Chapter 44: A Pleasant Surprise
As Shoto Todoroki became the first to reach the final obstacle, Present Mic's commentary followed in real-time, his booming voice echoing through the speakers set up at each stage.
"OUR LEADERS HAVE REACHED THE FINAL STAGE! AND IT'S A MASSIVE MINEFIELD! THIS ONE IS TRICKY, FOLKS! THE MINES ARE BURIED, BUT YOU CAN SPOT THEM IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY! YOU'LL HAVE TO USE YOUR EYES AND YOUR FEET TO THE FULLEST!"
"BY THE WAY, THESE ARE SPECIAL COMPETITION MINES! THEY DON'T PACK MUCH OF A PUNCH, BUT THE SOUND AND VISUAL EFFECT ARE GUARANTEED TO BE A SHOCK! YOU'LL DEFINITELY WET YOUR PANTS!"
Hearing this, Kira and Momo exchanged a look and simultaneously picked up their pace. Before long, they had reached the final stage. On a straightaway, running alone wasn't enough to close the distance. He could see the backs of Todoroki and the others as they advanced cautiously ahead.
BOOM!
Someone up ahead carelessly stepped on a mine and was instantly launched into the sky in a cloud of pink smoke.
Momo put a hand to her forehead, watching the unlucky soul fly further and further away. "Are those the competition-grade mines Present Mic-sensei was talking about?" she asked, surprised. "That didn't look harmless at all..."
Kira crouched down and pressed his hand on a patch of damp, obviously disturbed soil. With a loud boom, a powerful shockwave blasted his hand, knocking him backward. Momo quickly caught him. He stared, slightly dazed, at the pink smoke erupting from the ground.
Pink...
"Are you okay?" Momo breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he wasn't hurt, then began to scold him. "Even if it's a mine that doesn't harm people, it's still a mine! Did you even consider your own safety before just putting your hand down like that?"
"No, I just figured the school wouldn't joke around with the students' lives," Kira said, getting back to his feet. He then muttered, "Still, they're really going all out with the special effects to attract public attention."
Kira had pulled his hand back the instant he felt the tremor, but he had still been thrown back a bit. Luckily, Momo had caught him, otherwise his clothes would have been covered in dirt.
"Getting blown up won't hurt you, but if you step on one, the force will launch you into the sky. And if you're unlucky, you could get caught in a chain reaction on your way down and end up right back at the start."
"So this is a stage where the further ahead you are, the greater the disadvantage," Momo said. "One mistake and all the progress you've made will be for nothing."
"Ah, that's right," Kira said, looking at the two figures at the very front. "However, that doesn't seem to apply to Bakugo."
Even though Todoroki had saved a lot of time in the previous stages, Bakugo had been hot on his heels, and he was especially fast in this one. Unlike Todoroki, who had to carefully scan the ground, Bakugo was simply setting off continuous explosions, flying in a straight line about a meter off the ground like an unending firework display.
Soon, he had reached Todoroki's side. But there was no way Todoroki would let him get ahead so easily. While running forward, he released a stream of ice from his hand to interfere with Bakugo.
Bakugo needed sweat on his palms to create his explosions, but Todoroki's ice lowered the surrounding air temperature, freezing his sweat glands. He could only land with a frustrated curse, and the two of them began to trade blows.
"COMPANIES OF THE NATION, PLEASE LOOK AT ME!" A set of retractable supports extended from Mei Hatsume's waist, hoisting her into the air. She didn't rush for the finish line, instead spinning in place a few times, a megaphone-like device at her lips as she laughed. "THIS IS MY BABY, THE 'HYDRAULIC ATTACHMENT BAR'! WITH THE HELP OF MY QUIRK, IT CAN ACCURATELY DODGE EVERY MINE... AND I INVENTED ALL OF THESE ITEMS MYSELF!"
She flashed a peace sign at a nearby drone, laughing. "MY NAME IS MEI HATSUME! VIEWERS FROM SUPPORT COMPANIES, PLEASE REMEMBER MY NAME!"
While the others were carefully watching their footing and defending against attacks from their rivals, Yoshikage Kira, having separated from Momo, was running at a steady pace along the side with a relaxed and indifferent expression.
"Wuhuhuhaha... Master, two meters ahead, move one meter to the left!"
Kira's pace faltered for a second. He took a step to the left and continued running.
"One meter ahead, move one meter to the right!"
"Two meters ahead, jump!"
With the voice echoing in his mind, Kira constantly changed his position, barely hesitating before each step.
A nearby student, who had been cautiously scanning the ground for mines, happened to look up and saw Kira running as if he knew the exact location of every mine, completely unconcerned about stepping on one.
"How is he doing that!?" the student clicked his tongue. A bold idea formed in his mind. "Could it be that there are no mines in this section? Otherwise, at his speed, there's no way he wouldn't have stepped on one!"
I'm running out of time. He made his decision. He hesitantly took a step forward. He didn't feel the tell-tale click of a mine. His heart, which had been in his throat, dropped back into his chest. This guy must have connections! He must know that the school deliberately left this area clear!
If that's the case, then I have nothing to worry about! The student stopped looking around and broke into a determined run. However, after just two steps, he felt something under his foot.
"Uh oh. I'm screwed..."
A boom sounded from behind Kira. He turned his head and saw a figure tumbling through the pink smoke. The mines that Kira had just dodged were being set off one after another by the student's flailing body. He bounced back and forth in the air like a skipping stone on water, finally landing back at the starting line, where he lay motionless.
"What an unlucky guy."
Kira paid him no mind and continued to run.
The school had forbidden the use of hero costumes, but there were no explicit rules about small items like glasses or watches. And so, Kira had entered the competition wearing the watch formed by Sheer Heart Attack.
After separating from Momo, an idea had suddenly struck him. He had lightly touched the skull on his watch with his fingertip, activating Killer Queen's ability and awakening the second bomb, Sheer Heart Attack.
Just as it was struggling to leap from the watch face, Kira had held it down and asked if it could detect the nearby mines.
Kira hadn't been expecting much, but to his surprise, the skull had informed him that it could detect the smell of gunpowder—in other words, explosives.
"So you have a nose?" Kira had asked, looking at its empty, black nasal cavity, which didn't look like it could breathe at all.
"It's a metaphor! A metaphor!" the skull had retorted. "Master, I can sense a large amount of gunpowder in the area! Even without a nose, I could never forget the smell of smoke and powder!"
Smoke and powder... Kira was surprised, but it wasn't impossible. After all, a modern explosive like this didn't exist in the town of Morioh in the original story, so it made sense that Sheer Heart Attack wouldn't have displayed this ability back then.
"In that case," Kira had said, "show me a safe path."
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