An Explosion for an Explosion

When Motohashi Yoji opened his eyes in confusion, he instinctively raised a hand to shield them from the sunlight shining directly into them. It took him quite a while to recognize that he was lying in his own apartment.

His limbs weak, he stared blankly ahead. The relatively safe surroundings did nothing to improve his complexion; if anything, the quiet around him only made him paler.

Like a startled bird, his eyes darted nervously around before he hesitantly sat up.

His mental state was beyond simply being unstable. After being assailed by one terrifying nightmare after another, barely any reason remained in him.

Whether it was the effect of the medication prescribed by his psychiatrist, or whether his attempt to use drugs to erase the hallucinations had angered his attacker, his severe auditory and visual hallucinations had abruptly taken a different turn after he swallowed the pills.

If the previous attacks had been like relentless gunfire, forcing him to see visions of the police officer he had killed three years ago and the blaze of bombs, then after taking the medication, what he experienced became far more horrifying—and far more subtle.

His reflection in the mirror would make expressions different from his own, suddenly transforming into another face. Anything he touched could suddenly be stained with blood. Even when he was merely walking, the floor might abruptly become covered in sharp spikes. The searing pain of pointed metal piercing the soles of his feet made him scream repeatedly, nearly alarming his neighbors enough to call the police...

Was this how the Phantom Thieves of Hearts made criminals kneel and beg for mercy, confessing every detail of their past crimes?

His tortured, fragile mind let out an unwilling scream inside his head.

Using such despicable methods to force a confession—those bastards,