With Mōri's full power unleashed, Atobe and Sanada's situation grew more dangerous. Even though the score was still even, they were clearly at a disadvantage, especially since they still couldn't counter Ochi's Mach Serve.
'Are we really going to lose this match? Don't joke with me! I am Atobe Keigo! I will definitely see the victory in the future… If it were you, you'd say the same, right, Akashi?' Atobe thought silently at the net.
Meanwhile, Sanada stood at the baseline, breathing heavily. His stamina was never on par with Atobe's, and after overusing Light of Cloud, Unhindered as the Void in the previous set, his current condition was far from good.
He tossed the ball, swung hard, and the serve shot forward like a beam of light—an ordinary Swift as the Wind serve.
Ochi took a single stride and returned it instantly. Atobe rushed forward, unleashing Atobe Kingdom without holding back. He pierced through Ochi and Mōri's skeletal structure, surrounding them with countless shards of ice.
He locked onto a shared absolute blind spot between them and swung, sending the ball toward it. Ochi tried to turn and chase, but his joints froze with a warning.
Mōri, however, stretched his arm unnaturally, his right shoulder cracking as he dislocated it on purpose. His racket reached farther than it should have, and he intercepted the ball.
Atobe blinked in surprise as the ball slipped past him. Behind him, Sanada flashed with black lightning, flickering into its path. His aura erupted, shrouding the ball in darkness.
He swung down hard, the shot cloaked in black light as it tore across the net. Mōri instinctively chased, snapping his shoulder back into place, his body flowing forward with the ball.
"Black Dragon Fourfold Slash!"
Ochi frowned slightly. He knew that technique strained Mōri's joints dangerously, risking chronic dislocation, but with the match at this stage, he couldn't stop him.
The ball refracted three times in midair, and Mōri read them all. But that was his limit. Just as he went for the interception, the ball bent for a fourth refraction. Ochi had expected it and was already in position, careful to leave space in case Sanada forced a fifth.
But that fifth never came. Ochi steadied his return and struck a clean crosscourt, sending the ball flying toward the sideline. Atobe moved to intercept, but Sanada's lightning flashed, and he appeared first.
His racket swung in a fierce backhand, spinning the ball into a cutting slash.
"Light of Cloud, Unhindered as the Void!"
Mōri moved again on instinct. A mountain forest shimmered into being behind him, making Sanada's eyes twitch—it looked like his own Immovable as a Mountain fused with Still as a Forest.
The slash smashed into the mountain, tearing at it violently until the image split and vanished. Mōri's racket flew from his hands as the ball slammed onto the line and bounced out.
"15-0!"
Sanada doubled over, bracing his knees as he panted hard. That burst had drained him badly, but even so, he refused to be a dispensable presence in this match.
With the aura of Shura burning within him, his will was unshakable. After only a moment's pause, he straightened and strode back to the baseline. Atobe's gaze lingered on him, complicated—though it looked like he was the one scoring, Atobe knew exactly how much Sanada's effort mattered.
'How laughable… bragging about evolving day by day, and yet here I am, relying on someone else to carry me!' Atobe mocked himself bitterly inside.
Sanada served again with Swift as the Wind, and Atobe unleashed Atobe Kingdom in full. Crystals of ice filled the court, and behind him rose a massive frozen castle.
When Ochi struck back, he suddenly felt his entire body laid bare, his joints aching faintly under the strain. His full-moon eyes flared cold as he poured out mental power to resist.
After returning the ball, Ochi lifted his gaze. His stare locked with Atobe's, his aura surging. For a moment, a crescent moon shimmered within Atobe's pupils before vanishing, slowing his motion just slightly.
But Atobe had already fixed on Ochi's absolute blind spot. Instead of targeting both at once, he lashed out at a single fatal point. The ball streaked past the frozen Ochi toward the baseline.
Mōri appeared instantly in its path. His purple eyes gleamed coldly, his racket sweeping forward. At the same time, dozens of ice spears erupted around Atobe and Sanada.
The next second, black lightning erupted from Sanada, shattering every ice spear around him. He flickered to the net, swung hard, and when the ball struck his racket, all its spin and force vanished. The ball rolled down slowly, dropping dead in Ochi and Mōri's court.
"Still as the Forest!"
"30-0!"
After scoring, Sanada turned to glance at Atobe in the backcourt. A sudden flash of intuition had told him Atobe's plan, and he'd acted without hesitation, earning the point.
"Heh~ looks like you can be reliable sometimes, Sanada! You didn't disappoint ore-sama!" Atobe said proudly when he caught Sanada's gaze.
"It's not over yet, don't let your guard down, Atobe! …Let's win this match together!" Sanada first scolded him out of habit, then hesitated, before speaking with firm encouragement.
"Of course! Who do you think ore-sama is?" Atobe replied arrogantly, as cheers for him mysteriously rang out from nowhere.
Sanada quickly shook his head, forcing the illusion away, and walked to the baseline with a serious face. He picked up a ball, took a deep breath to steady himself, then tossed it high and smashed down.
"Swift as the Wind!"
The serve was fast, but Mōri reacted even faster, moving ahead of the bounce and swinging. His shot mimicked Swift as the Wind. Sanada stayed calm, showing no change in expression.
Atobe darted forward. He knew Sanada's stamina was running low. Even if they won this set, there was still a third waiting. Atobe decided to carry the pace himself for now, giving Sanada a chance to recover.
After all, when it came to stamina, Atobe feared no one. Back in his first year, Akashi had told him about his unique breathing. It was IAP breathing—abdominal breathing. Many athletes trained to learn it because it helped recovery and endurance. But for Atobe, it was natural, instinctive. That was the true secret to his extraordinary stamina.
He launched into his aggressive net play, firing one crushing shot after another. Sanada, though aware of Atobe's intent, still moved in the backcourt to cover him.
The rallies grew fast and fierce, yet oddly balanced. None of them unleashed their strongest techniques, not even Mōri in his Sleepwalking Mode. For a while, the match seemed almost ordinary.
But it didn't last long. Under Atobe's relentless pressure, Mōri's instincts finally sent up a lob. Atobe seized the chance, leapt high at the net, and spiked down hard.
The ball spun violently toward the center line. Ochi stepped forward to intercept. It bounced and began sliding. Ochi lowered his racket to scoop it, but just before contact, the ball split into two, slipping past both his sides.
Ochi froze—he had fallen for that trick twice now.
"40-0!"
Atobe clenched his racket and roared, unable to hold back his excitement. He had shed all concern for appearances, throwing himself completely into the match. Seeing this, Sanada's expression softened, and his aura grew even stronger.
At the baseline, Sanada's presence surged higher, the glow of Shura blazing brighter. Suddenly he felt himself slipping into a strange, transcendent state, the same as during his match against Akashi at Nationals.
A special ripple spread from within his black aura, catching Akashi's sharp eye from the coach's seat. In the crowd, several others turned their focus to Sanada.
Sanada himself noticed nothing. He simply unleashed another Swift as the Wind, sending the ball flying fast to the deep right corner. Mōri reached it quickly and blasted it back.
Atobe was about to rush the net when he sensed something behind him. He turned and saw Sanada's black aura stretching across half the court. Two crimson glows rose within it, slowly shifting into gold.
Sanada moved fast to the bounce, his aura swallowing the ball. He struck, and the ball shot forward wreathed in black light. Mōri's violet eyes flicked from Sanada's swing to the ball as he chased.
But just as he reached for it, the ball refracted sharply to the right. Mōri didn't react. Ochi, startled, scrambled to cover, but was a step too late. The ball refracted three more times in midair before flying out of bounds.
"Game! Second String Selection! 4-3!"