I Am Honkai

Uiharu Kazari entered Kiyama Harumi's line of sight, wearing a Tokiwadai uniform, which caused Kiyama to pause in surprise.

"Uiharu, what are you up to?"

"Ha ha, that's not important. What did you call us here for, Kiyama-senpai?" Uiharu Kazari chuckled to brush off the matter and went straight to the point, asking why their break was cut short.

Kiyama Harumi didn't delve into it because there were indeed more pressing matters to attend to. As she opened her computer, she began to explain.

"Since yesterday after school until the evening, there have been attacks specifically targeting Tokiwadai students. So far, seven students have been attacked, all within the School Garden."

"I suspect that whoever is targeting Tokiwadai students and defeating them with ease is likely a powerful esper. However, we haven't yet identified the exact ability."

"The victims' condition is quite... although we have photos, it's not pretty, so brace yourself if you want to see them." This heavy tone made Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari gulp.

But it turned out they just had thick eyebrows drawn on them.

In the video, Kongou Mitsuko covered her forehead with a folding fan, answering the Anti-Skill officer's questions with a hint of irritation.

"Honestly, I didn't see anyone!"

"But, according to the surveillance footage..."

"Even so, I really didn't see anything!"

Although Kongou Mitsuko covered her forehead with the fan, Shirai Kuroko couldn't help but smirk at the thought of her with thick eyebrows.

"Ahem." Shirai Kuroko restrained her laughter and got down to business, "None of the victims saw the attacker."

"Uiharu! Doesn't Judgment have access to the database? Go check the information on relevant espers."

"Got it."

...

Café.

After what seemed like a long time, the trio's coffee had been refilled, and seeing the slow progress of Judgment's work, the "helpful citizen" Misaka Mikoto suggested they go and assist.

At that moment, the commotion outside the window immediately caught their attention, and the three of them felt something was off, prompting them to go and check it out.

Opening the café door, they saw paramedics carrying two unconscious Tokiwadai-uniformed girls from a nearby alley.

One had short, wavy brown hair, and the other had long, straight black hair. Selene found them somewhat familiar but couldn't quite recall their names, perhaps two of the "Anti-Newton Trio"?

Misaka Mikoto's exclamation provided Selene with the answer, "Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san?"

Hearing this, Selene realized this was a change she had brought about. Perhaps because the three of them had stayed together in the shop, the attacker shifted their target elsewhere.

After confirming that the two were juniors who had helped her at the pool, Misaka Mikoto decided to go to the Judgment 177 Branch office to offer assistance.

...

"Huh? The victims couldn't see the suspect?"

Shirai Kuroko didn't expect Misaka Mikoto's arrival. Although she didn't want Onee-sama to get involved in such incidents, she couldn't say no and reluctantly accepted.

"Yes, initially we suspected it was an optical manipulation esper, but only 47 individuals in Academy City have the ability to become completely invisible, and all of them have alibis."

"Then why could they be caught on camera? This shouldn't be an optical manipulation esper, right?" Selene didn't want to waste time on trivial matters. To her knowledge, the attacker's motive was quite cliché.

"Don't fall into a cognitive trap. Just because they can't be seen doesn't mean they have human invisibility abilities. An ability that obstructs human perception can achieve the same result."

Selene continued explaining: "The camera can capture the suspect, but the human eye cannot, which means this ability is targeted. Invisibility in conventional terms can either be complete visual invisibility or impede normal human perception."

"If it were the former, the camera couldn't capture the image. Since it can, it must be the latter, which obstructs normal human perception."

"So, check if there are any espers who can interfere with human perception. I believe we'll find the answer."

"Ah, hold on, I'll check." Prompted by Selene's reminder, Uiharu Kazari immediately thought of the key point.

"I found it! The esper with such an ability effect is... uh... Selene-senpai?"

As soon as Uiharu Kazari spoke, everyone turned their gaze toward Selene. Stare~

"How could it be me? This is just a branch application of my ability. If I wanted to mess with you, it wouldn't be this simple." Facing the subtle looks, Selene could only shrug helplessly.

"True, but does Selene-senpai have so many branch applications for her ability? Whenever I search the [Library] for ability applications, I always see Selene-senpai's name. I'm so envious."

Since Uiharu Kazari often checked the [Library], she was familiar with the variety of uses of Selene's ability. The earlier comment was just a playful remark.

"Well, the other one, with the ability named: False Examination, can directly obstruct the perception of people viewing the subject. There is only one user of this ability, Juufuku Miho, a second-year student at Sekisho Middle School!"

"There you have it. It's her." Selene asserted confidently.

"But, Senpai, the [Library] records her as only Lv2. Her ability shouldn't allow her to completely erase her presence, should it? That's what the experimental data indicates."

Selene chuckled lightly and said meaningfully, "Not necessarily. As the saying goes, 'See a person three days later, and you should look at them with new eyes.'"

"How do you know her ability hasn't improved? The data in the [Library] can be outdated. Subjective assumptions can lead to errors in judgment. If you're still not convinced, you can compare the footage from the camera."

"Her ability indeed only applies to direct visual observation. So, if she can't be seen by the naked eye, but the camera can capture her, it all makes sense." Misaka Mikoto agreed with Selene's perspective.

"If that's the case, I'll just bring her here."

"Wait, wait, we haven't confirmed it yet. Is it okay to do that?" Shirai Kuroko still had doubts about Selene's eagerness to apprehend the suspect.

"There's no problem. We'll know if it's true once we question her, and some rules can be overlooked for a suspect."

"Let's go with that." Although a bit nervous about arresting the wrong person, Misaka Mikoto didn't argue further because she wasn't one to strictly follow the rules.

"Since we've identified the culprit, I'll bring her in right away."

Without going through the process of connecting to the surveillance cameras in the School Garden as described in the original story, Selene directly expanded her sensing range. Based on the activities of the attacked Tokiwadai students, she quickly locked onto the suspect's general location.

Sensing carefully, "Yes, it's her."

With a snap of her fingers, a portal appeared, and with a scream, a petite figure fell out.

"Ahhh!!!"