Kurogami High's coach shouted and touched fists with every member on the team.
"What are we here for?!"
Everyone shouted, and after that shout, they raised their fists in unison and headed out of the locker room.
Fireworks exploded across the sky, and the thunderous applause almost erupted their eardrums, but they were still all smiles as this memory would last them a lifetime.
They had worked tirelessly these three years just to have this one chance at the nationals victory, and they had few more obstacles in the way.
Dietmar tightened the white tape around his hands and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the biggest fight of his life.
He then stepped ahead, leading his team into the large ring with unwavering confidence. His face of determination and focus was displayed on every screen in the stadium.
It was a look that Kurogami High's other members desperately needed to see. It pumped them with confidence.
While the coach and reserve fighters took their seats by the bench, the three main fighters walked up to the ring and stood poised.
An official of the nationals stood in front of them, waiting for the opponents of Kurogami High to come from their locker room.
At that moment, the other entrance opened up, and the audience erupted into cheers and started chanting one name in particular.
"Kiernan! Kiernan! Kiernan! Kiernan!"
After learning about Julian's injury, they knew that Kiernan must be participating in the next match, and they could barely contain their excitement.
Through the entrance, Karuza High stepped out, led by Kiernan, who was dressed in the beautiful white jersey with black flowers printed on it.
The camera captured his handsome, confident face that swooned the entire stadium. It was getting louder as if they were in a concert.
After Julia and Julian took their seats by the bench, the three fighters stepped up to the ring and stood on the other side from Kurogami High, but they were all staring at each other.
The official took a microphone, placed it close to his mouth, and started talking.
In Montclair High's locker room, everyone's focus was on the television as they wondered who could be their opponent in the finals.
They didn't believe that there was even a one percent chance of them losing in the semifinals. Not with Zachary Lokiah in their team!
Zachary cracked his knuckles and looked only at Kiernan whenever he was shown on the screen, a sly grin forming on his face.
Alabaster leaned against a wall, silently looking at the screen. At that moment, the camera showed Karuza High's bench, where the injured Julian was sitting.
He only scoffed at the sight of him.
In Tiamut High's locker room.
"Ariadne, who do you think will win?"
A teammate of hers asked out of curiosity.
Ariadne tapped her finger against her lips, thinking about it, and then said.
"Dietmar is strong, but a very basic fighter. He is a striker and every offense-oriented fighter. He doesn't care much about defense, which is fine in this situation.
"It is because Kurogami High's two fighters are stronger than Karuza High's, so they'll defeat them quickly, and then it will be an uphill battle for Kiernan.
"If the roles were reversed and Dietmar had to fight three opponents in a row, he wouldn't make it with his lack of defense.
"That's why, I think it will be close, but I don't know the extent of Kiernan's strength."
Her teammates nodded thoughtfully and turned their attention to the screen. The fighters were about to be introduced.
"In the red corner, we have Kurogami High!"
The official shouted while looking at the red jersey-wearing members of Kurogami High and then turned to Karuza High.
"In the white corner, we have Karuza High!"
At that moment, the fireworks exploded across the sky. It wasn't normal fireworks but showed the known symbol of the two schools.
With red fireworks, Kurogami High's symbol of a red moon appeared in all its glory before disappearing slowly.
With black and white fireworks, Karuza High's black flowers dazzled across the sky before forming a breathtaking display of intertwining vines.
It was all very awe-inspiring.
At that moment, the official motioned to the two schools, and from each school, one person stepped forward.
"The first fighters of today—we have Adalric Pieper of Kurogami High and Dominic Raze of Karuza High!"
Mild but excited cheers filled the stadium.
It wasn't that they didn't care about the first fighter, but they all wanted to see the last fight between two ultimate aces.
"The second fighters of today—we have Loralei Breiner and Jonathan Ackers!"
From Kurogami High's side, a red-haired, like flames, young woman stepped forward. She raised her fist, showing a tattoo of a red moon on her wrist.
"Loralei! Loralei! Loralei!"
The supporters of Kurogami High excitedly shouted at the princess of their school, who was the president of the student council, and her fiery spirit had made her quite famous in the city of Kurogami.
Jonathan awkwardly stepped forward and received very mild-sounding applause. It was clear who was the fan favorite of the two.
"And… as the third fighters…"
Before he could even say it fully, the audience started to scream in excitement, and the official couldn't help but close his mouth awkwardly.
Dietmar and Kiernan stepped forward, showered with cheers and applause.
They looked into each other's eyes, and neither of them blinked as if they were having a no-blinking competition.
"That's right, ladies and gentlemen—a long-awaited debut of Kiernan Hunter is upon us!"
Chris Chang, the commentator of the nationals, shouted excitedly into his microphone, a wide smile stretching across his face.
It was obvious that the highest amount of viewership was always happening on the third day, but in the first ten minutes of the broadcast, the viewership record was already broken.
With the introduction ceremony done, the two teams returned to their respective benches and started preparing for the match that was about to happen very shortly.