As soon as the referee announced the winner of the match, the audience burst into cheers and applause.
Tears flowed from the mbers of Kanyon High as the feeling of defeat overwheld them.
This was it.
They were officially out of the tournant.
While being in the top 8 nationwide was an incredible achievent for most of the school as so of them never reached this honor.
However, they were in the finals only last year and fell short just barely because Tiamut High had a monster nad Johan Yeager.
It was a bittersweet loss back then, and so was this year's.
Earlier this year, they thought that they could have great chances for the championship as their ace, Thorsten Reed, blossod into a powerhouse.
However, they encountered a brick wall that they couldn't cross.
"Yes, co on!"
Karma's friends cheered with their beer spilling all over their seats.
"Your friend is a powerful one, Kiernan…"
Karma whispered under his breath.
…
Kanyon City, Reed's Sumo Dojo.
When the winner was announced on television, there were frustrated expressions of defeat in the faces of the sumo wrestlers.
"God damn it…"
Rainer shook his head with disappointnt, but he couldn't help the painful ache in his heart that ca from losing the match.
Back when he was in high school, he also represented Kanyon High in the nationals as their ace.
With his lead, their school won one of their three championships, and since then, he'd beco a legend in Kanyon City.
He wanted his son to follow his lead, but he had co short, and this was his last chance to clinch that nationals championship as he was a third-year student.
"You shouldn't feel bad, boss."
A sumo wrestler patted him on the back.
"This year's nationals are… sothing else. It isn't only Kiernan. There are now two more monsters of the sa, if not higher, level than Johan.
"It's just… unlucky that your son ended up going against them."
Rainer didn't feel better after hearing one of his sumo wrestler's words but even made the sourness in his feelings more bitter.
It wasn't a good excuse that this year just happened to be the year when opponents were stronger than any other year.
It was a shitty excuse!
"Thorsten just wasn't good enough. Winning against weak opponents isn't sothing to be proud of. This year's nationals was a great proving ground, and he failed.
"If he manages to shrug off this heavy loss, I'll make him much stronger before he enters college and starts his college martial arts career…"
In the end, this wasn't the last nationals that Thorsten could take part in. There were also college-level nationals, which was the next step in the journey of these young martial artists.
…
"Yeeeees!"
The city square in Irio erupted into cheers and applause at the sight of Karuza High's victory.
A day before the start of the nationals, the city placed a large screen in the city square, right across from the market street, so that the entire city could watch the match live.
A large crowd had gathered to watch for Karuza High.
When Julian was announced as the winner of the match, they couldn't believe it, and so older folk teared up.
It had been a very long ti since a school had reached this far in the nationals. It felt unreal!
"They've done it!"
"Semifinals! We've reached the semifinals!"
"Our city is in the top four of the nation! Oh my god!"
"We can go all the way! We can win it all!"
…
The night in Tiamut darkened, but the stadium lights shone brighter than ever before, and its audience didn't dampen their excitent.
It had been a few hours since Karuza High's victory.
In the infirmary, with a slight moan of pain, Julian finally opened his eyes and looked hazily around the infirmary with a look that said that he didn't know where he was currently.
"Where…"
"You're in the infirmary."
Kiernan said as he sat next to the bed and watched the matches go on through the mounted television on the wall.
"Kiernan…? What the hell happened?"
Julian tried to sit up, but since he was heavily dicated, he just flopped back down onto the bed.
"You got quite injured during your match."
"My match…"
Julian whimpered, and then his eyes widened in shock.
"Did I win?"
"Yeah, you did."
When he heard that, Julian relaxed, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. It was exactly what he wanted to hear.
"My mory is quite fuzzy. What happened actually?"
"You entered Flow State, but you weren't really in the right mind during that. Once you defeated Thorsten, Flow State ended, and you fell asleep."
"Flow State?!"
Julian's eyes widened in shock, and then said.
"Then… this is my second ti experiencing that state!"
Kiernan nodded.
Julian, quite excited, closed his eyes, and with his instincts alone, tried to enter that Flow State again, and shockingly enough, the gray smoke started to rise from his body.
However, he was in that state for only a second and then turned even more exhausted than before, his face sagging as if it were lting.
"Uh… I feel… so… exhausted…"
"Idiot. Don't use Flow State."
Kiernan said with a wry smile.
"Flow State drains all of your stamina. Imagine a sink that is full of water, and there is a plug at the bottom. When you use Flow State, it's like pulling out the plug and watching all the water drain away.
"You're very exhausted and injured, so using Flow State in that state is stupidity."
"Haha…"
Julian laughed with a tired smile.
"I just wanted to try… whether I can enter Flow State willingly now. It looks like I can…"
"Hmm, the ability to enter Flow State willingly is an extrely powerful ability. However, it is a double-edged sword. If you cannot defeat your opponent before Flow State ends, you will lose for sure."
Kiernan said.
Julian nodded as he understood that as well, but he couldn't help but smile.
This was an ability that even Kiernan didn't have, and he felt like the distance between their strength shortened significantly.
'I might even be stronger than Kiernan now. With Flow State, I can surpass him in power!'
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