The case is closed.

Chapter 9: The case is closed.

After walking towards the main road which was 10 km away I got in a taxy.

"Sir,do you work in the grave yard like those guys?" the taxy driver asked me. Hm.. like those guys. Let's pretend a bit to get info.

"what do you mean by those guys? If you are talking about my friend's then can you take me where they went,quz those bastards forgot to take me with them and I got fucking lost." I told the taxy driver,who nodded his head.

"sure. But you guys must be close because of how you speak of them.…hahaha." The driver said with a laugh and I nodded my head and smiled.

"Indeed we are close.so can you take my there?" I asked him again and he nodded his head.

"sure" he said and started the taxy and started to drive out of the area.

"Oh! Please stop Infront of a convenience store" he requested the taxy driver.

"Sure" the taxy driver replied in affirmative.

•••••••

After the taxy stopped Infront of the convenience store he went inside,got himself a bottle of water and a black mask. He use the water to clean himself up. And placed there mask in his pocket. Though the shopkeeper asked him why he was covered in dirt he replied

" I accidentally stepped on my feat and got rolled my way in a forest thats why I am in such a 'very nice' state." he said the ‹very nice› part with sarcasm.

After that he went in the car and the driver drived towards the place where those guys came from.

After 20 minutes of journey,he was now at the destination.He came in front of the a coffin making House. He gave the driver the money he had,which fortunately was enough.

"Have a great day or night or whatever." the driver wished him a great time but was confused since it was starting to get bright because of sun light but it was still dark around.

"Don't worry and you have a great time as well." he said with a smile. A polite smile.

The driver nodded his head and drives away with his taxy. He puts the mask on and takes on the «Void» persona.

He looked at the coffin making House.It was located in the middle of a bustling city district which was now quiet , within a small stone building that blended in with the surrounding structures. While it was a humble building, there was a certain aura of seriousness and professionalism about the place. Within its walls, a team of craftsmen worked tireless in creating a variety of caskets for their clients. The rooms were filled with the sights and sounds of sawing, drilling, and sanding as the craftsmen diligently worked to create a casket that would serve its purpose while also meeting the customer's preferences.

It's a place where skill and artistry merged together to create a beautiful and durable work of art: a casket. The craftsmen worked hard to create a coffin that not only served its purpose of providing a safe place for a body to rest, but also a lasting and meaningful tribute to the person it contained. Each coffin was made with precision and expertise, and the craftsmen took pride in their work. It was a location that honored both the skills and creativity of the craftsmen and the preciousness of the deceased individual who would be honored and respected even in death.

He walked inside and saw the workers working.Every detail of the coffin was made with precision and expertise, and the craftsmen took pride in their work. They made sure that each and every casket was of the highest quality and matched the customer's needs and preferences. It was a place where skill and artistry merged together, resulting in a finished product that not only served its purpose but was also an art piece that honored the person it contained.

A man in his 40's walked towards him.

"sir,do you need something?" the man asked him.

"Yes, can you tell me about this symbol. Is this a symbol of this coffin house?" he asked the politely and showed the man the symbol.

"Hm..." he took a close look at nodded his head after few seconds.

"Yes. This is indeed ours but how did..... you find it? Because we usually use this on our coffin?" the man asked him.

"Oh! I found it on the ground and was thinking where this belongs." he replied.

"Hm....but the closest grave yard is 3 km away?...why would you even come here...?" he asked him.

'yup my lies got caught.' He thought to himself.

"Let me clarify. I am a detective who is currently on a case and something happened and this was near by the crime scene. So I want you to tell me about the latest record of casket being delivered and who ordered it and who were there to deliver it." he said with a cold and monotonous voice, devoid of any emotion what so ever.

The man Infront of him gulped. Feeling scared.The man felt a deep sense of unease and discomfort when he heard the monotonous and emotionless voice. Every word was pronounced with the same flat and unchanging cadence, and there was no sense of empathy or understanding in the tone. It was like talking to someone who was completely void of emotion, like a robot or machine. Every word, every sentence, sounded exactly the same, and each response seemed like a pre-written script with no room for variance or individuality. The old man couldn't help but wonder if he was really talking to a person, or a cold, hollow shell.

He didn't say anything due to the fear but only walked towards the table,sat on the chair and started to type on the computer.

'Is he not scared? Well that's nice to know.' Jin thought to himself with a shurge.

The man pressed some button and some papers comes out of the printer.

'oh he was actually scared... good to know' he wasn't bothered in the slightest. But was interested because this voice of his scared tone of people in his past life. So he was a bit interested that he wasn't feared because of his voice. But he was wrong. The sudden Change of voice was something the old man couldn't handle nicely.

At one second he was polite boy who came her to return a missing thing and the next second he was a cold detective,who will do anything to get his desired information out of the person Infront of him. This scared the man to the core.

He gave the file to Jin and nodded his head .

"well untill next time!" he said to the man and walked away.

The man walked towards the seat and sat there thinking about the voice he heard.

'The boy,his voice was so lifeless and void of emotion that it was almost eerie. It carried no warmth or tenderness, no sense of compassion or sympathy, and no trace of enthusiasm or joy. Every word was spoken in an monotone, unchanging pitch, with no emphasis or pauses. It was like listening to the sound of a machine, or the whisper of the wind across the empty fields. Even when he asked questions, his tone and cadence never changed. It was so lifeless and emotionless that it was almost unsettling. It was like talking to someone who was completely hollow inside, with no feelings or character. It was like...a adult who had seen everything the life can throw at him and that made him like that. ' the man thought to himself while wiping the sweat on his forehead.

••••••

After arriving at the hotel and taking a shower,he sat on his bed and looked at the file.

'Time to start.' he thought to himself and started to look into the file.

After half an hour of looking into the file ,he found out of the name of the person who sent those people. He took his phone and called those who were in charge of delivering the casket.

After doing so,he puts his phone down and looks at the mirror for sometime, thinking.

'so the culprit wasn't in the circle in the first place...but how did I miss? Is it because of good acting or because of-' suddenly something comes in his mind and he widens his eyes.

'Its her. I shouldn't doubt it with the evidence in my hand it's jonathan aurora. She helped me and disguised herself as a ally by giving me information about this case but why? Why would she kill him,do they have some connections from the past?' he thought to himself and was walking around the room.

He took his phone out and thought about checking what the camera recorded while he was out and felt the 1st hand experience of being dead. While doing so,he found out that there was only one person who came to his room to carry him out. This shocked him,the man in the video seemed to be able to carry be quite perfectly without any difficulty.But looking closely,he noticed that the man wasn't holding him,it's more like Jin was floating on that man's hand.

Jin looked at the man on his phone screen.

' 185cm , pale white skin, good muscle build as well. His ring finger is 7 cm, Thumb is 4cm,middle is 8 cm,Index is 7 cm,little finger is 6 cm. And his whole skin is perfectly covered except a part of his finger but this is not enough.' he thought to and puts his finger on his face.

'But If I go and ask miss Jonathan about this case,not asking for information but asking whether she is the culprit or not? I might cause her be angry at me, though I shouldn't care about it but apparently I have to since she has a good relationship with Mr.Nonohara.' he thought then he looked at the computer that was given to him by ryoma.

'But,Since I might have access to «dark web» I can find some information about her and might have some clue how she is linked with Javi Leonard' he thought to himself and opened the computer and got into dark web.

After an hour he saw something that caught his eyes.

'So Javi Leonard isn't a Leonard in the first place. He was a stray kid who apparently was raised in a organization which specializes in human evolution and experiment called «cube». This organization had many kids that it raised and was training them untill 13 years ago when it got destroyed and Javi Leonard wasn't there when this happened and it seems no one can take the kids from there. And it seems those who pose as researcher are called ‹teacher›...and it seems mrs.jonathan was connected to this organization but how,that isn't stated here' he thought and took his phone and was about to call aurora, but calls someone else.

‹Hello miss Leonard can you tell me if Mr.javi knew someone named Jonathan aurora?›

‹Yes. Apparently they met way back and he would sometime talk about her.›

‹can you specify when?›

‹ I think,maybe at their teen's . That's what he said. Why?›

‹No reason. Thank you for your time.› he thanked her.

‹your welcome›she replied.

Now he looks at another number and called at that number.

‹Miss. Jonathan I want to talk with you about something.can I come over?›He asked.

‹Sure,why not? When?› she replied over the call.

‹Now› He replied

‹ok then,see you› she cuts the call from her side.

‹Hm› he also cuts the call.

He cuts the call and wears a formal jacket and started walking out.

•••••••

After he came in front of her and knocked on her door and the older woman came out.

"come inside you must have found something about this case." she said and let's him get inside.

"Indeed but I want to ask you something. Can I?" he asked permission before asking her.

"sure" she gave him that permission.

"ok then from a information source I found,it seems you might know Javi Leonard. But can you tell me how long do you know him?" the question didn't come out like he wanted.

"well for quite the time. A long time if I am being honest." he said to her.

"oh"He puts a finger on his chin.'But....how long? I doubt she will tell me directly...'

"Do you know what cube is?" he asked and started to observe her expression,which changed from normal to a expression of shock. She took deep breath and released it, calming herself down.

" yes I used to work there" she confessed.

"At which position?" he asked her.

"You think I will tell you?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Because if this information were to leaked,then your reputation and everything will crumble Infront of your eyes" he warned her.

She sigh's."As a teacher." she admitted. Apparently the thought of her past being revealed scared her.

' Mr.Javi went missing at the age of 13, so they couldn't have met as a teacher and student. Nor student to student because of the age gap, So they must've gotten to know each other from the outside...'Jin silently thinks.

'Didn't miss Leonard also mention mr.javi happen to know miss Jonathan way back? Their stories aligned, apparently both miss Jonathan and mr.javi met back in their teens, but that could be a lie considering the ⟨entertainment industry worker⟩ made up his persona of a extrovert worker. It's possible they may have met not too far back. But with an answer at hand, another question arises; How did they come in contact with each other? For the cube to let go of miss Jonathan?'

Now that he thinks about it, that should be impossible. The woman shouldn't even be here right now. It should be certain that she'd be taken up for questioning considering her previous Occupation-

He finally speaks.

"You faked your age, didn't you?"

Aurora's eyes widened, her mouth parting in surprise. But Jin didn't stop there.

"Not only that...but the detective Jonathan aurora might not be your real identity. Like you said you used to work at cube as a teacher."

Silence dawned between them after he uttered those words. It was the absolute conclusion Jin had come to, had he been led with the statement made up by the two of them, which was going way back during their teenager years. Things wouldn't add up right. They couldn't have met up from the outside during aurora's mid 20s either due to the fact that the cube would've kept a close eye on its subordinates such as the teacher. Not to mention it's unlikely for an teacher between the age of twenty and thirty to be able to work at a place like that unless they were a prodigy at the things they do. Which certainly isn't aurora's ability be could discern that much And they couldn't have.

"The cube never officially released you from duty." Jin states. He continued.

"For whatever reason, I'm assuming you ran away from it completely. And then changed your identity so you could live a peaceful life without them having to bother you again. Perhaps even undergone facial surgery just to be sure, and that could explain why you look younger for your age, even if it's fake. If I were to make an estimate, you should be around your late 60s's and not above mid 70s,which someone can't tell by looking at your face .That should be more believable, and an ample enough time for you to meet mr.javi while rewriting your whole identity." He finished.

"You…are a terrifying child...?" she said with complete shock.

"And that was the reason why you made her tell me about yourself,so that you can give me information and get to the bottom of this case correct? While also remaining in the shadows? he said and she continues to look at him with a shocked expression.

"well you didn't kill him ,then who did?" he said. It is true that aurora and Javi were close to each other. So it's not possible for her to kill him.

"Actually I know who?" she said and made Jin look at her.

"ho-" "you have to come with me tonight at a place,then you will know who killed Javi and the reason why I didn't said his name" she interrupted him. It seems the killer is a man.

"ok then I will take my leave." he said and walked away.

••••••

At night the 2 of them arrived at a port. There they could hear some slashing sound. As the 2 stepped closer ,they saw a man with red hair and honey brown eyes.

Jin looked at his finger and widens his eyes. The young man was smiling as he saw aurora.

"Hi! Mrs. Aurora! How have you been?" he greeted her with a smile.

Jin looks around and saw that atlest 50s people with guns,knife at their hand were laying on the ground unconscious.

"Who might you be!?"

"!!" Jin jumped back in pure reaction.

"He is the man you were looking for." aurora said to Jin who looks at the man Infront of him.

"I will ask you. Are you behind this?" he asked.

"yes" he replied but this time coldly.

"Why?" he asked not bothered by his voice.

"Because I was ordered to." he replied making Jin flinch in fear, thinking that he might be next.

"whats your name?" he asked him.

"My name is-