Chapter 221: Takahashi Trapped in a Time Loop
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Japan Team rest area.
Irie looked at the watch on his wrist and said, "Strange!"
"They actually played this point for 3 minutes."
"Why did Takahashi suddenly give up his Taotie phantom?"
Oni said, "Look, everyone, why did Takahashi suddenly use Light Strike?"
Byodoin said, "On the basis of Light Strike, he is making the tennis ball undergo Secondary Acceleration."
"A very good creative idea, but that kind of opposing rotation will be seen through by Borg."
"Facing a professional player, such a tricky move will not succeed a second time."
Just as Byodoin said, Borg quickly moved a few steps to the right, closed his eyes, and waited quietly for the tennis ball to arrive.
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the crisp sound of the ball being struck, Borg successfully intercepted the tennis ball and returned it.
"Thud!"
This time, it was Takahashi who failed to react.
"40-15!"
"Germany Team scores!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Tokugawa rubbed his eyes and said, "Is it my imagination? I actually feel like I can keep up with the rhythm of the tennis ball and see the ball's trajectory clearly!"
Irie explained, "Tokugawa, don't underestimate the human brain."
"No matter how fast the ball speed is, through constant observation, the brain is also constantly receiving information and will slowly adapt to this speed."
Kirihara said, "Is that so? No wonder tennis players all like to watch other people's matches."
Tanegashima said, "That's not it."
"Takahashi's ball speed is indeed much slower than the previous game."
Just as Tanegashima was speaking, the tennis ball crossed the entire court, landed on Takahashi's left side, and bounced up.
"40-30!"
"Germany Team scores!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"40-40!"
"Germany Team scores!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"2-1!"
"Germany Team scores!"
Tanegashima said, "Don't you all find it eerie?"
"In the few points he just lost, Takahashi completely abandoned his Taotie, and he is no longer hitting Spiral Balls either."
"Moreover, his speed and power have clearly slowed down."
Tokugawa said, "Why would Takahashi do this?"
"What is he planning?"
Kirihara said, "Master is just like he has been repeating the first game the whole time."
Repeating the first game?
Mifune seemed to have caught onto a keyword; he spoke up, "Did any of you just feel a faint, obscure, and ominous aura?"
Irie and the others shook their heads.
Byodoin pondered for a few seconds and said, "For a split second, I felt it. But it was very weak and disappeared in less than 1 second."
"I even thought it was my imagination."
Mifune said, "That must be it."
"I also have a vague feeling, but I dare not be certain."
"But seeing Takahashi like this, I think he must have been hit by the opponent's spirit-type ultimate move."
"And it is a time-type spirit move at that."
Tanegashima said in surprise, "No way! Takahashi himself has a move called Time Distortion."
"How could he still be hit by the opponent's move?"
As he spoke, Tanegashima's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Because he remembered what Takahashi had once said: time and space-type spirit ultimate moves are very high-level, and even Peerless Perfection cannot break free from them.
And when Takahashi used Taotie, Tanegashima thought about how Taotie devours everything, and even the Spirit Power on the moves would be devoured along with them.
But Taotie cannot identify time and space-type spirit ultimate moves that have no offensive nature.
Just like devouring Amadeus's 'Shadow', it only accelerates the contact between that Spirit Power and Takahashi himself.
So, did Borg use a Spirit Power attack when Taotie appeared?
The fourth game is Takahashi's Serve game.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Germany Team rest area.
Q. P said somewhat strangely, "Why isn't Takahashi using his Spiral Serve this time?"
The originally gloomy look on Returu's face finally revealed a hint of a smile, and he said, "It's not that he doesn't want to use it, but that he is now trapped by Borg in the time of the first game."
"He will only repeat those moves from the first game."
"Constantly cycling back and forth, until the final defeat!"
Q. P said in surprise, "What?"
"Did Borg do this?"
Bismarck said, "Yes. This is Borg's ultimate move—Vortex of Time."
"By trapping the player in the time segment where he keeps losing points, making him unable to walk out of it, he achieves the final victory."
Q. P asked, "Another vortex? Does it have anything to do with the Baptism of the Vortex from just now?"
Returu replied, "Strictly speaking, the Vortex of Time belongs to the Baptism of the Vortex."
"The two of them are one move."
"Do you still remember what Borg calls the Baptism of the Vortex?"
Q. P replied, "A ball that you cannot return at all, even if you see through the trajectory."
Returu said, "Yes."
"The meaning of this sentence is not just as simple as the vertical rotation exceeding the human body's physical structure."
"There are indeed some power-specialized players who can use incomparably powerful strength to deal with the vertical rotation head-on."
"But the hidden meaning of this sentence is that even if you forcibly return this ball, the Spirit Power contained in the tennis ball will make it so you can never return the ball again in the future, and you might not even be able to touch the tennis ball."
"You can only be trapped in the cycle of time."
Q. P felt it was incredible and said, "When I played practice matches against Borg before, this situation never occurred."
Bismarck said, "That is because you didn't return the ball at all at that time; your racket was knocked away."
"If you had returned this ball, your fate would be exactly the same as Takahashi's on the court."
"And Borg said, even if you use the Light of Restraint, you cannot break free from this move."
Returu said, "It was the same when Borg played against Novak before; at that time, he only used the Baptism of the Vortex, and the opponent had already lost, unable to return the ball at all."
"It didn't even reach the step of using the Vortex of Time."
"So this should be the first time the Vortex of Time has appeared in an official setting."
"If your strength is not enough, you cannot return the ball at all. Even if you return the ball, you will fall into the cycle of time."
"And once you fall into the cycle of time, it is not just this match; in the future, when Takahashi faces Borg again, he will be more likely to enter the Vortex of Time because of psychological trauma."
"This is the ultimate move of the strongest active professional player!"
Bismarck said, "Yes. Although Takahashi's defeat is a foregone conclusion, the fact that he was able to push Borg to this extent, I have to say, he is an opponent worthy of our respect."
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"15-0!"
"Germany Team scores!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"30-0!"
"Germany Team scores!"
……
"Bang!"
"40-0!"
"Point to Germany Team!"
……
Borg looked at Takahashi's eyes with some confusion.
The Vortex of Time he unleashed should have trapped Takahashi in the first game.
In the first game, Takahashi had initially lost points because his speed was insufficient.
On the second ball, his strength was insufficient, his tennis racket was knocked away, and he lost the point.
The third ball was a combination of Light Strike and Secondary Acceleration, scoring a point!
On the fourth ball, his tennis racket was knocked away due to the baptism of the vortex, and he lost the point.
Why did it seem like Takahashi was only trapped in the third ball?
Although he had seen it once, this move of Takahashi's had not scored again.
However, the scene of the third ball repeated over and over; the first ball had also repeated once, but the second and fourth balls had never repeated.
This made Borg feel that something was slightly off.
End of Chapter
