"Risa's family?"
Hide stood frozen in the narrow alleyway. The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
He knew Risa's family was powerful, her grandfather was an S-Rank prodigy. But they had always neglected her because she failed to awaken. Neglect was one thing. Hiring an assassin to kill her childhood friend was an entirely different level of cruelty.
"What do you mean it was her family?" Hide demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous, lethal register. "Why the hell would they target you?"
Kai leaned back against the rusted hover-car, closing his eyes.
"Two days after you left for Area 5," Kai began, his voice rough. "I went to the hospital to check on Risa, like I always do. But her cell was empty. The machines were gone. The bed was stripped. When I asked the nurses at the front desk, they completely stonewalled me. They only said she was discharged."
