Yomikawa Aiho gripped the steering wheel.
She was driving what looked like a cheap Japanese-made sports car, but the sound of the engine was oddly deep. It had been nicely tuned up below the hood so she could chase down criminals. Just the fact that the car now had seven gears was enough to imagine how far she had gone with the upgrades.
She had been driving around randomly to search for Last Order who had disappeared from the apartment that afternoon. However…
(…? The roads seem oddly empty.)
Academy City was primarily a city of students.
Only the teachers, workers, and university students used cars, so the city had much less traffic than a normal large urban area.
However, the number of cars today was low even for that.
The road visible through the windshield and periodically obstructed by the wipers looked just like a runway.
"What is going on?" muttered Yomikawa.
That was when a light lit up on the in-vehicle radio installed in place of a car audio system. She switched on her turn single, slowed down, and stopped on the side of the road.
She looked over to the radio just in time to see it spit out a piece of paper about the size of postcard with a low grinding noise.
It worked the same as a small printer for a digital camera. That allowed Anti-Skill command headquarters to send photos of wanted criminals and the like to the individual members of Anti-Skill.
The photo was grainy. It had likely been taken at a distance. The camera must have shaken because the outlines were blurred. Even so, it was enough to see a woman wearing yellow clothes standing in the middle of a large group of collapsed Anti-Skill members.
"?"
Yomikawa was confused.
Normally, text descriptions of the situation would be printed out along with the photo, but nothing else came. With just the photo, it was unclear what the pictured woman had done. Yomikawa could not tell if she was a suspect or if she was someone in need of protection.
Yomikawa was worried about Last Order, but a major incident took priority over a lost child.
She switched on the radio and said, "Yomikawa to HQ. Requesting details regarding Call 334."
Assuming it had been a simple mistake, she called to check. But she received no response.
She could hear nothing but some low static.
She spoke into the radio a few more times, but never received a response.
"…"
Yomikawa switched off the radio.
Yomikawa once more grabbed the postcard-sized piece of paper inside her parked car. It showed the Anti-Skill members collapsed in the rain and a woman wearing yellow standing in the middle of them all.
(This woman…)
She used a finger on her other hand to flick the woman in the middle of the photo.
(Who is she? From the looks of her, I doubt she's in need of protection. This looks more like she just defeated some of my colleagues.)
An ominous feeling raced down Yomikawa's spine.
At the same moment, she felt anger at seeing her colleagues collapsed on the ground.
(Well, if I see her, I'll make sure to politely ask her some questions.)
Despite that arbitrary thought, Yomikawa did not drive off in her sports car once more.
A sudden shock ran through Yomikawa Aiho's brain.
"Ah…!?"
She could not even cry out properly.
All strength left her body and her upper body leaned up against the steering wheel. This put a painful pressure against her chest, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had lost all strength from the core of her body to her fingertips.
Her field of vision rapidly narrowed.
(What is…?)
Yomikawa began losing consciousness while still not knowing what was going on.
The switch for the radio was only a few dozen centimeters from where her arms dangled limply down. But she could not move her arms. She could not call for help. In fact, she could not even control her breathing.
(This photo…)
The photo might have been a warning from a colleague. It was possible an Anti-Skill member in her same state had used their last strength to send it.
But it had not helped.
(…Dammit…)
The photo held between her thumb and forefinger slipped out and fluttered down.
At the same moment, Yomikawa Aiho completely lost consciousness.
The road was free of cars.
The city was much too quiet.
The radio had given no response.
It was possible something was progressing on an unbelievable scale.