Born in Blood

As the ball fell towards the Queen, she leapt into the air. 

It was a 50 meter jump!

But the net that divided the two sides was 40 meters tall itself. 

WHOOM!

Blinding light gathered in her left palm.

It was the picture-perfect pose of a volleyball player as they were about to strike the ball mid-air.

BANG!

There was a loud shockwave.

The ball was heading straight for Liam's Position!

Fast!

It was at the edge of his boundary too, where it was the furthest from him!

Had that ball hit a regular pedestrian, or perhaps even a regular Zenith, they would be shredded into pieces.

But Liam was empowered.

He had already moved before Queen Thyress struck the ball towards his boundary.

His body was parallel to the ground as he launched himself forward, his arms outstretched.

He reached it!

With his hands clasped together, Liam shot the ball upwards with his knuckles.

BOOM!

It was very painful.

As soon as it made contact with his hands, it shaved off a layer of skin.

However, there was no blood, and the layer of skin reformed a second later. 

The ball whistled through the air as Liam redirected it towards his team.

It was falling towards Kuan.

Hand of Light smiled.

Then, he leapt into the air, ready to strike the ball as hard as he possibly could!

BOP.

Unexpectedly, something else happened.

Instead of shooting it forward, Kuan slapped the ball towards Alucard! 

A few people on Queen Thyress' team frowned.

The Bloodsuckers were working together. 

Had the Queen thrown the ball backwards to her own team, this wouldn't have happened.

At the same time, the ball was traveling incredibly fast. 

It had turned into a blur, even to the powerhouses.

However, that just meant that they had to react just as fast.

With a focused look on his face, Alucard stood in his place until the ball reached him.

Then, when it did, he spun around and kicked it with incredible force!

BOOOM!

Kicking and punching or slapping the ball was all within bounds.

Next, the ball was heading towards Eyes of Knowledge. 

A bit of sapphire-blue energy exited from the tips of Reiner's fingers.

It had the consistency of smoke that didn't fade away. 

As the ball came towards him, Reiner just… slapped it away with the back of his hand.

BANG!

It was like all the ball's natural forces had been negated, then redirected in an instant.

Next, it came to the Adjudicator!

With a bored, unamused look on her face, the iron-strict lady whipped her black chains at the ball.

TIISH!

A disk-shaped shockwave spread from where the chains hit the ball. 

It was coming back to Liam!

'At least soften it, you retard!' Liam sneered as the ball came towards him faster than the speed of sound.

BOOM!

Liam smashed the ball upwards again, which was curved a few degrees to one side. 

It reached 280 meters in the air!

The floor was vast, and the ceiling wasn't even visible. 

Liam hit the ball with empowered wrists and hands.

And yet, his wrist bone, and subsequently his arm, broke due to the impact. 

CRACK!

Even through his gauntlets

A second later, Liam's wrists fixed themselves in an instant.

But now… 

This was the encore.

It was Spirit of Nature's turn.

The ball was still rising in the air.

With her eyes stuck to the ball, Naomi lowered herself like an eagle preparing for liftoff.

After several seconds, the ball had stopped rising.

Now, it was falling!

BOOM!

Naomi launched herself towards the sky.

The ground shook upon her release.

A moment later, her entire body flexed and worked together to form one single strike. 

Her hand slapped the ball towards its edge.

BOOOOM!

WHSHHHHH!

The ball shot forward and curved with the trajectory of a banana, passing through Queen Thyress' Position in the blink of an eye!

The Queen attempted to block it.

She jumped in the air with her arm outstretched, yet the ball merely grazed the tips of her fingernails.

It had shot past her!

As the ball was midway through its curve, it entered the Dragonmancer's Position.

The phoenix behind Urzek screeched as the ball came through, outstretching its wing to stop its swift approach.

WRRSHHH!

The ball pierced through the phoenix's wing.

However, it only succeeded in slowing it down.

At the end of its curve, the ball arrived at the General.

A toothy grin was on the vigorous old man's face.

Just as the ball was about to exit his boundary, it… slowed on its own?

Slowly, the ball curved around the General's back, then rose above the air.

What the heck was that?!

'Telekinesis or something?' Liam frowned. 

This time, it was the General that served the ball.

Except, he didn't shoot it forward.

Instead, it seemed as though the ball was condensing over itself.

Like a dominating pressure was causing it to compress! 

WHOOOOOOOSH!

A second later, the ball shot towards Rin at an insane speed, 20 meters above her head. 

The General had actually passed the ball?! 

And to Rin of all people? 

Liam's eyes widened. 

Danger!

He felt pure danger!

In fact, everyone on Liam's team felt it.

Something had awakened. 

Rin let out a deep, guttural growl that echoed from the depths of her lungs.

With constricted, violet irises, she glanced over at Liam as she rose above the air.

Now that Liam noticed, Rin's hands looked more like vicious draconic claws. 

Liam's hairs stood to no end. 

He was being targeted!

This was it! 

'So it's personal, eh?' Liam sneered, rapidly empowering every fiber of his being. 

His power tripled.

Just then, Rin's claw struck the ball like a bolt of lightning. 

BOOOOM!

SHHHHHHHHHH!

Rin didn't even try to shoot it towards the edge of Liam's boundary.

She shot it straight towards him!

The ball spun like a drill as it arrived at Liam's wrists.

SHHHHHHHHH!

In quick succession, several things happened at once. 

Liam's knees buckled as it opposed the unstoppable force.

His spine compressed and a few ligaments cracked.

His wrists broke instantly.

And layers of his skin rapidly shaved away, spraying blood on the court.

The gauntlets shattered.

His teeth were gnashing together as he grunted angrily with effort. 

It was a brutal sight.

…And yet, Liam was still standing!