Chapter 48: Moment of Revelation
Nagi shot a complicated glance at the boy who was around his age but said nothing more. Time was running out.
They needed to take the corner kick quickly. Reo was in charge of taking it.
Players from Team Z and Team V were tangled together in a heap in front of the goal. Gagamaru nervously watched the situation unfold.
'Who would he target? Zantetsu or Nagi?'
Reo took a few steps and sent the corner kick arcing toward the center of the penalty area. The cross was perfectly placed, flying directly toward Nagi's position. At 190 cm, Nagi stood head and shoulders above everyone else on the field.
Kunigami was barely managing to hold his ground, but when the two jumped to contest the header, Kunigami found himself significantly outmatched in the air. Nagi, soaring high, snapped his head forward, connecting cleanly with the ball.
A powerful header!
However, Gagamaru had anticipated this all along. His focus had remained entirely on Nagi. He leaped toward the ball, palming it away with a massive, decisive save.
"What?!" Nagi stared in disbelief. 'It was saved? This Team Z goalkeeper is this good too?'
"Second ball!" Reo yelled.
The ball had bounced back out of the box. Players from both sides scrambled madly for the loose ball, but Zantetsu was quicker. He reached it first, raised his left foot, and fired another shot toward the goal.
Unfortunately, it was blocked. Raichi, with his hands clasped behind his back, had appeared in front of Zantetsu just in time and cleared the ball away. Simultaneously, he shouted, "Kira! Go!"
That's right—somehow, even while making a clearance, Raichi had managed to spot Kira's positioning. He launched a long ball in Kira's direction.
In an instant, Team Z's players—Chigiri, Bachira, and Kunigami—all surged forward. After trapping the ball, Kira drove relentlessly toward the opponent's half.
Counter-attack!
Counter-attack!
By now, regular time in the second half had ended. They were in stoppage time.
Kira accelerated down the right wing, his feet working magic. He weaved past one defender after another. Only three Team V defenders remained, tasked with marking Chigiri, Bachira, and Kunigami.
Without a second thought, Kira sent a cross-field pass all the way to the far left side of the pitch. And there, completely unmarked, was Isagi, charging forward!
Facing the incoming ball, Isagi didn't hesitate as he might have before. He directly swung his right foot.
A volley!
The Team V goalkeeper felt a wave of despair. 'Another one? I just got a breather!' But just like before, he couldn't reach it.
Boom.
Goal!
Score: 6-4!
"Conceded again?" Reo's vision darkened, and he collapsed to the ground, sitting there limply.
The Team V players had lost all will to fight. They had battled hard until the very end.
'The gap is just too big,' Reo thought. 'The other team has too many offensive options. They even have defensive players like Raichi and a goalkeeper like Gagamaru who can pull off saves like that. For Team V, aside from me, Nagi, and Zantetsu, the rest can only really handle defensive duties—and even then, they're just average. Was the outcome actually decided from the very beginning?'
"Reo, there's still time. We just need to..." Nagi retrieved the ball from his own net, his face burning with determination. Clearly, he wasn't ready to give up. He still wanted to win!
BEEP BEEP!
"Match over! Team Z wins 6-4!"
However, the final whistle blared through the stadium speakers. Nagi's expression shifted from fierce determination to sheer astonishment.
"Ah... It's already over..." Nagi muttered, his face full of disbelief as he glanced at the scoreboard, which displayed the glaring final score: 6-4.
"Reo."
"Hmm?"
"So this is what it feels like to give your all and still lose... It's so frustrating..."
Nagi's eyes remained fixed on the other side of the field, where the Team Z players were celebrating wildly.
"Team Z advances in first place from Building 5!!! We're number one!!!" Raichi screamed ecstaticaly, tearing madly at his own jersey. Not content with that, he ran over and tried to tear Kira's jersey off too.
"Hey, hey, hey, Raichi, calm down!" Kira yelped, hiding behind Kunigami for protection.
Kunigami held Raichi back with one hand, inwardly groaning. 'How does this guy still have so much energy? Does Raichi have infinite stamina?'
Just as Kira thought he was safe, he suddenly felt his feet leave the ground. It was Bachira, who had lifted him up. Raichi rushed over too, and moments later, the rest of Team Z swarmed around them.
"Hey, guys, be careful! Don't drop me..." Kira sighed inwardly. 'These guys...'
Soon, he was being tossed into the air.
"Woo-hoo!"
"Kira!!!"
Everyone in Team Z was sincerely expressing their gratitude to the player who had led them to victory.
Beep.
"Now announcing the results of the first selection..."
The area fell silent. Even though they already knew the outcome, they still wanted to hear the official announcement.
"The results of the round-robin among the five teams in Building 5 are..."
"First place: Team Z, all 11 players..."
"Second place: Team V, all 11 players..."
"And the top scorers from the other three eliminated teams: Junichi Wanima, Ikki Niko, and Shoei Barou."
"The above 25 players have passed the first selection of Blue Lock's Building 5!!!!"
"Ooooh!!!!"
"Yay yay yay!!!"
In the midst of the excitement...
"Ah!"
Kira was dropped unceremoniously on his back.
Fortunately, he had protected his face.
'These unreliable guys!'
…
Evening.
Team Z's dorm room was in a state of euphoria.
Six goals meant six steaks for dinner.
Everyone could have about half a steak each.
They were ecstatic!!!
"Yummy, yummy, yummy!"
"Hey... Naruhaya! Are you stealing food again?!" Gagamaru complained, annoyed that Naruhaya was sneaking more food.
Imamura and Igaguri were throwing pillows at each other, acting like they hadn't grown up at all.
"Alright, alright, everyone, tidy up a bit. We'll start the victory party soon..." Iemon called out to everyone.
"Huh? Where's Kira?" Bachira looked around but couldn't find him.
"Oh? He and Isagi went to get drinks, I think..." Kunigami replied.
Hearing this, Bachira's large eyes darted around, undoubtedly scheming something.
…
Cafeteria.
"Is that enough, Kira? This much?" Isagi asked, looking at the pile of drinks they had gathered.
"Let's grab a bit more. I should've asked someone else to help. How are we supposed to carry drinks for eleven people by ourselves?" Kira inwardly regretted not bringing Bachira along.
"Ah, by the way, Kira, thanks for that last pass. It let me score another goal," Isagi said with a grateful smile.
"What are you talking about? Wasn't that exactly what you wanted?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Isagi didn't understand.
"At that moment, with your positioning, you were in the most dangerous spot. In other words, I just passed to the player who appeared there, and that player happened to be you..."
"I see," Isagi said, beginning to understand. He started replaying his final moments in the match.
Isagi continued, thinking out loud, "At the very end, I realized all my goals so far have come from direct shots. I thought if I combined my [Spatial Awareness] with [Direct Shots], I could perform much better in games. This is my own personal [Goal Formula]."
"So, from now on, this is the true beginning of Isagi Yoichi as a striker!!!"
"Eh... Kira... where did he go?"
After finishing his speech, Isagi turned and found Kira was no longer beside him.
…
Cafeteria Entrance.
"Bachira, over here! I knew you'd come!" Kira stood at the cafeteria entrance, waiting for him.
"Hehehe, I knew you two couldn't carry all those drinks alone, so I came. Pretty smart, right?" Bachira grinned as he approached.
"You're a lifesaver! I really didn't know how we were going to get all these back..."
Kira and Bachira walked back to where Isagi was standing.
"Eh? Isagi, what were you saying just now? I didn't catch the last part. I saw Bachira and went to get him..."
"Uh... It's nothing..."
Isagi looked at the two of them, feeling a faint sense of melancholy.
'Could you guys please respect my moment of revelation?'
'Damn it!'
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