Luke and Midoriya walked into the battle site — a humongous, rectangular city, with Entry and Exit on the opposite sides.
The moment they entered, the timer for the match also began, giving them a total of 30 minutes to either put handcuffs on All Might or Erasure Head or reach the Exit and leave the battle site altogether.
But, seeing Bakugo, both cases seemed difficult to accomplish.
Bakugo was walking dozens of steps ahead of the two, his fists clenched tight.
As predicted by Luke, the boy had no intention of discussing strategy or even showing a hint of working together to win the match.
Luke had already taken that into account, coming up with a viable plan.
However, as Midoriya looked at Bakugo's tensed back, he couldn't help but worry about the boy who had remained with him since childhood. So, despite being warned against it, Midoriya rushed to catch up with Bakugo, hoping to change the boy's mind.
"… Here we go…" Nyx cawed. "You owe me the latest volume of Her Spot…"
Luke's lips twitched. Before coming here, he had assured Nyx that Midoriya would stay true to their plans, letting Bakugo confront All Might by himself.
Nyx, on the other hand, had done a Divination on the spot, predicting that Midoriya would go after Bakugo instead.
They had ended up betting, which Luke lost, ending up being forced to buy an unheard book with a questionable plot.
"K-Kacchan, for this exam… the teachers are the Villain, and we are the Heroes," Midoriya was saying out loud, stuttering. "We need to keep in mind their combat abilities. All Might alone would have been dangerous enough, but we have to be wary of Erasure Head, too, now. Wait, listen to me—"
Bakugo fastened his pace, leaving Midoriya behind. "Stop following me!"
Midoriya hesitated, but rushed to catch up to Bakugo. "Listen. All Might will come after us, and Erasure Head will cancel our Quirks. There's no point in going all in… We can't just overpower All Might with numbers. Not when we don't know whose Quirk Erasure Head will erase. Luke has come up with…"
Taking Luke's name was a mistake.
Bakugo lashed out with his right hand, the grenade-like gauntlet hitting squarely across Midoriya's face, making him fall.
"Don't say another word…" Bakugo glared, his red eyes spewing wrath. "Just because things are going better for you and that Birdshit doesn't mean you can keep running your mouth… you damn nerd! It's pissing me off!!
"Why would I run away?! Erasure Head cannot block my Quirk forever. I just have to keep myself out of his vision and beat All Might! Once Erasure Head is tired, I will beat him up, too! I don't need you or anyone helping me out… Go! Run, if you want to!!"
…
In the Monitor Room, the students watching this play out on the screen gasped.
"I don't understand," Asui said. "Why is Luke just standing and not helping Midoriya convince Bakugo?"
Luke, in his black greatcoat and pants Hero Costume, with Nyx on his shoulders, was looking around as if he were on a sightseeing tour.
It was like he didn't care about what was happening in front of him between the two boys at all.
Hearing Tsuyu's doubt, Tenya and others frowned, going through the same thoughts.
"Because there's no point," Momo replied, her eyes reflecting Luke. "… Not yet, I think."
"Sigh!" Recovery Girl let out an aged breath as well. "I knew there would be trouble with their teamwork, but— do they not realize who they are up against there?!"
…
A few moments before,
Luke had his hands in his pockets as he kept looking around for any signs of Erasure Head.
Other than his innate Beyonder abilities, he had decided not to use any Beyonder powers in this match. Everything was being recorded, and many teachers were watching him as well. He couldn't afford to give them any reason to replay the recorded match because he used a power that didn't make sense.
It was especially so for Nezu and Midnight, who were just looking for such reasons to praise him, calling him the Treasure Chest of UA.
There was a thin line between praises and suspicions, Luke knew.
This wasn't a moment to test out how thin he could make this line.
For now, the best was to…
Luke and Nyx's eyes suddenly widened.
Not because of Bakugo hitting Midoriya, making the boy fall.
But because their Danger Intuitions had gone haywire, wreaking havoc in their minds.
The last time they had felt such a dangerous premonition was when they had faced Dabi's enhanced Plasma attack coming for them with the students behind their backs.
Every inch of Luke's muscles cried for him to run.
Every feather on Nyx's body screamed for her to flutter away.
Yet, at that moment, they both knew that it was already too late.
"Deku!" Luke shouted out his lungs.
"Bastard!!" Nyx called out to Bakugo.
"RUN!!!"
Booooooooooooooooooom!!!
A Category 5 Typhoon blasted across the city, wind gusts, with a speed of over 200 kph, surging in the middle of the city, leveling buildings.
Bridges collapsed.
Multistoried skyscrapers came falling, becoming ruins.
Chunks of road upended, joining the rubble of other structures.
The boys were sent flying, tiny pieces of rocks nicking them, drawing blood.
By the time the gusts of wind disappeared, a massive cloud of dust lingered in front of the fallen Heroes.
Bakugo and Midoriya struggled to get up as they stared at that cloud of dust, steps ringing in their ears, heralding doom.
"Who gives a damn about damaging the city?!"
The voice didn't just carry weight, but a tone so ominous that a chill ran down the boys' spines.
What… What is… this… Midoriya asked himself, staring at the dark figure within the dust cloud.
What… is this… Bakugo thought, gritting his teeth, the tips of his fingers throbbing as his heart raced, pounding against his chest.
Oi… Oi… Luke, far behind them, found it difficult to step back. What… is this… intimidation?!
From the dust, All Might walked out with a wide grin on his face. He planted his foot and came to a stop, clearing off all dust with another gust of wind.
"Thinking of this as an Exam will be a mistake…" All Might said, his blue gaze glowing bluer. "I am a Villain, Heroes! Come at me —
"— with everything you've got!!!"
*****************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my webnovel profile to access all options]
You can even subscribe Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter