(Part 12)

 Zachariah stood tall, his gaze colder than ever as he fixed his eyes on Kenzo. In the tense silence that followed, he simply asked, "Will you repeat what you said before?"

Kenzo, felt as if he had been electrocuted in a matter of seconds. It was just a ball right? So, how could he just witness lightning? No… he couldn't even catch a glimpse of it, couldn't even move a limb of his body. So, how could have he returned it? Was it even something returnable? He just had this simple thought.

Yet, after all that, he stood straight. Strength leaving his body, his entire arm shook and his bat fell, he felt anxious and confused. Even though, Kenzo still grinned.

Seles surprised at Kenzo's determination wondered, "He is still standing there. Even Aigou and Senri would falter but he…"

Poseidon hurried to Kenzo's side, concern etched on his face. "Kenzo..." he began, but Kenzo's gaze remained fixed on Zachariah, his imperial blue eyes glistening and burning at the same time, there was a restless, excited thumping in his chest. So uncontrollable… that he thought his heartbeat might have started to malfunction. "I-i said…" Kenzo stuttered, even he didn't believe it.

He swallowed, "S-eraph… will definitely surpass you one day. A-nd when he does. I'll surpass both of your legacies!" he declared ardently.

"The audacity?!" Orion, Nagi, Senri, Aigou, and Noah all shared the same thought simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the middle schoolers were practically chewing their nails, thinking, "Kenzo! You idiot!!"

Zachariah, losing interest, simply turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Didn't like bowling...?" Kenzo muttered to himself, "I must've been out of my mind." "Seraph... you've got a long, long. No, a very long way to go." he mumbled, ever so lightly.

Although his hair concealed his expression, his king like overly confident smile still adorned his face. As Zachariah picked up his jacket and glanced towards Seles, he stated, "I'm done."

Musa, who had been lost in thoughts after witnessing the scenario realized, "Right… that was the last ball of his over."

Seles smiled and replied, "Alright, you can take a break."

Azazel who had halted amid his bowling run, stared at Kenzo with extended gaze. Shortly after Zachariah's departure, Kenzo stumbled slightly, prompting Poseidon to grab his arm while Feng supported him with concern.

Azazel rushed over, stopping in front of Kenzo, his expression filled with worry, even fear, evident in his trembling pupils.

Kenzo grinned teasingly, "What, did you think I'd be frightened and fall?"

Azazel vehemently shook his head in denial. Pleased with Azazel's reaction, Kenzo playfully tousled his hair asking, "Doesn't this situation feel familiar? Just the roles reversed?"

Azazel paused, contemplating for a moment. "Are you referring to the time you beat me?" he questioned.

Kenzo's grin widened, "Exactly, that's the one."

Azazel shuddered, clearly not thrilled with the memory. "You were batting, and I was bowling. It was a complete disaster, an entire 36 runs off 6 balls in a single over. Not to mention, brother Heber too copied you. Why dredge up that moment?" he asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Kenzo patted Azazel's shoulder reassuringly, still smiling. "To ensure you never forget it. Just as I'll never forget today," he replied, turning his gaze towards the wickets.

Not a single stump remained intact, and even the ground where the stumps once stood had fractured. The sight filled him with dread, causing him to squint his eyes and clench his fists tightly. His mind echoed a single thought, "It happened once. It will never happen again."

However, Poseidon couldn't help but sigh, remarking, "You're insane, Kenzo."

"Yeah, who gave you the idea to provoke him of all people?!" Cassiel exclaimed in disbelief.

Kenzo smirked confidently, "Just a gut feeling."

"Well, that gut feeling is going to get you killed one day," Adam sarcastically remarked, "I am definitely telling what happened to Seraph and the rest once they come back."

Kenzo, had no words to deny him, so he just agreed, "Yeah, it will definitely be the death of me one day."

Adam blinked surprised while Gabriel and Heber exhaled at a loss of words.

"Come on, everyone. Back to your positions!!" Yusuf clapped grabbing their attention.

Back in the dressing room, Isa listening to Pedro wondered, penning thoughts in his journal, "Xavier and Kazuna… those two might be a great bowling combo. Helios as the match opener is definitely going to give us an advantage. As for a seamer we have Azazel while Ryan and Poseidon along with Aaron can take care of the spinner's over…" he mused to himself.

"Aigou has always been a great offensive batting opener, so I have no worries. He can assist Heber as well. Feng has also progressed a lot in his last match. All-rounder capabilities including myself and Kazuna, we should have no problem taking the game to the end…" he continued to reflect.

Suddenly, the sound of fingers snapping repeatedly snapped Isa out of his thoughts, causing him to startle and return to the present.

"What's wrong, Isa? You look tense," Alan remarked, leaning his arms on the table in front of him.

"Yeah, you seem really serious. Your eyebrows are practically touching," Ren added, glancing at Aaron, who nodded in agreement.

"Is something bothering you? The lesson ended a while ago," Aaron asked, reaching over to give Isa's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Isa smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, no need to worry. I was just jotting down some notes for the match. I didn't realize I was so lost in thought," he explained. Glancing around the mostly empty room, he questioned, "Where are the middle schoolers?"

"They left earlier," Alan replied, rising from his seat.

Ren nodded in agreement. "We were waiting for you to finish your deep contemplation, but you were taking forever," he teased.

Isa chuckled in disbelief. "What do you mean by 'deep contemplation'? I was just thinking," he replied as he gathered his journals and tidied up.

Just then, Feng burst into the room like an emergency alarm, urgently calling out, "Hurry up and come out! Coach Nidou wants us for fielding practice!" With that, he dashed away as quickly as he had arrived.

"Alright," Haris responded, and the high schoolers, along with Rauf, followed suit, heading out for practice.

The catching, fielding, and run-out practice marked the final session of the day. As the sun began to set, the boys started to show signs of fatigue and exhaustion.

Both middle schoolers and high schoolers gathered in a large circle on the ground. Nidou, Musa, Pedro, Mir, Seles, and Yusuf took chairs and positioned themselves around the circle, with some seated in compass directions (North, South, East, West, along with Southeast and Northwest for Seles and Musa). The young ones, including Alan, Aigou, Adam, Azazel, Heber, Senri and Ryan all sat inside the circle.

Discussions regarding bowling orders, overs, and batting lineups filled the air. Alan sitting reverse of Ryan yawned resting his head on Ryan's prompting him to question, "What's wrong?"

Alan shook his head responding wearily, "Nothing… just tired."

Little Will snuggling closer inside his jacket's pocket snored, peacefully.

Ryan exhaled looking at the sheets in his hands once more, "Just sleep then."

"Pinnacle of what?!" Heber at that moment, shrieked causing Alan's sleep angles to flutter away like petals as he blinked confused.

"Pinnacle of Monarchy, Seon Yul holds it," Pedro reiterated.

"Oh my god..." Azazel whispered in disbelief.

"And Rovan's Eye of Evidence makes those two the most formidable batsmen in their lineup. Not to mention their middle schoolers, about whom we lack significant details at the moment," Seles continued.

"Ibn Sena doesn't seem like an easy opponent either," Helios whispered, before turning to Kenzo for his opinion, only to receive no response.

Helios repeated, confused, "Kenzo?" However, Kenzo remained absorbed, staring at the sheets between his legs while gently stroking his earring, a frown etched on his face.

Poseidon intervened, patting Helios's shoulder. "Just leave him be for now," he advised, leaving Helios puzzled.

"What is 'The Eye of Evidence'?" Seraph inquired. "The Eye of Evidence is an advanced mental skill possessed by Rovan. With his eyes, he can predict any type of delivery coming his way. He can calculate its speed, spin and rotation in the blink of an eye," Kazuna explained.

"Huh? Then how do we beat him? Wait, is he some kind of a supernatural or something?!" Feng asked perturbed.

"If you're wondering how to defeat him with deliveries, it won't be easy. However, his eyes have their limits in processing information. He tires easily on the field," Pedro clarified.

"Tired? Is that why he has those dull eyes and dark spots?" Azazel pointed to his own eyes. "Hmm. He claims his eyes are always working, whether he's playing cricket or not," Senri added.

"Poor him," Mikael sympathized.

"Poor us. Facing someone like him." Cassiel rolled his eyes, ironic.

"As for Juhan, he is more or less like Helios. Islamabad United's main pace swinger, he is quite dangerous as well. So, you all better be vary." Nidou added, gurgling his sports drink and returning back to his lethargic comportment. The middleschoolers twitched their brows, feeling not at all surprised.

"Above anything all…" Rauf interjected solemnly, "Is their teamwork." The middleschoolers listened attentively. "Even if Romeo won't be there playing the match, his aura will be there in his team. Even if Rovan gets out in surprise, the rest of the team will be there to continue after him, if we as batsmen start to corner them, they'll eventually come up with inexplicable ways to turn the tides around that's how they are. The team you are going to face."

Elias agreed, "It isn't about their individual skills. It's the strength of their entire team is what's more alarming."

"We will need more than just a senior, junior relationship to surpass that. We'll need each other's complete understanding and trust." Nagi stated.

Seraph blinked alongside the middleschoolers who glanced at each other wordless. 

"This is the hardest offer we'll have to make with you," Ezekiel said frankly. "And, you are all too clever and sneaky. It's very hard to do that." he added calmly.

"If that's the case, then just listening to our advice is going to be enough. Can you cope up with that?" Isa asked, slightly annoyed.

Xavier nodded, "We can definitely try."

"Coming back to our batting line now…" Senri resumed as Nidou suddenly pushed his chair back, getting up and interrupting, "Come on, pack up. We are heading back. Talk as much as you want in the coach." he left first.

"Finally…" Orion stretched his arms beside Ren and Cassiel.

"Too tired…" Feng slumped, his forehead still stinging.

The boys gathered their bags and gear, trudging back to the motor coach.

"Do we have to run again?" Adam questioned, yawning.

Musa smiled and patted his head reassuringly, "Not this time, buddy. We're going straight to the hotel."

Alan, noticing Will who had nestled behind his hair, stepped into the coach, wondering where to sit. Suddenly, Helios called him over. In an instant, Alan wondered, "Where's Poseidon?"

Helios, seeing him look for Poseidon couldn't help but chuckle. Helios pointing a few seats behind to him, Alan saw Poseidon seated with Ezekiel while Ren and Senri (Who sat behind) had occupied them for a chat. Relieved for no particular reason, Alan sat beside Helios, nodding gently.

The coach started moving after a while, and the conversation shifted to strategies about which ball not to deliver to which batsman or when to never hit a four or six or how to never drop a catch! Alan felt sleepy. Seeing him continuously yawning and facing jerks of sleep, Helios smiled, asking, "Want a shoulder?"

Alan rubbed his eyes that looked slightly red. "Shoulder? You are tall enough to say 'Want an arm'." he replied playfully.

And, that made Helios laugh. "Yup, an arm it is then, haha." he corrected himself amused.

And just like that, with practice sessions, meetings, training, and short matches, sprinkled with a bit of fun, the routine continued. Light banter and crowded sessions in the gymnasium, practicing new techniques and working on challenges. The boys worked hard, and before they knew it, the night before the crucial match had arrived.