Chapter 36: Chapter 36 : Kai The Hero
The whistle blew. The second half began.
Team A kicked off first. Ava passed the ball to Azara, who dribbled forward carefully. Their confidence from the first half was still visible but something in the air had changed.
With Zinnia gone, their teamwork felt broken like a rhythm thrown off beat.
Jax stayed a few steps behind, watching everything closely. Kai jogged into position, his sharp eyes moving like those of a hunting animal.
"Remember," Jax murmured to himself, barely audible. "Sell it."
One of the Team A players, a brunette who already had a yellow card from the first half, took the ball and pushed forward. Kai sprinted toward her, cutting across her path perfectly.
Jax raised his hand to Celestia. She understood the signal right away. She intercepted the ball smoothly and kicked it straight to Kai.
The brunette panicked. She lunged forward to win it back.
Kai touched the ball lightly, then spun his body at the last second. The girl’s shoulder brushed against him, hardly even a push.
Kai let out a loud scream. "Ahhh!"
He fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder, rolling dramatically in fake pain. His voice cracked as if he was in agony.
The whistle shrieked instantly.
The referee rushed over, face tight with authority. She pulled out the yellow card first—then, after a brief hesitation, the red one.
The brunette stared at her in shock. "I barely touched him!"
"Off the field. Now."
She turned toward Ava, hoping for support. Ava’s jaw tightened but she said nothing.
From the sidelines, Zinnia’s voice tore through the air. "Are you kidding me?! That’s a dive! He’s faking it!"
The referee ignored her completely. The brunette lowered her head and walked off the field in silence.
Kai stood up slowly, dusting himself off. He turned his head toward Jax and gave him a quick wink.
The corner of Jax’s mouth twitched upward.
Kai had actually sold that dive like a professional actor. Even Jax was unsure if it was real. The crowd buzzed with half-laughter, half-outrage which was perfect mix for chaos.
Jax could almost feel Zinnia’s blood pressure rising from across the field.
Jax grinned. ’Two down’.
The game resumed. Team A now had nine players left, while Team B still had eleven.
But the scoreboard still showed 5–0.
Five minutes later, another chance appeared.
A blonde girl from Team A, who also carried a yellow card, was chasing Kai down the right wing. Kai dribbled slowly, taunting her, his movements relaxed and confident.
She closed in fast, almost within reach. Kai slowed down even more, daring her to touch him.
Her fingers brushed the edge of his shirt.
Immediately, Kai threw himself forward, arms flailing, legs twisting. He rolled over the grass as if struck by lightning.
"Ahhhh! My back! My back!" he cried.
The whistle blew again. Another red card.
The blonde girl screamed in frustration. "I didn’t even pull him! This is bullshit!"
"Off the field," the referee said sharply.
She stormed off, fists clenched in anger. The crowd was divided half cheering, half booing, the noise rising into chaos.
From the sidelines, Zinnia was almost trembling with rage. "This is cheating! Stop the match! He’s a fraud!"
Kai limped back toward the center line, then turned to Jax with a grin. "Two for two, buddy."
Jax nodded, smirking. ’Three down. Keep going.’
Team A was down to nine players. Ava’s face stayed calm, but her eyes told a different story. She was studying every move, every trick Kai pulled.
Azara said nothing. Her face was still red from earlier, and she couldn’t even look at Jax.
Ten minutes later, the third player with a yellow card made her fatal mistake.
Kai didn’t even have the ball this time. He just ran close enough that when she turned sharply, her elbow brushed against his chest.
He gasped, clutched his ribs, and dropped to his knees. "I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!"
The whistle sounded again. Another red card.
The girl didn’t protest. She simply walked off, shaking her head in disbelief.
Zinnia’s voice echoed through the entire field. "This is a joke! A complete joke!"
Now Team A was down to seven players.
But Kai still wasn’t done.
In the next fifteen minutes, he repeated the same trick on three more players—none of them had yellow cards, but frustration made them reckless.
One tripped him after he dribbled past her. Red card.
Another elbowed him in the face during a corner. Red card.
The last one slide-tackled from behind, cleats raised. Red card.
Each time, Kai sold it like an actor on stage. He screamed, rolled, groaned, even shed fake tears. The crowd went wild, half laughing, half furious.
By the time twenty-five minutes had passed, Team A had only four players left—Ava, Azara, the goalkeeper, and one exhausted defender.
The score still stood at 5–0. But now, Team B began to dominate.
Celestia struck first with a clean long-range shot that curved straight into the net.
5–1.
Kiera followed with a perfect header off a corner kick.
5–2.
Then Kai, still riding high from his "acting," broke through the defense and scored.
5–3.
The crowd roared. Team B was on fire. Team A was falling apart.
Then Kai turned his eyes on the goalkeeper.
The next play came quickly. The ball was sent into the penalty box. The goalkeeper dove forward and caught it cleanly, hugging it to her chest.
Kai sprinted toward her anyway. As she stood, ball in hand, he slid in close—close enough for his shin to meet the ball she was holding.
Her hands pressed the ball tight against his leg. Kai waited for just a heartbeat, then screamed and threw himself backward.
"She grabbed my leg! She pushed me!"
The whistle blew again.
The goalkeeper’s eyes went wide. "What?! I had the ball! I didn’t touch him!"
The referee walked up, cold and calm. "Red card."
The goalkeeper shook her head in disbelief. "No! This is insane! I didn’t—"
"Off the field."
She left crying, tears shining under the bright lights.
Zinnia was shouting from the sidelines again, but now her words were just angry noise lost in the crowd.
Team A was left with only three players: Ava, Azara, and one defender. And no goalkeeper.
Ava stepped into goal herself, her face grim and determined. Azara and the defender pushed forward to hold the line, but it was useless.
Team B attacked like a storm.
Celestia scored. 5–4.
Kiera scored again. 5–5.
The game was tied.
The clock showed five minutes remaining.
Jax’s team had pulled off a miracle comeback. But they were exhausted. Their energy was running out. Jax could see the heavy breathing, the shaky legs. Even Kai was bending over, hands on his knees.
’If we don’t score now,’ Jax thought, ’It will be draw no penalty and all my hard work would be for nothing that means no reward.’
He caught the ball after a goal kick and started dribbling forward alone. Celestia and Kiera were too far behind. Kai couldn’t even lift his head.
It was just Jax.
Ava who had been the goalie switched the places with Azara.
Ahead of him, Azara stood waiting. Her breathing was fast, her face bright red from fatigue. The last defender was too far away to help her.
Jax pushed forward. Ten seconds left.
Azara moved to block him. Their eyes met.
Suddenly, Azara’s face turned crimson for another reason. Her body froze for half a second.
Jax saw it the flicker of memory. The image that flashed through her mind: him, naked, cock swinging as he chased Kiera down the hallway. She’d seen everything
Her eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment. Her body tensed.
Jax didn’t hesitate. He took his shot.
The ball flew off his foot, spinning slightly to the left of Azara’s unmoving stance. It passed just inches from her leg.
The ball struck the crossbar with a loud metallic clang then dropped straight into the goal.
6–5.
The final whistle blew.
Jax dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. His teammates surrounded him, screaming, hugging, shouting in victory.
Kai jumped on his back, laughing like a madman. "We did it! We actually did it!"
Celestia smiled faintly. "Yes we did"
Kiera crossed her arms, trying to hide her smirk. "Lucky."
Jax looked across the field. Ava stood in the goal, expression unreadable. Azara was still frozen, eyes wide, her face as red as a sunset.
And on the sidelines, Zinnia stared at him with pure hatred burning in her eyes.
[Quest Complete: Win the Football Match]
[Reward: All Stats +1]
[STA: 10/50]
[CHA: 13/50]
[RES: 4/50]
[TCH: 4/50]
[LCK: 4/50]
Jax grinned as he slowly got to his feet. His body ached, his lungs burned, but victory had never tasted this sweet.
He looked at Kai again all bruised up his eyes dried of fake tear.
’They’ll never underestimate Kai again’.