45 seconds into the game.
And the Battle Royale's final stage tasted its first blood.
Todoroki's fate was still unknown, as he was buried under a thick layer of ice, unable to press the Emergency Switch button. The Switch wasn't only about giving the students a way out. It also had a GPS, a Heartbeat Monitor, and other sensors through which Pros could keep an eye on the students.
However, Bakugo's case was plain and clear.
The entire world seemed to have paused as he crashed on the icy layer over the ground, breaking it into many chunks.
As the cameras of many drones zoomed in on his face, all the people, Pros, and students saw that he was passed out beyond a doubt.
Not only was he passed out, but he didn't even seem to give any hint of waking up.
If that wasn't enough of a sign for him to be kicked out of the Battle Royale, then Momo sealed his fate, pressing his Emergency Switch for him.
In the very next moment, the sandy ground swallowed Bakugo's figure as if he had never existed.
From outside the laser boundaries, all the referees watched Momo, purely stunned.
From inside, Luke, Midoriya, Tenya, and Monoma, including his Dark Shadow, gawked at her, their faces gaining the hardest looks.
They couldn't look at her for long, though.
Overhead, the timer was still ticking, beeping every ten seconds.
Those BEEPs awakened the boys, shocking them out of their stupor.
But, even as they brought their heads into the game, something had changed in the way they looked around.
Every third second, none of them could help but look in Momo's direction.
They were still apprehensive about each other, but none of them wished for her to make him her next target.
Also… Momo Yaoyorozu was simply standing on the battlefield, wielding her sniper rifle.
Each remaining student on the field had the means to ignore the threat of a sniper here, being proficient in close combat. Even Monoma didn't fear a sniper, especially after the latest three Quirks he had stolen from Class 2-A students.
Yet, none of them dared to go anywhere near Momo right now.
It was all because of the mask she wore on her face.
There was no way she could have knocked out Bakugo using simple means. The mere presence of a mask suggested that she had drugged him somehow, with the threat of drugging herself simultaneously.
Which meant, the drug might still be in the atmosphere in her surroundings.
That's why she was standing in one spot, perhaps, waiting for them to come close, goading them with a sniper rifle that she couldn't use in close combat?
And even if she was bluffing, did they dare to confirm that after what happened with Bakugo?!
Luke, Tenya, Midoriya, and Monoma… licked their lips.
The best thing to do at this moment?
Ignore her…
As long as they didn't go anywhere near the site where Bakugo had fallen, the field was big enough for them not to succumb to the drug, if it was in the air.
So, bringing back their gazes, they resumed what they were about to do, the timer overhead finally ticking down to the four-minute mark.
…
Midoriya looked with buried trepidation as he saw Luke walking toward him.
He recognized the strange, orange-black armor that belonged to Juzo Honenuki. He knew that cracked, green Scale Gauntlet belonged to Hiryu Rin. The green, thorny vines must belong to Ibara.
All Class 2-B students.
But what about the massive blade that looked only a blur as Luke rotated it?
Midoriya couldn't help but stare at that humming blade longer, finally noticing the smudges of blood where Luke had tied the blade to the Vine.
And, finally realizing to whom this blade belonged, and how Luke must have gotten his hands on it, Midoriya winced.
Could he do this?
Could he truly take on this strange Luke?
Midoriya's gaze shifted left and right before going up and coming down.
No sign of Nyx, but, following the rules of the Battle Royale, she must be within the laser boundaries.
At no moment did Midoriya believe that Luke wouldn't use his Quirk sporadically, catching him off guard and kicking him out of the Battle Royale.
Knowing him, that was something Luke could, and would, do.
Perhaps, that's why he was not using his Quirk, adding a dreadful variable?
On any other day, Midoriya would have welcomed the challenge; just not today.
By the time Todoroki's new move had frozen him, along with the entire city, Shinso had used him to defeat at least a dozen students.
Meanwhile, all that time, Midoriya had been pushing himself to get out of that mind control.
Miraculously, it was that overloading of his psyche against the Brainwashing's effect that pushed him to the limit he had been seeking during the entire length of the Ultimate Move training.
Full Cowling — 20%!
Unfortunately, the moment he had reached that level, a bullet had struck his wrist, breaking his bone.
Fortunately, that blow had also taken him out of the Brainwashing's effects.
Before he could have attacked Shinso, though, he had been frozen.
Then, instantly, he had found himself facing two Vestiges — the Ninth user, Nana Shimura, and the Fifth user, Daigoro Banjo — the only two users of One For All whose Quirks he had unlocked so far.
The meeting itself had lasted for mere moments.
However, the two Vestiges had warned him not to depend on their Quirks, as Midoriya hadn't practiced with them enough. It was especially so for Blackwhip, which could erupt at a moment's notice, hurting not only others but himself.
So, after breaking out of the ice, Midoriya had decided to use Blackwhip only to tightly wrap it around his broken wrist, like a cast.
Now, he was lacking stamina, and was barely standing, keeping his entire focus on maintaining a clear mind.
But the moment Luke stopped a few dozen feet away from him and shouted out those words, Midoriya knew that he couldn't have reached the greatest milestone of his life at a worse moment.
"Deku, right?" Luke's voice rang in his ears. "We meet again… Don't remember me?! I am the infamous…
"… Choking Hero: Choker!"