Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「Kuhhhh!?」

She falls on her back, unable to bear the pressure.

Her back rests on the rolling basketball, and she stops moving.

Likewise, Saki, who was blocked from moving forward, also appears in a collapsed state.

Now, both of them cannot get up.

They are frowning and shaking their arms and legs, as if their bodies are in pain.

（This is too much force of numbers!）

Chisato mutters in the mind.

Two against one. Hana and Sakki should have won in terms of numbers, but what awaited them was an overwhelming extermination by sheer mass.

...It may have been a delusion to think that Mizuki is easier to fight than Kaede.

In fact, it is true that Kaede is strong. Even if she fights against Mizuki, she may win.

However, the quality of strength is different between Kaede and Mizuki.

For example, if Mizuki shot a blade instead of a ball, Hana and Saki would already be dead. If all the representatives of the four schools had been present, the result would have been the same.

She is the kind of person who should not be challenged unless someone has the ability to attack and defend at the same time like Kaede.

「Haah.... Izumi-kun, if you still have a chance to win, go ahead.」

Hana says, lying down and turning her head.

The basketball she had been laying under disappears into the gate along with the other balls, and she falls to the ground.

Then Hana's body also disappears. At the same time, so does Saki.

「Good work, both of you!」

As Mizuki judged they had lost the battle, she announced in her voice.

Mizuki then looks back at Chihiro.

「What about you, Izumi-kun?」

When she called out to him, he felt lost.

From what he saw of Hana's fight, it was almost impossible to forcefully break through Mizuki's defense. The strategy involving decoy by combining with Chisato is meaningless as long as the opponent can attack in a wide area.

But, he wonders if the other "trump card" he used against Shizuru will also work.

Anyway, he'll just have to give it a try.

Though, he's not sure if Mizuki is Kaito's slave or not like Shizuru, but he's not comfortable using it on other people.

「...Enjou-san, I'm going to use my terrible ability」

「「Terrible, ability?」

Mizuki blinked.

「Of course, I don't mind. My role is to deal with everyone attacks. You can try any way you like.」

「Thank you very much」

It's a rather terrible way of agreeing, but nothing can explain that ability.

Chihiro exchanged a glance with Mizuki and activated [Desire Exposure].

「Huh? What is... this?」

Mizuki trembled when she received the ability.

She stiffened for a few seconds, as if she was at a loss for what to do. Chihiro sees this and almost steps out of the way, but Mizuki quickly takes the simplest action of "looking away".

In return, several basketballs hit Chihiro, forcing him to concentrate on his defense.

...Fuuh.

Chihiro sees Mizuki's cheeks turn a little red as she exhales.

Incidentally, the vision was of Mizuki and a stranger, probably her husband, embracing each other in a loving embrace. Although her sexuality is quite normal, she may still feel embarrassed.

「...I'm surprised. Indeed, it's a terrible ability.」

However, her words told Chihiro that he should not play the same trick again.

Her response to unexpected situations was quick. The last resort of swaying her with this ability is not going to work. But, on the other side, she has an unbelievable number of moves and aggressive power.

（Nii-san. She seems to be a bit tough）

（...yeah）

Chihiro really can't think of a way to beat Mizuki.

S rank.

So, this is what a top-class [Lost Item] is like.

Just as Fukami Kaito is exceptional in his organization, Mizuki is outstanding in her application and quantity.

In the ranking of [Lost Item], there is a big wall between A and S ranks. Chihiro has just experienced this firsthand.

He notices that Mizuki is glancing at the terminal while she is playing with him.

Probably, she is supporting Kaede on her own time, opening the "Gate" every time Kaede finishes a battle and sending her to the next opponent.

「Well, Izumi-kun, do you surrender?」

「No. I'm sorry, please let me escape.」

Chihiro says with a sense of frustration.

Mizuki then smiled at Chihiro.

「I think it's also a great courage to run away. I wish you the best of luck.」

She really is a very good person.

Chihiro bowed to Mizuki, turned himself around, and ran away.

The direction was roughly the opposite direction from their current position. If he runs into a nearby bush, he will be out of Mizuki's sight at that moment.

Then, another threat is waiting for him.

「Chihiro?」

About ten seconds after he entered the bushes. A voice came from behind him.

He resists the urge to check behind him and keep running. Because he knew that voice was from her sister.

（Chisato!）

（Yes!）

Chisato appears between him and Kaede though Chihiro cannot look back and cannot see her directly.

As Chisato looks exactly like Chihiro, Kaede seems to kick her reflexively.

「A phantom? But you have a will... what kind of a being are you?」

「I'm your little sister. Nii-san little... I mean, Chihiro-san's sister」

Their conversation bought some more time, during which Chihiro run away from Kaede.

（I'm back, Nii-san.）

（Chisato, where's big sister?）

（She was still standing there... huh, Nii-san!）

Chisato's voice suddenly becomes urgent.

Kaede's figure suddenly appeared a few meters in front of Chihiro.

「It's no use running away. Enjou-san's gate will send you back to me.」

「Kuh!」

Chihiro dodges a high-speed kick to the right just in time.

He tries to run through, but his left arm is grabbed firmly and he is pushed away. With a thud, he is slammed to the ground.

Immediately, he feels a sharp impact on his back.

The damage is too great, even though it is reduced to a fraction of its original amount by the [Stimulus Sharing].

The reason is that Kaede is assisted by [Vector Manipulation].

Counterattacks are futile.

But for now, he immediately gets up and backs away from Kaede. However, a straight right hand came at him from close range. He is hit on his right shoulder and falls down again.

Seeing Chihiro has fallen, Kaede stops right next to Chihiro and looks down at him slowly.

「Nee-san, is Kamishiro-kun here yet?」

「Yes. I've defeated four people, including him. ...And he was strong」

Kaede squinted.

「He was much better at flanking and hiding himself, moving to block my line of sight, and attacking in rapid succession without giving me a chance to react. I guess he has been working on his own ways to deal with me.」

Even so, he was still kicked out of the game by Kaede.

A total of four men, including Kamishiro and Minamoto, fell while Chihiro and the others were fighting Mizuki.

「And you are the fifth. Chihiro.」

The words were spun as if it were a death sentence.