The ball bounced in the empty grass. It was going out of bounds.
The Team W defender was jogging toward it, thinking it was an easy throw-in.
But then, a sound.
Like a jet engine starting up.
VROOOOM.
Chigiri Hyoma took a step.
The chains around his leg—the imaginary chains of fear—shattered.
I don't want to end here, Chigiri thought. I don't want to be a spectator!
He exploded.
The acceleration was ungodly. In one second, he was jogging. In the next, he was a red blur.
"What the—?!" The Team W defender gasped.
Chigiri tore past him. He reached the ball inches before it crossed the line.
He controlled it at full speed.
"I'm... I'm running!" Chigiri laughed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I'm free!"
Isagi watched from the center. His eyes widened.
Metavision Data Update: Speed... S-Tier? No. SS-Tier.
He's faster than my calculations.
"Don't let him through!" Kuon screamed, realizing the danger. "Foul him!"
The Wanima brothers sprinted to intercept Chigiri.
"Break his leg!" Keisuke yelled.
Chigiri saw them coming.
In the past, he would have braked. He would have protected his knee.
Now?
Isagi called me a coward.
"Out of my way!" Chigiri roared.
He kicked the ball 20 meters ahead. A pure speed contest.
The Wanima brothers were fast. But Chigiri was wind.
He blazed past them. He left them eating dust.
"Impossible..." Junichi whispered.
Chigiri was alone with the keeper.
He didn't slow down. He didn't think.
He smashed the ball into the far corner.
GOAL.
Team Z: 4 - Team W: 4
The stadium erupted.
"YEAHHHHH!" Kunigami and Bachira tackled Chigiri.
"You did it! You crazy fast bastard!" Bachira laughed.
Chigiri lay on the ground, panting, staring at the ceiling. He felt alive. For the first time in a year, he felt like a striker.
Isagi walked over. The team parted ways for him.
Isagi looked down at Chigiri.
There was no smile. Just a nod of approval.
"Took you long enough, Princess," Isagi said.
Chigiri sat up, wiping sweat from his face. He smirked.
"Shut up, Isagi. I'm just getting started."
"Good," Isagi turned to the scoreboard. "It's tied. 4-4. But a tie isn't enough. We need to win to crush Kuon."
Isagi looked at the clock. Injury Time.
One last play.
"Kuon," Isagi called out.
The traitor was standing near the center line, looking pale. His plan was falling apart.
"You said it was 12 vs 10," Isagi said, walking past him. "Now it's 11 vs 11. Because Chigiri counts for two of you."
"But... but a tie is fine!" Kuon stammered. "If we tie, I still have 3 goals! I'm still safe!"
"Safe?" Isagi laughed darkly. "Who said you were safe?"
Isagi turned to his team.
"One last goal. I don't care how. Get the ball to me, or get it to the Red Panther. We end this now."
Restart.
The final minute.
The Wanima brothers were panicked. "We can't draw! If we draw, our ranking drops!"
They attacked desperately.
They sent a high cross into the box.
Isagi saw the trajectory.
Metavision.
He saw where the ball would drop. He saw where Kuon was standing.
Kuon was positioned to block Isagi from clearing the ball.
He's still trying to make us lose, Isagi realized. He's committed to the bit.
Isagi didn't run to the ball. He ran at Kuon.
"Move," Isagi growled, slamming his shoulder into Kuon.
"Hey! Foul!" Kuon yelled.
Isagi ignored him, muscling past the traitor. He jumped.
He headed the ball clear.
"Counter!" Isagi screamed.
The ball flew to Bachira.
Bachira flicked it to Chigiri.
"Go, Chigiri!"
Chigiri sprinted. The field was open.
But the Wanima brothers were waiting this time. They dropped deep, blocking the path to the goal. They walled off the shooting angle.
Chigiri was trapped in the corner.
"I have no angle!" Chigiri shouted.
Isagi was sprinting up the middle.
He was exhausted. His legs felt like lead. But his eyes were locked on the goal.
I need a path. Create a path.
"Chigiri!" Isagi yelled. "Don't shoot! center it!"
Chigiri looked up. He saw Isagi.
But he also saw Kuon running back, trying to intercept the pass.
Kuon was going to cut it off.
I have to pass it where only Isagi can reach it, Chigiri thought.
He crossed the ball.
It was a high, arcing ball.
Kuon jumped. "I'll take that!"
He was going to head it away.
Isagi saw Kuon jumping.
He's going to reach it.
Isagi's brain overclocked.
If I jump now, I lose. I can't outjump him.
Wait. Kuon is focused on the ball. He's not looking at his landing spot.
Isagi didn't jump. He stopped. He waited for the ball to pass over Kuon? No, Kuon would hit it.
Unless...
Isagi shoved Gagamaru, who was running next to him.
"Gagamaru! Jump!"
Gagamaru, reacting on pure instinct, launched himself into the air.
He collided with Kuon in mid-air.
"Oof!" Kuon grunted, knocked off balance. He missed the header.
The ball sailed over both of them.
It landed behind them.
Right at Isagi's feet.
"Metavision Complete," Isagi whispered.
He was 5 meters out. Goalkeeper frozen.
Direct Shot.
BOOM.
The net rippled.
GOAL.
Team Z: 5 - Team W: 4
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
GAME OVER.
Isagi stood in front of the goal, his fist raised.
He didn't score four goals. He only scored one.
But he had orchestrated the chaos. He had used Chigiri. He had used Gagamaru. He had physically battled Kuon.
He turned to look at Kuon, who was lying in the mud, defeated.
Team Z swarmed Isagi.
"We won! We actually won!"
Isagi pushed them off gently.
He walked over to Kuon. The traitor looked up, terrified.
"Isagi... I..."
Isagi looked down at him with eyes that held no mercy.
"You lost, Kuon. Your math was wrong."
Isagi leaned down and whispered.
"You're not a player anymore. You're a slave. For the rest of this selection... you work for me. If you try to betray us again, I will personally ensure you leave this facility in a stretcher."
Isagi straightened up and walked away.
"Next is Team V," Isagi declared to the stunned stadium. "Nagi Seishiro. I'm coming for you."