Vol. 1 - CH. 1 - P2

Chapter 1 - Certain Death

Part 2

-----------------------------------

One year later.

One year has passed since the incident. The bank robbery and the mysterious miracle that saved a 16-year-old girl who is now 17 years old. Not only a crime and a miracle, but also an abnormality. That is, the mysterious death of the five bank robbers for no apparent reason.

The police and government are still trying to solve the case. Even now, they still haven't found or figured out who was behind the bank robbery. All traces and evidence found on the bodies of the five robbers could not be investigated further. There was one flip phone found on the robbers' leader, but no contact history was found who had been contacted using the flip phone.

The only information that the police and investigators did find was information about the shooter of the 16-year-old girl.

The shooter was 25 years old. A male. An unemployed man. He lived in a cheap boarding house on the edge of town. No dangerous items or information about robbers or other criminals were found in his boarding house. Only a gaming PC and a futon were found as well as some instant noodle waste.

After checking his internet history, it turns out that he joined this criminal group because he was in an economic crisis to buy a new model of PC equipment that had just been released in Japan. He joined them after finding a job offer to rob a bank from the dark web.

The full reason why he wanted to join the criminals just to make money and buy the latest model of PC equipment is completely unknown. However, according to the psychologists who joined to solve this case said or judged that the nature of a person like him is completely unable or unwilling to work in an office or a job that serves customers. That is why he was driven to become or join a group of criminals just to earn money. That is according to the assessment of the psychologist for this case.

Not only were the police trying to deal with the case, but doctors and hospitals were also trying to solve the miraculous phenomenon that happened to the 16-year-old girl.

At that time, the girl was shot directly into the left chest and managed to penetrate into her heart. Medically and according to the witness of a doctor who was caught up in the robbery, the girl should have died. But miraculously, the girl was still alive and at the last second, according to the doctor, her pulse and breathing returned.

Even more miraculously, no gunshot wounds were found on the girl's left chest or heart. Not only that, but the bullet that pierced her heart could not be found at all.

This case became a big news story in Japan. Many news media and journalists tried to highlight this incident. They even went to the girl's family and tried to get witnesses and the girl's opinion about this incident. But the family and hospital tried to protect the girl and did not give any information to the reporters and news media. They did not even give any information about the girl's identity.

A year had passed, and the doctors were unable to solve the miracle that had happened to the girl from a medical perspective. Health research was always carried out on the girl for 6 months. But, as the girl was very unhappy and uncomfortable with this, the hospital finally gave up and let this miracle become an unsolvable miracle.

In the end, the girl regained her composure and normal life again.

Do you think so?

Of course, yes. But also, NO!

The girl did regain her normal life. But... She is now the center of attention at school and is more of a loner than ever thanks to this case. She who used to have a friend, now her friends started avoiding her out of fear. Her life may be back. But her composure and mental state did not return as before. Things became a little difficult for her at school.

But...

Does she mind these things and treatment at school?

Of course, NO!

She may become the center of attention and be shunned. She might lose all her friends and become a loner. But... She doesn't care about that at all.

Being the center of attention, being a loner, being feared, and losing all her friends. All of that, she didn't care about at all. Instead, the girl was happy. Because that way, her private and peaceful time would never be disturbed by others. Because in the beginning, she was a shy person who did not want to be surrounded and disturbed by many people. She was actually grateful for this treatment at her school.

But...

It wasn't just that. She was happy not only because of the treatment she got at school. But also, she got something "extraordinary". Something that made her very happy and grateful for having gotten "This". Something that made her grateful to have met "with them". Something that made her, "Unstoppable by anyone!"

That is...

"A thing that absolutely makes no sense!"

---------------------------------------------------------

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

The sound of the computer keyboard being pressed repeatedly could be heard very clearly in this dark room.

CLICK! CLICK! TAP! TAP!

Not only keyboards, but the sound of a mouse being pressed can also be heard.

CLICK! CLICK! TAP! TAP!

CLICK! CLICK! TAP! TAP!

Constantly, the sound was very audible in this dark room. From the sound, it sounded like the user was not writing or typing something on the computer. Instead, she was playing a game.

In the dark room, where there was a lamp but it was turned off by the owner of the room. And there was a window, but it was closed very tightly and protected with curtains. There was a 17-year-old girl playing an online game on her computer.

The girl's gaze and focus was very sharp and serious towards her monitor. She was very focused on playing the online game. Her face could be slightly seen in the dark room thanks to the bright Blu-ray light produced by the PC monitor.

She played the online game while wearing a headset on both ears and while covered by a rather thick and warm blanket. Her dark room was cooled and refreshed by the air conditioner. To the left of her keyboard was a snack that kept her company. If she needed something to nibble on and fill her stomach a little bit, she could snack on the snack next to her keyboard.

No one could disturb her and stop her while she was in this mode. No one but one person...

TOCK! TOCK!

"Raaaiiinnn! Open the door and come out now!" A woman shouted from outside her room.

"Huummm... After this!" The girl called Rain replied lazily.

"You haven't left your room since yesterday! Now come out and help me and mom buy food outside!" Continued the woman outside Rain's room.

"Huuummm... You're on your own!"

"I'm going out with my friends after this. Since you're alone at home later, then you should go!"

"HUH!? Where are mom and dad?" Rain asked with a bit of surprise while taking off her headset.

"This is the result of never leaving your room! Mom and Dad are gone until tonight. While I will go until afternoon. So you have to take care of the house later. Got it?"

Hearing that, Rain could only sigh deeply. Inevitably, Rain was forced to stop playing games for now and listen to her sister's orders.

"Alright, alright! As soon as this one match is over, I'll go buy some food" Rain replied in a very unintentional, forced, and unwilling manner.

"OK!"~ I put the money and shopping list on the dining table. I'll be home later in the afternoon so there's no need to bother making food. I'll make it for you."

"Yeah, yeah. Understood."

"If you want to eat, I've prepared food for you too on the dining table. You can grab it yourself later."

"Yes, yes"

"Before leaving the house, close the door tightly and lock the door too. After coming home, lock the door too. We all carry spare keys."

"Okay, okay..."

"Okay~ Then, I'll go first~ Be careful at home~"

Rain's sister left, leaving Rain home alone. Leaving all the chores until later in the afternoon to Rain.

After her sister left, Rain sighed deeply and then said-

"Sigh... What a hassle." Rain said lazily.

In order to get all the problems and home affairs over with quickly, Rain turned off her computer monitor and shut down her PC. After that, Rain immediately got up from her chair and got ready to go out to buy ingredients for the meal.

Rain flicked on the light in her room, revealing the condition of her room, which was very neat and well-maintained. Although there was a lot of stuff in Rain's room. Rain has at least 3 game consoles, and 2 portable game consoles. Rain's room also had 1 wide LCD TV that she used to play games and 1 regular-sized LCD TV that she used to watch TV. On her glass shelf are some Anime character figures. She has 1 normal size bed for one person to the left of her computer desk. There is a large closet to store all her clothes to the right of her computer desk.

Not only that, it turns out that Rain has more than 1 computer. But she only uses 1 computer. The rest Rain keeps in a second cupboard specifically for all electronic items that she doesn't use. The cupboard is next to Rain's glass shelf.

Rain's room is quite spacious. Even this room can be filled with more than 2 people. But this room is only used by Rain alone.

Judging from the contents of Rain's room, you could say that Rain is an Otaku. Especially someone who really likes to play games. And from her nature, Rain seemed to be an Introvert.

After turning on the light in her room, Rain opened the curtain on her bedroom window. After the curtain was opened, the sunlight entered Rain's room and illuminated Rain's room even brighter.

Rain's eyes were immediately dazzled thanks to the sunlight that directly entered Rain's room and hit Rain through the window of her room. Rain immediately shielded her eyes with her right hand.

After Rain wasn't dazzled, Rain lowered her right hand and looked out the window. She didn't open her bedroom window and just looked through the window glass. It was very quiet outside and there were no people passing by at all.

"It's Sunday. But it's pretty quiet today," Rain said.

After finished looking out the window, Rain went straight to her wardrobe and took and put on her favorite clothes that she often wore when going out.

After finishing dressing, Rain took her smartphone and put it in her bag. After that, Rain took her Smartwatch and wear it on her left arm. Not needing to linger, Rain went straight out of her room and closed her bedroom door tightly and locked it.

After that, Rain went down the stairs to the first floor and then to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Rain picked up the money her sister had left on the table for her to buy groceries at the supermarket. Rain took the money and put it in her wallet. On the table there was also fresh food for Rain to eat that her sister had made.

"Hmmm... Maybe when I get home," said Rain who decided to eat the food after returning from the supermarket.

Not to mention, Rain took the shopping list that Rain had to buy at the supermarket later. After looking at the shopping list, Rain put it in her wallet and then put her wallet inside her bag.

"It looks like that's all"

After finishing getting ready, Rain went straight to the front door of her house and exited the house. Once outside, Rain closed the door tightly and locked it. Rain took her house key and put it inside her bag.

"Time to go"

With that, Rain started to go to the supermarket alone on foot.

Ame Iekami, or also known as Rain. 17 years old. Female. Second year of high school student at Takaoka High School. Has a hobby of playing online games. Favorite food, nothing but snacks.

Rain is someone who is quiet and doesn't talk much, which causes her to be a bit of a social outcast in contrast to her family and other classmates, always separating herself from large crowds and looking rather shy, and doesn't seem to talk much. Her eyes were soft and naive and her languid posture portrayed her introverted personality.

However, Rain is also very famous for being a very smart girl and good at technology. Rain is one of the smartest students in her school where she always ranks in the top 10 in every test, often coming in first in her class and top 5 in the school.

Rain was shorter in height than most of her classmates of the same age. She has pale skin, brown eyes and brown hair. Her hair is short, left slightly above her shoulders and a long lock of hair on the right side of her face. She wears a gray hairpin. Her hairpin is 'X' shaped and wraps around her entire lock of hair securely. Rain likes to wear an outfit consisting of a black long-sleeved turtleneck t-shirt, a warm brown jacket, a gray skirt, and blacl shoes with black socks.

Wherever Rain goes, Rain always carries her Smartphone and Smartwatch. Inside her Smartphone and Smartwatch there was a mysterious application that no one seemed to know at all what application it was. Not only that, but previously on her computer there was also that application.

Maybe it was a special app that Rain had created for herself. No one knew. But that possibility could be because Rain is very smart in the field of technology.

But what did the app do? No one knows but Rain.

Rain walked slowly to the train station to go to the supermarket. Unfortunately there were no supermarkets near Rain's house, so Rain had to take a train to a supermarket in the next district.

On her way, Rain passed a children's playground not far from her house. There Rain saw a cute black cat sleeping on a park bench by the roadside.

"Aa! There's a cat!~"

Rain really liked cats, so she went straight to the cat and started petting it.

Rain's stroking made the cat happy and allowed Rain to continue stroking it.

"How cute~" said Rain who felt very excited with the black cat.

"It's rare to find a cat that immediately wants to be petted by me. Usually they run away immediately. I wonder why."

When Rain looked at the cat's neck, it already had a blue collar and a metallic circle with the cat's name and home address on it. The collar indicated that the cat already had an owner.

"Ah!? He already has an owner. No wonder he wants to be petted" Rain said while feeling a little disappointed.

"But this is strange... He looks like a house cat. But he's outside the house. Or maybe his house is nearby? But I rarely see this cat hanging around here. Strange" said Rain who was talking alone while feeling a little confused.

Rain then looked at the cat's collar to see the cat's home address. After seeing the cat's home address, Rain was very surprised because the cat's home address was very far from here.

"Wow! It's so far away! How did you get here?" Asked Rain who was talking to herself but the question was directed at the black cat.

The cat of course couldn't answer Rain and could only meow.

"Are you a lost cat? Or ran away from home? But you look very well-groomed. It's impossible for you to hate your owner and run away from your owner's house, isn't it" Rain said, talking to the cat even though Rain knew that the cat certainly couldn't understand her and certainly couldn't answer her.

The cat only replied by meowing.

After hearing the cat's meow many times, Rain then said-

"Hmmm. If I could talk to you, surely I would immediately understand what all your words mean" said Rain who was very hopeful.

The black cat just fell silent while looking at Rain.

"Yep, I hope so. But that's of course impossible, isn't it"

The black cat was still silent while looking at Rain.

"Hmmm... Does he not want to talk anymore?" Rain thought after getting the same silent response from the black cat.

The black cat was still the same as before.

"Hmmm... Well, let it be. Then, I'll be leaving first. I hope you'll still be there until I return. Bye~" Rain then parted ways with the black cat and headed back to walk to the train station to head to the supermarket.

Parting with Rain who had left him alone again on the park's roadside bench, the black cat was still looking at Rain from a distance. He stared at Rain with his sharp eyes as if the cat was watching Rain.

On the road, Rain thought to herself and spoke in her heart.

"Hmmm... I wonder how that cat got here. Her house is so far from here. Did he run away from his owner's house? But that's unlikely because he looks very well-groomed and his collar is also quite nice. Well, even though he's a bit dirty for a black cat, but he looks very well-groomed"

"This makes me very curious. Maybe I'll check again later. Hopefully that cat hasn't gone anywhere..-"

"Aa!!! I forgot to look at his name on his collar..."

After 10 minutes of walking, Rain finally arrived at the train station. The train station was very spacious and large. There were a lot of people in the train station. Rain still had another 30 minutes before the train came, so Rain would spend her time buying a milkshake at the train station while playing with her phone.

Rain sat on a bench at the station while drinking the milkshake she had just bought. While drinking the milkshake, Rain surfed through the internet, especially surfing on one of the Social Media. On Rain's social media timeline, there were tons of diverse posts. Starting from art images from social media internet artists, posts from someone famous such as entertainers and even content creators, and of course there are daily news and important news that are currently happening in Japan and even around the world.

While surfing on social media, Rain always comes across topics that are trending in the world today. That is, the topic of how recently there have been a lot of people who have died mysteriously and for no apparent reason.

Seeing the news on social media, Rain recalled the incident that had happened to her. Briefly and in a flash, Rain had a flashback of what happened 1 year ago. But, the memory didn't make Rain panic or traumatized at all. Rain just acted casually like this was a common occurrence. Indeed, this is now a common occurrence, in fact it often happens lately. So Rain felt normal and didn't care about this incident.

After all... Rain had seen it firsthand. Not only that, but the incident one year ago was the first time for this "mysterious death" to happen. Rain had seen it firsthand, so the things or news about this mysterious event were not surprising and scared Rain.

The comments of people in the world on social media about this mysterious phenomenon are very diverse. Some are frightened, panicked, brave or pretentious, some go as far as commenting on philosophy and health, and even the worst is that there are those who support this mysterious phenomenon such as asking certain people to be affected by this phenomenon next.

Commenting on what Rain had just seen, Rain said.

"Hmph! It's people like you who should be 'targeted' next!" Said Rain who felt very annoyed after seeing the bad comments on social media.

Not wanting to feel annoyed anymore, Rain immediately continued to surf social media trying not to encounter the same topic and not to meet people who were bad in the comment section.

But, what Rain found on social media was always the same. The same news and the same topics about this mysterious event. Rain was so bored and fed up with the same news and topics that she decided to quit social media.

"I was playing games since yesterday. Why is this topic even trending?" Said Rain who talked to herself while sighing.

What Rain said sounded completely unrelated to the topic of the mysterious phenomenon. But from what Rain said it was as if Rain already knew or was used to this topic every day. Knowing again that Rain was one of the victims of the "Miracle" a year ago and saw firsthand and was directly there when the "Mysterious Death" phenomenon occurred. Or maybe... Rain knew something about this "Mysterious Death" phenomenon.

To divert this topic, Rain put on her Bluetooth or wireless earphones in both ears and started listening to a song.

30 minutes finally passed without Rain realizing and feeling it. The train Rain had been waiting for finally came. All the passengers from the train got out first and then after everyone got out, the new passengers at this station all got into the train and headed to the next stop.

Right now..

One of the television stations was currently discussing the "Mysterious Death" phenomenon that had recently occurred frequently.

"Good afternoon everyone" said the host of this show.

"Today, I, Iwamoto Maya, along with Doctor Kotake Naoki and Professor Nagamatsu Yoringa, will be discussing the mysterious deaths that have been happening around the world lately."

"Doctor Kotake and Professor Nagamatsu, good afternoon"

"Good afternoon, Iwamoto-san" replied Doctor Naoki.

"Good afternoon, Maya-san" replied Professor Yoringa.

"For Doctor Kotake, regarding this mysterious death. Dr. Kotake has conducted many examinations and researches on the corpses of several victims. Is that right?"

"Yes. That's right."

"In your opinion, is there anything strange about the bodies of the victims of this event?"

"Strange? Of course there is"

"If I may know, what is it, doc?"

"You might be surprised, but what I mean by strange is that there is absolutely nothing unusual!"

"Eh? What does that mean?"

"What I mean is... From every corpse, there is absolutely nothing unusual about their bodies. There was absolutely no external or internal damage. Both in the vital parts of the bodies and in the organs of the bodies. In other words... Yes, this is very strange because no medical anomalies were found on the bodies of the victims"

" I see. Now I understand. So what Doctor is saying is that it's 'strange' because there was not a single abnormality or damage found on the victim's body. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right!"

"Has Doctor done any other examinations?"

"Yes. Many times. We from the hospital and the team in charge of examining each victim's body have conducted various kinds of research and experiments on the victims' bodies."

"Then?"

"But... Strangely... There is absolutely no clear and definite evidence of why and how the victim died. It's really very strange!"

"Even though you have undergone all kinds of experiments and research?"

"Yes! All those researches and experiments did not bring any clear and definite results. In one of our studies on one of the bodies of a victim who had no history of medical conditions at all, our research resulted in the victim's entire body being completely normal! There was no damage, no health issues at all, and no significant changes in the body. Everything was normal like a normal human body. The entire inside of their bodies including their organs and brains, their bones, their flesh, and even the outside of their bodies too... Everything is normal!"

"That's very strange and surprising, doc"

"Indeed it is!"

"And are you still continuing your research on some of the new victims' bodies found in Japan?"

"Only a few. The rest we did not get permission from the families at all."

"And are the results the same?"

"Yes! They're all the same! The results are all the same!"

"Everything is normal?"

"Yes! Even those who have a history of medical conditions and those who don't, the results are the same. Even those with large and small bodies have the same results. Everything is normal! They did not die from heart attacks or other serious internal diseases. They all died just like that!"

"Just like what happened one year ago?"

"Yes. Just like the incident one year ago. It was the same as the bank robbers one year ago"

"It really is an unusual phenomenon"

"Yep, surely this is unusual, Iwamoto-san"

"There's no mistaking it. Thank you in advance Doctor Kotake. We will return to you after this. Next, Professor Nagamatsu"

"Yes."

"Professor. Professor is one of the professors who has been dealing with these mysterious deaths in Japan for over a year."

"Yup."

"The question is the same, prof. Is there anything unusual about the victim?"

"Hmmm... Maybe I should justify your question. That question has already been answered by Doctor Kotake. So maybe the right question should be 'Was there anything strange about the victim before they died mysteriously?" That's it. Can we change the question like that?"

"Sorry in advance, prof. Yes, please"

"Okay. Thank you.. Hmmm? To be honest, there is"

"What is it, prof?"

"We have checked the history and identity of the victims by checking the neighborhoods where the victims lived, asking each of the victims' family members and friends or acquaintances, and we even got permission to look into the victims' personal belongings and objects. And, yes... Most of the results are also quite surprising"

"What is it, prof, if we may know?"

"Hmmm... How do I explain this, huh? Let's just say that 'most' of them are... 'Annoying' people"

"'Annoying?'. What does that mean, prof?"

"Well. What I mean is... Most of them have personalities that can be described as 'extremely annoying' and make us want to 'beat them up' if we could meet them in person."

"H-Hooo...(?)"

"You might still be confused, Maya-san. But, this is not a difficult thing to understand"

"Is that so, prof?"

"Yes. Doctor Kotake himself, do you understand?"

"Yes. I totally understand what you mean."

"C-Can you give us an example?"

"Hmmm... Let's put it this way. Maya-san..."

"Y-Yes?"

"Does Maya-san have a social media account?"

"Yes. Of course."

"How many followers does Maya-san have on Maya-san's account?"

"Ummm... 20 thousand or so. If I'm not mistaken."

"And does Maya-san often post things on Maya-san's account?"

"Y-Yes. But what I post is usually just meals and announcements of when I'll be appearing on television. That's all."

"And does anyone comment on Maya-san's posts?"

"Yes. Quite a few."

"Yes. That's where the problem is"

"Eh? There?"

"Yes."

"In the comment section?"

"Yes. Now I ask again. Are there one or more bad comments that could annoy Maya-san and other Social media users on Maya-san's posts?"

"Eh? About that... Yes. Quite a few, up to 2 or at most 5 so far"

"Yes. That's what I meant before."

"Eh?! Wait a minute! So what professor meant about them being 'annoying people' was..."

"Yes. You seem to have realized and understood what I meant. Most of the victims we studied had 'that' kind of nature. Very annoying personalities like people who make nasty and annoying comments in social media comment sections. Or also known as 'Trolling'"

"So... Is it possible that most of the victims are..."

"Yes. Most of them are social media users with accounts that always spread bad behavior, negativity, always pitting each other, unnecessary spam, trolling for the sake of their own interests and pleasure, creating and provoking commotion, and so on that can disturb other social media users just for the sake of unnecessary and unimportant things or even just for their own entertainment. Most victims are users of such social media accounts"

"I-I see. I don't know why this has turned out to be so scary"

"This is indeed very scary. But... After a lot of research on social media, we found that most people are actually very happy if people like them disappear or don't exist"

"So, I apologize in advance for my question, but do you think that their being disappears is a... good thing?"

"Hmmm... It's a complicated thing. My human side says, some are no. But also some, yes. It all depends on the situation and conditions to be more precise. But, if I say 'Yes', I don't expect them to 'Die' at all. At least they never appear on social media or better yet, change their behavior on social media and learn not to annoy others or don't be a bad person on social media..-"

"-...It's better for them to get better or stop using social media if they just want to disturb someone's peace with their bad behavior like that. And why does the other side of me say, 'No'? It's obvious because I'm not at all someone who wishes for other people's misery or misfortune to happen to other people whom I don't know at all. Especially on social media. If I wish for them to 'Die', then I'm no different from those terrible people who have the 'Bad' personalities I described earlier"

"I see. I understand now. Totally understood. But, earlier professor said that people like this are just 'some' of the victims, right?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Then what are the other victims looked like, Professor?"

"Some of them are small criminals. Some of them also seem to be people who... Hmmm... I don't know how to put it but... There really isn't anything 'bad' about them. Even though those 'not bad' victims are very rare and the cases in Japan are still only 6. But it's still very strange"

"Maybe I know what professor means. It's normal for it to happen to people who are 'Bad' like the previous example. But for people who aren't 'bad' at all, it's a very surprising and strange thing. Is that right?"

"Yes. Although there have only been 6 incidents in Japan, it can be concluded that the targets are not only those with 'bad' personalities but can also target people who do not have 'bad' personalities"

"Wait a minute! 'Target' you say, prof?"

"Yes."

"W-Wait a minute! So you're saying that it's a 'person' and not just a natural or freak incident?"

"This is already a 'bizarre incident', Maya-san. And I'm not speculating that the culprit is 'a person' because I'm not a detective who specializes in digging and finding out the mastermind behind all this. I'm just mentioning the target of this phenomenon. Not someone who likes to target others who they want to 'Kill' with this 'Mysterious Death' phenomenon"

"I-I see. Sorry."

"But, well... Isn't this already speculated by many people including the mysterious Detective who calls themselves 'Hell'. Isn't that right, Doctor Kotake?"

"Yes. Both the police around the world and even us from the medical team, including that mysterious detective, 'Hell', have also speculated that the culprit could be a person"

"But... Does that prove to be true, prof, doc?"

"Hmmm? So far, from the world of psychology... It's possible, yes"

"I-Is that right?"

"Here's the short explanation. From all the examples I have given before, the majority of those affected by this phenomenon are people who have 'bad' characteristics both on social media and off social media such as a criminal. If this is a natural phenomenon either coming from nature itself or in the medical world, then it is very odd and there is something really very strange. Isn't that right?"

"S-Sorry... I still don't understand"

"The summary is... Nature and diseases in the medical world cannot possibly target the targets they want to aim for themselves. They are not snipers standing by on top of a skyscraper looking for the target they are aiming for or want to target. If it is nature and disease, then they will work randomly and not target specific people."

"T-True enough. Natural events or diseases will normally just happen to anyone in the world no matter what they are like"

"Yes. Exactly. But for this case... The ones who always get affected are those who have 'bad' characteristics both on social media and in the outside world. Logically, it is very strange and impossible for nature and the medical world to do such things. Maybe in the medical world we can do it by targeting someone we want to target and then we inject poison or disease into our target. But, according to research and events that have occurred, such a method has proven to be invalid and impossible to do because the distance is uncertain and the time of occurrence can sometimes coincide or even vary."

"That's right."

"With that said, we psychological experts, the Japanese and world police, and especially the mysterious Detective 'Hell', also speculate that nature and disease are not the main causes. And so far it still holds the speculation that a 'Human' is the culprit. Although it's still a very difficult thing to prove because we have no idea how they did it. Because I previously said that approaching the target directly is impossible. The method they used... Still very mysterious"

"I-Is that your speculation?"

"Honestly, no. I didn't speculate like that at all."

"The one who speculated like that before was actually 'Hell'. And 'Hell' spread their speculation to the Japanese police and it was spread throughout Japan and then heard all over the world" added by doctor Kotake.

"Yup. And in the end this speculation began to be temporarily held by the whole world and by all law enforcement agencies around the world"

"I see. I understand now. 'Hell' is quite something."

"Yes. We agree on that."

"Yes. They've solved many cases that are difficult to solve. Especially in Japan."

"So, 'Hell' is from Japan?"

"I don't think so."

"Just because their speculations were first spread in Japan, it doesn't mean they're from Japan. Who knows."

"I see. For some reason... It's become creepier than ever"

"Because the culprit is a 'human'? Yes. I can say that it's pretty scary too"

"But wait a minute! If the culprit is a human... Doesn't that mean that they're a... A murderer?"

"Exactly" The professor replied immediately.

"There's no mistaking it" The doctor replied directly as well.

"So... The culprit is guilty?"

"Of course!"

"There's no doubt about that, right"

"So... The police are trying to catch them?"

"We're not from the police so we can't answer that. But logically, if the culprit is a human... Then...-"

"-...Of course, they must be caught immediately!"

------------------------------------------------

After a few minutes of traveling by train, Rain finally arrived at the District station next to her district. After getting out of the train, without lingering, Rain went straight to the supermarket on foot.

It took at least 5 minutes from the station to the supermarket.

On the way, Rain stopped and looked at the city jumbotron attached to one of the buildings in the city. There were tons of people who stopped and gathered around to watch the jumbotron. The jumbotron was broadcasting the program that was currently being watched the most, which was a TV program that was discussing about the "Mysterious Death" phenomenon in Japan.

The host and interviewees were still the same as before.

"So we can already summarize some conclusions regarding this 'mysterious death'"

"Yes. At least."

"Let's summarize some of the results of our discussion today..-"

"-...Let's start from the medical world. According to Doctor Kotake, first, there was absolutely no internal or external damage found on the bodies of the victims. Secondly, no serious medical conditions were found on the bodies of the victims either before or after they died. Thirdly, there were absolutely no alterations to the bodies of the victims. And finally, according to Dr. Kotake, this is an oddity that cannot be explained through or in the medical world."

"Yes. Those are the results of our research."

"Alright. And next, from the field of psychology. According to the research results of Professor Nagamatsu's team, first, according to the professor, the victims are those who have characteristics that can be considered quite 'bad' or 'annoying' both on social media and in the outside world"

"Yes."

"And secondly, even these mysterious phenomenon can affect people who don't have bad personalities at all"

"Yes. Right."

Hearing that, Rain could only mutter, "Hmmm... It looks bad" she said quietly and to herself.

"And lastly... This is according to the Mysterious Detective, 'Hell'..-"

After the presenter mentioned the name "Hell", everyone watching the jumbotron, especially the girls, and even Rain, instantly became more interested and put more attention into watching the TV show.

"Nee, did you hear that?" asked one of the girls cheerfully.

"She said 'Hell'~" her friend replied cheerfully too.

"'Hell,' huh..." Muttered one of the guys.

"I heard they are a great mysterious detective who has managed to solve many good cases in the world" said one of the other men.

"And even now no one knows their identity"

"Yes. Even many governments from foreign countries have tried to contact 'Hell' and try to uncover their identity for their own interests. But they failed."

"Heee... This 'Hell' dude is amazing, eh."

"They can protect their own identity even though they are being sought after by many people and even big countries"

Rain who could hear quite clearly the conversation of the people who were talking about "Hell" could only remain silent and did not comment on 'Hell'. Everyone went back to watching the Jumbotron.

"Here, according to 'Hell' the culprit is a 'Human' and not a disease or natural outbreak that causes most people to die in an instant for no apparent reason. That's according to 'Hell'"

Hearing that, everyone who was watching the Jumbotron was immediately shocked and some started to get goosebumps and started to comment on the information they just got.

"Eeehh?! Is that so?"

"Isn't that scary and dangerous?"

"No way! How could a human do such a thing?!"

"If it's not through science and the rest of the medical world... Then how can that person kill another person just like that without a clear method and cause?"

"It's strange and quite shocking"

"According to that psychologist professor, he said that the victim was an internet user with a bad personality, right? That's bad! My son has been addicted to the internet lately. I hope my son isn't targeted by this 'mysterious death'"

"That's very serious, isn't it. You better keep your son from acting strangely on the internet and keep an eye on him to watch his language on the internet"

"Yes. You're right. I should watch him more!"

"Nee nee nee... Isn't your boyfriend a gamer on the internet?~ What if he behaves badly on the internet and 'Mysterious Death' is after him?~"

"Don't talk like that! He may be an internet addict and a gamer, but I'm sure he doesn't behave badly on the internet!"

"Heeee~ You think so?~ Maybe you should start checking his smartphone and PC before it's too late~"

"That's right, that's right~ Who knows you might find 'something' in his history~"

In response to this, Rain could only speak silently.

"'Hell', huh... They're more dangerous than I thought before. Maybe it's time to be careful" Rain said to herself.

Back on the TV show, before ending the show, the presenter received a letter from one of the staff. He then read it and informed the audience about the letter.

"This just in, but it seems that the Japanese government has given a name to this 'mysterious death' phenomenon to make it easier to name. The government named it...-"

"Certain Death!"

In response, the audience could only comment and the majority of them all accepted the name.

Rain, on the other hand, was silent without any reaction. But she spoke in her heart as she left that place to head to the supermarket and buy groceries. Rain said in her heart-

"'Certain Death,' eh... That's fine too. It's a good name. It's quite pleasant to hear and say."

At the supermarket, Rain immediately picked up and put all the food written on the shopping list into the basket. And she also didn't forget to take her favorite snacks for herself. Of course, she paid for the snacks herself using her own money.

Rain is a person who doesn't like to linger. After finishing taking everything on the shopping list, Rain went straight to the cashier and queued up.

But, while waiting in line, there seemed to be a small problem at the front of the line. At the front of the line there was a man who seemed to be very angry. He was yelling at the cashier and scolding her. It was unclear what he was displeased about, but the commotion he was making made everyone feel very uncomfortable. It also made everyone feel sorry for the cashier.

Rain knew and realized that the man was very angry at the cashier. But from Rain's distance ahead it was quite far and the crowd here made it difficult for Rain to hear their conversation. The man was seen kicking the supermarket's property. Although it wasn't damaged, it was already a violation of the law.

Seeing the incident, Rain took her smartphone from her bag. Rain then pointed her camera at the man.

It looked like Rain wanted to take a picture of the man. However, the man was moving too much, making it very difficult for Rain to take pictures of the man and the results were always bad.

"I can't get a picture and info of that person if he moves too much" Rain said to herself while still trying to take a picture of that person.

Then, without the man knowing, two security guards came from outside the supermarket. They both grabbed the man and dragged him out forcibly. Since the man was unable to move much, Rain was able to photograph him properly and get the image quality she wanted.

"Ok" Rain said calmly.

"Let's keep the photo" Rain then put her phone back into her bag.

What was the photo for and why did Rain want to take a picture of that person so badly?

After the man was dragged out, conditions in the supermarket returned to normal and the queue began to run again.

A few minutes later, Rain's business at the supermarket was finally over. Rain had a few minutes before the next train came. Rain could have wandered around here while waiting for the train to arrive. But Rain is not a person who likes hanging out and prefers to go home immediately. So Rain went straight to the station and was willing to wait for a long time until the train arrived.

Along the way, Rain saw many people opening their smartphones. Not only that, Rain could also hear the conversations of some of the people she passed.

What did Rain hear?

The conversations of the people Rain heard were them talking about "Certain Death".

Even at the station, Rain kept hearing people talking about "Certain Death". Rain was currently waiting for the train while sitting on a bench at the station. Because a lot of people were talking about "Certain Death," Rain became suspicious and took out her smartphone where she immediately opened social media.

"Uwaagghh! It's true..." Said Rain who felt quite surprised after finding out that her suspicions were true.

On social media, the topic, "Certain Death" is currently trending worldwide.

Many people in Japan and even around the world are talking about the topic of the mysterious phenomenon and death that is, "Certain Death".

People's comments on the internet are very diverse. Some are frightened, some wonder why they named it this way, and some even discuss whether it is true that the perpetrator of "Certain Death" is a human being. In the discussion, there were even people who spread information about other people who they wanted to 'die' from this mysterious phenomenon of "Certain Death". Of course, people who commented like that were immediately attacked by social media users in large numbers.

Seeing the chaos on the internet, especially on social media today, Rain couldn't react to anything. She immediately put her phone back into her bag and went back to waiting for her train to arrive.

After waiting for a long time, Rain's train arrived and Rain immediately entered the train after the other passengers got off.

----------------------------------------------------------

Aaaaahhh... It's so tiring.

I've only been out for a few hours but I'm already feeling very tired. Maybe I should start exercising. But... I'm bad at exercising.

I'm now almost near my house. Just a few more blocks and I'll be at my house.

Once I get home, I'll immediately lock all the doors and get back to gaming!

How could my gaming time be interrupted just to buy groceries! Why don't you buy them yourself while you're out of the house, sis?! Hmph! You're weird! Even though you're coming back later in the afternoon, you can buy groceries later, right. Why should I?!

"Sigh... How troublesome..."

Without realizing it, I had finally arrived near the park. And I was quite surprised after seeing what I had just seen.

"Ehhh?! No way...!" I immediately ran over to the thing I saw.

"Cat!~ You still here?~"

This was quite a surprise! I didn't expect this cat to still be here after almost 2 hours. He didn't go anywhere at all and was just lying here.

Upon seeing me coming, the black cat immediately stood up and looked at me.

I felt very fond of this cat. I started petting him gently and he seemed to really like it.

"Ahaha~ You seem to like it a lot, huh~"

"But... You already have an owner. Why did you run away from your owner?"

I asked the black cat, but the cat just fell silent and looked back at me.

Yep, I knew that he definitely wouldn't reply to me in human language. After all, it's obvious that there isn't a single animal that can talk to humans and speak human languages. But, talking to a cat like this is a lot of fun.

Oh, that's right. I should get back home to put these foods in the fridge. And get back to playing games.

"Sorry, cat. I have to go again. We'll meet again later. Bye~"

I said my temporary goodbye to the black cat and headed back home.

I wish I could meet that cat again. He's so cute and cuddly.

If he really did run away from his owner's house...-

Can I pick him up and keep him?

My mom, dad, and sister really like cats. So they would definitely allow it if I picked up that cat and kept it as my pet.

Aa! That's right...

"...I forgot to see his name again..."

I finally arrived at my house.

I took my house key and started unlocking my house door.

"Haaaahh... I hope that cat is still there until tomorrow. Wait a minute... I can see it again after this anyway... But... Getting out of the house for me is a bit.. Plus, I'm very tired. I have very little stamina. I hope he's still in the park tomorrow"

"It looks like you had a very tiring walk."

"Yeah... Sort of."

"You'd better rest soon."

"Yeah. I will."

"About the park, I'm freezing there so I won't be there tomorrow."

"Heee... Is that so?"

"By the way, if you want to adopt me and make me your pet... That's fine."

"Haha~ You're not an animal, sis- WAIT A SECOND, THAT'S NOT MY SISTER VOICE! WHO ARE YOU!?"

After realizing that it wasn't my older sister, I immediately turned around and tried to see who was talking to me before.

I just realized that my sister would be home later in the afternoon and now it wasn't the time for her to come home.

After I turned around, I couldn't see the person who had talked to me earlier at all.

"Ehh? W-Who's there?" I asked trying to figure out who had just been chatting with me.

I didn't see anyone behind me or around me at all. I started to feel scared and trembled a little. I slowly started to pick up my phone that was in my bag and pressed a special application on it.

But after that, I began to hear a voice replying to my previous question.

"I am" He answered calmly.

"Eh? Who?" I could hear his voice. But I couldn't see who it was at all.

"Me, human. I am the one who is speaking." The voice replied again.

"...Where are you?" I still couldn't see where the source of the voice came from. But I could hear it very clearly and it was very close to me.

"Down here." He replied again.

"Down?"

"Yes. Lower your head" He asked me to lower my head.

"Lower my head?" I did as he said.

After I lowered my head and saw who was speaking. I became very surprised. I couldn't move and I could only utter, "Eh?!", in surprise.

I really don't know how this happened. Was this another miracle? Or was there something wrong with me?

"You must be surprised, huh, human?" He said once again calmly.

I was unable to reply at all and could only remain frozen while staring at him intently with both eyes. Of course... In addition to being surprised, I felt very confused.

"There's no need to be afraid and worried. I'm not a cat demon. I'm just a cute, ordinary cat. In fact, I'd also like to know why I can talk to you."

I still couldn't reply.

"You must still be surprised, huh, human? Me too"

I was still like before. Silent not speaking and still very shocked and confused.

"I didn't expect to be able to talk to you. I wonder how I can talk to you. But if I can talk to you, that means there must be something strange or amazing about you"

I was still silent and couldn't reply to the words of the... The black cat.

"Tell me, human... Who are you?"

I had already experienced the strangest experience of my life and the one that made the biggest impression on me. That is, the bank robbery incident one year ago.

BUT...

This one... is the event that I can't understand at all and the most shocking after the bank robbery incident one year ago.

What am I looking at right now and who am I chatting with right now?

It was...

"Oy, human... Can you hear me?"

"E-Ehh?! H-How can you... A cat... can talk to me?!"

"That's what I want to know too. Human!"

At this moment...

In front of my eyes..

There is a black cat..

Talking to me!