BNHA: Accelerator The Strongest Hero

The assistant excitedly opened the silver case, glanced inside to confirm its contents, then turned around and held it up to David with a smile.

"Doctor, we did it! Everything is here."

David Shield took a trembling breath, filled with emotion, and said, 

"We've finally recovered it."

He stood with his head lowered, staring at the ground, his fists clenched tightly. Speaking as though to himself, or perhaps making a solemn vow, he declared: 

"This device and the related research—I won't hand it over to anyone. No, there's no way I'll ever hand it over again!"

Standing on the steps, the assistant grinned with satisfaction and walked toward David, saying, 

"Everything went smoothly. It seems like the enemy didn't cause too much trouble either."

David looked at the assistant who had been with him for so long, stepped forward, and was about to extend his hand. 

"Thank you, Sam. It's all thanks to your thorough preparations."

At that moment, Melissa and Midoriya, who were hiding in the shadows, ready to rescue David, were dumbfounded. Hearing their conversation, Melissa could no longer contain her disbelief and blurted out, 

"Dad... what do you mean by 'preparations'?"

Melissa's face was full of doubt and struggle. Her words left both David and Sam at a loss for words. 

"Melissa!?" 

"Miss... why are you here?"

Melissa, lost in her thoughts, stumbled barefoot toward the father she had always respected, desperate for a denial. 

"Was this entire event planned by you, Dad?" 

"Was it all fake—just to get that device?" 

"Dad... is it true?"

Her questions struck David Shield's heart like a series of heavy blows, each one more piercing than the last. There was nothing more painful to David than hearing his own daughter, who trusted him completely, question him as she approached a breaking point. 

David opened his mouth, frowning as if he wanted to refute her, but the words never came out. Deep down, he knew that anything he said would just be an excuse. As a scientist who had fought alongside All Might against the darkness for over a decade, how could he not know that his actions had crossed the invisible line of ethics long ago?

Even so, David believed he had a reason for what he did. He straightened his posture, his resolve firm, and met Melissa's eyes with a serious expression, answering plainly: 

"Yes."

Melissa couldn't understand. She kept repeating her questions, 

"Why? Why did you have to do this?" 

Midoriya, standing nearby, was equally baffled. Sam hurriedly explained, 

"The doctor just wanted to recover what was taken from him."

Holding the silver case, Sam elaborated, 

"This device can enhance a Quirk through mechanical means. It's a groundbreaking invention."

Midoriya, shocked, asked, 

"Enhance Quirks?"

Sam nodded and explained, 

"Although it's still in the prototype stage, this device can amplify a Quirk by nearly 90% without the use of special drugs. It achieves this with almost no side effects, maintaining a state that's practically harmless to the body. 

"But due to pressure, the investors froze the project and even clashed with the doctor to seize it."

Sam recounted the entire process and his theories to Melissa and Midoriya. However, he left out the part where he had, for his own reasons, encouraged David to hire "enemies" and manipulated the doctor, who was too focused on his research to notice the intricacies of human interactions.

Hearing this, Melissa completely broke down. Her voice cracked as she desperately tried to confirm the truth, 

"Dad! Say something! Tell me Uncle Sam is lying! That he's just trying to trick me!" 

"This is too ridiculous! The dad I know would never do something like this." 

"But why? Why, Dad?"

Standing on the steps, David Shield, exhausted both physically and mentally, finally delivered his conclusion.

"Melissa, I didn't lie to you."

When David Shield said this, he sighed, and it felt like he had aged ten years in an instant.

"Although you might not know, everything I've done is for All Might."

"His Quirk is slowly fading, like a dying candle in a snowstorm. But if I could use my device, there's a chance for recovery."

"No, it will definitely restore him."

"It might even give him even greater power, and the No. 1 hero, the [Symbol of Peace], will shine on the world once again."

"Our world cannot exist without him. My world can't bear another [Dark Era]."

"The last great chaos nearly pushed humanity, those with power, to the brink of losing civilization."

"Even though AFO has been defeated, who can guarantee that a new dark emperor won't rise again?"

"But my invention can leave the world with an All Might, a stronger [Symbol of Peace]."

Without realizing it, Dr. David Shield's black-rimmed glasses were fogged up, his face wet with tears that flowed unconsciously.

Only those who have experienced darkness know how precious and important light truly is.

"He can still save more people. This world could be without me, David Shield! But, no matter what, it cannot exist without All Might!"

"My time and energy won't allow me to make the same device again, so I, David Shield, am betting everything I have—my life, my beliefs, my honor, my wisdom, and my dignity…"

"Whether I'm misunderstood or not recognized, even if I'm alone in the darkness, it doesn't matter. After this, whatever punishment awaits, I will accept it willingly. I'll look up from hell at the heaven All Might built, the shelter for heroes and innocent, kind people!"

Standing nearby, Midoriya Izuku felt like he had walked into an ice-cold cave, a chilling sensation piercing through his whole body.

(It's all… because I inherited OFA that All Might's strength is fading…)

Melissa angrily retorted.

"Do you even know how much these people suffer, including Kacchan and his classmates, had to suffer to get here?"

David Shield's father, on the other hand, seemed confused.

"What's going on… Aren't the enemies all fake… Could it be…?!"

Suddenly, David Shield realized and angrily turned toward his long-time assistant, someone he had trusted as his own brother.

Even if he was naive about human emotions, he should have understood that this was a premeditated, malicious betrayal.

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