Chapter 346: Something that Imitates the Shape of a Volleyball

Our good mood after the first point was only for a moment. Our team is already facing the biggest crisis of the day, and it’s inevitable that everyone is nervous.

「Now, it’s our turn to serve. I’ll be the first to do it.」

Yeah, the fearsome Knight Leader Nell is going to serve. The most dangerous part of the game came out in this early stage. To be honest, I want to cry…! Even Alezel, who’s always laid back, seems to be somewhat restless as if she couldn’t let her guard down just at this moment. Incidentally, Chinatsu, who should be on the enemy side, is also restless.

「N-Nell-shishō, please hold back properly, okay? The ball will explode, so please do it with little force, okay?」

「I won’t make that kind of mistake. But well, I’m happy that my cute disciple is worrying about me!」

Nell, I’m pretty sure she’s worried about us. It’s very typical for you to misunderstand and take the words as is, and then get extra worked up to show Chinatsu your good side. But, you see… please don’t light a fire on your feet like that.

「Here I go!」

「Ugh, what a vortex of magic power…!」

「Uhee~, I have a bad feeling. If you think it’s dangerous, get out of the court. I’m gonna do that too.」

Alezel, who’s being ready to run away, warned everyone. Well, running outside the court is a guaranteed way to survive. After all, Nell is aiming for the inside of the court. However, running to the back of the court is not recommended. If you’re unlucky, you’ll get caught in the blast.

「I’m just learning by watching, but… I wonder if it’s like this?」

Nell stands just behind the back line and throws the ball. Unlike Haru, there’s no run-up. However, she threw it so high.

「Tou!」

When the ball reached a height that’s two times higher than when Haru threw the ball, Nell jumped and caught up with it instantly. I want to ask who did she imitate, but now isn’t the time for that. Nell is on the verge of hitting the ball. It’s not a serve anymore, it’s an attack!

――――BAAAAAAAAAAAM!

When I heard the loud explosion sound from the sky, I thought the ball was hit too hard and self-destructed. But that was wrong. After all, a meteor-like flame ball is plummeting from the sky.

「Ugh, she hit it until it almost reached its limit…!」

Haru did an excellent serve in terms of speed and control, but this is a serve that pursues only power. It is easy to understand that it’s aiming to the middle of the back of the court, but the biggest problem is how to receive it. Even though it’s not a full power serve, it’s not something you can receive with your body. Judging from the angle of the fall, it would fall to Alezel’s position, huh.

「Alezel, it’s coming your way… hm?」

There’s no reply. To be precise, there’s no figure of Alezel who should have protected the center. When I looked at the outside of the court, I could see that Alezel, who had finished evacuating, put her hands together as if to say ‘sorry!’. Yeah, Alezel evacuated immediately.

「Whoa, no one is there!?」

「This is bad…!」

Touko and Haru also noticed it and are trying to patch things up. However, they won’t make it in time. Even if they can make it in time, they will be in a poor posture and it’s reckless to challenge that thing. They will die.

「Gravietas!」

I pull the flow of magic power with 『Gavietas』, a level 60 Abyss Magic. I used this against a certain octopus before, but it’s also effective for Nell’s flame ball. Then, the meteorite changed its trajectory toward me.

「I will receive it! I leave the support to you!」

「Y-Yes!」

「Fear Purge!」

Using 『Fear Purge』, a level 40 Holy Magic, I remove all the effects applied to the ball. Now the meteorite has returned to a normal and very dangerous ball, and most of the threat is gone. However, I’ve never played volleyball before, so there’s no way I could receive such a fast ball. At least, I will make it float to buy some time. I will put my body on the line to catch it!

「Now, com――guhaa!?」

「Danna!?」

「H-He got hit in the face!? Deris, are you okay!?」

I literally put my body on the line to catch Nell’s serve in the face. Due to my lack of experience, I misjudged the falling point. It hurts, it hurts so much. Is my face okay? Is it ruptured?

「Rather than that, focus on the ball!」

The ball flew in the wrong direction, perhaps because it hit my unstable face. As expected of Haru, she knows how to prioritize things because she’s greedy for victory. But you see, your master is a little sad here. Your judgment is correct, but I’m sad.

「Kuh, I can’t…!」

I tried to patch things up for Alezel, so I was late for the unexpected event. The impact on my face made my field of vision pitch black, and my upper body was violently leaning back. I felt that Haru and Touko were kicking in the air, but they couldn’t make it in time.

「Sorry, everyone. I’ll pay you back for the trouble I’ve caused.

After all, Alezel, who was outside the court, went through the two and picked up the ball.

「A-Alezel-san!?」

「Haru-chan, be careful not to get burned when you landed on the hot sand. Hund-han, take this!」

Alezel tossed the ball with composure, and Hund was already waiting at the destination.

「Leave it to me!」

Then, Hund’s one arm swelled to a size larger than his body.

「I’m inexperienced, so there’s no need for a petty trick! I’ll just use my body to the fullest and hit as hard as I can!」

The arm that has transformed into a mass of muscle is now long enough to reach the top of the net even if Hund doesn’t jump. The first thing I saw when I regained my vision was that arm, and it’s a secret that I thought it was a little creepy.

「Hmph!」

It was a spike with Hund-kun’s overwhelming power. I don’t know if it’s intentional or not, but the ball approaches Lily again. It may be too late saying it now, but it’s impossible to get too close to the net, so blocking the ball is life-threatening. Therefore, no one but Nell could do it.

「Lily!」

「Yeah, I know.」

「What!?」

Lily leaped in with a splendid movement and received the ball with her outstretched fist. She completely copied Haru’s movement, huh.

「Chinatsu-san, can you pass it to me?」

「Eh? Ah, yes!」

The ball came to Chinatsu, and she’s about to toss it to Zeta, who’s ready to attack.

「Nell isn’t moving. It seems that she’s going to see what Zeta will do.」

「Waah, I’m looking forward to it!」

While enduring the pain on my face, I and my team prepared for defense. It’s somewhat refreshing that the one who’s going to attack is Zeta. …… Hm?

「Zeta, let’s go!」

「Yes! Attachment, start!」

Zeta started to run, and at the same time, Zex started to transform behind her. Then, he was attached to Zeta’s artificial arm and artificial legs, and they became one. …… Eh, they combined?

「Hoo~, is that the Zex body attachment model that I heard from rumors?」

「What!?」

「Wow, that’s cool!」

「So cool!」

Seeing the unexpected combination technique, Haru and Touko’s eyes are sparkling. Wait, is that allowed in volleyball!?

「Now that I and Zex-sama became one, we will be able to exert more power than our status. Yes, I and Zex-sama became one!」

「Oh no! She’s not wrong, but repeating it is not good for her image!」

「Don’t make a careless comeback! You’ll cause misunderstanding!」

「Fuhaha, there’s an opening!」

There was lightning after the flame, and our side was miserable.