A friendly, and slightly annoying, message from Hikaru:

Hello readers! It's been a long time since I've last greeted you guys. Well, to cut to the chase, I apologize for taking so long to post this chapter. Classes did get extremely busy recently, and I haven't had the time to do much else. With that said though, I hope you will enjoy this chapter, though I do admit that this chapter may be slightly slow compared to the previous one.

Correspondant S: I thought Sai was supposed to be smart. After this, he seems just as dumb as the Mod and the Grill.

Hikaru: T.T Gomenasai. Blame the author for being stupid, those three are innocent!

Mikage: ...(I didn't even get to make an appearance for the bulk of this chapter).

???: How long are you going to continue talking, Hikaru?

Geh. Right. Well, see you all next time, in Colosseum 72!

-Hikaru Seishin,

November 12, 2015.-

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

Classes.

Now, this situation had completely gone down the RPG-route.

Was I expected to play some sort of a “game” after that?

I read the description of each of the classes:

The Mage, specialized in offensive magic.

Able to do significant damage to numerous targets over a wide area, or heavy damage to a single target close-range.

Although highest in INT (intellect), they are considerably weaker in SPD (speed), making them members of the mid-line in battle.

The Archer, specialized in ranged, physical attacks.

Proficient in the art of sniping and guerrilla wars, they are good for both defensive and offensive purposes.

Even with the highest SPD stats out of all classes, archers can be lacking in terms of STR (strength) and physical damage compared to the Warrior or Rogue classes.

The Rogue, specialized in multi-strike combats.

Undefeated in the games of stealth and deception, they are experts in disguise and traps, as well as decent handlers of small ranged weapons.

The only flaw, despite having the highest stats in STR (strength), is their incredibly low stats in CON (constitution), making them reliant on the “hit and run” strategy.

The Cleric, specialized in healing and defensive magic.

An important part of any team’s backline, they know a variety of self, single-person, and team heals, as well as both buffs and debuffs.

As invincible as they may seem, Clerics make up for their superiority in WIS (wisdom) through their average capabilities in the rest of the stats.

Lastly, the Warrior. Specialized in close-hand, melee exchanges.

Usually considered the “tank” of the team, they are essential in the front lines and vital in terms of team survival.

But, other than their unbelievably high stats in CON (constitution), their STR and damage is on a lower ranking than the Rogues.

…

Since I didn’t know what was going to happen next, I had to be careful of what I select.

What were my priorities?

Well, I would consider survival my top.

In order to get to the bottom of this phenomena, I would need to stay alive.

What would I be fighting?

Anything goes.

Humans? Monsters? The mastermind behind this operation?

I didn’t know yet.

Damage is often the first choice for most gamers, but I had to pick something that would withstand the test of time.

I swept my eyes across my choices once again.

…

The most optimal choice I had, given the conditions, was the Warrior class.

A class that had the balance I looked for between offensive and defensive tactics.

I thought you were more interesting than that.

I looked up at the owner of the voice.

Ame was shaking his head in disappointment.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. But, it looks like I will be going along with the Warrior class after all.” I stated calmly.

Tsk tsk. How boring.

As he spoke, the scene around him changed.

The darkness began to melt, drizzling down to the nothingness below like the falling rain on a window.

Desks.

A chalkboard.

An empty classroom.

Was I in some sort of a school?

…

Now, Kurose-kun, do your best to survive the next 30 minutes.

…

Survive the next 30 minutes?

Against what?

“Exactly who or what am I going against?” I shouted at the floating figure of Ame, suspended in mid-air outside of the windows.

Ame smiled.

You will find out in 3…2…1…

The walls behind me exploded into roaring inferno, sending me crashing into the chalkboard.

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

“Nii-san is gone again.” I commented, as I sat down at the breakfast table.

My mother paused in her egg-frying, turning to look at me as I sat down.

“He got a phone call from work as soon as he got back, left in a hurry, and hasn’t been back since.” she replied, sounding none too happy.

I took a slip of the coffee she placed in front of me.

“Well, looks like he is sorting out the incident at the Shokugun.” my father said, skimming over the article in the newspaper, “Earlier this morning, at around 3:28 AM, an anonymous man had jumped off the roof of the night club, Shokugun, shouting incomprehensible phrases about a ‘Colosseum’ and a ‘Kuro’. The police had identified the man as Kagawasa Matsuru, age 34, a freelance journalist and the father of two…”

…

I took another slip of the coffee.

“Shush, dear. Mikage has enough to worry about. How is your studying going, Mikage?” my mother asked.

“It’s going well so far, Okaa-san.”

She smiled at me.

My father gave me a nod of approval before adding on.

“This is nothing to worry about anyway. Seems like to me that this Kagawasa fellow may be slightly questionable in the head. And plus, this ‘Colosseum’ and ‘Kuro’ thing…he may have just been on the run from the Yakuza for owing too much money, and committed suicide over that? This sort of things happens a lot…”

My mother placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of both me and my father, perhaps a little too forcefully.

My father jumped a little in his seat, slightly startled.

I put my coffee mug down lightly.

“Either way, I’m not too happy that they are making our Sai handle everything that comes their way. I mean, he’s only 25 years old! I…”

“There, there, Kagome.” my father comforted her, giving her pats on the back, “I’m sure things will settle down soon.”

I set my fork down beside my plate.

“I’ll be going now, Okaa-san, Otou-san.”

“See you later, Mikage.” my father answered, as I picked up my bag and left the house.

…

I leaned my back against the closed front door.

A murder masked as a “suicide”.

Whispers of the names of “Colosseum” and “Kuro”.

The two beginning pieces of the puzzle has now been laid, and perhaps many more to come.

Yet…was this “chance discovery” surprising to me?

…

No, I have always known from the start.

It was inevitable.

Narrowing my eyes, I looked up at the cloudy skies above.

“So…it has finally begun.”

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

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Of course.”

“And you know that if this plan fails, your life will be forsaken?”

“Of course. But, I don’t wager on battles I cannot win.”

“…When and where will this be?”

“Tonight, in a place surrounded by people and the lights of the night…”

“The Colosseum will give the world…a warm greeting.”

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

“Chief Kurose, another phone call for you.”

“We are not answering any questions about the case. Please tell that to whichever publishing company is calling.”

“Chief Kurose, a call from Akatsuki Enter-”

“He already said we are not answering any questions, just brush them off.”

Kyoushiro sighed, placing a warm cup of coffee in front of Sai.

“Any updates on the location of the messages?” Sai asked, as he typed away on his laptop.

His colleague took a seat beside him, resting his forehand in his hands in fatigue.

“None so far. The system kept on failing just as they are about to pinpoint the location, as if something was preventing the access.”

Sai stopped typing, staring at the screen in front of him in silence.

Then, he narrowed his eyes.

“It’s strange.”

Kyoushiro raised his head, looking at him.

“What is?”

“That we were able to find these messages in Kagawasa Matsuru’s phone.”

Sai shifted his laptop over, so that Kyoushiro could see what he was referring to.

A message from the [Colosseum]:

Greetings, honored [Challenger]! You have been selected to participate in tonight’s [Colosseum Trial]. Please [Accept] this invitation to ensure a bright and peaceful tomorrow!

-From your dutiful Moderator, [Kuro].

Kyoushiro read the content before frowning, deep in thought.

“I can see why it may be strange,” he said, trailing off as he re-read the message, “I mean, we know nothing about this ‘Colosseum’ thing and this ‘Kuro’ guy. Judging by what was said though, it seems like some kind of event…a competition of some sort?”

Sai took a slip of his coffee.

“That may be true, but that was not what I meant.”

At Kyoushiro’s confused look, he continued.

“How many unsolved cases have we encountered these two months?”

“Approximately 120, Chief.”

“And what do these cases all have in common?”

“…Well…all of the victims seem to be found in horrendous conditions. Some burned, some decapitated, some torn beyond recognition…”

Sai shook his head.

“Not that. There was a piece of evidence that was always missing from the victims.”

“…”

Sai leaned forward slightly, his dark blue eyes gleaming from the light of the monitor.

“The phones. The computers. Every electronic device in the victim’s possession was wiped clean of all its data.”

Kyoushiro thought about this for a moment, before looking up at Sai.

“But how do we know that this case has anything to do with the previous ones? This was a suicide after all, not a murder.”

Sai nodded, reaching over to type something into the database.

Then, he redirected Kyoushiro’s attention to the screen.

“This was the first unsolved murder in our ongoing investigation. June 30th, 2024. Exactly two months ago.”

Kyoushiro narrowed his eyes, unsure of where this was going.

“Now, the subsequent killings occurred three days after. Five on July 3rd. Fourteen on July 4th, and four on July 5th.”

“And…how does this all relate to Kagawasa-san?”

Sai sighed a little, before continuing.

“Have you looked at the dates that the messages in his phone were sent on?”

“…Wait…June 30th, July 3rd, July 4th, July 5th…it…matches up!?”

“The same message is sent at exactly 7:00 AM, for a total of 24 days. On all of these 24 days, a corpse of a victim would be found, with the perpetrator still at large.”

He paused, opening a file.

“There are a few things to conclude with the information we have so far.”

“One, that the perpetrator of the crimes does not have set qualifications for the potential targets.”

“Male, female. Young, old. Single, married, wealthy, not wealthy…there is no pattern to the list.”

Pictures appeared on the screen, displaying the profiles of the victims.

“Two, that the crimes all occurred during the night and before dawn. Reports of acquaintances state that no abnormal behavior was sighted in the victims during the day prior to their deaths, yet they would be missing the next morning. Our forensics team can justify this conclusion with specific time periods, you are free to dig into the records if you wish.”

“The third point is that the exchange between the perpetrator and the victims happened through emails sent to the target’s electronic devices, with the most common medium of communication being their cellphones. To cover up one’s crime, is the proper protocol for a criminal. Yet, to wipe out all traces of contact makes the methodology alarmingly apparent.”

“I can see where your conclusions are coming from. But, are you saying that the victims received the notifications from the perpetrator, and willingly followed the instructions to their deaths?”

Sai tried to take another slip of his coffee, but the cup was empty.

He set the cup down, and turned to face Kyoushiro.

“A penalty. There was most likely a penalty for denying the invitation.”

“And what kind of penalty would that be?”

“Who knows. Deterrences differ from person to person.”

“But, why is it that nobody has ever come forth with these emails? Do they not trust that the police force will provide them with safety from the perpetrator?”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with trusting the police force or not. This bring us to my fourth point. It was most likely not that the victims are unwilling to speak up about these emails, but rather that they cannot speak up about these emails.”

“…How so?”

“Two potential reasons. First, that the victim will suffer a penalty for revealing the contents of the operation. Again, I do not know what the penalty is, but I would not be surprised at how far the perpetrator will go. Second, that the victims do not have the means to prove what they are saying. The penalty may not be enough to stop the victims from seeking help in the end, unless they too do not have the actual evidence in question.”

“By that, you mean the actual emails from the perpetrator?”

“That would be it exactly. Are you familiar with the Auto-delete system for emails?”

“The system that restricts the reading of emails only to the receiver, and auto-destructs after a certain period of time?”

“Yes. But, that system is not foolproof. It may be able to destroy traces of the message through timed countdowns, but it is not able predict when exactly the victim will decide to approach a third party. And of course, there is no way to completely remove all traces of the message, so it should still be trackable.”

Kyoushiro remained silent, waiting for Sai to continue on.

“Yet, the mastermind behind this operation is no ordinary man. This is the perpetrator who has avoided any and all forms of detection for the past two months, one who has killed not just a handful of people, but an amount in the hundreds. It would not surprise me if this perpetrator is able to interfere with the cellular device’s system at any given moment, as needed. Through what means, we are still unsure of. No form of altering devices were found in the phones, though the possibility that the perpetrator removed it after the crime stands.”

“Could the criminal have gotten rid of the original phones of the victims, and replaced them with new ones?”

“Possibly. But, a brand new phone would be pretty noticeable. It would be a strange occurrence indeed, if all the victims were to possess phones with no signs of wear. Yet, it is easy to forge antiquity in this age, so that idea may still be probable. But if it were just a simple replacement, the perpetrator may have lacked the techniques to prevent victims from consulting a third party. In this case, he or she would have been tracked, a long time ago.”

“…So we have a genius hacker of a serial killer at hand. That seems a bit far-stretched, doesn’t it?”

Sai chuckled slightly.

“Who knows? But again, the case we are dealing with right now is plenty abnormal by itself. Two whole months. Over 120 deaths. And no leads whatsoever. This calls for an awfully experienced criminal…or an awfully inexperienced police force.”

Kyoushiro puffed out his cheeks, as if he was about to defend the integrity of the team.

Then, he decided against it, turning his attention back to the case.

“So far, we have four observations. One, that the victims share no noticeable characteristics. Two, that the crimes happen during the night. Three, that victims are contacted by the killer through their electronic devices, most commonly through their cellphones. And four, that mentioning of the contact is strictly prohibited.” he summarized.

“Correct.”

“And what if the conduct of Kagawasa-san was completely off the predictions of the perpetrator? What if his actions last night were not expected?”

Sai smiled.

“For someone who miraculously wiped all traces of contact from the victims’ cellular devices, and one who miraculously prevented the victim from ever bringing the contents of the emails to light…that would be one amazing slip-up, wouldn’t it?”

At that, Kyoushiro grinned.

“That is it exactly. What if the perpetrator is the current victim? Have you ever considered the fact that Kagawasa-san may have been the actual perpetrator all along?”

“It has never crossed my mind, no.”

“Think about it…isn’t it awfully suspicious that his phone wasn’t cleaned up? And that phone being the only phone we’ve found containing dated messages from the perpetrator?”

“Your point is?”

Kyoushiro gave Sai a victorious look.

“He sent the emails to himself in order to pin the blame on some other person. To present the world to a phantom criminal that have never existed in the first place.”

Sai gazed at his colleague in silence, before releasing a deep sigh.

“…You have been reading too much manga.”

“Have not! And plus, why else would the data remain intact? If not that Kagawasa-san was the original perpetrator, then it was because the perpetrator did not expect him to commit suicide in front of national television, and thus the reason why the perpetrator didn’t have time to clear everything.”

“Oi…were you even listening to my explanations earlier? For a person who is competent enough with technology to prevent the investigation team from retrieving any data from the victims’ phones for the past two months, is it really any trouble for that person to get rid of the evidence on spot, especially since it was broadcasted live on national television?”

“That is…”

Sai folded his hands, looking directly into Kyoushiro’s eyes.

“And, do you honestly think that this was a suicide?”

“Well, yes…Kagawasa-san’s statements did seem like the last statements of a man who’s about to commit suicide. Also, when the Sixth Division entered the rooftop mere seconds after Kagawasa-san jumped, there was nobody there. If it was a murder, the perpetrator would still be at the scene. The Fifth Division has all the alleyways secured too, not to mention that the ground patrols had the area beneath secluded. Unless the perpetrator grew wings and flew away, escape would be impossible…and even then, escape by flight is hardly an unnoticeable endeavor.”

“Indeed. This would make a convincing story. A man driven to the point of no return commits suicide and tells the world his story on national television. Then, evidence of contact between him and the potential factor behind his decision to die is found. The police rejoices at this ‘chance discovery’, and founds out that it shreds light on the series of unsolved cases from the past two months.”

“But that would be the truth, wouldn’t it?”

Sai smiled.

“The fabricated truth, perhaps. This was never as simple as it seems. Not exactly a suicide. Not exactly a murder. But rather, a collateral exchange.”

“An…exchange?”

“Indeed. I did some research on Kagawasa-san earlier. It turns out that he has a younger sister, who is currently hospitalized due to a longterm illness since childhood. Kagawasa-san has been shouldering the cost of the treatment for over 20 years, but could no longer after he lost his old job as an accountant.”

“And…the link between this and our case?”

“Two days ago, an anonymous benefactor repaid all the withstanding dues to the hospital, with a provision large enough to cover the sister’s expenses for the rest of her life.”

“Chief Kurose…isn’t this theory too groundless to be made? A deal between a murderer and his victim? That anonymous benefactor could be anyone. I mean, knowing that his sister would be well provided for, Kagawasa-san may have decided to finally let go of the last lingering thread that kept him struggling through life.”

“And, he chose to end his life earlier this morning, after receiving one last email from the ‘Colosseum’, right?”

“Right. He most likely decided to escape from it all. Although most of what he said remains ambiguous, the resignation toward life was clear.”

“Escape, huh? Now, do you truly believe that the culprit will let him live long enough, to attract such a huge crowd in front of the most well-known night club in Shibuya, and for him to stand on that roof for a whole 30 minutes, telling the world his ills? All the while being filmed and broadcasted across the nation?”

“…Maybe the perpetrator was caught off guard this time…”

“One time, many times. If it was so easy to run from the perpetrator, Kagawasa-san would have done that a long time ago. An email was sent from the ‘Colosseum’ at 7:00 AM the previous day, asking him to accept the nightly invitation. But, instead of going where he was supposed to be going, he was found on top of the Shokugun, the owner of the club confused as to how he got into that restricted location in the first place.”

“What if Kagawasa-san wanted to bring this whole case to light? Tell Japan what was really happening?”

“And this man who wants to save the world chose to tell his story in such a extravagant way, knowing that he would be most likely treated as a lunatic with no evidence backing him up, had the perpetrator not planned for this in the first place and wiped the data from his cell phone?”

“…”

Sai paused, lowering his voice.

“He was waiting, Kyoushiro. Waiting for the media to arrive. The reporters arrived mere five minutes before his death. Those 25 minutes he spent waiting for them, neither him nor the culprit can afford to give under normal circumstances.”

“So…you are suggesting that last night’s events were entirely premeditated by the perpetrator of this series of killings these past two months? For what reasons?”

“This is the strange part to me. Why would the perpetrator, after two months of hiding in the shadows, emerge on to the stage of existence in such a showy manner? Almost as if he had been waiting, waiting for this moment all along. What does the cleared data tell us about the case then? And of course, the very method of contacting the victims? Who is the fishermen here, the perpetrator or us?”

Sai narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

“…Ultimately, we may have, in the process of climbing up the stairs to the solution, fell down ever so close to ground zero.”

Kyoushiro was silent for a brief moment before he spoke up.

“…Could there be more than one culprit? Copy-cat crimes within the crime?”

“Possible. If you believe that different people could mimic the methods of the original perpetrator so well, that even the perpetrator himself may not be able to tell the difference.”

Kyoushiro sighed.

“So that’s a no, huh.”

“That would be a no to your no. I did say that the chances of copy-cat crimes in this case were low, but I never said that there couldn’t be more than one culprit.”

“And by that you are referring to the sheer volume of killings that happened over these two months?”

“Not exactly that, but rather the timing of the killings. Let’s just say that if you can figure out a way to make it from Hokkaido to Gifu, and then to Okinawa in the span of 30 minutes, tonight’s dinner is on me. Oh, don’t forget you have to find your targets, and get rid of them too. Don’t forget to clean up after yourself as well.”

“…So we got multiple perpetrators in this case? Tens, hundreds…Thousands?”

Sai smiled, closing the lid of his laptop.

“For now, we just have one suspect. The fellow named ‘Kuro’. We know nothing yet about the ‘Colosseum’ and its so-called ‘Moderator’, but that is a question only time can answer.”

Kyoushiro stared at him for a long moment, before rubbing his chin in suspicion.

“You know…that ‘Kuro’ sounds really familiar. Are you sure that you are not the real culprit, Chief K-u-r-o-se?”

Sai rubbed his temples in mock resignation.

“Not just manga, but now grade-school level detective stories too?”

“Hey, I was trying to lighten up the mood here! Not everyone can be as smart as you, you know. And-”

“CHIEF KUROSE, PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEWS RIGHT NOW!”

A member of the police force burst into Sai’s office, pointing at the small crowd gathered in front of the television screen in the corner of the room.

Sai got up promptly, following the other detective into the main office.

The crowd parted to let him through.

Then, he stopped in front of the television, gazing at the screen in silence.

“Hey, what’s going on? Did something-”

Kyoushiro squeezed through, stumbling a bit as he reached the front of the crowd.

He looked up, and gasped.

On the screen, a man was seen tied to the water fountain in the middle of the Shibuya Time Square, with a plain white piece of cardboard hanging from his neck.

Did you like my greeting earlier this morning, Chief K-u-r-o-se?

Floor Six- End.