The sirens of Kabukicho blared loudly.

A string of police cars had Ohara Bar surrounded from front to back.

Officers quickly got out of the cars.

Emily, doll-like, hopped down from a vehicle, her rose-red gothic attire clashing with the surrounding officers.

Her face showed exceptional excitement; she finally didn't need to interrogate those charlatans.

It was like sifting through shit for gold; all you found was more shit. Those intelligence-insulting methods were a dime a dozen.

Emily's eyes swept the area, and she called out, "Okayama, have your team secure the scene; don't let anyone near."

"Okay," Okayama Buji responded.

Emily turned again and said, "Morimoto, Katerina, come with me to question the witnesses. Kitanotake, Miyaji, assist Ito with the crime scene investigation."

"Okay."

The task force members started to move into action.

They were well aware that this case wasn't suitable for ordinary police officers to be involved in questioning. They only needed to seal off the crime scene; they didn't need to know anything else.

Matters concerning Superpower Users had always been classified intelligence that both the higher-ups and the task force aimed to keep secret.

Emily and Morimoto Chiyoda entered Ohara Bar.

The decor here, if not stamped out from the same mold, certainly matched the common image of a bar in the public's mind.

The eyewitness was sitting at the bar.

He was a man with a very refined appearance. However, his face was now bloodied, and his black suit was also stained red. His bloodshot eyes and terrified expression clearly showed how harrowing his situation had been.

Yamabe Toshio sat there, shivering uncontrollably.

Emily approached, flashing her badge, and said, "You are Mr. Yamabe Toshio, right? At twelve twenty-five today, you made an emergency call. Could you please describe to us again what happened at the scene at that time?"

"A Demon! A Demon!" Yamabe Toshio screamed in terror. "For no reason, Suzuki Kojiro suddenly turned into a little giant! His whole body was muscle! When he entered, he was brushing against the door frame. Blood poured in torrents! The corridor was piled with human limbs and minced flesh! He took several shots from Group Leader Ohara and was still as if nothing had happened! With just one punch, he smashed Group Leader Ohara like a watermelon, even knocking a hole in the sofa! I was thrown to the ground by the impact! That strength wasn't human; it must be a Demon!"

Yamabe Toshio usually didn't believe in demons or angels, but the scene that had just unfolded before his eyes was a stark reminder.

Could the Bible be a history book, after all? If not a Demon, how else could someone become so terrifying in an instant? If Demons exist, do God and Angels exist too? As someone who made a living this way, would he be going to Hell after death?

"No! No!"

Yamabe Toshio hugged his head in agony, feeling as if his entire worldview had crumbled.

His emotions were a mess of panic and disarray; he couldn't imagine how he would live in the future. Or rather, how he could atone for his sins to ensure that he could ascend to Paradise after death.

Emily looked up and caught Morimoto Chiyoda's gaze.

"It seems we can't get anything more out of him; let's give him a moment to cool down."

"Morimoto, calming him down is your job."

"Okay."

Morimoto Chiyoda nodded, stepped forward, and slapped Yamabe Toshio across the face, shouting, "Useless trash! What's there to fear? We're here; no one can hurt you. Get up!"

At this time, comforting someone whose sanity was hanging by a thread with gentle words clearly wasn't appropriate. Morimoto Chiyoda believed she had to be the pillar of strength for this man with a firm attitude, making him comply and stop dwelling on those things.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Yamabe Toshio was stunned by the slap; he hurriedly stood up, fearing that any delay would bring another blow.

Emily was speechless. She hadn't intended for Morimoto Chiyoda to 'comfort' him in such a manner, but it seemed to do the trick, so she said nothing and proceeded towards the crime scene.

「 」

Upon reaching the second-floor crime scene, Emily finally understood why Yamabe Toshio had been so terrified.

The scene before her was one of exaggerated, indescribable chaos. Walls and hallways were smeared with human intestines and crushed bones, the floor seemingly carpeted in fresh, red 'blood.'

Chunks of flesh, apparently human remains, were scattered across the blood.

To shred a human body like paper, what terrifying strength must be required to create such a scene?!

Even parts of the walls showed cracks.

"Katerina, are you capable of such a feat?"

"I'm not the pure brute strength type for direct combat; I can't rip apart human flesh by hand."

Katerina shook her head. She had seen a human with strength so frightening they could create such a scene, but she herself couldn't. She could kill all these people with her bare hands, but she couldn't inflict such horrific destruction. It was as if an elephant had rampaged through a crowd.

"Is there anyone else who could do this?" Morimoto Chiyoda couldn't resist commenting, a trace of shock appearing on her delicate, melon-seed-shaped face.

The destruction was such that if someone said it was caused by a steamroller running over a crowd, no one would doubt it, nor would anyone be surprised. Because that would be quite normal. Machines can do many things that humans cannot. When humans possess the kind of power machines have, it becomes terrifying.

If a Superpower User like this were to suddenly attack her, her fate probably wouldn't be any better than that of the people before her.

"Our current guns won't do," Morimoto Chiyoda said. "We need to request heavy weaponry, large caliber, preferably something that could kill an elephant with one shot, like the M500 revolver."

Morimoto Chiyoda thought that since she didn't have Superpowers, she had to seek the enhanced lethality of external firearms. At this thought, the M500 revolver came to mind.

Emily did not oppose Morimoto Chiyoda's suggestion, nodding. "Indeed, we need to be equipped with more powerful firearms."

"It's useless, whatever weapons you have. If it really comes to it, you'll just pray that you don't die too gruesomely." Ito Otome stated as she stepped out of the private room, her white lab coat stained with blood. Kitanotake and Miyaji Yosuke carried Suzuki Kojiro's body behind her, their faces grim. "The force he unleashed, even with inertia, could still smash a person into pulp."

Ito Otome's face, no longer cold, became feverish, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she added, "I get to dissect a Superpower User's body! This is fantastic!"

"That's definitely not a Superpower User, but a Demon!" Yamabe Toshio shook his head. "It was Devil Possession! The Demon possessed him, killed everyone in the Ohara Group, and then the Demon left!"

Emily, ignoring his comment, said, "This person may have lost control of his own Superpowers for some reason, leading to a massacre, and then his own death."

Morimoto Chiyoda pondered thoughtfully. "If that's the case, could the awakening of Superpowers be like cancer? Those who withstand it evolve into Superpower Users; those who can't, die."

Emily frowned. "If that's the case, why haven't there been such cases before?"

"Well…" Morimoto Chiyoda thought for a while and replied, "I remember reading somewhere about the concept of spiritual energy resurgence. Could it be that this world is beginning to experience a spiritual energy resurgence?"

Emily was about to refute but then suddenly closed her mouth. With the existence of Superpower Users, spiritual energy resurgence... It seemed somewhat reasonable.

Morimoto Chiyoda continued, "The absence of Superpower Users before was due to the spiritual energy not having resurged. Now there are, simply because the spiritual energy has begun to resurge. Dio is one of the first humans to withstand the awakening of Superpowers."

Morimoto Chiyoda's speculation plunged Emily into deep thought. She realized the guess wasn't baseless; in fact, it could explain why Dio had suddenly started his crime spree in Tokyo. Perhaps before these incidents, he hadn't awakened his Superpowers. He might have only gained power beyond ordinary people when the spiritual energy resurged. But this explanation raised another question. If he'd suddenly gained Superpowers, Dio, being a person with his own ambitions, should have been able to control his actions. So why could the man who killed the members of the World True Love and Peace Church also control his own actions? He had only appeared once... Could it be that man was Dio in disguise, using some Superpower he wanted to test? And Dio needed to test it because that Superpower wasn't originally his—it was an Ability he'd plundered from other Superpower Users! Was Dio killing those people to purify the world? Or did he just want to steal their Superpowers?

Emily's brow furrowed.

This speculation would need Ito Otome's autopsy results for confirmation, to see if Suzuki Kojiro was like Yasuda Masao and the others. If Suzuki Kojiro's body was no different from an ordinary person's, it would indicate that Yasuda Masao and the others might have been Superpower Users who were awakening or on the verge of it. Only Dio discovered them beforehand, came to their doorsteps, killed them, and stole their Superpowers. Executing justice while enhancing his own powers—undoubtedly a superb motive for murder. But why would it be Yasuda Masao and these particular people who were likely to awaken Superpowers? Emily fell into such confusion again. Was there a connection between these victims she wasn't aware of?

She started to bite her thumb.

"Don't block the way," Ito Otome shouted.

Emily snapped back to reality. Only the autopsy report could confirm if her guesses were correct.

「 」

Yamabe Toshio was temporarily detained to prevent him from publicizing the matter of the Superpower Users.

The bar incident was treated as an ordinary theft, with not a single media outlet reporting it.

Outside the autopsy room, Ito Otome's expression was icy as she stared at the so-called "assistant."

"Hey, beautiful, I am Mayers Fro, specially sent from above to assist you with the autopsy of the Superpower User's body. I'm counting on your expertise," said the blond man with a bright smile that didn't fit the image of a forensic pathologist. Only when he glanced towards the autopsy room door did his eyes reveal an almost preternatural eagerness, a clear sign he was a true coroner.

To autopsy a Superpower User! Such an event was a first in any coroner's career. Even if it meant paying his own money, even if it led to financial ruin, it didn't matter. For a coroner, this was the highest honor.

Ito Otome slightly furrowed her brows but did not refuse.

This was a request from the higher-ups. This autopsy would be watched via video by the Prime Minister, the Minister of State, the Police Director, the six major financial groups, and people from Phoenix Academy. Everyone wanted to witness the first autopsy of a Superpower User in human history.