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"Two points to end the set…this guy really knows how to put his teammates on the spot…"

Conte muttered to himself as he walked up to the service line.

"You don't think it's possible?" Santiago turned his head, smiling.

"No…of course we'll do it." Conte extended his right arm forward, the volleyball resting quietly in his palm. "After all…this is the ace's request."

"Tweet!—"The whistle for serve sounded.

Conte tossed the ball high, took his approach, jumped—and struck!

BOOM!!!

The ball cut into Trentino's backcourt like a scythe.

Smack!

Yuri's reception flew off-target. Kageyama sprinted to cover.

Whoosh!—

He managed to set it steadily to the middle. Zaytsev jumped to spike!

"Loser!" Kaedehara Taichi shouted while signalling with his hands.

"Double block!"

No swing space!

Zaytsev's arms tensed, forcing the ball down heavily.

BOOM!!!

Smack!!!

The ball ricocheted off the block, dropping toward the baseline.

Santiago picked it up.

"Give me the ball!" Taichi pulled back to gain a full approach, raising his hand to call for it.

"Got it, got it." Oikawa stood under the ball and calmly set it up.

Same—a high ball to the middle.

Thump!

Taichi stepped inside the three-meter line, knees slightly bent, and launched upward.

"Double block!" Alexander and Zaytsev jumped together, putting all their strength into it. Their block height nearly exceeded the top of the net by a whole meter!

But still, it couldn't cover Kaedehara Taichi's silhouette.

Kageyama retreated to the back row. Trentino's four backcourt players arranged themselves in a half-circle behind the block.

"Perfect."

A faint smirk rose on Taichi's lips. His left arm pulled back to its maximum, muscles tensing sharply, veins bulging visibly.

—BOOOOM!!!

The ball violently deformed against Taichi's left hand, slicing over the block while generating a twisting vortex of air.

SMACK!!!

The ball smashed against Fabio's arm, bouncing high—higher and higher…

Clang!

A strange metallic echo rang out, and the entire arena—no, even the lights—seemed to tremble slightly.

Everyone's gaze shuddered violently as they followed the ball soaring overhead, crashing to the floor again, bouncing once more.

Thud, tap, tap…

"How…how is that possible?"

"No way…is this some kind of joke?!"

In the vast stadium, the densely packed stands fell completely silent.

Until the big screen started replaying the scene—a camera angle perfectly captured it: the ball, after ricocheting off Fabio's arm, had hit the arena's ceiling.

According to FIVB regulations, the ceiling height (the obstruction-free area above the court) must be at least 12.5 meters. Here, Arena A's roof plus lighting rigging was at least 15 meters high…

"I-incredible!!!"

As soon as the commentator's voice echoed out, the crowd exploded like gunpowder lit by a fuse—in an instant, the whole arena erupted!

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 27 - 26 Trentino]

"Sorry…guess I hit it a bit too hard." Kaedehara Taichi raised a hand slightly, his voice calm.

Fabio sat on the floor, mouth open, his dry throat unable to make a sound.

Alexander stood frozen, while the other teammates ran over to Fabio. He alone didn't move.

Alexander's emotions were tangled—surprise, confusion, anger—but above all, excitement.

"Are you…the same as me?" Alexander stared directly at Kaedehara Taichi, waiting for an answer.

Taichi didn't speak. His black eyes flickered slightly, but there was no excess emotion.

"We are both chosen ones! Guided forward by God!" Alexander shouted, his voice trembling with fervour.

Kaedehara Taichi: "..." This guy…is his brain broken or something?

"One more point." Taichi replied coldly, no longer paying attention to him.

"Looks like you're not." Alexander said with slight disappointment. "In that case…I won't lose."

San Juan continued to serve. Conte stepped up again!

BOOM!!!

Fabio, still shaken from the previous point, reacted a beat slower.

Smack!!

The ball flew toward the sideline.

Boro saved it back in. Alexander sprinted along the left sideline for a spike!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi leapt together!

Alexander didn't even glance at Loser in front of him—instead, he locked eyes with Kaedehara Taichi across the net.

"If you can block me, go ahead and try!"

Alexander swung his right arm from behind, striking the top half of the ball with explosive force.

Kaedehara Taichi's blocking arm shifted slightly down and forward to the right.

BOOM!!!

As soon as the ball left Alexander's fingers, it was subtly nudged, causing its trajectory to skew even more rightward.

Whoosh!

Taichi's arm dropped fully down, sealing off the cross-court line.

"I win!" Alexander's mouth curled into a smile. "Even if you block perfectly, there's a limit to how far your arms can reach!"

The ball slipped past Taichi's fingertips, plunging toward San Juan's right three-meter line.

Smack!

Bruno received it on the right side.

Unbelievable…it felt like the ball came straight to me.

Bruno was awash with emotion. Just how much trust does Oikawa have in me, that he'd signal for me to guard this spot…and that guy—he was ready from the start, waiting to deliver the ball to the ace!

"You planned this?!!"

Alexander turned to Taichi in fury—only to realise he was no longer standing opposite him.

Thump!

Kaedehara Taichi was now on the right side—"I'm here. Set it to me."

"I heard you loud and clear." Oikawa jumped to set, smiling.

Whoosh!—

—BOOM!!!

The ball flew above Zaytsev and Kageyama's double block.

Fabio could only stare helplessly as it slammed down in front of him, right in the centre of Trentino's court. Even though he could have touched it just by reaching out, his body felt as if it had been paralysed.

THUD!!!

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 28 - 26 Trentino]

"I told you…two points. Over in an instant."

"Beeeep—!" The long whistle rang out.

First set over.

Winner: CA San Juan.

———

"Alex! Alex! Alexander!!" Zaytsev called to Alexander, who still seemed dazed.

"Huh? What is it?"

Alexander realised all his teammates were staring at him—and Coach Ferdinando looked absolutely furious.

"If you're not feeling well, you can rest," Ferdinando said coldly. "Lavia has been warming up this whole time and can sub in anytime."

"Sorry, coach! I'm fine!" Alexander instantly apologised at lightning speed, without a hint of argument.

"Good." Ferdinando didn't pursue it. "I just mentioned putting you directly opposite Taichi, with Ivan holding the back row to maintain our rotational strength. What do you think?"

This meant directly matching Kaedehara Taichi—one-on-one!

"Please arrange it that way!" Alexander clenched his fists. Just thinking about how Taichi entrusted that final decisive moment to someone else ignited his anger. "I can do it."

"I know what you're thinking." Ferdinando said slowly. "You're about the same age, both the aces of your teams—it's normal to want to duel."

"But—"

"Winning the match is the most important!" Alexander finished for him.

"As long as you understand." Ferdinando gave him a sidelong glance. "When Ivan isn't in the same front row as you, don't get overconfident on the block. We're already down one set."

"Yes!"

-----

The mid-set break ended, and both teams switched sides.

Trentino Volley's lineup:

Front row—Setter Kageyama Tobio, Middle Blocker Ryan Mosca, Outside Hitter Alexander Delloro.

Back row—Outside Hitter Yuri Romano, Middle Blocker Ivan Zaytsev (Libero: Fabio Balaso) and Opposite Hitter Luca Boro.

CA San Juan's lineup:

Front row—Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi, Middle Blocker Martín Ramos, Setter Oikawa Tōru.

Back row—Opposite Hitter Bruno Lima, Middle Blocker Agustín Loser (Libero: Santiago Danani) and Outside Hitter Facundo Conte.

The second set began, with San Juan serving first.

Conte stood at the service line. The rotation at the start of this set was almost the same as how they ended the first, except Ramos and Loser had swapped positions.

"Tweet!—" The whistle sounded.

Conte executed a powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Smack!!

Fabio received it steadily, though the pass was only half-ideal.

Kageyama covered, leaping in the front row to set. Oikawa kept a sharp eye on him.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew high to the right side, Alexander jumped to spike!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos jumped together.

The ball flew over their hands and headed straight for San Juan's end line.

Conte moved up to meet it head-on, but just as he did, the ball suddenly dropped sharply.

Smack!

Conte dove forward, barely keeping the ball alive. The pass wasn't great.

Oikawa quickly stepped in and set it perfectly. Ramos charged for a quick attack in the middle!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Ryan and Alexander's double block, ricocheted upward, and Boro easily passed it.

Kageyama jumped to set in the front row, his gaze flicking across to Oikawa on the other side of the net.

"Damn it, he's completely locked onto me."

They knew each other too well—neither found a chance for a setter dump attack.

Whoosh!—

The ball was set to the right again. Alexander jumped to spike!

"Double block!"

BOOM!!!

The ball blasted off Ramos's arm and out of bounds.

Alexander scored!

[San Juan 0 - 1 Trentino]

Serve switched, Trentino to serve.

Kageyama stepped up to the line.

The pungent scent of sanitiser mixed with the chalk powder filled his nose, making his nape tingle with a faint shiver. The thunderous cheers and scattered boos merged into a heavy pressure—and yet somehow felt strangely hollow.

"Tweet!—"

Kageyama tossed the ball, approached, jumped, and struck!

BOOM!!!

Smack!!!

The ball shot toward San Juan's deep corner, bouncing off Bruno's arm and out of bounds.

"Nice serve! Beautiful!"

Kageyama scored directly with his serve!

[San Juan 0 - 2 Trentino]

"The first ace of the second set once again comes from Kageyama Tobio!"

"He's truly a deceptive player—despite being the smallest on court (except for the libero), the power packed inside him surprises everyone!"

The commentator's exaggerated praise made Kageyama's mouth curl upward by a single degree.

"Small…?"

Kageyama had never thought that one day someone would describe him that way.

Even though they had lost the first set, he felt this was the closest he'd ever been to defeating Kaedehara Taichi.

Do your best.

Not enough.

Do better.

"I have to be stronger than the me from the first set!"

"Tweet!—"

Kageyama served his second ball.

BOOM!!!

Smack!!!

Conte barely managed to receive it, a shaky pass. For some reason, Trentino was giving Conte an increasingly suffocating feeling.

Oikawa scrambled to set. Taichi jumped for a left-wing attack!

"Triple block!" Ryan, Alexander, and Boro all jumped together.

BOOM!!!

The ball ricocheted off Ryan's arm and out of bounds.

A block touch out.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 1 - 2 Trentino]

Serve switched, San Juan to serve.

"Oikawa-senpai, Kageyama already got two aces," Taichi said kindly, "If this keeps up, someone might start saying you can't even match his serving."

"'Can't even match his serve'?! What's that supposed to mean!" Oikawa snorted. "And Taichi, who exactly is 'someone'?"

"Someone is someone." Taichi's tone was light as a feather. "Believe it or not."

Oikawa stomped toward the service line, clearly annoyed.

"Why mess with your teammate's mindset right before a serve?!" Conte screamed internally, worriedly watching Oikawa, hoping he hadn't really been shaken.

Well, judging by Oikawa's expression, he was clearly planning to serve an ace out of spite. Ramos in the front row sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"It'll be fine." Kaedehara Taichi didn't move at all.

Oikawa's weakness was getting carried away when he got cocky—other emotions wouldn't mess with his serving.

"Hoo—"

Oikawa exhaled deeply, his eyes sharpening.

"Tweet!—"

BOOM!!!

As soon as the whistle blew, the ball tore through the air like a meteor, slicing straight for Trentino's deep corner.

"Nice serve!" Ramos shouted in praise. Not only did it not hit the back of his head, but the serve was sharp and accurate.

Kageyama moved to receive.

"I got it!" Alexander stepped in front, shielding Kageyama, and took the ball.

Smack!!

The ball flew out of bounds.

"Alexander stepped up to cover for the setter, but the pass went wild!"

Alexander steadied himself and sprinted toward the net.

"Set me!"

Perhaps others wouldn't understand, but right now, Alexander only wanted a set from Kageyama Tobio.

Whoosh!—

Kageyama chased the ball outside the sideline, leapt, and set. In that instant, his forearms went taut like drawn bowstrings, his wrists snapping sharply as he launched the ball forward like a bullet.

Thud!

Alexander charged in from the middle—the ball flew precisely in front of him.

"Perfect!" Alexander knew Kageyama could do it—not only save the ball but instantly organise a quick attack from anywhere.

"This is a divine setter…an immaculate attack!"

Alexander went for a self-pass, self-spike!

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

A pair of big hands suddenly appeared, turning Alexander's mind completely blank in an instant.

The ball was forcefully stuffed straight back to Trentino's side.

THUD!

Kaedehara Taichi scored on the block!

[San Juan 2 - 2 Trentino]

Taichi ignored Alexander and Kageyama's stunned faces, calmly turned around, and smiled, "One more, Oikawa-senpai."

_________