Milky stared in despair at the tennis ball rolling off the net cord. He didn't understand why his partner, Mac, had suddenly fallen apart like that—but after personally experiencing Spiritual Assassination once before, he had a good idea.
Ochi, calm as ever, returned to the Japan Team's bench with Sanada. The team welcomed them back with applause and words of encouragement. Just as everyone prepared to start the third round of drawing lots, Yukimura suddenly spoke.
"For Singles 3, why don't I go up this time?"
The others blinked in brief surprise, but quickly nodded in agreement. At this point, only Oni, Yukimura, and Ishida Gin hadn't played. Having Yukimura take the next slot made sense—it wasn't like they absolutely needed to leave it to chance.
"Then I'll leave it to you to bring home victory for the Japan Team on day two of the group stage," Oni said, nodding at Yukimura's serious expression. Coach Kurobe offered no objections either.
Meanwhile, the Australian bench was in chaos. Jean and Milky, along with the others, exchanged uneasy looks, their gazes turning toward Noah and his striking blue hair.
"What should we do now? All our previous strategies have failed!" Jean asked nervously.
"Panicking won't help! Noah, take your time and reorganize the strategy! As for Singles 3, I'll take that one myself. As long as I crush that mature-faced high schooler from Japan, we'll be back on track!" Before Noah could answer, Dorgias stood up, his tone sharp and confident.
"I understand, brother. But remember—Oni Juujirou is one of Japan's main players. His strength runs deep. Don't underestimate him," Noah said solemnly, offering a quiet warning.
"Don't worry. For the sake of your dream, I won't lose!" Dorgias replied firmly. With that, he picked up his racket and strode straight toward the Japan bench.
While Noah continued analyzing the Japan Team through Milky's earlier report, Dorgias had already stopped in front of them. His eyes locked directly onto Oni, hostility radiating from his entire body.
"So eager to head to hell? Too bad for you—the one waiting there isn't me," Oni replied flatly, his voice calm and detached, completely unmoved by the provocation.
"What does tennis even mean to you?" A quiet, low voice suddenly came from the court.
Dorgias turned and saw Yukimura standing there in his warm-up jacket, the breeze gently lifting his blue hair. His expression was emotionless, his presence calm yet dignified.
"Hmph. Boring talk. Fine then—I'll just crush you first!" Dorgias sneered, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Someone who doesn't value his teammates or care about his country's honor has no right to stand on this stage," Yukimura replied softly, almost as if speaking to himself.
"The next match will now begin! World Cup Group B Singles 3! Australia—J. J. Dorgias, 3rd Year High School! Japan—Yukimura Seiichi, 3rd Year Middle School! Both players, please enter the court!"
Both stepped forward with cold expressions, meeting at the net. Neither bothered with the formal pre-match bow. The umpire didn't intervene either—after all, it was a match between nations; a little tension was to be expected. The toss ended with Yukimura winning the serve.
"One set match! Japan to serve first!"
Yukimura walked to the baseline. In his pupils, two streaks of blue lightning flashed briefly. He tossed the ball and swung sharply. The ball shot across the net, brushing past Dorgias before landing precisely on the baseline and bouncing out of play.
"Ace! 15–0!"
"Wh–What?!" Dorgias froze, staring at Yukimura in disbelief.
But Yukimura was already tossing his second ball. The blue lightning in his eyes faded, replaced by a powerful surge of spiritual energy flowing from deep within. The instant his racket met the ball, that energy clung to it completely.
Dorgias gathered all his focus, his eyes tracking the ball's path. He pushed off the ground, reached the landing spot, and swung hard. But the moment his racket touched the ball, a paralyzing jolt shot up his arm.
His racket flew from his grip, and his right hand went numb. Yet even that wasn't the end. His vision dimmed, the sound in his ears faded, and then—he couldn't even feel his own existence anymore.
"Ace! 30–0!"
"Sink slowly into the world of despair where your five senses are gone," Yukimura said coldly, his calm voice slicing through the air as the jacket draped over his shoulders fluttered lightly in the wind.
Without hesitation, he tossed the ball again. It was just an ordinary high-speed serve, nothing special—yet Dorgias didn't move at all. His unfocused eyes stared blankly into space, body frozen in place.
"Ace! 40–0!"
Even when Yukimura served for the fourth time, Dorgias showed no sign of reaction. The Australian team members on the sideline all looked confused, especially Chris, who was convinced Dorgias was throwing the match on purpose.
"Game! Japan! 1–0!"
"That bastard Dorgias! Is he deliberately trying to make Australia lose?!" Chris shouted angrily, unable to hold back any longer.
"Calm down, Chris! Look carefully at Dorgias's eyes!" Captain Jean raised his hand to stop Chris from storming off, his gaze fixed on the motionless figure on court.
Following his words, everyone turned to look. What they saw made them freeze—the dull, unfocused eyes of Dorgias stared into nothingness. That empty expression sent a chill through them, strangely familiar. Slowly, they turned toward Noah.
"Don't tell me… brother can't see either? But how… what's happening? Wait! Do the Japan Team players show any change in expression?" Noah asked urgently, his voice tight with concern.
"There's no change... It's like they already expected this," Milky replied after observing the Japanese bench carefully, still unsure of what he was seeing.
"In that case, I was right. My brother's current state must be caused by something his opponent did… To affect him to this degree—it has to be a mental-force tennis technique," Noah muttered, his tone turning serious as he began analyzing possible countermeasures.
On the Japan Team's side, everyone watched the match calmly. None of them seemed surprised. After all, they were already familiar with Yukimura's Five-Sense Nullification. What was happening now was entirely within their expectations.
"I can't help but feel like Yukimura-kun looks terrifying right now," Shiraishi said uncertainly as he watched the court.
"Yukimura's Five-Sense Nullification generates a flood of negative emotions," Sanada replied solemnly. "Normally, even if he strips his opponent of their senses, he doesn't transfer those emotions onto them. But today… he seems different."
Out on the court, Dorgias remained motionless. It was supposed to be his service game, but even after 25 seconds, he hadn't made a single move. The umpire raised his voice sharply.
"Service time exceeded! First warning! Second serve, please!"
Unlike previous tournaments, the World Cup rulebook clearly stated that the server must serve within 25 seconds. If the time limit was exceeded, the player would receive a warning. A second violation would immediately cost the server a point instead of being treated as a fault.
"Service time exceeded! 0–15!"
"Service time exceeded! 0–30!"
"Service time exceeded! 0–40!"
In the void of nothingness, Dorgias couldn't feel anything—not sight, not sound, not touch. He couldn't even sense his own existence. Darkness filled his mind as waves of negative emotion tore away at his will.
'So this is what it feels like to see nothing at all… Is this how Noah has lived all this time? Damn it… I'm his older brother, yet I can't even take on a fraction of that darkness for him…'
Even in the depths of sensory loss, Dorgias's first thought was still of his younger brother, Noah.