34

The Imagine Breaker incidents were becoming more frequent, and gradually, the first batch of Imagine Breaker users began to fall into a coma.

"Saten Ruiko, are you listening to me?" Haruue Erii pouted, asking with dissatisfaction.

... After hearing Haruue Erii's explanation, Saten Ruiko's recent joy from Awakening her Item plummeted to rock bottom.

Although she had expected it, when the moment of falling into a coma was about to arrive, Saten Ruiko couldn't help but panic.

"What should I do?" Saten Ruiko muttered softly.

"What do you mean, 'what should I do?' Saten Ruiko, you've been very strange lately, even lifting... uh..." Haruue Erii complained with a hint of dissatisfaction, but when she mentioned lifting skirts, she instinctively stopped speaking.

A gust of wind, blowing from beneath her skirt, lifted Haruue Erii's hem, and the cool sensation beneath her skirt made Haruue Erii feel surprised.

"Is today's pattern strawberries?" Saten Ruiko smiled at Haruue Erii, but the smile revealed a forced quality.

"Is this? Saten Ruiko's Item!?" Haruue Erii looked at Saten Ruiko in disbelief, then thought about the recent spread of Imagine Breaker.

All signs indicated that Saten Ruiko had already used Imagine Breaker.

"Saten Ruiko, why?" Haruue Erii asked with a worried expression.

"Why?" Saten Ruiko, hearing this, instead showed a look of relief, then revealed a bright smile and said,

"Because I want to have a superpower! To be able to be like Misaka-san and Shirai Kuroko, who can help others."

"Even without a superpower, Saten Ruiko can still help others!"

"No." Saten Ruiko shook her head, refuting with a determined look.

"It's different. Although it sounds like pretty words, wanting to have a superpower is more like my aspiration or desire. I can't help it; my heart has always yearned to gain a superpower. Even though this power is too weak and considered nothing in the eyes of others, the breeze I hold in my hand at this moment still fills me with immense joy."

As she spoke, a gentle breeze appeared in Saten Ruiko's hand, swirling from her palm.

Haruue Erii had no way to argue; she was only a Level 1 esper herself and could understand Saten Ruiko's desire.

"Click" The door was pushed open, and Shirai Kuroko walked in, with Rinko Yuriko following closely behind her.

"What's wrong? Standing there in a daze? Saten Ruiko, please help me with the bandage. Haruue, please help me record this Senior's self-defense counterattack." After handing over a group of thugs to the Security Officers, Shirai Kuroko, dragging her tired body, brought Rinko Yuriko to the 177th Branch.

"Okay, Shirai Kuroko, then, I'll trouble you, Saten Ruiko. Medical supplies are on the left side of the drawer. Senior, please come with me." Haruue Erii immediately sprang into action upon hearing this.

"Okay, leave it to me. Shirai Kuroko, please take off your clothes." Saten Ruiko took out the medical supplies and instructed Shirai Kuroko, who was already sitting on a chair.

Hearing this, Shirai Kuroko tugged at her collar, but this motion pulled at her wound, causing the girl to wince in pain.

"Let me do it, Shirai Kuroko, raise your arm." Saten Ruiko quickly said upon seeing this.

Obediently raising her hands above her head, Saten Ruiko took off her uniform. The girl's fair skin, clad only in a bra, was exposed, but a large area of bruising on her left abdomen ruined the beauty of her fair skin.

"Ugh~ such a big bruise! Do you really not need to go to the Hospital with this?" Saten Ruiko asked worriedly.

"It's fine. At the Hospital, the treatment methods are usually the same. They'll just tell us to rest more and so on." Shirai Kuroko shook her head indifferently, seemingly quite accustomed to being injured.

"You really work hard, Judgment." Saten Ruiko touched the cotton soaked in disinfectant alcohol to the wound, and the stinging pain made Shirai Kuroko's pretty face contort, a tear welling up in the corner of her eye, and cold sweat dripping down.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." Seeing this, Saten Ruiko quickly apologized.

"No, it's fine." Shirai Kuroko responded somewhat awkwardly. She had just spoken so casually and calmly, but the pain instantly taught her a lesson.

"Level 5!? And the first one!?" Haruue Erii's shriek caught the attention of the two girls. Following their gaze, they saw a dumbfounded Haruue Erii trembling as she looked at Rinko Yuriko.

"Huh? Level 5!? Who? This Senior!?" Saten Ruiko also exclaimed loudly upon hearing this.

"That's impossible, isn't the first one Accelerator?" Shirai Kuroko asked in confusion.

"Accelerator is a codename, similar to Railgun." Haruue Erii retorted.

"So this Senior is really the first Accelerator!?" Saten Ruiko's beautiful eyes widened in surprise, examining Rinko Yuriko as if she were a rare animal.

"Hey, is the record done?" Rinko Yuriko had shown an impatient expression since entering the room. Now, being stared at like this, not losing control already proved her recent changes.

"Wait, can I ask a question? Senior!?" Saten Ruiko finished bandaging Shirai Kuroko and came before Rinko Yuriko, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she eagerly asked.

"Huh?" Rinko Yuriko looked at Saten Ruiko, puzzled.

"Were you really defeated by Mr. Rhode after fighting him?" No sooner had Saten Ruiko's words fallen than Rinko Yuriko grabbed her by the collar.

A hint of gloom flashed in Rinko Yuriko's crimson eyes, and she asked in a deep voice,

"Only one person has ever defeated me in a recent fight, and only one person to this day. Hey! Do you know that guy?"

"Saten Ruiko, how can you ask such a rude question?" Haruue Erii quickly stood up, signaling Saten Ruiko to apologize immediately.

Saten Ruiko, realizing the problem with her words, gave an awkward smile and was about to apologize when suddenly her mind felt a sense of Chaos. Her eyes drooped slightly, her head tilted, and she fainted.

"Wait... wait, Saten Ruiko!?" Seeing Saten Ruiko's abnormality and recalling the side effects of Imagine Breaker, Haruue Erii anxiously called out.

"What's wrong? So noisy?" At the same time, Misaka Mikoto pushed the door open, and the scene before her left her stunned.

She saw Accelerator grabbing Saten Ruiko by the collar. Saten Ruiko, held by him, had already fainted. An anxious Haruue Erii was at her side, and Shirai Kuroko's upper body was wrapped in bandages, her face filled with astonishment.

"BiliBili" Dazzling blue-white electric arcs suddenly erupted, and Misaka Mikoto, with an angry expression, shouted,

"How dare you lay a hand on my friend!? Accelerator!?"