The arena floor cracked beneath Noah's feet as he reassessed his opponents. Both Kaiden and the false Lila were breathing heavily, their earlier confidence now tinged with wariness. Noah rolled his shoulders, feeling muscles coil with unused power, a predatory calm settling over him.
'I've been fighting like I'm in a sparring match,' he thought, watching Kaiden's skin ripple with vibrational energy while the impostor's darkened hair framed her cold eyes. 'Time to show them what happens when I stop holding back.'
Noah shot forward like a bullet, covering the distance to Kaiden before anyone could blink. Not chi-enhanced movement—just raw physical power that had been carefully hidden until now. His fist connected with Kaiden's jaw with a sickening crack that echoed through the arena. Kaiden's head snapped sideways, a spray of blood and saliva arcing through the air like red rain.
