The announcer's voice bood through the Nexus Arena, but Noah barely registered the words. Two days. Forty-eight hours since Kelvin had disappeared. Forty-eight hours of searching, planning, and hitting nothing but dead ends. And now he was expected to fight like nothing had happened.
"...AND IN THIS CORNER, FROM ACADEMY NINE, THE RISING STAR WHO'S SHOCKED VETERANS WITH HIS UNIQUE DEFENSIVE STYLE—ELIO VAAN, THE FEEDBACK DEMON!"
The crowd roared as a lean figure with shock-white hair entered the arena. Elio Vaan moved with liquid confidence, his Academy Nine uniform modified with pitch-black accents. He raised one hand to acknowledge the cheers, but his eyes—heterochromatic, one ice-blue and one amber—remained fixed on Noah.
"FACING HIM FROM ACADEMY TWELVE, THE SURPRISE SENSATION OF THIS TOURNANT—NOAH ECLIPSE!"
The applause for Noah was thunderous, his previous victories having earned him a following. He didn't acknowledge it. His focus had narrowed to a laser point, and everything else—the crowd, the comntators, even his own teammates in the stands—faded to background noise.
'Find the Rowes in the VIP section later. Find out where Kelvin is. End this quickly.'
Commander Owen leaned forward in his seat, frowning slightly as he studied Noah's body language. "Sothing's off with Eclipse today."
Miss Brooks who was invited by commander Owen as it was her student and he'd taken a liking to the year one had her usual clipboard abandoned as she watched her student with growing concern. "He's usually thodical, analytical. Today he looks..."
"Dangerous," Owen finished for her.
In the Academy Twelve section, Sophie Reign sat alone where Kelvin should have been, her usually perfect posture now rigid with tension. She'd never seen Noah like this—jaw set, eyes cold, moving with barely contained fury.
"Don't do anything stupid," she whispered.
This were a bit more serious now that it was getting close to the end of the tournant. There was a ref in the ring.
The referee moved to the center of the platform. "Competitors, approach."
Noah and Elio stepped forward. Up close, Noah could see the unusual gleam in Elio's mismatched eyes—an eager, almost hungry anticipation.
"Semi-final rules are in effect," the referee stated. "Match continues until knockout, surrender, or referee stoppage. Lethal force is prohibited. Begin on my mark."
Elio's lips curved into a smile. "Been looking forward to this, Eclipse. Heard you're tough." He rolled his shoulders, a strangely fluid motion. "Good. I need sothing that won't break too easily."
Noah said nothing, his silence more unnerving than any response.
The referee looked between them, sensing the tension. "Three. Two. One. BEGIN!"
The containnt field humd to life around the platform, and Elio imdiately dropped into a stance that seed designed to invite attack—open, almost vulnerable.
'Baiting ,' Noah recognized. 'His ability requires him to take damage first.' he'd done his howork. Not to ntion, Elio was a popular na in this competition.
Normally, Noah would circle, analyze, find the optimal approach. But sothing had shifted in him over the past forty-eight hours. Patience felt like luxury he couldn't afford.
Noah closed the distance with explosive speed, white chi energy flaring around his limbs as he augnted his already enhanced physique. He launched a testing jab—not his full strength, but enough to gauge reaction.
Elio didn't dodge. The punch connected cleanly with his jaw, snapping his head to the side.
Rather than showing pain, Elio's grin widened. A visible ripple of energy coursed through his body from the impact point.
"Thanks for that," he purred, and before Noah could retreat, Elio's counter-punch rocketed forward with unnatural acceleration.
The blow caught Noah in the sternum with twice the force he'd delivered.
[-23 HP]
Noah's HP: [677/700]
Noah skidded backward, eyes narrowing. The blow had been significantly stronger than his own—amplified by Elio's ability.
'Reactive Torque. He stores impact energy and redirects it.'
He'd barely completed the thought when Elio rushed forward, that sa eager smile on his face. "Don't hold back on my account!"
Noah blocked the next flurry of strikes, each one carrying more force than should be possible from Elio's fra. Even blocking was costing him.
[-8 HP]
[-12 HP]
HP: [651/700]
In the stands, Sophie leaned forward, fingers digging into her knees. "He's not fighting right," she muttered. "Noah's letting anger drive him."
In the competitors area, Lila watched with equal intensity, her usual composure fractured. "He's going to get himself hurt."
At the vip area, Elise and Marcus Rowe observed with clinical interest. "Fascinating approach," Marcus comnted mildly, as if discussing a mildly interesting science experint rather than an Academy tournant.
Elise sipped her drink. "The boy is fighting emotionally. Sloppy."
Back in the ring, Noah switched tactics. If every hit he landed would be turned against him, he needed to be more selective. He channeled chi energy into his legs, increasing his mobility as he circled Elio.
"Running already?" Elio taunted, rotating to keep Noah in his sights. "And here I thought Academy Twelve's Zombie Boy was supposed to be fearless."
Noah's jaw tightened at the nickna. Under normal circumstances, words wouldn't affect him. But these weren't normal circumstances.
'Rember the objective. End this quickly. Find Kelvin.'
He feinted left, then exploded right, launching into a combination that targeted Elio's joints rather than power centers—strikes designed to disable, not damage.
Elio blocked the first two hits but took the third on his shoulder. The impact clearly registered, but instead of wincing, his eyes glead brighter.
"Yes," he breathed, and the word carried disturbing satisfaction. "More."
The energy from Noah's strike visibly cycled through Elio's body, and he channeled it into a spinning kick that caught Noah in the ribs.
[-27 HP]
Noah's HP: [580/700]
"What's Vaan's deal?" Commander Owen asked, leaning toward another instructor. "That's not normal pain response."
"Pain Sync," the instructor replied. "Converts damage received into power output. Kid's a natural counter-puncher."
"And the creepy smile?"
"That's just Elio. He genuinely enjoys the sensation. Calls it 'Grin Trigger'—the more pain he's in, the calr and more focused he becos. Most fighters lose control when hurt. Vaan gains it."
Owen frowned. "Bad matchup for Eclipse."
In the ring, Noah reset his stance, analyzing. Each exchange was feeding Elio's power. Conventional attacks weren't working.
'Need to disrupt his system. Break the pattern.'
Noah circled again, this ti channeling chi to his hands. They glowed with subtle white energy, enough to enhance his strikes beyond normal physical capacity.
When he struck again, he aid not for Elio's body but for the floor directly in front of him. The platform cracked under the enhanced blow, creating montary instability under Elio's feet.
The Academy Nine fighter's eyes widened in surprise as his footing shifted. Noah capitalized imdiately, driving forward with a palm strike to Elio's chest that disrupted his breathing rhythm.
Elio staggered back, still grinning despite the montary disadvantage. "Creative," he gasped. "But pain is pain, no matter how you deliver it."
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