DONG!
Watari barely managed to touch the ultra-high-speed serve with his arm, but the receiving angle was poor, and the volleyball flew directly back to the White Team's side.
Oikawa organized a quick attack, bypassing Akashi, and with Kindaichi and Mishita Ryuhei both low on stamina, they ultimately couldn't catch up to Iwaizumi's spike.
The score reached 21:22.
With the Red Team facing a major stamina crisis near the end of the second set, the score was reversed. This situation was clearly the worst possible outcome for the Red Team.
Crucially, the serving right was still in Oikawa's hands.
The sound of that ominous, haunting background music seemed to ring in Akashi's mind again.
At the same time, Oikawa's third serve arrived.
This serve targeted Kunimi. Facing such a serve, Kunimi was completely unable to react.
Although Kunimi is an 'Energy Saver,' Akashi had clearly stated that this match must be decided in the second set, so Kunimi had been pushing himself since the start of the second set. By now, his stamina was also starting to bottom out.
Moreover, even if he had conserved energy, Kunimi might not have been able to receive Oikawa's ultra-high-speed serve.
DONG!
Kunimi barely managed to touch the serve with his arm.
But he neither found a good receiving angle nor successfully absorbed the force. Unsurprisingly, the volleyball flew directly out of bounds.
21:23.
In the blink of an eye, the Red Team's advantage was erased by three serves.
This feeling was very familiar to Mishita Ryuhei, only before, they were the ones serving.
"Whew~"
Sensing the shift in momentum, Akashi in the front court slowly exhaled. His previously strong aura subtly receded, making him look like his morale had dropped after being defeated.
Only Mishita Ryuhei, standing nearby, keenly sensed something burgeoning within Akashi, ready to burst out.
"It's happening again?"
Mishita Ryuhei's heart stirred.
Just then, Oikawa's fourth serve arrived. The speed was still blistering, and the landing spot was still aimed at Kunimi's direction. But this time, before Kunimi could react, Watari, his eyes blazing, dashed out from the side.
"I've been waiting for you."
At the crucial moment, Watari once again played above his normal level, successfully predicting the landing spot of Oikawa's serve.
DONG!
The volleyball was steadily received into the sky.
The ball's height was significant, giving the Red Team ample time to organize and the White Team ample time to prepare their defense.
"Get ready, eyes on the ball. They won't use a quick attack now, as long as..."
BAM!
Before Iwaizumi could finish his sentence, a figure suddenly leaped up, swinging his arm to spike the ball that Watari had just passed with the first touch.
The volleyball flew out like a cannonball, raising a gust of wind as it grazed the top of Matsukawa's head across the net, and before anyone could react, it slammed directly onto the floor.
22:23.
PATA!
Akashi landed, his entire body radiating an extremely controlled aura. His gaze was calm, and he walked straight to the backcourt position one without even looking at the opponent.
Seeing this, Mishita Ryuhei immediately covered the back of his neck and quickly backed away, knowing what was coming.
At this point, Kindaichi and Kunimi hadn't even finished their position rotation.
Then, less than two seconds after the referee's whistle sounded, an explosive sound suddenly erupted from the back. The sudden noise startled a slightly drowsy Kunimi. Before he could figure out what was happening, the volleyball had already smashed onto the White Team's floor.
DONG!
Everyone's breathing momentarily stopped.
Oikawa, who had yet to emerge from the zone of his three consecutive aces, also had his pupils constrict. He looked back at the ball's landing spot and grinned: "What a terrifying first-year. Doesn't he ever get discouraged?"
"Discouraged? Of course he does. And the setback he's experiencing right now is significant!" Perhaps he overheard Oikawa's murmur, Mishita Ryuhei thought secretly: "It's just that my 'monster' here expresses his reaction to setbacks a little differently from others."
It was quite peculiar.
Mishita Ryuhei only discovered this reaction of Akashi during the middle school National Qualifiers: when overwhelmed by the opponent's momentum, he would react this way.
When ordinary people's morale drops, they often become listless.
But Akashi is different. When he is defeated by the enemy's attack, his first reaction is not depression; rather, it is to immediately retaliate.
Yes, retaliation.
This emotion is almost childish.
However, Akashi's method of coping is not childish at all; instead, it is like a seasoned adult's.
When the enemy's aura is too strong, Akashi's first response is to retaliate with an even stronger aura.
So, after Oikawa unleashed four consecutive powerful serves, Akashi had only one thought in his mind: he must hit a stronger, faster, and more vicious serve.
BAM!
Akashi leaped high behind the baseline. His entire muscular body tensed like a taut bow, and then he fiercely swung his arm to strike the ball.
Accompanied by an explosion, the speed of this serve was a small notch faster than before.
The volleyball flew straight toward Yahaba. Facing this ball, Yahaba looked utterly terrified, only managing a faint reaction when the ball was right in front of him.
But by then, the volleyball had already smashed onto the floor.
DONG!
24:23.
Match point for the Red Team.
Since there were no timeouts in the Initiation Match, Akashi, capitalizing on his hot streak, naturally launched his third serve.
The third serve had a slight variance, less powerful than the second one, but still strong and fast. This ball headed toward Oikawa's position. Although he managed to receive it, the volleyball bounced over ten meters high.
"Yahaba!"
Oikawa shouted.
He had just executed the first pass, so Oikawa could not organize the attack as the setter. However, the Red Team didn't assign just one setter.
Yahaba signaled a cooperative attack. Front-row players Hanamaki and Matsukawa quickly moved, but this was merely a decoy for Iwaizumi, the Ace Spiker.
The volleyball reached Iwaizumi's head. Kindaichi and Kunimi in the Red Team's front court arrived just in time, forming a double block.
But the lack of stamina ultimately led to a flaw in the block.
"You're still not good enough, first-year brats!"
BAM!
With an angry shout, Iwaizumi swung his arm to strike the ball. The volleyball easily shot through the double block of Kindaichi and Kunimi like a meteor. However, in the next instant, the sound of the ball hitting the floor did not ring out.
Kindaichi and Kunimi returned to the ground, but behind them, a volleyball slowly ascended into the sky...
Without the volleyball obstructing the view, the figure receiving the ball in the backcourt was revealed.
It was Akashi.
"Mishita, set the ball to me."
Akashi's voice was not loud, but it contained an unmistakable tone of command. Mishita Ryuhei received the ball and, without any hesitation, executed a Back-Set high into the backcourt.
"Block him!"
White Team's front-row players—Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki—quickly formed a triple block. Facing the three-person wall, Akashi took a few steps, leaping high from the backcourt like an eagle spreading its wings...
BAM!
The sound of the spike resonated. The volleyball flew out like a cannonball, evading the triple block, tracing a perfectly executed super deep cross-court trajectory across the entire court, and finally smashing viciously onto the outer corner of the White Team's backcourt.