Chapter 19 Head Balloons (12) Alternating Red and Blue Lights...

Red and blue lights flickered below Sato Yota's house. Kunikida Doppo explained the situation in detail to the arriving police and handed over the video footage taken by Takeichi. However, he vaguely described the human-headed balloon incident as a supernatural ability and did not mention the ghost story, as revealing it now would cause panic. The Yokohama police nodded, indicating their understanding as they were already used to this.

"These are the video and audio recordings we captured at the scene." Kunikida Doppo handed the camera from Takeichi's hand to the police officer: "Sato Yota has confessed to his crimes of participating in school bullying, extortion, and indirectly causing Nishimura Yuko's suicide."

The officer in charge, holding the evidence, said gravely, "We will immediately make copies of this evidence and submit them to the prosecutor's office. Considering the case involves minors and the seriousness of the circumstances, we will expedite the prosecution process."

Dazai Osamu leaned against the wall, his iris-colored eyes appearing obscure under the flashing police lights: "However, Sato Yota's testimony alone is probably not enough to convict Moriyama Masao. We need more direct evidence, preferably physical evidence."

Just then, an emergency message popped up in front of Zhu Yi's eyes, prompting him to set up a security alert for ghost stories.

[Urgent Alert: An unusually high energy level has been detected at the Moriyama residence. The spiritual fluctuations have reached a dangerous level, and it is speculated that Yuko Nishimura's resentment is fully materializing, potentially posing a threat to the surrounding community. Immediate intervention is recommended.]

Takeichi's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly called out to Dazai Osamu and Kunikida Doppo, "Dazai-san! Kunikida-san!"

"Something might have happened to Masao Moriyama! I had a strong feeling of foreboding just now." His voice was filled with genuine anxiety, as if he really thought his premonition was coming true.

Dazai Osamu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Takeichi, his gaze seemingly piercing through appearances to see the essence of things. Takeichi felt a chill run down his spine under the other's gaze, but Dazai quickly regained his usual laziness: "Takeichi-kun's intuition is always very accurate. We'd better hurry over and see, perhaps Miss Nishimura is already impatient to personally 'judge' her."

Before Takeichi could even process what the other party had discovered, he heard Kunikida Doppo nod and say to the police, "Please send a team with us to Moriyama Masao's residence. There might be an emergency. The suspect's personal safety may be threatened."

Huh? Sending a small team? Zhu Yi never expected things to turn out this way.

The police officer said something into the intercom and then agreed to Kunikida Doppo's suggestion.

So Takeichi had no choice but to get into the police car with Dazai Osamu and the others. When the three police cars and their car arrived in Shinsencho, the area around the mansion was shrouded in an eerie silence. This usually quiet upscale residential area was now filled with a suffocating sense of oppression.

The streetlights flickered on and off, like the gasps of a dying man, and a cloying, nauseating stench filled the air.

"What...what is that?!" A young police officer pointed at the sky above the mansion, his voice trembling involuntarily.

Above Masao Moriyama's mansion, ten balloons depicting Yuko Nishimura's head floated, forming a huge and perfect circle, slowly rotating as if performing some kind of eerie ritual.

Each balloon has a different expression.

Some eyes were twisted with anger, some were filled with grief, and some were hollow with despair, but all the glasses were fixed on the mansion below, as if they were waiting for something.

“Something’s not right.” Takeichi’s expression turned serious. “Miss Nishimura’s resentment is growing rapidly. She may have lost her mind because of anger.”

“But why?” Zhu Yi frowned.

Suddenly, a loud crash of shattering glass and a man's agonizing scream echoed from the mansion.

Kunikida Doppo rushed in without hesitation, and the scene before them stunned everyone. Moriyama Masao was slumped in the center of the living room, his expensive suit crumpled and trembling, surrounded by torn photos and fragments of documents.

Dazai Osamu and Takeichi also rushed in, and their expressions were not good when they saw the scene around them.

Three larger, more piercing balloons of human heads than he had seen before surrounded him, their eyes flowing with a dark red, viscous liquid, like tears of blood.

"Help me! They're going to kill me!" When Masao Moriyama saw the people approaching, he scrambled toward the police for shelter, but was suddenly pulled back by an invisible force and fell to the floor in a sorry state.

A human-shaped balloon slowly turned towards the intruders, its dark eyes staring at them. The girl's voice resounded directly in everyone's minds, a voice filled with deep pain and anger.

Why are you stopping me? He deserved it. He ruined my life, he ruined so many other people's lives!

It ruined so many people's lives?

Kunikida Doppo seemed to be close to finding a piece of the truth, but he stepped forward, trying to remain calm and professional: "Ms. Nishimura, we understand your pain and anger. But justice should be served through the law and due process, not through vigilante justice. Please trust us, we will ensure he receives the punishment he deserves."

"【The law?】" The other person's voice was filled with sharp sarcasm: "【Has the law ever protected me? Where was the law when I was bullied at school? Where was the law when I was assaulted after asking the principal for help? Where was the law when I jumped into the icy river?!】"

Each question was accompanied by an increase in the amount of blood flowing from the eyes of the human-shaped balloon, the temperature in the entire room plummeted, and several police officers even exchanged uneasy glances, some of them already quietly gripping their service pistols.

Dazai Osamu gently pushed Kunikida Doppo aside, and stepped forward under Kunikida's questioning gaze. His voice was unusually calm yet carried a strange penetrating power: "Miss Nishimura, you are right. The principal has let you down, the world has let you down. But now we have the opportunity to put everything back on track. We have arrested Sato Yota, and he will pay the price for his actions. He needs to go through a legal trial so that the whole truth can be revealed and all those involved can be punished as they deserve."

He raised his camera: "Please give us a chance to let the truth come to light. Let your story warn more people and prevent similar tragedies from happening again. Isn't that what you truly want?"

Yuko Nishimura's head-shaped balloons stopped spinning, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing this, Masao Moriyama seized the opportunity to shout, "They're lying to you! They just want to protect me! Because I'm the former principal, I have status and connections, they'll never really punish me! Just like back then, it all ended up being forgotten."

These words seemed to have thoroughly enraged Yuko Nishimura. All the balloons turned towards Masao Moriyama simultaneously, the pools of blood in their eyes turning bright red. The largest balloon, shaped like a human head, suddenly lunged at Moriyama, stopping just centimeters away from him, its bloodshot eyes almost touching his face.

"[You're lying! You've been lying all along!]" The voice screamed in everyone's minds, sending chills down their spines: "[You not only hurt me, but you hurt others! Those girls, those children whose rights you violated! Those files, those photos! Everything you recorded was used as a tool to blackmail others.]"

"Files?" Kunikida Doppo keenly caught the key phrase: "What files?"

Dazai Osamu suddenly understood something and turned to Moriyama Masao, whose face was ashen: "You kept evidence. You recorded those transactions?" His tone turned completely cold, and his iris-colored eyes were now fixed on Moriyama Masao, as if he wanted to dissect him from the inside out and see how many sordid secrets were hidden under that ashen-faced exterior.

The air seemed to freeze, even breathing carried a heavy sense of oppression, making Moriyama Masao almost collapse to the ground. His lips trembled, unable to speak, and he curled up into a ball, deliberately avoiding Dazai Osamu's gaze.

The largest balloon, shaped like a human head, slowly retreated. Its shape began to change, gradually coalescing into the image of a semi-transparent girl, the image of Yuko Nishimura before her death. Her delicate face carried a heaviness and sorrow that should not be present at her age.

She pointed towards the study, her voice becoming calm, but her demeanor evoked a deep sadness in everyone present.

"Under the floor, in the secret compartment behind the third bookshelf... all the evidence is there. Everything he recorded, thinking he could use it to control those people. Including the photos, transaction records, remittance slips—all the dirty secrets."

The police rushed into the study and quickly found the secret compartment following the directions.

When the hidden compartment was opened, even the experienced police officer couldn't help but gasp. It was filled with file folders, photos, several hard drives, and a thick ledger.

“My God…” A police officer turned pale after reviewing the file: “This is not only a record of sexual assault, but also a huge gray network. It involves many government officials, business people, and even several high-ranking police officers.”

Kunikida Doppo glared angrily at Moriyama Masao, his voice barely containing his rage: "You not only hurt those children, but you also profited from their suffering. How can scum like you be fit to be an educator?!"

Masao Moriyama knew he was completely finished, but he still tried to justify himself: "I just... I just kept a little insurance. In this world, you always have to have some means to protect yourself..."

Yuko Nishimura floated in front of Masao Moriyama, gazing at him one last time. Her voice was eerily calm, tinged with a hint of mockery: "Now everyone knows your true colors. Your power, your wealth… all will vanish." A deep sorrow lingered in her voice: "This is the result I wanted—to let light shine into every dark corner… to protect the innocent from harm."

After she finished speaking, her image began to dissipate, and the balloons above the mansion became transparent one after another.

Before she completely disappeared, she turned to Kunikida Doppo and Dazai Osamu, bowed slightly, and at that moment, a relieved smile appeared on her face: "[Thank you, finally... I can get some rest...]"

As the last balloon disappeared, the room returned to normal temperature, and the cloying, putrid smell gradually dissipated.

Masao Moriyama was handcuffed and taken away by the police. Faced with irrefutable evidence, he had no chance to defend himself and aged considerably in an instant.

As we stepped out of the mansion, the sky was already beginning to lighten, and the first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds, falling on everyone's faces.

Kunikida Doppo solemnly recorded everything in his notebook, then looked at Dazai Osamu and Takeichi, his tone somewhat complicated: "We did it. Nishimura Yuko can finally rest in peace."

Despite saying that, Kunikida Doppo had a strange premonition that things were not completely over.

Zhu Yi looked up at the sky and said softly, "But her final expression was still so sad... Even if justice is served too late, the life lost cannot be brought back."

With his hands in his pockets, Dazai Osamu spoke in a rare gentle tone: "All she can do is prevent more people from being harmed and ensure that the same tragedy never happens again."

After saying goodbye to Takeichi, Dazai Osamu, Kunikida Doppo, and others returned to the Armed Detective Agency. Tanizaki Jun'ichiro immediately greeted them with a complicated expression: "Did you see the morning news? Moriyama Masao's case has been fully exposed, and multiple media outlets are reporting on that gray network. Hmm, you guys look like you didn't sleep well."

One of them was slumped listlessly on the sofa, while the other was staring blankly in his seat, with dark circles under his eyes.

A special news report was playing on television, the anchor's tone serious: "...This case has exposed the darkest side of the education system and society. Several people involved have been arrested. Police say they owe everything to the Armed Detective Agency for their crucial assistance and the evidence they provided..."

Although the video on TV was pixelated, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki immediately recognized Kunikida Doppo and Dazai Osamu standing next to him and looked at them in surprise.

"You guys didn't sleep, you went out to solve a case?"

Kunikida Doppo watched the news with a relieved expression: "That's good. Ms. Nishimura's efforts have not been in vain. Her story will drive system reform and protect more children."

However, Dazai Osamu stared at the television screen, his brows furrowed slightly: "This matter may not be over yet."

"What do you mean?" Kunikida Doppo asked, his nerves, which had just relaxed, tensing up again.

“This matter involves too many powerful people,” Dazai Osamu explained, his eyes deepening. “Some might resort to desperate measures. We need to ensure all evidence is properly protected and backed up, otherwise…”

Just then, the Armed Detective Agency's phone rang. Jun'ichirō Tanizaki quickly answered it, his expression turning serious: "It's the Metropolitan Police Department calling. The police car transporting evidence to the prosecutor's office was attacked en route. Two officers were injured, and some evidence was stolen."

Kunikida Doppo said in disbelief, "What? The evidence was stolen while the police were escorting it?"

Dazai Osamu sighed, his face full of "I knew it" expression: "It seems I was right. Those big shots have started to move. They would rather risk attacking police cars than let the evidence be exposed."

Meanwhile, in his office at the top floor of the Port Mafia headquarters, Mori Ougai was reading the same news report, gently swirling the wine in his glass, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"Things seem to be more interesting than I thought," he muttered to himself, then pressed the contact button: "Chuuya-kun, come to my office, I have a new task for you."

A note from the author:

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