MTLNOVEL Chapter 15: Blood and Steel
The air was heavy. Not just with anticipation — with danger.
Renji felt it the moment they stepped onto the field. Their next opponents, Team Ragnarok, stood across from them like soldiers prepared for war. Their captain, Goro Kenzaki, was a mountain of muscle with eyes like ice. Behind him, his team moved with the same cold discipline.
This wouldn't be a game. This would be survival.
The whistle blew.
Ragnarok attacked with brutal force. No finesse — just speed and power. Renji barely dodged a tackle that felt more like an attack. Kaede was knocked off balance by a shoulder charge that sent him sprawling.
They weren't playing fair.
The first strike came without warning. Goro broke through their defense like a battering ram and unleashed a shot that their keeper never even saw.
0-1.
Kaede pushed to his feet, rage flashing in his eyes. "They wanna fight? Fine. Let's fight."
"No," Renji said sharply. "That's what they want. We keep our heads."
But it was easier said than done. Ragnarok's pressure was relentless. Every pass was contested, every movement blocked. Reo tried to break through, but they cut him off with crushing tackles.
When Kaede finally got the ball, two defenders were on him immediately. He fought to hold them off — and then Goro appeared out of nowhere.
The impact was brutal. Kaede hit the ground hard, clutching his side.
Renji's vision went red.
"Stay calm," Riku said quietly, his voice steady. But even he looked shaken.
Kaede pushed himself up slowly. "I'm fine," he gritted out. But he wasn't moving the same.
They were being broken.
Ragnarok's second goal came soon after. Another unstoppable strike from Goro.
0-2.
Halftime came like a lifeline, but the mood in the locker room was grim.
"We're getting crushed," Reo muttered. "They're too strong."
"Strength isn't everything," Riku said. But his usual calm had cracks.
Renji looked at Kaede. "Can you keep going?"
Kaede's grin was fierce, even through the pain. "Try and stop me."
Renji stood. "Then we hit back. But we hit smart."
When the second half began, they changed tactics. Instead of fighting Ragnarok's strength head-on, they used speed and precision. Reo stopped trying to force through and started using his vision — creating space where there was none.
Riku anchored the defense with ironclad focus, his every move perfectly timed.
And Kaede… Kaede burned.
Even injured, he pushed harder than anyone — dragging defenders with him, creating openings through sheer force of will.
The breakthrough came when Reo spotted it — a sliver of space.
The pass was perfect. Renji didn't hesitate.
1-2.
But Ragnarok didn't back down. They came back even harder, their attacks more vicious. Riku blocked a shot with his body, staggering but refusing to fall.
Kaede kept running, kept fighting — until finally, the chance came.
The cross flew in. Kaede rose to meet it — and Goro slammed into him midair.
Kaede hit the ground hard and didn't get up.
The whistle blew, but no one cheered.
Renji knelt beside Kaede as the medics rushed in. "Stay with me, man."
Kaede's hand gripped his jersey weakly. "Finish it," he whispered.
When play resumed, there was no more holding back.
Renji became a storm — relentless, unstoppable. Reo fed him every ball, and he tore through Ragnarok's defense like fire through dry grass.
When the equalizer came, it wasn't even a celebration. It was a promise.
2-2.
The final minutes were chaos. Ragnarok pushed for the kill, but Riku held the line with desperation and brilliance.
And then, in the final moments, Reo saw it — the smallest gap.
The pass came. Renji ran.
Goro was there, but this time, Renji didn't back down. He went through him.
The shot flew.
The net rippled.
3-2.
The whistle blew.
Victory.
But there was no celebration — not until they saw Kaede.
In the medical wing, Kaede lay on the bed, battered but smiling. "Told you I'd keep going."
Renji grinned. "You did more than that."
Reo's voice was quiet. "We're not the same team anymore."
"No," Riku agreed. "We're stronger."
But as they walked away, Renji knew the battles ahead would only get harder. And not all of them would walk away unscathed.