The animal kingdom had risen with a unity no one had ever imagined possible, every creature had rallied under the command of a demon to eradicate humanity. Across the globe nearly one hundred million humans had died or suffered injuries.
Thankfully, the genocidal war against humanity had come to an abrupt early end thanks to Nezu. The irony of the reality was not lost on the people of the world. A human led the animal kingdom to eradicate the rest of humans, while an animal led humans into stopping the animals.
But despite this ending, the terror remained. Humanity would remember those days for the rest of its existence. It will remember that despite how far and dominant it became, nature was cruel and beyond humanity. One moment of wrath nearly ended human existence.
——————
Nezu spoke with governments across the world, explaining the new reality humanity now lived under. The message was simple, though its implications were terrifying.
Humans were forbidden from touching lands claimed by nature.
Forests.
Mountains.
Oceans.
Deserts.
Any land beyond human cities and territories was now outside humanity's reach.
Nezu also explained something even more difficult for world leaders to accept.
Junsei could not be killed.
He told them the truth of Junsei's existence, how he had lived countless lives, how he returned every time he died, and how every death only pushed Life forward. A cycle that never ends.
The leaders listened in silence.
Some of them clearly doubted the almost mythical explanation Nezu presented. But whether they believed him or not no longer mattered.
They had already seen what Junsei could do.
They had watched their greatest heroes die without resistance. They had seen the second biggest city in the USA get wiped out within minutes. They had witnessed a nuclear weapon fail to stop him.
They learned how helpless they were before nature's wrath, and Junsei was its champion and master.
With that in mind, governments across the world issued immediate announcements.
People were warned to stay away from wild animals and natural environments. Forests, mountains..etc. these places were declared extremely dangerous and off limits.
For most people, the warnings were unnecessary. After witnessing the devastation Junsei had unleashed, most of humanity no longer dared approach nature..
Cities became humanity's refuge. And the wild world beyond the urban borders became something distant and feared.
But not everyone listened. Some people refused to accept the new order. Adventurers, thrill-seekers, and skeptics believed the warnings were exaggerated. They wanted to test the limits.
Many of them entered forests.
Some attempted to climb mountains.
Others tried to explore oceans as they had done before.
Few returned.
Sometimes their bodies were found at the edge of forests or mountain roads, mutilated in ways that left no doubt about the warning being sent. In other cases, they simply vanished without a trace.
Soon the message became clear to everyone.
Death awaited those who tried to reconnect with nature.
——————
Days after the global attacks ended, humanity began realizing another consequence of Junsei's actions.
They had lost a massive territory and with it access to many materials and resources.
Factories began struggling almost immediately. Without access to forests and mountains, materials like wood and certain minerals became difficult to obtain.
Food production was also affected.
Fishing fleets were no longer allowed to venture deep into the oceans as they once had. Coastal fishing remained possible, but the vast industrial operations humanity once relied on were now gone.
The economic shock rippled through every nation.
The world struggled to adapt.
And every time someone suggested returning to the old ways, venturing back into nature to reclaim resources, another mutilated body would appear somewhere along the border between civilization and wilderness.
The message never changed.
Nature was no longer humanity's property.
——————
No country suffered more than Japan.
Junsei's war had begun there, and the cost had been catastrophic.
The country had lost the majority of its professional heroes. Entire cities had been devastated, and millions of people had died or been injured during the attacks.
Rebuilding was painfully slow.
Families mourned their dead while survivors struggled to repair the destruction left behind. Hospitals remained overwhelmed, infrastructure damaged, and many essential services barely functional.
The absence of heroes and other professionals added to the problems.
There were simply not enough trained professionals left to maintain order and assist in recovery efforts.
So Japan turned to the only resource it had left.
Students.
UA and other hero schools across the country mobilized their trainees. Police academies and government institutions did the same. Young students who had barely begun their training suddenly found themselves assisting in rescue operations, reconstruction projects, and maintaining public safety.
They worked long days among ruined buildings and grieving citizens.
The next generation of heroes had been forced to grow up overnight.
The world had changed.
Humanity no longer ruled the planet.
And somewhere beyond the borders of every city, in the forests and mountains and oceans humans no longer dared enter…
Junsei was monitoring the humans.
——————
Four weeks had passed since Junsei's retreat.
Japan was still struggling to recover. Rescue operations had slowly transitioned into rebuilding projects
Amidst this chaos, Momo found herself walking beside Aizawa through the ruined outskirts of a city in Akita Prefecture. Perched comfortably on his shoulder was Nezu, calmly observing the surroundings as if this were a simple field trip.
At first, Momo had been confused.
Earlier that morning, Aizawa had simply told her the principal wanted her to accompany them on a trip. When she asked Nezu for details, the principal had only said "You will know soon enough."
Now, as they walked among shattered buildings and scarred streets, Momo slowly realized where they were.
This was the place where Junsei had fought Star and Stripe. The battlefield where the world's strongest heroes had fallen.
She tightened her fists.
"Sir," she finally said, looking down at Nezu, "why are you bringing me here?"
Her voice was tense.
"Is it related to Junsei?"
The name alone made her jaw tighten.
Nezu nodded calmly.
"Yes. You knew him better than anyone."
Momo frowned immediately.
"Then why didn't you tell me before bringing me here?"
Nezu sighed softly.
"Because I was afraid you would refuse."
He glanced at her.
"And because you are still too angry at him. Perhaps even hateful."
Momo's eyes narrowed.
"You say that as if you don't want me to feel that way."
"Yes," Nezu replied without hesitation. "I would prefer it if you let the past rest."
Momo stopped walking.
"After everything he did?" she asked. "After all the destruction and killing? The pain he caused to everyone?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You can't seriously expect me or anyone to forgive him."
Aizawa stopped walking and said in a calm but firm tone "I agree. Whatever his reasons were, nothing excuses those actions."
Nezu remained quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"That much is true from a human perspective. But this is exactly why anger and hatred toward him are also wrong."
The two looked at him.
"Personally," Nezu continued softly, "I pity him. He is the most pitiful existence in this world."
Aizawa frowned. "What do you mean?"
Nezu looked ahead as they continued walking.
"Before his human death, I briefly saw fragments of his memories."
He spoke slowly "The pain and grief he carried… were unimaginable. He lived countless lives. He experienced death again and again."
Nezu paused.
"And he remembers them all with frightening detail. He remembers the pain of dying vividly as if it was a moment ago."
Momo and Aizawa remained silent as they walked.
Nezu continued. "And that pain becomes far worse when humans are the ones who inflict it."
His voice grew quieter.
"It tears through both his body and his soul. He died at the hands of humans so many times that he became terrified of them."
Nezu glanced back at them.
"Even when he was reborn as a human, he was so afraid that toddlers could frighten him."
Momo blinked in disbelief. Junsei, afraid of humans to that degree?
The idea felt completely foreign.
Yet she remembered something faint. Years ago, when she first met him, he had always been cautious around people. Observant. Alert.
She had always thought it was more because of dislike and distrust toward people.
Nezu continued explaining.
"He hated humanity more than anything. When he discovered he could sense life around him, his suffering only grew worse and so his understanding of his nature and the world around him."
His ears drooped slightly.
"Humans harm life casually. Children crush spiders, tear the wings off butterflies, burn ants for amusement."
Nezu's voice grew heavy.
"While they laugh… Junsei feels the pain as if his own body is being torn apart. It was constant torture for him."
The trio walked silently through the destroyed city.
"That pain only came from humanities actions and he never sensed it from nature, So he came to see humanity as cruel and dangerous, an enemy of life if you will," Nezu continued. "Most humans he encountered only reinforced that belief."
He glanced up at Momo.
"That was the rule and just like all rules, it had exceptions, but they were very few. Ms. Yaoyorozu… you are the last living good human in Junsei's eyes."
Momo did not reply.
Her gaze remained fixed ahead.
After a moment, Aizawa spoke.
"Even if that's true," he said, "it doesn't change what he became. He's still a monster."
Nezu shook his head gently.
"No. He is not a monster." He looked toward the horizon. "He is humanity's demon, born from their actions and their very nature that they don't control."
Nezu paused.
"And in a certain sense… he is correct. Killing humans is the logical solution to the problem he is facing"
Aizawa stopped walking again. "Is he influencing you now?"
Nezu looked at him calmly.
"No. I am simply speaking objectively. Humans do not belong to the system of life that Junsei lives in. From a purely objective viewpoint… removing humanity is the correct answer."
Aizawa remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "So he's pitiful because he failed to wipe us out?"
Nezu shook his head again. "No. He is pitiful because he is drowning in pain, grief, anger, and sadness."
Nezu's voice softened.
"He didn't know what he should do. Even as he killed humans and believed he was doing the correct thing and that he was nothing like them. But part of him still felt sorrow for some of them, he understood humans don't truly control their nature and not all of them are greedy, he pitied them for being so different. At the same time, he rejected those emotions until the very end. He still does."
Eventually the three reached the edge of the battlefield, where missiles had fallen first.
Nezu said "We have arrived."
He jumped down from Aizawa's shoulder and walked toward a small mound of earth nearby.
A simple grave.
There was no elaborate marker. Only a sign from an animal shelter placed into the ground as a gravestone.
Momo froze when she saw it.
Her eyes widened.
"Is that…?"
"Yes," Nezu said quietly.
"During the missile strike, that human died."
He looked at the grave.
"Junsei fought the heroes to avenge her."
Momo pressed her lips tightly.
Nezu continued. "And after he left UA… he returned here. He dug this grave for her. I suppose this is the only thing he thought he could do for her."
Aizawa frowned "How did you know that?"
Nezu looked at the simple gravestone "I didn't. I simply suspected he would. As I said before… he is pitiful."
Aizawa asked, "Why did you want us to come here?"
Nezu replied "Humanity is not safe only because it possesses nuclear weapons. Call me naive if you wish, but I believe part of the reason Junsei chose to stop was because he did not want to destroy my school… or harm Miss Yaoyorozu any further. There were a few humans he did not truly wish to see die, and that caused him pain. So his answer was to allow humans to exist for the time being, and with the constraints he put on humanity, resources will dwindle slowly and it will destroy society."
He looked down at the grave "But this peace will not last forever. Once I and everyone he knows are gone, and with humanity weakened further and unable to threaten Life, there will be nothing left to stop him. When that day comes, he will resume his war. The current conditions will ensure humans are going to be as helpless as possible."
Nezu sighed softly. "In the end, what is a few decades for him? It is simply nothing. Humanity's extinction is coming."