BEEP!
The referee blew the whistle to signal the start of the match.
Hearing this, Sengoku Junior High and Yamabuki Industrial instantly entered full match mode.
Although Sengoku Junior High's offensive core was strengthened by the addition of Nishison Tomohiko, losing Oda Miki ant that their backcourt defensive strength had decreased significantly.
After all, despite performing fairly well during practice matches, Nishison Tomohiko was ultimately still a junior player. Compared to the third-years, he had trained for a shorter ti, and his fundantals were noticeably weaker.
So, at that mont, the teams' vigilance was at its highest.
And within this tense atmosphere...
Standing in the backcourt, Asuto finally moved.
Ball toss.
Approach.
Jump.
Arm swing.
Contact!
Point scored!
Every movent flowed seamlessly into the next.
By the ti Asuto had landed back on the ground, neither team had moved from their original positions.
"Huh?"
It was only when the referee blew his whistle to announce the point that even Sengoku Junior High's own players seed to snap back to reality, not just Yamabuki Industrial.
'Had I lost focus for a second?'
So of Yamabuki Industrial's players even began to doubt themselves.
anwhile, Asuto was already preparing for the second serve.
As soon as the referee blew the whistle again, every Yamabuki Industrial player concentrated intensely, their eyes fixed on Asuto across the court.
They watched him complete every motion step by step.
The toss.
The approach.
The jump.
The arm swing.
The contact...
And then...
Another point!
21:23.
"Huh???"
"What was that serve just now?!"
The Yamabuki Industrial players froze in their tracks once again.
This ti, they had clearly seen the ball, yet their bodies failed to react at all.
It was only after they had helplessly watched the volleyball fly past them that their bodies finally began to move, albeit belatedly.
What kind of Serve is this?
The Yamabuki Industrial players' hearts were already beating wildly.
They looked up and saw Akashi Asuto calmly returning to the baseline with the ball, preparing for the third serve.
At that mont, Akashi Asuto's eyes were deep and tranquil.
Although his gaze appeared fixed on the volleyball, there was nothing reflected within his pupils.
Yet deep inside his mind, everything within his field of vision was displayed with absolute clarity.
Third serve.
Asuto slowly tossed the ball and began his approach and jump.
Every movent felt perfectly natural.
He no longer needed to consciously control its height, spin, angle, or trajectory.
There was only one thing he needed to do: Swing his arm with all his strength.
BOOM!
This ti, the Yamabuki Industrial players finally heard the sound of the serve.
And it startled them, because the sound was like a thunderclap.
They had never heard such a loud impact during a middle school volleyball match before.
The whistling sound of the volleyball flying through the air no longer resembled that of a small leather ball.
Instead, it sounded more like a heavy artillery shell.
After curving over the block, it slamd into the floor with great force.
21:24.
Three consecutive serves instantly brought the match to set point for Sengoku Junior High.
Nobody had expected the ga to develop like this.
At that mont, the audience outside the court had already erupted into chaos, gasps and cries of shock echoing endlessly through the stands.
Yamabuki's coach likewise widened his eyes, one leg trembling uncontrollably.
He could already tell that Asuto had entered so sort of special state.
However, he had no good solution as Yamabuki Industrial had already used up their tiout.
The uproar outside the court had no effect on Asuto, or rather, it did not affect him.
At that mont, he could not hear anything.
After scoring the point, he did not pause at all and imdiately launched the fourth serve.
Asutoi and Kageyama's powerful jump serves were overwhelming weapons even at the middle school level.
Now that Asuto had unexpectedly entered the 'Calm Mind Zone' state, he could unleash the full strength of every serve.
BOOM!
The explosive sound of impact rang out once again.
The fourth serve carried incomparable power and speed as it shot directly towards Yamabuki Industrial's libero.
The inability to control landing points is an unavoidable flaw of the Power Jump Serve.
But at the sa ti, with the sheer speed and power behind this serve, even though Yamabuki's Libero could clearly watch the volleyball descending toward him, his legs felt as though they had been sealed to the floor, completely unable to move.
"Damn it... move! MOVE...!"
As the volleyball drew closer and closer, the Yamabuki libero roared inside his heart, unwillingly.
But it was useless.
After all, he was not literally frozen in place.
The volleyball's flight speed had simply exceeded the human body's reaction speed.
In the blink of an eye, the volleyball had already reached directly above Yamabuki Libero's head.
Just as it was about to pass over his head and hit the ground, he suddenly made a move that nobody had expected.
THUD!
He abruptly straightened his body and forcibly received the ball with his forehead.
This stunned not only his teammates but his opponents too.
The Sengoku Junior High players froze montarily when they saw this. However, when they saw the deflected volleyball fly directly back into their own court, they imdiately sprang back into action.
"It's okay! Free ball! I'll take the first receive…"
Before Kurata Mao could even finish saying the word "receive," a massive shadow suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Right in front of everyone… Asuto directly leapt up from the back row and, facing the returning volleyball, slamd it downward with a single palm strike.
BOOM!
A back-row first-touch spike.
The volleyball that had just rebounded back into Sengoku Junior High's court remained there for less than two seconds before smashing back onto Yamabuki Industrial's floor once again.
"BEEEEEP—BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP—!"
The referee's whistle echoed throughout the entire arena as the scoreboard flipped once more.
21:25.
The first set… Was over.
...
The mbers of Yamabuki Industrial stood on the court listening to the whistle ringing in their ears, their expressions clearly dazed.
Even now, they still could not believe it.
A match that had been fiercely contested for an entire set had suddenly ended within less than a single minute.
On the other side… The mbers of Sengoku Junior High silently walked off the court, likewise showing no celebration over winning the set.
Because, in truth, their feelings were not that different from Yamabuki's.
Asuto's explosive outburst in that final minute had been far too sudden.
Not only had it been brief, but the pace had been unbelievably overwhelming.
And more importantly, even as teammates, the mbers of Sengoku Junior High still felt shaken by it.
A monstrous level of strength.
That was probably the shared feeling both Yamabuki Industrial and Sengoku Junior High's players currently held toward Akashi Asuto.
The mbers of both teams each had their own complicated emotions.
Only Nishison Tomohiko remained utterly confused.
"...What exactly did I even co onto the court for just now?"
...
(End of Chapter)
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