Gasps still echoed through the stadium.
Raze Arcwell had just blocked a tungsten punch—bare-handed.
No Nexas.No aura.Just a boy… and a suit the world had never seen before.
Voxen Hale stepped back, flexing his fingers as the tungsten dissolved from metal back to skin.
"Tch… unbelievable," he muttered, eyes burning with renewed fire. "No one—no one—has ever caught that attack."
Raze didn't answer.
His breathing was calm.His stance unshaken.His gaze sharp as a blade.
But beneath that stillness…
Abyss Alloy hummed quietly.
◆ ◆ ◆
Whispers Across the Stadium
Students, teachers, spectators—everyone buzzed like lightning trapped in a cage.
"What kind of alloy can block tungsten!?"
"No student should have access to a suit like that!"
"Is that a government prototype?"
"No—Abyss Alloy is illegal for private use!"
"Only five kilograms exist outside the Abyss Crater… how does he have ANY!?"
The teachers leaned forward.
Celeste Ardyn narrowed her eyes.
"That shimmer… that density… I knew it. It wasn't Arcsteel alone."
Principal Leonel's jaw tightened.
"Roland Arcwell… what did you give your son?"
Even Astra Noire, expression usually unreadable, leaned forward slightly.
"That suit… if it's what I think it is…"
Her fingers curled.
"…then Raze is far more dangerous than he looks."
◆ ◆ ◆
The Truth Behind the Suit
Only Raze and his family knew the truth.
Abyss Alloy wasn't just rare.It was almost impossible to legally possess.
Two hundred years ago, when the Abyss Meteor fell, the radiation it emitted reshaped humanity.
Children under five absorbed the radiation safely.Their DNA adapted.Their Nexas awakened.
But anyone older?
The radiation destabilized their modified DNA—weakening their Nexas,crippling their control,sometimes rendering their abilities useless.
And the stronger the Nexas,the worse the backlash.
That was why Abyss Alloy was heavily restricted.Why the government guarded it like gold.
Abyss Alloy = poison to ability users.
But Raze?
Raze had no Nexas.
No modified DNA.No awakened core.Nothing inside him for the radiation to disrupt.
Which meant:
He could use Abyss Alloy freely.Safely.Completely.
His suit—designed with nanotech chambers and containment seals—could even store and release Abyss radiation on command.
A terrifying weapon…
…but not one he planned to use today.
Raze whispered under his breath:
"I don't need the suit's full power. Not for Voxen. Not for my first real fight."
◆ ◆ ◆
Back to the Fight
Voxen grinned, taking another stance.
"You caught my tungsten strike… but this fight is just getting started."
Raze rolled his wrist.
"Good. I wasn't planning to end it with just one block."
Both fighters lunged—
—but this time, Raze reached behind him.
SHINK—!!
Twin dark batons detached from the magnetic sheath on his back.
Sleek.Dense.Almost humming with restrained force.
Whispers exploded:
"Are those… Abyss Alloy batons?"
"No, the edges—look! Arcsteel mixed with alloy shards!"
"Unbreakable… but light enough to move like a blade!"
Voxen circled him.
"You were saving those, huh?"
Raze lifted them—one reverse grip, one forward.
"You hit hard. I hit faster."
Voxen smirked.
"Then show me."
◆ ◆ ◆
Close-Combat Erupts
Voxen charged, left arm turning into titanium mid-strike.
Raze stepped forward—
CLANG—!!
The impact spat sparks across the tiles.
Raze ducked under the follow-up strike, pivoted, and slammed a baton against Voxen's ribs.
THUD!
Voxen hissed, though titanium absorbed most of it.
"That all you've got!?"
Raze twirled his batons smoothly.
"No. That was the warm-up."
They clashed again—
Steel for speed.Titanium for stability.Tungsten for raw force.
Voxen switched between metals fluidly, a master of his craft.
But Raze…
Raze adjusted even faster.
Redirecting force.Exploiting transition gaps.Reading movements before they happened.
Every strike was precise.Every dodge efficient.Every counter lethal.
Students couldn't keep up.
"He's fighting a metal shifter with pure skill!?"
"Voxen trained martial arts for YEARS—how is Raze matching him!?"
"This technique… he's on another level."
Roger was screaming like a madman:
"THAT'S MY BOY!! BREAK HIS METAL ARMS!!"
Rain covered her mouth, shocked.
"He's… overpowering Voxen…"
Astra's eyes narrowed.
"So this is your true baseline, Raze Arcwell… interesting."
◆ ◆ ◆
Voxen's Counterattack
Voxen gritted his teeth.
"Fine… THEN TRY THIS!"
His arms shifted—
into a glowing, unstable silver metal.
Students gasped.
"No way—!"
"That's PHASE-SHIFT ALLOY!""That thing's too volatile!"
"If he slips, he'll blow his arms off!"
Voxen didn't care.
He roared and charged—
the alloy vibrating violently, generating shockwaves with every step.
Raze's eyes widened.
He braced.
Their strike collided—
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The arena floor cracked like breaking glass.
Voxen pushed harder, metal humming dangerously.
"RAZE!! I won't… lose… just because I wasn't born into power!!"
Raze's grip tightened.
"Good."
He leaned in.
"I wasn't born into power either."
Their clash burned white-hot.
◆ ◆ ◆
The Breaking Point
Raze felt Voxen's force growing.
His suit groaned.Abyss Alloy plates vibrated.Microfractures flickered along the sleeves.
Students panicked.
"He can't block that alloy forever!""Voxen's pushing him to the limit!""Raze is going to break—!"
But Raze…
Raze only smiled.
Because he hadn't released even one percent of the suit's radiation functions.
Not yet.
Not even close.
◆ ◆ ◆
He twisted his hips—shifted his stance—redirected Voxen's force—
and in one fluid motion, he swung a baton straight into Voxen's exposed ribs.
CRACK—!!!
Voxen coughed, stumbling sideways.
The stadium erupted.
The tide had turned.
◆ ◆ ◆
And the battle—the true battle—was only just beginning.