Chapter 297

Tartarus (タルタロス) is the two hundred and ninety-seventh chapter of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
Tartarus is described as a detention facility constructed about five kilometers from the mainland, and that it is often seen as a 'dumping ground' for people who have threatened or or threaten public safety, regardless of sentence. The inmates are monitored constantly and divided up among six cell blocks depending on their threat level, and the more dangerous they are, the deeper in the prison they go. It essentially makes Tartarus the dark side of Quirk soceity.

During the night, the Bronze Gate contacts the Mainland Gate of Tartarus prison which separates the bridge and the facility itself and its guards, Briareos and Gyges for a status report. Gyges reports that his brother is dead from the attack by the All For One controlled Tomura Shigaraki and his Near High-End Nomus, and Gyges calls for a code red. All For One says it is uninspiring.

Inside the facility, two guards on the lowest level are discussing Gigantomachia's eventual arrival for the following day. They talk about how he can’t be killed by guns, and because he’s technically human, there’s still some ethics for them to follow about blasting him with missiles. One of the guards, who appears to be the father of Seiji Shishikura scoffs at the thought, saying how just like the rest of the inmates in the prison, they are all just dangerous beasts that only this Quirk-based society has allowed to live for this long; the other guard reminds him that they’re being recorded and that even the dissolved Hearts and Mind Party could use this to their advantage, but the guard doesn’t care.

As the code red reaches the prison, the floors get sealed off with the gate lowered and drones sent out to attack the Nomu. All For One, however, flies over the chaos on a flying Nomu, where Tomura wakes up and attempts to take back control of his body. All For One tells him to rest, due to the Super Regeneration Quirk still needing time to heal the body, but Tomura rebukes saying he told him to rest in the first place, though All For One says he will after he finishes what he came for. He demands his body back again but All For One reminds him that this power is exactly what he wanted to spit at the hand that didn't help him, and now that he has it, what does it really matter. Tomura says he doesn’t want to be his pawn, All For One claims he is wrong: he is becoming “the next me”.

All For One/Tomura uses Decay to destroy the guard tower, escaping from the attacking robots. He uses Search to find his body located 500 meters below sea level, realizing that even if he decayed the entire building, the water pressure would kill him, not to mention Tomura’s body is starting to fall apart faster. He thinks about how even if he had Gigantomachia with him, and even if Tomura's body was complete, it would barely be of any help due to the amount of resources Tartarus has on hand. He figures the best and only way is for a coordinated operation, both inside and out, accomplished through a shared awareness.

As a result, inside the prison, the monitoring system is shut down by an EMP attack, and before the system returns, All For One’s original body utilizes another attack within his cell, frying his cell door and unlocking nearly all the others on the floor. Suppression squads immediately head out to deal with the incoming threats, but are easily taken out by the now freed Muscular and Moonfish. An electric-based woman notices the prison falling apart and notices another door, which she opens and ends up letting out Overhaul, who quickly runs out calling for his boss.

Despite being free, the Villains know that without the bridge they have no way of escaping, All For One responds saying that if they desire freedom, they must submit to him. As his original body and Tomura's appears before them, All for One says that the impending void era will give rise to a more perfected demon lord, and that this will be the story of how he will become the greatest demon lord of all.

Chapter Notes

 * The Near High-Ends and Tomura (with All For One's conscience) storm Tartarus by the order of All For One, who is planning to take over Tomura's body. As a response, the Tartarus staff engage in combat.
 * At the same, Tomura and All For One mentally fight for the control of the former's body.
 * Tartarus is hit by a sudden EMP attack (most likely by the AFO-controlled Tomura), shutting down the facility's security and opening most of the cell doors. The inmates use this opportunity to escape and attack the guards. Among the freed include Muscular, Moonfish, and Overhaul.
 * Moonfish's face is also fully revealed for the first time and his teeth have completely grown back.
 * Tartarus also contains cells that have to be manually opened, which is the type of cell Overhaul was placed in.
 * All For One, along with several other inmates, meet up with Tomura outside of the prison. All For One then persuades the newly-escaped convicts to submit to him and join him on his path to become the "greatest demon lord of them all".

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * Gyges
 * Briareos (Death)
 * Tomura Shigaraki
 * Gigantomachia
 * Muscular
 * Moonfish
 * Overhaul
 * Stain
 * Female Prisoner
 * Kurogiri
 * All For One
 * All Might

Trivia

 * On January 14, 2021, alongside other ongoing WSJ series, the first page was released prematurely on Viz and taken down soon after.
 * Gyges and Briareos are in reference to two of the Hecatoncheires in Greek Mythology. The Hecatoncheires or the Hundred-Handed Ones are three giant brothers each with fifty heads and one hundred arms that acted as the guardians at the gates of Tartarus.

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