--Sunday, August 30, 2172
"When it comes to saving lives, the difference in experience really shows…"
Up in the stands, Aizawa couldn't help but mutter as he watched the Class A students move in a cluster and get scolded by what appeared to be an injured little boy. The other youths—older and experienced—moved with speed and confidence to rescue the wounded. At that moment, Joke glanced at one of the screens displaying the starting point and remarked with a subtle smile.
"Your 'Demon King' doesn't seem very interested in this test…"
"He's never faced something like this, so he's probably observing and learning, but I don't think it'll be long before he starts moving…" Aizawa replied in a casual voice as he settled more comfortably into his seat.
Joke couldn't help but look at the hero in black with a touch of surprise upon noticing a hint of confidence and pride in his tone. She soon fixed her gaze on the screen showing the imposing young man with black hair and striking blue eyes, with equal parts curiosity and anticipation.
…
While the approved youths ran with all their strength in different directions to rescue the wounded, Kai stayed in the starting zone with a calm expression as he swept his gaze across the area. Some of the youths, especially the girls, couldn't help but give a second look at the serene blue-eyed young man, who soon brought his arms up to the cats on his shoulders.
In that instant, a Jian sword made of jet-black metal emerged from the fur of the black cat, and an identical one—made of a kind of white aura—from the white-furred cat. In perfectly synchronized fashion, the hilts of the swords fit into Kai's hands the moment they arrived. But to everyone's surprise, the instant the terrifying Demon King gripped the swords, he vanished.
Several youths who were watching Kai as they ran nearly fell over from the surprise and quickly began looking around to find him. Right at that moment, debris began flying from various spots almost simultaneously, then split into small cubes in the air, causing the jaws of many of the youths present to drop to the floor in astonishment.
But while everyone tried to process the surprise, a strong gust of wind suddenly stirred everything around them. Out of nowhere, Kai appeared in the middle of the starting point with an enormous black panther with blue eyes and one made of white aura with an adorable, fluffy cat at its center.
On top of the blue-eyed panther lay at least 7 people, while from the aura-panther emerged a kind of tentacle, which held seven more. Before anyone could react, the white aura tentacles moved to set the "wounded" down on the ground in an orderly and careful manner and then took those atop the black panther and did the same.
Meanwhile, the "wounded," visibly stunned, looked at one another, struggling to understand what had happened. From one moment to the next, they had gone from giving their best possible performance as victims in danger to—before they realized it—appearing in the starting zone without quite understanding what had occurred.
But although she was just as confused as the others, an older woman with an enormous afro soon reacted, embodying the utmost professionalism as an actress. She looked at the black-haired young man and called out in an irritating voice.
"Hey you, what's with that careless handling?!"
"Mn?"
"!"
At that moment, the black-haired young man let out a curius huff and then turned to look at her, soon focusing on her with his bright, calm blue eyes. Upon seeing those blue eyes that seemed like two jewels of incalculable value, the woman—who had been about to scream hysterically—lost her breath instantly, left with her mouth open, staring fixedly at those fascinating and terrifying eyes.
The other "wounded," who knew the woman's "abilities" all too well, couldn't help but be surprised to see her speechless, but right at that moment those eyes shifted toward them. Unconsciously, all the wounded straightened up and looked away from those infinitely arrogant blue eyes that gazed down at them with a cold, analytical calm.
"Are you the one in charge of checking the wounded?"
After finishing his sweep of the "wounded" with his gaze, Kai turned to look at a young woman with salmon-colored hair in a blue dress and asked. The young woman, who seconds earlier had been moving all over the place to check the wounded with speed and seriousness, soon replied in a voice slightly higher-pitched than usual.
"Y-yes, that's right!"
"Perfect, then I'll leave these to you. Counting from right to left: numbers 2, 3, 8, and 14 are faking fractures in different ribs; numbers 1, 5, and 10 are faking minor injuries and 'hiding' a serious damage in their head. The rest are faking various levels of injuries to limbs and torso."
Kai explained in a calm, concise voice as he pointed to the "wounded" he mentioned. The young woman nodded and took notes as she looked seriously at those Kai pointed to, who seemed quite surprised. When he finished, Kai looked at the young woman taking notes in a small notebook and asked.
"That would be everything I know about them. Any questions?"
"No, that would be all. Thank you very much for your work."
The young woman, much calmer now, responded in a firm tone, though she secretly avoided looking at those captivating blue eyes, since she felt she could lose herself in them with a single glance. At that moment, Momo landed not far away, carrying three "wounded" people, at which point she couldn't help but frown slightly beneath her helmet.
Looking around, Momo could easily notice that 2 out of every 3 women were watching her man with varying levels of interest/infatuation, a sight that not only annoyed her a little but also confused her. Although her Kai was handsome, strong, and everything she could want, the fact that at least 60% of the women present were looking at him with varying levels of shamelessness didn't seem normal. Something she was certain hadn't happened before.
Although it wasn't unusual for Kai to draw glances, it was obvious to Momo that the number of those glances had been multiplying exponentially over the last few months. But at the same time, no matter how she looked at her Kai, Momo couldn't see anything that had changed; he was still the same—handsome but calm, a man of few words who always regarded everyone with a calm expression that exuded an arrogance fused into his very bones.
(Could it be the fame…?)
Upon seeing Kai shoot out of the place at a speed so terrifying he seemed to vanish, Momo could only make a guess with an annoyed pout as she rose into the air once more. Meanwhile, a strange amalgam of regret mixed with indecision and doubt began to form in her heart—something Momo quickly pushed aside to focus on her task.
…
…
…
"This 'Demon King' is truly terrifying… Although he doesn't reach All Might's level, he's definitely stronger and faster than Iron Palm was in his prime."
In a closed room, Mera—the exhausted blond in charge of supervising the exam—murmured with a solemn expression as he watched a video slowed down hundreds of times. In the video, he could barely see that terrifying "Demon King" cutting rocks, beams, and anything that got in his way with his strange swords as if it were butter, then throwing the "wounded" to his panthers at a terrifying speed.
At that moment, a man in a business suit and black glasses looked at the computer screen Mera was watching and remarked in a serious, solemn tone.
"The 'office' is really worried about this Saito Kai. Besides his strength, he's a world-class genius in the design of next-generation chips, to the point that he's practically a key geopolitical asset, and he's even worryingly close to All Might and Nezu…"
"A truly terrifying kid… Well, I'll do my job as I should; let's move on to the next phase." Mera remarked in a serious tone, at which point he adjusted the microphone on the headset he wore and spoke in a serious voice.
"It's your turn, 'terrorists.'"
…
…
…
[Have you noticed any strange movement, Sage?]
Kai left another 14 people in the care of the youths at the starting point, while at the same time communicating with his trusty assistant. The beautiful invisible fairy flying at his side replied in a calm voice as she created a holographic screen in [In] state that displayed a real-time video of a beautiful blonde in a black leather jumpsuit and military cap.
[Nothing so far, master. No one noticed that we marked the target in the confusion, and she's still 'rescuing' people like everyone else.]
[I see. Stay alert.]
Kai remarked in a satisfied voice as he extended his Observation Haki once more to better position himself on the route that was beginning to form on a holographic screen in [In] state in front of him. But right at that moment, Kai could sense a familiar 'voice' quite close by, which inevitably led him to smile and murmur with a hint of excitement.
"Looks like things are about to get interesting."
The nearby youths who managed to overhear Kai's murmur couldn't help but turn to look at him in confusion. But before anyone could say anything, the ground shook, and explosions began erupting all across the training field.
"What the hell is going on?!"
One of the young heroes couldn't help but ask in shock. Midoriya, who was in the middle of setting down a small child, opened his eyes in disbelief and exclaimed loudly.
"The exercise scenario! It's a terrorist attack!"
Right at that instant, three imposing figures appeared from the flanks and the front, all surrounded by a large number of "minions," which made the young hero hopefuls tremble. To the left was a terrifying killer whale in human form, while to the right was a man with lion-like features. Finally, at the front stood a sensual heroine with bronzed skin, white hair, red eyes, and enormous rabbit ears atop her head.
At that moment, while the youths looked with equal parts disbelief and apprehension at the hundreds of "minions" led by the three imposing figures, Mera's calm, tired voice resounded throughout the testing grounds.
"The villains have appeared. The hero candidates on the scene must continue their rescue efforts while suppressing the villains."
"This shit isn't WAY too hard!!!"
Upon hearing Mera, one youth couldn't help but exclaim, full of frustration, as he dropped to his knees on the ground, which seemed to serve as the starting whistle for the "villains," who pointed forward with arrogant and dangerous smiles. The hundreds of "minions" charged toward the examinees and the wounded while the youths looked at one another with worry and indecision.
…
"Something like this would be difficult even for a professional… going this far for a 'professional license'…"
Up in the stands, Aizawa couldn't help but murmur with a serious expression, at which point he turned to look at Kai with a hint of realization in his eyes. Upon seeing a predatory, excited smile form on his student's face, Aizawa turned to look at the closed box where the government people were, eyes narrowed, full of suspicion.
…
"Shit!! They're heading for the 'first aid' station!"
On the testing grounds, an examinee couldn't help but exclaim in terror as he watched the minions run toward the starting point. Several youths who had noticed this stepped forward with gritted teeth, but right at that instant, an almost suffocating pressure descended upon the place.
That strange pressure filled everyone present with equal parts fear and a strange reverence as time seemed to stop for a few moments. But out of nowhere, the hundreds of "minions" who had been running collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut, at which instant a calm voice resounded throughout the area.
"Finally something suitable for me, hehe."
Along with the voice, three flying slashes that looked like cuts of dark energy shot out simultaneously toward the three "villain bosses." The beautiful rabbit and the lion leapt to dodge the flying slashes, while the killer whale unleashed a brutal ultrasonic attack that met head-on the slash in front of him until they cancelled out.
"As arrogant as I heard…"
The killer whale remarked in a deep, profound voice as he watched the tall young man with blue eyes land in front of them with an excited smile on his face, holding a black sword and a white one. But right at that instant, the rabbit, with an enormous predatory grin on her face, shot out at a terrifying speed toward the young man as she announced, visibly thrilled.
"Die, hero!!!"
"Heh, don't die trying, 'villain.'"
Upon seeing the young man reply in a playful voice with a smile even bigger than the rabbit's before shooting out toward her, Gang Orca couldn't help but pause for a moment. Soon, the terrifying human killer whale smacked his own forehead and murmured in a somewhat resigned voice.
"Who'd have thought that crazy woman would have found her match…?"
***
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