Chapter 7

"Chronoir, huh? A rather unique name for a murderer with such inhumane targets. To me, it sounds rather disturbing." A dignified adult woman held a report paper containing information on all the murder cases carried out by Chronoir.

All the attention of the woman dressed in a neat attire, accompanied by the black blazer she wore, was focused solely on the files on her desk at that moment.

Shortly after, the sound of the door to her office could be heard, indicating that someone was about to enter the room.

*CREAK!!*

"Excuse me, Captain, I've brought the tea you requested." A man dressed in a special police uniform entered the room, pushing a trolley complete with a teapot filled with chamomile tea.

The woman reading the report immediately set aside the papers she was holding on the table, glancing at the tea that had been brought in and at the man with the trolley. "Ah, yes, thank you, Yuji."

The woman gave a slight smile to Yuji, who had brought her the tea, and approached the trolley he had brought in. "Ah, yes, you're welcome, Captain Emiko," replied the man, whose well-trained physique already hinted at his time in the police academy.

"So, do you know about Chronoir, Yuji?" Emiko asked softly as she poured a chamomile tea into a white cup.

*GURGLE!*

"Chronoir, Captain?" Yuji, who had been standing behind the serving trolley, now moved to the side of the room near the door, standing upright.

"Yes, you heard correctly, Yuji, Chronoir," Emiko, who had poured the tea into two cups, carried the cups and placed them on the table near the sofa in front of her desk.

Yuji fell silent and pondered upon hearing the word 'Chronoir' from Emiko. His mind seemed to be trying to recall something about Chronoir.

But all he could remember was that Chronoir was a cold-blooded killer without empathy. "I heard that he is just a heartless, cold-blooded killer, Captain."

Emiko, who was serving the tea, burst into laughter upon hearing Yuji's response. She didn't expect such words to come out of Yuji's mouth, considering that he was a bookworm known for his stiffness.

Yuji, who was initially focused on his thoughts and remained silent, was slightly taken aback by Emiko's laughter. He tried to regain his focus, but it was shattered.

All his attention was now drawn to Emiko, who was sitting on the sofa, covering her mouth and inviting him to sit right in front of her. "I'm sorry, Yuji, but I didn't expect those words to come out of your mouth. Do you like chamomile tea?"

Yuji nodded and took a seat in front of Emiko, grabbing his cup and taking a sip of the golden-brown tea. It had a slightly bitter taste, but it provided a refreshing sensation to the body. Moreover, its aroma induced a sense of relaxation."

Emiko smiled as she watched Yuji sip the chamomile tea she had served. "So, you've been assigned to handle the Chronoir case, Captain?" Yuji asked after finishing his sip.

Emiko nodded softly, confirming Yuji's inquiry about her responsibility for the Chronoir case. "I have extensive experience in handling various murder cases, I am somehow doubt myself for this one," Emiko, who had been smiling at Yuji, now wore a serious expression and fell silent."

"I don't quite understand the details, but what exactly makes Chronoir so difficult to capture, Captain?" Yuji, still puzzled by the Chronoir case, intended to delve deeper and satisfy his curiosity with Emiko.

"You know, Yuji, our world is not just inhabited by humans, is it?" Emiko looked at Yuji with seriousness. "Yes, I am aware that our world is populated by various species from different races."

"That's what makes it challenging to catch Chronoir," Emiko provided a vague answer to Yuji's confusion. "Forgive me, Captain, but I can't understand the connection between Chronoir's race and our inability to capture them based on what you've explained."

Emiko, upon hearing Yuji's question, smiled at him. "When you get injured, do you immediately provide a treatment to your wound?"

Yuji fell silent again, pondering for a moment. "No, Captain, not until I know what kind of injury I have." Emiko smiled once more upon hearing Yuji's answer. "You will try to know about your own wound before providing the right treatment for your wound right?"

As Emiko explained her analogy using wounds and their treatment, Yuji immediately deduced the issue faced by the police with Chronoir. "Because we lack information about Chronoir, we can't do much to handle the case," he concluded.

Emiko nodded gently as she took another sip of her chamomile tea. "Exactly! We can't do anything much for that" When Yuji heard his captain's explanation, he innocently asked Emiko, "If that's the case, why don't we deploy every team we have and bait Chronoir?"

Yuji placed down the cup he was holding and continued with his idea, which he thought was simple and easy to do. "Some of us can act like they about to commit a minor crimes while waiting for Chronoir to take action. When Chronoir is about to act, our team can immediately capture him."

"Isn't that an easy task for us with plenty of personnel and adequate equipment? I think it can quickly resolve the Chronoir case."

Emiko, listening to Yuji's innocence, could only laugh again. "Are you sure it's that easy, Yuji? If it were, why haven't we been able to capture Chronoir until now?"

Yuji, realizing that it was impossible to do so considering the aggressiveness of Chronoir's actions towards each victim and target, understood that confronting them directly would be suicidal.

"Chronoir is no amateur, Yuji. If I may be honest, he was like a supervillain in superhero movies," Emiko sighed, holding her head in apparent distress.

Yuji was still perplexed by Emiko's words, indicating that he only knew little about Chronoir. "I don't understand how he can have such an advanced technologies, i mean, it's impossible right? he wouldn't possibly made it on his own right?"

When he heard that Chronoir was not an amateur, his eyes widened in shock, realizing that Chronoir was armed with highly sophisticated equipment. Even the equipment they had in the police force seemed incomparable to what Chronoir possessed.

"We cannot rush into handling this case, Yuji. Each move we make will have a significant impact on his actions. We don't want to lose police officers just because we made the wrong decision," Emiko said, emphasizing the importance of caution and strategic planning

The police are indeed facing a dilemma in handling the Chronoir case, considering that he gained significant notoriety for carrying out their killings with utmost precision.

Not only that, the victims are subjected to inhumane treatment, to the point where they become unrecognizable due to the brutality inflicted upon them by Chronoir.

Yuji could only remain silent and lost in his thoughts as Emiko spoke about the cruelty of Chronoir. "But one thing we can learn from Chronoir is that he doesn't kill people randomly. He have a certain method and order in choosing and executing their victims."

"Eh?" Yuji was once again puzzled by Emiko's statement, explaining that Chronoir seemed to have his own code when carrying out his actions. "You see, Yuji, Chronoir doesn't kill innocent people."

"What do you mean, Captain?"

"Chronoir specifically targets individuals who have committed crimes. For instance, in the case yesterday, he targeted a group of criminals who successfully robbed a bank," Emiko explained to Yuji that Chronoir only goes after individuals who engage in criminal activities.

"So you mean Chronoir is playing with the justice? So you think Chronoir is a hero?" Yuji expressed his thoughts at that moment, only to be met with Emiko chuckling.

"You must be joking when you say that I consider Chronoir as a hero, right?" Emiko stared at Yuji with sharp eyes, making him feel slightly uncomfortable under her intimidating gaze.

"But I think your opinion can be seen from different perspectives. I mean, try to reconsider the true meaning of justice. Is it merely about eradicating the crimes around us? If that's the case, then perhaps Chronoir could easily be called a hero. But can a hero take someone's life without considering the victim's life or their circumstances? I think not."

This is a psychological game where we are forced to think that what Chronoir does is justified, punishing every crime, every sin of those criminals with their own blood and lives.

But now a new question arises in Emiko's mind as she explains about Chronoir: What is the true purpose of Chronoir? Why does he eradicate so many crimes by taking lives? Why not surrender the criminals to the police if his intention is only to assist in upholding justice?

Emiko, feeling lost in her work due to the various possibilities, "Well... for the time being, maybe we don't need to worry about Chronoir."

Yuji's eyes widened when he heard Emiko say not to worry about Chronoir, even though she had just informed him about how cruel Chronoir was. "Why shouldn't we worry about Chronoir, Captain? Do we have any clues about who Chronoir is?" he asked.

"We don't actually have any leads, but we do have data on how Chronoir fights," Emiko replied confidently, wearing a satisfied smile.

"Fights? Has Chronoir been fighting all this time? Did they engage in battles with their potential victims who tried to resist?" Yuji once again found himself puzzled by Emiko's words.

"You... How little do you actually know about Chronoir? I know you only arrived two weeks ago, but at least you could read the reports about Chronoir," Emiko expressed her frustration, which was met with a respectful bow from Yuji as a form of apology.

Emiko sighed before continuing her explanation, "Chronoir is skilled in martial arts. Even the specialized team assigned to apprehend high-level criminals who tried to fight back are to be made helpless by Chronoir. But we have gathered data on his fighting style."

"Pardon me if i sounded impolite, Captain, but how did you gather data on Chronoir's fights?" Yuji, wearing a curious expression, genuinely wanted to know what Emiko had done.

"Of course, it was Ojou who did it," Emiko explained to Yuji who Ojou was.