Luke's fist went hissing, missing its mark.
Well, not missing exactly, as it went right through Mirio's head.
Lemillion, who had been momentarily shocked by Luke's sudden speed, smiled a little, stepping back.
The Pro passed through Luke's body as if he didn't even exist.
Then, canceling the Permeation Quirk on his face and right hand, Mirio punched.
Suddenly, the moment his eyes regained vision as he deactivated the quirk on his face and hand, because the use of Permeation on his face had turned him blind, Mirio's blue gaze met a red one.
Within the instant that Mirio had taken to dodge Luke's insanely fast punch, the cyan colored bolts of lightning crackling in Luke's surroundings had disappeared.
Now, Nyx's red pupils were reflected in Mirio's wide, blue ones.
In the very next moment, Luke ceased to exist.
… Illusion! The name of the Quirk thundered in Lemillion's mind with a rumble.
Luke had figured it out, true.
Mirio's fellow Sidekick, Snappy, had indeed approached him to help Luke during the training camp.
She hadn't known that Mirio had already made up his mind to test out the boy's potential after the incident with Sir Nighteye and his phone call with All Might, though.
It mattered little why, and on whose beckoning, Lemillion had decided to confront Luke like this.
Because Mirio had decided that, if Luke were to hide his true abilities during the Beasts Forest trial, as Aina had predicted, he would single the junior out and make an exception, going one-on-one with the guy.
Ever since then, he had been researching Luke.
And, if he were to put it mildly, then Raven was one of the strongest Quirks Mirio had heard of.
If he were to become a touch more honest, then it would have the potential to be the greatest!
On record, Raven was a mystery, as even he could only access the Quirks' names and was denied access further.
It allowed Luke to use up to six different Quirks through his pet, Nyx — Gigantification, Exchange Positions, Illusion, Spot Heal, Delay, and Reinforcement.
Each Quirk could have stood out alone.
Combined, they were a behemoth to deal with.
The restriction of using only one Quirk at a time meant nothing, Mirio knew.
In real life, out in the treacherous world, tables were turned instantly, and fates were sealed even faster.
Still, despite learning that Raven would be too great a match even for him, Mirio hadn't felt disheartened that he would have nothing to teach Luke.
Because no matter how great a Quirk, it could only be as great as its user.
That thought… was beginning to look like a mistake!
In mere two moves, a feeling had bubbled in Lemillion's heart.
It didn't feel like fate had burdened Luke with an awesome Quirk at all… It felt like — Raven was tailor-made for him!
…
Luke let out a breath, appearing to Lemillion's side like a wraith.
Raven, Clown's innate agility, and Danger Intuition — these were the abilities that would define Luke the UA student, and thus, these were the abilities he would use to fight Lemillion, holding back nothing.
More than that, and with Mirio's innate attention to detail, it would be a disaster for Dr. Blessed.
Luke didn't want the future No. 1 to experience Déjà vu if the Pro ever came to cross paths with Dr. Blessed, which was very likely to happen sooner than later.
For a guy like Lemillion to experience Déjà vu would mean putting a target on both Luke and Dr. Blessed's backs.
It was already clear from the fact that the Pro had related Sir Nighteye's interest in him more than a mere recruitment drive, Luke decrypted.
So, the best thing to do was to play along, and… try to learn.
Holding back on some abilities, not using one's Quirk's full potential, and having a talented training partner could all result in benefiting him in the long run.
That's why Luke liked to train with Sand so much.
Of course, it was one thing to train with an Assassin, and another thing entirely to…
As Luke was about to think of training with Lemillion as mere playing, something happened that made him pause, stunned.
Mirio, who was still under the influence of Illusion, as Luke hadn't deactivated the Quirk, had turned his head to stare right at him and… smiled.
Luke stepped back, and even Nyx let out a caw, the Illusion wearing off.
Lemillion fully turned around and faced Luke, pointing a finger toward his own forehead. "Prediction…" he said, falling to the ground. "… you are fast, Luke. Are you faster than thoughts?"
In the next moment, Mirio was everywhere all at once.
It was as if there were dozens of Heroes, smiling toward Luke, giving him no time to lock onto him, even for Delay.
Cyan-colored lightning rumbled around him again as Luke activated Reinforcement, the 5% Full Cowl version of Midoriya's One For All.
As Nyx dug her claws into his shoulder, tightening her grip, his body twisted unnaturally, Lemillion's fist brushing past his sides.
Even with the combined might of his enhanced physique because of Beyonder Potions and Quirks, though, Luke failed to land a counter, Mirio shooting out from the earth far into the distance.
"Nyx!" Luke hissed.
With a blur, she and Mirio exchanged positions.
Luke and Lemillion grinned as they punched, one from above and the other from below. Fist met fist, and a muffled thud echoed, sending both skidding backward.
Luke, now more than astounded, looked at his hand, knowing well that he had barely held back.
On the other side, Mirio was looking at his hand, too… a broken hand.
Still, Luke had expected to crush that hand, instead of merely breaking it.
Lemillion getting away with a few hairline cracks meant that he was even stronger than Mr. Iwao when it came to pure physique.
"… Wait…" Luke said, shaking the ringing off from his hand. "Let me heal…"
And, out of nowhere, Luke's Danger Intuition shot through the roof.
"Having fun, aren't ya?!"
Brokenly, hung in time, Luke's neck turned to look at the last beast that the Beasts Forest had to offer…
… her vile grin sending a chill running down his spine.
"Get ready…" Rabbit Hero: Mirko slammed her fist into the palm of her hand. "… It's my turn!"
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