(Ryo looked down from above.)
"9.6 seconds before landing."

Ha.
"Don’t need to announce it!"
"I’ll end it here."

He infused his palms with Karo, though what formed there no longer felt like the same energy as before. It was denser now, more focused, like a storm gathering itself before the first violent crack.

(Enzaki looked intrigued.)
Heh. Heh.
"What’s the boy cooking up now?"
"Maybe it’ll make the other falter…"
Hmph.
"Strength above all…"

He watched the match intently—as the official should.

(Let’s jump to the main group.)

Shindo was still sensing the feeling—but a tiny spark of awe crept into her gaze.

(Shiro watched her closely.)
"Are you still sensing the danger?"

"Yes. I feel it rising."

What to do? What to do?
If only I could figure out the exact problem.

"I’m useless…"

(Sachi calmly rested a hand on her shoulder.)
"It’s alright, Ms. Shindo."
"We’re just students, not heroes."
"We can’t perform miracles."

Her voice stayed steady, but inside? Frustration burned—she couldn’t do a thing to ease Shindo’s worry.

(Daichi cut in, stating the obvious as always.)
"She’s right. The best thing we can do now... is hope for the best."
"Hopefully…"

(Shiro’s eyes flicked to Tokeru.)

What does this have to do with him?

(Back to the battlefield.)

(Tokeru smirked.)
Ha. Ha.
This is it...
My trump card.
He doesn’t stand a chance.
I’ll show you—and everyone—the power of hard work.

(Ryo analyzed from above.)
"75%... 95%... 110%."

His Karo is spiking dangerously above normal levels.
This wasn’t in my calculations.

(Ryo’s eyes sharpened.)

The beam’s trajectory…
If he misses, it’ll hit the crowd in the right wing.

"You! Lower your Karo levels!"
"You’ll put others in danger!"

(Tokeru’s eyes snapped sharp.)
"Huh?"
"Lower? Someone might be in danger?"
"What, is the leader of Gen Zero surrendering?"
"Too late now…"

The beam shot straight at Ryo. A devastating blast—one that, for most, would’ve meant the end.

"Impact in 2.3 seconds."

(Ryo closed his eyes, steadying himself.)

Focus Karo into my palms.

His Karo surged, forming a barrier in front of him.

"This isn’t gonna be enough to stop it."
"At best, it’ll deflect."

Why isn’t Enzaki stepping in…

(He took a quick glance at the supposed official.)

(Enzaki gave a calm, almost lazy smile in return.)

Tch.
Crazy old man…

FWWWWSSHHH!

The beam tore through the air at insane speed.
The crowd cheered—clueless to the real danger.
It slammed into Ryo’s barrier.

SKRRRAK!

(Ryo gritted his teeth, straining to redirect it.)
"At most... I can only angle it up—45 degrees."

Miraculously, he deflected it—sending it crashing into the S.T.F ceiling.His barrier shattered in the process. The beam left a massive hole above. The crowd froze—then chaos broke loose. Arcaria staff scrambled to maintain order—barely holding the panic back.

(Ryo crash-landed, catching his breath.)
"Seems I couldn’t escape that unscathed."

(He glared at Tokeru.)
"This is your proof of hard work?"
"By endangering others?"

(Tokeru looked stunned.)
"How…?"
"I honed my Karo to the limit!"
"You weren’t supposed to withstand it!"

"Your Karo was surging..."
"But with less than 30% control."
"Didn’t I warn you—your impatience will be your downfall?"
"So... had your fun?"

(Tokeru lunged, Karo blazing around his fist.)
"I’ll wipe that smug look off your face!"
"You look down on people like us who had to work for everything!"

(Ryo side-stepped effortlessly, landing a sharp jab.)
"Enough."
"Even for a high-level Karo user… you’re already at your limit."

(Tokeru collapsed.)

(Ryo stood over him, voice low and icy.)
"You say talent shouldn’t decide everything."
"Your hard work deserves praise…"

(He leaned in slightly, voice a blade.)
"But... compared to us, your hard work is barely 2%."

(Enzaki calmly announced.)
"Your winner... Ryo Takami of Gen Zero."

You’d expect a loud cheer—but after that close call?
Not much to celebrate really.

(Above the right wing.)

Tokeru’s recklessness had one last card to play.
A huge chunk of debris broke off—falling straight toward the students.
Time slowed. How? Well this world isn’t meant to follow the laws of realism.

(Back to the main group.)

(Shindo froze, horrified.)
"If only I could’ve sensed farther ahead…"

(Sachi’s face darkened—her usual chaotic nature stripped away.)

I’m useless.
Ms. Shindo is in distress…
And I can’t do a damn thing.

(Daichi, panicking as usual.)
"Dude, this was the outcome of her senses."
"We’re about to witness a disaster on day one…"

Pause.

"Well… looks like it’s time."
"The boy’s about to get his bone."
"Or... a small piece of it, at least."

Unpause.

(Shiro was shaking.)

Crap. Is there anything I can do?

The debris was locked on a straight path down.
The outcome? Inevitable.

(Shiro stood up, barely holding his courage together.)

(Daichi blinked, confused.)
"Dude, what are you doing?"
"Are you trying to save them?"
"I... I don’t know…"

What am I doing!? Save them!? I’m not a hero!

(He caught a glimpse of Shindo’s expression.)
Aghhh.
Fine. I’ll do what I can.
Maybe I’ll score some cool points.

(He took a deep breath, hands visibly shaking.)

Like before, he drew back an invisible string.
Light formed around him—creating a bow in his hand.

"Light... it will always guide you to the right path."

(Shindo watched, wide-eyed.)

FWWWWSHHHH!

The arrow flew—dead-on, perfect. Point-blank.

KRRRSHHH!

But it wasn’t enough.
Just a hole—splitting the debris in two.

No…
My Fate isn’t strong enough…
Piercing Starlight, my ass. How can I fail now?

The debris kept falling.
Students scattered, panicked.

Pause.

"Great attempt…"
"Honestly, better than most people."
"But now... let’s see how a certain group of begrudgingly helpful people deals with it."

Unpause.

(To Gen Zero.)

(Haru gave Rukimi a quick glance.)

Sigh.

"Fine..."

"The Council’s gonna chew us out if we don’t."

(Back to the scene.)

The debris slowed—almost as if gravity flickered off.

(Haru stood firm, her Fate in motion.)
"Get to it."

(Ayuri swooped in, smirking.)
"Aye aye, Ms. Gravity~"

She zipped around, snatching students to safety—who could only stare at her, slack-jawed.

KSHHHH…KRRRRK…KRACK-KRACK…TSHHHHH!

Ice formed beneath, creating a stabilizing foundation.
At the core of it all—Rukimi.

Tch.
"The Fireball better not get hurt moving so recklessly."

(Ichika, scouting with her clones.)
"There are still ten underclassmen on the left."

Keigo—oh sweet Keigo. His Fate wasn’t built for moments like this, so...
Plan B: Tank mode.

(Keigo charged in, body infused with Karo.)
"I got it, I got it!"

He slammed straight into a wall.
Wall: 1
Keigo: 0

"I’m okay!"

(Haru watched, deadpan.)

That idiot…

Of course, it wasn’t over. Another chunk of debris came crashing down—because apparently the universe still wasn’t finished. This time, the so-called principal actually did his job.
At a flick of Enzaki’s hand, smoke bloomed outward, wrapped around the debris, gently cradled it… and erased it into nothing.

"How unsightly…"

(Let’s check in on the main group.)

(Shindo’s panic faded into pure awe.)
"Amazing…"

Back to her starstruck self.
How fast emotions shift.

(Sachi, impressed, watching it all unfold.)
"So this is Gen Zero in action…"
"Might not be able to beat that."

They’re on a whole different level.
Fun…

(Daichi looked both relieved and terrified.)
"Dude… they’re different. And coordinated."

(Shiro watched, jaw tightening.)

Gen Zero...
Of course I try to be a hero…
Just to get overshadowed.
This is barely a fragment of the bone.

"Hey, at least you got something."

(Shindo noticed Shiro’s face softening.)
"Umm… you were really cool when you tried to save them."
"Like a real-life superhero."

(Shiro glitched, brain buffering.)
What? Cool? Me?
She thinks I’m cool?
Yes! You hear that, Rukimi? I’m cool!
Take a hike, Ice Prince!

(Cut to Gen Zero.)

(Rukimi paused, frowning slightly.)
"What the—?"

(Ayuri snuck up behind him.)
"Hey hey, Ice Cube, don’t get distracted."
"Wouldn’t want any more casualties, would we~"

"I wasn’t distracted. Just felt like... someone used my name."
"For a useless purpose…"

"Hey Ghosty, any idea where that light came from?"

(Ichika, deadpan as ever.)
"Seems to be the first-year student with star-shaped pupils."

(Ayuri nudged Rukimi, smirking.)
"Looks like that firsty tried to one-up you.”

"Why would he do such an unnecessary task?"

"You know why~"

(Back to the battlefield.)

Ryo watched as his team handled the chaos unfolding around them, and only then did his gaze shift to Tokeru, now collapsed and utterly drained.

"He preaches all about hard work, how far it got him..."
"Now look at him."
"Pathetic..."

(He signaled to the Arcaria staff.)
"Get him to the medical bay."

(Enzaki approached, placing a hand on Ryo’s shoulder.)
"That was a fine match."
"To think Gen Zero would willingly entertain someone… he must have been worthy."

"We had a vote. 4 to 2."
"It was a calculated approach."

(His eyes narrowed.)
"Why didn’t you intervene?"
"You can read Karo levels down to the decimal."
"There was a 56% chance the students would get seriously injured."
"And 44% of something worse."

(Enzaki chuckled lightly.)
Heh. Heh.
"This was a match, after all."
"Gotta give the people what they want to see."
"I trusted you’d keep an eye on your surroundings.”
“So… thank you and your team for handling it."

(Ryo’s glare sharpened, ice cold.)
"By my analysis, there’s a 2.5% chance of you ever becoming head of this academy."
"It’s been 365 days since I was a first-year."
"And your thought pattern is still untrackable."
"Enzaki…"

"As analytical as always…"

The so-called principal needed a plan—because this wasn’t going to look good for the academy.

(He glanced at the main group.)
"That boy…"
"Star-shaped pupils…"
"Fitting, aim for the stars."

(Shiro shivered.)
"Was someone… watching me?"

"Dude, with how today’s gone..."

"More than likely."

Pause.

“If you’re wondering why Gen Zero was so reluctant to step in…”
“Well, mainly Rukimi—who was, let’s be honest, far more willing to save Shindo than the entire crowd.”
“Him and the rest of Gen Zero?”
“They’re… selective. Not immoral.”
“Just very, very selective.”
“They all believe in ‘doing the right thing.’”
“The issue is that every single one of them has a different definition of what that means.”
“But this time? Yeah… unlucky for them.”
“It all loops right back to the Council.”
“Also, yes, I know what some of you are wondering—why couldn’t the crowd protect themselves with Fate or Karo?”
“First, they’re students.”
“Second, this is a school that teaches them how to use those powers in the first place.”
“Third, not everyone here is that skilled. Some of them can barely use it properly yet.”
“And no, it is absolutely not for plot convenience.”

Unpause.