Chapter 381: It Has To Be A Fluke!

While Mika was lecturing Nuri about how she should improve her negotiation skills, unless she wanted to forfeit her clan because of some ridiculous deal...

...the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different.

On the demi-human side, despair was spreading fast.

Some students looked ready to cry, whispering things like,

"This will be recorded in history as our most humiliating defeat."

"Why is the princess doing this to us?"

The humans, on the other hand, were practically trembling with fury and excitement, muttering,

"We’ll crush him."

"We’ll make him regret standing on our field."

"We’ll show them who’s superior."

Regan just stood there, staring blankly at both sides, muttering under his breath.

"I have absolutely no idea how things turned into this. A two-on-twenty match...that’s like ten times the size of a normal game."

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed,

"Well, since both sides agreed, I guess we’re starting."

He raised his whistle and blowed into it.

Screeech!

"Everyone not participating, off the pitch!"

At his command, the spectators and side players quickly retreated to the sidelines, leaving the main participants standing on the field.

On one side—twenty humans lined up.

Ten were official members of the academy’s professional football team; the other ten were substitutes, but skilled enough to match their level.

Together, they looked like an army.

On the other side—only two figures.

Mika, standing casually near the goalpost, looking like he couldn’t care less.

And Nuri, standing tall in front of him, hands on her hips, a smug grin on her face as if she had already won.

Regan shook his head.

"I’ve seen a lot of weird matches in my career." He muttered. "but this...this is something else."

He opened his mouth to call for the start—then froze.

Because the field around them was wrecked.

Craters from spells, burned patches of earth, cracks, still-smoking scorch marks.

The aftermath of Astrid’s earlier temper tantrum.

"There’s no way we can play like this." He began. "We’ll have to move to another—"

He stopped mid-sentence as his saw something shocking.

Before his very eyes, the ground began to heal itself.

The soil shifted and refilled the craters, the charred grass turned green again, the scorch marks faded, and the lightning arcs vanished into the air. The entire field restored itself in seconds.

Regan looked around in shock—and saw Astrid standing quietly at the edge of the field, her eyes faintly glowing blue, her expression calm.

The earth and plants responded to her like loyal soldiers, obeying her will effortlessly. Within moments, the football pitch looked brand new.

"...Okay." Regan muttered, completely floored. "Guess that’s one way to clean up."

Clearing his throat, he stepped forward again.

"Now that both teams are ready." He said loudly. "Send your captains to the center for the kickoff!"

Nuri blinked, confused. "Wait, what’s a kickoff?"

Regan froze mid-sentence. "...You don’t know?"

"Nope! Never heard of it." She tilted her head innocently. "I thought we were just going to, like, run around and kick the ball until we win."

Regan stared at her in disbelief.

"You’re telling me you joined this match without even knowing the rules?"

Nuri puffed up her cheeks.

"I just wanted to join the fun! And besides, Mika’s here, so it’s fine!"

Regan sighed deeply.

"Alright...fine. The kickoff is just the start of the game. The captains from each team meet at the center and kick the ball to begin. That’s all."

"Ohhh." Nuri said, nodding in understanding. "In that case, I’m the captain! I’m definitely the captain!"

Before anyone could stop her, she skipped toward the center of the pitch, humming to herself.

Across from her, the captain of the human team—a tall blonde boy named Vander—stepped forward, his first clenched and his glare locked straight on Mika.

And just like that, two captains faced each other in the center of the field.

One beaming and clueless.

The other fuming and ready for blood.

Regan sighed. "God, they couldn’t be any more different..."

Shaking his head, he stepped forward and raised his voice.

"Alright, listen up! Normally, this is where I’d go over the rules—you know, what to do, what not to do, what counts as a foul, blah blah blah—but honestly, I don’t even know what kind of match this is anymore."

"Still, let’s try to keep it fair, alright? No pushing, no shoving, no cheap tricks, and most importantly..."

He pointed at both teams dramatically.

"No blessings! Absolutely none! If I catch anyone using even a spark of power, they’re out—forfeited immediately!"

The field went silent. Then, predictably, one small hand shot up from the demi-human side.

"What about these?"

Nuri asked innocently, spreading her little black wings and fluttering them for effect.

"They’re so cute, right? Do they count as blessings? Because technically, they’re part of me, not magic! Can I fly around the pitch instead of walking?"

Regan just stared at her blankly for a moment before exhaling through his nose.

"Unfortunately, no, Princess." He said dryly. "Even if they’re not technically a blessing, you still have to stay on the ground like everyone else. It wouldn’t be fair if you were the only one flying around."

Nuri pouted, folding her wings back.

"Fine, fine! I won’t fly. But if I did, it would just make things harder for them, you know?"

She said with a wink, pointing at the human team.

From the human side, Vander rolled his eyes and muttered coldly.

"Big talk for such a little girl...Can’t wait to crush both her and that quiet boy of hers."

Regan caught that but decided to ignore it, sighing again as he pulled a coin from his pocket.

"Alright, let’s settle who starts the kickoff. We’ll flip a coin. Who wants heads, who wants tails?"

Immediately, Nuri’s hand shot up.

"Heads! I want to be heads!" She said proudly. "Because I’m a dragon, and a dragon always leads—always the head! Only something gross would settle for being the tail."

She gave her own tail a quick pat.

"Even though mine’s adorable, of course."

Regan chuckled.

"Alright then. Humans are tails."

He looked at both sides, raised the coin, and flicked it high into the air.

Everyone’s eyes followed it as it spun, flashing silver under the sun before falling toward the ground.

The second it hit the dirt, Nuri leaned forward eagerly, her eyes sparkling.

"It’s heads! It’s heads! I won! I told you, Mika, I won! Let’s gooo!"

Regan bent down, picked up the coin, and confirmed with a smile.

"Indeed. Heads it is. The demi-human team starts the kickoff."

He placed the ball at the center of the field.

"Alright. You can kick whenever you’re ready. The moment you hear my whistle, the match begins!"

As he stepped back, the human team spread out, forming a wide formation—focused, silent, and intense.

Their eyes locked on Mika and Nuri like predators waiting for the hunt to start.

Meanwhile, Nuri turned back to Mika and whispered nervously.

"Uh...Mika, I don’t actually know how to kick a ball. Any tips?"

"There’s not much to it." He said casually. "You hate mushrooms, right?"

Her face twisted in disgust. "Ugh, yes!"

"Then just imagine the football is a big, fat mushroom. And you’re kicking it out of your sight. That should help."

Nuri’s expression changed immediately. Her eyes lit up with fiery determination.

"Mushrooms, huh? Alright. I can do that."

Regan blew the whistle.

"Begin!"

Nuri charged forward, shouting, "For the dragon race and mushroom-free meals!" and kicked the ball with all her strength.

It shot forward halfway across enemy side, and she jumped up in joy.

"I did it! Mika, I did it! I kicked the ball!"

She cried gleefully, waving her arms as if she had already won.

But before she could even take another step, the ball was gone.

The human players moved like lightning—one of them intercepted instantly, passing it to another, then another, and within seconds the entire team was weaving across the pitch in perfect formation.

Nuri froze, her jaw dropping.

"H-Hey! What the—?! That’s my ball! You can’t just take it! That’s stealing!"

Mika sighed from across the field.

"That’s literally the game, Nuri. They can take it."

"But that’s not fair!" She shouted indignantly. "I kicked it first! It’s mine by right of ownership!"

"And that’s why I’m taking it back!"

The crowd watched as the tiny dragon girl sprinted furiously across the field, chasing after the ball that was already being passed fluidly between the human players.

They were tossing it between each other like it was a game of keep-away, moving with well-practiced precision.

Unfortunately for Nuri, her short legs and unfamiliarity with the game made her efforts useless.

Within seconds, the human team had already reached the other side of the pitch.

They weren’t even bothering to defend—every single one of them just wanted to take turns shooting at Mika’s goalpost and humiliating him.

The captain, Vander, grinned ear to ear as the ball came to him.

He stopped just short of the goal, eyes gleaming with confidence.

"This is it." He said, glancing at Mika, who stood there with a calm, almost bored look. "Take this!"

With that, Vander swung his leg with all his might, sending the ball rocketing toward the goalpost.

The sheer speed made the air crack; it was impossible for normal eyes to even follow its path.

Everyone—his teammates, the humans, the watching crowd—was already cheering before it even reached its mark.

"It’s in!"

"That’s it, the first goal!"

"Game over already!"

The demi-humans, on the other hand, couldn’t even bring themselves to look.

Many of them shut their eyes, bracing for the inevitable humiliation.

Then—BOOM!

A loud thud echoed through the air. The sound of something solid colliding with force.

Vander grinned in victory, throwing his fists up.

"Let’s go! Let’s freaking—"

He stopped.

There was no cheer. No roar of applause. No celebration.

The crowd was silent.

Confused, he blinked and turned around, wondering what was wrong.

Why wasn’t anyone reacting?

Why weren’t they chanting his name?

Then he saw it.

Mika was standing in front of the goalpost, completely still—his hand casually holding the ball against his hip.

The same ball that Vander had just launched at the speed of sound.

His expression hadn’t even changed.

And seeing this—entire stadium erupted.

"NO WAY!"

"He caught it?!"

"What the hell was that?!"

"Did you even see him move?!"

One of the humans grabbed his teammate’s shirt.

"He didn’t even dash! He just...appeared there!"

"It didn’t look fast, but—it wasn’t slow either! It’s like...he just knew where it was going!"

Even the demi-humans, who had been seconds away from crying, were now staring wide-eyed.

"Did he actually just—catch that?"

"I thought for sure it was going in!"

"Maybe he’s better than we thought..."

But one skeptical girl shook her head, forcing a nervous laugh.

"No, no, it has to be luck! Just a fluke! There’s no way he can stop the next one!"

The humans latched onto that immediately.

"Yeah, that’s right! A fluke!"

"Don’t get overconfident!"

"Get back into position! The next one goes in for sure!"

Vander’s jaw tightened, but he nodded, signaling his team to reset.

The humans spread out again across the pitch, all fire and fury now.

They were no longer playing to win—they were playing to crush.