The Award Ceremony / The Aftermath of Being Hit by Support Artillery-This Time, I Experienced the High Pressure of a Noble Phantasm at Point-Blank Range

This was what remained from the battle against Katsuki Bakugo.

Before the audience's screams had died down and before Mic announced the start of the match, Yukino spoke first. "This final isn't just about deciding first place. It's about telling the world who will be the strongest among this generation of future heroes. Todoroki, I won't hold back. This time, I'll show the world strength that truly transcends everything... strength that will make every enemy tremble in fear."

"Pfft, what is she talking about?"

Midnight and Cementoss, standing nearby, froze for a moment. Even Shoto Todoroki himself seemed to see an indescribable aura in Yukino's eyes for the first time.

Shota Aizawa also focused. As a teacher, he had high expectations for this student whose Quirk remained a mystery.

Whether in character or strength, there was little to criticize about the girl in the arena. Rather, her composite Quirk made her even more suited to becoming a hero than many Pro Heroes.

What disappointed Shota Aizawa, however, was Su Lin's indifference toward the profession of hero itself. He had not seen even the slightest bit of longing in Su Lin's eyes.

More than ten seconds later, Mic resumed his duty as commentator and shouted at the tens of thousands of spectators present:

"The U.A. Sports Festival has finally reached its ultimate final! The pinnacle of the first-years will be decided in this match! Next, Su Lin of the Hero Course will face Shoto Todoroki of the Hero Course!"

"Now, start!"

Rumble~~~

Without any hesitation, Shoto Todoroki unleashed ice on the largest possible scale the moment the match began. A terrifying mass of ice over a hundred meters high formed instantly and charged toward Yukino.

The temperature on the field dropped below freezing in the blink of an eye. Expanding crystals reached Yukino in an instant, only to be split apart by X, who suddenly appeared and slashed them with a single stroke.

Bzz—

A sky-blue blade flash flickered, many times larger than a person and nearly taller than the entire venue. The terrifying ice mass was immediately cut in two at the waist.

"What? A single slash cut through that opening move? The two contestants have already put on a performance shocking enough to take everyone's breath away!"

"Todoroki, use your flames!" X casually reminded him.

"Tch." Cold sweat trickled down Shoto Todoroki's forehead. He finally understood just how strong his opponent was. Forget that earlier slash—even after entering her full-power state, that unstoppable aura alone made his heart tremble instinctively.

"Don't worry about Endeavor. I'm the one telling you to use it. I, the one standing before you, acknowledge it as your strength. It has nothing to do with Endeavor."

The second slash sent out a blade of light that shot toward Shoto Todoroki in an instant.

He hastily leaped sideways and dodged the strike. After a brief moment of hesitation... blazing flames finally ignited.

Half ice, half fire. The pressure generated in that instant was hardly any weaker than X's.

"Ha, they're going all out right from the start! The power displayed by these two contestants is terrifying beyond belief! Could we be about to witness something even more astonishing than their earlier clash?" Mic asked expectantly.

Cementoss's block-shaped face had never looked so grave. The wind pressure generated by the two Quirks alone had already sent everyone's hair flying wildly.

Then, at last, light flared. Shoto Todoroki became like an erupting blazing sun and charged fiercely toward X.

Galaxy Meteor Sword C activated at full power. Dazzling blue light erupted from X's blade, as if she had gained the power to pierce the galaxy in an instant.

Of course, in her current Spirit Origin state, she was still far from capable of that. But even now, an ordinary slash was enough to collide with Shoto Todoroki's ice and fire.

Boom~~~

As light surged forth, every spectator instinctively shut their eyes.

At such close range, the high temperature was enough to vaporize liquid instantly. As X poured out power through her sword, she could feel the terror of his attack.

"Shoto! Shoto!" Endeavor was more excited than ever. This time, his son had actually unleashed power even more outrageous than when he fought Midoriya.

Everyone's ears were filled with deafening explosions.

The oncoming wind pressure made it impossible for the tens of thousands of spectators to remain seated steadily.

Bang—

When the massive wall created by Cementoss collapsed in an instant and smoke and dust shrouded the venue, the lingering force of the impact finally began to fade.

Midnight, who had been blown dozens of meters away, climbed to her feet, coughed twice, and looked toward the field, only to discover that neither fighter had moved from their original position.

By comparison, Shoto Todoroki looked somewhat more disheveled.

"Shit." Mic, who had once again been knocked to the ground by the shockwave, climbed up and wiped cold sweat from his forehead. "Monsters, monsters! Eraser Head, what is going on with your class? Every one of them is more terrifying than the last."

Hitoshi Shinso from the General Course was also trembling. He had used his Quirk to trick Yukino once before, and she had generously chosen not to blame him. Thank goodness.

The food in Mt. Lady's mouth fell to the ground with a plop.

"If monsters like that could join our hero agency..." Kamui Woods muttered, but stopped halfway through.

Of everyone present, only Shota Aizawa appeared calmest. "Su Lin's displayed strength is certainly powerful, but she's only somewhat stronger than Shoto Todoroki. It still isn't enough to display the kind of strength that makes everyone tremble in fear. But I know that enemies certainly won't be sleeping well tonight..."

But...

At that instant, a smile slowly appeared on X-Hair's calm face. The single Victory Sword suddenly became two swords, one held in each hand... Blue light abruptly blossomed from their blades, instantly turning into a heaven-shattering pressure that engulfed the entire venue.

One bright, one dark—dazzling beyond compare.

In what seemed like an instant, the winds and clouds changed color.

"Pfft!"

Everyone, even All Might, felt an indescribable palpitation.

"How is this possible..." Mic had nearly forgotten his commentary.

One pitch-black sword and one kingly sword. Two piercing blue lights too brilliant to look at illuminated everything, becoming the most dazzling and most untouchable existences between heaven and earth.

"At this moment, the intertwining of light and darkness is like the strongest!"

X recited the pre-release chant for her Noble Phantasm, her voice clear and melodious.

Shoto Todoroki dropped to his knees with a bang, his entire body trembling beneath the immense pressure.

"This is the Nameless Victory Sword. Shoto Todoroki, make your choice," X-Hair asked one final time.

The pressure increased further, and the energy condensed within it grew denser and denser. Even people several kilometers around the venue felt a tightness in their chests.

"It's still rising? Just how strong is she?"

All Might, Endeavor, Best Jeanist... one hero after another was left dumbfounded. Under such glaring terror, Shoto Todoroki's final persistence could only become a few helpless words he had no choice but to accept:

"I... surrender!"

Awards Ceremony

The pressure before the Noble Phantasm's release vanished in an instant.

X-Hair returned to wielding only one sword. Honestly, she had not expected this single-target Noble Phantasm to generate such widespread pressure.

Because of that pressure, Yukino, standing behind her, had been forced to crouch down and gasp for breath, cold sweat continuously streaming down her body.

"So avatars really can hurt one another. This is the second time X-Hair has screwed me over, isn't it?"

The first time, she had been injured by the aftershock of Support Barrage. This time was even more direct—she had experienced the high pressure brought by the Noble Phantasm at point-blank range.

Her entire body was soaked, and her complexion was not much better than Shoto Todoroki's.

At least she had not been pressed to her knees.

Midnight glanced at Yukino in surprise, fell silent for a moment, then stepped forward and called out, "Shoto Todoroki... has surrendered. Su Lin has won the final."

"Roar—"

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue, and the spectators' enthusiastic cheers made the scene lively once more.

The Nameless Victory Sword had naturally left every hero deeply shocked. Even All Might began to wonder whether he could withstand a strike from that Noble Phantasm.

Shota Aizawa rose from his seat, his eyes beneath the bandages shining brightly.

"All events have now concluded! The first-year champion of this year's U.A. Sports Festival is... Su Lin of Class A!"

Mic's cheers drove the atmosphere in the venue to even greater heights.

Some of the students sitting with Class B were dumbfounded.

"You've got to be kidding. That's the masked guy from Class A?"

"Damn it, that freak is a complete monster." A large vein bulged on the forehead of the hot-tempered Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.

When an opponent was so powerful that one could not even see a hope of catching up, it truly caused a certain kind of wavering in one's heart.

While the competing students began gathering, Yukino, exhausted, leaned against a nearby stone.

She raised her hand and looked at the damp clothes clinging to her flesh. She decided she should stop giving the audience any more benefits, so she slowly dismissed her avatar state.

Unfortunately, the sweat did not vanish after returning to her original body. As a result, Su Lin-chan clearly sensed certain scents and traces of Yukino-chan.

Ten minutes later, the awards ceremony began. Amid burst after burst of multicolored fireworks, three podiums slowly rose.

Su Lin stood in first place, Todoroki stood expressionlessly in second, and Katsuki Bakugo stood in third, his entire body tied up with all sorts of restraints, making muffled noises like a crazed monkey.

Incidentally... there was also someone named Fumikage Tokoyami sharing third place.

Cold sweat ran down Tokoyami's crow-like head. He only felt that standing beside Bakugo was unbearably embarrassing.

As the crowd's excitement reached a fever pitch, wild laughter suddenly rang out from the top of the stadium structure.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

In an instant, every spectator saw that idol-like star, and they all shouted excitedly, "All Might! It's All Might!"

"Ha ha ha ha... I have arrived with the medals!"

All Might leaped from the top of the building, instantly crossing a distance of a hundred meters before landing heavily on the ground.

Though he was enormous, Su Lin had to admit that All Might often showed a strangely adorable side in ordinary moments.

"All Might, please begin by presenting the third-place medals." Midnight smiled as she raised the medals in her hand and walked over to him.

"No problem." All Might took one of them, stepped forward, and personally placed it around Fumikage Tokoyami's neck.

"Congratulations, young Tokoyami. You're truly strong."

"You flatter me," Tokoyami replied modestly, though he looked calm on the surface.

"But if you want to avoid being countered, you can't rely too heavily on your Quirk. If you further strengthen your fundamentals, you should have more options available to you." As All Might spoke, he gave him a big hug.

"Understood," Tokoyami answered seriously.

All Might nodded and walked over to Bakugo. "Now it's your turn, young Bakugo... Oh dear, this seems a little excessive."

Seeing Bakugo's mouth tightly restrained by an iron muzzle, All Might quickly removed it for him.

Then... Bakugo immediately roared, his expression incomparably exaggerated and furious:

"All Might, this third place means nothing! My goal is first place! I'd rather not have a medal that feels like this kind of humiliation!"

That string of loud yelling made several drops of awkward sweat appear on All Might's face.

Su Lin, standing atop the first-place podium, turned to look at him and said after some thought, "Bakugo, let me tell you a joke."

"Huh?" Bakugo turned and glared at him with an irritated expression.

"Once upon a time, there was a mentally ill man named A. He was locked in a mental hospital because of his madness, and he thought every day about escaping, planning for it constantly. One day, he found another mentally ill man named B who shared his ambitions. They decided to escape from the hospital on a dark and windy night."

"???"

All Might looked at Su Lin in confusion, unable to understand what he meant.

"To leave the mental hospital, they had to climb over a hundred walls. It was an extremely difficult process. The two of them began climbing out together. After climbing over five walls, B asked A if he was tired. A said he wasn't, so they continued climbing together."

"When they had crossed twenty walls, B asked A whether he was tired. A still said he wasn't, so they continued."

"By the time they had crossed fifty walls, they were already panting a little. B asked A whether he was tired, and A still said he wasn't, so they kept climbing."

"Until they crossed the ninety-ninth wall..." Su Lin revealed a faintly mocking smile. "B asked A once again, 'Are you tired now?' A honestly answered that he was. 'If we're tired, let's go back.' So the two mentally ill men climbed back over ninety-nine walls and returned to the hospital, realizing that escaping from a mental hospital really was not easy."

All Might: "..."

"I feel like you're mocking me."

"Bakugo, you've already crossed ninety-nine walls. You were only a tiny bit away from victory, so why climb back? Third place is only two places away from first."

"Ha ha ha ha..." All Might laughed loudly and agreed. "Su Lin makes a lot of sense! You're only one step away from success! This medal is proof of your strength! Just work a little harder next time, and first place won't be a dream!"

"Who the hell wants this medal?!" Bakugo roared with his mouth wide open.

"Put it on."

All Might gave him no chance to refuse and slipped the medal over his mouth.

"There, there. Remember it as your own humiliation."