Thank you very much for the sweet comment. It's been a joy to write this current arc and I hope you'll enjoy how it plays out. Do have a lovely day and the same goes for all who have been reading this story as well, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and stay safe for the winter and as always, thank you for continuing to read this story. I greatly appreciate it!


It was a brief period of recovery, the players on both sides treasuring the precious moments they have to rest while listening to the drums and horns of their supporters behind them. The coaches of both teams were giving their pep talks with different focuses: Vulerby's mindset was that they needed to win the next round by any means and to play with desperation since this is the worst opponent to allow an advantage in booyah ball, and on Squid Academy's end, it was a constant reminder that this wasn't a sprint but a marathon, and if they tried to get hasty they'll trip up and find themselves back in the same hole as before. What was needed now was pure patience and composure. While the commentators reviewed the first set and showed some of the highlights while also giving their predictions for how the next set will play out, this gave the viewers a chance to weigh in themselves on what both sides need to do get over the hump.

Digesting the match and very much entertained by the display between the two teams sat Shunpei, the captain of Toka. His match scheduled tomorrow against Grove Tech at the same location as this match, he was getting a firsthand look at how things might shape up for him and his team. Ranked as the 10th best team in the tournament and regarded as the most explosive team competing, there were plenty of expectations on him to live up to the hype and as such he found viewing these matches to be quite the learning experience, and most certainly did he enjoy what both sides were putting out. To see the Vulerby Gunners trading blows with giant slayers Squid Academy put into perspective just how wild the competition would be this year, already witnessing Squidops stun the Blazers. A peculiar place to be in for both sides. On one hand, Squid Academy has the lead in this round and can sway favor considering they've been heating up lately. But surprisingly enough, Vulerby were looking more like themselves at the end of that first set. If I had to guess, the pressure will be on Squid Academy to finish since they know every opportunity is critical and can't be wasted, for Vulerby, they know they can still finish them off in the sixth and seventh so there isn't a rush but...

"They don't have the luxury of taking it easy either." Siot answers Rikki's question on what he thought of the events that transpired in the first set and how it could affect the match overall. "After fumbling that opportunity in the fourth, it's very much up in the air in terms of who looks more like the winner. Squid Academy are running high from their win in that previous round and capitalized in the first set and now just need to win the next one to put Vulerby in a bind. Of course Vulerby isn't going to roll over and give them what they want since they have an incentive to take care of things sooner rather than later."

"I'm curious to see their response after that hiccup since they were looking good towards the end of that first set. I think Squid Academy got away with a great steal in surviving that one." Leila joined in.

"Vulerby are among the top five for a reason, no way they don't bounce back this coming set." Arian said with confidence, knowing more than enough about the fellow top tier team. His respect for them mostly stemmed from how quickly they progressed and rose to become the squad they are today and in his defined what it menat to be a ranked team. For them to be in this position was unfathomable.

Sitting on the bench getting a quick rest before the start of the next set sat Romaine looking up high, finding himself calming down once he put into perspective that this was only a single set within a round and the match was very much still within their grasps. It didn't matter if Squid Academy were starting to look like the team they were trying so hard to prevent from happening, he and his squad were still the mighty Vulerby Gunners-favorites of the tournament. All that it meant was that he'll have to shine brighter on the turf than anyone else for everyone to realize that his team were clearly and head and shoulders above their opponents. Squatting over on the sidelines away from the rest of the team was Azule, who isolated himself from his squad because he wanted to review everything in his head after finding some key points in that set that could've gone differently had certain events not occur. Thankful that his team snatched the first set, he was far from satisfied with that performance, especially in the latter half when Vulerby were outscoring them despite being behind. He knew they wouldn't win another set if they played the way they did, aware that Vulerby are likely all warmed up and will hit the ground running in the next set. As captain, it was duty to lead by example and so for the next round he needed to establish his presence and reassure his squad that the first set wasn't a fluke but a foundation they could build upon for the coming set. The breaks concluding and the teams returning to spawn to start the second set, it became a high octane battle between the teams. Vulerby struck first with a kill off a Squid Academy return, but Squid Academy answered back on the very next play by getting a solid touch on the ball on defense to even up the score. A quick rally following, Squid Academy jumped to a lead by a couple points off of a pair of aces that followed up with Vulerby getting a stop on defense to earn a point. Vulerby fired back and closed that lead in no time, then overtook Squid Academy and outscored them 3-2 to jump to a lead by a couple points. The score now at 7-5 in Vulerby's favor, the inklings in pink were up to serve yet again following the point won off a Saul kill.

"Samir tosses…"

An emphatic slam follows.

Pastelle and Jory react to the ball soaring their way but it's Jory who makes the call to receive, positioning his gun at the right angle for a clean pass to Sky, who sends it over to Reice for the kill. The wall of Vulerby manages to disrupt the spike however and that gives Dhaman a chance to set up the counter attack. Saul's number is called. Reice, Aaron, and Azule make the block however and send the swirling ball back Vulerby's way. But in comes Romaine to keep it in play, calling out to Dhaman to get in position. Dhaman is already at the line ready for the set, and this time it's Samir on the spike. Pastelle intercepts the strike just in time before it drops at the baseline and sends it to Sky. Her eyes were intense as she focused on the incoming pass and speeding behind her like a jolt of lightning across the turf was her little brother, who caught everyone's attention with his blinding speed. It was off of instinct but immediately Vulerby reacted to that threatening speed and turned all their efforts to stopping him. The ball left Sky in an instant and faster than a heartbeat did it cross the net, kissing the turf and leaving a blue splat.

"Point awarded: Squid Academy!"

A massive roar erupts back in the arena as finally, the sibling duo have connected on a play. A show of their brilliant chemistry, Azule and Sky resembled the other family duos competing in this tournament. Right away Romaine sensed it-that warning that they delivered on that point, and if he didn't adjust to it in time, it was over for him and his team in this round. Aaron is up to serve, and with momentum leaning towards their favor, an ace here would tie up the score and give them a chance to overtake the lead. A high toss and delivery near perfection, it seemed like Aaron might've just given Squid Academy that game typing point, but instead Dhaman returned it over the net. A surprising response considering he placed at such an angle that it couldn't be reached, Reice passed the ball over to Sky who once again looked for her little brother to punch it home. Romaine is there to disrupt the attack however and forces the strike off course with his defense, leading to a perfect opportunity by Dhaman to do a quick set to his favorite target: Saul. A smashing kill that breaks through Squid Academy's wall, Vulerby denies Squid Academy that mental boost and puts them back into a two point deficit. Up to serve was Waheer, who went on to put in a pair of aces and stretch the lead further until Jory managed to finally stop him in his tracks. A 10-6 scoreline, Squid Academy needed to stay within striking distance or else risk the game getting away from them-aware that the Vulerby team playing in this early second set greatly differed from the team they faced in the early first set. Three tries to net a point followed for Squid Academy. First a Reice spike with his roller that got denied by the wall leading to a save by Azule to keep the ball alive, followed by a Pastelle spike that got returned easily by Samir, and then finally a Jory spike that got pushed to the edge by the Vulerby defense that it landed out of bounds, awarding yet another point to Vulerby. An uphill battle for Squid Academy, whenever they managed to score a point it was followed by Vulerby putting in an extra couple to continue the stretch. An emphatic block by Isaac, the point is awarded to Vulerby once again and the score becomes a 14-8 contest with Squid Academy looking to be in danger of getting blown out.

"Looks like they're in trouble." Arian said shaking his head, having seen this type of situation play out. "Vulerby are looking stronger with each point scored and Squid Academy look shell shocked. Probably didn't expect to see their opponents turn it up to this kind of intensity after that first set, but even during that time, they were getting into their groove."

Sky once again attempts to ignite her team's offense and calls up Pastelle to answer the delivery, but it only backfires horribly as the wall of Vulerby proves too strong to overcome and rejects their attack. "Another point to Vulerby…" a bummed Rikki mumbled, wanting Squid Academy to complete the upset and take the 3-2 lead in the match.

"Hey, Siot. Do you think they can come back from this? I agree with Arian in that they look stunned by how Vulerby brought the fight to them. But I also think they just aren't faring well against an opponent like them and are finally getting exposed for it." Nick asked, initially wanting to see Squid Academy win but starting to have a change of heart once he saw Vulerby display their force.

Siot continued to analyze everything, "Do you remember when we faced them in the group stage? We swept them, right?"

"Right…" Nick slowly nodded, unsure of where the captain was going with this.

"Did it feel like a sweep?"

"Looking back at it, those games were difficult. So no, it didn't feel like a sweep."

"Now, they gave us that kind of trouble and couldn't scrape together a win at that time and yet here against an opponent of similar stature, they've managed to get a couple wins off of them and even lead in this round. I understand who Vulerby is and what kind of team they are, but I can't ignore the growth Squid Academy has undergone since then. They aren't the same team we faced and we shouldn't judge them like one."

"Do you think we could still sweep them if we faced them as they are now?"

Siot wouldn't answer.

A telling reaction all on its own, Nick decided to at least trust his captain's reasoning and once again have some faith in the Squid Academy team that managed to survive this far. Although it didn't look too well for them at the moment following yet another point awarded to Vulerby to stretch the lead to a 20-11 scoreline, the writing appearing on the wall for Squid Academy that their hopes to win in straight sets was sorely mistaken. At this point, the mood along the Squid Academy sidelines weren't full of them hoping to pull off some miraculous comeback and win, but rather to finish strong and use that result as their building block for the final set; how they finish here will dictate their tempo for the next and a crushing defeat would foreshadow nothing but negative defeat, but to keep it close meant that the next set was still an achievable victory. Following a trade of a couple points, Squid Academy managed to win the point and get back possession with the score 21-13. Sky is the one to serve this time around and after seeing how hard her team were fighting to keep it a contest, she decided to answer their determination by pocketing a couple aces to trip the lead, but on the third serve did Vulerby finally adapt after having learned how badly those ace serves burned them previously. But that wasn't enough to slow down the queen bee, who in turn sent passes to Aaron and Jory that turned into points to cut the lead even more. Vulerby interrupted the comeback with a point of their own to maintain order, but Squid Academy's ability to outscore them 6-2 already created that uncertainty they were trying so hard to avoid since taking over in the set.

"The score now 22-17 with Vulerby still in the lead, the clawing Squid Academy has surged to put pressure on the leaders. With Isaac up to serve, can Vulerby reestablish order and put down the feisty blues or will the team led by the power siblings prove to be too much for even the mighty favorites?"

A solid serve that dips just after the attack line, Azule is there to pass it over to Sky who it turn sends a swift pass to Pastelle to earn another point; the first time that the Captain, Vice Captain, and Ace of the team all connected together for a play, it was looking more and more like Squid Academy were pulling off the same progression that Vulerby underwent in the previous round. Possession returning to them for the start of this next serve, it's in Reice's hands who sends a solid ball over the net. Unfortunately Romaine is able to control it and send it to Dhaman who looks for Isaac on the attack. Luckily the makeshift wall of Azule and Jory are enough to throw Isaac off his rhythm and rather than send a powerful line shot along the sidelines he's forced to do a cross shot instead which goes directly to Pastelle who shouts to Sky to finish the counterattack. Vulerby were prepared for whatever monstrous attack Squid Academy pulled on the counterattack but before they could get their wall set for defense, the whistle blew to award the point to Squid Academy. Stunned by the sudden rally ending, they all looked below where the swirl of blue and pink sat just under the net. A dump that nobody foresaw, Sky closed the lead to a 22-19 game.

"Are they a generator or something? What kind of stamina do they have to keep gnawing at our ankles despite us kicking them in the mouth each time!" Samir ruffled his hair in frustration.

"Calm down, we expected as much. They're giant slayers for a reason." Romaine pats him on the back; "But we're not losing before his greatness the sultan, and most certainly not before our homeland who've placed their trust in us. This is a trial we must overcome!" he said, looking over to the rest of his team, uplifting them from their frustration.

His words ringing loud and clear in their ears, the Vulerby squad answered their captain's word by cutting off Squid Academy's attack and forcing them to overpower the ball that went out of bounds, awarding them the point. Arriving at set point after such a dominant performance, the audience at the palace got so loud it almost rivalled the noise of Mugil arena. Sultan Ruhtab looked pleased to see how they bounced back, but he wasn't satisfied just yet-he wanted them to win pronto so they could get that fast start in the next set. The longer this set continues, the more it'll be towards Squid Academy's benefit. With the serve from Vulerby a dangerous one as it almost flirts on the baseline, it was Pastelle who started the rally for her team by returning it. The blues picked up the pace with Jory and Reice rushing forward while Aaron and Azule waited in preparation on defense. Saul manages to get a touch on the ball and alters the path of Jory's spike that lands before Isaac, who sends a long set over to Waheer, who sneakily drives a cross shot to throw the defense off guard. Azule is there to do a rolling thunder and it in play it soared near out of bounds, finding it dangerous to take the gamble on letting it out when it could drop beforehand. Sky once again performs the set and sends it over to Reice, who slams his roller into the swirling ball and creates a mess! Splatters of blue flying everywhere on the pink half of the court, Reice's spike appeared to break through the wall, but no whistle was called. The reason why was all due to the last minute save by Romaine who performed a dive and shot the ball with enough power to send it over the net just barely beyond the centerline. Sky saves it on her end but now she can't set the ball!

"Zule!" she screams, trusting no one else to read her mind better than her little brother.

Already in position to do a deep set as the ball comes towards him stood Azule, who looked so focused the Vulerby players could feel the chill from where they stood; they had to count themselves lucky he wasn't going to be the one to attack from the air or else they might've stood no chance of guarding that power. His set long and wide across the court, it found an unfamiliar recipient who hung in the air long enough to find the right spot to deliver. All thanks to the distraction of Reice and Jory who were the known threats on attack, Aaron spiked the ball over the net and won Squid Academy the crucial point they needed to keep the set alive.

"And after that point earned by Squid Academy the lead is only a four point contest!"

"Can Vulerby hold them off? They have a decent lead at set point and to fail here can only foreshadow certain defeat."

"Well, anything is possible with this Squid Academy team that we've observed throughout the tournament. Up to serve for Squid Academy on their biggest serve of the set thus far, it's none other than the captain himself: Azule Royale."

All eyes on the skipper, there was nobody else who fit the moment like he did. Having made an impact in every way imaginable today, for him to pull off the unthinkable and win four straight points off aces for his team to go through to the next round would no doubt go down as one of the greatest moments for this young team. An unspeakable weight on his shoulders, Azule looked as empty minded as can be-his focus beyond the absolute apex one could achieve. A strong toss over head, Azule did a jump serve and hit a firecracker of a strike with such force that splatters of blue landed all over the court with a zip in its trail. Romaine is there to receive it however, and just as poetic as can be, the battle between the two captains spilled into even this game mode where one on one battles weren't frequent. Vulerby are quick on the response and launch their counter attack. The wall of blue shirts proves problematic however as they force Samir to alter his shot in mid air that works to Squid Academy's benefit as Pastelle easily handles it. Squid Academy's counter attack followed with Reice taking a crack at it, unable to get across the net due to that sturdy wall of pink. Azule saves it. Sky tries again with Aaron this time and he's able to get it over the net, but not clearly. A touch on the ball, Saul manages to send it to Dhaman who sent it to the hungriest guy on the court: Romaine. As though he'd been struck by lightning, he moved at such a blinding speed that the enemy team couldn't even get themselves set on defense, and as he sent a thunderous spike at their half, he was astonished by what happened next. Standing in his way yet again with that same intense look was the captain of Squid Academy to keep the ball in play. Neither captain would allow the other to get the edge. Everyone's mouth dropped in disbelief at the tenacity of Squid Academy to continue to fight desperately for a round they didn't necessarily need to exert such energy for.

"Another disruption by the trio of Vulerby stumps Jory's attempt, Saul is quick on the connection and the ball soars over to Romaine for another spike!"

"Pastelle saves it for her squad, and Sky sets it up once again!"

"Is it Aaron? No! Jory? No! It's Reice!"

An emphatic slam with his roller, Reice put everything into getting the point to keep their hopes in the set alive. Sweat poured down his face after delivering such a strike, the horror that sprung on his face as he watched the ball go in the opposite direction from where he intended left a knot in everyone's stomach. A campfire forming around the descending ball, Sky, Azule, Pastelle, and Aaron all dove to keep the play alive. But a splatter on the ground marks the end of the second set. The crowd at the palace erupts with cheer at their team's triumph and after a couple sets, the fifth round would be decided by a final set. A score of 25-20, Vulerby forced a third set. The trio who made the game winning block were Isaac, Waheer, and Dhaman, their consistency outshining the explosiveness of Reice, who'd been a recurring adversary for them all round.