"Nice!"
"The quadruple is right in front of us!"
"Kahaha. Did you see the looks on those United bastards' faces when they went into the tunnel? I tried to give Vidić a word of encouragement and nearly got punched for it."
Manchester City's dressing room was like a full-blown celebration.
4-2.
It was still only a 2-goal lead, but from the middle of the first half onward they had been so dominant that they already believed they had won.
There were still 45 minutes left.
They might have the advantage, but they certainly did not think they were in any danger.
No matter how great a manager Ferguson was, even he could not turn around a match like this.
No, there was no manager in the world who could.
Manchester City had moved beyond the realm of human ability.
More precisely, Ho-young had.
Yaya Touré, who had stood firm as the pillar in midfield, Iniesta, who had provided 2 assists to Ho-young, David Silva, who had taken charge of the buildup and playmaking from deep, Ronaldinho and Adebayor, who had created Ho-young's zone.
Then there were the back four and goalkeeper Joe Hart, who had kept a clean sheet from the middle stages onward.
Everyone on the team had played well, but the reason they had regained their confidence and found their rhythm again was, without question, Ho-young.
It was because he had read United's flow, overturned it, and made it City's.
There was no one who did not realize that.
Even the bench players who had not stepped onto the pitch could feel it clearly.
So as soon as the players entered the dressing room, every one of them went over to Ho-young and greeted him excitedly.
Adebayor in particular even came over and broke into an energetic dance right in front of him.
"Hoo! Hoo!!"
Adebayor was doing his trademark Togolese traditional dance.
But he quickly sensed that something was off.
"Hm?"
By now, Ho-young should have jumped up and joined in, but he showed no reaction at all.
"Are you okay?"
Looking closer, his complexion did not look good at all.
Toward the end of the first half, his face had already looked very red, but back then they had assumed he was simply hot and overheated.
But now that they looked more carefully, something definitely seemed wrong.
"Why is your face so red?"
That said, he did not look like he was struggling at all.
A person would only look like that if they were extremely fired up, tense, or embarrassed.
In that instant, the dressing room went into chaos.
Ho-young kept saying he was fine, but the players were so worried that they rushed toward the staff room in a panic.
Soon Guardiola, the coaches, and the medical staff came in one after another to check on Ho-young's condition.
But unlike what they had feared, everything, his breathing, his pulse, all of it, soon returned to normal.
Then Ho-young spoke.
"I think I got overly excited."
Over-immersion.
The medical staff thought the same.
There were no particular symptoms in his body at all.
Their opinion was simply that he had become too immersed in the match, gotten overly excited, and briefly felt light-headed.
But Guardiola placed a hand on Ho-young's shoulder and said,
"That's enough. Sit out the second half."
"I can't go out like this."
"No, this is an order from the manager. If you're worried about the match, don't be. The rest of the players will take care of it."
"No. I'm fine. I want to keep playing."
"Stop being stubborn. The season that starts now, and the rest of your career, matter more than the Community Shield. What if you push yourself here and something goes wrong?"
No, Ho-young's thoughts were completely different.
This was not overexertion.
And.
"If I don't play, something worse will happen."
"What do you mean by that?"
"My body wants this right now."
He could not just let this pass.
Even if he explained it a hundred times, no one else would understand.
Ho-young, the one actually experiencing it, felt that more clearly than anyone.
"Please trust me this time too, just like you always have."
Guardiola thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Alright."
"Thank you."
Surprisingly, Guardiola backed down.
Even if the player showed no physical abnormality, sending him back onto the pitch in that condition was exactly the sort of thing a manager ought to stop.
What was more, it could even risk undermining the manager's authority.
But Ho-young's eyes were telling the truth.
They were asking him to believe.
And.
"Boss."
Ho-young slightly lowered his head toward Guardiola and said,
"I'm sorry for being stubborn."
"I already know you're a lad who exists outside common sense, so I know very well that there are things about you I won't understand. I'm just choosing to trust you. If it gets hard, tell me immediately."
"Understood."
As the time approached, Ho-young left the dressing room, his face still somewhat flushed.
There was another, real reason why he insisted on going back out.
'Greed.'
That desire for talent had spread through his entire body.
And more than anything, he had a feeling that if he did not release this urge building up to his throat, something worse would happen.
It was then.
"Uwoooooooo!"
As he stepped out onto the pitch, the crowd's roar stabbed at his ears, and the dazzling sunlight heated his chest.
Then that same feeling from before returned.
His heart pounded, his body felt as though it might burst, and it was as if his soul might separate from it.
'This is it.'
Ho-young became certain.
The greed that had taken root deep inside him 9 years ago.
It was going to consume him.
Even though his body still could not fully keep up, he had been producing plays far beyond human limits, and it had led him to this point.
In other words, this was the state Mammon had spoken of, the point just before becoming insane.
But he could not avoid it.
He had to settle it here.
'Greed wants me.'
If he did not want to be chased, then he had to do the chasing.
Ho-young also needed a goal that would let him break free from greed.
Football.
That was the biggest reason he had to step back onto the pitch.
He intended to overcome all of this through football.
[The second half has begun. Manchester City kick off this time. What will they show us in the second half?]
[With Guardiola in charge, I expect they'll keep attacking rather than become defensive. Ferguson seems to have adjusted his tactics with that in mind.]
A direct answer.
A striker who represented Mexico.
Ferguson had sent on Javier Hernández, better known as Chicharito, in place of Darren Fletcher and was preparing to go all-out in attack.
A 4-1-3-2 formation.
However, since Manchester City had control of the match, the plan was to defend first and then strike through extremely fast and fierce counterattacks.
[United's players are showing tremendous work rate.]
[That's right. They're truly putting their lives on the line. This might be the most intense match we've seen all year.]
At halftime, the 11 players who had been cursed out directly by Ferguson were running themselves ragged.
A normal manager would only have damaged his players' morale, but Ferguson was exceptionally good at controlling that, so instead he was able to motivate them.
But passion and ability were two different things.
The tailored tactics they had brought out could only work if the defensive foundation held to a certain extent, yet they were already struggling massively with even the basics of defending.
"Damn it."
Patrice Evra even abandoned the flank and sprinted centrally, but it was all for nothing.
Ho-young's ball control.
'That isn't human.'
Even Evra himself found the thought absurd.
What was truly absurd, though, was that as time passed, Ho-young's play became more and more advanced.
It was then.
[Ho-young tries to break through!]
[Evra's following him!]
'I'll stay with him to the end!'
Patrice Evra gritted his teeth and chased him, and that was when it happened.
[Ho-young changes direction!]
[Ahhhh!!]
The commentators could not continue.
It was something that could not be explained in words.
The ball seemed to teleport from left to right.
Ho-young's body had stayed where it was, but only the direction of the ball had changed sharply.
A supernatural phenomenon that seemed to graze past the laws of physics.
In an instant, he created immense friction between the ball and the studs of his boot, adding spin and pouring tremendous energy into the ball.
"Kiiik!"
Like a sparrow trying to keep up with a stork, Evra twisted awkwardly in that instant and destroyed himself.
And at that very moment.
[You are acquiring Tireless Vitality of the Black Gazelle (U).]
[Tireless Vitality of the Black Gazelle (U) has successfully fused with Unstoppable Heart (SU).]
[You are acquiring Energy That Never Stops Flowing (W+).]
It was a unique talent gained by fulfilling conditions such as successfully dribbling past Evra 10 times and winning the match.
And it did not end there.
[Near the penalty area, Ho-young looks up at the front.]
[They have to be careful! Vidić is stepping in from the front!]
Nemanja Vidić had already been tormented as much as possible in the first half.
This time Rio Ferdinand joined in too, and the 2 of them charged him together.
Vidić closed in from the left, Ferdinand from the right, narrowing the space and tackling from both sides.
What was more, Michael Carrick had joined in behind them, fully cutting off the back as well.
There seemed to be no way out.
The problem was that that was only what they thought.
[Ho-young drives straight at them!]
[Ahhh, he's lifted it!!]
A rainbow flick.
After flicking the ball high into the air with his heel, Ho-young exploded forward at tremendous speed.
The ball slipped between Vidić and Ferdinand, and then Ho-young followed it and settled it perfectly on his forehead.
At that moment, the news he had been waiting 3 months to hear finally came.
[You are acquiring Wall-dić's Man-Marking (SU).]
[Black Octopus's Instant Ball Cutting (SU) has successfully fused.]
[You are acquiring Unmatched Man-Marking (W+2).]
[You are acquiring Wall-dinand's Intelligent Defensive Positioning (SU).]
[Wall-dinand's Intelligent Defensive Positioning (SU) has successfully fused with Defensive Positioning That Builds a Wall of Lamentation (SU).]
[You are acquiring Flawless Defensive Positioning (W+2).]
It was the result of fulfilling conditions such as 'record 5 goal contributions in one match' and 'avoid Ferdinand's tackles 9 times.'
And then the finish.
Thud!
[Gooooooooooal!]
[5-2!! Ho-young scores his fifth goal!!]
After bringing the ball down from his forehead with his knee, Ho-young shook the net with a single right-footed shot.
At the same time, he let out a roar.
"UOOOOOOOO!"
This was it.
As his chest burned hot, peace began to settle into his mind.
[You are pre-acquiring Flawless Midfielder (T) in advance, to be fully absorbed in 9 days. You partially absorb Andrés Iniesta's experience and senses. It will take 14 days to fully assimilate the experience and senses.]
According to Premier League assist rules, an assist is awarded when the player who receives the pass scores within 3 touches.
So this was Iniesta's third assist, and thanks to that Ho-young was able to acquire Iniesta's talent.
Determined to fully commit himself to acquiring talents today, Ho-young even got the chance to obtain a legend player's T-grade talent around the 80th minute of the second half.
It came after they had conceded once to United's Chicharito.
[Ho-young drifts out to the right flank. Rafael closes him down!]
[He cuts inside once, then sends in an early diagonal cross!]
While Ho-young bought time, Adebayor drifted centrally and won the aerial duel with Vidić to get his head on it.
The cross was so good that it would be a goal as long as he simply made contact.
Thud!
[Gooooooooooal! Manchester City go 6-3 up!!]
[You are pre-acquiring Magician of the Left Foot (T), to be fully absorbed in 23 days. You partially absorb Ryan Giggs' experience and senses. It will take 12 days to fully assimilate the experience and senses.]
It was Ryan Giggs' title, acquired by fulfilling the condition, 'Successfully assist by recreating Ryan Giggs' trademark fantastic left-footed cross in similar fashion.'
But Ho-young was not about to stop there.
He already had 5 goals and 1 assist, yet he still ran around like a madman as if it were not enough.
The result came 5 minutes later.
Thud!
[Gooooooooooal!]
[A wonderful lobbed shot over De Gea! The score is 7-4!]
Right after United had scored through Ryan Giggs' free kick 1 minute earlier, Ho-young smashed one in.
Having fulfilled the condition of scoring 2 goals within 10 minutes, Ho-young even succeeded in acquiring Hernández's talent.
[You are acquiring Chicharito's Finishing (U).]
And then.
Piiik!
When the match ended 7-4, the 21 players still standing on the pitch and the roughly 90,000 spectators were all staring at Ho-young in a daze.
The nightmare of London, and the miracle.
It was the moment Manchester City, who had created that miracle, won the Community Shield and made it clear that they were the new masters of Manchester.
[Manchester City are crowned champions of the 2011 Community Shield!]
[An incredible achievement. This is the moment they completely break Manchester United's stronghold.]
At the same time, they completed a quadruple this year.
[You are acquiring Alien's Ball Perception (W+2).]
Only after Ho-young had received everything, and with the trophy in his hands as well, did his mind finally calm down.
It was like striking a piece of iron heated to the extreme over and over, only to find peace after finally shaping it into something.
His body really had suffered that much.
But through this match, he had gained confidence and realized something important.
The greatest talent a footballer could possess.
There was not much time left until he reached its very end.
(To be continued.)