Chapter 314

The Lovely Lady Nagant (しきレディ・ナガン) is the three hundred and fourteenth chapter of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
Deku continues his fight with Lady Nagant, thinking about how due to the Smokescreen not being able to spread far in the rain, she would easily react to his decoys and taking his bait, while she notes about just how much faster he is now. As he screams at her to tell him all about All For One, she rebuts him, transforming her Rifle into an arm, and then back again to punch him away and attempt to shoot him again.

As she gloats that the Hero Public Safety Commission taught her everything, he asks why she’s working with All For One, since she used to be a Hero and knows that he plans to take over everything. She tells him that all he’s been seeing is the manufactured sense of order and couldn’t possibly understand the real truth. Deku then finds himself temporarily stunted, as just like the third user warned him, his parallel processes are screwed up after using Fa Jin for the first time, and needs to readjust himself, while still avoiding Nagant’s shots.

While she continues to shoot, Nagant explains her history with the Safety Commission to Deku. She was responsible for targeting groups that plotted acts of terrorism against Heroes, or corrupt Heroes that colluded with Villains for fame and fortune, given these classified missions to make them disappear. She was used in order to maintain the trust in Heroes to keep the superpowered society running, killing whoever she was ordered too.

However, this came at a cost of her own mental health, as the stress of all the killings got to her, especially while still being praised by the public, including a group of a kids, who loved her as a Hero, causing her to reflect on everything being just a sham.

One day, the then Public Safety Commission President reveals to Lady Nagant about two Heroes who have been inciting civilians to commit crimes before hunting them down and collecting the rewards, and that he wants them to go missing. Lady Nagant questions if killing them is going to improve anything, and if pretending to the public none of this is happening is any better than brainwashing. The President insists that it is all necessary, but when Nagant continues to question this, he threatens her saying that this isn’t a job you can simply walk away from. In response, she shoots him.

Deku is shocked by the revelation, especially since the news was that Lady Nagant had killed another Hero during an argument, as she continues to explain the Safety Commission had to cover it all up to keep up the illusion. She says this society is all just a fragile illusion, that history will just repeat itself if that status quo is restored, and that even a future ruled by All For One will be much more transparent.

Through the talking, Deku is able to figure out Lady Nagant’s location, using a Super Move with Blackwhip, “Pinpoint Focus”, to quickly shoot his way toward her. He admits that he might have been ignorant by these issues she’s brought up, but declares that now he realizes that the world isn’t all black-and-white, but mostly shades of gray, blends of fear and anger, which is why he needs to try to extend a helping hand to those in need.

Lady Nagant brushes this off as more of the phony education, while thinking about how well he as been able to dodge all of her shots and been able to read her patterns. She decides one more trick, directly pointing her rifle at a nearby building. Deku turns surprised to see Kai Chisaki, yelling at Nagant asking if she is done and still wanting to see his Boss, while she seemingly prepares to shoot.

Chapter Notes

 * More of Lady Nagant's past with the Hero Public Safety Commission is revealed:
 * She acted as an assassin, targeting villains and corrupt Heroes.
 * The stress of all the killing, while maintaining the public face as a Hero, led her to question the nature of society.
 * She killed the former Public Safety Commission President when he threatened her after she brought up her resignations.
 * It is revealed Lady Nagant didn't actually kill a Hero, and that was just a cover-up by the Commission.
 * Deku discovers Kai Chisaki has accompanied Lady Nagant.