Uryuu Ryuunosuke's Incident

Fuyuki, Police Headquarters.

In the deep of the night, the police headquarters still glowed with lights, bustling with cops coming and going, and the incessant ringing of phones.

"Hey, Fujiwara, you did great this time, actually solving that serial murder incident. That's a big achievement, man!"

"I heard at the morning meeting, Chief Naito praised you for a full ten minutes in front of everyone. He's even thinking of giving you the slot for next year's training at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. You might have a chance at rising through the ranks, buddy."

"If that's the case, you're on your way up, Fujiwara."

"Oh, c'mon! It was just luck. I happened to be in the right place at the right time." Fujiwara replied modestly, though he couldn't hide his joy.

"Haha, don't be modest, Fujiwara. Facing a serial killer like that and managing to subdue him without a scratch, that's not something your average cop can pull off."

"Didn't Fujiwara nail the serial killer's hiding spot? We've been racking our brains forever, and no one stumbled upon any leads. Then, boom, Fujiwara jumps in and spots it effortlessly. We all fell for his low-key vibe, but dude's got some serious skills."

The praises of his colleagues made Fujiwara feel like he was on cloud nine. Since graduating, he had been a police for three years, and he was usually seen as a nobody. The most high-profile case he had been involved in was just a simple home invasion.

But now, because of subduing that serial killer, he suddenly became the center of attention. This wonderful feeling was something he couldn't get enough of.

"By the way, Fujiwara-kun, can you tell us how you cracked the case? At least share some experience with us." A woman around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old suddenly asked.

She wore a white turtleneck sweater, a khaki windbreaker, and light blue jeans. Her clean and sharp appearance, coupled with a friendly smile, made her instantly likable.

"Sa-Sakurai-senpai." Fujiwara's face turned bright red instantly. Sakurai was his senior, and when he first joined the police, he was assigned under her. During that time, she tirelessly shared a lot of useful knowledge, providing him with significant help.

From that time onwards, he developed a special affection for this graceful and kind senior. However, due to not achieving much, he could only bury this affection deep in his heart.

But now things were different.

An opportunity to show himself to his crush was right in front of him. Looking at her expectant and bright eyes, Fujiwara felt like his blood was boiling.

However, he seemed to remember something, and his expression instantly darkened.

"I'm sorry, Sakurai-senpai. Chief Naito told me that the details of this case can't be disclosed to anyone..." Fujiwara whispered awkwardly.

"Eh, really? That's a pity..." Sakurai's face showed a hint of regret.

Fujiwara lowered his head, while his fists on his knees clenched tightly.

"Excuse me, is Officer Fujiwara Miruno here?"

An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out.

Fujiwara instinctively lifted his head and saw a handsome man with his hands in his pockets casually walking towards them. Although he wore a simple hoodie and jeans, an air of nobility was unmistakably emanating from him.

'He must be the heir of some influential political or business family...' Fujiwara pondered silently then standing up respectfully. "Hello, I am Fujiwara—"

His voice abruptly stopped as he suddenly realized something. He looked around in horror and found that, apart from himself, no one was paying any attention to the man!

Even though the man had such a unique demeanor, shining like a star in the crowd, everyone was completely ignoring him, as if he didn't exist at all!

An indescribable fear, like the icy grip of a demon, instantly seized Fujiwara's heart. Without hesitation, he pulled out a pistol from his waist and aimed it straight at the man.

"Hold it! Who are you?!"

As he shouted, Fujiwara glanced at his colleagues around him. Everyone continued chatting and laughing, completely oblivious to his shout and his act of pulling a gun in front of them.

It was as if he had fallen into an icy wasteland, and the bone-chilling cold penetrated every corner of his body.

"No need to be so tense. They're just under a minor suggestion magecraft."

The man—or rather, Arkhan, said casually with a gentle smile on his face.

"For some personal reasons, I'd rather not let others know I've been here. But don't worry, I just want to ask a few questions. Can you cooperate?"

*BANG!*

The gunshot echoed, and the powerful recoil made Fujiwara's wrist numb. The police headquarters conducted firearms training every year, so his marksmanship wasn't bad. Besides, at such a close range, even a seven or eight-year-old wouldn't miss the shot.

The bullet, accompanied by a fleeting spark, shot out from the pistol barrel at a speed beyond human eye limits, but at that moment, a small black hole suddenly appeared in front of Arkhan, swallowing the bullet, and its whereabouts became unknown.

"I've already said I mean no harm. Can't you understand a little?" Arkhan looked a bit helpless.

*Snap!*

He snapped his fingers, and a crimson feather soon fell from the void, catching Fujiwara's eyes.

Watching Fujiwara's gradually dazed expression, Arkhan asked lightly.

"Tell me about the process of subduing Uryuu Ryuunosuke."

"Yes." Fujiwara's tone was robotic, devoid of any fluctuation, while his eyes had no glimmer.

"Three days ago, after work, I was passing by Sakura Avenue when I suddenly smelled blood. Because the serial killer incident was making waves in Fuyuki, I didn't ignore this abnormality. Instead, I followed the smell to a residence named Suzuki. As I got closer to the house, the smell of blood became stronger. I was sure that something had happened inside. So, I took out my gun, smashed the lock, and rushed in. The result... The result..."

A twisted expression suddenly appeared on Fujiwara's face as if he couldn't bear to recall the hellish scene.

"The result was, I saw a child's body lying in the corridor. It looked as if it had been devoured by some vicious beast—bones, tendons, flesh, organs... scattered all over the place in disarray. The only intact thing was the head. But the expression on the face gave me the feeling as if the child had seen hope, only to plunge into despair the next second. A fear that penetrated deep into the bone."

"I realized at that moment that the one behind it intentionally left the head. Even now, every night when I have nightmares, I dream about that scene."

"Don't worry, you'll forget about it soon." Arkhan nodded slightly. "And then?"

"I vomited for a long time and, summoning my courage, I went inside to search as per my duty. I entered the living room on the first floor. It was dark inside, and my visibility was poor. After turning on the light, I saw a bucket of blood on the floor next to a bizarre circle similar to some magic circles in some movies."

"In the room, there were two bodies—one was the head of the Suzuki family, dead on the sofa with a large wound in his throat—the blood in the bucket likely extracted from him. The other was the murderer, Uryuu Ryuunosuke, lying on the circle, dead."

"Wait a minute!" Arkhan frowned slightly. "Are you saying that when you found Uryuu Ryuunosuke, he was already dead?"

"Yes." Fujiwara nodded indifferently. "Chief Naito specifically instructed me not to tell anyone about this. If anyone asks, I'm to say that I killed the murderer."

Arkhan, uninterested in these trivial matters, contemplated for a moment before continuing his inquiry.

"Did Uryuu Ryuunosuke have some fatal wound? If so, where was it? Did his body show any unusual signs, like strange tattoos or symbols on the back of his hand?"

As Arkhan's questions became more specific, Fujiwara pondered for a while before providing an answer.

"His fatal wound was to the heart; someone shot him from behind. There were no tattoos or symbols on his hands."

"Shot in the heart, no tattoos..." Arkhan's eyes squinted slightly. "By the way, what about the condition of the room at that time? Any traces, like those left by a wild animal, as if it had been trampled by an elephant or something?"

"No, just ordinary signs of a struggle, probably from the fight between the Suzuki family's head and Uryuu Ryuunosuke."

Arkhan nodded thoughtfully, then casually used Fenghuang Down to suppress the memories of the child's corpse from Fujiwara's mind and erase any memories related to himself.

Without delay, Arkhan turned and walked away.

As he left the police headquarters, the strange atmosphere that lingered in this place instantly dissipated. Fujiwara shivered, blinked in confusion, then scratched his head.

"Weird, did someone just call me?" Fujiwara muttered.

"Hey, what are you daydreaming about, kid?" An old police officer suddenly slapped Fujiwara on the back. "Did you hear what Sakurai said just now?"

"What did she say?" Fujiwara grinned. 

"She said she wants to invite you to her house and arrange a celebration party just for you. Are you going or not?"

Fujiwara hesitated for a moment, looked at the smiling Sakurai, and his face instantly turned red. With a loud bang on the table, he stood up.

"I'm going!"