CHAPTER 130: THE BOY WHO CAME BACK

The Emirates Stadium.

The Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stood five meters away shouting instructions in Spanish and English.

He looked intense. He looked like a man who had planned every single second of this match.

On the pitch it was a chess match played at two hundred miles per hour.

Arsenal were good. They were frighteningly good.

Minute 5.

Bukayo Saka received the ball on the wing. He was the Starboy. The best winger in England.

Finn Riley was marking him. Finn was fast. But Saka was clever.

Saka dropped his shoulder. He went left. He went right. Finn got tangled in his own legs and fell over.

The crowd laughed.

Saka sprinted into the box. He looked up. He saw the goal.

"BLOCK HIM!" Michael screamed.

Diego Nunez appeared. The Uruguayan Bull did not slide. He just stood there. He made himself wide.

Saka shot.

THUD!

The ball hit Diego in the stomach. It sounded painful. Diego did not blink. He chested the ball down and cleared it.

Diego looked at Saka.

"You are fast," Diego grunted. "But I am a wall. Walls do not move."

Saka looked surprised. He was used to defenders being scared. Diego looked like he was enjoying the pain.

Minute 15. Arsenal kept coming. They passed the ball in triangles. Zip. Zip. Zip.

Declan Rice controlled the midfield. He was strong. He pushed Kai Sora off the ball.

Kai stumbled. He fixed his shirt. He looked annoyed.

"He is very rude," Kai said to Kenji Sato. "He pushed me. I was charging my battery."

"We must run harder Kai san!" Kenji shouted. The Japanese engine was already sweating. He had run three kilometers in fifteen minutes. "Rice is very strong! We must be water!"

"I do not want to be water," Kai sighed. "I want to be a rock. Rocks do not run."

Minute 25.

Arsenal scored.

It was inevitable. They were too fast.

Odegaard played a pass that sliced the Barnsley defense open. Gabriel Martinelli ran onto it. He smashed it past Sam Jones.

GOAL!

1 to 0.

The Arsenal fans erupted. They jumped up and down. The noise was deafening.

Isaiah King stood in the center circle. He looked at the celebrating Arsenal players. These were his old teammates. They were celebrating without him.

Isaiah looked down at his boots. The gold paint was chipping off.

"Head up!" Michael shouted from the bench. "Isaiah! Look at me!"

Isaiah looked at the dugout.

"You are not a reject!" Michael yelled. "Show them!"

Minute 35.

Barnsley tried to fight back.

Arda Guler got the ball. The Real Madrid loanee danced past two players. He passed to Isaiah.

Isaiah was one on one with Zinchenko.

This was his moment.

Isaiah tried a step over. He tried to be too fancy.

Zinchenko read it. He took the ball easily.

"Sit down!" an Arsenal fan screamed from the front row. "Go back to the Championship!"

Isaiah went red. He felt the anger rising. The Vengeance status in the System was flashing red.

HALFTIME

1 to 0.

The locker room was hot. The players were breathing heavy.

"They are suffocating us," Arthur Milton rasped. "We cannot breathe. They press so high."

Michael stood in the middle of the room.

"They are good," Michael admitted. "But they are arrogant. They think the game is won. They think we are just little Barnsley."

He looked at Isaiah.

Isaiah was sitting with a towel over his head. He was shaking.

Michael walked over. He pulled the towel off.

"Are you done?" Michael asked quietly.

Isaiah looked up. "No Boss."

"You are trying to be a showman," Michael said. "You are trying to do tricks. Stop the tricks. Just run. You are faster than them. Use your speed. Be direct. Be a killer."

He looked at Kai Sora.

"Kai. Rice is bullying you. Are you going to let him steal your lunch money?"

Kai frowned. He adjusted his socks. "I do not like bullies. I will steal his ball."

"Good," Michael said. "Second half. No fear. The Carousel spins faster."

SECOND HALF

Minute 50.

Arsenal came out relaxed. They thought the job was done.

Kai Sora received the ball from Sam Jones.

Declan Rice ran at him to tackle him.

Kai waited. He waited until Rice was one meter away.

Then Kai did a simple body feint. He dipped his shoulder.

Rice bought it. He went left.

Kai went right.

The crowd gasped. The lazy genius had just sent the hundred million pound midfielder for a hot dog.

Kai looked up.

He saw Isaiah King.

Isaiah was not doing tricks. He was running. He was sprinting in a straight line.

Kai hit the pass.

WHOOSH!

It landed in stride.

Isaiah controlled it. He was past Zinchenko.

He was in the box.

Saliba the giant defender came over to crush him.

Isaiah remembered the training with Diego. Use your body.

Isaiah leaned into Saliba. He bounced off the giant. He kept his balance.

He was one on one with Raya the goalkeeper.

Isaiah did not chip. He did not do a fancy finish.

He smashed it.

BANG!

The ball hit the roof of the net.

GOAL!

1 to 1.

The away end went crazy. Three thousand Barnsley fans were falling over each other.

Isaiah King did not dance. He did not smile.

He ran to the center circle. He picked up the ball. He ran back to the spot.

He looked at Arteta. He looked at the Arsenal bench.

He pointed to the name on the back of his shirt.

KING.

"I am here!" Isaiah screamed. "Do you see me now?!"

Michael punched the air. "YES! THAT IS THE SPARK!"

Minute 70.

The game was a war.

Arsenal were angry. They attacked with fury.

Saka shot.

SAVE!

Sam Jones tipped it over.

Odegaard shot.

BLOCK!

Higgins threw his face in the way.

Martinelli crossed.

HEADER!

Diego Nunez rose like a salmon. He headed the ball fifty yards.

"GET OUT!" Diego roared. "THIS IS A NO FLY ZONE!"

Minute 85.

Both teams were tired. The game was stretched.

Kenji Sato was still running. The Japanese Engine had covered thirteen kilometers. His face was purple but his legs kept moving.

"He is a robot," the Arsenal commentator said in shock. "He does not stop."

Kenji won the ball on the edge of his own box. He passed to Arda Guler.

Arda turned. He saw the space.

"GO!" Arda shouted.

Isaiah King was running. Again.

He was tired. His legs burned. But the vengeance was fuel.

He sprinted past Gabriel. He sprinted past Rice.

He was alone.

But the angle was tight. He was on the right wing.

He looked up.

Danny Fletcher was in the box. But he was marked.

Isaiah had to do it alone.

He cut inside. He was on his left foot.

"SHOOT!" Michael whispered.

Isaiah curled it.

It was the shot he practiced in the park in North London a thousand times. The shot he dreamed of when he was a kid in the Arsenal academy.

The ball curved. It bent around the goalkeeper.

It kissed the post.

GOAL

2 to 1.

The stadium went silent.

Isaiah King fell to his knees. He started to cry.

He had done it. He had come home and he had conquered.

The Barnsley players piled on top of him. Diego Nunez lifted the whole pile up.

"KING OF LONDON!" Diego shouted. "HE IS THE KING!"

Minute 90 plus 5.

Arsenal threw everything forward. Even the goalkeeper came up.

The ball came into the box.

It was chaos. Bodies everywhere.

Sam Jones punched it.

It fell to Saka.

Saka shot.

The goal was open.

But out of nowhere came a leg.

A lazy leg.

Kai Sora.

Kai had run back. He slid on the goal line. He kicked the ball away.

CLEARANCE!

Kai lay in the net. He closed his eyes.

"I am tired," Kai whispered. "Can I sleep now?"

PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET

The final whistle.

Barnsley 2. Arsenal 1.

Michael Sterling ran onto the pitch. He hugged Isaiah King.

"You did it," Michael said. "You really did it."

Isaiah wiped his tears. He looked at the Arsenal fans who were leaving the stadium in silence.

"They should have kept me Boss," Isaiah said.

"Their loss," Michael smiled. "Our gain."

Mikel Arteta walked over. He looked sad but respectful.

"Your boy," Arteta said looking at Isaiah. "He is special. We made a mistake."

"He is a Misfit," Michael said. "And Misfits fight harder."

Michael looked at the scoreboard.

ARSENAL 1 - 2 BARNSLEY

He felt the phone in his pocket vibrate.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[MATCH COMPLETE]

[RESULT: WIN]

[ACHIEVEMENT: KING SLAYER]

[POINTS: +2000]

[LEAGUE POSITION: 4TH]

Fourth. Champions League places.

It was early in the season. But the statement was made.

Michael looked at his team.

Diego was giving his shirt to a fan. Kenji was bowing to the Arsenal mascot. Kai was being carried by Higgins because he refused to walk.

They were ridiculous. They were chaotic.

And they were one of the best teams in England.

"Let us go home," Michael said to Arthur. "We have a party to plan."

Arthur adjusted his beanie. He was smiling so hard his face hurt.

"Pizza is on me Boss. Extra pepperoni for Diego."