Chihiro thought about the reason why
the damage is so low, and eventually he came to an idea.
Maria's [Retaliation] returns the
damage to the attacker, but if there is no clear attacker, or if the attacker
is self-inflicted, the damage is returned to the weapon or other object.
He knew this from the first
demonstration of [Retaliation] in the class when Maria destroyed a ballpoint
pen.
The criteria of whether the damage is
returned to the attacker or to the object are the presence or absence of the
intention of harm and the user's perception of the damage.
「You treated Enjou-san's attack as
"just taking the ball out of the warehouse", didn't you?」
「...Yes.」
Hana answered without turning around.
Since it was not an ability to shoot
out an object, but only a byproduct of the ability to take out an item through
the gate, she was not clearly recognized as being "attacked
directly", and half damage was returned to "both the attacker and the
object".
This is in her case.
**a
「In my mind, I have a vague perception
that a ball suddenly flew out of nowhere...」
If it's Maria, it would be different.
She, the original user, would have
used [Retaliation] better. Though, this ability is not so much dependent on the
skill of the user.
「Even so, I was surprised. I didn't
know there was such ability.」
Mizuki says gently to Hana. Then she
continued.
「Your ability is still a threat enough
for me. Nevertheless, your ability is still enough of a threat to me, because I
have to deal with you all by myself.
Hana and Mizuki have different
weights for the same damage.
If Hana continues to use her ability
and inflict damage, Mizuki will have to bear some of the burden. But if someone
else - for example, Chihiro, who is standing behind her - takes up the
challenge, it will slowly take its toll on her.
「So, I am sorry, but I will take
measures. ...including those who are watching us...」
「...Eh? Ah」
Mizuki glanced at the empty space.
For a moment, both Chihiro and Hana
wonder what is going on, and then they understands. Saki, who has turned
invisible, is aiming for a surprise attack. But, Mizuki detected it by relying
on the transmitter.
However, depending on the accuracy of
the terminal and the transmitter, it may be difficult to aim accurately at an
unseen opponent.
But――
The sky above them suddenly became
dark.
It was not because the sun had
suddenly set. But, there appeared a large number of basketballs covering
Mizuki's entire surroundings.
And without a moment's pause, they
"fall".
「What!? No way!」
Saki's panicked voice broke.
On the same time, Chihiro and Hana,
who had been standing, felt the same way. They hurriedly put their arms above
their head and tried to escape further backward.
However, they cannot escape from the
influence of the basketball.
――And then the bombing happened.
The falling basketballs hit people
and the ground at once, bouncing in a chain-reaction manner, and applying
secondary pressure in the same way like a bun in the air. The sea of balls
swallows them up, and they are wobbly on their feet, barely able to stand on
the spot.
Almost a minute passed.
When the damage finally subsides,
Chihiro's arm feels a mild itching pain.
This is the result through [Stimulus
Sharing] and [Pain Reduction]. But Hana and Saki, who were closer to the
center, would have suffered a lot more pain than this.
「No, I can't. I can't. I can't. This
is crazy!?」
Saki exclaims as she appears, perhaps
having lost her concentration due to the shock.
She has the ability to become
invisible, but Chihiro understand how she feels. For Chihiro, too, the ability
was beyond his expectations.
Mizuki's abilities, as seen on TV,
are limited to moving to a remote location or summoning a rubber ball and
hitting it against an empty can. That alone is a formidable power. However, the
sheer volume of her power is just too much.
Chihiro look from Saki, whose will to
fight is already exhausted, to Hana, who is also badly damaged by the previous
attack.
Hana seems to have been severely
damaged by the previous attack.
Her legs are wobbling a bit, though
there are no visible injuries on her training wear. Still, she may have some
kind of bruises on her body.
「I'm sorry. But, I can't play against
many people unless I do this.」
Mizuki, on the other hand, is
unconcerned.
She, too, must have been caught in
the basketball bombardment, but her hair and clothes do not look disheveled at
all.
She must have collected and stored
all the bounces that came to her with her ability.
It is likely that she also retrieved
the balls that were no longer used after the attack was over, so that there are
hardly any balls left on the ground, although countless balls should have
fallen down on her.
**b
Hana's [Retaliation] is also almost
ineffective.
The fact that Mizuki did not even
eject the ball but "just dropped it" must have slipped through the
conditions for [Retaliation] to be applied.
「How did you get this ability...?」
Mizuki, who overheard Saki's comment,
answers with a smile.
「Ever since I was a little girl, I've
been longing for a door that could go anywhere like the ones in children's
anime,」
「An anywhere door? But this thing even
has a built-in pocket.」
She can move freely and retrieve
items at will.
It can even attack by shooting out
its possessions.
「I guess I made a mistake in thinking
that it doesn't matter if I beat you or not...」
Saki looked up to the sky.
She knew that she could not defeat
Mizuki by half-hearted efforts, but she would only be preyed upon by Kaede if
she ran away now.
No matter whether she moves forward
or backward, she will be in the same situation. There is no easy way out.
Sigh...
Hana let out a sigh and looked at
Saki.
「Then, we have no choice, do we?」
「...I guess so.」
After a half-second or so, they
synchronize their timing and run toward Mizuki. Of course, Saki disappears as
soon as they move.
「That's wonderful.」
As soon as Hana and Saki took their
first step, the space shook.
Dozens of basketballs were floating
above Mizuki on the left and right. They were shot forward at once, as if they
had decided that they could not be dropped in time.
And upon seeing this, Chihiro
thought, "I'll leave it to Hana first," and retreated.
He keeps just out of sight of Mizuki.
Meanwhile, Hana, who is facing the
incoming balls, covers her face and body with her arms. She tries to move
forward while preventing the balls from coming one after another.
However, there are not only one or
two balls that she has to defend against.
They come at Hana from both the front
and the sides, and while each ball is powerful enough individually, when
several of them are gathered together, they bounce and cover Hana's body,
creating unexpected trajectories.
