184: Two Lifeless Bodies

"Let's go check on the victim's body. Satā, please verify the mod status."

"Understood."

"Vee-sama, continue monitoring the 'Strange Water Mirror' with Joharis-sama."

"Got it. If we detect anything, we'll shout immediately."

We head toward the hospital in the fifth Primeval Colony, where the bodies are being stored.

We use a vehicle for transportation.

Our alertness around the surroundings... everyone except Vilijanira seems tense and on edge.

But that's understandable.

After all, our opponent can move at a speed that wouldn't even be considered subsonic.

"Satu, Memo, Johalis, and everyone else—while we're on the main street, I believe we'll be safe."

"What's your reasoning?"

Given how different operating systems manifest, the opponent has chosen to carry out their actions while hiding. Do you really think someone like that would suddenly change their strategy and go on the rampage in broad daylight just because the surrounding security has tightened slightly?

"That's... true. But we can't afford to let our guard down, can we?"

"Exactly. We can't afford to let our guard down. But the maximum level of alert can't be sustained forever. Right now, it's not the time for that."

"I understand."

Well, he's right about that.

So we'll ease our guard just a little.

The only ones remaining unchanged are Memokshi and Joharis, who still use that special alert method known as the 'Strange Water Mirror'... Hmm, though, is Joharis even relaxed?

And Memokshi, being a machine intelligence with a brand-new body, probably won't have any issues maintaining maximum alertness, anyway.

"Ah, we've arrived."

"Yeah."

Meanwhile, during such exchanges, we arrived without incident.

Memokshi handled the formalities, and I stood before the neatly bisected corpse of a man, watched closely by the inspectors.

"Really a clean, perfect split,"

"Yes. Even after years of handling such cases, we've never seen a body like this before. Looking at the face, we suspect the victim didn't even realize they'd been struck—so clean and precise was the cut."

"The cross-section of the severed skull is astonishingly clean. I can't imagine what kind of blade could produce such a wound..."

"But... I'm not really surprised, since I've heard about it, but you really do touch the wound with your bare hands and even lick the blood...?"

"That's just the nature of my ability."

Yeah, just as the records stated—far cleaner than I imagined, a perfect split in two.

Only what lay directly in the blade's path was severed, and if even a single cell shifted from the wound, the body would be no different from a living one.

Well, if someone were to be cut like this, normally even the slightest chip on the blade would leave fragments in the wound, or some kind of mod interference would occur to the victim's body during the cut...

"……"

I lick the blood.

I can sense the usual blood components—just a faint trace of alcohol, not enough to cause even mild intoxication—along with the chemical signature of medications commonly taken on a daily basis.

Mods... ah yes, there's a shield-piercing mod that's compatible with a different OS.

"Anything clear now?"

"……"

That was all.

That was all the mod registered.

Just a quick check.

This man, like any ordinary Imperial citizen, used shield mods, environmental stabilization mods, and language translation mods in the standard way—attached to external devices, not embedded in blood or flesh. That was to be expected.

From his background, it was also confirmed that he neither used these mods daily, nor inherited them from ancestors, nor had them permanently integrated through bodily modification.

Therefore, the mods present in this man's body must be limited only to those given by the perpetrator.

"……"

"Um…"

He licks the blood again.

He also takes a small sample of the wound tissue and licks it.

The mod still doesn't feel anything.

This is…… bad.

"Satou. The results."

"……. Yeah. It's hard to believe, but only a shield-piercing mod was used."

"「「「……!?」」」"

The investigators' faces showed clear surprise at my words, and even Vilijanira furrowed her brow.

"So, you're saying it was just simple technology?"

"Yeah. But since I didn't feel any jagged edges or irregularities in the wound, it's certain the weapon used wasn't ordinary."

Several types of mods are used during severing operations.

Some mods enhance the cut's smoothness, set the blade's grain properly, or simply increase the weapon's strength—others prevent liquids from adhering to the blade or adjust the friction coefficient, for instance.

Not every mod interacts with the victim's body, so there are certainly mods that don't catch on my tongue...

But only feeling a shield-piercing mod is abnormal.

"...Sata, is the culprit an android?"

"That's impossible. Or rather, pointless. It's unrealistic to create an android capable of handling weapons with such precision, and even if we did, equipping it would be a waste of cost. If the goal is simply to kill a person, such master-level skill isn't necessary."

"That's true... "

Let me say it plainly.

The level of precision required for deadly weapons is needed in only a very small, specific set of circumstances.

That's why there are no androids.

There's no point in educating androids to such a degree, and such technology doesn't exist.

Whether driven by hatred toward men or acting as a whimsical serial killer, the required precision could easily be reduced.

"Then who... could it possibly be?"

A master assassin unknown to the Empire?

No, that's even less likely.

If such a person really exists, it would imply a pattern of pleasure killings—but in that case, some reduction in precision might be acceptable. Still, it would be strange if no similar incidents had occurred until now.

Yet this incident has exhibited that abnormal level of precision from the very beginning.

Suddenly, a master appears out of nowhere.

"…I can't believe it, but could it be a weapon-shaped cosmic monster?"

"「「「!？」」」"

"Like Inakai, manipulating humans and using their bodies... given the matter of different operating systems, it's not impossible."

What possibilities remain?

The idea that came to mind was a reversed pattern—master and servant inverted.

In other words, it wasn't humans using weapons to commit crimes, but weapons using humans to commit crimes.

While this may seem absurd, such absurdity is precisely what makes cosmic monsters possible.

Then again, the blade's strength, handling, extraordinary physical abilities, and different operating systems—those could all be explained... but the fact that we're just brushing them off as cosmic monster traits can't be denied.

"Even if we successfully apprehend the suspect for now, we must remain cautious until the weapon is found. And once it is, let's make sure to issue a notice not to touch it under any circumstances."

"Yeah, that sounds like the best approach."

For now, another piece of evidence confirming the suspect isn't a normal being had surfaced.

Then we should also keep an eye on the humans dealing with this situation.

I nodded in agreement with Vilijanila's words.