Chapter 13 (continued)

Having spent several years in the laboratory, Kamiki Yūhaku knew better than anyone how badly those people wanted to study real ability users. But ability users were few and far between, and most had ways to protect themselves. Those people could not get their hands on a corpse, much less a living ability user.

Now that such a serious ability incident had occurred in Yokohama, killing countless ability users, those people naturally could not resist.

They would certainly steal a corpse or two for research. Once the deed was done, even the Japanese government would be unable to make them return the bodies and could only help them cover it up.

Kamiki Yūhaku had seen far too many things like this.

"I don't know who the buyers are. I'm only responsible for supplying them with corpses or living people." The man, his face bruised and blood still running from his nose, curled up to one side. "I've never met them either. I just have to leave people locked up in the place they designate, and I get a huge sum of money. I don't know anything else."

"I'm not lying to you." The man clutched his hair. "Please believe me!"

Kamiki Yūhaku sat on a shipping container, watching him gently. The crow on his shoulder stared at the man alongside him, like a person. His voice was very, very soft. "Thank you for all your hard work."

"Huh?"

"Doing something so crazy behind your wife's back while keeping your beloved wife safe—you might even have to soak in a bathhouse for an hour before going home every day, just to wash the smell of blood off yourself. Such hard work really does deserve respect."

Kamiki Yūhaku pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. Hikawa Kokurin watched him, bewildered.

After a few rings, the call connected.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

Hikawa Kokurin's pupils contracted sharply, and his face went deathly pale in an instant.

"Hello, is this Hikawa Keiko?" Kamiki Yūhaku's voice was gentle. "You see, I'm a friend of your husband's. He's preparing a surprise for you."

"Oh?!" The woman sounded surprised, but there was a hint of delight in her voice. "Really?"

"Of course." Kamiki Yūhaku looked into Hikawa Kokurin's eyes, a smile in his red ones. "Hikawa's been coming home late a lot lately, hasn't he? He's actually been secretly preparing a surprise. It's time for him to give it to you now, so I'm calling to let you know. I hope you won't be alarmed."

Keiko exhaled, anticipation in her voice. "What do I need to do?"

"Just wait at home. He'll come with the surprise." Kamiki Yūhaku's tone was full of praise. "He really is a good husband."

After hanging up, Kamiki Yūhaku put his phone back in his pocket. He smiled at the man before him. "So, what are you going to do?"

"...Keiko."

"Honestly, I have plenty of ways to make you tell the truth, including spreading your wife's information around and causing her to have a terrible accident." Kamiki Yūhaku spoke softly in a voice as innocent as a child's, as though sharing a secret. "But neither of us wants things to come to that, right?"

Hikawa Kokurin stared at Kamiki Yūhaku in terror. After a moment, he shook his head. "No, don't do that!"

"All right." Kamiki Yūhaku smiled as he watched Hikawa Kokurin, his red eyes full of sunshine. "You know how to stop me."

Hikawa Kokurin's body trembled. He forced himself to calm down, but it did no good at all. All he could do was lower his head, trembling.

"There's a hidden door in the wall at the very back of the house. The code is 3592, and it also needs fingerprint authentication. After that, I'm taken to an underground facility, and the people or corpses I bring are handed over to someone in a full protective suit. I don't know anything after that."

"The person who introduced me to this job said they have connections to the government and must never be offended. If word gets out, my whole family will die."

Kamiki Yūhaku jumped down from the container and spoke with a smile. "We have a deal."

"Go prepare your surprise."

Hikawa Kokurin's breathing was so loud that even he could hear it clearly. He cried out in terror, then turned and ran, his figure soon disappearing without a trace.

Paying no attention to Hikawa Kokurin's departure, Kamiki Yūhaku played with the crow on his shoulder.

"I found them," Kamiki Yūhaku murmured. "Sure enough, people are most likely to slip up when they get greedy."

Those people had remained well hidden. With the government's help, even Kamiki Yūhaku had been unable to find them. They refused to leave Yokohama because they still had their sights set on Chūya Nakahara, but they did not dare make a move because they were wary of Kamiki Yūhaku.

Only after Kamiki Yūhaku left Yokohama for France did they dare cautiously test the waters.

Kamiki Yūhaku put on a mask, picked up the suitcase on the ground, and walked forward. His destination: an unoccupied house.

It's time to end this.

Kamiki Yūhaku thought.

This tragedy has stretched on for nearly twenty years. It's time it came to an end.

At the Special Division for Unusual Powers, Sakaguchi Ango walked into Taneda's office, where Taneda was making tea.

"No, thank you." Ango Sakaguchi shook his head. "I came to ask you something, Director Taneda."

"No, thank you." Ango Sakaguchi shook his head. "I came to ask you something, Director Taneda."

"All right. Whatever it is, I'll answer. After all, Ango Sakaguchi, you made a great contribution during this incident. Yokohama has remained safe this long in part thanks to you." Taneda poured a cup of tea and brought it over to Ango Sakaguchi. A small tea stem floated on the dull yellow liquid.

Ango Sakaguchi looked at the cup of tea, then sat down after a moment. "Thank you, sir."

"I know what you want to ask." Taneda picked up his tea and took a sip. "You want to ask about Kamiki Yūhaku, don't you?"

Ango Sakaguchi raised his head and looked at Taneda. "Those two missing corpses..."

"You're right. The government is indeed sheltering several researchers who survived what happened in the French Concession back then." Taneda put his teacup on the table. "But a lot of things aren't as simple as you think. This matter is more complicated than politics. It's a scale that has already been balanced in most people's minds, and its weights are heavy enough."

"I don't agree." Ango Sakaguchi lowered his head.

"I don't agree either, but disagreement doesn't mean it doesn't exist, nor does it mean he can be stopped." Taneda poured himself another cup of tea. "In fact, this isn't the first time ability users have been used in experiments. After the last Great Ability War ended, Japan, as a defeated nation, was desperate for victory."

"It isn't the first time?" Ango Sakaguchi said. "Were there other victims?"

Taneda's voice was calm. "As far as I know, the first test subject on record was named Asukai. She could connect to the dreams of murderers. Someone made use of that trait and built a system called 'Mikumari' around her, using murderous intent to enter the subconscious world and search for killers."

"I've never heard of anything like that!"

"Because Mikumari was exploited by the police chief at the time, causing an enormous scandal. Afterward, the matter was covered up."

Ango Sakaguchi lowered his head. "So even though it ended like that before, they still want to keep doing this?"

"As I said, I don't agree either. But there are always people who crave victory, who even hope that once the technology is stable, they can gain abilities themselves and won't remain ordinary people forever." Taneda said, "Whether Asukai or Kamiki Yūhaku, they're merely victims of this system."

"As long as ability users exist in this world, there will always be people who want abilities of their own, driving such things to keep happening."

Ango Sakaguchi wrung his hands tightly.

Seeing Ango Sakaguchi's expression, Taneda sighed. "Do you know about the Hunting Dogs?"

"The Hunting Dogs? You mean the special forces unit under the government's direct command. I remember that their abilities are powerful, and they voluntarily underwent human modification, giving them physical capabilities several times those of ordinary people. Wait." Ango Sakaguchi's eyes widened. "Human modification?"

"That's right. The modification surgery they underwent came from an improved version of the human experiments conducted in the French Concession back then."

"Sakaguchi, seeing the Hunting Dogs should tell you which side most people are on." Taneda poured out the remaining tea. "If Kamiki Yūhaku insists on attacking those people, the government will certainly issue an order to eliminate him. That is the way things are headed."

Ango Sakaguchi remained seated. "He's an exceptional person."

"It's precisely because he's exceptional that he's being targeted." Taneda went straight to the heart of the matter. "If he were just a cowardly ordinary person who survived that explosion, assumed a new identity, and lived an ordinary life, things wouldn't have come to this."

"But he isn't. He's too exceptional, and he's unwilling to hide in the shadows." Taneda said, "What a pity."

"...This shouldn't be the justice of the masses," Ango Sakaguchi murmured.

He wanted to say it wasn't fair, or ask what this meant for Kamiki Yūhaku.

But Sakaguchi Ango knew better than anyone that those were just empty words. As a member of the Special Division for Unusual Powers and part of the government, he knew better than anyone what things were like within it. For political reasons, they could allow the North American ability organization, the Guild, into Yokohama, and even when the Guild tried to destroy the city, they could not act against it openly.

They could abandon the few for the benefit of the many.

Naturally, they could also disregard one insignificant Kamiki Yūhaku.

There had never been true fairness in this world.

Somewhat dazed, Ango Sakaguchi walked out of Taneda's office and sat down at his desk. Trembling, he dialed a number. The name Osamu Dazai appeared on the screen.

He had been prepared to find himself blocked, but he heard the busy signal. A few seconds later, the call connected, and Ango Sakaguchi heard Osamu Dazai breathing. Osamu Dazai said nothing, seemingly waiting for him to speak.

"Dazai." Ango Sakaguchi's voice was hesitant and trembling. "Is there any way you can save him?"