"This guy… he's pretty strong."
Ichinose Guren said that aloud.
After taunting Kunimi Akira with his pinpoint explosive spike, a subtle movement betrayed his emotions.
But Kunimi, in that instant when frustration could have taken over, reacted, and chose to ignore the provocation.
Oikawa Tooru felt a quiet satisfaction watching Kunimi make Guren falter for the first time.
After all, a Guren reminiscent of Ushijima Wakatoshi was already someone Oikawa found annoyingly difficult to deal with.
And previously, during their verbal exchanges on TV, Guren's words felt like a tiny demon stabbing Oikawa's old wounds with a sharp spear.
Right now, in Oikawa's eyes, Guren's annoyance level was higher than Kageyama's, second only to that local Japanese "war god."
For Oikawa, seeing Kunimi hold firm against Guren's unrelenting spikes and provocations, and actually let him "eat a loss", was pleasing.
Although Kunimi's deliberate disregard didn't cause any negative reaction in that irritating opponent.
But after that fleeting moment of satisfaction, Oikawa's gaze grew cold again.
Other Aoba Johsai players' expressions hardened as well.
Even though that last point had carved a path through Karasuno's chase for scoring, giving Aoba Johsai a narrow lead at 5–4,
Aoba Johsai still believed their captain could lead them to regain control.
Then, the #15 of Karasuno, praised as the top freshman server of this IH, stepped up to the service line.
According to Aoba Johsai's coaching research, Ichinose Guren had a zero error rate for serves going out of bounds or into the net in this tournament.
Zero percent.
Not once.
In professional volleyball, even elite jump servers succeed less than half the time.
But this guy, unless the ball was perfectly received, was unstoppable.
In high school volleyball, that made him exceptionally formidable.
And now, this extraordinary server was on the opposite side, leading by one point.
No one could take this lightly.
Iwaizumi stepped up first:
"Everyone, focus!"
"The guy across is strong on serve. Only give him this one chance!"
"Yeah!"
The atmosphere in Aoba Johsai's half was tense, as if an army stood at their gates.
Each player's eyes widened, fixated on Guren's hands and the ball.
Yet Guren showed no sign of nerves.
He examined the volleyball in his hands with mild curiosity.
His attention was caught by the emblem on the ball, a badge.
The once bronze-colored emblem had been partially coated in silver paint, giving it the appearance of a bronze base with a three-dimensional silver crest.
Guren realized his trusty companion, the badge he had relied on, was "evolving."
But in Guren's mind, his serve had been steadily improving day by day.
If it seemed less impenetrable in high school than in junior high, it was only because his receivers were now mostly third-years.
In junior high, even the strongest opponents were his age.
Now, in high school, there was an age gap, making his serve appear less dominant.
Yet radar measurements confirmed: Guren's serves were only getting faster.
'It's time to level up. Maybe this badge's change just raises my baseline.'
Guren's thoughts were interrupted by the referee's whistle.
Beep!
A signal to begin the serve.
Guren moved to the court, executing his practiced routine once again: toss, jump, soaring to a height that never failed to impress the audience.
No matter how many times spectators had seen Guren jump, it never grew dull.
Humans are endlessly fascinated by flight.
While his run-up and jump exuded an artistic grace, his serve carried something else entirely, violence.
Murderous intent.
A twisted, innocent smile spread across his face as he slammed the ball down.
The winter wind cut like blades, freezing everything to the bone.
Aoba Johsai's players watched as if frozen statues, the ball's trajectory clear, yet no one could move.
Watari, the libero, reacted the most intensely.
Every hair on his body stood, as if electrified.
The ball, enveloped in Guren's aura, whistled past his ears.
And then,
BOOM.
Oikawa's strategy, locking Kageyama, freezing Karasuno's offensive hub, was solid.
But he overlooked one critical fact:
Guren's serve didn't need anyone's support.
Even his spikes were accustomed to imprecise sets.
With Kageyama suppressed and Hinata's quick attack contained by Aoba Johsai's block-defense system,
Karasuno didn't fall into the trap Oikawa had laid.
In fact, thanks to Guren's serves and spikes, Karasuno took the lead over Aoba Johsai by several points.
Oikawa hadn't anticipated that when Guren served from the front row he could leave Aoba Johsai's back row almost helpless.
But when Oikawa moved to serve, Karasuno's back row was shockingly strong:
Daichi Sawamura, the cornerstone.
Nishinoya Yuu, the genius.
Ichinose Guren, the all-rounder.
Together, they formed an impenetrable wall.
Even Oikawa's serve couldn't breach it.
Thus, Guren's front-row plays kept scoring points and when Aoba Johsai tried to catch up, he continued punishing them with spikes from the back row.
When Kageyama's skills were neutralized and his quick attacks ineffective,
Guren alone carried Karasuno, forcing Aoba Johsai to call a timeout.
"Strong!"
Hinata's eyes sparkled again.
Ichinose Guren, the terrifying force, barefoot, shirtless, hair like a bird's nest, beard in wild disarray, dragging iron chains coiled around his body, tethered to a massive iron ball.
The ball bore four large characters:
'Kageyama Tobio.'
And he conquered the mountains of Aoba Johsai.
Although Kageyama had been suppressed by Oikawa's traps, he wasn't blind.
He immediately noticed Hinata's frustrated gaze.
"You…!"
"You're thinking something disrespectful!"
"Not allowed!"
Hinata dodged three attempts to grab him.
"Don't lose. The only one who can beat you… is me."
Hinata's serious gaze left Kageyama momentarily unsettled.
"Guren… you can do it too."
"You monkey!!!"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria