Luke looked up at the holographic screen in the sky.
After an hour into the game, only 35 students remained.
Now he understood why UA had kept the rate of the laser boundaries' contraction so low, with one boundary advancing by only a hundred meters every five minutes. With the Battle Center X so vast, it would take at least two hours for boundaries to reach the central area, which had seemed too much at a glance.
However, the laser boundaries not only had a physical presence, but also a psychological one.
It forced the students to confront each other, instead of keeping hidden in fear of being found out by someone stronger.
It would also force the weaker students to team up against the stronger ones, Luke observed.
He wouldn't be surprised if most of Class 2-B students ended up teaming up against Class 2-A's loners.
As Luke stepped into the city, meeting no one else since his fight with Hiryu Rin, he instantly learned that he had reasoned it right.
Dozens of broken pieces of metal came raining down upon him.
Simultaneously, the ground beneath his feet turned to quicksand, his feet sinking to his ankles.
Luke looked to his right and saw an orange and black-armored figure. It was Juzo from Class 2-B, he recognized, having the Softening Quirk, which could soften any non-living thing upon touching it.
Also, from the controlled trajectory of the incoming pieces of metal, Luke recognized the other attacker as well.
Reiko Yanagi, another student from Class 2-B, with the Poltergeist Quirk, allowing her to control nearby objects telekinetically.
Luke didn't see the girl, but she must be nearby, given the nature of her Quirk.
And, like Juzo, she must be looking at the Scale Gauntlets on his wrists as well.
As the metal objects were about to hit Luke, with his feet embedded deep into quicksand to his calves now, he lifted his right arm toward them.
A click resounded as he pressed the switch on the Gauntlets, circling his arm.
With a rattling, resounding sound, green scales came blasting out and met all the metal objects, both falling into the quicksand.
From behind a wall, Reiko walked out, looking at the Scale Gauntlets with an open mouth.
Even Juzo had stood up, his masked eyes planted dead on the green scales as they drowned in the softened concrete.
It was one thing to wear the Scale Gauntlets to mock an opponent, something that Reiko and Juzo had thought to be the case.
It was another thing entirely to not only use them, but use them with perfect proficiency.
Even Hiryu himself had taken weeks to get used to the recoil and other effects of the Gauntlets.
In contrast, Luke couldn't have gotten them over an hour ago, and he was already…
Luke had gone down into the quicksand to his knees now. "If you don't harden the concrete," he said, smiling, "then I will die…"
"Press the emergency switch," Juzo demanded.
Luke's brows rose. "Is that how you got Mineta?"
Juzo's eyes widened, his head snapping back to meet Reiko's shocked eyes.
"How…" Reiko asked, a dozen more metallic objects levitating next to her. "How did you know?"
Luke pointed his chin to one side.
Both Juzo and Reiko looked in that direction and saw a ball of hair stuck to the wall.
By the time they looked back at Luke, he had already plunged his left arm into the quicksand… up to his elbow.
"Harden it!" Reiko shouted, firing all the metal pieces.
Juzo's hand immediately went down to touch the softened floor.
Luke was much faster, though.
With another click, a green, scaly storm raged into the quicksand, creating a whirlpool. There was so much power in it that it instantly pulled most of the quicksand, grabbing onto Luke's feet, letting him jump and cross his arms.
One of the metal pieces landed on his left arm's Gauntlet with a loud CRACK and sent him flying backward.
Luke rolled into the alley for a few feet and landed onto his feet with an exaggerated, acrobatic flick, way out of Juzo and Reiko's Quirks' reach.
He looked at the broken Scale Gauntlet on his left arm.
Then, he looked down and found his boots ruined as well.
Frowning, he looked up, raising a brow, as if asking — seriously?!
Juzo hardened the concrete and ran toward Luke, shouting, "Keep an eye out for the bird!"
Reiko nodded and aimed a dozen metal pieces directly toward the sky above Luke's head.
Luke stepped back, narrowing his eyes.
Suddenly, from the darkness behind him, two hands slithered out.
It wasn't just Juzo and Reiko who had teamed up to take down Class 2-A's students.
Shihai Kuroiro of 2-B, with the Quirk Black, allowing him to merge his body into anything dark in color, was also working with them.
Juzo's sudden rush wasn't to trap Luke into quicksand, but it was to push him deeper into the alley, where Shihai had been waiting within the darkness.
Against Mineta, they hadn't needed to take Shihai's help.
But, for someone like Luke, it only made sense that all three would be needed to work together.
The only good thing about all this was that Luke seemed to have lost his bird.
Otherwise… why wouldn't he use his Quirks and take them all out?
Lunging at the opportunity, Shihai grabbed Luke's ankles.
Simultaneously, Juzo once again put his hands on the concrete floor to soften it.
No matter what Luke did now, even if he used his bird, he was as good as gone.
That thought made all three Class 2-B students smile.
That smile never left their faces till the very last moment…
… even when three knives fell from the sky and lodged themselves into their bodies with a bloody squelch.
Shihai lost his grip over Luke's ankles.
Slowly, Luke turned around and pulled out the knife from Shihai's back, knocking him out with a punch and pressing his emergency switch.
Then, he walked up to an armored Juzo, who had a knife embedded deep into his exposed shoulder.
"I got super lucky with you…" Luke lied, pulling the knife out before sending Juzo to sleep as well.
He then looked into the distance and found Reiko already passed out, blood pooling next to her.
"Oh, well…" Luke shrugged.
Then, shamelessly, he began taking off Juzo's armor.
Meanwhile, a stunned crowd in the stadium continued to watch the replay of Luke…
… throwing three knives into the air while performing an exaggerated, acrobatic flip!
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