The Detective is Already Dead

March of evil

After the ball, we relocated to the venue where the Ritual of Sacred Return would be held.

It was just before seven. So far, events had played out in roughly the same way as the other future. That was partly because I'd been careful to do the same things, though.

If I changed our environment or what I did too drastically, I wouldn't be able to count on the future I'd seen anymore. I'd been retracing my previous route as closely as I could, making only the changes that were absolutely necessary. This time, again, I did just one thing differently.

"Will these seats do?" Noel asked.

"Yes, here's fine." I nodded, lowering myself into a seat at the front of the hall, on the left side of the first floor. There were only about twenty meters between us and the altar here.

"Sorry to make you reseat us like this."

"No, I understand why you would want to have as clear a view of the ritual as possible. This will be the Tuners' final performance."

...Yeah, that's right. Assuming they manage to complete the ceremony.

"By the way, what happened to Siesta? She's really late," I asked, turning to Nagisa. I hadn't seen Siesta since the ball.

"When girls leave their seats, don't let the reasons concern you." "Oh, the bathroom, then?"

"Did you abandon your tact by the side of the road?" Nagisa's glare was like an icy knife. What, was I rude?

"It should begin in about five minutes," Noel said, just as she had the first time.

I used that time to get my thoughts in order.

At this point, things were going smoothly. I'd faced the detectives squarely, made sure the Oracle and I were on the same page about the situation, and made my own position firm. However, there were a lot of unknowns from here on out.

During the ritual, someone would probably attempt to snipe Mia again. Why Mia, though? In the previous future, it had happened just as she was about to burn the origin text. They might have attacked so they could steal it.

But that origin text had been a fake. Did the sniper not know? ...No, that wasn't even possible. I'd definitely seen the thing in the crow mask holding a black rifle in the hall. It knew everything. That meant it had sold us out on purpose.

"So they have a goal besides stealing the origin text," I muttered, quietly enough that no one would hear me.

I had no idea if "they" included Stephen and the other Tuners or not. However, the thing in the crow mask that had come from Another Eden was our enemy for sure. The unknown crisis was definitely going to occur. We had to shut it down.

"We're back where we started."

On the day Noel had summoned Siesta and Nagisa, they'd retaken their authority as Tuners; then, on Bruno's request, they had become Ace Detectives again. Now we'd fight the unknown crisis that was going to occur at this ceremony, as they'd originally discussed.

Fate wouldn't change easily, but we could change the way we fought. I was as ready for this as I'd ever be.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Just then, the latecomer seated herself next to Nagisa.

"You sure took your time, Siesta."

"Yes, I was fixing my makeup. How does it look?" She tilted her head. "I almost didn't recognize you. You look like a different person." "That's surprisingly direct."

During our casual exchange, a low bell rang from some untraceable location.

And then...

"Let us begin."

At Noel's signal, my second Ritual of Sacred Return began.

The hall's roof retracted, the masked dignitaries appeared, the conch shell sounded, and the kindling was lit. Everything I'd seen the first time was happening again.

Then Mia took the stage. Olivia handed her a sacred text, and she tossed it into the flames, performing her role as the Oracle. White smoke climbed into the sky, and one of the dignitaries who surrounded the platform read a scroll in a foreign tongue. There were other things I needed to focus on right now, though.

"Where is it?" I scanned the hall carefully. The thing in the crow mask had to be here. It was definitely lurking somewhere with that rifle, ready to attack the Oracle.

In the first future, it had been in the seats on the second floor, on the opposite side. As far as I could see from where I was, it wasn't there now. Had it picked up on the fact that I'd concentrated security there?

"...Kimihiko, it's almost time," Nagisa whispered in my ear. Mia would pick up the origin text soon. If something was going to happen, it would be then.

I'd told the two detectives how events were likely to play out. Naturally, they'd been dubious, but they were going along with my plan. I couldn't afford to blow it now.

Before long, the moment came: Olivia handed Mia the origin text. Mia accepted it, then held it out to the blazing flames.

By the time I finally found the thing—in the second-floor seats on the opposite side, just like before—it was already pointing its rifle at Mia.

"! How did it do that?"

I was sure it hadn't been there earlier. The thing in the crow mask had appeared all of a sudden, almost as if it had teleported.

"Mia!" I shouted.

Up on the platform, Mia's eyes narrowed sharply. I'd told her about the attack in advance, too. Yelling her name now wouldn't help her dodge a bullet traveling faster than the speed of sound, though.

"It's all right. If we know the future, we can respond before it happens," said the white-haired girl in the blue gown... Several seconds ago, actually.

By the time I shouted Mia's name, the girl in blue had already lunged for the platform.

The gunshot rang out a second later.

As everyone else covered their eyes or their ears, I kept my eyes fixed on the stage.

Mia had ducked and covered. Standing in front of her, the proxy Ace Detective had swung the musket in her right hand like a sword and knocked the assassin's bullet away.

"Enemy attack!" Bruno Belmondo shouted.

This time, I was able to take a better look at what I hadn't managed to see the first time.

Bruno was sitting on the right-hand side near the front, opposite our group. He pointed at the red-robed figure in the crow mask, but the enemy responded by turning its gun on Bruno.

"Grandfather!" Noel screamed.

The contents of that letter raced through my mind as well. I'd planned for this, though. The White Suit soldiers who were stationed around Bruno fired first, and the thing in the crow mask dropped its rifle. It didn't seem to like its chances against those numbers. It took a superhuman leap back, putting a lot of distance between them.

"Nagisa, do it now." "I'm on it. Rill's first."

We exchanged nods, then started carrying out our plan. Since we'd been expecting this, our top priority had to be getting people off the battlefield. When I scanned the venue, people had already begun to evacuate on their own, so we helped out. Starting with Rill, who couldn't walk, Nagisa helped the other noncombatants escape.

"Siesta! Get Mia out!" The Oracle was the sniper's target, and we had to make sure she got away as well. I watched the white-haired girl pick up Mia, then head for the exit along with Olivia. That meant we'd protected the origin text, too.

"Now we need to get Bruno out of here..."

When I looked back at the opposite side of the venue, I spotted a dozen White Suits surrounding the thing in the crow mask in an open space on the lower floor. In addition to their guns, the soldiers were leveling heavy weapons and swords in shapes I'd never seen before at the attacker.

For some reason, the thing began to hop lightly.

Boing, boing, boing.

It bounced rhythmically several times, then winked out of sight. A few seconds later, several human heads flew into the air at once. Blood sprayed, dyeing their pure white uniforms red.

How had it beheaded the White Suits? The thing itself was the only one who knew. Then it landed on the floor, and its head turned toward the distant Information Broker.

"Bruno!"

As I shouted, the security team realized that the situation had gone south and rushed over to provide backup. They all fired at once, but the bullets vanished in thin air. This was the same thing crow-mask had done on the cruise. Then the thing made "gun" gestures with both hands.

Bang, bang, bang.

I hadn't heard any real shots. However, every soldier those fingers pointed at collapsed as if they'd actually been shot.

But the soldiers had slowed down the enemy, and the time they'd bought would save the life of the world's wisdom. As Bruno grimaced at the carnage in the hall, he made it through the exit with the help of his guards.

"Noel, we should hurry, too." I grabbed Noel's hand and we made for the nearest exit—but the figure in the crow mask appeared right in front of us. The black mask was right in my face, and my legs locked up. It wasn't just from fear. Before the malice of a superior being, my instincts wouldn't let me move.

" "

Its black, hollow eyes told me nothing. Just then, an ally's bullet whizzed between us. With a superhuman acrobatic maneuver, the thing in the crow mask was gone. All it left behind was its bestial smell.

"...! Mr. Kimihiko, this is..." Noel was looking around, wide-eyed.

Maybe I'd let my guard down once that thing was gone. Before I knew it, a group of more than fifty new enemies had invaded the hall.

The men wore gas masks and were dressed all in black, and they carried rifles and machine guns at the ready. Falling into a predetermined formation in the blink of an eye, they surrounded the hall, which still held nearly three hundred people.

"More residents of Another Eden...?"

Naturally, our situation wasn't good. The thing in the crow mask didn't seem to be in the hall anymore, but it had taken out almost all of our armed allies.

I wasn't sure if this was good luck or bad, but as far as I could see, neither Ace Detective was in the hall. That meant they must have gotten away safely with the other hostages. On the other hand, it also meant they weren't going to be able to help me. Mia, Rill, and Bruno were gone as well. The only people left were helpless, normal humans.

"Mr. Kimihiko, we have to do something..."

"It's all right. The enemy doesn't plan to kill us right away, at least."

This formation was meant to keep us from escaping. This was going to become a negotiation.

The next moment, my guess turned out to be right.

The roof closed, and an image appeared on the screen at the front of the hall.

Once again, the being we saw was wearing a crow mask. Was it the one that had just been here, or was this someone else?

I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. In a strange voice that sounded synthesized, it told us the motive behind their attack on justice.

"Federation Government. Here and now, you will reveal the secret of the world which you have hidden."

The masked dolls

They gave us ten minutes to answer. If their demand wasn't met by then, they would kill one hostage.

Once the thing in the crow mask had told us the rules, the screen went dark.

Afterward, those of us who had been left behind were thrown into confusion again.

"...So the enemy really is Another Eden."

The pain of my fingernails digging into my palms made me realize that I'd clenched my fists.

As before, the messenger from Another Eden was demanding the secret of the world. That was the enemy's greatest and only objective. When they told us they'd do nothing if we handed over the origin text, they'd been lying.

Had Stephen tricked me on the other route? Or had he been tricked by the thing in the crow mask? Either way, one thing was clear: Until the Federation Government revealed this "secret of the world," the attacks wouldn't stop. Negotiations and deals no longer meant anything.

"Noel, can I ask one last question?" I spoke to her quietly, below the constant, confused murmuring that filled the hall. "Do you really not have any idea what

they're talking about?"

"...I really don't. Those who outrank me may know, but I'm new, and I don't have the authority to learn about such things." Noel shook her head, biting her lip. She wasn't lying. I could tell from her complexion, the movements of her eyes, and the quivering of her voice.

"All right. In that case, I'm going to go ask someone who does know." "Mr. Kimihiko...?"

I got to my feet, and Noel looked up at me. Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I walked toward the very front of the hall. The Federation Government dignitaries were still there, standing stiff and motionless. Either they hadn't managed to flee in time, or they hadn't intended to run in the first place. I stopped in front of one of them.

Although they were all wearing masks, the shapes and patterns of those masks differed, so it was possible to tell individuals apart. That meant I only had to look to know who this one was.

"Ice Doll, I need to talk to you."

Any of them would have been fine. However, this woman had been particularly involved with me and the Ace Detectives, so she was the one I went to.

"What is this secret of the world that Another Eden wants?"

The masked woman only stood there silently. Every eye in the hall was on us, but none of our enemies tried to interfere. That was fine with me.

"If you people keep pretending you know nothing, one of these hostages will be killed. In fact, since you officials are directly connected to this, the odds that it'll be one of you are good. If you know the answer, hurry up and spill it."

As I reasoned with her, I stayed as calm as I could manage. After a little silence, she spoke. "Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer that question."

The masked woman spoke mechanically, as if what was happening here had nothing to do with her.

"So it's just that you don't have the authority to answer, not that you don't know?"

"Ice Doll does not have the authority to answer that question."

"...People have died during the global crises before now. If you let Another Eden invade, the disasters will begin again."

I wasn't insisting that they accept all of Another Eden's demands, but so far, the Federation Government's policy had been to delay without a plan. This

unprecedented disaster was all that lay ahead of us. The world already had one foot in the door to that hell.

"Isn't it the Tuners' mission to head off those disasters?"

For the first time, Ice Doll said something that wasn't a canned phrase. "...Yeah, it is."

They didn't need Ice Doll and the rest to give them orders. The Tuners' missions were determined by their own free will. By their desire to save people. That was why my Ace Detectives had been peerlessly beautiful from moment to moment as they risked their lives. They weren't wrong.

"But you people just sit back on your thrones, so you don't have the right to say that."

Every time a disaster broke out, they assembled the Tuners and made them fight, either until the storm had passed or a Tuner lost their life. The Federation Government had devoured the lives of heroes for the sake of a temporary peace.

They sat on their thrones, back where it was safe, while the Tuners bled. The Tuners would work themselves to the bone and die in battle, and then their shields of justice vanished without even leaving names behind.

"Do you remember how their backs looked?" Ice Doll didn't answer.

"Where were you on the day the Ace Detective carried out her mission at the cost of her life? The day the Magical Girl accepted that she'd never be able to walk again? Tell me, where were you? When the Vampire ended the way he did, where were you watching from?"

I knew the masked official wouldn't answer those questions.

I wasn't saying these things so someone would hear. It didn't matter if they didn't resonate with anybody. I just put that unfairness into words and got them out.

"Ice Doll doesn't have the authority to answer that question."

By now, it didn't even make me mad. I'd left anger behind long ago. What I was about to say had to do with the future.

"Ice Doll— No, Federation Government. Don't think your way of doing things is going to work forever. One of these days, all your allies will desert you. As a matter of fact, I already know a few who are leaning that way."

For example, the former Inventor, the former Revolutionary, and the former Hero were all about to abandon the Federation Government. The surge of rebellion was already building.

Besides...

"The detectives and I know the truth about the Mizoev Federation, which forms the nucleus of the Federation Government. If we spread that around, we can turn the world upside down whenever we want."

The truth we'd identified probably rivaled "the secret of the world," whatever that was. At this point, the power dynamic between us and the Federation Government wasn't one-sided by any means. We had our guns trained on each other at all times.

"You can't stay complacent and claim not to have authority forever. Before long, you'll take off those masks voluntarily and start talking. You'll beg the detectives to save the world."

Even after that, Ice Doll didn't take off her mask.

Fine. At least for now, I'll respect your stance. I checked my watch. We were out of time. "Disappear as a voiceless doll."

In the next instant, right in front of me, Ice Doll's head flew off.

One of the men in gas masks had done it. Ten minutes into the incident, Ice Doll was the first hostage killed.

"...A doll?" someone murmured.

After a short delay, Ice Doll's body toppled over.

Her severed head rolled across the ground nearby. However, there was no blood. All that was there was what I'd begun to anticipate partway through that conversation: a ruined doll.

"Are the other government officials the same?"

Even before the ceremony had begun, these people had been replaced by dolls. No doubt the real people under the masks were watching all of this play out remotely. They'd evacuated somewhere safe and left the Tuners to handle the

cleanup.

"What a farce."

I hadn't managed to get that vital answer out of her, though. All my strength drained away, and I sank into a nearby seat.

"Mr. Kimihiko..." Noel had come up to me, and now she reached out, sounding worried. However, before she could rub my back, she seemed to realize something and retracted her hand.

"Let us move to the next phase."

I heard the voice of the thing in the crow mask, although I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Once again, an image appeared on the screen. This time, there were several hundred men and women in swallowtail coats and gowns.

They were standing in the venue where the ball had been held.

Every one of those people looked nervous. Just like us, they were being held captive by men in gas masks.

"...! Grandfather...!"

Noel had spotted Bruno in that image. Nagisa was beside him. In that case, had the Men in Black stationed at the palace been neutralized by the messenger's group, too?

"Even Miss Siesta...," Noel murmured.

As far as I could see, the detective didn't have her musket. Fighting all those armed enemies with nothing but her bare hands would be tough. And the sheer number of hostages made the situation a whole lot worse.

"Next we will blow up this hall."

After announcing what would happen in another ten minutes, the enemy cut the picture again.

This time, it wouldn't be just a single government official. Unless we exposed the secret of the world, everyone in that hall would die. The Ace Detectives, the Oracle, the Magical Girl, the Information Broker—everybody.

"We've got no time to lose."

This would probably be the only chance I'd get to play my remaining card.

The girl beside me was staring at the ground. I spoke to her without turning to look. "I knew it. The view from the train that's carrying a bomb isn't a pretty one, Noel."

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