Chapter 74
"Ah...yes..." Startled and stunned, Asuka responded subconsciously.
Compared to the investigators who were intimidated by Fyodor's sudden change in coldness, Ayatsuji Yukito's reaction was much calmer.
It wasn't just the sudden surge of danger emanating from Fyodor, but also his utterly different phrasing and pronunciation compared to Ye Yihe, that made Ayatsuji Yukito instantly realize what had happened to him.
"Oh?" Ayatsuji Yukito tapped the thin pipe on his other forearm, letting some ash fall, then took out a new one from the tobacco box to replace it. "This is more interesting than a murder case."
"What's your name?" he asked Fyodor.
Generally speaking, the two personalities in a dual personality do not share names. When the second personality separates out, it will also give itself a new name that better distinguishes the two personalities.
By asking this question, Ayatsuji Yukito essentially guessed that Fyodor had a dual personality.
This also means that the crisis of "monsters killing people" has been temporarily averted. Ayatsuji Yukito's heart, which had just started beating, immediately calmed down, and he thought lazily.
Such cases of dual personality are not common. It's quite interesting that this method of switching personalities could be used to evade the culprit's superpower.
But judging from what this new personality said, he knew about the emergency that had just occurred and took the initiative to take the risk... It's even more interesting that personalities can share consciousness and coexist peacefully.
Ayatsuji Yukito, with a pipe in his mouth, waited for him to introduce himself.
"Fyodor".
Fyodor spoke slowly, his tone completely different from when Ye Yihe introduced him—as he uttered the name, it was as if the shadows flowing across the ground transformed into a dense, dark aura of death, spelling out the string of symbols into a distorted "demon".
"The same name."
Ayatsuji Yukito chuckled, but his tone lacked enthusiasm, as if he didn't take the extreme danger of Fyodor's new personality seriously at all.
"Since the assassin failed to kill you, it means he won't show up again. Let's leave it at that for today, Fyodor."
"I agree with your point of view."
The terrifying aura from before had faded, and Fyodor replied expressionlessly.
Only Asukai looked completely bewildered.
"Eh...ah...is it over here?" he asked blankly.
“Yes,” Ayatsuji Yukito replied lazily. “Today’s investigation is suspended. We’ll reschedule for another time.”
Asukai looked at Fyodor, "But..."
A look of regret mixed with confusion gradually appeared on his face, and he immediately bowed and apologized to Fyodor.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Fyodor! Because I wasn't affected, I really didn't know that the glowing spot was the enemy's ability...!"
"It's alright, obviously the murderer's supernatural abilities can be targeted at specific targets."
Fyodor spoke softly, a chilling smile even appearing on his lips—silent, yet brimming with undisguised contempt.
"But if you say that this is a trick that the enemy came up with after much thought, then this trick is so naive that it makes me feel sorry for it."
Fyodor spoke these words while looking directly at Asukai.
With those cold, almost inhuman, crimson eyes, carrying an extremely heavy sense of mental pressure, Asukai almost felt like he couldn't breathe.
Even though he was far less intelligent than Ayatsuji Yukito, and didn't understand what was going on, he could guess that Fyodor—or rather, the body that was originally controlled by Ye Yihe—was in an extremely abnormal state and was not to be trifled with at all.
Moreover, as an excellent investigator, he was not slow-witted.
"And I failed to see through his scheme, I am truly ashamed..."
"Please stop."
Fyodor tilted his head slightly, and some of his soft, fine black hair fell in front of his eyes, hiding the expression on half of his face in a faint shadow, and even his gaze seemed to be looking down from the depths of the abyss with coldness.
"I'd rather hear your apology here than hear the murderer prove to me that he wasn't just a laughingstock."
“Not a…corpse?” Asukai repeated with difficulty, his throat tightening.
"Yes. After all,"
Fyodor tapped his temple with his fingertips, his mocking expression a half-smile—this made Fyodor's aggression, even though he was still speaking politely, so strong that it sent a shiver down the other's spine.
"Only the dead can't think. Investigator Asukai."
“…”
The search of the shipyard ended as Asukai seemed unsure of how to react.
Asukai was unusually silent the whole way back with Ayatsuji Yukito and Fyodor, almost to the point of being withdrawn.
Previously, he only knew that Ayatsuji-sensei had a sharp tongue and that one needed strong mental resilience to talk to her.
Now, unexpectedly, Mr. Fyodor's mouth was just as sharp, and his imposing manner was so terrifying that it almost made his legs go weak.
Did he discover what he had done...?
Asukai was racking her brains.
But no matter how he went over it in his mind, he couldn't find any flaws in his plan—all the arrangements were in accordance with his wishes, fitting together perfectly like gears.
That person should have died. Even if he suppressed the other party according to Ayatsuji-sensei's orders, the continued effects of the [Pseudo-Fall] ability would still plunge him into a mental quagmire, leading him to frantically seek opportunities to commit suicide.
However, in just a short while, he actually resolved this life-threatening crisis!
Could it be a split personality... Damn it, how can it use such a cunning method to evade psychic attacks!?
Asukai was secretly so angry that his temples throbbed.
There was no other way. After seeing Ayatsuji off, I would find an opportunity to report the result to him... Including the conversation and other details, he had asked that if the attack failed, I must tell him the whole process in detail.
This failure is insignificant. As long as he learns the target's identity, killing him will be a piece of cake—no matter how much the other party talks, it's just bluffing.
When the police car stopped in front of the detective agency, Ayatsuji Yukito got out first. Asukai was about to say goodbye to him through the passenger window when she saw her teacher ask Fyodor in advance.
"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" Ayatsuji Yukito asked. "There are also many special doll collections in the basement that you can admire together."
“With pleasure,” Fyodor replied with a smile.
Asukai's words caught in her throat. "Wait, teacher... visitors need to be reported and approved separately!"
“You said that only visitors need approval,” Ayatsuji Yukito said calmly. “Fyodor is my partner in this project, and also a fellow enthusiast of dolls. Is there any problem with inviting him in for a cup of tea?”
"Uh..." Asukai was speechless after being refuted.
"If you understand, hurry back. There's no tea prepared for you."
Even with numerous agents from various supernatural agencies openly and covertly monitoring the agency, and even possessing the power to shoot Ayatsuji Yukito at any moment, he still exuded a formidable aura that rivaled that of others, and his eyes behind his brown sunglasses appeared extremely sharp.
"..."
Asukai was unable to stop this from happening.
He was merely Ayatsuji Yukito's companion during the investigation, not a 24/7 surveillance agent like a secret agent.
Therefore, if Ayatsuji Yukito declares the investigation over and asks him to leave the agency, he has no reason to refuse.
“Mr. Fyodor, please come in.”
Thank you for your invitation.
Seeing Fyodor follow Ayatsuji Yukito into the heavily guarded office, Asukai could only turn back home in frustration.
It's alright, Fyodor can't stay in his teacher's office forever.
He will soon show that kid who the real victor is, [that] loyal and reliable "demon servant".
…………
Meanwhile, after closing the door to the detective agency, Ayatsuji Yukito asked Fyodor directly, "How is he?"
The "he" in this context refers to Ye Yihe.
"He's alright. I forced him into a deep sleep."
Fyodor's tone was much milder when he said this, no longer as aggressive as when he first appeared at the shipyard.
In other words, he did it on purpose.
"Once we deal with the culprit behind the superpowers, everything will be fine."
Fyodor pressed his fingertips lightly against his heart. The gesture, when made by him, did not reveal any tension or worry, but rather seemed more like a casual declaration.
A reassuring promise.
Even if the person in question is curled up in bed, fast asleep with a furrowed brow, unable to hear it.
"You noticed?" A smile appeared on Ayatsuji Yukito's lips.
To reiterate, he didn't believe human life possessed any special value. He treated all people, good and evil, equally, without distinction of rank.
Even though he realized that Fyodor's behavior and character were far from that of a good person, and that he was even less of a villain than the average person, Ayatsuji Yukito didn't seem to care.
All he has to do is deduce and then resolve the request.
Now, an even more urgent mystery awaits him to solve.
Fyodor grunted in agreement and asked succinctly, "The investigator's file?"
"It takes a little effort, but it's not troublesome."
Ayatsuji Yukito actually went to the kitchen and made them two cups of tea. He handed one of them to Fyodor, saying, "Let's focus on the death of his partner."
Despite being under strict surveillance and having to report his every move, he was able to say with the same nonchalant attitude that "investigating a military or police investigator is not troublesome."
"To force Asukai to betray the regime, the murderer most likely made personal contact with him." Fyodor nodded slightly in thanks.
Even though the negative emotions that surged up in his heart had not yet completely subsided, he remained elegant in his demeanor and movements, as if he was suppressing the darker side of himself from emerging into his mind and focusing his attention on how to lure the murderer into a trap.
In the recent attack on the shipyard, Asukai had no idea how obvious his tiny flaws were to these two.
The direction in which the sun shines?
It was late afternoon, near dusk, and the sun was in the southwest.
Where is the dock located?
Sitting facing west.
So, someone who has lived in a coastal city for a long time and is used to the sea will usually not look directly at the glaring sunlight and then make a point of observing the reflection on the distant sea surface and point out the abnormality at a very fast speed.
It could even be explained from a psychological perspective.
When an experienced military police investigator whose partner had recently been killed by the enemy observes an unusual reflection, shouldn't his first reaction be to instinctively assume it's from an enemy attack?
Does he think that reflection is a message in a bottle, and then happily swim over to pick it up and open it?
Moreover, his tone was less one of alertness and more one of intrigue that drew people's attention in that direction.
Those words could only fool Ye Yihe, who had no suspicion of Asukai. Fyodor immediately noticed something was wrong, but it was too late to warn him.
However, once the culprit who exerted the superpower dies, the superpower will naturally dissipate.
Fyodor thought coldly.
In that case, just kill that person.
Perhaps Dazai Osamu possessed the ability to nullify abilities, but when facing this type of mental ability, he had to touch the medium through which the ability was used, or touch the ability user himself, for the nullification ability to activate.
It is obvious that there is no obvious medium for the exercise of supernatural powers.
He also had no intention of letting the other party off the hook.
"It was a good idea of you deliberately provoking the mastermind behind the scenes with your words,"
Ayatsuji Yukito picked up his teacup and took a small sip, his words revealing an extremely thorough understanding of Fyodor's scheme.
Therefore, he didn't say anything at the shipyard, leading Asukai to mistakenly believe that he hadn't been exposed yet.
He waited until the people were brought to the office door before using the invitation to Fyodor to catch Asukai off guard, leaving him no time to react and forcing him to watch them disappear from his sight.
"Analyzing the cases that have already been committed, one thing we can be sure of is that the perpetrators were arrogant and conceited, with extremely strong self-esteem and competitiveness."
"This is a counter-strategy targeting the killer's psychology; the methods don't need to be sophisticated, just effective," Ayatsuji Yukito said slowly.
Even if the other party knows it might be a trap, they still can't suppress their strong competitive spirit.
“The killer will definitely orchestrate your murder personally. If the investigation into the death of Asukai’s partner can truly uncover the killer’s real identity, I suspect he might even be the one to kill you, and possibly me as well.”
"There won't be that opportunity."
Fyodor's voice was flat.
"That's true."
Ayatsuji Yukito crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
Without the delicate and beautiful dolls to soften his aura, the icy chill in Ayatsuji Yukito's eyes slowly spread with each word he uttered, until even his words exuded a deathly pale indifference.
"After all, don't forget the effects of my power. He will die, just like all the murderers who have died because of my power in the past."
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