"Brainwashing… so this is a form of mental attack."
The instant Etsuha's gaze landed on Hitoshi Shinso, his eyes had already shifted into the Sharingan.
These eyes could perceive illusions—and even reflect them if necessary.
Shinso's quirk clearly fell into that category. Powerful, yes… but unfortunately, it had encountered its natural counter.
"Attack," Etsuha commanded calmly.
"This is… what is this feeling?"
Shinso suddenly felt as though his soul had separated from his body. Confusion flooded his mind.
He was the one who had activated his quirk—so why hadn't anything happened?
Instead, his consciousness seemed to drift into chaos, unable to control his own body.
Unbeknownst to him, his body was already moving.
Step by step, Shinso approached Shoto Todoroki.
Then—
Bang!
Before anyone could react, Shinso threw a punch.
It landed squarely on Todoroki's head.
Todoroki's body stiffened. His eyes lost focus for a moment.
"…What?"
His mind struggled to process what had just happened.
Wasn't Etsuha right in front of him?
Why had he been hit from the side?
Turning his head, he saw—
the very same examinee who had just said, "Let me handle it."
"You said… 'let me handle it'… but you came to defeat me…?"
Todoroki muttered in a daze before stumbling forward and collapsing.
"My God—what is that guy doing?!"
"Has he gone crazy?! That's his teammate!"
"What's wrong with him?! Stop him!!"
"The one with the flame quirk is down—scatter! Don't stay grouped together!"
The defensive formation they had built instantly collapsed under Shinso's unexpected betrayal.
At the same time—
Etsuha appeared beside Todoroki.
His fist came down without hesitation.
"Watch out!" Bakugo shouted.
Too late.
Still disoriented, Todoroki couldn't react. Etsuha's punch slammed into his abdomen, knocking the air out of him completely.
"Gah—!"
His body folded, and he dropped to the ground, utterly defeated.
"…Huh?"
At that moment, Shinso regained control.
He stared blankly at Todoroki lying at his feet—then at his own aching fist.
"What… just happened…?"
Before he could process it—
a freezing field spread outward from Etsuha's feet.
The remaining students near Todoroki, no longer protected by his flames, had no resistance.
Ice surged up instantly.
One by one, they were frozen solid.
Everyone in the area—including Shinso—was eliminated in an instant.
"Damn it… what the hell just happened?!" Bakugo snarled from a distance.
He hadn't expected someone on their side to suddenly attack an ally. It was absurd.
But reality didn't care.
Todoroki—their strongest ally—was down.
Nearly seventy percent of their forces had already been wiped out.
Only a handful remained, and even those were barely holding on.
"Everyone—attack together!"
Bakugo roared and charged forward.
This was their last chance.
If they couldn't defeat Etsuha now, the result would be nothing short of humiliating.
The remaining fighters followed.
One had a tail. Another was completely invisible.
Together with Bakugo, they attacked from three different directions at once, attempting to overwhelm Etsuha.
"Die!"
Bakugo condensed an explosive blast in his palm and fired it forward.
Clang!
Etsuha deflected the attack with his ice sword. The blade shattered from the impact—but he didn't hesitate.
With a flick of his wrist, he formed a compact sphere of ice and hurled it forward.
"What kind of cheap attack is that?!"
Bakugo couldn't react in time.
The ice sphere was small—only the size of a palm—but incredibly dense.
It slammed into his shoulder with crushing force.
A sharp crack echoed as pain exploded through his arm.
Wham!
At the same moment, a powerful tail strike came crashing down from above.
Etsuha sensed it instantly.
He sidestepped, avoiding the attack with ease, then grabbed the attacker's shoulder in one swift motion.
Ice surged.
With a crackling sound, the tail user's entire body froze solid.
"That's one left."
Etsuha turned his gaze toward the last opponent.
Though invisible, her presence was crystal clear under the Sharingan.
"I surrender!"
Toru Hagakure raised her hands immediately.
She had already realized the truth—charging in would only mean defeat.
"…Surrender? Then I suppose I've won," Etsuha said casually.
"Uh… yeah, I guess so," Hagakure replied, a little awkwardly.
After all, even with everyone working together, they hadn't stood a chance.
But as she looked at Etsuha's eyes, curiosity got the better of her.
"Um… can I ask? What's up with your eyes? Is that your quirk?"
"Just colored contacts," Etsuha replied smoothly. "Do they look good?"
"…Seriously?"
She had clearly seen his eyes change earlier.
There was no way those were just contacts.
But Etsuha offered no further explanation.
Seeing that no one remained to challenge him, he picked up the microphone, cleared his throat, and announced:
"The second round of the exam is over."
"The winner… is me."
A wave of sighs spread across the battlefield.
In the distance, the spectators watching the fight erupted into chaos.