Love You Seventh Night: 03 [Scar] ◇◇ (69) (Patreon)

*Seventh Night: 03 [Scar] ◇◇*

"Come on, don't run away~! It gets all dusty when I have to disintegrate things like this, and I hate it."

[Heartbreak] complained, making a show of brushing dust off herself.

"...Wait, huh?"

But there was no one to hear her.

At the same time [Heartbreak] had blown a hole in the warehouse wall, Sayoko had already bolted like a startled rabbit.

◆

...Thump-thump-thump-thump.

Though her breathing was ragged, Sayoko continued to run at full speed. She went out onto the road and turned left. She passed the front of the repair shop from earlier and reached the intersection. Then, to avoid getting too close to the outer wall of the zone, she turned right and headed toward the center of the battle area.

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

She quickly ran out of breath. Having no choice, she fled into the nearest property.

The place, marked "Car Shop Minoura," was in the same business as the building she first entered: a small factory for automobile repairs.

In other words, while the layout and appearance were different, the contents were mostly the same. The previous factory didn't have any vehicles on lifts, but this one seemed to have been in the middle of a tire change. A two-post gate lift held a light vehicle without wheels at waist height.

Sayoko approached, intending to enter the factory or office to hide... but after a slight hesitation, she stopped.

(If I'm inside and [Heartbreak] appears through the wall, I'll have nowhere to run.)

The opponent could advance while ignoring obstacles and even walls, whereas Sayoko could only escape through doors or passageways. She made the judgment that she should stay in an open area, aware of the risk of being discovered.

Hoo, hah, hoo.

She thought while steadying her breath.

(She came straight after me.)

[Heartbreak] seemed to have come straight from the first repair shop to the back of the warehouse where Sayoko had hidden next, without even going out onto the road.

The concrete fence between the screw factory, and probably the screw factory itself. The fence between the factory and the parking lot, and the warehouse wall... she must have calmly walked, disintegrating and removing all obstacles in her way with her ability. Straight toward her prey.

At this point, Sayoko recalled the words Kyoka had said to her before the battle.

『What you need to be careful of isn't just the powerful ability they drew illegally. They might have made alterations beyond just the ability, in ways that wouldn't be noticed by the viewers. Especially this time, since it's the charge of Violet, the leader of the three girls. You can assume that to get her the best results, she has been enhanced the most among the three.』

The possibility of alterations other than attack abilities.

(That woman might be able to tell where I am.)

This time, she remembered the online matches of an FPS game she used to play.

Sayoko had played on a console, so she had never encountered them, but she had heard that on the PC version, there were malicious players who used cheats... software cheats.

They could become immortal, their aim would automatically lock onto the opponent's head, their movement speed would increase...

(...and they could tell where the opponent is.)

Indeed, an obvious cheat like immortality would be easily flagged as不正行為 (fusei koui - cheating/foul play) if broadcast on a TV program, but just knowing the opponent's location would be less likely to draw suspicion. It could be excused in any number of ways, like having superior analysis and prediction skills, or just good intuition.

Powerful defensive and close-range offensive capabilities. Incredible mobility that removes obstacles. And a cheat that senses the enemy's location. An extremely, extremely compatible combination.

The user just has to walk toward the opponent's location, and that alone will eventually corner their prey.

...Sayoko was now faced with the need to confirm this suspicion.

◆

Sayoko had run quite a distance to get here, but that was because she had followed the road. If she had headed in a straight line, it wouldn't have taken that long. If she had come.

(If she comes as expected, it's proof of the cheat. If she doesn't, that's fine. It'll give me more options, and more time to think.)

And so, facing the fence surrounding the property, in a straight line from their last encounter... Sayoko waited, poised to run at any moment, while steadying her breath.

...And then.

Without much time passing, [Heartbreak] appeared. She crumbled the fence into dust, much further to the right than Sayoko had expected.

(She really does know where I am!?)

But it seemed [Heartbreak] was also off in her location prediction. After entering the property, she looked around, and only then did she seem to confirm the target's location.

"Oh dear, I was a bit further off than I thought~."

She puffed out her cheeks.

"Come on~. I told you I hate it when it gets dusty, didn't I?"

She winked and started walking toward her prey.

(Location tracking is confirmed! But I'll probe a little more!)

Sayoko put her hand in her skirt pocket, took out a small spanner, and lightly threw it at [Heartbreak]'s face.

The spanner, which flew toward her chest with surprising dexterity, was, as expected, disintegrated into dust before hitting [Heartbreak]. At the same time, the concrete pavement at her feet rippled for a moment in a circle with the user at its center.

"It's useless~, useless."

[Heartbreak] cackled.

"Someone like you can never beat my special [Heartbreak]."

Before she finished listening, Sayoko had turned her back and started running.

"Aww."

[Heartbreak] let out a disappointed moan. But she didn't run after her. After watching her fleeing prey for a while, she just vaguely and slowly turned in that direction.

"Running makes you sweat, and it's tiring, you know."

And muttering that while brushing her hair back, she began to walk again, languidly.

***

2024.12.02

Rinri Kiyo-sensei, the artist of the manga version of I Won't Forgive Your Future, drew maid plushie versions of Sayoko and Erika!

And she even drew an illustration of them! Armed Maid Plushie Ver.!

Both are cute, so check them out!