Ability Wielders - Chapter 146 Two Haydens

This caused an uproar in the stands, as well as amongst the spectators watching from the livestreams. It was a well-known fact that Hayden and Daniel were best friends. However, Daniel has never been seen playing basketball, incurring skepticism from the Filipinos and fans alike.

“Oho, Daniel has finally come out into the court.” Commentator Hayden remarked. “I wonder what kind of gameplay will Daniel display for us today?”

“I think that Daniel would not be on the team for no reason.” David added. “I stand by my prediction that Daniel is Hayden’s secret weapon.”

“We will see about that.” Commentator Hayden sounded enthusiastic.

When Daniel stepped on the court, the ball was in the hands of the Ghanaians. Hayden high fived Daniel and whispered each other good luck before they positioned themselves. For some reason, everybody in the Ghanaian team were unnerved by this interaction.

“Be careful.” Kokou reminded everyone. “That Daniel must not be simple for him to be personally requested to go out by Hayden at this point in the game.”

They continued using their The Wall formation. Kokou persisted on guarding Hayden. Unfortunately, this time, Daniel was on the court.

With a serious expression, and akin to a ray of lightning, Daniel dashed in and stole the ball. The power forward that Daniel seized the ball from was utterly shocked of Daniel’s speed. It was off the charts!

Kokou and Akwasi was stunned by this phenomenon. The onlookers were silenced. Everyone watching couldn’t react in time at the dazzling steal by Daniel. Scarlet, Courtney, and Zeke, who were in the stands, had their mouths agape. Hayden smiled in satisfaction. ‘It’s your time to shine, you stupid son of a bitch.’

Daniel seemed to have heard Hayden’s thoughts and shot him a stink eye before speedily passing the petrified Akwasi, going to the opposing team’s court, and dunking with style. Daniel’s agility, albeit slightly inferior to Hayden, was terrifying.

“And there it is!” Commentator Hayden shouted in excitement. “Daniel Luntiang-Dahon, the rise of a new player. What kind of synergy will these two best friends show in the battlefield?”

“I can’t begin to imagine the possibilities.” David, in spite of him expecting similar to this, found Daniel ridiculous.

Daniel was in razor sharp focus mode, not hearing any cheers from the crowds. The ball returned to the Ghanaian team. Kokou personally dribbled it up but was faced by Daniel. He had to exert extreme effort to pass the ball to Akwasi. And even that failed as Hayden has predicted what Kokou will do and intercepted this pass.

With Daniel in play, Hayden had less of a burden on him. This allowed him to move freer than when Daniel wasn’t with the team. If Hayden was focused by Kokou, Daniel would be the one to make the plays. If Daniel was guarded, Hayden would swoop in at the opportunity and decimate the Ghanaian team, including Akwasi.

With the sheer speed of the duo, everybody’s eyes, the audience and the players on the court alike, spun in circles. The two’s combination was nothing short of godly and unstoppable. It was as if there was a second Hayden on the court!

The longer this went on, the more Akwasi was enraged and confused. In time, Akwasi couldn’t take it anymore and chased after Daniel at full sprint. The look in Akwasi’s eyes have changed. It was now that of unadulterated determination to win.

‘This is not the place to prove myself worthy of some girl’s attention.’ Akwasi thought. ‘I play to win. That’s the main purpose of why I played basketball in the first place… Yes, I play to win.’

With Akwasi’s eyes clearing up, he was able to pick up everything. Every movement of Daniel. What he will do. And how he should react. It was an amazing, yet fleeting sensation that couldn’t be described with words alone.

As such, when Daniel was going to do a drive by, Akwasi was able to steal the ball from Daniel. Daniel was shocked of this development. Inopportunely, the buzzer rang as the second quarter ended.

“It seems that the match hasn’t reached its climax.” Hayden licked his lips again. “Interesting.”

Walking to the bench, Hayden wiped the few beads of sweat on his face. In the middle of that, Hayden’s Danger Sense perceived danger, an extremely dangerous one. It was in the direction of the small window by the side.

‘What the fuck?’ Hayden asked internally. He didn’t activate his Divine Perception as that would be a stupid act. ‘It’s a Level 5 wielder… Why?’

Hayden, for the moment, disregarded it. He didn’t completely let his guard down as he fully knew that there were different humans in the world. Some people will not hesitate to kill in such a high-density setting. In fact, many out there would want to murder someone in a place where people can be seen to send a message, or to ‘do the impossible.’

Somewhere outside, in the sky, in an angle that can see through the small windows of the court that the Filipino vs Ghanaian match was held in, there was a man stepping on thin air. It was White Hood.

“Did he… Sense me?” White Hood’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no way he could find me from this faraway when he isn’t utilizing his wielder powers. Besides…”

“Yes, my Ability has no loopholes.” A disembodied woman’s voice resounded. “A mere Level 2 wielder cannot possibly penetrate through the covering I have created.”

“That’s the thing.” White Hood was as clueless as the woman. “Well, not like he’s the one we’re targeting. Let’s concentrate on that, shall we?”

Prior to the whistle being, well, whistled, Akwasi clapped and talked in Akan. Kokou walked up to him and inquired something, wearing an expression that implied ‘are you fucking insane?’ It was a comical scene. Eventually, Kokou felt something was different with Akwasi and agreed to his terms.

The second half started with the ball in the possession of the Ghanaian team. Hayden noticed that Akwasi’s eyes were tranquil and was observant of his surroundings. It was one of the telltale signs of someone in the zone.

‘Entering the zone through being battered?’ Hayden wanted to chuckle. The situation was like those in novels to dramatize the situation and enthuse the viewers. ‘I’ll accept it with open arms.’

Akwasi was passed the ball by Kokou. Surprisingly, nobody in the Ghanaian team moved a muscle. The next events caused an uproar in the court. It was that Akwasi ‘disappeared’ and passed Daniel with ease. His agility actually shot through the roof!

In an instant, Akwasi was face to face with Hayden. Akwasi pushed on bravely, having a one-on-one battle of speed with Hayden. Hayden, was impressed, but that wasn’t an excuse to slack off. Thus, he went full-on in the zone and followed Akwasi’s movements.

Hayden’s mind was clear of thought as his basketball instincts took over his body. Akwasi underwent through the same. It was an intense match of cat and mouse that nobody could watch with the speed it was going. One that was preposterous to a degree as Akwasi has never been seen to be this agile.

Akwasi was going to dunk when Hayden slapped it away. The ball flew into the direction of Amado. Amado was going to catch it when Hayden burst to it and expropriated it. In a blink of an eye, Hayden and Akwasi was at the Ghanaian team’s side of the court.

Hayden and Akwasi circled each other. That would’ve been what it appeared to the outsiders as Hayden’s and Akwasi’s actions were too fast. Before one action registered to the mind of the viewers, Hayden and Akwasi were already three movements away from that.

Instinctively, Hayden dribbled and dribbled until he found an opening, jumped, and shot. Akwasi was going to block the ball when Hayden’s body went parallel to the floor midair and shot from an unnatural angle, the blind side. It was inhuman.

“Nobody was capable of going head to head with me.” Hayden licked his lips, his eyes full of invigoration. “Ah, it’s so unfortunate that this is obviously your first time in the zone.”

During one’s first time in the zone, despite of it not being losing one’s own control of one’s action per se, it was not far off. Your mind is fully blank and your reflexes take over, your body moving on its own.

As a result, one wouldn’t have precise control over the power of their step. That’s why Hayden can see through loopholes on Akwasi’s movements whilst in the zone. It was sloppy in his eyes.

Akwasi didn’t entertain Hayden’s words, simply going back to their side of the court to receive the ball. The two’s high pace head-to-head confrontation persisted to continue. It was an amazing sight for anybody.

Howbeit, Akwasi was losing as Hayden’s acceleration and overall swiftness heightened. It was an unfair advantage that Hayden had. It was inauspicious for the Ghanaian team that he had acquired Empyrean Power long before he fought them.

That’s when, at the two-minute mark of the third quarter…

‘No…’ Kokou was glued into his position, unable to join the fight, watching helplessly. His eyes couldn’t keep up at the speed of the two’s fight. Hayden scored. It was painful to watch his best friend losing. ‘I do not accept this…’

With newfound determination, Kokou was the one to receive the ball. He and Akwasi made eye contact. At that short instance of the eye contact, the two tacitly understood one thing: Hayden cannot be beaten alone!

Kokou threw the ball at Akwasi and galloped. When Akwasi was in the ropes, he made a feint and passed the ball to Kokou. Hayden was going to intercept it, but the pass carried more force than anticipated; thus, it blew Hayden’s hands away. Kokou squarely obtained the ball.

Kokou was going to shoot when Daniel blocked his shot from behind. “I’m not going to be left out of the fun, am I?”

Kokou and Daniel locked eyes. Daniel’s eyes were that of full clarity of the court. Daniel was in the zone! How did he achieve this? Hayden trained him to forcefully do so, of course. Daniel had the talent to go in the zone, it was solely a matter of calming himself down and clearing out his thoughts. Kokou’s expression twisted in horror.

With Hayden and Daniel in the flow state and working together, the duo of Akwasi and Kokou didn’t stand a chance. Scoring one after another, the Philippine team overwhelmed the Ghanaians. It was a match that had a predictable outcome.

Just like that, the first two minutes of the third quarter was the Hayden-Daniel duo bodying the Ghanaian team by themselves. Kokou grew hopeless, filled with despair. As the score stacked against the Ghanaians, Kokou felt useless as a leader.

‘Is this the kind of leader I want to be…?’ Kokou questioned his own convictions. ‘I… I…’

“Have confidence in your own abilities. You kept up with me when most cannot.” Somebody passed him by and whispered those words. Kokou turned his head and saw the back of Hayden. The indomitable back of that monster.

‘Was he… Encouraging me?’ Kokou was baffled by Hayden’s words. He snorted and faintly smiled. ‘He… He’s correct.’

With brand-new confidence thanks to Hayden’s words, Kokou stretched his neck and got the ball from his teammate. Exhaling heavily via his mouth, Kokou’s mind went blank, his body automatically dribbling. In that short moment, the originally three people that entered the flow state became four.

Kokou was obstructed by Daniel. Kokou dribbled and dribbled, showing skills that he has never practiced before. Every time his hand let go of the ball, his eyes were soaking in information from the field. Hayden couldn’t believe how refined Kokou’s movements are in spite of his first time stepping into the zone.

Regardless of that, Daniel didn’t lose. He stuck onto Kokou, zigzagging, running around. In time, Akwasi joined in on the run. Seeing this, Kokou passed the ball to Akwasi to his back, allowing them to shake off Daniel.

Stepping into the paint, Akwasi jumped and was going to dunk when Hayden appeared on the side. Hayden hit the ball away from the hands of Akwasi. Daniel recovered the ball.

Hayden and Daniel momentarily locked eyes. In that short amount of time, they had an agreement. It was to do the dribbling drive they practiced. With that, Daniel dribbled, but was cut off by Kokou. Daniel skillfully tossed the ball to Hayden.

Hayden caught it. He started dribbling. With Akwasi on his tail, Hayden dribbled, twisted, but he couldn’t shake Akwasi off. In the midst of this, Daniel broke free from the guard of Kokou. Hayden discovered this opportunity and bounce passed the ball with a spin so that it curved right into the hands of Daniel.

Akwasi and Hayden instantaneously ran towards Daniel. Daniel unexpectedly catapulted the ball high over his shoulder. Akwasi jumped. Yet, even with his height, Akwasi’s hands fell inches short of the ball. Kokou silently observed the trajectory of the ball on the side. He unknowingly calculated it and checked what’s the end of the path. The answer flabbergasted him to no end.

It was Hayden, whose hands were in a shooting position. Hayden jumped backwards, his hands high in the air. Just as Hayden was going to ‘shoot,’ the ball fitted squarely into his hands akin to the last piece of a puzzle: Seamlessly and satisfying. Without delay, the ball was released and was shot into the ring. It was a perfect three-pointer.

The air was engulfed in a stillness. Everybody froze. The previously raucous and excited cheers of the crowd was now nowhere to be heard. Commentator Hayden and David forgot to commentate.

A second passed. Abruptly, the onlookers were ignited. The court fell into a clamor, brimming to the rim with bellows and applause. Hayden and Daniel high fived.

With the ball back to the Ghanaian team, another round of intense maneuvers occurred. Hayden was back in front of Akwasi. Akwasi’s agility seemed to rise up another notch as he did all these streetball style handling.

In the middle of their face-off, Hayden’s Danger Sense reached its absolute peak. Every time Akwasi was to his left, the tingling sensation of being targeted increased. That’s when the cold feeling of death loomed in over Hayden.

Without thinking much, Hayden tackled Akwasi. The sound of something cutting through the air narrowly missed Akwasi and Hayden by the breadth of a strand of hair. The loud sound of glass shattering alongside the sound of the ball going out of bounds reverberated throughout the stadium full of people with bated breaths.

“What?” Outside, White Hood was holding a black sniper rifle. “How the hell did this kid… What the hell?”

“We should retreat.” The disembodied voice spoke to him. “The Overseers will definitely look into this matter. This is an unforeseen factor in the plans of The Missus, but Akwasi is a puny Level 2 wielder.”

“How about that Hayden?” White Hood eyed Hayden through the small window. “Does The Missus know of his Ability?”

“No. We should run.” The man’s tone was that of hurried and urging.

White Hood reluctantly ran away. “Hayden Emperador… I’ve never missed a shot in my entire life. Oh how I can’t wait to reap your life.”

Hayden got up and oriented his head to the shattered window. His Danger Sense couldn’t find anything anymore. ‘Was that… an assassin? Was I their target? Or was it Akwasi?’

“You!” Akwasi stood up and marched towards Hayden. “You couldn’t win against me anymore so you-”

Hayden glared at Akwasi. Akwasi didn’t want to be scared. Despite this, he couldn’t avoid it. Kokou came up to him and whispered, “Hayden saved you from being killed, you idiot. That glass breaking sound was from a sniper shot.”

Akwasi choked. He was regretful for being ungrateful yet… He noticed how tremendous Hayden’s unhinged killing intent was when Hayden glared at him. ‘Just how many people has this guy killed?’

Of course, Akwasi wouldn’t discriminate against Hayden for his body count. He himself has killed in self-defense and when it is needed. Such is the life of a wielder.

“Is everybody okay?” The referee walked to them and queried. “Is anybody injured?”

“We surrender.” Akwasi told the referee. “We have no chance of winning this game.”

“Uh…” The referee was speechless. The referee approached the Ghanaian team’s coach to confirm this decision.

Concurrently, Akwasi walked to Hayden. He extended his hands, “I thank you for saving my life.”

“I was saving my own ass.” Hayden didn’t accept Akwasi’s gratitude. “Saving you was a collateral.”

Akwasi didn’t know how to respond to this. Goddamn, son! Just fucking accept the appreciation! What kind of person does this?

Hayden didn’t leave Akwasi hanging though, shaking his hands. “I want to thank you for the game. I hope to see more of you in the GBA.”

Waking away, Akwasi watched Daniel wrapping his left arm around Hayden’s shoulders. It was a cheerful atmosphere between the two, except that Hayden pushed Daniel away and smacked him in the head. Adjacent to him, Kokou muttered, “Can you see why you’re inferior to him?”

“I hate you so much.” Akwasi rolled his eyes at Kokou. “However, the answer is yes. He’s… a unique person that cannot be reached by anyone. There’s something about him. Something that cannot be perceived unless you personally interact with him.”

“Now, I beg of you, will you please let go of your obsession with Eun-ha now?” Kokou asked in a pleading manner. “It’s tiring to rein you in and clean up your messes!”

“In your dreams, bastard.” Akwasi smacked Kokou in the head. “She will someday fall for me. That, I assure you.”

‘Or at least to you, Hayden.’ Akwasi closed his eyes, his expression serious. ‘You’re the sole individual I’m willing to relent to.’

…..

In the locker room, Hayden put on a white shirt below the jersey and jeans. Walking out, he was met by Akwasi, whose dreadlocks were wet.

“Can I talk to you in private?” Akwasi asked with a stony expression.

“I would entertain you. Haplessly, have business to attend to.” Hayden earnestly rejected Akwasi’s invitation.

“It will be a short conversation.�� Akwasi did not take no for an answer.

“Is this about Eun-ha noona?” Hayden looked at Akwasi with a hardened expression. “I don’t have anything to say. As I’ve mentioned, if you want to ask her out, you are free to do so.”

“No, that’s not it.” Akwasi was bashful. It uncannily fit Akwasi, a man with a tough appearance. “It’s that… If you are in a romantic relationship with her… Please, take care of her.”

Hayden closed his eyes and walked past Akwasi. He waved Akwasi goodbye without turning around.