"That long-banged shorty actually didn't follow me!" Niko's decisive abandonment of pursuit even caught Charles off guard. To lure him in, Charles had deliberately gone out of his way to provoke someone he didn't particularly find interesting. But who would have thought his plan wouldn't work?
"Tch, whatever. The goal of breaking through the wall has already been achieved. Even if it didn't reach the optimal effect, this is enough!" Charles clicked his tongue in annoyance, but what he said was true. Relying on his pass to tear apart Ubers's defensive formation was the most important thing. The other little tricks were just optional extras.
"Charles, it's up to you now!" With Tokimitsu's voice, sounding as if he had been saved, ringing out, the ball was passed back to Charles. This time, unmarked and in a dangerously threatening position, Charles had the ball at his feet once more.
"So, who should I pass the ball to this time?" Charles playfully tapped his fingers, pretending to struggle with the decision. Coincidentally, Rin, veins bulging all over his body, had somehow managed to break free from Lorenzo's defense and was charging toward him. At that moment, a rare gap opened up in front of him, pointing straight toward the goal. "Charles! Over here!"
"Impressive, Itoshi Rin. You actually managed to carve out a path like that under the defense of that golden-toothed freak."
Charles looked at Rin with genuine surprise, lifting his foot as if to pass the ball. But just as the ball was about to make contact with his foot, Charles's expression of delight vanished in an instant. His face now bored, he didn't even glance at Rin. Instead, he twisted his body dramatically and shot the ball straight toward the goal.
"But something this boring would never shake off Lorenzo. You can't even see the gap he deliberately left open. What a disappointment."
Under Rin's stunned gaze, the spinning ball soared past one player after another, heading straight for the goal. Its decisive trajectory tugged at everyone's heartstrings.
As a result, Ubers's goalkeeper, Canali, threw himself into a dive without hesitation. His decisiveness paid off, as it was clear that his speed would allow him to secure the ball before it reached the net.
"No, it's not going in!" Rin immediately judged the outcome, but at this moment, he didn't even have the heart to blame Charles. Because, just as Charles had said, Lorenzo had indeed closed the gap Rin thought he had found in an instant. The space Rin believed he had created was actually a trap set by the opponent!
So, it was only natural for Charles, the only one left unmarked, to take a shot. But since Charles wasn't a striker, he couldn't break through the opponent's fierce defense. Now, all Rin wanted was to rush to the goal and find the second ball for a follow-up shot.
"That's why you're so boring, both in your thinking and your positioning. This kind of by-the-book play will never beat these guys." However, just as Rin began to move, Charles's voice rang out again. His face now shone with the excitement of a child who had just spotted their favorite toy. Following his gaze, it was none other than Shidou, who had inexplicably run to a position completely unrelated to the ball's trajectory!
"Although I had a feeling from the previous play, this guy is really something! He actually managed to rely purely on instinct and outpace even my Amanojaku's clever tricks!" Charles shouted excitedly. And at this moment, when all the actors were in place, the hidden setup he had planted began to take effect.
The ball, which had been decisively heading toward the goal, abruptly changed direction at the last moment, grazing Canali's fingertips and slamming into the goalpost with a loud *bang*. It then rebounded far away from the spot Rin had anticipated, instead flying straight toward Shidou's position.
"What!? This guy—Charles's target from the start was the goalpost! He planned to use the rebound to evade everyone else and then rely on Shidou's instinct for goalmouth chances to secure the win?" Rin quickly pieced together the sequence of events. Clenching his teeth, he glared fiercely at Charles and Shidou.
These two had somehow, inexplicably, sparked a chemical reaction in the FLOW state—no, perhaps even something beyond that!
But what he couldn't accept the most was that he had fallen behind. In this match, every move he made was a step slower than these two. It was as if he were a dull mortal, desperately running but unable to keep up with the minds of true geniuses.
"If it were just Itoshi Sae and Shinichi, fine. But even you two are climbing over my head now? If I let you all surpass me one by one, then all this talk about becoming the world's best, about chasing those two bastards, is just empty words!" At this moment, even without exerting any effort, terrifying veins bulged on Rin's face. His once delicate features now looked as if possessed by a demon, horrifying to behold.
Even the whites of his eyes seemed to be tainted black by the overwhelming aura of malice emanating from him.
But now, no one on the field paid attention to the transforming demon. All eyes were fixed on Shidou, who was sprinting toward the rebounding ball. With an expression of pure excitement, he was fiercely battling against Kunigami's defense, resolutely charging toward the ball.
"You really are a dangerous guy!" Kunigami's forehead was still damp with cold sweat. Just a moment ago, he had almost followed his striker's instinct to chase the ball's landing point. If it weren't for the pink-haired freak's bizarre movements catching his attention, this guy would have had a clear shot at an open goal now.
"Get off me, you stalker hero wannabe! My limit is right in front of me!" Shidou gritted his teeth. While this guy's other abilities were average, his determination to chase down what he believed in was top-notch. "Damn stalker hero, kneel before my ultimate move!"
As Shidou leaped into the air, Kunigami also gathered his strength to jump. But at that moment, Kunigami was horrified to realize that Shidou had completely abandoned protecting his body, almost lying horizontally in mid-air.
Due to their physical clash, Shidou, who hadn't been able to jump fully, was now using Kunigami's shoulder as his only point of leverage!
If Kunigami had any ill intent... no, even if he just jumped normally to defend, Shidou would definitely lose his leverage and crash to the ground. If Kunigami suddenly withdrew his support, Shidou might even suffer an injury that could jeopardize his career.
"You lunatic!" Kunigami roared in frustration, but he ultimately yielded to Shidou's threat. Instead of moving away, he acted almost like a teammate, allowing Shidou to use his shoulder to propel himself higher.
With that, Shidou launched a shot toward the ball—and toward their own goal—a strike that could only be described as peak performance.
"Hahaha, I bet right! Thanks, you old-fashioned hero! You helped me reach my limit!" Shidou shouted wildly, the demon's wings overshadowing the hero's brilliance in that moment. Taking hostages is a classic tactic against heroes, isn't it? Though this time, the hostage was the demon himself.
"Now, it's my time to explode!" Hanging upside down, Shidou used every ounce of strength in his body to kick the ball downward with tremendous force. The ultra-fast ball shot toward the ground, then rebounded sharply, heading straight for the deadliest corner of the goal—
"In my kingdom, religious beliefs are not allowed, let alone your demonic cult."
"It seems I'll have to break those annoying wings of yours for you to understand that."
The calm yet reassuring voice immediately eased the tense hearts of the Ubers players. Shinichi's figure had quietly positioned itself in front of the goal, unnoticed by anyone.
Like a king who had everything under control, he appeared at the most critical moment, extinguishing the enemy's last flicker of hope.
"Now, checkmate."
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