Using Your Head For the Goal

A ball of light shot forward, coming right for Lau. He watched it carefully as it spun through the air, seeming to warp the surroundings. The energy that it gave off was massive; however, Lau had to remain rooted from that spot. He had to guard what was behind him. If not, then his life would end.

He shakily braced his right arm during the collision, the impact burning his skin. Gritting his teeth, he roared as he forcefully deflected the ball back in the direction that it came from.

The man in the distance smirked, standing before what looked like a soccer goal. He took one look at the energy ball coming at him and batted it away with a single flick. With that, the ball rebounded and came for Lau again.

In pain, Lau tried to move to the corner of his goal to deflect it once again. But this time, it veered just beyond his fingertips and landed in the upper left, a perfect shot.

Instantly, a sharp pain coursed through Lau’s body, and when he looked down, his right hand had disappeared, leaving a stub of a wrist where it existed.

What Lau had found himself trapped in was a deadly game of soccer against Zhang, the God of Dexterity. They were on a wide open, grassy field with nothing else but two goals. A ball of purple and white light shot between the two of them, the respective energies of their cores.

The soccer ball that they rallied back and forth were injected with a piece of themselves, and this game that they placed themselves in resulted in a winner after a certain number of goals had been scored.

It seemed like a simple challenge… until Lau had let one of them fly right by him.

Apparently, a penalty was placed once a goal was scored. A searing pain erupted for the loser of the exchange, resulting in a piece of their body torn away. At first, it was just a few fingers, and then, a whole hand.

Lau’s entire left arm was gone by now, so he was forced to use only his right hand to block. But now, even his right side was starting to disappear.

“Dammit, you tricked me! How could you lead on an old-timer such as myself?! You should learn to respect your elders!” Lau yelled out to stifle the pain of his phantom hand.

“Old timer? I’m your elder by many millennia! We’re both old farts in unaging bodies if you haven’t forgotten,” Zhang chuckled. “It wouldn’t be fair at all unless we fought each other at our peak.”

Lau and Zhang looked at each other, similar faces but wearing expressions that were night and day. Lau was stricken with uncertainty, after having lost his left arm and right hand. Meanwhile, Zhang looked at him with glowing confidence.

“Fair? Not telling me the consequences wasn’t exactly a fair thing….”

“And what of it? Life isn’t fair!”

Zhang kicked another ball of light right by Lau, scoring another goal. Lau’s entire right arm was gone.

“There are times where we have to take preventative measures to make sure that nothing is lost. Otherwise, we may lose something that will never be gained back again. That is why, I’ll bend every rule, force the path to curve to my intentions, and hold a firm grip on what I don’t want to disappear.”

Zhang fired another shot at Lau. Gritting his teeth, Lau lunged forward and roundhouse kicked the ball back. It curved in the air, seeming to find a good spot in the corner of the goal, but in a flash, Zhang’s palm caught it. His other hand was gripping the top goalpost, letting him hang from it as he caught the ball.

As Zhang let go, an imprint was seen where his grip had warped the metal. He landed with a plop to the ground.

“Nice try, but I know pretty well that I get a little bit into it while chatting. If you had held my attention just a liiiiittle bit longer, you might have scored one on me. Here’s a gift in return.”

Zhang tossed the ball into the air and proceeded to do flips on the ground. Timing the ball’s descent with his movements, he ended with a kick that exploited the momentum that he built up. Flames of white seemed to be injected into the ball from the impact, and as it left Zhang’s foot, a lion made of fire seemed to roar to life.

Lau braced for the impact that was coming straight for him. The ball slammed into his stomach and spun furiously, like the lion that appeared before was trying to devour his torso.

Lau’s feet started to slide back, even as he pushed and hunkered down into a horse stance. Strangely, that only seemed to focus more of the energy into him. After nearly a minute of trying to force the energy back, Lau’s grip gave.

He was lifted off his feet and sent spiraling backwards into the goal. The ball and goalie slammed into the net, confirming a scored point.

“Gyahhhhhh!!!”

Along with the pain, Lau felt his right foot disappear. He was losing all ability to defend his goal, while his opponent had not a single scratch on his body. Seeing that Lau could barely hobble to cover any of his goal, Zhang scoffed. He proceeded to kick several more goals in without much resistance.

Amidst Lau’s cries, his body continued to be chipped away, until only a head remained. It rolled to the ground like a soccer ball. A set of feet stood right next to where it had fallen.

“With this, it will be the final point, incarnation of mine,” Zhang teased as he chambered his foot for the final strike – sending Lau’s head itself into the goal.

But as Zhang’s foot lashed out, no head flew away. No final point was given. He looked down at his leg, where a head was still attached to it, teeth biting down on it to hold on.

Even now, Lau refused to give up. He was a stubborn, old man. But a certain voice ringing in his head was the reason for why he kept going, even when all hope seemed to be lost.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re a dummy, Lau. But that’s what makes this journey fun with you.”

Lau had always wondered how Jiro could do such high-level techniques without fail. He practiced the same motions, studied the theories, and mimicked his mentor in martial arts. He believed that he had to absorb everything he could to take advantage of the abilities that he was blessed with. After all, he was the Electi of Dexterity. He was a valuable partner, tasked with protecting his summoner.

However, Jiro merely shook his head and laughed off his inquiries.

“Dexterity requires discipline. It requires being agile and accepting whatever comes your way, no matter what it may be. And sometimes, your body will just know it – the need to adapt and respond in kind. It becomes the power you need at the right time, and not until then.”

Lau had fought within his means, prepared as much as he could to face his enemies, but when the time came, it seemed like nothing came out.

Indeed, he felt that way when he lost Jiro to the Demon.

He felt empty and hollow. Like his techniques were at the end of its limits. He couldn’t be any better than he currently was…

“Is everything that you can do simply what you can imagine?” Jiro asked him in the middle of training after he had received his previous life’s memories. The two of them were standing in the garden of the Kinkou family home, revisiting old times.

“This is all I can imagine myself doing, yes-”

Suddenly, Lau received a slap to the face, but he turned back to see that Jiro was nowhere close to him. His arms were still crossed over his chest like he had nothing to do with it.

Smack!

Another blow struck him out of nowhere, and now, Lau was on the defensive, checking all around for an unknown enemy. Several more invisible blows smacked him, unseen and untraceable. He had no idea what was going on anymore.

“So if it’s something outside of your imagination, you can’t see it at all. Hah, you are still green, Lau! Even after all these years!”

Jiro got into a battle stance once again, determined to show Lau what it meant to truly master one’s own abilities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zhang stared as Lau’s head firmly latched onto his leg, even as he kicked sharply to fling it away. However, the feeling of something curling around his leg unnerved him, until finally, he reached down and plucked the head away, tossing it toward the goal. Zhang kicked the energy ball forward to finish it off.

However, the ball suddenly froze in midair, spinning in place. Next to it, the floating head had stopped as well. With a burst of purple energy, the ball was flung back towards Zhang, who caught it easily but stared in wonder at what just happened.

“You may have taken my arms and legs, but you have not taken away my will to fight!” Lau roared.

Slowly, a purple outline flickered below the head, forming a body entirely out of mana. Zhang kicked the ball back towards the goal, but the floating head charged over to block it, sending another flash of purple before the ball was returned. He had created an extension of himself so that he could go on fighting. If he no longer had it, he would imagine a way to compensate for it.

It had come out for him in this moment of need.

“Impossible!” Zhang cried as he started his assault in desperation. But every shot he sent was swiftly blocked by the speedy body made from mana.

“That’s what all villains say!” Lau retorted as he batted away the ball much like Zhang had done not long ago. “But thank goodness that times haven’t changed on this point.”

Zhang caught the ball and prepared for a special move of his own. Twisting, spinning, and speeding up, he made the ball go round and round as he spun like a top. He would impart so much momentum into the ball that it would zip right by Lau at light speed without so much as a blink in reaction.

Seeing this tactic, Lau laughed.

“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I got a trick of my own.”

Zhang clicked his tongue as a taunt, but as soon as he flung the ball, a torrent of mana blasted against him like a hurricane had suddenly turned on.

“Heaven’s Fall God Hand – Right In Your Face Pose!”

From Zhang’s viewpoint, he could see nothing but a rush of mana that sent him and the ball backward into his goal. But from farther away, the distinct outline of a massive hand swallowed up the entire playing field, from boundary to boundary. It left no room for the ball and Zhang to go anywhere but backward.

And with that, the first goal was scored against Zhang. Yet, it was far from over.

“Hundred Hand Slam!”

The giant hand moved back, allowing for the ball to reset, before slamming forward again, scoring goal after goal in succession without any break. Zhang’s body chipped away, just like Lau’s had before.

The attacks continued on and on, until all that was left were two heads facing each other on a destroyed soccer field.

“So… why didn’t you finish me off?” Zhang asked.

“Ashamed to say it, but I ran out of juice. An old man has limited reserves,” Lau said cheekily.

“You know, you seem to smile like a dumbass whenever you lie. That much of me hasn’t changed in all these incarnations apparently.”

“Why would it? It charms the ladies.”

“That it did…”

A moment of silence swept between them before Zhang continued.

“Did your friend teach you that neat trick?”

“Best friend ever, but yes, he did.”

Zhang fell silent for another moment before he sighed.

“If only someone had covered for me at that time… things wouldn’t have ended up this way… my fault for living in my own world, I guess…”

Wondering what Zhang meant, Lau tried to roll over to him, but before he could, Zhang’s head shone white and disappeared. Blinking skeptically for a few moments, Lau looked around and wondered if he had won.

“Is it over? Do I get my body back?”

There was no response, even as he waited for an entire minute in silence.

“Hello! Anyone-, don’t tell me I have to finish the game by rolling myself over there!?”

Still hearing no response, Lau cursed before rolling his head slowly toward the other goal, falling in and out of the bumps and holes in the ground that his attack had created. He really wished that Jiro hadn’t been so on-point when he said that power comes only at the right time.

As he reached the goal, the chuckling face of Jiro hung before him, amidst a blinding white light.