Chapter 58: Transcendent Trauma

Recap:

Looking at the boy's ominous position, the entire stadium got uncharacteristically quiet, allowing for his disturbing words to follow. 

No, it wasn't what he said that was ominous; it was how he said it. 

His usual spunk wasn't seen, and the vein in his neck that seemed to always be bulging was gone. 

In a quiet voice quite unlike him, he spoke one word, 

"Die."

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Nitroglycerin, an explosive material, is mixed into the boy's sweat. His hero costume has a specific tank that stores the sweat, building it up for one huge explosion.

However, to achieve this, he must exhaust himself before building up enough.

That was the case before he strengthened his quirk and, most importantly, himself.

He trained relentlessly in his free time, increasing the impact of a single drop of sweat severalfold.

'How did that damn bastard get so strong!' This thought fueled his pursuit of strength, aiming not to let that quirkless—well, the previous quirkless wannabe—pass him.

In doing so, he started noticing his quirk was getting stronger as he did, perpetuating the cycle of strength.

The results of the past few months will be revealed today.

With him posing in the ominous position of a villain about to give a grand speech, he let the sweat on his palm explode into a myriad of flames.

A deafening explosion occurred, shaking the Staidum itself, and screams of fright and terror reverberated throughout.

The object of his explosion was the gap between him and Ashido, standing on the edge of the stadium.

The force brought about by his quirk caused rocks, pebbles, and rubble to be flung at the girl.

A huge torrent of projectiles threatened to leave Mina seriously injured should she face it head-on.

'Guess I'll have to use that,' she thought, referring to an incomplete special move she had been working on for the past few months.

'ACIDMAN!!!'

Spinning in place, seemingly ignoring her impending doom, the girl twirled like her life depended on it.

As she spun, a light blue liquid seemed to generate from somewhere on her body, spreading more as she spun.

The liquid traveled up and down her form, consuming her entirely, but she didn't stop spinning.

When the rubble arrived, she'd done all she could to prepare for it.

It tore through the air, clashing with her acid.

By changing the viscosity and solubility, she was able to melt it before it came into contact with her skin.

This took away from her total liquid capacity, which was why she continued to perform as an impromptu fidget spinner.

She closed her eyes, putting her entire trust in her quirks' destructive capacity, a factor she once denounced all those years ago.

When there was nothing left to fling at her, Mina stopped spinning, panting with a few bruises in areas that lacked enough acid but overall fine, having survived the ordeal.

Bakugo also had irregular breathing, albeit less exaggerated than Mina's, but it showed that even this freak suffered exhaustion.

'If this was perfect, I could throw my acid while spinning, making this an offensive and defensive move.'

Alas, a move this complex meant that it'd take more than the few months she had prior to perfect this move.

But Mina was proud of herself for defeating yet another of Bakugo's attacks.

The experience showed her that he wasn't undefeatable and reinforced her confidence that she could win.

"Bakugo!"

Her shout brought his attention to her.

"You're going down!" A shout of her resolve saw him dismiss her with a snort.

Apparently not tired enough, the boy engaged in his bout again, blasting himself closer yet staying out of her reach, relying on ranged explosions.

The girl jumped out of the way this time, using the chance to create some acid balls to throw at him.

Unfortunately, due to the hazardous way she jumped, her shots were not accurate and didn't land.

But the message that she could fight back sent him on the fence.

If only for a moment before his face contorted into anger, and he attacked even more fervently.

He attacked left and right, blocking off her paths and seemingly trying to force her somewhere?

'No, I can't let him have the initiative!'

She made up her mind, expanding even more physical energy to cover her hands in acid before rushing towards him.

The boy was caught off guard, and not trusting what a fully conscious, accurate Mina's range was, he blasted to the sky.

But it seems like an idea, a devious one for her, sprouted in his mind as he smirked mid-air.

While flying, his hands were normally placed below himself at his sides to keep himself in the air with constant explosions.

Seemingly not caring about maintaining himself in the sky, he abandoned that procedure, opting to place both hands together, palms facing downwards, in her direction.

Mina's senses went haywire, with alarm bells ringing. She watched him mouth a word as she scrambled for an acid shield above her.

[D.I.E]

This explosion, like the previous one, reverberated throughout the stadium, becoming a thunderous roar echoing in the air.

Shockwaves cleared the rubble caused by it, leaving the picture of Mina's state easy to see.

The girl had labored breaths and blood running down her legs as shrapnel pierced her skin from below.

She'd had no time to deal with them because the blast itself preoccupied her.

BOOM!

Now, with a hand above himself, the boy used his quirk, using the rapid explosion to propel himself back to the stadium at sonic speeds.

Right… Next to her!

Mina desperately tried to move her tired body, but it just wasn't fast enough, as somehow Bakugo managed to have his legs absorb the shock of rapidly colliding with cement.

His fist then went for her neck, but with a timely lean back, she narrowly missed the damage.

Next was a grapple from him, her neck once again being his timely target, but using her energy, she reached a hand to his own, placing her palm on his as he did to her neck.

Simultaneously, as she did, a scene played out in her mind: fear of herself, fear over their condition, and fear of being alone.

Fear that she'd be the cause—the emotions seeped through time, finding themselves inside her right now.

Suddenly the girl closed her eyes, resigning herself and unclenching her fist, ready to face the music as she heard him speak.

"Y-You dare UNDERESTIMATE ME!"

The boy was enraged; she really thought she could go easy on him and win!

"DIE!"

The hand left her neck before releasing an explosion at near-point-blank range.

'Sui–'

In the stands, everyone watching this let a gasp out of their mouths as they watched the scene of the girl being blown up.

A few seconds earlier was Suijin, who was watching this match with a surprising amount of seriousness, even though he didn't realize it.

His hands were squeezing the railings as he watched the powerhouse of the class clash with one of his friends.

He wanted to do something—anything—to stop the current state Mina was in, battered and bruised, looking like she could fall over at any moment.

And the second he saw her close her eyes and the expression on Bakugo's face, he acted.

His mind went against the instructions it set for itself to follow the rules.

Not caring if he was expelled from the festival or even school, Suijin instantly ran a hand to his trigger, having already had it on the thinnest setting for the fastest speed.

His aim was Bakugo; whether that be an arm, hand, or head wasn't up to him.

It seemed like he would shoot, adding to the fray, but just before he did, someone stopped him.

A quick scan of the crowd saw him and the other spray-bottled man, Enkai, with his dad shaking his head.

'Not yet,' he seemed to say.

Suijin turned back to the stadium, watching a partially charred Mina lay on the ground and All Might holding Bakugo's hand in the sky with a serious expression.

"I declare Young Bakugo the winner."

Though he said that, he didn't have a smile on his face and picked up Mina before carrying her down the hall.

Suijin almost ran over the railing separating the crowd from the battleground when he saw the two disappear into the hallway, likely on their way to the nurse's room.

"SUIJIN SHIMIZU VS THE SON OF THE NO.2 SHOTO TODOROKI!!!!"

He looked at Bakugo, who returned to his normal scowl and similarly walked down the hall and into a room.

A fire was lit in Suijin, one he didn't know why but could tell would consume him unless he fulfilled his desire.

With malice and hate, he spoke in his mind, ''ll beat Todoroki and get to Bakugo."

He swore he would.