"Next: the victims," said the chief of the Kanto Police Department.
"Right," the investigator replied, adjusting the papers in his hands.
"After further investigation, we confirmed that information about the heart attack victims had, in fact, been publicly available in Japan before their deaths. Also…" He hesitated for a moment and glanced at Watari, who was seated quietly at the end of the room. "Regarding L's request that we examine the exact times of death for each victim, we found a pattern. On weekdays, the deaths occurred between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m., Japan time. Sixty-eight percent of them happened between 8 p.m. and midnight."
"Very interesting..." L's voice came out in a distorted way from the laptop on Watari's lap. "Must be a student then."
Everyone seemed visibly shocked by what L said.
The chief looked around the room at the gathered officers. "Has anyone else noticed anything?"
"Um, yes…" the rookie detective said, slowly raising his hand.
"What is it, Matsuda?" the chief asked.
"Um… I'm not saying this to support Kira or anything…" Matsuda said nervously, glancing around the room. "But over the past few days, all around the world—and especially here in Japan—the number of violent crimes, especially the more serious ones, has dropped drastically."
His report made the policemen and investigators in the room let out low grunts of displeasure.
"Well, I suppose that was to be expected," the chief said heavily. "Anything else?"
After everyone stayed silent with no additional reports the chief said, "That about sums up our investigation report for Today, L."
"Thank you for your cooperation," L's distorted voice replied from the laptop. "I have a feeling we're getting closer to the culprit. Even so, I'd like to make another request. I want the teams investigating the victims, the news, and the internet to once again examine exactly how the victims' identities became public in Japan, and whether their faces were ever shown. I also want you to try to obtain records of who searched for each of those names online. I know it is a lot to ask, but I believe you should be able to do it."
"But there are so many platforms where the culprit could have looked up the victims," one of the investigators said. "He might have simply switched from one platform to another."
"I understand," L replied calmly. "You only need to focus on the five most widely used browsers, as well as X and Reddit. Watari will contact those major companies on my behalf and request their cooperation."
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"Light how are your studies?" The chief asked his son as the family sat on the table having dinner.
"Hmm? They are okay." Light answered.
"He's at the top of his grade as usual. My wonderful big brother." The chief's daughter answered with a wide smile on his face.
"Yes, my wonderful son." The mom said.
"Dad, you seem a bit tired," Light asked his dad, as he ate dinner.
"Yeah... I can't tell you any details, but this current case is very difficult."
Standing behind the table was a corpse-thin creature hunched forward looking at the family with bulging, unblinking red eyes. It's mouth packed with wet, jagged teeth, while black feathers burst from its shoulders.
The family members could not see the creature, only Light could.
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Lady Rias,
By order of His Majesty Sirzechs Lucifer, I am informing you that the Three Faction Meeting has been postponed until further notice. Recent events have created a situation that requires immediate attention from all sides.
At present, Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils have begun coordinated movements to investigate the cause of these disturbances and determine what force is acting in secret. Until more is known, all major diplomatic gatherings are suspended.
Remain cautious, strengthen the security of your territory, and avoid unnecessary actions until new instructions are issued.
I will contact you again when updates arrive.
Grayfia Lucifuge.
Rias sighed as she folded the letter and placed it on her desk. Akeno stepped closer and poured her a cup of tea.
"What is the letter about?" Akeno asked.
"The Three Faction Meeting has been postponed. They believe the series of murders may be a supernatural incident, so Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils have begun moving to search for the culprit," Rias explained to her queen.
"I see… Do you know what the current situation is?"
"The main problem is that the culprit has no energy leakage at all. That means they are likely from a race that uses life force instead of pure energy."
Life force was another kind of power some races used. Unlike demonic power or holy power, life force was not pure energy itself. It was more like the fuel used to create energy. Like normal energy, it moved through the body by way of energy points and energy channels, but it did not leak outward because it had no true form or weight.
All living races possessed life force. However, races that could use other forms of energy rarely relied on it, since doing so consumed their own lifespan. Races without such options often used life force as their natural means of defense.
Not everyone could do that, however. Only those capable of using Touki through Senjutsu or other special methods could use their life force to defend themselves. Touki was, in essence, the external manifestation of one's life force—in other words, their Ki—wrapped around the body like an aura. By using it, a person could greatly enhance their offense, defense, and speed. It also had the added effect of harming others with even the slightest touch, while protecting the user from a wide range of attacks and knocking enemies back.
The better a person's control over Touki was, the better they could manage the life force it consumed. And that was one of the main reasons Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels lived longer than many other races. They did not need to consume their life force to fight, and because of that, they did not shorten their own lifespan.
So, in summary, a person's life force could be converted into a kind of energy called Touki. Like other forms of energy, Touki flowed through the body by way of energy channels and points. Life force itself did not leak and could not be sensed. However, once it was transformed into Touki, it could be sensed and leak like other energies, and using it would slowly consume the user's lifespan in small amounts.
"It makes sense for the culprit to be a life force user, but what kind of power could kill people like that?" Akeno asked.
"I don't know," Rias replied. "My brother seems to have some idea, but for some reason, he didn't tell me what it was."
Akeno lowered her eyes for a moment. "Do you think Adrien is working on the case?"
Rias gave her a teasing smirk. "You've been talking about him a lot lately. Do you really like him that much?"
"Yes," Akeno answered honestly. "He is a very attractive man. I'm more surprised that you haven't fallen for him yet."
"I understand why people would," Rias said with a sigh. "He's handsome, absurdly strong, smart, and I owe him my life. I respect him a lot too. But did you not see his personality? He's unbearable. He needs to be watched all the time, he acts cold in public, and he barely seems to care about anyone. I honestly don't understand why you and Sona are so infatuated with him."
"I'll have to disagree with you on a few points," Akeno said softly. "Adrien may act cold, but his heart is actually very warm. He showed me that himself. He can be violent, and sometimes he goes too far, but most of the time he is genuinely kind and cares about others."
She lowered her eyes slightly before continuing.
"I'm sure that if he didn't, he would never have come to save us from Kokabiel, because he had no real reason to. Even if we had died, I doubt another war would have started. Maybe there would have been a few skirmishes, but all three factions have already lost too much and still haven't fully recovered from the previous wars. Of course Adrien knew that. He definitely did. And yet… he still came to save us."
"..." Rias fell silent.
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"What!? Th-There were another twenty-three heart attack victims yesterday!?" the chief shouted. The moment he heard the report, he slammed his hand onto the table and shot to his feet.
"Y-Yes…" the officer answered nervously. "Twenty-three victims. One death every hour."
"It's fine," L said calmly. "I'm very close now. Did you get the information I asked for?"
L was a very slim, pale young man with messy, neck-length black hair and dark eyes. Heavy shadows rested beneath his eyes, making him look even more unsettling. He wore a plain long-sleeved white shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
He sat on the chair in his usual strange way, crouched with both feet pulled up onto the seat and his knees drawn close to his chest.
His eyes with rather large black pupils rarely blinked as he eyed the room.
"Y-Yes!" Matsuda said quickly as he stepped forward and handed L a stack of files.
The pale detective immediately began reading through them. His face remained completely expressionless as his eyes moved across the pages.
L's eyes shifted toward Matsuda, carefully reading his body language. After a moment, he gave a small nod. "Thank you," he said, lowering his head slightly.
"Watari, please add these to my files." The mysterious old man stepped forward, took the stack of papers from L, and quietly moved aside.
"Have you discovered anything new?" the chief asked.
"Chief, may I come have dinner at your house tonight?" L asked calmly. "I would also like Matsuda to join us."
The chief stared at him in complete confusion, clearly caught off guard by the sudden request.
"Uh… I suppose that would be fine…"
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"Shinigami…" the Governor of the Fallen Angels muttered. "I never expected them to still be alive. After all, Hades eradicated their race long ago."
"Their ability is interesting. You called it the Death Note, right?" Vali asked.
"Yes," Azazel replied. "It looks like an ordinary notebook, but if someone's name is written in it under certain conditions, they die. It is essentially an untraceable method of killing. It works on every race, regardless of the target's power."
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "It was an absurdly dangerous ability. That is why Hades wiped them out back then. He trained nameless soldiers and laid waste to the land of the Shinigami, slaughtering every last one of them… or so he thought. It seems at least one managed to escape."
"The Three Factions are still searching, right?" Vali asked.
"They are," Azazel replied. "But Shinigami cannot be sensed. I'm certain it is hiding alongside the one using the notebook." A faint grin crossed his face. "Still… I think we've got them now."