Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner

”I need you to fight me.”

Angel stared at him for several more seconds, her expression cycling through confusion, disbelief, and finally settling on cautious interest. ”You want me to what?”

”Fight me,” Noah repeated, keeping his voice level. ”Actual combat. No holding back.”

”Why?”

”I’m evaluating myself.” Noah chose his words carefully, leaving out the details about forging equipment and system quests. ”Trying to figure out where I’m actually lacking. Best way to do that is fight the strongest person I know in the eastern quadrant.”

Angel’s eyebrow rose slightly. ”And you think that’s me?”

”Lucas would’ve been my first choice, but he’s back on Raiju Prime dealing with his own stuff. That leaves you. Former Ark Division, S-rank awakened, actual combat experience against threats that would kill most people.” Noah met her eyes directly. ”I saw you fight on that planet when Kruel was attacking here. You’re a monster in the best possible way.”

”Flattery won’t make me go easy on you.”

”Good. I don’t want you to.”

Angel studied him for several seconds, clearly running calculations about whether this was a good idea. Finally, she nodded. ”Where do you want to do this?”

”I’m fine fighting here and now.”

Angel actually laughed at that, the sound carrying genuine amusement. ”Not here. The command center would be rubble in about thirty seconds. But I know somewhere the destruction won’t matter.”

She led him back to the transport where Reyna was waiting. The flight took maybe ten minutes, heading toward a section of the eastern quadrant where Kruel’s attack had hit hardest. Buildings here were beyond repair, marked for demolition whenever resources became available. The transport descended toward a massive crater, easily two hundred meters across, the result of something catastrophic during the initial assault.

”Here’s perfect,” Angel said as they touched down. ”Nothing left to break, nobody nearby to get hurt. We can go all out.”

Noah stepped out of the transport, boots hitting scorched earth that had been superheated during whatever created this crater. Reyna followed, her tablet already out, fingers moving rapidly across the screen.

”Marcus is bringing camera drones,” Reyna said, not looking up from her typing. ”Said the whole faction wants to watch. Also, apparently word’s spreading. We might have an audience.”

Noah glanced at Angel. ”You mind being recorded?”

”Not at all.” Angel’s smile took on a competitive edge. ”The whole eastern quadrant watching me beat the Eclipse faction leader’s ass would make for great television.”

Noah chuckled despite himself. ”Alright. Enough talking then.”

He took stock of his equipment mentally. Standard Eclipse tactical gear, designed for basic protection and mobility. No Excaliburn. No Knight’s Grace armor. No Void Striders. Just his base stats, his skills, and whatever he could figure out in real-time combat.

’This is the point,’ Noah thought, rolling his shoulders. ’Find out what I’m actually capable of without relying on equipment that does half the work for me.’

Other transports were arriving now, Eclipse members disembarking with camera equipment, setting up positions around the crater’s edge. The drones launched, their feeds going live immediately. Noah could see the viewer count starting to climb on nearby displays—hundreds, then thousands, people tuning in to watch an SSS-rank fight an S-rank in what was essentially a sanctioned brawl.

Angel walked to the center of the crater, putting maybe thirty meters between them. She rolled her neck, cracked her knuckles, her body language shifting from casual to combat-ready.

”No killing blows,” Angel called out. ”But everything else is fair game?”

”Everything else is fair game,” Noah confirmed.

”Good.”

Angel charged.

Not running. Charging. Her body blurred with speed that shouldn’t be possible for someone moving on foot, covering the distance between them in maybe two seconds. S-rank awakened bodies were built different—enhanced muscle density, reinforced skeletal structure, cardiovascular systems that could process oxygen at rates that would kill normal humans.

Noah tracked her movement, his enhanced agility letting him follow her trajectory. She was fast, faster than most people, hell, maybe even giving Kelvin’s Mech a run for it’s money. Her speed however was amplified by whatever gear she was wearing.

Then she accelerated.

One moment she was visible, the next she’d disappeared from his line of sight entirely. Noah’s instincts screamed warning a microsecond before she reappeared at his side, her body horizontal in the air, leg extended in a spinning heel kick aimed at his head.

He got his arm up, blocked the strike.

THOOM!

The impact drove him sideways three feet, his boots carving furrows in scorched earth. The force traveled through his forearm despite the block, made his entire arm go numb for a second.

Angel’s body was suspended in the air, held up by Noah’s blocking arm, both of them frozen in that position for maybe half a second.

Noah smiled. ”That’s more like it.”

Angel pushed off his arm, flipped backward, landed in a crouch. Blood began seeping from small cuts on her palms—self-inflicted, Noah realized, watching her manipulate the crimson liquid with clear intent.

The blood compressed between her hands, volume decreasing while pressure increased visibly. The air around it distorted from the force being contained.

’Blood manipulation. She’s going to—’

BOOM!!!

BOOM!!!

Angel thrust both hands forward. The compressed blood exploded outward in all directions, creating a shrapnel effect that filled the space between them with high-velocity projectiles.

Noah activated Phase Step, his body falling out of sync with normal matter. The blood passed through him harmlessly, impacting the ground behind him with enough force to crater the already damaged earth.

He phased back into reality and Angel was already moving, closing distance again while more blood seeped from cuts on her forearms. The liquid moved with purpose, flowing around her fists, solidifying into crystalline structures that looked sharp enough to cut steel.

She came in low, her crystallized blood fist driving toward Noah’s midsection. He sidestepped, grabbed for her wrist to redirect the momentum, but Angel’s other hand was already coming around in an uppercut that would take his jaw off if it connected.

Noah blinked backward ten feet, appeared outside her range. ”You’re not wasting any time.”

”You said no holding back.” Angel’s hands were dripping blood now, the liquid pooling at her feet before rising in response to her will. It formed into shapes—blades, spikes, shields—all of them moving independently like they had their own awareness.

The blood blades launched toward him in a coordinated assault. Three from different angles, forcing Noah to either blink away or find some way to defend against all of them simultaneously.

He chose defense. Void Blink activated in rapid succession, his body displacing microseconds before each blade would have connected, appearing in the gaps between attacks. The blades passed through empty space, reformed, came at him again.

’She’s testing my reaction time,’ Noah realized, watching the blood weapons adapt their trajectories mid-flight. ’Seeing how fast I can respond to multiple simultaneous threats.’

One blade got through his defenses, carved a line across his shoulder that burned despite the shallow depth. His enhanced regeneration kicked in immediately, tissue knitting back together, but the damage had been real.

[-15 HP]

Angel was already following up, her body blurring forward while the blood weapons continued their assault. She came in high this time, her leg snapping out in a front kick that Noah barely dodged.

WHOOOOSH!

The kick’s follow-through created a vacuum effect, air displacement strong enough that Noah felt it despite not being hit directly. Then Angel’s other leg came around in a roundhouse, her body spinning with enough force that the blood coating her limbs created a visible arc through the air.

Noah activated Void Blink, appeared behind her, drove his fist toward her spine with enhanced strength backing the blow.

KRRSSSH!

Angel’s blood responded before she did. The liquid coating her back solidified instantly, creating armor that absorbed Noah’s punch. The crystallized blood cracked from the impact but held, and Angel used his momentary contact to grab his wrist.

Her grip was iron. She pulled him forward, used his own momentum against him, threw him toward the ground with force that would have broken ribs if he hadn’t twisted mid-air to land on his feet instead.

He came up already moving, blinked sideways as more blood projectiles filled the space where he’d been. Angel was relentless, giving him no time to think, just forcing him to react continuously.

”She’s pushing him,” Marcus said from the crater’s edge, watching through binoculars. ”Noah’s on the defensive completely.”

”He’s holding back,” Reyna replied, her eyes on her tablet showing the live feed. ”Look at his movements. He’s not using any of his offensive abilities. Just dodging and blocking.”

”Why would he hold back against someone like Angel?”

”Because he’s testing himself, idiot. He said he wanted to know where he’s lacking. Can’t figure that out if you’re just erasing your opponent from existence.”

In the live stream chat, comments were flying past faster than anyone could read them:

[Is Angel actually winning against an SSS-rank???]

[Who is this woman and why is she so FINE]

[Eclipse leader getting his ass kicked lmaooo]

[This is what SSS-rank looks like? We’re doomed when Kruel comes back]

[Task Force represent! Angel’s gonna win this!]

[No way Noah’s going full power, he’s clearly testing something]

Angel’s assault continued, her blood manipulation creating weapons and defenses in equal measure. She’d solidified blood into a whip that snapped toward Noah with enough force to break stone, forced him to blink away. When he reappeared, she was already there, her fist driving toward his face with crystallized blood covering her knuckles.

Noah caught the punch this time, his hand closing around her fist, stopping the strike inches from his nose. The force traveled through his arm, made his shoulder protest, but he held firm.

”Getting faster,” Noah said, meeting her eyes.

”You’re getting predictable,” Angel replied, and her blood whip came around from his blind spot.

CRACK!

Noah saw it peripherally, couldn’t dodge in time. The whip wrapped around his leg, jerked him off balance. Angel used the opening to drive her knee into his chest.

BOOM!

The impact created a shockwave that echoed across the crater.

[-40 HP]

Noah hit the ground hard, rolled through it, came up with his ribs aching despite his enhanced vitality. Angel was already pursuing, her movements relentless, her blood weapons multiplying.

’She’s escalating,’ Noah thought, tracking five different blood projectiles coming at him from different angles while Angel herself closed distance for direct engagement. ’Testing how I handle multi-layered assault patterns.’

He activated Void Blink in rapid sequence, his body flickering through space, appearing between the projectiles, using the gaps in their trajectories. But Angel had predicted this, positioned herself exactly where he’d reappear.

THWAM!

Her fist caught him in the ribs, crystallized blood adding impact force. Noah’s breath left him in a rush, and Angel’s follow-up kick took his legs out from under him.

KRAAAA!

He hit the ground again, harder this time, and Angel’s blood was already forming above him—dozens of projectiles, all pointed down, preparing to rain destruction.

’Okay. Enough defense.’

Noah activated Void Barrage, his hands extending upward. Purple projectiles erupted from his palms, meeting Angel’s blood weapons mid-descent.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The collision created explosions of force and void energy, the two attacks canceling each other out in a display that lit up the crater.

He blinked to his feet, appeared twenty feet from Angel, and finally went on offense.

His speed ramped up, enhanced agility pushing him to velocities that made him blur. He closed the distance before Angel could reset her defenses, drove his fist toward her midsection.

THUD!

Angel’s blood armor absorbed most of the impact, but she still stumbled backward. Noah didn’t give her time to recover, pressed the advantage with a combination—left jab to create opening, right cross to exploit it, spinning back fist to keep her off-balance.

Each strike was enhanced by his stats, backed by months of combat experience against threats that would kill most awakened humans. Angel blocked the first two, took the third on her shoulder, her crystallized blood cracking but holding.

KRRSSSH! KRRSSSH!

She retaliated with her own combination, her fists moving faster than they had been, her blood manipulation creating additional striking surfaces. Noah dodged the first three attacks, blocked the fourth with his forearm, took the fifth across his jaw.

[-25 HP]

His head snapped sideways from the impact. Angel’s fist had been coated in crystallized blood shaped like brass knuckles, amplifying the force significantly.

Noah blinked backward, creating space. ”Now it’s my turn.”

Angel spat blood onto the scorched earth, her breathing elevated but controlled. Her body was covered in blood now—most of it hers, deliberately drawn through countless small cuts, all of it responding to her will like extensions of her body.

”Not even close,” Angel said, her voice carrying challenge despite the exertion. ”You wanted to be pushed, right? I’ll push you.”

The blood around her began moving differently. Not forming weapons or armor, but flowing across her skin in patterns that suggested something more fundamental was changing. Her body temperature spiked visibly, steam rising from her arms, her neck, anywhere the blood touched.

Her skin began darkening, shifting from normal complexion to something reddish-purple. Black marks appeared across her face, spreading like cracks in porcelain. Her veins became visible, pulsing with increased blood flow, jumping out against her skin.

”Soul form,” Angel said, and her voice had changed—deeper, carrying resonance that came from fundamental physical enhancement.

Her eyes changed last, the whites turning dark red, almost black, her pupils dilating until they dominated her vision.

The air around her distorted from heat and pressure, her body radiating power that made the atmosphere feel heavier.

Noah felt his smile widening despite the situation.

’Now we’re getting somewhere.’