Chapter 32: The Steel Wall
The deafening roar of the stadium faded into the background as Sakazuki focused entirely on the dirt track ahead. He did not run like the others. Thick, glowing magma secreted continuously from the soles of his bare feet, instantly superheating the gravel and dirt beneath him into a slick, molten trail. He slid forward with the terrifying, unstoppable momentum of a military dreadnought, moving with frictionless speed and leaving a smoking path of scorched earth in his wake.
He effortlessly bypassed the dozens of students struggling to recover from the steam explosion, his dark, unwavering eyes locked onto the absolute front of the pack.
At the vanguard of the race, Katsuki Bakugo propelled himself through the air with fierce, crackling explosions. He heard the violent, unmistakable hiss of melting rock rapidly approaching from behind. Bakugo glanced over his shoulder. Instead of yelling an angry warning to back off, a malicious, battle-hungry smirk stretched across the explosive teenager's face.
"You have finally arrived, General..." Bakugo muttered, his red eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the competitors trembled violently.
The dirt path ruptured open as massive, towering shadows eclipsed the bright morning sun. Gigantic, heavily armored machines—the Zero Point faux villains from the entrance exam—crashed onto the track, effectively forming an impenetrable wall of solid steel.
"Are you kidding me?!" Mineta screamed in pure terror, skidding to a halt along with several other students from General Studies. "Those things are the size of actual mountains!"
Directly in the path of the largest machine, Shoto Todoroki did not slow his pace. However, he did not reach for the freezing cold on his right side.
A sudden, intense wave of heat washed over the track. The icy aura surrounding Todoroki completely vanished, instantly replaced by a roaring, volatile burst of bright orange flames erupting from his left side.
Up in the commentator's booth, Present Mic jumped out of his seat, grabbing the microphone. "THERE IT IS! THE PROMISING STUDENT THE CROWD CAME TO SEE IS FINALLY USING IT! THE BLAZING FLAMES OF THE NUMBER TWO HERO!"
The entire stadium shook with a deafening roar of sheer excitement. High up in the VIP stands, Endeavor crossed his massive arms. A fierce, immensely prideful smile curved his lips as he watched his masterpiece finally embrace his true power.
Todoroki pushed his flames downward, propelling himself off the ground. He flew upward, surrounded by a swirling vortex of fire, aiming directly for the metallic face of the Zero Pointer. As he closed the distance, a brief memory of his father's harsh training flashed through his mind—a lesson on focusing heat rather than just releasing it.
Todoroki slammed his left palm directly against the robot's massive metal face.
A blinding, concentrated explosion of fire tore completely through the machine's heavily armored head. Thick black smoke billowed from the hollowed-out skull as the mechanical giant groaned, losing its balance and tipping heavily backward.
Using the momentum of the blast, Todoroki flew past the collapsing behemoth. However, his aerial control was raw and unrefined. He wobbled violently in the air, his body entirely unbalanced. Unable to fly with the flawless mastery his father possessed, Todoroki plummeted toward the dirt track. He crashed into the sand, rolling aggressively to absorb the impact. He ground his teeth in frustration, forcing himself back onto his feet in an instant, and resumed his sprint without looking back.
Behind him, the students of Class 1-A were frozen in shock.
"He used his left side!" Midoriya gasped, his green eyes wide with disbelief.
"He actually used his fire..." Kirishima muttered, shielding his face from the intense heat wave.
Bakugo blasted his way past the collapsing ruins of the robot, his expression a mix of irritation and intense focus. That half-and-half bastard finally got over his personal complex, Bakugo thought, pushing his explosions to their maximum output to close the distance.
While the stadium was still reeling from Todoroki's spectacular display, Sakazuki did not waste a single fraction of a second.
Another colossal Zero Pointer loomed directly in his molten path, raising a massive steel fist to crush him. Sakazuki did not stop sliding. He focused the intense, volatile heat of his magma entirely into his right arm. With a single, sharp, and brutally precise motion, he unleashed a concentrated beam of superheated magma.
He slashed his arm in a wide, sweeping 'X' motion.
The crimson blade of heat effortlessly sliced through the robot's thick steel torso like a hot scalpel through butter. The edges of the cut glowed white-hot as the massive machine simply slid apart along the 'X' axis, its heavy metallic quarters collapsing onto the dirt track in a spectacular, ruined heap.
"UNBELIEVABLE!" Present Mic screamed into the mic. "ANOTHER GIANT FALLS JUST AS EASILY! THIS FIRST-YEAR CLASS IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING!"
Meanwhile, on the right flank of the track, Momo Yaoyorozu stood firmly on the ground. A massive, fully synthesized artillery cannon rested securely beside her. Without breaking a sweat, she aimed the heavy barrel at the heads of three approaching Zero Pointers.
With three deafening blasts, heavy artillery shells tore through the air, completely obliterating the sensors of the giant machines and sending them crashing to the earth.
"It is no big deal," Yaoyorozu stated calmly, adjusting her grip and immediately resuming her run.
The rest of the battlefield descended into utter chaos. The remaining students clashed desperately with the smaller one-point and two-point robots, fighting tooth and nail amidst the collapsing ruins of the giants.
Bakugo spiraled through the air, delivering a devastating, explosive roundhouse kick that blew a smaller robot to absolute pieces. He landed firmly on his feet, his red eyes glaring furiously at the distant, retreating back of his dual-quirk rival.
That half-and-half bastard is still in the lead, Bakugo growled internally, sparks violently popping from his palms. I need to do something right now.