After explaining his reasoning to Muscular and Best Jeanist, Shigaraki Tomura slowly crouched down.
Then he looked directly into Best Jeanist's eyes.
"And besides…"
"If All Might dies here today, then the only thing society will remember is that he died protecting civilians."
"He'll become a martyr."
"A saint."
"A symbol."
"At that point, no matter what I release afterward, people will only mourn him and hate the villains."
"They won't truly despair."
"But if…"
A faint smile slowly appeared on Shigaraki's face.
"If the Symbol of Peace survives…"
"And then society gradually realizes that even he cannot protect them anymore…"
"That's when true despair begins."
"Because hope that shatters slowly…"
"Hurts far more than hope destroyed instantly."
Hearing those words, Best Jeanist's expression changed drastically.
He finally understood.
Shigaraki's real objective had never been simply killing people.
Nor had it been destroying a single shopping mall.
What he wanted—
was to destroy faith itself.
To make society realize that the Symbol of Peace was no longer omnipotent.
To make people understand that even All Might could bleed.
Could fail.
Could lose.
And once that happened—
the fear hidden beneath society's surface would erupt completely.
Crime rates would rise.
Villains would become bolder.
Civilians would stop trusting heroes.
And heroes themselves—
would begin doubting their own ability to protect others.
This was not an attack against a building.
It was an attack against the foundation of hero society itself.
Realizing that made Best Jeanist's blood run cold.
This monster…
He was far more dangerous than All For One in some ways.
All For One destroyed through fear and violence.
But Shigaraki Tomura—
wanted to destroy society psychologically.
He wanted people to lose faith in the very concept of heroes.
Thinking of this, Best Jeanist suddenly laughed weakly despite his injuries.
"So that's your plan…"
"No wonder…"
"No wonder you intentionally let Bakugo and Edge Shot escape…"
The moment those words fell, Muscular frowned.
"Huh?"
"You let them escape?"
Shigaraki glanced at him calmly.
"Of course."
"Otherwise, how do you think two heavily injured people escaped from a sealed alternate dimension so easily?"
"Especially with Edge Shot already half-dead."
Muscular froze.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"So that 'kind-hearted person' Bakugo mentioned earlier…"
"That was you?"
"More accurately, Shimura Tenko."
Shigaraki corrected him casually.
"What does what Shigaraki Tomura did have to do with me, Shimura Tenko?"
Hearing that shameless line, even Muscular's mouth twitched slightly.
Meanwhile, Best Jeanist's face became increasingly ugly.
"You intentionally let them go…"
"So they could expose everything to society?"
"Correct."
Shigaraki nodded without hesitation.
"Information spreads fear."
"And fear spreads chaos."
"Right now, the outside world still thinks this is merely a dangerous villain incident."
"But once Bakugo and Edge Shot reveal what happened inside…"
"That changes."
"The moment people learn that All Might was trapped helplessly…"
"That the No. 5 Hero was nearly beaten to death…"
"That civilians were used as tools to exhaust the Symbol of Peace…"
"Society's confidence in heroes will begin cracking."
"And once cracks appear…"
"They spread very quickly."
As he spoke, Shigaraki slowly stood up.
Then he casually looked toward the sky above the alternate dimension.
His eyes seemed to pierce through the space itself, gazing directly at the outside world.
"Right about now…"
"The media has probably already begun broadcasting Bakugo and Edge Shot live."
"And soon…"
"The entire country will learn that the Symbol of Peace failed."
Best Jeanist's pupils contracted violently.
"You monster…"
"Hm?"
Shigaraki tilted his head slightly.
Then he smiled.
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Heroes built this society around a single pillar called All Might."
"So the moment that pillar starts collapsing…"
"Everything else falling apart afterward is only natural."
"That's not my fault."
"That's simply the consequence of your society being too weak."
After saying that, Shigaraki suddenly laughed softly.
"And honestly…"
"You heroes are partly responsible for this yourselves."
"You people relied on All Might too much."
"You treated him like a god."
"You let society become dependent on him."
"And now?"
"The moment that god starts showing weakness…"
"Everyone panics."
"How pathetic."
Best Jeanist gritted his teeth.
He wanted to deny it.
Wanted to argue.
But he could not.
Because deep down—
he knew Shigaraki was right.
Hero society truly had become too dependent on All Might.
As long as All Might existed, people felt safe.
As long as All Might smiled, people believed everything would be okay.
That dependence had become so deeply rooted that nobody even noticed it anymore.
Until now.
Until someone finally weaponized it.
Meanwhile, beside them, Muscular scratched his head impatiently.
Honestly, he did not care much about society collapsing or psychological warfare.
What interested him was fighting.
Destroying things.
Killing.
Still—
even he had to admit that Shigaraki's plan sounded terrifying.
After all, if this operation truly succeeded…
then from today onward—
the world would never be the same again.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios