Loki exhaled a heavy breath.
His pupils twisted into a spiral.
With a sharp push of his right foot, he knocked the ball to the side.
The football shot rapidly toward the right flank.
Loki shifted laterally at once, chasing it down.
Ryan Hoshino saw this, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he inhaled and accelerated.
In truth, Ryan had already seen through Loki's intention.
Loki wanted to defeat Ryan in the field he was most confident in speed.
Ryan had a chance to steal the ball right there, but he chose not to.
Instead, he decided to play along for a while.
When Loki caught up to the ball, Ryan was already closing in from behind.
There was no surprise on Loki's face.
He knew that speed alone still was not enough to shake Ryan off.
Without hesitation, Loki flicked the ball forward with his heel, sending it rolling ahead.
Ryan was half a body behind now.
At this distance, there was no way he could touch the ball.
Loki twisted his body sharply, accelerating once more as he chased it down again, exploding down the sideline.
Chigiri, Kunigami, Bachira, and Aryu all rushed toward the flank, trying to stop him.
But against Loki in Flow, none of them could even graze the hem of his jersey.
Loki did not slow down when they moved to block him.
Instead, he accelerated even further.
The wind roared past his ears, and Loki felt an exhilaration he had never experienced before.
Faster… I need to be faster.
This speed still isn't enough if I want to beat Ryan.
This sluggish pace won't get me anywhere.
Behind him, Chigiri watched the gap between them widen, swallowing hard.
"No way… Loki is still accelerating?"
As the goal drew closer, the space ahead opened wide.
Yet strangely, Loki felt no joy, no excitement.
A creeping sense of unease wrapped around his heart.
Something's wrong…
This is strange. If I shoot now, I can score.
So why… why does this feel so wrong?
What am I missing?
A figure suddenly surfaced in his mind, instantly clearing the fog.
Ryan.
Where is Ryan?
Loki snapped his head back, desperately searching for Ryan's silhouette.
Nothing.
No sign of him anywhere.
Where did he go?
If he's not behind me…
Loki's gaze whipped forward.
"Looking for me, little kitty?"
Loki's pupils contracted violently.
This scene burned itself into his memory forever.
What had been a wide-open path just moments ago was now blocked.
Ryan Hoshino was standing right in front of him.
Casual.
Relaxed.
As if he had just finished a meal.
Ryan stood there leisurely, eyes full of amusement, lips curled into a teasing smile.
To Loki, that expression was pure mockery.
Mocking his weakness.
Mocking his helplessness.
Rage ignited in Loki's chest, burning hotter and hotter.
The black aura surrounding him thickened, growing darker and denser.
"Don't mess with me… don't look down on me!"
"I am Julian Loki!!!"
The fury in his eyes threatened to burst forth and incinerate the man standing before him.
Hearing Loki's roar, Ryan covered his mouth as if he had done something wrong.
"Oh dear, did I accidentally make the kitty angry?"
"But hissing at people like that isn't a very good habit, you know."
Loki charged at Ryan at a speed beyond his limits, like a high-speed bullet train.
Though rage burned inside him, Loki's mind was clearer than ever.
He carefully observed Ryan's stance.
In his eyes, Ryan's entire body was full of openings.
One simple burst… and I can get past him.
Really? Will it be that easy?
Loki questioned himself.
He recalled Ryan's calmness and composure throughout the match.
That inhuman serenity.
That terrifying intelligence.
There was no way Ryan would just stand there foolishly and let himself be beaten.
There's a trap.
He's deliberately showing openings to make me lower my guard.
Once I fall for it, he'll steal the ball effortlessly.
Realization struck Loki like lightning.
Fine.
If you've set a trap, then I'll walk right into it.
Just before they collided, Loki knocked the ball diagonally forward to the right.
It looked like he was about to breeze past Ryan.
He saw Ryan extend his left leg.
Yes…!
He took the bait!
I've won, Ryan Hoshino. I've won!
No… don't laugh yet. Not yet.
As the ball was about to roll past Ryan's back, just as Ryan's foot was about to intercept it
Loki spun.
A Marseille turn.
The very move Ryan had used before.
I'll defeat you with your own technique, Ryan Hoshino.
Loki's body rotated smoothly with the ball, slipping past Ryan.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryan fall behind him.
Ecstasy surged through his mind.
Hahahahaha!
Ryan Hoshino, you're nothing special after all.
So what if you can enter the Zone? Aren't you still beneath my feet right now?
Though Loki's thoughts raced wildly, his feet did not slow.
He prepared to push the ball forward again
But he felt nothing.
No contact.
No resistance.
A shrill alarm rang in his head.
No… it can't be…
Loki looked down, searching for the ball.
It was gone.
As if it had vanished into thin air.
Then, from behind him, a low and authoritative voice sounded.
"When did you start believing…"
"…that you could beat me?"
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