Shino nodded.
"Ah... now that I think about it, this may just be a coincidence, but..."
"What is it?"
"All seven target players had one thing in common. Including me, none of them used AGI-based builds."
"Oh...?"
Kikuoka's expression shifted slightly.
"So that means...?"
"Shinkawa... no, Kyoji, used a pure AGI build. Maybe that's why. I think he had complicated feelings toward other kinds of players, especially high-STR builds."
"Mm..."
For a moment, Kikuoka had no answer. He stared at the tablet in silence for a while.
"So the motive really did come from inside the game," he said at last. "If that's true, it will make the prosecution's job more difficult. Still..."
He shook his head, as if he still could not quite believe it.
Satoru spoke then.
"No, it's completely possible. For MMO players, character stats are an absolute standard of value. If someone pulls a prank, messes with another player's status screen, and that causes even one mistake in their stat allocation, the victim might spend months wanting to kill them for it."
He paused.
"Inside the game, of course. But I've known people who would make a huge scene over exactly that."
Shino understood that feeling far too well. Kikuoka, however, widened his eyes and shook his head.
"In that case, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and lay judges would all need to experience VRMMOs for themselves before they could properly understand the case. No, once we start thinking about legal reform, we may need to do the same thing..."
He sighed faintly and tapped the tablet.
"But that's our problem. Now, where were we?"
His finger moved across the screen, and he gave a small nod.
"Right. The three targets. That was the point where this case became different from the first two murders. To carry out the plan during the BoB main event, they had one major obstacle: Death Gun inside the game couldn't contact the person acting in the real world, so timing the shots would be difficult. The live broadcast solved that problem, since it could also be watched outside the game."
"Even then, travel would still be an issue," Satoru said.
"Exactly." Kikuoka nodded. "Death Gun seems to have chosen the three accomplices based on how close they lived to each target. Pale Rider lived in Omori, Ota Ward. Garrett lived near Musashi-Kosugi in Kawasaki. Asada-san lived farther away in Yushima, Bunkyo Ward."
He looked toward Shino.
"And this time, Kyoji, who had always played the role of Death Gun in the past, insisted on handling the real-world side himself. Shouichi was reluctant, but in the end, he agreed."
Kikuoka turned back to Satoru.
"Until then, Shouichi had never allowed Kyoji to carry out the actual killing. According to his confession, he said his younger brother shouldn't have to commit a sin deeper than his own. But for BoB, Shouichi himself had to enter the tournament. In other words, he had to duel you."
Satoru said nothing.
"So Shouichi finally accepted Kyoji's request and sent him to Asada-san's apartment. At the same time, he brought one more partner into the plan."
Kikuoka paused briefly.
"His name is Atsushi Kanamoto. Nineteen years old. A friend of Shouichi's. And..."
He glanced at Satoru.
"Apparently, he was also in the same guild during the SAO incident. His character name was Johnny Black. Have you heard of him?"
"Yes."
Satoru closed his eyes and nodded.
"He was Shouichi's partner in Laughing Coffin. He used poisoned daggers. Back then, those two attacked and killed several players together."
His voice lowered.
"I crossed paths with him too, but I thought he was small-time, so I left him alone. If I'd known... if I'd known he would help Shouichi and push himself even farther down a path he could never come back from, I should have—"
Without realizing it, his voice had gone cold.
Before he could finish, Shino quickly reached out with her right hand and gripped his left arm. She looked at him and slowly shook her head.
Even without the last words, what he meant came through.
For one instant, Satoru's expression disappeared. Then his usual poker face returned.
Shino released his arm and turned back toward Kikuoka. Across from them, Kikuoka had been watching in silence. He smiled faintly, chose not to press Satoru about what he had almost said, and resumed his explanation.
"Whether Johnny Black, meaning Kanamoto, joined the plan of his own accord is impossible to tell from Shouichi's testimony. To Shouichi, Kanamoto was also someone he could no longer understand."
"Then couldn't you just ask Kanamoto himself?"
Kikuoka shook his head once.
"A doctor has already diagnosed him with a mental disorder. They say the symptoms appeared after he logged out of SAO."
For a moment, Satoru wondered whether it had happened because of that day.
After learning that Sheeta had been captured, he had lost control of his rage and used Infinite Sword against Johnny, who had been preparing an ambush. He had severed all four of the man's limbs and left him as nothing but a limbless torso.
Had that shock broken him?
But damage to the Fluctlight, the pain of a wounded soul, only occurred when both sides were present.
"Kyoji was arrested at Asada-san's apartment," Kikuoka continued. "Forty minutes earlier, his older brother had turned himself in at the police station as well. Based on Shouichi's testimony, the investigation team rushed to Kanamoto's apartment in Ota Ward two hours later."
He frowned slightly.
"What they found there was a man who could do nothing but laugh. He is currently under observation at a psychiatric facility."
"They killed Pale Rider and Garrett during the main tournament. Is that confirmed?"
"Without a doubt. We recovered the high-pressure injector and the succinylcholine Shouichi turned in, the same model as the one Kyoji had. DNA from hair samples collected at the victims' homes and from Kanamoto's apartment matched perfectly."
"Was all the drug used on those two targets?"
"No. One ampoule of succinylcholine contains enough to kill a person. Shouichi stole three, just in case, so there should have been one left."
Kikuoka's expression darkened.
"According to Shouichi, the last one was originally meant for his own suicide."
"..."
Satoru shook his head bitterly.
"Let's return to the case," Kikuoka said.
He swiped a finger across the tablet, shrugged, and looked up.
"You two know what happened next better than I do. After the tournament ended, Kyoji Shinkawa attacked Asada-san in her home. Thankfully, he was arrested before he could accomplish his goal. With Shouichi turning himself in and giving us Kanamoto's location, the brothers are now being held at the Metropolitan Police Department's Honfuji Police Station, where they are still being questioned."
He closed the tablet cover.
"It will take time, but the incident itself is over. That's all the information I have for now. Do either of you have any questions?"
"...Um."
Shino knew he might not answer, but she asked anyway.
"Shinkawa... Kyoji. What will happen to him now?"
"That..."
Kikuoka pushed up his glasses.
"Shouichi is nineteen, and Kyoji is only sixteen, so Kyoji will likely be handled under the Juvenile Law. Since this is a major case involving four deaths, it will of course be sent from Family Court to the prosecutors. There may also be a psychiatric evaluation."
He folded his hands on the table.
"The exact result is secondary, but judging by their words and actions, I think there's a strong chance they'll be placed in a medical juvenile reformatory. Those two have almost no concept of reality left."
"No... I don't think that's right."
Shino murmured the words.
Kikuoka blinked and looked at her, silently urging her to continue.
"I don't know much about his older brother, but Kyoji... Kyoji's reality is probably GGO."
She opened the fingers of her raised right hand, then slowly clenched them into a fist.
"He threw this world away. Everything about it. I think he believed GGO was the only true reality. People will call that escape, and maybe it is, but..."
Kyoji Shinkawa had tried to take Shino's life. The terror and despair he had forced on her could not be measured. And yet, for some reason, Shino could not hate him. Or rather, what she felt was a deep loneliness. A painful, helpless sadness.
That was what made her keep speaking.
"At some point, all the effort he put into online games stopped being just for fun. Getting stronger meant grinding for EXP and money, and that is exhausting too. He should have spent a little time making friends and playing with them. But someone like Kyoji, someone trying to become the strongest player, would spend hours every day doing nothing but farming money and EXP. I think that pressure kept building inside him."
"Stress... inside a game?" Kikuoka asked, stunned. "Isn't that completely backward?"
Shino nodded.
"Yes. Like I said earlier, Kyoji had reversed this world and that world."
"But why? Why did he have to aim for being the strongest?"
"That part... I don't know either. Like I said, for me, this world and the game world are connected."
She turned to her right.
"Satoru, do you understand what I mean?"
Satoru was leaning deep into his chair, eyes closed.
"He wanted to get stronger," he said.
Shino pressed her lips together and thought about that short answer. After a moment, she slowly nodded.
"...Yes. I'm the same. I think every VRMMO player feels that way, more or less. We want to become stronger."
She turned back toward Kikuoka.
"Um... when will I be able to see Kyoji?"
"After he is sent to the prosecutors, he will probably be detained for a while. Once he is transferred to the facility, visitation should become possible."
"I see..."
Shino lowered her eyes.
"I want to go see him. When I do, I want to tell him everything I thought back then, and everything I think now."
Even if it was too late.
Even if the words never reached him.
This was the only thing Shino could do.
Kikuoka smiled faintly. This time, perhaps, the smile was genuine.
"You are a very strong person. Yes, please do. I will send you the detailed schedule by email."
He glanced at the watch on his left wrist.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. My post may look idle, but I still have plenty of small jobs to deal with."
"Yes. Sorry for taking up your time."
Then Shino bowed her head as well.
"Um... thank you."
"Not at all. Letting you face danger was our failure. I wouldn't feel right doing nothing after that. If anything new comes up, I'll let you know."
Kikuoka picked up the briefcase from the chair beside him, placed the tablet inside, and stood. He was about to pick up the bill from the table when he suddenly stopped.
"Oh, right. Suzuki-kun."
"...What?"
"This is something Shouichi wanted you to have."
He reached into his suit pocket, took out a sheet of letter paper, and handed it across the table.
"Death Gun. No, XaXa, Shouichi Shinkawa. Once the investigators told him you had asked them to question him, he immediately confessed everything. But he set one condition. He wanted his words passed on to you as well."
Kikuoka held the paper out.
"What do you think? Do you want to read it?"
Satoru gave a small nod.
He took the paper and opened it.
Surprisingly, the handwriting was neat and forceful, so clean it looked as if the writer had practiced calligraphy.
It was hard to believe it had come from that man's hand.
...