After Cementoss finished rebuilding the stage the second match began.

『After an absolutely overwhelming first match the second match on the renewed stage is Shiozaki versus Ayanokoji!! Against Shiozaki who instantly took down Kaminari, how will Ayanokoji go on the offensive!!? 』

『START!!』

Right from the start the thorns came lunging at me.

I saw in the Kaminari match that they still move even if you cut them off.

'Then the best option I can take is...'

I grabbed Shiozaki’s thorns and wrapped them around my arm.

『Ayanokoji!? He wrapped the thorns around his own arm!?』

I closed in on Shiozaki as I was.

Shiozaki looked shocked and extended the thorns even farther.

I dealt with them and used the thorns wrapped around my arm to restrain Shiozaki.

『Ayanokoji!! He is turning Shiozaki’s thorns against her!! Shiozaki cannot move!!』

"—!"

Shiozaki tried to move the thorns even more but the more I had wound around my arm the more her own movement was restricted too.

The more she pulled the stronger the restraint became.

I crossed the wrapped thorns as if tangling them together and fixed Shiozaki’s arms and torso all at once.

This was not brute force.

I just made a shape that would not come undone.

Maybe she understood because she stopped resisting and quietly let out a breath.

"I lose."

『N-no way!! Shiozaki admits she is unable to fight on her own!!』

Midnight stepped forward.

"Winner—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka!"

I immediately loosened the thorns and took some distance.

There were no injuries on Shiozaki’s body.

"I am sorry. I could not think of any other way."

"It is my own Quirk so I am not injured. By fighting you I was able to learn that my Quirk has weaknesses like this too."

『Second match decided!! He decided the match using the opponent’s Quirk!!』

In the following third match Tokoyami versus Ashido, Dark Shadow overwhelmed Ashido from start to finish and Tokoyami won.

Then in the final match of Round 2 Kirishima versus Bakugo Kirishima went for an opening rush.

Bakugo’s Quirk gets stronger the more he moves so Kirishima wanted to end it quickly.

While enduring Bakugo’s fierce assault Kirishima kept up his own attacks too.

As Bakugo’s explosions grew stronger Kirishima’s Hardening could not last as long and when his defense loosened for an instant Bakugo’s attack landed and Bakugo won just like that.

With that the four semifinalists were decided.

* * *

『Semis! Let’s keep it moving!』

『Title favorite Todoroki Shoto!! Versus still not showing his Quirk up to this point! Ayanokoji Kiyotaka!!』

『START!』

At the signal ice spread across the stage.

I jumped and avoided it.

I slid across the frozen footing and closed in on Todoroki then threw a spinning kick but he dodged.

『Ayanokoji! He is not struggling with Todoroki’s ice at all, he is using it to attack!!? Is he an athlete or what!?』

The moment I landed, Todoroki's ice surged right in front of me but I punched and shattered it.

『Bare-handed!? He just broke the ice bare-handed!!?』

『Is he some kind of physical monster...』

I stomped in hard and cracked the frozen ground.

That would make it a little easier to move.

I closed in on Todoroki again and went for close-quarters fighting.

『This really feels like a fight between Quirk and body.』

『Todoroki is high-level in basically every ability besides his Quirk too...』

『Even so he is almost evenly matched with Ayanokoji who is not using his Quirk at all.』

『Since Todoroki is only using half his power we cannot say the difference in strength clearly but...』

『Ayanokoji is not weak enough to lose to ice alone.』

Ayanokoji slipped into Todoroki’s guard low and landed a strike cleanly.

『Ayanokoji’s hit landed flush!!』

“Ugh…”

Todoroki let out a pained sound.

He forcibly created distance with ice.

He timed it and took the oncoming ice ahead of time then smashed it with his left arm.

The ice on his left arm and the ice in front of him shattered together.

『Ice shattered!! Is Todoroki’s ice powerless in front of Ayanokoji’s strength!!?』

『He deliberately froze his left arm and used it like a boxing glove.』

Todoroki’s right arm began to tremble.

"Are you not going to use your left?"

I asked Todoroki.

Todoroki answered.

"And you... are you not going to use your Quirk?"

"There is no need to."

Todoroki looked surprised.

"Are you looking down on me?"

His voice was low and it carried frustration he could not hold back.

"No."

I stepped in and stated it straight to his face.

"You were born with everything yet you try to win with half your power. My Quirk is not worth using on a fool like that."

For a moment the air froze.

『...O-oh!? Was that a taunt!?』

"—You are calling me a fool?"

Todoroki’s eyes sharpened.

"I have heard this line a few times in the past. Someone who has power and still does not use it is what a fool does. Does that not fit you right now?"

"You do not know anything..."

Todoroki unleashed ice across a wide area.

An attack driven by anger is easy to read.

At the timing when the ice rose straight up I jumped over it and dropped my heel onto the top of his head.

『Direct hit to the crown!! And he even froze it on the sly!! This has got to hurt!!』

"I do not know and I do not care. I am just stating facts. While everyone is fighting by staking every bit of power they have, you are fighting with only half. That is not just foolish, it is downright arrogant."

I drove a fist into his stomach, grabbed his face and slammed him into the ground.

Todoroki let out a voiceless sound.

『One-sided!! Does Todoroki have no way to respond!!?』

Todoroki tried to create ice but I stomped on his right arm.

"It is simple. I just have to beat you before you freeze me. As long as you do not use your left it does not look like you have any way to prevent that drop in your body’s function."

I grabbed Todoroki’s head and slammed it into the ground.

The impact stopped the ice.

I forcibly peeled him off the ice and threw him toward out of bounds.

『Todoroki! He is sliding on his own ice!! Is this match about to end like this!!?』

Todoroki barely made an ice wall and prevented an out-of-bounds loss.

He was breathing heavily.

"So you are being overwhelmed by me while you only use half your power and I am in a no-Quirk state..."

Todoroki stood and glared at me.

"It would have been a more exciting match if you fought properly like you did with Midoriya. I do not like talking about what ifs but... this is such a miserable sight it makes me want to."

I kept talking.

"What did you feel in your fight with Midoriya? Something happened and that is why you used flames right? So what is the guy standing in front of you right now?"

"Todoroki!!!"

Midoriya’s voice rang out.

In that instant flames ignited on Todoroki’s left side.

『Todoroki! He finally used flames!!』

Flames rose from Todoroki’s left and the frost on his body began to melt.

"I will think later... right now I will focus on you in front of me."

Todoroki aimed all of his restored ice output at me.

It was faster and larger than before.

"I will end this in one hit."

I dodged the ice and used the side of that ice... as a foothold as I dashed toward Todoroki.

『Ayanokoji dodged the ice... wait what is going on!!?』

From the outside it probably looked like I was standing while rotated ninety degrees.

That is my Vektor Lancer Quirk.

"So that is your Quirk."

Todoroki was measuring the timing of Ayanokoji’s approach.

He had one target which was immobilization by freezing solid.

There was a risk I could endure the earlier blast wind and beating Ayanokoji in hand-to-hand combat was extremely difficult.

A full-body thick freeze was the optimal answer.

Of course Ayanokoji was wary of that too.

『Ayanokoji!! He is in range!!』

Relying on the announcer’s voice Todoroki prepared the ice but Ayanokoji was already entering his attack motion.

Todoroki released ice aimed at that opening.

Ayanokoji read it and cancelled his Quirk, returning to his original state.

『He dodged the ice from an attacking posture!!』

Ayanokoji’s heel drop was about to hit Todoroki but Todoroki blocked with his right arm hardened with ice.

『Todoroki!! He blocked it!! Freeze him in place!!』

"This was within my expectations too."

Todoroki’s ice spread across the entire stage in an instant.

『The stage is completely frozen over!!? W-what happened!!?』

When Midnight came to check she saw Todoroki collapsed unconscious and Ayanokoji frozen solid from head to toe.

"Todoroki! Ayanokoji! Both are unable to continue!! Therefore this match will be a draw!!"

The rescue robots placed Todoroki on a stretcher and carried him to the infirmary.

Other robots hurried to carve Ayanokoji out of the ice block.

Voices rose from the stands.

"W-what was that just now..."

"A draw!? No way!"

"Neither of them is moving..."

"This is beyond the level of high schoolers."

And in Class 1-A’s stands too...