"You guys are seriously strong."
Wakatsu Kiryu couldn't help but mutter from the heart as he watched the roaring crowd, fired up after Akashi Asuka's second serve once again broke the 110 km/h barrier. His eyes flicked to the scoreboard, frozen at 17:15.
"Even when cornered and on the brink of collapse, you manage to stay composed and perform like this... Meanwhile, whether I'm facing a crisis or receiving praise from the crowd or even my own teammates, all I feel is overwhelming pressure."
"Maybe... like Ushijima, you're the ones who are the real 'Aces.'"
He smiled wryly as he watched Akashi step into the service area, clutching the ball.
"But, "
A slow grin spread across Wakatsu's face. ", the one who'll win this match is still going to be us. Because I believe in my teammates. I believe they're the strongest."
Boom!
As if responding to his words, the moment Akashi's next serve thundered in, tearing through the air, a substitute player from Mujizaka, despite them being down a libero, burst forward from the back row.
Smack!
With perfect timing, Ezota, Mujizaka's opposite, dug the high-speed serve and rolled along the floor from the force of the impact. As he sprang up, he pumped his fist with a grin.
"Hell yeah, me!"
Bam!
At almost the exact same time, Wakatsu leapt into the air and blasted through Aoba Johsai's block with a devastating spike.
17:16.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
Scoring the point, Wakatsu let out a wild roar and shouted across the net, "Bring it on, Aoba Johsai!"
────────── ✦ ──────────
Wakatsu's shout was like a declaration of war.
With that, the third set officially entered its fever pitch, and the long-awaited final showdown between Akashi Asuka in his Clear Mind state and Wakatsu Kiryu began.
18:16.
18:17.
19:17.
19:18.
Point after point, both players lit the court on fire with their relentless attacks. Their power overwhelmed the defenders on both teams, who were already near their limits physically.
In the blink of an eye, the score reached 23:22, with Aoba Johsai holding a narrow lead.
At that crucial moment, Mujizaka's libero, who had been injured earlier, returned to the court, joined by none other than Oikawa Tooru, who had rested nearly the entire set.
But to everyone's surprise, it wasn't the backup setter Ryuhei Sanashita who stepped off to make room, it was Hajime Iwaizumi.
"A double-setter strategy?"
The Mujizaka players were caught off guard by Aoba Johsai's move.
And almost immediately, their surprise turned into suspicion. After all, they had already tasted the depths of Oikawa's devious tactics in the second set.
The match resumed.
Mujizaka served. Aoba Johsai received it cleanly. Mujizaka's setter wasted no time and fed the ball straight to Wakatsu.
Oikawa and Akashi leapt to form a double block.
But even that couldn't stop Wakatsu's brute-force spike, it tore right through.
The ball struck Oikawa's arms so hard they went numb. He winced and shook out the sting. "Seriously, what kind of freaks are these guys? It's the end of the third set, not the beginning of the first. How the hell do they still have this much power left?"
Then his eyes flicked toward Akashi Asuka beside him.
"Oh, right... we've got our own monster too. Guess it's fair then."
23:23. All tied again.
Akashi was breathing hard, air rasping from his nose and mouth. At this point, both he and Wakatsu were running on fumes.
They were long past their physical limits, but still pushing forward on sheer willpower.
Yet for Akashi, the biggest concern wasn't stamina. That, he could endure. What worried him more was the fragile duration of his Clear Mind state. Once it faded, there was no way to get it back into place.
Even though his training had increased how long he could maintain the state, it still wasn't enough to last a full set.
Mujizaka served. Aoba Johsai began their attack.
Watari received the ball. Oikawa suddenly leapt up, arm raised, posing as if he were going to spike it himself.
"Setter attack!"
The Mujizaka blockers flinched, rushing to stop him. But then,
"Wait!" Michiru Usuri barked. "Don't go forward! It's a feint!"
Though Usuri had once been completely thrown off by Oikawa's mind games, he'd since regained his composure. And this time, he spotted the trick the moment Oikawa jumped.
At his warning, the team froze in place.
And then,
BAM!
Oikawa slammed the ball straight into the floor.
Usuri: "..."
[Beautiful!]
[Aoba Johsai's Oikawa Tooru scores a point with a brilliant setter attack just moments after returning to the match!]
[In this exchange, Mujizaka's setter Michiru Usuri was completely outplayed, Oikawa's layered feints pulled both the front and back court out of position, carving open their defense like a knife through butter.]
[Usuri may have been thinking on the third level, but Oikawa was operating on the fifth.]
The commentator's excited voice sent the crowd into a frenzy.
On the other hand, Usuri, who had only just recovered his mental state, found himself rattled again by Oikawa's genius play.
24:23.
Match point.
Aoba Johsai was now just one point away from victory. The stands behind them erupted in wild cheers, along with their school's cheer squad.
But the celebration lasted less than 10 seconds.
With a serve like a cannon blast, Wakatsu Kiryu once again demonstrated why he was one of the country's Top Three Aces, forcing the tie once more.
24:24.
The pressure hit like a physical force, Wakatsu's overwhelming presence threatening to crush the spirit of Aoba Johsai with nothing but his will.
"This really is such a pain in the ass..."
Wakatsu landed from his jump and slowly turned to face the other side of the net, locking eyes with Akashi Asuka for the first time.
"Number 8..."
"If you want to win this match, then beat me first."
==========
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