_____[POV: Third person]_____
Ryuji stood in the air, his cold eyes fixed on Moldav, whose skin paled as the weight of Ryuji's presence suffocated him. The silence was absolute, broken only by the distant sound of flames consuming the wreckage around them. Ryuji sighed, murmuring to himself:
"I'm getting soft... Before, I eliminated reincarnated ones like a machine. Now, three of them caused this mess while I was distracted by a school festival. It seems that mundane life has made me weak..."
His eyes scanned the scene of destruction below, mentally thanking Lucifer for raising the anti-sound barrier, covering a 4 km radius from the chaos. However, before he could reflect further, an excited roar cut through the air. Thokk, with a fierce smile, ran across the ground and leaped, shooting like a missile toward Ryuji.
"I liked your punch, kid! No Kryptonian has made me bleed before!" Thokk licked his own blood, a predatory grin spreading across his face. "Finally, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legen—"
He didn't finish the sentence. In an instant, Ryuji disappeared from his sight, and before he realized it, he felt a crushing pressure on his throat. The young man held him by the neck with just one hand. The gleam in Ryuji's eyes was cold and emotionless. Then, without ceremony, he grabbed Thokk's shoulder and tore his body in half, as if opening a garbage bag.
Blood, guts, and organs fell through the air like a macabre rain, hitting the ground with a grotesque impact. Moldav, who watched the scene in horror, couldn't contain his terror and felt moisture spreading through his pants.
"I have no patience for trashy dialogues like yours," said Ryuji, dropping the mutilated corpse.
Without wasting more time, he shot toward Moldav but was immediately thrown to the ground by a crushing force. The gravity around him intensified brutally.
"Wake up, you idiot!" Kela shouted at the paralyzed Moldav. "This guy is nothing like the one I hit before!"
Moldav stood still for a moment, absorbing the terror. He watched Ryuji emerge from the ground as if nothing had happened. The air around him distorted, rippling like a heat veil. He raised his hand and opened and closed his fingers, as if testing something.
Kela widened her eyes.
"How is he moving? I increased the gravity three hundred times!"
Desperate, Moldav made his decision. He sent everything to hell and fled, shooting at high speed toward the horizon. Kela wanted to curse him, but before she could, Ryuji was already in front of her. The gravity rose to a thousand times. Nothing. Two thousand. Nothing. Five thousand. The ground beneath them cracked, buildings collapsed, and the city around them twisted under the overwhelming pressure.
Ryuji just sighed.
"Enough of this."
In an instant, he appeared before Kela and, with a mere flick on her forehead, exploded her head into a shower of blood and brains.
But something was wrong. The flesh fragments stopped in the air and reassembled, reforming Kela's head as if nothing had happened. She stepped back with a sadistic smile, raising her hands.
"!dlroW detrevnI"
Ryuji tried to move forward, but instead, he went backward. He stopped and tried to stabilize himself, but felt his body reacting inversely with every attempt. He looked around and saw the ground above and the sky below. Kela laughed.
"Did you like my Inverted World? Welcome!" She cackled hysterically, her words inverted backward. "No matter how strong you are, your body won't be able to adapt! Up is down, left is right, forward is backward! I've defeated reincarnated ones with just this! And you... you're the damn son of a bitch who's screwing up my ship! I will make your life a living hell!"
Ryuji, however, wasn't paying attention. He clenched and unclenched his hand a few times and murmured:
"I understand."
Kela frowned. In the blink of an eye, a golden heat vision cut her body in half. But, again, she regenerated.
"How?!" She screamed.
"I've already understood and adapted," replied Ryuji.
He raised his hand and enveloped Kela in a golden aura before closing it into a fist, crushing her like a ball of flesh. Her body fell to the ground as a shapeless, pulsating mass. But, once again, it began to rebuild itself.
"That hurts, you bastard!" Kela shouted.
Behind her, a skeletal dragon skull floated, its empty eye sockets glowing in a spectral blue before opening its mouth and firing a massive energy beam. The ray hit Ryuji head-on, causing a colossal explosion.
The dust settled, revealing Ryuji unharmed. He sighed.
"Is that all?"
Kela's eyes glowed an intense blue. More skeletal heads appeared around her, preparing to fire again.
"I can summon as many as I want," she said, panting but with a manic smile. "Want more?"
----------------------------------------
The crowd was still buzzing with excitement from the first match of the sports festival. The murmurs from the stands ranged from admiration to curiosity about Ryuji Fugimoto's quirk. Some spectators tried to theorize the limits of his abilities, while others were simply dazzled by how the fight had unfolded. Amid the commotion, a group of fangirls stood out with their enthusiastic cheers and animated chatter.
"Oh my God! He's so incredibly handsome! Did you see how he carried that girl?"
"I wish I were her... He could carry me anywhere he wanted!"
"The way he smiled before reaching out to her! I swear, my heart stopped for a second."
"Do you think he's dating anyone? I never see him with anyone... Maybe we have a chance!"
While the fangirls speculated about Ryuji's love life, just below the stands, Ryuji was surrounded by his classmates, who bombarded him with questions.
"DUDE! How did you do that?" Kaminari exclaimed. "Seriously, those wings? I didn't even know you could create something like that!"
"I want to know too!" Mina leaned in closer, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Are your wings permanent, or can you make others? And what are they made of?"
"Mon cher," Aoyama placed a hand dramatically on his chest. "You were dazzling, but I assure you, my brilliance will be even greater when it's my turn!"
Momo, ever analytical, crossed her arms and asked:
"Does your quirk's creation ability also allow you to generate organic things? I thought it was limited to inanimate materials..."
Ryuji smiled and raised his hands, asking for space.
"Guys, guys, calm down. I'll answer each of you properly."
The classmates exchanged glances. That carefree tone and friendly smile were unusual. Ryuji wasn't exactly known for his radiant friendliness.
Kaminari narrowed his eyes. "Hmmm... Something's off... You're acting kinda... different."
"Who are you?" Tsuyu asked with her usual bluntness.
The tension in the group spiked for a moment but was quickly dispelled when Izuku stepped into the conversation. He raised his hands in a calming gesture.
"Calm down, everyone. He's still Ryuji... Well, sort of."
"What do you mean?" Uraraka asked, tilting her head.
Izuku sighed and explained:
"Ryuji has a split personality. He's had this issue since we were kids, but over time, the episodes became rarer. It seems that's not the case today..."
The gazes turned back to Ryuji, who maintained an amused smile.
"What?!" Mina's eyes widened. "So this is a different version of him?"
"Seems like it," Tsuyu croaked.
Ryuji placed a hand on his chest, feigning emotion.
"I thank my dear friend for exposing my little issue to all of you." He gave an exaggerated bow. "I place myself in your care from now on."
Before they could fully digest the information, the classmates bombarded him with new questions, now focused on his "alternate" personality.
"Do you remember us?" Jirou asked suspiciously.
"My memories get a bit fuzzy when I switch personalities," Ryuji explained casually. "So if I don't recall a promise or conversation, forgive me."
Mina stepped closer with a confident smile. "Okay, but what about me? Do you remember me?"
Ryuji looked at her, blinking a few times.
"I barely remember your name, but I recall someone with pink skin and a lively spirit. That must be you," he replied dryly.
Mina gave a crooked smile.
"Ouch. Alright, then I'll reintroduce myself! Ashido Mina, your future best friend."
This triggered a chain reaction, with several students reintroducing themselves in hopes that Ryuji might remember them.
However, when Hagakure approached, her voice came out a bit hesitant: "W-what about... me? Do you remember me?"
Ryuji looked directly at her, despite her invisibility, his echolocation precisely mapping where her eyes would be.
"I remember you," he said with a light smile. "In fact, aside from Midoriya, you're the person who comes to mind the most. It seems you've become someone special to me."
Hagakure froze, her face turning bright red despite her invisibility.
"OH MY GOD!" Mina let out a hysterical squeal. "That was SO ROMANTIC!"
Tsuyu covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a small giggle. "Kero. That was unexpected."
The entire class was stunned by Ryuji's sudden statement. Hagakure, on the other hand, didn't know where to hide. If she could, she would have disappeared even more.
Lucifer smiled internally. If Ryuji had mentioned giving a special gift to Hagakure in the past, then perhaps there was more to it than met the eye. Interesting...
The lively conversation between "Ryuji" and his classmates from Class 1-A was abruptly interrupted by a clear, intense voice coming from the stands. Everyone turned to find Ibara Shiozaki, who was staring intently at Ryuji with a determined gleam in her eyes.
"Fugimoto-san!" Her voice cut through the air like a bell in a silent cathedral. "Can I also become someone important to you?"
The silence that followed was immediate and absolute. The students of Class 1-A exchanged uncomfortable glances, while those from Class 1-B seemed equally surprised.
Ibara, however, continued, her expression filled with fervor.
"From the moment our powers clashed, I realized it wasn't just a mere battle, but a divine calling! You are not just a warrior, Fugimoto-san. You are an angel who descended from the heavens to this world! A sign of the Lord's will! And it is my duty to follow you, for destiny has brought us together!"
There was an awkward pause. A distant thunderclap would have been less dramatic than the impact of those words on the crowd.
Ryuji blinked a few times, clearly taken aback by the girl's fervor. After a brief moment of reflection, he broke into an amused smile.
"Well... I always knew I was impressive, but being compared to an angel is a whole new level of praise. I'm almost flattered... almost."
The Class 1-A students exchanged glances, some holding back laughter, while others were still trying to process the scene. Kaminari, visibly surprised, whispered to Kirishima:
"Is this really happening?"
"Apparently..." replied Kirishima, scratching his head.
Ibara was still there, hands clasped together, seemingly ready to continue her public devotion, but before she could say anything more, Kendo grabbed her arm with an awkward smile.
"Ahaha! Sorry about that!" said Kendo, trying to pull Ibara back. "She's been like this ever since she lost to him."
"Kendo-san, let me go! I need Fugimoto-san to understand the importance of our bond!" Ibara resisted, but Kendo only smiled more forcedly, pulling her back with more strength.
"Yeah, yeah, of course, but maybe we should discuss this away from the crowded stands?"
Monoma, who had been watching the scene from a distance, put his hands on his head and sighed heavily.
"First, we lost one of the only two participants from our class, and now this... This is an embarrassment for Class B..."
As Ibara was dragged back to her seat, "Ryuji" raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself:
"Well, that was unexpected... Interesting, but unexpected."
----------------------------------------
The second match of Subgroup A in the sports festival tournament was the showdown between Izuku Midoriya and Yuga Aoyama. The fight was quick. No matter how hard Aoyama tried to hit Izuku with his lasers, the green-haired boy dodged with ease. Before Aoyama could even realize what was happening, Izuku landed a precise strike, followed by a seoi-nage that sent him crashing to the ground. The second match ended with Izuku Midoriya's victory.
He then looked up at the big screen displaying the tournament bracket and realized his next opponent would be Ryuji. He sighed heavily and muttered to himself:
"I really have no luck at all..."
The matches for Subgroup B began shortly after, with the first one being Kurohana Nemuri against Hitoshi Shinso. Shinso tried to engage Nemuri in conversation before the battle started, hoping she would respond and fall into his mental manipulation trap. However, Nemuri simply let out a sleepy meow and stretched like a cat on the ground, completely ignoring his provocations.
As soon as the fight began, her attitude changed entirely. With surprising speed, Nemuri charged at Shinso, who barely had time to react. He narrowly avoided a punch, but the following kick hit his stomach with full force. The impact threw him off balance, and before he could try to recover, another strike landed on his jaw, knocking him out instantly.
"Now I can go take a nap, nyan~," said Nemuri, yawning and leisurely walking out of the ring.
The second match of Subgroup B was between Momo Yaoyorozu and Toru Hagakure. Momo struggled against her invisible opponent, who moved silently around her, making it impossible to predict her attacks. Midway through the fight, Momo paused for a moment and asked out loud:
"Hagakure, can you really fight naked without any issues knowing that Ryuji can see you?"
"I... I'M NOT NAKED!" Hagakure impulsively shouted.
That slip-up was all Momo needed. Smiling, she activated her Quirk and created a bag of flour, tossing its contents in the direction of Hagakure's voice. The white powder coated the invisible girl's body, revealing her exact position.
"Found you!" Momo exclaimed, appearing in front of Hagakure and pointing a sword at her.
Hagakure raised her hands in surrender and conceded the match, securing the victory for Momo Yaoyorozu.
The big screen lit up with the names of the next competitors in Subgroup C: Shoto Todoroki vs. Hanta Sero. The crowd erupted in anticipation as the two students made their way to the center of the arena.
Sero seemed relaxed but alert. He knew Todoroki was one of the tournament favorites, but he wasn't going to give up without a fight. As soon as the signal was given, he quickly used his tape to try and restrain Todoroki, limiting his movements.
However, in an instant, a massive wall of ice erupted, freezing everything in its path. The biting cold swept through the arena, and Sero found himself completely immobilized, encased in ice. The audience was stunned by the display of power. For a moment, Todoroki glanced at Ryuji, as if gauging his reaction, before turning back to his frozen opponent. Without further delay, he raised his hand and released heat from his left side, gradually thawing Sero.
"Sorry about that," he murmured, his voice carrying an invisible weight.
"The winner is Shoto Todoroki!" Present Mic announced, and the crowd roared in applause.
The next match was Tenya Iida vs. Mina Ashido. As soon as the fight began, Mina tried to use her agility to avoid Iida's advances, spreading acid on the ground to hinder his movements. But Iida, with his incredible speed, disappeared from her line of sight for a moment and reappeared right behind her. With a precise push, he sent her flying out of the arena before she could react.
"The winner is Tenya Iida!"
Mina got up from the ground, slightly dazed, and sighed.
"Wow, that was faster than I expected..."
Next up was Subgroup D: Denki Kaminari vs. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.
Kaminari was confident, smiling at the crowd before raising his hands and unleashing his electricity with a bang. A million volts surged through the arena, lighting everything up in a flash.
However, when the light faded, Tetsutetsu was still standing there, unharmed. He grinned wildly.
"What?!" Kaminari's eyes widened. "That should have fried you!"
Tetsutetsu thumped his chest, his metallic skin gleaming under the stadium lights.
"Metal conducts electricity! You just helped me heat up!"
Before Kaminari could react, a metallic fist flew his way and knocked him out cold.
"The winner is Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"
As Kaminari was carried away, he mumbled:
"Mom... help me..."
Finally, the last match of the group: Ochaco Uraraka vs. Eijiro Kirishima.
Kirishima was clearly uncomfortable.
"It's not manly to fight a girl..."
Uraraka didn't waste any time. With a clever smile, she quickly touched Kirishima in his moment of distraction.
"What?!" he exclaimed, feeling his body float.
Without gravity, Kirishima couldn't hold his ground, and soon Uraraka gently pushed him out of the arena. She touched her fingertips together and let him drop.
"The winner is Ochaco Uraraka!"
Kirishima, sitting on the ground, sighed.
"I definitely deserved that..."
And with that, the tournament advanced to its quarterfinals, the crowd roared with anticipation for what lay ahead.
----------------------------------------
In a place millions of light-years away from our galaxy, a scene of desolation stretched across the expanse of space. Dead and shattered galaxies, solar systems reduced to ashes, and the debris of countless planets floating through the infinite void.
Moldav flew tirelessly, his breathing rapid and his insane gaze darting from side to side as he shouted:
"WHERE THE HELL AM I?!"
He clearly remembered fleeing before a portal appeared before him, sucking him into this haunted space. His heart raced as he observed the vastness around him. Shattered planets, remnants of unknown technology floating aimlessly. He was trying to make sense of his situation when a cold voice sounded behind him:
"You are in what I call the Dead Zone."
Moldav turned abruptly, his eyes widening as he saw Ryuji emerging from the same golden portal that had transported him. The blond man floated with a bored expression, holding what remained of Kela—the lifeless upper half of her body. Without ceremony, he tossed her into space as if discarding useless trash.
With a sigh, Ryuji raised a small multicolored sphere that glowed between his fingers. He spun the object, observing it for a moment before murmuring:
"She was quite strong, but in the end, her power was just another quirk given by God."
Without hesitation, he crushed the sphere with a simple flick of his fingers, dissipating its glow into the vacuum of space.
Moldav alternated his gaze between Ryuji and Kela's remains. His hands trembled slightly before he clenched them into fists. Then, with a forced smile, he asked:
"Does this mean I'm doomed too, right? Or is there some way we can reconsider this?"
Ryuji remained silent for a few seconds, simply staring at Moldav with indifference before responding:
"From the moment you set foot in Japan, you were already dead."
Without warning, Moldav lunged in a desperate attack. His fist glowed with a greenish aura as he struck directly at Ryuji's chest. The shockwave swept through space, splitting meteors in half and scattering fragments of already destroyed planets. But when the dust settled, Ryuji remained motionless—unharmed. He hadn't even moved an inch.
Moldav's eyes widened, and he threw another punch with his opposite hand. This time, Ryuji caught his fist with a single motion. In response, Moldav tried to activate his heat vision, his eyes glowing intensely red. However, before he could fire, an overwhelming fatigue seized him. His body began to weaken alarmingly.
Ryuji looked directly at him and said calmly:
"Reincarnates with Kryptonian genes were a problem for me for a while. The ability to absorb my energy was a nuisance. But then I realized something... what you covet so much from me, I can simply take back."
Moldav felt his strength draining, his Kryptonian powers disappearing completely. Only his Green Lantern and Shazam abilities remained. In panic, he raised his left hand, trying to channel the energy from his ring. But before he could even form a thought, Ryuji grabbed his hand and squeezed with immense force. Bones shattered instantly, and the ring broke apart, reduced to dust.
Moldav let out an agonizing scream, clutching the bloody stump of his hand. In desperation, he activated his system window—an invisible menu to anyone else, something only he could see and access. His hands trembled as he navigated through his inventory, searching for any item that could save him.
But before he could click on any option, another hand appeared before him—Ryuji's. To his horror, Ryuji held the system window itself, something that should never have been possible. He squeezed tightly, and cracks spread across the interface.
Error messages popped up before Moldav's eyes.
[ERROR: System integrity compromised!]
[ERROR: Unexpected action detected!]
Ryuji raised an eyebrow and said:
"I may not see this from here, but I can feel its presence. Did you really think this would work on me?"
With a simple gesture, he crushed the window, reducing it to shards that vanished into the void of space.
Moldav trembled, his heart pounding uncontrollably. For the first time since he was reborn in this world, he felt true terror. Ryuji wasn't just another strong reincarnate.
He was a monster, a predator. And Moldav, a prey already defeated, had no choice but to accept his fate.
----------------------------------------
(A/N: Sorry for the delay, I kind of ended up getting sick while finishing my move. But I'm fine, maybe I'll feel better after a few more days of rest. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, after all, I used to update daily before lol. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'll stop here for now. See you in the next update.)