"Haha! He did it! Heli finally got a wicket!" Adam cheered, clapping hands with Seraph and then Gabriel.
"Now, that's what I call cricket." Orion praised proudly.
"Haha." Isa still laughed, his hairs hiding his eyes.
"Geez, stop laughing like a weirdo. You're not hurt, are you?" Aigou asked, kneeling beside him with concern.
Isa, still in disbelief, pushed his hairs back from his forehead and tossed the ball to Kazuna as he approached. Standing up and dusting off his clothes, he rubbed his finger under his chin, his eyes flaring with determination, "Nothing else matters right now, Aigou. I want to win—desperately!"
"Whoa, whoa..." Emaad gulped, watching as one by one, the batsman left the pitch, feeling the pressure, "Karachi Kings have gone crazy out of nowhere."
The boys gathered together, clapping their hands in unison.
"Let's take another one!" Azazel shouted, all fired up.
"Haha, we will," Feng said, ruffling his hair, pleased.
Helios offered his hand to Poseidon, but the moment their hands touched, a sharp static shock went through them. Both pulled back immediately, leaving Ryan and Xavier blinking in surprise.
"What's happening?" Poseidon finally asked, baffled.
Helios rubbed the back of his head, equally confused.
Aaron and Kazuna exchanged knowing glances.
Aaron ruffled Poseidon's hair, while Kazuna patted Helios on the shoulder, handing him the ball, "Don't worry, it's nothing."
Poseidon narrowed his eyes at Aaron skeptically, "You know something, don't you?"
Aaron waved him off, walking away.
Suddenly, Aaron's voice echoed in Poseidon's mind, "It's a secret you'll have to unlock yourselves~"
Helios and Poseidon, still clueless, sighed.
While, in the stands, Zain, Maria and Erum looked at Haitam in astonishment.
"See?" Haitam glanced back at them, a confident glint in his eyes. "When a team stops worrying about who has the upper hand, they jerk victory toward themselves like magnets."
"Karachi kings have finally started showing their fangs." Juhan smirked intrigued.
"They're swallowing wickets," Azam uttered ironically.
Mikael, returning to the pavilion, tossed his bat aside and sat down, frustration evident on his face. "I'm sure I hit it hard enough for a six—so why did it land inside the boundary?!" he questioned, baffled.
Rovan, lying on a bench with his arm draped over his eyes, mumbled in his sleep, "Their wicketkeeper…"
"What was that?" Basid crouched before him and leaned in closer, trying to catch the words.
Romeo, sitting beside Rovan, chuckled as he ruffled Basid's hair. "He's talking about their wicketkeeper." he repeated.
"Feng Mir Ozer?" Mikael asked.
"Yeah, he's got some defensive fielding skills. He didn't flaunt them openly, but he used them when I was batting," Seon Yul recalled.
"I think it's called 'Iron Clad Defense.'" Mikael scratched his head, still unhappy, "It's frustrating to get out this early. I only managed to hit one six."
"Now do you understand?" Venus added, while Ibn Sena shook his head in disbelief.
Islamabad, now at 164/7, prepared for the last over of the First half of the innings.
Xavier, focused and intense, readied himself to bowl the first ball. Emaad, at the crease with his helmet off, tapped his bat, looking firm while Hamza, at the non-striker's end, gave him a thumbs up and stood ready.
Xavier, running through the 30-yard circle, whispered, "Realm of Divine Ingeniousness, Release unlimited upgrade." As his hair turned silver and a red mark flickered on his forehead, he stepped on the popping crease and bowled, "Red Revolution!"
The full toss delivery hit the ground and instantly spun, creating six illusions of the ball, resembling an ascending dragon as they bounced toward Emaad.
Emaad, exhaling as his aura shifted, muttered, "Sigh… I didn't want to use this, but Vice-Captain told me to score as much as possible while I'm on the pitch. So, get ready for 'Dimensional Drift.'" He simply raised his bat and touched one of the illusions, causing the ball to disappear into his bat.
Xavier looked stunned as Emaad pointed toward the long-on boundary, where the ball had mysteriously appeared behind Ryan.
Ryan, bewildered, picked up the ball, "Huh?"
Aaron and Isa exchanged wary glances, while Xavier, wiping cold sweat from his brow, struggled to comprehend what had just happened.
"How… how did he do that?!" Noah asked, bewildered.
"The ball got sucked into his bat, right?" Seles speculated, "He's manipulating dimensions, directing the ball anywhere on the field after it contacts his bat. It's similar to Kazuna's Black Hole, but Emaad's bat acts as the portal."
"But how can they predict where the ball will end up?" Gabriel wondered, "Wouldn't every delivery result in a boundary if he continues like this?"
Alan, stepping down towards the boundary line, repeated, "Seles said it only works when Emaad's bat connects with the ball."
"So, Xavier needs to bowl in a way that prevents Emaad from making contact," Seraph realized.
"Exactly," Elias confirmed, "Also, if Emaad uses this skill, he can't use his other abilities."
"So, he can't hide his bat or create mirror images of the ball," Kenzo added, thinking aloud, "But what about his ability to teleport to the other batsman's position?"
"About that…" Senri pondered, glancing at Rauf.
"The boss knows the answer." The middle schoolers waited for Rauf's insight.
"What I know, the bowler will soon discover," Rauf replied cryptically.
A six struck after two runs, on the next delivery using dimensional drift. Xavier, with his hairs still glimmering silver, he headed back to his mark as the crowd erupted in cheers. A gentle breeze began to blow, causing his hair to flutter. A smile formed on his lips as he whispered, "This is it." He turned around and sprinted through the 30-yard circle.
Stepping onto the popping crease, he muttered, "Ring of Limitation: Binding Red and Ceaseless Orbit!" As the ball hit the ground, a red ring appeared around Emaad, paralyzing him.
"Tch!" Emaad clicked his tongue in frustration.
But the challenge wasn't over. The ball, spinning rapidly, transformed into the image of an aggressive blue-winged horse and split into nine illusions as it bounced toward him.
Emaad swallowed hard, comprehending the witty trap.
"Pegasus!" Adam shouted in awe, hopping up and down.
"Xavier used two skill deliveries?" Seraph whispered, surprised.
"No, the ring disappeared," Pedro pointed out.
As the ring vanished, Emaad regained his movement, but it was too late. The real ball, concealed among the illusions, had already targeted his pads. Xavier's hairs turned back to brown as his realm dissolved. He confidently turned around, raising his finger. "Wicket!" he declared.
The umpire quickly lifted his index finger, confirming the dismissal, and the ground erupted in cheers.
"L.B.W.! The umpire doesn't hesitate to raise his finger again! Brilliant! This is Karachi's moment! Emaad has to depart at 21 off 14 balls…" Wasif commented.
"Sigh, Emaad's coming back too." Mikael pouted.
"But look at that. The Pegasus, it's flying." Basid gasped in awe.
An elegant Pegasus appearing before Xavier, he gestured for it to head toward Karachi's pavilion.
The illusion coming forth in midair, stood before Alan. Alan blinked, while Will backed up slightly wary. The white beauty lowering its head before him. Alan raised his hand and gently touched it, causing it to shatter into glitter, surrounding him in a sparkle.
Alan turned to Xavier, who waved amid the surrounded circle.
Alan nodded proud.
"Binding Red," Kenzo explained, "Was the perfect way to immobilize Emaad. Xavier used his Ring of Limitation to paralyze him and buy time for his real attack, the Ceaseless Orbit. He knew that two skills couldn't work simultaneously, but the ring gave him the edge to make his final move successful."
"Wow, well done! You're better at explaining than Nagi," Ren applauded.
Kenzo rolled his eyes, looking away.
The first innings ending after the last two legal deliveries bowled, with Islamabad setting a target of 184 runs off 120 balls.
The boys headed back to the pavilion, exchanging high-fives as both teams prepared for a 20-minute break before the run chase.