Chapter 52 Semifinal II

Golden fate pulled Lucas’s sword through an angle his shoulder never entered, placing its edge beside Damien’s throat.

Verdict met the impossible cut while 219 held Debt burned across every tally beneath his hand.

’Release now or lose cleanly to something physics cannot explain, fine, let the arena choke on the answer.’

Damien opened Reckoning through their locked weapons and aimed its conductance away from the hidden southern fault.

[Reckoning]

[Debt released: 219]

[Verdict conductance: 20%]

Silver-black force met Lucas’s luck spike between both blades, flattening every loose tile across the arena.

The golden protagonist appeared behind Damien for one frame while remaining in front of him through ordinary sight.

Three camera crystals captured both positions before tournament feeds dissolved into white noise.

Lucas’s sword touched Damien’s throat as Verdict struck his chest, producing simultaneous scoring alarms around the ring.

’Two positions and both hits registered, fuck, Fate tried writing a draw after the exchange already chose.’

The southern fault swallowed displaced force, then split beneath the barrier control pillar with one black flash.

[Arena Death Flag activated]

[Barrier containment failing]

Judges called the bout before either fighter separated, but their voices disappeared beneath cracking ward glass.

The arena barrier folded inward through six burning panels and drove lethal pressure toward Damien’s marked position.

Emergency doors opened toward Lucas’s side first, then jammed when students near Damien tried reaching the same protected tunnel.

Rhea abandoned her seat and struck one locked panel apart before crowd pressure crushed the front row against it.

’The Death Flag includes spectators this time, fuck, move fast or surviving alone becomes another kind of loss.’

Lucas stood inside the only stable pocket while golden light redirected falling fragments around his white armor.

"Move toward my position before the collapsing barrier closes completely," he shouted, extending one hand from safety while cameras returned.

"Nah, your safe pocket sits above the fault feeding this collapse," Damien replied, Flickering toward the northern judge rail instead.

’He may genuinely want to help, though Fate keeps placing survival where only Lucas benefits, choose my own terrible route.’

A broken barrier panel struck Damien’s back during arrival and threw him beneath the judges’ platform.

Stay of Execution caught most impact before another glass edge entered his thigh through tournament cloth.

[Damage deferred: 60%]

[Flesh Debt accrued: 307]

Mina activated her illegal workshop line through the analog crystal while officials lost every certified control.

"The north anchor still responds to Verdict’s conductance," she said, sending one flashing route through his receiver, "cut its black center."

"Reaching that anchor requires crossing three enormous falling panels," Damien replied, pulling glass from his thigh before deferred blood arrived.

"Then use the movement skill you hid from every scout," she snapped, keeping the route visible through collapsing static.

Damien Flickered onto one tilting panel, ran across its cracked surface, then jumped before gravity carried it into the stands.

The crowd evacuated behind emergency shields while Rhea held one failing section upright using her blunted greatsword.

’Level nine hundred senior became structural support without waiting for permission, damn, reach that anchor before her arms lose patience.’

Lucas cut falling glass away from three judges while golden luck kept each shard clear of his exposed back.

Another feed glitch placed him beneath two panels during the same recorded frame, though live eyes saw only one body.

Damien reached the northern anchor when black residue opened around its supposedly intact center.

Verdict entered the mark through Silverlight Draw, carrying 20% conductance from the fresh Flesh Debt without a full release.

[Benefactor sabotage exposed]

The anchor screamed through every arena speaker while the failing barrier changed direction toward Damien’s sword.

’It wants the panel to kill me before the cut finishes, come on, Mother, hold one more ugly inheritance problem.’

He triggered Iron Pulse through both arms and kept Verdict inside the mark as glass pressure crushed his shoulders.

The black center split, releasing every stolen luck fragment stored beneath the southern fault in one uncontrolled wave.

Lucas vanished from the stable pocket and reappeared beside Damien through another impossible frame.

His golden sword cut the largest barrier section before it reached both fighters, though reflected force carried them across the arena.

Damien struck the boundary wall first while Stay expired and returned deferred wounds across his back.

[Death Flag survived]

[Attached reward: 3,200 SP]

[Refund multiplier: ×10]

[SP awarded: 32,000]

[EXP awarded: 53,130,000]

[Accumulated tournament round rewards: 6,480 SP]

[System Points: 23,400 → 61,880]

[Tournament result reward settled]

[Actual level increased: 405 → 520]

’One hundred fifteen levels from surviving bad architecture, This system truly respects attempted murder.’

Emergency wards finally stabilized above the crowd while engineers entered through smoking control gates.

Lucas stood across the destroyed ring with blood beneath one nostril and no visible wound where Verdict scored.

The judges gathered around a backup panel before announcing their decision through damaged speakers.

"The semifinal result is recorded as a technical draw following equipment failure," the head judge said, refusing to display either scoring frame.

"Both swords landed before your barrier failed," Damien replied, pushing himself upright against Verdict, "which technical part erased that?"

"Simultaneous scoring cannot receive certification after a complete containment loss," the judge answered, glancing toward sponsor officials entering behind Corven.

The crowd began chanting Damien’s name when student channels posted Lucas occupying two positions inside the decisive frame.

Lucas looked toward the nearest screen before his public smile returned beneath blood and arena dust.

"I accept the committee’s ruling and hope nobody mistakes an equipment fault for dishonor," he said, offering Damien another open hand.

"Humility sounds convenient while your camp files the appeal," Damien replied, watching one aide submit it behind Lucas’s shoulder.

’He knows exactly when the performance needs witnesses, damn, though that glitch frightened him before the smile arrived.’

Mina climbed through the broken north rail carrying Bram’s analog crystal inside both grease-marked hands.

"The barrier did not fail until black residue opened its anchor," she called toward gathering engineers, projecting the original frame above them.

One engineer removed his helmet and pointed toward intact diagnostics still showing every anchor operational.

"Containment held within certified limits until external force exceeded design tolerance," he said, enlarging the official record.

"Your record claims the north anchor stayed intact while my footage shows it split," Mina replied, placing both versions together.

Two additional student recordings appeared through Bram’s channels before sponsor staff could disable arena uploads.

Copies jumped onto private message groups and public mirrors faster than committee filters could identify their matching signatures.

One sponsor screen attempted deletion, then displayed the impossible frame again after nearby students restored it from local storage.

’They cannot erase everyone at once, bureaucracy finally loses to teenagers refusing instructions.’

Every angle showed the black mark one frame before Lucas occupied two positions inside the exchange.

"Three independent crystals saved local copies before committee correction reached them," Bram said, clutching his smoking tablet near the rail.

Corven ordered security to seize the recordings while Rhea stepped between his officers and the students holding each source.

"Touch one crystal and lose the hand carrying your order," she said, resting her blunted greatsword across broad shoulders.

Security stopped without requiring clarification while the crowd uploaded copies onto every available channel.

’Three recordings outside their network, good, by morning the lie will need more money than burial can afford.’

The bracket updated behind the technical draw and removed both semifinalists from official advancement.

[Tournament final voided]

[Sponsor ruling: Neither semifinalist advances]

[Ascension Board: 37 → 24]

[Public registered level: 380]

A shell company seal flashed beneath the void ruling before disappearing from committee paperwork.

Damien recognized the same black hook used during Soren’s transfer while students continued chanting for a real winner.

’The Benefactor bought the technicality after its Death Flag failed, fine, it can void a title but not three thousand copies.’

He lifted Verdict toward the recording crystals while the broken arena displayed Lucas’s impossible frame above every sponsor banner.