"So what exactly are we doing right now—" K began, his voice low but tinged with impatience.
He was promptly cut off when Yuma raised a finger and shushed him without even turning around.
K blinked, utterly offended. "Did you just—"
"Shut up," Yuma murmured, keeping his eyes ahead. "And just follow. Once EJ decides to move, there's no stopping him."
K's jaw tightened, but he reluctantly fell silent.
Ahead of them, EJ walked with determined strides, following the city's investigators as they disappeared deeper into the winding streets. After the initial chaos had settled and the local authorities arrived to cordon off the scene, EJ had barely said a word, he had simply announced that something about the whole incident didn't sit right with him… and that he intended to get to the bottom of it.
"He wasn't even on a mission," Taki muttered from behind, arms crossed loosely as he trudged after his friend. "E's stubborn as hell. Always has been."
K's gaze lingered on EJ's back, straight and unyielding as he moved through the crowd, a faint glow of authority in the way people instinctively made way for him.
'This isn't even his business,' K thought. 'And yet here he is… acting like some damn hero.'
He couldn't help the faint scoff that escaped him, though it was laced more with reluctant admiration than contempt.
Then a chill crept down his spine.
That quiet determination. That refusal to look away. That reckless sense of responsibility.
It reminded him of someone.
Someone K knew far too well.
K shivered despite himself, shaking the thought away before it could fully form. He exhaled and muttered under his breath, watching EJ press forward without hesitation.
Just how alike can two people be?
"Has this happened before?" EJ asked one of the local investigators, his tone calm but edged with curiosity.
The investigator gave a weary nod. "Yeah. A few times now. Always the same story. The killer and the victim usually have some kind of history. A fight, a grudge, or some tangled relationship beforehand."
Taki tilted his head, frowning thoughtfully. "So you're saying the possessed attacker already had the intention to harm and that's why they were targeted by whatever possessed them?"
"It could be," the investigator admitted. But before he could elaborate, another investigator, a younger man with dark circles under his eyes, stepped in, shaking his head grimly.
"That's the tricky part," he said. "It's hard to tell. Both the suspect and the victim always end up dead. Every single time. The possessed disintegrates if caught just like what you saw today or sometimes the spirit just abandons the body and leaves it to wither on its own. Either way, they don't live long enough for anyone to get answers."
EJ's eyes narrowed slightly as he processed their words. After a moment, he spoke again. "Do you have records of the previous cases? I'd like to look through them."
The older investigator exchanged a glance with the younger one, then nodded reluctantly. "We… do. Not much, but enough to see a pattern. There have only been three cases like this so far. This one makes the fourth."
EJ straightened, his gaze sharpening. "Three. And when did the last one happen?"
"About a month ago. Same type of scene. A public place. A sudden attack. And…" The investigator hesitated. "There is another detail. Each time, the killer has been a woman."
Taki raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing.
EJ felt a chill prickle at the back of his neck. He folded his arms, his voice quiet but firm. "Then I'll need access to those records. Every detail. Names, locations, anything you've kept."
The older investigator hesitated again but finally nodded. "Alright. Come with me. The station's not far from here."
EJ gave a short nod and turned slightly to glance at Taki, Yuma, and even K, who was watching silently. "Let's go," he said simply, already moving to follow the investigator.
And so here they were, the four of them crowded into a small office at the local station, hunched over stacks of records. Papers lay scattered across the table, filled with names, dates, and hastily scribbled notes about victims and suspects. Their identities, their origins, the places they lived and worked.
It felt strange. Out of place, even. None of them should really be here, rifling through mortal records like investigators. But EJ's quiet persistence was hard to argue with, and somehow, without realizing it, the other three found themselves moving as if by instinct, as though they too wanted to know more.
K's voice broke the silence. "Heart, huh."
The others glanced up at him.
K tapped a line on one of the reports, the faintest smirk on his lips. "Look. This woman worked at a place called Heart Salon."
Yuma, lounging in his chair with his feet almost on the table, arched an eyebrow. "And? What does a salon have to do with anything? Maybe she was good at cutting hair."
K rolled his eyes and scoffed, muttering under his breath, but before another argument could erupt, EJ's calm voice cut in.
"Wait."
They all looked at him. EJ was studying another paper intently, his brow furrowed.
"This one," he said, holding up the file. It was a profile of a different suspect from one of the earlier cases. "She didn't work. But she visited the Heart Salon. Every day."
Yuma groaned softly, rubbing at his temples. "You're really reaching now, you know that?"
EJ glanced at him briefly, his eyes sharp and unwavering. "We don't have the luxury of ignoring patterns. If there's even a chance these are connected, we follow it."
Yuma sighed dramatically but leaned back in his chair, throwing his hands up. "Fine, fine. You're the head here. Lead the way."
EJ folded the papers neatly and stood, already moving toward the door.
K smirked faintly, rising after him. "Guess we're going to the salon, then."
Yuma grumbled under his breath as he followed, and even Taki cracked a small, amused smile at the absurdity of it all. And so, the four of them stepped out into the city streets, making their way toward the Heart Salon.
And so, they stepped into the cool night air, weaving through the bustling city, heading toward the Heart Salon.
It was Yuma who broke the silence first, his voice casual but carrying a note of curiosity. "Come to think of it…" he began, glancing over his shoulder. "Who exactly are you, and where are you from?"
EJ stiffened slightly at the question. Yuma's words had been directed at K, who was walking at his side while Yuma and Taki took the lead.
K, however, didn't flinch. He only turned his head toward Yuma and answered with an air of unbothered calm. "I'm from a city called Reo," he said evenly. "Quite far from here."
Yuma shot him a sidelong glance, his brow arched. Then he shrugged and looked forward again. "I see," he murmured, as if filing the information away. "You seem… unusually keen and interested for a mere vacationer."
K let out a faint laugh and lifted his chin. "I'm a journalist," he declared proudly, as though it explained everything. "Digging for stories is in my nature."
At that, Yuma finally turned his head to look back at him fully, his expression unimpressed but faintly amused. "A journalist, huh?" he said dryly.
Then K tilted his head toward EJ, his dark eyes glinting faintly in the lamplight. "And what about you three? Where are you from?"
EJ shot him a sharp glare, his eyes narrowing in warning.
K caught the look, held it for a moment… and then smirked faintly, lifting his hands as though in surrender. "Just curious," he murmured, his tone edged with something playful, before turning his gaze forward again.
EJ exhaled slowly, the edge in his glare softening just enough. "We're just… adventurers," he said at last, his tone neutral but final.
K hummed thoughtfully, the faintest curve of a smirk playing on his lips.
"Adventurers," Yuma echoed, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he glanced over his shoulder. "Adventurers on vacation, no less. Isn't that something?"
He let out a low chuckle and shook his head, clearly amused at his own remark, though EJ only gave him a flat look and kept walking.
"You know a woman named Hera? And Gessa?" EJ asked bluntly the moment they were seated with the owner.
The woman blinked at him, taken aback by the directness. "Hera… yes. She used to work here. Gessa was a regular, but she stopped coming about a month ago."
"She's dead," Yuma cut in flatly, leaning against the counter.
A flicker of surprise crossed the owner's face, but it was muted, strange, like she already suspected yet hoped not to hear it confirmed. Taki noticed immediately, narrowing his eyes.
Then, catching EJ's subtle nod, Taki slipped away from the group, his form flickering with a faint shimmer of stealth. The other three kept the owner distracted with questions, while Taki moved soundlessly down the hall toward the back rooms.
Behind a small office and past stacks of storage boxes, he paused at a door that pulsed faintly with an unfamiliar, heavy energy. He tried the handle — locked. Without hesitation, he drew his blade and, with a quiet scrape of steel on wood, slashed through the lock.
The metallic clang of the strike echoed faintly.
"What was that noise?" The owner jolted, her eyes darting to the back. Then her gaze swept the room and narrowed. "Wait—there were four of you. Where's the other one?" Her tone grew sharp, almost frantic.
K moved before she could stand. In one smooth motion he stepped behind her, clamping a firm hand over her shoulder, his shadow curling faintly underfoot to keep her in place.
At the same time, one of the workers lunged at Yuma from behind the counter, but Yuma turned with a scoff, catching the attacker's wrist mid-swing and flipping him effortlessly to the ground.
"What are you doing?" the owner demanded, struggling against K's grip, but he held her fast, his expression cool.
Then Taki's voice rang from the hall. "E!"
EJ's head snapped up. There was an edge of urgency in Taki's tone that he didn't hear often. Without another word, EJ strode past the struggling owner and into the back.
What greeted him in the room beyond stopped him cold.
The darkness here was thick and oppressive, almost alive and lining the walls were rows of cages. Some held writhing shadows, evil spirits thrashing weakly as they were bound in glowing seals, but in the far corner were four women, huddled together, their eyes wide with terror.
They froze when they saw him, their faces pale and horrified, as if they weren't sure whether to hope or despair at his arrival.
EJ clenched his fists as he stepped fully into the room, his jaw tightening at the sight of them.