Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Chapter 417: Chapter 96: The Worst-Case Scenario

Duke stared at the shattered racket in his hand, shocked to his core. He finally realized that Camus hadn’t just mastered the power of destruction—he had actually merged it into his own hitting technique. That required not only precise control but also an in-depth understanding of the very essence of destructive force itself.

At that moment, everything became clear. Now he understood why Camus had said Duke helped him perfect his power. Through their constant clashes, Duke had unknowingly pushed Camus to awaken the true nature of that force. And now, Camus’s control over destruction was almost on par with his own.

”I see it now! The Twin Roses... one symbolizes love, the other symbolizes destruction! But why would Camus awaken Duke’s power of destruction?!” Irie muttered from the Japan bench, his brow furrowed tight.

”Because destruction is simply another expression of love,” Akashi replied calmly, his tone composed yet sharp. ”There’s no Alternate Dimension more fitting for Camus than the Twin Blossoms.”

Once Duke replaced his racket and returned to the court, Camus launched his second serve without hesitation. This time, the other rosebud behind him bloomed in full, wrapping him in a deep pink light.

The tennis ball shimmered as that light engulfed it. In the next instant, it transformed into a radiant heart shape and shot across the court. Wherever it passed, the grass on the ground withered away as if consumed by an unseen force.

Faced with such an eerie serve, Duke’s expression darkened, though only for a moment before he regained composure. Behind him, the massive Demon God let out a silent, furious roar. Its enormous black hand rose and slammed down toward the glowing heart.

A loud shockwave echoed through the mental world as the heart shattered midair, bursting into countless pink fragments that drifted down like glowing rain. In reality, Duke’s right arm tensed as he swung with all his might, sending the ball rocketing forward.

A gigantic black shockwave erupted from his racket like a rampaging beast, tearing toward Camus. The ground split open wherever it passed, cracks spreading wildly in all directions.

Camus’s eyes hardened. He didn’t retreat. Gripping his racket tightly with both hands, he charged straight at the ball. The moment he met it, the rose symbolizing destruction withered behind him, while the rose representing love grew larger and more vibrant.

A surge of immense power burst from Camus’s body. His racket turned pink, and a delicate rose bloomed upon its frame. He swung fiercely—his shot drawing a beautiful arc across the sky before landing in Duke’s court, forming a glowing heart-shaped mark on the ground.

Duke had no time to think. The ball was already speeding toward him like a bullet. He swung hard, but as the racket connected, blinding pink light burst forth, wrapping his entire body within it.

The Demon God’s shadow behind him struggled violently, but the light clung to it like glue—unshakable, unbreakable. A second later, Duke’s return crashed helplessly into the net.

”30–0!”

Camus didn’t pause after scoring. He tossed the ball up again and served at lightning speed. This time, the twin roses behind him didn’t bloom; it was a clean, straightforward serve, but impossibly fast.

Duke sprinted to the landing point, his eyes flaring red—he had entered a full Berserk state. The Demon God’s shadow expanded rapidly, swelling larger and larger. Then, with a thunderous roar, Duke unleashed his ultimate strike: a destructive homerun.

The Demon God’s massive fist followed the ball, crashing down toward Camus. But just before it hit, a shield of countless flower petals formed above Camus, blocking the blow. At the same time, his racket intercepted Duke’s shot cleanly.

Still, the tremor in his arm revealed the strain. Even with the Alternate Dimension mitigating most of the destructive power, the sheer force of the impact didn’t vanish.

For a split second, Camus held firm, then redirected the ball back across the net—but the shot carried no extra aura of love this time. Duke immediately countered, unleashing another devastating forehand with his full destructive strength.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of impact echoed violently across the court as they traded blows. Each shot carried such power it felt as if the arena itself might collapse under the pressure. The ball traced sharp arcs through the smoky air, dazzling and deadly.

Dust and debris rose around them, blurring the audience’s view, yet the crowd’s cheers thundered without pause. The atmosphere burned with intensity.

Their rally was fierce but brief—every strike a clash of sheer willpower. Duke stood at one end, eyes blazing with ruthless focus, as if determined to destroy everything before him. He hammered another of Camus’s shots with brutal precision, sending it streaking straight toward his opponent.

But Camus was ready. Ripples shimmered in the air behind him, and a rose bloomed faintly within them. Its petals glowed with mysterious energy. Camus moved with elegant grace, his swing smooth like a dance, intercepting Duke’s return perfectly.

The moment the tennis ball met the racket, a strange power seemed to intertwine between them. The destructive force infused within the ball vanished as if devoured by an invisible vortex. Before Duke could even react, the ball had already disappeared from his sight, moving faster than his eyes could follow.

An instant later, it struck the baseline with a crisp sound and bounced out of bounds. Duke stood frozen in disbelief, his pupils contracting in shock. That speed—it was far beyond anything he had anticipated.

”40–0!”

But that shot wasn’t just luck or coincidence. In the next rally, Camus and Duke clashed even more fiercely. After seven or eight exchanges, the rose-shaped illusion behind Camus bloomed once more. The ball turned into a streak of golden light, slicing past Duke’s side and landing beyond the baseline.

”Game! France! 1–1!”

For a brief moment, the entire arena fell silent. Then came an explosion of applause and cheers—this was the France team they expected to see. After the earlier two doubles matches, many had begun to doubt France’s ranking, but now their strength was undeniable.

”Hey, come on! Did I see that right? Camus just absorbed Duke’s destructive power, didn’t he?!” Omagari blurted out from the sidelines, eyes wide in disbelief.

”You didn’t see wrong,” Byoudouin replied with a grim expression. ”Camus really integrated the destructive energy Duke infused into the ball into his own Alternate Dimension. I’ve never seen such a technique before.”

”How’s that even possible? Duke-senpai’s power... just taken like that? Does that mean he can’t fight back anymore?” Ishida Gin’s face went pale. He had always admired Duke’s raw strength—his dream was to become the strongest power-type player in the world.

”Camus’s Twin Blossoms Alternate Dimension does allow him to comprehend destruction,” Krauser said, frowning deeply as his sharp gaze locked on Camus. ”But why can he absorb Duke-senpai’s strength directly? There must be some deeper secret behind this.”

”Lilia, you’re thinking too narrowly,” Akashi said in a low, steady tone. ”Camus didn’t absorb Duke’s power. He fused it into his own Alternate Dimension. And that’s far more terrifying—because fusion means he can draw on that power whenever he wants, blending it seamlessly with his own techniques.”

’Creation... so that’s it,’ Akashi thought silently, his crimson eyes narrowing. ’In the original data, Niō and Duke resonated during their match. That wasn’t coincidence. When Niō gathered Camus’s data back then, he must’ve seen this ability firsthand. What Camus is doing now—it’s the same thing. He’s testing the possibility of Ability Resonance.’

Ability Resonance wasn’t something that only happened in doubles. Doubles simply made it easier to trigger. If a single player could wield two or more distinct powers, resonance could still occur—like Polk’s Infinite Tornado.

Akashi knew that if Camus achieved full Ability Resonance, Duke would stand no chance. The match would be over. He sighed quietly to himself. A 3–0 clean sweep for Japan was no longer realistic.

Still, he kept that thought to himself. There was no point in lowering the team’s morale. After all, no one could predict whether Duke might awaken an even higher stage of destruction or a new Alternate Dimension mid-match.

But Akashi never expected his worst fear to manifest so quickly. Just as the team was still discussing the last rally, Duke had already launched another powerful serve.

Camus faced the incoming black shockwave calmly. A unique energy rippled from his body as the two roses behind him bloomed in unison—and then began to merge. The twin blossoms fused into one enormous, dazzling rose radiating both love and destruction.

The crowd gasped at the sudden change in his Alternate Dimension, but before anyone could react, Camus swung his racket. The shockwave vanished instantly—and so did the ball. It was as if both had been completely erased from existence.

Duke’s eyes widened. He heightened his perception to its absolute limit, but he still couldn’t sense the ball’s trajectory. Then, a single tennis ball slowly materialized behind him, hovering in midair before dropping perfectly on the baseline and rolling out of the court.

”Ability Resonance—Creation!”

”0–15!”

”The fusion of love and destruction,” Camus declared solemnly, raising his racket high. ”This is the foundation of my revolutionary path. You can’t stop me anymore, Duke!”