The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

The current weather and temperature mean there's no need to open the windows.

But the window was strangely open, and Inoue Hideka had obviously left in a hurry, without even having time to put on a coat, or take his cell phone and his ever-present greatsword.

Although she hadn't figured out exactly what had happened, Saten Ruiko had a feeling.

Inoue Hideka may have gotten into trouble.

Chapter 471 A Mystery of Shadows, Too Late to Regret

Amidst her unease and anxiety, Saten Ruiko added panic and regret.

Looking at the room, which was only about ten square meters, Saten Ruiko realized for the first time how empty and lonely it was. Like Saten Ruiko, the room seemed to have sensed the departure of its owner and had lost its usual vitality. The whistling wind coming from the window sounded like the room's mournful cry after losing its owner.

Isn't Saten Ruiko's heart the same way?

It turns out that when someone lives in your heart, the emptiness is so profound when you can't see them.

The sadness lasted only a moment. The next second, Saten Ruiko clenched her fists and dialed Misaka Mikoto's number to inquire about Inoue Eika's whereabouts.

As expected, Misaka Mikoto also didn't know where Inoue Eika had gone.

Moreover, after hearing that Inoue Eika was missing, Misaka Mikoto and Saten Ruiko felt the same way, extremely worried, and told Saten Ruiko that they would come over immediately.

After hanging up the phone, Saten Ruiko took advantage of the time while waiting for Misaka Mikoto to call several more friends. She even went through Inoue Eika's phone contacts and called each of them one by one, but no one had seen Inoue Eika or knew where he had gone.

Sitting listlessly on the edge of the bed, Saten Ruiko stared blankly at the white wall, as if she had lost her soul and was lifeless.

Just then, my phone rang.

Saten Ruiko was startled, her hand trembled and she almost dropped her phone. She quickly came to her senses and checked her phone.

It was Misaka Mikoto calling.

Saten Ruiko's face flashed with surprise; she believed that Misaka Mikoto must have received news of Inoue Eika.

Shortly after pressing the answer button, the surprise on Saten Ruiko's face gradually faded, and a serious expression slowly crept onto her cheeks.

Misaka Mikoto didn't bring news about Inoue Eika; instead, she told Saten Ruiko that a police cordon had suddenly been set up in the vicinity, and she didn't know what had happened.

Misaka Mikoto suspects that it is related to Inoue Eika's disappearance, so she calls Saten Ruiko and asks her to go out and check.

Misaka Mikoto came from a different direction than Saten Ruiko went to school, so Saten Ruiko didn't notice when she went to school in the morning.

Now that Misaka Mikoto has said this, she also feels that it may be related to Inoue Eika, since she didn't see any police tape being put up in the vicinity yesterday, and Inoue Eika did indeed disappear last night.

Ignoring everything else, Saten Ruiko activated the electrodes, flipped over, and jumped out of the window, using her ability to fly towards the place Misaka Mikoto had indicated.

The location was less than 300 meters behind Inoue Eika's house, separated by several buildings. Saten Ruiko's first impression upon seeing it was violence.

The trash can appeared to have been hit by a heavy impact, leaving a large hole in the wall and concrete splattering everywhere, creating a somewhat chaotic scene.

On the street where the trash can should have been, a long scratch extended from the base of the trash can to the vicinity of the wall.

Inside the cordon, only this one spot was damaged; everything else was the same as yesterday, with no abnormalities.

Anyone with life experience can tell at a glance that the accident that happened here was simply a trash can being violently knocked against the wall.

Those with more combat experience see more.

If a battle were to break out here, the two sides would be overwhelmingly outmatched. One side would be completely unable to react and would be crushed against the wall by the other, who might even drag a trash can into the water.

The scratches on the ground suggest that the object being run over hit the trash can. However, the force of the impact caused both the person and the trash can to collide with the wall, creating a hole in it.

"Saten! Over here!"

Misaka Mikoto's voice came from behind a hole in the wall, and Saten Ruiko saw Misaka Mikoto peeking out and calling to her.

Ignoring the presence of the cordon, Saten Ruiko followed Misaka Mikoto's example and rushed inside.

Misaka Mikoto pointed to the ground and said to Saten Ruiko:

"There is a pool of blood here. Although it has dried, it is not difficult to analyze whose blood it is with the technology of Academy City."

Saten Ruiko understood Misaka Mikoto's meaning: by testing the blood, they could find out if it was Inoue Eika's blood.

Without any hesitation, Saten Ruiko conjured a white, sheet-like whirlwind in her hand, sliced ​​around the blood, and cut off the entire blood-stained floorboard. Nodding, she and Misaka Mikoto rushed to the hospital.

……

Saten Ruiko's feelings are very complicated right now.

Sitting on a bench in the hospital corridor, waiting for the results, she felt anxious.

Inoue Eika has vanished without a trace, as if she's evaporated into thin air. Now that she's finally found a clue, she certainly doesn't want it to just disappear like that.

However, if that blood truly belonged to Inoue Eika, it means that Inoue Eika encountered danger, and it's even possible that he has already perished.

However, if this clue is lost, finding Inoue Eika in the vast Academy City, or even outside Academy City and across the entire world, would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Tormented by inner turmoil, Saten Ruiko frowned, staring blankly ahead in a daze.

Noticing that Saten Ruiko was in very poor condition, Misaka Mikoto, who was sitting to the side, spoke up to comfort her:

"Saten, don't worry too much. That bastard... won't die so easily."

"Misaka-senpai, I..."

Upon hearing this, Saten Ruiko turned to look at Misaka Mikoto, her face instantly filled with guilt.

"You know what... I knew Eika was troubled, and I knew he wouldn't hide it from me if he didn't have a reason, but I still acted like a child, stubbornly ignoring him and giving him the cold shoulder. Even when he said the best things, I still made things difficult for him. I... I..."

As she spoke, Saten Ruiko lowered her head sadly, her shoulders trembling involuntarily.

She was filled with regret.

For more than half a year since she met Inoue Hideka, he has always spoiled her. Even when she occasionally throws a tantrum or acts out, Inoue Hideka tolerates her. Why can't she understand why he would insist on not telling her the truth even when he is giving her the cold shoulder, unless the matter is serious enough?

"Saten, it's okay, that guy won't blame you. If he dares to..."

Misaka Mikoto was about to say something more to comfort Saten Ruiko when the examination report came out.

Looking at the test report they received from the staff, Misaka Mikoto and Saten Ruiko's faces darkened.

Without a doubt, that blood belonged to Inoue Hidekazu.

Fortunately, Misaka Mikoto hadn't lost her composure yet. She immediately contacted Uiharu Kazari and asked her to pull up the video footage of the accident scene from the previous night to see what had happened.

On the other hand, Saten Ruiko contacted Yuuki Rikawa, Shokuhou Misaki, and Kumokawa Sera, among others with intelligence sources, to investigate Inoue Eika's whereabouts.

Chapter 472 Life and death are intertwined, yet we journey together to the ends of the earth.

Saten Ruiko first called Shokuhou Misaki, whom she knew best.

After briefly explaining Inoue Eika's situation, Saten Ruiko urgently asked Shokuhou Misaki to help her find Inoue Eika's whereabouts.

However, seemingly sensing something, Misaki Shokuhou didn't rush to send someone to find Inoue Hideka. Instead, she said to Saten Ruiko:

"Tears, don't rush. Tell me in detail about Inoue's situation first. Where did he disappear? Did he leave any clues? And how did you determine that Inoue encountered a powerful enemy?"

"I discovered Eika was missing this morning. He wasn't in his room, but I can't be sure where he disappeared from. The only clue is the bloodstains that Misaka-senpai and I found at a battle scene near our house. It was Eika's blood, and the opponent must have been very strong. Haru is checking the surveillance footage, and we'll know the details soon."

Saten Ruiko was flustered and could only tell Misaki Shokuhou what she knew.

Misaki Shokuhou on the other end of the phone was silent for a while, probably thinking, before speaking to Ruiko Saten:

"Okay, I'll go meet up with you first and we'll watch the surveillance footage together. Don't be too anxious, Leizi. If I'm not mistaken, I roughly know what happened, but we can only be sure after watching the surveillance footage."

Saten Ruiko trusts Shokuhou Misaki completely, a trust that is no less than that she has for Misaka Mikoto.

In Saten Ruiko's mind, Shokuhou Misaki is a senior who is just as reliable as Misaka Mikoto, after all, she received a lot of help from Shokuhou Misaki when she was improving her abilities.

Now that Misaki Shokuhou knows what happened, Ruiko Saten's panicked mood calmed down considerably.

She nodded and said to Misaki Shokuhou, "Okay, then let's meet at the Disciplinary Committee Branch 177, where Hatsuharu is."

"kindness."

After hanging up the phone, Saten Ruiko and Misaka Mikoto headed straight for the 177th branch of the Disciplinary Committee.

Since Misaki Shokuhou said she had a clue, Ruiko Saten decided not to blindly call for help and instead wait and see what Misaki Shokuhou had to say before making a decision.

……

Discipline Inspection Committee Members, Branch 177.

Shiori Haru sat in front of the computer, her hands skillfully operating it, while Misaka Mikoto, Saten Ruiko, and Shokuhou Misaki, who had rushed over, stood behind her, waiting quietly.

Shirai Kuroko wasn't there; she was patrolling the streets at that moment.

Meanwhile, Kofumi was busy with her daily work as a disciplinary committee member on the other side, glancing over from time to time, seemingly very interested in what the group was investigating. However, she had important work to do and couldn't leave for the time being.

Suddenly, Inoue Eika's image appeared on the display screen in front of Shiori Haru.

He was wearing only a T-shirt and was using his unique electromagnetic abilities to travel through the streets of Academy City. He looked very hurried and anxious, as if he was avoiding something.

If the surveillance footage hadn't captured Inoue Hideaki stopping, the people present probably wouldn't have been able to identify the fast-moving figure as Inoue Hideaki with the naked eye.

However, it was precisely because of this momentary pause that the scene inside the cordon became what it is today.

The next moment, a figure as fiery as fire suddenly appeared behind Inoue Hideka.

That must have been a man; he had slightly long, red hair and was wearing clothes that matched his hair color.

Before Misaka Mikoto and the others could even get a good look at the red-haired man, Inoue Eika was sent flying. His body crashed into a trash can, and then, along with the trash can, he crashed into a building on the side of the street, smashing a huge hole in the wall.

Afterwards, Inoue Eika crouched awkwardly behind the wall, only managing to spit out the blood in her mouth before the red-haired man took her away and disappeared from the spot.

The scene pauses here, with Misaki Shokuhou resting her chin on her hand, staring at the screen as if deep in thought.

Just as she had predicted, it was the fire on the right.

Inoue Eika was once possessed by Michael, which Shokuhou Misaki knew. Having seen Inoue Eika's memories, she also knew very well that Right Flame's plan required angelic power.

Therefore, it's understandable that Inoue Hideka was targeted by the Right Fire.

After all, given the choice and ample time, having more of such an important summoning medium is naturally better than having less.

What if Sasha Chloe Zev fails to summon Gabriel? At least there's Inoue Hideka as a replacement, isn't there?

Moreover, it's unclear whether Inoue Hideka or Sasha Chloejef will become the replacement; it all depends on what Right Fire decides.

The problem facing Misaki Shokuhou now is how to bring Inoue Eika back to Academy City safely, and how to explain Inoue Eika's whereabouts to Misaka Mikoto and Saten Ruiko.

While it's safe to say that Inoue Hidekazu shouldn't be in any life-threatening danger, Right Flame's purpose is simply to summon angels to correct the distortion of the four elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. He has absolutely no interest in the life or death of the summoning medium.