"IT WILL BE HARD TO PROGRESS IF ELLA AND AIDEN DENY THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN SUCH A KEY PART OF THE CASE."
"PERHAPS THERE IS A WAY TO PROVE THEIR PRESENCE IN THE FOOTAGE."

Pat groaned. "This is stupid. We know it's Aiden by his swirly glasses alone, but even if y'wanna deny that, look at the lost n' found. Ella, I'm pretty sure y'dropped your keyrings in yer changin' room. Look at that donut! It could only belong to ya. Even if y'deny it, we could probably find yer fingerprints on it. Since that's from the day of the murder, it could only have been from when y'were goin' to retrieve Deid's body right there- back when you were goofin' off! And when one person's you, that means the other's gotta be Aiden! He couldn't'a entered the buildin' on his own because his keycard and uniform went missin', so you had to assist him in! One final thing, I see y'also got into a frightenin' accident at the end there. Y'seemed to brush it off, but that means you also still have wounds from then. Give it up already, you two!"

---

"Oh, that? That doesn't prove anything!"
"Maybe I just, uh, like changing down there!"


"You won't find any injuries on us either!"
"..."
"Or, um, even if you do, you've no proof when we got them!"


"You hear that? He wants proof!"
"You're wearing the proof right on your face, loser!"


"I... wha?"

The dead cast their minds back to when they'd first seen Aiden, before the events at Truncheon Tower.



Then they took a good look at him now.




"Oh, his glasses are broken!!"


"It must have happened in the crash."
"I'm sure if we check with anyone who saw him that day, we can confirm exactly when they were broken."
"Stop lying, Aiden!"


"Argh, noooo!"


"Oh, alright, fine!"
"Yeah, we were playing around on duty."
"Gotta find some way to liven things up, right? I mean, it's a morgue!"


"Yeah, it's pretty depressing down there..."


"Now that I see the footage though... I don't remember that middle part."
"I guess we just sort of assumed that, because the task was ticked off, we'd done it?"


"Now that you mention it..."
"We definitely brought the first body to the autopsy room."
"I don't remember ever bringing it back, though..."

"Y'mean this bit?" Pat asked. "That is a bit strange. So that wasn't you two..? Who could it be then, though? It had to be 2 fellow officers, right? Unless there were other civvies inside that day... They seemed t'have known you two and your antics quite well to have pulled off that impression. Why would they do that, though? Did they just want to enter the body store? Does it have somethin' to do with how Deid got outta there in the first place?"

---

"Of course it does." Mai slapped the desk. "He got out right here!"

She pointed at the T-poser. "This isn't one of the impersonators, it's the corpse! Meaning the guy in the towel is just someone who looks like Deid!"

---

"Whaaaaaaaaaat? They really did that to us?"
"No way! Made us look like a pair of fools!"


"You mean someone went as far as to copy my trademark glasses?"
"How dare they!"
"Who would do such a thing?"

"The defendant, of course," Mai replied. "He had access to the building and clothes to disguise himself as you, knew enough about you to impersonate you, knew enough about how Deid looked to impersonate him... This was all so we'd entertain the stupid idea that a dead man came back to life just to kill someone."

---

"Hold it right there! What kinda crazy scheme are ya goin' on about here?" Pat interjected. "We only uncovered this conspiracy by chance, after all! This was an awfully convoluted scheme for somebody to have gone through with only to take the fall in the end anyway! B'sides, what're ya on about with this impersonator theory? We already know Deid Purson never died at all! And who would this impostor be, anywho? Somebody who looks just like Deid and also had access to Truncheon Tower? Why were they there at all? This theory doesn't add up at all!"

---

"Look at the footage, see for yourself."
"It's indistinct, you can't tell who anyone is except by standout features."
"I'd have trouble, but a typical man could just wear a wig, paint a red mark on their chest and be done with it."


"There's only one reason someone would go through the trouble."
"They wanted to pin the crime on a dead man, so orchestrated this whole thing."
"Maybe it was their way of being kind, so they wouldn't have to frame someone who could actually take the fall."


"The impostors took two different paths after that."
"The 'Aiden' went back to the changing room, got changed into their normal clothes and probably just left."
"The 'Deid' sneaked through the building, stole a uniform and then grabbed a rifle."
"We should look for a way to identify one of these two people!"

"T-that's ridiculous!" Pat spat. "The only person I can think of who resembles Deid even slightly is... Bux! The victim! He wouldn't collude in this plan to murder 'im, and he wouldn't even be able to get inside the buildin' normally! This theory's p-preposterous!"

---

"So maybe he was tricked by someone who did have access to the building," Mai countered. "Does the victim have an old wound on his chest or dried-up paint or anything?"

---

"Nothing like that, no."
"Geez, does no-one listen to me?"
"I already said any dude could pose as him with a wig and some paint!"


"I say focus on the other guy."
"How dare he copy my glasses!"
"They're my one defining character trait!"

"Just entertaining the defense's theory a little," Mai shrugged. "I didn't really believe it anyway. So, I don't know, who else would even have access to your spare glasses besides someone on the police force?"

---

"Eh, I mean... They're just novelty glasses."
"You could buy 'em wherever."


"H-hey, these are no mere novelties!"
"They're proper prescription lenses!"


"Proper prescription huh..."
"Going back to that lost-and-found list, it's pretty weird someone managed to lose their glasses, right?"
"They're not the sort of thing you just forget about. You notice pretty quickly if you can't see properly!"


"Now that you mention it, you're right!"
"I can think of one reason someone might forget, though."
"If they were wearing a different pair at the time, they wouldn't realise!"
"That's right! The Aiden-impostor we're looking for is someone accustomed to wearing glasses!"
"They forgot they were wearing the swirly pair, because they're used to it."
"As such, they forgot to take them off when getting changed, and left their original pair behind!"


"Oh, you finally solved it huh? Of course, I already knew that a few objections ago."
"Obviously the accomplice is Mr Pink, who else would it be?"
"I had him figured out the moment I saw him!"
"Fess up, you grey weirdo!"

A dim light shot down into the witness stand, and Mr Pink appeared for the first time in the trial.


"Ridiculous. That's a baseless conjecture: you have no proof."


"Yeah well, we can just get proof!"
"Do some of that CSI stuff. Like, DNA testing or something!"


"DNA...?"
"..."
"Oh, no, no, that won't be necessary."
"I admit it. I helped steal the corpse of that man."

"...Oh, yeah, you." Mai blinked. Apparently she forgot this guy was even involved in this case. "Well, that makes sense. The killer needed an accomplice to steal the body, right?"

---

"Indeed, it makes perfect sense."
"I suppose I can go now?"
"I shall await whatever punishment you deem fit for such a crime."

"Hold it!" Pat interjected nervously. "Why'd ya do this? For what purpose? Who were ya helpin'? You can't just leave without elaboratin' on that!"

---

"Yes I can. Goodbye."

Mr Pink turned around, and then stood still. He couldn't actually leave this place, so apparently that was the next best thing.


"So he really was one of the guys what did it?"
"What a creep! I guess that means he was totally in on the murder, too."
"No-one would go out of their way to hire Bux's own accountant otherwise."
"Does this new information change anything, though?"

"If he was in on the murder, then... his message to Bux at 16:00 would've been a ruse, right?" Pat suggested. "He woulda known what that was and that Bux was already dead, so he probably did that to throw us off the scent!"

---

"What would he even achieve by doing that though?"
"We were already under the impression a body was there at 18:00."
"We can already confirm he really did arrive when he said he did."

"He wasn't likely to be counting on the victim conveniently leaving his phone unlocked, either."
"So it's not like he was specifically expecting us to see that message."
"Yet, you're right, it is a weird message to send..."

"So if the text wasn't meant for us to find... it was for the victim, I guess?" Mai clutched her head. "Ahhh, god, Rei, help me here..."

---

"So Bux actually got the message?"
"What would he have done if he read it?"

Pat scratched his head. "Well, the message mentioned there somethin' about a strange thing in the parkin' lot and that Mr. Pink was gonna see Bux soon... So maybe it was the latter? Somethin' designed to keep Bux waiting on the top of the hotel so that the killer could shoot 'im?"

---

"He'd already waited quite a while, though."
"I don't think he needed further encouragement to wait just a bit longer."

"Uh... I don't know... try to find out what the strange thing in the car park was, maybe?"

---

"And the easiest way to see it from the roof would ve to go over to the edge..." Edgar finally posted I'm sorry I'm so sorry oh god oh fuck it's been four days.

"...You know what, yeah, that's what I'd do!"
"I'd go right on over to the edge and have a gander."
"Ain't that probably how Bux was shot?"
"He had to be standing right on the edge for the shot to topple him over."
"Might've helped make sure no blood got on the roof, too, if his head was leaning right on over when it got popped."


"Sounds like we'd better take a look at this guy's phone, yeah?"
"Maybe check his phone records, see if he isn't hiding anything else."


"Phone... records?"
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary, I assure you."


"IT STRIKES ME AS MOST NECESSARY INDEED."
"MAKE IT HAPPEN."


"No, really, this is quite unnecessary!"
"I'll confess to assisting in Bux's murder."

Despite Mr Pink's protests, a Numina flew off and retrieved the phone's call history and messages. Just a brief look over them revealed why the normally impassive Mr Pink was getting so worked up. Bux wasn't the only person of interest he'd been in contact with.

He'd messaged Deid a few times, and for some reason, Don Carcharo as well.

A more thorough examination of the content showed that Mr Pink had fed Don enough information that he might get the idea to sneak into the Venus House of Arts in order to ambush Exie. Deid, meanwhile, had been told someone attending the party was intending to destroy any evidence they found; in doing so, Deid would be pressured into investigating first.


"Now hang on there..."
"You're tellin' me Mr Pink of all people is..."
"He's the mastermind we've been searchin' for?"


"Ten bucks to me! Kinda."


"That complete nobody orchestrated three separate murders? Seriously?"


"SO YOU WERE HIDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME?"
"I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT AN EARLIER MYSTERY."
"WHY WERE DEID'S DEATH RECORDS MISSING IF HE REALLY WAS DEAD AFTER ALL?"
"THERE IS ONE EXPLANATION: THE RECORDS WERE TAMPERED WITH."
"OUR MASTERMIND, 'MR PINK', IS, IN FACT, A ROGUE NUMEN."

Death swiped at the grey accountant with his scythe, somehow reaching despite standing some distance away. 'Mr Pink' was pulled away like a covering cloth, revealing underneath the underwhelming form of a Numen.


"dammit! curse your human electronical devices."


"GOTCHA."

The gathered dead couldn't help but feel disappointed. The mastermind didn't even look any different from the other Numina floating around in shock right now. After being exposed, he was just... another Numen. No wonder he'd been so boring in his human form.


"Okay, this I have to hear."
"Why 'd you do it? All those murders?"
"What grand cause were you championing?"


"do you have any idea what it's like being one of us?"
"small time, unappreciated drones with no future prospects."
"this work you see us doing, that's our eternity."
"i wanted more! there's a life beyond this meaningless existence!"

"Death over there is the sort of being i aspire to be."
"he's an 'archetype': the 'archetype of death'."
"a being far above and apart from a mere numen."
"is that so much to ask for?"
"i wanted to become the 'archetype of taxation', become something great!"

"there were some obstacles in my path."
"don's illegal loans and large criminal network interfered with proper taxes."
"deid, the minister of finance, passed laws at odds with my vision."
"bux had so much power that he could pressure the government to sway tax laws in his favour."
"they all had to be removed if i was to ascend to my new position."

"of course, i knew Death would try to stop me."
"i had to avoid his attention as much as possible."
"bux proved problematic though."
"it became necessary to get close to him as his accountant in order to get him killed."

"much against my wishes, bux dragged me around to all manner of events."
"that included the soirée, which i particularly wanted to avoid."
"to make matters worse, the one who was to kill him wanted me to assist in their plan."
"they wouldn't kill him otherwise, they said. i had no choice but to do so."

"even then, i tried to keep my involvement to a minimum."
"after helping steal the body, i left as soon as i could."
"unfortunately it seems i left my glasses behind..."
"if you'd gone through with the dna analysis, the results would have given me away immediately."

"you would not have found human dna."
"it is too messy for my liking, so i had ordered my nucleotides alphabetically."
"it seemed smart at the time, but it nearly backfired on me..."


"That's, uh, a cool story dude!!"
"I didn't understand most of it, but sounds tragic and stuff!"
"Who's your newest murder-buddy though?"
"Don't leave us hanging!!!"


"they were paranoid, or perhaps simply cautious."
"rightly so, as it turns out."
"we never talked over the phone."
"i suppose they didn't want to leave any 'phone records'."

"i know who killed bux, of course."
"i chose them myself, after all."
"you won't hear their name from me, though!"
"screw you guys, i owe you nothing."


"YES, I DON'T IMAGINE YOU WILL HELP US IN THIS MATTER."
"THEN, IT SEEMS WE ARE DONE HERE."
"THE PUNISHMENT SHALL BE ENACTED."

Death prepared his scythe again, but this time the blade gave off a much more menacing aura. The dead instinctively moved back from it, even though they couldn't tell how it was any different. When Death swung it, it cut clean through the rogue Numen, whose body promptly disintegrated without even a scream.


"AND SO IT IS DONE."
"I MUST THANK ALL OF YOU."
"CATCHING THAT TRAITOR WAS, IN FACT, THE REASON I CREATED THIS PROGRAM."
"I AM NOT A HUMAN. I LACK YOUR IMAGINATION."
"I REQUIRED ALL OF YOU TO DEDUCE THE TRAITOR'S IDENTITY FOR ME."
"BY SOLVING THESE MURDERS, I HOPED THAT IT MIGHT LEAD TO THIS."


"Always happy to bring justice where it's needed!"


"This isn't the end though, is it?"
"I can't imagine you'll let us go with things still unresolved."


"Well I wouldn't want to leave yet anyway!"
"Okay that's a lie, I'd really like to leave right now actually."
"But my point is, I can still solve this last murder first!"


"YES, THE AFTERLIFE PROGRAM IS NOT QUITE OVER."
"YOU MUST STILL SOLVE THE MURDER OF BUX BIGGSON."
"DON'T LET RECENT EVENTS SLOW YOU DOWN."
"CONTINUE!"

"...Well, uh..." Mai needed a minute to process what she'd just seen. "It still has to be the detective, right? Unless these Numen can just go wherever they want, it'd have to be someone with police access to get the body, wouldn't it?"

---

"That's not suuuper conclusive though."
"Has anything changed now that we know what, er, Mr Pink did?"
"Sorry I still don't know what happened there with the ghost and stuff."
"Probably got something to do with how one of you is walking around with no head."
"And the rest are just like 'yup that's normal'. I'm just not gonna question it."

"Uhh... oh, wait, so... if that Pink guy or whatever really did text the victim, doesn't that make the time on the watch wrong?"

---

"Oh, right, yeah, so it does!"
"Bux would have been shot at 18:00."
"Well, I'm not the one who wrote the autopsy report, so it's not my fault!"

"Well, who the hell did write it up then? Is the watch accurate, at least?" Mai pounded the desk. "Actually, hold on, if Bux was leaning over the edge of the roof, doesn't that mean he COULD have been shot from the car park after all?"

---

"The impact of the bullet knocked him into the cark park."
"He had to have been shot from the HQ."
"I'm not saying the autopsy is wrong, medical analysis put it between 17:40 and 18:00."
"Just, turns out basing the exact time of death on the watch was a mistake."
"Bux was killed at 18:00, but the watch on his body said 17:40."

"So he dropped and broke it before he died, I guess? Maybe when he was on the roof? Or maybe someone changed the time after he fell to hide the time of death...? Ugh, I don't get it..." Mai groaned.

---

"So the killer prepared a broken watch in advance and put it in Bux's jacket after he fell..?" Pat paused, thinking to himself. "Well, maybe if they put it in his pocket, the ID-" He paused, hitting a realisation. "Well, er, it's not as though that's very likely, actually... I mean, it's not like anybody coulda just gone and put it in there anyhow, haha."

---

Mai blinked. "Oh, you think the detective pricked himself on the ID badge while he was planting the watch on the victim? That sounds pretty likely to me!" she nodded, not too proud to shy away from a gift horse.

---

"N-n-n-no, that's not what I mean at all!" Pat insisted, looking oddly nervous. "I've already explained how it coulda ended up there in a different way! 'Sides, it's not like there's anythin' provin' only he coulda planted the watch on the vic afterwards, is there?! Practically anybody coulda done it!"

---

"The camera footage shows that between the time the victim fell from the roof and the police arriving, the only one who went into the car park is the defendant! When else could someone have planted the watch?"

---

Death banged his scythe against the sounding block.


"I AM CONVINCED."
"I SEE LITTLE ROOM FOR DOUBT IN THE CONCLUSION HERE."
"IT'S NIGH TIME I GAVE MY VERDICT."



"IN JUST A MOMENT WE WILL OBSERVE THE RESULT FROM THE OTHER SIDE."
"LET US HOPE THEY REACH THE TRUTH."

"THREE FOR THREE BABYYYY!!!!!!!!! Aren't I the best?!?!?" GUNS, who won by doing nothing, yelled out.