Gulp.
Fuwa Tetsujin swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he announced, "O-Oni Juujirou scores... 15-0!"
The call snapped Byoudouin Houou out of his daze.
Staring at the shattered remains of his racket, he felt a mix of satisfaction and shock.
His Hadoukyuu (Light Strike) had been overpowered—brute-forced back by sheer physical strength alone.
No technique. No finesse.
Just raw, unrelenting power.
Houou took a deep breath. "Another monster, huh?"
Before the match, Hadoukyuu had filled him with confidence. Now? Doubt crept in.
Two years ago, Houou had been a freshman following his upperclassmen in Nationals, watching as Rokkaku fell to another school.
Meanwhile, Oni Juujirou—a nobody from an unknown school—had single-handedly carried his team to a national championship.
Houou had never forgotten that image.
He'd expected to face Oni the following year after becoming captain... only for the man to vanish from the competitive scene entirely.
After winning Nationals himself last year, Houou had dismissed Oni as a relic of the past.
How strong could someone be after a year without high-level matches?
Turns out—very.
"So this is the man who carried a team to Nationals alone..." Fuwa muttered, awestruck.
Meanwhile, Oni frowned at his broken racket.
A trusted companion for four or five years—gone in an instant.
He'd underestimated Hadoukyuu's destructive force and overestimated his racket's durability.
Normally, he used heavier, sturdier frames to match his strength. But today, he'd grabbed the one he usually played with the kids.
Grimacing, he pulled out a backup and resumed his stance.
BOOM!
Houou didn't hesitate. Another Hadoukyuu tore across the court, its sheer rotational force and weight defying conventional physics.
Oni met it head-on.
With his heavier racket, he could finally unleash his full strength.
CRACK!
The ball rocketed back.
This time, Houou intercepted it mid-flight, his arms straining as he channeled Hadoukyuu again—redirecting the same destructive force back.
"What?!" Oni's eyes widened.
Houou's Hadoukyuu wasn't just an attack—it was a technique. Any ball struck at the sweet spot became one.
And at that perfect contact point, Houou could handle even Oni's monstrous returns.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The exchange turned into a war of attrition.
The court cracked under the strain.
"Tch. I can't score like this."
Houou gritted his teeth. Hadoukyuu was draining him. While it wore Oni down too, the man's stamina was inhuman.
Time to change tactics.
As the next ball hurtled toward him, Houou abruptly softened his grip—dropping a delicate short shot instead.
"This bastard—!"
Oni's expression darkened.
After trading nuclear strikes, Houou had the audacity to bunt.
Fortunately, Oni's footwork was sharp. He lunged forward, barely scooping the ball before its second bounce.
"Now!"
Houou was already at the net.
With a sharp upward flick, he unleashed a sky-high lob—
—one that plummeted faster than gravity should allow.
"It's the Hadoroukyuu (Falling Bird Strike)!" Fuwa exhaled in relief.
He'd been worried Houou would stubbornly keep trading blows.
But Oni was adapting too quickly.
THUD!
The ball slammed into the far corner before Oni could recover.
"Byoudouin Houou scores! 15-15!"
"Hmph." Oni scoffed.
Houou didn't react. Victory mattered more than pride.
BOOM!
The match reignited.
Houou mixed Hadoukyuu with trick shots, while Oni—by the fifth game—unleashed something even more shocking.
"Muga no Kyouchi (Zone of Absolute Dominion)!"
A shimmering aura enveloped him.
Houou and Fuwa froze.
"That's—?!"
But the match didn't stop.
The score climbed relentlessly.
THWACK!
"Byoudouin Houou leads! 1-0!"
...
CRASH!
"Oni Juujirou takes the game! 2-1!"
...
BAM!
"Oni Juujirou evens the set! 6-6!"
...
Tiebreaker.
Neither would yield.
Another 30 minutes of brutal play later—
"42-41! Oni Juujirou leads!"
They'd essentially played an entire extra set.
"Damn it...!"
Houou panted, using his racket to stay upright.
His turn to serve.
If this dragged on any longer, he'd collapse first.
"Only one option left."
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself up.
The ball glowed ominously in his palm.
"Hadoukyuu again?" Oni tightened his grip, sweat dripping.
He wasn't faring much better. Houou's trick shots had sapped his stamina.
"Oni Juujirou... this one's lethal."
Houou's voice was deadly calm.
"WATCH CLOSELY!"
He tossed the ball—
—and the moment his racket connected, the air itself seemed to shatter.
A wave of pure annihilation radiated outward.
Oni's instincts screamed.
This wasn't Hadoukyuu.
This was—
"Zankoku Hadoukyuu (Cruel Light Strike – DESTRUCTION)!"
---
### Meanwhile – Courtside
Two figures appeared at the edge of the court—Yoru and QP.
They'd flown to Okayama (yes, flown—don't @ me, the Shinkansen takes 3.5 hours, and flights aren't much pricier).
Just in time to see—
"...!?"
Yoru's eyes widened.
Hadoukyuu? Already? Wait—no.
That wasn't just Hadoukyuu.
That was—
"DESTRUCTION!"
Houou roared as the light intensified—
—until, suddenly—
SNAP!
His racket split in half mid-swing.
The ball veered wildly—straight toward the children watching from the sidelines.
"SHIT—!" Houou's blood ran cold.
Yoru moved to grab his racket—too late.
The net's chain-link fence wouldn't stop a ball capable of killing.
And then—
"NOOOOOO—!!!"
A sound no human throat should produce tore through the air.
---