Chapter 382: An Invisible Enemy

"Then, I'm sorry—but I'll break your leg bone."

The moment she made that declaration—

Seven-sakura saw her right leg snap like a plastic umbrella exposed to a torrential downpour.

"Wha...?!"

For a brief instant as her feet gave way, Riru checked what had just happened to her. Despite suffering damage so severe that an ordinary person would have been forced to surrender, she showed no sign of giving up at all.

It sounds like a joke, but in the Shichiretsu Ichō-ryū, practitioners train in combat while their bodies are not at full capacity. This traditional method of training, which has been passed down through generations, involves grappling with both hands and feet bound.

——Now is the time.

She understood that this training, once seemingly pointless, was finally about to pay off.

Shifting her weight onto her supporting leg, Riru turned her attention to her surroundings.

—That attack just now. I couldn't see it.

Even my grandfather, who always emphasized battlefield awareness, hadn't anticipated how to deal with someone possessing supernatural abilities.

When calmly organizing the situation, that is to say.

Being attacked by some invisible force.

That is how it becomes.

It's not unbelievable. In this world, it's not unreasonable for a power to become invisible to exist.

Could it be an attack from one of "Nameless" person's allies?

But if that were the case, something odd had occurred.

According to the guidebook, "Nameless" never breaks a one-on-one promise. Even if aided by allies, she would still refuse.

— What on earth...?

"Next—hit her face!"

Her calm voice reached me, carried by the wind.

The distance between them was now about ten meters. There were no figures around, and the girl at their feet remained unconscious. There was no way she should be getting attacked.

But Riru raised her arms in defense almost purely by instinct, as if she were a fighter.

Suddenly, a shock like being struck by a log slammed into both arms.

"Guh...!"

At fifty-six kilograms, her lightweight yet tightly built, muscular frame was thrown backward like a marionette.

"Next—ribs! Left knee! Solar plexus!"

As she had declared, the attack struck precisely where she said it would.

By the third time she had been struck, Riru had begun to notice a pattern.

—It seemed the invisible attacks were always coming exactly where “she” had declared.

Moreover, this “invisible enemy” was not entirely undetectable; Riru could clearly sense its presence right before her.

While an ordinary person might never perceive it, Riru could somehow sense its breathing, its power, and the motion of its attacks.

"——Face, face, face, face! Body, body! ……Kick the dick, kick it hard!"

"………………!"

The real trouble was that the presence would appear and vanish unpredictably.

Defending was easy enough. After all, it gave away its attack position in advance.

But even so, each strike carried an unnatural weight. She could feel the bones, supposedly reinforced by defense, creaking and twisting under the impact.

Only now did she realize it.

This technique was never meant to be endured in the first place.

— No good. Can't face this properly.

Deciding as much, Riru quickly put distance between herself and the "invisible enemy," somersaulted away, grabbed a nearby pebble, and hurled it toward the target.

But the stone passed right through.

— So it's not human... it's transparent...?

She gritted her teeth. This was bad. An unknown enemy, impossible to gauge.

Above all, the fact that her leg had been broken during the initial surprise attack was fatal.

But she couldn't afford to lose.

The victory she had sought, even at the cost of compromising her ethics, the promise she had made to her younger sister—none of it would accept defeat.

Riru quickly got to her feet and activated the small headset she had previously placed in her ear, the one used when throwing the stone.

"Suwa! This is our final move! Let's finish this with a coordinated execution of our ultimate technique!"

As for the rule violation, we can always come up with some explanation later.

Something like, "The unnamed JK was granted assistance from her allies"...

It might sound a bit forced, but in truth, her new skill was indeed the kind of thing that could easily be misunderstood.

Yet the response heard from the other end of the radio was merciless:

『Sorry, but that won't work.』

"What...? H-How come?"

'There's just no way around it. I've been glued to my partner, "Nameless," ever since a while ago. Me, too, and Tore as well. Well, it was always planned as a one-on-one match. Just tough it out on your own.'

'Gh...!'

Damn it.

The flashy move, meant to draw in allies, backfired spectacularly.

They must have anticipated our unexpected tactic in advance.

...No, that's not right.

The comrades of "Nameless JK" probably just believed in it.

If it weren't for unnecessary interference... she probably wouldn't lose at all.

"……………damn it."

By the time I realized it, the worst possible scenario had already unfolded.

Defeat, losing the guidebook, and my sister's revival growing ever more distant in the distant future.

Even so... I must still achieve the impossible.

"……………uuu……"

"Ultimate Skill V."

Right now, it's the strongest, most powerful attack I can possibly use. There's no choice but to bet everything on it.

But to use this technique, both legs must be in perfect condition.

Fortunately, "Nameless JK" had paused their attack momentarily, noticing the desperate expression I was making as I bowed my head.

Surrender already.

I could hear it even without being told.

Of course, I couldn't possibly admit that.

"UuuuAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Screaming, he slammed his broken right leg into the ground as if crushing it.

A sickening *crack* echoed, and pain surged through his numb body once more. The twisted bone had been temporarily realigned— one of the techniques taught to him by his grandfather.

"Haah…………………haah……………haah……………sshh"

"……Riru, san"

"You're amazing, 'Nameless' san... You really are someone I couldn't beat in a fair fight."

"That's... not possible..."

It ends here.

"Nameless JK" gently raised her blade, her beautiful brows furrowed in sorrow.

Would her technique even work against him?

Thinking冷静ly, the likelihood was low.

Skills of the "Fatal Move" type were the most commonly known, as many "players" tended to pick them first.

Taking a deep breath, he whispered:

"——Slash Down Kick"

At the same moment, golden light flared around both of his feet.

He felt his body grow light, and— in an instant— leapt straight upward. The sound of wind rushing past his ears roared in his ears, and before he realized it, he had soared twenty meters into the air.

——Damn it. That's all?

Having tested this repeatedly, Riru knew that the higher he jumped, the greater the power of the attack afterward. Yet, despite this knowledge, he was filled with bitter frustration.

Right there, standing calmly and looking up at him without a change in expression, was the faceless "JK."

"She" was now deeply crouched, one knee raised, her hip lifted slightly—a stance known as "iai," ready and waiting.

To Riru, who had trained in iai techniques, the sight seemed somewhat peculiar.

After all, iai was a combat technique meant for sudden, unexpected battles. There was hardly any advantage to using it in such a situation.

But even if he knew that, one thing was certain—she wasn’t holding back.

The delicate girl’s iai technique versus his own full-force *Ultimate Technique V*.

Strange, why did he feel no chance of winning?

“Uoooooooh, o-o-o-o-ohh!”

He harshly scolded his own weakness.

In an instant, his body plunged downward like a bolt of lightning toward the ground.

Mysterious energy converged in both feet, and a beam of light extended from him straight toward "her."

—Lock on.

In essence, this technique is nothing more than a high jump followed by a powerful jumping kick. This move.

Yet its power was immense—so much so that according to a fellow former military athlete known as "Guardian," it surpassed even the 120mm cannon of the Type 10 tank.

Against such a blow, which would surely shatter an ordinary person to pieces, Riru somehow felt certain—despite no clear reason—that "she" would never be reduced to that fate.