Previously, Akane Tsunemori's view of life and death had undergone a complete transformation after she entered the Criminal Investigation Department. Life was no longer simply birth, aging, sickness, and death.
Those with high Crime Coefficients would be completely eliminated by the Dominator, and Akane Tsunemori's childhood environment had left her deeply shocked by such things, or perhaps etched them deeply into her heart.
And now—
Akane Tsunemori knew the system's true nature.
Then—
Where did her convictions lie?
The justice she had once believed in might now bare its fangs.
Because of this, Akane Tsunemori was suffering terribly.
Someone had once said that only those capable of thought and kindness could feel such agony. It was not that they were inadequate, but that they were too outstanding.
By now, Akane Tsunemori was utterly exhausted. Lying in her room, she even felt as though a lifetime had passed.
Fuji.
Was he really dead?
Yan.
Would he truly never appear again? Had he left her behind?
Sei Riku.
Would he no longer smile at her?
Those once-vivid people and lives had now become impossibly distant. Perhaps many people could forget them and start over in a short time, but how could Akane Tsunemori do that? They had once been comrades who fought at her side!
"Akane~ dear, play games with me once in a while," came Fuji's familiar voice. But Fuji had already disappeared without a trace. It was only an illusion.
"Miss, don't bother with Fuji's strange games. Play shogi with me, shogi." Sei Riku's voice.
"Whoa, that's so old-fashioned. Uncle Riku, are you planning to play games with pieces and a board?"
"What's wrong with that? It's nice this way. This way."
"What's with that strange expression?" Ginoza's voice interrupted Akane Tsunemori's thoughts. He had already arrived at the Criminal