The list of the upcoming matches had been revealed, leaving everyone stunned.
– Tenya Iida vs. Momo Yaoyorozu.
– Ochako Uraraka vs. Mina Ashido.
– Toru Hagakure vs. Setsuna Tokage.
– Shoto Todoroki vs. Fumikage Tokoyami.
– Allen Walker vs. Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo.
"No one can believe it!" Present Mic's voice echoed everywhere. "A 2 vs. 1?! What are they thinking?!"
It was true that by declaring a draw between Ochako and Toru, the first round of the tournament had ended with an odd number, so it had to be resolved in some way. However, no one expected a 2 vs. 1—especially not putting two of the most promising young talents against a single opponent.
Of course, if it had been anyone else, this might have been seen as unfair. But since it was Allen, it gave the impression that even that disadvantage wasn't enough.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Bakugo shouted from the stands. To him, this was a mockery. How dare they pair him with Deku? Did they think he didn't have what it took to beat Allen on his own?!
Bakugo's shouts were ignored.
Deku, on the other hand, remained silent. It was true that doing this could be viewed poorly by many Pro Heroes, but unlike Bakugo, Deku was aware of his limits and knew that without this setup, there would be no chance of defeating Allen.
'This might be our only opportunity...' Deku thought as he began analyzing the future fight. 'Allen-san must have used up a lot of resources in his battle against All For One... honestly, I'm really curious how he did it. But one thing is certain—the Allen right now is more limited than the Allen before the villain invasion... If Kacchan and I work together, we might be able to wear him down and... maybe'
....
Ectoplasm approached Nezu, who was seated in a private booth. The mouse had regained his composure, but his mind had been constantly processing information.
"Is this really okay, Principal?"
"Yes. I feel sorry for the students who'll have to face Allen as a team, but it's already more than clear that otherwise they wouldn't stand a chance..." Nezu's black eyes gleamed. "Besides, I'm certain a match like this is exactly what this festival needs to erase All For One's shadow."
Ectoplasm said nothing more and stepped away, leaving a thoughtful Nezu behind.
'No matter how I analyze it, I can't logically conclude that Allen forced All For One to retreat—not when he used everything to push us to this point and even revealed his hidden cards... Allen, what are you hiding?'
Nezu watched Nemuri on the field announcing the upcoming matches and considered finding out what had happened from her. But he knew she wouldn't reveal anything that could compromise Allen. As for the two girls who had also witnessed it, it would likely be the same.
Nezu sighed. "I should've had Aizawa be the referee..."
....
Allen used the time Cementoss needed to fix everything to go see Kaina. From what he'd heard, she had been injured in her fight against the pseudo–All For One villain.
Hearing that there was another villain with a Quirk capable of stealing other Quirks had alarmed everyone—even with the limitation of only being able to hold nine.
Without Allen realizing it, the system cut off the live broadcast.
Allen opened the infirmary door only to find Kaina changing.
The woman was wearing only purple underwear.
Both fell silent.
"Sorry," Allen said with a shameless smile.
Kaina sighed. Although her cheeks reddened slightly, she wasn't going to react like a high school girl and start screaming.
"If you're going to stare, at least close the door, pervert," Kaina said before grabbing a blouse from the bed in front of her.
"Of course." Allen closed the door, locked it, and proceeded to sit down while watching Kaina get dressed.
Kaina was speechless. Since she had been the one to say it, she could only grit her teeth and finish putting on her clothes. Later, she could punch Allen.
"Are you okay?" Allen asked, observing Lady Nagant's beautiful, voluptuous body.
Kaina glanced sideways at the way Allen was looking at her. On one hand, she couldn't believe he was being so shameless. On the other hand, she felt a little happy. After all, a woman like her wasn't exactly the most feminine—so being found attractive meant something.
If Allen heard her thoughts, he would doubt her intelligence; if Kaina wasn't feminine, no woman would be.
"Yes. And you?"
"I'm fine. All For One didn't expect my ace."
Kaina stopped moving and turned toward Allen, still in her underwear. Without another word, she approached him and hugged him.
Despite being embraced by a beauty in lingerie, Allen felt no impulse or temptation. The slight tremble in Kaina's body made him feel guilty.
He returned the hug as their warmth passed between them.
Kaina knew Allen hadn't retreated because Nemuri, Ochako, and Toru had been there. He had no choice but to face All For One. She couldn't scold him for that.
Allen knew he had worried Kaina deeply, but he wouldn't apologize. He couldn't. Protecting the people close to him would never be a mistake from his point of view.
After a minute, they separated slightly to look at each other's faces. Kaina smiled while caressing Allen's cheek.
Allen took her hand and smiled as well.
"Do you remember?" Kaina asked.
"Remember what?"
"The first time we met in that alley. I thought I didn't care about anything anymore—even if I was killed... But you appeared and led me back into the light... That's why I'm willing to even give my life to protect you..." Kaina smiled bitterly. "But you keep getting stronger, more incredible, and I'm starting to believe I won't even get that chance."
Allen frowned. "Stop saying nonsense. I don't need you to die for me."
Kaina shook her head, her eyes filling with melancholy.
"I know... just forget—"
Her words were cut off when, out of nowhere, their lips were sealed together. Her eyes widened as she realized Allen was kissing her.
She instinctively tried to pull away, but Allen held the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. She tried to protest, but that allowed Allen to slip his tongue inside. It was a passionate, dominant, selfish kiss—yet at the same time it conveyed warmth, need, and affection.
Kaina, who had been trained to endure even torture, couldn't stop her body from weakening. Slowly, she stopped resisting as her mind became unable to think. Lightly, she even began to respond, tangling her tongue with Allen's.
A couple of minutes passed before Allen let her go. She collapsed into his arms, dazed, her body unable to support itself.
"You don't need to die for me. Just live with me."
Those words touched Kaina's heart, turning her face adorably red. She didn't respond and remained silent until she could move again, then lightly pushed Allen away.
"Can you leave me alone for a moment?"
Allen didn't refuse, but before leaving, he gave Kaina another kiss. This time it was simpler, just their lips touching, but no less intense for Kaina's heart.
"Alright."
Once Allen accomplished what he intended, he reluctantly released Kaina's soft body, turned around, and left the room with a half-smile on his face.
Kaina clutched her heart, which felt like it might explode. She was overwhelmed with emotions and impulses. On one hand, she wanted to fire a shot and destroy the entire building. There was also the urge to jump out the window, the urge to curse with every bad word she knew. But deep down, she felt bad—bad because even though she knew this was wrong, she was happy.
Kaina leaned against the wall, then slid down to sit on the floor, staying there to calm her feelings.
Allen remained outside the door to prevent anyone else from entering, but left when he saw through the crack that Kaina was getting dressed.
[What happened to "I won't get involved with women in this world"?]
"It's unfair to blame me when I had no control over my past in this world."
It was true that he had met Toru by his own will, but in the cases of Midnight, Lady Nagant, Itsuka, and Momo, there had already been prior relationships that he accepted—and little by little, they had deepened.
[Liar. You know that even if you hadn't known those women, sooner or later they would've ended up in your net. You can't let a beauty slip away.]
"That offends me."
[But it's true -_-]
"I didn't say it wasn't true. I said it offended me."
[...]
Allen resumed the broadcast once he left the infirmary.
"Sorry about the sudden interruption."
Saya – Suspicious...
Raven – Did something happen?
McDragon – Damn it!
Rick – Do we even need to ask? Burp
Tony – The stream only cuts when something we're not supposed to see happens, and we all know what must've happened.
"Yes, something happened. Kaina was changing, so the live broadcast was cut. Happy?" Allen said mockingly. "You guys are crazy if you think I'd let you see her in her underwear."
PercyJ – Oh come on, man, don't be like that. You already have enough women!
Kratos – You need better control over your impulses.
Allen raised an eyebrow. "Did the guy who slaughtered Olympus in his world just say that to me?"
Athena – ...
Hestia – How scary...
Artemis – I suppose it was justified.
Aphrodite – Hmph.
....
(One hour later)
Once again, everyone in the stadium was prepared for the second round. Even Allen had already returned, as he had been summoned by Nezu to explain what had happened with All For One.
He didn't reveal anything about the Super Saiyan template, but he did say that he had managed to repel All For One using a card he had created specifically against him. Nezu, of course, didn't swallow that entire story, but he didn't pressure Allen to reveal more either.
"I know many of you are still tired, but let's raise the energy!" Present Mic exclaimed through the loudspeakers.
The audience, for the most part, was still fired up. Allen's words had motivated them to show those villains that it would take more than that to ruin their day.
"Now then, let me introduce the participants of the first match!"
On the screen appeared the faces of Deku and Bakugo.
"The explosive-tempered young man Katsuki Bakugo and the strategic young fighter with powerful punches and kicks, Izuku Midoriya!"
Bakugo stormed out of the tunnel cursing Present Mic, while Deku felt embarrassed by that kind of introduction.
At home, Deku's mother laughed at her son, though she was also worried. As for Bakugo's mother, she smacked her forehead. She knew her son had a bad temper, but she hadn't thought he would be this reckless—now the whole world saw him as a rabid badger.
....
Despite their differences and conflicts, Deku and Bakugo stood together in front of Allen in the arena.
Allen's gaze made two things clear: first, he wouldn't show either of them any mercy; second, whether they came together or not, they stood no chance. That enraged Bakugo, who was already ready to attack.
Nemuri looked at the three of them but stopped her gaze on Allen. There was something strange about him. She couldn't help but walk closer to him. This caught everyone's attention.
"Is something wrong?" Allen asked.
At this moment, they shouldn't act too close out of respect for the audience and to avoid people questioning her impartiality.
Nemuri, being an expert in pheromones, subtly sniffed Allen. When she detected the scent of another woman, she smiled in anger to the point that her fingers cracked as she flexed them.
"It's nothing," Midnight said before returning to her position. But Allen knew he would face a difficult moment when he was alone with her in the future.
"Everyone ready!" Midnight exclaimed before raising her hand and then bringing it down. "Begin!"
....
"Deku, stay out of this!"
Determined to defeat Allen alone, Bakugo charged the moment the signal was given, ignoring Deku's proposal.
"Kacchan!"
Bakugo didn't listen and propelled himself toward Allen, who remained with his arms crossed until the last second. Suddenly, he dodged Bakugo's hand, which released an explosion behind him, then grabbed the explosive boy by the face.
"You should listen to your teammates more, Kacchan~" Allen smiled. For a moment, a row of sharp teeth could be seen.
"...!"
Bakugo recognized the template—but it was too late.
Allen hurled Bakugo with such force that it created a sonic boom. Bakugo flew to the other side, and just when it seemed like he would fall off the platform, Deku appeared and caught him.
Even so, the force was so great that Deku was dragged across the ground along with Bakugo.
'One For All!'
Deku increased his power to 30% and dug his feet into the ground. Thanks to that, he managed to stop right at the edge of the platform.
"Incredible! In an instant, the duo was about to lose!" Present Mic exclaimed. "Even now, I can't believe how strong Allen Walker is!"
"Let me go!" Bakugo shoved Deku away and fell to the ground clutching his own face. His veins bulged, his face turned red, and his eyes became bloodshot.
This kind of humiliation was unbearable. There were no words to describe how furious he was.
"You'll pay for this!" Bakugo stood up, radiating rage.
"Pay? I don't have cash. Do you take cards?"
"Ahhh!" Bakugo attacked Allen once more.
"Kacchan!" Deku shouted. Even with his personality, he was a little angry too. However, he knew that if Bakugo was defeated, he alone would have no chance against Allen. So he activated Full Cowl and attacked alongside Bakugo.
Allen smiled, stopped Deku's punch effortlessly, and used Deku's body to block Bakugo, who couldn't react in time and ended up hitting Deku.
Deku was sent flying, and Bakugo, now alone, decided to continue attacking—but Allen struck him in the neck with his forearm.
"Lariat!"
Bakugo slammed into the ground, creating an explosion from the brutal force of the impact.
Despite the pain from the blast, Deku managed to get back on his feet and attack. He charged at Allen at high speed with a kick.
"SMASH!"
Allen dodged that kick, then delivered a punch to Deku's face that nearly knocked him unconscious. He grabbed him by the hair and threw him off the platform.
Unable to stop his momentum, Deku turned around and clapped just as Allen had done earlier. The resulting shockwave halted his fall.
"Not bad."
"...!"
Deku tried to turn around the moment he felt Allen's presence, but before he could, he had already received three blows to the body that knocked the air out of him and brought him to his knees.
"Die!" Bakugo attacked from the sky. His Quirk, which allowed him to secrete an explosive substance through his skin, produced five times the usual amount this time to create a massive explosion.
Allen disappeared from where he stood and reappeared in front of Bakugo.
"What?"
With no time to react, Allen struck Bakugo so hard that he smashed into the platform once again. This time, Bakugo lost several teeth from the impact.
The audience fell silent...
Nemuri raised her hand. "Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo can no longer continue. The winner is Allen Walker!"
'Well, it was to be expected that they'd lose. Even in spirit form, I'm a king of the gods right now.'
Allen landed heavily on the ground and smiled at the camera. That smile was loaded with meaning, as if he were throwing down a challenge to someone—and the message was clear.
Come at me if you dare!
===
A/N: Without realizing it, we reached 800 chapters.
I've realized that not many stories last that long. I've seen many good stories come and go, but now we're going to keep going. Here's to two thousand chapters! 🍷🗿
If you want to read more, there are up to ten chapters ahead on Patreon.
Patreon.com/_Aizen