After the official left, the referee took the center stage and told the two schools to bring their vanguards to the ring.
Adalric rose to the ring from Kurogami High's side, and Dominic, with his heart beating against his chest, followed his lead and went straight to his corner.
This stage was something every young man and woman who aspired to become a martial artist dreamt of.
Fighting in front of the whole nation.
'This is the stage that I've heard about all my life…'
Dominic looked towards the ceiling of the stadium, and cascading lights greeted him as they fell on his face.
It felt like he was the main character of the world.
Irio, Raze household.
A little sister of the family screamed in ecstasy as she was sitting on the floor, staring straight at the box television with round, sparkling eyes.
The family members and close relatives filled the living room, watching the nationals with anticipation.
They had gathered to watch Karuza High's last remaining matches and hoped that they would go all the way and see the son of Raze lift that championship trophy.
They didn't expect him to actually fight, but the little sister found out early in the morning that Julian got injured as it was a common topic in the social media.
It meant that Dominic was definitely going to participate!
"Young Dominic, look at him, standing on the biggest high school stage of the nation!"
His grandparents teared up with pride.
It was the greatest accomplishment from any Raze family member. Ever.
The little sister started praying to any god that was listening, begging for Dominic's victory.
The mother whispered to her husband and knew that her son had been training his whole life to have an opportunity in the nationals.
Since middle school, Dominic's level of talent was quite rare in Irio, and his middle school coach told them that one day Dominic was going to be Karuza High's ace.
That would've happened if a certain young man hadn't appeared.
After his shocking loss in the ranked match, Dominic became very distant from everyone in the family and spent all his free time training.
So far, Dominic had participated in one nationals match, and lost that pretty convincingly. It was thought that was it—his last match of this year's nationals.
After an unexpected development, he now had to fight in the semifinals!
'Show the strength of Raze Family Style, son…'
Dominic's father said inside his mind as he lit up a cigarette between his lips and then looked up towards the television.
"First match of the semifinals—Adalric Pieper versus Dominic Raze!"
The referee blew the whistle to silence the excited crowd and then turned to both fighters with his forefingers raised.
"Are the two of you ready?!"
He screamed as he had to because of the loud crowd that didn't seem to understand to quiet down.
Adalric raised his fists close to his chest, leaned forward, and gave his opponent a fierce glare.
Dominic's energy flowed inside him and went all into one point in the middle of his fist.
This was the martial art called Raze Family Style—a style that was solely practiced within the Raze family.
It focused all of the energy into one point and released it in a powerful, concentrated strike.
When he faced Kiernan, he couldn't break his rock-solid defense, and his martial arts turned out to be useless.
He thought of quitting this martial art altogether, but he kept training it, and in terms of technique, he had already surpassed his father!
The referee raised his arm higher and then looked at the two fighters. He saw their desire for the fight to start, and he didn't want to keep the crowd waiting.
He swung his arm down and jumped out of the way.
"Darkland Style, Punc—"
Adalric reeled back his fist, but before he could swing it, Dominic leaped off the ground, and the ground under him cracked.
The spot under Dominic's sole cracked in only one spot. It was as if it was hit by a pickaxe.
When Dominic moved, he concentrated all of his energy into one point at the bottom of his feet and used that energy to leap forward with speed vastly superior to his normal capabilities.
This kind of speed wasn't far from Ryan Lee's Super Acceleration!
The distance was crossed almost instantaneously!
"Raze Family Style, Hundred Point Strike!"
The hundreds of punches whizzed through the air and surrounded Adalric like a powerful whirlwind of destruction.
This technique, previously destroyed by Kiernan, had become vastly more strong than ever before!
"Darkland Style, Disappear."
Adalric tapped the ground, and in a shocking fashion, disappeared like a ghost. The hundreds of punches smashed through the empty air.
Dominic's eyes shook in shock, and then he felt four fingers touching his lower back. He turned around and saw Adalric standing there with a calmness on his face.
The four fingers bent into a fist and touched Dominic's lower back gently, but then, a powerful wave of strength surged through his body.
"Darkland Style, Punch…"
Adalric gently whispered under his breath.
Dominic coughed out blood, and he slowly fell down to the ground, looking like he didn't want to fall down, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.
'Not … I didn't even… do anything…'
Adalric breathed gently and returned to his corner.
"The match is over! The winner is Adalric Pieper!"
It was victorious on one side, but in Karuza High's bench, the silence was so deafening that it felt like the sound of a pin dropping could shatter it.
Julia's lips turned upside down, and she knew that this loss would continue to haunt Dominic for a long time after the end of the nationals.
She knew how much this chance meant for him, but in the end, only the strongest of the nation could stand on that stage, and Dominic simply hadn't reached that level.
It was ruthless business.