Nissan Stadium was not a football pitch; it was a mausoleum of giants.
The colossal concrete bowl in Yokohama, the venue of the 2002 World Cup Final, cast a shadow that felt heavy enough to crush bones. Even though the stands were only partially filled for this U-18 Premier League match, the history of the place echoed in the cavernous silence of the tunnel.
Rio stood in the line-up, adjusting his shin guards. His hands were shaking. Not from the cold of the Japanese autumn, but from the terrifying numbers burning in the corner of his vision.
[QUEST: THE STARTING XI]Objective: Play 90 Minutes without collapsing or being substituted. Current Stamina: 100/100 Lifespan Remaining: 89 Days, 10 Hours. Reward: +5 Days Lifespan.
Five days. He needed those five days to pad his account before buying the Medical Mask for Guntur's exam. If he was subbed off in minute 89, he failed. If he collapsed, he failed.
"Nervous?"
Rio jumped. Hiroto was standing beside him, looking bored as usual, chewing on a piece of gum.
"Just cold," Rio lied, blowing warm air into his hands to hide the tremor.
"You should be scared," Hiroto said flatly. He nodded toward the front of the Yokohama F. Marinos line. "Look at him."
Rio looked. And swallowed hard.
Leading the opposition was a player who looked like he had wandered out of a Godzilla movie. He stood at 190cm, with thighs like tree trunks and shoulders as wide as a doorframe. He didn't look like a teenager; he looked like a weapon of war carved from granite.
Rio's System reacted instantly, scanning the threat.
[SYSTEM SCAN]Target: Daigo "The Wall" Saito Role: Center Back / Captain Strength:A+Agility: D
Passive Skill Detected: [IRON FORTRESS (Rank B)]Effect: Increases physical resistance by 50% when blocking inside the penalty area. Immovable object.
"Daigo Saito," Specter whispered, floating down from the ceiling pipes. "The strongest defender in the youth league. He's simple physics, Rio. If he hits you, you break. Mass times acceleration equals a hospital visit."
The referee blew the whistle. The sound echoed violently off the concrete walls.
"Let's go," Hiroto muttered, stepping onto the pitch. "Try not to die, Partner."
THE COLLISION
KICK OFF.
The game started at a frantic, suffocating pace.
Yokohama F. Marinos didn't play the beautiful game. They played heavy metal. They knew Tokyo Verdy relied on technique and intricate passing triangles, so they decided to smash the geometry with brute force.
Minute 15.
Rio received a pass on the right wing. The grass was slick, fast. He looked up to cross.
Before he could turn his hips, a shadow engulfed him. The sun seemed to blot out.
Daigo was there.
The giant didn't tackle. He didn't slide. He simply stepped into Rio's path and leaned his body weight onto Rio's shoulder.
CRUNCH.
It wasn't a foul. It was a collision.
Rio felt the air leave his lungs instantly. It felt like being crushed by a hydraulic press. His fragile frame—Strength Rank F—crumpled under the A-Rank mass of the defender. Rio flew two meters sideways, slamming into the turf hard enough to rattle his teeth.
"Argh..." Rio gasped, clutching his ribs, tasting dirt.
The referee waved his arms. "Play On! Shoulder to shoulder!"
"Get up, twig!" Daigo grunted. He looked down at Rio with eyes devoid of pity. "This is a man's league. Go back to the nursery."
Rio struggled to his feet. His vision swam for a second.
[SYSTEM WARNING][Thoracic Impact Detected][Stamina: 85/100][Heart Stress Level: 110%]
"Fifteen minutes," Specter noted grimly, circling Rio like a vulture. "You've been on the pitch for fifteen minutes, and you've already lost 15% stamina from trauma alone. At this rate, your heart will give out by halftime."
Rio grit his teeth, spitting out a blade of grass mixed with blood. "I can't fight him physically. If I touch him again, I die."
THE BAIT
Minute 35.
The game was stuck in a violent gridlock, 0-0.
Rio was disappearing from the game. He was hiding. Every time he got close to the ball, Daigo's imposing presence forced him to pass back safely. The fear of another collision was paralyzing him.
"Disappointing," Hiroto muttered as he walked past Rio during a dead ball. He didn't look at Rio. "I thought you were a wolf. Turns out you're just a scared puppy waiting for a treat."
Rio's eyes flashed with anger. Scared? I'm fighting for my actual life here.
But Hiroto was right. Playing safe was a slow death.
"Specter," Rio asked internally. "Analyze him. Does Daigo have a weakness?"
"He's heavy," Specter replied instantly. "High Strength usually means low Agility. He turns like a cruise ship. It takes him three steps to change direction completely. But you can't beat him with speed alone right now because his [Iron Fortress] skill allows him to magnetically block any shot within 2 meters."
"So I can't shoot near him," Rio realized. "And I can't outmuscle him."
Rio looked at the giant patrolling the defensive line.
"I have to draw him out," Rio whispered. "I have to pull the fortress away from the castle gate."
Minute 43 (Just before halftime).
Rio drifted away from the wing. He stopped running the channel. Instead, he moved centrally, dropping deep—almost into the defensive midfield position.
Daigo hesitated. As a center back, his job was to hold the line. But Rio was unmarked, standing in a pocket of empty space.
"Here!" Rio called for the ball, loud and desperate.
The Verdy midfielder passed it to him.
Daigo saw the opportunity. The skinny foreigner was stationary. His back was to the goal. He was a sitting duck.
Crush him, Daigo's body language screamed.
The giant charged forward, leaving his defensive line, abandoning his post to deliver another bone-crushing hit.
"He took the bait," Specter chuckled darkly.
Daigo was fast in a straight line. He arrived like a freight train, the ground vibrating with his steps.
[SYSTEM WARNING: COLLISION IMMINENT]
Rio waited. He didn't move. He could smell the sweat on Daigo. He could feel the wind pressure of the incoming tackle.
Wait... Wait...
The giant was one meter away. Committed. Unable to stop.
NOW.
[ACTIVATE: EAGLE EYE (Passive Trigger)]
Time seemed to freeze.
Rio saw the pitch from above. He saw Daigo barreling toward him like a missile. But behind Daigo, the defensive line was broken. There was a massive, gaping hole in the center of the Yokohama defense.
And running into that gap, like a silent assassin, was Hiroto.
Rio didn't dribble. He didn't use [Lightning Stride].
He simply dropped his left shoulder, feinting a touch.
But he didn't touch the ball.
He opened his legs.
The ball rolled harmlessly through his own legs. Rio spun 180 degrees, using Daigo's own aggression against him.
It was a "Dummy".
Daigo, expecting an impact, plowed through empty air. His massive momentum carried him forward, stumbling past Rio like a bull missing a matador.
Rio collected the ball on the turn. Daigo was behind him now. The Fortress was breached.
Rio looked up. He didn't need to aim.
Slash.
A perfect through-ball sliced the grass.
Hiroto collected it in stride. One-on-one with the keeper. The ace didn't panic. He chipped the ball effortlessly over the diving goalie.
GOAL!Yokohama F. Marinos [0] - [1] Tokyo Verdy
Rio fell to his knees. Not from injury, but from the adrenaline crash.
Daigo stood up, his face red with fury. Veins popped in his neck. He glared at Rio.
"You rat," Daigo hissed. "You tricked me."
Rio smiled, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip where he had bitten it.
"Catch me if you can, big guy."
THE RED ZONE
Minute 80.
The triumph of the first half was a distant memory. The second half had been a nightmare.
Yokohama attacked relentlessly, pinning Verdy back. Daigo stayed back now, refusing to be baited again, locking down the defense. He was angry, and he was taking it out on everyone.
Rio's stamina was critically low.
[Stamina: 12/100][Heart Stress: 92%][Vision: Blurring...]
The edges of Rio's vision were turning grey. The sound of the crowd was muffled, like he was underwater. His heart felt like a bird trying to peck its way out of his ribcage.
"Rio, you're in the red zone," Specter warned, his voice urgent. "Your heart rate is 190. You need to sub out. You're going to trigger a cardiac event."
"No," Rio wheezed, hands on his knees. "I need the 5 days. I need to finish."
On the sideline, Coach Tanaka was looking at the bench, preparing a substitute board. He saw Rio stumbling.
"Don't take me out," Rio prayed, forcing himself to run. "Just ten more minutes."
Suddenly, a clearance from the Verdy defense sent a loose ball bouncing toward the corner flag.
It was a 50/50 race.
Rio was thirty meters away. Daigo was thirty meters away.
If Rio won, he was through to the goal to kill the game. If Daigo won, Rio would be crushed against the advertising boards.
"Don't do it!" Specter screamed. "It's suicide! He'll kill you!"
Rio didn't listen. He looked at his internal timer. [89 Days left.]
I need to live.
[ACTIVATE: LIGHTNING STRIDE]
ZAP!
Rio exploded forward, his exhausted muscles screaming as the System forced electricity through them. Daigo roared, pumping his massive legs, terrified of being beaten again.
They were neck and neck. A racing car against a tank.
They reached the ball at the exact same moment.
CRASH!
Shoulder met shoulder.
Normally, Rio would fly. Physics dictated it.
But this time, Rio didn't try to push back. He used the [Drift] feature of his Rank C skill. He spun his body upon impact, using the centrifugal force to roll off Daigo's hit rather than absorbing it.
The sound of his shoulder popping out of its socket was louder than the crowd.
POP.
He groaned as white-hot pain shot through his arm, a sickening sensation of bone leaving its housing. But he stayed on his feet.
Daigo, expecting resistance, stumbled forward, losing his balance for a fraction of a second.
Rio emerged from the collision with the ball. He cut inside. The goal was open.
But as he pulled his leg back to shoot, the world went black.
Thump.
His heart missed a beat. Then two.
!!! [CAR...DIAC... CRITI...CAL] !!![SYS...TEM... SHUT...DOWN... IMMI...NENT]
The pain in his chest wasn't a spear this time; it was a bomb. Rio couldn't see the ball. He couldn't see the goal. He could only feel the void opening up to swallow him.
Just one kick.
Rio swung his leg blindly into the darkness, a final, desperate prayer before his body collapsed.