"Foul?" Arlecchino narrowed her eyes at Valerius. "Where did I foul? I didn't travel."
"The inbounder isn't allowed to be the first one to touch the ball after releasing it."
"I…"
So that counted as a foul too?
But if you never explained it properly, how was she supposed to know?
A trace of unease crept into her mind. If they didn't understand the rules, wouldn't they just keep committing fouls?
"You didn't explain anything. How were we supposed to know the rules?"
"Relax. The rules are very loose this time. As long as you don't travel, it's fine. And… there's no five-foul disqualification either. You can fight as much as you want."
All four players' faces darkened.
Fight?
What if they got injured?
Winning this match meant facing another opponent afterward. Unless absolutely necessary, fighting wasn't ideal.
The ball returned to Zenless Zone Zero. Billy Kid stood at the sideline to inbound.
"Watch closely."
With a confident grin toward Arlecchino, Billy passed the ball to Lycaon.
"I see… the inbound has to go to a teammate."
Arlecchino picked it up instantly. Easy rule.
She dashed forward, cutting off Lycaon's path. With a quick glance, she signaled Neuvillette.
He understood immediately and stepped in, hooking Lycaon's arm.
"Heh. That makes it ours."
Seizing the opportunity, Arlecchino snatched the ball and sprinted to the hoop. She leapt and slammed it in.
3–0.
"Wait—traveling is a foul, but this isn't?" Billy stared in disbelief. "What kind of game is this? Traveling is illegal, but hitting people is fine?"
"I told you, the rules are loose."
"…Fine. So that's how we're playing."
Billy's eyes sharpened.
"Let's go, then."
Inbound. Dribble. He charged straight at Neuvillette—
And slammed into him with a full-on body check.
Caught off guard, Neuvillette was knocked flat.
"Haha!"
Billy grinned and drove to the basket.
"You think you can score like that?"
Arlecchino moved to block him.
"Score? I'm dunking!"
Billy exploded upward, ball in one hand, soaring toward the hoop.
"Go ahead, try to block me. I'll show you a switch-hand layup."
He had already calculated everything. If Arlecchino jumped, he'd put on a show.
"Heh."
Cold laughter.
Arlecchino reached out—
And grabbed both of Billy's legs mid-air, yanking him straight down.
"…Are you serious? Do you even know how to play?"
Billy nearly exploded in frustration.
"Give me that."
Arlecchino didn't care. She snatched the ball and tossed it to Neuvillette.
Neuvillette didn't even move. He simply threw the ball toward the highest hoop.
Thud.
It hit the backboard and bounced off.
Lycaon reacted instantly, securing the rebound.
"Mr. Billy, don't rely on standard rules. They don't apply here."
With that, Lycaon hurled the ball back toward the opposite backboard.
Bang!
"Got it!"
Billy leapt in, caught the ball mid-air, and dunked.
3–3.
"I understand now."
Arlecchino's eyes lit up.
"You don't need to beat them—you just need to get the ball in."
After receiving the inbound from Neuvillette, she sprinted forward again.
Seeing her movement, Neuvillette instantly lobbed the ball at the backboard.
Bang!
She followed, caught it, and dunked in one smooth motion.
"See? That works."
"Oh, you're copying us now?"
Billy scoffed. "Fine, let's play like that."
Inbound. Alley-oop. Dunk.
Fontaine. Alley-oop. Dunk.
Zenless Zone Zero. Alley-oop. Dunk.
Fontaine.
Zenless Zone Zero.
…
Standing on the sideline, Valerius's face twitched.
Couldn't they do anything else?
And not a single rebound attempt?
Thankfully, Lycaon snapped out of it.
This wasn't working.
They were trailing. If time ran out, at best they'd end in a tie.
He grabbed Billy.
"Mr. Billy, we can't keep doing this. We need to aim for the upper hoop."
"Why?"
Billy frowned. Switching tactics now felt like admitting defeat.
"We're behind."
"…Fine."
Only then did Billy realize. They couldn't keep trading dunks.
Receiving the ball again, he moved beyond the three-point line.
A glance at Lycaon.
Lycaon moved under the basket.
"I'm shooting."
The ball arced high—
Perfect trajectory.
It dropped cleanly into the top hoop, then fell through the others.
Eleven points.
The scoreboard jumped.
12–20.
"…What?"
Fontaine froze.
Just moments ago, things were even. How had the gap suddenly become so massive?
"We'll do the same."
Arlecchino tried to replicate it. From beyond the arc, she launched a shot.
Bang!
Miss.
Rebound.
Lycaon had already positioned himself, snatching the ball mid-air and tossing it back to Billy.
"Hahaha! Rookie!"
Billy laughed. "You don't even grab rebounds and you want big points?"
Dribble. Drive. Dunk.
12–23.
"…Now what?"
The gap was huge. Neither Arlecchino nor Neuvillette had experience with this kind of game.
"Then we fight."
No options left.
"Take them down."
"…Alright."
The moment they committed, the match completely devolved into chaos.
A full-on brawl.
Crashes, grunts, bodies hitting the floor. Lycaon went down, got back up, charged again. Neuvillette fell, recovered, and rejoined.
The ball was completely forgotten.
"W-They're actually fighting…"
The audience shivered.
Of course. This game was never normal.
"Whistle!"
The sound cut through the chaos.
"Foul?"
"Wait, why call it now?"
Everyone froze—
Then realized time was up.
Final score: 12–23.
Fontaine—eliminated.
"Hahaha! We won!"
Billy celebrated wildly.
"Tch."
Arlecchino clicked her tongue and tossed the ball aside. "What are you so proud of? Even if you win it all, you'll only reach seven points."
"Still better than getting knocked out first."
"We've got eight points. Catch up if you can."
With no interest in arguing further, Arlecchino turned and left the court.
In the stands, Lyney covered his face.
"Father… what are you even doing…"
Ever since these games started, something felt off.
His "father" seemed… different.
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