Capítulo 50: Chapter 79&80
Chapter 79: The Night Before the Curtain Falls
North America, New York, Headquarters of the Syndicate.
In the luxurious office lined with a red carpet, a man dressed in a white suit sat in a chair behind his desk, staring at a photograph in his hand.
The photograph showed a young but haggard woman sitting on a hospital bed.
"My love, please give me a little more time."
The man's clear blue eyes revealed a hint of sadness as he gently stroked the face of the woman in the photo, speaking softly, "Soon, very soon, our daughter will be back with us."
This man's name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald.
As the leader of the Syndicate, the leader of a renowned ability organization in North America, and standing at the pinnacle of the capital world, his world had never intersected with someone like Nakajima Atsushi, an orphan who grew up in an orphanage.
That was until one day, the head of the underground intelligence organization "Dead House Rats" contacted him, claiming that they had a way to resurrect his daughter. This was when Fitzgerald's world and Nakajima Atsushi's world finally crossed paths.
At first, Fitzgerald thought it was just another trick by the rats, something not worth paying attention to.
His daughter had died in an accident when she was young, and his wife had broken down mentally because of it. This was no secret.
Fitzgerald had even once held on to hope, searching the world for ability users who could treat mental illness. However, after spending millions, the people he found were either frauds or unscrupulous individuals.
And now, the Dead House Rats, a second rate organization, claimed they could bring the dead back to life?
Even though Fitzgerald hadn't spent years in the financial world, it was impossible for him to believe such an absurd claim.
However, the real change in his mindset came after a conversation with another organization.
The "Clock Tower Servants," a mystical ability organization based in Britain, first contacted him and confirmed that the Dead House Rats weren't lying. He was stunned.
Although he was the leader of the Syndicate, the organization he led was more like a money-making machine rather than a group focusing on academic or combat abilities. He didn't know much about the ability world, but the Clock Tower Servants were experts in this field.
Thus, the leaders of the three organizations held a meeting.
During this meeting, Fitzgerald learned a secret that had been hidden from the world.
The Book.
The Clock Tower Servants called it that. There existed a book in this world, a book that could change reality.
As long as you wrote a logically possible request or wish in this book, it could make that possibility in your fantasy become a reality.
At first, Fitzgerald didn't believe this at all… until the head of the Dead House Rats showed him a page of the book.
He was stunned.
And then, his mind and body were filled with ecstatic joy.
If he could obtain this book no, even just a single page from it he could summon the possibility that "his daughter didn't die in the accident" and twist reality to cure his wife's mental trauma fundamentally.
If not for the fact that the page the Dead House Rats' leader showed him was nearly full, Fitzgerald might have tried to snatch it away himself.
The leader of the Dead House Rats then told him that they knew the whereabouts of the book.
And that clue was linked to Nakajima Atsushi.
The Clock Tower Servants, as an official British ability organization, could not act directly, and the Dead House Rats, lurking in the shadows, weren't convenient either. They needed the Syndicate, an influential organization with international clout, to help capture Nakajima Atsushi.
Without hesitation, Fitzgerald agreed.
Almost two months had passed since the bounty was issued, and just when he was about to take action himself, the Port Mafia finally brought him good news.
Nakajima Atsushi had been captured.
Although the news came at night due to the time difference, Fitzgerald didn't get angry at being disturbed; instead, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
After confirming the target with the Clock Tower Servants and Dead House Rats, Fitzgerald sent half of the bounty payment.
As a qualified businessman, paying in advance before receiving the product was something he usually avoided.
However, since the Port Mafia was an unreasonable criminal organization, if he didn't pay, they wouldn't release Nakajima Atsushi. Therefore, Fitzgerald had no choice but to pay upfront.
In his anxiety, he eagerly awaited the satellite images sent to him, watching the ocean freighter getting closer to North America. He could hardly wait for time to pass faster.
Soon, his daughter would be resurrected, and his wife would be healed. This future, so close at hand, made the billionaire feel like a young man just starting out in his career, full of anticipation for what was to come.
Just then, the phone rang.
"What's going on?"
"Boss, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Let's hear the bad news first."
"Nakajima Atsushi was kidnapped."
"…?"
Fitzgerald's strong mental fortitude prevented him from losing control immediately. Instead, he calmed down and asked coldly, "What happened? Did the Port Mafia gang try to take the bounty twice?"
"No, it wasn't the Port Mafia who intercepted him. It was the Armed Detective Agency."
"Why would the Armed Detective Agency know about my shipping route and vessel?"
"I don't know. It could have been leaked by the Port Mafia, or they could have deduced it themselves. I heard their detective agency is quite strange."
"Of course, it wouldn't go so smoothly…"
Fitzgerald sighed. "So, what's the good news? I hope it's really good news."
"The 'White Whale' transit pass has been arranged. The craftsmen and apprentices in the organization are ready and can depart at any time."
"Not bad, that's the best news I've heard today."
Fitzgerald's furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.
"Notify everyone. We leave immediately."
---
Meanwhile, on a seaplane over the Pacific Ocean, members of the Armed Detective Agency surrounded the unconscious Nakajima Atsushi.
After the Syndicate's ship departed, the Armed Detective Agency quickly received a transmission from the Nightmare clone, learning the number and route of the ocean freighter hired by the Syndicate. Almost all of the Agency's members mobilized, using high-performance small boats to catch up with the freighter and successfully abduct Nakajima Atsushi.
"Atsushi-kun, wake up. Time to get up."
On the speedboat, Dazai Osamu gently patted Nakajima Atsushi's cheek.
The pale faced Atsushi gradually regained consciousness and opened his eyes.
As his pupils focused again, he seemed to recall something and suddenly sat up, gasping for air.
"Finally, finally..."
"Haha, Atsushi-kun, you're being dramatic. You've only been on the ship for a few hours. Was it seasickness?"
"No… No, it's not that."
Atsushi covered his face, his back drenched in cold sweat. "It's from… from the Nightmare, from her shadow."
"Nightmare? Why are you mentioning her now?"
Dazai's playful expression faded, and he asked seriously, "Was she with you the whole time?"
"Yes, yes, Nightmare was with me from the moment we set sail." Atsushi's trembling voice betrayed his uncontrollable panic. "Because I wanted to help everyone, I tried to extract useful information from her through conversation."
"That's too dangerous, Atsushi-kun. Even I wouldn't dare do such a thing lightly!" Dazai scolded. "She holds your life and death in her hands. If you anger someone like her, she won't care whether you live or die!"
"But, Dazai-san…"
"What is it?"
With the return of safety, Atsushi's body began to calm down, his breathing steadying.
Thinking back on his earlier conversation with Tokisaki Kurumi, he hesitated before speaking. "Nightmare... Tokisaki Kurumi... Could it be that she's not really a bad person?"
"Hah? What? Atsushi-kun, after being tortured like that, you still think she's not a bad person?"
Dazai blinked, then his expression turned odd. "Don't tell me, in such a short time, you've already been brainwashed by Nightmare?"
"It's not that! I just feel like she's not purely evil!"
"There's no such thing as pure evil in this world, Atsushi-kun." Dazai ruffled his hair. "But it's still too early for you to understand that. In any case, calm down. When we get back, we have other preparations to make."
"Other preparations?"
"Yeah, just now, we got a notification from the Special Ability Bureau."
Dazai looked into the distance, his expression growing serious.
"The Syndicate is coming."
Chapter 80: Daylight and Twilight Meeting
The next afternoon, in an abandoned garage in Yokohama.
It resembled a graveyard for cars, with numerous vehicles ranging from cheap to expensive models lined up on various levels, many covered in dust. The Armed Detective Agency's van was parked on the second floor, engine off, lights out, as the members filed out one by one.
At this moment, the entire agency was gathered in this place, including Bandaged Three, who was not an official member but had accompanied them. As they surveyed the surroundings, a man stepped out from a blind spot in their vision.
This man, looking delicate with a beauty mark on his cheek and dark circles under his eyes, was none other than the head of the Yokohama branch of the Ability Special Service, Ango Sakaguchi.
At that moment, the members of the Armed Detective Agency were gathered with the branch head of the Ability Special Service, which was a rare and crucial meeting for the city of Yokohama.
"You're still alive, Sakaguchi?" Dazai chided upon seeing the exhausted state of Sakaguchi. "When I defected from the Port Mafia, I took some wine from there with the plan of saving it for your funeral. I've been holding onto it for a while."
"Thanks for your concern, but I'm not dying just yet," Ango Sakaguchi replied in a monotonous tone, not bothering to retort to the jab. "I have no interest in arguing with you about the past; we need to focus on the present and the dangers ahead."
"True to form, the higher-ups know how to put the past behind them," Dazai quipped, making the exchange seem more like an old rivalry. But the focus shifted as Fukuzawa Yukichi interjected.
"Let's put aside the personal grudges, Dazai," Fukuzawa said, trying to refocus the conversation. "Now, we need to discuss the security of Yokohama with Sakaguchi."
Dazai shrugged and turned his back on Sakaguchi, crossing his arms as though to express his disdain. But Sakaguchi remained unfazed, adjusting his glasses and maintaining his usual indifferent demeanor.
"Alright, Fukuzawa. Let me get to the point." Sakaguchi placed a file on the hood of a car. "This is the official document requesting the entry of the Organization into Yokohama. It's been processed through proper channels, so there's no avoiding it."
"Meaning the Organization is coming here," Fukuzawa said.
"You figured that out already?" Sakaguchi raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"We didn't guess, we deduced it," said Edogawa Ranpo, pulling a lollipop from his mouth. "We've made a deal with Nightmare. The arrival of the Organization in Yokohama is part of that agreement."
"A deal with Nightmare? Are you out of your mind?" Sakaguchi frowned.
"We had no choice. You saw it for yourself yesterday the twenty avatars surrounding the Armed Detective Agency," Taizo replied bluntly.
Sakaguchi's lips parted, but he was unable to form words. As the one who controlled all the surveillance in the city, he had witnessed everything firsthand the overwhelming pressure of the twenty avatars surrounding the agency, something that still haunted him.
"If before I only feared Nightmare, now she's a real nightmare in my mind," he admitted. The existence of an unknown number of avatars, her immense time-manipulating abilities, and her ability to hide like a shadow were all things that constantly weighed on him. She could cause chaos in Yokohama at any moment if she wished.
After Nightmare's avatars overwhelmed the Armed Detective Agency and destroyed their headquarters, Sakaguchi had urgently reported it to the central government, hoping for reinforcements. But as of now, there had been no response.
"This, actually, is what I wanted to discuss with you." Sakaguchi took a deep breath. "The Organization's goal is clear they want to capture Nakajima Atsushi. But Nightmare's purpose remains uncertain. I cannot allow a madwoman with the power to destroy Yokohama to operate unchecked within my jurisdiction."
"I understand your concerns, and if circumstances were different, we wouldn't have cooperated with Nightmare either," Fukuzawa said, nodding. "However, our collaboration is just that cooperation, not an alliance. The Armed Detective Agency is helping Nightmare to oppose the Organization while trying to figure out why they have a bounty on Atsushi. Once that cooperation ends, we have no further ties with Nightmare."
"In that case, I hope you can help the Ability Special Service capture Nightmare," Sakaguchi said, his tone firm.
"You should talk to the Port Mafia about that," Dazai interjected with a grin.
"Mori-san has already given his consent. He will not intervene while we deal with Nightmare," Sakaguchi replied. "It seems even he doesn't want an uncontrollable ability user wreaking havoc in the Organization."
"Heh..." Dazai chuckled. "The three major organizations in Yokohama have agreed to deal with Nightmare? How rare."
"That's precisely because she poses a genuine threat to Yokohama's safety," Sakaguchi said. "We need to come up with a strategy to deal with her, and it should revolve around this avatar."
"Her?" Taizo sneered. "Relying on her is like hoping Nightmare will just kill herself."
"What do you mean by that?!" Bandaged Three shouted, raising her fist and punching Taizo's back.
"I wouldn't bet on her, though she's a Nightmare avatar, she doesn't know much. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been discarded by Nightmare." Edogawa Ranpo chimed in. "By the way, Sakaguchi, didn't you encounter a rogue Nightmare avatar? If we're strategizing, shouldn't we focus on that one who calls herself 'Tokisaki Kurumi'?"
"If I could find her, I wouldn't be so helpless," Sakaguchi sighed. "I've tried contacting her many times, but she hasn't responded. I suspect she's already been taken out by Nightmare."
Before he could continue, the sound of boots hitting the ground echoed from the shadows. The armed members immediately raised their guns and locked them.
This was supposed to be a secret meeting; no one else should have been here.
From the shadows emerged a Nightmare avatar, wearing a gothic dress with black hair flowing down to her waist.
"I believe I told you that I decide when to meet," the avatar said coolly.
"Assuming someone's death without confirmation is rather impolite," she added, her gaze cold.
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