Eijiro Kirishima's body was scorched from the electricity, but he still kept moving. He walked toward a dazed Denki Kaminari, punched him, and knocked him straight to the ground. Everyone thought that was it, Kirishima won. But then Kirishima's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed right on top of Kaminari. After a few seconds, Midnight announced, "Denki Kaminari and Eijiro Kirishima are both unconscious. Both eliminated!"
"Okay, that was hilarious," Arthur said with a grin, like he was watching a comedy sketch.
"What happened? It was clearly a fierce fight, but it somehow felt like a farce," Kyoka Jiro said, covering her face.
But after speaking, Kyoka Jiro immediately got up and walked toward the ring.
Mina Ashido waved to her, saying, "Go easy on her, Kyoka!"
Kyoka Jiro gave a small smile and waved back.
The next match was their fight.
"This way, Todoroki will directly advance to the third round," Shoji said.
Because of the double KO between Kirishima and Kaminari, Shoto Todoroki, who was supposed to face the winner, automatically advanced.
Still, no one thought Todoroki got off easy. No matter who won between Kaminari and Kirishima, neither was beating Todoroki anyway.
The third match, a battle between two Class A girls, officially began. Physically, Mina Ashido was probably second only to Momo Yaoyorozu among the girls in Class A. And Kyoka Jiro's Quirk isn't suited for direct combat. Without her hero costume, her strength was also way down. After less than three minutes of close combat, the match ended with Kyoka Jiro's defeat.
The intensity of the second and third matches was a total contrast to the first match between Todoroki and Izuku Midoriya. Some of the audience were disappointed. But the fourth match? That might be worth watching.
"Using his Tape Quirk, an elite of Class A with agility on par with Eraser Head, Hanta Sero!" "One of the recommended students, a passionate hero with a powerful Whirlwind Quirk, Yoarashi Inasa!" Present Mic shouted into the microphone, "What kind of battle will they bring us? Fourth match, start!!!"
Just as everyone's attention was on the arena, hurried footsteps echoed. A few people from Class A turned to look, and there was Izuku Midoriya, half his body bandaged.
"Midoriya, are you okay now?" Tsuyu Asui asked, tapping her chin.
"Tch!" Katsuki Bakugo, a little further away, scoffed and turned his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Izuku Midoriya said, sitting next to Tenya Iida. He took out his notebook and wrote with his still-working right hand, "I'm glad I didn't miss seeing what Yoarashi's combat is like. He's just as powerful as Todoroki."
The moment the match started, Hanta Sero fired his tape, trying to restrict Yoarashi Inasa's movements. Knowing the huge difference in their strength, he wanted to land the first hit. Seeing this, Yoarashi Inasa punched the ground, and the storm-like winds blew away the incoming tape. The violent wind pressure made it impossible for Sero's tape to even get close.
"What a powerful Quirk," Momo Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
"Quirks can be that unfair," Arthur said. "But Sero's still lucky. Aren't there like 20% of people without any quirk at all?"
Ever since Momo hugged him earlier, Arthur hadn't let go. Under the jealous stares of Mineta and some other boys, his hand occasionally wandered across Momo's back. Hearing Arthur's words, Izuku paused his note-taking, lost in thought.
It was a battle with no surprise. Yoarashi Inasa easily won. Given the huge gap in their quirks, the audience enjoyed the show, and some even started comforting Sero.
"Hmph!" An annoyed grunt. Everyone knew who that came from. Katsuki Bakugo quickly headed into the contestant tunnel. Next up was his fight against Itsuka Kendo from Class B.
"Poor girl from Class B," Mina Ashido said. She had already returned and was looking at Itsuka Kendo standing across from Bakugo. Going up against someone like Bakugo, especially as a girl, it was easy to feel bad for her.
Match start!
As the Class A students expected, Bakugo wasn't going to go easy just because Kendo was a girl. Relentless explosive blasts came one after another. Itsuka Kendo's Quirk let her grow her palms to a larger size, but she could barely defend herself, keeping her hands enlarged while looking for a chance to counter.
"Hahahaha!" Arthur suddenly burst out laughing. The nearby Class A students were stunned, genuinely confused about what was so funny in such an intense fight. Still smiling, Arthur said, "It's like a bullfighter dealing with a mad bull. Just needs some Spanish bullfighting music."
Everyone froze, and then Momo Yaoyorozu and a few other girls couldn't help but giggle. Kendo's running and her Quirk, along with Bakugo's relentless offense, really did resemble it.
"Damn it! You twin bastard!" The arena had gotten pretty quiet, and Arthur hadn't lowered his voice at all. His words instantly reached Bakugo, making the vein on his forehead pop.
"Watch closely, you twin bastard! I'm not scared of whatever Quirk you have!!!" Bakugo swung his arms together. "This is my strength!!!" A golden glow shimmered from his right hand, and the concentrated energy made Cementoss uneasy. He immediately pressed his hands to the ground. "Maximum Power Flashbang!!!" The powerful shockwave, though not as huge as Todoroki's flames earlier, still kicked up enough black smoke and dust to show its power.
"W-what happened?" The heat and smoke covered the arena, making it hard to see inside. Meanwhile, the Class B students were all on edge.
"Bastard! Does this guy have no sense of restraint?!" "Is he trying to kill Itsuka Kendo?!" "Someone like him wants to be a hero? What a joke?!"
It wasn't just Class B. The audience and online viewers were cursing him out too. Shota Aizawa frowned deeply. Sure, Arthur had provoked Bakugo, but that move was way over the top.
Katsuki Bakugo completely ignored all the accusations coming from every direction. He turned his head and glared hard at Arthur, who was still hugging Momo Yaoyorozu and sitting with his legs crossed, looking like he was genuinely watching a bullfight.
"Just wait! I'm not scared of you. I'm the one who'll surpass All Might and become the strongest hero!"
Luckily, Cementoss had already stepped in, using cement walls to block some of the explosion's force. Midnight then rushed to the center of the ring and pulled Itsuka Kendo out.
That officially ended the match in Bakugo's favor.
Back in the stands, with Class B students shooting him angry looks, Bakugo just repeated the harsh words he'd said in the ring to Arthur. Then he sat back down. That surprised Arthur a little. Back in middle school, this guy would've definitely come at him swinging.
"Kacchan..." Izuku Midoriya glanced nervously at Bakugo.
Right then, Tenya Iida, who was sitting next to him, got up and headed down to the arena. The next match was Iida vs. Mei Hatsume.
Just like in the original story, Iida became Mei's target for showing off her inventions and messing with him. After about fifteen minutes, the match ended with Mei voluntarily stepping out of bounds. This whole thing was seriously entertaining for Arthur. Iida just took the L and became Arthur's source of amusement.
"Seventh match, Arthur vs. Tokoyami! Both contestants, please enter the arena!"
Before Arthur's smile had even faded, a wave of cheers, louder than anything before, exploded through the venue. What was the real deal with Arthur's terrifying Quirk, which he'd shown off in the first and second events? Not just the school and students, but plenty of pro heroes in the stands and watching on TV wanted to know. And Tokoyami wasn't weak either. Even in Class A, he was only behind Arthur, Shoto Todoroki, Yoarashi Inasa, and Katsuki Bakugo.
"Please go easy on me!" Tokoyami called out as he stepped onto the ring.
Arthur raised an eyebrow and said with a small smile, "Don't worry, do your best."
In the stands. Izuku Midoriya's eyes were wide, completely locked on the ring. His pencil tapped against his notebook, where he had notes on Arthur and Tokoyami:
Arthur
Quirk: Stand [The World]
Attack Range: About 10 meters
Strengths: Close combat, defense, and precision are all top tier
Tokoyami
Quirk: Dark Shadow
Attack Range: About 15 meters
Strengths: Good offense and defense
Noticing what Izuku had written, Tenya Iida couldn't help asking, "Midoriya, what do you think of this match?"
Izuku replied, "Arthur and Tokoyami's Quirks are pretty similar, but there's a big gap in power. Tokoyami's only chance might be to use his longer attack range to his advantage."
Momo Yaoyorozu glanced sideways and asked with a slight frown, "How can you figure out their attack ranges?"
Izuku scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Honestly, it's just from watching them fight a bunch of times."
Katsuki Bakugo raised an eyebrow, shot a quick look at Izuku, and muttered to himself, "At least figure out the twin bastard's Quirk secret."
"Seventh match, start!!!"
"Dark Shadow!"
The moment the match started, Tokoyami decided to strike first. Dark Shadow, which had its own will, let out a cry and dragged itself out from Tokoyami's stomach, charging forward to attack. At the same time, Tokoyami's own body moved back. Just like Izuku had predicted, Tokoyami was trying to create distance.
"This speed..." Arthur thought to himself. It was also a Stand type attack, but its speed and power were way too weak. If Dark Shadow was in a rampage state, it might be worth trying. But since it's rare to fight another first copy Stand user, might as well have some fun.
"[The World]!" Arthur pointed his right hand forward, pressing his index finger down slightly as he called out. [The World] suddenly appeared, blocking Dark Shadow. Its bulky golden body stood in sharp contrast to Dark Shadow's skinny form.
Tokoyami was stunned. He suddenly thought Arthur's pose for summoning his Stand looked pretty cool. Should he... try it next time? But now wasn't the time to think about that.
Tokoyami immediately commanded, "Dark Shadow, don't get close to him! Go around and attack his main body!" "Alright!" Dark Shadow braked and turned, trying to go around [The World]'s left side to hit Arthur, who was a meter behind.
But at that moment, [The World] reached out its left hand, grabbed Dark Shadow's snake-like body, and yanked it back. This forced Dark Shadow to stop less than ten centimeters from Arthur's face.
" Is your speed faster than a bullet?" Arthur asked with a smile, his arms crossed over his chest.
Tokoyami was stunned. The next second, [The World] grabbed Dark Shadow's body with both hands and swung it around. Then [The World] suddenly let go, and Tokoyami's body started falling backward through the air.
"Wow, that was surprisingly merciful," Mina Ashido said, looking a bit surprised.
"Well, not everyone is like Bakugo..." Momo Yaoyorozu said softly, looking a little embarrassed.
Izuku Midoriya broke out in a cold sweat. Arthur had literally sent Tokoyami flying into the air. Thinking about it, among everyone he knew, only Bakugo had actually gotten beaten up the worst by Arthur and Bakugo really was kind of a loudmouth.
But Tokoyami hadn't lost yet. Just as he was about to fall out of bounds, he had Dark Shadow bite the edge of the ring, pulling himself back in. As long as his body didn't hit the ground outside the ring, he wasn't out.
However, when Tokoyami landed and tried to counterattack... [The World]'s sandbag-sized iron fist was already pressed right against his beak-like mouth. Beads of sweat dripped down Tokoyami's face. He opened his mouth, and five seconds later, he lowered his head and said, "I... surrender!"
The whole venue immediately erupted in cheers. No one expected it to end that fast.
"An overwhelming victory! An absolute victory!!!" Present Mic shouted. "Even though their Quirks are similar, Arthur achieved a total blowout!"
Arthur pulled [The World] back into his body and turned to leave.
"What am I missing?" Tokoyami asked from behind him.
"your just weak" Arthur replied without turning around.
"But hey, Tokoyami, don't go that hard on yourself! You did great!"
...
Re@d ad....v@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.