The starting point was at a corner of the street, while the exit lay directly opposite.
Because Aizawa Shota's Quirk could erase the Quirks of others, a small flame burned steadily in Masata's left hand at the start of the assessment.
If this flickering flame were to vanish, it would mean only one thing—Aizawa-sensei had entered his line of sight.
That was his warning signal.
"Truly the most troublesome opponent."
Leaning against the wall, hiding his body within the shadows, Aizawa-sensei moved forward silently and methodically. To Masata, he was a natural counter. Nearly all of Masata's combat strength was tied to his Quirk. Once it was erased, he would be forced into close combat—something he clearly wouldn't have the advantage in.
After passing through another block, Masata could already see the exit gate ahead. The sight made him let out a quiet breath.
More importantly, Aizawa-sensei wasn't near the gate.
That alone greatly increased Masata's confidence.
"Then I'll rush the final stretch."
As long as he crossed the exit, the exam would be over. Masata no longer planned to advance cautiously. Instead, he intended to create an iceberg and propel himself straight toward the gate. Even if Aizawa-sensei noticed him, there wouldn't be enough time to react.
Masata stomped his right foot hard against the ground—
—but nothing happened.
Only dust scattered across the street.
"…What?"
His pupils shrank as he looked down at his left hand.
The flame was gone.
At some point, without him noticing, it had been extinguished. He'd been too focused on the exit and had completely missed the change.
"Where are you looking, Masata?"
Aizawa-sensei's voice echoed calmly.
Masata snapped his head up toward the sound.
Aizawa Shota was squatting atop a telephone pole, looking down at him.
"Shouldn't I be above you?"
Hidden in a blind spot, Aizawa-sensei had already put on his goggles. The capture scarf around his neck was wrapped tightly around his hand.
"—!"
The scarf, which usually looked soft and harmless, suddenly shot through the air like a steel cable.
Masata instinctively swung his right hand, attempting to raise an ice wall to block the attack—
—but not even a shard of ice formed.
"…Tch."
This was exactly what made Aizawa-sensei's Quirk so terrifying. For someone accustomed to fighting with their Quirk, having that power suddenly stripped away could easily throw them into panic.
Masata, however, wasn't one of those people.
Even without his Quirk, his physical ability, judgment, and combat awareness were still well above average.
He kicked off the ground repeatedly, retreating at high speed, but the scarf chased him relentlessly, locking onto him like a living thing.
After narrowly avoiding another strike, Masata threw himself sideways into a patch of grass.
"Hm? Hiding?"
Masata vanished from view. Aizawa-sensei jumped lightly from the pole, landing on the ground as his hair fell back into place.
"Boom!"
An iceberg suddenly erupted from the spot Masata had disappeared from. Jagged ice spikes spread outward, surging toward Aizawa-sensei.
"So you noticed my weakness," Aizawa muttered. "Very good."
The iceberg advanced at terrifying speed. Cold air brushed against Aizawa's face as frost rapidly spread across the concrete street.
With one hand, Aizawa flicked his scarf toward a nearby house. It wrapped tightly around a second-floor railing. Using the momentum, he swung himself upward and landed smoothly on the balcony.
Without stopping, he retracted the scarf, stepped on the railing, flipped onto the roof, and began sprinting across the rooftops like a ninja.
The iceberg filled nearly the entire street—but Aizawa had no intention of confronting it head-on.
Masata, meanwhile, was hiding behind a large tree.
Pressing his back against the trunk, he peeked out cautiously. Creating such a massive iceberg in an instant had taken a toll on his body, so flames continued to burn along the left side of his body to regulate his temperature.
"So Aizawa-sensei's Quirk only works when he can see me…"
That meant if Aizawa couldn't see him, his Quirk couldn't be erased.
Earlier, no matter how hard Masata tried to activate his Quirk, nothing happened. But the moment he slipped into the grass and broke line of sight, it returned instantly.
Seizing that opportunity, Masata had created the iceberg—not only to buy time, but also to redirect Aizawa's vision and open a path to escape.
"Then I need to move—now."
He stepped out from behind the tree and prepared to circle around—
—and the flames vanished again.
"…Tch."
This time, Masata didn't hesitate.
He looked up.
Sure enough, Aizawa-sensei stood atop a small building with a red roof, staring directly at him.
"How persistent…"
Masata immediately ducked behind another house. As long as he stayed within this complex terrain, even Aizawa wouldn't be able to track him easily.
—or so he thought.
A sudden rush of wind came from behind.
"Don't even think about running."
Aizawa-sensei had already closed in, the capture scarf snapping toward Masata's body.
The speed and precision made Masata grit his teeth. After several strained evasions, his movements began to slow.
Just as the scarf was about to bind him—
The flames erupted again.
Masata's eyes lit up.
The fire surged violently, instantly forming a blazing wall between him and Aizawa-sensei.
Facing the intense heat, Aizawa naturally didn't attempt to push through. He stepped back, retracting the scarf and wrapping it around his arm.
The firelight irritated his eyes.
Since the USJ incident, Aizawa's eyes had suffered lasting damage. The interval between Quirk activations had grown longer, and the duration had shortened significantly. Otherwise, Masata wouldn't have been able to recover his Quirk so quickly just now.
"I wonder how long you can maintain flames at this level, Masata," Aizawa called out calmly from beyond the fire.
Masata could hear him clearly.
Unlike Masata's magma, which had physical substance and would persist once created, flames were different. They were nothing more than energized plasma.
If Masata stopped supplying power—
They would vanish instantly.
So long as this wall of fire continued to burn—
It meant Masata was still right there.
...
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