For the players of Itachiyama, seeing Motoya Komori fail to receive a serve wasn't exactly unheard of.
After all, even the best libero in the volleyball world wouldn't dare claim they could flawlessly receive every powerful serve from the opposing side.
But this time was different, Komori had clearly tracked the trajectory of the ball, yet still failed to make the reception. That was a rare occurrence, even for the Itachiyama team.
Even their own ace, one of the top three in the country, Kiyomi Sakusa, would typically avoid serving directly at Komori, aware that even he would struggle to score off a serve against the elite libero.
And yet now, Akashi Asuka, the very same player who once suffered a crushing defeat at the national tournament because of Komori's defense, had just scored off him, head-on.
The implication behind that was... deeply unsettling.
"Ohhh… after soaking up all those nutrients, it looks like he's finally blooming–" said Coach Washijo Takinori, narrowing his eyes as he watched Akashi Asuka's current form on the court.
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On the Court.
The match continued.
Akashi Asuka's third serve clipped the net and failed to clear, bringing the score back to 6:6.
Then Sakusa and Ushijima each traded blows in a relentless back-and-forth, pushing the score to 8:8.
"Asuka-chan!"
The Red Team launched another attack. Oikawa skillfully received Ushijima's decoy spike and quickly set the ball to Akashi Asuka.
"You're not scoring this time!"
Wakatsu Eight immediately jumped to block the cross-court angle, as Akashi's posture clearly suggested that was his intended direction.
Wakatsu's read was spot on. Unless a player had Sakusa-level talent, or had premeditated a feint before jumping, it was nearly impossible to change direction mid-air, even for someone like Akashi.
But in the next moment, Bang!, the ball still powered through Wakatsu's block and slammed onto the court.
Wakatsu was stunned.
He turned his head and saw the ball had landed right in the deep corner of the backcourt.
It was a perfectly executed, devastating cross-court spike.
The crowd erupted in cheers for Asuka's incredible play, but Wakatsu couldn't shake a lingering feeling of unease as he stared at Asuka's back beyond the net.
"Was it just my imagination…? That didn't look like he was aiming cross-court at all…"
9:8.
The Red Team reclaimed the lead.
But just as quickly, Sakusa delivered a laser-precise straight-line spike from the sideline, threading through the double block of Asuka and Oikawa to tie the score again.
9:9.
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"Yikes… this is terrifying!"
"Can't they just play some normal rallies for once?" Spectators were breaking into cold sweats. So far, almost every single point has been scored through ultra-high-level plays, with no margin for error.
This wasn't just a match, it was a full-on showcase of each player's technical brilliance.
"For real though, normal plays probably wouldn't work against these monsters' defense anyway. Honestly, I'm amazed none of them have cracked under pressure yet. If it were me out there, I'd have completely lost it by now."
"Pfft, don't make me laugh. Even if you didn't crack under pressure, you'd still be useless."
"…Friendship over."
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The match intensified, and the clash between the Red and Blue teams was reaching a boiling point.
25th rally.
The score was 12:12, with Komori up to serve for the Blue Team.
Walking up to the service line, Komori's expression was as dark as a thundercloud. That was because the three idiots on the Red Team visibly relaxed the moment they saw him take position.
"Those bastards… Don't underestimate me!"
Boom!
Komori leapt and served with all his might, unleashing a heavy jump serve.
But Oikawa received it easily. Ushijima set the ball for Akashi Asuka. Facing a double block from Sakusa and Wakatsu, Asuka didn't hesitate to swing.
"Cover the line!"
Both Sakusa and Wakatsu had the same thought the moment Asuka took off. Everything, his eyes, his body posture, screamed he was going down the line.
But just as they both sealed the line…
The ball curved mid-air with an unnatural trajectory, grazing past Wakatsu's fingertips and slipping through the smallest of gaps.
13:12.
"Something's off… Something's definitely off–" Wakatsu muttered. He was certain now, Akashi Asuka had changed. Despite how obvious his intentions seemed, his attacks kept getting through.
And then it was Akashi's turn to serve again.
Boom!
A thunderous jump serve, like a missile, came hurtling down toward the seam between Komori and Sakusa. Neither of them even had time to react.
"Whoa! That placement was insane."
"Now that I think about it, thank goodness Asuka doesn't have Oikawa's ability to pinpoint his serves. If he had both that and this kind of power, it'd be game over."
"Dude, can you not say things that terrifying all of a sudden?"
14:12.
For the first time, the Red Team pulled ahead by more than two points.
Next serve, Asuka unleashed a spinning jump serve. Komori finally managed to dig it up, and Sakusa quickly set it for Wakatsu to attack.
Oikawa and Ushijima moved in tandem and read Wakatsu's swing path, setting up a solid block.
But this time…
All three, Oikawa, Ushijima, and Wakatsu, jumped nearly simultaneously. Yet even as they reached the peak and began falling, Wakatsu still hadn't swung.
Not until Oikawa and Ushijima were completely off-balance in midair did Wakatsu finally unleash his spike.
Smash!
Even with his body nearly twisted out of shape, he detonated an unbelievably powerful shot.
Boom!
The ball slammed to the floor.
Point for the Blue Team.
14:13.
As the rally ended, the audience sat in stunned silence, blinking in disbelief as they tried to process what they'd just witnessed.
"…Holy crap."
"What was that?! His form was totally a mess in the air, and he still got that spike off?"
"Was that… some kind of new 'broken-ball finisher' move?"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria