Chapter 55: Cavalry Battle (Finale)
Time flew by, and soon, only the final minute remained.
Team Midoriya had been locked in a struggle with Team Todoroki in their small corner of the arena for about five minutes, and both sides were feeling the pressure.
This was something Todoroki had never anticipated. His team had the absolute advantage, yet they couldn't seem to find a decisive opening.
Todoroki looked at the raven-headed boy. It's him. He's blocked our attacks several times.
Fumikage Tokoyami's Quirk was Dark Shadow. Under the bright sun, he could control it as if it were an extension of his own body. If it weren't for Momo's Creation Quirk, Dark Shadow might have even been able to snatch Todoroki's headband.
Because Midoriya was positioned in front of Todoroki's left side, using his ice would affect Iida. Therefore, he could only rely on Kaminari to attack and Momo to defend, making him a liability. But Kaminari was almost out of juice; his face was already looking pale.
Do I have to use my fire...? No. I've already made up my mind. I will not use the power that bastard gave me in this competition.
"Everyone, there's less than a minute left! After I use this move, I'll be completely immobile," Iida suddenly announced. "I'm leaving the rest to you!"
Iida knew that their team didn't have a one-hit-KO ability. If he didn't act now, Team Midoriya would hold onto their ten million points until the very end.
He lowered his center of gravity, aimed in Midoriya's direction, and a white light glinted off his visor. This was a new ability he had developed during the "Villain-Might" incident. No, not a new ability, but an improper use of his Quirk.
It was—
"Everyone, hold on tight! We're going for it, Todoroki-kun!" The flames in Iida's exhaust pipes turned from yellow to blue, and in the next instant, he shot forward with the entire team.
"RECIPRO BURST!"
It was an incredible burst of acceleration. In an instant, Iida broke the sound barrier.
"What—"
In a flash, Todoroki, who had been several meters away, shot past Midoriya and mercilessly snatched his headband. The ten million points had changed hands.
"What was that...?" Even Todoroki himself looked on in disbelief. He had only reached out his hand subconsciously, and the headband was suddenly his... That kind of speed was practically cheating.
"It's an explosive acceleration that forcibly increases torque and rotations. After using it, the recoil causes my engines to temporarily stall," Iida explained, looking at Midoriya with a smile of relief. "Didn't I tell you before, Midoriya-kun? I'm challenging you."
There was no time left. There was only one option: fight. Since Iida's engines were out of commission, it meant they had to face them head-on.
Midoriya turned his 'horse' around and said decisively, "Get the headband back!"
At the same time, Bakugo was relentlessly pursuing Neito Monoma, shouting, "You're not getting away, you bastard! Give me back the rest of my headband!"
Maybe I shouldn't have provoked this guy... Monoma was starting to feel a pang of regret.
His Quirk was Copy. He could copy the Quirk of anyone he touched. Although he had surprised Bakugo and Kirishima by copying their Quirks, they hadn't been intimidated at all. Instead, they had roared and charged at him, breaking through all his defenses and successfully retrieving two of their headbands.
"Madora, hold steady! As long as we last this final minute, we can still qualify with our fourth-place score!"
Current rankings: First Place, Team Todoroki; Second Place, Team Kira; Third Place, Team Bakugo; Fourth Place, Team Monoma.
Although he only had one of their headbands, Team Bakugo's point value was so high that it was enough to put Monoma's team in the top four.
His 'horse' was a boy named Madora Tsuburaba, whose Quirk was Air Solidification. He could solidify the air he breathed to form invisible walls.
While carrying Monoma, Madora exhaled again, creating a barrier to his left and blocking another team from their own class.
Neito Monoma, having copied Madora's Quirk, was creating barriers on their right.
The moment they realize they have no chance of qualifying, they figure that stealing points from a fellow classmate is a much better option than facing a raging lion, right?
These guys really know how to kick a man when he's down, Monoma thought. They promised to work with me, but now they're turning on me too. Good thing I never counted on them in the first place.
Only twenty seconds remained. A stream of tape suddenly stuck to the back of Shihai Kuroiro, another of his teammates. Before the horrified Monoma could react, he heard Bakugo's roar from behind him. "DIE!"
Bakugo, pulled along by the tape, mercilessly chased them down. A single explosion shattered the air barriers that Monoma and Madora had hastily created, and he forcefully snatched back the final headband.
Ten seconds left. Bakugo turned his gaze toward Midoriya and Todoroki. The final ten million points... I'm taking them!
Midoriya's right arm turned red as he activated his Quirk again. The crimson veins pulsed as he reached for Todoroki's headband.
Under the pressure, Todoroki instinctively unleashed his flames to block the attack. However—
This is the first time I've used this power on a person... It's okay. I'm not trying to hit him. Just to knock him back!
Midoriya gritted his teeth and swung his arm violently to the right. A powerful blast of wind pressure dispersed the flames on Todoroki's left hand and knocked his arm away.
With Iida's engines stalled, they could only watch as Midoriya reached for Todoroki. At that moment, Todoroki's chest was completely exposed.
Even if they're all mixed up, the ten-million-point one was the last one he took! It has to be on top! Midoriya roared, reaching out with his other hand and snatching the first headband he could from Todoroki's neck. The ten million points were his again!
To prevent a counterattack, Midoriya's team immediately backed away. Before they could even celebrate, Mei Hatsume said, "Midoriya, I don't think this is the ten-million-point one."
Midoriya froze and looked. His face darkened. The headband was marked with 70 points. It was probably one Todoroki had grabbed at random.
Time was almost up. If he didn't get it back now—
"Tokoyami-kun!"
Tokoyami immediately understood and charged toward Todoroki. At the same time, Bakugo's roar broke through the ice wall from the outside.
"TEN MILLION!"
With Sero supporting him from behind, Bakugo fearlessly leaped into the air and shot toward the two teams. Seeing Midoriya's desperate charge, he quickly sized up the situation.
"YOU HALF-AND-HALF BASTARD!" Bakugo set off a series of explosions in mid-air, adjusting his trajectory to intercept Todoroki.
The last attack hadn't seriously injured Midoriya's arm. A red glow once again emanated from his hand.
Todoroki coated the lightning rod Momo had made in ice, his expression grim as he braced for the two-pronged assault.
"TIME'S UP!"
Todoroki let out a sigh of relief. Midoriya forced the surging power in his arm to recede. Bakugo, his target gone, face-planted onto the ground and began to pound it in frustration.
Present Mic looked at the real-time updated panel in his hand and announced excitedly, "AND HERE ARE THE RESULTS! IN FIRST PLACE, TEAM TODOROKI! IN SECOND PLACE, TEAM BAKUGO! IN THIRD PLACE, TEAM KIRA! AND IN FOURTH PLACE..."
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," Midoriya said, hanging his head in dejection.
It was because of him. After knocking Todoroki's arm away, he had been worried that Todoroki wouldn't qualify, so he had only taken one headband, even though he could have taken all of them.
Uraraka and Hatsume said nothing. They both took a step to the side and pointed to Fumikage Tokoyami, who was standing behind them with his arms crossed, looking like a master who was lonely at the top.
He lifted his head and pointed a finger at Midoriya. He didn't speak, but Dark Shadow shot out from behind him and placed a brightly colored headband in Midoriya's hand.
Tears streamed from Midoriya's eyes.
"IN FOURTH PLACE, TEAM MIDORIYA! THESE FOUR TEAMS WILL ADVANCE TO THE FINAL EVENT!"
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