Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER II 

2—1 

“Get out, you parasite!” 

A tall building stretched up toward the heavens. It was a beautiful white church decorated with vividly colored stained glass and detailed sculptures. In the center was Atsushi, trembling. His body wouldn’t move, overcome with fear. It took everything he had to simply crawl on the frigid stone flooring. How? Why? He had so many questions, but he couldn’t think clearly. Cold sweat dripped down his pale face. 

Atsushi knew where this was. 

It was the orphanage he grew up in. A place he left long ago. So why was he here now? 

The trauma of days gone resurfaced; his breathing grew shallow. There were footsteps. He looked up with a gasp to find familiar faces staring down at him. They had worked at the orphanage. 

“Your kind isn’t welcome here!” 

The verbal abuse made Atsushi realize what was happening: This was a memory. A scene from his distant past—days of loneliness and humiliation he didn’t wish to remember. 

Is it that I don’t want to remember? Or that I can’t remember…? 

The scenery before him was suddenly distorted, and a door appeared behind the orphanage workers. It was a sturdy-looking white door, majestic and divine. Atsushi’s eyes were drawn to it, but he felt that shouldn’t be disturbed. It was a forbidden gate that must absolutely never be opened. 

I mustn’t open it. I mustn’t open it. I mustn’t open it… 

Atsushi kept repeating those words to himself. His body froze with fear, and he couldn’t stop trembling. Not even Atsushi himself knew why, though. The fear wreaked havoc on his mind and almost instinctively shackled him to the ground. 

I mustn’t open it. I mustn’t open it. I mustn’t open it. 

That door mustn’t be opened at all costs. 

“Society would be better off if you just died.” 

“You don’t belong in this world.” 

The vitriol echoed throughout the church. Fog slowly began to creep out from behind the door as if it were reacting to the orphanage director’s voice. Atsushi wondered what was going on, but his curiosity was short-lived. The orphanage workers were gone before he even realized it, and the fog was racing toward him. His eyes opened wide with fear. 

“…!” 

Fog. Fog. Fog. 

All he could see was the pure-white fog as it swallowed his body. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. The mist forced its way into his mouth, and he felt as though he were being controlled. It hurt to breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He was being eaten alive by the fog. He was going to be consumed and die. 

That was when he woke up. 

Atsushi opened his eyes and sat up with a gasp. There was only darkness. He panted, confused as to where he was. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and a light blanket clung to his skin. Atsushi finally realized where he was as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. He was in his room in the company dormitory. Inside the closet, to be exact. 

“That was just a dream…?” 

He was still gasping for air, but he felt a little more at ease knowing he’d dreamed it all. 

Everything’s okay. I’m not the same person I was when I lived at the orphanage. I have friends. I have a place where I belong—at the Armed Detective Agency. Things are different now. 

Suddenly, someone called out to Atsushi from the other side of the sliding door while he was taking a few deep breaths: 

“Can I come in?” 

It was Kyouka. 

“Oh. Sure…” 

A pale light peeked into the closet as she slid open the door. It was still nighttime. She must have turned on the lights. She was still wearing her pajamas as she closely examined Atsushi’s face. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Huh? Why do you ask?” 

“…You sounded like you were having a bad dream.” 

Kyouka lowered her gaze in a worried manner. Atsushi and Kyouka were currently living together in the agency dormitory. Of course, Atsushi wouldn’t dream of sleeping in the same room as her, so he decided to take the closet. Be that as it may, it was still a closet. The sliding door was thin, and it was far, far from being soundproof. 

On top of that, Kyouka was a former assassin—and a highly skilled one at that. She would easily be able to sense anything out of sorts…which was why she woke up to the sound of Atsushi’s voice and started to worry. When Atsushi looked over her shoulder, he noticed her futon had already been made. It must’ve been a little while since she’d noticed he was moaning in his sleep. He started to feel guilty and decided to tell her the truth despite his embarrassment. 

“Yeah, just a bit of a nightmare.” 

“…!” 

Kyouka immediately leaned forward and brought her face closer to his. 

“W-wait, Kyouka?!” 

Atsushi panicked. He wasn’t used to seeing her so close-up—and in her pajamas, at that. But what she said next sent a chill down his spine. Kyouka stared at him intently and asked, “…Did you see any fog in your dream?” 

“…What?” 

His face tensed, for he became bizarrely sure of something. He immediately raced out of the closet and opened the window. 

All he could see was white fog. 

Fog. Fog. Fog. 

Just like in his dream, the area was thick with fog. It was as if the night scenery of Yokohama, which he was so used to seeing from the window, had been engulfed by the mist. Atsushi stared vacantly at the sight. 

“Is this…?” he muttered. A moment later, he heard Kyouka behind him flip open her phone. 

“I’m not getting any signal,” she announced abruptly. Atsushi started searching for his own phone in a panic. He vaguely remembered leaving it near his futon, so he rushed over to the closet and grabbed it. He pressed the call button—no signal. 

The situation was dire. Atsushi was so flustered that he bumped his head on the divider in the closet. A dull, throbbing pain ran through his skull. Nevertheless, there was no time to roll around in agony, so he simply rubbed his head while showing Kyouka his phone. 

“…Me either.” 

A white fog and disconnected phones—Atsushi’s gut was telling him that something was wrong. 

“Is this the fog that’s been making skill users kill themselves…?” he muttered after sluggishly crawling out of the closet. Kyouka, who was looking out the window, turned her gaze to him. 

“Let’s go to the agency.” 

“Huh? Now? Like, right now?” Atsushi was taken aback by her sudden, blunt proposal. His eyes wandered as sweat beaded on his cheek. “Don’t you think we should wait until morning?” 

Kyouka, however, looked dead serious. It was clear that she had already made up her mind. Nevertheless, Atsushi didn’t back down yet. With a trembling voice, he squeaked, “Maybe the fog will clear up by th—” 

But he never got the chance to finish that sentence. 

2—2 

Towering high-rise buildings, a giant redbrick warehouse, a historic city hall building, the Bay Bridge stretching into the distance—the city was eerily silent under the fog. Not a soul in sight. 

Although it was far past midnight, it seemed odd that there was not a single person in the shopping arcade, on the Ferris wheel in the amusement park, or even in the park by the sea. There was just white fog. Kyouka boldly strode down the misty street while Atsushi timidly followed, their footsteps echoing against the cobblestone paving. 

Is it really okay to be walking outside? Shouldn’t we just wait for the others to contact us? Atsushi couldn’t help but wonder, even though he knew there was no way they could have contacted the agency. He couldn’t stop trembling at the thought of mysterious fog driving skill users to suicide, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around his body and leaned forward as he walked. It was hard to believe that Kyouka could be so courageous at a time like this. 

“Um… Kyouka?” 

Crash! There was a roar the moment Atsushi called out her name. 

“…!” 

It was the sound of something large breaking. Kyouka immediately sprinted in the direction of the crash. 

“Kyouka!” yelled Atsushi as he chased after her. Around the corner, they found a car that had collided into a traffic light. The bumper was mangled, and the car was hanging over the guardrail. It must have been going rather fast for this to have happened. 

Kyouka ran in front of the car and peeked inside. Atsushi cautiously approached the vehicle as well, wondering if the passengers were all right. There was a crack in the windshield but no blood. In fact, nobody was injured—the car was empty. There was no one in the back, in the passenger’s seat, or even in the driver’s seat. What had happened, then? Who drove this car into the traffic light? 

Someone had to be driving the car, so why…? 

“What’s going on?” 

Atsushi’s thought escaped his lips. This ominous sensation wouldn’t go away. He suddenly looked up and gasped at what he saw. 

“Kyouka…,” uttered Atsushi hoarsely. Kyouka followed his gaze, and her eyes opened wide just like his. 

“…!” 

On the main road up the street from the totaled car were even more wrecked vehicles. 

A pileup accident. Multiple collisions. An explosion—numerous possibilities sprang to Atsushi’s mind. Over a dozen cars had collided into one another and were piled up at the end of the street like a bunch of broken toys. Columns of black smoke rose into the air. Atsushi had never seen an accident of such scale, so he sprinted ahead, unable to take it any longer. 

What happened? Can we save anyone? He ran over to each beat-up vehicle to check inside…but he didn’t find a single passenger. Both the streets and the cars were empty. Kyouka looked around as well, but her experience was no different. The entire situation was unnatural to begin with. Where were the police? Where were the ambulances? 

Atsushi and Kyouka exchanged glances, then started to search the city: the back roads, the police station, inside fast-food joints. Even though the lights were still on, there was nobody in sight. Next to a half-eaten bowl of soba noodles was a phone, as if someone had just been using it a few seconds ago. 

Steam was still rising from the coffee at the seat next to it. It was as if all the city’s inhabitants had just vanished into thin air. When Atsushi really thought about it, he realized that he and Kyouka hadn’t seen anyone since they’d left the dormitory. He’d thought it was odd, but he never expected it would be this bad. 

A white mist floated softly through the air as if to conceal the abandoned city. An eerie chill crawled up Atsushi’s body. None of this felt real. Was there really such an absurd skill that could make an entire city full of people disappear? He couldn’t completely deny the possibility. After all, he had seen a skill weapon that could instantly wipe out tens of thousands of people in the blink of an eye. Could this be the fog’s—the Collector’s—skill, then? What was happening to this city? 

Suddenly, Atsushi felt as if he could hear a small child crying in the distance. But when he listened close, he couldn’t believe his ears. 

“Get out, you parasite!” 

Atsushi froze when he heard a voice coming from the void. What was happening? The orphanage director couldn’t be there, so why could he hear their voice? Where was it coming from? Atsushi mustered up the courage to scan his surroundings, but he and Kyouka were the only ones present. Of course, the director wasn’t anywhere in sight. But the moment Atsushi wished he was just hearing things, he sensed a presence behind him and spun around. 

“You don’t belong in this world.” 

The orphanage director emerged from the wavering fog as if Atsushi’s dream had come to life. This…can’t be good, he thought. Sensing danger, Atsushi’s defensive instincts kicked in. 

“Kyouka.” He immediately called out to her. She braced herself for battle and whispered sharply, “…I sense bloodlust, and it’s strong.” 

She strained her eyes and focused on a single point before sprinting forward. 

“…!” 

Atsushi cried out her name and chased after her, but he briefly glanced back once more. There was only empty space where he saw the director—a perfectly normal street lined with various buildings. 

What was that? he wondered. But thinking would get Atsushi nowhere, so he continued to chase after Kyouka, hoping to clear his head. 

There was a car flipped over on its side in the middle of the road with blood splattered across its underside, its wheels, and the pavement beneath where the blood trickled into the gutter. The crimson trail continued down the road into the deep fog as if something had been dragged in that direction. This was where Kyouka’s senses led her. 

“Blood…” 

Atsushi grimaced at the pungent stench. He felt nauseous. The amount of blood made it clear that the victim was no dog or cat. It was human. 

Another skill-assisted suicide? But there’s no body… 

While Atsushi stood paralyzed with fear, Kyouka calmly observed the pool of blood. But the moment she noticed the trail it left… 

Snap. Crack. 

There was something at the end of the trail, hidden within the fog. 

The hairs on Atsushi’s body stood on end. Whatever it was, it was breaking apart something hard and stiff…as if it were snapping and shattering bones. Snap. Crack. He felt an ominous presence coming from the depths of the fog. Surely encountering whatever that something was would not end well. Atsushi felt weak in the knees. Kyouka, however, started to walk ahead without so much as a moment’s hesitation, following the trail of blood. Atsushi, while a few steps behind, soon followed in a fluster. There was no time to waste. The trail cut through the road, leading to the entrance of an office building. The building was completely dark, perhaps due to the lights not being on, but they could still hear the snapping and cracking. 

Something was inside the building, but there was no telling what it was. If this thing was responsible for all the blood like the two of them imagined—if it was still feasting on the victim’s bones, then whatever this something was had to be considerably powerful. The remains of the violent massacre were further proof that they had to be careful. Was this a skill user? Or was it something different completely? Although nervous, Atsushi tailed Kyouka as she boldly pushed forward. 

Atsushi was well aware he had been keeping behind Kyouka ever since they left the dormitory. But the nightmare, the ominous fog, the unknown killer—it was all terrifying. He couldn’t help but be frightened. Aware of his cowardice but lacking the means to keep it in check, Atsushi fearfully continued ahead. Nevertheless, right as they started getting closer to the building, that something turned its murderous sights at them. It roared like a beast. 

“…!” 

Atsushi and Kyouka braced themselves for combat. The beast’s eyes glowed amid the darkness as it lunged with a ferocious roar and jumped from building to building. It was so fast that only its shadow could be seen. All Atsushi knew was that it was massive. 

“…!” 

It threw itself at Atsushi with extraordinary speed. Atsushi dodged the attack, albeit just barely. Sheer dumb luck. He wasn’t confident he’d be able to evade another. 

Crap, this is bad. A cold sweat drenched Atsushi’s back. 

The beast had flown by Atsushi in the blink of an eye, and he didn’t get a good look at it. By the time he realized the beast was there, it had already passed him by. There was no way to visually keep up with it. After Atsushi dodged its attack, the beast leaped back onto the building wall, then launched itself at Kyouka and Atsushi once again. They were going to be killed at this rate. 

Atsushi practically started trembling before the formidable foe, but he fought through the fear and prepared for battle. He couldn’t show any openings, for any careless mistake would land him the same fate of the person bleeding out on the street. Without even glancing at his side, he knew that Kyouka was thinking the same thing. 

“Let’s do this!” he said to her. 

The two of them called upon their weapons to defeat the mysterious black beast. 

“Skill: Beast Beneath the Moonlight!” 

“Skill: Demon Snow!” 

Atsushi’s skill could transform him into a tiger. Kyouka’s allowed her to manifest an ominous phantom wielding a sword. Both were powerful enough for them to annihilate their foe. However… 

…nothing happened. 

Atsushi didn’t turn into a tiger, nor did Kyouka’s phantom ever appear. No reaction at all. 

“What the…?!” 

Atsushi was at a loss for words, and Kyouka’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. This had never happened before. Amid their shock, the mysterious beast roared, then lunged at them. 

“…!” 

Kyouka stiffly grabbed Atsushi by the arm and instantly took off. He ran as she dragged him through the city with its inorganic facades made of concrete, iron, and stone. It was as if Yokohama had been frozen in time. Explosions could be heard in the background as white smoke billowed up into the sky. It was obvious that the beast was barreling through cars or whatever got into its way as it chased them. Each impact smashed in the asphalt, sending dust storms into the air. 

They could feel small pieces of gravel pelt their backs as they fled. Using cars as barricades, sprinting through narrow alleys, or even suddenly changing directions made little difference. The beast simply knocked the cars out of the way, blew down the buildings, and swiftly kept up with them before cutting them off. Vehicles soared through the air before crashing and burning while buildings collapsed, leaving clouds of dust. No matter where they ran, the beast didn’t give up. It relentlessly chased them, but they had no means of dealing with its overpowering strength and speed, for neither of them could use their skill. 

Pant! Pant! Pant! Pant! Atsushi was gasping for air as he ran. He couldn’t let the beast catch him if he wanted to live. Even if it hurt to breathe—even if his heart and lungs felt like they were going to explode—even if his leg muscles felt like they were going to rupture, he couldn’t stop. Atsushi wasn’t getting enough oxygen to his brain; he thought he was going to faint. How much farther would he have to run? He felt as if he could hear the beast breathing right down his neck, and a cold sweat trickled down his skin. Like the footsteps of the grim reaper, the sounds of destruction seemed to be rapidly approaching. He was scared. He was afraid to die—afraid to be killed. Sheer terror gripped Atsushi’s entire being. The beast roared, and the force of its breath alone whipped their hair around. They had to be quicker. They had to run farther. 

“…!” 

But when Atsushi raced around the corner, he tripped over something. 

“Augh…!” 

His foolish scream echoed across the intersection. 

2—3 

Atsushi looked at what he tripped over, and his eyes opened wide. 

“Kunikida?!” 

A tall, bespectacled man was crouched at the intersection, perhaps from being knocked over when Atsushi smacked into him. His ponytail shook as he grimaced. There was no doubt about it. It was Kunikida. Atsushi and Kyouka had finally met someone in this empty city, and it was their dependable senior agent, to boot. 

“…Atsushi?” Kunikida painfully muttered. His clothes were stained with blood, and his right arm and left side were injured. The wound seemed especially severe on his left side, where his clothes were darkened with blood. He clutched his ribs as if in pain. 

“You’re hurt…!” Atsushi rushed over and knelt down next to Kunikida the moment he saw he was injured. “Were you shot?!” 

“The bullets passed through me. I’m fine. More importantly…” Kunikida wore a serious expression and continued, “…I figured out the mystery behind the serial suicides.” 

“…!” 

Atsushi’s eyes widened. He sensed Kyouka’s body tense up as well. But before he could even question Kunikida about it, there was an explosion close by. The mysterious beast had already caught up with them. 

Bam! With a powerful thud, the beast landed on the hood of a nearby car. But it was hidden within the fog, and only its silhouette could be seen. It was nimble despite its massive frame, and its four sturdy legs and arched tail were prominently visible even behind the curtain of mist. 

“…!” 

Kunikida grimaced as if he had been backed into a corner. He seemed to somehow have known that Atsushi and Kyouka were being chased by the beast. His eyes fixed on the thing in front of them, Kunikida observed the creature atop the car’s hood. The broken traffic light next to it had short-circuited, sparking intermittently. Kunikida promptly drew his pistol and pulled the trigger. Three bullets fired, piercing the car’s gas tank to leak gasoline onto the road. 

Gasoline has a flash point of approximately negative forty degrees Celsius. Even a spark from static electricity can easily cause it to catch fire. Furthermore, volatilized gasoline vapor has a broad combustion range. Even a weak concentration will burn. If the vapor and sparks are so much as a foot apart, the former’s weight will cause it to sink, thus bringing it into contact with the sparks. And inevitably, this leads to a rapid combustion within the vapor’s range. 

In other words—an explosion. 

Right as Atsushi realized what Kunikida was doing, a spark from the traffic light ignited the gasoline, causing a massive blast. The deafening roar was instantly followed by a bright-orange light and fiery winds. The orange flames and white smoke began spreading. 

“Run!” demanded Kunikida as he dashed off with Kyouka in tow. Recoiling from the blast, Atsushi quickly followed them. 

A grimy duct curled up the wall and over their heads in the narrow alleyway. The dusty air was stagnant, and there was hardly any light. It was a very gloomy, unwelcoming place. They noisily dashed across the metal floor in order to reach the side door in the back of the alley. Kunikida had Kyouka and Atsushi go first while he kept guard. 

“Kunikida, hurry!” urged Atsushi. After all three of them made it inside, they began lowering the steel-bar gate. The passageway was far too narrow for the beast to fit, and the gate’s metal bars were too strong for any human to break through. Surely the beast wouldn’t be able to catch up with them easily now. Atsushi, probably relieved after hearing the gate click closed, suddenly noticed that Kunikida, who was running behind him, had lost his balance. 

“Kunikida!” 

He was probably in so much pain that it was hard to even stand. Atsushi immediately ran over and crouched down to meet his eye. 

“…” Kyouka, however, ran ahead without saying a word. She appeared to have noticed something. 

“Kyouka?” 

Atsushi couldn’t fathom why she would go on ahead alone, nor did he have any idea what she was thinking. He considered going after her, but he heard Kunikida painfully moan and stopped. She knew what she was doing. Besides, Atsushi trusted her. He knew she would be okay. He was more worried about Kunikida right now. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” 

It was bizarre to see Kunikida, one of the most gifted members in the agency, injured so severely. Exhausted, Kunikida looked up at Atsushi. 

“My skill got me…” 

What? 

Atsushi’s eyes bulged. He couldn’t immediately process what he just heard. “Your skill…did that to you?” he whispered, his voice cracking. 

All of a sudden, the sealed door behind Kunikida burst to pieces. When Atsushi saw the gleam of a blade, he realized a sword had sliced through the gate. 

“…!” 

“Kunikida!” gasped Atsushi—not because of what happened to the metal door, which they thought would protect them from any intruder, but because he saw a familiar face on the other side. 

…Demon Snow. 

It was the masked swordswoman with black hair and dressed in a white kimono. Kyouka’s skill was attacking them, and on its forehead was a strange red jewel. Atsushi didn’t even have time to scream. Right as Demon Snow appeared, he heard a car slamming on the brakes. When Atsushi looked over, he noticed the last gate up ahead was already open, and there was a car on the other side. A young girl was in the driver’s seat, and the door to the passenger side was open. 

“Get in!” yelled Kyouka from the driver’s seat. 

“Atsushi, run!!” screamed Kunikida. There wasn’t going to be a second chance. 

“…!” 

Atsushi reflexively sprinted forward. Kunikida then fired a few more shots at Demon Snow to cover him. Bullets echoed throughout the alley along with the sound of Demon Snow cutting them down. There were so many things to worry about, but Atsushi focused everything he had on running, and he jumped into the car with Kunikida. The instant they shut the car door, Kyouka took off. 

And just like that, they sped into the fog at the mercy of the engine. After they disappeared into the distance, Demon Snow merely stared silently in their direction as the red crystal on her forehead glowed eerily. 

2—4 

A single car sped wildly down the streets that night in the empty city frozen in time. Every time they turned a corner, the car would let out an ear-piercing screech and violently shake. Maybe it was because they were pushing the car’s speed to the limit. Be that as it may, Kyouka didn’t slow down for even a second. Sitting in the passenger seat was Kunikida, applying pressure to the wound on his left side. 

“Kunikida,” started Atsushi from the back seat, “you said you figured out the mystery behind the serial suicides, right?” 

“Those skill users didn’t commit suicide,” answered Kunikida with a suppressed tone. “They were killed by their own skills.” 

“…” 

“Killed by their own skills.” It was so hard to believe that it left Atsushi and Kyouka speechless, but they couldn’t deny it. After all, they had just seen Demon Snow a few moments ago. Not only that…the large, ferocious beast that attacked them earlier… 

Atsushi decided not to think about it, wanting to believe it wasn’t possible. 

…Was that the tiger? Atsushi wondered. Is the tiger trying to kill me? 

After all, Atsushi hadn’t been able to use Beast Beneath the Moonlight earlier. Did the tiger somehow separate itself from Atsushi without his knowing? Was that even possible? In the midst of the deep silence, Kunikida ordered, “Let’s head to the agency for now.” 

There was not a single soul inside the redbrick building enshrouded by fog. The Armed Detective Agency was in a terrible state. 

“What the…? What happened here?” 

Lockers were crushed, furniture and lighting were knocked over, and even a desk was caved in as if someone had hit it. Documents and scraps of paper were scattered about, so there was hardly any space to walk around. Even the conference room, where everyone had gathered only a few days ago, was no different. The long table had been destroyed and knocked over, the chairs were splintered, and the monitor had fallen off the wall. It was a mess. It would be harder to find something intact. 

While the battle remains threw Atsushi in a state of bewilderment… 

“To the president’s office,” urged Kunikida. Atsushi and Kyouka nodded, then began helping their friend, who was bleeding in agony, to their destination. They saw the infirmary on the way with its curtains torn and shelves turned over. 

Was there a fight in the infirmary as well? The more they looked, the more they realized just how bad things were here. Atsushi’s heart raced. The fact that they still hadn’t run into anyone else from the agency made it all the worse. On the bright side, though, they also hadn’t found any bodies. Surely their seasoned superiors could take care of themselves. More importantly, they had to focus on what they could do now. Atsushi reassured himself as they rushed to the president’s office. As expected, documents and collapsed furniture were scattered about just like in the other rooms. There wasn’t even a hint of the office’s usual tranquility. 

Kunikida suddenly shook Atsushi and Kyouka off him and rushed toward the back of the room where he relentlessly kicked the president’s desk out of the way. The thick, mahogany table flipped over. 

“Kunikida?!” cried Atsushi in utter astonishment. Kunikida then pulled his detective ID card out of his breast pocket and stuck it into the floor. Upon closer inspection, Atsushi noticed a slot disguised as a grout line between two tiles. When Kunikida slid his card down the slot, it lit up and started making a soft, mechanical noise until the tile completely moved out of the way. Underneath the floor was a complicated-looking piece of electronic equipment. Atsushi had no idea this even existed. Kunikida wasted no time in scanning his palm against the device. 

“What is that?” Atsushi asked curiously. 

But before Kunikida even responded, a loud noise echoed in the room, and a hidden LCD panel emerged from the wall. Black-and-white static appeared on the highly sophisticated mechanism, and a voice could be heard amid the noise. 

“…It looks like it’s going to connect.” 

The static on the display was struggling to take the form of a person. It appeared Kunikida was trying to contact someone. The voice was coming from the other side of the monitor. 

“Try to keep this level steady. It appears they won’t be able to jam our signal for the time being… Can you hear me?” It sounded as if that last sentence was directed toward this side of the screen. “Is that you, Mr. Fukuzawa?” 

“It’s me, Kunikida,” replied Kunikida to the scrambled screen. Perhaps the connection was bad. “I currently don’t know the president’s whereabouts. I am speaking with the Special Division for Unusual Powers, correct?” 

Special Division for Unusual Powers? Atsushi stared at the screen, surprised by what he heard Kunikida say. The connection must have finally stabilized, as the static disappeared to reveal a scholarly-looking young man wearing glasses. 

“Yes, this is Ango Sakaguchi of the Special Division for Unusual Powers.” Without even pausing, he continued, “Kunikida, could you tell me your current situation?” 

“I’m here with Atsushi Nakajima and Kyouka Izumi. The rest of the agency’s staff are currently missing.” 

“I see…,” replied Ango in a somewhat dismal tone. “Our connection isn’t stable, so I’ll be brief.” The only light in the president’s dark office came from the glow of the monitor. “The fog phenomenon has appeared in Yokohama. However, no records exist of one this large in scale.” 

The screen suddenly switched to what appeared to be a satellite view of Japan. The monitor gradually zoomed in on the image until it was just a close-up of Kanagawa Prefecture. There was a white fog enveloping the eastern side of the prefecture—Yokohama. Ango’s voice continued in the background: 

“The fog has stopped spreading, but just about all of Yokohama is engulfed. The city is currently disconnected from the outside world. Nearly all of Yokohama’s inhabitants have gone missing or disappeared. It appears that only skill users are still present, but they—including you—are in grave danger.” 

The screen switched back to Ango’s face. 

“That corroborates what we’ve seen here,” Kunikida confirmed, his expression stern. “Skills are splitting from their owners and attempting to kill them here as well.” 

Meanwhile, as Atsushi observed Kunikida and Ango’s exchange, violent battles were taking place all throughout Yokohama. On top of a strange, oval-shaped pedestrian bridge were two identical teenage boys facing each other. One was a shadow who was spinning a signpost with such force that it produced a small gale. It was a red stop sign, but it was currently proving to be rather ineffective. 

With no means to defend himself, the other freckled teenager, Kenji Miyazawa, jumped off the pedestrian bridge. Fortunately for him, the bridge wasn’t too high from the ground, and there were many cars still frozen at the intersection. He landed on top of a car roof, then glared at the shadowy figure who looked just like him as it easily twirled a signpost that weighed several hundred pounds. It was Kenji’s skill, Undefeated by the Rain, having split from his body. The skill faced its master with the intent to kill. A red crystal twinkled on its forehead. 

Meanwhile, a white mist blocked Junichiro Tanizaki’s vision. He cautiously observed his surroundings, but while he was distracted by the illusion, ten delicate fingers wrapped themselves around his neck. The illusion disappeared, revealing a lush green plaza with a fountain and monument. Tanizaki’s face twisted in pain as his body was slowly lifted off the ground. The shadowy figure strangling him from behind shared his face. It was his skill, Light Snow, with a red crystal on its forehead. Light Snow could produce snowfall and project illusions on said snow, which Tanizaki’s opponent used perfectly. 

Crossing blades over the stone pavement in the plaza were Yukichi Fukuzawa and his skill, All Men Are Equal, a peculiar ability that allowed him to suppress and control his subordinates’ skills. Therefore, it did not have any special powers like Kunikida’s, Kenji’s, or Tanizaki’s. Nevertheless, the separated skill was still a mirror image of its owner. In other words, it possessed the same skill set as the man once known as the Silver Wolf. The two of them engaged in a fierce clash under the backdrop of a beautifully symmetrical granite colonnade, shaking the row of gingko trees and scraping the stone pavement with every blow they exchanged. The skill, which shared Fukuzawa’s form, quickly glided over the ground to create some distance between them. Nevertheless, when it turned back around, it had a red crystal on its forehead just like the other skills. Fukuzawa turned his sword at his opponent once more. The area creaked, and then there was silence. The battle between the Silver Wolves continued at a pace beyond what the average person’s eye could keep up with. 

Akiko Yosano was facing her own skill, Thou Shalt Not Die, which allowed the user to heal external wounds. She swung her trusted hatchet at the woman who looked just like her, and with the help of centrifugal force, the weighty blade sliced off its right arm. The appendage flew into the air before dropping to the ground, but the female figure with a glowing red crystal on its forehead didn’t panic. It swiftly leaped back, picked up its arm, and pressed it against its severed limb. There was a bright flash of light as its right arm reconnected to its body. The skill had managed all this in a mere few seconds. The shadowy figure then taunted Yosano with its newly attached arm, causing Yosano’s lips to curl into a sneer. 

“Yep. This is gonna be tricky,” she quietly muttered. The battle seemed like it would never end. Defeat the skill and win or simply be killed—or wait until the cause had been dealt with. 

“Fortunately, we’ve located the skill user behind this phenomenon.” Ango spoke concisely from the other side of the screen on the Armed Detective Agency’s wall. The screen then cut to the same satellite photograph of Yokohama from a few moments ago. A red dot was glowing in the center of the fog. “He’s in an abandoned high-rise building known as Skull Fortress, located in the middle of the Yokohama Settlement.” 

An eerie jet-black tower appeared on the screen as Ango continued. Something about its numerous intricately carved spires was extremely sinister. With no other tall buildings in its vicinity, it stood alone as if it had scared them all away. 

Staring at the screen, Kunikida asked, “So is Tatsuhiko Shibusawa really the one behind this?” 

“…!” 

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. 

Atsushi subtly reacted to the name he remembered hearing during their earlier meeting. 

What…? 

The name weighed heavily on Atsushi’s mind for reasons that even he did not understand. 

“…” 

He suddenly visualized a door that he had seen somewhere before. It was a sturdy-looking white door, majestic and divine. 

But that door must never be opened. I must never remember what happened. 

Atsushi stopped thinking about it and focused on Ango’s voice, oblivious to the fact that Kyouka was looking at him with concern. 

Ango continued, “…I have an important task for your agency.” The screen was no longer showing the fortress but Ango himself. “I need you to eliminate Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, the man behind this, by any means necessary.” 

Kyouka narrowed her eyes. “…” She then nodded with a sharp gaze as if she had just figured something out. 

“Additionally…,” continued Ango indifferently, “Dazai appears to be with him.” 

“Dazai’s in the fortress?” said Kunikida. His eyebrow twitched, perhaps out of fear that something bad had happened. The light of the monitor glinted off his glasses. Curious as to why Dazai was in the fortress, Atsushi suddenly chimed in, “Do you mean he was captured?” 

This was Dazai, after all. It was hard to imagine the enemy got the better of him, but the situation was still worrying. Panic crossed Ango’s face for the first time when he heard Atsushi’s question. His reply was impatient: 

“Yokohama will be done for at this rate! You are our only hope—” 

Bzzzzzz. 

Ango’s voice was cut off and followed by loud static. The screen had returned to a jumbled sandstorm of black and white. Right as Atsushi began to lean forward, an explosion suddenly echoed, and the building shook. 

“It’s here…” Kunikida knit his brow. What he experienced in the last hour made it immediately clear to him what was happening: The noise and shaking were caused by a grenade hitting the Armed Detective Agency. The enemy was most likely a tall man wearing glasses with a red crystal on its forehead and holding a notebook that possessed the power to materialize whatever was written in it. It was Kunikida’s skill, The Matchless Poet. 

This was the same enemy who had injured Kunikida before he ran into Kyouka and Atsushi. He had a good idea how his skill was going to attack, seeing as it was a part of him once. He also knew that, unlike his notebook, the phantom’s notebook had the word Compromise written on the cover. A copy of himself that didn’t follow ideals but made compromises was an abomination to Kunikida. That was why he suggested, “You two go on ahead. I’ll take care of him.” 

“But, Kunikida…” Atsushi followed after Kunikida as he walked away. “There’s no way you can win against your own skill…” 

“It’s not a matter of winning.” Kunikida paused. “What matters is whether you should fight.” 

“…!” 

Atsushi stopped in his tracks and lowered his gaze. Kunikida then firmly stated, “I will prevail against myself…just like I always have.” And with that declaration, he knocked on the wall next to Fukuzawa’s hanging scroll that had HEAVEN DOES NOT CREATE ONE MAN ABOVE ANOTHER written on it. The scroll then shook before a hidden shelf swiftly descended from the ceiling. Lying on the shelves were several firearms. 

“What are these…?” muttered Atsushi in bewilderment as he looked at the weapons. 

“We are an armed detective agency, you know,” Kunikida replied confidently. After picking up a handgun and a machine gun, he skillfully loaded them. There was a hard, metallic clink. 

“Take these.” 

He handed Atsushi and Kyouka each a gun, but Kyouka insisted right away that she didn’t need it, leaving only Atsushi with a firearm. He couldn’t hide his reluctance about holding the cold, heavy weapon. While rummaging for a weapon of his own, Kunikida revealed, “My skill can’t create a weapon bigger than its notebook.” He grabbed a weapon as if he had made up his mind. “Use the back door to escape while I distract it.” 

Kunikida had chosen a Remington M870 pump-action shotgun, which was over three feet long. He loaded it up, then pulled back on the fore-end so he would be ready to shoot at any given moment. The shotgun gave an imposing click. 

“Hurry!” 

“…!” 

Atsushi and Kyouka sprinted out of the room, urged on by Kunikida’s shout. 

Around the time Atsushi and Kyouka were escaping the Armed Detective Agency, Ango Sakaguchi was clenching his fist. The room was dark. Numerous people wearing suits faced the countless ever-changing monitors and worked at their desks. Hurried voices mixed with the sound of busy keyboards. 

This was the Special Division for Unusual Powers. 

Ango stood up from the command chair. The signal had just cut off during his conversation with Doppo Kunikida at the Armed Detective Agency. There was no chance they would be able to reconnect the call, so he gave up and asked one of his agents, “Have you pinpointed skill user A5158’s location yet?” 

“I have,” they replied. 

“Then could you give him a message?” 

“What would you like me to tell him?” 

Ango quietly stared at the image of fog covering Yokohama. They were out of time. With a hint of desperation in his voice, he responded: 

“…‘It’s time to pay Professor Glasses back.’” 

After getting back in the car, Atsushi and Kyouka began driving off when they heard explosions in the background. 

“Kunikida!” 

Atsushi looked back from the passenger seat and saw smoke rising from the brick building. It was coming from the fourth floor where the agency was located. The darkness of night glittered with flames. Was Kunikida all right? Regardless, they couldn’t head back to the agency. They just had to believe in him. 

“…I hope Kunikida’s okay,” Atsushi muttered weakly. Kyouka, on the other hand, was not even fazed by the explosions as she drove. 

“What we need to focus on now is eliminating Tatsuhiko Shibusawa,” she said. 

“Tatsuhiko Shibusawa…,” repeated Atsushi in a daze. There was something about Shibusawa that had been strangely bothering him ever since he first heard his name in the conference room. “I wonder what he’s like…” 

Kyouka shot Atsushi a quizzical glance before Atsushi continued, “You say we need to eliminate him, but…it doesn’t matter how evil he is. There’s no reason to kill him. We just need to capture him.” 

Atsushi racked his brain for a solution in an attempt to escape from his own fears. Eventually, the image of a sand-colored overcoat popped into his head, reminding him of the man he owed everything to. 

“That’s it!” Atsushi looked to Kyouka. “I’ll bet Dazai will know what to do. We just need to save him.” 

He mumbled to himself in an act of desperation, trying to convince himself of those words: 

“Yeah. Dazai has to know what to do. Once we save him, he’ll…” 

“…” 

But Kyouka didn’t respond, and Atsushi never even noticed the ice-cold look in her eyes.