At this moment, Tezuka had fused both Radiance of Love and the Radiance of Pain. His aura had grown increasingly complex. The blue light and particles swirling around him sparkled like a starry river.
Across from him, Yukimura's expression didn't change much. With his sharp mental acuity, he had already sensed something unusual about Tezuka. In the perceptive world of his Inspiration Tennis, a faint, towering phantom appeared behind Tezuka—its features nearly identical to his.
'Is this an alternate dimension? But something feels off. I really can't underestimate you, Tezuka Kunimitsu! Still, you have no chance of winning this match!' With that thought, Yukimura didn't hesitate and tossed up the tennis ball.
A sharply angled, ultra-high-speed serve shot out. As the ball cleared the net, Tezuka stood motionless. But the moment it landed, he appeared at the bounce point like he had teleported, swinging his racket and intercepting the ball. At the same time, he infused it with powerful compound spin. A massive blue tornado rose around him.
"Ultimate Zone!"
Yukimura didn't back down and met the incoming ball head-on. With precise technique, he chipped away at the spin. As the sound of impact rang out and the ball flew toward the net again, an unexpected scene played out just as it crossed.
The ball twisted unnaturally toward the sideline, eventually flying out of bounds before everyone's eyes, as if pulled by an invisible force. Tezuka remained calm and didn't move at all.
"OUT! 0-15!"
"Reverse spin from the Ultimate Zone? So fusing two types of Ten'i Radiance really did bring your spin control to a new level!" Yukimura's smile faded as he spoke with a more serious tone.
"I should thank you, Yukimura. Without the pressure you gave me, I might never have been able to face the weakness in my own heart. So… let's give it everything we've got!" As Tezuka spoke, the light around him glowed even more brilliantly.
"Is that so? Then I'll take your future once more—and shatter every shred of your hope to win, Tezuka!" Yukimura's voice turned colder.
"Looks like Yukimura still hasn't noticed the change in himself. Is it really just that hard to see when you're in the middle of it?" On the Fudomine bench, Akashi watched Yukimura intently, murmuring under his breath.
Even though Tezuka had just scored, Yukimura didn't mind. Since Tezuka had amplified his control over spin, Yukimura responded by enhancing his Mirage Mirror, aiming to fully break down the rotation.
As Yukimura served again, Tezuka unhesitatingly unleashed the Ultimate Zone. The blue tornado circled around him, giving off a majestic presence. Yukimura responded by maximizing his own technique to neutralize the reverse spin.
This time, Yukimura succeeded. The return didn't fly out but instead was pulled back toward Tezuka by the Zone. Yukimura was satisfied. As long as the ball stayed in play, he could still seize Tezuka's future.
The two exchanged intense rallies once more. But no matter how hard Yukimura tried, he couldn't fully break through the current Ultimate Zone. He could only watch the ball repeatedly draw back toward Tezuka.
Meanwhile, Tezuka continued seeing glimpses of himself losing points. But after just two or three shots, the images started to blur and gradually faded away. Under the effect of his dual Radiance, Yukimura's psychological interference was weakening.
After a few more exchanges, Yukimura suddenly realized Tezuka's shot speed had increased dramatically. He had to use his full concentration just to keep up. And this was with his sensory perception multiplied several times in the Zero Senses Tennis state.
Then, as Tezuka eyed the incoming ball drawn by the Zone, he raised his racket and fired a forehand drive. The ball turned into a beam of yellow light, zipped over the net, and slammed by Yukimura's feet. Yukimura didn't react until it had already bounced past the baseline.
"0-30!"
"Something's off! Tezuka's angle and speed were great, but with Yukimura's strength, there's no way he should've missed that!" Yanagi Renji said gravely from the Rikkai bench.
"Is it because of the dual Radiance? But can just having two Ten'i boosts really give such a massive edge?" Niō Masaharu responded, uncertain.
"This is the first time we've ever seen someone awaken two Radiances, so who knows—maybe it unlocks something special. But I still believe in Yukimura," Sanada said firmly, his trust unwavering.
Over at the Fudomine bench, Tachibana Kippei let out a long breath and chuckled, "That Tezuka guy scared the hell out of me just now. I thought he was gonna lose!"
"Radiance of Pain, huh? Didn't think Tezuka would awaken two Light of Pride already. Makes you wonder what kind of level he'll reach if he manages to unlock all three," Chitose Senri said, his gaze on Tezuka complicated, tinged with faint envy.
"It's not that easy to awaken all three Light of Pride. I've said it before—the three Light of Pride represent three mental states of a player. Especially the Radiance of Love and Radiance of Pain, they're practically polar opposites. I don't think Tezuka can reach that level anytime soon," Akashi spoke from the bench.
In the original storyline, even QP from the German team only awakened the Radiance of Love and Radiance of Pain after a tragic childhood and many hardships. It wasn't until his match against Oni Juujirō that he absorbed Oni's Radiance of Strong Heart and finally fused all three, achieving his complete perfect quality.
Even then, Akashi considered QP's case a shortcut. So far, the only one to fully awaken all three on his own was Echizen Nanjirō, who later developed two ultimate secrets—Ancient Peerlessness and Impermanence of All Things—based on them.
Meanwhile, the match on court had resumed. Although Yukimura had just lost a point, he still gave his all to weaken the Ultimate Zone's spin and kept using mental force to suggest things to Tezuka. But what Yukimura didn't notice was that some of the blue particles had followed his mental energy and invaded his body in reverse.
"0-40!"
"GAME! Fudomine! 5-3!"
Unfortunately for Yukimura, his efforts had no effect against Tezuka, who had awakened two Radiances. If anything, Tezuka's current strength was already comparable to the alternate dimension level. Even though Yukimura was a world-class player, there was still a slight gap between them.
The ninth game was Tezuka's service game. He stood at the baseline and looked across at Yukimura, whose breathing had grown heavier. As if realizing something, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He tossed the ball and slammed his racket down, sending the ball flying with fierce spin into Yukimura's half.
Yukimura froze for a second, then rushed to the drop point. Just as the ball hit the ground, he tried to counter it with a half volley. But instead of scooping it up, the ball rolled quickly backward and crashed into the net.
"ACE! 15-0!"
"The Zero Shiki Serve's power increased too?" Yukimura muttered, looking at the ball now stopped beneath the net.
But Tezuka didn't give him time to think. He grabbed another ball and repeated the same toss, swing, and smash. The ball once again carried fierce spin toward Yukimura's side.
This time, Yukimura held his breath and focused, attempting another half volley. But as soon as the ball hit the racket, it spun violently and veered sharply to the left—flying out past the sideline.
"ACE! 30-0!"
'What's going on?! Has Tezuka's strength already surpassed mine?' Yukimura frowned, his thoughts clouding, unaware that his thinking was starting to twist strangely.
"ACE! 40-0!"
"GAME! Fudomine! 5-4! Court change!"
In the following two serves, Tezuka again used Zero Shiki Serves to score directly and held his serve with ease. Though he was still one game away from losing, the current momentum was in his favor—his chances of winning were now greater.
Yukimura returned to the bench with his head down, completely silent. A heavy, oppressive aura surrounded him. He didn't even hear the encouragement and concern from his teammates behind him.
Meanwhile, Akashi smiled as he watched Tezuka walk off the court. "With Yukimura's mental strength, he might soon realize something's off with himself. So, are you ready for the final showdown?"
"I'll give it everything I have—for the victory that belongs to us," Tezuka replied calmly.
The break ended quickly, and both players returned to the court. The tenth game was Yukimura's serve, but the match was starting to resemble the eighth. Yukimura's movements were visibly stiff, like something was pressing down on him.
"0-15!"
"0-30!"
'Damn it! I only need one more game to win—why is this happening? Did I really take the wrong path?' Yukimura, after losing two points in a row, couldn't stop the spiral of doubt in his head.
"0-40!"
'Is Ten'i Muhō really that powerful? Then what was the point of abandoning the path of Muga? Was today's loss always inevitable?' An unplaceable emotion lingered in Yukimura's heart—but he hadn't realized it yet.
"GAME! Fudomine! 5-5! All square!"
The eleventh game was Tezuka's serve again, and he didn't hesitate. He fired off four straight Zero Shiki Serves. This time, Yukimura didn't even try to fight back. He didn't attempt to return them and simply let the points go. The aura around him had grown even darker.
"GAME! Fudomine! 6-5!"
Now, Tezuka needed just one more game to win. Just as everyone thought Yukimura was going to lose, a surge of intense mental energy suddenly erupted from him. A heavy, indescribable aura wrapped around him.
"Hah… I almost fell into your trap, Tezuka-kun! So this is the true power of the Radiance of Pain," Yukimura said. As he spoke, a faint smile reappeared on his face.