A Certain Scientific Railgun.
"Ehh——!!"
In the Tokiwadai Middle School dormitory, Kuroko Shirai sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed, twirling the tip of her twin-tail brown hair with her fingers. She had been watching the Celestial Screen out of boredom but was startled by Asta's sudden disappearance.
"Onee-sama~" She dragged out her tone and leaned her body toward Mikoto Misaka. "I'm so scared——"
"Hey! Don't suddenly lean over like that!" Mikoto Misaka was sitting cross-legged on the carpet drinking canned coffee. She nearly choked when Kuroko bumped into her. She pushed Kuroko away in disgust, pressing her hand against the girl's forehead. "Sit properly and talk!"
"The flames on the space station can't burn you, and [spatial movement]… isn't something you need to be afraid of, right?"
Kuroko pouted but obediently moved back to her original position, though her fingers still tapped restlessly on her knee. "Onee-sama, I'm scared of that flame demon… Can that flame move all attached objects to his side?"
In Tokiwadai Middle School, she was the only one with spatial movement esper ability, but her ability wasn't simple "spatial movement." It involved expanding three-dimensional spatial coordinates to eleven dimensions through calculation, finding the "folding point" between current space and target space to achieve movement, with a limit of 81.5 meters per move.
She still didn't know whether the blue flames had a distance limit for spatial movement… If there wasn't, that would be way too overpowered.
"Since Mr. Ratio said it's a degraded version of [spatial transfer], there must be a distance limit." Mikoto Misaka tilted her head back and took a gulp of coffee. "If it can guarantee Miss Asta's safety, then this disappearance is actually a good thing for her."
"Eh? Why?"
Misaka casually tossed the empty can accurately into the trash bin. "It's obvious — the rumors on the space station all think 'disappearances' are the management's way of purging dissidents. But if the disappearance happens to Asta, the 'highest manager,' the rumors will naturally collapse on their own."
——
["Calm down. Asta was only teleported away. There is no danger to her life."]
[Screwllum remained completely unfazed. "Through direct contact, I confirmed that Ifrit's flames are merely sparks from the primitive spirit fire and do not possess the ability of phase transformation. Logic: Asta is still inside the space station."]
[As soon as he finished speaking, a hair-raising low laugh suddenly rang out in mid-air.]
["Hehe, just a little spark? The arrogance of a Genius actually resonates quite well with me." The voice spoke with interest. "If you can do it, then try it."]
[Ratio said indifferently. "It seems Duke Inferno did not come to the space station in person. He merely took advantage of the chaos to throw a cluster of infernal fire here, letting it wander around and hunt crew members. If the infernal fire is extinguished, his conspiracy will also fall apart."]
[Screwllum said he would head to Herta's office to block the opponent's transfer routes, while Ratio would go with Stelle to contain it.]
[After dividing the tasks, the two immediately set off. Sure enough, they cornered the small flame inside the space station. Although it tried to escape through several transfers, it was ultimately completely blocked by the two of them.]
[Before being captured, the flame still spoke stubbornly. "Ignorant fools blindly chase after the firelight, unaware that the grace of Destruction has already fallen at your feet."]
["No wonder even when the benefactor's Legion personally arrived, it still failed to purify this place. For now, I shall admit my own rashness. But next time, I will visit in person and offer you a dirge of sin with infernal fire."]
["Hahahahaha——"]
[Amid Duke Inferno's arrogant laughter, the cluster of flames suddenly flew upward and transformed into several channels. Void soldiers from the Legion poured out from them, instantly forming a sizable force.]
["Tch… A boring trick to buy time. That's enough."]
[A snow-white piece of chalk had somehow appeared between Ratio's fingertips. He coldly raised his eyes, flicked his wrist, and the chalk turned into a sharp white light with a sharp breaking sound, instantly smashing one void soldier into pieces.]
["So this is the so-called [Rioters Descending from Flames]? Only this level?" Ratio reprimanded in a deep voice. "Zero points! Next!"]
——
The Boys.
Inside Vought Tower, Homelander narrowed his eyes as the red glow of his heat vision carefully focused on the bottom of the baby bottle. He had to precisely control the temperature of the breast milk to around 37 degrees — that would bring the most gentle mouthfeel.
"Zero points! Next!"
The sudden reprimand on the Celestial Screen accompanied by a violent explosion not only made his hand holding the bottle jerk, but the instantly surging beam also went wild like a runaway horse, neatly slicing his $20,000 refrigerator in half.
"Fucking hell!"
Homelander wiped the breast milk off his face and angrily looked toward the Celestial Screen — only to see a large group of void soldiers had appeared in the frame at some point, while Ratio calmly hurled the chalk in his hand at them. He used his super vision to scrutinize it several times, confirming there was no technological modification on the chalk at all. Yet with every throw, a violent explosion sounded on the screen.
"How the fuck is this possible…" Homelander muttered, brows tightly furrowed. "Wait… isn't he a teacher?!"
Those void soldiers' armor was thicker than fucking bulletproof armored vehicles. Even his heat vision might not be able to pierce them. How the hell was this guy smashing them apart with chalk?!
But at this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door. Ashley walked in wearing high heels, a flattering smile on her face.
"Sir, I've found another perfect candidate for The Pure Knight. I've already given him plastic surgery, and he's very loyal to you. As for superpowers, please take a look—"
"Pure Knight?" Homelander suddenly turned around, a trace of brutality flashing in his blue eyes. "Have you gone brain-dead?! Who the fuck cares about The Pure Knight now?"
He grabbed Ashley by the back of her collar and lifted her up like a chicken, forcing her neck to turn toward the Celestial Screen. "Look at this! Dr. Ratio! This is what the fans want to see right now! Cold, tough! I want this kind of person!"
Ashley was a bit dazed by the sudden change and his anger. "But… sir, I completely understand your thinking, but Dr. Ratio's style might not fit the tone of our 'Seven'…"
"You're refuting me?"
The air suddenly fell silent.
Ashley's face instantly turned purple. Fear twisted her entire face, and only broken sounds could be forced out of her throat. "I-I mean… you're right, you're always right! Dr. Ratio is indeed perfect… the fans will definitely like him. You always catch trends at the first moment…"
Homelander stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly let go. Ashley collapsed to the floor, desperately gasping for breath.
"Get out." He said coldly. "I want to see results in three days. At least three 'Dr. Ratio' type candidates, or you know the consequences."