Apparently, I can't upload chapters longer than 20k words on this site, so I'll split it between 2 chapters.
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The stadium lights burned down like suns, their white-hot glare gleaming off their faces and gleaming boots. The air buzzed with static energy, acting as the silence before thunder. Both teams stood frozen in place, statues molded from pressure and expectation, eyes fixed forward as the final countdown ticked across the jumbotron.
This was it.
The final match for Team Z.
Their battle against Team V.
Every breath felt heavier than the last.
Team Z stood in their formation, familiar yet evolved. The same foundation that had annihilated every team before them, only now more dangerous and far more refined. In the striker role stood Isagi Yoichi with his gaze locked forward like a loaded rifle.
But this time, standing beside him wasn't his usual partner in chaos.
It was Kunigami Rensuke, the walking embodiment of fire and heroism. His frame was tense, muscle stacked upon muscle like a war machine disguised as a football player. His presence beside Isagi was a promise: if the brains didn't kill you, the brawn would.
Bachira Meguru had shifted to the right wing. His smile was lopsided, eyes dancing with madness. His ego was chaos incarnate, free to spiral into with no leash to hold him.
The midfield buzzed with energy. Raichi stood like a guard dog, and Kira paced subtly left to the front lines, his instincts still sharp. The rest of the formation was just as disciplined, ready to be the unyielding wall for their offense.
Across from them, Team V had lined up with a quiet, coiled intensity.
Zantetsu Tsurugi mirrored Chigiri's stance from the opposite wing, head down like a sprinter in the blocks, his jaw clenched tight. The tension between him and Chigiri was electric, the two comets waiting to collide.
In the center stood Reo Mikage, calm and calculating, like a general preparing for war. His gaze flicked to Isagi for a heartbeat and stayed there, his eyes narrowing in wariness.
And at the very front, unbothered by the heat or the pressure, stood Nagi Seishiro, arms lazily draped behind his head, posture slouched but eyes half-lidded with something deeper than boredom. Watching all of the games that team Z had played in was a major eye opener for the lazy genius, and for the first time he felt excitement build up in him.
No words were exchanged between the two powerhouse teams. There was no need.
The atmosphere hanging over the pitch was too heavy. Any attempt at conversation would've died in their throats, choked out by the sheer weight of mutual awareness. It was like the calm before a cataclysmic storm.
All of it crackled in the space between them, a taut wire ready to snap.
This wasn't just any game for the players. This was an arena of monsters, a clash of gladiators ready to fight with their lives on the line. Every player here had sharpened themselves into a blade, and now, there was only one language left to speak.
Everything they had to say would be shouted in goals, screamed in tackles, and carved into the pitch with cleats.
And so, as the clock hit zero, and the whistle blew, the game finally began
No immediate explosion followed. Instead, Team V began with calm precision. Nagi tapped the ball back to Reo, who shifted it gently to Zantetsu on the wing.
The ball kept moving, Zantetsu moving up the pitch with a steady pace. He came across Chigiri, who was pressuring with feral intensity, and passed it back to Reo. Reo was instantly confronted by Kunigami, and passed it to his left winger to move out of trouble.
Team V moved with calm fluidity, their passes crisp and intentional. But Team Z moved like predators, coiled in preparation for their hunt.
"They're baiting us. Stay sharp." Isagi's voice rang out from midfield. His eyes followed the ball with razor sharp focus, processing every movement like pieces on a chessboard. "Don't let them drag you out of position, everyone stay compact!"
The left winger for Team V surged forward, light on his feet, eyes flicking between teammates. But the moment he tried to slip deeper into Team Z's half, he was met with the embodiment of chaos that was Bachira
He skittered forward with an inhuman grin, eyes wide with excitement, and feet even faster. His presence was suffocating, a whirlwind of motion and unpredictability. The winger's confidence faltered. He hesitated, before making his move.
With a quick shift, he passed the ball back to Reo, who met it under the shadow of team Z's resident hero.
Further back, Isagi's eyes gleamed.
'That confirms it. They're still going to use Reo as their axis point. The entire tempo revolves around him. All the play is built through his rhythm. If I can find the spot to break that rhythm, we break them.'
"Push up, defense! Don't let them draw us back!" Raichi's voice rang like a war drum from behind, his presence booming as he waved the backline higher. Kuon, Iemon, and the rest of the defensive line responded immediately, stepping forward as a unit to compress the space.
Kunigami, always the soldier, was already on the move, pressuring Reo like a collapsing wall of muscle.
"You're not getting past me!"
Reo barely looked fazed, though a bead of sweat had started to form on his brow. "You guys are relentless," he muttered, flicking a quick pass back to Zantetsu.
But before Zantetsu could even take two touches, Chigiri was on him.
A blur of red shot past him, slamming into him shoulder to shoulder, and the ball was gone.
"This one's mine,"
Reo's eyes widened. "Shit—Zantetsu! Fall back!"
Too late.
With his newly improved physical specs, thanks to the intense workouts he did with Isagi, Raichi, and Kunigami, Chigiri was already tearing down the wing, hair streaming behind him like the tail of a shooting star. The instant he had the ball, the field opened up.
"Isagi! Now!" Chigiri called back.
"Way ahead of you, Chigiri!"
Isagi, already accelerating into open turf, raised his hand in a swift motion, a silent call for the ball. He didn't need to shout. Chigiri understood him like a mirror understands a face, and the ball was already in motion, skimming low across the grass in a blistering diagonal cut.
Behind the midfield line, Bachira twisted past Reo with a liquid step, his grin wild and feral as he danced into the half space between defenders. His movements were erratic and unpredictable, like trying to follow the flight path of a hornet with a death wish.
Reo clenched his teeth in frustration, watching his structure collapse in real time. 'Shit! They read us like an open book! I didn't think anyone besides Isagi would pick up on our tempo, let alone move this precisely against it! And Zantetsu… damn it, he can't keep up with that speed!'
Ahead, Zantetsu was gritting his teeth, his legs pumping hard, but the distance between him and Chigiri wasn't shrinking. If anything, it was growing. The red-haired cheetah was gliding across the field with terrifying grace, as if gravity itself had let go of him.
"Focus!" Reo barked, snapping Zantetsu out of his panic. "Collapse on the center! Don't follow the bait!"
But it was already too late.
Chigiri didn't even need the ball. His terrifying presence alone dragged the defense out of shape, widening gaps in the structure like cracks in breaking glass. And in that exact, perfect moment, he launched a devastating cross to Isagi.
Noticing the pass, Isagi twisted his hips just slightly, letting the ball slip between his legs untouched. It was intentional, a calculated sacrifice of possession, but only for a moment. The defenders, already swarming like bees around honey, were too far in their lunge toward him.
Even Reo had fell for the bait, because he too was a part of the crowd. Because the real threat wasn't Isagi at all.
It was Kunigami.
Just outside the penalty box, in perfect position and completely unmarked, Kunigami's eyes lit up the instant the ball broke through. He stepped forward, muscles tensed and flexed, lifted his left foot, and met the ball with the full fury of a cannon primed to kill.
The strike was pure violence.
A seismic missile, shrieking through the air with terrifying speed. The ball curled slightly in on itself mid flight from the sheer torque behind it, punching toward the top corner of the goal like it was drawn there by fate itself.
The goalkeeper couldn't even react to it. The ball ripped past him before he could even blink, slamming into the net with the most violent crack he's ever heard. It was so strong that it echoed through the stadium like thunder.
GOAL!
Team V 0 – 1 Team Z
The scoreboard lit up. The stadium lights seemed to burn brighter. The silence shattered into a thousand pieces.
"ALRIGHT!!!" Kunigami's roar split the air, fierce and unrestrained, thundering through the field with the raw power of a war cry. He slammed his fist against his chest, feeling pride in his insane power shot. His eyes burned with the fire of ignition, burning with the hope of the people a hero has on his back.
Around him, the rest of Team Z surged forward.
Isagi was jogging toward him, nodding with fierce approval. His mind was still moving, still analyzing, but his smirk betrayed his pride.
"Nice shot, Kunigami. That shot was exactly what we needed to open up the game with."
Kunigami grinned wide, teeth bared like a beast finally unleashed. "Damn straight! You were awesome on that read, too. I didn't think I was going to get the ball since you're so unpredictable. Seriously, I thought you were about to break through their defense like paper."
"Haha, I'm not that good, but I'll take the compliment."
Bachira skipped in, practically bouncing on his toes, his usual grin warped into something a little wilder. "That was crazy, Kunigami! Like you shot that thing with a BOOM, straight through the air like a KAMEHAMEHA!"
Chigiri's gaze didn't flicker toward his teammates. It remained trained, razor-sharp, on Team V's regrouping formation as they slowly retreated to their half. His eyes weren't just watching—they were dissecting, calculating, hunting.
"Nice shot, Kunigami," Chigiri muttered, voice calm but brimming with tension. "But don't let your guard down. We've rattled them… but if the footage told us anything, they're not going down without a fight."
Kunigami wiped sweat from his brow, still riding the adrenaline, but nodded with grim focus. "Yeah, I know. There's no way they're not going to try something to retaliate."
Isagi stood beside them, arms crossed, his expression composed—but the glint in his eyes was sharp enough to cut steel. "They'll probably try to answer back fast, Reo and Nagi will especially be the core parts of their attack. They're the brain and the blade."
"Tell me who it is, and I'll lock them down easily." Raichi called from behind them, cracking his knuckles. "I'll cling to him like a bloodsucking leech."
"Ew," Igarashi whispered.
Chigiri nodded. "I'll keep Zantetsu in check. His explosive start is worrying, but I've been training to match it, so I should be good on that."
"Good. If it comes down to it, I'll make sure Nagi doesn't have a chance to work his magic." Isagi's words brought nods of agreement to the team.
From across the field, Reo's calm voice called out as Team V took their formation. "Alright, everyone. We expected this to happen, so don't get too flustered. We'll go pay them back right now, so keep your heads high and focus."
Zantetsu crouched slightly, like a sprinter at the blocks, eyes locked on Chigiri. "Time to prove I'm faster than you."
Nagi rolled his shoulders, a flicker of intrigue finally showing. "Yeah, let's do it."
Another piercing blast rang through the stadium.
This time, Team Z didn't lunge in recklessly. They stalked forward in calm fashion, analyzing what team V will do next.
Reo received the ball again at the center, and with a smooth flick of his foot, sent it darting to the flank. Zantetsu exploded down the right wing like a bullet from a gun, cleaving through the open grass. His acceleration was monstrous, sharp as a blade.
But Chigiri was already there.
The second the ball left Reo's foot, Chigiri mirrored Zantetsu's burst with perfect timing, the two sprinters streaking down the sideline like twin rockets. Their footsteps pounded the turf in rhythm, racing to the fullest against each other.
From midfield, Isagi's eyes narrowed, tracking every movement. He moved with his head slightly tilted down, brain churning through scenarios like a machine.
'So they're hammering the left side again. Zantetsu's speed is dangerous, but repeating the same strategy without variation? That's pretty suspicious. Either they're testing something or they're trying to bait us. Damn… what's your angle?'
But Chigiri wasn't fooled.
He didn't lunge. He didn't press. He hovered just beside Zantetsu like a shadow, forcing the sprinter to either slow down or risk losing the ball to a tackle that would come the moment he hesitated.
"Shift to the left and tighten up, defense!" Kuon's voice rang out from the back, firm and commanding. "Don't leave any gaps for them to exploit!"
Like clockwork, Team Z responded. Igarashi closed in to double-team, cutting off the path for a clean through-ball. Raichi drifted left to fill the zone in front of Reo, forcing Team V to hesitate.
Zantetsu clicked his tongue. "Tch!"
He tapped the ball backward, resetting the play. The momentary pressure had forced him to recoil.
"That's right," Chigiri muttered under his breath, pacing back in sync with Zantetsu. "You're not getting past me."
"I will indubitably."
"Huh?"
Reo received the return pass, spinning to redirect it to the opposite side where Nagi stood. His posture was relaxed, arms hanging loose with half lidded eyes.
But as the ball zipped toward him, Nagi came alive.
A graceful touch killed the momentum instantly. With just two steps, he pivoted past Kira, slipping through like liquid shadow.
But Iemon was there, reading the motion.
The ball rolled toward Nagi, and with his usual sleepy stare, he approached it as if he were bored of the entire situation.
Iemon squared up, low to the ground and braced like a wall. "You're not getting past me!"
"Man, what a pain."
Without breaking stride, Nagi tapped the ball up with the tip of his toe, lifting it casually into the air. Before Iemon could react, Nagi rotated his body slightly and flicked it over the defender with the back of his heel.
Iemon spun, trying to recover, but Nagi was already in motion.
With a single, graceful leap, he met the ball mid-air and lifted up again with his laced boot. Time seemed to freeze as the ball rested against him for half a second. Then, just as gravity pulled it down, he dipped his head and flicked it forward with a short, soft header.
It dropped perfectly into his path.
Iemon staggered. He looked around, eyes wide, completely lost. "Wha—?!"
Nagi was already gone. The ball bounced once ahead of him, and with his usual unhurried ease, he dribbled toward the box.
"He's through!"
"Drop back to the box, Now!"
But Nagi was gliding across the grass like it was nothing.
Nagi stepped into the ball at the edge of the box. Open body, no hesitation. His form was crisp, formed with practiced ease and plenty of repetition.. With one smooth motion, he angled his foot back and launched it forward, striking the ball with surgical precision toward the bottom right corner.
From the goal line, Gagamaru reacted instantly, diving with all his length.
But there was no need.
The ball didn't make it past the box. Because standing there, dead center in the trajectory, was Isagi Yoichi.
With calm poise, he'd stepped into the line and stopped the strike cold, planting his foot flat over the ball, not even staggered by the impact. No flinch. Not even a stumble.
He stood tall, shoulders squared, his entire body facing Nagi like a wall made of willpower and fire.
A stunned silence rippled from Team V's side.
Even Nagi froze for a moment, the follow through of his strike halting as he processed what had just happened.
Isagi looked up slowly, eyes sharp as blades.
"Sorry, genius," he said coolly, the field carrying his echo across the field. "But it'll take more than that half-baked ego of yours to get anywhere past me."
Nagi blinked, confused.
Behind him, Reo's jaw dropped. "He read Nagi… perfectly."
"He stopped Nagi's shot like it was nothing…" Zantetsu murmured.
Isagi didn't linger. He kicked the ball sharply to the side, spinning it up towards Kuon, who passed to Chigiri. Controlling the ball, Chigiri charged down the left wing with incredible speed.
"IT'S A COUNTER!" Raichi's voice boomed. "GO!"
Kunigami exploded forward alongside Chigiri, and Team Z surged like a pack of wolves tasting blood.
As Team V scrambled to recover, Reo snarled and dropped back, yelling, "Zantetsu! Track Chigiri! Inasa, screen Kunigami. Everyone, drop back NOW!"
The field shifted. Once again, everyone sprinted towards team V's goal, looking to either score the next goal or to prevent it.
A defender lunged in towards the red haired jaguar, but Chigiri touched the ball forward with a sudden acceleration, gone before the challenge even held weight.
He didn't commit to the run, though. He pulled the pace back and glanced infield, spotting Kunigami cutting diagonally toward the center. He pulled his leg back and kicked the ball, passing it over to the orange haired hero.
Kunigami received it in stride and immediately angled his body, rolling his foot over the ball to shield it from an onrushing Inasa. His body, built and calibrated through the weeks of intense physical training with Isagi, Chigiri, and Raichi, was leagues ahead of anyone his age. In a contest of physical might, always bet on Kunigami.
He backheeled the ball into the narrow lane where Bachira was looping around again, who did an underlap run with him. Bachira spun off a challenge with a bounce in his step, then turned sharply and popped the ball back wide to Chigiri, who had drifted into the open space near the halfway line.
Another team V player surged in to intercept, ready to smother him in pressure, but he was a half-step too slow.
Chigiri beat him there.
With a smooth first touch, the lightning fast speedster of team Z cut across the midfield line with the ball soon glued to his feet. With this final attack, they were through the thick of the defense.
Isagi, watching from behind, nodded to himself. 'Nice, way to set a perfect tempo. This is how we're going to push them into collapse.'
Chigiri slowed just slightly, waiting for the next trigger for their attack.
Kunigami peeled off his mark, angling toward the right sideline with his hand raised. He was wide open, no other defender around in sight.
Chigiri saw it instantly.
His eyes flicked to the open space. The pass was obvious, a simple clean sweep with the inside of his boot. The ball cut across the turf like a blade, destined for Kunigami's feet.
But Reo Mikage was already moving.
'That's way too obvious, dumbass. I'm not able to compete against that hulking mass of muscle, but cutting the lane is perfectly doable.'
He slid across the passing lane like a chess piece snapping into place, his movement sharp and precise, locked on the spinning ball. With a perfectly timed step in, he cut off the pass before it ever reached Kunigami, his cleat intercepting it with a deft touch and dragging it under control.
Chigiri's eyes widened for half a second, stunned at the unexpected appearance of their opponent. He was sure that Kunigami was open, but he didn't expect anyone
Kunigami clenched his jaw, eyes flaring with frustration the moment the ball was stolen. "Tch—shit."
He barely finished the curse before he was already moving, powerful strides eating up the turf as he turned to chase. But it was already too late.
Reo was gone.
Like smoke slipping through fingers, he weaved out of the interception with elegant precision. His touch on the ball was efficient. Subtle body feints, slight shifts in posture, and the ball obeyed, gliding along as though it understood the gravity of the moment.
He had baited that pass and lured them in.
Kunigami lunged to close the distance, but Reo was already steps ahead, glancing up as he carved through midfield with fluid motion.
'That's right,' Reo thought, ice in his veins. 'Keep your eyes on the runners and forget about the conductor. That's how you lose control of the symphony.'
With a quick turn of his hips, he drilled the ball across the field, a switch pass, tight and precise, cutting clean through the width of the pitch.
On the far side, Zantetsu was already in motion, a bullet with cleats. His first touch launched him into a sprint, the ball practically glued to his stride as he accelerated like a rocket.
But in the next breath, Zantetsu was once again met with his better.
There was no wind on the field, yet Chigiri seemed to slice through it, heat radiating off his frame. His strides were long and merciless, devouring every inch of space in their intensity.
Zantetsu's jaw clenched as he felt the shadow breathing down his neck. "Again?!" he hissed, forcing his legs to pump harder. His speed was one of the few things that he could rely on, so the fact that someone was even faster than him was a huge blow to his ego. He forced his body to move as quick as it could, faster than any other time he ran.
Against anyone else, he would have been successful, but Chigiri was no longer the injured prodigy of the past. There was no trace of hesitation in any of his steps, every dash he made caused him to gain ground rapidly.
From the left flank, Nagi began drifting toward the center, his body lazy but calculated. As if sensing the shift in energy, he tilted his frame into position, waiting for the final pass to arrive. His eyes were still half lidded, analyzing every gap.
Zantetsu flicked a glance at Chigiri gaining on him and chose not to tempt fate. Without hesitation, he zipped a grounded pass inward to Reo, who met it with effortless grace.
Reo let the ball drift across his body before flicking it back with a heel touch. "Hisoka!"
Hisoka, the other midfielder alongside Reo, read it like a book, meeting the ball with perfect timing. One touch was all he needed to return it, and just like that, the duo carved through Kunigami's returned pressure with a sharp one-two, slicing past the midfield line.
Reo didn't wait. His eyes locked on Nagi, who was already drifting into the final third like a shadow, and with a snap of his foot, he delivered a long, curling ball upfield.
It was a bullet, sailing just above the defensive line, tailing down with perfect curve. Kuon tried to reach it, using his outstanding vertical jump to try and reach it, but he fell just short. That pass Reo made was a striker's dream.
And Nagi made it his.
He stepped ahead of Iemon like the other boy wasn't even there, letting the ball drop from above into his zone. With one nonchalant motion, he lifted his left foot, cushioning the fall into a soft trap that neutralized the ball's momentum instantly.
Isagi's breath caught. 'What a beautiful touch…'
Nagi was already adjusting his stance for the shot, his second shot of the day. It was clean, perfect, and everything Nagi had represented to his previous opponents.
Unstoppable
Or it would have been—
If not for the illustrious, the glorious, the most handsomest man in all of mankind, the glorious monk king Gurimu Igarashi.
"BODDHISATTVA STYLE—!!" Igarashi's voice bellowed like a war cry.
Nagi turned his head just in time to see him leap. "1st Hand of the Boddhisattva!"
Airborne, Gurimu twisted mid jump and launched a whipping volley with his right leg, causing a crack of thunder upon contact, and the ball shot away like a cannon blast, arcing across the field. The clearance was perfect, but that wasn't all. Not only was it solid, but it was heading directly toward Kira.
Nagi didn't move. His wide eyes followed the cleared ball, lips parted slightly. "…Huh?"
He had been prepared for defenders to rush him. He had expected a tackle. But an airborne counter volley from Igarashi?
In front of him, Gurimu landed in a crouch, sliding slightly on the turf, his arms extended in balance, his face set with a mocking grin. "This foot is the embodiment of enlightenment," he declared. "I cleanse the wickedness of my enemies… with these kicks."
There was a beat of silence.
Raichi broke it first:
"Bro… what the hell are you even saying?"
"Don't ruin my cool moment, man!"
But Kira didn't care. He was already surging onto the ball near the half line, taking control with a deft first touch, momentum behind him.
"Let's go," he muttered to himself, eyes flicking across the pitch as he shifted into gear.
Spotting Bachira drifting in from the right wing, Kira slotted the ball toward him with a clean side-foot pass, giving it to him with the perfection he had become synonymous with in team Z.
Bachira received it and immediately spun, only to come face to face with Inasa closing in. The atmosphere tensed.
Bachira grinned.
"Hi there~" he chimed, his tone high like the happy go lucky guy he was, before bouncing the ball between his feet like a possessed metronome. Left. Right. Behind. Outside. Inside.
Inasa's stance tightened. His eyes tried to lock in, but the rhythm was—
Wrong. No. It was unpredictable. Chaotic.
"Stop with the circus act and make a move already!" Inasa snapped, growing irritated as he lunged forward, his patience finally snapping. Bachira decided to flip the tempo again.
With a sudden burst of movement, he stepped forward, dragged the ball back with his heel, then flicked it up, performing a dazzling rainbow flick. The ball soared gracefully over Inasa's head, who was unable to move from the absurdity of the skill being performed on him.
Bachira moved behind him, catching the ball with a soft touch on the other side, like he was plucking it from the air with his cleats. With a childlike giggle, he turned his head back at the stunned defender, sticking his tongue out and blowing a taunting, obnoxious raspberry.
"Blehhhh~"
Inasa blinked once, then twice, and then turned into said raspberry. "You little—!"
But Bachira was already off again, skipping toward the attacking third.
On the sideline, Isagi's voice roared over the pitch. "Bachira! Right side's open! Feed it wide!"
Bachira gave him a thumbs up without looking, then turned his eyes left instead, spotting Chigiri barreling down with Zantetsu on his trail.
"Nope," Bachira laughed, "I want the fun route."
He darted toward Reo, who was already dropping in to intercept, but Bachira didn't hesitate. He flicked the ball slightly left, baiting Reo in, then pulled a spin move and passed it away into Raichi's lane.
"It's all yours, Mr. Sharky!"
Raichi, already storming forward from midfield, bared his teeth in a wild grin. His eyes were wide with adrenaline, veins pulsing in his neck like a man unchained.
"LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!!!" he roared, crashing onto the pass like a predator sensing blood.
The ball stuck to his feet as he bulldozed forward, steamrolling through the gap created by Reo's over-commitment. He kept it tight and low, body hunched like a missile, every movement fueled by his rage and precision.
From the back, Reo snapped around, face dark with frustration. "Someone cut him off! We can't let him get any further!"
Inasa responded first, angling in from the left to intercept, while Zantetsu shifted in to close the central channel.
But Raichi didn't back down.
"Try it, you track-meet rejects!" he snarled.
He slammed his boot into the ball with a slicing touch to the right where Kunigami was there to meet it, taking the lateral pass without breaking his stride.
"Good eyes, Raichi!" Kunigami called, a quick grin flashing on his face as he whipped around the wing.
Kunigami barreled down the right wing. His legs churned with power, forcing his way past the right back of Team V, who, desperate to stop him, launched himself at the ball with a wild tackle.
But it was like trying to stop a freight train with a piece of paper.
"Is that all you've got?" Kunigami growled, shrugging off the challenge. The poor defender bounced off of him with a tumble, a humiliating outcome for anyone playing the defensive position. With a quick flick of his boot, he passed the ball back to Raichi, who was sprinting up to meet it.
"Thanks, Kunigami!" Raichi called out, his eyes locked on the goal. He didn't even need to break his stride. The ball was there, a perfect pass, sitting up nicely for the shot. The goalkeeper was off his line, out of position as the defense scrambled to recover. Raichi's instincts kicked in, and in the blink of an eye, his boot lashed out with a powerful strike, aiming for the bottom left corner of the net. "RAICHI STYLE, SUPER SEXY SHOT!"
Hey, he may have clowned Igarashi for coming up with names for his plays, but it was still cool. Unfortunately, Igarashi's technique names were much more creative.
The ball sailed through the air with precision, the sound of his kick echoing in the tense stadium.
But Reo, like a shadow, appeared out of nowhere, positioning himself perfectly to deflect the shot. With a well-timed leap, he stretched every fiber of his being and got a crucial touch, redirecting the ball to the side.
"SHIT!" Raichi growled, watching as the ball flew wide.
The deflection wasn't clean, but it was enough to deny him. Raichi cursed under his breath, but there was no time for regret.
Before anyone could even process what had happened, Isagi had already sprinted into the open space, reacting perfectly to the deflection. He watched the ball float toward him, and with perfect timing, he launched himself into the air.
The volley that followed rocketed toward the goal at lightning speed, so powerful that the goalkeeper barely had time to react.
But just as the ball was about to slam into the back of the net, Nagi appeared from nowhere. He closed in, his calm demeanor snapped as he held a full look of concentration while he attempted stopping the shot. He tried to control it with everything he had, but it was too strong for him.
Luckily for him, it did not go into the goal. Unfortunately, it went above the goal and out of bounds, giving team Z a corner kick.
"Ah, that's not good." Those were Nagi's last words before gravity resumed. In a perfectly timed comedic disaster, his balance gave out mid-turn. His lanky frame tumbled backwards, and the next thing anyone knew, the prodigy of effortless genius was lying flat on his back, legs flopped up into the air and then crumpling down over his head like he was in a cartoon.
With Isagi, he landed on the ground with elegant grace, crouching on his feet before rising calmly. He didn't seem frustrated with the block, half expecting it to have actually been stopped by the sleeping prodigy. With his initial deflection on Nagi's first shot, there was no doubt that it planted the seeds of competition in him.
"Here, I'll take the corner kick." Calling out to his team, Isagi received sounds of confirmation from them. He walked over to the corner flag, scanning the chaos building inside the box as he did so.
Kunigami wrestled for position with Inasa, while Raichi and Chigiri played off each other near the penalty spot. Bachira waved lazily at the edge of the box, letting him know that he was there for either the safe option or for recovery. Isagi nodded at him, letting him know that he got the silent message.
'Looks like everyone's in position,' Isagi narrowed his eyes on the box, waiting for the whistle to blow so he could make his move. He didn't wait long, the whistle blew seconds later. Raising his hand up, he signalled to his team that he was taking the kick.
Isagi charged at the corner flag with a look of serene focus carved into his face, his steps measured, coiled like a spring ready to detonate. His foot collided with the ball like a hammer slamming against steel, sending it rocketing into the air with a force that seemed to echo across the field.
It wasn't a cross. It was an arrow fired from a divine bow, with spin so wide and cruel it made the air warp around it. The ball cut through the sky like a comet on a curved collision course, spiraling outward from the box in an almost absurd arc, as if it had lost all interest in the goal entirely.
Kunigami, standing tall like a titan among men, narrowed his eyes. 'Perfect height, just right of center. He's sending it to me.' He planted his feet and exploded upward, ready to meet the curling ball head-on. It was coming fast, elegant, and precise. He reached the apex of his jump—
Isagi's smirk bloomed, his eyes calm and bright with a hunter's thrill.
'You fool, haven't you learned from last time?'
—but the ball never dipped.
Kunigami's eyes widened mid-air. 'Huh? It's still too high? No… he can't be serious, can he?!'
It screamed over Kunigami's head like a phantom ignoring the living, curving past him and curling further inward with that wickedly rapid spin, homing in on the far post like it was magnetized.
Raichi followed the spin with furrowed brows. 'Is it for Chigiri? No… Bachira? Why's it still so high?' He looked to his sides. No movement. No one was jumping.
Bachira twitched like a livewire. His grin faltered. 'Too high… too wide… it's not for me either? Then what—'
Chigiri sprinted in from the left, ready to capitalize on the supposed cross. 'Wait a minute, it's curling way too hard. Where the hell is it supposed to land?' His eyebrow quirked in confusion. 'The far post? No one's even near that spot…'
'There's no target there Isagi, what the hell are you doing?' Reo's mind halted, unsure of what to make of this supposedly terrible cross. 'Who is that even for? None of your teammates are anywhere near wherever you're kicking the ball to. There's no way he screwed his cross up, right?'
'It's just a bad cross, nothing to get worked up over.' Zantetsu blinked and shook his head.
Even Nagi, the sleeping prodigy, tracked the ball with suspicion. Something felt off with this cross, but he didn't know why his instincts flared at the sight of it. 'Why is it still turning? That curl… that's just a normal cross, isn't it?'
The ball kept curving. Creeping. Spinning inward with surgical accuracy. The wicked, predatory bend still continued.
'Isn't it obvious, my little pawns?' Isagi's smirk couldn't have gotten any wider than it was. This was the kind of play he lived for, the act of consuming all of the players in his brilliance fueled his desires and ego to its fullest. He could already feel it, the satisfaction that blossomed in his chest. 'I'm obviously using you all as bait. My thanks, you all were wonderful distractions to hide my Homing Nagant.'
With half-lidded eyes, Isagi raised a finger gun and held it towards the goal. "Bang."
The ball kissed the top inside corner of the far post, right where metal meets net, and with a violent snap, it slingshotted into the back of the goal.
GOAL!
Team V 0 - 2 Team Z
Silence.
Everyone was stunned, completely enthralled by the beauty of Isagi's banger, giving form to a breathless silence that crashed down like a wave over a stadium once filled with tension. The kind of shot that sucks the air out of the lungs and leaves a ringing in the ears. For a moment, the world stopped. Not a shout was heard, not a breath was taken, not a step was placed.
The ball still spun gently in the netting. The echo of the leather meeting goal post still lingered faintly, like a memory refusing to fade.
Kunigami was the first to move, landing from his jump, feet hitting the turf with a soft thud, but even he remained rooted in place, staring at the goal in blank disbelief.
His mouth opened slowly. "...That was a shot?"
Reo's brain felt like it had short-circuited. He looked from the ball, to Isagi, then to the ceiling, as if trying to summon divine clarification. "Wait. Wait, no. That's not—that can't be real. That was supposed to be a cross! It looked like a cross!"
Chigiri blinked hard, red hair clinging to his temples, mouth slightly agape. "No way… no freaking way. He curled it from the corner? And actually fucking scored?"
Bachira, wide-eyed, had his hands on his head, slowly turning to look at everyone else. "He actually did that…" he whispered with awe, before his lips curled into a grin too large for his face. "He actually freaking did that!"
Raichi dropped to a knee, not because he tripped, but because his brain simply refused to process the insanity of what had just happened. "I—what the hell just happened?! That's not—people don't do that! Who the hell scores from a corner like that?!"
Zantetsu's glasses were tilted off-center, but he didn't fix them. He just pointed at the goal, finger shaking. "The curve—it was like a… a spiral! No, a lightning bolt! It went out and then back in! HOW?!"
Even Nagi, who looked more alert than he ever had before in his life, was blinking in pure, silent astonishment. He couldn't believe what transpired. "That was cool," he muttered, almost to himself. "That was super cool…"
"Was that even physically possible?" Reo muttered, half laughing with disbelief, standing with his hands on his hips. "You can't just… do that. That's like a homing missile. A corner homing missile!"
And through it all, standing just past the line, having already turned away from the net like it was nothing, was Isagi Yoichi, walking back to his position with calm elegance.
"That's just a teaser of what's to come, everyone…" The lull of Isagi's voice brought everyone's attention to him, putting him at the center of it. The silence that followed wasn't born of shock this time. It was reverent, like everyone had just witnessed a god peel back a piece of his mask. Every eye locked on him, every breath held, every heartbeat syncing to the rhythm of his voice.
He stood with his back to them all, staring at his side of the field. The faint breeze caught the edges of his jersey as he turned his head slightly, just enough for his left eye to catch the light.
The others saw it.
His eye was an abyss of ego. Swirling with a chilling mixture of clarity and chaos, brilliant white spiraling around the black, like a sun being swallowed by a black hole. A hidden calamity barely restrained behind a human façade, finally revealing itself for the world to see.
"Get ready, the real show is about to begin."
His foot stepped forward slowly, but the weight of that movement was tectonic. Every word, every pause, every breath drew the gravity of the game toward him.
"I'm done holding back."
Dread. Pure, simple, dread. That was all anyone could feel after Isagi's declaration. The icy hands of the reaper gripped their spines and threatened to break it, chilling fear coursing through each of them.
'What the hell does he mean by that?! You mean to tell me he's been hiding another level this entire time???' Chigiri, Isagi's primary rival on team Z, felt these icy hands seep into him. 'There's no way he's hiding anything. Don't tell me he's able to do something absurd like use his left foot the same way he uses his right?! No, that's impossible!'
Oh, if only you knew, Chigiri. If only…
you.
knew.
'You've got to be kidding. That guy hasn't even been playing at his peak this entire time?!' Reo's thoughts were very much similar to Chigiri's. He wasn't able to understand how someone so capable was still holding back.
"Hey, Reo…"
The words came quietly, but they hit like thunder.
To his right, Reo turned his head and saw his friend Nagi next to him, eyes locked on Isagi's back as he walked away from the box with an eerie, purposeful calm.
Nagi's body was no longer languid, no longer loose or indifferent. His shoulders were squared, his posture upright, and curling around him like sentient spirits were slow-burning flames, whiter than snow and blacker than the night. They licked at his body without heat, like shadows with purpose. His silver eyes were aglow, the vestiges of something new filling his previously empty sockets.
"You were right… Isagi is really good."
Reo blinked. "Yeah, I know. What about it?"
There was a pause.
Then came the shift.
"...I think I'm going to give it a try."
Reo's breath caught in his throat.
'What?'
It wasn't just the words, it was the way Nagi said it. There was weight behind it. Like a man stepping out from the void for the first time. Like someone awakening from a dream and realizing they've never actually lived.
"Wait—" Reo started, but Nagi wasn't finished.
"I want to beat him," he said, gaze burning through Isagi's figure like a lance. "I want to crush him at his own game. I want to show him that he's not the only one who can evolve mid-match."
The pressure behind his words coiled heavier.
"I think it's time I step up too," Nagi continued, voice now brimming with deathly resolve. "Feed me the passes, Reo. Give me the heat I need to defeat Isagi Yoichi."
DEATH.
---