Luke looked as Bakugo stormed across the space, leaving behind fiery, smoky explosions.
Chasing him were hundreds of bullets, their rattling sound deafening the ears. No matter how fast a turn Bakugo made, or how large an explosion he caused, the bullets would instantly follow him, never giving him a moment of respite.
Luke brought his gaze down and looked at the cause behind Bakugo's unexpected headache.
It was a wheel-mounted, electricity-driven, rotary machine gun!
Who… would have thought? Luke wondered, grinning widely in excitement as he looked at Momo. You truly did it, didn't you? You passed that mental barrier…
He was perhaps the only one who had seen it happening.
Momo had been waiting for the laser boundaries to jump.
She had walked forward first, alone and unarmed, giving the impression that she had no idea how she had stumbled her way to the central region.
Todoroki and Bakugo weren't idiots.
They must have glanced at her involuntarily before their gazes moved on to other… expected faces.
Meanwhile, Momo had not only expected to be ignored, but she had also planned it.
The laser boundaries had jumped right after her arrival, towering behind her to the sky, pulsating menacingly red.
Despite their brightness, they had also darkened the area immediately near their bases.
Momo capitalized on that darkness using a rope!
As Todoroki, Bakugo, Midoriya, Tenya, and others observed the field and each other, she had pulled all the items she had created beforehand from behind the laser boundary using that rope.
Only the student needed to be within the boundary to still be counted as an active participant in the Battle Royale.
There was literally no rule against what Momo had done.
Luke doubted even a single Pro referring the event would have thought of it.
Forget about Pros, Luke himself had been taken aback by Momo's ingenuity.
As if that wasn't enough, the machine gun was at least out in the open… but what about the other items still covered under the black cloth behind her?!
This was a different Momo, Luke observed, seeing the intense determination on her face, blurred behind the smoke.
However, he had begun noticing the signs of her transformation last year.
Luke had never thought it necessary to involve himself with this Momo. There were times… when he had no choice but to step in, sharing some words. However, the decision to take a more active role on the field was entirely hers.
Luke couldn't help but recall his wife as he looked at this Momo.
Only a year ago, these two were the same, with the same ideologies.
Now, they couldn't have been farther apart, despite looking the same.
Luke… could finally relax.
He could feel his heart losing some heaviness.
Now, he wouldn't have to constantly remind himself that this Momo was not his Momo, because… she truly wasn't!
She was Momo Yaoyorozu — an excellent UA student, a good person, and… a better friend.
So, smiling even more broadly, Luke brought his attention to the others, knowing that Momo wouldn't rain hell on him before getting Bakugo.
Midoriya's expression wasn't different from Bakugo's when he had seen Todoroki getting butchered.
The last user of One For All was gawking at the sight, open-mouthed.
However, Luke noticed the way the boy was clutching his left wrist, and the eerie greenish-black glow hidden between his palm and wrist.
He has finally done it, too, Luke realized. One For All — Full Cowling… 20%!
It was about time.
Luke wouldn't be surprised if Midoriya were to fly the next moment and begin lashing out with Blackwhip, becoming a monster.
However, that would be a poor decision, he believed.
Not only was Blackwhip difficult to control, but Midoriya might also end up hurting himself because of a lack of training with Float.
The fact that he wasn't using Float to go right to the laser ceiling, avoiding the fight altogether, suggested that he had already contacted the Vestiges… by himself!
They must have warned him to wait until he's in a better condition, Luke thought. Which means…
Midoriya had no choice but to survive using only Full Cowling, with a broken wrist.
That left…
Luke looked at Tenya, who was smartly inching away from Midoriya.
With one of his feet burned and his engines out of juice, Tenya would be wise to focus on evading an all-out brawl, keeping his distance from everyone else.
Meanwhile, Monoma, who seemed to have copied Tokoyami's Quirk, had hit a wall, too.
The Dark Shadow was a sentient being, but it had also grown with Tokoyami and had an intelligence that reflected its age.
Monoma's Dark Shadow came into existence with a mind that could think a LOT, but didn't know WHAT.
Seeing them arguing, Luke couldn't help but wonder if it was a classic case of an Intelligence Quirk gone wrong.
The best-case scenario for Monoma would be to switch to other Quirks, if he had them, and never use Dark Shadow again.
The only reason he hadn't already done could be…
He must have seen Tokoyami use his Abyssal Black Body Ultimate Move, Luke wondered, mildly curious. He is trying to convince the Dark Shadow to do the same. But that's not how a Quirk like that works…
Luke took his gaze off Monoma and brought it upon himself — the last Character.
A Quirkless student who was good at close combat, was practical enough to use his surroundings to survive, and was decisive enough not to hesitate before using extreme means, even if it meant injuring his fellow students heavily.
This Character walked the thin line between Heroes and Villains.
If he stepped even a step beyond that line, he would be labeled as another Hero Killer.
Yes.
This Character was the role Luke had chosen to play as a Faceless.
It wasn't perfect acting, but for the goals he wanted to accomplish through this Character, it would be enough.
Also, it would definitely have considerable effects on his Digestion, especially with feedback from tens of thousands of people… who all believed this Character to be quite unlike Luke.
So, stepping into the role once more, Luke began rotating the massive blade tied to the thorny vine's end before…
… turning around and walking in Midoriya's direction.