[Ding! Detected QP has unlocked Aoi Hikari match experience. Multiplicative feedback activated: Your "Super·Perfect Quality" has unlocked a second Pinnacle path! Practical combat amplification ratio increased!]
"Hell yes!"
If the match weren't still ongoing, Yoru might've sprinted onto the court and kissed QP right then and there.
Oni Juujirou had unwittingly become the stepping stone for QP's ascension.
Unlike Oni's blazing radiance, QP's aura now shimmered with an eerie, subdued glow.
"The love for victory—that's my tennis."
All emotion drained from QP's face.
Yoru's system screen flickered.
QP's combat power, previously suppressed by -0.3 Stars, now surged to +1.0—a 1.3-Star swing, catapulting him neck-and-neck with Oni.
"This world's insane. It's not even about skill anymore—just who's got the better hacks."
Yoru chuckled darkly.
---
The match reignited.
Though QP's raw stats still lagged slightly, rune enhancements and Aoi Hikari's absorption bridged the gap.
BANG! "5–5!"
BANG! "5–6, Oni leads!"
BANG! "6–6! Tiebreak!"
At 6–6, the set escalated to a tiebreaker—alternating serves, first to 7 points (with a 2-point lead).
BANG! "23–21! Game, set, match—Oni Juujirou!"
Oni clinched the tiebreak, but QP walked away the true victor: Aoi Hikari assimilated, his evolution complete.
Given time to refine it, a rematch would be anyone's game.
"Yay! Oni-nii won!"
"That was crazy! That other big brother almost had him!"
"Kinda wanted to see Oni-nii get wrecked, though~"
"Oh? Who was sweating bullets when he was down 2–5?"
"N-Not me!"
"Oni-nii's glow is so pretty!"
The kids mobbed Oni, who laughed as they clung to his legs.
QP, meanwhile, exited the court stone-faced.
Yoru raised an eyebrow. "No disappointment?"
"Why would I be?" QP blinked. "It's an unofficial match. I gained more than I lost."
"Damn. Can't argue with that."
Yoru recalled QP's backstory—his ruthless climb through defeats to reach the top. Losses were just data points to him.
---
[Ding! Quest complete: Observed QP vs. Oni Juujirou. Reward: Skill Evolution Card unlocked!]
[Detected evolvable techniques. Use now?]
"Use it on Reverse Domain!"
[Error: Reverse Domain cannot evolve independently. Requires 2 Evolution Cards to synchronize with Standard Domain for combined advancement.]
"Huh?!"
Yoru's jaw dropped.
He'd assumed it'd upgrade straight into "Supreme Domain"—the nightmarish composite spin from the original series. Turns out, fusion was mandatory.
"Fine. Save it for now."
Aside from his Domains, none of his other techniques warranted the card.
Muga and Hyakuren were states, not skills—ineligible.
---
Oni's Aoi Hikari glow began fading.
"NO! Stay in the zone!" Yoru bellowed, sprinting onto the court.
The kids jumped. Oni's aura flared back to life.
"Jesus—warn a guy!" Oni sighed, then grinned at the children. "One more match, then playtime. Deal?"
"Okay~"
As they scampered off, Yoru laid out terms: "One game. Alternate serves. You're exhausted; I'm not a monster."
"Deal."
Oni crouched, racket poised.
Fatigued or not, his momentum was peak. QP had been a titanic challenge—what did that make Yoru?
"Don't mind if I start."
Yoru smirked.
Super·Perfect Quality—Activate!
Muga no Kyōchi: Hyakuren—Activate!
Dark radiance erupted—denser than QP's—while his right arm swirled with white mist.
QP choked. "That's... my Aoi Hikari resonance?! But stronger?! And why's Hyakuren layered on?!"
Oni's throat went dry.
Were it not for the kids, he'd have screamed: "WHAT KIND OF ELDRITCH ABOMINATION ARE YOU?!"
Aoi Hikari sharpened his senses—and what he felt now was pure dread.
"This power... unreal."
Yoru's stats blazed:
[Combat Power: 10 → 11 Stars]
QP's +1.0 at 8-Star base paled next to this. Ten-Star amplification operated on another plane entirely.
Hyakuren's contribution was minimal—this was Super·Perfect Quality's second-stage awakening.
Eleven. Freaking. Stars.
For the first time, Echizen Nanjirou felt within reach.
---
WHOOSH!
The toss. The leap. Unnaturally high.
QP's eyes widened—that stance... the copied serve from the Metropolitan Finals!
BANG-BANG-BANG!
Three sounds merged into one.
Oni froze. By the time his neurons fired—
CRUNCH!
A tree splintered somewhere in the distant woods. The ball? Gone.
Oni's racket clattered to the ground.
Silence.
---