Deduction

[The Devil System is currently idle]

[Waiting for conditions to fully activate...]

[Calculating...]

[...]

[Progress Towards Activation: 53%]

...

For less than a millisecond, I noticed a very faint sign of EM-waves.

There was a chance that this could be any of the plethoras of espers in the city. However, the specific quantity of EM-waves being produced was odd. It was like they were trying to do something subtly. I looked up and noticed that it was in the same general direction that the car was heading before.

Now, what was I going to do with this boy.

He was almost lifeless, lying on the ground like a doll.

I couldn't be bothered dealing with him.

I decided to just leave him there.

Following the faint trail from my ability, I began making my way toward the location I found. At this point in time, it might have been a good idea to get in contact with Spectrum-Judgement. However, I had a much darker plan in mind. This might just be the opportunity I needed to make Aiko fall for me.

Unless things get really dire, I was going to try to sort this out myself.

I started making my way along the sidewalk. There were a few people walking around but not enough to really cause any issues for me. The loud engines of nearby cars filled my ears as the occasional honk broke the white noise. Their supposed hideout didn't seem too far away if my predictions were correct.

I quickly crossed the road when I arrived at a very large hotel. I placed my back on the wall and searched for any suspicious movements in the air. It took a little while for me to make the calculations since the area was a little busier. However, it wasn't long before I was given a good view of all the waves in the air.

As expected, the subtle changes within the d-waves in this area had vanished. All that was left was my original observation from when I was in the car park. The only clue I had was inside this hotel. From the outskirts, there didn't seem to be anything suspicious. However, based on the way that they were dressed, there was a good chance that they were hiding in plain sight.

With no other choice, I entered the hotel and looked around. I still had quite a lot of money remaining from the headmaster's 'funding'. I walked up to the reception and spoke to the receptionist. All of a sudden, I noticed something.

Surrounding the receptionist was a very faint cloud of EM-waves. It wasn't enough for him to be an esper. However, it did mean that there were espers in this building at one point, and they made contact with the receptionist.

Hold on.

The receptionist looked at me in confusion as I placed my back on the wall. I calculated the states of every single wave within this building.

There were EM-waves around the receptionist.

There were EM-waves being transformed into d-waves in this general area before.

This must be some sort of message from Aiko.

She somehow managed to create some EM-waves that were out of range of their Disrupter. As a result, there are some residual EM-waves surrounding the receptionist.

They were definitely inside this building.

"Do you have any rooms available?" I asked

"Um... we've got room 204—"

"I'll take it."

As soon as I could, I scanned my phone, paying for the room.

With that, I was given a room card and was able to use the elevator.

I began making my way up the hotel via the elegant elevator.

My plan was to find the hostage and retrieve them. After that point, Aiko would have no qualms about using her strength, and as such, the situation would be able to be resolved. Finally, the elevator stopped at the very top floor.

It would only make sense that the perpetrators would attempt to hide on the floor, which was furthest away from the ground. This way, it'd be difficult to notice their Disrupters.

Quietly, I walked along the soft white carpet, listening in to what was happening inside each of the rooms. All of a sudden, a very formally-dressed man walked out of the room. There were no EM-waves around him, so he wasn't an esper. However, I recognised him as one of the people who were inside their escape vehicle.

He walked passed me without paying any notice.

Just as he walked past, I grabbed him by the collar and shoved the hilt of my sword into his mouth. In one swift movement, I pinned him to the ground and kept my knee on his back. He tried to resist, but I was easily overpowering him.

"...w-wha... who... are... you..."

With the handle of my sword in his mouth, he still managed to speak.

The problem was that the rest of them were likely inside one of the rooms on this level. I couldn't allow it to be known that someone was onto them. They still had the hostage in their hands after all.

"Which room is the hostage in."

"...auegh..." he mumbled something but I couldn't quite hear what it was.

Very slightly, I pulled the end of my sword out of his mouth.

"Tell me which room the hostage is in if you don't want to die."

"...room 521..."

"I will kill you if that's not the correct room. I'll give you one chance to correct yourself."

"...it... is... the truth..."

With that information, I pressed the edge of my forearm into the back of his neck. He desperately tried to breathe as I blocked his windpipe. A few minutes later, he fell unconscious, lying on the ground.

After that, I got up and made my way toward room 521.

My plan was to enter and retrieve the hostage as fast as I could. It relied on the fact that I needed to act before they even noticed what was going on.

It was the only way out of this.