Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner-Chapter 239: Dead zone queen

"Did you see how quickly the maintenance crews fixed the arena?" Kelvin whispered to Noah as they settled back into their seats. "Triple-reinforced kinetic dampeners in the barrier this time."

Noah nodded, his eyes fixed on the reconstructed platform. The scars from Jayden and Luis's battle were barely visible now, the surface gleaming as if brand new. "They learn fast."

All around them, spectators who had been watching the Year 1 and Year 2 matches in the adjacent arenas were flooding back. The Jayden-Luis fight had stolen everyone's attention, and now all eyes were focused on the next Year 3 matchup.

"Bailey's up next," Kelvin said, his voice dropping even lower. "Against Diana Frost."

Noah's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "Academy 8's Number Two."

A brief silence fell between them as they both processed what that meant. Kelvin glanced sideways at his friend, noting the tension in Noah's shoulders.

"You know," Kelvin started carefully, "I was thinking during that last match... about the power gap between years."

Noah raised an eyebrow but kept his eyes on the arena as the announcer began introducing the fighters.

"Year 1s like us," Kelvin continued, "we're still figuring out our abilities. Still learning the fundamentals. But Year 2s..." He shook his head. "They're already scary individuals."

"And Year 3s are monsters," Noah finished for him.

"Exactly. It's exponential, not linear. The difference between us and Year 2s is significant, but between Year 2s and Year 3s?" Kelvin whistled softly. "It's like comparing a kitchen knife to a military-grade weapon."

The crowd roared as Bailey emerged from one entrance. Academy 12's sound manipulator moved with confidence, her body language relaxed but alert. Her dark hair was pulled back tightly, revealing the specialized ear implants that enhanced her already formidable sonic abilities.

"But you know," Kelvin said, his voice barely audible over the crowd, "I think you could take Luis."

Noah finally turned to look at him, surprise evident in his eyes.

"I mean it," Kelvin insisted. "With the system..." He trailed off, glancing around to ensure no one was listening. "I've seen what you can do. The way you adapt, how quickly you analyze and counter. It's different from everyone else."

Noah opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by another deafening roar from the crowd. Diana Frost had entered the arena.

Academy 8's second-ranked fighter moved with deliberate, unhurried steps. Her platinum blonde hair was cut in a severe bob that framed a face as beautiful as it was utterly devoid of warmth. Unlike Bailey's confident stance, Diana's body language communicated nothing—a blank canvas that revealed no intention, no emotion, no weakness.

"She hasn't changed," Noah murmured, memories of their previous encounter flashing through his mind.

The platform beneath the fighters illuminated, and the energy barrier rose around the perimeter, sealing them in.

"Bailey's good—really good," Noah said, leaning forward. "But this..." He shook his head. "I don't see how she wins this."

"But you broke out of Diana's Dead Zone," Kelvin reminded him. "Using chi."

"Barely," Noah corrected. "And Bailey doesn't have that option."

The countdown flashed above the arena. Three. Two. One.

The instant the signal flared, Bailey was in motion. She sprinted sideways, her hands already tracing complex patterns in the air. Sound waves visibly distorted the space around her, creating rippling patterns in the energy barrier.

Diana Frost didn't move. She stood perfectly still, her eyes tracking Bailey's movement with mechanical precision.

"Smart," Noah commented. "Bailey's staying mobile. She knows what happens if Diana locks onto her."

Bailey suddenly clapped her hands together with explosive force. The sound that emerged wasn't a clap but a concentrated sonic boom that shot toward Diana like a cannonball.

Diana's right hand rose slightly—almost lazily—and a small shimmer appeared in the air before her. The sonic blast hit this invisible barrier and simply... stopped. Not deflected, not absorbed. It just ceased to exist, frozen in a state of perpetual potential energy.

"Dead Zone," Kelvin whispered, awe and fear mixing in his voice.

Bailey didn't waste time on surprise. She immediately changed tactics, slamming her palm against the platform. The impact sent sonic vibrations racing through the material itself, bypassing Diana's forward-facing Dead Zone.

The platform beneath Diana's feet began to vibrate violently, threatening to shatter. For the first time, Diana moved, stepping sideways as the section where she'd been standing fractured and buckled.

"She's using the environment," Noah noted with approval. "Indirect attacks."

Bailey pressed her advantage, creating a sonic cage that encapsulated multiple sections of the platform. Rather than attacking Diana directly, she pre-loaded the arena itself with compressed sound waves, turning the entire battlefield into a potential weapon.

"Echo Cage," Kelvin identified. "She's setting traps."

Diana's expression remained unchanged as sections of the platform around her began to glow faintly with contained sonic energy. She walked forward deliberately, and wherever her feet touched, the glow immediately faded—the stored energy nullified completely.

Bailey gritted her teeth, visible even from the stands. She switched tactics again, this time focusing on frequencies beyond human perception. The air around Diana began to warp subtly as infrasound waves assaulted her inner ear, designed to induce vertigo and disorientation.

For a moment, it seemed to work. Diana's next step faltered slightly.

"She got through!" Kelvin exclaimed.

Noah shook his head. "No. Diana's playing with her."

He was right. Diana's momentary stumble had been a feint. As Bailey charged forward to capitalize, Diana's eyes snapped to her with laser focus. Her hand extended, and instantly, Bailey froze mid-stride, caught in a Dead Zone that materialized around her.

The crowd gasped. Bailey hung suspended in the air, one foot off the ground, her expression locked in determined concentration.

"No," Kelvin breathed. "She's done for."

But Bailey wasn't finished. Though her body was frozen, sound wasn't just a physical phenomenon—it was energy, waves propagating through mediums. Even as her body remained immobilized, the sound waves she'd been generating continued to resonate outward from her last action before being caught.

The platform beneath Diana suddenly erupted as Bailey's final attack—a Resonance Shock she'd seeded seconds earlier—triggered. The explosion caught Diana off-guard, breaking her concentration just enough for her Dead Zone to flicker.

Bailey dropped to the platform, immediately rolling away and gasping for breath. The crowd roared its approval.

"Brilliant," Noah said, genuine admiration in his voice. "She planned for the Dead Zone."

Bailey was back on her feet now, but her breathing was labored. Being caught in Diana's Dead Zone, even briefly, had its consequences. Every cellular process in her body had momentarily stopped, and the resulting shock was visible in her pale face and trembling hands.

Diana rose from where the explosion had knocked her down, brushing dust from her gear with methodical precision. For the first time, something shifted in her eyes—a cold appreciation mixed with cruelty.

"Oh no," Noah murmured.

"What?" Kelvin asked.

"She's interested now."

Diana's approach changed. Instead of waiting for Bailey to attack, she began advancing steadily, her hands extended at her sides. Small Dead Zones shimmered around both palms, ready to nullify anything they touched.

Bailey backpedaled, unleashing a barrage of sonic attacks. She generated Sonic Edges that sliced through the air, created high-frequency oscillations that should have shattered eardrums, even tried to manipulate the very molecules of air to create pressure differentials that would force Diana back.

None of it mattered. Where Diana's hands passed, energy simply ceased. Sound waves froze mid-propagation. Air pressure equalized instantly. It was like watching someone erase reality with their fingertips.

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"She's not even using her full ability yet," Noah said quietly. "She's still playing."

Bailey must have realized this too. Desperation crept into her movements as she unleashed her Harmonic Cancelation, attempting to identify and disrupt the vibrational signature of Diana's power itself.

Diana paused, head tilting slightly as if curious. Then she smiled—a small, terrible thing without warmth or humor.

"Zone Expansion," Noah and Kelvin said in unison.

The air around Diana shimmered, and the Dead Zone suddenly expanded outward in all directions. It wasn't just her hands now—a sphere of absolute stillness extended around her body, growing with each passing second.

Bailey tried to retreat, but the zone caught her left leg first. She stumbled, suddenly dragging a limb that had become completely immobilized. Panic flashed across her face as she realized what was happening.

With desperate ingenuity, she unleashed a massive sonic blast directly at the platform beneath her, launching herself upward and out of the expanding Dead Zone's reach.

For a moment, it seemed she might escape. She arced through the air, already preparing her next attack.

Then Diana looked up, her eyes tracking Bailey's trajectory with mathematical precision. She raised both hands, and the Dead Zone surged upward like a geyser of nothingness.

Bailey was caught mid-air, her body freezing in a position that would have been comical if it weren't so terrifying. She hung suspended, completely immobilized, unable even to blink.

The crowd fell silent.

Diana approached her floating opponent with unhurried steps. When she stood directly beneath Bailey, she spoke—the first words she'd uttered during the entire match.

"Potential Lock," she said, her voice soft yet carrying across the silent arena.

Bailey's body began to descend slowly, not falling but lowering as if on invisible strings. When she was eye-level with Diana, she stopped moving again.

The sight was unnerving—Bailey suspended in mid-air, completely immobilized, her eyes the only part of her that could move, darting frantically as she tried and failed to access her power.

Even the higher ups watching felt a little uncomfortable.

"That girl from eight. She's at it again. Isn't she the one that drops out of fights whenever she gets bored?" Minister Reign asked a man in military attire. The person he was seated with was headmaster of school 4.

"Yes. Right from her first year. I'm surprised she's made it this far this year. Usually after the first round, she gives up," the headmaster said to the minister.

Diana studied her opponent with clinical detachment. Then, with deliberate slowness, she placed her palm against Bailey's chest.

"Absolute Stillness, I love it..." she whispered.

The effect was immediate and horrifying. Bailey's eyes widened in pure terror, then glazed over as consciousness fled. Diana had momentarily halted not just her external movement, but her internal processes as well—heart, lungs, neural signals, all briefly suspended in time.

She released her hold before permanent damage occurred, but the message was clear. Bailey collapsed to the platform, unconscious but alive.

A standby healer rushed forward, checking Bailey's vitals before signaling the end of the match. Medical teams swarmed the platform as the energy barrier dissipated.

Diana Frost turned and walked away without looking back, her expression as empty as when she'd entered.

But as she neared the exit, she paused. Her gaze swept the spectator stands, methodically searching until it landed on one specific spot.

On Noah Eclipse.

For a brief moment, their eyes locked. Something flashed across Diana's face—recognition, interest, perhaps even the ghost of anticipation. Then she was gone, disappearing into the tunnel leading back to Academy 8's preparation area.

"She remembers you," Kelvin said, his voice hushed.

Noah nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. "She does."

"That was..." Kelvin struggled to find the right words. "That wasn't even a fight. That was a demonstration."

"That," Noah corrected, "was a message." He rose from his seat, eyes still fixed on the exit where Diana had vanished. "And it was meant for me."

All around them, the crowd buzzed with shocked conversations, but Noah barely noticed. His mind was already racing ahead, analyzing, planning, calculating odds and possibilities.

Because he knew—perhaps better than anyone—what it meant to have Diana Frost's attention.

And what it would take to survive it.