"Suicide!"
Lyxander flinched, the word echoing in his own mind.
"Senior, do people who turn into Entities tend to commit suicide?" The question slipped out of him naturally.
"Yes."
As always, a short answer.
"I see." Lyxander nodded. That answer was enough for him. "Then let's go."
The two of them left the café and headed straight for the scene.
It wasn't very far—less than fifteen minutes to arrive.
In front of the apartment building stood two Crows. They were Lyxander and Vivi.
"Should we go in right away?" Lyxander asked.
"WOAH, VIVI!"
Before Vivi could answer, a loud shout rang out.
The voice belonged to a short-haired blonde woman who looked oddly familiar.
'Wait… wasn't she one of the Crows involved in my capture?' Lyxander's memory stirred.
Beside her stood a tall man with light stubble. His long brown hair was tied back, a cigarette burning between his lips, its dim glow reflecting in his brown eyes.
"Quartz?" Vivi looked confused.
The two Crows stopped in front of Lyxander and Vivi.
"Oh? Oh? Oh~ Is this the new kid?"
The woman's dark red eyes gleamed with interest.
"Lyxander," he said briefly, introducing himself.
The woman immediately grabbed his hand and shook it roughly, pulling it up and down without mercy.
"Quartz Andreas. You can just call me Quartz."
"Haha…"
Lyxander could only laugh awkwardly. For the first time since his transmigration, he had met someone more dominant than himself during an introduction.
He pulled his hand back and glanced at the man beside Quartz.
"Hm."
The man stared back, then seemed to realize something.
"Ah!"
"Pyrite Tadeus. Just call me Tadeus." He extended his hand.
"Lyxander."
They shook hands.
"Alright, since introductions are done, let's go inside," Quartz said, immediately taking control and leading the way.
They rode the elevator together and soon arrived at room 157.
Yellow tape marked the crime scene. Several police officers were on guard, but Lyxander and the others passed through without issue. The police had already been instructed not to stop anyone wearing black military uniforms with red trim.
Inside, there were already two other Crows.
The first was a man in casual attire—a blue coat and white shirt. He was the one who had made the emergency call.
The second was a black-haired man with glasses, wearing a military uniform.
"Wait, we're allowed to wear normal clothes?" Lyxander asked.
"Isn't that obvious?" Quartz replied. "We're only issued one uniform. If it gets damaged or dirty, we can wear regular clothes while on duty."
"I see." Lyxander nodded.
Without realizing it, Quartz had begun to take over Vivi's role in explaining things.
"By the way, where's the body?" Tadeus asked.
The man in the blue coat stepped forward. "Haha, you're from Division 5, right? Let me introduce myself. My name is Oscar Tetra. I'm a Cleaner."
"So you're that famous Cleaner!" Quartz exclaimed.
"Cleaner? Division 5?" Lyxander could only stare in confusion.
"Oh, Vivi hasn't explained yet?" Quartz chuckled and volunteered.
"At the Faulust branch of Entity Corporation, there are five divisions. We're Division 5. Cleaners belong to Division 2."
"Cleaner?" Lyxander pressed on.
"Hehe, you probably don't know, but he's very famous among the members of the Entity Corporation. One reason is that he reached three stars at such a young age," Quartz explained.
"He even defeated a four-star once," she added.
"A four-star?!" Lyxander was shocked.
"Haha, that's exaggerated. I was just lucky enough to beat a four-star," Oscar said modestly.
"That's amazing. So your three-star identity is Cleaner, senior?" Lyxander said in admiration.
"No. Cleaner is my two-star identity. For some reason, people just got used to calling me that," Oscar explained.
"Alright, then let's go inside first," he said, welcoming them.
They all entered the apartment. A strong smell of leaking gas filled the air—it was obvious there had been a gas leak, likely since morning.
The apartment consisted of a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, as well as two bedrooms—though only one seemed to be in use.
Lyxander observed his surroundings carefully, trying to imprint everything into his memory.
'There's no ventilation at all. The room is completely sealed. No wonder the gas smell is so strong. But why did the leak happen?' A question surfaced in Lyxander's mind.
They moved into the bedroom—the place where the body was hanging.
A woman with dark blue hair and red nail polish hung there.
"The blood has pooled in her feet and fingers. It seems she's been dead for quite some time," Lyxander said reflexively.
Everyone fell silent, clearly impressed.
"Woah! Are you good at solving cases, Lyxander?" Quartz's eyes sparkled.
"No, I just happened to know," he answered honestly.
"Haha, no need to be modest," Oscar praised him.
'Hearing the word modest from someone who's actually modest is really annoying,' Lyxander complained inwardly.
"If the time of death was so long ago, how did you realize this involved an Entity?" he asked.
"When you fully synchronize with your Crow identity, your senses toward Entities are strengthened," Vivi explained.
"I see. So what did you notice?"
"Haha, at first, we didn't notice the Entity traces either. But when my partner Neon started having stomach pain, I sensed a strong Entity presence appear and then vanish instantly," Oscar explained.
"Hm… I see."
Lyxander fell silent for a moment.
"By the way, Senior Oscar, are you married?"
"I am. How did you know?" Oscar looked surprised.
"I noticed the ring mark on your finger," Lyxander replied.
"Haha, you really are a detective," Oscar joked.
Quartz, who had been scanning the room, seemed bored. "Where's Peter? We need him for something like this."
"His patrol area is pretty far from here," Tadeus replied.
"Haha, then all we can do is wait," Oscar said.
"No!"
Lyxander's voice was firm.
"We can't wait."
"What is it?" Vivi asked.
Fragments began to connect in Lyxander's mind.
His ability to draw rapid conclusions resurfaced—just like when he had been detained by Simon.
Now he understood everything. He had found the culprit.
He stared straight at Oscar.
"Senior Oscar, you're the culprit, aren't you?"
Everyone in the room was stunned.
"Wait, what are you talking about, Lyxander?" Quartz looked confused.
"That's not a very funny joke," Oscar said.
Some protested, some were shocked, and others remained silent.
Lyxander sensed the danger filling the room. He tried to convince Oscar not to act rashly.
"Senior, please don't do this. We can still talk this out."
This wasn't an act—he was genuinely panicking.
"What do you mean, Lyxander?" Oscar asked calmly.
The others still found Lyxander's behavior strange.
Not knowing where to begin, Lyxander immediately laid out the danger in the room.
"You're the one who leaked the gas here, aren't you? If someone with a detective-type identity came, you'd be caught immediately. The way to erase the evidence is to cause an explosion and blame it on a gas leak."
Everyone was shocked. Even Neon, who hadn't spoken until now, finally spoke up.
"What proof do you have for such an accusation?"
'Damn it, I don't have time to explain the evidence—stall for time!'
Lyxander realized that buying time was more important.
"Senior, your two-star identity is Cleaner—perfect for disposing of evidence. Besides, isn't it strange that your clothes could get dirty with that identity?"
"Wait, Lyxander. My clothes aren't dirty—they're damaged," Oscar calmly defended himself.
Lyxander smiled sarcastically. "Alright, let's assume that's true. Then what about the mouthwash you slipped into your partner's drink so you could pretend to notice something?"
"Wait, Lyxander, isn't your imagination getting a bit wild?" Oscar began to interrupt.
It was indeed just Lyxander's imagination—but it was enough to buy time until other Crows arrived.
"I noticed she had nail polish. Someone planning to commit suicide wouldn't bother making themselves look appealing."
"She painted her nails to meet someone. That someone was you—her affair partner."
Lyxander explained the oddity of nail polish on a suicide victim, but his true goal was to reconstruct the timeline.
"She upset you for some reason. After having sex, you killed her by tying a blanket around her neck and snapping it."
"Why me? Many people could commit a murder like that. Are you losing your mind?" Oscar snapped.
"Peter, or whoever—you don't find it strange that he just happens to be far away?" Lyxander continued.
The other Crows began to believe him, though they still hesitated to act. They were seasoned military members—even in danger, they didn't rush.
"That's because you already knew his schedule."
"You said your clothes were damaged, meaning you've been on patrol this week. You deliberately took someone else's shift, didn't you, Senior Neon?"
Neon looked shocked. "That's true."
Lyxander had cornered him. He baited him with the clothing issue—fully aware that clothes didn't need to be dirty to be replaced.
Everyone was stunned. Silence fell as the danger became clear.
"Next, the body should have been secured by the police—"
"Enough, Lyxander!" Oscar shouted. "I'm out of time. Peter will arrive if I keep listening to your nonsense. I never expected someone as smart as you to join."
He grinned viciously.
"HAHAHA. Yes, I'm the murderer. You all know now—and you'll all die here."
Everyone watched as Oscar lit a match.
BANG!
A massive explosion tore through the apartment.