving through the city. The cleansing was not finished, and hesitation would only slow the inevitable.
More humans remained.
They all had to die.
As he traveled across the ruined streets, Junsei soon encountered another disturbance. A group of birds had gathered outside a small bakery, repeatedly slamming against the windows and doors.
Humans were hiding inside.
Junsei narrowed his eyes.
Without a second thought, he rushed forward and raised his hand toward the building.
An explosion erupted instantly.
The blast tore through the bakery walls, shattering the windows and ripping apart the barricades that had been hastily built behind the door. The entire front of the building collapsed inward, dust and debris filling the air.
Junsei stepped calmly through the wreckage.
His eyes scanned the interior, searching for survivors.
Then he stopped.
The humans hiding inside had been killed by the explosion almost instantly. Their bodies lay scattered among the broken shelves.
One of them caught his attention.
Saji.
His former classmate and Momo's friend.
But his gaze quickly moved past him.
Toward the back of the bakery.
One person was still alive.
Komi.
She lay on the floor surrounded by shattered glass and broken shelves. Her body was soaked in blood, and a large shard of glass had cut deeply into her neck. Blood pooled beneath her as she struggled weakly to breathe.
Her eyes slowly lifted.
They met Junsei's.
Tears formed immediately.
"Why…?" she whispered weakly.
Her voice trembled.
"I was just joking…"
Her words faded into silence.
The light slowly disappeared from her eyes.
Komi died.
Junsei remained standing where he was, staring at her body.
For several seconds he did not move.
Behind him, the birds that had been trying to break into the bakery gathered on the shattered doorway. They chirped softly, their calls filled with concern as they looked toward him.
Junsei glanced back at them.
Through the connection that existed between him and every living creature, he sent a simple command.
'Continue'
The birds took flight immediately, leaving the bakery to resume their attack on the remaining humans in the city.
Junsei looked down at Komi one last time.
His fist tightened slowly.
Then he shook his head and relaxed his hand.
He did not care about humans.
They were all the enemies of Life.
It is either them or Life.
That's all.