Core examined Naomi, a student at the school she infiltrated. Since she doesn’t care much about her classmates, Core didn’t recognize her face and perhaps they were from the same class, which isn’t the case.

“Can you… see him?” Core asked her.

“If... I can see...?” Naomi said.

Naomi remembered that she was the only one who seemed to see him.

“Aaaaaaah... just when we finally met...” Iduma said.

The kid sighed and jumped onto a wall. The cross swayed continuously.

“Sorry, but if I don’t hurry Xanthus will be mad at me! And then, if Xanthus gets upset, he tells Didagus…!”

 Fake tears nearly gushed out from his eyes. Core was taken by surprise as she heard familiar names, namely…

“Didagus... could you be one of them?!”

“Never fear. We’ll meet again… surely” Iduma said.

“Wait!” Core shouted but didn't feel ready for another chase.

“He’s gone... once more...” Naomi muttered.

Naomi was disappointed that she couldn't really talk to Iduma, but that was all. In some way, she had matured throughout this experience.

“So the people here are also capable...”, Core thought as she looked at Naomi.

Core turned her back. She couldn’t stay there any longer for her peers were waiting.

“Ah...! Where are you going?” Naomi asked.

“None of your concern” Core kept walking.

That moment, Core realized she couldn’t simply walk away as her skills were witnessed. For the first time in her life, she actually needed Nemo…

Core pulled back and touched Naomi’s chest with her thumb, however… the reaction wasn’t as expected. Both Naomi and Core suffered from the same symptoms – a chest throb and flashes of a turquoise-haired girl played in their head. At the end, a mental breakdown temporarily collapsed them before Core ran away.

“H-Hang on...!” Naomi called her.

What… just happened...?

 

...

 

In another far away alley, two charismatic males exchanged words. Xanthus, the oldest in white hood, scolded the youngest, Iduma.

“Do you really understand what we came here to do? You want to botch it with your silly games?”

“Eeeeeh?! You’re being unfair, Xanthus! I mean, this time I came back early! And a little bit of “scouting” doesn’t hurt either…”

The white hooded man turned his back on Iduma.

“Our target was already scouted. Iduma, don’t act recklessly anymore. Otherwise... yes, I’ll tell Didagus.”

“No, please! Anything but that!”

“And I still think you should wear a hood like me.”

“Bahahaha! Sorry, not quite my style! Triggering my spiritual form is enough to keep a low profile. That way no one sees me.”

“That’s a bad habit of yours” Xanthus sighed.

“Xanthus... you too have been having some fun on the sly, haven’t ya? Is that also part of our mission…?”

“That was me keeping a promise from long ago. But I’m yet to fulfill it... one last thing remains to be done.”

Iduma saw him meeting Lied. Xanthus prepared to take his leave.

“And that’s what you’re gonna do now, right? Finish fulfilling this promise.”

“Remember: ‘they’ are also on the move. Don’t let your guard down” Xanthus looked at Iduma sideways.

“Worry about yourself, cuz ya don’t need to worry about the great Iduma.”

 

...

 

Susumu wandered the streets of Ganeden. The detective tried to put the puzzle pieces together: Zechariah, the murderer of Lied’s parents; Varius, Zechariah’s comrade; the bullet that inexplicably went through Varius’s body. Finally, the last piece of this investigation, the center of everything: Lied.

Susumu helped solving various complex cases, but for the first time he wasn’t able to draw any conclusions. Nevertheless, someone had to serve justice.

“I think you should seriously get some rest... from all” a thick voice rang out within Susumu.

Susumu, or his mental body, was taken to a place without light. In front of him, a silhouette rose from the darkness. Chains unfolded from the unseen feet as they scattered before the young detective.

“I can handle the case for you though.”

“You never give up, do you?” Susumu sneered while staring at the shadow, or the “Chains Man”, as he used to call him.

“Give up? You’re the one who must step down. Look at you: completely hopeless, clueless.”

“I appreciate your concern, even so it’s as I have said a thousand times. I won’t rest until I carry out my duty” Susumu sighed “It’s tough. Exhausting. Painful. I cannot deny that I’m at my limit sometimes. But you know...? Nobody said it wasn’t going to be tough, exhausting and painful. And they didn’t have to... that’s the price to pay for a greater cause. Fighting the injustice and protecting justice – in order to safeguard these values, I’m willing to cast aside even my own life.”

“’Justice’, huh...? It’s ironic, you’re obsessed with something that doesn’t exist. Neither in this nor in the other world... Anyway, no matter what I say, your vision won’t change. It didn’t change before, and won’t change now.”

 

...

 

7 years ago

Little 10-year-old Susumu eagerly studied in his room.

“Why do you try harder than you ought to when you already got the best grades in school?”

“Being the best here isn’t enough. I need to work much more... if I want to protect.”

“Protect? What?”

“Justice. It’s... VERY big and hard to defend!”

“Boy, this ‘justice’ you speak of doesn’t exist. I know from personal experience…”

“So what if it doesn’t exist? I just need to make it with all my strength!”

The Chains Man didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He merely decided to smile and admit... his admiration for his plain and sheer conviction.

 

...

 

Back to the present…

“Susumu, I hope you haven’t forgotten… our ‘agreement’.”

“Of course not… When I, after doing all I can, come across a case that I absolutely cannot solve, I’ll let you take over from that moment onwards” Susumu said.

“Hm...”

The figure crept back into the whopping darkness. This was another tragedy, equally inevitable…

 

…

 

Susumu returned to reality. He wouldn’t fail... failure wasn’t an option.

“Well, I should get back to work.”

 

…

 

Lied went past the school, a building that once caused him much boredom. Will he ever come back? Hopefully not. Lied wondered if Susumu had already realized that he escaped the police station. He better hurry.

“You’re in a real rush. Who do you want to find so much?” a sassy voice echoed through the cherry trees.

The male voice seemed to sound from the trees. Was he finally going nuts...?

“I'm not a figment of your imagination. Basically, I’m communicating with you through your mind, albeit not too far away...”

Made sense. The fact that he thought the voice was coming from the trees meant that the sender was close to him, the receiver. The question was: where exactly?

“Who are you?! Show yourself!”

“Chill. It’s not like someone’s waiting for you, so let’s talk a bit” he tittered.

A rather tasteless joke, yet Lied managed to control his emotions, all thanks to his meeting with the “mysterious woman”… But if the man knew about his parents, that could only mean one thing.

“You... are one of ‘them’?!”

“Haha, bingo! You’re a quick thinker. Too bad it wasn’t enough... to prevent their deaths!”

Lied started running on the spot around the site with the purpose of tracking down the source.

“Hahaha, rudimentary methods won't help you. Don’t listen, instead, feel.”

Don’t listen, but feel? How the hell was he supposed to do that?

Instinctively, Lied was able to sense the voice’s energy and pinpoint the location of the person behind the mental communication.

“Oh, see? I knew you could do it! Now… come get me!”

Lied didn’t think twice – the hooded man could wait.

 

...

 

Naomi staggered after she bumped into Core. She didn’t understand what really happened. As a matter of fact, the other girl looked in worse shape. And that woman with turquoise hair... who was she?

Naomi herself acknowledged positive changes such as her crispness and well-being. Naomi’s cheerful smile faded as she saw Lied running down the street. She hadn’t seen him since that day. What about Lied...? Perhaps his wounds healed at least a little? Lied, too, was already… an important coincidence of her life.

“Hold on, Lied!”

 

...

 

No useful info at hand, it all came down to Susumu’s biggest weapon, which is his gut feeling.

“Hm? That’s... no way...?!”

Lied ran in the distance like there was no tomorrow.

...

“That’s it! Great use of Sensitivity!”

Lied bypassed an alley, the man was right around the corner…!

“Found you!”

 

...

 

The fates of three young people intertwined: Naomi, from one side, and Susumu, from another. The detective glared upon Lied.

“What are you... You’re…!”

Susumu noticed Naomi’s presence. Lied didn’t hide his amazement.

“Oh, the detective-san! If I’m not mistaken, your name is... Suzume?” Naomi said.

“Susumu! But that doesn’t matter, why are you both...

The trio paid heed to a blond-haired male in front of them, next to the wall. Martyr couldn't help but laugh out loud, such was the grace of kismet.

 

[END OF CHAPTER]