"Hah, hah..."
Misaki Shokuhou used every ounce of strength to keep her legs from trembling, but she still could not stop herself from panting, greedily drawing in every breath of air.
Running flat out through the streets in midsummer was an easy way to get into trouble unless you were an experienced runner.
For Misaki Shokuhou, whose stamina was pathetic and who normally counted even brisk walking as proper exercise, it was nothing short of torture.
Normally, the girl would already have collapsed on the ground, utterly done with life, but today, she had surpassed her limits several times.
And the reason driving her to push beyond herself was simple.
The will to survive.
If she did not want to die, she had to run.
"Vrrrr-"
As though to confirm Misaki Shokuhou's thoughts, the furious roar of a motorcycle engine, powerful enough to whip up gusts of air, began drifting into earshot again.
"Damn it! I ran into an alley this deserted, and they still caught up this quickly!"
Normally, Misaki Shokuhou did not visit deserted alleys. She went out at times that matched a student's schedule and took busy main roads.
Only when visiting a confidential research facility like the Talent Workshop did she set out at more private hours.
Combined with the security requirement to avoid public cameras, that meant there was a stretch here she usually had to walk.
Calling it a coincidence that someone had intercepted her at such a moment would be far too much of a stretch.
At the time, however, Misaki Shokuhou had merely suspected she had been caught up in an attack targeting ability users.
But once her opponent deliberately forced her into these deserted alleys, that theory no longer held up.
Without knowing that Mental Out could easily throw the situation