Gaze Induction (III)

Yet they had clearly been watching their surroundings at every moment, and still they could never find Xiangtian Yanyi. Only after the ball was stolen did they catch sight of that white-clad figure racing away.

Being ambushed by an opponent they could not even see frustrated them beyond measure.

By now, Xiangtian Yanyi had become a ghost on the court, taking whatever she pleased.

As the seconds ticked by, Ryonan used Xiangtian Yanyi's logic-defying, magical passes to tear through Daiei Academy's defense again and again, putting the ball through the hoop over and over. The lead snowballed, while her passes remained as elusive as ever.

The Daiei Academy players' steps grew heavier, their defensive reactions slower. Xiangtian Yanyi's Gaze Induction had long since thrown them into disarray. They could barely maintain even basic defensive positioning and could only watch helplessly as Ryonan scored again and again.

Before they knew it, four minutes of the second half had passed.

When Fukuda Kicchou received another pass from Xiangtian Yanyi and finished with a one-handed dunk beneath the basket, the scoreboard displayed a result that left every spectator wide-eyed: Ryonan 64, Daiei Academy 45. The nineteen-point gap was just one point away from breaking the twenty-point mark.

The whistle blew. Daiei Academy called a timeout. At the Daiei Academy bench.

Takeuchi Takuya stamped his foot in irritation, his voice brimming with anger.

"Damn it!"

"Why is this happening?"

"What kind of trick is that Ryonan substitute pulling?"

He kicked the step in front of the bench hard, venting his pent-up frustration.

As the team's starting forward, he had never experienced anything like this. He could not even touch his opponent's jersey and could only get played time after time.

Hakaono Kazuta slumped onto the bench, his head hanging low and his voice helpless.