"So in other words, you're here to scare people, right?"
Masata looked calmly at the scene in front of him and spoke with a casual tone.
"The visual effect is pretty good, but if you add some creepy sound effects, the result might be even better."
At this point, everything was obvious. This was clearly Class B's scare setup. No wonder so many people had screamed earlier—even some of the more thick-skinned students had been startled.
"Ugh, shouting is pointless. It's the same reaction Bakugo and Jiro had earlier."
A figure stepped out from behind the trees. It was someone Masata recognized—Kendo Itsuka from Class B.
"That's right. Those two were hilarious," another voice chimed in.
"They didn't scream at all—just stared back at us. I almost couldn't keep my Quirk active."
Kosei Tsuburaba slowly emerged from the ground alongside Shiozaki Ibara. His Quirk allowed him to turn the ground beneath his feet into mud, causing people or objects standing on it to sink—this was the core of their scare strategy.
"By the way," Kosei sniffed the air slightly,
"Don't you think there's a strange smell around here? It started just a moment ago."
"Now that you mention it… it does feel like something's drifting around our feet."
Masata hadn't noticed anything unusual at first, but after hearing Kosei's words, he lowered his gaze.
A faint purple smoke was rising from the ground beneath them.
And it was thickening—fast.
"Maybe someone used a Quirk?"
"Or is it—"
Kosei didn't finish his sentence.
His body suddenly swayed, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed straight to the ground.
"…That's not right!"
Kendo reacted instantly.
"The smoke is poisonous!"
She grabbed Shiozaki without hesitation and retreated rapidly, shouting at the others.
"Everyone back! Move away from the smoke! Someone's interfering in the forest!"
Masata and Kendo acted at the same time. Kendo enlarged her hands, lifting Shiozaki, while Masata followed close behind.
At that moment, thick black smoke surged up from another area of the forest.
Dark blue flames ignited the trees, lighting up the night sky.
The forest suddenly became terrifyingly bright.
"Kendo—does anyone in your class have a Quirk like this?!"
Masata shouted while moving, his tone sharp.
"No!" Kendo answered immediately.
That single word made Masata's heart sink.
"Then we've been attacked."
His expression hardened instantly.
"Yaoyorozu! Chacha! Everyone—don't run into trouble!"
Masata quickly handed the unconscious Kosei to Kendo.
"You take them back to the dorms immediately and inform the teachers! I'll go check what's happening!"
Without waiting for a response, Masata's legs transformed into roiling magma.
Lava surged from his body, blasting him into the air.
Once above the canopy, his field of vision widened dramatically.
From the sky, two locations stood out clearly.
One was completely swallowed by swirling purple poisonous gas—the area Masata had just left.
The other was engulfed in dark blue flames, burning violently.
"Based on the route, there shouldn't be students in the burning area," Masata muttered.
"But the poison zone is another story. Yaoyorozu and Chacha were in my previous group—they should be inside that area."
His mind raced.
"The gas is rotating… like a vortex. Almost like the eye of a storm."
"It doesn't matter how many villains are here—this poison gas has to be dealt with first. It's far too dangerous."
Kosei had collapsed after inhaling only a few breaths. That alone told Masata how lethal it was.
"Still… Yaoyorozu should be able to make gas masks quickly."
He exhaled slowly, calming himself.
Yaoyorozu Momo and Chacha weren't helpless civilians. Even if they encountered villains, they could hold out—at least long enough.
"That's enough."
Masata raised one arm.
"Comet Impact."
A five-meter-wide magma sphere condensed instantly in his palm.
He hurled it straight toward the center of the poisonous vortex.
Then, magma exploded beneath his feet, propelling him forward at extreme speed.
"BOOM—!!!"
The magma sphere smashed into the ground, blasting a massive crater and sending shockwaves through the forest.
"It's Masata!"
At that very moment, Yaoyorozu and Chacha met up with Kendo's group as they retreated.
Just as Masata had predicted, Yaoyorozu reacted immediately when the smoke appeared, creating multiple gas masks, which were now saving lives.
"He really doesn't hold back at all…" Kendo muttered.
"Using his Quirk like that—he's definitely getting scolded again."
Yaoyorozu adjusted her mask calmly.
"Don't worry. If he's acting like this, it means he has a reason."
She spoke with complete trust.
"We need to get back and inform Aizawa-sensei. That's the most important thing right now."
Charging in blindly would only make them a burden.
Above the poison zone, Masata took a deep breath, then sealed his mouth and nose with a thin layer of magma.
He dropped straight down.
The magma sphere had blasted a huge hole in the ground.
At the edge of the crater stood a boy in a middle-school uniform, wearing a full poison gas mask, breathing heavily.
"So you're Igarashi Masata," the boy said hoarsely.
"Your power really is terrifying."
Masata stood opposite him, eyeing the bizarre outfit. He almost wanted to laugh.
The boy mistook the expression.
"But it's a shame. If you'd kept attacking from the air, you might've won."
"But you came down… to my territory."
Masata tilted his head slightly.
"Then I suppose I should apologize."
The boy calmly pulled out a jet-black pistol, chambered a round, and aimed it directly at Masata.
"No matter how powerful your Quirk is—"
"You're still just flesh and blood."
BANG—!
The gunshot echoed violently through the forest.
Students still inside the trial froze, turning their heads toward the sound.
As the boy said—
No matter how destructive a Quirk was, guns and live ammunition were still deadly.