Chapter 85: First Blood
Inside the mobile fortress, the White Whale, Fitzgerald casually flipped through the thick tactical plan in his hands, his face showing a lack of enthusiasm.
"This new battle plan has been distributed to all members, right?"
"Yes, President."
"Louis, your strategic abilities far exceed mine, so I won't question the plan you've come up with," Fitzgerald said, pressing his temples in mild frustration.
"But could you make it a bit more concise next time? By the time I finish reading this plan, the sun will have set."
"Y-yes, I'm so sorry!"
The woman, Louisa, who had been referred to, bowed repeatedly in apology, her glasses slipping slightly as she nervously explained, "I got so focused that I forgot to simplify the content. I truly apologize, I will make sure to be more careful next time!"
Louisa May Alcott, the strategist for the team, was also a psychic. Her ability, "Little Women," allowed her to extend the flow of time to one-eight-thousandth of its normal speed when she was alone in a closed space.
Although she was a very shy and nervous person around others, her focus and analytical talent were exceptional when alone, making her battle plans flawless in quality albeit with an overwhelming amount of detail.
"Take it easy, Louisa, I'm not blaming you."
Fitzgerald spoke with a sigh. He understood it was just her personality, so he continued,
"Now, could you briefly summarize the contents of the plan? While I trust you always do your best, it is my duty as the leader to know the details of what each member is assigned."
"Yes..."
Louisa took a deep breath, calming herself as she began, "Our current enemies are the three major ability-user organizations in Yokohama, but the Japanese government has made no moves so far, which eases the pressure on us.
Therefore, we only need to focus on the remaining two organizations.
The Armed Detective Agency has strong ties with government groups, so we should aim to capture them alive.
However, our target is located within the agency, and they will undoubtedly do everything in their power to prevent us from leaving. Hence, I've devised a distraction plan to throw them off.
To carry out this plan, we need to capture a member of the Port Mafia's psychics as a trigger, which means we will also need to divert some forces to deal with the Port Mafia.
Once the distraction plan is successful, the three major ability-user organizations in Yokohama will be tied up, and we will be able to extract our target without interference.
Here is the personnel distribution for our 11 psychics:
Lucy Maud Montgomery, John Steinbeck, Howard Phillips Lovecraft three members responsible for containing the Armed Detective Agency.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Mitchell, Edgar Allan Poe, James Russell Lowell—four members assigned to handle the Port Mafia.
Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Louisa May Alcott three members will stay behind on the White Whale.
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald acting alone.
This is the rough outline of the plan."
Having finished, Louisa anxiously awaited Fitzgerald's response. Fitzgerald absorbed the details of the plan, mentally weighing the strength of each faction and their chances of success, before slowly nodding.
"This really does seem to be the best course of action," he mused. "However, to achieve our goal, speed is essential."
Looking over intelligence provided by the Rats in the House of the Dead, Fitzgerald studied the details of various individuals.
His eyes landed on a particular young woman, whose file stood out most of her information was missing, and the psychic abilities listed seemed like a hasty compilation of guesses.
"Louis, what can you tell me about this ability-user, Tokisaki Kurumi? Is she a threat to us?"
"If the intel is accurate, she is indeed a threat, second only to the corruption that is Nakahara Chūya," Louisa replied.
"Are you planning on having Edgar restrain both Nakahara Chūya and her at the same time?"
"No, Edgar's ability can likely only handle Chūya. Kurumi will require a different approach."
"What do you plan to do about her then?"
"James will head to eliminate her after handling a Port Mafia member," Louisa suggested.
Fitzgerald considered this for a moment before declining. "No, let him focus on his primary task. I'll take care of Kurumi myself."
Fitzgerald then returned to the file, noting that the Rats in the House of the Dead had provided unreliable but mostly useful information.
Kurumi's true abilities and intentions were still unclear.
"Now that the plan is underway, there's nothing requiring my immediate attention. I'll take the opportunity to eliminate her."
"I understand. Please be cautious, President."
At that moment, Fitzgerald's phone vibrated. He checked the message and saw a photo from James, the assassin. The caption simply read:
"This is the first."
Fitzgerald was surprised by the speed of James's action and smiled. Unlocking the phone, he opened the message and viewed the image.
The smile froze on his face.
The photo depicted a man lying in a pool of blood.
"James was killed...?"
The man in the image was none other than James Russell Lowell, the assassin sent to deal with a Port Mafia member. Not only had the assassination failed, but James had been killed.
"Ah, the sharper the claws and teeth of the prey, the more interesting the hunt, don't you think?" Fitzgerald chuckled darkly, but his piercing blue eyes remained cold, as if reflecting a frozen sea.
"Then, let the hunting game begin."
---
Elsewhere, Tokisaki Kurumi had closed her phone. Looking down at James, who was nearly dead from blood loss after being struck by a spiritual bullet, she smiled gracefully, but to James, her expression was cold and merciless.
Knowing his life was slipping away, the assassin did not beg for mercy but closed his eyes and awaited death.
"As an assassin, your skills and talent fall short," Kurumi commented, standing beside the dying James, as her companion, Ozaki Kōyō, held a bloodstained short sword. The blade dripped fresh blood, but Ozaki's demeanor was calm, as if she had just gone through an ordinary task.
Five minutes earlier, Ozaki had been targeted by the team's assassins. However, what they did not expect was that Kurumi was lying in wait.
"James did not stand a chance," Ozaki said, her tone indifferent as she readied herself for what came next.
Kurumi smiled brightly, then lifted her gun and aimed at James's phone, which had a significant amount of intelligence regarding the team's plans. She fired, and the bullet, infused with time-manipulating power, went through the phone and into his head.
The moment the bullet struck, all of the phone's data flooded into Kurumi's mind, including the entire battle plan.
"Thank you for the intel. Now, the real game begins."
As Kurumi prepared to leave, her companion Ozaki remained cautious, sensing something ominous. The Port Mafia had received joint intelligence from the Armed Detective Agency and the Special Abilities Bureau about Kurumi's real objective destroying Yokohama.
The city was on the brink, and Kurumi's plans could mean the end of it all. Ozaki, however, did not know if this information was accurate.
"I won't drag Kyouka into this," Kurumi said as she disappeared into the shadows, leaving Ozaki standing in silence, holding the bloodied sword.
"Once you decide to make an enemy of Yokohama, you leave us no choice," Ozaki muttered as she turned away, headed toward the Port Mafia headquarters.
"At the moment you chose to go against Yokohama, we lost all our options."
Chapter 86: The Swarming Clones
"What exactly is that thing in the sky?"
"Wow! It's so cool! A flying mechanical psychic creature!"
"If I remember correctly, that should be the North American psychic organization's mobile headquarters."
"I hope they're just here for business activities."
In the streets of Yokohama, people were discussing the recent abnormal events they had witnessed.
Many had noticed the city growing increasingly chaotic, as if something big was about to happen. The arrival of the White Whale only deepened their confusion and unease.
"Wait, what are those?!"
At the shout of one bystander, everyone's gaze shifted from the White Whale to another sight.
As they took in the scene not far away, the crowd began to stir. Some took out their phones to snap pictures, others stood on tiptoe to get a better view, while some even moved closer to see clearly.
It was a scene they had never witnessed before.
In mid-air, atop buildings, and in the shadows, countless girls dressed in red and black dresses spread out in all directions.
With dual pistols in hand, they exuded an aura of danger, like hunters stalking their prey in a steel forest.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ah!"
In the distance, following the sound of gunfire, a man's scream echoed.
Someone had been killed.
The man's scream was so chilling that it instantly filled the onlookers with terror, overshadowing whatever curiosity, vigilance, or confusion they had felt earlier.
At that moment, the girls floating in the air seemed like harbingers of death, their dark gun muzzles brimming with lethal power. Even their smiles were enough to send shivers down one's spine.
"They're killing people! They're killing people!"
"Run! Run!"
"Don't push! Someone's fallen!"
As the gunshots and screams rang out, fear quickly escalated, spreading through the crowd like an unstoppable avalanche. People began to shove each other in a desperate bid to escape the area, and the more frantic they became, the stronger their fear grew.
Even those who had no idea what was going on found themselves swept up in the panic as they saw the fear-stricken faces of others and instinctively joined the stampede.
Like a plague, terror spread from this small corner of Yokohama.
---
"Don't you think you're too scared for a man?"
A long-absent clone, Clone #2, had surrounded a man dressed in a detective's outfit with a raccoon in his arms. The man, trembling in fear, looked as though he might have wet his pants from terror.
Looking at the powerless man before her, Clone #2's face was full of exasperation.
The man's name was Edgar Allan Poe, a member of the organization with the psychic ability The Black Cat of Murgatroyd Street. His power allowed him to pull readers into the detective stories he wrote. Once trapped inside, the victim had to gather clues and solve the mystery to escape. If they died within the story, they would experience a reset and be forced to start over.
This ability was a nightmare for those who relied on brute force or lacked strong deductive skills, which made Edgar an ideal candidate to deal with Nakahara Chuya. By trapping Chuya within one of his novels, the most powerful member of the Port Mafia would be unable to break free in the short term.
After Tokisaki Kurumi learned of Edgar's location from the assassination plans of the organization's James, she knew she couldn't miss the opportunity. After all, Edgar could only trap people with his power; he had no combat skills, making him one of the easiest targets among the organization's members.
There were eleven members in the organization, and with James already dealt with, there were ten left. Hunting them down one by one would take a long time, and the organization wasn't stupid. If they knew their plans had been leaked, they would make adjustments, making it much harder to track them down in the vast city of Yokohama.
So, Tokisaki Kurumi summoned all of the clones she had created so far from the shadows. Nearly six hundred clones were divided into several teams, with each team assigned based on the organization's members' combat abilities. The hunt began simultaneously. Clone #2's mission was to deal with Edgar.
However, this man turned out to be even more of a pushover than expected. Despite only having thirty clones in total, Edgar was so terrified that he couldn't even stand up properly.
Yes, he was terrified.
Clone #2 had fired a few warning shots but intentionally missed. One bullet may have grazed him, making him believe he was about to be killed.
"If you don't get up, my next bullet won't miss," Clone #2 threatened, making Edgar tremble even more.
Still, Edgar mustered all his strength to stand up, though his legs shook uncontrollably, and he looked like he lacked the courage to resist, even if he were to be killed.
On the other hand, the raccoon in his arms bared its teeth at the clones, showing signs of wildness.
"You, you, you guys…" Edgar stuttered, his voice breaking. "You... you're not going to kill me?"
"Do you want to die?"
"No... I don't..."
"Then give me your detective novel."
"Huh?"
"Don't you understand what I'm saying?"
"No, no, no! Not that!"
Immediately, Edgar pulled out a well crafted detective novel from his arms. If he opened the book and flipped to any random page, anyone who saw it would be sucked into the story.
Perhaps out of fear or realizing he couldn't trap all thirty people in his novel at once, Edgar handed over the book without making any attempt at subterfuge.
"Next, I'm sending you into the world of this book. Any objections?"
"But I'm the author... I know who the killer is..."
"You just need to stay quiet in there. I'll carry this book with me and let you know when you can come out."
Edgar nodded. Though he knew the killer's identity and could theoretically escape at any time, he was too scared to risk it.
He didn't dare.
Being a prisoner was better than being dead.
Soon, Edgar gave up resistance and was sucked into the very detective novel he created, becoming a prisoner in Clone #2's shadow.
"The second member of the organization is taken care of. Let's go assist the others!" Clone #2 shouted with excitement, holding up two pistols.
---
In the underground headquarters of the Ability Task Force in Yokohama, a highly confidential government organization, staff were working diligently in a blue-lit command room. They were scanning surveillance footage from across the city, pinpointing areas of chaos, and then coordinating with the local police and riot police to maintain order.
Looking at the growing number of red markers on the map, the face of Division Chief Sakaguchi Ango darkened. He appeared as though he could squeeze water out of his clenched jaw.
Standing beside him were Fukuzawa Yukichi, president of the Armed Detective Agency, and Dazai Osamu. This was their first time setting foot in the base of the Ability Task Force.
"The members of the organization have already started moving, and Nightmare has also begun to act," Sakaguchi said, his voice heavy with concern. "The number of Nightmare's clones has exceeded five hundred, and they've divided into small teams to hunt down the organization's members. We know that more than half of the members she has encountered have already been captured or killed."
"Heh, if Nightmare's true goal wasn't to devour the lives of all Yokohama's citizens, she might have done us a big favor. Last time, she only sent twenty clones. This time, she's really going all out," Dazai mocked. "It looks like she's not holding back. What are you going to do about it?"
"Honestly, I don't know what else we can do." Sakaguchi's hands trembled as he adjusted his glasses, his voice dry. "This has escalated to a national level disaster. Unless we deploy strategic weapons or special forces, all we can do is hope that Edogawa's reasoning is wrong."
"What about the Port Mafia? Shouldn't Dr. Mori be handling this?" Fukuzawa Yukichi spoke gravely. "As one of the Three Marks, even if we have differing ideals, our mission is the same. Are they really just going to watch Yokohama fall?"
"That's a serious misunderstanding." Sakaguchi said just as the command room door was violently kicked open.
The iron door was torn apart as though it were paper, the sound deafening.
Fukuzawa drew his sword, and Dazai pulled out his gun, both pointing toward the door.
Just as Sakaguchi was about to hit the emergency evacuation button, he saw that standing in the doorway were two men: Ogai Mori and Nakahara Chuya.
"How did you find this place?" Sakaguchi asked, his face changing slightly.
"You really think we couldn't find you just because you're underground?" Nakahara Chuya kicked the door open and casually pulled over a chair to sit. "Don't forget, the Port Mafia has an extensive underground network. When we dug escape tunnels, we found your location. But we've kept this information as our trump card."
"And now you're here to wipe us out?" Sakaguchi asked, wary.
"Of course not. If the Port Mafia wanted to do that, you'd already be trapped under rubble." Ogai Mori glanced at the room before his gaze landed on Fukuzawa and Dazai.
"It's been a while, Silver Wolf, Dazai-kun," Ogai Mori said politely. "I didn't expect our next meeting to be one where we'd discuss cooperation rather than fighting."
"I thought that when we met again, we'd immediately engage in battle," Fukuzawa Yukichi sheathed his katana. Though his hostility had subsided, his tone remained cold.
"Ogai, you seem to be in good spirits. I thought you'd end up like the previous boss," Dazai mocked.
"The Port Mafia's work has been quite busy, especially since you left," Ogai Mori replied, showing no sign of anger. His tone remained natural. "Sometimes I even thought about sending someone to bring you back. The intelligence department has been too much for Akiko to handle alone since you left."
"As much as I feel sorry for Akiko, I've worked hard to clear my name, live a lawful life, enjoy benefits, and take proper vacations. Why would I abandon all of that for you?" Dazai retorted.
"Perhaps because you belong here," Ogai suggested.
"Enough, Mori. The moment you callously had my friend carry out a suicide mission, any goodwill between us vanished," Dazai snapped.
"Stop bringing up these ancient grievances. I came here to solve a problem, not to chat with enemies," Chūya cut in impatiently. "Whatever history you two have, can we focus on the urgent issue at hand?"
"Tch... to be lectured by the short one," Dazai muttered.
"Are you asking for a fight, Dazai?!" Chūya jumped to his feet, clearly irritated.
Ogai Mori quickly intervened, pulling Chūya back and redirecting the conversation. "Chūya's right. We need to focus on the issue we all face."
Despite this rare gathering of the leaders of the three major organizations, the atmosphere was far from friendly. The relationships between those present were tangled and complicated, each of them often wishing for the other's downfall. The fact that there had been no immediate conflict already indicated that they were all exercising restraint.
"Since the Port Mafia is here, that means you've made your decision, correct?" Sakaguchi Ango, the mediator, stepped forward.
"Yes. Originally, we weren't planning to cooperate with you, but Nightmare has completely torn its relationship with the organization, leaving us no choice," Ogai Mori said, a trace of regret in his voice. "Though I foresaw this outcome from the moment she joined the organization, I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"It's pointless to dwell on that now. We need to find a way to stop Nightmare," Sakaguchi said.
"The peace of Yokohama must be preserved," Fukuzawa Yukichi added.
"And that is the very reason I am here," Ogai Mori concluded.
The leaders of the three major ability organizations exchanged determined glances. Seeing the resolve in each other's eyes, they silently lowered their guard and stood together.
"I, Sakaguchi Ango, represent the Ability Special Agents."
"I, Fukuzawa Yukichi, represent the Armed Detective Agency."
"I, Ogai Mori, represent the Port Mafia."
"Today, the day, dusk, and night come together here to stand against the enemies of Yokohama." X3