Hearing Luna's encouragement, the dull light in Loki's eyes finally flickered back to life.
He had not fully recovered yet, but he still forced himself to pull his spirit together.
What am I doing?
Can something this small really knock me down?
If this is all it takes, then how am I supposed to defeat Noa and become the world's number one striker?
Seeing Loki steady himself, Luna revealed a relieved smile.
"Alright. Let the past stay in the past. As long as you give it your best from here on out, that's enough."
"…Yeah. Thank you, Luna."
At that moment, Cavasoz suddenly jumped in.
"Huh? So you can actually say thank you. I thought you were the cold, unapproachable type."
Hearing Cavasoz tease him, Loki's face flushed red. It was hard to tell whether it was embarrassment or irritation.
"That's not it. I just don't talk much. Basic courtesy is still something I understand."
"Hahaha."
Watching Loki's face turn crimson, Luna laughed softly.
Youth really is something special.
Though… it wasn't like he himself was that old yet.
On the other side of the field, Ryan Hoshino stood amid the cheers of his teammates.
He glanced toward the World Star Team and noticed that the atmosphere over there had subtly changed.
At the start, the five of them had kept a clear distance between each other. Not hostile, but not close either.
Now, after what had happened to Loki, that invisible wall had noticeably thinned.
They still could not be called teammates who would trust each other with their backs.
But at the very least, they were no longer strangers.
Things are getting more and more interesting.
Ryan could not help but think that.
Damn…
I'm starting to feel like I'm the villain here.
And Loki's the protagonist.
The protagonist gets beaten by the villain, is encouraged by his teammates, regains his resolve, and comes back stronger.
Then, through bonds and teamwork, he defeats the villain in the end.
Ryan chuckled inwardly at his own ridiculous thoughts.
But despite the joking tone in his mind, he did not relax even for a second.
What comes next is the real test.
They definitely won't fight individually anymore.
They'll start coordinating.
That's when things will truly get troublesome.
But even so, Ryan felt no fear.
If he had not awakened the Emperor Eye, relying only on his teammates and the remnants of the Miracle Generation, beating these five together would have been extremely difficult.
But now
He had awakened it.
The future seen through the Emperor Eye was absolute.
And because of that, Ryan was confident.
No matter what they tried next, he would win this match.
After a brief pause to reorganize, the match resumed.
This time, it was the World Star Team's kickoff.
Luna took the first touch.
"Take it, kid."
He passed the ball to Cavasoz.
"Bachira, stop him. We'll pinch him together!"
"Got it!"
Chigiri and Bachira charged toward Cavasoz from both sides.
Cavasoz' eyes darted rapidly, scanning the field in an instant.
Then he swung his leg and released the ball.
Chigiri and Bachira both stretched out their legs to block
But the ball slipped straight through the gap between them, flying toward the backfield.
"It's gone!"
Chigiri and Bachira froze.
Cavasoz had deliberately aimed for the space between them, striking a high-speed reverse-spinning pass.
"He's aiming for the aerial duel. Then I'll stop it."
Aryu read the intent immediately and sprinted forward.
His long, black hair streamed behind him as he ran.
At the same time, Silva charged in from behind.
"Let me crush you."
After his earlier clash with Ryan, Silva had no desire to challenge him again.
So he left Ryan to Loki and focused on this.
Silva leapt first, beating Aryu to the spot.
Using his massive physique, he crushed Aryu in midair, preventing him from jumping properly.
Aryu could not even touch the ball.
Silva glanced down at Aryu, who had been knocked aside, with clear disdain.
I couldn't overpower that Ryan…
But I can still handle a skinny guy like you.
Aryu stared up in disbelief.
It was the first time he had ever been completely dominated in an aerial duel.
The ball was headed into the penalty area.
"Bad! It's dropping in front of goal!"
Seeing the danger, Kunigami rushed in, trying to clear it.
"Move."
"What ?"
Before Kunigami could react, Blake slammed into him from the side.
With a powerful shoulder charge, Blake sent Kunigami crashing to the ground.
Looking down at him, Blake sneered.
"I'm not interested in men's bodies."
Chigiri, who was chasing back, could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Even Kunigami lost the physical battle.
Speed, prediction, ball control, aerial ability, physical clashes
Every single one of their weapons was being suppressed.
Chigiri's mind instinctively pictured Ryan.
Except for him
If they wanted to win now, they could only rely on Ryan.
The teammates ahead were fighting desperately.
So what was Ryan doing right now?
Of course
Casually disappearing in the back.
After all, even teammates deserved a chance to shine.
Even if they were getting completely overwhelmed, at least they tried.
Standing beside Ryan, Loki noticed that he was practically strolling.
Unable to hold back, Loki asked,
"Why aren't you tracking back? Do you trust your teammates that much? Because from what I see… they're not doing too well."
Ryan casually dug a finger into his ear.
"Ah, I'm too lazy to defend. Let you guys score if you want."
"Anyway, I'm going to win this match. That outcome is absolute."
Seeing the serious look on Ryan's face, Loki let out a dry laugh.
"You really are confident."
"Of course. If you're not confident, why play football at all?"
On the other end, Blake was now facing only the goalkeeper.
He swung his leg and fired a powerful shot.
The keeper dove with everything he had
But it was useless.
The ball ripped into the net, straight into the top corner.
GOAL!!!
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