"Is that all the power of the man they call the King of Destruction?" On the other side, Akutsu walked to the coach's bench, his tone filled with irritation.
"Duke hasn't gone all out. As for why he hides his strength, perhaps only he himself knows," Akashi replied calmly after glancing at Akutsu.
"Heh~ In the next set, I'll force him to use his full power!" Akutsu's eyes gleamed with interest at Akashi's words. To be honest, even though Duke's strength had pushed him to use his Alternate Dimension, Akutsu still wasn't satisfied.
'Could it be because Chloe isn't here?' A ridiculous thought flashed in Akashi's mind, but he quickly shook it off.
'If Duke really unleashes his Destruction Demon God, then Akutsu might not be able to win. But maybe this will be a good trial for him,' Akashi mused silently.
Right now, Akutsu's strength had reached a bottleneck. His physical talent was top-tier, but as always, he was still too young, his body not yet fully developed. What he needed most was experience against all kinds of top opponents to build up his foundation.
Though Akashi could pressure Akutsu enough, after three years of constant challenges, Akutsu no longer had any hope of defeating him. Against others, even Tezuka and Yukimura couldn't say for sure they could fully suppress him, and with one slip, they might even lose.
So for now, Duke or Oni were the best opponents for Akutsu. They could give him enough pressure while pushing him to his limits. Too bad Oni had already played, and Duke, for reasons unknown, kept holding back his strength.
After both Akutsu and Duke had recovered some stamina, the break ended quickly. They walked back onto the court. Seeing Duke bare-chested across from him, Akutsu's face lit up with eagerness. He was ready to attack with everything he had, to force Duke to fight seriously.
The first game was Duke's service game. Without hesitation, Duke tossed the ball and swung his racket full force. A strange shockwave clung to the ball as it shot toward the other side.
Behind Akutsu, Fenrir's phantom suddenly appeared. He instantly opened his Alternate Dimension and, like a beast stalking prey, lunged toward the bounce point. As the ball rose, Akutsu leaped into the air, twisted his body several times, and struck fiercely.
With such impossible movement, the destructive force of Duke's serve lost all meaning. The ball turned into a yellow streak, flying back at incredible speed.
But Duke seemed to have expected this. He had already rushed the net, his massive frame waiting. He blocked the ball with his racket, clearly intending a short shot.
"Heh~ Don't think cheap tricks like that will fool me!" Akutsu's eyes flashed fiercely as he charged the front court.
Just as Akutsu reached the net, Duke suddenly turned his racket, swinging a backhand. The ball flew past in an instant, striking Akutsu's right cheek before he could react, leaving a red mark.
"Duke Bunt!"
"15-0!"
"Oh my~ Looks like Akutsu got outplayed there!" Irie said in surprise from the stands.
"If you're fooled by Duke's appearance, you'll pay for it. Who would expect such a huge, muscular player to have such delicate touch?" Kimijima pushed up his glasses with a charming smile.
"But that doesn't change the match overall. Akutsu clearly holds the upper hand now. And Byoudouin's reaction seems strange," Oni muttered quietly, his gaze shifting from the court to Byoudouin, who had been silent the whole time.
Akutsu wiped his cheek with his right hand. He didn't explode in rage as many expected; instead, he stayed calm, though his eyes grew sharper as he glared at Duke.
Duke only smiled warmly, as if ignoring Akutsu's glare, but his aura suddenly grew stronger, as if some hidden force was stirring within him.
Duke then launched another powerful serve, but it had little effect on Akutsu. The two clashed fiercely, the court filling with smoke and booming impact sounds like explosions.
After several rallies, Akutsu noticed something was wrong. His Alternate Dimension Fenrir no longer disrupted Duke's mind like before.
Each time Fenrir lunged at Duke in the spirit world, an eerie force stopped it. But that only made Akutsu's fighting spirit surge higher—this way, the match wouldn't be one-sided.
"So that's it… I didn't expect Duke-san's destruction ability could even do this!" From the stands, Yukimura suddenly realized something. His face showed surprise before softening with a sigh.
"Akutsu-senpai's Alternate Dimension attack looks like it got destroyed!" Ryōma finally noticed it too, following up after Yukimura's words.
"Oi, what do you mean by that? What does 'attack got destroyed' even mean?" Kikumaru, standing behind Ryōma, asked in confusion.
"When Duke-senpai receives the ball, he completely destroys the Alternate Dimension aura attached to it. That way, the Alternate Dimension can't affect his mind," Fuji replied, his eyes wide open, his tone unusually serious.
"You gotta be kidding, that's even possible?" Momoshiro stared at Duke in disbelief.
"Destruction isn't only for offense. If you destroy the opponent's attack itself, that's the best defense! Puri~" A sharp light flashed in Niō's eyes, as if he had just been inspired.
"So this is the reason Duke-senpai is called the King of Destruction?" Sanada muttered as he looked down at his hands, clearly lost in thought.
As the middle schoolers were talking, the match shifted. Even though Duke's destruction ability temporarily blocked Akutsu's Alternate Dimension interference, once Akutsu used Arayashiki again, Duke started struggling.
"15-15!"
"15-30!"
With his current level of strength, Duke couldn't destroy both Akutsu's balance and the aura of his Alternate Dimension at the same time. The score was quickly pulled back by Akutsu, and soon he was even pushing Duke toward total suppression.
"GAME! Second String Selection! 1-0!"
"GAME! Second String Selection! 2-0!"
"GAME! Second String Selection! 3-0!"
In no time, Akutsu had taken three straight games. Duke seemed to have run out of answers. Though he still held an absolute advantage in raw power, in every other aspect he was being crushed by Akutsu.
When Duke returned to the bench for water, Byoudouin, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. Standing behind Duke, his voice was calm but heavy:
"Unleash your nature with everything you have, Duke! Right now, Japan needs the King of Destruction!"
"Captain..." Duke muttered softly, staring at the bottle in his hand without turning back. He didn't answer immediately.
The match restarted quickly. The fourth game was Akutsu's serve. Fenrir's phantom behind him grew more solid, its savage aura pressing down, though Duke didn't seem affected.
This game was no different from the last three. Duke was still pushed back by Akutsu. Even when he managed to win a few points, it had little effect on the overall flow.
"GAME! Second String Selection! 4-0!"
"GAME! Second String Selection! 5-0!"
Akutsu had exploded again, taking another two games. Yet his expression wasn't satisfied at all. Even after forcing Duke into this corner, the man still refused to go all out. Or… had Akashi's prediction been wrong?
Standing at the baseline, annoyed and ready to finish this meaningless match, Akutsu suddenly heard Byoudouin roar from the sideline:
"I told you to wreak havoc with everything you've got, Duke!"
"Heh... guess I've got no choice, Captain~" Duke let out a sigh. He knew he couldn't keep hiding anymore.
Suddenly, a wave of deadly danger surged in Akutsu's chest. Just as hesitation flickered in his eyes, Duke let out a roar. A pitch-black giant shadow slowly rose behind him, just like when he had torn his shirt earlier.
"Alternate Dimension—Destruction Demon God!"
The Destruction Demon God.
A towering humanoid phantom in full Native American warrior garb loomed behind Duke. This was his Alternate Dimension, the Destruction Demon God. Akutsu forcefully suppressed the chill in his gut and instead grinned with excitement. He tossed the ball high and launched a blistering serve.
The ball tore across the net at incredible speed, Fenrir lunging alongside it straight at the newly born demon god. Duke's muscles bulged again as he smashed his racket down on the rising ball.
"Duke Homerun!"
The return came back with earth-shattering force. Akutsu charged with his racket, but this time the power was far beyond before. He couldn't withstand it. His racket snapped clean in two, and his body was blasted backward.
In the spirit world, the demon god raised its colossal hand and slammed down on Fenrir. With a thunderous crash, the ground split apart, and Fenrir was crushed into it, its body already starting to dissolve.
"0-15!"
"Since that's how it is… I'll rampage and destroy everything!" For the first time, Duke's face twisted into a terrifying expression as he scored.