My Hero Academia: Thunder God

"Huff... Huff..."

In the dimly lit entranceway leading from the corridor to the interior of the auditorium, Iida was just about to step out to watch the intense clash between Kaminari and Todoroki. Suddenly, his body jolted in a strange, rapid shiver, almost like a spasm. Despite the odd sensation, he stayed calm and stopped just short of the brightly lit doorway, only a few steps away from the sunlight streaming through.

At that moment, he pulled a dark blue cellphone from his pocket—the brand was unrecognizable.

"Mom?"

Seeing the caller ID, Iida paused for a second, but quickly understood. His mother was likely calling to check on him.

"Hello? Mom? I... I lost. I'm sorry. I let everyone down, and I couldn't bring honor to the family..."

As soon as Iida admitted his defeat, his mother's voice on the other end interrupted him, filled with anxiety and worry.

"No, that's not why I'm calling!"

"Iida, you need to stay calm. Something... something has happened to your brother Tensei."

"W-what?!"

"Your brother was... was attacked by villains."

"?!"

"BOOM!"

Just as his mother finished speaking, the stadium shook violently, as if a sudden earthquake of magnitude six or seven had struck. A frigid blast of air swept through the entire auditorium. In the corridor, Iida found himself caught in a powerful, concentrated gust due to the standing waves created by the arena's structure.

His black hair and blue sports uniform flapped wildly in the icy wind, and the phone in his hand still transmitting his mother's frantic voice was blown from his grip.

"Iida?! Iida?! What's happening to you...?"

"...Another iceberg... Mom!!"

He looked up, wide-eyed, at the enormous iceberg now towering over the stadium, partially obscuring the sunlight. Snapping out of his daze, he quickly picked up his phone from the ground.

"Mom, you just said... what did you mean by villains attacking my brother?"

As his mother continued to speak, the corridor seemed to grow darker, contrasting with the blinding sunlight outside. On the field, half of Todoroki's side had turned into a frozen mountain, blocking the view of the spectators on the opposite side.

Todoroki, breathing out a frosty breath, surveyed the iceberg he had just created and muttered to himself, "How will you handle this without 'Thunder Aegis'?"

"Kaminari Denki… show me what you've got."

A thin layer of frost had formed on Todoroki's right cheek—evidence of the strain his abilities placed on his body.

"Kaminari!" In the Class A stands, Kyoka watched the massive iceberg with worry, while Tetsutetsu wore a serious expression.

"Without 'Thunder Aegis,' Kaminari might not be able to block this attack."

He considered his own chances against Todoroki's ice assault and realized he'd likely be forced off the field by sheer impact alone, even if his Quirk allowed him to avoid serious injury.

As the 120,000 spectators in the stadium, along with countless viewers nationwide and even overseas, held their breath waiting for the outcome, a voice suddenly echoed from above.

"Phew… close one. You've got a serious gift, Todoroki! Making an iceberg that big on a whim? That's just plain scary."

Heads snapped up as Kaminari's voice rang out. The golden aura surrounding his body glowed even more brightly against the icy landscape as he stood at the top of Todoroki's massive ice wall, looking down with a mischievous grin.

Kaminari's entire body crackled with golden electricity, illuminating him against the brilliant white of the ice.

"Not bad, right? I figured it out just in time. Turns out 'Static Grip' is pretty handy for climbing."

Instead of facing the full force of the iceberg head-on, Kaminari had avoided Todoroki's attack by circling around with his lightning speed, using high-voltage grips to scale the ice wall in an arc.

"Over there!" Up in the announcer's booth, Present Mic and Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, Aizawa, squinted up, trying to spot Kaminari. But the golden sunlight was too blinding, making it difficult to see anything on top of the icy mountain.

"Up above?!"

At the bottom, Todoroki shielded his eyes from the sun and squinted up at Kaminari's silhouette, trying to make out his figure. The sunlight was glaring, obscuring his vision.

A crackling sound, an electric buzzing quickly grew louder, coming closer by the second.

"This sound… it's so familiar!" Todoroki's instincts flared, his body tensing for battle. And then, he saw it.

A blinding golden light shot down the side of the iceberg with astonishing speed, shattering the icy surface beneath it like fragile glass.

"So fast!"

Todoroki's first reaction was to release a wave of freezing energy, forming an ice wall in front of him. But the wall barely lasted a second before it exploded under Kaminari's high-speed assault.

A streak of golden electricity tore through the ice with each hit, leaving a trail of shattered fragments in its wake. With every new barrier Todoroki created, Kaminari would break through almost instantly, filling the arena floor with shards of ice.

"This speed… it's incredible!"

Although Todoroki had witnessed Kaminari's abilities during the earlier races and his match against Iida, experiencing the lightning-fast assault firsthand was entirely different. Watching from a distance was nothing compared to being on the receiving end.

If it weren't for his rigorous training under Endeavor and his naturally calm demeanor, Todoroki might have already faltered. But even his defenses couldn't hold forever against such relentless attacks.

"Bzzz bzzz bzzz…"

The golden lightning—Kaminari—closed in, his dark blue pupils contracting into focused slits. In the blink of an eye, he shattered the last ice wall, appearing just a meter in front of Todoroki.

"Boom!"

A powerful kick connected with Todoroki's chin, sending him flying upwards into the air.

***

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