Love You Seventh Night: 01 [Scar] ★ (67) (Patreon)

*Seventh Night: 01 [Scar] ★*

Ba-dump!

A heartbeat. And light began to return to Sayoko's vision.

(So this battlefield is in the daytime.)

Sayoko stood on a sunlit asphalt road. A normal, commonplace single-lane road. There seemed to be a crossroads a little ahead, and an intersection a bit further in the opposite direction.

Along the road were an auto repair shop, small factories related to metal parts, and other buildings that looked like warehouses. There was also what appeared to be a construction company with construction equipment lined up on its premises. The one with a number of large trucks lined up in its parking lot was likely a shipping company.

It seemed the lots were sectioned off on a relatively small scale, and judging by the signs, many local businesses operated here. It looked like a corner of an industrial and distribution complex, developed with land for construction, factories, and transport industries... a place a high school student like Sayoko would have no business with.

『Space replication complete. Zone fixation complete. Transfer of Contenders complete.』

The announcement's voice echoed in her head.

『A-Siiide! Ability Name: [Scaaaar]! Supervisor: [Kyoka Kuribayashi]!』

Sayoko's ability name, [Scar], floated up. Her battle record was "4 Wins, 0 Losses, 2 Draws."

『B-Siiide! Ability Name: [Heeeart-breeeak]! Supervisor: [Violet Dunois]!』

(A match.)

Just as predicted, she was matched against [Heartbreak].

The opponent's battle record was "4 Wins, 0 Losses, 1 Draw." The one-match difference from Sayoko was likely due to the default win from the previous night.

『The battle zone is a corner of this complex. Leaving the zone will result in an immediate out-of-bounds judgment. There are no marked walls, so please confirm your position on your own. The battle ends upon the opponent's death or when the four-hour time limit expires. Assistance from Supervisors is unavailable during the match. Now then, battle start! I pray for both contenders' good fortune!』

Bloop.

The usual goofy sound announced the start of the battle.

◆

"[Display Battle Area]"

An orange out-of-bounds barrier appeared in Sayoko's vision.

The zone seemed to be quite large. Probably around three to four hundred meters square. As she had seen from her initial look-around, there were many buildings, so she wouldn't have trouble finding a place to hide.

Of course, the same applied to her opponent, but for Sayoko, who needed to rely on surprise attacks, it was an even more crucial element.

(First, I need to get a weapon.)

Confirming that [Heartbreak] was not within her line of sight, she first headed toward the nearest building.

...Apparently, it was an auto repair shop.

The space must have been replicated during daytime business hours. The factory's shutter was open, making entry easy.

Just a quick look inside revealed tools and parts scattered here and there, next to cars being worked on and on tool racks... She could expect to procure and repurpose them as weapons.

The first thing Sayoko picked up was a crowbar. It had a decent weight, offering both attack power and reach. She would hold onto it, intending to toss it if she needed to escape.

Next, she found a medium-sized monkey wrench. It had a shape that was easy to grip and use for striking. She acquired this as a spare weapon.

She also pocketed a few small spanners that didn't look like they could be very effective weapons. A lesson learned from the [Accelerator] battle: if thrown, they might be useful for probing the opponent's ability.

There were other hammers, large and small, but considering weight and storage, she decided to pass on them for now.

...She had a quick look around, but there were still plenty of tools left. Even if she used up her weapons, she could come back and rearm with other tools.

(As expected, a place like this has no shortage of dangerous items.)

There were other factories, so she might not have to struggle to procure weapons in this battlefield. This was a positive factor for Sayoko.

(Next thing to consider is the opponent's ability.)

Ability name, [Heartbreak].

While planning her strategy, Sayoko had even looked it up in a dictionary, wondering if she could deduce its nature from the name. But when translated, the ability name meant "lovelorn." Unfortunately, it was difficult to guess its performance from that name. She hadn't thought of it during the [Hound Master] battle, but perhaps the three girls had loosened even the restrictions on ability names.

(If I can't deduce it, I'll just have to probe.)

Yes, just like in the battle against [Accelerator] the day before yesterday.

Sayoko herself would have to hide while encouraging the opponent to activate their ability, and then devise a countermeasure from there.

(I guess that's the only line to take.)

But it was then that she heard a woman's voice.

"[Scar], fooound you!"

Startled, Sayoko spun around.

"Wha-!?"

"Heeey, I'm here."

In front of the repair shop where Sayoko was rummaging... a single high school girl stood on the road.

Wavy, semi-long brown hair, heavy makeup despite being a young girl. She wore a beige cardigan over her school shirt, and her gray and white-based plaid uniform skirt was so short that a slight breeze would likely reveal her underwear.

That girl was waving her hand at Sayoko, walking, approaching her.

"[Scar], right? You're [Scar], aren't you? I mean, there's no one else it could be, right?"

Her completely unguarded appearance made Sayoko momentarily forget that she and her opponent were in a place to kill each other. But she quickly shook her head, snapping herself out of her daze, and began to hastily retreat deeper into the repair shop.

(Dammit! Right off the bat!? Isn't this kind of thing happening to me way too often!?)

She cursed in her mind.

However, unlike other contenders, Sayoko needed to perform the preparatory action of searching for and procuring weapons first. Therefore, it was inevitable that the opponent would take the lead in reconnaissance.

"Hey, why don't you say something?"

[Heartbreak] came straight at her.

Given the circumstances, she should know that Sayoko has [No Ability]. Even so, this was an action that was far too defenseless, and far too aggressive.

"Hey, I said."

Her feet did not stop. Finally, [Heartbreak] stepped inside the repair shop building.

"Hey."

Between Sayoko and her, various car parts and equipment were placed, acting as obstacles. For [Heartbreak] to close in on Sayoko, she would need to go around them or slip through the gaps... but she chose neither.

A workbench with impact wrenches and various sockets for passenger cars and medium-sized trucks, neatly arranged. Currently, that was the obstacle closest to [Heartbreak]. She slowed her pace slightly, but headed toward it without avoiding it.

And the moment she slowly approached the desk...

The workbench, the impact wrenches and sockets lined up on it, and even the plastic boxes for organizing them. In line with her movement, they literally crumbled into pieces... no, turned to dust and collapsed at her feet.

"Whaaaat!?"

Sayoko's eyes widened in astonishment. A pathetic voice leaked from her mouth, which was open wide enough for her jaw to dislocate.

Seeing this, [Heartbreak] must have been pleased. She let out a cheerful laugh, "Fufufu." A light of sadism filled her eyes.

Then, she spread both her hands toward Sayoko, licked her lips with a quick flick of her tongue... and in a sweet, whispering voice, she announced.

"Now, little one. Shall we have a hug?"