───

     it was about time that yagi toshinori — the current ruler of the heavens — stepped down from his all mighty throne.

     after all, he's aged quite a bit. and that scar that was given to him from an unruly fight many centuries ago, did not help his cause either.

     "endeavor, what do you think of the new candidates?", all might questioned.

     after all, every god and goddess had a name that they handpicked for themselves, since names held an importance against those who would use it for evil.

     "I see no potential in any of these children; except for my third son, shōto", endeavor swiftly responded, not surprising the other gods and goddesses of japan.

     all might chuckled.

     "well, it's to be expected that a father would support their own child. however, I suggest we hold a competition for everyone this year", all might stated.

     "even the younger ones?", aizawa shōta — eraserhead — questioned.

     after all, there were the gods and goddess at the top of the hierarchy, then the groups: gold, silver, and bronze for the heavenly people (tennin) that are still training to become one.

     with humans below them, demons were at the bottom of the chain, at least from the gods' perspectives.

     "indeed! this is a chance for everyone to do some good on earth and scout out some potential successors for the upcoming centuries", all might smiled, to which everyone had murmured amongst themselves.

     it wasn't until one had bravely raised their hand, catching everyone's attention and silencing them all.

"umm...pardon my question, but will she be participating as well?"

endeavor furrowed his brows, as he immediately shot down the idea.

     "absolutely not! she's not to be released due to that incident that she cau—"

"perhaps", all might interrupted. "perhaps, we can give her another chance. after all, she is skilled...highly competent".

"need I remind you that it's because she was highly competent that she had fallen into the sin that most long for: greed", endeavor stated.

"and who led her there? surely it was partially because someone enticed her with the logic of power is the ultimate way of becoming a god", midnight — kayama nemuri — rebutted, causing endeavor to click his tongue with distaste.

"now now, let's all settle down. those in favor of releasing her, raise your hands", all might declared.

the majority of the gods and goddesses decided that perhaps it wasn't safe for the woman to be unsealed, hence the end of the discussion.

     endeavor grinned, as he had great news for shōto. this had only meant less competition to be the best amongst the best.

     "well? let the competition commence then!", all might officially announced.

"DEMON, COME BACK!!", midoriya izuku, a tennin that used to have no special powers, shouted.

the green-haired boy was followed by his companions: todoroki shōto, uraraka ochako, and iida tenya.

     the four were all heavenly people that were competing to become the next god or goddess; all for their own reasons.

    "SHUT UP, YOU STUPID ANGELS!! LEAVE ME ALONE!", the demon hissed, running into the kinshi forest, as that place was where most of the demons resided.

"I'LL EXORCISE YOU IN HONOR OF THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'VE KILLED!", midoriya proclaimed, rushing after the two-headed demon, as iida had swiftly stopped.

"MIDORIYA!! THE FOREST IS DANGEROUS! WE CAN'T GO IN THERE!!", iida warned.

the green-haired boy obviously didn't hear his friend, as he continued chasing after the monster.

"should we go after him? it'll be even more dangerous if he's by himself", uraraka worried.

"but all might specifically said to stay away from the forest unless it's an emergency", iida stated.

"it is", todoroki mumbled, immediately racing towards the forest as well, prompting uraraka to do the same.

     iida then sighed, rubbing his temples in distress as he too joined them.

     midoriya's breaths shortened as he nearly lost track of the demon, who was surprisingly fast with two heads sitting on top of its shoulders.

unaware of the others that were lurking behind the trees and thin mist, midoriya readied his attack by preparing to fling his middle finger to activate his powers.

"DEMON, COME OUT FROM YOUR HIDING SPOT AND FACE ME!", midoriya shouted, earning a few snickers, as he snapped his head around, only to see nothing but fog.

slowly backing up, the boy's heels smacked against a boulder, to which his heart had momentarily skipped a beat.

realizing that it was just a big stone, the freckled boy softly sighed out a breath of relief.

though there seemed to be a shimenawa and many shides tied all around the rock.

it was as if something — someone — was sealed here.

"what in the worl—"

"MIDORIYA, WATCH OUT!!", todoroki yelled, sending a wave of ice towards his way, as the green-haired boy jumped out of the way.

uraraka hurried to midoriya's side, helping him up, as todoroki had managed to freeze one of the demons.

     "do you sense them?", iida softly questioned, slowly backing up towards his friends, as the four had their shoulders pressed against each other.

     "there's at least three on my right", uraraka informed.

     "six to my left", todoroki stated.

     "and one very strong one right in front of me", midoriya shakily answered.

     hastily, todoroki had set a part of the trees ablaze, freezing another section, as uraraka had lifted some tree trunks — using her gravity powers — throwing them at the lower-level demons.

     iida sped past many, kicking them with his calves that he proudly trained with his older brother.

     meanwhile midoriya observed the giant that had leisurely made its way towards them, the boy had struggled to control his power as he broke a few bones every time he pointed his fingers at the demon.

     it growled, even more triggered than it already was, as it tried stomping the four to death.

     it was careful to not touch the stone, as it knew that there was a barrier that demons could not touch without getting shocked.

"MIDORIYA, HOW MUCH LONGER CAN YOU HOLD UP?!", iida yelled, knocking out plenty of the demons, as he knew that the boy's fingers were nearly all broken.

"DON'T MIND ME!! I STILL HAVE TWO FINGERS LEFT!"

uraraka and todoroki raised their brows in utter concern, as that was not something someone would hear as a way of comfort.

"I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THEM. JUST GIVE ME A MOMENT", uraraka stated, as midoriya had decided that this was not it.

the green-haired boy then hoisted himself up into midair, staring straight in the demon's various eyes, as he gathered up his strength to clench his fists.

"one for all...FORTY-FIVE PERCENT SMASH!"

the demon, sensing major danger, froze in place, as it backed against the boulder that electrocuted him entirely.

     unable to compute, midoriya had smashed his fist into the boss, ruining his intestines, as the rock beneath him had started cracking.

     the invisibly barrier shattered completely, as the ground started to rumble, causing uraraka, todoroki, and iida to glance over at their friend.

     midoriya's arm was slightly smoking, as he stumbled backwards after falling onto his back.

     the demons were all destroyed, but the boulder had cracks all over it, seemingly about to combust.

     "MIDORIYA, WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!", iida yelled, helping the boy by slinging his good arm around his shoulders, as he sped off with uraraka and todoroki following swiftly behind.

     in less than a minute, the boulder had melted into sand-like particles, dispersing, as a woman figure emerged from the shadows.

     midoriya's jaw widened in disbelief, as he momentarily made eye contact with the slender woman.

     "thanks", he heard before completely passing out.