[Location: Death Note - Unknown Country - Unknown Place.]
In a dimly lit room, illuminated only by the faint glow of a monitor on the floor, a disheveled young man sat in an unusual manner, knees drawn to his chest.
His dark eyes, framed by deep shadows, scrutinized the screen with an intensity that contradicted his seemingly relaxed posture.
L Lawliet, the enigmatic detective globally known as "L," was engrossed in the most baffling case of his career.
L was regarded as the world's greatest detective, having solved the most intricate cases that no one else could. Among his most time-consuming cases were the serial murders by BB and preventing the world from plunging into a third world war.
Now, detailed reports of criminal records and death circumstances, sent by his trusted assistant Watari, scrolled before him.
As he ate a sugar-coated pastry, he reviewed each line, his thoughts racing at a dizzying pace.
Despite the gathered data, L felt uneasy. The lack of logical patterns or reasonable explanations forced him to entertain increasingly improbable theories.
For the first time in a long while, he had to confront the possibility of something beyond comprehension.
"Sir," Watari's calm voice interrupted over the speaker, "eight additional convict deaths by cardiac arrest have been reported, along with 139 civilians dying under similar circumstances. I've sent the details to your terminal."
L tilted his head slightly to one side, as though processing the information from a different angle.
"Understood," L responded into the microphone, his tone neutral and methodical.
He quickly opened the file sent by Watari, but before he could read the first convict's name, an unusual sound broke the silence.
Ding!
Before his eyes, a holographic window appeared, floating in the air with an uncanny clarity that defied logic. His eyes narrowed as he read the text.
[Do you really want to keep investigating...? At this rate, you'll die.]
For a moment, L remained motionless, his face inscrutable.
However, his thoughts accelerated, evaluating possibilities.
Finally, he broke the silence.
"Watari, activate the room's cameras and describe what you see."
Surprised by the unusual request, Watari obeyed without hesitation. From his monitoring station, he examined the footage transmitted by the cameras.
After a few seconds, his voice revealed an unusual blend of astonishment and bewilderment.
"Sir... I see a kind of holographic window floating in front of you. It doesn't appear to be projected by any identifiable device. Are you all right?"
"I'm perfectly fine," L replied calmly. "But I need you to inspect the room in person."
Without wasting time, Watari issued orders to reinforce the building's security and headed to L's room.
Meanwhile, the detective continued to observe the holographic window, analyzing each word of the message. His mind explored hypotheses bordering on the absurd.
Is this the perpetrator's doing? Or someone trying to warn me? he pondered. Each possibility seemed more improbable than the last, but none could be entirely ruled out.
Finally, in his hunched posture with a pastry in hand, L spoke in his usual tone of calm inquisitiveness.
"It seems you don't want me dead. Are you the one responsible for the killings?"
As he awaited a response, he took another bite of the pastry, as if the conversation were entirely ordinary.
After a few seconds, the familiar sound rang out again.
Ding!
Another holographic window overlapped the first.
[Something like that. Anyway, do you want what it takes to survive the attempt?]
[Yes. / No.]
L tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming with a hint of intrigue. Before deciding, Watari entered the room, accompanied by two security agents.
Their eyes immediately locked onto the holographic window, their composed expressions betraying subtle disbelief.
"Sir," Watari began, "this doesn't appear to originate from any known technological source. We also detected no external signals or intrusions into our system. It's as if it simply… exists."
"Interesting," murmured L, taking another bite of his pastry. "This preliminarily rules out conventional projection. It could be a shared psychological illusion, but its persistence suggests we're dealing with something entirely different."
He turned slightly toward Watari. "Any unusual patterns in the latest deaths? Anything suggesting an evolution in the perpetrator's modus operandi?"
"Nothing new so far," Watari replied. "But I'll keep searching for subtler connections."
L nodded, his eyes returning to the hologram. The options "Yes" and "No" floated before him, but he knew that any choice carried risks. However, inaction was also a risk.
"Watari," he began, his tone reflecting his typical blend of cold calculation, "log everything occurring here in detail. This interaction might be key to unraveling the case."
Watari inclined his head in acknowledgment as L extended a finger toward the window, intending to press "Yes."
If this message can shed any light on the case, even slightly, it's worth the risk, he concluded.
As L's finger touched the option [Yes], the familiar sound echoed once more.
Ding!
A new holographic window appeared, projected with the same surreal clarity.
[Great! Then... welcome to the 'Part-Time Workers' Group!']
L read the text in complete silence, his face remaining expressionless.
Internally, however, a mixture of confusion and calculation flooded his mind. The phrase, deliberately casual, seemed to contradict the gravity of the case he was tackling.
"Part-Time Workers' Group…" he murmured, analyzing each word. What kind of joke is this? Or could it be…?
He didn't have time to finish his thought. Just as he read the last word, an intense white light filled the room, forcing him to instinctively shut his eyes.
From Watari and the security agents' perspective, what followed was even more perplexing.
L, seated on the floor in front of the hologram, vanished in an instant, as though erased from reality.
Watari stood still for a moment, his eyes scanning the now-empty space where the detective had been.
His ever-composed demeanor now bore a seriousness betraying a restrained concern.
"Search the building immediately," he ordered in a low but firm voice, addressing the agents. "Include adjacent buildings and monitor the streets and pedestrians. If anything unusual is spotted, act discreetly. Don't draw attention."
The agents nodded quickly and left the room, leaving Watari to inspect the area alone.
His gaze fell on the spot where the holographic window had floated moments earlier, but no trace of it remained. With measured steps, he began to examine every corner of the room.
No signs of projection or hidden devices, he thought, meticulously inspecting the surroundings. No traces of external interference either.
Watari paused briefly, his mind running through possible explanations. For years, he had witnessed L's peculiarities, from his methods to his eccentricities. However, this was entirely unprecedented, even for him.
Finally, he activated a small communicator on his watch. "Keep the building's cameras and sensors under constant surveillance. Any signal, no matter how minor, must be reported immediately."
Despite his usual calm, a hint of worry crept into his voice. He knew that while L was extraordinarily resourceful, the nature of what had occurred surpassed anything they could have anticipated.
Watari stood silently for a moment longer, surveying the empty room. Wherever you are, I'm confident you'll find a way back… or at least leave us a clue.
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A/N: If you can, let me know what you think of the story so far.
If nothing unexpected happens, we'll see you in a couple of days.
I wish you a good weekend.