"Impossible! You just predicted I would use Atobe Kingdom ahead of time! Cheap tricks like that won't fool me!" Atobe refused to believe Akashi's words. He was confident in his vision right now.
Akashi didn't reply immediately. He just turned coldly and walked back to his own side, waiting for Atobe to serve again. Atobe only frowned slightly, then took his stance at the baseline, the chill in his eyes growing even sharper.
As Atobe tossed the ball into the air, ice crystals once again formed around Akashi. Atobe locked onto one and swung his racket, sending the ball flying toward it. At that moment, Akashi spoke.
"Looks like you still don't understand. Your Atobe Kingdom has two fatal flaws. First, if your opponent can predict your movements, you'll lose the chance to even activate it!"
As Akashi's words fell, he casually swung his racket, and all the surrounding ice crystals shattered again. Using the Emperor Eye, he captured every subtle movement from Atobe and began predicting his next actions completely. This was the Emperor Eye's power to see the future.
"Hmph! You think I'd fall for something that simple, Akashi?!" Atobe ignored him, pushing his vision to the limit. Just as he was about to pinpoint Akashi's absolute blind spot, Akashi's figure suddenly vanished. A yellow blur streaked past Atobe's feet.
"Point! Fudomine Middle leads!"
"This is the truth. My words are absolute. No one can defy them," Akashi said in his usual calm voice after scoring.
"Akashi Seijurō!!!" Atobe glared at him, grinding his teeth.
Luckily, the umpire signaled for Atobe to serve quickly. He regained his composure but didn't give up. Instead, he stubbornly continued to push his vision even further. The entire court now looked as if it were covered in ice crystals.
Atobe once again locked onto a crystal and served. Akashi, clearly disappointed, shook his head and spoke with icy tone:
"The second fatal flaw of your Atobe Kingdom! If you can't return your opponent's shot, then your so-called absolute blind spots are meaningless! Your kingdom is about to be completely destroyed!"
In a flash, Akashi appeared before the ball. A golden light faintly glowed at the center of his racket. The moment he intercepted the ball, a brilliant golden blast erupted, turning the ball into a massive glowing orb shooting toward Atobe.
"Glowing Shot—Mana Cannon!"
As the huge glowing ball flew at him, Atobe saw his kingdom begin to shatter like a mirror, finally dissolving into a flurry of ice crystals. In shock, Atobe still stepped forward, gripping his racket with both hands to meet it head-on.
The broken kingdom.
Shocked Atobe.
Even though Atobe had already mastered the Super Sweet Spot technique, facing the power of a Mana Cannon that rivaled Byoudouin's Destruction was another matter. The instant the racket met the glowing orb, a monstrous force surged into Atobe's hands. His racket was knocked away instantly, and the tennis ball smashed into the back wall, forming a huge crater.
Thankfully, the tournament organizers had anticipated this situation. The reinforced court held up. Though the area was clouded with smoke, there was no danger to the spectators—though some were still visibly shaken.
"Game! Fudomine! 1-0!"
"Now that your Atobe Kingdom is destroyed, what will you do next, Atobe?" Akashi said with a faint glance after breaking serve.
"I can still do a lot! Don't think you've won yet, Akashi!" Atobe showed no signs of giving up.
"Good. I'll be watching." Akashi turned and walked toward the baseline.
Atobe picked up his racket with a serious look, mind racing with strategies. But judging by his tightly furrowed brow, he was clearly under pressure.
"Didn't expect Atobe Kingdom, which even stumped the little runt, to be broken so easily by Akashi!" Kikumaru said in surprise from the stands.
"To be precise, Atobe Kingdom is naturally countered by Akashi's ability. Their tennis styles are too similar," Fuji said quietly from the side.
'So the gap between me and Akashi-senpai is still that wide?' Ryōma couldn't stop asking himself inside.
Meanwhile, at the Hyōtei bench, all the regulars looked grim. They had known beforehand that Atobe's chances of defeating Akashi weren't high, but seeing him get completely crushed was far beyond their expectations.
But no one said anything. Whether cheering him on or offering meaningless comfort, it was all pointless now. All they could do was trust Atobe completely—trust that their Captain could find a way out of this predicament.
"Ara~ looks like little Atobe is gonna lose badly~ and little Akashi is getting scarier by the minute!" Irie said from the stands with mock fear.
"Right now, Atobe's still one level below Akashi. This kind of result isn't surprising," Tanegashima said indifferently beside him.
"Based on Atobe's past performance and the data I've collected, the probability of breaking through his limits during the match is 73%," Mitsuya commented optimistically, believing Atobe could withstand the pressure and break through.
"Trying to evolve in front of an opponent far stronger than you... that's nearly impossible. Now it's all up to Atobe's willpower," said Ochi in an emotionless tone.
At that moment, Akashi, standing at the baseline, suddenly raised his head and looked at Atobe. A wave of invisible pressure instantly blanketed Atobe, and the image of Akashi's eerie heterochromatic eyes surged through his mind.
"Mental Pressure!"
'Dammit! There's no way this kind of mental pressure can crush me! Don't think you can win just like this, Akashi!' Atobe gritted his teeth and steeled himself.
Akashi slowly raised his left hand, tossing the ball high into the air. At the same time, an aura from another dimension exploded out of him. The moment he swung his racket, a rift in space suddenly opened. From within it, a dark red longsword radiating ominous energy shot forth.
"Gate of Babylon—Dazetin!"
The moment Atobe saw the sword, his entire soul trembled. His body froze, completely unable to move, as if frozen solid in a blizzard. He finally understood how others felt when trapped in his World of Ice.
Frozen Atobe.
As the sword pierced through, the sound of the tennis ball striking the ground echoed behind Atobe. Yet he remained motionless, as if he'd been hit for real.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"Now drown completely in your own curse, Atobe!" Akashi said coldly after scoring.
Thanks to Akashi's constant development and hidden system support, Gate of Babylon was no longer limited to counterattacks. It could now be used even on serves, though the mental energy cost doubled.
"Ace! 30-0!"
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 2-0!"
Without mercy, Akashi unleashed three more Dazetin serves. Poor Atobe stayed frozen in place the entire time. Even though he tried with all his might to move, the soul-deep trembling was not something that could be easily overcome.
"What's with that kid's techniques? Every one of them is creepy… and I've never heard of that other dimension thing—what the hell is that?" Echizen Nanjirō muttered to himself in the stands.
"Akashi's dimensional tennis is still just as overwhelming. Looks like I can't slack off either—I've got to break through soon," Sanada muttered, remembering his crushing defeat from a week ago.
"Honestly, even though I've awakened my own dimensional ability, I still can't say I could beat Akashi-kun. I have no idea what level he's reached now," Yukimura said with a sigh.
"What were those sword-shaped illusions just now?! Did I see that right?" Ryōma asked in a daze.
"That's Akashi's dimensional technique—Gate of Babylon. Though I'm not entirely clear on how it works," Inui replied with some frustration.
"Dimensional…? What's that?" Ryōma still didn't get it.
"Just what it sounds like. It's tennis from another dimension," Fuji said slowly. But his words caused massive confusion among everyone who wasn't a third-year.