Aka drew back his leg.
The stadium stood.
Every single person watching knew what came next.
Goal.
It felt inevitable.
Like gravity.
Like fate.
Like the entire match had been building toward this exact moment.
Tsubasa charged off his line.
Daichi lunged.
Ren threw himself into the lane.
Too late.
Aka's foot connected.
The shot exploded forward.
The crowd gasped.
Then—
something changed.
The ball wasn't heading toward goal.
It was heading sideways.
A pass.
A pass nobody expected.
Theo Armand appeared completely unmarked on the far side.
"SHIT!" Hiroto shouted.
Theo struck first time.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
BOOM.
The net exploded backward.
GOAL.
1–0.
The stadium erupted.
Nocturne players raised their arms.
The crowd roared.
The announcer's voice echoed throughout the arena.
Southside froze.
Not because they had conceded.
Because they had been tricked.
Again.
Theo jogged toward Aka.
"You could've scored yourself."
Aka shrugged.
"You were open."
That was it.
No celebration.
No excitement.
Just another correct decision.
Somehow that made it worse.
The referee checked his watch.
Then blew the whistle.
Halftime.
Southside 0.
Nocturne Eleven 1.
The walk toward the locker room felt longer than usual.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody argued.
Nobody complained.
The scoreboard said 1–0.
It felt much bigger than that.
Inside the locker room, the silence continued.
Yuma kicked a water bottle across the room.
"WE HAD THEM!"
"No we didn't," Hiroto replied immediately.
The room went quiet again.
Because everyone knew he was right.
They never had them.
Not once.
Takumi sat against the wall.
"They're playing with us."
"No."
Everyone looked toward Pambara.
His voice was quiet.
"They're adapting."
Nobody understood.
Pambara swallowed.
"They spent thirty minutes figuring us out."
The room became silent again.
Because that was exactly what had happened.
Réservoir figured out Pambara.
Aka figured out Pambara.
Then Nocturne adjusted.
And the goal came shortly afterward.
Yuma slammed his hand against a bench.
"Then what do we do?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Because nobody knew.
Finally—
Yusuke stood.
His eyes stayed on the floor.
Then slowly rose.
"They aren't unbeatable."
The room looked toward him.
Yusuke clenched his fists.
"I've been watching Aka."
A pause.
"He's still human."
The words sounded ridiculous.
But everyone listened.
"Every time he gets serious..."
Yusuke looked up.
"He stops smiling."
Silence.
"...What?"
Yuma blinked.
Yusuke nodded.
"When he's playing around, he smiles."
"When he's experimenting, he smiles."
"When he's toying with people..."
Another pause.
"He smiles."
The room stayed quiet.
"But when he actually decides to win..."
Yusuke's jaw tightened.
"The smile disappears."
Nobody had noticed.
Nobody except him.
Because Yusuke had spent the entire first half watching one person.
Aka.
And now he was beginning to understand something.
Not enough.
Not yet.
But something.
The locker room door suddenly opened.
Coach Daniel D stepped inside.
He looked around the room.
At the tired faces.
The frustration.
The fear.
Then he nodded.
"Good."
Everyone stared.
Yuma looked offended.
"We just conceded."
"I know."
"Then why's that good?"
Coach Daniel folded his arms.
"Because for the first time all tournament..."
His eyes moved across the room.
"You finally look desperate."
Nobody answered.
The coach smiled slightly.
"Now maybe you'll start fighting."
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
The halftime break continued.
Outside the locker room, Nocturne sat calmly.
Relaxed.
Comfortable.
They looked like a team expecting victory.
Meanwhile Southside sat inside their room.
Tired.
Frustrated.
Hungry.
The referee's whistle echoed faintly outside.
Halftime was ending.
The second half was about to begin.
And for the first time all match—
Southside looked angry.
Not confident.
Not optimistic.
Angry.
The kind of anger that could either save them...
Or completely destroy them.