Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Final Chapter Part 2: A Play of Vengeance

“Miyagi-san, you haven’t killed anyone, have you?”

“Of course not.”

Her response came without hesitation.

The girl caught what seemed to be a relieved smile crossing the novelist’s face, but he quickly tugged down his hood, concealing his expression.

“Well then, goodbye. No… we probably won’t meet again, will we?”

The young man placed the gun on the ground before Miyagi-san, then turned and walked away without looking back.

*

Crunch.

Gravel shifted beneath footsteps approaching from behind.

A towering figure emerged—a woman dressed entirely in black, from her flowing hair to her coat, pleated skirt, stockings, gloves, high heels, and handbag. Her skin was so pale she could have been mistaken for a vampire.

“It seems I missed my chance to make an entrance,” she said, gliding to Miyagi’s side.

“So, how does it feel to be saved by your beloved hero, Salome?”

“Oh? You could tell?”

Aki looked up, startled.

“You mentioned it during our last chat. That was your ‘landlord-san,’ wasn’t he?”

The woman’s soft laughter filled the air.

“He’s just a high school student—it would be criminal to pursue him. Though it seems we needn’t worry about that. He’s made his rejection quite clear, hasn’t he?”

After a long pause, Miyagi-san finally spoke.

“Please… don’t make that expression. Undertaker, you’re the first person I’ve met who’s fairly attractive but so completely unsuited to smiling.”

“…You really know how to wound someone with words.”

The other woman’s smile vanished, her true nature emerging as she responded coldly.

“So, what’s your next move? This one’s useless now, isn’t he?”

“Mm, how about I leave him to you?”

“We don’t handle living people here, you know?”

“How troublesome. Necrophiliacs are such a pain. Can’t you make an exception just this once?”

“You’re hardly one to talk.”

Still, she didn’t deny the necrophiliac accusation. Undertaker snapped her fingers, and two massive, silent figures emerged from the shadows beneath the overpass to drag away the unconscious Otsuka Ken.

“Whether he ends up with the Japanese police or the Russian mob in Siberia makes no difference. If we can secure an organ trafficking route, consider it payment for one-tenth of your fee…”

“Before that, there are still loose ends to tie up,” Miyagi Aki said softly.

“This guy’s father, Otsuka Yuuya, is dead. Which means our puppetmaster’s control over the killer has weakened after eight years. This time they even needed my help to catch him.”

“…Dead, is he?”

Undertaker’s voice held a note of interest.

“He must have suffered terribly before dying.”

“Of course. Our puppetmaster isn’t as merciful as I am. That one’s a genuine psychopath—on your level, Undertaker-san.”

Miyagi Aki’s cheerful laugh rang out.

She retrieved a document from her handbag and passed it to the black-clad woman beside her.

“By the way, do you know this person?”

“Shirakawa… Keigo?”

Undertaker’s fingertips traced the paper.

“It seems…”

“Ah, sorry. That’s probably an alias. Even his face has been altered through surgery. You must have heard his old nickname—”

Miyagi-san held up one finger.

“The notorious criminal in this country’s underworld who orchestrated the ‘Hase Family Imprisonment Murders,’ the ‘North Kyushu Kurayama Psychiatric Hospital Mass Suicide,’ and the ‘Tsuwa Church Ritual Murders’—they called him ‘The Brainwasher.'”

“…”

Undertaker remained silent.

But she had indeed heard of ‘The Brainwasher.’

A male criminal who had been highly active in Japan’s religious organizations, fraudulent businesses, and illegal human trafficking. His psychiatric training had earned him a reputation as a “demon who could control minds.”

…In reality, he wasn’t that impressive. His methods were crude—varying degrees of brainwashing through drugs, electroshock, imprisonment, and verbal manipulation.

However, his criminal record was truly terrifying. To date, neither the police nor his enemies had managed to find any trace of him, not even his real name.

“Well? Quite an unexpected big fish, isn’t it?”

Undertaker nodded silently. For someone naturally as aloof as her, this was quite a reaction.

Miyagi-san seemed satisfied with this response and waggled her finger as she continued.

“As for how he became acquainted with the Otsukas… Actually, Ken’s mother left the family because of a religious group. The new religious organization she joined was called ‘The Sun Wheel Society,’ which also had The Brainwasher’s influence behind it—she was probably one of his victims.

“Then Otsuka Yuuya, who was just a common thug at the time, desperately tracked down The Brainwasher to get his wife back, but ended up being tragically controlled himself.”

“The police had always wondered about the motive behind the Nagawa City Killer. As for Ken-kun himself, he was probably initially willing to be controlled by The Brainwasher out of a desire to protect his father.”

After that—

“Unfortunately, once someone steps into hell, there’s no turning back.”

Both Japanese and Greek mythology speak of legends where “looking back in the underworld drags you into the realm of the dead”—a fate that even gods cannot defy.

*

“You didn’t know all this already, did you?”

“Of course I did.”

The girl tossed her shoulder-length, slightly curled hair and proudly thrust out her chest, creating a stark contrast with Undertaker’s modest figure beside her.

“To spend a month without results, not only failing to find the killer but ending up deceived and used by the puppetmaster—how could something like that possibly happen to me?”

The college student who prided herself as an “information specialist” and “observer” would never make such a mistake.

“What about that young man?”

Undertaker’s calm words struck a nerve.

“Ah… um… I think… he probably didn’t know…”

Miyagi-san’s confidence rapidly deflated.

“B-but, knowing landlord-san’s personality, he would have done the same for me even if he did know. Yes, that’s definitely right!”

…Her gaze wandered.

“Ahem!”

She roughly changed the subject.

“The reason I waited a whole month wasn’t because I couldn’t catch the killer and the puppetmaster—I was waiting for other people.”

Miyagi-san smiled, gently waving her smartphone.

“Asami Nozomi, father of Asami Yu, the high school girl victim from the ‘Nagawa City Serial Killings’ eight years ago; Hase Yuichi, the only survivor and second son from the ‘Hase Family Imprisonment Murders’ ten years ago; Oharu Shinya, former senior official of the ‘Tsuwa Church’ who spent eight years in prison due to The Brainwasher’s betrayal… After learning the truth about the incidents, these people all harbor deep hatred for that man.”

“Two weeks ago, I provided them with the relevant information. People who never gave up on revenge against The Brainwasher—who lived solely for vengeance—are now gathering in Tokyo from all across Japan. Today, the group is finally complete.”

“Thirty people in total.”

“The members include police officers, office workers, construction workers, yakuza members, entrepreneurs, farm managers, animal handlers, fraudsters, high school girls, logistics workers, a rookie idol, writers, chefs…”

“All united in seeking revenge against one person—”

Aki spread her arms wide.

Her beautiful face glowed with a bewitching light.

The girl’s thin lips curved upward dramatically in pleasure.

“Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t it fascinating? It’s absolutely magnificent! Don’t you think so? Actually, I haven’t seen such an exciting drama in ages. Just looking at the cast list gets me so thrilled!”

“What kind of twisted expression will someone show when they’re facing death and despair—someone who took pleasure in bullying others and showing contempt for life? I’ve been so excited these past few days I can barely sleep!”

…

Undertaker quietly observed her.

She had no interest in such passionate affairs. However…

A revenge play with multiple participants would likely produce an equal number of corpses when the curtain falls, wouldn’t it?

“In that case, please allow me to participate as well.”