Several players from Aoba Johsai's front row instinctively covered the backs of their heads, then neatly stepped aside to clear the center of the court.
Their actions were so swift and synchronized that even the players from Itachiyama couldn't help showing astonished expressions.
Why are they so practiced at this...?
The players from Aoba Johsai glanced at them silently, offering no explanation. But the next second, the Itachiyama players understood.
BOOM!!!
That familiar thunderclap echoed across the court.
To be honest, by now Itachiyama should have already grown accustomed to this strange, thunderous sound from Akashi Asuka's spikes and serves. But the reality was different. Since summer training, every time they heard that explosive crack, their hearts still involuntarily skipped a beat.
Whoosh~~
The volleyball soared through the air like a giant bird, blazing fast, its flight path erratic and unpredictable.
Huh?
Unpredictable?
Suddenly, Itachiyama's libero's pupils dilated as he watched the ball swerve mid-air, nearly smashing into the back of one of his teammates' heads.
"Watch out! It's a banana serve!" shouted Motoya Komori.
His warning came just in time, but even so, sometimes the speed of sound just couldn't catch up with the speed of a volleyball.
THUD!
Without any suspense, the [banana jump serve] curved around Komori's defensive zone and landed squarely on Itachiyama's side, scoring another clean point.
9:6.
"OH!!!"
"Nice one, Akashi!"
The Itachiyama players stood stunned while the Aoba Johsai team erupted into cheers, swarming Akashi Asuka with celebratory yells.
Everyone except for Oikawa Tooru, who had narrowly dodged death by volleyball.
"Oi~~ Akashi, are you trying to kill me!?" Oikawa cried, wiping sweat from his forehead. That ball had skimmed past him so closely he could practically hear an ambulance siren.
"Sorry, Oikawa-senpai. I'll aim more precisely next time," Akashi replied promptly.
Oikawa didn't actually sound angry. Everyone on the team knew Akashi's serves had no fixed landing point. Otherwise, they wouldn't have developed such perfect coordination with their "cover-the-back-of-your-head" maneuver.
But wait...
If Akashi never aimed, then what did he mean by "aim more precisely"?
Oikawa suddenly froze, as if he'd stumbled upon something terrifying. Just as he was about to demand answers, the referee blew the whistle.
Itachiyama had called their first timeout of the match.
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"What now?"
In Itachiyama's bench area, Captain Tsukasa Iizuna drank some water, then turned to ask Sakusa Kiyoomi and Motoya Komori.
You couldn't blame him.
As the team's captain and setter, Tsukasa was supposed to be the strategist, the one who made the big calls. But this opponent... was unlike anything they'd ever faced.
Just as they had predicted before the match, today's game wasn't one where strategy would matter much. Simply put, this was a showdown of superstars.
Let's be honest,
If they couldn't shut down Akashi Asuka, then today's match was already as good as lost.
"How about... a stamina battle?" someone suggested.
"Most of Aoba Johsai's offense and defense is centered around Akashi Asuka, while we have two national-level aces..."
The moment the words were out, Sakusa and Komori gave the guy a strange look.
Are you a spy from the other team?
A stamina battle? Against Akashi?
They couldn't believe someone would even think of that, especially after what they saw during summer training.
Back then, when Itachiyama first arrived at the Miyagi beach for joint practice...
Everyone trained like madmen, desperately trying to win games just to avoid the 500-meter cross-country penalty runs.
And Akashi?
That inhuman freak not only ran when he lost, but even when he won. He'd follow the losing team and voluntarily run extra, sometimes 1,000 meters to start with.
Is that even human!?
As Itachiyama's top players, Sakusa, Komori, and the rest, watched their own workloads get overtaken by this maniac, they had no choice but to level up too.
Eventually, every training session ended with the top players from Itachiyama, Aoba Johsai, and Shiratorizawa running extra laps under the setting sun.
Akashi Asuka had singlehandedly turned four entire teams into a spiral of competitive overtraining.
Even now, Sakusa and Komori get the chills just thinking about those days.
Extra practice wasn't the problem, it was that no matter how exhausted they were the next day, Akashi still trained as if nothing happened. He'd push through team practice, then tack on his extra reps again... like some infinite loop.
Ever since that summer...
The idea of a stamina battle was silently erased from every team's game plan when facing Aoba Johsai.
"That was... a nightmare," Komori muttered, visibly shaken by the memory.
"Captain, Sakusa, let me handle Akashi's spikes," Komori said. "Give me three tries, I'll find his rhythm."
"Are you sure about this?" Sakusa actually showed rare concern.
"Hahaha... That's rare, hearing you say that!" Komori grinned. "But don't worry. Aoba Johsai's improved a lot since summer, but it's not like we've been slacking either."
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BEEP~~~
The referee's whistle sounded again. Both teams returned to the court.
The moment they stepped back onto the court, Oikawa immediately noticed something: "Huh? They've already regrouped mentally? That's Itachiyama for you!"
Before the timeout, Itachiyama's morale had looked solid, but being repeatedly suppressed by Aoba Johsai had clearly rattled their pride.
Yet just 60 seconds later, they looked composed and focused again.
"Well, it doesn't matter much," Oikawa muttered. "Because this monster of ours, he's beyond the reach of a simple timeout. Honestly, this break might've even made him stronger."
Oikawa's muttering wasn't heard by Itachiyama's players.
Not that it mattered.
Because the moment Akashi Asuka stepped back into the serving zone, every single Itachiyama player's face changed.
What the... his aura...?
Their coach had studied Akashi's playstyle thoroughly. Footage from past matches showed that a well-timed timeout could break his rhythm with about a 60% success rate.
That's why they waited until his second serve before calling one.
But now, not only had his momentum not cooled, it felt stronger.
Why?
They didn't have time to ponder. Akashi had already tossed the ball.
As the ball ascended in a perfect arc, every Itachiyama player instantly tensed.
This serve is going to land.
No warning, no signal, but everyone shared the same thought.
BOOM!!!
The moment Akashi's palm struck the ball, it looked like the back half caved in. For a split second, the ball didn't even move, then a shockwave burst outward, followed by a beam of force screaming toward Itachiyama's court.
"The hell!? Is he trying to kill someone!?"
Komori's face went pale as he stared down the incoming ball.
As Japan's top libero, Komori wasn't afraid of speed or strength, but this serve… chilled him to the bone.
Volleyballs can carry intent.
Komori had received serves infused with willpower before, things like "victory" or "score."
But Akashi's serve?
It carried destruction and obliteration.
Not intention. Not will.
Just pure, bestial desire.
"Is this guy even human? Is he here to play or to hunt!?"
Komori braced himself. The instant his fingers touched the ball, an unimaginable force surged through him.
Even maintaining balance was a struggle, forget cleanly receiving the ball.
With no choice, Komori sat down hard, trying to absorb the impact.
Slap!
Thud!
Two sounds, first, the ball popped upward (but veered back into Aoba Johsai's court), then Komori crashed onto the floor.
"Watch the net! Heads up!"
Komori tried to warn his teammates, but he didn't even get to finish.
A shadow soared high above the net like an eagle, Akashi Asuka, mid-air, slammed the ball back onto Itachiyama's side before anyone could react.
THUD!
Point scored.
10:6.
Landing with a cold expression, Akashi looked less like a volleyball player and more like an assassin.
[OHHHHHHH!!!!!!]
[Another KO! Akashi Asuka drops yet another opponent, at this point, I'd believe you if you said this was a boxing match, not volleyball!]
Even the announcer had dropped all pretense of calling a normal game. At this point, he was commentating like it was a combat sport.
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"You okay?" Sakusa pulled Komori up.
"Looks like we were wrong again," he said. "Timeouts don't work on that guy anymore."
Komori shook his head. "Not that they don't work, after a break, that monster gets even hotter. My guess? Someone's taught him a new trick."
Maintaining momentum after a break has always been a major challenge for players, even professionals.
There was no universal trick. Only players who discovered and trained their own methods could do it.
Akashi had started working on his during the last school term, but he only perfected it recently, during a practice match with the pro team Tokai Heavy Industries.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria