BEEP!
Point for Aoba Johsai.
5–3.
Three minutes and thirty seconds into the game, Aoba Johsai successfully widened the lead to two points.
The credit went largely to Oikawa Tooru. It was his turn to serve during the second rotation, and thanks to his increasingly refined serves, and Karasuno's libero not yet having adapted to the new rhythm, Oikawa snatched two points in quick succession.
Only on the third serve did he finally make a mistake.
In the rally that followed, both Akashi Asuka and Kindaichi Yutaro scored one point each, further extending the gap.
And now, the match officially entered Akashi Asuka's service rotation.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
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Standing in the service zone, Akashi Asuka lightly bounced the volleyball.
The dull thud of the ball hitting the floor wasn't loud, but to Karasuno's players, each bounce landed directly on their hearts. Every time he struck the ball against the ground, it made their hearts pound uncontrollably.
"Damn it… he's gotten even stronger!"
Kageyama Tobio's face darkened. The unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.
Yesterday, when Karasuno had been strategizing how to deal with Akashi, they had already tried to estimate his power conservatively high. But after witnessing that monstrous spike just moments ago, they realized they had still underestimated him.
If his spikes had grown that overwhelming…
Then what would his serves be like?
A moment later, they got their answer.
BOOM!!!
No warning. No reaction time.
By the time the players heard the thunderous sound in the air, the volleyball, now grotesquely misshapen from the force, had already blasted through their formation and slammed into the floor.
"Faster than sound…?"
The thought popped into everyone's mind at once.
Of course, they knew that wasn't physically possible.
But at the same time, none of them could deny the feeling that made that idea seem so real.
THUD.
The sound of the ball hitting the floor finally reached their ears. It was only then that the Karasuno players felt like they had returned to reality. The world regained its color.
BEEP!
6–3.
The referee blew the whistle, and immediately the stands erupted in wild excitement.
"Whoa, what the heck was that?! Was that a serve?! That was like a cannon blast!"
"If you got hit by that head-on, you'd probably break a bone!"
"That's terrifying. Who is that number 8 from Aoba Johsai? His serve looks like it could rival Ushijima's!"
"Hey, man, sounds like you haven't followed high school volleyball in a while. That number 8, Akashi Asuka, is one of the top six aces in the country, same as Ushijima. If we're just talking about serving, I'd say he might even be stronger now."
"Wait, seriously?! That means Miyagi Prefecture has two top-six aces now?!"
"Of course! That's why they're saying this year's qualifying final is the most competitive in the last decade. What, didn't you come here because of that buzz?"
"Uhh… actually, I was just out on a date with my girlfriend. We just happened to wander by…"
"Damn you normies! Go explode already!"
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The buzz from the audience was like a crashing tide, intense and chaotic.
It wasn't just because of how insane that last serve was. The crowd this year was massive, too.
But while the crowd roared, Karasuno's players were eerily quiet.
They were all still replaying that serve in their minds.
But the more they imagined it, the more they realized, no matter how they positioned themselves or timed their response, they simply couldn't receive it.
The speed.
The power.
Those two qualities alone had already far surpassed what any high school player should be capable of.
And when a serve exceeds certain limits, precision doesn't even matter anymore.
"If we just keep calm, there's no way they can keep serving like that the whole match. We just have to stay steady and play our game. We'll get our chance eventually!"
Seeing that the team's morale was starting to waver, Daichi Sawamura barked out a sharp command, snapping everyone back to their senses.
That's right!
Even in professional matches, serves like that often end in errors.
That kind of extreme jump serve, no matter how powerful, couldn't be sustained indefinitely. If Aoba Johsai could really keep doing that, then the match against Date Tech would've ended even faster.
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"Ohhh, now that's a proper captain for you. What a calm and collected mindset."
Oikawa Tooru had been watching Karasuno carefully the whole time.
As a setter, being able to read the atmosphere was critical. How else was he supposed to pull off his little strategic tricks, ahem, tactical decisions?
"If it were still the old me playing against this bunch of crows, I'd have targeted that captain first. If you can't take down the anchor, it's hard to break the team."
"But now..."
He glanced sideways at the service zone.
There stood Akashi Asuka.
Oikawa knew Karasuno had guessed one thing right: even someone like Akashi couldn't keep up that kind of power-serve barrage forever. Mistakes were bound to happen.
Especially with that extreme, explosive jump serve.
But…
Who says Akashi Asuka only has one kind of serve?
With a gentle toss, Akashi sent the ball into the air. A few quick steps, jump, swing, then,
BOOM!
Once again, the court echoed with a booming sound like a cannon firing.
But this time, it was noticeably softer.
Hearing the difference, Nishinoya's eyes lit up.
Just like Daichi said, that monster serve couldn't last forever!
The ball still moved fast, but now Nishinoya could barely track its path.
But…
As he followed the ball's trajectory, his face changed again.
"A spin serve? No… It's a curveball!"
The ball sliced through the air, leaving behind a clear arc. What initially seemed to be headed for the back right corner suddenly bent midair, dropping toward center court.
"Crap!"
Nishinoya dove with everything he had.
But just as he reached it, the ball curved again, a subtle swerve midair, and slipped right past him, slamming into the floor.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria