Chapter 274: The Failure of Kyoka’s Group?

Monitoring Room

"She's so close!" Ashido cheered excitedly.

"Yeah… but this next moment is crucial," Kaminari muttered, his brows furrowing.

At this point, Kyoka was hovering just thirty meters above Present Mic. At such a short distance, dodging his attacks would be incredibly difficult.

After all, sound-based Quirks naturally have a huge effective range. And when it comes to sound-based Quirks, no one in Japan surpasses Present Mic.

For both Kyoka and him, this range might as well be close-quarters combat.

"No matter what, she's definitely in range for the 'Single Beam Sound Cannon' now. The real question is, how will Present Mic react?"

Just as Kaminari predicted, the screen showed Kyoka darting around in midair, her black-and-purple battle suit resembling a massive bat. She moved at high speeds above Present Mic's head, periodically aiming her palms downward and firing silver-white sound beams.

Watching her maneuver, Kaminari was suddenly reminded of Iron Man from the old Marvel movies.

It was like someone had combined Batwoman's aesthetics with Iron Man's attack style.

But soon, everyone's attention shifted from Kyoka. Instead, their eyes widened in shock as they focused on Present Mic.

"As expected… taking down Mic won't be that easy," Recovery Girl remarked with a knowing smile, as if she had anticipated this outcome.

—

Exam Area

Despite Kyoka's relentless barrage of sound cannons, Present Mic didn't counterattack with his usual deafening, tornado-like sonic booms.

Instead—he dodged.

Effortlessly.

With minimal movement, he shifted, sidestepped, and leaned just enough to let the sound beams whiz past him.

"Your battle suit's pretty cool, gotta admit," he called up to her with a smirk. "But your attack pattern? Way too predictable!"

As he dodged yet another blast, his mustache curled slightly, his grin widening with amusement.

"Wh—what?! How?!"

Kyoka, still hovering in the air, stared in disbelief.

Present Mic. who always seemed so loud and over-the-top was actually this skilled?!

And that was while wearing two high-compression handcuffs!

Kyoka wasn't the only one stunned. Everyone in the monitoring room watched in shock, including Kaminari.

But something about Present Mic's movements felt familiar…

Kaminari's mind raced until suddenly, a name slipped from his lips.

"Aizawa-sensei!"

Midoriya and the others turned toward him in confusion.

"Our homeroom teacher?" Midoriya asked, blinking.

Recovery Girl, amused by Kaminari's observation, turned and nodded approvingly.

"Sharp eye, young man."

"That's right—Mic and Aizawa were classmates back in their U.A. days. They both graduated from this school!"

"And if I remember correctly, those two were practically inseparable back then. They went to class together, ate lunch together, walked home together… though, to be honest, it was mostly Mic dragging Aizawa along. Not that Aizawa ever really stopped him."

Momo chuckled. "I never would have guessed they were that close. Their personalities are completely different."

"Sometimes opposites attract," Recovery Girl mused. "And it seems that, over time, Mic picked up a few of Aizawa's combat techniques."

They all turned back to the screen, where Present Mic continued dodging Kyoka's attacks with eerily familiar movements, a style that undeniably resembled Aizawa's own.

"So… you're saying Aizawa-sensei taught Present Mic how to fight?" Iida asked.

"No, not exactly."

Recovery Girl shook her head.

"Their physical combat training came from U.A.'s instructors at the time, same as Aizawa's. But Aizawa had a natural talent for it. Mic? Not so much."

"But since they were so close, Mic probably picked up some of Aizawa's techniques over the years."

Kaminari and the others nodded slowly.

That made sense. Their first-year curriculum didn't even include hand-to-hand combat training.

If they wanted to learn fighting techniques, they had to seek outside instructors, like Uraraka with Gunhead, Tetsutetsu with Daimon or Ojiro with a judo master.

"You'll get that training next year, when you're second-years," Recovery Girl added.

"Ahh, so that's why!" Everyone nodded in understanding.

—

Back in the fight, Kyoka was growing frustrated.

Present Mic had dodged every single 'Single Beam Sound Cannon' she had fired at him.

And so—she changed tactics.

Spreading both palms forward, she unleashed her widest area-of-effect move.

"Shock Sound Wave!"

"If he's too fast to hit directly… then I'll just cover the entire area!"

If Present Mic's mobility was his advantage, then a wide-range attack would force him to take a hit!

—

Kaminari's eyes widened.

"She's trying to use an AOE attack to pin him down!"

But—

Present Mic didn't even look concerned.

In fact, he looked amused.

"Finally lost your patience, huh?"

The moment Kyoka's silver-white shockwave blasted toward him.

He countered.

Opening his mouth, he unleashed a devastating sonic boom.

BOOOOOOM!!!

His bright yellow, tornado-shaped sound wave tore through Kyoka's attack instantly, shattering it like glass. The remaining shockwave ripped through the air and slammed into Kyoka full force.

"Kyoka!!"

Everyone gasped as Kyoka lost control midair, her black-and-purple form spiraling downward.

"She's falling!!"

Kaminari jumped to his feet, his face pale with panic.

But Recovery Girl, calm as ever, simply smiled.

"Relax, Mic's got this."

Sure enough, Present Mic acted immediately.

He sprinted to her landing point, positioned himself beneath her, and caught her.

With perfect precision, he redirected her momentum, flipping her over his shoulder before dropping her onto the soft earth.

The impact was rough, but controlled.

It was a save.

It was also a clear defeat.

Even though it looked rough, everyone knew what Mic had done.

"He saved her," Midoriya muttered.

"That's just how this test works," Iida added solemnly. "It's still a battle."

Kyoka groaned, lying on the ground, her body aching. She barely managed to lift her head, looking up at Present Mic as he casually whistled.

"Yo, you alright?" he asked, grinning.

"Looks like this might be the end for you."

Then, he frowned.

"Wait… where's the other guy? Koda, right?"

Kyoka blinked.

"Who knows…" she muttered, letting out a weak chuckle.

Maybe… maybe she had been wrong to place her hopes on Koda.

"Looks like their test is over," someone sighed.

Kaminari clenched his fists, his expression conflicted.

Present Mic sighed, shaking his head.

"So? You gonna call it quits, or wait for the timer to run out?"

Kyoka gritted her teeth.

"I… I won't give up!"

"That's the spirit!" Mic smirked, about to launch another attack.

But suddenly—

RUMBLE.

The ground beneath him cracked.

Present Mic froze.

"Wait… what the—?"

And then—

A monstrous, deafening roar erupted from below, Koda had arrived.

***

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