The one-minute timeout ended quickly.
Hazaki Shogo and Nash returned to the court with their teammates. On the other side, Serbian Eagles made a substitution—No.12 Vale was replaced by No.10 Loren.
Facing the new opponent, Nash cautiously assigned Nick to mark him, just in case the rookie turned out to be another hidden threat.
The game resumed.
The moment the play restarted, Shogo's eyes flashed with electricity again.
He had re-entered the Zone.
The atmosphere on the court tightened instantly. Even the Serbian Eagles players became noticeably more cautious.
For a brief moment, the match turned into a pure man-to-man chessboard.
Hazaki Shogo, in Zone and "Animal Instinct" state, faced Levic—who was also in Zone and a state of "Blood Instinct."
Nash, activating his "Belial Eye" and "Black and White Realm," locked down Velia's "Illusory Eye."
Jason Silver, with his "Exceptionally Strong Body" battled the towering Jack and his "No Fly Zone."
Nick guarded Loren.
Zack covered David Russ.
For a brief moment, the court fell into a strange, tense equilibrium.
But Nash shattered it in an instant.
Under Velia's shocked gaze, Nash predicted the pass and intercepted the ball cleanly.
At the same time—
Shogo was already sprinting toward the Serbian half-court with Levic trailing him.
Nash fired a long pass forward.
Shogo caught it and exploded off the ground from the free-throw line.
Levic leapt right after him, reaching to block—
BOOM!
SWISH!
A whistle followed immediately.
Two points counted—and a free throw awarded.
Levic landed, staring at Shogo in disbelief.
What… just happened?
For a split second, he had the illusion he was defending his teammate Velia.
He had "seen" something unreal—and committed a foul while reacting to it.
But it wasn't an illusion.
Shogo had simply replicated Velia's lightning-fast hand technique at the moment of release, creating afterimages so fast that Levic's perception was tricked into hesitation.
Speed alone can become a weapon of deception.
Velia and Levic both stared at Shogo, unsettled.
One doubted his own vision.
The other suspected Shogo possessed an "Illusory Eye."
Only Shogo knew the truth—he could imitate speed, but not the natural hypnotic effect of Velia's golden eyes.
The gap was real.
Still, the scoreboard changed again.
Jabberwock extended the lead to nine.
The team's momentum surged as they fell back into defense.
But Serbia answered quickly.
Jack received the ball inside and powered through the paint, finishing with a brutal dunk that cut the lead back down.
The battle refused to slow.
Nash inbounded the ball, calmly advancing it before passing to Shogo again.
This time, Levic stood in front of him—fully locked into Zone, eyes burning with intensity.
But Shogo didn't hesitate.
No matter how focused you are… you can't stop me.
In a single explosive motion, he broke through.
He didn't attack the rim.
Not inside Jack's No Fly Zone.
Instead, he baited Jack into jumping.
Then—
He passed out.
Nash arrived at the perfect angle and completed a powerful one-handed windmill dunk.
BOOM!
The lead stretched back to nine.
With only twenty seconds left in the second quarter, Serbia rushed again.
Velia pushed the ball forward, preparing a pass inside—
But Shogo appeared behind him in an instant and stripped the ball cleanly.
Nash immediately read the entire court, positioning himself to block any recovery angle.
Shogo rose slightly, then pushed the ball upward from his waist.
A strange arc left his hands.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ball bounced on the rim several times—
Then dropped in.
A three-pointer at the buzzer.
BEEP—
The half ended.
Halftime Score: 54–42
Jabberwock led by twelve points.
========
Back in the locker room, Shogo took a few sips of water, wiping sweat from his face.
This match was unlike anything he had experienced in this world.
Faster. Heavier. More violent.
Both teams had already nearly "broken" key players in just one half.
Levic's brutal Zone-powered dunk.
Shogo's aerial counter dunk.
This was no ordinary game—it was a battlefield.
What stood out most was Serbia's depth.
Not just Velia and Levic—but also Loren and David Russ, who had yet to reveal their true capabilities.
Hidden pieces are always the most dangerous…
That was exactly why Nash insisted on building a double-digit lead.
A cushion.
A buffer against the unknown.
Even if something unexpected happened in the second half, they would still have room to respond.
As captain, Nash had already projected the match several moves ahead—into the third and fourth quarters.
No one in Jabberwock objected.
Not Shogo.
Not Jason Silver.
Not anyone.
They all understood the same thing:
In a game like this, survival is built on preparation—not hope.
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