Ibuki ran into Midare's office in a hurry. Her boss, seated at her desk and leaned back in her seat spinning a pencil in between her fingers perfectly.

She sat up wasting no time in asking "What are your findings?"

Ibuki gave a detailed explanation of each date she had. Mary was too clumsy and whimsical to pull off a stunt like attacking Yamiko and ruining the cafe. She didn't have much to say during the date but at least the food was good.

Syrup was odd for sure. Her behavior was completely different from the attitude she displayed at work but it seemed more like her real self. She was playful at heart but at the expense of others. After the date Syrup started speaking to Ibuki more. She disliked the idea of others finding her suspicious and had no involvement in the incident.

"Strange… but our culprit is smart. Instead of avoiding the question, they would seek to take control of it. That way they could manipulate the narrative as they see fit." Midare said.

Ibuki placed a hand on her hip, "Julius claims he was at Nara's shrine during our trip. He had to fulfill his knightly duties by watching over some important little girl. That's who he was sending letters to."

The Blue Corps were still an entity on their own. They had their own problems to solve so it was very unlikely for one of them to be the culprit.

Midare gave her share of information, telling Ibuki about the station growing quiet over time and the murders of orphans that she assumed occurred at daylight.

Midare tapped her chin, "I have a feeling the same culprit is involved in both cases. The police hadn't heard about the murders until I told them. This culprit's strong but neither Syrup or Julius fit the criteria."

The room grew silent for a brief moment. before Ibuki spoke up with what she felt was the most odd of all. "I think Noble Third might be the cause."

Midare groaned in frustration. "Those investigators? I'm sure Dulivale would've told me if they were up to no good but then again…" She paused. "I'm going to need to think of a plan. I wish I could waltz right into their laps but I need approval first."

This case was going to be long. The severity of the situation was ramping up. What would make things worse is if Cherri's body was found.

Ibuki left Midare to her frantic thoughts and returned to the cafe floor to meet up with Cran who waved for her.

She sat at a table with the usual novice detectives. Hyde and others.

"Man, you look stressed. I guess Midare's really giving you a hard time." Cran chuckled.

Ibuki let out a sigh, "Not really."

He poked her cheek, "I can tell you were digging your nose in the incident we had. Trying to earn an early promotion?"

"Is that why I see you running in the halls?" Mary asked.

Well there was little reason to keep it a secret anymore. "Yeah, I wanted to help solve our situation so we could get back to our cases. Unfortunately…"

She explained everything so far(leaving out the date parts) and that she and Midare couldn't come to an exact conclusion on who the culprit was.

She added, "I'm worried about Cherri too. I really hope she isn't the one."

Cran patted her back "Nah Cherri is too friendly for that."

"All murderers are outwardly friendly to keep their innocence." Hyde replied. Hoka who stood beside him had the same sentiment. Just like how Morren portrayed himself as a wise magician, Cherri could be keeping up false appearances.

Ibuki shook her head. "I can't place the blame on her yet. I want to check with Noble Third first. Hyde, you remember the bandages on Shiki?"

He nodded. Those bandages were not given an explanation by her at all and she stapled his mouth. He was never gonna forget that.

Mary raised her finger to chime in. "That girl who gave me the tickets also had bandages and a cast like Midare's."

"Then what about Lloyd?" Mikael rubbed his chin.

Cran had the answer for this. "I saw him at a cosplay gathering with some kids. The cosplayers there were dressed in uh… kigurumi? It's hard to describe but they were in sailor outfits with their masks designed like anime."

"Just like what Cherri saw!" Mary interjected.

Cran continued his story. "Anyway he was there with them and some kids came by. He also tried hiding his bandages behind his clothes."

The pieces to their case were coming together. Ibuki was now certain that Noble Third knew something they didn't. She jumped from her seat holding the table "We have to go now if we're going to get any answers."

"Don't you think we're rushing things?" Said Mikael who was reluctant for them to go on their own again. They needed to make a move since their unknown enemy had already been putting their pieces in place. They were sitting ducks for too long.

"There's no turning back. This is a now or never moment." Cran held up his fist to his chest "Our lives are really on the line this time."

This time they followed Ibuki's lead. However Cran would stay behind so the group didn't notice his departure from their headstrong lead. He stayed with Hoka to watch over her in the meantime.

────── 〔✿〕──────

They arrived in Nara on their motorbikes, going to the same building they had visited once before. Unlike last time they now had a real reason to be here. But when asking around, they were told that the members of Noble Third were invited to a club. A place named Club underground where most if not all people of all kinds were invited to. A place where degeneration would run rampant sounds perfect for Noble Third to investigate to find criminals. But from the atmosphere of the place, it seemed that they weren't here on the job.

The bright pink and blue neon lights lit up the entrance of the building in the dark although it was subtle enough to be hidden deep in the city with the rest of the tall buildings. This was the most modern area compared to the rest of Nara's traditional Japanese architecture.

Ibuki and others were stopped by two bouncers standing by the glass doors and red carpet. She flashed her agency's badge.

"Detective Agency, we're here to investigate illegal activity."

The bouncers shared a glance at each other before one stepped to the side and pressed his fingers on his earpiece while the other motioned for them to come inside. "Don't ruin the vibe. The last thing we need is you bringing guns into the place."

"Don't worry we aren't armed." Ibuki said while entering with the others. She was lying through her teeth. Mary had figured out how to apply her none in view technique to a bag she took that contained their katanas, throwing daggers and small pistols.

They huddled in a small corner of the club barely able to hear each other over the music blaring and people shouting. Mary unzipped her bag and reached inside "Well we're in but something was off."

"Right, we got in too easy." Mikael crossed his arms "We need to be on our guard."

"Then we'll split into groups." Ibuki suggested while being handed a katana to attach to her waist "I'll go with Mikael. Hyde, you stay here with Mary. If any members of Noble Third come by then catch them."

Their plan lacked depth but it was all they could do for now. Ibuki and Mikael ventured deeper into the club, pushing aside the partying crowd to make it through without losing each other in the process. Ibuki caught a glance of several bouncers touching their earpieces upon seeing them searching. Was the entire club staff the culprits?

They soon found Shiki and Lloyd sitting at a reserved table with several others dressed in kigurumi. When Ibuki looked around, she found that more of the people were dressed in similar exotic wear in this little section of the club like it was a costume party.

Ibuki was afraid but gathered enough bravery inside to approach the table with Mikael hiding behind her. With a grin she said "Well well well, you seem to be enjoying the pleasures of life. I wasn't expecting to run into you two here. It doesn't feel like an investigator thing."

Lloyd sat up in his seat and twiddled his thumbs around each other. His eyes tired and surrounded by dark circles and nervousness dripping with the sweat across his forehead. "Y-yeah. What a coincidence."

Shiki was similarly on the edge, shifting her eyes to the cosplayers surrounding her and Ibuki repeatedly as if she was making sure she was saying the right things. "It's not common for d-detectives to be at the club either."

Ibuki was at a loss for words briefly. She watched as Lloyd's shaky hand reached out to grab his cocktail drink to sip on. His face twisted in disgust swallowing the drink before he let out a laugh. The cosplayers all waved at Ibuki and Mikael, very animated in their movements that would seem unnatural had they not had the costumes on.

"Is Kamui with you?" Mikael questioned and was immediately given an answer.

"He's in the bathroom!" Shiki said loudly. "He really had to pee and all."

"I'm really getting that weird feeling." Mikael lowered his cowboy hat. Ibuki agreed.

"I'm not feeling particularly square. I had a couple of goooood drinks. They're like triangles, like this glass." Lloyd held up his empty glass.

Shiki stood up to reach for the bottle on the table to pour a glass for them. "You should relax a bit. You know what they say, be square or live to dare."

"What about a smoke?" Lloyd brought a cigar to his lips and the cosplay school girl assisted by using their lighter to light his cigarette. He then blew smoke towards Ibuki then coughed a bit, "I like to be rounded. I'm very much alive."

"Maybe, but now in the same way I am." Ibuki frowned. Circles don't fit in a pattern while triangles do, but not in the same way as a square. Even and well contained like the ideas and values the detectives had.

But,

"Detectives are all their own undoing, I gotta say. Just like a novel. I read a few and they're all washed up. They cling too much on their past." Shiki lifted her finger with a forced smile. "In paradise like here, detectives still managed to fall into the trappings of being a tool."

Mikael took off his hat to look at it. He said he received it from his father but as his memories returned, that turned out to be more of a lie. Why did he keep it in the first place if it bought nothing but negative connotations? What is paradise exactly and what would it look like to detectives..?

Continually the detectives asked themselves 'why am I alive?' .

Their reasons for joining the agency were shallow just like a square. All of their answers were generic heroic platitudes.

"Well?" Shiki brought them out of their thoughts.

They were tools at the end of the day. They had one purpose and that was to live through it.

Ibuki's yellow eyes flashed a glint of light. She didn't have a definite answer but, "We're gonna see it through to the end."

"And your end is now!"

Ibuki was grabbed from behind and her legs kicked so the unknown attacker could force her on the ground.

One of the kigurumi dressed individuals stood up with a gun drawn to Mikael keeping him in place as the attacker now revealed as Soap hunched over Ibuki. Instead of the leather jacket, it was replaced with a hooded long coat with the hood covering the top half of his face.

His mask fell beside Ibuki's face. This was her chance to find out his true identity!

But it was a trick to get her to focus her gaze on him, her eyes widened allowing him to easily press his fingers on her right eye's eyelid and pulled out her eye in one swift motion.

She let out a blood curdling scream that made the blaring music come to a close. And the screaming wouldn't end. Mikael was horrified watching her squirm with her hand over her missing eye, desperately crying out her sister's name for help.

Soap removed the bandage covering his missing eye and inserted Ibuki's as his claim. "Kamui told me you and that other musketeer had unparalleled eyes. That idiot nearly got caught when he tried sneaking into her room." He said and turned his head to the person holding the gun at Mikael.

Kamui would finally speak, his identity as the kigurumi killer now exposed. Dressed in a white sailor uniform with a red collar and matching red skirt; Wielding the same pistol Soap had, "She's smarter than she looks. I wasn't able to kill her."

Soap, fed up with Ibuki's screaming, stomped her on face once causing her to faint. He reached down to take her katana. "Maybe you're just dumb, like I said. Besides, I gotta pay you back for pulling that stunt on me." He turned to Mikael "I can tell you're smarter than this clown over here. You were oh so close to getting that boy back,"

"Soap..." Kamui now switched his aim.

"Levin took em and ran. If you snuck in then maybe you'd have a chance. Ha!" Soap threw the katana at Kamui's hand which struck the gun into the air. He then escaped before the other several kigurumi dressed individuals surrounded Ibuki and Mikael.

"That traitorous bastard!" Kamui yelled. The katana pierced the backside of his hand and the blood stained his costume.

"Kamuiー I mean, m-master would you like me to l-lick your wounds?" Shiki had continued trying to keep a smile.

"Stupid bitch!" Kamui slapped her away with his katana pierced hand which also gave her a deep cut across her stomach from the sword's tip. "You're just as square as they are."

"..." Mikael stared at the ground with deep eyes, his body feeling the weight of despair and nearly giving in. Everything felt silent. "Why… Kamui…"

The way Kamui spoke was a deep contrast to the permanent smile his animegao mask had. "Paradise. A place separate from reality, something almost unable to obtain."

"You consider this a paradise?" Mikael's eye twitched with anger.

"It is for the both of us." Kamui kicked over the square table with the sound of glass shattering across the hard floor filling in the brief pause he took. "Like it or not we're tools to solve the problems of human desire to kill. That instinct to wrap your hands around your friend's neck and squeeze to get them to shut up permanently is all within us. All the progress we made only for these feelings to still overwhelm us is hell and our magic makes it the lowest circle of hell"

"We lack a purpose you and I. Just the cleanup crew for all of this. We're inhumane because we see what is hidden in the media, TV, the news. The smell of blood is a fragrance in my office."

"We are not the same…" Mikael glared.

Kamui took hold of the katana "When's the last time you could taste food? When's the last time your barbecue sauce wasn't red in the same way our blood is? Even the coffee at your agency… it all tasted like blood."

Mikael lowered his head "But that's...not our fault..?" Even he was unsure.

Kamui pulled out the katana followed by a heavy groan then tossed it aside. "Midare's agency is full of washed up individuals just like in novels. Detective is just a title to cover up what you all really are, killers. You remember that faithless day on the street?"

A bright sunny day perfect for the murder consisting of a boy stabbing his father in defense. Or so it seemed to the investigators on the case. It was later when Kamui found out that the father and family were innocent and the boy had planned for this murder months in advance. A classified case dubbed 'Blood on the Street'. The specifics of this case too horrifying for a normal person to read through.

"I'm numb to it all, and paradise is a place where I can indulge like a human. This is paradise." Kamui said plainly.

The kigurumi dressed individuals all had sharp rebars they used to stab Mikael at once. He fell to his knees coughing blood and trying to cling onto life.

"W-we're the same but...but…"

It didn't make sense for him to receive vengeance alone when Kamui took a path of killing like he once did. It didn't make sense at all!

"Glad you agree." Kamui looked left and right for Lloyd only to hear the sound of a gun being cocked behind his head. He slowly turned to see Yulie in the corner of his eye breathing heavily while keeping the magnum aimed directly at his brain. "Yulie..?"

"You're a sicko old man! I'm done playing along with your delusions!" The shotgun blast made his entire head burst and splattered from the ceiling to the floor, getting on Ibuki, Mikael and even Yulie herself.

She fell to her knees before being piled on by the kigurumi dressed individuals who relentlessly beat her. The police soon rushed in, taking many of the officers to pull away these individuals to save Yulie but her face was nearly unrecognizable.

Mikael at least saw Kamui get the payback he deserved. He could rest knowing that it was true that people such as themselves were nothing more than tools.

────── 〔✿〕──────

The darkest night set in. The moon blue like water but the disasters of the modern world should've painted it crimson.

On the top of a parking garage still in construction was one of the kigurumi dressed individuals who escaped the club with Oscar in tow. The boy was held by the back of his shirt and lifted over the edge with one hand. No matter how much he struggled even he knew he couldn't break the firm grasp the person had on him. And without a second thought he was tossed off screaming.

This voice got lower as he descended. The kigurumi dressed individual would turn their attention to the elevator from the edge of the building to the elevator, the led sign displayed on the top starting at 1 and gradually went up. They took the small smg attached on the back of their waist and stepped closer to the elevator with the gun aimed at the doors.

The doors were gonna open once it hit 5.

4…

5…

A small ding sound was played inside the elevator before the doors began to open. No seconds were wasted, the trigger was pulled and the gun unleashed a fury of bullets littering the opening doors and the cloaked figure inside with holes. Nothing was spared, every bullet was used, the tip of the smg lighting up red with heat.

And then silence after the last chamber hit the ground. The smg was lowered then dropped with the tip still smoking. The cloak inside the elevator covered something but the kigurumi dressed individual couldn't exactly tell if it was a body or not.

Lights flashed behind them and they turned just in time to dodge by flipping over the motorbike that came rushing towards them intending to hit them with the front wheel. Hyde turned the bike's front wheel completely and the back wheel followed, making the bike shift to the side in a devastating powerslide. Hyde's foot dragged smoke along with the wheels and a spark of lightning that jumped across the ground until he came to a complete stop.

Mary loosened her grip around his waist after the bike stopped to look up at the schoolgirl cosplay with short blue hair. Mary's mouth was left partially open, unable to face this harsh reality.

"Levin!!!" Hyde shouted, jumping out of Mary's arms and the bike seat.

He drew his sword and stood tall in a battle stance with his wrist turned outwards and sword pointed backwards. For some reason it felt familiar to him.

His shitty stance made Levin crack his knuckles in response. This was going to be a one sided fight.

Hyde gripped his sword tighter. "Why?!"

Levin dug in his skirt pocket and dropped his sunglasses on the ground. He stomped on it breaking it in half, the cheaply made glasses falling apart. "We are nothing more than just tools for a higher power."

He thought back to the actions he took. He worked for Kamui, assisting in his paradise by restraining those who tried to resist. His strength was used to harm others. Why did he do it?

Just like Kamui, he didn't see himself as a living being because of his power to break anything just by thinking about it. He used his strength for good as a cop but that only made him sink even further into a shallow existence. As time went by he found that everyone around him including Midare were just as broken as he was.

When Hyde, Mary, Mikael and Ibuki joined, he saw their cracks and weaknesses clear as day. He often asked Midare why she choose such incompetent children to work in the agency and her response was always that she believed in them. That was a non answer.

Anyone can be believed in but it doesn't change the outcome of their decisions and if you believed in the wrong person who gets themselves killed then what? That isn't something that can be sweeped under the rug and forgiven with a simple 'oopsies'. No one is special, the time of swords and dragons are long gone. To put it simply, there are no heroes in this world.

"Was everything just a lie?!" Hyde inquired.

"You're a failure. Time and time again you are wrong, even as we stand here." Levin replied.

"I'll make you eat those words!" They had a just purpose right? Hyde dashed into action unsure of himself with Mary joining behind him to back up what little belief he had.

His sword clashed with the metal studs on the back of his gloves then pulled away his sword making sure Levin didn't grab hold of the blade. Mary's downward slash would be countered by a short sword that seemingly appeared from nowhere, engulfed by a dark aura before the aura vanished from her eyesight.

Levin would break out into short slashes that made Hyde and Mary focus on defending but each strike hit with the force of an anvil. They could barely keep themselves on their feet blocking each heavy slash. Levin then would kick Hyde away before locking blades with Mary.

"You may not believe in us, but I know Yamiko and Midare are!" Mary's words struggled under the weight of Levin's sword.

"Here..!" Hyde reeled back his sword ready to strike while Levin was occupied in the clash. But all he had to do was stomp the floor harder than usual to make it collapse, making the three fall onto the lower floor with rubble nearly crushing them.

Levin jumped off the top of the rubble pile and tried to land on Hyde who rolled to the side and hopped back to his feet. He didn't have time to breathe as Levin swiped his sword upwards and sent Hyde's katana into the air.

Hyde threw out his fist only for Levin to catch it with his other hand. He cringed feeling his hand be crushed and kicked his leg up into a backflip freeing himself from the hold and hopping back to gain some distance between him and this killer. He was going to need to use magic to get the upper hand.

Mary tried to attack from behind only to be roundhouse kicked in the side, using her arm to take most of the blow but would inevitably snap under pressure. She dove to the side to avoid a slash aimed at her head and reached in her cleavage to pull out an ofuda to throw at Levin, she didn't have many places to store tools and this was the only spot she could think of putting some of her weapons. Her loose off shoulder sweater had some benefits.

The paper seal stuck onto the side of Levin's skirt, failing to dodge the seal by a hair. The dark aura appeared once his sword once again before it shattered like glass. "Tch!"

"Ravage!" Hyde raised his arm and a small dark cloud formed over Levin followed by a lightning strike that made him rebound off the ground. He picked up his sword then jumped up, Levin raised his sword ready to block from the side but Hyde would instead kick Levin back to the ground.

Levin rolled back and gripped the ground nearly tearing through it to stop his uncontrollable spiral. Mary sought to finish him off by running forward with her sword pulled back and when she struck his head, her sword's blade snapped on contact, making Levin's head move only an inch.

"What?!" Mary dodged back from an uppercut and continually weaved and avoided back from Levin's rapid punches and jabs. She felt the wind of his swings blow towards her until she bumped into a wall causing her to get grabbed by the neck. Levin could've ended her life in a matter of seconds here but, she escaped the grab by stabbing her broken sword into his shoulder. He backed away only to be punched in the back by Hyde.

Instead of the attack hurting him, it brought more pain to Hyde. He winced and tried a kick this time but the result was still the same. Starting slowly, Levin swung his arm around with his fist digging into Hyde's cheek and plummeting his head to the ground.

Levin reached down to pick up what ideals remained and punched Hyde in the stomach sending him flying back before hitting the ground. He then ripped the broken sword out of his shoulder, the wound unfeeling to him. Their convictions weren't strong enough to beat Levin.

Deep down inside Mary and Hyde were both still unsure if Yamiko and Midare believed in them, they didn't even believe in themselves. How could they possibly hope to win a battle like this if they were fighting without a reason? They were the same as the murderers they fought.

The feeling rose again in Hyde, this time he understood what it was, a killer drive, a need for power to utterly vanquish his opponent. Struggling to stand and spitting out a tooth with blood dripping from his mouth, Hyde 's resolve shifted.

"Hyde, what are we going to do!?" Mary held her broken arm while kneeling.

Mary believed in him right? He didn't care to confirm it or not. He knew one thing was certain and that was the girl in white in his dreams always pushing him on despite taunting him all the time. "Levin… I'm going to kill you!!!"

He reached out his hand to grab the lance that formed in front of him. Siegmund, the power he needed all along to kill. The blade didn't reflect darkest and the pink bow tied near the spike was tied unevenly. Mary gasped then drew a kunai from her sleeve to throw at Levin while she was running back to Hyde's side. Naturally the kunai was deflected with his fist but he stood waiting as if he was waiting for them to use their special weapons.

Mary eyed Hyde's face, noticing his look of despair. He looked unsure of what was going to happen but at the same time his furrowed brow showed confidence in what he was doing. She looked at her hand wondering if she could summon the halberd she once wielded. There was no harm in trying..!

"Sieglinde!" She beckoned for the holy-like weapon and it answered her prayers. Forming from light magic particles around her hand. "You didn't care about us at all Levin!"

"Who cares?" Hyde readied his lance "A lot of people may not like me but so what? All I care about is this moment, here and now when I defeat you. I might not be a hero but I know that what I'm doing is better than letting you live!"

Levin ripped off the ofuda tearing a piece of his skin with it. The dark aura returned to his sword and took the form of a sharp arrow around the blade. He didn't need to respond to their final words, his actions did the talking for him, he lunged with a thrust!

The clash of unstoppable killing forces collided in an epic last collision of darkness against light. The tip of their weapons perfectly aligned with each other yet darkness was overtaking both Mary and Hyde's polearms. The magic of their weapons illuminated the dark sky with a dazzling light show.

"HAAAAAAA!" Mary and Hyde poured every ounce of magic they had into this one strike.

Levin's sword would begin to show its cracks. The darkness was only an illusion of power. The weapon he used was far weaker than the shining polearms and because of that, he lost.

An explosion of purple darkness and white light blew them all in separate directions. A crater was left where the clash was and further beyond that, the remains of Levin's body. His upper half entirely gone leaving his waist down still intact, guts splitting from it and splattered on the wall.

Hyde and Mary were still alive unfortunately, although Mary had passed out from exhaustion. Hyde was completely drained of magic and his bones cracked and broken and face bruised like his body. He stood up ignoring the unsettling pain and dragged himself to nowhere in particular.

Rain set in as he moved towards the edge of the parking lot still under construction, letting the calming rain touch his face. Instinctively he turned around and saw Cran standing beside Oscar.

The musketeer stepped forward. Wet with rain making his brown slick back hair now wet and unkempt, similarly to Hyde's. In fact he looked like a splitting image of him. If his hair was a shade lighter than someone could mistake them for twins but… why did he look so much like Hyde?

Is this what the girl in white was talking about..?

"Thankfully I came just in time to rescue Oscar. Same can't be said about Levin though am I right?" His playful tone…

All it did was piss Hyde off further.

"Cran...Cran..! Cran!" Hyde broke out into a sprint and tried delivering a punch but all Cran had to do was step to the side with his foot out making Hyde trip.

Hyde rolled over to look up at Cran from the ground. He dropped his smirk and stared down at Hyde with his gaze similar to one a person would make when they stepped in shit.

Disgust?

Maybe something worse.

Still Hyde needed to know…

"Who am I?"