The whistle echoed again, sharp and clear. The ball glowed faintly gold as it floated back to center field. I crouched slightly, mana flowing through my legs. The turf trembled under my feet. Across the field, the Seraphim captain, Eric, stood calm, his six faint ethereal wings spread behind him like transparent fire. The crowd chanted his name, over and over. I could hear their excitement, their faith in him, their certainty that this was already over. "Ball in!" the referee called out. A soft pulse of light, and the ball snapped forward, so fast that it looked like it teleported between Eric’s feet. I can’t believe that I lost the ball like that! He started his advance immediately, with no hesitation. His steps were light, precise, like a dancer on the wind. The ball moved as if tied to his shoes by an invisible thread. Varric went in for a block, lowering his shoulder. "Got him!" he shouted. Eric twisted, spinning full circle, letting the ball roll behind his heel, then flicked it back through Varric’s open stance. It passed perfectly through his legs. "OHHHHH!" The crowd roared. "Bastard!" Varric growled, turning back, but Eric was already gone. I sprinted forward, cutting his angle. But as I did so, he saw me, smirked faintly, and suddenly jumped. A golden flash burst under his boots. "Shit," I hissed, shifting my weight. The ball dropped midair toward his teammate. The second Seraphim forward caught it with his chest, let it bounce once, and side-flicked it across the field. Our midfielder, Jex, reacted fast, sliding in with mana coating his leg. Sparks flew as their magic collided, throwing dust across the field. "Go!" Kael yelled from behind me, catching the loose ball as it spun through the air. He dashed down the right line, his trail shimmering blue. Kael dribbled once, faked left, and passed to me with a low kick that hummed with faint mana. The ball finally touched my foot, and my pulse steadied. The Seraphim defender came in fast, silver armor faintly reflecting divine light. His stance was wide, careful; he knew what he was doing. He swung his leg to intercept. I stopped, but the ball didn’t. Threads of invisible mana wrapped around it for a second, rolling it sideways instead of forward. He blinked, confused... after all, that was Eric’s technique that I had executed. A low dribble to the right, a sudden back-step, then a spin. The ball curved around him, brushing his thigh before snapping back into my control. "OHHHH!" the crowd reacted again, surprise mixed with excitement. "Nice one!" Kael shouted. I didn’t respond as my focus narrowed on Eric ahead. He was waiting for me, arms folded. I increased speed, mana flowing up to my knees, faint cracks forming beneath my boots. Eric’s eyes flicked to the ball, and at that exact moment, I feinted left and kicked right. The ball shot like a bullet. But before it could reach the goal, one of their defenders extended a glowing hand, catching it midair with a barrier. "Nullify Field," he murmured. The golden light surrounding the ball dimmed and fell dead. ’So they can suppress mana usage inside their zone...’ The ball dropped harmlessly, and the referee’s voice echoed again. The Seraphim captain reclaimed the ball, sliding it along the field as the crowd went wild again. "That’s Eric! Number One for a reason!" "Those Fallen guys don’t stand a chance!" "He just killed their momentum—again!" "They’ve got three mages covering the back. Each has its own domain." Kael ran up beside me, panting lightly. Tyrian added from behind, "They switch off depending on range. One kills your mana, one amplifies their pass speed, and one can alter ball weight." "Fantastic," I muttered. If I unleash mine... shit, I cannot do that. After all, my Domain is based on the ice-element, something I obviously cannot reveal since I’ve already shown myself as the God of Karma. Maybe I should’ve registered myself as the God of Ice. The ball glowed again, soaring across the air as Eric and his teammate traded passes mid-run. They used some kind of sky dribble, bouncing it between their divine platforms, crossing half the field without touching the ground. Our defense tightened. "Block left!" Kael yelled. "On it!" Varric lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Eric mid-air. The impact rang like metal striking metal, but Eric barely flinched, twisting mid-spin to deliver a pass through three defenders. The ball glided perfectly into position for his teammate, who kicked it in one motion, like lightning. It hit the post, causing the entire goalpost to shudder under the force. Dust swirled, and the crowd gasped. "Almost! Almost another one!" "Eric’s team is ruthless!" I moved without thinking, jumping him into the sky to catch the rebound with my knee and pushing it forward. "You got it?!" Kael looked shocked. I dashed forward again as my teammates also advanced. Thanks to the other guy’s strong shot, I was already past the midfield while Eric was close to our net. And shortly after, three Seraphim defenders rushed at me, wings half-spread, their eyes gleaming with confidence. "Cut him off!" one barked. They were fast, I’d give them that. But speed alone meant nothing to me... not when I had a special type of Eye. My right pupil dilated, and faint lines of blue patterns spun across my irises. 『 ✯Odin’s Right Eye ✯』 Everything slowed down. The world split into possibilities, a dozen faint afterimages showing every movement that could happen in the next three seconds. The ball was flicked to the right, just enough to bait the first defender. He lunged, predictable. I twisted my ankle outward, tapping the ball behind my heel, then pivoted my whole body. His arm brushed my shoulder, but I was already gone. The second defender came from the left, light swirling around his legs. He kicked, aiming to knock the ball away, a clean intercept, but I’d already seen that too. The ball bounced against my knee, then my thigh, then down again. His leg sliced through empty air. I spun, my momentum carrying the ball up my side. I let it drop again, barely an inch off the turf. The third defender blocked ahead, crouched, reading my movement. He was sharp, I could tell. His mana flowed in rhythm with mine, adjusting to my feints. So, I stopped pretending, and mana instantly surged from my heel. The field dented beneath me as I accelerated, the ball a streak of silver light. He reached out, but it was too late. I cut across his blind spot, letting my foot skim the ball’s surface in a curved path, just wide enough to spin around him. "He passed him!" someone shouted from the stands. "No way, how’d he even do that?!" "Almost no one can get through the Seraphim’s defense alone!" The roar of the crowd rose again, but it was a distant noise. Ahead was the goalkeeper, tall, with four golden wings folded behind his back, radiating raw divine power. His arms glowed faintly, runes spiraling down to his fingertips. "Nice trick, kid," he called out, smiling faintly. "But you won’t pass me." I clearly heard his words, and then I looked at my surroundings, just to notice that the other Seraphims were blocking my teammates, which meant that I couldn’t pass the ball. So, I slowed my pace, adjusting my angle, keeping the ball close. His gaze followed it, exactly as I wanted. Then I flicked it lightly, like I was going for a low corner shot. He reacted instantly, slamming his hands down as a golden barrier formed across the ground. But the ball never hit it. Because in that same instant, I’d used the rebound from my own kick to launch upward, body twisting mid-air, my other leg cocked back. The kick landed dead center, smashing through the thin mana barrier he’d raised midair. The ball burst with blinding silver light, leaving a shockwave that rolled across the field before slamming into the goal net. Then the stadium exploded. "HE BROKE THE BARRIER!" I landed lightly, exhaling as the glow in my eyes faded. My boots slid a few inches on the cracked turf before stopping. Kael and Tyrian were running toward me, grinning like idiots. "Holy hell, man!" Kael yelled, jumping onto my shoulder. "You actually did it!" "And you made it look easy!" Tyrian slapped my back with a loud laugh. "Not really," I muttered, rolling my shoulders, my eyes turning to the Seraphim side. Eric wasn’t celebrating or angry. He was smiling calmly, his wings flickering faintly, the air around him quivering with divine pressure. That smile wasn’t one of defeat. ’He’s been holding back.’ The referee’s voice rang out again, echoing over the cheers. "Goal confirmed! One–one!" The ball floated back to the center as the crowd’s energy refused to die down. Even the stands were buzzing with conversation now. "Did you see that spin move?" "He broke the barrier! No one’s done that since the last three centuries!" I stretched my neck, cracking it lightly. Kael smirked at my words, giving me a light tap on the shoulder. "Think you can do that again?" "We’ll find out soon enough." Across the field, Eric raised his hand. Light flared from his wings as feathers of pure mana began to fall like sparks, coating his teammates. "Oh no. He’s using that already?" Kael’s face dropped. "Seraphim’s Blessing. That’s their real formation," Tyrian groaned. The temperature spiked as the Seraphim’s speed surged instantly; even the air trembled with divine energy. I rolled my shoulders until they cracked slighly. "Good. Would’ve been boring if they didn’t." Beeeeep—! ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝙣𝙚𝙩 The whistle blew again as the second round began.