The mid-game sun hovered high, casting golden light across the dusty field. The first half had ended in a tie, 1 to 1. Now, both elf and ogre teams huddled in separate corners, sipping water, stretching limbs, and catching breath. Dust clung to sweat-slicked skin and armor, but spirits remained high.
Yuuna stood at midfield, staff in hand, her tone crisp and focused. "Second half. Reset positions. Elves ready?"
Adiw gave a short nod, wiping his brow. Fuhiken adjusted his gloves, eyes sharp. Kyle and Sinryo bumped fists silently. Gigih sat cross-legged, quietly massaging his foot. Yetsan leaned against the goalpost, muttering about sore joints.
The ogres, now more organized, had learned quickly. Their passes were tighter, and they'd begun using their size to pressure the elves. A burly ogre with a leather headband, likely their new captain, barked orders in short, guttural phrases. The tone was competitive, but not hostile.
Yuuna raised her hand. "Begin."
The second half started with a thunderous stomp from both sides. Sinryo dashed forward, instantly closing in on the ball. He pulled off a swift drag-back, then spun on his heel, cutting between two ogres with a zigzag step known among street players as the "thread pass." The ball stuck close to his feet like it was tied by a string.
He passed sideways to Kyle, who caught it mid-stride, then cut left. An ogre lunged, Kyle chipped the ball up, letting it bounce over the opponent's foot before darting past. Cheers erupted from Fahleena, who had now switched to playing her self-proclaimed "Flame Princess Fanfare Anthem" on a wooden flute. Badly.
Adiw sprinted ahead, calling for the pass. Kyle lobbed a soft floater toward him. Adiw met it with a mid-air volley, but the ogre goalie read the angle and slammed it away with a massive palm.
The ball bounced to the sidelines.
Yuuna blew the whistle. "Throw-in!"
Fuhiken grabbed the ball and hurled it back into play. Sinryo leapt, trapping it with his thigh, then flicked it behind him with a backheel pass. Gigih, surprisingly well-positioned, instinctively booted it toward the goal, but it flew wide.
"Gigih! Aim before you kick!" Kyle yelled.
"I DID aim!" Gigih yelled back. "Just... badly."
The ogres recovered, sending the ball deep toward the elves' side. One of their strikers, a tall youth with braided tusks, charged down the left wing.
Fuhiken intercepted, planting his foot and forcing a contest. The two clashed with chest and shoulder. The ball skittered loose, rolling between them.
Kyle dashed back, scooping it up with the outer edge of his foot. "Fall back!" he called.
He sent a long cross pass toward Sinryo, who caught it on the run. Sinryo dashed past one ogre, then another, his footwork dazzling. He executed a scissors feint, one foot looping over the ball, then the other, before bursting forward.
Two ogres rushed to intercept.
Before they could close in, Sinryo nudged the ball sideways, Adiw was waiting. With a spin and a low kick, Adiw sent the ball flying like a comet toward the goal. The ogre keeper didn't even move.
Thud. The ball slammed into the wooden post and bounced out.
Gasps. Groans.
Adiw shook his head. "Too much spin."
The ogres countered. A series of crisp passes moved the ball up the field. Fuhiken blocked one route. Yetsan readied himself at the goal. An ogre midfielder, one with a lazy eye but surprising precision, faked left, then curved a shot wide to the right.
Yetsan lunged, deflecting it with his armored forearm. The rebound flew back into play.
As Kyle chased it, disaster struck. Two ogres, running hard, didn't slow down. Kyle was caught between them in a sudden collision, shoulder, hip, and elbow sandwiching him into the dust.
"Ugh, !" he grunted, hitting the ground hard.
Yuuna blew the whistle. "Foul! Stop!"
Sakura bolted from the sideline, her staff glowing as she dropped beside Kyle. "Hold still."
"I think... they cracked my spine," Kyle groaned.
"Just bruised," Sakura replied, chanting softly. A wave of healing mana pulsed over him.
The other elves gathered around. Sinryo's fists clenched. "They're getting rough now."
Yuuna turned to the ogres, arms crossed. "No charging. That's against the rule."
The ogre captain grunted an apology. "Not mean. Just... big."
From behind the group, a voice rang out, sharp and firm.
"I'm in."
Everyone turned.
Jessica.
She strode forward from the edge of camp, each step cutting through the dust like a silent declaration. Her long hair lifted with the wind, catching the last rays of sunlight like strands of flame. There was no steel on her back, no weapon in hand, only the quiet weight of her resolve. Her eyes, calm and unblinking, locked onto the field with the intensity of a storm gathering at sea. Around her, the chatter faded; even the ogres paused mid-laugh, sensing something had shifted. She needed no introduction. The fire in her gaze spoke louder than any war cry.
"You sure?" Yuuna asked, surprised.
Jessica nodded once. "They hurt Kyle. I'll play."
Adiw blinked. "But you're a, "
"Player," she interrupted.
The ogres looked confused, but accepted it without complaint. Jessica unfastened her sheath and handed it to Gabyola, who took it wordlessly.
She stepped onto the field, stretching her arms. "Where's my position?"
"Second striker," Yuuna answered. "Play forward with Adiw. Sinryo supports from behind."
Jessica rolled her shoulders, stepped into formation.
Yuuna raised her staff. "Resume!"
The ogres started with the ball, but Jessica moved fast, like a blade drawn in silence. The ogre with the ball barely had time to glance up before Jessica closed in, cut across his path, and stole the ball with a crisp inside hook.
Sinryo whistled. "Whoa…"
Jessica didn't stop. As soon as the ball touched her foot, she accelerated with sharp, calculated steps, her stride low and balanced, like a predator zeroing in. The ball stayed glued to her instep, responding to every touch like it was an extension of her will. She faked left with a sudden step-over, her right foot looping smoothly over the ball, then pivoted with a graceful drop of her shoulder, selling the motion with surgical precision. The ogre lunged, biting on the feint too hard, his weight tipping forward. In a blink, Jessica pulled the ball behind her with the outside of her boot, turned on her heel, and flowed past him like wind slipping through a crack in stone.
Two more ogres closed in.
Jessica crouched, knees spring‑loaded, dropping her center of gravity until her boots kissed the turf with feline lightness; then, without breaking stride, she initiated a seamless lateral dribble, skimming sideways in a blur so fluid it seemed the earth had tilted beneath her. Each micro‑touch coaxed the ball along a tight, invisible rail, the leather barely whispering against her laces as a thin veil of dust trailed in her wake. In one continuous motion she spun, hips leading, shoulders counter‑rotating for balance, and hooked the ball behind her with the outer edge of her boot, carving a precise half‑moon that left her marker grasping at empty air. Gasps from the sidelines. Even Fahleena stopped her chanting.
Jessica neared the box.
An ogre guard stepped up to block. Jessica glanced sharply to the left, her eyes locking for a brief second with Sinryo as if signaling a pass. The motion was deliberate, just enough to draw the defender's attention. In that heartbeat of hesitation, the ogre shifted his weight left, committing to the feint. But Jessica was already moving the other way, her right foot snapped forward, sending the ball streaking past the ogre's opposite side. He tried to correct his stance, but his size worked against him; by the time he turned, Jessica had already slipped through the gap, light on her feet and two steps ahead.
Jessica veered smoothly around the right flank, her pace steady and precise as she tracked the ball's arc. It bounced once, just enough to give her the perfect angle, and she met it with the top of her foot in a swift, upward swing. Her strike was clean and decisive, sending the ball into the air with a rising spin, the momentum lifting it like a flare streaking toward the goal.
The ball traced a perfect arc into the top right corner. The ogre goalkeeper lunged, but missed.
Goal.
Yuuna raised both arms. "Score! Elves: 2!"
The elf team erupted. Even Fuhiken cracked a smile.
Jessica jogged back to position, brushing dust from her sleeves. "They're slow. Predictable."
Sinryo grinned. "Remind me never to duel you."
The ogres reset, clearly rattled. They shifted formation, focusing defense on Jessica. The match resumed. As the ogres swarmed Jessica, she smirked. She passed back to Fuhiken. Fuhiken booted the ball upfield. Gigih missed it, but Sinryo was there. He dashed forward, passing to Adiw.
A one-two between Adiw and Sinryo sent the ball back into elf control. Adiw spotted a narrow gap between two defenders and shifted his footing with practiced ease. With a sharp inhale, he wound back and swung his leg in a powerful, clean arc. The impact echoed across the field, Boom, as the ball rocketed forward like a missile, straight toward the goal.
The ball flew in low, hit the ogre keeper in the stomach, and dragged him into the goal.
Yuuna raised her whistle. "Goal. Elves: 3."
Now the ogres played harder.
They bypassed Jessica and charged Gigih's side. Gigih, to everyone's surprise, blocked a shot by falling over at just the right time. He kicked the ball to Sinryo, who spun, flicked it behind his heel to Adiw.
The ogres surged again, their captain leading a tight formation down the center with heavy strides that kicked up dust in their wake. An attempted pass flew low, skimming the ground toward their striker, but Fuhiken read the play in advance. He charged from the side, sliding in with one leg outstretched, intercepting the ball just inches from the ogre's foot. The ball ricocheted off his shin and spun into open space. The elves scrambled to recover, already transitioning back into formation.
Jessica now danced around the field, dodging tackles, intercepting passes, passing short and fast to Adiw and Sinryo.
Even when the ogres closed in, she didn't panic. Her movements were sharp, honed from endless hours of sword drills. Every shift of her foot was precise. She moved like she was born for this.
And then, final play.
The ball bounced loose mid-field. Jessica darted between two ogres, intercepted it cleanly. She pushed forward, ball barely touching the ground. She juked one ogre with a double feint. Another tried to shoulder her, she spun away. The last defender lunged. Jessica stepped back, tapped the ball with the toe of her boot, launching it forward. She chased it, met it mid-bounce, and kicked with all her force.
The ball soared.
It caught the wind, arcing above the ogre keeper's hands, And landed perfectly in the net. Yuuna blew the final whistle.
"Game over! Elves: 4. Ogres: 1."
Cheers erupted from the elf side.
Fahleena leapt onto a nearby rock, arms raised high, hair flaring behind her like banners in the wind. "Behold!" she declared, voice echoing across the field, "the Crimson Elves of Glorious Twilight have claimed the sacred orb of triumph!" She twirled dramatically, nearly slipping, then struck a pose with one finger pointed to the sky. "This victory was foretold in the prophecies of Wind Flame Destiny!"
Kyle, still lying flat on the ground, groaned. "Please stop shouting…"
"Your spirit is simply overwhelmed by our fated glory!" she shouted back.
Jessica muttered, smirking, "Someone take her off the rock before she names the moon again."
Sakura jumped, popcorn spilling everywhere. "Jessicaaaa!"
Gigih flopped on the grass. "Never again."
The ogre elder, having watched the last half in silence, stepped forward and nodded solemnly. "Elves win. Strong teamwork. Ogres learn more."
Jessica simply bowed.
---
That night, as the campfire crackled under a starlit sky, the boys lay scattered across the grass like fallen soldiers, arms sprawled, legs twitching, eyes half-closed from exhaustion. None of them moved except to groan.
Gigih murmured, "Even my hair hurts…"
Kyle wheezed, "This is what dying feels like…"
Adiw didn't speak. He just stared upward, unmoving.
Gabyola returned from the water basin with a wooden bucket in hand. "Come on, boys," she said gently. "You'll feel better after this."
Sakura followed with a small bottle of flower-scented soap and her staff still glowing faintly with healing residue. Yuuna trailed behind with folded towels. One by one, the girls knelt beside the boys.
Sakura poured water over Fuhiken's head as he groaned. "This is unnecessary suffering..."
"Shh," she whispered. "Clean scalp, clean soul."
Gabyola massaged Kyle's temples while washing his hair. "You're lucky we didn't leave you like this overnight."
"I might still die," Kyle muttered.
Yuuna sat beside Sinryo, briskly scrubbing. "Stop squirming or I'll summon another ball and make you play again."
Sinryo froze. "No please. Mercy."
Jessica watched quietly, arms crossed, a faint smirk on her face. The breeze was cool, the moment peaceful. Even among bruises and sore muscles, there was laughter, and the slow, soothing rhythm of rinse and rest.
---