Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

The diameter of the pond itself was only about 200 meters or so. It was rather small. Positioned in one corner of a park located on the outskirts of the city, it was quite easy to travel from the nearby roadway all the way to the coast. With the sunset fast approaching this little pond, a powerful light shone dazzlingly through the water, illuminating the surrounding water. The head of a diver bobbed up to the surface. Using his hands, he signaled to the officers on the shore before diving back down again. To even think of diving in this fucking cold weather. Matoba thought as he lowered his head.

It appeared as though the diver still had work left to do. This was in spite of the patrol car and the bodies having been retrieved. Patrol Car #2212 from the 22nd Precinct. Countless droplets of water were still dripping from the vehicle.

「Coming now of all times. There’s nothing left for you to do here.」

The local detective said to Matoba. Sneaking a glance at the patrol car soaked in water, Tilarna held a suspicious expression on her face.

「And that alien?」

「She’s helping with our investigation.」

「I see. Wait here a bit.」

Losing all interest in her, the detective went over to the forensics team to hear their take on the situation. Faced with that attitude, Tilarna turned her nose up with a sour look plastered on her face. It did not seem as though she was looking to start a fight. Still, Matoba kept a close eye on her.

Having finished his conversation with forensics, the detective turned towards Matoba once again.

「…So, why’s vice going out of their way to come here?」

「Heard there were some suspicious circumstances behind the cause of death. There may be some sort of connection to our investigation.」

「As strange as it can get, I guess. I don’t get it though. They both died from shotgun pellets. The Remingtons the S.T.P.D uses.」

「That’s what I’m concerned about.」

Even though he said that, Matoba had been skeptical of whether or not this case had anything to do with the fairy investigation. It was plausible that an organized gang had had a ‘disagreement’ with these two officers, whom they disposed of in due course. Similar cases have happened in the past, after all.

In fact, the only reason he even bothered to come here was due to Tilarna’s stubborn insistence in doing so. She said she was interested in the murders of the officers in question through the use of their own firearms.

「One was shot in the chest twice, and the head once. The other ⸺ bit the bullet, literally. One shot to the mouth. Nothing left of the back of his head. The culprit likely took his weapon and executed him without facing even a shred of resistance. That’s what I feel.」

He probably tried to imagine the terror and regrets the two officers felt as they died. The detective scowled, turning his neck to one side.

「What about the murder scene?」

This was merely the area where their bodies were found. They most likely died elsewhere.

「The freeway under construction two miles south of here. Just before we lost contact, we got an anonymous call from someone. Checked it out yesterday. Bloodstains everywhere. We all gave up partway through.」

「Forensics should have gone too. Did they find anything out of the ordinary?」

「Course they did. Tire tracks that you can’t pinpoint no matter how many times you go around the world. And a couple of footprints. Also some traces of cement and paint. But they’re things you could find just about anywhere.」

The detective shrugged his shoulders.

「Are the bodies still here?」

「Perfect timing. They were just about to haul them off to the morgue…… You wanna see? I don’t recommend it. They’ve been left submerged in water for a full day and a half.」

He understood the extent of their decomposition, yet it was better to examine their wounds firsthand. What is more, it would teach that Semanese girl the struggles they would have to face in this job.

「I don’t mind, we’ll see it…… Oi, Tilarna!」

He yelled at Tilarna, who was snooping around the previously-submerged patrol car with a complicated expression on her face. For some reason, her eyes were round as she stared blankly at him.

What are you getting all surprised for⸺

As he thought that, Matoba suddenly realized. He had properly said Tilarna’s name. Thinking about it, this was the first time he had done so.

「……Over here.」

He awkwardly beckoned her over. Tilarna lightly approached him.

「Bona Tilarna. I told you to call me that.」

Saying that teasingly, she followed behind the detective.

Dammit, I screwed up.

Scratching his head in irritation, he chased after the young girl.

The body bags were on the verge of being loaded onto the police car.

「Here they are.」

He opened up the body bags. Due to the winter, severe decomposition had yet to occur. While they were not quite the disaster he expected them to be, they were not pretty to look at either. Tilarna gulped. Even if you were to slash someone to bits, they would be hard-pressed to look like this.

「‘Scuse me.」

After asking for permission to enter, Matoba put on his disposable vinyl gloves, carefully analyzing the state of the victim’s head. The upper portion of the back of the head had been completely blown away. And yet just below that, slightly above the line connecting both ears, the skull and scalp still remained intact.

「Angle’s weird.」

Matoba muttered.

「If someone had shoved the muzzle into his mouth and shot, then the trajectory of the bullet should have stayed near horizontal. With an execution-style murder, shouldn’t the area around his medulla¹ have been cleanly blasted off? In fact, it’s as if this guy pointed the gun at his own mouth. Wounds look similar to suicide.」

「That’s what I thought as well. We won’t really know for sure ‘till we bring him in for an autopsy.」

「Hmm…」

「There’s nothing else left to say, really. It’s also possible that he’d been made to lie down on the ground facing upwards. Someone could’ve stepped on his chest, and shot him in the mouth right there and then. Angle would make sense, right?」

「He was murdered on the freeway, right? If that was the case, there should’ve been marks left on the road from when the shell pierced his head.」

As they proposed idea after idea to no avail, their conversation was suddenly interrupted by none other than Tilarna. She appeared unwell, her face paling by the second.

「That is enough. I understand it now.」

「What?」

「This bolice warrior is the same as the man Albares killed. Puppeteered through the use of mildi². He was most likely told to commit suicide.」

Matoba furrowed his eyebrows. 「The officer? Turned into a zombie by magic?」

「I can sense the faint branii³ of rahtena emanating from the body. The same goes for that batrol car.」

Peeking into the other body bag, Tilarna continued.

「This one as well. It seems like the two of them were controlled by mildi.」

「Wait. Shouldn’t the junkies be the only ones capable of becoming zombies?」

「That is correct. Then perhaps these bolicemen were ‘corpses’ as well.」

「Can’t be.」

Matoba shook his head.

It was impossible to say that all policemen remained upright and cleanhanded in carrying out their duties. True enough, there were officers who took money behind-the-scenes. Matoba himself knew several cops who were bribed by the local pimp to stay out of their activities. And since they acted as vital connections to the criminal underworld, they were intentionally left unprosecuted for their actions.

However, drug addiction was a different story entirely.

「Hard to believe both of them could’ve been addicted. In the first place, you’d get found out right away if you were using. No one would dare pretend otherwise. You use drugs out in the field — even if you had multiple lives, it still wouldn’t be enough.」

「I understand that. But these two were most definitely ‘corpses’; what you call ‘junkies’. That is a fact. I leave it up to you whether to believe me or not.」

「So you’re telling me they were held at gunpoint and forced to take drugs? What are the chances? You sure they were being controlled?」

「I wonder……」

Tilarna thought for a while.

「I am not well-versed on the abominable mildi used to control these ‘corpses’. However, human souls naturally possess the will and power to live. This form of corpse-controlling mildi would therefore require the soul to be weakened through the consumption of rahtena, thus suppressing the mind. It is a truly despicable deed. To inhale 『Fairy Dust』 a mere once or twice, it would be insufficient to bend the soul to one’s will. Even if they were to be affected in the process, their bodies would most definitely resist the hand trying to harm them.」

「In other words?」

「There are two possibilities. Either the mildita⁴ controlling these bolicemen holds power far surpassing the norm. Or these bolice were given rahtena by some other means, far removed from those known to us by convention. Most likely, both these points apply in this situation.」

「Other than taking the drug? What, an injection or something?」

「I have heard of this ‘injection’ before. But fairy dust is not what you people would consider a chemical-based narcotic. Whether you inhale or mix it into your blood, the effect will not change. The caster instills his desire to 『enthrall』 into those who choose to remain ignorant, seeping into any such vulnerabilities of the heart. In this fashion, the rahtena enters the soul, whereby the intended effect of the drug is brought about. It is a narcotic that affects the spirit, not the body.」

「Ah……」

Matoba gained a new-found respect for the alien.

「Is it impossible to give a scientific explanation?」

「It is indeed. It is my intention to explain in a manner that matches your way of thinking. If I were to seriously discuss the intricacies of mildi, the English language cannot even begin to ‘grasp the tip of the iceberg’, as you might say.」

Tilarna said, staring at him with eyes that seemed to pity his lack of wisdom.

「Hmm.」

Still, he could not complain now. Anyways, it went both ways. After all, Tilarna would not get the principles behind radio or computers even after she was given an explanation. She barely understood how to work a car’s engine, or even how to boil a simple glass of water.

The difference in comprehension was truly astounding. Especially in regards to her theoretical knowledge on this topic. If she had said that she was a goddess from someplace, he would have nothing to say against her.

Alas, she did not. Perhaps her considerations deserved some merit. Souls and magic be damned. Such concepts did not exist in this world. The same went for the so-called ‘branii of rahtena’. It was her word against others; she had no way of verifying her claims. Still, she had demonstrated time and time again the veracity of her predictions through sound analogical inference. In a way, this could also be considered a form of scientific reasoning. He could not just brush her aside.

No, it would be much more unscientific to simply reject her ideas on the spot.

If he remembered correctly, this could be considered an interpretation of 『Occam’s Razor』. The principle warned against the propagation of any unnecessary assumptions. Out of all the theories they have considered thus far, including those that took into account the existence of magic, the two suggestions she gave were, in all actuality, the simplest of the bunch. And thus, they could be regarded as the closest to the truth.

「Fine.」

Matoba accepted her arguments for the time being.

「⸺If that’s the case, d’ya think you could find out the whereabouts of the magician with the information you have on hand?」

「Let me see……」

Tilarna looked down, placing her hand exactly on her left breast.

It was a Semanian gesture that denoted careful deliberation. For Earthlings, this would be similar to placing one’s hand on the forehead or chin.

「Goldsmith.」

「What?」

「A craftsman of ornaments made of precious metals. Possessing tremendous skill, able to create the most delicate of decorations. There may just be a connection there. Although, this is all mere speculation.」

「God, why did the topic suddenly shift to the question of accessory makers?」

「Exquisite works of metals such as gold and silver often act as catalysts that enhance rahtena. I said this before as well. 『Fairy Dust』processed through the hands of Dorini would not be sufficient to turn someone into a ‘corpse’ immediately. However, if we consider the possibility that these ornaments were involved, then the mechanisms behind their mildi would remain unknown even to one such as myself. Alternatively……」

As she said that, Tilarna’s expression clouded up once more. Mayhap she was doubting her own thoughts?

「No. It is my misunderstanding.」

「Why’s that?」

「It is simply because makers of such ornaments mostly do not exist. To possess the ability to infuse such strong rahtena into the bodies of these bolicemen, turning them into ‘corpses’ on the spot…… Crafting a catalyst that powerful would be extremely complicated, not to mention the form it would have to take. It would be madness to even begin to attempt such a feat. Even the most capable craftsmen in my country would most probably find it difficult to create. More so for the Dorini……」

「True enough. It’s probably impossible for us humans.」

Matoba said.

「But it’s a different story if you’re talking about machines.」

Translator’s Notes:

1. TL Note: The medulla oblongata or simply medulla is a long stem-like structure which makes up part of the brainstem.
2. TL Note: Farbanian for ‘skill/technique/magic’.
3. TL Note: Farbanian for ‘scent’.
4. TL Note: Farbanian for ‘magic user’.