Chapter 48: The Final Five Percent
The semifinals began with Lyra.
Her opponent was a 7-Star sword user from the northern barracks, a tall girl with a reputation for aggressive footwork. She started the match with high energy, putting pressure on Lyra with a series of downward slashes intended to keep her on the defensive.
Lyra didn’t retreat.
She caught every strike on the shaft of her spear, angling it perfectly to send the sword sliding away and leaving the girl off-balance. The girl lunged too far and left herself open; instantly, Lyra’s spear flashed forward with the speed and precision of a striking snake.
The flat of the spearhead hit the girl’s chest.
Whack.
The sword user slid across the stage and out of the ring before she could recover.
"Winner: Lyra Ashford. Advancing to the Championship Final."
The crowd went wild. Lyra walked off the stage with her chin high and her spear resting on her shoulder like she’d just finished a morning warmup.
Renna screamed so loud from the player box that three people flinched.
Bzzt.
"Semifinal round two. Holden Voss versus Draven Valcrest. Competitors to the stage."
Holden stood up.
Across the waiting room, Draven was already moving. But something was different about him. He was moving in a shaky, nervous way, like a man who’d had too much coffee and not enough sleep.
His two family guards flanked him as he walked to the corridor. One of them handed him a small vial. Draven snatched it, popped the cap, and swallowed whatever was inside in one quick motion.
Holden noticed.
He filed it away and kept walking.
The crowd sounded different when they heard Draven’s name. Half the people were booing him. The other half watched in stunned silence.
Draven stepped onto the stage first.
He didn’t have the regular academy gear on. Instead, he wore fancy black armor with gold decorations. It looked very expensive, and it looked like he was cheating by wearing it in this tournament.
The referee frowned at the armor but didn’t say anything. The Valcrest name had a way of making officials suddenly forget the rulebook.
Then Draven’s aura flared.
It came in a violent burst. His energy spiked from his normal 6-Star level and kept climbing. 7-Star. 8-Star. It didn’t stop until it hit a roaring 9-Star that made the air around him shimmer with heat.
The crowd gasped.
"That’s a combat augmentation pill," Emric said from the player box, his voice tight with anger. "Class B at minimum. They’re forbidden in sanctioned academy matches because they cause permanent meridian damage with repeated use. The referee should have disqualified him immediately."
"Valcrest money," Renna muttered darkly.
Draven laughed.
"Look at all of you staring!" he shouted to the crowd. "This is what real power looks like! My family owns this academy! My bloodline has produced generals, commanders, and war heroes! You think some lucky slum orphan can stand against this? You are nothing, Voss! You’ll always be nothing!"
Holden walked to the center of the stage.
He looked at the black armor. He looked at the fake 9-Star aura. He looked at Draven’s eyes and the sweat running down his temple from the pill’s side effects.
"If your family bought your skills, Draven, you should really ask for a refund."
The crowd laughed.
Draven’s face twisted. "Stop laughing! I’ll crush you! I’ll break every bone in your body!"
"Interesting threat from a guy who needed a pill and a suit of illegal armor just to feel confident. What’s next? Are your family guards going to hold my arms?"
"Shut up!"
The referee’s hand dropped.
"Begin!"
Draven charged. The pill-enhanced aura made him faster than he had any right to be. His fist came in low, aimed at Holden’s stomach, wrapped in crackling energy.
Holden didn’t move.
He planted his feet and activated Iron-Body.
Thud.
The punch hit his palm. The impact was real. The pill had given Draven genuine 9-Star striking power for a short period. The force traveled up Holden’s arm, hitting his meridians like a battering ram.
[Foundation stabilization: 96%...]
"Is that it?" Holden said.
Draven snarled, throwing one punch after another. He launched a frantic series of heavy blows aimed at Holden’s chest, ribs, and jaw. Each strike felt desperate, carrying the wild energy of someone who’d borrowed power they didn’t know how to control.
Holden caught them all.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Every hit was a hammer against his anvil. Every shockwave compressed his meridians tighter, harder, more solid. The last five percent of unstable energy was being pounded into shape by Draven’s own stolen strength.
[Foundation stabilization: 98%...]
"My family owns you!" Draven screamed between punches. "I’ll have you expelled! I’ll have your sister thrown into the streets!"
"You should probably focus on the fight," Holden said calmly. "You’re embarrassing yourself."
[Foundation stabilization: 99%...]
Draven threw everything into one final, messy swing. He poured all the remaining energy from the pill into that one strike, hoping to end the fight then and there.
Holden caught it on his forearm.
The shockwave cracked the floor beneath his feet.
[Ding!]
[Foundation stabilization: 100% COMPLETE.]
[All meridian channels fully solidified.]
[Energy foundation is now stable and locked.]
[Status update: READY FOR RANK 2 CATALYST.]
The notification blazed across Holden’s vision. Every part of his body felt steady and calm. The wild energy that had been bouncing around inside him since he leveled up was finally solid and ready.
He looked at Draven.
Draven’s fist remained pinned against Holden’s forearm. His arms were shaking. The pill’s energy was already starting to fade. His 9-Star aura flickered like a dying lightbulb.
"Time’s up," Holden said.
He activated Asura’s Ignition.
Red energy burst out around his fist at maximum intensity. The temperature in the arena changed as heat radiated off his arm in visible waves.
Draven’s eyes went wide. He tried to pull back.
Too slow.
Holden’s palm hit with the center of Draven’s chest plate.
BOOM.
The black armor didn’t dent. It broke into pieces. The expensive, illegally enhanced plate exploded into a shower of fragments that sprayed across the stage. The force behind the strike lifted Draven clean off his feet and sent him rocketing across the arena.
He crashed into the arena floor in a heap of broken armor. He barely moved. The fake 9-Star aura flickered once and died.
The silence lasted two seconds.
Then the crowd exploded.
"Winner: Holden Voss. Advancing to the Championship Final!"
[Ding!]
[Victory registered.]
[+150 KP]
[Balance: 3,790 KP]
[Rank 1 (9-Star) - Foundation: 100% STABILIZED]
Holden turned and walked toward the player box where his team was waiting. Lyra was already there, having finished her match. She gave him a single, approving nod.
Maeve was writing in her notebook, but she looked up and smiled.
Renna was on her feet, both fists in the air.
"Championship match! You and Lyra! This is the best day of my life!"
Holden leaned against the wall and let the 100% foundation settle into his bones. Solid and ready for what came next.