Kim Horak stood before Zen almost imposingly.
From his prior observation, Zen knew that Kim Horak was nowhere near what he was at the start of the Cube's first year. No 'Ki armour' or the boar like strength. He hasn't even awakened his gift at the moment.
With all this point made clear, Zen Shigaraki would never take him seriously.
[Air cannon]!
Like every match before, Zen started with the same move, the only difference being, his opponent was quite sturdy this time.
Withstanding the air cannon with his arms crossed before him, Kim Horak rushed forward with a battle roar.
"Not bad, you can keep up with my attack?" Zen asked leisurely while dodging his tackle.
"Kuuh! You bastard! You always aim for the chest! I won't let you use those air attacks anymore!" Kim Horak punched towards Zen, whose relaxed face annoyed him.
Zen Shigaraki stopped his punch simply by bringing his palm before it.
[Brawn boost X1.8] + [Ascension]!
"What...?" Seeing his punch neutralized so easily, Kim Horak's face hardened - his fighting spirit evaporating by a lot.
Zen felt a little talkative since he felt the kid before him was worth controlling: "Aren't you a little too confident in thinking you can crush me physically?"
With the two gifts, [Brawn boost X1.8] and [Ascension] - His strength rose the highest.
[Strength: 2.4 x 1.8 + 40% = 6.4]
Even Kim Suho can't surpass Zen Shigaraki in pure strength stats at this time.
Pushing away the frozen fist, Zen launched his own punch aiming right at Kim Horak's solar plexus.
As if all the physical laws had ignored Kim Horak, his body flew out of the battle stage almost like a living cannon ball. He wasn't even able to react to Zen's speed.
'A dog must be taught who their owner is. Controlling others through manipulation and strength, both have their own exciting points...'
Ignoring the frightened gazes from everywhere, Zen moved to the wall to watch the next match properly.
"... You could have done it more gently." Kail appeared beside Zen without any notice.
"....." Zen ignored him, he wasn't even planning on attending the hero military school properly.
The only reason he came was due to Chae Nayun and Kim Suho was added to it now.
'I should be able to get a lot of points by tormenting Kim Suho in the future. However, coming to the school is a waste of time....I can just torture him out of school too - I will make him lose everything he holds dear to himself.'
Isn't it the demon king's duty to torment the hero? Zen Shigaraki liked it a lot, just imagining Kim Suho's suffering made him grin unlike him.
And overall, Zen didn't plan on wasting his time in this school in the future.
'If I want to attend cube temporarily in the future, Jain's ability would come handy. I just need to kill one of the cadets for their ID. All for one had a quirk to change appearance too in MHA, so it's not worth worrying about.'
[All for one] could be used in the school to a degree, but it would never be used to its maximum potential there.
Today might be the only day Zen would attend the school properly.
Watching Zen grin to himself, Kail's expression grew stiff, 'This brat is more battle thirsty than I expected.'
Seeing the match between Kim Suho and Chae Nayun going on. Kail thought for a second before speaking to Zen.
"Don't underestimate Kim Suho, he is the best I have seen and he will most likely become a master-rank hero in the future."
Master rank heroes was a title only given to the top 70 heroes globally. And around half of this master class heroes were situated in Korea, which made the country's security the highest.
Giving someone the evaluation of having a master class potential - could be said to be the highest praise there was.
"...That's so?" Zen smiled at teacher Kail for the first time.
Kail's serious expression froze, feeling internally as if he was mocked.
The match between Kim Suho and Chae Nayun didn't stretch on for long. Kim Suho placed his sword near Nayun's neck, after simply deflecting all her arrows.
Clap~ clap~
A round of cheer rang through the training field unlike before.
"Now the finals of the rank battle shall start! Please keep your distance from the battle stage A!"
All the students stared towards the mentioned battle stage with shining eyes. The winner of this match would be labelled as the strongest in their school.
Standing at one side of the battle stage, Zen looked closely at Kim Suho, the original protagonist of this world and a future hero.
Mild dislike rose from within Zen Shigaraki, not hatred but just a pest that felt annoying to the eyes.
Kim Suho watched Zen on the other hand, feeling more pressure than ever. Now that he stood before him, Kim Suho could tell without a doubt - the man before him was an absolutely evil existence.
Kim Suho had watched all of Zen's matches and he wanted to complain to him at the moment.
But those words refused to leave his mouth, seeing Zen grin at him - the same man who didn't change an expression while destroying his opponents cruelly with an indifferent face.
Before the referee could announce the start of the match, Zen Shigaraki spoke up.
"So you are planning to become a hero?" His question was dry, but the curiosity was unhidden.
"....Yes. I think the profession of hero suits me a lot." Kim Suho answered seriously, his eyes not leaving Zen, who seemed to be enjoying his answer.
"I see. I thought as much...." Zen's grin widened: "Since you wish to be a hero....let me show you what an absolute evil can do."
Possessing stats of around 8s and 10 in mana, when the cube began Kim Suho was a monster at his age. Zen predicted the current him to have his stats around 5s and 7 in mana.
But....that wasn't enough to oppose Zen.
The referee waved the flag as a signal to start.
Kim Suho raised his sword before him, fully prepared for the barrages of attacks Zen would launch.
Seeing Suho's action, Zen jeered mockingly: "Heroes have a lot to protect don't they? Don't die now..."
Kim Suho returned a confused gaze.
[Air cannon] + [Kinetic booster x1.8] + [Brawn boost x1.8] + [Ascension]!
As if the reality itself warped around his outstretched hand, an air shockwave like never before was launched.
Alarm rang through Kim Suho's head, he had to dodge this attack no matter what. However, his body remained glued to the spot - if he dodged, the students behind him would not leave unscathed. The cold, cryptic meaning of Zen Shigaraki's words sank through him.
"Stop!" Kail rushed over, understanding the severity of the attack but it was too late.
At that moment, before he could react - Zen's attack flashed before his training sword which glowed golden as his gift activated.
Crack~
The jet of condensed air stood in a stalemate against the sword for a second, before the sound of his sword crumbling passed by.
The enhanced [Air cannon] connected with Kim Suho's stomach after blasting past the sword. That very instant his innards exploded into the air with bits falling everywhere.
The only reason the [Air cannon] hadn't pierced through his body was due to his mana being focused at that spot, the moment it connected.
"Hahaha....All might 2.0..."
Cutting Zen off where the screams of multiple cadets.