Ryan blocked Isagi's path, positioning himself perfectly at the ball's landing point.
Isagi watched the golden opportunity
a clean one-on-one with the goalkeeper
slip right through his fingers.
He felt unwilling, but he forced himself to focus.
At least trap the ball first.
If Ryan gets it, it'll be another guaranteed goal.
Isagi lowered his center of gravity.
Using his much weaker body, he leaned back against Ryan with both arms spread out wide, trying to keep him away.
He stared at the descending ball.
All he had to do was jump and cushion it with his chest,
then pass to Otoya
who was already making a perfectly timed run.
That would be their goal.
That was the plan.
But reality rarely follows the script.
The ball was already within reach.
Isagi only needed to jump.
Just one upward movement and the ball would be his.
But the moment he tried
his body refused to move.
It was as if invisible chains had locked him to the ground.
He felt two hands pressing down on his shoulders.
Startled, Isagi looked back
Ryan was already soaring above him.
Palms planted firmly on Isagi's shoulders, body tilted forward like a predatory hawk sweeping down…
Ryan reached the ball first.
A clean, powerful header sent it forward.
The ball bounced several steps away
close, but safe.
Isagi's eyes lit up.
I can still get it!
He sprinted forward to claim the ball
but a black shadow flashed past him.
Someone else reached it first.
"No way!"
Isagi froze when he saw who it was.
Ryan. Again.
But how?
He had just landed from a massive jump.
He should've still been recovering.
Instead, he circled around Isagi, overtook him, and reached the ball before him
all in a fraction of a second.
Such acceleration…
Such agility…
Is he even human!?
Right after heading the ball, Ryan used a movement speed so absurd it felt like the laws of physics had been offended.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
He simply appeared in front of Isagi.
"Bye-bye, side character."
With the ball now under control, Ryan pushed off the ground.
BOOM.
His feet crushed the grass beneath him so violently that clumps were uprooted and sent flying.
Even standing behind him, Isagi felt the shockwave slap against his face.
Seeing the ball stolen, Kunigami and Bachira rushed back to defend.
Kunigami and Bachira moved first, planting themselves side-by-side like a living wall to block his path.
But Ryan didn't slow down.
If anything, he accelerated.
"He's… he's accelerating even MORE?!"
Even Kunigami, who rarely got startled, felt a chill.
"Haha… Ryan really is bottomless, huh…"
Bachira laughed half in awe, half in excitement.
As Ryan was about to crash into them, he flicked the ball upward with the tip of his toe.
The ball arced beautifully
a perfect rainbow between the two defenders.
Otoya reacted first and sprinted at the falling ball.
"Are you kidding me?!"
But the next moment, Ryan appeared in front of him.
Otoya's usually expressionless face finally cracked into shock.
What just happened?
Isagi, from the back, saw EVERYTHING:
Right after flicking the ball over, Ryan moved at an impossible speed
running in a wide semicircle around Otoya and closing the gap instantly.
If Otoya's path was a straight line,
Ryan's was a giant arc…
And despite taking the longer path,
Ryan arrived first.
Isagi's understanding of Ryan was destroyed yet again.
He's not human.
He's a monster
No…
an alien.
Where the hell are this guy's limits?
Ryan secured the ball and sprinted forward with terrifying speed, leaving Otoya and Bachira choking on dust.
"Oi oi oi don't tell me I'm the ONLY one left to face the final boss?! W-what the hell!"
Nagi screamed as Ryan charged toward him like a missile.
"Good luck, Nagi! We believe in you!"
"Yeah, you got this!"
Bachira and Otoya shouted from behind,
clearly not planning to help at all.
It wasn't that they didn't want to help
they were simply too slow.
Chasing someone who runs a longer path faster than your straight line was pointless.
Nagi gulped.
Despite trembling, he stood his ground.
"I-I won't move!
I may just be an NPC…
but I can't just LET you through!"
To Ryan, it was adorable resistance.
"Move aside, NPC."
Ryan dropped his shoulder to the left.
Nagi took the bait and slid over.
But with the inside of his left foot,
Ryan slipped the ball between Nagi's legs
A perfect nutmeg.
Then he curved around Nagi's right side, reclaimed the ball, and was already sprinting again.
Only the goalkeeper remained
but in Blue Lock, the generic training keeper was basically a prop.
Useful in Stage 1.
Useless in every stage afterward.
Ryan drew his leg back and unleashed a straightforward but lethal drive shot.
The goalkeeper didn't even touch it.
The ball ripped past the line and slammed into the net.
GOAL!!
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