Everyone was stunned by Wakatsu Kiryu's bold move.
Especially the setters from the observing teams, each of them suddenly felt their own position was in grave danger.
Because what Wakatsu Kiryu had just pulled off, a setter's attack executed by a power ace, was, by every metric, perfect. From timing to angle, it was flawless.
And when those setters tried to put themselves in Wakatsu's shoes, they had to admit... even as actual setters, they might not have done it any better.
"Damn it! These monsters are seriously leaving no room for the rest of us!"
The ball hurtled toward the Red Team's court.
Everyone watching thought the point was sealed.
After all, Wakatsu's attack had masterfully deceived both Oikawa Tooru and Ushijima Wakatoshi on defense.
But then,
Something happened that no one, not on the court nor off it, could have predicted.
Just as the ball was about to hit the floor…
A figure suddenly dove forward from the back line, arms outstretched in a desperate lunge,
And miraculously, saved the ball.
In an instant, the entire gym fell silent.
Everyone stared at the figure sprawled on the ground, Akashi Asuka.
He had received the ball and, with that very same motion, sent it sailing back to the Blue Team's court, where it landed cleanly for a point.
The reaction was unanimous:
"Holy crap…"
"Are you kidding me!? He actually got that!?"
"Does Akashi have precognition or something!?"
"This is insane… it's literally a battle of monsters!"
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Akashi Asuka dusted himself off and stood up, meeting Wakatsu Kiryu's stunned gaze across the net.
He grinned and said, "Sorry, Wakatsu-senpai. You didn't get to see it during Nationals, but for me… setter attacks just don't work."
Wakatsu froze for a second, then burst out laughing.
1–0.
The Red Team took the lead.
Akashi walked to the service line, ball in hand.
"Man, my hands feel great today."
Boom!
He tossed the ball up lightly and leapt into the air, swinging hard.
The strike blasted the ball's side with overwhelming force and sharp spin.
Whoosh,
The ball spun wildly through the air, curving in an arc that bypassed Wakatsu at the front and aimed for the Blue Team's deep right corner.
Motoya Komori, standing on the left side of the back row, saw it,
But his legs couldn't keep up with his eyes.
Luckily, there was someone else in the back row.
Sakusa Kiyoomi.
Focused like a sniper, Sakusa tracked the ball's erratic path.
It floated unpredictably in the air, swerving left and right like a leaf in the wind.
Then,
At the last second, Sakusa moved.
With a sharp, precise step, he cut off the ball's fall and received it cleanly, his form more stable than Komori's.
Gasps echoed from the watching players.
But the players from Itachiyama remained calm.
"Sure, his spikes and serves are strong, but his true genius is in receiving. Especially serves with heavy spin. Even Komori might not compare when it comes to that."
"Of course–" he added, "that serve just now was ridiculously tricky. The fact that he caught it so effortlessly… just means Sakusa's in top form today."
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Boom!
From Sakusa's pass, the ball went to Komori, who tossed a high set to Wakatsu.
Across the net, Oikawa and Ushijima were waiting at the block.
But Wakatsu didn't even blink. He unleashed a straight-up cannon shot, blasting through the double block and smashing the ball into the floor.
1–1.
It was Wakatsu's turn to serve.
He launched a brutal jump serve that ripped across the court, but Akashi received it smoothly.
Compared to his spiking and blocking, Akashi's receive stat of 76 was average at best.
But because it was Wakatsu's serve, not Sakusa's or Oikawa's, he managed to handle it… barely.
The pass, however, was far from ideal.
But that didn't matter.
Their setter… was Oikawa Tooru.
"Tch! Damn you guys, you love making things difficult for me, huh!?"
Grumbling under his breath, Oikawa chased after the ball.
It was barely 1.5 meters off the floor, so he had to squat deep, body twisted awkwardly,
But still, with sheer control, he flicked the ball upward.
In a split second,
The ball flew across the court, landing perfectly above Ushijima's head.
Ushijima blinked.
From the sidelines, Shirabu Kenjiro's eyes went wide.
"Wait… What the hell? Is this guy even human!?"
"First time setting to Ushijima, and he finds his ideal hitting point instantly? With that kind of awkward posture!?"
Smash!
Sakusa had moved up for the block, but it was meaningless.
With a picture-perfect set, Ushijima unleashed his full power.
The ball tore through Sakusa's block and slammed into the floor.
Thud!
2–1.
The Red Team took another point.
The serve rotated again,
Now it was Oikawa's turn.
"Time to wipe the floor with you guys."
Facing this army of so-called "geniuses–" Oikawa made no effort to hide the malicious grin on his face.
Anyone who knew him, especially the Aoba Johsai players, could already see the wicked aura spilling off his body.
BOOM!
A moment later,
He fired off a super high-speed jump serve.
Aoba Johsai had been focusing heavily on serve training recently, and over half the team could now jump serve.
But Oikawa's jump serve was still in a league of its own.
Even so,
Facing the #1 libero in the country, Komori Motoya, scoring directly would be a stretch.
But that was never Oikawa's plan.
From the start, his target… was Wakatsu Kiryu.
The serve zoomed toward Wakatsu.
He had no choice but to take the first touch.
But the moment the ball left his hands, Wakatsu knew something was wrong.
Instead of arcing toward Komori as expected, the ball veered off sharply—
— toward Sakusa Kiyoomi.
In three-man volleyball, where each player can only touch the ball once per rally, this was dangerous.
Wakatsu had already taken the first touch.
His form was off, and he wouldn't be able to recover fast enough to help in the attack.
If Sakusa now set the ball, the final spike would have to come from… Komori.
As a libero, Komori wasn't allowed to spike under normal rules,
But for this match, the rules had been relaxed.
Even so, asking Komori to attack against a team full of monsters…
The chances of a successful point were maybe 30% at best.
With one serve,
Oikawa Tooru had already cornered the Blue Team.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria