The lights fell over the ring at the stadium.
There was only one ring left—the big ring—and it was almost three times as big as the small rings that had been used so far.
Instead of multiple matches at the same time, from the quarterfinals onwards, only one match would be fought at a time in the big ring.
At the large screen that was hovering over the big ring, the two teams that were about to fight were displayed for everyone to see.
It was extremely loud at the stadium because the fan favorite, Tiamut High, was going to fight at the first quarterfinals match!
At the commentator's booth.
"The first quarterfinals match is upon us!" Chris Chang shouted into the microphone.
"There are a total of four quarterfinal matches, and that will conclude the second day of the nationals.
"Tomorrow the last three matches will be held—the two semifinal matches and finally the grand finals—however, now we will decide the semifinalists!"
"And we will start with a banger." Luca Pop said with a smile. "In the purple corner, the favorite to win it all, Tiamut High, and their superstar, Johan Yeager!"
"Their vanguard, Yves Rechermen, hasn't lost to a single fighter in this tournament yet. He is the shield of Tiamut High, and to get through him, one must be ready to push themselves to the absolute limit, as he is infamously known for his impenetrable defense.
"The second fighter, the sweet Kara Rousseau, the fastest fighter in the tournament. People usually underestimate her because of her petite frame, but looks can fool you.
"She had fought in three matches so far in the nationals, and she had won them all with relative ease. Last round, she fought another Middle Stage Martial Fighter, but won without a scratch.
"By the way, she is also Middle Stage Martial Fighter, but it is clear that her real strength is above that.
"And lastly, Johan Yeager, the superstar from Tiamut High, a young man who might become New Rakuya's first-ever person to compete in the World Fighting League, where the best of the best fight.
"After all, he has already been invited to Martial Academia, which is the doorway to the World Fighting League!"
Luca Pop finished introducing Tiamut High and took a quick sip of the water.
"And their opponent is not as well-known, but slowly making a name for themselves, Karuza High from Irio!
"We've just received worrying news for them. Apparently two of their main fighters, Ryan Lee and Nathaniel Waters, will be unable to compete in the quarterfinals!"
Luca Pop nodded at his words and continued with. "Their two reserve fighters, Klaus Kohn and TImothy Howe will take their places in the upcoming match."
"It's not looking good for them." Chris Chang said with a serious tone. "However, the ace of their school, one of New Rakuya's Top 5 Youth, who advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Kasimir Kerr, is expected to be an extremely formidable opponent!"
"Kiernan Hunter!" Luca Pop shouted, and that name resounded in the ears of everyone watching.
"Yes, keep an eye on that young man." Chris Chang said. "While his rank is merely Low Stage Martial Fighter, he's been able to cross the boundary of ranks with his impressive martial arts skills."
"Yves and Kara might taste their first defeat of the tournament." Luca Pop said. "This might go all the way to the final match between Kiernan and Johan, but it will be an extremely difficult thing to do."
"Yes, the two reserve fighters of Karuza High can only try to damage their opponents slightly. Once again, Karuza High must rely on their ace, Kiernan Hunter, to win."
The music started playing across the stadium.
The crowd started to turn rowdy as the two entrances opened up, and two teams stepped out into the stadium, wearing their proud colors.
Tiamut High wore purple and black, while Karuza High wore white and black with flower patterns across their backs, sleeves, and pants.
They made their way to their bench while the audience roared around them.
The referee was already standing at the big ring. He was one of the senior referees and was given the honor to be the referee for the first quarterfinals match.
"I can't believe we're about to fight at the big ring." Klaus said with his legs shaking.
"This might be our most proud moment or most embarrassing." Timothy said with a long sigh. "Just try not to lose in the first second of the match!"
"Aha…" Klaus looked past the ring towards Yves. "I've seen the videos of Yves' fighting. I learned most of Tiamut Style's hard style by watching him."
"Oh, you're fighting your idol?" Timothy laughed. "Don't be soft now."
"Nah." Klaus cracked his knuckles with a grin. "I want to smash his face."
Beside the two, Ryan and Nath were seated, still mostly bandaged, but they were given permission to come to the bench to watch the match.
While looking around, they again felt a sour taste in their mouth.
Fighting in the big ring of the nationals was many a young man's dream. It had been Nathaniel's for a long time now.
While Ryan hadn't cared that much, now that they were both here, he didn't want anything more than to participate in the match.
"The first quarterfinals match!" The referee shouted. "Is between Karuza High and Tiamut High!"
Hearing his words, the crowd started to calm down a little bit.
"Bring forth your first fighters!"
"I guess it is me?" Timothy started to slightly stand up.
"Mm." Jin nodded. "You'll start."
At Tiamut High's bench, Yves cracked his neck and was about to stand up, but at that moment, a hand pressed him back down to the bench.
"?!" Yves turned to the young man next to him and asked. "Johan, what is it?"
"I will fight first." Johan said coldly and stood up.
"Eh?" Yves' eyes widened in shock.
Kara and their coach, Marquise, were equally shocked.
"I want to fight him at full strength." Johan looked straight towards Kiernan with a fiery gaze.
When the crowd saw Johan stand up, they started screaming in excitement. They couldn't believe it!
They were fearing that they might not see Johan fight as Tiamut High would crush Karuza High, but now it looked like he was going to be the vanguard!
"J-Johan is going to fight!" Timothy felt light-headed. "I am going to lose in one second!"
Jin gulped with a pale face. "They're planning to crush us ? How ruthless!"
At that moment, a black-haired young man stood up, which shocked them all.
"K-Kiernan?" Ryan whispered in shock.
"Leave this to me." Kiernan cracked his knuckles and approached the ring. "This is between me and him."