Chapter Twenty Eight - Stratagem, Noontime

  As if the grand theatre play was coming to an end, the final actors of the story have come to reveal themselves. The director of the drama herself, who I once considered an ally and assistant, is now vehemently standing in front of me to oppose my own ideals.

  Sylphie’s face portrayed her contemplation, showing that everything up until now has gone according to her plan. It was a complete opposite of how she once was – somewhat aloof, and an absolute airhead. No, she was entirely different. Her expression was confident and deliberate, showing exactly how perfectly I bent under her will. Truthfully, I never escaped the gaze of the Flawless, because it was always following me. It followed me in the shape of the empty space that I was unable to shine light upon, and now, the consequences of my oversight have come to me.

  “That man you just killed – he was indeed the Flawless you were looking for.”

  I was filled with dread as I realized that it is not over yet. There was only one left, and it was the true culprit of MC-13 that I came to understand. I had to act quick while I still could, as Sylphie was also armed. There was no time to waste – the trigger was pulled once again without hesitation.

  To my dismay, the gun didn’t fire. There was no loud gunshot to be heard, but only a faint click of the empty barrel was heard. The gun was out of bullets, somehow. That can’t be, my gun was always loaded with all six! How? I was utterly confused, but Sylphie’s smug face gave away what happened – what she did.

  “You always trusted me with your gun.”

  Her whole manner of speech lost the friendly charm it once had. Additionally, her dominance over me was made apparent, as she used my trust to bend the situation to her will once again. I always entrusted to her my gun after run-ins with the Face, or any other field activity. Little did I know that she only reloaded one bullet for today’s affairs.

  Only one bullet – intended to kill the Flawless. I didn’t understand why, but that is precisely what she controlled me to do. She knew when and on whom I would use it, she knew that I would be of no threat to her after the shot was fired. Everything that just transpired, everything I thought was my own agency – it was all the doing of Sylphie, the penultimate cause of MC-13.

  The malicious girl calmly spoke. “That Flawless that once caused so much grief – it was his time to go. You saw the sorry state of his – he was in no shape to continue being the identity behind all of it.”

  The reality was setting in. I was left defenseless in front of Sylphie, who I could name as the actual Flawless. I found myself struggling to breathe, knowing that I was outclassed yet again, and that none of my efforts could amount to anything.

  “He needed to be replaced, and that replacement needed to understand the same darkness of life that the Flawless once met. That is where you came in, Detective.”

  I mustered the strength to speak. “S-Sylphie, are you s-saying…?”

  “You are the replacement.”

  That was the objective of Sylphie Moore – to oust the Flawless, who had been reduced to a shred of his former status. That blank aged face that stared at me from the floor showed how deranged, and how demented the Flawless became. After such a long passage of time, it is only natural that he succumbed to his insanity.

  There was then my role – the replacement of such a heinous person. I couldn’t fathom that reality at first, but then her words became more apparent. The Flawless of the past suffered at the behest of others. He had to strive to fulfil their expectations, and only turned into a monster as a result of that. The ones around him were the reason for his downfall. Then, it clicked – that was also my predicament.

  “Only you understood the cruelty and malice of the world. Only you managed to figure out who the Flawless is.”

  That’s right – she was completely right. Only I was able to discover the secret of Raziel Seishi, and by extension, I was the only one who understood him. I suffered the same fate as him – to be belittled by my own peers. I excelled at what I did, but it was never enough. I never appeased them. The Flawless never managed that either. I see why she chose me to become the next in line.

  She reached out to me with an open hand. “Then, are you ready to take up your new role?”

  However, there was one thing that Sylphie forgot to include in her machinations. It was something that one should never overlook. It was the simple constant of me – I am a detective. Yes, as I was realizing this, my badge shone up at my face. There was only one reason I was here. I was destined to end MC-13 and the vermin surrounding it – that was the second constant. I would never turn to a deranged life of crime just because of fools making fun of me. That is what makes me different from the Flawless. And truthfully, that was his first and final flaw which contradicted his title. The Flawless never wanted any of this to happen. He was encased in his own confinement that he never escaped out of. More specifically, he never thought of the idea of escaping.

  My confinement has come to an end as the exit finally showed itself. This will be the first decision I make outside of the influence of Sylphie Moore, the one who pulled all the strings since the beginning. Just as I named the others – the Flawless, the Face, and now, the one who could only be called the Fabricant.

  “I came here to stop murders from happening, not allow them to happen.”

  Her once confident look now resembled a shade of slight disappointment. My negative reply was not something she expected. She banked everything on my agreement to the point where she forgot the most important aspect – my destiny.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She sighed longingly. “That is unfortunate – a massive setback has befallen Lori and I,” she gazes back at me, “then, upon my name as Sylphie Seishi, allow me to deliver your end.”

  She pulled out her own detective’s revolver from her holster, and aimed it deliberately at me. Before I knew it, I was facing down the barrel of her gun, and my heart stopped. I was one trigger away from death, and this time, there was no one to save me. No, there was no one to prevent it. Sylphie was determined to rob me of my destiny, to shoot me dead here and now. My eyes widened, knowing I was about to die this time for sure.

  The bells sprung up into action, and they were the only thing blaring in my head right now. As was once before, everything slowed down around me, and the bells permeated throughout my whole body. Now, I understood exactly what this is. Certainly, it is my calling for death – the nearing of my inexorable demise. The bells rang each time I was close to death, and that noise persisted afterwards. Knowing this, I was oddly at peace. Everything seemed peaceful.

  Perhaps I have done enough in my life. I have been a detective for many years, and I know when to admit defeat. Up until now, I scratched and clawed my way to success. Until now, I was able to thrive, but that era came to an end the moment I witnessed MC-13’s file in my hands. I still remember that moment clearly, back when Faust handed me the thing that would seal my eventual fate. However, there is one thing I came to learn about myself amidst all of this chaos. I am extremely trustful of people – look where that got me. I was under the mercy of my own assistant, just because I was too na?ve. Maybe in my next life, I will try to do less of that. Yeah, maybe next time.

  “Just kidding.”

  I opened my eyes, thinking that she already took her shot. But to my surprise, she still stood there, and in her hands was no pistol, but instead a finger-gun. She was never holding a weapon to begin with. I was being mocked for my lack of resistance, and she was toying with my life. Turns out that Sylphie Seishi is one sadistic and downright evil person.

  “You aren’t going to kill me?” I asked cautiously.

  She snickered. “What’s the point? Your fate is already sealed within the hands of that other S-tier. What will you do when you come back empty-handed from this? That scar on your face holds the answer – you will not be given a second chance, Detective. You will be stripped of everything. Killing you doesn’t even bring any joy, because you are pathetic.”

  “Pathetic?”

  “Yes. You are the saddest excuse of a human I have ever seen. Everything you tried to do ended up in vain, and all your progress was made by others.”

  Everything she says is correct. The whole reason I am here is because I couldn’t find my own solutions. I couldn’t bring myself to admit that MC-13 is a case beyond even the S-tiers. No, just beyond me – anyone else would’ve done better if they were in my stead. I was too caught up in my rank to understand that I have been completely outclassed. Truthfully, it was my hubris that led to all of this.

  “What a shame. In an alternate reality, that Debrief could’ve become the Flawless – unlike you.”

  I kneeled down, because that is the only thing I deserve – to be looked down upon. I have failed in every regard, I don’t deserve the title of ‘Best Detective’ anymore – not after this.

  She turned towards the window. “Tell me – what is perfection?”

  The answers were only to me. I wouldn’t know, I was never there. I was never perfect, and that is only my mistake.

  “Perfection is the state of absolute certainty that one can never fail in what they attempt. It is the result of mountains of dedicated time and effort.”

  Yes, I possessed neither of those. I didn’t dedicate enough time to investigating, and my effort was lackluster to boot.

  “It is the position of doing only what you know, and never straying out of that. It is absolute conviction in one’s own doing as to never fail.”

  Indeed, I strayed outside of my capabilities. In other words, I bit of more than I could chew, I now understand that very well. Somehow, I was too proud and arrogant, and uncertain and unconfident at the same time.

  “The state of perfection can only belong to those who have reason to be perfect.”

  I never brought myself to perfection. That was my mistake.

  “Having a reason to be perfect, to feel strife – it breeds perfection. That, Detective, is what being perfect means.”

  As I glanced at her, I saw her condescending look, as if I was some kind of roach by her feet. I wasn’t even allowed to look at her, because I was a failure. Her words about perfection confirmed my exact thoughts – I was a failure. A failure without achieving anything, that is what I experienced, and that is what I am. Sylphie stood right above me, and I could only cower in front of my undefeated opposition.

  Something tapped at my head. It felt like a slight nudge, or even a kick, and so I looked to see what it was.

  “Lick them.”

  Before me, Sylphie stood with one foot offered in my direction, completely bare. She told me a simple command – to partake in her fetish, and desecrate what is left of my identity as a person. The disgusting act of licking her feet would rob me of what little dignity I still had. But even so, who was I to defy her? Who was I to defy the person who had absolute control over me?

  That is exactly why I did it. I did it for whole minutes. I made sure to cover every square inch of her foot and toes, not leaving a single spot untouched. I slid my tongue between the creases. I suckled on every individual toe, making sure to please her desires. Everything about this was too twisted, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t allowed to care, because Sylphie would be displeased. The underside, the topside – I put in careful effort to make sure she was satisfied. Even the nails were not left untouched, and I made sure to reach the crevices under them to clean her foot thoroughly.

  “Well done,” she smiled, satisfied.

  It was a gross action that rendered me less than human, and I was fully aware of that. I wanted to look away, and forget I ever said yes to it, but it was already engrained into my mind. I remember the taste, and I can never forget the sight. The air around us got colder, and I only felt more and more disappointed in myself. I wanted to die – die right now. My eyes were on the verge of releasing tears, and I scratched on the wooden floorboards until my fingernails ripped apart. I was screaming internally, fully aware that I just did this. I licked someone else’s feet, just because they told me to. There was no satisfaction on my part, nor was there any amusement in doing it. I only felt disappointed and disgusted at myself, because I could never look at myself the same way. I was scarred physically, but now, it was also mentally.

  Sylphie laughed. “Goodness me – to think that I chose you for this. You are such a despicable creature. How can you even live with yourself?”

  I was trying to hold it back – all those feelings, all those emotions that I amassed during these efforts. But the ample truth is - these are feelings I have had for much longer. I wanted to scream and cry. I wanted to just let it all out. Cry, until I couldn’t. Scream, until my voice shattered. That is exactly what I did.

  Sylphie was heading out, leaving me alone in the room, bathing in the blood of another man. I couldn’t amount any resistance to her casual pace. Somehow, I know that I would fail to apprehend her, just as it was many times before. What I preferred was letting it all out. I screamed, cried, and bashed at the ground. The bloodstain splashed with every hit, covering me in the blood of the Flawless’ corpse. I felt so helpless, so inept. I was unable to triumph in the end, and MC-13 will forever remain unsolvable. Sylphie Seishi will come to the precinct, declare me as a failure, and Debrief will strike his hammer, thereby removing me from the detective workforce. This time, it was truly over. It was over, because I let it so.