(Kuchiba Hiro made up his mind, preparing to stake himself on the vortex of revenge. The net to hunt him was also being quietly woven by different people.
On the other side of the city, it was sunny and bustling.
On a busy commercial street, laughter and chatter filled the air. A group of elementary school students, their eyes shining, surrounded a girl with short brown hair wearing the Tokiwadai prestigious school uniform. They watched as she stuffed handfuls of paper bills into the gashapon machines, the crisp sound of coins rolling never-ceasing.
The girl's movements were swift and her expression focused. She didn't stop until she had emptied all five gashapon machines outside the shop, finally satisfied.
She squatted down, quickly rummaging through a large pile of colorful plastic eggs and skillfully opening them one by one. Finally, when a small, uniquely shaped gua tai pendant appeared in her palm, a brilliant smile instantly bloomed on her face.
"Great! The latest limited edition gua tai pendant is finally mine!" Misaka Mikoto held up the green pendant and gave a happy little cry, like a child who had received a beloved toy.
The surrounding elementary schoolers exclaimed in envy: "Wow! It's the newest model!" "I want one too!" "Big sister, you're amazing! You're so rich!"
Having achieved her wish, Misaka Mikoto lost interest in the mountain of other gashapons on the ground. She waved her hand generously: "You guys can have these to play with!"
The children cheered immediately, thanking her all at once before excitedly pouncing on the gifts, trying to stuff the gashapons into their small schoolbags and pockets. Misaka Mikoto smiled at their joy, carefully tucked away the gua tai pendant, and turned to leave, wondering whether it would be more suitable to hang it on her phone or her schoolbag.
At this moment, she was no different from an ordinary high school girl from a wealthy family with a slight penchant for collecting. The darkness and cruelty of the transcendent world seemed to be separated from her by an invisible barrier.
As one of the espers standing at the pinnacle of superhumans, the fame of the "Railgun" was enough to deter the vast majority of those with ill intentions. The so-called law of the jungle often lost its effect before her absolute power, even becoming a stage for her to practice personal justice.
However, this peace was quickly broken. As she passed the entrance of a deserted alley, several thugs dressed in flashy clothes blocked her path. They had just witnessed Misaka Mikoto's "lavish spending" and decided she was a plump "lamb."
"Hey little sister, all alone? Why don't big brothers take you somewhere fun?" The lead thug gave a lewd smile and reached out to grab her shoulder.
The smile on Misaka Mikoto's face vanished instantly, her brow furrowing slightly. But then, a playful curve hooked the corner of her mouth, and she nodded readily: "Sure!"
This unusual compliance caught the thugs off guard for a moment, but lust and greed made them ignore the potential danger. They glanced at each other, snickering as they half-surrounded and half-ushered her deep into the dim alley.
Immediately after, a rapid "biribiri" sound, like the chirping of ten thousand birds, came from the alley, interspersed with several short screams and the dull thud of heavy objects hitting the ground.
A few seconds later, Misaka Mikoto walked out of the alley nonchalantly, dusting off non-existent dust from her school uniform. Behind her, the thugs lay sprawled out, their bodies twitching and their hair standing on end.
"Honestly, what a waste of time," she muttered, preparing to continue enjoying her rare leisure time when the phone in her pocket suddenly rang urgently.
The caller ID showed "Uiharu Kazari," a member of her Battle Gang and a close friend.
As soon as the call connected, Uiharu's panicked, tearful voice came from the other side: "Misaka-senpai! This is bad! Kuroko... Kuroko said she was going out last night and hasn't come back since! Communication is completely cut off! I... I suspect something might have happened to her!"
The ease on Misaka Mikoto's face froze instantly. Shirai Kuroko, the junior who always called her "Onee-sama" with a bit of perverted enthusiasm, might have some personality issues, but as a Teleporter, her strength was considerable, and she was an important partner.
In this cruel transcendent world, news of weak espers being hunted was not uncommon. Even with her reputation as the Railgun as protection, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't be blinded by greed or encounter an irresistible enemy.
"Uiharu, calm down! Tell me everything you know in detail!" Misaka Mikoto's voice became sharp and serious as she comforted Uiharu while quickly walking to a relatively quiet corner.
After listening to Uiharu's intermittent narration, an ominous premonition seized Misaka Mikoto's heart. Without hesitation, she pulled out another phone, unlocked it, and tapped on an app that shared the same origin as the one used by Kuchiba Hiro but likely had a completely different interface and permissions. Without a moment's delay, she entered "Shirai Kuroko" into the information query interface and selected the highest priority location and status confirmation service.
A prompt popped up showing a fee as high as ten thousand gold coins. Without blinking, she confirmed the payment with her fingerprint.
The feedback was shockingly fast, with cold text appearing on the screen:
(Query Target: Shirai Kuroko)
(Last Active Time: 02:17 AM Today)
(Current Status: Confirmed Dead)
(Corpse Disposal: Recovered by the WASHU Clan Containment Department)
"D... Dead?" Misaka Mikoto's pupils constricted, her knuckles turning white from the force of her grip on the phone. An indescribable, icy rage surged from her heart like a volcanic eruption, instantly overwhelming all reason.
"How dare they... How dare they do this!!" She squeezed the words through her teeth, powerful electric currents leaking uncontrollably from her body, making a faint crackling sound in the air, causing passing pedestrians to look over and pull away in terror.
Someone actually dared to lay a hand on those close to her! Someone dared to kill Kuroko!
Monstrous rage mixed with immense grief, causing this top-tier esper to emit a heart-palpitatingly terrifying aura at this moment. Her brown eyes, which always sparkled with confidence and a sense of justice, now held nothing but cold killing intent.
No matter who the murderer was, she swore she would make them pay the most agonizing price!
The cruelty of the world might have previously been just a backdrop for her to fight crime, but now, it had smashed her daily life in the most direct and painful way, dragging her completely into this bloody quagmire. The flames of revenge were likewise ignited in her eyes.)
Upto 15 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk