"Huff... Huff..."

  In the dimly lit entranceway leading from the corridor to the interior of the auditorium, Iida was just about to step out to watch the intense csh between Kaminari and Todoroki. Suddenly, his body jolted in a strange, rapid shiver, almost like a spasm. Despite the odd sensatioayed calm and stopped just short of the brightly lit doorway, only a few steps away from the sunlight streaming through.

  At that moment, he pulled a dark blue cellphone from his pocket—the brand was unreizable.

  "Mom?"

  Seeing the caller ID, Iida paused for a sed, but quickly uood. His mother was likely calling to che him.

  "Hello? Mom? I... I lost. I'm sorry. I let everyone down, and I couldn't bring honor to the family..."

  As soon as Iida admitted his defeat, his mother's voi the other end interrupted him, filled with ay and worry.

  "No, that's not why I'm calling!"

  "Iida, you o stay calm. Something... something has happeo your brother Tensei."

  "W-what?!"

  "Your brother was... was attacked by vilins."

  "?!"

  "BOOM!"

  Just as his mother finished speaking, the stadium shook violently, as if a suddehquake of magnitude six or seven had struck. A frigid bst of air swept through the entire auditorium. In the corridor, Iida found himself caught in a powerful, trated gust due to the standing waves created by the arena's structure.

  His bck hair and blue sports uniform fpped wildly in the icy wind, and the phone in his hand still transmitting his mother's frantic voice was blown from his grip.

  "Iida?! Iida?! What's happening to you...?"

  "...Another iceberg... Mom!!"

  He looked up, wide-eyed, at the enormous iceberg now t over the stadium, partially obsg the sunlight. Snapping out of his daze, he quickly picked up his phone from the ground.

  "Mom, you just said... what did you mean by vilins attag my brother?"

  As his mother tio speak, the corridor seemed to grow darker, trasting with the blinding sunlight outside. On the field, half of Todoroki's side had turned into a frozen mountain, blog the view of the spectators on the opposite side.

  Todoroki, breathing out a frosty breath, surveyed the iceberg he had just created and muttered to himself, "How will you hahis without 'Thunder Aegis'?"

  "Kaminari Denki… show me what you've got."

  A thin yer of frost had formed on Todoroki's right cheek—evidence of the strain his abilities pced on his body.

  "Kaminari!" In the Css A stands, Kyoka watched the massive iceberg with worry, while Tetsutetsu wore a serious expression.

  "Without 'Thunder Aegis,' Kaminari might not be able to block this attack."

  He sidered his own ces against Todoroki's ice assault and realized he'd likely be forced off the field by sheer impact alone, even if his Quirk allowed him to avoid serious injury.

  As the 120,000 spectators iadium, along with tless viewers nationwide and even overseas, held their breath waiting for the oute, a voice suddenly echoed from above.

  "Phew… close one. You've got a serious gift, Todoroki! Making an iceberg that big on a whim? That's just pin scary."

  Heads snapped up as Kaminari's voice rang out. The golden aura surrounding his body glowed even more brightly against the idscape as he stood at the top of Todoroki's massive ice wall, looking down with a mischievous grin.

  Kaminari's entire body crackled with goldericity, illuminating him against the brilliant white of the ice.

  "Not bad, right? I figured it out just in time. Turns out 'Static Grip' is pretty handy for climbing."

  Instead of fag the full force of the iceberg head-on, Kaminari had avoided Todoroki's attack by cirg around with his lightning speed, using high-voltage grips to scale the ice wall in an arc.

  "Over there!" Up in the announcer's booth, Present Mid Css 1-A's homeroom teacher, Aizawa, squinted up, trying to spot Kaminari. But the golden sunlight was too blinding, making it difficult to see anything on top of the icy mountain.

  "Up above?!"

  At the bottom, Todoroki shielded his eyes from the sun and squinted up at Kaminari's silhouette, trying to make out his figure. The sunlight was gring, obsg his vision.

  A crag sound, aric buzzing quickly grew louder, ing closer by the sed.

  "This sound… it's so familiar!" Todoroki's instincts fred, his body tensing for battle. And then, he saw it.

  A blinding golden light shot down the side of the iceberg with astonishing speed, shattering the icy surface beh it like fragile gss.

  "So fast!"

  Todoroki's first rea was to release a wave of freezing energy, f an ice wall in front of him. But the wall barely sted a sed before it exploded under Kaminari's high-speed assault.

  A streak of goldericity tore through the ice with each hit, leaving a trail of shattered fragments in its wake. With every new barrier Todoroki created, Kaminari would break through almost instantly, filling the arena floor with shards of ice.

  "This speed… it's incredible!"

  Although Todoroki had witnessed Kaminari's abilities during the earlier races and his match against Iida, experieng the lightning-fast assault firsthand was entirely different. Watg from a distance was nothing pared to being on the receiving end.

  If it weren't for his rigorous training under Endeavor and his naturally calm demeanor, Todoroki might have already faltered. But even his defenses couldn't hold forever against such relentless attacks.

  "Bzzz bzzz bzzz…"

  The golden lightning—Kaminari—closed in, his dark blue pupils trag into focused slits. In the blink of an eye, he shattered the st ice wall, appearing just a meter in front of Todoroki.

  "Boom!"

  A powerful kick ected with Todoroki's , sending him flying upwards into the air.

  ***

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