Chapter 20

On the busy streets of Tokyo, people unconsciously walk back and forth, focused on their stressful work lives and oblivious to the beings lurking in the shadows of society.

In the same way that the ordinary world doesn't stop and is always busy.

In the supernatural world a new rumor circulates among the lower ranks of magician, demons, fallen angels and other beings.

Many had the misfortune of bumping into the guy, that their pride wouldn't allow them to admit the truth that... They were completely humiliated.

They all had the same description of the guy, masked, red-suited, top-hatted, and very annoying to deal with.

The fights they had were so humiliating that some lie and say they were just caught off guard, but if they had a rematch, things would be different.

The masked man's movements were commanding, theatrical, a work of art to behold. All of his spells besides being fast casting, had the same intensity, mana noise level and shape.

This for some meant that this being had control of his magic on a surreal level, to the point where every spell was 'purposely' the same as another.

Detail, no high level magic was used and this for some fallen angels and demons was an insult to their pride.

For having an immense arsenal of spells, being dominating in fights, presenting a surreal mastery of magic and making his opponents look like children in the classroom...

He was named Professor Who.

Who was he? That's what some wondered.

"Finally," a redhead stretches her body after many hours of traveling, puts her hand on her hip and faces a multi-story building with good humor. "Tokyo, the capital that never sleeps."

"Buchou, where are we staying?" A little further back, as he goes down the stairs of a bus, a blond teenager carries a bunch of suitcases.

"Ara ara, that's a lot of suitcases you have there, Kiba-kun," Akeno said, holding her own cheeks.

"I don't see Kiba-senpai," Koneko said in her usual Kuudere voice.

"Ummm, are you sure you don't need help?" Rias asked when she saw the blonde guy who seemed to disappear among the suitcases.

"Don't worry. It might look heavy, but it's actually still light," Kiba assured.

Devils would not have so much trouble carrying such mundane weights, the biggest difficulty was just the clumsiness of holding multiple suitcases.

"If you say so," Rias didn't want to insist, she knows Kiba's character. The blond young man insisted on doing the honors of a knight, it was hard to convince him otherwise.

Whispers sound around.

"It looks like our Kohais are a little excited," said Akeno with a slight smile as she saw other students also huddled in small groups from afar.

There were six vehicles provided by the school to transport students for the week of their trip to Tokyo.

Some girls looked at Rias and Akeno with some blushes, it seems their charms are effective even for members of the same gender.

"Hmm," Koneko looks at her breasts blankly.

But soon another type of action caught everyone's attention.

"Hey, do you think they're okay?" I whisper a female voice.

"I don't know. I could try to console them, but OH --- They're so perverted," said a girl with a disgusted face.

Rias and company silently watch the teenagers called perverted trio, or rather, now just perverted duo, who pass between them.

Matsuda and Issei just ignore the multitude of women around them and enter the hotel.

"Buchou, do you think~."

"Sorry Koneko. We'll talk later when we're settled in," Rias shakes her head from side to side, before saying, "what are we waiting for? Let's go inside too."

They agreed and followed the redhead's lead into the hotel. The place is luxurious and the school's exclusive choice for hosting kuoh students during that week. The owners are actually demons who are subordinates of the gremory clan and willingly ceded the location.

"Fluffy," Koneko stretches out on the bed and strokes the fluffy mattress.

Likewise, the other members of the occult research club explored the surroundings and objects of the luxurious room they found.

"Glad you all liked it," Rias smiles satisfied, "I pulled some strings so we could all be in the same room. Er--I mean-- Sorry Kiba, you'll have to stay in the next room. Sona would kill me if no. "

Kiba bows and says, "I don't see that as a problem, Bushou."

"Wait. You can still stay here for now. We have a lot to talk about first."

"It's so rare to see your voice so serious, Rias. Please tell us," Akeno said as she sat down next to Koneko on the bed.

"You are all well aware of my bet with Sona, right?"

"Playing detective?" Akeno puts her index finger on her chin as if thinking, but then lets out an amused smile to her friend. That is one of the famous moments where Rias decides to try a new vocation.

"It's not playing detective," The redhead briefly puffs out her right cheek in frustration, before continuing, "Investigating is an art that demands thoroughness, perseverance, and a lot of patience.You have to always be attentive to every detail. Also you need have a rational mind to make the most plausible hypotheses to have an initial picture. And most importantly, think outside the box because that makes all the difference."

"Buchou is excited," Koneko commented in her usual voice.

"Fufufu," Akeno found her king's moments of excitement cute.

"Now I just need a black dress and a pipe," Rias muttered softly to herself.

"Huh?" Although the redhead spoke softly, as they were all demons, they could hear perfectly.

"Ara ara. Did you happen to watch any detective anime, my king?" Akeno was at the heart of the matter.

"Ugh." Rias winces at her little slip, before saying with a nervous laugh, "Haha. You know -- Anime is underrated, but it's an invaluable source of knowledge."

Rias marathoned Goshinu Wa twice before taking this trip. (AN: Gosick's parody of that world.)

"Fufufu," Akeno smiles in amusement.

"Cough. What information have we gathered so far?" Rias asked.

"There were nine murders in four different neighborhoods in Tokyo. Three deaths in Kyoto and the nearby Kansai region. And finally," Kiba pauses briefly in silence, "Two deaths in Kuoh, or one death and maybe a disappearance."

Rias is saddened by the thought of the missing student and says, "This is unacceptable. I am Rias Gremory, heiress to one of the most respectable houses of the devil. We will not let this murderer get away with it."

The news of Motohama's disappearance was followed by great controversy at the Kuoh academy. Everyone knew him, after all, he's a member of the infamous perverted trio.

But truth be told, even the male and female students who hated his perversions didn't want him in such a bad situation. Most wanted him to be found alive and well.

However, after months of missing the police had created the assumption that his disappearance had something to do with the serial killer's murders and he could probably already be dead.

"Koneko. Did you feel that aura in Hyoudou Issei again?"

"No. It was only briefly and it just disappeared."

A few days after Motohama's disappearance, Koneko accidentally detected an aura that she couldn't identify when crossing the same corridor as Issei.

But it mysteriously disappeared a few days after she tried to investigate again.

Deciding to put the Issei issue aside...

"We need more clues to find the Killer," Rias crosses her arms with one hand on her chin, thoughtfully.

After placing a notebook on a small table in the center, Akeno says in a serious tone, "This is the video of the police deposition of an old lady who lived near Sato-kun."

When she presses play on the video, everyone watches carefully.

"For formality purposes only, Nakura-san, this conversation is being recorded and I hope to count on your cooperation," said the policeman sitting at the table, facing an elderly lady who is holding a bag against her body.

"I'll do what I can to help, er -- Officer-san."

The room is separated by a glass on the right side, a little cramped and has a dark environment except for the deposition chairs that have an incident light projected from above. The old woman looks obviously uncomfortable being here, she's sweating and clutching her bag tightly against her body.

"Where were you at night, the day before Sato Motohama disappeared?"

"I was at home." .

"Do you remember what you were doing?"

"Er-- I was thinking of new cake recipes I wanted to try making," Ms. Nakura pauses briefly with a blush on her face and says, "I wanted to take some pieces to Mr. Sato the next day. Just to get some critical opinions on my cake-Er-- I mean --- There's nothing to to do with me finding his mustache attractive or something -- Er -- Please erase the last part, I said without thinking.

"Don't worry, Nakura-san. We're not worried about whether you find mustaches attractive or not. This conversation is private and you can be sure it won't be shared."

Ms. Nakura fidgets nervously in her chair, but tries to calm down.

"Do you remember seeing or hearing anything strange that night?"

Ms. Nakuda nods her head nervously.

"Could you please describe it better?"

"I remember I was almost finishing the cake, almost out of the oven and it was late. That's when I heard a beast."

The policeman frowns and asks, "A beast?"

She nods hastily, holds the bag even tighter against her body, and says, "Yes, a beast. --- He seemed to be possessed by the spirits of the seven hells."

The policeman starts writing down the descriptions in a notebook carefully.

"Frightened by the noises I heard, I tried to get closer to the window to see what was happening -- that's when I saw fire. Lots of fire."

"Fire you say?" The policeman briefly stops his notes and looks at her.

"Yes. He was screaming. He was laughing. I could feel his madness from afar, clearly a psychopath. The poor tree in front of my house was totally destroyed." said Ms. Nakura obviously scared of said person.

"Did you get to see his face?"

"No. I was too far away and too scared to look directly at him."

"Ummm," He went back to writing in his notebook as he asked, "Do you remember what he yelled?"

"Oh, yes. I remember," Ms. Nakura gets a better position in the chair and tries to imitate the attacker's voice, "He was yelling --- FIREBOLT. FIREBOLT."

"Er--Do you remember how many times he yelled that?"

"Oh. Have been many times," Ms. Nakura nervously responds as she remembers the event and says, "As I said -- he looked like he was possessed."

Akeno pauses the video and closes the notebook lid.

"A pyromaniac?" Kiba asked in a pondering tone. "Any sign of magic found?"

"Negative. I had Koneko investigate a few days after the disappearance and the tree had no sign of magic or supernatural energy," replied Rias.

"Mm," nodded the white haired girl in confirmation.

"A flamethrower maybe?"

"Probably," replied Rias before turning to her queen and asking, "Do the other cases have any hints of a crazy pyromaniac?"

"No. The killings are done inside abandoned homes or factories. All victims with cuts and faces made by mutilation."

Rias frowns as she meditates.

"Buchou, the chances of this case not being connected are high," Kiba voiced his own conclusions.

"No. We can't rule it out right away with just so little information."

"What shall we do then?"

Rias stands up in the middle of the room and looks at everyone with renewed enthusiasm, "We're going to find this crook in 10 days, who's with me?"

Everyone smiles because they wanted to solve this case themselves.

"We are with you, Buchou," they said in unison.