Chapter 74: The Final Battle, Bakugo vs. Kira
Shota Aizawa took the microphone and, after a moment of silence, said, "I didn't do anything for them. They just started competing on their own."
That's right. From the very beginning, both Todoroki and Bakugo had been conspicuous. All he had done was make a certain someone into their inhibitor to keep their personalities from becoming too twisted. Although... now, that inhibitor was also showing signs of losing control.
Yoshikage Kira walked out of the dark tunnel with a calm expression, his eyes meeting the annoyed gaze of Katsuki Bakugo.
"I will be the champion," Bakugo said simply.
"If you can."
The two of them took their positions on the stage. Surprisingly, there was no particular animosity between them, just a quiet statement of their respective views. Bakugo held his palms up, releasing a continuous stream of small explosions to build up energy. Kira's body began to glow as a golden ripple of Hamon enveloped him.
Seeing that both fighters had taken their stances, Midnight cracked her whip and announced at the top of her lungs, "ON YOUR MARKS! 3... 2... 1... BEGIN!"
Bakugo placed his hands behind him. An intense flame erupted from his palms, creating a powerful propulsive force that launched him through the air like a rocket, closing the several-meter gap in an instant.
Kira took a step back. His arm, wreathed in Hamon, shot out in a punch, aimed squarely at Bakugo's spiky, durian-like head.
"HAMON OVERDRIVE!"
Bakugo reacted with incredible speed. He twisted his body in mid-air and met Kira's fist with his own right fist, which was also spewing flames.
The collision of their fists instantly kicked up a massive cloud of smoke, enveloping them both. Bakugo let out a roar, spun his body, and sent his other fist flying toward Kira, who ducked and dodged it.
Then, he charged straight into the smoke to engage Kira in close-quarters combat.
With Bakugo's continuous explosions, the gray smoke grew even thicker. All that could be heard was Bakugo's occasional roar, the flash of light from his palms, and the glint of golden Hamon in the dense smoke.
Present Mic said with a headache, "Even if they're fighting fiercely, we can't see a thing. Won't the audience be disappointed if the final match is held in this kind of atmosphere?"
Aizawa gave him a cool glance. "I don't know about the viewers at home, but the audience here is on the edge of their seats. Because they can feel that the two people on that stage are locked in a fierce battle."
"Who do you think will win?" In the stands, Momo clenched her fists and nervously asked the people around her. Even though she knew they couldn't see the state of the match any better than she could, she couldn't help but ask.
"I think it'll be Bakugo!" Kirishima said, not looking worried at all. "Even if Kira can match him at the start, Bakugo is the type who gets stronger the longer he fights. As long as it's a battle of endurance, he won't lose!"
Bakugo's Quirk allowed him to secrete a nitroglycerin-like substance from the sweat glands in his palms. As time went on, he would inevitably sweat more, and the power of his explosions would increase accordingly.
In the smoke, Kira's keen senses detected a sudden spike in temperature behind him. He immediately dropped and rolled. A flaming palm appeared from behind him. Like a frog, Bakugo leaped to where Kira had just been and slammed his hand on the ground, setting off another explosion.
Although Bakugo was a little frustrated that his attack had missed, he was even more annoyed by Kira's evasive attitude. He charged at him again, roaring, "Didn't you take down that arrogant Todoroki in close combat!? Stop dodging and use the same strength you used before!"
Kira's Hamon instantly flared. He blocked Bakugo's heavy, downward strike with his arm, but was immediately hit in the chest by the explosion that followed, sending him flying back.
I have to admit it, Kira thought, my combat sense is no match for Bakugo's.
In their initial clash, Kira had blocked Bakugo's attack and had even held a slight advantage in terms of pure strength. But as the close-quarters battle had dragged on, he had felt Bakugo's condition improving as the explosions grew stronger. His Hamon was gradually becoming less effective at blocking the blows. He could only fight while retreating, using his Hamon breathing to quickly readjust and prepare for the next attack.
"I'm sure you wouldn't believe me if I told you that this is all I've got, right?" Kira wanted to give a wry smile, but he felt that if he did, Bakugo might take it as a taunt and become even more enraged. So he could only maintain his ice-block face.
"Is that a joke!? It's not funny at all!" Bakugo was infuriated by Kira's calm expression. It only strengthened his conviction that Kira had an ace up his sleeve, which was why he could remain so unfazed while fighting him.
Don't tell me... he's trying to use a finishing move to turn the tables when I let my guard down?
The more critical the moment, the calmer Bakugo became. In the middle of their exchange, he deliberately left an opening, exposing his chest to Kira while secretly preparing his defenses.
Kira wasn't going to hold back. A Hamon Spring Punch struck Bakugo squarely in the chest.
Bakugo had been prepared for a sneak attack from Kira, but he was completely caught off guard by the suddenly extending arm. The heavy blow sent him flying out of the smoke, and he crashed onto the clear ground outside the cloud.
"WHOA! THE FIERCE CLOSE-QUARTERS BRAWL IS FINALLY OVER! BAKUGO HAS BEEN DEFEATED IN THE SHORT OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE EXCHANGE! DOES THIS MEAN KIRA WILL BE THE VICTOR OF THIS MATCH!?" Present Mic excitedly offered his commentary.
"It's not that simple," Shota Aizawa replied calmly. "Look at the expression in Bakugo's eyes. That's not the look of someone who is willing to admit defeat."
"Damn it!" Bakugo spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. He wiped his mouth with his arm and said hatefully to Kira, "If that little trick is all you've got, then you'd better prepare to die!"
Kira walked out of the smoke. Aside from his torn sleeves, he looked completely unharmed, making it easy to assume he was the winner. But Kira knew that if Bakugo hadn't had that sudden lapse and left himself open, he would still be struggling.
Hearing Bakugo's taunt, Kira's fingers twitched. The hand hanging at his side subconsciously formed a thumbs-up gesture, but then he relaxed it.
Bakugo was now convinced that Kira had no finishing move. He paid no mind to Kira's small gesture and, with a roar, charged at him. After a running start, he vaulted into the air, placing his hands beneath him. The violent explosions created a powerful recoil that instantly sent him flying.
"Kira! I always thought you were hiding something! But now I see, it was all in my head! You're no match for Todoroki or that damn Deku!"
In mid-air, Bakugo used continuous explosions to adjust his position, causing his body to spin like a violent tornado as he dove toward Kira. A bright light ignited in his palm—the prelude to the same cannon blast he had used against Uraraka.
As his spinning body reached Kira, he suddenly stopped, grabbed his wrist with his other hand, twisted his body, and aimed the blaster, which had been charged several times over, at Kira's face. "HOWITZER IMPACT!" Bakugo roared.
The laser-like beam that shot from Bakugo's hand seemed to reenact the moment Enuma Elish pierced the world. The powerful light instantly enveloped the defending Kira, swallowing him whole.
The intense sound and light made everyone in the stadium cry out. They were all stunned by Bakugo's attack, their hearts filled with worry for Kira, who had taken the full brunt of the blast. Few people believed he could have survived it.
"No way... Is Bakugo trying to kill him!?" Kirishima stared at the scene, dumbfounded. "Why aren't Cementoss-sensei and the others stopping him!?"
It was only now that Kirishima realized that Bakugo had been holding back in his match against him. There was no way he could have survived a blast like that.
Midnight's face was grim. The reason she hadn't intervened was simple: she didn't think she could have survived that attack unscathed. At the very least, her costume wouldn't have. She was worried that if she had even gotten close, her flimsy outfit would have been melted away. For the sake of her image, she had not intervened.
As for Cementoss, he had wanted to intervene. His hands had been on the ground the whole time. The reason he hadn't was simple: Bakugo had been too close to Kira when he had unleashed the attack. There was no way his cement walls could have appeared between them in time.
Bakugo collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted, his eyes fixed on the smoke-filled area. Although he had spoken dismissively of Kira, only he knew the real reason he had so hastily unleashed his ultimate move. It was because of a sudden premonition, a feeling in his gut that if he didn't use that move right then, he might never get another chance.
It was precisely because he took his opponent so seriously that he had unleashed his full power without holding anything back.
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