The Shadow of the Beast
"Maintain our rhythm. Don't rush; we haven't fully seized the advantage yet. For the remainder of this set, we still need to—"
Ukai Keishin was in the middle of rallying his team when he suddenly noticed the strange look in Oda Miki's eyes. "Oda, what's wrong?"
Oda Miki snapped her gaze back from the Seijoh side and shook her head. "No... it's nothing. Maybe I just imagined it."
Ukai didn't press further and turned back to continue his instructions.
However, in the very next heartbeat, every player on the Karasuno side felt a staggering wave of pressure. It was an instinctive chill, the kind felt when a bloodthirsty predator fixes its gaze on its prey. Everyone whipped their heads around toward the Aoba Johsai bench.
There they saw him.
Akashi Asuka. He stood there, expressionless, yet a visible "black aura" seemed to bleed from his silhouette, heavy and suffocating.
The King of the Air
BEEP!
The referee's whistle signaled the players back onto the court.
Karasuno served from the back row. After Watari Shinji received the ball, Oikawa Tōru did something unexpected: he tossed an incredibly simple, high open set. There was no deception, no trickery; the trajectory of the ball fully exposed the point of attack.
The Karasuno players hesitated for a split second, but the front-row trio—Hinata Shōyō, Azumane Asahi, and Sawamura Daichi—quickly converged at the net to form a wall.
In the next moment, a massive silhouette loomed over them.
From the Seijoh backcourt, Akashi Asuka took flight like an eagle spreading its wings. His frame seemed to grow, blotting out the gym lights and casting a deep, inescapable shadow over the three blockers.
"Get ready... JUMP!"
Hinata, Asahi, and Daichi leaped simultaneously. They timed their jump perfectly for the moment Akashi peaked, aiming to meet the ball at its highest point relative to his swing.
In any normal match, their timing would have been flawless.
But reality defied them. When the Karasuno trio jumped, Akashi was in the air. When they reached their maximum height, Akashi was still in the air. And as they finally began their inevitable descent, Akashi was still there.
From Hinata's perspective, Akashi's soaring figure seemed to have simply stopped time, suspended motionless in the sky.
Only after the three blockers began to fall did Akashi finally swing his arm.
BAM!
The volleyball, packed with the force of a cannonball, tore through the space above the falling blockers and slammed into the hardwood with unrivaled violence.
BEEP!
Point, Seijoh.
11:10.
A heavy silence fell over the Karasuno court. They turned to look at the ball, which had bounced God-knows-how-far away, and then at Akashi Asuka, who had already turned his back to them.
"..."
"That... that was incredible!"
"Whoa! Did you see that? A back-row attack that blew right through a triple block... is that even possible?"
"Hey! Looked like Seijoh's Number 8 was literally floating in the air!"
After a moment of stunned silence, the second-floor spectators erupted into a roar of excitement. That spike was beyond belief—a feat rarely seen even in professional circuits.
Absolute Power
"That guy... has he been holding back this whole time? Are you kidding me?"
The expressions on the Karasuno side were grim. It wasn't just the pressure of losing the point; it was the realization that Akashi Asuka's "disdainful" ease was genuinely earned.
"No, it's not that. Seijoh just shifted their entire strategy," Kageyama Tobio noted after a moment of intense focus. "Before, they were playing around Oikawa-senpai's playmaking. But now... Akashi Asuka is the core."
Basing a team around Akashi versus Oikawa created two entirely different versions of Aoba Johsai.
BEEP!
The referee's whistle blew again, urging the match forward.
Seijoh regained the serve, and Akashi rotated back to the front row. Karasuno managed to claw back a point through the lightning-fast coordination of the "Freak Duo," Kageyama and Hinata.
11:11. Tie game.
Next play. Karasuno served, and Seijoh took the offensive. Oikawa received the pass and, without a trace of hesitation, fired the ball straight to Akashi Asuka.
This time, the wall in front of Akashi consisted of Sawamura Daichi and Tsukishima Kei. Tsukishima's height was enough to contest Akashi's highest contact point; with his long arms extended, he looked like a solid fortress.
Yet, facing this wall, Akashi's gaze didn't even flicker. He swung his arm with total conviction.
BAM!
The volleyball, carrying a terrifying amount of momentum, smashed directly through Tsukishima's defense. The double block, which should have been formidable, felt as fragile as paper against Akashi's raw power.
12:11.
"Dammit..."
Kageyama clenched his fists. This scene triggered a bitter memory from middle school—a time when no matter what clever tactics they devised, they were rendered utterly useless against an opponent's "unreasonable" strength.
"Does it frustrate you? This 'Absolute Power'?"
Oikawa Tōru's voice drifted over from across the net. "To be honest, I hate this style of play too. It feels like it's mocking the hard work of us 'normal' people."
Kageyama blinked in surprise. Oikawa continued, his eyes sharp: "But since he's my teammate now, it's my duty as a setter to bring out 100\% of his strength. So..."
Oikawa stared directly at Kageyama. "Brace yourself, Little Tobio. I'm not holding anything back."
"I don't need you to," Kageyama shot back. "Because I'm going to win this game."
I've Seen Enough
Seijoh served again. Tanaka received the ball in the back row and sent it to Kageyama. Without warning, Kageyama fired a back-row set.
In the direction of the ball, a small figure had already taken flight. The "Freak Quick" from the back row—a move most wouldn't even dream of.
The Seijoh players were caught off guard. A back-row Freak Quick?!
BAM!
The ball screeched through the air toward the Seijoh side. Matsukawa Issei scrambled to reach it, but another figure was faster. Just as the ball was about to clear the net—
SLAP!
A single hand met the ball mid-air, swatting it back into the Karasuno court like a fly.
Akashi Asuka landed coldly. He spared a brief, disinterested glance at the "Sun and Shadow" duo across the net.
"Sorry," he said flatly. "But I've already seen enough of that trick."