BOOM—!!!
A surge of searing heat tore through the air.
Magic power exploded outward like a storm, forcing everyone nearby to shield their eyes from the blinding blaze.
When the waves of light and pressure finally faded, all eyes turned toward Lock, who now stood face-to-face with the Iron Shark.
His clothing had vanished beneath a suit of red-orange-black armor—flames crawling and coiling across its surface like living serpents.
The fire that poured from it seemed to swallow him whole.
Unlike Erza Scarlet's traditional Flame Empress Armor, Lock's version was heavier, forged for war.
Aside from his face and feet, every inch of his body was plated in dense, glowing metal.
A terrifying aura radiated from him—so hot and fierce that everyone instinctively stepped back.
It wasn't merely heat; it was a warning.
Approach, and burn.
In his right hand, Lock gripped a sword forged of condensed flame, its blade glowing crimson-red.
Even Iron Shark faltered.
For a heartbeat, the whole arena seemed to drop a few degrees colder.
"What the—why does it feel so cold?" someone stammered.
"I feel it too," another muttered, teeth chattering. "It's freezing—and he's standing in fire!"
No one understood that this unnatural chill came from Lock's armor itself.
Yandi's Armor didn't merely manipulate flame—it dominated it.
Every particle of fire in the area was being drawn toward him, absorbed into his weapon.
Where there was no flame, there was no warmth.
The world itself had grown cold because every ember now answered to him alone.
"Prepare to die, villain," Lock said quietly.
He leveled the blazing sword toward Iron Shark.
Killing intent radiated from him like a second heatwave.
"You little brat…" Iron Shark snarled, muscles trembling with rage.
A monstrous aura erupted from his body, pressing down on Lock like a tidal wave.
But Lock didn't flinch.
His expression didn't so much as twitch.
He stood there, utterly unmoved—as if the threat itself were beneath him.
For a fleeting instant, Iron Shark actually felt fear.
The boy's eyes glowed like molten lava, his very presence burning through the air.
Lock smirked. "You're the one who should be scared."
He vanished.
A shockwave cracked the earth where he'd stood.
"God Foot!"
Lock reappeared in a blur—his speed too fast for the human eye to follow.
Iron Shark's instincts screamed danger. He spun wildly, searching—but the figure materialized in front of him, sword already descending.
CLANG!
The flaming blade struck, heat bursting outward like an inferno.
Iron Shark's reflexes saved him from instant death—he ducked, meeting the sword with his Quirk-forged iron teeth.
Sparks sprayed. Metal shrieked.
Then came the sound of hissing fire.
The steel teeth held—but the flames slipped through.
"The inside of your mouth isn't steel, is it?" Lock whispered.
He smiled—a cold, merciless curve.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Iron Shark screamed. Fire poured into his throat, searing him from the inside out.
The smell of scorched metal and flesh filled the air.
Lock didn't stop there. He pivoted sharply and drove a kick into the villain's gut.
BOOM!
Iron Shark's body blasted backward, smashing through a concrete wall and vanishing into a cloud of dust.
Gasps echoed through the arena.
He'd done what Gang Orca couldn't.
The monstrous villain who had slaughtered Pro Heroes—kicked away, burned by a second-year student.
Lock had already stunned them countless times today, but somehow he kept finding ways to shatter their expectations again and again.
"Everyone with a flame-type Quirk—send your fire to me!" Lock shouted suddenly.
Confused murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"What? Why?"
Muliang's voice crackled over the radio:
"All fire-type users, assist him! Channel your Quirks toward Lock!"
He didn't know what Lock intended, but right now, that boy was their only chance.
If anyone could defeat Iron Shark, it was him.
In an instant, dozens of flames burst forth from every corner of the arena.
Fireballs, jets of heat, and streams of burning energy all converged on Lock.
Bai Liuhuo, still wreathed in his own flames, sprinted up to him.
"Take mine too!" he yelled.
Lock smiled faintly. "Thank you."
The inferno closed in.
And instead of dodging, Lock inhaled.
Deeply.
The flames bent mid-air, gentling like tamed beasts, swirling toward his open mouth.
The gathered fire poured into him—streams of red, gold, and white heat rushing in waves.
His throat glowed with the light of a furnace.
No pain. No burns.
Only power.
He was devouring the fire.
Every candidate, every Pro Hero, every villain-actor present stared in disbelief.
Lock stood amidst the inferno, his armor gleaming, his eyes bright with flame.
He was eating fire—
and smiling.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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