49. The Dragon Field Trio

Rat-a-tat-tat,

In the dead of night, a helicopter belonging to the Metropolitan Police Department rose into the air and flew east.

After crossing almost all of Tokyo Metropolis, it arrived in Katsushika Ward, at the easternmost edge of Tokyo.

"Report!"

Director Takeya jumped out of the helicopter, his face dark and livid, as if water might drip from it.

"Yes."

".May 25, 2:26 a.m."

"This facility came under supernatural attack. All 46 relevant personnel on duty fell into an inexplicable coma."

Facing the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the prison warden was sweating bullets. Although Tokyo Detention House was under the Ministry of Justice and had no ties to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the man before him had been authorized by the Cabinet to oversee all supernatural incidents. With such a serious breach happening on his watch, there was no escaping a charge of dereliction of duty.

Though, given the situation he'd faced, anyone would have had the same outcome.

"Was it him?"

After reaching the monitoring room and reviewing the footage, Director Takeya paused.

"Ichika, what do you think?"

".Director, Chief Iori is currently stationed in Nerima Ward."

Fuji Seiko, who was following behind him, spoke up, bringing Director Takeya back to his senses.

Right. Ichika and Tanimura Wataru had stayed in Nerima Ward to examine the scene, hoping Tanimura Wataru's extraordinary sense of smell would turn up a clue.

Fuji Seiko, who had come with him, didn't know about Mr. Three, so naturally she couldn't offer any advice.

"Come on. Let's go to the scene."

"This is quite a bloodbath."

A large team of forensic personnel in protective suits had already arrived in the prison courtyard, collecting fragments of flesh and bone!

"Director."

A section chief directing the scene saluted, then gave his report.

"We're working to gather the remains of the prisoners who died in the 'self-detonations.' We expect to finish in three hours."

"Good. Well done."

It was infuriating that a supernatural being could come and go from a prison as freely as from a public restroom, but Mr. Three had left behind plenty of "good stuff."

Looking at the traces of flesh and blood splattered across the ground like the aftermath of an exploding bomb, Director Takeya pushed up his rimless glasses.

At his level, he encountered death around the clock, every day.

Prisoners dying was no great loss.

What mattered most was what they could get from them!

The surveillance footage made it clear that Mr. Three was creating new supernatural beings by a method different from Tanimura Wataru's.

The scattered flesh and blood were merely "failed products" of his experiments, but to the island nation's government, they were treasures! When researching the supernatural, even a single hair or drop of blood was invaluable!

"Director, here are the files on the three escapees."

"Hmm."

Director Takeya accepted the files from his secretary. He didn't need to look at them to recognize the three.

They were all "famous" criminals in the island nation!

Not because they were especially vicious, but because they were notorious in certain ways.

For example: a young man who had permanently lost his memory in a car accident and believed himself to be a good person, despite having bullied many people. When his victims tracked him down, he killed them, then stood in court looking utterly innocent. Because his "subjective intent and objective actions didn't align," it was difficult to sentence him.

Then there was a young man who'd committed murder and gone on the run. He first disfigured himself to evade capture, then underwent cosmetic surgery several times, playing "cat and mouse" with the police for two and a half years. Later, his handsome face made him famous, and he wrote an autobiography in prison, earning a fortune and a huge female fan base.

And then there was the man who'd killed two people with two shots, making countless "elite bodyguards" look like a joke.

"I hope these three don't cause too much trouble."

Of course, if he were in their shoes and had gained supernatural powers... Director Takeya shook his head and decided not to think about it.

As the saying went, when you had too many debts, you stopped worrying about them; when you had too many lice, they stopped itching. He couldn't control what the supernatural beings wanted to do.

There was no way he could control them!

What a turbulent time~~

At night, Shibuya was paradise for the young.

Department stores, fashion boutiques, restaurants, cafés, gaming arcades, and adult entertainment venues crowded together in this truly "24-hour sleepless city." Countless young people let loose and spent their youth—and their money.

Street performers sang and played instruments or put on performance art. The streets were filled with young people. You needed at least one of three things: money, talent, or looks.

What, you had none of those?

Then go home and sleep!

As one of its most iconic spots, the "Scramble Crossing" outside Shibuya Station was also a world-famous regular feature in disaster movies.

Lost in Translation, Resident Evil: Afterlife, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift had all been filmed there.

"Excuse me."

A magnetic voice sounded in front of them, making two young women walking together on the street stop.

"What the—"

".Hey, handsome. What's up?"

Her voice dropped by more than an octave. The blonde, who'd been about to yell at him, changed to a high-pitched, sugary tone.

"Well, you see..."

The man who'd stopped them was tall and handsome. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, but his skin was as smooth as a twenty-something's. His black curls gave him an artistic air, and his sharp features seemed slightly mixed-race, yet not harsh. Instead, they blended with an Eastern melancholy.

"I just got out of the 'house,' and I'm..."

"Not very familiar with this place."

He gestured around with a finger, then shyly invited them.

"Could I ask you a few questions?"

As he spoke, he gestured toward the café nearby.

"My treat."

"Sure! Sure~~"

The two young women nodded enthusiastically, their wigs almost flying off!

It wasn't that they were desperate. The young man was clean-cut, and he clearly wasn't the type to fool around.

His clothes looked like styles from more than a decade ago, but they were all genuine designer brands. Add his handsome, slightly melancholy face and awkward manner, and he practically had "runaway rich kid" written all over him.

Besides—even if he wasn't, who could say who'd get the better deal from a one-night stand with such a handsome man?

They were both experienced predators!

The three entered the café. The man gallantly pulled out chairs for the women, while making no effort to hide how new all this was to him.

When the server brought their coffee, they drank and chatted, breaking into laughter now and then.

Of course, the two women were the ones laughing. The handsome, melancholy man could only manage a shy smile. Usually, that kind of smile was the "nerd" look they despised most, but the man was so handsome that it didn't matter.

In short, he looked good no matter what!

Young people weren't all that different, men or women. Everyone was a sucker for a pretty face!

He clearly didn't know the latest slang, and he was clueless about all sorts of everyday things.

But he spoke elegantly, effortlessly referencing famous people and historical anecdotes, and carried himself with such grace that the two women squeezed their thighs together, afraid their coffee might drip onto the floor.

"Ahem, it's time to go, Young Master."

Just as the three were enjoying their conversation, a short man in a mask and tracksuit entered the café and walked straight over.

"Ah, is it that late already?"

The handsome man raised his wrist to check his expensive watch, then took out his wallet.

"Waiter, the check."

"Aw, what a shame."

"Look, they went to that five-star hotel on the corner!"

"Just as I thought—some rich young master out enjoying the world. Even the way he walks away is so elegant. Damn, I'll never forget this encounter for the rest of my life~~"

The two women sat in the café, lamenting their misfortune. Compared to that "young nobleman," all the guys they'd slept with before were a bunch of horny monkeys.

Not an ounce of charm!

Handsome, rich, and elegant—when had women like them ever met such a "catch"?

If they could sleep with him just once, it'd be worth dying for!

But he clearly wasn't interested.

"Young Master, this way."

At the five-star hotel on the corner, the two rode the elevator to the presidential suite, led by the short man in a mask.

"Wow, you got the check-in documents sorted out that fast?"

Once inside, the handsome man looked around and couldn't help whistling.

"Honestly, I've never stayed in a presidential suite before—though I could easily afford one with my royalties."

Unfortunately, as a convict serving life imprisonment, he'd had nowhere to spend his money.

"Keep your voice down. I'm checking the room."

The bespectacled middle-aged man, who was carefully inspecting the furnishings, looked like an ordinary office worker. Before going to prison, he really had done odd jobs in a factory.

"With a former Self-Defense Force member like you around, I feel much safer."

The handsome man sat down on the sofa and began searching for the remote.

"The appliances here are voice-controlled."

"I see."

The handsome man sounded a little wistful.

"I was locked up for a little over ten years, and when I got out, the world felt like a completely different place."

The clothes, the food, the architecture—even the currency he'd used for decades had changed! Of course, the biggest difference was the smartphone everyone carried.

Before he went to prison, phones were just for calling people. Now... they were something humanity couldn't live without.

As his companion reminisced about the "glorious days of the past," the middle-aged man finished checking the room, came over, and tossed the other two a pair of passports.

"I 'borrowed' these. Use them for now."

"Thanks."

The handsome young man picked up his passport and looked at the photo.

"Not as handsome as me. Oh well."

".So, what are your plans now?"

The short man took off his mask and asked.

He looked to be in his twenties, and with his baby face, he could've passed for a high schooler.

But as the prison's "great escape" champion, he wasn't as harmless as he looked. Even after losing his memory, he'd kept his quick reflexes and ruthless decisiveness.

And now, he had supernatural powers too.

"Let me make one thing clear. If you want to kill innocent people, I'll kill you first."

He spoke evenly, but there was no mistaking the threat.

"Hey, hey, we're all serious criminals."

The handsome young man spread his hands.

"This isn't the 'great escape' anymore. We're free now. There's no need to keep fighting. What do you mean by that?"

"No, he's serious."

The bespectacled middle-aged man, who'd handed them the passports, sat down and explained to the handsome young man.

"Saito Kai. He grew up in a single-parent household. He's been convicted of assault and murder."

"A complete scumbag. He bullied more than six students at a public school, both boys and girls, and used the dirty videos he filmed to blackmail them. He was the 'big shot' at that school."

"Then a car accident left him permanently amnesiac. After recovering, he believed he was just an ordinary student. He studied, worked part-time, and even joined the baseball team to sweat it out."

The classmates he'd bullied had been afraid and confused at first... but once they understood what had happened, they banded together and vented their anger on the "weak" version of him.

But he'd only lost his memory, not his intelligence. After a confrontation, Saito Kai accidentally killed the person he thought was a "bully."

Standing in court,

he learned that he'd been the source of all the evil!

"In short, this guy's a villain who believes in justice."

The bizarre case had caused quite a stir.

"There's a story like that?"

The handsome young man was stunned. Tokyo Detention House really was full of interesting people. If he'd known, he would've talked to more of them.

"I've decided. I'm going to write your story into my book—"

Swish!

A dagger stopped in front of the handsome young man's throat, cutting him off.

"Even now, I don't remember a single thing about my past."

"But if the old 'Saito Kai' ever stood in front of me, I'd kill him on the spot!"

With that, he put away the dagger and sat down on the other side, staring at his two "companions."

"You two, too. Remember: if you kill innocent people or prey on the weak, I'll kill you as well."

He'd left his cell in the first place to stop the other criminals from escaping. He'd also killed the most people during the courtyard bloodbath, all to leave fewer escapees behind. He was a deeply twisted man.

"Okay."

The handsome young man, who had a "theatrical personality," accepted his companion's bizarre "righteous villain" persona.

"Then why don't you kill yourself?"

Faced with the handsome young man's question, Saito Kai lowered his eyes.

"My mother asked me not to. She won't let me kill myself."

After learning that he was the true culprit behind everything, Saito Kai accepted every punishment without complaint and prepared to atone with his life, but his mother stopped him. She was an ordinary woman who knew only how to work at the factory, not how to raise a child, and had no idea of the sins her son had committed.

Faced with his mother's tearful pleas, Saito Kai couldn't think of anything else he could do besides repent in prison.

But now:

This power—

He clenched his fists. Abundant demonic energy surged through his body, and a thoughtful look flashed in the young man's eyes.

Though atonement couldn't change anything, if he could stop more evil, surely that would count as making amends? Mother... If I die in battle, that won't break the promise we made to each other.

"Let me make this clear beforehand: I'll kill people."

Elsewhere, the bespectacled middle-aged man, Yamagami, spoke calmly.

"I have a score to settle with those 'heretics.' If you try to stop me—"

Crackle!

Lightning burst around Yamagami's body.

"I won't hesitate to send you to meet those negligent people in power!"