Chapter 272: Anti-Aircraft Guns and Fighters

"She's... flying? She's actually flying!!"

Kirishima and the others watched with their mouths hanging open as Kyoka soared straight into the sky.

"Kaminari! Why has Kyoka never flown before?" Kirishima turned to Kaminari in shock.

They had seen Kyoka wearing the "Batgirl" battle suit in previous training sessions, but not once had she taken to the air.

"Because she never needed to. The battle suit isn't a toy, and Kyoka isn't the type to show off," Kaminari said with a smile.

They had practiced with the battle suit in secret, on the school grounds after everyone had gone home. At first, Kyoka could barely lift off the ground, let alone fly properly. Even basic maneuvering had been difficult.

But over time, she had become more and more comfortable with the suit, gradually mastering its various functions.

And now, by using concentrated sound waves to hover and propel herself, Kyoka had fully mastered the flight capabilities of the battle suit!

"But what's the point of flying up there? Wouldn't it be better to fight in the forest? At least the trees would help weaken the impact of Present Mic's sound waves," Kaminari thought to himself.

Since Recovery Girl who was wearing headphones was the only one in the monitoring room who could hear the sound from the battlefield, none of them knew what Kyoka and Koda's strategy was.

—

Present Mic whistled casually, his hands in his pockets. With no movement coming from the forest, he sighed in disappointment.

"What's the deal? Are they seriously just hiding until the exam ends? Man, that's so boring!"

Just as he was about to unleash another sound wave to flush them out, something caught his attention.

"…Huh?"

A flicker of movement above.

He looked up, just in time to see a familiar silver-white sound wave cascading from the sky, shimmering like a waterfall of light, beautiful yet deadly.

"Interesting."

Though momentarily surprised, Present Mic didn't panic. After all, he only needed to open his mouth to counter it.

"WHAT EVEN IS THIS?!!!"

BOOM!

The silver-white waterfall of sound waves collided with his bright yellow tornado-like sound wave midair. But before long, his attack overpowered Kyoka's, surging higher and higher like molten gold erupting into the sky, eventually fading into the distance.

"So... strong!"

In the air, Kyoka stabilized herself using concentrated sound waves from her hands and feet. Even though she had barely managed to avoid the full force of the attack, her heart was still pounding.

Looking down at Present Mic with a serious expression, she hadn't expected his sound waves to be this overwhelming without the forest acting as a natural barrier.

Her own attacks were significantly stronger in the open air, but even so, they still couldn't match his power.

"But this is fine. It's better to direct the sound waves upward than to let them spread through the forest. I just hope Koda hurries up..."

Kyoka knew her role in this battle now, her job was to keep Present Mic occupied for as long as possible.

Whether they could actually defeat him before time ran out depended on Koda.

Of course, without her efforts, Koda wouldn't even have a chance to act. It wasn't about who was doing more; this was about teamwork.

—

"Wait, hold on—why is she flying?!"

On the ground, Present Mic stared at the dark figure hovering in the sky.

"Hey, hey, hey! No one mentioned this in the student info sheet! I'm gonna make Eraser Head buy me lunch for this!"

At that moment, he noticed Kyoka speeding toward him, trailing a silver-white wave of energy behind her.

"Huh. Looks like she's going for close combat. But our Quirks are basically the same, how's she planning to fight up close?"

Though puzzled, Present Mic wasn't about to let her get near him so easily.

"HOW DOES IT FEEL TO FLY?!!!"

Raising his head, he unleashed another deafening, tornado-like sound wave, even more powerful than before.

Rather than just a sonic wave, it was more like a sonic boom, with increased range, force, and intensity, making it at least two or three times stronger than his previous attacks.

"The earlier ones weren't even his full strength?! That's insane!"

This time, Kyoka didn't counter with her own sound waves. Instead, she dodged albeit a bit awkwardly.

After all, the sky was vast. As long as she was fast enough, she could keep evading.

Judging by the sheer force of the attack, her own sound waves would be unable to cancel it out completely. And if she got caught in that typhoon-like shockwave, she'd lose control and fall.

But strangely enough, despite avoiding the attack, she continued closing the distance between herself and Present Mic.

This confused many of the students watching in the monitoring room.

"Wait, the closer she gets, the harder it'll be to dodge, why is she doing that?"

"She's trying to get within range for her 'Single Beam Sound Cannon' to counterattack. She wants to disrupt Present Mic's movements or even defeat him outright," Kaminari explained.

"'Single Beam Sound Cannon'?" Midoriya and the others turned to him in confusion.

"You remember the large sound wave Kyoka fired from her hands earlier, right? That was actually called an 'Impact Sound Wave.' It's currently her attack with the widest range and greatest distance."

"The 'Impact Sound Wave' is created when two 'Single Beam Sound Cannons' merge and expand in midair. The cannon itself has a smaller range than the Impact Sound Wave, but it's way stronger in terms of impact force, penetration, and attack frequency."

Midoriya's eyes widened in realization. "So... a 'Single Beam Sound Cannon' is basically a highly concentrated sound beam blast?"

"Exactly. The silver-white jets from her feet work on the same principle. The only difference is that her flight jets are continuous, while the Sound Cannon is a single, high-speed blast."

Kaminari continued, "If the 'Impact Sound Wave' moves at around twice the speed of sound, then the 'Single Beam Sound Cannon' is nearly reaching that threshold on its own."

Momo nodded in understanding. "I see. With that much speed and penetration power, even Present Mic would be forced to dodge if she gets close enough."

"Exactly," Iida added, rubbing his chin in thought. "And since Kyoka can fly at high speeds, she has greater mobility than Present Mic, who's wearing high-compression handcuffs."

"In that case, if Kyoka keeps forcing him to dodge, he'll start wearing himself out. Meanwhile, because Kyoka's flight relies on the battle suit rather than purely on her own Quirk, she won't tire out nearly as quickly."

"The real issue with Quirks is stamina consumption," Kaminari agreed. "Present Mic has to use his Quirk just like Kyoka does. But because of the heavy-duty handcuffs restricting his movements, his energy drain will be three times as fast."

Kaminari watched the screen and smiled.

"Then again, this probably won't turn into a war of attrition. Whether it's Kyoka or Present Mic, if either of them takes a full hit at close range, they're pretty much done for."

Recovery Girl, watching the scene unfold, nodded grimly. "That's true. A single direct hit could decide everything."

—

At that moment, Kyoka was diving at high speed, weaving through wave after wave of massive, bright yellow sound booms as she closed in on Present Mic from above.

The battlefield had turned into a spectacle, like an anti-aircraft gun relentlessly firing at a fighter jet, the air filled with chaotic explosions of sound waves.

But amidst all the excitement, everyone, including Kaminari, seemed to have forgotten something.

Their attention was entirely fixated on the battle between Present Mic and Kyoka.

And no one was paying attention to Koda.

***

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