The Omnipotent Super Chuunibyou - Chapter 38

The teams took a halftime break.

“Still not good enough?”

“The physical differences between boys and girls are just too great.”

“They’ve done well to get this far.”

“The girls have worked hard, but there’s nothing they can do.”

“Even though the boys are holding back, Fujiwara-san and the others have already won me over. If height weren’t an issue, they’d be great at women’s basketball!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t forget Fujiwara-san’s status.”

“Ah, right, I guess they don’t have much appeal.”

The spectators and students watching the live stream all expressed their regrets.

Losing was nothing out of the ordinary; winning would have been the real surprise.

The fact that the girls had held their own for as long as they had was astonishing in itself.

“So what should we do next? Fujiwara-san and the others seem to be running out of steam.”

“Hasegawa is too reckless! If he’d just cooperate with the team, maybe they’d be winning by now!”

“I bet Hasegawa’s presence has something to do with how good Fujiwara-san and the others are. He’s so confident, maybe he really believes the basketball club’s combined power isn’t even equal to his own.”

“Impossible! That’s ridiculous!”

As Eriri listened to the voices of the girls, her initial excitement began to cool.

“Izumi, everyone else is working so hard, and you’re just standing around! If you don’t win, you’d better off yourself to atone for your sins!” she grumbled to herself, impressed by girls combined efforts.

In the dressing room…

“I can’t take it anymore! I can’t take it anymore! I can’t take it anymore~!”

Fujiwara Chika lay on the bench, kicking and flailing like a toddler.

“Phew… Looks like we’ve reached our limit.”

Nibutani Shinka sat with her head lowered. Her ponytail, tied for the match, had been undone, and her long, brown hair cascaded loosely around her. The strands were drenched in sweat, giving her a slightly messy, yet sensual, appearance.

“I..I..Mjö, Mjölnir’s Wielder, there’s no way this is going to be…our end, Death…”

Dekomori Sanae’s voice weakened as she draped a towel over herself.

“The amount of magical energy in the Mortal Realm is still… Ahem…far too low. Even a little exertion is a heavy burden on our bodies.”

Likewise, the physically weaker Takanashi Rikka had already sat down, hands on her knees, panting heavily.

“Ah, we can’t win just our power.”

Fujiwara Chika suddenly calms down.

“I.. I really don’t want to end like this….” Nibutani Shinka murmurs, biting her lip.

The mood in the dressing room has dipped below freezing.

The rest period is coming to an end, and the girls emerge from the dressing room.

Just beyond the entrance, a figure stands beneath the sunlight, his entire body enveloped in sacred light, like a god of the Mortal Realm look down the earth.

“Sage.”

“Sage-Sama!”

“Izumi-chan.”

“Hasegawa.”

In response to these four distinct calls, Hasegawa Izumi’s features gradually come into focus before their eyes.

“My apologies, Izumi-chan. I don’t seem to be able to do any better than this,” Fujiwara Chika says apologetically.

“It’s fine,” he says mildly.

“I’ll take care of the rest!”

With that, the tempestuous youth enters the battlefield, where winds rise and clouds gather.

Meanwhile, in the basketball club’s dressing room, the mood is gloomy.

Though they were wary, the score was too glaringly unbalanced. The other team wasn’t particularly strong, so they shouldn’t have been trailing by so much.

“Vice Club President, what are you thinking?” Kato noticed the vice president’s silence and asked carefully.

“I’m worried about Hasegawa,” Hiiragi Gomatsu said bluntly.

As soon as he spoke, the others felt a twinge of unease.

Everyone knew that Hasegawa hadn’t yet made a move, and they’d already been so thoroughly spend. If he did enter the fray, the outcome was too frightening to imagine.

Their expectations were that Hasegawa was at least stronger than the club president. After all, his physical abilities were previously demonstrated to be absurdly high, and his technique, honed by girls, was also impressive.

“There’s no need to worry. The girls used up their energy in the first half; they won’t be able to keep up the intensity in the second. So, things will go more or less as we expect. When five people take on one, the odds are clearly in our favor.”

Hinata Koji quickly reassured them.

“President is right! How can we surrender before we even fight? We’ll know once we try!”

Hiiragi Gomatsu held out his hand, and everyone else put theirs on top of it, simultaneously encouraging themselves: “Go team!”

Just as the rest period was coming to an end, the basketball team and their supporters reentered the gym. Coincidentally, the Far Eastern Magic Society had also just entered from the other side, and their gazes met.

At the same time, background music began to play inside the venue.

“May the invincible legend never be broken!”

“We must fight, my way—!”

“If I’m ever gonna get back, get back, get back—”

Tensions were high, and the situation was ready to escalate. The playing of this battle anthem only stoked their bloodlust further.

“Who’s playing this music?”

“What song is this? I’ve never heard it before.”

“Actually, it’s pretty lit.”

“They’re playing the battle anthem!”

The students who’d just entered the gym were confused.

Of course, Hasegawa Izumi had asked Asahi Shizuku to play this song, and it was a recording of his own performance.

“Hasegawa…! Hasegawa…! Hasegawa…”

The cheers for the start of the second half were tremendous; it was almost as if they’d been summoned forth by a thousand voices.

Eriri’s encouragement was surreptitiously mixed in with the rest.

Now everyone waited for a miracle.

The teams returned to the court, and no words were necessary. The outcome of this match would determine the ultimate winner.

Because the basketball club lost possession in the first half, the second began with the Far Eastern Magic Society in control. The player who would take the opening shot was Chika, whose physical ability was superior to that of her teammates.

At this moment, every member of the basketball team tensed.

“Whistle!”

With the loud sound of the whistle, the second half commenced.

Without a word, Fujiwara Chika passed the ball to Hasegawa Izumi, who swiftly brought it down to the center of the court.

This time, Hinata Koji was assigned to guard the man.

“He’s coming…”

His eyes narrowed, wary of his opponent’s potential burst of speed.

He knew, based on Hasegawa’s arrogant performance thus far, that he wouldn’t shy away from a challenge.

“Try to stop me…if you can.”

Hasegawa Izumi dribbled the ball, his expression overflowing with confidence.

“Pa-ta… Pa-ta…”

Just as he finished speaking, at the moment the ball passed beneath his legs and into his left hand, he seemed to flicker, and his figure had already passed the defenders.

“Wow, he’s fast!”

When Hinata Koji turned around in shock, he saw that Kato and Kurosaki, the two other members of his team, were trying to catch up, but they were hopelessly behind.

Even while dribbling, their opponent was far faster than they were!

In the blink of an eye, Hasegawa Izumi had reached the three-second zone. Suddenly, he planted his feet and stopped dead in his tracks.

“He’s gonna shoot! We have to block him!”

Hiiragi Gomatsu and another player, Akamichi, realized this and rushed forward.

They leaped into the air, forming a wall to block their opponent’s shooting angle.

“Huh? Why did he back away from me?” A sense of foreboding washed over them.

This was a fadeaway jump shot!

In midair, Hasegawa Izumi looked ahead, his hands already poised to shoot. He casually tossed the ball upward.

Under the eyes of all present, the ball arced beautifully through the air and swished through the net.

“Swish!”

The whistle announcing a successful shot echoed.

Stunned, Hinata Koji watched as Hasegawa Izumi turned around, still wearing that same confident smile.

At that moment, the entire basketball team realized something: This guy was on a completely different level…

No! In fact, he wasn’t even playing the same game!