CHAPTER 67 — PERCY GRANT STEPS INTO THE ARENA

THE FALLEN LIGHT — SEASON II

CHAPTER 67 — PERCY GRANT STEPS INTO THE ARENA

When Nathaniel returned from the arena, the first person to greet him wasn't Percy. Arthur was standing near the entrance of the waiting area with his arms crossed. Seeing Nathaniel approach, he looked him up and down. There was no contempt in his gaze, yet Nathaniel somehow felt as though he were being interrogated.

Arthur finally spoke:

"You're cheating."

The proud smile on Nathaniel's face vanished instantly.

"What cheating?"

Charlotte, coming up behind them, nodded. "Definitely cheating." Nathaniel turned to her. "You were apologizing to me two minutes ago!"

"I didn't apologize for losing. I apologized for underestimating you." Charlotte pointed toward Percy and Clara. "But training with them in secret is cheating."

William adjusted his glasses. "Technically, there is no clause in the tournament rules prohibiting training with other students. Therefore, it doesn't count as cheating." Nathaniel breathed a sigh of relief.

William continued:

"However, it is severely unfair."

"Whose side are you on?"

"The side of truth."

Ethan touched Nathaniel's shoulder. "You trained with Percy and Clara for eleven days. You hid your improvement from the class. There's also a chance you learned the techniques Charlotte uses in advance."

Daniel nodded. "Cheating."

Sophia also said with a smile:

"Cheating."

Marcus simply stared at Nathaniel. Nathaniel threw his hands out. "You too?" Marcus nodded once.

"Cheating."

When Lucas, Theodore, Elias, Noah, Adrian, and Amelia repeated the same word one after another, Nathaniel's shoulders slumped. Believing the entire class had united against him, he looked toward Percy as if pleading for help. However, Percy's face was far more serious than expected.

"What cheating?"

Noticing the shift in Percy's voice, Arthur turned to him.

"His training with you two."

"What's cheating about that?"

Arthur went quiet for a few seconds. He had actually just been teasing Nathaniel, but it was obvious Percy was taking it completely seriously.

Charlotte tried to explain:

"Percy, we're joking."

"Someone asked for help. So we helped. Nathaniel worked every single day for eleven days. He was injured repeatedly, and even when exhausted, he kept going and raised his Core level through his own effort. What part of that is cheating?"

The smiles on the class's faces slowly faded. Nathaniel didn't move as he looked at Percy. Percy was genuinely angry.

"If taking lessons from a teacher isn't cheating, then receiving help from us isn't cheating either. Nathaniel didn't defeat Charlotte with our power. He performed every single move you saw in the arena himself. We only showed him how he could train."

Arthur lowered his hands.

"We were joking."

"It wasn't funny."

Nathaniel stepped forward slightly. "I thought it was a little funny." Percy turned to him. Nathaniel instantly straightened his posture.

"It wasn't funny at all. I'm deeply hurt."

Clara turned her face away, trying not to laugh. Arthur looked at Nathaniel. "I'm sorry." Charlotte approached him as well. "I'm sorry too." Nathaniel looked at the two of them in turn, pursing his lips as he thought for a few seconds.

"It won't be easy for me to forgive you."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. Nathaniel pointed at Charlotte. "If you give me your lunch, I might consider it." Charlotte laughed. "Deal." Nathaniel then turned to Arthur.

"And from you—"

"No."

"I haven't even told you what I want yet."

"Whatever it is, no."

Clara finally couldn't hold back her laughter. Meanwhile, Percy began to calm down upon realizing that his classmates hadn't truly looked down on Nathaniel. William approached Clara.

"Does Percy sometimes not realize we're joking?"

Clara looked over at Percy, who was still explaining to Arthur why asking for help couldn't be considered cheating.

"He realizes."

William waited. Clara smiled.

"Only when it suits him."

The matches continued. Because three arenas were being used simultaneously during the first ranking round, cheers erupted continuously from different parts of the venue. Some matches lasted for minutes, while others ended with a single mistake. In his first match, Marcus was paired with a nimble student from Class 1-B. His opponent avoided direct confrontation, maintaining distance while firing small Orin attacks. For several minutes, Marcus simply watched him as if doing nothing at all. Then he noticed that his opponent retreated in the same direction after every third attack. On the fourth attack sequence, he cut off the path in advance and forced his opponent out of the arena with a single shoulder check. Nathaniel threw his hands into the air.

"THE GUY WALKED FOR THREE MINUTES AND WON!"

As Marcus returned from the arena, he answered calmly:

"It was sufficient."

Sophia's match lasted longer. Unable to break through her opponent's defense directly, she directed her Orin attacks into the ground, obscuring his vision and forcing him near the barrier. With a final move at the last second, she pushed her opponent out of bounds. Ethan's match turned into a complete battle of endurance. Neither student could gain an advantage over the other for minutes. Ethan eventually won by waiting for his opponent to tire out, and when he returned, Nathaniel lay on the floor pretending to be asleep instead of clapping for him.

"That took way too long."

Wiping his sweat, Ethan looked down at Nathaniel.

"We waited eleven days for your match too."

Nathaniel immediately scrambled to his feet. Arthur's first match lasted less than two minutes. His opponent tried to circle around him using speed, but Arthur never broke his defensive stance. After parrying all the attacks, he caught a single opening and brought his opponent down. Following his victory, he left the arena without even celebrating. Clara's opponent was a student from Class 1-C who possessed the water element. By wetting a large portion of the arena floor, he tried to restrict Clara's movement. Clara looked as though she might lose her balance several times on the slippery stones, but when her opponent approached, she suddenly shifted direction. Feinting an acceleration with her right foot, she sped up with her left foot instead. She had begun fixing the flaw Percy pointed out in just a single night. The match ended when she bypassed her opponent's defense and placed her light-shrouded palm onto his shoulder. Returning to the waiting area, Clara looked straight at Percy.

"I used both feet."

Percy smiled. "I saw."

"I have no flaws left."

"Fixing one doesn't make all of them disappear."

The pride on Clara's face instantly turned to annoyance.

"What else is there?"

"If I tell you now, I'll be giving your next opponent an advantage."

"You'll tell me after the match."

"Alright."

"Don't forget."

"I won't forget, princess."

Clara bumped her shoulder against Percy's as she walked past, though she couldn't hide the smile on her face. William's match concluded as expected. He calculated the recurrence interval of the technique his opponent used within the first three attacks, intercepted it at the precise moment of formation on the fourth attack, and finished the match. When he returned from the arena, Nathaniel asked him how he had figured out the attack's timing interval. William launched into a long mathematical breakdown. Nathaniel listened for the first ten seconds. Then he turned to Percy.

"Did you understand?"

"Yes."

"Explain it to me shorter later."

William cut off his explanation.

"I'm standing right here."

Nathaniel looked at him.

"I know."

As the final matches of the first round drew near, the attention of the hall gradually began to center on a single name. Percy Grant had not yet stepped into the arena. Ever since the matchup lists were announced, students had been debating who he would fight. Everyone in Percy's class had seen his true power to some extent. At the end of the camp, he had fought twelve people single-handedly, fighting until his body was torn apart, yet still laughing through it all. However, most of the other classes knew about that fight only through rumors. Some thought the stories were exaggerated. Some attributed Percy's strength solely to [Absolute Cancel]. And some still couldn't believe that a seven-year-old child could truly be at the second level of the Advanced Core. In the teachers' stands, Percy's match was also eagerly awaited. Wycliffe sat in the front row, his eyes fixed on the arena despite his outward calm. Galahad had his arms crossed over his chest. Eleanor and Holar Jun sat side by side, while Elizabeth Olsen reviewed the student evaluation files in her hand. The teachers around Olsen were speaking in hushed voices about Percy.

"Will he be allowed to use [Absolute Cancel]?"

"There's no rule banning it."

"It wouldn't be fair to use that power in a first-year tournament."

Olsen closed the file.

"Who said Percy needs [Absolute Cancel] to win?"

The teacher who had spoken fell silent. The arena official raised the card in his hand.

"Next match in Arena Two!"

The chatter in the stands began to die down.

"Leon Ashford from Class 1-C!"

From Class 1-C's waiting area, a tall, blonde boy stood up. The moment his name was called, a loud cheer erupted from his class. Leon Ashford was one of the biggest favorites of the tournament. At seven years old, he had reached the first level of the Advanced Core. During elemental affinity testing, he had demonstrated a ninety-two percent affinity with lightning—a percentage recorded as one of the highest in the academy in recent years. For most students, an affinity above seventy percent was considered extraordinary. Eighty percent was the mark of immense talent. Those who crossed ninety percent became prominent figures not just in their class, but across their entire generation. Leon's lightning wasn't merely powerful; it was fast. Despite having reached the Advanced Core only recently, he had learned to boost his movement speed by circulating his element throughout his body. Students in the stands began to stand up.

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"Who was Leon paired with?"

"Arthur?"

"Could be Clara."

"Percy hasn't fought yet."

As that possibility spread, the murmur in the hall suddenly swelled. The official turned the second card.

"His opponent, from Class 1-A... Percy Grant!"

The hall erupted. Nathaniel leaped from his seat.

"IN THE FIRST ROUND?!"

William quickly scanned the matchup list. "Random draw."

Arthur's gaze locked onto the arena. Clara turned to Percy, who was sitting beside her. Percy was watching Leon without moving an inch. As Leon stepped into the arena, fine sparks of lightning began to circle around his body. With every step he took, small cracking sounds echoed from the stones beneath his feet. On Percy's face, however, there was no expression at all. Clara placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Percy."

Percy looked at her.

"What?"

"Have fun."

The corners of Percy's lips curled upward. He stood up.

Percy Grant stepped into the arena. The noise in the hall soared even higher at first. But as Percy walked toward his position opposite Leon, the cheering gave way to a curious murmur. Some expected a greater aura of pressure from Percy. They assumed that someone at the second level of the Advanced Core would shake the entire arena the moment he entered. Yet Percy walked like an ordinary student, his hands shoved in his pockets. There was neither fire around him nor any perceptible surge of Orin. Nathaniel leaned forward.

"Why isn't he doing anything?"

Clara answered calmly:

"He's reading his opponent."

Leon stood opposite Percy. There was no fear on his face. On the contrary, he looked as though he had been waiting for this matchup for a very long time.

"Finally."

Percy tilted his head slightly.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Everyone in the tournament is talking about you. They say you're Advanced Core Level 2, that you can erase any spell with [Absolute Cancel], and that you defeated twelve people single-handedly at camp."

Percy corrected him:

"I didn't defeat them."

Leon frowned.

"What?"

"I passed out in the end."

Nathaniel shouted from the waiting area:

"BUT YOU PUT US IN THE HOSPITAL!"

Percy turned his head toward him.

"Why are you saying that so proudly?"

Laughter erupted in the stands. The seriousness on Leon's face didn't break.

"I want you to use [Absolute Cancel]."

Percy turned back to him.

"Why?"

"I want to see if you can stop my lightning."

Percy thought for a few seconds.

"I can stop it."

The sparks around Leon intensified.

"Then show me."

Percy's gaze shifted to the lightning.

"If necessary."

After inspecting both students, the referee requested the activation of the barriers. The transparent protective barrier enclosed the perimeter of the arena. The secondary barriers located above the stands were activated as well. In first-year matches, the secondary protection layer was rarely deployed. The instructors did not want to take any chances for this match. The referee raised his hand.

"Are you ready?"

Leon's body was clad in lightning.

"Ready."

Percy pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"Ready."

The referee's arm dropped.

"Begin!"

Leon vanished. At least, that was how most of the students saw it. The instant his foot pressed into the ground, the lightning on his body exploded, and the boy crossed half the arena in a single step. Electrical power compressed around his right fist surged straight toward Percy's face. Clara's eyes tracked Leon. Arthur instinctively leaned forward. Nathaniel could only feel the shift in the air. Percy pulled his head to the side. Leon's fist passed a few centimeters in front of his cheek. The first strike had missed. Yet Leon didn't stop. Pushing off the ground with his left foot, he pivoted behind Percy and drove his elbow toward his back. Percy took a single step forward. The second attack cut through empty space as well. Leon's eyes widened. The lightning on his body exploded once more. Increasing his speed, he began circling Percy. Yellow streaks flashed at various points in the arena, with attacks coming at Percy from a different angle on every pass. Percy was simply walking. He wasn't running, jumping, or counterattacking. He was merely walking. Yet not a single one of Leon's blows touched him. In the teachers' stands, the hand-to-hand combat instructor stood up.

"That distance control..."

The teacher beside him asked:

"Can he track Leon's speed?"

"No. He doesn't need to track it. He reads which foot Leon shifts his weight onto before he accelerates."

Galahad shook his head.

"Not just his feet."

The instructor turned to him. Galahad's eyes were fixed on Percy.

"He's watching where the lightning concentrates on his body. Before Leon moves, Percy knows where he's going to land."

Leon attacked once more. Percy didn't dodge this time. He raised his hand. He caught Leon's lightning-cloaked wrist right in midair. Electricity surged up Percy's arm. The sleeve of his uniform began to burn, and thin wisps of smoke rose from his skin. Leon exerted all his strength, trying to pull his arm back. Percy didn't let go. The calmness on his face began to change for the first time. The corners of his lips curved upward. Then, his laughter echoed across the arena.

"Hahahahaha!"

Clara stood up. Nathaniel's face turned pale.

"It's started."

Charlotte turned to him. "What's started?" Nathaniel answered without taking his eyes off Percy:

"The thing he did at the end of the camp."

Arthur's gaze sharpened. Percy released Leon's wrist and took a few steps back. The burn on his arm was rapidly healing, but his eyes were no longer the same. Leon noticed it too. The boy standing before him wanted to fight for real for the first time. Percy spread his hands to his sides.

"Ninety-two percent."

Leon took a defensive stance. Percy's smile widened.

"Nice."

Leon's pride flared up. Joining his hands, all the lightning across his body began to gather into a single point. The air in the arena filled with a pungent ozone scent. His hair floated from the static electricity while the stones beneath his feet shattered. Some of the students backed away. William narrowed his eyes.

"He's using too much energy to prepare this attack."

Arthur replied:

"He wants to finish it in one blow."

A long lightning spear took shape between Leon's hands. The electricity surrounding the spear caused ripples even on the surface of the barrier. Class 1-C students stood up.

"Lightning Spear!"

"Leon's strongest attack!"

One of the teachers looked at the referee.

"Should we stop it?"

The referee hesitated. Olsen didn't rise from her seat.

"Wait."

Wycliffe turned to her. "Did you see something?"

Olsen's gaze was centered around Percy's feet. The temperature in the arena was rising. Yet there wasn't a single flame around Percy. Olsen slowly leaned forward.

"Percy... What are you doing?"

Leon raised the lightning spear. Percy brought his right hand down. Fire emerging from the tips of his fingers flowed into the stone floor. The flames didn't head toward Leon. Drawing a wide circle around Percy's feet, they spread between the stones of the arena. Some students looked on in disappointment.

"Is that it?"

"Just a circle of fire."

"He can't stop the Lightning Spear with that."

Olsen's eyes widened. The flames had begun to swirl inside the circle. Percy wasn't sending them outward; he was gathering them back around himself. With every rotation, he accumulated a bit more Orin, drawing the ambient heat from the arena floor into the loop. Olsen stood up.

"No..."

The teacher beside her startled.

"What is it?"

"That's not a circle of fire."

Percy raised his head. Leon hurled his attack.

"LIGHTNING SPEAR!"

Yellow light engulfed the entire arena. As the lightning spear tore through the air toward Percy, the barriers shuddered. Percy's voice rose above the roar of the lightning:

"Fire Element..."

The flames on the ground exploded. The fire rising behind Percy was shapeless at first. But as it expanded, it spread out sideways, turning into wings, while a long neck formed at the center of the flames. A giant bird of fire soared from the arena toward the sky. When it spread its wings, the entire hall was bathed in crimson and golden light. Feathers composed of flame dispersed into the air, each returning to the main body once more. Nobody in the stands spoke. Olsen's lips parted slightly. Percy brought his hand down toward Leon.

"[Rise of Fire]."

The fire bird soaring into the heavens screeched. The sound vibrated through the entire hall as though it belonged to a living creature. Then it folded its wings and descended. It collided with the Lightning Spear in midair. The explosion resulting from the collision of the two elements turned the barriers solid white. The yellow lightning attempted to pierce the chest of the fire bird, but the moment the flames split, they reconnected. The spear resisted for a few seconds. Then it shattered. Without losing speed, the fire bird plunged straight down onto Leon. All color drained from Leon's face. He raised his hands to defend himself, but he was out of time. The Phoenix spread its wings and swallowed him whole.

BOOM!

The arena shook violently. Cracks formed on the surface of the secondary protective barrier. Some students screamed. Teachers stood up simultaneously. Flames engulfed the entire second arena. Clara's hands clenched into fists.

"Percy!"

Nathaniel stared at the explosion with his mouth agape.

"One shot..."

William's eyes were fixed on the flames.

"Even after shattering Leon's attack, it didn't lose most of its power."

Arthur didn't answer. Because the arena was not yet visible. As the referee prepared to intervene, Olsen raised her hand.

"Wait!"

"The student is inside!"

"Percy redirected the attack at the last second."

The center of the flames shifted. The form of the giant fire bird slowly dissipated. Its wings turned into sparks that rose upward, its torso split apart, and the arena began to come into view once more. Leon was lying on the ground. He was unconscious. Yet there were no severe burns on his body. The moment the fire struck him, it had directed its lethal heat outward. Most of the blast had been funneled into the floor behind Leon and into the barrier above. Percy stood a few meters opposite him. His right hand was still extended forward. The referee checked Leon first, then Percy. After the healers entered the arena, they confirmed that Leon's condition was not life-threatening. The referee raised his trembling hand.

"W... Winner, Percy Grant!"

Nobody shouted. Nobody applauded. The hall was in absolute silence. Percy lowered his hand, and the combative smile on his face began to fade. Looking around, he realized that every single student and teacher was staring at him.

"What happened?"

Nathaniel grabbed his own head with both hands.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT HAPPENED?!"

His voice shattered the silence.

"YOU SUMMONED A GIANT FIRE BIRD!"

Percy shrugged.

"I just learned it."

William stood up.

"When?"

"Last night."

William's glasses slid down his nose.

"Last night?!"

"It wasn't fully finished. I completed it just now."

In the teachers' stands, the fire element instructor turned to Olsen.

"Did you teach him that technique?"

Olsen didn't answer. Her eyes were still fixed on Percy.

Another teacher spoke up:

"Is that level of density possible at the second level of the Advanced Core?"

"It shouldn't be."

"He altered its direction after shattering the lightning attack."

"He didn't just alter its direction. He transferred the heat to the bird's outer layers at the moment of impact."

"Why didn't the spell's form collapse?"

"He gathered back the dispersed Orin."

"How can a seven-year-old child do this?"

Questions came one after another.

Olsen finally spoke:

"Quiet."

The teachers around her went silent. For the first time, an unmistakable pride appeared on Olsen's face.

"I didn't teach him the technique."

Wycliffe looked at her. "Then where did he learn it?"

"He took the foundation from my class. I explained how to feed the flames while raising them, how to re-circulate dispersed Orin, and how to transfer heat to the outer layers." A smile formed on Olsen's lips. "I only showed him the pieces. He turned them into a spell."

Galahad uncrossed his arms.

"So Percy created this technique."

"Not entirely. There are similar rising techniques used in the past. But this specific form..." Olsen turned her eyes to the scorch marks left by the fire. "This specific form belongs to him."

Eleanor smiled.

"You're proud."

Olsen didn't deny it.

"Yes."

Holar Jun chuckled quietly. One of the teachers turned to him.

"Were you expecting this?"

Holar looked at Percy, who stood alone in the middle of the arena.

"No."

The teacher was surprised. Holar's smile widened.

"I was expecting better."

The teacher was at a loss for words.

When Percy returned to the waiting area, every single one of his classmates was standing. Nobody approached him at first. Percy looked at Nathaniel.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Nathaniel opened his mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again.

"You could have used that attack on me during those eleven days."

"I didn't."

"YOU COULD HAVE!"

"I couldn't control it properly."

Nathaniel's face took on an even more terrified expression.

"Saying that doesn't make me feel any better!"

Charlotte checked Percy's arms. "Are you hurt?"

"No."

Sophia looked behind her and saw Leon still being carried away on a stretcher.

"Is he really going to be okay?"

Percy nodded.

"I redirected the heat of the flames outward at the last moment. The barrier took most of the blast."

William stepped up to him.

"Was that your first time using that spell?"

"In its complete form, yes."

"You redirected the heat during impact on a spell you were using for the very first time?"

Percy thought about it.

"Yes."

William stared at him for a few seconds.

"You are an idiot."

Percy frowned.

"It succeeded."

"That doesn't mean it wasn't foolish."

Arthur finally stepped forward. He looked first at the scorch marks in the arena, then at Percy.

"You didn't use [Absolute Cancel]."

"It wasn't necessary."

"Heal?"

"It wasn't necessary."

"Blaze?"

Percy pointed to his staff left on the weapon rack.

"It wasn't even with me."

Arthur went silent. They had talked so much about all of Percy's special powers. Some had claimed he was strong only because of [Absolute Cancel], Heal, and Blaze. Percy had just defeated an Advanced Core student with a ninety-two percent lightning affinity in a single attack without using any of the three. Clara walked through the group. Reaching Percy, she looked into his face for a few seconds without saying anything. Percy smiled.

"How did you find it?"

Clara crossed her arms.

"Flashy."

"You didn't like it?"

"I didn't say that."

"So it was good."

"A little."

Percy's smile grew wider. Clara turned her head away.

"Don't get overly proud. I'm going to catch up to you."

Percy placed his hand on her head.

"I know."

Clara pushed his hand away.

"Don't touch my hair."

Nathaniel stepped between them.

"Wait a minute! What about the rest of the tournament now?"

William looked at him. "What do you mean?" Nathaniel pointed to the arena.

"Percy defeated an Advanced Core student in a single attack during his very first match. Who's going to want to get paired with him now?"

The answer came from the other waiting areas. Not a single person was looking directly at Percy. The students who had thought the rumors about him were exaggerated just moments ago gathered around the matchup lists once more. All of them were calculating whether they would face Percy in the upcoming rounds. One of Class 1-B's favorites quietly asked his friend:

"Was Leon really ninety-two percent affinity?"

"Yes."

"What's Percy's?"

"I don't know."

"Wasn't his fire affinity measured?"

"It was, but the result wasn't made public."

The boy looked at the massive scorch mark in the arena.

"Can I withdraw from the tournament?"

The student beside him shook his head.

"Just faint when it's your turn."

"Is that safer?"

"Percy can use Heal."

"Right. Then he won't realize I fainted."

Among the teachers, the same name was circulating. Percy Grant. Before the tournament started, there had been many favorites. Arthur's defense, Clara's light, William's intellect, and Leon's ninety-two percent lightning affinity were all hot topics. Now, all predictions had shifted. Because Percy Grant had stepped into the arena. And after just one step, he had shown the rest of the tournament a single truth: Anyone who wanted to defeat him first had to survive his attack.