"You want to go head-to-head? I'd like to see just how strong you are."

Hoshimi Miyabi fixed her gaze on the incoming tennis ball, flying like a cannon shell. The trajectory would be impossible for an ordinary person to follow, but she could see it clearly.

She gripped the racket horizontally, turned her body, and unleashed her strength. Her calf, wrapped in black stockings, tightened as straight as steel.

"Kendo Basic Form · Left Pheasant · Variant!"

Her entire body moved in perfect coordination, unleashing maximum force in a sideways strike.

Boom!

The supersonic tennis ball slammed into the racket. Steel and the iron-dense special ball clashed, erupting in a torrent of sparks.

In an instant, Hoshimi Miyabi felt an overwhelming force surge through the racket into her arms.

She realized immediately—her strength was not on par with Sol Mercer's.

Her grip failed. The racket flew from her hands, still carrying the ball's remaining force, and smashed into the ground.

The stone floor cracked open with a deafening crash, forming a deep pit. Web-like fractures spread out in all directions, the glowing racket and ball lying scorched at its center.

"…"

Hoshimi Miyabi flexed her fingers, feeling the faint numbness at her joints. Quietly, she lifted her eyes toward Sol.

His strength… it surpassed hers by twenty percent.

And that was without her reinforcing her body with Ether. Even so, her physical foundation was among the top elite of New Eridu.

Sol's raw power was simply staggering.

"Chief couldn't even block Sol's ball?"

Soukaku's eyes widened in surprise.

Her natural strength was already abnormal, but even so, compared to the Chief, she was still inferior.

"Yes. In terms of strength, I'm not his match."

Hoshimi Miyabi admitted calmly.

But strength was not everything. The same force that could split a watermelon could also sever a throat. In swordsmanship, skill could always make up for some disparity in strength.

And Sol was only twenty percent stronger than her. That much, she was confident she could compensate for with skill.

She had bested many sword masters. Whether it was the berserk bear Thiren or the hyper-agile cat Thiren, both of whom surpassed her in brute strength or dexterity, she had always emerged the victor.

"Sol, one point!"

Asaba Harumasa, who had been stunned into silence, finally snapped back to reality.

That last shot… he himself would have needed his full power just to block it.

The Chief's abilities were already terrifying, yet Sol had just overpowered her. A true powerhouse beyond doubt.

It was fortunate he hadn't jumped into the match. With the intensity here, he wanted no part of it.

"Nicely done, Sol!" Tsukishiro Yanagi called out, eyes sparkling with admiration. Though stunned by Sol's strength, she couldn't hide the awe in her voice. "I've never seen Miyabi miss before."

"Just luck. She let her guard down for a moment."

Sol remained humble outwardly, though Yanagi's praise filled him with warmth.

Defeating Hoshimi Miyabi was already satisfying, but having a pink-haired beauty cheer for him made it even sweeter.

"You're too modest," Yanagi teased with a playful smile. "But Miyabi's going to get serious now. I won't be able to handle it alone. Can you help me share the load?"

If Hoshimi Miyabi used her full strength, Yanagi could barely take even one shot.

The gap between a Void Hunter and an elite was wider than the gap between an elite and an ordinary person. She could only play support.

"Looks like the difficulty just went up," Sol smiled faintly. "But no problem."

At that moment, Hoshimi Miyabi retrieved her racket and the ball. Her gaze sharpened like a blade.

"Best of three. Two balls remain."

She tossed the glowing iron ball into the air, tightened her grip on the racket, and swung with all her might—combining raw strength with precise technique.

The special ball sliced through the air in a curving arc, its path fierce and unpredictable.

"Huh… a snake serve?"

Sol's lips twitched as he watched the erratic trajectory.

It was uncanny—straight out of Prince of Tennis.

But with his All-Weapon Mastery, he had nothing to fear.

If Hoshimi Miyabi could blend swordsmanship into tennis, so could he.

After all, wasn't a rebar racket still a kind of weapon?

Sol swung hard, his arm and racket cracking like a whip.

Boom!

The racket struck the ball with precision, dispelling its spin while adding new explosive power.

The ball surged again, its path fluctuating wildly, its force climbing higher and higher.

"As I thought… this is just the warm-up before the real sparring."

Hoshimi Miyabi's lips curved into a smile. With her racket raised like a sword, she cleaved down mercilessly.

In her eyes, this was no longer a friendly match—it was an opening clash before true combat.

The ball ricocheted between them at blinding speed, the training ground echoing with deafening impacts.

This wasn't tennis anymore.

It was artillery fire.

Artillery fire laced with trajectories as elusive as missiles, following the subtle principles of Benjamin Robins' ballistic theories.

Unstoppable in midair, yet fated to strike its target.

Both teams of two dashed across the court, their rackets clashing with the burning projectile, each impact resounding like thunder.

But the match was dominated by Sol Mercer and Hoshimi Miyabi. Tsukishiro Yanagi and Soukaku could only occasionally lend support.

Even with less contribution from Yanagi and Soukaku, the battle's intensity only grew.

After hundreds of blistering exchanges, the comet-like ball finally crashed to the ground before Yanagi, granting Miyabi a comeback point.

"Asaba Harumasa: Chief scores! The match is tied!"

But Sol only stooped, picked up the ball, and readied himself once more.

"Sorry… I dragged you down," Yanagi said softly, guilt flashing in her eyes.

Moments ago, Sol and Miyabi had been evenly matched. If not for her miscalculating the ball's path and blocking him, Sol would never have lost that round.

And she had noticed it too—the slight hesitation in Sol's movement. He could have forced the ball, but he had stopped.

Perhaps… he had held back out of fear of injuring her.

The thought made her heart soften further toward him.

"No matter. One ball left. We'll win it back."

Sol's tone was calm, without the slightest irritation.

He wasn't blaming Yanagi for the loss.

Soukaku was clumsier than Yanagi, yet Hoshimi Miyabi hadn't stumbled once.

So, the problem wasn't the partner—it was on him to adapt.

Resolving himself, Sol served again. The ball exploded toward the opposite side.

With everyone's focus sharpened, the rally grew even fiercer.

Golden streaks intertwined between both sides, each fading only for another to appear instantly.

The ball's speed had already broken into another dimension, its trail leaving shimmering afterimages in human sight.

Minutes stretched into tens. The special ball, after countless strikes, glowed red-hot from sheer friction.

The golden streaks across the court merged into a blazing scarlet line, burning through the air.

Boom!

Finally, the fiery trail ended on Miyabi's side with an earth-shaking crash, gouging a massive crater.

"Sol, another point!"

"Final score—two to one. Sol wins!"

Asaba Harumasa wiped the sweat from his forehead, announcing the result without hesitation.

That match they had just played… was strong enough to wipe out an entire gang.

Even as referee, he had to stay on edge, not daring to blink—terrified that one stray artillery-like ball might come his way.