Arthur's minor injuries healed quickly under Recovery Girl's Quirk.
After that, Recovery Girl hurried to the infirmary to get ready to treat Katsuki Bakugo.
"That injury is going to need surgery."
"Seriously, he's got a sharp mouth, but you were way too harsh."
Recovery Girl complained, her face scrunched up.
From her tone, she was confident she could fix Bakugo.
"I was being pretty merciful."
Arthur said with a faint smile.
The final punch that broke Bakugo's ribs was still his own doing. If he'd used The World, it probably would've gone straight through his stomach.
The final match: Arthur vs. Shoto Todoroki.
Arthur couldn't be bothered to go back up to the stands, so he just stayed where Recovery Girl had been standing, quietly waiting for the final battle to start.
"And now, the highly anticipated final battle is about to begin! Ladies and gentlemen, you can't wait, can you?!"
Amid the audience's wild cheers, as Present Mic announced, Shoto Todoroki also rose from his seat, his eyes filled with a seriousness nobody had ever seen before.
"I'm going."
After his fight with Izuku Midoriya, he'd definitely gained a bit more personality. If this were before, he would've just left without a word.
"Arthur can stop time, Todoroki!"
Mezo Shoji shouted, clearly worried.
Honestly, even Kyoka Jiro, Momo Yaoyorozu, and the other girls were looking at Shoto Todoroki with a hint of sympathy now.
Just like with Katsuki Bakugo, none of them really believed Todoroki could win.
"So what?"
Shoto Todoroki replied calmly and walked off without looking back.
On his way to the arena, Todoroki noticed Tenya Iida standing dazed in the corner of the entrance corridor.
He didn't know what had happened.
Todoroki wanted to ask, but Present Mic's voice on the broadcast urged him to hurry up, so he didn't stop and quickly entered the arena.
"The final battle, this is the real final battle! First year U.A. High School hero course's most... honestly, maybe the battle to decide the strongest person in all of U.A. right now!"
"The elite who inherited the best Quirk from his father, possessing both fire and ice: Shoto Todoroki!"
"Maybe the strongest Quirk in history, a Quirk that can stop time. It's not even 'excellent' anymore, it's just 'invincible'! : Arthur!"
"Now, let's witness who will stand at the top of U.A.'s first year class!"
Cementoss repaired the arena one last time.
Shoto Todoroki stepped onto the arena and met Arthur's gaze.
"You still dared to come up? I guess we have Midoriya to thank for that. He revealed my Stand's secret to everyone like a parent nagging before an exam."
Arthur was honestly surprised.
The World's secret was already out to the whole world, and everyone had seen how badly Bakugo got wrecked.
Yet Todoroki still came up.
"If you back down every time you see a strong opponent, you don't deserve to be a hero."
Shoto Todoroki said, his tone firm and strong.
Arthur was quiet for a few seconds, then spoke without any mockery. "Is that so? Then you should work hard."
Midnight's face was unconsciously covered in cold sweat. Her gaze kept drifting toward Arthur.
She thought to herself, This is bad.
"Final battle: start!!!"
Present Mic's final command rang out.
Would Arthur use his time-stopping Quirk to finish Todoroki in one go? Or...
"In one go!"
Shoto Todoroki stepped forward. A massive ice mountain, almost covering the entire arena in front of him, surged toward Arthur.
Against a normal opponent, they probably wouldn't have time to do anything before getting pushed out.
Boom!!!
Two palms suddenly grabbed onto the ice wall. The raw strength in those rough arms forcibly stopped the ice mountain's advance.
It was The World!
"He... he actually stopped the ice mountain with his bare hands! That's insane strength! Just like All Might!"
Present Mic shouted excitedly.
"It's not over!"
Shoto Todoroki yelled.
His left arm erupted with intense flames.
The roaring fire burned away the upper part of the ice mountain, and several huge ice chunks fell together.
"Amazing! He's combining ice and fire in a combo attack!"
Denki Kaminari exclaimed.
"No, Todoroki hasn't mastered ice and fire together yet. He's only doing this because he's being forced to."
Izuku Midoriya bit his lip. "The amazing one is Arthur!"
"Going all out from the start, huh?"
Arthur looked at the large ice chunks falling after their supports were burned away.
The World quickly aimed both fists at the falling ice.
"Hmph!"
With a grunt, The World's fists struck rapidly, pulverizing every single falling ice chunk!
"Now!"
Shoto Todoroki pushed again with his right foot, driving the ice mountain forward.
While The World was busy dealing with the falling ice, he wanted to seize the chance to push the ice mountain and force Arthur out of bounds!
Rumble!!
The ice mountain instantly covered the entire arena.
Shoto Todoroki got feedback too, over a third of his right side had frostbite.
But when the audience looked toward Arthur's side of the arena, they didn't see him fall off.
"Nice try. Best attack so far."
Arthur's nonchalant voice suddenly rang out.
Shoto Todoroki looked up sharply, only to see his opponent standing on top of the ice mountain.
He'd moved there instantly!
"You just... stopped time, didn't you?"
Shoto Todoroki shouted.
He had seen through it!
Present Mic yelled into the microphone again. "There it is! There it is! Arthur's true Quirk, The World! The most broken Quirk! Time Stop! He stopped time and dodged Todoroki's attack!"
The crowd erupted again.
Everyone showed expressions of shock, envy, desire, and greed.
Way too strong.
Time Stop.
"It's definitely a strong Quirk, but!"
At that moment, Shoto Todoroki suddenly reached out and shouted. "Your Quirk isn't invincible!"
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.