Dnipro, Ukraine — 6:22 PM
A foggy, overcast afternoon. Mist drifts along the city's waterways. Ilama walks through the streets of Dnipro, gaze drifting toward the horizon. People move past him in the distance, indistinct shapes in the haze.
A man from the agency approaches him.
"Good evening, Detective. I'm Yami. Lubbock asked me to give this to you."
Lubbock: The Boss's assistant.
"This is a pretty gruesome homicide..."
Yami mutters, eyes fixed on the mutilated corpses within the crime scene perimeter.
Ilama extends his hand and accepts the letter.
"A letter? Thanks."
"There were three witnesses to this homicide, correct? What did they say?"
"Well, it's quite a shock, Detective."
Yami lights a cigarette.
"Two of them suffered psychotic episodes. They're currently being treated by the agency's psychiatrist. And..."
"And?"
"The third one is cooperating with us. He claims the murderer wasn't human."
Ilama chuckles.
"This witness is a strange one, sir. He's peculiarly calm, answering every question without the slightest hesitation."
[Ilama thinks] It's odd. This man shows no signs of trauma after witnessing something this brutal... and he's willing to cooperate fully?
"Ask him as many questions as you can and continue the investigation."
He pauses, then adds:
"One more thing. The Mafia case is not to be disclosed to anyone until I say otherwise."
"Understood."
"Thanks for the information, Yami."
"No problem. I'll be on my way, Detective."
A photo of the suspect's face sketch arrives on Ilama's phone, sent by G Man. He crunches the lollipop between his teeth and moves in for a closer examination of the bodies.
[His thoughts] Based on the condition of the remains, the killings occurred last night. The smell of the bloodstains places the time of death somewhere between 12:37 and 12:40 AM. The bullet went straight through the heart with no deviation whatsoever. A sharp, focused shot. Whoever did this is highly skilled.
Random bite marks cover the bodies. The blood has also been contaminated, possibly by a poison.
Hmm...
The bullet is nowhere to be found. That's strange. This has to be the work of an Essence Artifact... or a Demon.
Essence Artifact: A weapon or item manufactured using essence energy.
He looks up. The sunset has bled a deep crimson across the clouds, setting the sky alight in silence. A peaceful moment, if fleeting.
He finishes writing the evidence report and catches a glimpse of an afterimage at the edge of his vision.
"Huh? What was that?"
He shakes his head, then notices the unopened letter in his hand.
"Oh. That letter. I forgot to read it."
He opens it.
[Letter's Contents]
The Hyakuya Family formally requests the Sleuth Hounds Agency of Ukraine to oversee the case of vampire sightings in Kyoto, Japan. Full details of this case, along with the reward for its completion, are contained within the enclosed contract.
Regards, Hyakuya Aizen.
"Hahaha. Vampires, you say. What kind of fantasy is this?"
"Probably just a group of posers frightening the public with cheap illusionary abilities."
He opens the contract and reads it carefully.
"Next stop is Japan, huh..."
[Ilama, internally]
I CAN'T WAIT TO BUY MORE LOLLIPOPS. MY MOUTH IS ALREADY WATERING.
He starts drooling.
Petrona: "Ilama, are you okay?"
Ilama: "Ehm, yeah, of course. Why would I not be okay?"
Ilama's Addiction: Ilama is addicted to candy, particularly lollipops.
An afterimage snaps him back to reality, this one on the rooftop of a nearby building.
"You can quit playing hide and seek. I know where you are."
A cloaked figure appears on the rooftop, then leaps and lands directly in front of him.
"Good evening, Detective. You've finally found me. You agency types are far too troublesome, always poking your noses into everyone's affairs... Though I must say, I'm terribly thirsty. Those bodies didn't have nearly enough to satisfy me."
"The aroma of your blood is quite intriguing, however. I can only imagine how it would taste..."
He laughs maniacally.
"Shall we find out?"
Without warning, the man transforms. A dark, baleful aura erupts from his body. Scales crawl across his face, his eyes narrow into vertical slits, menacing, elliptical, burning.
"Let's see if you can handle what's coming for you. Hahaha."
[Ilama thinks] The outcome of this fight has already been decided.
He smirks.
The demon leaps and runs along the walls to create distance, then activates his talisman.
"Talisman activation. Venom Slug Technique."
A striking red talisman card flares to life and disintegrates instantly, sending a barrage of bolts laced with viper venom hurtling toward Ilama at supersonic speed.
[Demon's POV] Ilama's head is bowed. The projectiles are almost on him. Then he looks up. Those glowing, beast-like magenta eyes fix on the incoming bolts and they stop dead, halted by the sheer force of his gaze alone.
Pure Eye: A gifted ocular ability capable of perceiving the Vestige World. It can generate force fields at varying levels of pressure simply by focusing on a person or object.
Vestige World: A world in which the residue of people's auras and afterimages persists. Visible only to those who possess the Pure Eye.
[Ilama's thoughts] So that venom is what contaminated the blood.
"Your Talisman is impressive. But it's useless against me. Give up."
"That eye is really getting on my nerves!"
Ilama reads an afterimage of the demon's next move, a direct strike to throw him off balance, followed by a flip into a drop kick aimed at his abdomen.
"Perfect timing," he whispers.
The demon closes in. Ilama remains still, hands in his pockets. He sidesteps the punch without removing them, stops the drop kick with a single finger, grips the demon's leg, and hurls him into the air, meeting him with an elbow strike to the jaw on the way down.
The demon hits the ground, unconscious.
"The demon has been cleansed!" Ilama announces in a comically triumphant tone.
"A shame, really. I didn't even get to use my weapons."
Ilama takes a close look at the demon's face and compares it against the sketch on his phone.
"Yeah. It's definitely him."
He picks the body up. Blood drips onto the pavement.
"Ugh. Some more cleansing is needed..."
He drags him all the way back to Headquarters and finds G Man on the second floor.
"Detective! What in the world is this mess?!" G Man shouts.
"G Man! Take care of this demon for me and mark the case as closed."
"Sure... I guess." G Man eyes the body with visible disgust.
"Also, read this letter and brief the crew."
Conner appears in the hallway.
"Ilama. Boss wants to have a word with you."
"I was going to see the old man anyway. Catch you later."
Ilama takes the elevator to the fourth floor and knocks on the Boss's office door.
"Come in."
"What's up, old man?"
"Ilama. Did you read the letter Lubbock sent you?"
"Ahaha. Yes, I did."
"And what's your take on it?"
Ilama's expression shifts. He sits down, unpacks a fresh lollipop, and leans forward.
"A family as powerful and well-resourced as the Hyakuyas could ordinarily handle something like this themselves. The fact that they're reaching out means there's something about this case they can't manage on their own, or something they don't want getting out."
"The vampire sightings themselves are likely essence users running cheap illusions to spook Kyoto's residents. The real concern is the notorious groups scattered across Japan. They're unlikely to cause problems directly, but their presence alone changes the landscape."
Notorious groups: Criminal organizations possessing extraordinarily powerful essence abilities.
"You see, Ilama... Japan was once among the most orderly nations in the world. Ever since the war and that damning Hiroshima Incident, it has descended into chaos. Lawless and volatile. Our agency has great ambitions, but I won't gamble precious lives carelessly."
"Old man, you worry too much. I'm the strongest. Nothing will happen to us while I'm in charge. We should accept this request. Beyond that, we need to extend our reach across the world."
The Boss pauses, weighing his words.
"Since you'll be going to Japan... I want you to meet someone in Ikebukuro. A vigilante. He may prove useful for this case."
"Alright..."
"You've grown into a fine young man," the Boss says, with quiet pride in his voice.
Ilama rises and moves toward the office door.
"I'll go meet the team now. Take care of yourself, old man."
[Boss's POV] Ilama stands by the door, long white hair resting on his shoulders, magenta eyes gleaming with something iridescent and alive. A lollipop hangs from the corner of his mouth.
Second Floor — Meanwhile
"Attention everyone. Ilama has just informed me about a new case."
"Why does he always tell you first, G Man?" Petrona snaps, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Well, because I'm the brain of our operations, obviously." G Man taps his temple pointedly.
"You little—"
"Guys! Settle down for a second. Japan has requested our involvement in a case." Conner cuts in.
"Japan?! How are we getting there?"
"We'll be taking the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia, then catching a ferry from Vladivostok across the Sea of Japan." Conner scrolls through the logistics on his phone. "Air travel is off the table. Someone tipped off border intelligence. Our names are flagged. We'd be detained the moment we tried to board a commercial flight. Any private charter out of Ukraine is being watched too. This is the only route that keeps us under the radar."
"So how long is this actually going to take?"
"About nine to ten days total, depending on stops."
"Stops?" Petrona frowns. "What stops?"
Before G Man can answer—
"We'll be taking Hell's Train."
Everyone turns. Ilama is standing in the hallway, wearing a look that is, as always, somewhere between knowing and deeply inconvenient.
"Ilama. Where did you come from? Are you alright?"
He laughs.
"I'm fine. But be prepared. It's going to be one hell of a journey."
He walks forward. The crew stares at him. He doesn't elaborate on the stops.
[Ilama, quietly, to himself] "The ultimate aim of the ego is not to see something, but to be something."
Close-up shot: Ilama, grinning.