Chapter 90
When Dazai and his group arrived at the entrance of the Armed Detective Agency, they ran into Ranpo, who had brought Rimbaud with him.
Ranpo was still clutching Rimbaud's coat sleeve, muttering, "I told you I was going to save them... huh?"—his movements paused.
"Okay, okay." Rimbaud indulged Ranpo, letting him tug at his sleeve as they went out together.
And so, the two met at the door.
"Oh, you're all alright!" Ranpo was about to cheer happily when he immediately sensed something was wrong and frowned. "Where's Fyja?"
"...It's a long story."
Because he had the lowest combat strength and his superpower itself was not lethal, Dazai Osamu, who was surrounded and protected by everyone in the center, spoke softly.
You don't know until you ask, and then you find out that everyone was hiding it from him!
How can something like this be kept secret? Such a dangerous personality is secretly stirring up trouble right under his nose... and he actually said something like, "[I was begged by Fedia with his hands clasped together, so I had no choice]", humph, it's obvious that Fedia was also fooled by his other personality!
If he knew that Fedia had such a personality, he would definitely make Fedia describe every single appearance of that personality in great detail—preferably even every word and every action.
Now look what's happened; Fedia is gone, replaced by Fyodor, who wants to kill everyone.
After listening to Dazai Osamu's clear and logical narration, interspersed with occasional expressions of dissatisfaction, Ranpo stroked his chin amidst the subtle, guilty reactions of the others.
“Hmm, just as I thought,” Ranpo said thoughtfully. “That’s why Feda used that method to send me the message…”
Dazai Osamu asked warily, "What message?"
"It was the time I went to Xiaolou to eat qingtuan. I happened to be sitting next to Fei Jia, right? He was under the table making binary code gestures with his hands and sent me a message."
Ranpo recalled that he was eating qingtuan (a type of glutinous rice dumpling) when Ye Yihe poked him from under the table, drawing his attention.
"At that time, Fedia's gaze wasn't directed at me; he was conveying the message with his back almost completely to me. Hmm, that was probably to prevent Fedor from noticing his actions through visual sharing."
Because it involves silently making a series of 0s and 1s with your hands, as long as the recipient can remember the order of the codes, this method of transmitting information is both silent and visual, making it the safest and fastest way.
"Luckily, Feda chose me to deliver the message, after all, I'm the strongest detective!"
Ranpo gave himself a smug thumbs-up, "If it were the president, who doesn't know anything about computers, he'd have mosquito coil eyes by now—hmph, as expected, Feda still trusts me, this amazing detective. He has great taste!"
As Ranpo returned with a group of familiar faces, and as the club president, beaming with pride, uttered: ………………
Indeed, you're absolutely right.
"...So we also need to be wary of that Fukuchi Sakura fanatic?"
Dazai Osamu, who was visiting the agency for the first time, skillfully chose a sofa and sat down without any restraint. He even took the time to raise his hand and greet the president.
“This joke isn’t funny… Since he hasn’t gotten into trouble yet, I’m more inclined to interpret it as [he’s dangerous].” He continued, “Although I don’t know what he’s planning right now, there are obviously more pressing enemies to watch out for.”
“And what about Ayatsuji?” Odasaku began. “He suddenly lost contact with us while we were on the phone, and we don’t know what happened.”
“I suspect he was forcibly taken away on orders from high-ranking government officials in the Ministry of Justice, with the aim of using his supernatural abilities to kill us,” Dazai Osamu added.
“This point,”
The president, who had been listening in silence, suddenly spoke up, his calm words carrying a reassuring sense of strength.
"Perhaps there's no need to worry. My teacher... a certain superhuman in the core of the government, just called to inform me that [high-ranking government officials from multiple departments have been shot and killed]. Among them are Deputy Director Sakashita and Lieutenant Tonan from the Ministry of Justice."
Dazai Osamu's eyes widened in surprise, "...Who did this?"
If Oda Sakunosuke hadn't been right beside him, he would have suspected that Oda Sakunosuke was doing a good deed—how wonderful, it pleased him greatly.
"The culprit is still unclear," the president shook his head slightly, "but I think that even if, as you said, Lord Ayatsuji was forcibly taken away by the government... he is most likely dealing with this murder case right now."
As for using Ayatsuji to deal with Dazai and the others, it's probably not feasible for the time being.
“But will this mean Fyodor’s plan will be terminated?” Chuuya asked. “After all, those high-ranking officials who can control Shibusawa Tatsuhiko are important pawns in his plan, aren’t they?”
"No, I prefer the other way around."
With his legs crossed and leaning back on the sofa, Osamu Dazai flicked his index finger and looked out the window.
"It is an extremely shameful result that a high-ranking government official was killed so easily... Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, who is capable of dealing with superhumans, will be released, one hundred percent."
Outside the window, a hazy, misty fog began to spread.
…………
On an artificial island not far from Yokohama city, stands an abandoned building called the "Hailout".
Perhaps it was once used as a lighthouse to guide ships, or simply as a landmark for tourists to visit.
However, with the gradual formation of the gray area of Leibo Street, the wreckage was also abandoned. Its geographical location near the sea accelerated its corrosion and rusting. The spider webs covered with flying insects were stuck to it, and the thick dust covered everything that could be seen with the naked eye, while it floated quietly in the air.
Today, it welcomes its guests.
"The scenery here is very nice as a place to stay."
Among his long hair that was casually draped behind him, only one strand of silver-white hair was tied up in front of his left side. Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, who had beautiful red eyes, slowly opened his mouth, his voice soft and deep.
Judging solely from his handsome and gentle appearance, it would be difficult to conclude that he is a "Special Dangerous Ability User" under strict government supervision.
"Even when looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, the scenery doesn't change much... just like my mood right now, everything seems so boring and uninteresting."
There were no lights inside the wreckage, nor were there the conditions to do so; the only illumination came from the dappled light filtered through the window grilles.
When Tatsuhiko Shibusawa spoke these words, half of his face was hidden in shadow, and a sense of ethereal gloom spread to his brows and eyes, outlining a unique dark aura.
“Even so,” Fyodor said, standing beside him, “you did not refuse to use your powers.”
"yes."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's eyes reflected the entire Yokohama city, where a thin mist was already swirling, like a nightmare from the depths of a swamp gradually reaching out its tentacles.
"Gemstones, money, power—they're all meaningless and uninspiring. Even the crystals extracted from superhumans are all the same; none of them are worth my attention."
Fyodor simply smiled and did not offer any words of agreement.
"Although I'm a little curious as to why you were unaffected by my fog,"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko shifted his gaze from the floor-to-ceiling window to Fyodor.
"But right now, you have other things you want to do, my old acquaintance."
He and Fyodor had known each other for a long time. Among the hundreds of superhumans who had died, most of the intelligence on the targets was provided to him by Fyodor.
"Yes, please understand."
Fyodor bowed slightly. "And this matter will also be of help to you, Mr. Shibusawa."
Tatsuhiko Shibusawa: "Oh?"
"Within the government's oversight, besides extremely dangerous individuals like yourself who possess powerful supernatural abilities, there are also those who assist the government in erasing its own crimes."
Fyodor patiently explained, "And this assistant can also help us escape the death sentence of a certain superhuman."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko raised an eyebrow slightly. "Which ability user has managed to break through the fog's barrier and come to my [Tatsuhiko Country]?"
His special ability is called "Dragon's Edge," which can shroud the area he is in with dense fog. In the fog, ordinary people will temporarily disappear until they release their abilities; those with special abilities will have their abilities separated and will be attacked by the abilities themselves.
The superhuman who has his powers separated is just an ordinary person. Once he is killed by his own powers, his powers will crystallize and become one of Tatsuhiko Shibusawa's collections.
There is only one way to break Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's ability: shatter the blood-red crystal on the materialized ability body, and the ability user can reclaim their own ability.
But how many people can overcome their own superpowers with an ordinary human body?
Not to mention, the stronger the power of the ability itself, the more difficult it becomes to break the crystals on the ability user's body.
It is precisely because of this power that indiscriminately targets all ability users that Tatsuhiko Shibusawa was able to remain under government supervision unscathed and without being tried after being classified as a "Special Danger Ability User".
However, at this moment, Fyodor said that someone could kill him.
"He is a [murder detective] who can make a murderer die by accident."
Fyodor smiled and said, "His ability is even more special. Once he obtains evidence and the truth, no matter where you are, you will die in an accident that is like a law of cause and effect."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"I see."
Is this what they call one thing overcoming another...? Since that murder detective needs evidence to activate his superpower, then let the superpowered person who can erase crimes destroy the evidence.
"Although the fog in the [Dragon's Chamber] can cover Yokohama above ground, it cannot penetrate underground or enclosed spaces, so the ability users there will not be affected."
Fyodor said, "Just as my assistant just sent a message, he has found the superhuman who erased the crime in some underground prison."
He had long anticipated that those government officials would be killed by Gogol in a fit of rage.
Therefore, Fyodor never considered Ayatsuji Yukito as an ally, but rather as a target to be guarded against.
"I see, I understand."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko said, "Then you can go there. I will just stay here and wait for destruction."
The cloak swayed slightly with each step, and Fyodor's footsteps gradually faded into the distance as he left the two intricately carved doors, now covered in mottled rust.
Inside the vast attic, only Tatsuhiko Shibusawa remained, watching Fyodor's figure disappear completely.
His eyes were calm and indifferent. After waiting for a moment, he turned to the other side—in the corner of the room, which was filled with thick fog and was darker and deeper, there was something he was looking at.
“This place belongs to my [Land of Tatsuhiko],” Tatsuhiko Shibusawa said.
"You can hide it from others, but you can't hide it from my senses."
Under his control, the thick fog in the corner dissipated, revealing a figure who had been standing there for a long time, and... a face that was exactly the same as Fyodor's.
"I'm curious, who are you... no, or rather, what is your true identity?"
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