On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Cry of Souls

"You did it!"

"They're in perfect harmony! As expected, those guys aren't ordinary!"

"This reminds me of the Asia district preliminary finals. I feel the same momentum that we had when we scored two points at the same time."

"The game flow has clearly changed."

"Yeah."

Shindou couldn't help the smile on his face as their team's motivation began to rise once again. Tsurugi and Matatagi's new hissatsu got them their second point, with backup from the midfielders. Hopefully, with how constantly pissed the latter had been, this would be enough to get him to calm down.

"This goal is a big one! This is the real Earth Eleven!"

"'Real', huh?"

...?

"Shindou-san, let's go!" Tenma said as he walked past.

"Yeah." Though he smiled, it could only stay up for so long.

Matatagi walked past him with a blank expression, confusing him further. Just what was it that was irritating him so badly?

~~~~~

The next round was Ixal's kickoff, though they seemed to have no intentions of advancing. In fact, they even let Matatagi take possession of the ball before turning back and positioning themselves on their side of the pitch.

"Know your place!" Ozrock was in the very center of it. "Berserk Ray!"

A strange pattern of light appeared on the field, creating something similar to ritual circles (or more specifically, pentagons).

Suddenly, the entire Earth team on the field were holding their chests, trembling in what looked like pain. Blue auras went on and off, as if they were calling their Souls but also denying their release.

"Guys? What's going on?" Shinsuke asked. None of the eleven could answer.

"Their Souls..." So Ichikawa relayed his own theory.

Matatgi tried to pass to Tsurugi, but the ball went into Shindou's direction instead. Then, the ash haired boy kicked it even further back. Suddenly, Hayabusa appeared and sent it into the net.

"Unbelievable! Matatagi makes an own goal!"

"No way..."

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I don't know either!"

"What's going on?" Aoi's voice quivered with concern.

But with what just happened, Ichikawa could confirm his theory, as unsettling as it may be. "His Soul did it against his will... That's how it appeared to me."

As the next kickoff began, the ball was sent back once again, with them being able to see shadows of the team's Souls. Tetsukado was next to use his for an own goal, going as far as tossing Ibuki away with his horns.

"The light that Ozrock and his team are giving off... They must have the ability to drive their Souls mad!"

"How could it do that?" Aoi asked.

"To my understanding, Souls are the power of beasts that reflects the strength within a person's heart. This Berserk Ray may have the ability to confuse those beasts, making them turn violent against their users' will."

"That sounds like...!"

"Yes... What happened to Kimiko-san with her keshin, as she was under the influence of the deception buds."