Réservoir placed the ball carefully on the corner arc.
The crowd roared around him.
Players shoved for position inside the box.
Everyone was watching the ball.
That was the mistake.
Réservoir wasn't.
His eyes stayed on the defenders.
Studying.
Calculating.
Waiting.
Then the whistle came.
He moved.
The cross flew into the box.
High.
Dangerous.
Perfect.
Bodies exploded upward.
Daichi jumped.
Marc jumped.
Ren jumped.
Everyone jumped.
Nobody touched it.
The ball sailed over the crowd.
Straight through.
Theo collected on the far side.
Unmarked.
"SHIT!" Hiroto shouted.
Theo didn't panic.
Didn't force a shot.
He cut it backward.
Aka was waiting.
The crowd rose instantly.
Not again.
Aka received.
One touch.
Yusuke arrived immediately.
No hesitation.
No fear.
The two collided.
Aka tried cutting inside.
Yusuke followed.
Aka accelerated.
Yusuke accelerated too.
For the first time all match—
Aka couldn't create separation.
The smile disappeared.
Again.
The crowd noticed.
Aka noticed them noticing.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then—
he passed.
The ball rolled backward.
Réservoir.
Of course.
The midfielder received outside the box.
Calm as ever.
Nobody closed him.
Because everyone expected the pass to go somewhere else.
That hesitation lasted half a second.
Too long.
Réservoir struck.
The shot exploded through traffic.
Players reacted late.
The ball skipped across the grass.
Tsubasa saw it.
Barely.
He launched himself.
Full stretch.
Fingertips reaching.
The ball clipped his glove.
POST.
CLANG.
The stadium shook.
The rebound flew back into play.
Chaos erupted.
Bodies sprinted toward it.
Yuma.
Marc.
Daichi.
Theo.
Ren.
Everyone.
The loose ball bounced once.
Then Aka arrived.
First.
The crowd stood.
Tsubasa was still on the ground.
The goal was open.
Everything slowed.
Aka looked down at the ball.
Then toward the net.
Then toward Yusuke.
The entire stadium held its breath.
This was it.
The moment.
The goal.
The dagger.
Aka pulled his leg back.
Then—
didn't shoot.
The crowd gasped.
Instead he tapped it sideways.
Again.
Again.
Again.
A simple pass.
Theo arrived.
Open net.
GOAL.
2–0.
The stadium exploded.
Theo slid across the grass laughing.
Marc raised both arms.
Lucien sprinted toward the corner.
Nocturne celebrated.
Southside froze.
Not because of the goal.
Because of what it meant.
The score wasn't just 2–0.
It felt impossible.
The kind of goal that breaks teams.
The kind of goal that ends dreams.
Theo pointed toward Aka.
"That's two."
Aka shrugged.
"You were open."
Again.
Like scoring in a final meant nothing.
The celebration ended quickly.
Nocturne returned to position.
Calm.
Controlled.
Like they expected this all along.
Meanwhile Southside stood scattered across the field.
Breathing heavily.
Staring at the scoreboard.
0–2.
Yuma punched the grass.
"NO!"
His voice cracked.
"We had him!"
Nobody answered.
Because they almost did.
Almost.
Yusuke stared toward midfield.
His chest rising heavily.
He'd gotten closer.
Closer than anyone.
But closer wasn't enough.
Not against Aka.
The referee signaled for play to continue.
And as Southside slowly walked back toward the center circle—
the scoreboard continued shining above them.
SOUTHSIDE 0
NOCTURNE ELEVEN 2
The crowd could feel it.
The players could feel it.
Even the coaches could feel it.
The match was beginning to slip away.
And there was still over half an hour remaining.