"Jyubei!!" xN
A chorus of voices—some surprised, others frustrated—echoed across the field.
But none of it could change the fact: Aryu had entered the battlefield.
Right after clearing the ball, he seamlessly linked up with Agi.
The two long-limbed monsters, each with limbs abnormally suited for chaos, repeatedly managed to flick the ball just out of Kunigami and Barou's crushing range—even when pinned behind them by raw strength. Their reach always let them get a foot in first.
And then finally—
Chigiri swooped in from behind and seized full control of the ball.
Manshine had regained possession!
"Reo!"
Without missing a beat, Chigiri launched a long pass forward, sending the ball to the one player still out of formation—Reo, far up the pitch.
Everyone else had already fallen back into their positions.
Only Reo remained in a spot dangerous enough to truly threaten Ubers' defensive line.
"That's a very Blue Lock-style run, I'll give you that."
A new voice greeted him at the top of the box.
"Though if I recall from watching your earlier matches, 56 million, that's not really your kind of play, is it?"
Unfortunately, the battle over possession had taken too long.
Even though Reo had made it to a dangerous position during the chaos, the delay had given Ubers just enough time to reset their defensive structure.
Now, standing in his way—
was Lorenzo.
Beads of sweat dripped from Reo's brow under the crushing pressure of Lorenzo's presence.
He was already calculating the timing of Chigiri's pass, cycling through options—but none of them worked.
Even if he copied Shinichi, half-baked mimicry wouldn't be enough.
He'd be shut down instantly by this golden-fanged freak.
After all, if stats don't change with the style, copying Shinichi only bumped his attribute chart a little.
"A madman, huh?" Lorenzo smiled.
"So you're aiming to be the protagonist of this attack? Funny—because I happen to have a fitting nickname for situations like this…"
"The Protagonist Devourer."
"If you wanna be the main character—then go ahead and try escaping these golden fangs. OK?"
!
As the ball approached, Lorenzo tensed, despite his lazy tone.
But his words sparked something in Reo.
When the ball finally reached him—Reo was calm.
"You've got it wrong, Lorenzo."
"Sure, I want to be the protagonist… but that doesn't mean I have to take you down to do it."
"Oh?"
Hearing Reo's reply, Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. He wasn't thrown off by the sudden feint—in fact, he barely reacted.
But after just that single fake, Reo decisively went for the pass.
'What kind of pass should I go for? Should I mimic Hiori's—perfectly aimed at where the teammate should be, even if they're not ready for it? Or Shinichi's—designed to ignite a teammate's rhythm and unlock their full potential? At my current level… I think I can pull off either of them… maybe both.'
And yet—
Right at the critical moment, with the entire game hanging on this single move… Reo hesitated.
A flood of memories surged through his mind—
Losing to Isagi in the first selection.
Losing to Shinichi in the second.
Failing against the true "world's number one" in the mentor match.
Losing again to Shinichi in the adaptive experiment.
Losing to Isagi and Germany in the first round of the Nee Hero Battle.
Now trailing by two to Shinichi's Ubers…
Damn it… when was the last time I actually won something?!
What is it with all you bastards whose names have a "One" in them?! Are you cursed?!
He shook the bitterness from his thoughts.
The final image that stayed…
Wasn't of defeat.
It was from a year ago.
In a stairwell.
When he first saw that guy—
The genius who stopped a falling phone with one flick of his foot.
The moment when he made a promise—
With Nagi Seishiro.
"That's right. At least for this pass, I don't need to copy anyone! This is something only Nagi and I can pull off—our peak x peak! Right here, all I need to do as Mikage Reo is give Nagi Seishiro the space to shine—and that's enough!"
"Nagi!"
Reo's voice rang out across the pitch—and as he swung his right leg toward the ball, he suddenly pulled back, draining away most of the power before finally releasing it.
Even Lorenzo hadn't expected this.
In such a tense, split-second situation, Reo didn't go for a fast ground pass or a sharp through ball—instead, he floated a slow, high-arching loft ball.
"Well, that's unexpected. With all that obsession and desperation… he hands off the moment of glory?" Lorenzo muttered, shrugging with a smirk. Reo glanced at him with a sly, triumphant grin.
"It's fine. As long as I can take credit for the result, I don't mind someone else doing the dirty work."
"After all… I'm the son of a capitalist!"
...
"Reo…"
Looking up at the ball—barely spinning, floating straight downward, handing over all agency and imagination to him—Nagi's eyes burned with an intensity he had never known.
Behind him, a ghostly skull-shaped aura began to rise.
He still didn't know what move to make.
But somehow—he could feel it.
This was it. He could awaken—right now.
"…So this is your final bet."
"!!"
That cold voice made every hair on Nagi's body stand on end.
A moment ago, Agi had said he was finally capable of thinking independently—that he no longer needed to hurl himself into a hopeless clash with Shinichi.
That he should be calculating even before the pass came, integrating his run into the play. He thought he'd managed to avoid the monster.
But…
"How could a chick who's never left the ground ever compare to a dragon soaring in the clouds?"
As if reading his every doubt, Shinichi spoke calmly. And in that instant, Nagi saw it:
Shinichi's form—rising, rising—until it was high above the clouds. Towering from a world Nagi couldn't even imagine. Looking down at him from beyond the sky.
"The world I see… it's on a completely different level from yours. Your so-called creativity? It's just clay from a preschool craft table, at best."
Damn it… I'm going to lose. What now? The plan's useless. Do I try something new? But what?!
He might stop me from even reaching the ball again like before… Should I focus on the reception first? Or…?
His mind went blank.
Nothing—no strategy, no move—nothing could beat him.
Just as the commentators called out:
[Number 7—Shinichi! Once again, it's him! The top of the New Hero Battle shuts down England's final chance to strike back with pure awareness alone!]
[England Manshine… is on the edge of defeat!]
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