A match between the strongest team of Class A and the weakest team of Class C.
Perhaps Class C judged they had no winning chance with ordinary methods because they had come up with a very unusual strategy.
They had gone all-in. Every student gave their jet-black to a student called Lexio, who got 1st place in Class Cs midterm exam.
Lexio was a guy with massively tangled hair, a bad curl, and tired eyes.
Centering everything on him, a girl who could link people using dark magic was connecting Lexio with other students to infuse their jet-black.
About six of them clung to Lexio. The other students came forward and played the game normally.
'I'm sure they're up to something, though.'
'What happens after he becomes stronger?'
Class A had no choice but to pay close attention to Class C's strategy. Before throwing the first ball, they took some time to plan. The method they chose was simple.
"You two stay at the back."
"We'll handle the early phase."
Just in case, they decided to preserve the staminas of Simon and Hector, the aces.
The two didn't really care when theyd take action, so they agreed to step back and wait.
Of course, even if Simon and Hector weren't up, the team was nothing to sneeze at.
All of them were Kizen students who had survived past the first midsemester. Their skills were certain.
They claimed a 100% hit rate using various attack patterns.
"Huff!"
They even managed to defend an attack. A chubby student named Miller caught the ball by drawing a magic circle onto his body to make objects stick to it.
"Nice defense, Miller!"
"Time for a counterattack!"
Miller looked around and tossed the ball to another student, who pulled her hand back in preperation.
In that hand formed a round tennis racket from blood she had wrapped around her arm. Then, she swung the racket as hard as she could. The ball buried itself into a Class C students face.
"Nice finish!"
"You guys are both so cool!"
The atmosphere in Class A was good. Simon also clapped and encouraged his classmates. But Hector just watched with a scowl, with his hands deep in his pockets.
Losing members or no, Class C was already thoroughly all-in on Lexio. The students who spent all their jet-black went to the front of the court, took an attack, and went out.
This continued, and
Surviving Students in Class A: 8
Surviving Students in Class C: 3
Both teams were now in the single digits. Simon joined the attack several times, but Hector only watched until the end.
Thud!
The female student linking others to Lexio was taken down by Class A's attack. Now, only two Class C students remained.
"I guess it can't be helped."
Finally, Lexio came forward.
"Let's give it a try."
In the meantime, the other Class C member took the attack and eliminated a Class A member, making the match 7:2.
It was Class A's turn to attack. Class A's tennis girl, acting as a main cannon, stepped forward.
She served the ball up and slammed it down with the tennis racket born from hemomancy.
'You won't be able to dodge this!'
She was confident with her attack.
Then, Lexio finally activated the dark magic he had prepared. A transluscent glass wall formed around him in every direciton.
Clink!
The ball still flying straight ahead was blocked by the glass wall and stopped spinning. Lexio extended his arm and pointed at a guy next to her.
Thud!
The ball flew back with the same force as when it hit the wall and struck guy Lexio pointed at right in the ribs, knocking him down.
"Wh-What?"
"Did it just reflect?"
Clamor clamor.
It was absolutely no ordinary dark magic. Like Haren Cork, the was probably a family recipe.
Class A regrouped and launched an attack. Again, the ball was blocked by the glass wall and bounced back, eliminating another student.
Muffled voices broke loose from everywhere.
"How do we break that?"
"Such an OP ability, even if only in this game."
In the next turn to attack, they caught the student wandering outside Lexio's barrier, but another Class A student was hit by Lexio's attack.
In the blink of an eye, it became 5:1. Lexio had to deal with five people alone, but he looked relaxed.
"How long are you two going to sit at the back and look pretty?"
Lexio gave a smug grin.
"Come."
Yaaaaaawwwwwnnnnnn
Everyones eyes turned to the source of the unexpected yawn. There, they found Hector, blankly staring at Lexio.
"Ball."
The tennis girl trembled at Hector's words.
"Bring me the ball."
"Ah, here!"
She quickly passed the ball to Hector. He took a deep breath, and then threw the ball at Lexio's glass wall.
It was different from the sound from the other students attempts.
Pooow!
Pooooooooow!
The sustained impacts made the glass walls start to crack. It was an ignorant volley, but as the caster, Lexio was starting to take damage.
"Simon Polentiaaaaaaaaa!"
Hector vented his anger and opened his subspace. The pungent scales of a corpse dragon vomited out from the pocket dimension and stuck to his right arm.
"I'll kill you!!"
Hector hurled the ball, making Lexio flinch as it approached. The ball bounced off the glass wall and flew straight to Simon.
Poooooooooooooooow!
Simon gripped the ball with both hands, but his feet grinded against the ground as it pushed him back
"Heh!"
Hector grinned at his inevitable victory. However, Simon managed to stabilize without even having to strain himself. Then, he opened his own subspace.
"Bone Armor."
The bodies of disassembled skeletons covered Simon's right arm, entering 'Gauntlet Mode'.
Wearing the gauntlet, Simon threw the ball with Jet-Black Eruption concentrated in his right arm.
Poooooooooooooooooow!
Back on the defense, Hector was pushed back tremendously.
This time, his heel stopped just before it touched the edge of the court. If he stopped it even a moment later, he wouldve been out.
"Kuuuuuugh!"
Hector opened his subspace wider. Soon, scales coated his entire body. Hector's skin wriggled in some uncanny delight.
Flap!
Soon, large wings attached to Hector's back, joining directly to his flesh.
Swoooooosh!
Hector flew high into the air, holding the ball.
'Take a good look, Simon.'
He looked down at Simon from above.
Simon was also looking up at Hector with a calm face.
'Just looking at that face makes me want to break it. I'm the one with the highground, so why the hell am I the one feeling its over?'
"Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Hector spiked the ball straight down. A blinding flash of light shot through the sky, and the ball descended like a comet into the glass wall.
Rrrrrrrumble!
"Woah!"
"Kyaaaah!"
The winds alone were enough to force the spectating students to brace for impact. The glass wall also began to fracture with a loud crack.
Seeing this, Simon's eyes shone.
'Not yet! It hasnt broken yet!'
Simon quickly ran to the front of the court and opened his subspace.
"Simon! Dodge it!"
"He's planning to hurt you! Please, don't block and get out of there!"
Camibarez and Meilyn both shouted for him to move. But Simon only grinned.
'I'm sorry, but I can't back off from this!'
Pooooooooooow!
Soon, the ball flew to Simon with the force of Hector's spike. Simon opened his subspace and poured out all the summon-type skeletons.
Baam!
Bang!
Baaaaam!
Skeletons collided with the ball and were ripped apart. But the bones were sticking to the ball.
'Jet-Black Eruption!'
A black sweat flowed out from Simon's body. He took a deep breath and prepared to catch.
Poooooooooooow!
The ball immediately struck Simon. He skidded across the ground, and his outstretched arms were forced against his chest.
It felt as if his feet were going to give out from under him at the tremendous power, but he held on while clenching his teeth and activated the absolute order.
'Stop!'
The attached bones all generated a force of attraction in the opposing direction.
'Open!'
A new subspace portal opened, and one of the Overlord's blades protruded from it and wrapped around Simon's arms, legs, and waist like a rope. That way the Overlord could dissipate some of the force.
He was getting pushed closer and closer to the edge of the court, but he was getting pushed back less and less.
Creeaak.
It was by the breadth of a hair.
The Jet-Black Eruption, the bones repulsion, and even the Overlord. The three powers perfectly matched and stopped the ball.
''
The spectators were so silent, some even forgot to breathe. Class A and Class C alike were standing with their jaws dropped.
'We were told to play a ball game, so why the hell are they playing a war game?'
'They really are on a different level.'
Simon walked up. Lexio could only watch through the now-frail glass wall as the blood drained from his face.
'Theyre fucking crazy! I used the jet-black of several Kizen students, and they're breaking through it with blunt force?'
Simon gripped the ball with both hands and got ready to throw.
30 seconds left until he had to cancel Jet-Black Eruption.