Another one wins, and another one loses. Both Krystal and Filo had truly amazing fights, but, unfortunately, not everyone can win. And now, I don't know which fight i'm more excited to do. Ayuma and Todoroki or Krystal and Midoriya. Both will be incredible, that's all I can say. But, there's one more squad member we need to get through before we move on to the quarter finals. It's Alex's turn. Time to see what our king can do against someone who may rival his intelligence and has one of the most versatile quirks ever seen. And, since this is the third chapter of Ayu's side of the missions, that means the next chapter we'll be switching back over to Naofumi's team in their world. Enjoy!

-POV: Alex-

Both Krystal and Filo gave it their all in the last two matches. But unfortunately, Krystal was the only one of the two to advance. That means only Ayuma and Krystal move on in their side of the battle bracket. And as for me, i'm the only remaining fighter on my side of the bracket who's part of our squad. If I win my next match, then i'll join Ayuma and Krystal in the quarter finals. But first, I need to get past my next opponent. 

My first two in the opening matches weren't too tough but they did have some interesting quirks. One was named Tokage from class 3-B and she had to ability to split apart her body and make her parts float around. The other was class 3-A and was a taller boy who got stronger when he consumed sugar. I believe his name was Sato. 

The person I face next is also from class 3-A. Her name is Momo Yaoyorozu. I was able to watch a little bit of her first match. She had a quirk that lets her create any non-living object from her body. Swords, nets, shields, even some cannons. It's highly versatile and i'll need to be extra careful to ensure she doesn't catch me off guard.

So many of my comrades have tried their hardest. They've all gone past their limits already. I've yet to face an opponent in this world that has pushed me so far, but I feel I may face one very soon. And, if it were not for U.A's doctors and nurses, our team would've lost all our members quite some time ago. Given that this world has no mana, the only way we can use our magic is from the mana that we ourselves possess. And that's a very limited supply. We must be wary of how much we use and how we're using it at all times, otherwise we may run out at the worst possible time.

"Okay, everybody! It's time we move on to the second half of our fights for the top 16! And this first one's sure to be an entertaining one! Can our two combatants please make their way down to the arena!?" Present Mic announced as I got up from my seat in the balcony and made my way down to my entrance gate.

"Man, those first four fights were honestly jaw-dropping. I can't say which one was my favourite or which of our current quarter finalists to keep an eye on. As expected, members of U.A's big three have already advanced to the next round. The only one who hasn't so far is Katsuki Bakugo who will be competing in the match after this next one. And, as for these exchange students, each and every one of them has been amazing so far. And i'm sure the ones who are still in the competition have much more to show us all." Wrath Queen said into her microphone. 

"I'm with ya there, Queen. And this next fight features the last remaining exchange student! Who's ready to give him some big cheers!?" Mic asked the crowd as everyone went wild. I finally reached my gate and stood there, waiting for my name to be called.

"Let's get the second half of the top 16 started then! First up, she gain entrance into U.A because of some high recommendations and she's lived up to that example with every move she's made! The girl who can make whatever she wants from her own skin, from class 3-A, it's Yaoyorozu!" Wrath Queen introduced her. Yaoyorozu had long black hair that was tied in a spiky ponytail, and she had her training jacket open to reveal black shorts and a black sports bra. 

"From what I could tell in her first fight, she has to have skin exposed in order to create an object from her body." I thought to myself. 

"And as for her opponent, he marvelously predicted his opponents moves in his first match, achieving victory in near record time! He's the master of all metals with no clear weakness yet so you'd better watch your back! Our exchange student who came all the way from Austria! It's Alex!" Mic introduced me as I walked into the arena and over to the battlefield.

"Out of all seven of you exchange students, from what I've seen, you perhaps have the most potential in combat. I look forward to this fight of ours." Yaoyorozu said to me as I thanked her. 

"As do I. I can tell you're highly intellectual and precise in battle. I'm sure it won't be easy for me to get the jump on you." I said to her as she chuckled a bit. 

"We shall see." Yaoyorozu said. 

"Alright, I think we've waited long enough! Let's get match number five underway!" Wrath Queen shouted as we both took ready positions. 

"3.... 2.... 1....." Mic began to say as Wrath Queen jumped back in. 

"BEGIN!!!!!" She roared as me and Yaoyorozu charged each other. 

"I told you to stop stealing my lines!" Mic shouted. 

"And I told you to stop being an attention hog but nooooooo, you always have to have the final word!" Wrath Queen argued back as I shut out their little dispute. 

"Now, Iron arrows!" I yelled as my ball of iron I keep on me came floating out of my back right pocket. I separated it into 4 smaller balls and formed them into round tipped arrows. I was allowed to make weapons so long as I made them without any lethal components. And, while the arrows may be round tipped, the speed at which I fire them will still cause serious damage. 

"Now go! Fly!" I shouted as I sent all four arrows flying at Yaoyorozu.

"Measily toys like that won't slow me down! Riot Shield!" Yaoyorozu shouted as she held her left arm across her chest. The midsection of her forearm began to glow and a large shield, bigger than her own body came out of her skin and blocked my attack with great ease. 

"She has excellent control and reaction time with her quirk. To make an object like that massive shield so quickly..... it practically breathes experience." I thought to myself as I kept on running for her.

"Now, take this!" Yaoyorozu said as she sidestepped and revealed a small catapult system behind her. 

"What!? She must've made that thing behind her shield so I couldn't see it!" I thought as she pulled its lever. The catapult launched a spherical ball at me that came at an exceptional speed. 

"Copper Shield!" I shouted as a ball of copper came floating out of my left pocket. I formed it into a large circular shield which was able to block Yaoyorozu's projectile.

"I figured as much. You keep several different types of metal on your person, and you can control them whenever you need one. That last attack of mine was a test to see what you'd choose. Copper is generally a weaker metal so you played with a bit of risk in that last defensive move. But luckily for you, I only fired a bowling ball at you so there was no chance I could break through. But, I know you hold many more types of metal on you, and i'm sure the stronger they become, the stronger you get too, am I right?" Yaoyorozu asked me as she literally figured everything out. 

"Intellectual is an understatement. You're simply genius. You deduced my common strategy when it comes to my ability. However, you'll have to really push me if you want to get past my strongest metals." I said to her as I used my copper and formed it into a round edged katana. 

"A battle of swordsmanship? Very well..." Yaoyorozu said as, from her right elbow, a sword came out of her skin, round edged just like mine. 

"I accept your challenge. Let's see whose steel is mightier." She said as we both began to circle each other, both of us using proper swordsman footwork and positions. 

"I can tell you fight with a great sense of ease. But one must never underestimate their opponent. That is the first step to defeat. Now, let's see if you're falling down that path!" I shouted as I swung my sword from my left at her. She raised hers up and blocked her right upper body. She deflected my sword and sparks went everywhere.

"Sparks? But our swords have dull blades. A clash between them shouldn't produce sparks at all." I said as Yaoyorozu held her sword now with both her hands. 

"I made this sword out of magnesium. While it's a weaker material than your copper sword, it may just have an explosive touch if you're not careful. Now, have at thee!" Yaoyorozu shouted as she thrusted her sword at me. I deflected it with an upward slash but she quickly brought her sword back down and struck my right shoulder. The blow didn't cut me at all but the strength of her swing was very strong. I wouldn't be surprised if she cracked the bones in my shoulder with that hit. 

"I see..... so you performed a sloppy move to create a diversion which you then turned into an opening to attack me. Impressive." I said to her as she thanked me.

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, take this!" Yaoyorozu shouted as, from her left elbow, she pulled a large net out of her skin and threw it at me. She was within 10 feet of me so I had to react fast, otherwise, i'd be ensnared and wide open to a strong attack.

"Such a simple object will not take me down." I said as I sharpened the blade of my sword and cut right through it. I then changed it back to a round edge so I wouldn't be disqualified. 

"Your reflexes are sharp, Alex! You remind me of one of my classmates, only you're not a raging hothead all the time!" Yaoyorozu said as she leaped over to me and did a downward swing in midair. I blocked from above and we clashed once again. She landed in front of me and we went into a shoving match. But, while we both tried to push each other back, I took notice of something rather concerning. Yaoyorozu was only wielding her sword with one hand now.

"I've got you right where I want you now!" She shouted as she revealed she had a red padded glove on her left hand now. She thrusted it forward and struck my gut, making me lose balance and allowing her to push me back and down onto the ground.

"Damn it!" I shouted as she relentlessly kept on swinging her sword down at me. I kept on blocking but there was only so much I was going to take. The sparks from her sword were landing on me and were burning my skin a bit.

"I need to get out of this, and fast! Do I make a second sword? No..... I need something else!" I thought to myself as I focused and made my ball of cobalt float out of my right pocket. 

"Change form: Cobalt Eagle!" I shouted as the metal reshaped itself into a small eagle. Normally it was much larger in size, bigger than a person, but with Yaoyorozu attacking me, I couldn't focus enough to get it to that size. 

"Now, attack!" I shouted as my metal eagle flew over Yaoyorozu and reached out with its talons. It latched onto her hair and slowly began to pull her off of me.

"Looks like Alex's matery of metal goes beyond crafting simple weaponry! He can even make creatures from his ability! These two certainly have versatile quirks, wouldn't you agree!?" Mic announced as Wrath Queen agreed with him.

"Get off of me, damn bird!" Yaoyorozu shouted as she made some sort of black device from her left hand. It had electricity coursing through the end of it and she used it to strike my eagle. The eagle screeched in pain as it let go of her and flew over to me, landing on my right shoulder. 

"Most metals are excellent conductors of electricity. So, I figured a taser was a good weapon to strike back. Too bad I can't use it on you. That would get me disqualified." Yaoyorozu said as she tossed the taser away.

"Yes, indeed. A weapon like that would most likely do serious damage to an opponent, such as our swords if they had sharpened edges. However, I believe it's time we test the limits of our weaponry. You've faced my cobalt eagle, but can you best this?" I said as dissolved my eagle, turned it back into a ball of cobalt and put it back in my pocket. I then took out a ball of titanium and made it float in front of me. 

"Change form: Titanium Tiger Head!" I shouted as the ball reshaped itself into a massive head of a tiger. It let out a metallic roar and Yaoyorozu seemed stunned by this. 

"Such control and creativity......he may even be better than the best we have....." I heard her say as I sent my tiger head flying at her. 

"But even if he is better than them, that doesn't mean he's better than me!" Yaoyorozu shouted as she pulled a 6 foot metal rod out of her skin and stood ready to counter the metal tiger head. When it neared her, she held her rod straight up and down in front of her and thrusted it forward. She jammed the rod into the tigers mouth to ensure it couldn't bite her. However, the tiger head was still pushing her back towards the edge of the battlefield. 

"I will not let some oversized kitten head defeat me! I'll show just how much I've trained my quirk over the time I've been here at U.A! Ultimate Move: Anti-Air Striker!" Yaoyorozu shouted as I saw a cannon barrel appear out of her chest, then her two arms. She aimed all three of them forward and fired at my tiger head. She blew it to pieces and then fired even more shots at me. They were so fast that I barely had any time to react.

"Silver Shield!" I shouted as, as fast as I could, I pulled out my ball of silver and turned it into a large shield in front of me. But, Yaoyorozu's shots were much stronger than I thought they would be. They blasted right through my shield and struck me, sending me flying across the battlefield and landing hard on my back near the edge.

"And Yaoyorozu's strikes back with her strongest technique! It looks like Alex is in rough shape after that last hit! Will he be able to continue or has Yaoyorozu won!?" Wrath Queen announced.

"It appears that not even your strongest attack could best me. What will you do now to counter my onslaught?" Yaoyorozu asked as she walked over to me and held her cannon barrels in my face. 

"Go ahead and fire." I said which caught her by surprise. 

"What did you say?" She asked me. 

"You heard me. I said fire. You're still going to lose this fight." I told her as I heard her barrels become loaded.

"Very well, but it's your funeral!" She shouted as she fired. Her shots exploded on contact and made a massive cloud of smoke in the arena. 

"You brought this upon yourself. Had you not have wished for it, that wouldn't have happened to you." Yaoyorozu said as I heard her start to walk away from me. 

"You underestimated me....." I said back to her as I stood up. The smoke was cleared and she turned to see me standing tall before her. 

"And because of that, you've just guaranteed you'll lose." I said to her as I revealed I was now wearing metal armor all over my body. Mere moments before she struck me, I used my strongest metal, Tungsten to cover up my body and drastically softened the blow.

"But I shot you at point blank range! There's no way you could've covered your body that quickly!" She said to me as I marched forward. 

"Anything is possible if you try hard enough. And now, you're gonna taste my metal." I said as I threw a punch at her. She sidestepped to her right and dodged my punch and then aimed one of her cannon carrels right at my chest. She fired and struck me again and the impact sent me sliding backwards a few feet. But, I stayed standing. I barely felt the hit at all thanks to the armor. 

"There's no way!" Yaoyorozu cried as I started to run for her. 

"Second step to failure is self-doubt! Not believing what is possible and impossible leads you down the path of failure! You've all but handed me this win now!" I shouted as she aimed her centre cannon barrel at me and loaded it up. But, before she could fire, I reached out with both of my hands and grabbed the end of the barrel. I used all my strength to block the hole when she fired. And when she did, the shot exploded within the barrel and created backlash on Yaoyorozu, engulfing her in a small explosion that sent her sliding along the battlefield on her back.

"And step three..... allowing your opponent to convince you that you've lost." I said as I walked over to Yaoyorozu. She laid on her back, not moving at all and smoke coming out of her mouth. This battle was over. 

"Yaoyorozu has been knocked out! Alex is the winner! He advances to the quarter finals!" The official announced as I removed my armor and turned the metal back into a ball.

"What a turnaround! Alex has come back from the dead to bury Yaoyorozu!" Mic announced as the crowd went berserk for my victory.

"With an excellent display of power, intelligence and strategy, he moves on to the quarter finals!" Wrath Queen shouted as I crouched down next to Yaoyorozu and picked her up in my arms. She regained consciousness when I picked her up and she immediately started to groan from the pain she was in. 

"That...... was a bold move....... But it was...... brave too...... I give you my respect....." She said to me as we exchanged smiles. 

"I thank you. Someday I hope we fight by each others side. I'm sure we would both compliment each other nicely with how our abilities function." I said to her as she gave me a slow nod. 

"That...... would be...... nice....... yeah......." She said as she fainted again. I left with her in hand out of the arena and all the way over to the infirmary. I didn't take a lot of damage in the fight but I did want to have my shoulder checked out in case it may have broken.

When I got to the infirmary, I laid down Yaoyorozu in a bed and U.A's head nurse went to heal her. And, according to the nurses X-ray machine, my shoulder was going to be fine. No fractures anywhere, thankfully.

"Sounds like you won out there, Alex. Congrats!" Ayuma said as she came over to me and hugged me. It was so nice to see her out of bed and walking again. In fact, everyone came over to congratulate me except for Itsuki and Filo who were nowhere to be found.

"Thanks everyone. Yaoyorozu here sure put up a tough fight though. I really had to think outside the box in order to claim victory." I told everyone.

"Nah, nothing's too tough for you. And, after I take down Ayuma when we win our next matches, you and I are gonna fight in the finals. And i'm gonna take you down." Krystal said to me with a bit of a chuckle. 

"Is that so? Well, you'll just have to make it to the finals then. And that's assuming you can match Ayuma's power and even Midoriya's power." I said to her. 

"Piece of cake." She replied as we all just laughed. 

"The next match is starting in a few minutes. Come on, we should go back to the balcony and see who you'll be facing next, Alex." Ayuma said as we all agreed. 

"Anyone see where Filo and Itsuki went?" I asked but everyone shook their heads. 

"They were gone by the time I woke up. And they both apparently left while everyone else was out of the room. So, we're not too sure. They're probably up in the balcony too." Ayuma said.

"Sure. That's probably the likely solution. Now, let's go." I said as we headed off to watch the next battle.

-POV: Itsuki-

"So what're we doing out here, bow guy?" Filo asked me as we walked down the streets of the city. We both left the stadium to do some other work while everyone else stayed to fight. We were both wearing normal clothing though so we wouldn't stand out too much. 

"We're looking for more heroes who could help us in the oncoming fight. Just keep your eyes open, Filo." I told her as she gave me a nod. 

As much as I wanted to stay and watch everyone else fight, I felt this was a better use of my time now that I was out of the competition. And, I felt it would be nice to bring along Filo too. If she started to do something, then it might cheer her up a bit from her loss earlier.

"How will we know where the heroes are?" She asked me. 

"Well, we go looking for danger. Wherever it is, i'm sure there'll be a hero there to stop it." I told her as, all of a sudden, we could here the sound of sirens up ahead. 

"What's that noise? Is that the danger you were talking about?" Filo asked me as I gave her a nod. 

"Sure is. Come on. Let's hurry before the heroes leave." I said as we both started running towards the sirens.

When we arrived, we saw a building had caught on fire. It didn't seem like any villains were around, meaning this was probably an electrical fire or something along those lines. Police had taped off the vicinity of the building as a crowd of people had amassed to see what was happening. 

"Stand back everyone. There's a hero inside and, from information we received from a resident of the building, there's just one other person inside. Once the hero gets out with the resident in hand, firetrucks will need you to back away so they can douse the flames." A police officer told everyone as he tried to control the crowd. 

"Once this is all over, you and I are gonna try and meet this hero, okay, Filo?" I said to her as she gave me a nod. 

"Look! Up there!" We heard a bystander shout as everyone looked up to one of the top windows of the building. We all watched as the hero emerged with a little girl in his arms. This hero was dressed in a light brown jacket with white fur along its edges, along with similarly coloured pants, black boots, and yellow goggles over his eyes. He also had two large red bird wings coming out of his back, which based on my guess was his quirk.

"It's the number 2 hero, Hawks!" The crowd of people shouted. 

"Alright firefighters, take out these flames!" We heard Hawks shout as the crowd backed off to let the firefighters wash away the flames in  the building. 

"The number 2 hero..... Wrath Queen said she was only the number 12 hero, meaning this guy must be serious business. Someone like him would surely make a huge difference in the battle to come." I thought to myself as I watched Hawks land near the front of the crowd and hand the little girl in his hands over to who I assumed was her mother.

"Okay, Filo. He's right there. Now's our chance to.... speak....." I began to say to her as I turned to face her. But, she was gone. I looked around for her but I couldn't see her anywhere. She wasn't in the crowd of people anymore. 

"Filo!?" I shouted as, from the corner of my eye, about 40 feet away from me, I saw someone run down an alleyway with her in their arms. 

"No, Filo!" I shouted as I gave chase to the person. I ran over to the entrance to the alleyway and I saw the person running about 30 feet ahead of me. Filo looked unconscious in their arms, meaning whatever they did to her, they did it quick. 

"Get back here!" I shouted as I continued to chase the person. They turned down a corner and left my sight briefly. I nearly tripped over some garbage as I chased them but I quickly made it to the corner and turned down it. However, all that was there for me to meet was a fist to my face. Someone was there waiting for me and they delivered a massive punch to my face that flattened me on the ground. The impact send my head reeling back, hitting it hard off the ground to the point where I instantly blacked out.

"B..... Bow..... Bow guy, wake up!" I heard Filo shouting as I slowly began to open up my eyes. My head felt like it wanted to burst open from pain and my vision was quite hazy. I couldn't see much but I could tell we were in a dark room with nothing but a single light shining down on us. 

"Where...... where are we?" I questioned as I tried to move. But, when I attempted to lift myself up, I found I couldn't move my arms or legs. My vision was starting to get clearer and I saw I was seated in a chair, my wrists and ankles were handcuffed to the arms and legs of it. 

"What the hell's going on!?" I questioned as I turned my head around to see Filo in a chair behind me in the same position. 

"Nice to see one of the weakling heroes is awake." I heard a familiar voice say as someone walked out of the darkness right up to me. 

"How're you doing, kiddo?" L'arc asked me as he gave me a light punch on my left arm. Therese was here as well, standing behind him on his left. 

"You two!? What're you doing here!? Actually, how did you get here!? This isn't Melromarc!" I asked him as I struggled to break free of my handcuffs. 

"We got word of what you and the other heroes of your world were doing. Believe me, we're not trying to ensure you lose your little war with the demons. We're just doing what we were sent here to do. And that's destroy your worlds heroes." Therese said as L'arc held his scythe up to his neck. 

"How many more heroes are in this world with you?" He asked me as I spit onto his face. 

"Like hell i'd tell someone like you!" I shouted at him as he just shook his head at me. He then walked around me and grabbed the back of Filo's chair. He dragged her over and in front of me and then held his scythe up to her neck. 

"I don't want to do this but I will if I have to. How many more heroes are in this world with you! Answer me or Filo dies!" L'arc demanded as I looked into Filo's eyes. She looked afraid. I couldn't just sit here and watch him kill her. 

"Okay, okay, that's enough! I'll tell you, alright?" I said as he let Filo go. 

"Then answer the question." He said to me as I let out a heavy sigh and gave him the info he wanted. 

"Three different worlds were opened up. Me and Ayuma came to this one, Naofumi and Motoyasu went to the second, and Ren went to the third." I explained to him as he chuckled a bit. 

"So, you came here with the demon girl, eh? Good, I've been meaning to settle the score with her after she nearly ate me and my companions." L'arc said as he looked to Therese to see her give him a nod in agreement. 

"Where is she now?" Therese asked me. 

"She's in a competition. There's a place called U.A high. It's holding its annual sports festival today. We all entered and, if we emerged victorious, then we would be allowed to take some of the schools students back with us to Melromarc to fight." I explained. 

"Alright, so we go to this U.A, crash their little festival, take her out and then come back and take you out." L'arc told me. 

"Why take Ayuma out first? I mean, i'm right here, defenseless, aren't I? You could just take me out right now if you wanted to." I asked them. 

"Don't worry, kiddo. Your time will come soon. We just prefer to take out the bigger threats first, like the axe hero." L'arc said to me. 

"Oh yeah? Well, if you think you can just walk in there and take her out, then you're sadly mistaken. U.A is a school that trains heroes, and they're the ones we're fighting in the sports festival. Plus, other pro heroes are spectating the event. If you go in there right now, then you're the ones who'll be taken down." I explained to L'arc as he just chuckled away. 

"Then we'll just have to wait for the right time to strike." Therese said which made me curious. 

"And when will that be?" I asked them. 

"When the final match is over. All the combatants who fought before will most likely be exhausted and the two in the finals will probably beat each other to near death. If we can get around these other pro heroes, then killing Ayuma will be a piece of cake." L'arc explained. 

"You won't succeed! King Alex and some of our other forces are there as well! We'll stop you and send you back to your world with your tails between your legs!" I shouted back to L'arc as he stopped chuckling and threw a punch into my face. 

"I'm starting to get tired of your voice. You gave us everything we needed to here, so now, all we have to do is watch and wait. In fact, why don't the four of us do it together." L'arc said as Therese rolled over a tv on a stand. L'arc turned it on to the station that was viewing the sports festival. The final match of the round of 16 had just ended, meaning we were quickly running out of time before the final match ended.

Me and Filo went looking for danger so we could find more heroes who could help us in our fight. But now, it's danger that found us and we now need a hero to help us. Our lives were now in L'arc's hands now, and he could take us out in an instant. And, once he kills Ayuma, that's exactly what he'll do. He and Therese couldn't have reappeared at a worse time. 

"They just ensured our team fails our mission......"