"When did you ever start believing… that you could defeat me?"
Hearing those words, arrogant to the extreme, Loki felt no anger at all.
He turned his head.
The football that had been completely under his control just moments ago, obeying his every command, was now lying quietly at Ryan Hoshino's feet.
In a way… wasn't this a kind of NTR?
Ryan did not even look at him.
He simply faced forward, maintaining the same posture as before, casually stepping on the ball beneath his foot.
'Impossible… this is impossible.'
'When did he take the ball away? Why didn't I notice anything at all?'
At that moment, the tension Loki had been forcing down finally burst like a collapsed dam, draining out completely.
A deep sense of powerlessness surged from the depths of his heart.
"What do I have to do… to defeat him?"
Without any warning, Loki dropped to both knees.
He lowered his once-proud head, staring at his own hands.
They opened and closed repeatedly, as if trying to grasp something
yet catching nothing at all.
'So this is what it feels like… to lose even after giving everything.'
'Even after surpassing my own limits… I still couldn't do anything. Nothing at all.'
"Hahaha…"
Loki suddenly laughed.
It was not a happy laugh, no one could laugh happily in a situation like this.
Only a madman could do that… unless you had eaten the Nika Devil Fruit.
It was a laugh mixed with helplessness, with acceptance
acceptance of reality, acceptance of his own weakness.
Ryan had noticed the silence behind him and turned around, only to see Loki kneeling on the ground.
For a moment, Ryan wondered if he had mentally broken the kid and instinctively thought about going over to comfort him.
After all, shattering the confidence of a rising superstar in the football world was one thing.
But if Loki did something extreme
That was something Ryan absolutely did not want to see.
Ryan was the kind of person who could not even kill an ant.
Watching a living person lose their life right in front of him was something he simply could not accept.
Just as he was about to step forward to console him, Loki suddenly burst out laughing.
Ryan's internal alarm bells went off instantly.
A huge red "DANGER" sign popped up in his mind.
'Oh crap… Loki didn't snap, did he?'
'Laughing in this situation, no wonder they say geniuses stand next to lunatics.'
'If I get close, he won't suddenly pull out a knife and stab me, right?'
'Big emotional shock, mental breakdown, can't accept reality, decides to take me down with him…'
If anyone could hear Ryan's thoughts right now, they would definitely curse him out.
'You're the crazy one.'
'People are allowed to laugh or cry however they want why imagine things so dark?'
'And what kind of normal person brings a knife to a football match anyway?'
Unfortunately, no one was there to scold Ryan.
Otherwise, he might have secretly enjoyed it.
At this point, Ryan just wanted to get away from this dangerous situation.
His life might depend on it.
He passed the ball to Bachira, then casually strolled forward.
Bachira received the ball and began dribbling upfield at a steady pace.
Cavasoz stepped up once again to defend.
Bachira's eyes ignited with excitement.
He had been stuck watching Ryan perform from the back earlier, completely unable to join in.
He had almost gotten bored enough to fall asleep.
Now that he finally had a chance to show himself, Bachira was going all in.
Facing an even more focused Cavasoz than before, Bachira dared not be careless.
Although Cavasoz was a midfield organizer rather than a defensive specialist, his professional experience still caused Bachira plenty of trouble.
Several times, the ball was nearly stolen.
But in the end, Bachira slipped past him by the skin of his teeth.
He continued advancing down the flank.
Next, however, came Blake
a physically imposing player.
Bachira knew very well that with his slender build, taking a hit from someone like Blake
a hardened Premier League veteran could leave him broken in half.
So without hesitation, he passed the ball to Kunigami nearby.
Kunigami received it and instinctively wanted to shoot.
This was already within his shooting range.
But he suppressed the urge.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Luna not far away, watching him like a predator.
A chill ran down Kunigami's spine.
If he had taken that shot just now, Luna would have blocked it immediately.
A rare opportunity would have been wasted just like that.
Kunigami felt a wave of relief.
'Good thing I held back… otherwise that would've been a disaster.'
Just then, he heard Chigiri's shout.
"Kunigami, over here!"
Kunigami turned his head.
Chigiri was tearing across the grass at full speed, like a wild horse breaking free of its reins.
Without hesitation, Kunigami threaded a through pass into the penalty area.
At Chigiri's current speed, he should reach the ball before anyone else.
But as Chigiri sprinted forward, he noticed that Silva was also charging into the box.
Chigiri wasn't too worried.
He trusted his speed.
He believed he could reach the ball first and finish the shot.
Yet just as Chigiri entered the penalty area, about to reach the ball and strike
"Red-haired brat… where do you think you're going?"
Silva had somehow appeared right in front of him.
Chigiri's pupils shrank.
"Damn it…"
He had underestimated Silva's speed.
He never expected that someone with such a massive, tank-like body could still move this fast.
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