Chapter 634: Grand Finals
The next few days went by quickly as the nationals were in full swing, and just like everyone expected, Karuza High effortlessly got through the first rounds.
Round of 256, Round of 128, and Round of 64 were all easy wins.
Julia, Dominic, and Beaugard took care of those matches with ease and made it to the second day.
At the start of the second day, Julian also took the stage and dominated the Round of 32, the Round of 16, and the Quarterfinals.
No one was able to stand in the same ring as him for more than one minute, and Julian didn’t show mercy.
His fists were a blur of motion as he swiftly defeated each opponent with precision and power.
The third day rolled around the corner, and Karuza High met their opponents in the semifinals.
It was close at first.
At the first match, Dominic fought Ambrossa High’s first fighter, and after a long battle, Dominic emerged victorious.
However, because of his wounds, he had to stop at the second match, and then Julia took the stage, and with her dancing martial arts style, she defeated her opponent.
She then fought against the ace of Ambrossa High, who was also High Stage Martial Fighter, and it lasted close to ten minutes.
Eventually, with a surprising high kick, Julia knocked out her opponent and brought victory to Karuza High.
The day grew darker.
Lights cascaded down on the big ring. It was time for the finals. It was between Karuza High and Rockstar High.
With the roaring of the crowd, members of Karuza High’s team walked into the arena, wearing their beautiful white jerseys with black flowers.
From the other side, serious-looking members of Rockstar High walked over, and to them, it felt like they were trying to surpass an enormous mountain in the path.
That enormous mountain was Julian, and then after him, there was an even bigger mountain with its top shrouded high in the clouds.
That mountain was Kiernan.
Everyone sat down, and the team staff gave them all drinks to refresh themselves before the important finals match.
"Alright... In the final, these will be our fighters."
Coach Jin said with a sheet of paper in hand, and then said.
"Julia, you will start. Second fighter, it will be you, Julian, and then lastly, if it comes down to that, Kiernan."
Everyone turned to look at Kiernan, and they couldn’t help but smile. He was the last wall, and honestly, no one could even think about the possibility of him losing.
They felt very protected with him guarding their backs.
Kiernan interlocked his hands, leaned slightly forward, and nodded his head with his broad-shouldered figure.
He hadn’t fought in a single match, and he doubted that they needed him for the last match either.
"Bring forth your fighters!"
The referee shouted from the ring.
"Wish me luck~"
With a beautiful smile on her face, Julia stood up, took off her jersey, and entered the ring in her sports bra and shorts.
She looked quite lovely, and her little fan club in the crowd cheered for her loudly.
"Magnus Eriksen vs. Julia Karuza!
"Are the two of you ready?"
The referee asked, and both nodded their heads while making final changes to their equipment, and then they both took their fighting stances.
"With this, the grand final of this year’s nationals will be underway. Good luck, and fight fair!"
"FIGHT!"
The referee whipped his arm down.
With a wide swing of his fist, Magnus came down hard, but Julia slipped under the fist and hooked her leg around his ankle, tripping him to the ground.
THUD!
Magnus’ back landed on the concrete ground, and Julia stomped down, but he quickly rolled out of the way and stood back up with his arms raised as a guard.
"Haa!"
Julia snapped her kick to the left and arched it towards the side of his temple. Magnus put his arms in the way.
In that moment, Julia averted her kick, driving it under Magnus’ guard, and swiftly delivered a powerful blow to his midsection.
"Argh!"
With a painful grunt, Magnus stumbled to the side, and Julia rushed forward, her fists flying like tiny hurricanes.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Magnus just guarded himself as well as he could, trying to block as many of Julia’s punches as possible.
However, it felt like every hit was landing with the force of a sledgehammer.
"Good going, Julia!"
Dominic shouted.
"Very good!"
Beaugard shouted.
"...She has gotten better."
Kiernan said with an approved nod.
"Of course she has. We all have trained our asses off to try to somehow keep up with you, but of course, none of us could."
Julian said with a wry smile.
With the onslaught of her punches, Magnus’ guard slightly dropped, and Julia immediately slid her fist past his guard, landing a solid blow to his chin.
Magnus’ eyes shook, and he staggered to the side, stumbling close to the edge of the ring, and Julia came forward with a kick to the chest.
It sent him flying off the ring, and Magnus landed outside.
"Whistle~
"Winner is Julia Karuza!"
The referee immediately announced!
"Yay!"
Julia smiled and cheered, but then she turned to look at Kiernan and saw him clapping with a smile on his face.
It also made her smile. She was happy to impress him. It would’ve been horrible if she went and lost.
It would’ve meant that all of her training had been for nothing.
"Will you keep fighting?"
The referee asked.
"...No."
Julia shook her head, stepped out of the ring, and sat back down on the bench.
Everyone in the crowd was surprised. She wasn’t exhausted or anything and could’ve easily kept fighting.
She might’ve even been able to defeat the second fighter of Rockstar High.
"Are you sure?"
Kiernan looked over to her and saw her smiling mysteriously.
The rest of the team also stayed quiet. It looked like they were planning something. Something that Kiernan was not aware of.
"My turn!"
Julian stood up, slid the jersey off his broad shoulders, and took the ring with a handsome smile on his face.