The referee blew the whistle to signal the final match of the Football Frontier. To signal that Raimon had successfully defended the Football Frontier title despite having a fresh squad this year.
Raimon had just defeated Outei Tsukinomiya 4-3 in a thrilling match. The Raimon players jumped up and down in seemingly eternal excitement and euphoria, many of them getting emotional considering how much they suffered (i. Soccer Club getting shut down and they had nowhere to play soccer at one point) and how far they've gone.
"YATTA! WE WON! WE ARE THE FOOTBALL FRONTIER CHAMPIONS! Great job minna! I'm sure everybody back at the island are proud of us!" an emotional Asuto screamed, as tears were falling down his cheeks. Everyone nodded in agreeement.
"HAN-CHAN! WE DID IT! WE ARE THE BEST IN JAPAN GOSU!" Golem exclaimed as he embraced his best pal, Hantta.
Haizaki's celebrations may be milder compared to the rest of his teammates, but they were still worth watching. He simply walked to the stands to find Akane and said, "Akane, I won. This is for you." He smiled. Akane smiled back.
Meanwhile, the Outei Tsukinomiya players were all down. But Nosaka, being the captain he is, stood up and announced to his teammates, saying "Minna. We may have lost the match, but there is nothing for anyone to be ashamed of. Today was the first time we experienced what real soccer is. Soccer isn't just a tool for war, and soccer isn't merely just about results. It's about clashing our hearts and fierce passion for the sport to try and win together, as a team, and form friendships from it. The Ares program may have provided us with excellent brains, but it has also taken away our hearts and our emotions. We couldn't play like this anymore. We have done what we could, so everyone! Hold your heads up high! All of you should be proud of yourselves for finally standing up against this program! Now it's up to fate to decide what happens to us after today."
"HAI!" the players said in agreement, as their spirits were lifted from that speech. Everyone stayed for the trophy celebration. Michinari, who was on the bench during the match, lifted the trophy. Asuto passed the trophy to him, believing he should be the one to lift it since he has always been the captain of Raimon and Inakuni Soccer Club.
After the trophy presentation, both teams went back to their changing rooms. On their way there though, Nosaka start kneeling down and his face looked as if he was in huge discomfort. Not to mention that he was suddenly sweating loads. Nishikage was right behind him, helping him up and asking him if he was okay.
"Daijoubu, Nishikage." I will accept whatever happens to me. "This was my last match after all."
Nosaka barely managed to walk a few more steps when he suddenly collapsed on the floor. Nishikage and his teammates were shocked and tried their best to resuscitate him but nothing worked. The Raimon team also stared in shock. Anna was the saddest out of all Raimon members, knowing that what she feared may be true. Tears started flowing out of the pink-haired girl's eyes.
The entire stadium has managed to see this sight, and everyone gasped in shock. In the meantime, Nishikage made an emergency call.
An ambulance rushed into the stadium a few minutes later, and the paramedics carried Nosaka's body into the vehicle. His eyes were still closed and his face was becoming increasingly pale.
An hour has passed and Nosaka was still in the emergency room. Everyone from Outei Tsukinomiya and Raimon were nervously waiting outside.
The doctor then came out of the room, which gathered everyone's attention. Immediately the formed a circle and surrounded the doctor, asking if Nosaka was okay.
Subsequently, a sad look was on the doctor's face.
"I'm sorry everyone. We tried everything we can to save him but we couldn't. Nosaka…. Nosaka Yuuma is dead."
An entire minute of silence ensued. This was followed by many Outei Tsukinomiya players falling to their knees and crying. Especially Nishikage. There was no way he could control his tears, sadness, and anger after seeing his role model perish just like that. Nosaka continuously hinted that this was going to happen, but when it actually did, nobody could accept the result.
Anna couldn't hold back her sobs either. She was heartbroken how a soccer-playing boy can suffer such a cruel fate. She had warned him multiple times of how he was sacrificing his own life to win the Football Frontier. But Nosaka never budged. He just went on playing. She buried her face on Ootani's chest, and everyone else in Raimon comforted her.
For a moment, everyone in Raimon had just forgotten that they had won the Football Frontier. They had forgotten that they were the best team in Japan. None of that matters right now. Somebody had just lost something important right now.
Nosaka's funeral was held at a cemetery three days later. Pretty much everyone who had played in the Football Frontier went. From Teikoku Gakuen and Seishou Gakuen to Hakuren and Eisei Gakuen. Everyone watched miserably as they saw Nosaka's coffin being buried.
As details of the case were emerged (e.g. how Nosaka was frequently feeling uncomfortable, how he was constantly taking meds), an increased number of people have started doubting the Ares program, and even blamed it for Nosaka's suffering and death. The public was eventually revolted by this program and Gekko Electronics. As a result, there were many protests across the streets of Japan, calling for the Ares program to be shut down and calling for Midouin to be arrested. As a result, Gekko Electronics have lost a lot of money, and their company value has greatly decreased.
It was a sad few days for soccer. Everybody had agreed that Nosaka had sacrificed way too much. But he was honoured and respected by many people for always standing up for what he believed in, especially when he stood up against the Ares program, and the fact that he was a talented player always gave it his all no matter what.