We could have already won the game, but Barou had robbed us of that opportunity. As I was heading over to him, I saw Hiori, Kurona, and Shidou already there.
"What the fuck did you just do? Do we have to work to get the ball upfield just for you to score just for you to fumble?" Shidou yelled at him angrily as he held Barou's neck.
"Was it really necessary for you to steal the ball from Murano? It would be great if you had actually scored, but you failed," Hiori added.
"Yeah, I'm tired of this. Why do you always have to belittle others when you can't do jackshit?" Kurona said, indignantly.
The pressure was mounting on Barou as he burst out, "To hell with Murano! I don't take back what I di—" Shidou choked Barou hard before he could finish his sentence.
"Leave him," I said. "We'd have to win without him. And besides, he never did much anyway," reluctantly, Shidou let go of Barou.
I glared angrily at Barou and said, "Keep being useless as you already are. Just don't drag us down with you."
"Huh!?" Barou's eyes widened in surprise as he stared back at me.
"I'm telling you to not get in our way, you fraud," I retorted.
Third Selection
Battle Field
Final Phase
Blue Lock (4-4) World Five
One single shot would decide who wins or loses. Can't I just shoot from here into the net? Nah, I can't risk it. It's possible that the World Five are awaiting a shot like that.
These times during the game are when mistakes are made, and that is also when the other team capitalizes on the mistake. We're kicking off, so it'd be fine as long as we maintained possession of the ball.
Kickoff!!
A pass from Kurona would kick the game off.
As I began to run, I took a quick look around and noticed that the World Five was getting closer and gradually obstructing my path to my teammates.
Since Loki can't stop me, the rest of the other players are marking my teammates in a way that would restrict me from passing to any of them.
However, being that Barou had been rendered useless in this game, they were not overly concerned about him as long as Silva was keeping an eye on him.
They sent Silva to keep Barou down since he hasn't managed to get one over Silva.
I assumed that the World Five were slightly concerned about Barou because of what he did earlier in the match and his unpredictable nature.
Back to the game, Luna was closing in on me. I glanced at Barou as I crossed the ball—it was a fake, and Luna felt for it.
I bypassed him as his body shifted to block the ball. I sprinted towards the goal, knowing that I couldn't let Loki catch up to me.
As I was sprinting, I could feel someone pulling at my jersey, trying to slow me down. Without turning to see who that was, I quickly shrugged off the person's grasp. The sound of footsteps behind me grew louder, I realized Loki was coming at me.
It was now or never...
"Go for it, Demon!!" I yelled as I crossed the ball to Shidou; my legs finally gave out as I inadvertently dropped to my knees.
Anyway, Loki changed course as I sent the ball to Shidou. Instead of pursuing me, Loki veered off in a different direction, leaving me relieved that I had successfully evaded him.
Pow!!
The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Shidou performing a jumping volley while landing his trademark Drive Shot kick.
Pip!
Piiip!!
Piiiip!!!
I regained consciousness as the whistle blew, signaling the end of the game.
"We...we have won," I said quietly as a slight grin formed on my lips. I am satisfied with how it all turned out. However, my already kneeling, downcast knees started to make me stumble. I felt my face brush against someone's shoulder rather than tumble to the ground.
I found myself being lifted up by my teammate.
Kurona cheerfully carried me on his back, and he said, "You won us the game, Murano. You have sure come a long way."
"Yeah," I said as I pumped my fist. On his back, I glanced at the World Five and saw them staring down in disbelief.
"Ding Dong!"
The sound brought a wave of nostalgia flooding back.
"Congratulations on successfully clearing the fifth stage; you have been rewarded with 15000 system points and 9000 system cash."
"..."
"Calculating Completed Hidden Challenges..."
"...World Five players you won a 1 vs. 1 against..."
"Hidden Rewards..."
"..."
"You went up against Dada Silva and won; as a result, you have gained his Jumping Skills."
"You went up against Pablo Cevasoz and won; as a result, you have gained his free kick-taking skill."
"You went up against Adam Blake and won; as a result, you have gained his Extreme Physique."
"You went up against Leonardo Luna and won; as a result, you have gained his unique trait, Predator-Eye."
"You went up against Julian Loki and won; as a result, you have gained his unique skill, Godspeed."
"Would you like to add these attributes now or later?"
'Do it later'
The system window disappeared shortly after. My attention was drawn back to Loki, who drew nearer and nearer. I also noted that Hiori was standing next to me.
"Murano!" He waved.
"Now that you've won, how do you feel?" Loki asked.
"Good? Okay?" I answered, unsure of how I felt. Somehow it felt like a normal match to me. It was like I was reliving my past life, and for that, I'm glad that this match brought back those feelings.
"Hahaha! You won against the World Five, and this is truly how you feel," Loki burst out laughing.
Hiori began to nod, agreeing with Loki.
"You see, your friend gets it. In any case, we might cross paths again. But I can't keep waiting that long," Loki added
"Here is my number, contact me when you ever leave Blue Lock," Loki said, handing over a slip of paper with his contact information.
He smiled and said, "This is my personal contact, so don't give it to anyone else."
"I played against you today, and I can't wait to play with you tomorrow. Bye!" He said as he turned around and walked away.
"It seems like he has taken an interest in you," Hiori said.
I simply nodded.
"Congratulations on beating the world five..." As she announced it, Anri's excitement was audible in her voice. It was unexpected because none of the teams had previously been able to defeat the World Five. After all, this game was set on the premise that we'd lose to the World Five.
"...Shidou, Murano, please go to the observation room after you've had a chance to rest."
End of Match
Score: Team Blue Lock 5 - 4 Team World Five
Third Selection
Winner: Team Blue Lock