Devil’s Music

To regulate their heartbeats, the FC Barcelona players appeared on the pitch slowly, unlike the Arsenal players who sprinted out energetically to the cheers of the audience, still shouting loudly in support.

As the whistle for the start of the second half sounded, the music that had been playing in the stadium was turned off, but the fans continued to repeatedly chant, "We always cheer for you."

Seeing the fervently supportive fans, FC Barcelona's captain, Andrés Iniesta, stood in the middle of the field and looked up at the stands.

Women crying, an elderly man shouting and waving a flag, men raising their arms amidst white smoke from fireworks.

Feeling an inexplicable pressure, Iniesta's legs stiffened. Lionel Messi, noticing the change in him, approached him at the center circle and tapped him on the back.

"What's wrong?"

Iniesta glanced at the stands, then pointed towards the Arsenal players on the opposite side.

"Look at their eyes—they've changed."

Seeing the Arsenal side, Messi's expression hardened. He saw eleven players glaring at the ball with fierce eyes, and he placed his hand on his waist.

Iniesta whispered to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Be tense for the second half. In football, momentum is half the battle."

Messi chuckled.

"Momentum can be overcome by skill."

Confidently, he sprinted back to his position. Iniesta watched him, his expression complex.

"Yes, but there are times when willpower, driven by momentum, can surpass skill."

Facing each other at the center circle for kickoff, Danny Welbeck glanced at Alexis Sánchez.

He too was staring intently at the ball. The team captain, Per Mertesacker, approached Mesut Özil from behind and put his arm around his neck.

"Welbeck, Walcott, use Sánchez."

Özil nodded slightly without taking his eyes off the opponents.

Seeing his thigh muscles twitch as if they might burst at any moment, it was clear Özil was eager to start playing.

With the experience of having played in the World Cup for the German national team, Özil remained calm amid the excitement, focusing intently on the ball.

And finally, the whistle sounded to begin the fateful second half.

Squeak!!

The second half started with Barcelona's kickoff but contrary to expectations, it didn't progress quickly. For some reason, the Barcelona players, feeling intimidated, passed the ball around in their defensive half to kill time.

However, with the game just having restarted, they couldn't afford to waste time until the end.

As three forwards pressed the midfielders passing the ball, and Arsenal's midfielders pushed up, Barcelona's defenders, unable to withstand the pressure, sent a long pass to a midfielder past the center circle.

Ivan Rakitić crouched to trap the long pass coming his way. As he jumped to trap the ball with his chest, he found himself engulfed in a huge shadow.

Startled by the sudden shadow obscuring his view, Rakitić saw the owner of the head rising behind him.

Mertesacker, with his eyes wide open as if seeing nothing but the ball, headed the ball away. Losing balance upon landing, Rakitić watched as Mertesacker, who had just jumped, was falling.

"Defense!!!!!"

As Mertesacker's ball connected with Aaron Ramsey, Barcelona's midfielders turned to retreat to their defensive half.

However, Ramsey, without a single trap, slipped a through pass forward with a non-stop pass. The pass was too long, threading through the space between the defenders and barely reaching Mesut Özil, who had sprinted from afar.

Özil, a step faster than the approaching defenders, trapped the ball once before immediately passing it forward.

The Barcelona defenders, startled by a pass flying over their heads, watched as three small shadows darted forward. Gerard Piqué shouted to the defenders.

"The line is broken! Stick with them!"

One of the smaller and quicker defenders, Javier Mascherano, trapped the ball with his left foot and rushed forward to stick with Danny Welbeck. However, Welbeck, not intending to duel, delivered the ball with a diagonal pass near the penalty area, and Theo Walcott, missed by Piqué, shot non-stop.

Bang!!!

As the sound of the ball tearing through the air resounded in the stadium, 60,000 spectators rose at once.

"Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The scorer, Theo Walcott, spread his arms and shook his fists as he ran towards Danny Welbeck. While Walcott approached with a joyful expression, Welbeck stared fiercely at the Barcelona players.

After reaching Walcott, he stopped the planned celebration and stood together, staring at the opposition.

Piqué shook his head in disappointment and returned to his position as Walcott, with the ball rolling behind the goalkeeper, sprinted to the center circle.

The Arsenal players raised their arms in greeting, but no one approached

Walcott; each held their position.

Seeing the Arsenal players eager to restart the game, the Barcelona players, feeling intimidated, avoided eye contact and talked among themselves.

"What's going on?"

A defender shrugged, glancing at the Arsenal players, while the players turned their eyes away from the fiercely staring opponents, shouting incomprehensibly at their defenders.

Ernesto Valverde, the coach, continuously gestured and gave tactical instructions from the sidelines, equally bewildered.

It wasn't just a single goal; the atmosphere of the game itself had changed. Moreover, with the goal coming just 11 minutes into the second half, there was no telling when another might be scored.

As the goal was scored, the fans seated next to each other hugged and shared their joy, but as the players prepared to restart without celebrating, the fans too looked back at the field with solemn faces.

As a flag-waving old man dropped his flag and raised his arms at the moment the goal was scored, his mouth opened.

Even when you are wounded and wandering and failing.

The fans around him, hearing his raspy voice, joined in singing.

We always cheer for you.

So you and we will not be afraid.

The song that started in one corner of the stadium soon filled the entire venue. No one was shouting or yelling; they simply stood singing solemnly, letting the players feel their hearts.

Noticing the change in the stadium, Kevin looked back at Geon with a stunned face. Astonished by Geon's ability to create such a supportive song, Kevin whispered quietly while watching the stands.

"Look at Geon."

Before Kevin spoke, Shizuka, already observing Geon, nodded slightly, and Kevin continued to whisper without taking his eyes off Geon.

"What kind of music experiment is this with 60,000 people? Isn't he increasingly moving away from the human realm?"

Shizuka also leaned toward Kevin and whispered.

"Since the opportunity arose, he's never once waved his arms or shouted, just quietly observing the movements of the audience and players."

Unlike Kevin, who was watching the game, Shizuka was primarily observing Geon's reactions. Hearing Shizuka's words, Kevin stroked his chin and nodded.

"Damn, a genius is beyond understanding."

At Emirates Stadium, even though it was a daytime game, all the lights were on to prevent any part of the field from being shadowed.

Three men sat under the bright lights on the roof, lifting their beers. Blond Pyemon raised his beer high and shouted.

"Ahahaha!! That's our boy!"

Cross-legged and arms folded, Amducias looked at Pyemon with dissatisfaction but, having some guilt, swallowed his words.

'He's Lord Gamagin's child, not yours! And this is my ability!'

Despite swallowing his complaints, Amducias clinked his beer glass with Pyemon. Taking a sip, he turned his gaze toward Gamagin, who was sitting quietly watching Geon.

"Is this piece still not beyond the limits?"

When Gamagin mentioned limits, Amducias realized he knew even the words he had followed Geon with, and sweat ran down his back.

"Ah... yes, not yet."

Gamagin rested his elbow on his thigh and propped his chin.

"Four emotions—that's the human limit, right?"

Amducias turned his head to the field and replied.

"Yes, that's right. According to human standards, historical musicians and artists, even painters, leave one unfinished work before they die, whether they die old or young. Their last work surpasses human limits, so it remains incomplete. Not just us demons, but even angels keep it in check."

Pyemon burped quietly after drinking his beer and asked.

"What happens when you surpass the limits?"

Amducias's eyes precisely found Geon among the 60,000 spectators. Seeing Geon's serious expression as he observed the crowd, Amducias watched Gamagin and Pyemon's reactions and sighed softly.

"He'll be dealt with, by an angel or a demon."

Pyemon slapped his face with a smack and stared at the sky.

"Demons can cover it... but we'll have to stop the angels. Heh, bring it on."

>

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