Not a detective

Page 108

Chizuko wasn't angry; instead, she smiled calmly: "Asakawa-kun, things like motives—revenge, money, hatred, or love—are just things added afterward to make it easier for others to understand. For a crime to become a crime, there must be a motive and reason that society recognizes; everyone must understand it."

Does the motive for killing come first, or does the motive come first and then the killing?

It's like the chicken-or-egg question.

"Anyone has motivation, and anyone can make a plan; there's nothing special about it."

Chizuko tilted her head: "But the difference between criminals and ordinary people lies in the moment [whether or not they can put it into practice]."

—If there were that one moment when you had the chance to strike, wouldn't anyone take the opportunity?

Asakawa Riku thought of himself.

What if you encounter someone you want to kill, and there's a suitable environment around you where no one will notice?

He'll probably do it; in fact, he already has.

His motive was to punish evildoers, but was this motive something that came about beforehand, or was it something that came about later and was forced into existence?

"Motives are merely a facade to gain public acceptance; so-called crimes—especially serious crimes like murder—are all sudden, convulsive acts."

Or, in a more extreme scenario, where there are no laws in this world, and murder goes unpunished.

"Everyone has a motive, and to put it extremely, everyone has planned a murder, but no one has actually carried it out."

Does anyone kill their enemy without thinking?

"Motive is just a lie. When a criminal is arrested and asked, 'Why did you kill him?', the criminal will start to think, 'Yes, why did I kill him?' At this point, the criminal is in the same position as everyone else, standing in the position of an observer. In order to explain his behavior, he needs a reason that can be accepted. That is motive."

In this situation, can hatred still be considered a motive, and is the concept of motive still necessary?

"For prisoners, motives and plans are not important; the motivation to cross that final line is very likely just something trivial."

Chizuko's smile concealed a wolf's danger: "It could very well be just a trivial matter like an argument, a misunderstanding, a moment of excitement, or even just the two of them exchanging a glance."

"I understand what you mean."

Asakawa Riku rubbed his forehead, finally understanding Chizuko's theory: "What you're trying to say is that killing is a more insane, impulsive, and rash act than dismembering. Killing is an irrational act, while dismembering is a rational one, because dismembering is mostly for better disposal of the body and usually has a clear purpose."

"Yes."

Chizuko nodded, seemingly pleased with the speed at which Asakawa Riku understood.

“But there’s still something I don’t understand.” Asakawa Riku countered, “What does all this have to do with yokai, and what about what you called ‘possession by yokai’…”

He forcefully steered the conversation back on track.

"It's very relevant. In fact, the concept of possession by monsters is derived from this."

Chizuko became slightly serious and said earnestly:

"Crime is like a passing demon that arrives suddenly and leaves just as suddenly. In this case, it was probably someone possessed by a monster who dismembered and murdered the victim."

------

I'd like to recommend a friend's book: "The Planeswalker Just Wants to Collect Cards and Leave, Doesn't Want to Fall in Love."

It seems to be a story about supernatural crimes and supernatural mysteries; you can check it out if you're interested.

Summary:

[Volume 1; In/Spectre + Weathering With You + American Horror/Japanese Horror]

By creating cards from his own experiences and memories, Li Ran became a Traveling Mage.

Travel through different times and spaces, encounter various events, and obtain various cards.

While Hina is praying, you will obtain the spell card "Sunny Day".

While Kotoko Iwanaga was constructing the 'truth', she obtained the [Legendary Creature - God of Wisdom].

At the crime scene, obtain the spell that points directly to the truth: [Murder Against Humans].

Obtain the artifact card "Gift from the Stars" from a falling meteor.

Exploring the unknown brings more joy than staying put.

With a heart full of justice, put on your 'drama' before me, and I will turn it into a treasured card.

Spring of the Item: Chapter Twenty-Five - Possessed by a Demon

"The word 'passing demon' (通り魔) is of course a kind of monster in legends. It is said that if it passes by you, bad things and disasters will happen."

After a long build-up, Chizuko finally began to talk about yokai: "But in modern times, the Metropolitan Police Department officially used the term 'road demon' in 1981 to refer to incidents in public spaces where weapons are used to injure or kill unspecified individuals or cause property damage without a clear motive. This is commonly known as a 'random killing incident'."

She opened her notebook; the first few pages were filled with densely packed case studies and newspaper clippings.

"For example, on October 31, three years ago, Halloween night, on the Keio Line subway in Tokyo, 24-year-old unemployed youth Kyota Hattori randomly attacked people with a knife and set fire to a train car, injuring at least 17 people. When the police found him, he was dressed as the classic character 'Joker' and did not flee after the attack, but sat leisurely smoking in the train."

Asakawa Riku leaned closer and saw the photo in the newspaper clipping.

The killer in the photo has short hair, wears glasses, and has a mask hanging on his ears and propping up his chin, but he's not wearing it properly. He's wearing a green shirt and a purple suit jacket; he really is the clown.

While being photographed, he was holding a cigarette in one hand, crossing his legs, showing no signs of nervousness, and even had a smile on his lips.

"After being arrested, he said his motive was 'failure at work, not getting along with friends, and wanting to kill people starting in June in order to be sentenced to death.'"

Chizuko flipped through a few more pages: "There's also the 2021 Tokyo Odakyu Line stabbing incident, the 2018 Tokaido Shinkansen stabbing incident, the 1999 Shimonoseki Station indiscriminate killings, the 2001 Osaka Ikeda Elementary School indiscriminate killings, and the 2008 Akihabara indiscriminate killings. Just counting the 'passing demon' incidents that occurred after 2000, there were a total of 31 incidents, resulting in at least 51 deaths and 170 injuries. Most of them occurred in crowded places such as stations, trains, schools, and busy city streets."

Her notebook contained almost the same information as the police files.

"How cruel..."

Asakawa Riku was horrified by what he saw; he had heard of several of the cases that were relatively close by.

Unfortunately, he wasn't there at the time. If he had had the chance, he would have definitely tried to eliminate the murderer and save lives.

But at the same time, he also felt puzzled:

"But what does all this have to do with this case? These are large-scale, indiscriminate, random killings, while this time there's only one victim?"

"The connection is here: these murderers are probably all possessed by monsters."

Chizuko explained, “When a person’s abnormalities accumulate to a certain extent, their inspiration will become distorted. If a ‘passing-by’ yokai happens to be passing by at this time, and the frequency of the human and the yokai happens to match, the yokai will possess the human. The criminal’s emotions will completely go berserk and out of control, turning into a monster with yokai powers. This is called ‘possession by a yokai’.”

—The passing demon and the possessing monster are actually the same thing.

—When the accumulation of emotions leads to a qualitative change, anyone can turn into a terrible thug with just the right opportunity.

"We Onmyoji are mainly responsible for wild yokai. If a yokai possesses a person, we have no right to interfere. This is mainly managed by the Inspection Department. They are responsible for handling [possessed yokai] and [superpowered individuals]. This division of responsibilities has been going on for a long time, and most of these cases are ultimately resolved by the Inspection Department."

Chizuko closed the notebook.

Asakawa Riku suddenly realized that in most of the cases just now, the criminals had surrendered in the end, perhaps because the efforts and struggles of the Inspection Department were hidden behind the scenes.

It was simply covered up and not reported.

"In other words... a person possessed by a monster not only has a sudden [motive to kill], but also a corresponding [ability to kill]."

That is, the power of yokai. If someone suddenly obtains the power of the ghost Okiku, he can suddenly cut off the fingers of millions of people through a broadcast...

Just think about it.

"So, was Ibuki Ren, the mad scientist we faced before, also possessed by a yokai?"

Thinking of this, Asakawa Riku suddenly understood something: "So that's it. He specially built the Shuten-dōji in Mount Ōe and even changed the name of the research institute to Ryūgū Goten to create a specific environment. He firmly believed that he would become Shuten-dōji, and the powerful force also turned him into the king of the great demons. No wonder he became so terrifying back then."

"Yes... that guy is dangerous. If it weren't for Asakawa-kun, I probably wouldn't have been able to help him."

Chizuko sighed. Ibuki Ren's resistance exceeded her expectations. She hadn't anticipated that scientist was so clever, utilizing not only the power of science but also the theories of yokai.

"Moreover, you can probably guess what happened back then. Yuki'e's situation was also a kind of possession by a yokai. She was influenced by the concept of 'Yuki-onna', which is why that kind of personality was born. It's just that she's slowly regaining her abilities now. As long as she continues to take control, she shouldn't become like that again."

He was quick to draw inferences from one instance to another. After a moment of silence, Asakawa Riku said:

"Actually, you were the same back then, weren't you, also victimized by [Aoandon]—"

I refuse to answer that question.

Chizuko turned her mouth away.

"Ok."

So, the two of them tacitly avoided the topic once again.

Asakawa Riku finally understood the crux of the problem:

"Therefore, this case should have been committed by a possessed monster, because to cut so many bones in an instant, only the power of a monster could do it without professional tools. At the same time, to others, the murderer still looked ordinary, so they didn't treat him as a monster, but instead protected him for some reason."

It was definitely the right person to ask Chizuko-senpai this time. Thankfully, she found the missing piece of the puzzle, which has illuminated a large area and led to the dawn of the truth.

Everything suddenly became clear.

"The remaining problem is to find out which of these six people is possessed by a monster?"

“It’s none of my business.” Chizuko completely ignored Asakawa Riku’s affected hints and ate her dessert, then looked away: “I only handle yokai consultations.”

It seems her off-field support ends here.

After all, this was a request from the firm, and the senior student wasn't getting paid, so it was inappropriate to force her to help...

Possession by yokai should be within the jurisdiction of the Inspection Department, right? But he can't contact Kirisame Aoi right now, and he doesn't even know where the Tokyo headquarters is, so there's nowhere to go if he goes there.

And the detective girl too, they're all a bunch of unreliable guys.

With that in mind, he could only call Inspector Takahashi and warn him that there might be dangerous suspects among them, and that he must be careful and vigilant, and that he would investigate again next time.

Inspector Takahashi chuckled on the other end of the phone:

"Don't worry, we've already sent people to monitor their residence, in shifts 24 hours a day, nothing will happen."

Spring of Events: Chapter Twenty-Six - Anomaly

"Something has happened... Mr. Asakawa."

The next day, Tuesday morning, Asakawa Riku received a somber phone call from Inspector Takahashi on his way to school.

He turned back at the last minute, changed his route, reported sick leave to Mr. Songshan, and immediately headed towards the police station he had mentioned.

...

Upon arriving at the police station, Inspector Takahashi was waiting outside, and he led us smoothly into the building.

Inside, the police officers were all rushing around and looking nervous. On the street, many people looked at him with suspicion about his age, perhaps mistaking him for a minor who needed to be disciplined.

It's probably because he was still wearing his school uniform and hadn't had time to change before he rushed over.

Asakawa Riku felt fortunate that someone had picked him up; otherwise, without the Department of Inspection's credentials, he wouldn't know how to prove his identity.

Inspector Takahashi led him to a secluded room around a corner, which was surprisingly spacious and filled with many stubble-covered, muscular detectives with dark circles under their eyes who looked like they had been working long hours.

The room was filled with a heavy atmosphere, even carrying a faint scent of despair. Inspector Takahashi began by introducing himself:

"This is Mr. Asakawa from the Inspection Department, who has come to provide guidance."

Upon hearing those three words, their expressions of doubt and disdain vanished instantly. The detectives stood up immediately and snapped to attention, saluting in unison.

Asakawa Riku was not intimidated by this imposing aura. He controlled his expression with his ability to control his body, nodding and smiling calmly:

"I'm here to help."

The group of criminal police officers applauded, sat down, and waited quietly for the speaker to speak.

It seems that the Inspectorate has a high prestige among the police, which can even offset the negative emotions brought about by age, unfamiliarity, and territoriality... It's almost equivalent to a superior department.

Inspector Takahashi instructed the technicians to retrieve the content from the projection and explained the sudden situation to the still bewildered Riku Asakawa:

"Because everything happened last night, and there were only a few officers on surveillance, we discovered it too late, which is our problem."

A map of Tokyo appeared on the screen, along with headshots of Midori Fukushima, Takesuke Omura, Takayuki Ono, Zuika Doi, Sumire Ogawa, and Reki Yoshimura.

These avatars are scattered throughout various areas of the map, but are mostly located near Shinjuku Ward, so Asakawa Riku immediately understood—

"Is this their address?"

“Fukushima Midori and Omura Takesuke live with their families, Ono Takayuki and Doi Mizuka live together in a rented house, and Ogawa Sumire and Yoshimura Saku also rent separate houses.”

Inspector Takahashi also retrieved photos of the residences taken by the police. Fukushima Midori and Omura Takesuke lived in ordinary detached houses, but Omura's was obviously more luxurious, which was very much in line with the status of a chief surgeon and a professor. Ono Takayuki and Doi Mizuka, a young couple, lived together in a high-rise apartment, while Ogawa Sumire and Yoshimura Saku's rented house was somewhat cheap.

Only Sumire Ogawa and Saku Yoshimura live in Kabukicho, though they don't live together; they live in separate areas, one in 1-chome and the other in 2-chome.

That makes sense. In such a bustling area, one could probably only afford a cramped low-rent apartment, probably for the convenience of commuting to work.

“After the incident, we dispatched two teams of officers to each location, two officers per team, which means four officers in total, to monitor each house. This took up a total of 20 officers, which was already a difficult amount to request. But since these six people are still considered suspects, and there is not enough evidence to detain them, I thought I would use surveillance to see if they would do anything underhanded. If they showed any tendency to escape or any suspicious behavior, we would arrest them immediately.”