"You found me that quickly?!"
Egawa's pupils shrank slightly, but instead of panicking, he felt a surge of confidence. In his view, neither side had revealed their Quirks yet—and that gave him the advantage.
"Shina Etsuha—the genius ice-quirk user who's been all over the media lately." Egawa recalled what he'd read in the papers, a smug smile forming on his lips. "Ice manipulation, powerful offense against villains, even decent swordsmanship… It's an impressive Quirk. But I already know everything about you."
With that, he closed the distance instantly.
"And fighting ice? That's my specialty."
He threw a punch—and at the same moment, the air around him erupted with violent soundwaves. A piercing, high-decibel blast exploded outward, slamming directly into Etsuha's ears.
Bang!
Etsuha caught the incoming punch with his hand. But the soundwaves hit him head-on, and a deafening buzz filled his ears like an explosion.
"You were too careless," Egawa said coldly. His Quirk allowed him to emit soundwaves through the pores of his body. The faster he moved, the stronger the sound he could generate. At high intensity, it was enough to rupture a person's eardrums.
And that attack had clearly landed.
"…I was a bit careless. That's a good Quirk," Etsuha admitted.
Even as he spoke, the damage in his ears began to heal at an astonishing rate. In mere moments, the injuries vanished completely. At the same time, he subtly modified his ear structure at a genetic level, optimizing it for noise resistance.
All of this happened in an instant—so fast that Egawa didn't notice anything unusual.
"Hah. So this is what I expected from a newbie," Egawa scoffed. Seeing Etsuha still holding his fist, he pointed at his own ear and mouthed exaggeratedly, "Give up."
"You should already be deaf. Continuing this fight is just pointless struggling. If you end up with permanent damage, don't blame me."
"Under normal circumstances, yeah… that might've affected my hearing," Etsuha replied calmly. "But right now, my ears are perfectly fine."
"That's impossible!"
Only then did Egawa realize something was wrong. He stepped back in shock—but Etsuha stood there completely unaffected, listening without any issue.
"What do you mean 'impossible'? Your Quirk isn't invincible, is it?" Etsuha tilted his head slightly.
This guy…!
Even if he couldn't believe it, Egawa had no choice but to attack again.
BOOM!!
Soundwaves erupted from every pore on his body, shattering nearby glass with sheer force. The noise was overwhelming—but Etsuha moved as if nothing had happened. He sidestepped casually, avoiding the attack, then tapped Egawa lightly on the shoulder.
"…Which part should I cut?"
Countless genetic structures appeared clearly in Etsuha's vision. After all, Egawa was still his classmate—he couldn't just sever vital genes recklessly. If he accidentally destroyed something critical, it might not be reversible.
After a brief moment of consideration, Etsuha targeted the gene chains responsible for muscle control—and severed them.
Thud.
Egawa stumbled forward slightly, still trying to continue his assault.
"Come on! Again!" he roared.
"…It doesn't work quite the same as with plants," Etsuha murmured in surprise.
If Egawa had been a plant, he would've lost all mobility instantly. But against a human body—especially one this strong—the effect showed a delay.
"Why isn't he affected by my sound at all…? Impossible. He has to be forcing himself!"
Egawa's eyes were filled with disbelief. At the same time, he began to feel a strange exhaustion creeping through his body—but in the heat of battle, he ignored it.
Taking advantage of Etsuha's movement, he spun and launched a powerful kick—
But in the next moment, an overwhelming fatigue surged through his entire body.
His muscles refused to respond.
The kick never completed.
With a dull thud, Egawa collapsed to the ground.
"What… did you do to me…?"
He tried to speak—but to his horror, no sound came out.
His entire body felt disconnected, as if it no longer belonged to him. Every muscle had gone slack, unresponsive—like it had completely died.
Wasn't this guy's Quirk supposed to be ice?
What was this… terrifying ability?
Egawa's thoughts began to blur. His mind turned sluggish, like it was sinking into mud.
"…Sorry. I might've gone a bit too far."
Just before he lost consciousness, he heard Etsuha's voice beside him.
A gentle force flowed into his body.
Slowly, sensation returned.
Muscles reconnected. Control came back.
And when Egawa opened his eyes again, he saw Etsuha standing beside him—wearing an awkward, apologetic smile.
..
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