In Sector 1, in front of the university building, where a crowd had gathered around Erica Bennett's body and the pool of blood beneath her, a little away from them, Calli was still holding tightly onto Noah, refusing to let go as if clinging to her life, afraid that if she let go, he might disappear.
Then, Calli's cheeks flushed slightly, she loosened her embrace and stepped back a little to look at Noah's face, realizing she might have been annoying.
"I-I'm sorry for being so clingy..." Calli said nervously, looking down shyly and modestly.
"It's okay, I don't mind," Noah said calmly, truly trying to avoid what had happened. He too felt a bit embarrassed about it, but not to the ridiculous extent of blushing.
A silence spread between them, accompanied by some confusion and lost feelings. Calli regretted hugging Noah and creating that scene or even what she said. Then she remembered something.
"B-by the way—" Calli said in a nervous, shaky tone, and Noah looked at her after she caught his attention.
"Y-you're looking for the killer, right?" Calli said, her tension easing a little though she stammered.
"...Yes," Noah answered affirmatively for some reason. His mind labeled the killer as "The Big Fish," based on what Sirius had said earlier.
"...C-can I help you?" Calli asked nervously, surprising Noah with her shocking request.
"E-excuse me?" Noah said, shocked and confused by the request.
"...I-I want to find Erica's killer... I want justice for her..." Calli said, clenching her fist to her chest.
Noah hesitated a bit; involving Calli in the investigation might be dangerous. Recently, the killer had underestimated them, and they were all at risk, which might put Calli in danger as well.
"I-I won't be an obstacle for you, I swear! I-I'll be... a useful pawn!" Calli said, taking a step closer to Noah.
"A useful pawn?…" Noah thought coldly. The word "pawn" echoed in his ears like a bell.
The word "pawn" had shaped many of his life standards. Pawns are secondary and side characters who ultimately are either left to die or face an unknown fate. But a "useful pawn"—such a concept Noah had never encountered before. Could a pawn be useful? Could it have a role beyond just being a pawn instead of evolving into something higher like a 'Telo'? This sparked Noah's curiosity, and maybe excitement, making him want to spotlight this pawn and give her a stage to shine more than others.
"...Alright," Noah replied, making Calli smile, but her smile quickly faded as she realized the seriousness of the matter.
"I swear I won't let you down!" Calli said with more confidence and enthusiasm.
"I'll make sure you can perform and shine on the stage—not as a pawn or an important factor... but as my mask... No longer should lies and deception be my masks... but people like you... useful pawns... are masks I cannot abandon."
———————
On the other side of the crowd, Sirius and Neriah stood together watching the chaos caused by the killer—or what Sirius calls "The Big Fish."
"What did you mean by competing with the killer?" Neriah asked with curiosity and a little caution.
"The killer must have seen 'The Sinner's Swing' last night, and that's why they changed their style and did this," Sirius explained, only increasing Neriah's confusion.
"The Sinner's Swing? What's that?" Neriah asked, utterly confused and lost.
"It's what I did to Derek last night—hanging his head and blah blah blah... It's just a scene that represents my childhood, The Sinner's Swing," Sirius explained, which shocked Neriah.
"You have... a unique sense of naming."
"Anyway, the killer changed their style from just a deadly bleeding wound to a cinematic scene like this. It's a challenge invitation, from one killer to another," Sirius explained with a wide grin in excitement.
"And why would the killer do that? Won't it only increase the risk of being caught?" Neriah asked nervously and confused.
"I don't know that, but I wouldn't back down from such a challenge. I saw everything when it happened in front of me—I saw the 'Tears of Hell' falling. It was a... a... very intense scene!!" Sirius said excitedly, remembering the event when it happened.
———
Before the body fell, Sirius was on the university roof watching the show begin. The rain of blood as it happened followed by the fall of Erica Bennett's corpse made him excited.
"What a wonderful cinematic show! I really never get tired no matter how many times I see it repeated before me! I accepted your challenge, Big Fish! May the better artist win!" Sirius said with enthusiasm and excitement, feeling a strong heat in his body that made his pants tighten. He looked down.
"...It will take some time to lower it."
———
Back on the other side of the crowd, Noah and Calli sat on one of the chairs beside the roadside. Calli was trying to remember any important information that might help the investigation.
"She was normal, didn't look worried as if someone was chasing her, so I don't think she knew the killer would target her next," Calli explained, which was understandable and reasonable to Noah. Then Calli remembered something.
"Recently, she had many nightmares," Calli added, catching Noah's interest.
"Nightmares?" Noah asked with curiosity and confusion.
"Yes, she described them as darkness before dawn. Sometimes she refused to sleep, saying she saw the devil's horns when she closed her eyes," Calli explained awkwardly, but this increased Noah's confusion.
"Before the day she disappeared—the day you came—she said she was scared and that the devil would hurt her. I thought she was delirious, so I asked her to go to a psychological clinic, but our conversation was interrupted when a love letter slipped to Erica, which made her excited and forget her fears," Calli added. Noah was shocked because he had heard this before.
"The devil! Please don't hurt me..." The phrase repeated itself, but no matter how hard Noah tried to remember, he couldn't recall where he heard it before.
"I didn't tell you this that day because I thought it was personal, and because I had seen it before," Calli said, increasing Noah's shock.
"Where did you hear it?" Noah asked confused and anxious.
"There's a girl living next to us; she's alone. Her companion was killed by the killer. One day I bumped into her, and she said the same phrases, but that was three days before Erica disappeared," Calli explained. This only terrified Noah, who now remembered where he heard the words.
Noah stood up, shocked, remembering the room next to Calli's—building 4, third floor, room 200. That's the girl's room.
"Calli, search for a girl named Livia and lead her to that girl room. I'll go ahead!" Noah said, starting to run quickly toward the southern train station, the closest one.
"O-okay..."
Noah ran with all his might to reach it, breathing heavily and pushing himself. His recent psychological exhaustion due to horrible dreams affected his endurance, but he resisted.
If I'm right! The killer chooses victims using nightmares! Those who see—or rather, 'the devil'—are his victims! Erica saw the devil's horns in her nightmares and called it the devil! As for that girl, from what Calli said, she has been in that state for three days since Calli's death—actually, she's in a worse state! She doesn't just see the devil's horns, she sees the whole devil! If my theory is correct, this girl has reached the peak now! And she's the next target! If I can save her before the killer reaches her, we'll know who he is and be able to stop him before he makes his next move!" Noah thought as he arrived at the station and boarded the train waiting there. Only a few seconds passed before the train departed to Sector 6.
———————
Meanwhile, Calli hurried near the crowd searching for Livia, the person Noah mentioned. Luckily, Livia was popular enough to recognize her appearance.
Calli turned her head quickly searching for Livia, anxious because the matter was serious. Then she stopped.
"I think... it's worth a try," Calli thought nervously and closed her eyes.
"Don't fail me now... Daemon Oculus," Calli whispered softly. Then she opened her eyes and a blue ring appeared in her eye surrounding her iris.
Calli's vision was different than usual; instead of normal front-facing vision, she had an ultra-wide 360-degree view with no blind spots, as if she was looking from the sky despite her location. Simply put, her vision shifted to a third-person perspective.
Simply, "The Daemon Oculus" is a skill that allows Calli to switch her perspective between first, second, or third person, and all it leaves behind are mild eye pains that don't hurt.
Quickly, Calli found Livia near the crowd watching alone while tapping her foot on the ground as if her patience had run out waiting for someone.
The blue ring around Calli's iris disappeared, and she felt tired with slight eye pain. Changing perspective to third person is the most painful and annoying because Calli's mind can't get used to sudden changes no matter how hard she trains.
Calli hurried toward Livia and soon found her. Livia looked at Calli nervously as if thinking, "Why is this girl coming close to me, for God's sake?!" or something like that.
But Calli was in a hurry and didn't have time to give Livia space to ask questions. She was also tired from running.
"A-are you... Livia?" Calli said, panting and exhausted from running.
"Y-yes... catch your breath first," Livia said nervously, then took a deep breath and finally relaxed.
"I'm Calli, the roommate of the deceased Erica Bennett. Noah sent me to find you to tell you what seems to be a clue we found. Erica had many nightmares in which she saw the devil, and Noah believes such nightmares are the killer's way of choosing his victims. And the devil himself is the killer. There's a girl in Sector 6, my neighbor, who is in the same condition Erica was, and he's heading there right now. I think he won't reach her because he's a man and will be stopped, but I doubt he thought about that. So please, let's hurry and catch the train before it leaves. I want to be a useful pawn for Noah, so I want to help him, and he told me you'd be of help. So hurry, no time for questions or laziness, let's go!" Calli said without taking a breath between her chatter, which worried Livia because she didn't understand a single word.
"...Can you repeat that again? But slowly?"
———————
In Sector 6, Noah finally arrived at his station and the train stopped. As soon as the doors opened, Noah ran outside heading to building 4.
Noah arrived shortly but stopped from a distance once he saw guards and workers at the entrance and realized there was no way to get inside without permission or an excuse.
"Damn!" Noah thought angrily, gritting his teeth and started looking around. Then he noticed a distant blind spot from the guards.
Noah carefully headed to the blind spot, making sure the guards didn't see him, but he couldn't take another step forward due to surveillance cameras.
He looked around searching for a solution. Then he picked up a nearby stone, and luckily, there was an open window.
"I hope this doesn't make noise," Noah thought as he extended a transparent hidden field using his skill "Influence Field."
Then Noah threw the stone with all his strength toward the window, and luckily, it went in successfully without making much noise. In no time, he slipped inside, swapping places with the stone. He was lucky enough to find the room was Calli's.
"Such luck~" Noah said surprised by his fortune. Then he headed to the door, grabbed its knob, opened it slowly, and peeked outside.
He noticed some girls walking outside, which made him close the door slightly leaving a small gap to look through while waiting for them to leave.
"Come on, come on," Noah whispered to himself, his foot shaking and tapping lightly on the ground. As soon as he saw the girls enter the elevator and its door closing, he left the room immediately.
Noah looked around toward the girl's room he bumped into. He noticed the door was already open and peeked a little from outside, but the room was dark. He pushed the door a bit, letting some light in to see inside. Then he saw a pool of blood on the floor and opened the door fully to see a man standing wearing a black cloak, his back facing Noah, while the girl was lying on her bed with a dagger stuck in her chest and wearing an Oni mask.
"Shit!"