A cold wind circulated through the arena as the holographic panels slowly faded out. The adrenaline from the cavalry battle was still pulsing in my body — the metallic taste of tension and energy still lingering on the tip of my tongue.
The crowd, previously deafening, now murmured quietly, anxious.
Present Mic returned to the center of the arena with his microphone spinning between his fingers like a toy in the hands of an overactive child.
"AAAAAALRIGHT, EVERYONE !!!"
His voice ricocheted across the entire stadium.
"We've finally reached MANY people's favorite part ! It's time to watch our young talents face each other head-to-head !"
Midnight walked toward him, smiling as if she were opening a theatrical show instead of a brutal tournament.
"Individual matches," she announced, voice dripping with honey. "Raw power, strategy, personality… and spectacle."
She looked straight at me for a moment.
A quick smile.
Aizawa appeared right behind them, squinting as usual, already looking exhausted by the chaos that was about to begin.
"You had group trials. Now… everything depends only on you."
I swallowed hard.
This was it.
The third stage.
The moment when the entire nation of Japan would truly look at each of us as potential future heroes.
Midnight lifted a big holographic screen with a dramatic gesture.
"Ladies and gentlemen… time for the DRAW !"
The digital sphere began spinning with scrambled names.
Every click felt like a punch to the stomach.
The entire class held their breath.
The audience screamed.
And then — PING !
ONE-ON-ONE MATCHES:
Shoto Todoroki vs Hitoshi Shinso
Mina Ashido vs Fumikage Tokoyami
Tenya Iida vs Mei Hatsume
Eijiro Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Denki Kaminari vs Mashirao Ojiro
Ochaco Uraraka vs Katsuki Bakugou
Yuga Aoyama vs Rikido Sato
Benjamin Tennyson vs Momo Yaoyorozu
The stadium exploded in voices.
"That's the transformation guy !"
"Who's the girl ?"
"This fight's gonna be insane!"
I took a deep breath.
Not because it was difficult.
But because I knew exactly what it meant.
Yaoyorozu was intelligent.
Very intelligent.
She would learn my patterns.
She would analyze my transformations.
She would create items perfectly tailored to counter me.
And that made her one of the most dangerous opponents in the arena — and one of the few I genuinely respected from the beginning.
She looked at me from the other side of the circle of competitors.
There was no fear.
No arrogance.
Only strategy in her eyes.
Clarity.
Determination.
She tilted her head slightly.
I answered with a short nod.
Midnight snapped her whip against the floor, sparks scattering.
"AND WITH THAT, THE MATCHES ARE DECIDED ! ALL PARTICIPANTS, PREPARE YOURSELVES TO FIGHT! TEN-MINUTE BREAK !"
The class spread through the inner corridors.
Some celebrated.
Others trembled.
Todoroki was calm as ever.
Bakugou was boiling with fury.
Uraraka looked like she might faint from nerves.
Kirishima cracked his fists like he was about to fight a dragon.
I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.
The alien mark on my neck pulsed once — soft, almost a warning.
"Calm down… just breathe."
But inside…
I was thinking of everything.
Grey Matter would be useful against strategy.
XLR8 would help if she tried creating pressure cannons.
Diamondhead gave me the advantage against physical weapons.
Wildmutt… well, Wildmutt could break through almost any structure.
Insectoid would let me flank and move through shadows.
Ghostfreak could bypass any solid trap.
I had tools.
She had intelligence.
It was a fair fight — and that lit a fire inside me.
"Ben."
Her voice came soft but firm.
Yaoyorozu stood before me, hands together behind her back, posture dignified and composed.
"I'm not going to go easy on you," she said.
I smirked lightly.
"Me neither."
She sighed, almost laughing.
"I figured you'd say that."
The first matches happened while Yaoyorozu and I waited to be called.
Todoroki vs Shinso
Quick.
Cold.
Literally.
Todoroki froze half the arena and neutralized Shinso with an ice pillar before he could even open his mouth.
Technical, clinical, terrifying.
Mina vs Tokoyami
An elegant massacre.
Dark Shadow dominated the arena, and Mina nearly slipped trying to dodge the shadow creature.
Tokoyami won easily, but without cruelty.
Iida vs Hatsume
Hatsume turned the entire fight into an advertisement for her gadgets.
Iida won, but left the arena traumatized after she said she wanted to have babies with him.
Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu
Two tanks.
Two wonderful idiots punching each other.
Draw until the judge stepped in — Kirishima won by millimeters.
Kaminari vs Ojiro
Kaminari fell to a clean counterattack.
Ojiro is underestimated… and dangerous.
Uraraka vs Bakugou
The arena went silent.
Uraraka fought like a stone of pure determination.
But Bakugou won.
Without humiliating her — for the first time. He simply won.
Aoyama vs Sato
Sato won by sheer brute strength and reach.
And then…
Only our match remained.
Present Mic nearly fell out of the commentators' booth from excitement:
"AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEEEEN, THE MOST ANTICIPATED MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND !!!"
The giant screen lit up with our names.
BENJAMIN TENNYSON vs MOMO YAOYOROZU
The crowd roared.
"BREAK EVERYTHING !!"
"MORE TRANSFORMATIONS !!"
Midnight twirled her whip.
"COMPETITORS, TO THE ARENA !"
My heart raced.
The energy inside me boiled like lava.
I stepped into the light.
Yaoyorozu walked to the opposite side.
The entire arena held its breath.
Midnight raised her whip.
"BEGIN !"
The sound cut through the air.
Yaoyorozu immediately spread her arms — and the skin on her shoulder began to glow.
In less than a second, she created:
— a large ballistic shield
— a foldable harpoon
— two capture grenades
She already had a plan.
I grinned.
"Let's get to work."
The mark on my neck pulsed.
Green light hit the ground.
My body stretched, thinned, sprouted legs and antennae.
INSECTOID.
Speed.
Mobility.
360° vision.
I launched myself at her with absurd velocity.
Yaoyorozu threw the first grenade.
I dove to the ground, pushing off with a powerful leap like a turbo-charged grasshopper, dodging as each explosion kicked up dust and debris.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM !
'She's aiming where I'm going — not where I am. Smart. Very. If I just keep running… she'll read me.'
I activated my claws and scaled upward, clinging to the metal structure of a spotlight.
The crowd roared.
Gwen shouted:
"GO, BEN !"
My grandfather murmured:
"Good choice… he's testing her creation pattern."
Momo adjusted her shield and inhaled.
"He's analyzing… I need to change tactics."
She touched her chest — and a large, heavy machine began emerging from her skin.
"Is she making a cannon?" I muttered.
But no.
It was an electric net.
Massive.
And far heavier than she should logically be able to carry.
She hurled it upward.
I had one second.
Just one.
Green light wrapped around my body mid-air.
Silence fell.
Because I became:
GHOSTFREAK.
The net passed right through me.
The crowd went wild.
"WHAT THE HELL ?!"
"HE TURNED INTO A GHOST ?!"
Momo gritted her teeth.
"Right… he can become intangible. Physical nets won't be enough."
My spectral body floated to the ground.
"You're good, Momo," I said, my voice echoing. "But you won't catch me like that."
She inhaled — and smiled for the first time.
"I'm not giving up, either."
My mother covered her mouth.
"He's… he's glowing— he's SEE-THROUGH ! Is that safe ?!"
My father only answered:
"I… I think so ?"
Gwen frowned.
"Looks like that's going to cost energy."
My grandfather, calm, hand on his chin:
"He didn't choose that form for nothing. He wants to see how far she adapts before taking this seriously."
I moved through the arena in total silence.
Momo immediately began creating rapidly:
— Insulated cables
— A manual detonator
— A portable capacitor
— A staff with a pronged tip
A mini military-grade taser improvised in seconds.
"If you can pass through objects…" she raised the staff, "…let's see if you can pass through electricity."
That caught everyone off guard — including me.
She activated it.
The electric discharge burst toward me.
I tried to dodge — but Ghostfreak floats, he doesn't run.
And sudden acceleration is impossible.
The electricity hit my spectral form — and though it didn't hurt like it would a human, it destabilized me.
A lot.
"AH—!"
My form flickered, losing density for half a second.
She had counted on that.
The electric staff extended a cable.
She fired the wired harpoon at the exact point where my form wavered —
the only moment in which I was solid.
It struck my chest.
I was thrown against the ground, dust erupting from the impact.
The crowd screamed again.
She was incredible.
Truly incredible.
"Ben !" my mother shouted, nearly climbing the railing.
My grandfather gripped the guard rail but didn't look away.
"Get up, boy… come on. I didn't come all the way here to watch you lose."
Still as Ghostfreak, I rose slowly.
"You hit me…"
my echoed voice murmured.
Momo raised the staff again.
"I've studied you since the exam."
I smiled.
"…then you know this isn't the only form I have."
The mark pulsed in my spectral chest.
Green light filled the arena.
The spectators held their breath.
My family stood up.
And when the energy exploded—
My body grew.
And grew.
And grew.
Four arms.
Huge limbs.
Bright red skin.
FOUR ARMS.
My roar echoed like thunder.
The arena shook.
The crowd burst into a storm of screams.
"NOW THE FIGHT IS OVER !"
"OH MY GOD, HOW HUGE IS HE ?!"
Yaoyorozu didn't back away.
On the contrary.
She inhaled, steady as a general.
And began creating:
— Titanium shield
— Shock lance
— Compressed-air thrusters
— Smoke bombs
— Support cables
— A lightweight armor
She was ready to face a tank with a brain.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
Four Arms puffed out his chest.
"Ready ?"
She spun the lance.
"Always."