The game of tag?

How amusing, Isagi thought. He was used to the game of tag—very familiar with it.

Since he had lived on the streets, playing tag had been a daily routine for him. When he stole. When he hit someone

Or when the cops tried to close their distance on him.

Isagi had learned how to parkour and use his terrain to his own advantage.

The screen turned back on and showed the "devil."

The system sounded again.

"Now."

"The first devil is Igaguri."

As it finished, a ball fell on Igaguri's head, hitting him on the spot.

Igaguri, hearing his name, cursed. "Darn it! Why me?!"

"Because you're the lowest," Kira answered.

"And the weakest."

Igaguri turned into stone.

Bachira smiled. "Ouch. That must've hurt."

"You didn't have to be so blunt, y'know..." Igaguri cried silently.

"I'm telling the truth," Kira scoffed.

Without having the chance to reply, the ball under Igaguri was stolen by a certain blue-haired boy.

What happened next went down in everyone's memories as Isagi immediately kicked the ball straight into Kira's face, sending him to the ground.

Everyone was shocked.

"Phew. What a foul mouth."

"Thats should do it."

Isagi smiled, his eyes squinted in disgust at Kira, who was trying to regain his composure.

Kira stood there for 15 seconds frozen.

"Y-you!"

"HOW DA—"

The ground below Kira opened and swallowed him.

Then the system rang.

"Kira Ryosuke eliminated."

After hearing that, Isagi took the ball and kicked it back to Igaguri.

"Thanks," he said, before leaning against the wall to look at everyone.

Igaguri wanted to argue and ask him questions, but the ticking of the timer clicked his thoughts back to reality.

While everyone was unguarded and still confused, Igaguri kicked the ball at Bachira, expecting him to be the devil.

But Bachira moved and grabbed Kuon, who was beside him.

"HAHAHAHAHAH! MISSED ME!" he laughed.

Kuon, who got the ball, tried to kick it, but sadly—

"Time's up."

Je thought he would get enliminated.

But he didn't get swallowed up like Kira did, which was because the game was designed to eliminate only one person.

So when Kira was eliminated, Kuon, even if he had the ball, was still qualified to participate.

Kuon sighed.

"Thank god."

Now the remaining people were only:

Kuon.

Iemon.

Chigiri.

Kunigami.

Igaguri.

Isagi.

Gagamaru.

Bachira.

Asahi.

Raichi.

Imamura.

"Congratulations to those who have passed the first test," the system announced.

"Now we will proceed with a speech."

"Looks like I've got a handful of you left. Well, you rough gems, this is only the start. If you still fail to even complete the first test, then it just means that you are incompetent to represent Japan."

Before Ego could continue, Kira, who had broken back into the room, demanded justice, saying how unfair the game was.

Igaguri on the other hand was shocked.

"He just got swallowd by the ground, I don't know where the hole leads to but im sure he is supposed to be outside the facilty.."

"How in the world did he even get back in???"

Everyone stared at the so called prodigy.

Kira stood before the screen, his face twisted with indignation.

"This is ridiculous! You can't just eliminate people based on a game of tag! That has nothing to do with football!"

Ego's voice was calm, almost bored. "Everything we do at Blue Lock is related to football."

"Tag is not football!"

"Its a game where you chase other!! A kids game!!"

"Look at your environment." Ego's tone sharpened. "This room is 16.5 by 40.32 meters. The exact same proportions as a penalty area. 75% of goals are scored from that area. It is a striker's domain. If one cannot survive under those conditions, they are not qualified to be strikers."

Kira's jaw clenched. "Tag has nothing to do with football."

"A skill required by the fleeing side is tactical awareness, positioning," Ego replied.

"As for the pursuer, what they need is not only accurate dribbling but precision to make shots. That is what is optimal in football training."

"That's insane! You can't expect us to know all that in under two minutes! Football lasts more than 90 minutes!"

Ego's lips curved into a thin smile. "The average time a player possesses a ball during a match is about 136 seconds. You were given the exact same opportunity in the tag game."

Kira's face was red with frustration. "What do you expect me to do in just ten seconds?!"

"If that is what you would say in a real match, then you have already lost." Ego's voice turned cold. "You're expelled."

Kira froze. "What?"

"You could have focused on the game the moment it was announced. Instead, you stood idly, doing nothing. That was your own fault for not focusing."

Ego continued, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.

"Imagine you're in the middle of a match, standing in the penalty area. Your teammate's shot doesn't reach the goal and hits your body. When this happens, you've already given up. But you didn't notice that, by sheer luck, the ball falls before you. If you had just tapped it, you would be saved from your own mistake."

Kira's mouth opened, but no words came out.

"The one who is 'it' in the tag—the one who has the ball—decides who they want to win, but also gets to decide who they want to lose." Ego's eyes swept the room.

"A striker carries all responsibilities on his back. The one who keeps attacking until the very last second."

He gestured toward Isagi. "Isagi took advantage of your neglect to hit the highest-ranked player in the room. Bachira had the initiative to aim for the strongest player. Both are perfect examples of people who, rather than doing what's best for the team, had the tenacity and courage to pursue their own will. That is the egoism I am looking for."

Well ego got Isagi's intention all wrong.

Isagi replayed his play in his head.

Actually, he hadn't aimed at Kira because he was the strongest.

It was just that he didn't like him. He thought of how painful it was going to be if he had to work with him.

So he decided to remove him first to avoid future problems.

He also thought it was their fault for not paying attention. Not his.

"Idiots"

He muttered.

Ego's voice rang out. "Kira Ryosuke. You are already expelled from Blue Lock."

"Leave before I force you too"

Kira still couldn't believe it. "This... this can't be happening."

Isagi called out to him, "Kira."

Kira turned and gave him an angry look. Then he proceeded to leave the facility.

But before he could take more than a few steps, Isagi approached him and asked, "Why didn't you kick the ball at me? You didn't even try to escape. You just stood there."

"You had 10 seconds to pass the ball to me but you didnt so why put up a tantrum?"

"Its your fault not mine."

Kira's eyes blazed. "What did you say?"

"y-you couldve targeted anyone else.."

"THEN WHY ME?!"

Isagi's expression was flat. "I have quite a grudge against you. Because you touched me without consent. That's all."

Kira's face contorted with rage, but there was nothing he could do.

He turned and stormed out of the facility, the doors closing behind him with a final, echoing thud.

Igarashi voiced what everyone was thinking. "This is nonsense from beginning to end."

Ego chuckled. "Yes, it is nonsensical. But so is the world. Either you win or you lose. While you're getting excited over mediocre successes, true strikers tread a path of winning or losing everything, every single day, in order to keep on surviving."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"How did it feel? That moment when you felt true danger. The football you've played your whole lives has been for weaklings. But now, you've tasted what it means to fight for your life."

The players stood in stunned silence.

Ego's voice dropped to something almost reverent. "That feeling of victory. The feeling of survival. That is what it means to be a striker."

He straightened.

"The remaining players have passed the entrance test. Your room is designed for no more than eleven people. The eleven of you standing here are the survivors."

Isagi looked around at the faces of the others—his future teammates.

The screen showed his named and a few more.

All of them are.

Kuon, Iemon, Chigiri, Kunigami, Igaguri, Gagamaru, Bachira, Asahi, Raichi, Imamura.

Eleven strangers. Eleven rivals. Eleven egos crammed into one space.

And somewhere in the facility, Reo and Nagi were doing the same.

Isagi exhaled slowly.

"I somehow miss them."

The real game hasn't even started yet.

"Huh.."