"Th-thank you!" The spectator who had nearly been struck spoke with lingering fear.

"You're welcome." Iwaizumi Hajime shook out his arm, which had quickly turned red, and gave Kaedehara Taichi a strange look. It seemed their "little monster" was genuinely angry now.

"136 km/h!"

Yuri glanced at the glaring white mark on the baseline, pulling at the corner of his mouth. Was this really just about ball speed?

"——!"

"This bastard…" Yuri's expression froze. Taichi's gaze felt like a dagger forged from ice, stabbing straight through his body.

The hairs on the back of Yuri's neck stood up instantly, his back muscles tightening uncontrollably.

"Does he think I'm an easy target?"

"No…!"

Yuri darted a glance at his teammates. Their reactions were nearly identical to his—this wasn't aimed only at him. Taichi's eyes swept across every single Trentino player, measuring them inch by inch like a predator sizing up its prey.

"Tweet!—" The whistle for serve sounded.

Taichi tossed the ball high and launched his second serve.

Even faster than the first!

"I can't even track the ball's shadow!" Yuri's breathing turned ragged, and he suddenly realised, "Or maybe…I'm just too afraid to even try to receive it."

"I'll get it—!"

In reality, Fabio felt this fear even more intensely than Yuri. After all, the ball had already appeared right before his eyes!

Fabio's pupils shrank sharply. Instinct born of countless years on court took over, and he raised his arms quickly.

BANG!!!

In that instant, Fabio felt like he had lost all control of his body. His feet left the ground unnaturally, and he crashed backwards onto the floor.

The ball shot far out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored directly off his serve again!

[San Juan 2 - 0 Trentino]

"Damn it…I really just want to lie here and sleep for a while…"

Lying on the cold floor, Fabio felt the exhaustion that had built up through the entire match seep into every corner of his body, to the point his consciousness felt like it was slipping away.

"Fabio, are you okay?!"

"Are you hurt?!"

A few worried shouts pulled Fabio back. He slowly came to, staring speechlessly at Alexander.

"Alex, if you keep shaking me like that, I really will get injured."

"O-oh, sorry." Alexander awkwardly pulled his hands back. Just moments ago, he'd been thinking about giving Fabio chest compressions—thankfully, he hadn't acted on it.

Fabio got up, trying to joke with his teammates in a light tone to ease the tension on court. Honestly, he felt they should call a timeout. That guy on the other side…was in a terrifying state.

San Juan continued serving.

Ramos now fully understood why Oikawa always protected the back of his head. While Taichi rarely missed serves, if—just if—that ball hit the back of your head, you could basically consider yourself subbed out early.

Ramos obediently covered the back of his head. Conte noticed out of the corner of his eye and quietly did the same.

"Tweet!—"The serve whistle sounded.

Taichi tossed the ball, took his approach, leapt, and smashed it!

BOOOM!!!

SMACK!!!

Alexander received the ball!

But the pass flew wildly, rebounding high above San Juan's court.

Thud!

Taichi leapt forward from the back row to the net, his right arm drawn fully back, brimming with power!

Alexander, still caught in the back from receiving serve, was too late. Zaytsev jumped alone to block!

BOOM!!!

The ball shot past Zaytsev, slamming heavily inside Trentino's three-meter line.

[San Juan 3 - 0 Trentino]

"Beep! Trentino calls for a timeout"

Finally managing to receive that terrifying serve, Coach Ferdinando had thought they might see a turning point.

"Don't panic! As long as we don't let the gap widen too much, once we get past this guy's serve rotation, we can bring the score back!" Assistant coach Reisen shouted, trying to stabilise the team's mindset.

They had clawed their way to win the third set under even tougher circumstances. If they could hold this fourth set, the momentum would swing back to Trentino.

-----

Timeout over. The match resumed.

San Juan continued serving. Taichi stepped up to the line, the ball spinning rapidly in his palm.

"Tweet!—"

At that moment, the ball abruptly stopped, perfectly still in his hand.

Taichi lifted his head. As his gaze swept across Trentino's back row, the fragile calm they had just regained shattered once more.

Whoosh!

The ball was tossed high. Taichi launched forward, his shoes screeching sharply on the floor. In the next instant, he soared into the air in a flawless, poised form ready to strike.

So fast!

This was the fastest he had ever completed his approach and jump.

BOOOOM!!!

The serve was even faster, the ball slicing through the air with a piercing roar.

BANG!!!

The ball landed violently. Fabio only began to react at that moment—

But it was already too late.

"OUT!"

After a two-second hesitation, the line judge finally called it decisively.

Serve out of bounds. Trentino scored.

[San Juan 3 - 1 Trentino]

"Whew—"

A collective exhale filled the arena, the audience finally able to catch their breath.

Yuri's leg suddenly gave way, and he dropped to one knee, bracing himself on the floor. Cold sweat dripped from his jawline to the ground. Just now, it had felt like his heart had stopped; it only resumed pounding wildly in his chest once the call was made.

"Yuri!" Boro reached out to support him.

"Beep! Substitution for Trentino."

"Lavia IN, Yuri OUT."

Coach Ferdinando immediately made the change. A service error from Taichi was the best possible outcome—they couldn't waste this chance.

"Are you okay?" Lavia came on to swap places.

"I'm counting on you." Yuri gripped his arm tightly.

"Yeah. I'll do my best."

[Lavia—Outside Hitter:Height: 205 cm

Serve: 93 | Receive: 93 | Dig: 92 | Set: 92 | Spike: 96| Block: 96

Spike Reach: 362 cm /Block Reach: 344 cm.]

Yuri walked to the bench, the thunderous heartbeat in his ears gradually fading. Looking at Taichi—still expressionless even after the service error—there was no doubt in his mind: that guy was a demon…

Serve rotation switched. Trentino to serve.

Half of Kageyama Tobio's face was shrouded in shadow, his entire body exuding a mysterious intensity.

"Let's settle this, Taichi!"

"Tweet!—"

Kageyama tossed the ball, took his approach, leapt, and struck it!

BOOM!!!—

The ball arced sharply, heading straight for San Juan's baseline, targeting Taichi!

—"Trentino's strategy hasn't changed—they're still going all-in on targeting him."

Smack!!

Taichi received it cleanly, though the pass was slightly off.

—"They managed to pin him down!"

Oikawa quickly moved into position, jumping to set.

The ball flew high toward the left wing. Conte soared up to spike!

"Double block!" Alexander and Zaytsev jumped simultaneously.

BOOM!!!

A sharp tearing sound split the air past them—the ball flew directly toward Trentino's right-side three-meter line.

Smack!!

The ball struck Boro's arm and deflected out of bounds.

Fabio chased and saved it back, and Lavia jumped from the back row to spike!

Conte reacted instantly, rushing back to the right side to form a double block with Ramos.

SMACK!!!

"One touch!"

The ball ricocheted high off Ramos's hands.

"I got it!" Santiago shouted, actively stepping up to receive the ball so that Taichi could focus entirely on attacking.

Smack!

Santiago's reception was perfect. Oikawa jumped in the front row to set.

Thud!

Taichi leapt from the back row!

Even though both were back-row attacks, the pressure Taichi exerted on the opponent was completely different from Lavia's.

Alexander and Zaytsev kept a tight lock on him, jumping up together to block.

BOOM!!!

The ball smashed against Zaytsev's arm, soaring high in a perfect arc before finally landing outside San Juan's baseline.

Block out.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 4 - 1 Trentino]

In just one play, they ended Kageyama Tobio's serving rotation.

Serve rotation switched. San Juan to serve. Oikawa stepped onto the line.

"Back then, Tobio-chan's talent terrified me. I was so afraid of the day he would surpass me."

"But at some point, I stopped obsessing over Tobio." Oikawa looked at Taichi's back. "It's you, this bastard, who kept forcing me to surpass my own limits again and again~"

"Today, we are still the winners."

"Tweet!—"

Oikawa tossed the ball and jumped serve with full power!

BOOOM!!!

The ball struck Kageyama's arm and flew out of bounds!

Oikawa scored directly on serve!

[San Juan 5 - 1 Trentino]

"You've got to be kidding me?!!"

"Again?!"

"Oikawa-senpai..." Kageyama's expression was grave; he could clearly feel Oikawa's fierce fighting spirit.

San Juan continued serving.

Oikawa served a second time!

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Kageyama received it, though the pass was only half-accurate!

"We have to score!"

Alexander moved to support the setter. Zaytsev jumped in the middle for a quick attack!

"Double block!" Conte and Ramos jumped simultaneously.

Bruno dropped to cover the back row—four men ready for reception!

BOOM!!!

A wipe-off attack!

The ball flew past the block, smashing toward San Juan's baseline!

Smack!

Taichi received it!

Zaytsev didn't seem surprised. If it scored, great; if not, it forced another rally!

Alexander returned to the front row, eyes shifting quickly between the ball, Oikawa, and San Juan's front row. He and Zaytsev shared the same strategy: as long as they kept Taichi pinned to the baseline, no one could break through their block!

Whoosh!—

The ball floated steadily to the centre, Conte jumped for the spike!

"An unsurprising choice."

"Double block!" Alexander and Zaytsev went up together.

In that moment, a figure suddenly surged into everyone's vision, completely unexpected.

——It was Kaedehara Taichi!

"When did he move?!"

"Impossible?!"

"Why is he there?!"

Conte swung at empty air. Alexander and Zaytsev also came down, all of them tilting their heads upward to look at that figure in the air.

More than the ball, it was those eyes—eyes utterly calm even as they were about to score—that drew everyone's attention.

In that instant, there was only one figure dominating the entire court.

—BOOM!!!

The ball slammed hard into the centre of Trentino's side, bouncing high.

Everything fell silent again.

Taichi landed steadily, standing firmly on the court.

Oikawa stood slightly behind him to the side, a mischievous grin on his face.

"I saw the devil in your eyes."

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 6 - 1 Trentino]

Coach Ferdinando slumped helplessly on the bench. He had thought of every possible countermeasure, done everything he could. But he couldn't possibly burn both timeouts before the technical timeout even arrived…

San Juan continued serving.

Oikawa served for the third time!

BOOM!!!

As expected, Trentino's players still hadn't recovered from the last point.

The ball landed untouched.

Oikawa scored directly on serve again!

[San Juan 7 - 1 Trentino]

"Aren't we going to try something?!" Reisen couldn't help asking.

"What the hell do you expect me to do?!" Ferdinando snarled back.

"S-sorry…" Ferdinando buried his face in his hands, rubbing hard, trying to calm himself down.

"Let's focus on rebuilding the players' mindset after the match instead," Ferdinando said in a low voice. "Tomorrow we face Nizhnev, another tough opponent."

"Understood." Reisen sighed heavily as well.

While the coaches spoke, Oikawa used Taichi as a decoy to organise another scoring attack.

[San Juan 8 - 1 Trentino]

"Beep!—"

Finally, the whistle for the technical timeout sounded. The two teams returned to their benches in completely different moods.

Trailing by seven points at the first technical timeout, Trentino's only point had come from Taichi's service error.

-----

After the timeout, San Juan finally eased off slightly.

Oikawa also made a service error, giving Trentino a point and a chance to regain serve.

However, the terrifying "strangulation" from Taichi and Oikawa at the start of the set had already been seared into everyone's minds.

The match seemed to return to a normal rhythm, but Trentino never again posed any real threat to San Juan.

[San Juan 25 - 19 Trentino]

"BEEEP BEEEEEP—!"

The fourth set ended. The final whistle sounded.

From the score alone, you couldn't truly grasp the cruelty of this set. Having taken a set from San Juan earlier, Trentino now had to endure the fury of their opponents in full force.

[CA San Juan 28 - 26 Trentino Volley]

[CA San Juan 25 - 16 Trentino Volley]

[CA San Juan 28 - 30 Trentino Volley]

[CA San Juan 25 - 19 Trentino Volley]

San Juan defeated Trentino with an overall score of 3–1, earning 3 points, while Trentino left with 0.

In the adjacent match, Congo's Mazembe Club surprisingly defeated Qatar's Al-Rayyan Club 3–2.

Thus concluded the second day of the Club World Championship.

Group A standings: CA San Juan: 6 points, ASAS São Paulo: 3 points, Trentino Volley: 2 points, Nizhnev Club: 1 point.

Group B standings: LUK Lublin: 6 points, Mazembe Club: 2 points, Ryujin NIPPON: 2 points, Al-Rayyan: 2 points.

San Juan and Lublin both secured their spots in the knockout stage ahead of time.

-----

Schedule for Day 3 of the Club World Championship:

Morning:Group A—CA San Juan (Argentina) Vs. ASAS São Paulo (Brazil); Group B—Ryujin NIPPON (Japan) Vs. Mazembe (Congo);

Afternoon:Group A—Trentino Volley (Italy) Vs. Nizhnev (Russia); Group B—LUK Lublin (Poland) Vs. Al-Rayyan (Qatar).

From an objective standpoint, multiple outcomes were still possible in Group A. All teams except San Juan still had a chance to advance, making every match on Day 3 crucial.

As for Group B, Al-Rayyan would only advance if they achieved a 3–0 win over Lublin and if Ryujin and Mazembe went to five sets—only then would they have a chance. Otherwise, even a 3–2 win for Al-Rayyan would see them eliminated due to tiebreakers (a bit reminiscent of those nerve-wracking soccer group-stage point calculations).

Moreover, the Ryujin Vs. Mazembe match would almost certainly determine who advanced.

_________