Toono was suddenly shaken by Byoudouin's piercing gaze. He hadn't meant to mock him—he only wanted to provoke him, to stop Byoudouin from losing his fighting spirit.
But Toono clearly underestimated Byoudouin's willpower. That unwavering belief, no matter the situation, was Byoudouin's greatest trump card and the sole force that carried him this far.
Not far away, Oni sighed quietly when he saw the determination in Byoudouin's eyes. He could already foresee the outcome of this match. For someone as stubborn as Byoudouin, this might be a heavy blow.
"Before the World Cup, I want to face you seriously, Akashi!" On the other side of the bench, Tezuka suddenly spoke sternly from behind Akashi.
"I don't know what your reason is, but I'll agree," Akashi glanced at him calmly without pressing for details.
He could already guess. Tezuka was likely trying to awaken Radiance of Strong Heart. But even if he succeeded, merging the three Radiances wouldn't happen in a short time. Tezuka would need outside help.
In Tezuka's heart, Akashi had always been the opponent he wanted to defeat. But Akashi's strength was overwhelming, and in Seigaku's ranking matches, Tezuka failed again and again. Over time, he unconsciously pushed aside that goal.
It became his knot—not frustration at defeat, but the fact that he had never truly seen Akashi's full strength. The last set had hit him harder than he let on.
Of course, Tezuka wasn't alone. Atobe, Yukimura, and Sanada all carried the same desire to defeat Akashi. Even Akutsu felt the same.
"Akashi-kun! Just now, did you open two alternate dimensions at once?" After Tezuka spoke, Yukimura could no longer hold back and asked.
"Who said each person can only open one? An alternate dimension is just the embodiment of our will. Don't shackle yourselves with pointless limits. But Yukimura, you, and Tachibana too—focus first on pushing your current dimension to its peak. The rest can wait," Akashi answered calmly.
Hearing this, Yukimura nodded seriously. For a moment, he had wondered if he could awaken a second alternate dimension, but immediately dismissed the thought.
Tachibana didn't feel much from Akashi's words. He simply marveled at his strength. Tachibana hadn't even mastered all of Suanni's power yet, so the idea of a second dimension had never crossed his mind.
Even Akashi couldn't confirm if someone could truly awaken two. He himself was a special case, not a reference. So instead of giving extra advice, he urged them to refine what they already had.
He had long pushed Gilgamesh's power to its limits. That was why he thought of pursuing a second. Enkidu, however, was a complete accident, never part of his plans.
Rest time ended quickly. Akashi and Byoudouin stepped back onto the court. As Akashi prepared to serve from the baseline, Byoudouin unleashed Divine Path of the Asura with full force, making Akashi pause slightly.
Both Ten'i Muhō and the Shura Path couldn't last an entire match. The former needed overwhelming positive emotions, the latter deep negative ones. Few ever opened them from the start. Clearly, Byoudouin was going all in.
"Using everything from the very beginning? Unfortunately, your efforts mean nothing to me." Akashi looked at him coldly, tossed the ball, and served.
With the sharp crack of impact, the second set began. This time, Akashi held nothing back. The Emperor Eye was fully unleashed, reading every return Byoudouin attempted.
After only a few rallies, Byoudouin would inevitably reveal a flaw, and Akashi would strike ruthlessly to score. Yet even so, Byoudouin's fighting spirit in his eyes never wavered.
"GAME! Second String Selection! 1-0!"
"GAME! Second String Selection! 2-0!"
"GAME! Second String Selection! 3-0!"
"GAME! Second String Selection! 4-0!"
In the blink of an eye, four games were gone. Against Akashi's relentless attacks, Byoudouin had almost no counter. No matter what techniques he used, Akashi always stayed calm, dissolving them instantly and striking back decisively.
If Akashi had mastered Volk's Spiral Strangle, Byoudouin would already be trapped in memory resets and time loops. Even without it, he wasn't faring well. This feeling of being utterly crushed—he hadn't experienced it in a long time.
Though he hadn't fallen into a time loop, Byoudouin, under Akashi's crushing pressure, slipped into a revolving-lantern state, flashes of memories rushing through his mind—especially his match with Amadeus.
'So it's this feeling again? Akashi-kun's power has already reached this level. Maybe… maybe he really can lead the Japan Team to defeat Germany and claim the glory at the top of the world…' Byoudouin thought slowly.
"Don't joke with me!!! Even if my life burns out, I'll keep charging forward! Because I am Byoudouin Houou! Destruction!!!" Byoudouin suddenly roared, shaking off that thought.
With his shout, his aura surged to a new peak. Facing Akashi's return, Byoudouin's left hand burst with dazzling golden light as his right hand swung the racket hard.
The ball blazed with golden radiance, carrying the will to destroy all, rocketing toward Akashi. Byoudouin poured all his unshakable resolve into that shot, and its power exceeded every Glowing Shot—Destruction he had used before.
"Even now, you refuse to give up? If you want to end your own life, then I'll grant your wish! Mana Cannon!!!" Akashi's eyes flashed coldly, his voice ice.
Behind him, the overlapping forms of Gilgamesh and Enkidu appeared. Enkidu's countless chains wrapped tight, reshaping into the true form of the Chains of Heaven, placed in Gilgamesh's grasp.
Gilgamesh's body erupted with overwhelming magical power, shattering the clouds of the mental world and splitting the ground apart. A massive magic cannon rose slowly from the earth.
In reality, Akashi's racket shone brighter than ever before, golden lightning dancing around him. With a thunderous crack, the ball exploded into a colossal golden mana beam that blasted straight toward Byoudouin.
In the mental realm, Gilgamesh's cannon unleashed its strongest strike, while countless chains pierced the earth. Just as the beam neared Byoudouin, they surged upward, binding him completely in place.
A racket spun through the air and crashed outside the court. Byoudouin's body flew back, slamming into the already broken wall under the horrified stares of everyone watching.
"GAME! Second String Selection! 5-0!"
Byoudouin lay bleeding on the ground, his condition uncertain. The First String players all stood up in shock. Toono even moved to call the medics, but Duke stepped in front of them, shaking his head.
Just as Toono Akukyo was about to shout, Byoudouin slowly pushed himself up. Madness gleamed in his eyes. Ignoring his wounds, he picked up his racket and returned to the baseline.
"No way! He can still stand? Is he immortal?" Kirihara gaped in disbelief from the stands. He knew exactly how devastating Akashi's Glowing Shot could be.
No one answered him. All eyes were on Byoudouin, shaken by the madness in his gaze and the unyielding will for victory that burned within him.
As Byoudouin tossed the ball to serve, a new alternate dimension pirate appeared behind him. This time, its skeletal form burned with eerie green flames, like a ghost returned from hell.
"Third-Stage Alternate Dimension—Undying Pirate of Flame!"
Risen from the ashes, Byoudouin broke through the limit, reaching the third stage—the ultimate form of alternate dimensions, a height even Oni had yet to touch.
Under the Undying Pirate's command, a massive cannonball fired from its ship, exploding into a mushroom cloud in Akashi's court. In reality, the ball struck the baseline and skimmed past Akashi, bouncing out of bounds.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"No matter how many times I'm crushed, I'll rise again from despair! This is the path of tennis I've staked my life upon!" Byoudouin Houou declared, blood at his lips, but his eyes blazing with the endless desire for victory.