Chapter 152: The Duo Tournament [II]

The instant the announcer’s voice finished the word "Begin," Adrien Fontaine moved.

"Claire, standard open," he said under his breath, already stepping left to create an angle. "I close on Manchester. You stay mid-range and keep the heal ready. If Bluegale tries to separate us, prioritise me. Don’t chase her if she kites."

"Understood," Claire answered. Her hands were already glowing with a soft green life affinity. "Don’t overextend on the first exchange. His fire footage looked wide-range. Wait for a clear opening, then commit. I’ll cover the recovery."

Adrien’s lightning crackled across his arms and shoulders as he accelerated. The plan was simple. He would pressure Kalon hard and fast, force him to reveal a pattern, and rely on Claire to keep him healed.

They had used the same structure to win their qualifying matches and two practice exhibitions. It was reliable.

He was four steps into the charge when something felt wrong.

Adrien’s pure focus on Kalon’s starting position broke for half a second. He flicked his eyes across the field, expecting to track both Academy fighters.

Only Thea Bluegale was still standing on the Academy starting line.

She had not moved. Her stance was ready, weight balanced, hands slightly raised, but she was completely alone. Kalon Manchester was gone from the position he had occupied less than a second earlier.

"Claire, he’s not there," Adrien started, already adjusting his footing.

A heavy, wet impact sounded behind him.

Adrien spun towards it.

Claire Fontaine was on the ground. Her body was twisted at an unnatural angle, neck and upper spine clearly compromised. The death-prevention field had already activated around her in a bright blue shield, locking the damaged area in place while the system forced stabilisation and unconsciousness.

Her eyes were open but unfocused. The green glow of her life affinity had guttered out completely. She was removed from the match in less than two seconds.

Adrien’s mind blanked for a fraction of a second. The formation was gone. The healer was gone. The entire structure of the fight had collapsed before he had even thrown a single proper strike.

Then he saw the one who had done it.

Kalon Manchester stood exactly where Claire had been a moment earlier. A golden crown of pure light hovered above his head, sharp and solid.

Radiance poured off his body in steady, controlled waves, bright enough to throw hard shadows across the arena floor.

The light was insane, and completely different from fire or any earth technique Adrien had ever seen.

Crown of Heaven.

Adrien’s understanding of the match collapsed on the spot.

Three affinities.

Fire. Earth. And now Light.

The Garden Arena reacted a heartbeat later.

A wave of pure disbelief ripped through the audience in the stands. Students from both schools jumped to their feet in the same moment.

Voices overlapped in a chaotic, rising roar that drowned out individual words. Camera drones swung hard and fast to focus on Kalon.

The big display screens around the arena stuttered for a second as the broadcast feed struggled to process the new visual information, then updated in real time with a flashing third affinity tag.

The announcer’s professional voice cracked for the first time all evening.

"W-what— ladies and gentlemen, Claire Fontaine is already down! The death-prevention field has fully activated on her! And Kalon Manchester... he is using Light! That is a third affinity! Fire, Earth, and now Light! This is... this has never been recorded in a Year One match. this is completely unprecedented! Three affinities at this level!"

The words made the crowd to louder. Sections of the Academy stands were shouting in raw shock and rising excitement.

Awakened School students stared with confusion and disbelief. In the lower rows, Theodora Bluegale had stood up completely, eyes locked on the golden crown. Even Atlas himself has wide eyes at that moment.

No one in the arena had an explanation ready. No one had even prepared for the possibility.

Adrien forced his body to move through the shock.

Claire was gone from the fight. The formation was broken... But he still had his lightning.

He still had his speed and his close-range power.

If he could hit Kalon hard enough before the light user fully adjusted, he might still force a reset or at least create enough chaos to survive the next few seconds.

Lightning exploded across Adrien’s arms, legs, and spine. He launched forward in a straight, full-power blitz, fist cocked and crackling with enough current to stun even a high-durability fighter.

The air snapped and popped around him. His only goal was to close the gap and land one clean, decisive strike to the head or chest.

Kalon did not step back.

He did not brace.

He simply raised one hand.

A blade of pure, condensed light formed in his grip, thin, brilliant, and sharply defined along every edge.

Photon Slash.

Adrien saw the weapon take shape in real time. He tried to angle his body mid-charge, tried to alter the final step, tried to bring his lightning up in a desperate defensive burst across his torso.

He was too late.

The light blade moved in a single horizontal cut.

For a split second Adrien felt the impossible sharpness pass through his torso just above the waist. There was no heavy impact, no crushing resistance, only a clean line of perfect separation.

His upper body and lower body lost connection.

The death-prevention field went into full activation around him before the two halves could even begin to fall apart, flooding his system with emergency stasis, forced unconsciousness, and rapid stabilisation.

The last thing Adrien Fontaine registered before the field took him completely was the golden crown still burning above Kalon Manchester’s head, the sound of the entire Garden Arena losing its collective mind, and the distant voice of the announcer shouting something incoherent about a third affinity and a match that had lasted only seconds.

The opening match of the Year One Duo Tournament was already over.