NOVEL NEXT Chapter 88: Pressure Mounts
In the VIP box, Ismau and the senior Wolves remained still, faces unreadable, showing no emotion, while Daiki broke the stillness by clasping his hands above his head, a restless tension in his posture setting.
'An incredible goal by the best striker of the tournament, Yohan Eunseong!'
Haruma stood frozen on his spot, eyes locked on the celebrating opponents, his breath heavy and ragged.
'Absolutely! What a strike, and what a setup by Kazutora, he literally tore through the defense.' the commentator added, voice brimming with excitement
Kabuto stayed rooted in his spot, eyes wide, breathing heavy as if he'd just run a marathon. Meanwhile Kazutora was standing right ahead, before walking towards him nudging his shoulders brushing past his with a faint nudge, and Kabuto remained silent, frozen in place
"The goal in the 17th minute of the first half, can Kashiwa Tyrants maintain their lead?" the commentator's voice cut through the stadium
Jiho kicked the grass sharply before moving back into position, while Subaru slammed a fist into the turf, drawing a deep breath to regain his focus.
Raya clapped firmly, his expression set, trying to rally his teammates and lift their spirits.
From the VIP box, Shuya leaned back, eyes fixed on the field with detached disinterest.
"Seriously? A goal this early? How did they let that happen?" he muttered, his tone sharp and critical.
Ameha watched in silence, a flicker of frustration crossing her face as her gaze stayed locked on the action…
Reaching the 26th minute of the first half, the game was underway once again with the ball now at Nagisa's feets who moving forward carefully, weaving past a few players, avoiding any risk of making a mistake.
He slowed, halting his run to sweep his eyes ahead on the field only to find the opposition closing space, cutting off his options
Clenching his jaw, Nagisa with a swift shift of his stance sent a lofted pass, arcing across the pitch, from where Izaya surged forward with an impressive pace, claiming the ball cleanly.
Now with the ball at his feet, Izaya with eyes carved with sharp focus, pushed forward towards the opposition goal. When suddenly, an opposing player came sliding in, blocking his path ahead, a big smirk tugged at his lips.
"Give me the ball, you little brat," the opponent hissed under his breath.
Izaya's lips curled into a wide, creepy grin before rushing at him, saying "Come and get it."
The player let out a low laugh before rushing back at him with an explosive speed, both Izaya and that player now rapidly closing the distance.
Reaching near, Izaya quickly performed a multiple rapid step-over skill, before slipping the ball past from that player's side with an ease.
Not backing off, the opponent twisted his body, crashing his shoulder hard into Izaya's from his back, forcing him off balance.
Still with a grin on his face Izaya gritted his teeth, fighting to keep the ball at his feet, pushing forward through the relentless pushing from that player.
Just then Jiho appeared at his side, arm lifted, voice cutting through the noise.
"Izaaayaa!"
Without delay, Izaya sent a sharp pass to his side from where Jiho was ready to claim it, but just before he could, another opponent came in with a sliding tackle. Reading it early, Jiho nudged the ball ahead, escaping the tackle by the narrowest margin.
"That's brilliant from Jiho! He read that move long before it even happened!"
With his face etched with fierce intensity Jiho kept on moving forward, dribbling past another player in his way before frantically searching for a gap.
Just then, Raya broke into space with his arm raised high, calling without words.
The moment Jiho caught Raya's sight, he slightly nudged the ball forward before firing a sharp pass that arched through a cluster of players who tried to reach for it but couldn't intercept.
Fixing his sharp focused eyes on the ball, Raya collected it with effortless grace before quickly lifting his gaze up at the goal ahead which was still covered with a few defenders, yet his gaze cut through the bodies until it locked onto one man, the destroyer, Kazutora Inzuka.
Clenching his jaw at the sight of Kazutora, Raya passed a silent challenge at him before rushing forward towards the nets.
A few opposing players rushed at Raya, but Kazutora remained behind watching Raya's approach with a slight smirk.
Rushing forward with dazzling footwork, Raya gracefully dribbled past a couple of players on his way to reach just near the box.
Clenching his jaw further, Raya swung his foot at the ball aiming a powerful strike, but only for Kazutora to charge in, crashing his shoulders onto his, throwing him off balance. Forced to let go on the decision of shooting, Raya quickly rolled the ball more to the left trying to make some distance but Kazutora was chasing him like a shadow, blocking his every possible gap causing his frustration to boil over the chart.
Just then Jiho came rushing in from behind, shouting, "Rayaaa!"
Without wasting any further second, Raya flickered the ball up over his head, dropping it perfectly at Jiho's direction who was already gearing up to fire the descending ball for a volley straight at the nets. But, just as the ball was still descending, a flicker of frustration crossed Jiho's face, he had sensed an opposing player lurking on his left, waiting for the right moment to intercept the shot Jiho would make.
Watching the ball reach him, Jiho changed his mind mid-swing. Instead of unleashing a shoot he gently tapped it upwards, raising it above his head.
That opposing player from the left saw his opportunity and lunged at the ball, but before he could reach, Jiho himself took a slight leap, meeting the ball with a sharp header, sending it to the left, over the head and out of that player's reach.
Just as the ball was descending, Haruma came rushing in with his jaw tightened, fists clenched, eyes burning with fierce intensity. He slightly bent his body, timing it perfectly, before swinging his leg for a powerful volley.
Raon and Minato sensei moved a step forward, watching Haruma with wide-eyes, jaws tight with tense anticipation.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the ball, Haruma with all his power swung his foot striking the ball with every ounce of his strength, but at the very same instant, another foot came slicing in, shattering the strike into nothing.
Kazutora it was, his smirk stretched wide, dripping with malice, as he was just behind Haruma with only his left foot slicing forward to cut off the strike, blocking the shot with a clean tackle.
The ball shot away from the danger, while Kazutora's tackle threw Haruma tumbling forward, crashing violently ahead on the grass.
Wasting no time, the opposing players cleared the ball, launching it back upfield to restart the attack.
A heavy unison sigh rippled through the stands. Minato punched his hand in frustration while Raon buried his head around his arms.
'And down goes Haruma! Kazutora got him a second time!'
"Agghhhh!" Kento groaned aloud, clearly irritated, while Mio on his shoulder just pouted innocently. Next to them, Ryusei ground his teeth together, jaw tight with irritation.
Masaru was on his feet, hands locked over his head, frozen in sheer disbelief. Beside him, Toru remained still, his face blank displaying no sign of any emotions.
Up in the VIP box, Shuya threw both hands into the air. "What the hell?!" he roared. "What the fuck are they doing? Of all moments… does he really have to choke now, deliver his worst performance when I've got my money riding on him?!"
Beside him, Ameha sat with eerie stillness, her pale face blank, eyes fixed on the pitch without a flicker of emotion…
On the field, Kazutora's smirk widened as he turned toward Haruma, still sprawled on the ground. "Pathetic," he hissed, voice laced with venom. "Absolutely pathetic."
Haruma's hands dug into the grass, fists tightening before slowly forcing himself up upright, sitting on the grass with his head bowed, face hidden in shadow, darkness gathering over him like a storm.
Kazutora's smirk stretched wider as he kept his gaze burned into Haruma, "Yeah stay down, stay where you belong! you fuckin weakling!" he snarled aloud, "You dare stand in my way, Huh?"
His voice cut through the air, low but venomous, every word dripping with arrogance and malice, keeping his eyes locked on Haruma who stayed motionless, head bowed, offering nothing but a heavy, suffocating silence.
Kazutora gave a slow, contemptuous nod, his smirk widening.
"A fuckin loser you are" he purred. "A pathetic weakling who got lucky with a couple of blinders and dared think he could stand in my way. Not today. Not here. By the final whistle I'll crush whatever little luck you've got left, I'll fuckin end your career and send you crawling back to that frail little single mother of yours."
Haruma's eyes snapped open at the words, blown wide with disbelief, as if the world had suddenly stopped beating inside his chest.