Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

"But they still need to be people who are connected to the world of torches."

Zhi and Xiaoyan's reasoning, each taking turns, has reached a dead end. Meanwhile, on the other baseball field, the execution team, which forcibly intervened in the game, won the match by a large margin, advancing to the next round and ending the semi-final.

"Asahina, did you leave anything from the World of Fire here?"

"I think... there probably isn't one."

"In that case, the problem lies with that guy himself. Damn it, I should have checked that bloodstain yesterday. If it does have these ash-like properties, it proves that he must have encountered something while Asahina was away."

"Perhaps there is another invader lurking among us, and he has some way of giving the native inhabitants of this world the properties of ash."

"We can only make this assumption for now. We'll mention it to Yuri later and ask her to pay attention to unfamiliar faces among the students."

The process of seeking the truth is always like peeling an onion; as you peel back one layer, you often find more mysteries underneath.

The intelligence is still too little, and even their understanding of their own race is still too little.

It's truly unimaginable what kind of miracles ash itself can accomplish in this vast world.

However, the confusion of the ashes was just a small ripple in the afterlife at this time. Under the bright sunshine, the SSS group's violation of school rules finally attracted the attention of the student council. In order to eliminate these intruders in a fair and square manner, the angel specially formed a student council team and directly summoned the members of the baseball club, preparing to end the SSS group in the final.

"Ugh, so annoying! Problems that can't be solved with a knife are so annoying!"

"Don't suddenly make such a stupid declaration about muscle-bound idiots."

"Never mind! When we're stuck, we should do something else and change our perspective!"

"Oh dear, I feel like Ryougi-san didn't refute the argument that he's an idiot."

"What's wrong with being an idiot? Look at those idiots over there, they don't need to think about too much, they can just sweat it out."

"You just want to play baseball, don't you?"

"What does it matter! Appropriate exercise helps relax the brain. Maybe if we help them win this baseball game, we'll suddenly think of some other clues."

"It seems they can win this game without us joining them."

The match between the student council team and the SSS team has begun. In the first round, the attacking team, the idiots and weirdos, successfully hit a home run and then made consecutive runs, gaining a three-point lead.

"Then let's join the angels' side! Let's catch them off guard!"

"Huh? Didn't we just form an alliance with Yuri? It's not a good idea to go against everyone like this..."

"Ugh... The investigation isn't going well, and nobody even welcomes me to play baseball. Isn't it a bit too tragic for Ash to have come to this?"

"Wait a minute, maybe we've found a breakthrough in both participating in the competition and conducting the investigation."

Having been doused with cold water twice, even the usually carefree Zhi couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. So, in her dejection, almost bending forward in frustration, she didn't see that on the baseball field, after the change of offense and defense, the student council team actually hit two home runs in a row.

If this is still barely within the capabilities of the baseball club, then the speed they displayed when running the bases was strangely fast. Xiaoyan saw it clearly: one guy, in the instant he slid to steal a base, clearly had one leg twisted as if it were broken due to the deformed posture of the force exertion, but after he reached the base, he stood up as if nothing had happened.

It seems some clues have come to us on their own.

PS: Yunxi: 744486102 (Seeking recommendations daily)

15-minute super baseball game

Hinata originally organized everyone to participate in this baseball game for two reasons: first, to help everyone relax after several days of continuous battles; and second, to commemorate his regrets before his death. He didn't necessarily intend to win the championship.

However, once the student council team took to the field, these objectives became irrelevant.

That's a team led by angels! A team they absolutely have to defeat! They may not care about the championship, but they absolutely cannot lose to an angel's team!

The idiots and oddballs in the execution team immediately reached a consensus and successfully scored three points in the first round of attack.

Compared to the Ashes watching from the sidelines, they felt the pressure much earlier, simply because the opposing pitcher was very difficult to deal with. After Shiina hit a home run, he immediately used tricky pitching techniques to induce the following batters to keep hitting high balls. Although they managed to get on base safely as long as they weren't caught, thanks to their stamina and luck, they still couldn't extend their lead.

After switching sides, Hyuga hesitated for a moment, but still let Otonashi continue as the pitcher. As a ninja, Shiina should have been more skilled at throwing projectiles, but she just wouldn't put down the broom in her right hand, which made it impossible for her to pitch the ball.

This resulted in Otonashi's lack of skill in pitching being completely unable to stop the opponent from hitting the ball, given the opponent's much more professional hitting technique. They couldn't even get the opponent to hit an easy ball to defend, and the defensive players had to be the ones to get the opponent out.

The student council team, attacking second, successfully scored four points, taking the lead in the score.

"Sorry, sorry, it's really too much to ask me to directly face the baseball team."

At the end of the first inning, when the second inning changed sides, Otonashi had almost completely lost his momentum. He had never received professional training, and he didn't even remember if he was an amateur. As a pitcher, the pressure was the greatest when the opposing team scored, and by the end of the inning, he felt as if his right hand had been strained.

Of course, this is just a misconception, but they really need to consider changing their pitcher.

However, among this group of oddballs, there are good hitters, good outfielders, and the infielders are barely passable thanks to their stamina and reflexes. The only thing missing is a good pitcher, since it's really too much to ask them to throw breaking balls.

If all else fails, we'll have to let Takamatsu play. That guy has clearly built a great physique, but he just sits on the sidelines as an advisor, which is a waste of resources. If it were him, he could probably throw the breaking ball.

"Well, it's okay. After all, the opposing batters are all from the school team. We'll change the pitcher next..."

"Hey guys, looks like you've met your match!"

Just as Hinata was about to persuade Takamatsu to take the field, a cheerful voice broke in, and it was the three Ashes who had arrived at their rest area.

"Ha, you guys showing up here, you wouldn't happen to be thinking of participating in the competition, would you?"

"Of course, you know our strength, right? We guarantee we'll help you win this match."

Faced with the cheerful Zhi, the blue-haired boy was slightly troubled. He was well aware of the strength of the two Ashes, but he also knew their background to some extent. Would it be too unfair to let them go on stage?

Forget it, the main thing is to make the angels suffer. Since Yuri has already let them wander around, it's okay to ask them for a favor.

"You've been a huge help! We're just short a pitcher, and now it's all up to you!"

“Pitcher? No problem, and I’ll bat fourth! I’m going to score points for you guys with home runs!”

"If Oori is the pitcher, I'll be the catcher."

"Haha, I couldn't be happier! Now it's up to you guys!"

The SSS team then made personnel changes, and the match officially entered the second round.

Having witnessed Homura's speed, Hinata was assigned to bat first to ensure she reached base, but to her surprise, Homura hit a home run right away.

"It turns out that I can still easily hit home runs on the pitches that guy threw, so I'm better suited to batting third."

This is Homura's comment to Hinata after she slowly ran to the bases.

The second batter is Shiina the Ninja. Although she also hit a home run, the opposing pitcher hadn't gotten going yet. So, since Shiina is the final batter, it would be a good option for her to use her speed advantage to secure base.

Sure enough, Shiina hit a fly ball, and luckily the ball landed well, the opposing outfield failed to catch it, and the ninja took advantage of his speed to get to second base.

They reached base successfully, and with no one out, they seemed poised to secure three runs. With a push after the fourth batter, a comeback was not out impossible.

However, it was too early to celebrate. The third batter, the delinquent Noda, successfully hit the ball, but this idiot obviously didn't consider the landing point of the ball. His only goal was a home run, and as a result, he hit another fly ball, which was caught by the outfield.

The good news is that even though Shiina dropped back to second base after being caught out, she still managed to run to third base by her speed before the opposing second base defender caught the ball and tagged her out.

Finally, it was Zhi's turn to enter the game. She excitedly swung her bat, and the whooshing sound of it cutting through the air made the opposing pitcher swallow hard.

"Haha, it's finally my turn! Watch me hit my first home run!"

The truth is cruel. The angel had fought against Zhi before, and she knew that even if she went up to throw the ball herself, she would be easily knocked away. So she had already planned a strategy for Zhi.

The weaver was excitedly weaving when he saw the opponent throw a curveball. However, the ball's spin was obviously too fast, and it sank and fell to the ground before reaching the strike zone.

"..."

Both Ori and Hinata fell silent, but for different reasons. Ori felt tricked, while Hinata, who was familiar with baseball tactics, saw through the other's plan: to walk Ori to first base.

Just as Hinata had guessed, with Origami's increasingly ferocious expression, the opposing pitcher shakily threw three bad pitches, successfully walking her to base.

"Coach! The other team fouled!"

"No, no, no, this is a reasonable tactic. Even in a regular game, it is common for four balls to walk four batters."

In any case, Zhi obediently went to first base, but her slow steps and the terrifying, razor-sharp smile she hadn't shown in a long time terrified the guy who had tricked her, causing him to completely collapse.

"pause!"

The student council team immediately called a timeout to prepare to substitute their pitcher, as their own pitcher was overwhelmed by the momentum of the opposing batter. This was probably the first time such a situation had occurred in baseball.

"Hahaha, you've got to play tricks on me."

One of the Ashen Ones, who was bullying the weak, even let out a villainous laugh without realizing it.

But Zhi's actions backfired, simply because the pitcher they brought on was too strong.

Homura asked Asahina about the guy with dark green hair and a school cap. He was called Naoi Fumito and was the vice president of the student council. His baseball skills did not disgrace his name. He struck out TK, who had also hit a home run in the SSS team, right away.

However, the ball's speed changes were so exaggerated that it seemed impossible for an ordinary person to throw it.

This group is definitely up to something.

But why is it someone from the student council? Didn't the angels fight the Dark Spirits head-on? Or is that infiltrator also planning to target the student council? But according to Yuri's information, they're all NPCs, right? Can NPCs also possess the properties of Ash? I still can't figure it out, and since they're from the student council, it'll be difficult to investigate them.

While Homura was deep in thought, Ori was staring intently at the vice president, who was pitching, from first base, trying to overpower him with her presence once again. However, when Hinata came in as the sixth batter, he remained completely unmoved. She sensed something was wrong, but then she realized that if Hinata struck out again, the teams would switch, and she would have to leave the field without scoring a single run in her baseball debut inning.

So the one who was put under pressure became the innocent Hyuga, making Homura cover her face, thinking to herself, "If you scare your teammates to death, wouldn't this attack just end?"

Fortunately, Hinata was a former member of the school team, so he gave up on hitting a long ball and used the most conservative tactic—the sacrifice bunt. Instead of swinging the bat, he simply placed the bat horizontally in the strike zone and used a blocking technique to hit the ball. This move successfully blocked the vice president's changeup.

He himself had no chance to run the bases, because with this kind of blocking, the ball wouldn't fly far. As long as the opposing first base defender caught the ball, he could tug out him before he could reach base.

The boy's sacrifice was worthwhile. Zhi, who had been holding his breath for a long time, and Ninja, who had been standing at third base for a long time, immediately created a sand wall on the field the moment his bat touched the ball.

This was caused by the sand and dust kicked up when they ran the bases at high speed, which made all the defenders on the bases eat mouthfuls of dirt, and in the end they could only tug out Hyuga, who also had a mouthful of dirt.

Regardless, the boy's choice was correct. His sacrifice earned the team two points, and he also saved his life from the clutches of the furious Zhi.

"Hey bro, you're really loyal! Don't worry, I'll strike them all out on defense!"

These were the words that Origami said to him after the match, patting his shoulder with great force to express her praise, completely disregarding the fact that the boy's shoulder was in so much pain that it was almost dislocated.

The roles were reversed, and this time it was Zhi who took the pitcher's position.

Golden flames burned in his eyes, and a dangerous smile curved his lips as he continued to exert pressure on the innocent attackers.

With his left leg slightly bent and the ball held high in both hands, he held the pitching motion for a second, then immediately separated his hands, pulled his right hand back to gather power, stepped out with his left foot, and threw the baseball out in one smooth motion.

A super-fast straight ball with no fancy moves!

With a sharp whooshing sound and an aura that seemed to shatter all obstacles, it hurtled forward and smashed into Xiaoyan's glove.

As the catcher, Xiaoyan's face immediately fell black lines, because this ball, which relied entirely on brute force and had no skill involved, directly broke the poor batter's bat. When she caught the ball, she clearly felt that her glove was pierced through from the intense friction.

She removed the baseball, slightly raised her perforated glove, and showed Zhi the abrasions on her palm, a smile playing on her lips.

There's a saying that everything has its counter, and the ash that used its power to bully the weak trembled in fear under the princess's aura.