Hermes quickly served again. This time Krauser reacted fast, not thrown off by the rebound angle. Exploding forward, he returned the ball cleanly. But Hermes, right after serving, seized the chance, flashing to the net and intercepting directly.
Kite also flickered to the net using Shukuchihō. His right hand gathered a mass of ghostly light, darkness wrapping around him, and soon Hermes and Vulcan were swallowed by it as well.
Without seeing Kite's swing, Hermes couldn't predict the ball's path. He focused all his senses, alert for any movement within the darkness. But Kite's target wasn't him.
On the other side, Vulcan saw a huge shadow ball streaking toward him. Narrowing his eyes, he gripped his racket with both hands and met it head-on. The clash was violent, but Vulcan still managed to return the Dark Strike.
Within the darkness, Kite had already read Vulcan's opening. As Hermes's vision cleared, he saw Kite leaping into the air, smashing down. The ball slithered like a serpent, twisting wildly, before shooting up in Vulcan's blind spot and slamming into his right ribs.
"Big Habu!"
"30-30!"
"You alright, Vulcan?" Hermes glanced over, asking.
"I'm fine. I've always believed life's essence is suffering. That's why everyone instinctively pushes their pain onto others. It's fate—inevitable, unavoidable." Vulcan rubbed his ribs lightly, his expression growing cold.
"But when the only light in your life appears, if you choose to ignore it, you'll be trapped forever in an abyss of pain. So, Japanese boys, you need proper guidance! Olympus Amber Light!"
As his words fell, amber light burst from Vulcan's body, making him shine like a god descended to earth. Beside him, Hermes sighed lightly, silver radiance blooming around him.
"Olympus Silver Light!"
This set off alarm bells in Kite and Krauser's minds. They had seen this in the previous match—when Hercules awakened Silver Light, his power had skyrocketed.
They didn't know exactly what Amber Light did, but it was clearly on par with Silver Light, maybe even stronger. And now Hermes had also released Silver Light. The match was about to get fierce.
Hermes returned to the baseline, silver brilliance dazzling. Tossing the ball high, his swing blurred into the sound of the ball striking and bouncing, the two sounds almost fusing into one. Behind Kite's lenses, his pupils widened. Outside the court, a ball was slowly bouncing.
"Ace! 40-30!"
Ignoring Kite's reaction, Hermes tossed again. It was another lightning-fast flat shot. But this time, a purple aura flared around Kite. Shukuchihō exploded at full power, and he returned the ball instantly.
"Asura Shindō!"
But right after crossing the net, the ball was wrapped in amber light and fired back even faster, slamming into the right baseline and flying out. Neither Kite nor Krauser had time to react.
"Game! Greece! 2-2!"
Now Vulcan, glowing amber, stood at the net, racket still extended. Clearly that last shot had been his return. But Kite and Krauser hadn't even seen how he'd struck it.
"So that's it. Silver Light enhances overall physical ability, while Amber Light boosts speed and reaction. Similar to Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami?" Akashi analyzed calmly from the sideline, his Emperor Eye seeing everything.
"Looks like not every country revolves around the Light of Pride~" Fuji remarked as he watched Greece's two players.
"The Light of Pride is most popular in Europe. Each country has its own tennis culture and heritage. Greece has its Olympus Holy Light, while we in Japan have Asura Shindō." Akashi explained further.
"But things aren't looking good for Kite and Krauser. Even with Shindō active, Kite still couldn't respond in time to that Greek high schooler's shot," Tachibana muttered with a frown.
"This match might be great training for Kite and Liliadent," Akashi said. To him, Hermes and Vulcan were already close to professional level. They would apply immense pressure on Krauser and Kite.
Even if Kite and Krauser lost, it wouldn't affect today's group match much. Akashi was confident he could handle Zeus, while the other two Greek players were only middle schoolers. Fuji or Niō could finish them easily.
Like most countries, Greece's main force was still its high school players. And unlike in the original lineup, the Greek team hadn't brought the Execution Brothers this time. In Akashi's view, those brothers were probably the strongest among Greece's middle schoolers, but their playing style wasn't well-liked within the team.
The fifth game came back to Kite's serve. Now fully awakened into Asura Shindō, a purple aura wrapped around his whole body. His mental power surged, and all five of his attributes rose to different degrees.
At the baseline, he tossed the ball high. With an explosive crack, the ball cloaked in violet light appeared instantly in the far court. Vulcan flashed to the bounce point and struck.
The weight through his racket made him flinch, but Vulcan immediately poured out all his strength and returned it. Suddenly, the opposing court was swallowed by darkness, and once the ball crossed the net it vanished.
A huge shadowy sphere came roaring at Hermes, the darkness spreading out as it moved. With silver radiance glowing, Hermes stood out clearly inside the void.
He darted a short distance, as if he had foreseen the path, and with both hands smashed forward. In the next instant, the silver brilliance tore through the black, sending the ball screaming toward the left baseline.
But then a towering phantom tsunami engulfed the ball, rushing at Vulcan and Hermes before they could react. The wave swallowed their side of the court in an instant.
Both their rackets spun into the air, and the shock knocked them back several steps. Hermes wavered first, dropping to one knee, panting heavily. Vulcan held up better, but his expression was grim.
"Alternate Dimension—Spiral Strangle!"
"15-0!"
Across the net, Krauser was wrapped in deep blue light, standing cold-eyed as an aura of underworld fury seeped from him. Like Kite, he too had fully opened Asura Shindō.
"So this is the same kind of power as Olympus Holy Light? I didn't expect Japan's players to have such hidden cards!" Hercules muttered in surprise from near the Greek bench.
"No. The aura those two boys give off is completely different from Olympus Holy Light. This is born only from experiencing crushing defeat and clawing back. It feels like the underworld itself," Zeus said, his expression finally turning serious.
"The underworld… huh?" Hercules whispered, eyes flickering as if chasing some thought.
While Zeus and Hercules spoke, Kite unleashed another Barrage Serve. As Vulcan received, a massive volcano phantom rose behind him, and the ball wrapped in fiery red light surged toward Kite and Krauser.
"Tenkaikō—Heavenfire Hammer!"
Kite flickered with Shukuchihō, both hands bracing his racket against the ball's furious impact. The wood groaned, but then the return burst forth as a beam of ghostly blue, lancing like a laser through both defenders, bouncing out of court.
"big Habu!"
"30-0!"
"That shot went straight for the instant opening between me and Vulcan. Could it be… that boy has already read our movements?" Hermes frowned, murmuring to himself as his eyes locked on Kite.
But Kite gave him no time to think. Another Barrage Serve thundered toward Hermes. With Silver Light reinforcing him, Hermes managed to return it.
At once, darkness spread across Kite and Krauser's side again. The ball disappeared from Hermes's sight. He and Vulcan braced themselves, ready for another Dark Strike.
Then the darkness cleared. A streak of yellow light shot across the court, veering for the left baseline. Hermes instantly realized he'd been misled. His figure blurred into an afterimage and reappeared at the corner, swinging at the rebound.
But the impact ripped his racket away. The vicious vertical spin told him at once he'd fallen for it, but now he could only watch the ball fly out of bounds.
"40-0!"
"Well played. First misleading me to lower my guard, then finishing with Wirbel Taufe." Hermes retrieved his racket, looking across at Kite and Krauser as he spoke steadily.