Lena emerged from the preparation room with a confident stride, her steps echoing faintly on the polished floor. Minutes before, she had once again congratulated Kyoka on her impressive victory, her voice filled with genuine warmth, while also offering some lighthearted jokes to comfort a grumpy Toru, who was still lamenting her defeat.
Uraraka, Iida, Tsuyu, and Kirishima had already departed to check on Midoriya after his grueling fight against Todoroki. His arm, visibly bruised and swollen, looked as if it might detach at any moment due to the immense effort he had exerted during the brutal battle. It was a stark reminder of the physical toll of their Quirks.
Although Midoriya was not a person Lena was particularly fond of—his incessant muttering and self-effacing demeanor could be quite irritating—she had to admit that the nervous green-haired boy possessed an iron will. To look at a monster like Todoroki, someone wielding such overwhelming power, and still manage to maintain a semblance of a smile, even if it looked more like a pained grimace than a genuine expression of joy, was a testament to his indomitable spirit.
Waiting in the cool darkness of the tunnel that led to the combat platform, Lena patiently awaited her name to be called. She felt a subtle weariness from the Festival in general; despite only lasting a few hours, for Lena, whose perception of time could sometimes fluctuate wildly, it felt like days had passed. At least she had managed to get enough rest to be physically fit enough to face the formidable Todoroki. Unfortunately, being fit to fight didn't necessarily mean she was operating at 100% of her capabilities.
The constant wear and tear from relentlessly using her Quirk, the knowledge that she wasn't extracting the absolute maximum potential from it because she could barely utilize it without the now-absent Slipstream, and the exhausting mental effort required to calm the tumultuous "waves" of her raw Entropic Energy—all contributed to a profound, lingering fatigue. This exhaustion wasn't physical in the conventional sense, but a deep, pervasive mental drain. It would undoubtedly make this battle against Todoroki incredibly complicated, a true test of her limits. But she was not going to take a single step back, not until she was utterly unable to get off the ground.
"ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE THE UNRIVALED RULER OF ICE AND THE EMPEROR OF FLAMES!!!! GIVE IT UP FOR SHOTOOOO TODOROKII!!!" Present Mic's voice boomed, practically shaking the stadium's foundations, as the colossal crowd went wild, roaring its fervent approval for Shoto. He was, without question, easily the overwhelming favorite among both civilians and aspiring heroes alike, a true prodigy.
Mic's electrifying announcement forced Lena to push her swirling thoughts aside. She rolled her neck, making it crackle audibly in the process, a small, defiant gesture. 'Alright, let's do this, Todoroki... let's dance.'
"ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE THE MASTER OF SPEED AND TEMPORAL MANIPULATION! THE GHOST SPRINTER! IT'S OXTOOON LENAAA!!!"
And with that, Lena walked slowly towards the combat platform, her steps deliberate and confident. The crowd cheered for her with an almost feverish euphoria of shouts, praise, and flattery, their voices a deafening roar. But none of that truly mattered to Lena. Her entire concentration, her singular focus, was directed squarely on the son of Endeavor, her formidable opponent.
"So, this is where it's all decided, huh?" Lena said with a relaxed, almost nonchalant attitude, as she stretched her arms and legs a bit, loosening her muscles. "You know, Todoroki... I actually owe you a sincere apology."
"...For what, Oxton?" Todoroki finally replied, his voice flat and devoid of any discernible emotion, though a flicker of genuine confusion crossed his usually impassive face.
"At first, I honestly thought you were just one of those insufferable jerks, you know, the kind who think they're inherently better than everyone else simply because they possess a powerful Quirk," Lena explained, her voice tinged with a hint of amusement as she recalled the early days in Class 1-A and how Todoroki was a solitary, aloof bastard. "But now I see that's not really the case, is it? You just genuinely suck at talking to people, don't you? Your social skills are... abysmal."
Without Lena realizing it, that seemingly innocuous comment was a subtle, yet deeply effective, low blow to Todoroki's pride. Although he didn't outwardly show it, maintaining his stoic facade, he felt as if an invisible arrow had just pierced him, striking a nerve he rarely exposed. "And what, pray tell, does that have to do with combat, Oxton? What is the relevance of such an observation in this arena?"
"Nothing, really; I just wanted to give you some free advice, you know, to stop being so... 'ice lord'-like," Lena replied, chuckling lightly, a sound that, for some inexplicable reason, only seemed to further irritate Todoroki, causing a muscle in his jaw to twitch. "Anyway, shall we dance, Todoroki? Or are you just going to stand there awkwardly?"
"Gladly, Oxton," Todoroki retorted, deliberately ignoring her conversational provocations as he adopted a precise, ready stance, his palms pointing downwards, preparing for an ice attack.
"Fufufu, I genuinely look forward to it!" Lena said, her smile widening, as she adopted a distinctively offensive stance, leaning her body forward slightly, poised for a swift, decisive strike.
"BEGIN!"
Immediately after the announcement, Todoroki unleashed a powerful, devastating blast of ice across the entire arena, covering the platform with jagged, icy spikes and freezing the ground solid. The blast even managed to freeze Lena's legs and a significant portion of her lower body, encasing her in ice.
"That was surprisingly easy," Todoroki muttered, a hint of disappointment in his voice. He had genuinely thought Lena could find a way around it, perhaps even escape it like she did in the old team battle test, but it seemed he was mistaken.
However, a faint, almost imperceptible detail caught his eye: Lena's face, partially frozen, bore a subtle, confident smile, a little wider than usual. Todoroki knew, with a sudden jolt of alarm, that it wasn't over yet. Quickly, he preemptively used some of his flames, a small burst of heat, to thaw himself, just in case Lena attempted any unforeseen trickery.
And a second after Todoroki noticed the unsettling smile on Lena's face, with a strong, explosive movement of her legs, she effortlessly broke free from the ice, as if it were nothing more than fragile glass. She then ran towards Todoroki like a runaway truck at full speed, a blur of motion.
Todoroki responded instantly, creating a series of sharp ice spikes from the ground, attempting to stop her relentless charge. But Lena, with incredible agility, effortlessly dodged them, weaving quickly between the icy obstacles, jumping gracefully from time to time, avoiding Todoroki's attacks as if she were a figure skater gliding on ice.
Todoroki clicked his tongue in frustration as he continued to send out rapid ice blasts. His right arm, the one he predominantly used for his ice Quirk, was starting to feel numb, the cold creeping in, and then—
Suddenly, Todoroki could feel a distinct presence directly behind him and instinctively ducked, narrowly dodging Lena's swift kick. Lena seemed momentarily surprised by Todoroki's unexpected agility and quick reaction.
Todoroki, seeing that Lena was momentarily wide open for an attack, seized the opportunity and unleashed a strong blast of ice at point-blank range, a concentrated burst aimed directly at her.
In less than a second, a colossal iceberg of ice materialized, towering over the platform and covering much of the stadium, a frozen monument to Todoroki's power.
'That should—'
Soft, almost inaudible footsteps approached from behind him, but Todoroki, despite the chilling silence the ice had created, could still hear them. He spun around, his gaze piercing the snowy peaks. From between the colossal, frozen structures, the female figure of Lena emerged, an annoyed expression marring her face.
Todoroki immediately noticed that her left arm was partially frozen, encased in a thin layer of ice.
'That must mean she doesn't possess superhuman reflexes, after all... she's still vulnerable to direct hits,' Todoroki thought, his gaze fixed analytically on Lena's frozen arm, confirming a crucial piece of information.
"I didn't expect you to dodge that, Todoroki... have you been secretly practicing martial arts, perhaps?" Lena asked, her voice tinged with a hint of surprise as she moved her left arm as best she could, attempting to assess its utility. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be fully functional. "Hmm, this might be a problem for me..."
"My father taught me a little," Todoroki nodded reluctantly, acknowledging the brief, forced training sessions with his abusive parent. "How did you manage to escape my attack, Oxton? You were completely frozen."
"In case you're not blind, Todoroki, you'll know I didn't escape fully," Lena grunted, pointing to her partially frozen arm with a sour face. "I can move fast, can't I?"
"How fast, Oxton—"
"Very fast," Lena whispered softly, appearing almost instantaneously beside Todoroki, her voice a breathy murmur directly in his ear. Before he could react, she delivered a hard, precise kick to his back that sent him crashing violently into a pillar of ice, leaving an imprint of his body. She looked back down at her frozen arm with a renewed, frustrated grimace.
Out of the rubble came Todoroki, his clothes a little torn, and a few small cuts marring his skin. Upon seeing Lena, he immediately waved his right hand in a sweeping vertical motion, creating a continuous blast of ice, progressively forming another towering mountain of ice in his wake, attempting to box Lena in.
Lena's eyes widened, recognizing the immense power of his attack, and immediately used another burst of 'Acceleration.'
Lena ran to dodge the massive ice attack and, as she did so, noticed something crucial. Her energy, the very essence of her Quirk, was starting to get agitated, feeling volatile and unstable. This was a clear, ominous sign that she couldn't keep up this relentless game of cat and mouse, of time manipulation and rapid evasion, for much longer.
'But I can't easily kick him off the platform with all these gigantic ice structures around...' Lena bit her lip in frustration, emerging from her 'Acceleration' and preparing to deliver a decisive kick to Todoroki.
Todoroki was immediately aware of Lena's presence, her subtle shifts in the air around her betraying her location. However, having used two massive ice blasts in a row, his right side was completely frozen, rigid and unresponsive. He was tempted, agonizingly tempted, to unleash his fire Quirk, to finally use the power he so despised. But he wouldn't give that satisfaction to the old bastard, Endeavor, not now, not ever. So, he made a calculated decision: he would finish this the old-school way. With raw, physical blows.
Todoroki quickly began to assume a defensive stance as Lena attacked with a powerful kick aimed at his ribs. Todoroki managed to parry it with his right forearm, though the sheer force of the blow pushed him back a bit, making him grunt.
Lena attacked again with another rapid kick, but Todoroki managed to dodge it with surprising agility while simultaneously throwing a punch at Lena that connected squarely with her shoulder and—
Nothing. It felt as if he had just punched a solid concrete wall. Lena's minor superhuman strength, combined with her enhanced endurance, had rendered his blow utterly ineffective.
Lena seized this momentary surprise and punched him directly in the face, a sharp, concussive blow that sent him stumbling back a few steps, his head snapping back.
Todoroki felt as if his head was spinning back on itself, a dizzying disorientation, before he instinctively used a small burst of fire from his left side to forcibly regain his senses, the heat clearing his mind. When he came to, he had barely managed to dodge Lena's next punch, a blur of motion.
'This was a bad idea, a terrible miscalculation,' Todoroki thought, his breath heavy and ragged. 'I didn't know she was so incredibly fit, so resilient... Plan B then, and quickly...'
Lena approached him like a relentless predator and began to unleash a full, brutal combo of rapid kicks on Todoroki, a relentless flurry of blows.
Todoroki managed to dodge most of them, largely thanks to Lena's movement being limited by her partially frozen arm. However, a clever feint from Lena caught him off guard, landing a solid knee directly to his chest. "GUF!" he grunted, the wind knocked out of him.
Lena didn't stop there and quickly moved to punch him in the head, as he was wide open, his guard momentarily down.
"This ends here, Todoroki!!!" Lena declared, her voice firm and decisive, poised for the finishing blow.
But Todoroki did something unforeseen, something audacious. He threw himself to the ground, dodging Lena's final kick and causing her to momentarily lose her balance. Taking advantage of this crucial instant, Todoroki got up quickly, creating distance from Lena.
Lena was not going to let Todoroki breathe; she intended to end this match decisively. As she quickly approached Todoroki, who was now a couple of meters away, she saw his mouth subtly twist upwards, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk. At that precise moment, Lena knew something was undoubtedly going on, a trick in the making.
Then, she saw Todoroki's right arm, the one that had been frozen, suddenly thaw enough for him to unleash another powerful blast of ice. Unbeknownst to Lena, while they had been fighting, Todoroki had been subtly sending small activations from his left, fire-generating side to his right, gradually thawing his arm without Lena noticing, a strategic, covert maneuver.
Todoroki immediately launched a devastating blast of ice directly towards Lena.
Lena saw the ice blast approaching her in agonizing slow motion, a surreal, frozen tableau of impending impact.
And then she made a decision. A desperate, final gamble.
With a primal war cry, Lena ran forward like a bull charging, directly into the approaching ice blast, her speed reaching unprecedented levels.
FUSSSSSSSSSSSH!
A large, concussive blast of ice was created directly in front of Todoroki as a result of his last, powerful attack, forming a towering, impenetrable barrier.
Taking a deep, triumphant breath, Todoroki looked up at the massive ice blast, a small, victorious smile playing on his lips, convinced of his win.
Which quickly died as he felt the undeniable presence of a person suddenly materialize right next to him.
'HOW?!' Todoroki thought, his mind reeling in profound disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. 'Shouldn't I have been able to... dodge that?! How did she get past my ultimate defense?!'
Looking at Lena, who had appeared effortlessly beside him, she seemed... different. Unsettlingly so. Her usually neatly styled hair seemed to have a life of its own, floating slightly upwards, defying gravity. Her skin appeared paler, almost translucent, and her clothes, which had some cuts and singes from the brutal battle between them, now seemed almost insignificant. But most noticeable, most terrifying, were her completely light-blue eyes, which seemed to be made up of hundreds of miniature, crackling lightning bolts, an ethereal, unearthly glow.
For Todoroki, Lena looked exactly like a God of Thunder, a powerful, awe-inspiring deity. Of course, if that deity had been female and 175cm tall... But it was still strangely terrifying, an almost divine presence.
Lena slowly raised her fist, her movements deliberate, almost ceremonial.
Todoroki noticed, with a chilling sense of helplessness, that the very world around Lena's raised fist seemed to twist, to warp, to distort reality itself. It was a profound, unsettling sensation, making him feel utterly powerless, completely at her mercy.
Closing his eyes, Todoroki accepted his inevitable defeat with a quiet, solemn pride. There was nothing more he could do.
And a second passed... Then two...
Todoroki slowly opened his eyes again, cautiously. He saw that the crackling, ethereal lightning surrounding Lena was beginning to fade rapidly, receding back into her body.
Lena's body suddenly slumped forward, falling completely unconscious, her last reserves of energy utterly depleted.
Todoroki, momentarily frozen in place by the sudden shift, quickly reacted, holding Lena's falling form. His mask of expressionlessness, completely shattered, now revealed a profoundly perplexed and stunned face, reflecting the bewildering events he had just witnessed.
"SHOTOO WINS!!" Present Mic announced, his voice still somewhat dazed, as the crowd went wild, roaring its approval for the incredibly intense and unpredictable battle that had just taken place.
Quickly, the medical robots arrived with a stretcher to take the injured Lena to the medical room for urgent care, her unconscious form carefully transported. Todoroki, still a bit dazed and reeling from the encounter, slowly walked towards the stands, his mind still trying to process the inexplicable.
He couldn't get the image of Lena's glowing eyes out of his head. It was as if he wasn't seeing Lena, but something else entirely. Something ancient, something powerful, something... divine.
What... was that?