Luke and Nyx eyed Midoriya, the roaring crowd melting away in their surroundings.

"Did you go to Present Mic to include your name in the announcements?" Luke asked, knowing Nyx well.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Smacked his ass for being a naughty kid."

Luke's lips twitched, bringing a smile to his face.

Opposite him, Midoriya's heart thumped.

There was no way Luke was hiding another Quirk, Midoriya knew. He just needed to make sure that Nyx didn't catch him off guard with the Exchange Positions Quirk.

If he were right about Luke, then he would surely combine Nyx's Delay and Illusion to counter his explosive strength.

Midoriya had never underestimated Luke, despite him having a Quirk that benefited Nyx, not him.

Luke was physically strong and well adapted in hand-to-hand combat. But, more than that, he was a strategic genius.

There was always a reason behind everything that he did, no matter how small or bombastic.

So, when Midoriya saw that smile on Luke's face, he knew that Luke knew what kind of strategy he would be using in this battle.

I need to end it fast, Midoriya thought, resolving himself to use the full power of One For All from the start. One moment… One moment of carelessness and I will be sitting next to Ida.

On the other side, Luke finally got the chance to confirm the oddity he had felt when Midoriya had been brainwashed by Shinso.

But the entire world's eyes were on him.

If something went wrong, Luke couldn't afford to lose control at this moment, letting everyone see the fleshly protrusions on him.

Even if he were to use Cogitation, then, it would already be too late.

"Nyx," Luke said as Present Mic began the countdown. "I will use Spirit Vision on Midoriya after using Gigantification on you. If you see me losing control, then guard with your wings until I return to normal."

…

[

NO!

You can't keep losing control and then depend on Cogitation, Luke.

One day or another, you will suffer from permanent mutations like this.

Cogitation is not the answer to losing control. It never was. The answer is to be cautious and stay away from anything that could overpower your spirituality.

Preparation is the key, Luke.

]

…

Luke didn't need Miss Justice to reprimand him to know that what he was doing wasn't the right way to go about all this.

The more he thought about the three Sequences, and the more he felt their powers, Luke realized that the core of these abilities lay in the word — Preparation!

Coincidentally, that's where Bioalchemy shone, too.

As long as Luke had made ample preparations, he could even hold off someone like All Might for a moment. But if someone caught him off guard, then Bioalchemy would end up becoming the most useless Quirk.

The same had happened in his previous life as well.

Even before he could use his Quirk, everything had already burned to ashes.

Unlike Miss Justice, though, Nyx's words were more direct. "You know, being a Blessed of Mr. Fool doesn't really mean that you need to act like a true fool," she cawed, eying Luke with anger in her eyes. "You know that, right, genius?"

Luke was about to reply when Present Mic shouted Begin and Nyx.... activated Spirit Vision.

"Nooooooooooo…" Luke's breath gave away as he sensed what had just happened.

On the other side, both mentally and physically prepared to not give Luke any chance, Midoriya flicked the forefinger of his right hand, concentrating One For All in it.

BOOM!

There was so much power behind the blast that it threw away Luke and Nyx as if they were made of paper.

Grabbing Nyx, who seemed to have passed out, Luke spun midair, depending on Clown's abilities.

His feet landed on the floor, but the blast still made him skid almost out of bounds.

If it wasn't for the physical enhancement granted by the Marauder Potion, he would have certainly lost right now — in one move.

From afar, Midoriya bit through the pain and opened his eyes, holding his broken finger.

What he saw left him as surprised as Present Mic's commentary right now.

Luke hadn't used his Quirk at all.

Now, he was holding an unconscious Nyx, trying to get her up.

For a moment, Midoriya just stood there, not sure about what to do. Suddenly, his feet began moving step by step…

By the time Midoriya came to his senses, he was already running toward Luke as fast as he could.

He wanted to win.

He wanted to defeat Luke.

No matter what, he didn't want to back down.

This was the only opportunity he would get, Midoriya knew.

If he let go of it, Luke was the guy who would make him pay for it twice.

I am sorry, Luke, Midoriya said, raising his fist in desperation. You — are too strong.

On the other hand, Luke was panicking. He didn't care about anything at this moment. Not about Sequences, Mr. Fool, Blue or Red Supermassive Black Holes, Miss Justice, Mysteries… Anything!

"Nyx…" Luke's voice shook. "Oi… Oi… Come back…"

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Luke's pupils dilated, a touch of redness surfacing at the end of his hair.

Brokenly, he looked to his right and saw Midoriya aiming his fist at them.

"It's you…" Luke said, his blue gaze holding a madness within them. "It's you…"

A redness replaced Midoriya's vision, a primal fear rooting him to his place. It was like a beast, from the depths of hell, was eying him down.

The fist of resolve he was about to hurl at Luke suddenly paused in its place, his entire body shaking.

Then, the beast blurred.

In a fraction of a second, Luke went around Midoriya, wrapped his legs around his waist, and his arms hugged Midoriya's throat in a chokehold.

"Let — her — go…"

Luke's growl sent a chill running down Midoriya's spine. It was as if someone had coiled a steel bar around his neck, tightening it by moments.

He wanted to say something. Anything.

But, Midoriya could feel it — Luke… was killing him.

****************

AN: Original Image of Midoriya before Luke attacked him is available

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