Everyone was dumbfounded by this scene; the air seemed to be sucked away, silence suffocating.
Ran screamed suddenly, tears instantly welling up in her eyes, and she subconsciously shrank behind Yuu Hoshimiya.
Although she had participated in many cases and seen corpses more than once, this was the first time she had witnessed such a bloody, living murder scene with her own eyes.
That heavy statue, the gushing blood; the whole picture was as shocking as a nightmare.
"Brother Yuu... he, he killed someone..."
Ran's voice trembled, clutching Yuu Hoshimiya's clothes tightly, not daring to look forward anymore.
Minori Nakamura screamed, covering her mouth, her eyes full of fear and disbelief.
"Ryuichi Sakai, what are you doing? Are you crazy?"
Her voice became sharp and piercing due to excessive panic.
Akiko Yonehara stood still in place, motionless as if struck by lightning.
She looked at Yuu Hoshimiya in shock, her eyes full of disbelief and complex emotions.
She could hardly understand everything in front of her.
Clearly, it was Yuu Hoshimiya who let this tragedy happen, yet at this moment, he remained as calm as ever, as if everything was under his control.
That unfathomable calmness and coldness made a feeling of awe and even worship rise in Akiko Yonehara's heart.
She suddenly realized that Yuu Hoshimiya was not an ordinary person; he was like a god holding destiny in his hands, easily manipulating the deepest malice of human nature.
Just as everyone was astonished, Ryuichi Sakai turned his head and looked over.
His gaze was completely occupied by madness; his eyes were cold and bloodthirsty, and deep in his pupils was utter despair.
He roared hysterically.
"I've already killed! Killed them all! Now you don't think about living either!"
Saying that, he raised the statue and smashed it towards everyone with force.
The first to bear the brunt was Yuu Hoshimiya.
And this was, of course, the result of Yuu Hoshimiya specifically using mental magic to suggest avoiding accidental injury.
Ryuichi Sakai's movements were as slow as a turtle in Yuu Hoshimiya's eyes, and the whistling statue also seemed to be in slow motion.
Yuu Hoshimiya raised his eyebrows, quietly used invisible wind magic to change the trajectory of the statue, and only after confirming that it would not accidentally hurt Sonoko and the other girls around him, did he leisurely dodge sideways.
The heavy statue smashed onto the floor with a loud noise, shaking the floor slightly.
Seeing the statue miss, Ryuichi Sakai let out a low and mournful roar like a dying beast and rushed towards everyone fiercely.
Seeing Ryuichi Sakai looking like he intended to kill everyone to silence them, the girls were frightened.
Ran's karate was very strong, but she was obviously scared silly at this moment, still shrinking in Yuu Hoshimiya's arms motionless.
Ryuichi Sakai's madness was more outrageous than he thought; he actually planned to kill everyone present to cover up the fact that he killed someone.
At this time, he could kill Ryuichi Sakai in self-defense, but glancing sideways at the sloppy journalist Atsushi Mori who had been watching Ryuichi Sakai with an excited smile, Yuu Hoshimiya decided to use magic to wrap things up.
Anyway, using magic and doing it himself were both easy; one less trouble is better than one more. Moreover, looking at Ran's appearance, it was better not to kill someone in front of her for now.
Secretly sighing that Ran's mental fortitude still needed honing, Yuu Hoshimiya mobilized the magic power in his body again.
Under the influence of mental magic, after Ryuichi Sakai's attacks were dodged by everyone several times, he suddenly started running around randomly and waving his hands as if he had completely collapsed.
After tossing about for a while, he looked up to the sky and let out a long howl, as if releasing the last of his anger, then lowered his head and slammed fiercely into the blood-stained statue.
"Bang!"
His head hit the statue heavily; the violent collision made his body stiffen, and then he fell straight down.
Blood flowed slowly down his forehead, spreading on the floor, a dazzling red.
The whole room fell into a deathly silence again.
Everyone was completely shocked by this scene, and no one could say a word.
Yuu Hoshimiya stood in place, his expression unchanged.
All this was within his expectation, and through this experiment with Ryuichi Sakai, he roughly understood his current magic strength.
His current strength was still very low compared to what he pursued, but placed in the current world, it was definitely top-tier.
In the Age of Dharma Decline, the supernatural system was gone, and Akako Koizumi didn't give Yuu Hoshimiya a standard for judging strength.
However, there were almost no people in the current world who could do such things.
Anyway, Akako Koizumi couldn't do it.
Mental magic is very hidden, but the more it goes against the original will and thoughts, the weaker the effect will be; copying won't work at all.
Conversely, if it's just following the trend to suggest and influence, the goal can be achieved easily.
And wanting to make someone commit suicide, violating the most fundamental instinct of survival, is impossible to achieve if the magic strength is not strong enough.
Unless that person has suicidal tendencies themselves.
Obviously, Ryuichi Sakai, this beast, wouldn't want to commit suicide.
In the end, he smashed his head and died purely because Yuu Hoshimiya's magic was too strong, completely controlling his will.
However, this also exhausted the magic power in Yuu Hoshimiya's body.
If the organization has assassination missions in the future, this method can be used to complete them easily...
Yuu Hoshimiya lowered his eyes and glanced at Ryuichi Sakai who fainted in a pool of blood, his expression neither sad nor happy.
Akiko Yonehara tried hard to stabilize her mind and asked softly: "What do we do next?"
"The subsequent matters will naturally come to light." Yuu Hoshimiya smiled slightly and responded in a low voice.
At this time, Ran grabbed Yuu Hoshimiya's sleeve tightly, her voice urgent, "Brother Yuu, quick! Check them quickly, can they still be saved?"
Her eyes were full of horror and anxiety, and her fingers trembled slightly due to force.
Although she often saw crime scenes, she still couldn't accept it when living lives passed away right before her eyes.
Ran was such a kind angel.
Yuu Hoshimiya patted her hand to comfort her and nodded: "Don't panic."
He delayed no more, put on gloves, quickly squatted beside Ryuichi Sakai and Kohei Shimoda, and began to check their injuries.
Fingertips touched skin and pulse. A few minutes later, Yuu Hoshimiya raised his head, frowned slightly, and announced calmly: "There is no hope."
Ran's heart sank fiercely, and unconcealable sadness appeared in her eyes.
She asked tremblingly: "Both... are dead?"
Yuu Hoshimiya nodded, his voice deep and certain.
"That's right. Both have stopped breathing. This is a complete murder-suicide case."
He stood up, took off his gloves, and said indifferently: "Moreover, all this happened right before our eyes. There are testimonies from everyone here; these are ironclad proofs, with no possibility of overturning."
Ran covered her mouth, looking at everything in front of her with a complex expression.
Yuu Hoshimiya looked around, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone, and then slowly spoke: "Let me tell you the truth of this case."
Everyone's eyes focused on Yuu Hoshimiya, his tone as cold as a blade.
"The culprit of all this is Ryuichi Sakai. The crimes he committed three years ago were completely exposed. In despair, he decided to create a serial murder case to cover up the truth."
Every word of Yuu Hoshimiya seemed to be nailed into everyone's heart.
"First, he killed Teacher Sugiyama and meticulously designed a mechanism to disguise the corpse as if it rang the doorbell itself, attempting to distract attention. In order to shift suspicion, he attacked Akiko Yonehara and Sonoko, wanting to frame Atsushi Mori."
Yuu Hoshimiya continued: "Originally, his plan was perfect, but who would have thought that journalist Atsushi Mori happened to be with Kohei Shimoda in the living room all the time. So, he decided to use Teacher Sugiyama's corpse to deliberately scare Kohei Shimoda and provoke a conflict."
When he said this, his cold gaze swept towards the stairwell.
"However, although Kohei Shimoda didn't exercise, his physical fitness was not bad. They wrestled in the conflict, and Ryuichi Sakai completely saw red. In despair, he chose to smash the pot because it was cracked (act recklessly)."
The living room was dead silent, only the sound of wind and snow coming from outside the window. Yuu Hoshimiya's deduction was like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart.
"This is the truth of the case."
Yuu Hoshimiya withdrew his gaze and summarized coldly: "A man desperate because his crimes were exposed, in order to cover up past sins, did not hesitate to take risks, and finally walked on a path of no return."
Everyone was speechless and could only look silently at the corpses lying in pools of blood.
They saw this happen with their own eyes, so no one raised any objection to Yuu Hoshimiya's deduction.
Ran leaned gently on Yuu Hoshimiya's shoulder, seeming to seek a little comfort.
Actually, if scrutinized carefully, there were many doubtful points, but the few people present either trusted Yuu Hoshimiya unconditionally or simply didn't have brains to think that much.
And the sloppy journalist Atsushi Mori didn't care about the truth at all; he just wanted to write a report quickly, grab first-hand resources, and make a fortune.
Just like three years ago...
"Let's go."
Yuu Hoshimiya said softly, moving his gaze away from the corpses. He hugged Ran's shoulder, signaling her to leave here. Everyone returned to the living room, exchanging heavy looks with each other; the atmosphere was depressing and solemn.
Having experienced successive changes, everyone's nerves were extremely tight. Even if they sat down reluctantly, they were all restless.
Sonoko collapsed softly on the sofa, her eyes dull, her tone full of helplessness.
"Do I really have a disaster god constitution? Finally came out to relax, and ended up encountering this kind of thing..."
She sighed heavily, feeling her luck was simply the worst.
Ran sighed helplessly, leaning against Sonoko.
"If talking about disaster gods, I'm afraid it's me. I've encountered too many similar things."
Although her tone was understated, her eyes vaguely revealed a trace of fatigue.
Yuu Hoshimiya sat calmly on the other side of the sofa, silently thinking about whether to teach Atsushi Mori, this mercenary journalist, a lesson.
A moment later, he gave up this idea.
Atsushi Mori was not wrong, nor was he an unscrupulous journalist taking black money.
If he was to be punished, then Minako Mochizuki's parents and the incompetent Tokyo police couldn't be let off either.
Three years ago, Atsushi Mori discovered doubts about Minako Mochizuki's suicide, but he didn't pursue it.
First, there was no conclusive evidence; second, Minako Mochizuki's parents and the police both gave up the investigation and accepted the so-called suicide.
Glancing past Atsushi Mori who was writing news, Yuu Hoshimiya cast his gaze on Akiko Yonehara not far away.
At this time, she was comforting Minori Nakamura in a low voice, tone gentle.
However, when she looked up at Yuu Hoshimiya, her gaze was mixed with complex emotions.
Shock, fear, and even a trace of awe.
This man seemed omnipotent, playing everyone in the palm of his hand.
Akiko Yonehara felt she had never seen such a terrible person, but at the same time, she couldn't resist that instinctive obedience.
Noticing her gaze, Yuu Hoshimiya just gave her a faint wink.
"Go make some late-night snacks."
Akiko Yonehara seemed driven by some invisible force, stood up immediately, lowered her head and responded: "Okay, I'll go right away."
She hurried to the kitchen, as if wanting to escape Yuu Hoshimiya's gaze.
Yuu Hoshimiya watched her back and sighed softly.
Akiko Yonehara had outstanding looks, but without the support of the flame of revenge, her personality still lacked a bit of decisiveness and coldness.
To make her a capable assistant like Hitomi Kujo, she still needed to be cultivated and trained for a period of time.
The night was quiet and heavy; everyone was left waiting for dawn.
As time passed, the atmosphere in the living room gradually quieted down, as if everything had settled.
However, in the bottom of everyone's heart, tonight's experience left an indelible mark. Early the next morning, Inspector Megure and his party arrived at the scene.
Taking off his hat while rubbing his stiff neck, he complained.
"Sigh, really, Brother Yuu Hoshimiya! Rare to have such good weather, I was thinking of taking a break today, but you guy dragged me out of bed to handle a case again."
Yuu Hoshimiya smiled and went up to greet him, teasing: "Haha, who let you be the inspector I trust most? Inspector Megure, only with you here can I explain this case with peace of mind."
Juzo Megure waved his hand helplessly, "This sounds like you are praising me, but why do I always feel something is wrong?"
He sighed, looked around the scene; everyone showed fatigue from a sleepless night, giving him a headache just looking at it.
"Alright, tell me the specific situation."
Yuu Hoshimiya smiled and narrated the course of the case last night.
From Teacher Sugiyama's death, to the struggle between Ryuichi Sakai and Kohei Shimoda, and finally this bloody "murder-suicide" scene, he repeated all details one by one.
Juzo Megure's face turned gloomy listening to it, finally just sighed, greeting subordinates to start taking photos and collecting evidence.
"There is nothing complicated about this case."
Yuu Hoshimiya said lightly: "Evidence and witnesses are right in front of us; there is no possibility of overturning. The police investigation will also be very smooth."
Juzo Megure nodded, confirmed key details several times, and withdrew the team to leave.
Atsushi Mori also left with the police; whether his report could be published still had to pass police confirmation.
Tokyo police's case-solving ability wasn't great, but PR and public opinion aspects had always been powerful.
The so-called if you can't solve the problem, solve the person causing the problem.
"Teacher Yonehara, Teacher Nakamura, my car happens to have two empty seats; want to go back together?"
Yuu Hoshimiya hugged the sleepy Ran and Sonoko left and right, issuing an invitation to the two equally sleepy beautiful teachers on the side.
Akiko Yonehara obviously hesitated, and finally shook her head gently.
"I... I'll go back with Minori. We drove here too; can't abandon the car."
She glanced at the calm-looking Yuu Hoshimiya; complex emotions flashed in her eyes, as if she was still digesting everything experienced last night.
Yuu Hoshimiya didn't say much, just nodded with a smile.
"As you wish; call me if anything happens."
His tone was calm, but in these few short sentences, a reassuring power was revealed.
Akiko Yonehara and Minori Nakamura hurriedly said goodbye to Yuu Hoshimiya's trio, and then left together.