(Part 9)

Mir's gaze softened as Nidou continued, "Everything she does is to find answers for herself. But little does she realize that she's not just looking for herself. She's fulfilling my dream and carrying others along to achieve theirs. That silly child… She's bearing everyone's light through her darkest path." His smile faded, replaced by a deep sadness, "But I'm unlucky, Mir. Even knowing she'll get hurt, lose herself, and stumble into an abyss, I can't stop her. Call it selfishness or my failure to earn her trust. I'm utterly helpless."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Nidou clapped his hands on his thighs, standing up. "Well, forget it. I've said too much today. I better hand these sheets to the courier." He grabbed the envelope and turned to leave.

Mir, his expression unreadable, interrupted, "Do you remember what our head coach used to say? 'Nidou, you're a blessing in disguise. And one day, you'll receive blessings in disguise. Your future will be the brightest.' "

Nidou paused, looking at him. 

"Believe him, Nidou," Mir added, stepping forward and taking the envelope from Nidou's hand. His voice dropped to a whisper, "Believe me. This too shall pass. One day, you'll shine again, like a galaxy full of bliss."

Nidou's eyes widened slightly as Mir walked away. The chilly wind brushed his face, yet warmth spread through his expression. "Is that so?" he murmured to himself.

Nonetheless, before he could dwell further, the middle schoolers came rushing toward him, their voices lively.

"Head Coach Nidou! Our water bottles!!"

"Hey, stop pushing me!"

"Tch, you're the one pushing me! Silly."

"It was not me! It was Feng!"

"Hah?! Where did I come from? I am not even running?!"

"Walk properly Ezekiel. Do you really want me to drown you somewhere?"

"So cruel!!"

"How about we race?"

"Hell yeah! Let's go!"

"Hey! We didn't even start, that's cheating!"

"There are no rules to start! The one who touches, the head coach wins!"

"Wait? What is he a tree?!"

"Come on, you, stupid king."

"Tch, watch it!"

As the middle schoolers sprinted toward Nidou, one by one they smacked their hands against him, laughing and gasping for air. Nidou twitched his brow, clearly annoyed. "Are you twerps out of your minds?" he snapped.

"Ah, sorry," Heber muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Ryan leapt in victory. "Yes! I won!" he declared.

"Hmph, not fair." Mikael pouted, "I was clearly first."

"Let me grab grab my bat before we go," Xavier said, unzipping his gear bag, while Seraph, Helios, and Gabriel pulled out their cricket balls, setting their bats aside.

"Hey, Feng, Heber, let's practice fielding now," Cassiel called, slipping on his wicket-keeping gloves.

From his seat, Kenzo watched the boys as they headed back to the field.

"Alan still hasn't returned, huh…" Poseidon remarked, sipping his sports drink.

"Hmph, to think he had the guts to skip practice," Kenzo grumbled.

Nidou, overhearing him, smirked. "Don't worry. He'll practice double," he said confidently.

"Are you serious?!" Azazel blinked, shuddering as he imagined the long, grueling list of exercises. Alan would have to do them all twice.

"Hmph, he knows the consequences of skipping practice very well," Nidou said, twirling his sports drink bottle, "No leniency, even if he's the base's platinum player or my son."

"Yeah, how could I forget that," Ezekiel muttered, swallowing nervously.

Poseidon and Helios exchanged anxious smiles.

"I just wonder where he went…" Seraph murmured quietly.

"Come on, we can't lose from the high schoolers!" Heber called with a wave.

"Let's go, Heli." Poseidon said tossing his bottle aside.

"Yeah." Helios followed.

"Adam, you're with me," Nidou called out.

Adam turned to him, gulping, "Not the stance practice again, right?"

Nidou smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "What do you think?"

Adam sighed and glanced at Seraph, who simply shrugged before stepping into the practice net with Cassiel.

"Good luck, Adam. We're all cheering for you," Cassiel said with a wink.

Adam exhaled deeply but allowed a small, determined smile to form, "Alright! All for winning the next matches. Let's go, old dumpling!" He followed Nidou, whose eye-roll dismissed the cheeky comment, while Ezekiel, Feng, and Heber chuckled in the background.

Meanwhile, the high schoolers, as usual, flaunted their skills, smashing sixes and taking wickets with ease.

"Haha! You're out, Ren!" Orion clenched his fists triumphantly, his grin wide as Ren exhaled, clearly surprised.

"I must admit, Orion. You've become crueler than before," Ren said, standing upright and rubbing his arm, which was still throbbing from Orion's dangerous inswinger.

"Heh, this is just the beginning. I've got an entire torture plan ready to serve." Orion licked his lips with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Ren raised his brow, "Oh? Looks like someone's got to tell Alan about it."

"Hey!" Orion retorted clearly startled.

"Freak," Nagi though, muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes from the adjacent net.

Haruf and Haris, overhearing him, chuckled as Haruf walked back to the batting crease, "I'm glad you didn't say that out loud."

"Hmph, like I'd want to get involved with him," Nagi replied, rolling his eyes again.

Seles, hearing them gave an unamused smile.

"Don't be rude, Nagi. If Orion hears that, you two will be at each other's throats nonstop," Aaron said, patting Nagi's back as Aigou called out, "Hurry up, Aaron! I'm waiting!"

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Aaron replied, jogging off.

"Hmph, as if I care," Nagi pushed his glasses up, heading back to deliver the next delivery.

"Catch it, Senri!" Isa shouted, tossing the ball high into the air.

Senri, staring at the ball positioned himself under it, carefully timing the catch. The ball smacked into his hands with a loud thud. "Oh my god, that was too high!" he exclaimed, throwing the ball to the ground after catching it. He rubbed his stinging palms, wincing, "And it hurts!"

"At least you caught it, right, Vice-Captain Evan?" Isa said, turning to Evan, who tossed another cock ball lightly into the air and caught it with ease.

"Indeed, he's improved again. Your turn next, Isa," Evan reminded him.

"Yes!" Isa stepped back, preparing himself.

"Senri, catch this next!" Coach Yusuf took his attention at Senri nodded.

All of a sudden, a sharp crack of a bat echoed across the ground.

"Black Hole!" Kazuna's voice commanded attention as both the middle and high schoolers turned their focus to the center field. Kazuna gritted his teeth as Zachariah stood firm, completely unfazed.

The ball, cackling with force, struck Kazuna's bat, as he activated the black hole before his bat. But instead of being pulled in, the ball trembled violently, resisting the force. It neither fell back to the ground nor entered the dimensional space.

"Damn it! It still won't budge!" Kazuna growled, his grip tightening.

Zachariah narrowed his eyes, his azure eye glinting authoritatively. For seconds until the resistance held, Zachariah let out a soft sigh. "That's enough." He ordered and on command, the cock ball, caught between opposing forces, ruptured with a loud crack.

The dimensional pull ripping it into two withered, flat pieces, sent Kazuna stumbling back to his knees, panting heavily. The remnants of the ball lay on the ground as Zachariah's calm voice cut through the tension, "Looks like it's still not time, Kazuna."

Kazuna stood, gripping his bat tightly, his expression obscured by his dark blue hairs. "Yeah," he replied quietly.

Seraph swallowed hard, his fists tightening. "Senior Kazuna is incredibly strong. But to think even he could be pushed back like this...?" His thoughts raced as a chill ran through him. "Since that time, just how much stronger has he become? Zachariah Jacques... who—no, what has he turned into now?" he thought with a mix of awe and an unshakable sense of unease.

Evan, Senri, and Isa exchanged silent glances, while Rauf observed Kazuna and Zachariah intently from the pavilion.

The middle schoolers narrowed their gazes soon returning to their practice. Helios bowled to Ezekiel, who countered with sharp, well-placed shots around the net.

"Good," Helios remarked.

"Thanks, Captain," Ezekiel replied, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. His eyes wandered to Poseidon, who was standing at the back, watching Helios with a contemplative expression.

Helios turned to Poseidon and offered a smile, which Poseidon returned with an assuring nod.

However, Ezekiel noticed something. The unique connection and synergy the two had shown during the last match seemed to have disappeared, vanishing just as mysteriously as it had emerged. 

As the overs went by, Helios and Poseidon swapped bowling roles, but nothing changed.

Kenzo, observing from the seats above, narrowed his gaze. "What's wrong? Why isn't it activating now?" he murmured.

Feng, Ryan, Seraph, and Ezekiel rotated their batting positions, each noting the static, unchanging gameplay.

"Huff… huff…" Poseidon panted heavily after finishing his eleventh over, his lashes damp with sweat.

"Hey, are you okay?" Helios asked, grabbing Poseidon's arm to steady him. Poseidon straightened up, offering a small, supportive smile.

Cassiel and Seraph exchanged worried glances.

Realizing that the electric spark between him and Helios, which he both disliked and relied on, had completely faded, Poseidon gave a resigned smile. "It's no use hun, Heli," he said, his disappointment evident.

Sensing his frustration, Helios smiled reassuringly. "It's alright. We're probably just tired. Let's take a short break, okay?"

"He's right." Kenzo's voice entered as he gestured the two to come over, "Come back, both of you,"