Chapter 67: Marionettes
"We're only down by one point. There's still a chance!"
The four members of the White Team prepared for their corner kick.
"Hey, you guys. Just follow my lead in a minute," Rin said to his team, his tone freezing cold.
"You've got to be kidding. Did they actually manage to piss him off?" Kira smirked from the side. It seemed Nagi's little trick earlier had thoroughly annoyed Rin.
"It's rare to see Mr. Glam get so heated," Aryu noted, looking slightly surprised.
"Then let's see just what an angry Rin-chan looks like, shall we?" Bachira's large eyes were filled with anticipation.
The match continued.
The White Team took the corner. After scanning the area, Isagi kicked the ball toward the center of the penalty area.
Aryu wasn't there. Barou, with his height advantage, could dominate that airspace.
"No way..."
Isagi's pupils dilated.
Itoshi Rin had forcibly trapped the ball in mid-air, right while contending with Barou for the header.
Upon landing, Rin launched a massive long ball toward the wing.
Running there, having started his run long before the kick, was Kira.
"Chigiri! Stop him!"
Chigiri sprinted in from the flank. By his own estimation, he was guaranteed to reach that ball first.
Whoosh!
Kira suddenly accelerated as well, the two of them instantly running shoulder to shoulder.
"Are you trying to reproduce my speed again?" Chigiri glared furiously at Kira.
Chigiri was actually the first person to discover Kira's specific trait.
He could always reproduce the weapons of his teammates or enemies.
"I am the one and only Hyoma Chigiri in this world! Don't you dare think you can mimic me!!"
Seeing Kira didn't respond, Chigiri got even angrier, gritting his teeth and accelerating further.
In an instant, he actually pulled ahead by a body length.
Chigiri's speed was breaking through his own limits.
Just as Chigiri thought he would touch the ball first, the ball hit the ground and suddenly bounced up.
It spun back toward Kira's side.
Chigiri hadn't noticed that this pass was hit with wicked outside spin.
"Dammit!"
Chigiri slammed on the brakes and looked back, only to find Kira facing him with a faint, ghostly smile.
Simultaneously, Kira lifted his leg to meet the rebounding soccer ball.
Boom!
He volleyed a pass back toward the center.
Right into the path of the sprinting Itoshi Rin.
After making the pass, Kira thought internally: 'That bastard Rin. Using me just to buy himself freedom of movement. I'll remember this.'
Isagi was the first on the White Team to notice the situation.
He prepared to move in for the cover.
But Itoshi Rin made another move that defied his expectations.
He didn't trap the ball. Instead, he played a one-touch pass to Aryu on the far side.
'Crap! Rin is one step faster than my prediction...'
Isagi realized the answer deep in his heart.
Contesting Aryu was Nagi.
The two giants tussled continuously, racing toward the ball's landing point.
"Oh, this isn't like Bachira's pass. This is a high-pressure ball, as if it's testing the limits of a glam god like me..."
Aryu muttered to himself as he jumped.
An aerial chest trap!
Nagi jumped too.
Both tall players took flight.
The 190cm Nagi possessed physical gifts that were already freakish.
But the 195cm Aryu was even more terrifying.
Aryu steadied the ball right in front of Nagi's face and landed.
"You're pretty amazing, too..." Nagi felt a begrudging admiration for Aryu's physical talent. This was the first time he had lost out on natural gifts alone.
Aryu ignored Nagi's attempt at conversation. He whipped his head around, scanning the field.
Then, he delivered a lateral pass back to the center.
"Truly cunning. Appearing right there so I have no choice but to pass to you, huh?"
After releasing the ball, Aryu glared at Rin with annoyance.
"Stop him! Chigiri!"
The super-speedster Chigiri was truly the master of last-ditch defense.
The instant Rin had been left unmarked, Chigiri had tracked back and was already in position to cover.
On the other side, Isagi was keeping a strict watch on the trailing Bachira.
"Watch out for his shooting course! Chigiri!" Nagi shouted a warning from the distance.
Chigiri was well aware of that.
In this 2-on-2 at the goal mouth, would he shoot, break through, or pass to Bachira?
Itoshi Rin's options flashed through Chigiri's mind in a split second.
Suddenly, Itoshi Rin wound up his leg.
'A shot?' Chigiri wanted to step up immediately, but he suddenly recalled Kira's shooting motion from earlier.
It was incredibly similar.
'It's a feint!'
'I won't fall for your tricks again.'
Chigiri halted his forward momentum.
"Oh?" Seeing that Chigiri had seen through his fake shot, Itoshi Rin stomped his right foot onto the ball.
Whoosh!
He suddenly dragged the ball back and executed a beautiful turn.
Marseille Turn!
'How is that possible?'
Chigiri froze in place, too late to block it.
"I guessed it. I did it. I'm one step ahead of you Rin..."
Isagi roared as he appeared at the spot where Rin completed his turn, launching into a sliding tackle to block the path.
"You're two steps too slow."
Itoshi Rin answered coldly, immediately leaping into the air.
"Huh? Where's the ball?" Only then did Isagi realize there was nothing at Itoshi Rin's feet.
The ball had vanished into thin air long ago.
It had been passed. When?
"He predicted my movement?" Isagi couldn't believe it. He had failed again.
Bachira, trailing the play, saw the pass coming.
"Huh? This ball is for me?" Bachira understood instantly.
'I see. It wasn't prediction. He was controlling everyone.'
'Kira's speed displayed just moments ago, Aryu's jumping ability, and even Isagi's prediction... everyone on the field was forced to draw out potential beyond their usual limits...'
'Just so they could dance exactly as he wished!'
'We are all his marionettes!'
Just as Bachira was marveling at Itoshi Rin's power and preparing to receive the ball...
"I don't accept that!"
A bolt of red lightning appeared, forcefully intercepting the pass that should have gone to Bachira.
It was Kira.
With a ferocious expression on his face, he stole the ball that belonged to Bachira.
"Even if it's a serious Itoshi Rin, you don't get to control me like a puppet!"
Kira swung his leg and fired!
Whoosh!
GOAL!
The soccer ball flew into the net!
Red Team 3-1. The gap widened.
After scoring, Kira turned around, the ferocious expression on his face vanishing completely.
It transformed into a faint, polite smile.
A master of changing faces!
Bachira observed the entire process of Kira's mask-swapping from close range.
'This Kira guy?'
'He really is fake!'
'But, that's just who he is.'
'If even he had been controlled, that would have been too boring.'
"Tch. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Itoshi Rin was extremely dissatisfied, speaking coldly. "I was clearly in the middle of educating the small-fry opponents, and you come and dismantle my play."
"Whose side are you actually on?"
Kira wore a smile on his face. "The result was good, wasn't it?"
"I like everything to proceed according to my plan. I don't like you, the exception..."
"Is that so? But if there are no exceptions, how can there be any surprises?"
"Tch. Whatever." Itoshi Rin turned his head away, too lazy to bicker with Kira any longer.
In the distance, the four members of the White Team were also analyzing the goal that just happened.
"So that is what Itoshi Rin looks like when he gets serious..."
Chigiri pinched his chin in thought. "It feels even scarier than Kira."
"Manipulating the entire field, friend and foe alike... this is the first time I've encountered something like this."
Listening to Chigiri, Isagi also began to analyze. "Thinking about it now... in our first match, Rin was fundamentally doing the same thing."
"His essential playstyle is controlling the opponent's thinking at will. Now, he's started controlling everyone..."
"He even saw through everyone's abilities and placed everyone's reactions on the field into the future he envisioned..."
Thinking of this, Isagi couldn't help but doubt himself. 'Can I really defeat a guy like that?'
"Wait... regarding that final goal... looking at Rin's face, that was outside his expectations..."
"Kira broke free from his manipulation!" Nagi chimed in from the side.
"So, we just have to be like Kira. If we do things we wouldn't normally do, we can break free from Rin's control!"
Chigiri found the answer.
"That's right. Even though it's difficult!"
"But that's the only way to find a sliver of a chance for survival!!"
The three members of the White Team finished their discussion.
Behind the three of them.
Barou was observing the entire field.
His eyes were cold and severe.
Like a Beast King sharpening his fangs.
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