Akashi didn't care whether Zeus could understand his words or not. He immediately tossed the ball again and delivered another ultra-high-speed serve straight toward the opposite court. Zeus tried to dash toward the drop point to intercept, but the more he struggled, the tighter the chains bound his limbs within his spiritual world.
Even so, with sheer willpower, Zeus managed to reach Akashi's serve. Unfortunately, he failed to swing his racket in time, and the ball bounced weakly forward, hit the net, and rolled to the ground.
"ACE! 30-0!"
Looking at the slightly disheveled Zeus across the court, Akashi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. In truth, his Chains of Heaven, though a technique born from his Alternate Dimension, had never been capable of restraining an opponent this tightly. After all, it was supposed to be a mental illusion created from spiritual energy.
However, after Akashi had further developed his Zone ability, he was once again shocked by what the system could accomplish. Although the system hadn't actively helped him refine this state, the Zone itself was still a skill granted as a system reward.
In the kuroko world of the basketball court, Kagami once opened the second gate of the Zone. That breakthrough drastically expanded his field of vision and boosted his explosive power even further. Combined with Kuroko and the rest of his teammates' perfect coordination, Kagami gained the power to temporarily suppress the Emperor Eye.
That meant the second-stage Zone was designed for teamwork. But when Akashi first entered the second stage, he was stunned to find that his version of Zone granted him something completely different.
Perhaps it was because his Alternate Dimension—King of Heroes: Gilgamesh—was also system-given. Once he entered the second-stage Zone, the Gate of Babylon, which had previously only existed as a spiritual illusion, underwent an unexpected change. Akashi could now manifest a faint trace of its true power.
For example, the Chains of Heaven. Normally, they were just a mental projection that made his opponent feel restricted. But with the second-stage Zone active, they could truly target opponents who possessed divinity. That was why Zeus's Rainbow Light had been suppressed.
Of course, this was still the Prince of Tennis world—it wasn't possible to summon genuine divine artifacts. Akashi could only harness a fragment of their power. Yet even that was astonishing. It made Akashi realize something profound: while his system now functioned mostly as an analytical tool, the skills it had rewarded him in the past might still conceal hidden potential waiting to be unlocked.
On the court, Zeus struggled to adapt to his current state, his mind racing to find a countermeasure. Fortunately, he managed to return Akashi's third serve, and the chains binding his body seemed to loosen slightly.
But that alone wasn't enough. After just two exchanges, Zeus's movement faltered, and a slight gap appeared. Akashi's Emperor Eye immediately caught it, and with a precise cross-court shot toward the corner, he scored another point.
"40-0!"
"GAME! Japan! 3-3!"
In the next game, Zeus still couldn't find a solution. Under the double suppression of Mental Pressure and the Chains of Heaven, his five attributes had already fallen to an ordinary world-class level. Even his timing, swing rhythm, and footwork began to falter.
The seventh game was Zeus's service game. It was only then that he realized—he could no longer sense or predict the weather's flow, let alone control it. That realization shocked him deeply. He was now certain that Akashi, like himself, possessed some kind of extraordinary power.
The dark clouds that had filled the sky gradually dispersed. Sunlight poured once more over the court, and the audience's tension eased slightly. But no one dared relax completely—their focus was entirely fixed on this match that defied imagination.
At that moment, a silver-white light burst from Zeus's body at the baseline, soon followed by a layer of amber radiance. The two colors intertwined and merged, and a dazzling golden brilliance slowly rose around him.
"I think I finally understand your ability, Akashi Seijurō. But it's a shame—Silver Light and Amber Light are fundamentally different from Rainbow Light. Your ability won't work on these forms," Zeus said, his eyes locking on Akashi with a knowing gaze.
"Even so, it won't change the fact that you're about to lose," Akashi replied evenly, his tone calm and cold.
"Maybe. But until the very end, who can say for sure?" Zeus smiled faintly, tossing up the ball. A thunderous crack split the air as his racket met the ball. The serve transformed into a blinding streak of lightning, tearing through the sky toward Akashi's half of the court.
"Thunder Serve!"
Akashi appeared instantly at the drop point. When the streak of lightning struck the ground, he swung his racket in a flash. Tiny sparks scattered from the strings as the ball connected. Without the Rainbow Light or the weather's blessing, Zeus's Thunder Serve had lost nearly forty percent of its original power.
Akashi easily neutralized the impact, and the shadow of Enkidu behind him raised its hands. As Akashi returned the ball, countless chains followed its trajectory, shooting straight toward Zeus's side of the court.
With the dual light of silver and amber reinforcing him, Zeus managed to momentarily resist the crushing Mental Pressure. His sixth sense once again allowed him to foresee the incoming ball's path. He slid sharply to his left and intercepted the ball just as it bounced.
In his spiritual world, Zeus narrowly dodged the entangling Chains of Heaven. But the ones already coiled around his limbs remained unbroken. The ball sped across the court, striking near Akashi's back-left corner.
Akashi took a quick step back, chased it down, and swung while subtly making a few misleading motions. The ball cut across the air and flew toward the open space on Zeus's left side.
Just as Zeus reached the drop point and swung his racket, the ball vanished right before his eyes. A second later, he heard the faint sound of the ball landing on his right. For a brief moment, he stood frozen in disbelief.
"0-15!"
"The sixth sense, huh? When the future looks too easy to grasp, you tend to make the wrong choice," Akashi said coldly as he lowered his racket, expressionless.
"To think I got countered like that~" Zeus muttered with a wry smile, finally regaining his focus.
For the next serve, Zeus once again unleashed his Thunder Serve. But with its power so diminished, it was useless against Akashi. They exchanged rapid rallies, but Zeus soon lost the point after another misjudgment, forced to watch the ball flash past his opposite side.
"0-30!"
In the following two points, Zeus's foresight kept failing him. Yet every time, he couldn't stop himself from moving according to the visions he saw. His sixth sense had become so ingrained in his instincts that he simply couldn't disobey it.
"GAME! Japan! 4-3!"
This flaw had appeared before—back when Zeus failed to predict Tanegashima's shots, his play had fallen into confusion. Even though he had held back at the time, it still revealed how overly dependent he was on his sixth sense.
Now, faced with Akashi's perfect fusion of future and reality, Zeus was trapped. Unless he could completely abandon his sixth sense, he would keep making wrong choices over and over. But clearly, that habit wasn't something he could break anytime soon.
As the eighth game began, Akashi fully took control of the match. Even with two radiant lights empowering Zeus, it didn't matter. Akashi maintained his second-stage Zone, which not only allowed him to suppress Zeus's divinity through the Chains of Heaven but also gave a significant boost to his five attributes.
On the sidelines, the Greek team watched their captain struggle to hold on. Each of them wore a heavy, pained expression. This was the first time they had ever seen Zeus like this—the man once praised as all-knowing and all-powerful, now defeated by the very ability that made him legendary.
"GAME! Japan! 5-3!"
Akashi swiftly claimed the eighth game. Across the court, Zeus let the golden glow around him fade away. He knew there was no point in continuing—this match was already over. With his loss, Greece's hope of advancing in the group stage had vanished as well.
"To fight you with all my strength was truly a joy, Akashi Seijurō. I hope you keep that same fire and go even further. Maybe we'll meet again in the finals," Zeus said softly, smiling with genuine calm.
After that, Zeus no longer resisted. Akashi didn't need to exert much effort to finish the match. Watching him concede so gracefully, Akashi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If it were anyone from our Japan team, they'd probably fight until the last second.
"GAME! 6-3! Match over! Winner—Japan Team!"