Chapter 120: First round.

Upon entering the hallway, Momo disengaged her armor, which fell from her body as it turned to dust, without pausing her stride for a moment. She quickly spotted Kai, who was walking into the hallway carrying a new PE uniform in his hands. The sight made her smile brightly, even as she braced herself for the “scolding” he would give her for not finishing Todoroki off quickly—after all, if she had wanted to, she could have won with her very first strike.

“Thank you.”

As she slipped on the jacket of the uniform Kai had given her, Momo thanked him with a cheerful smile. In response, the blue-eyed boy simply shrugged it off, extending his arm in a hook shape for her to take.

“There’s no need to thank me.”

After adjusting her uniform, Momo looped her arm around Kai’s and began walking by his side, somewhat surprised that he hadn’t commented on the fight at all. Curiosity got the best of her, and she spoke up.

“What did you think of the fight, Kai?”

“It was fine. Todoroki still needs to develop his quirk more and work on control, but his technique is good, and his physical condition isn’t bad. Over time, he’ll become an interesting opponent to face.” Kai replied in a casual tone, gazing ahead, which surprised Momo greatly.

As though she were trying to expose an imposter, Momo stared intently at the side profile of Kai's face, looking for any slip-up that would prove the person speaking wasn’t the man she loved. After all, though the blue-eyed boy was the best man in the world when it came to her and their family, with strangers he was anything but pleasant. Normally, he would have made some cynical or sarcastic remark about Todoroki’s issues with his fire.

“What’s wrong?” Kai asked, confused, turning to look at Momo. She in turn questioned him, gazing directly into his eyes.

“Who are you, and what did you do with my Kai?”

“…What?”Kai couldn’t help but ask back, looking utterly perplexed, something that seemed to affect Salem as well. The little cat hopped onto his master’s head and stared at Momo with the same confusion, prompting the beautiful girl to ask in a serious tone.

“You really aren’t going to say anything about Todoroki not using his fire in fights or about how I could’ve beaten him much more easily if I’d wanted to?”

“Oh, you mean that…” Kai remarked as realization dawned on him. He looked at Momo, and at that moment, Salem appeared to catch on to something as well, giving his master a suspicious look. Kai continued casually.

“Well, while it’s true, you could’ve finished him off with a single blow, it’s not like you were in a life-or-death battle. Drawing the fight out a bit to gauge your abilities and your gear isn’t a bad idea.”

“That’s not what you said in Ashido’s case…” Momo cut in, her tone full of suspicion as she eyed Kai, who smiled in amusement before explaining.

“Because her situation is different. Ashido is nowhere near able to beat Todoroki in a one-on-one fight if he goes all out. If she wanted to win, her only option was to seize any opportunity and give it her all—which she didn’t do, and that’s why she lost. Hence, my comment. Meanwhile, you do have what it takes to go all out against Todoroki and still come out on top.”

“I see…” Momo murmured under her breath, prompting Kai to continue.

“As for him not using his fire, I won’t deny it’s pretty stupid and childish. But, well, it’s not like I’m the embodiment of maturity to be criticizing, plus having a piece of trash like his father, I can’t really blame him. In his position, maybe I would’ve done something similar. He’s just another living example that while all children deserve parents…”

“Not all people deserve to have children…”

Interrupting Kai, Momo completed the sentence with a melancholy look on her face, seeing as she herself was living proof of that. Inevitably, her thoughts drifted to the fateful day she discovered the whole truth about her “father”. But in that moment, Kai brought her back to reality with a warm kiss on her forehead.

“Don't think about it too much, let's go for a walk, after the break, we have to fight.” Kai said with a smile, causing Momo to smile as well. She nodded brightly and responded in a soft, affectionate tone while hugging his arm.

“You’re right.”

…

…

…

“We are now at the grand final of the first-year Sports Festival!! From the Hero Course, the invincible Demon King, Saito Kai!!! Versus the Iron Maiden of the Hero Course, Yaoyorozu Momo!!!”

With Present Mic’s lively announcement, Kai and Momo stepped onto the combat platform amidst the crowd’s wild cheers. At that moment, Present Mic turned to his fellow commentator and asked excitedly.

“Eraserhead, what do you think we’ll see in the fight between the strongest two students from your class?”

“It could be a lot of things. Both of them have a high level of technique, along with tremendous destructive power, as we’ve witnessed throughout the festival. Whatever happens, it’ll be impressive to see.” Aizawa replied in his usual weary tone, though now he looked much more serious as he focused on the pair of young fighters on the platform. Present Mic then spoke up again, raising his voice.

“You’re right, this is going to be a fight to remember, folks, so don’t blink—things are about to get wild!!!”

On the combat platform, Momo began to remove her jacket while Kai stood there with a casual smile, his hands in his pockets. Meanwhile, seated on a cement throne was the hero and teacher Cementoss, who couldn’t help but speak through his communicator to the tournament’s referee.

[Midnight, are you absolutely sure we don’t need to call for reinforcements?]

[Don’t worry, Cementoss. Kai and Momo know how to hold back. Things won’t get out of control, I promise.] Nemuri responded firmly, though she couldn’t keep a loving and proud smile from spreading across her face as she watched the youths on the platform. Cementoss replied, his tone laden with doubt.

[I hope you’re right…]

“Well, now’s the time! Ready?!!… Start!!!”

Present Mic announced enthusiastically, expecting an explosive start. But to his—and the audience’s—surprise, the pair of black-haired teens simply walked over to meet in the center of the platform. At the same time, the armor emerged from Momo’s skin and fitted itself to her body, while the blue-eyed cat ran off to lie in a corner of the arena.

“Ready?” Kai asked with a smile, taking his stance. Momo did the same and nodded firmly.

“Ready!”

At Momo’s signal, Kai sent a quick strike with his left hand toward her head. She neatly dodged by bending slightly and then swiftly grabbed Kai’s arm. At the same time, she seized hold of his jacket with her free hand and spun around, using her body as a pivot to toss Kai through the air.

With a smooth motion, Kai flipped in midair and landed on his feet, then turned to Momo with a grin. She met his gaze in a show of defiance before rocketing toward him using her armor’s repulsors, initiating a rapid series of blows—punches and kicks at high speed—displaying the impressive level of technique both possessed.

Given Kai’s enormous strength, Momo did not dare block his punches directly, even with her armor. Instead, she used a combination of movements that drew from Aikido, Silat, Russian Systema, and even Chinese Bagua Zhang, all of which helped her avoid taking Kai’s force head-on while still being able to strike back.

Demonstrating remarkable fluidity, Kai attacked with a flurry of fast blows, which Momo deflected using defensive maneuvers that made her arms look like serpents, diverting every hit with the least amount of force necessary. But suddenly, she seemed to switch tactics: after ducking a direct punch from Kai aimed at her face with a precise twist of her torso—her feet pivoting on the platform—she immediately struck out with a palm toward Kai’s floating ribs.

Anticipating the move, Kai pivoted and blocked the blow with his elbow, then extended his arm to push Momo’s hand aside. Right at that moment, a repulsor beam fired from Momo’s armor. She quickly spun in place while crouching, delivering a powerful sweeping kick toward Kai’s ankle.

Quickly, Kai leaped out of the way, dodging Momo’s sweeping kick, and responded with a sidekick aimed at her. Momo narrowly avoided it by arching her back; her ponytail whipped violently in the gust generated by Kai’s powerful kick. She quickly recovered and moved in again with an aggressive assault.

Assisted by her armor, which had been the proudest creation of Keiko and Kai and was on the verge of being perfected for others to use, Momo began a barrage of quick and precise strikes. She aimed a punch at the solar plexus, a hook toward the jaw, and an upward kick, but as if he could predict everything, Kai blocked or dodged them with fluid movements so seamless they seemed easy to replicate.

Suddenly, Momo was caught off guard by a strike from Kai that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It hit her squarely in the solar plexus, forcing her back several meters thanks to his colossal strength. However, her armor quickly activated micro-repulsors across her body, helping her stabilize and regain her footing on the platform.

“Woooowww!!!! What a dazzling display of technique and speed we’re seeing here! They’re less like heroes and more like martial arts virtuosos! I haven’t seen anything like this since Iron Palm’s day!!!!” Present Mic shouted in excitement as he climbed atop his desk, pressing his face against the glass. Meanwhile, Aizawa tried to remain calm, but his eyes shone like flashlights.

“It’s certainly impressive—enough that I’m not afraid to say we’re possibly witnessing history: the birth of two rising stars.”

“Second round?”

On the platform, Momo asked with a challenging smile as she looked at Kai. Just then, her impressive armor began to glow faintly blue at its joints, while several movable parts on its surface shifted, and a helmet enclosed her head—although her signature ponytail remained free.

“Hahaha, of course.”

Lowering his center of gravity, Kai adopted a stance with his right fist extended and his left near his chest as he spoke with a cheerful smile. After all, it was rare to see Momo so hyped about a fight. That alone was exhilarating, but it also presented a prime opportunity to gather data on the armor, since they were just one step away from acquiring the power source they needed.

At the moment the glow in her armor faded, Momo dashed straight for Kai, resuming a rapid exchange of blows. But unlike before, she was now backed one hundred percent by her armor, reaching impressively high speeds that were hard to track with the naked eye. All while using the repulsors on her hands and feet to fire powerful beams that Kai had to dodge each time.

Amid that heated, high-speed clash of strikes, Kai tilted his head slightly to one side, barely dodging a punch from Momo by mere millimeters. He was already primed to counter when, at that exact moment, Momo’s punch abruptly changed direction, landing a direct blow to his face that snapped his head to the side. Simultaneously, a powerful repulsor beam struck Kai in the chest, sending him flying backward with force.

“This just keeps getting better!!! The Iron Maiden scored a hit on the invincible Demon King!!! Could this be the end of his unbeatable legend?!!!” Present Mic shouted at the top of his lungs, while the crowd erupted in cheers. Ever since the festival started, this was the first time anyone had seen the fearsome blue-eyed boy take a hit.

None were more stunned to see Kai take a punch than the representative’s training group themselves, who had all been on the receiving end of that terrifying blue-eyed boy’s prowess. They had reached a consensus that hitting him was essentially impossible, but Momo shattered that belief in a single strike.

“So you used Ares to catch me off guard. Nicely done.”

Kai spoke with a slightly proud smile as he looked at Momo, all while rubbing the spot where her punch had connected. The front of his shirt now sported a large hole, revealing his absurdly toned body beneath.

Ares, on the other hand, was the AI developed specifically to operate the armor—one of the most sophisticated artificial intelligences that Kai and Keiko had created. It possibly boasted the most advanced brain-machine interface ever devised, along with a level of reasoning and computational capability that allowed it to pass the Turing test with relative ease, effortlessly posing as a human.

“Hehehe, just a little trick.”

Momo replied in a gleeful tone—though her voice was slightly distorted by the helmet—as several compartments in her armor opened on her arms, legs, and back. They ejected what appeared to be batteries, which turned to dust before they hit the ground, only to be replaced by new ones forming from her body, thanks to her quirk.

“Well, second round’s all yours. Now let’s move on to the third. Salem.”

***

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