After Raiden and Lady Nagant spent a long while examining the case files and studying the behavioral patterns of the individual responsible, they began narrowing down possibilities. Statistically, it was more likely to be a man. The suspect had been traveling alongside groups of priests, and every member of those religious caravans was male. The same applied to most of the people participating in the procession itself, making it a reasonable conclusion at first glance.
However, while reviewing the information, Raiden suddenly spoke.
"Let's not discard the possibility that the person is a woman," the boy said as he continued analyzing the documents spread across the table.
"But everything points toward him being a man," Kaina replied, looking up from her coffee. "Probably in his forties as well."
"Exactly, that's the point," Raiden answered. "This person's Quirk is incredibly versatile. He can reshape other people into different religious figures and alter their appearance. Just because he uses it on others doesn't mean he can't use it on himself. If he can modify bodies that extensively, then disguising himself as a man—or as someone completely different—shouldn't be impossible. That's what got me thinking."
At that, Kaina sighed softly and leaned back in her chair before pouring herself another cup of coffee.
"It's a good theory," she admitted. "However, there's a problem with that line of reasoning. Right now, it's only a hypothesis. We won't dismiss it, but we don't have a single piece of evidence supporting it."
And she was right.
Even in a world filled with Quirks capable of bending reality in absurd ways, evidence remained essential. Investigations couldn't be built on assumptions alone. Following a lead without proof was a dangerous path that often drifted into paranoia rather than detective work. For now, the idea would remain on the table, but it couldn't become their primary focus.
"In any case, we won't be working together on this one," Kaina continued. "The targets are in different locations, so we'll split up. We also have non-hero partners assigned to the operation."
"Non-heroes?" Raiden asked. Obviously they weren't going to bring civilians into something like this. That would be ridiculous. "Police?"
"Detectives," Kaina clarified.
"Oh, so it is the police," Raiden replied. "Then they'll be leading the investigation?"
"Given the nature of the case, yes," Kaina answered. "They've been tracking this individual for quite some time. Interestingly enough, one of the detectives arrived at the exact same hypothesis you just did."
Raiden raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Really," Kaina confirmed. "They also considered the possibility that the suspect wasn't actually a man. However, just like us, they couldn't act on that theory because there wasn't enough evidence to support it."
Raiden nodded slowly.
That alone was enough to make the idea worth remembering.
One person reaching a conclusion could be coincidence. Two independent investigations arriving at the same possibility without influencing each other was something harder to ignore.
It still wasn't proof.
But it was enough to keep the thought in the back of his mind.
For now, however, facts came first, theories second.
And until they found something concrete, the hunt would continue exactly where the evidence led them.
"When will we meet them?" asked Raiden, looking at Kaina with curiosity.
"Actually, in a couple more minutes. We're going to discuss the whole plan here with everyone," Kaina replied. "You were called earlier so I could introduce you to the case first. So, for at least another half hour, the ideal thing would be for you to keep reading everything. And if you can think of something, even better. At this point, anything is welcome, even if the idea has already come up before."
It was clear from the situation that this person was considered a top priority. He wasn't on the same level as the Symbols in terms of sheer destructive power or the scale of the threat they represented, but individually, he was arguably even more dangerous.
He was an unknown factor.
No one knew his identity. No one understood the full extent of his Quirk. No one knew what his next move would be. In that sense, he was disturbingly similar to the Symbol of Fear that had attacked people through their dreams.
This one was another complete unknown.
"And I thought this was going to be a boring year. I spoke too soon," muttered Raiden as he kept reading.
"Now that I think about it, there's one guy called the Hero Killer around, isn't there? A couple of days ago he attacked Ingenium. He isn't a problem?" asked Raiden with curiosity.
"I mean, he is indeed a problem, but a minor one compared with this guy. That's why the bureau hasn't asked me to intervene. They assigned normal heroes to him, but for the looks of it, Ingenium wasn't enough," exclaimed Kaina calmly.
"But Ingenium wasn't weak, wasn't he?" asked Raiden, tilting his head. As far as he knew, the man came from a long line of heroes and had built quite the reputation for himself.
"He isn't weak. However, he hasn't been involved in real fights in quite a while," Kaina explained. "Lately, he had specialized almost entirely in rescue operations. So, for the looks of it, his combat capabilities had become more than a little rusty. On the other hand, the Hero Killer... from what we've gathered, he's capable of putting up a very good fight."
"So, a miscalculation from the bureau that assigned the case," exclaimed Raiden.
"Yes. So now they're going to send a higher-ranked hero with actual combat experience to chase him down. Still, he's not considered a serious threat, at least not one that's a priority for us to investigate, especially considering that he hasn't been attacking civilians," explained Kaina as she moved another folder toward herself and kept reading.
Raiden followed suit.
It was sad indeed that several heroes had been attacked, but the person they were investigating right now was unquestionably the greater priority. His actions spoke for themselves. Every victim he left behind had suffered a fate far worse than simple injuries.
Also, most of the heroes attacked by the Hero Killer had only been crippled, not killed. That fact alone lowered the villain's priority considerably compared to the religious maniac they were hunting.
After another half hour of checking files and reading reports, the two detectives finally arrived.
Both of them possessed mutant-type Quirks. They were humanoid dogs, standing almost as tall as normal men. One resembled a Great Dane, while the other looked like a German Shepherd.
They immediately introduced themselves and shook hands with Raiden.
The Great Dane spoke first.
"I'm Scooby. Pleasure to meet you, young Raiden. I've been following your hero career," exclaimed the first detective with an easy smile.
Immediately afterward, the other introduced himself.
"And I'm Doo. A pleasure to meet you too. We already know Lady Nagant; we've worked with her on other cases. I'm hoping we can resolve this one as well," exclaimed Doo.
Raiden couldn't help but put both of their names together.
It was honestly pretty funny.
But somehow, through sheer force of will, he managed not to laugh.
"Pleasure to meet you too. Kaina said we are going to work in pairs, so I hope we can catch him before things get worse. As far as I know, I've been assigned to the other city, isn't that right?" asked Raiden.
In this case, it was Scooby who spoke again.
"Yes, you'll be going with me. We have a lead. In the other city, there has been a priest who has been actively going out at night, and around that city, two corpses have been found. We're going to check on that. Personally, I doubt our man is him, but we have to investigate either way. Among all the suspects, he's the only one who has been making unusual movements during the night."
So that was the deal.
Raiden and Scooby were going to another city.
The effect was immediate. Neither of them wanted to waste any more time. However, the detective thought they were going to travel in his car.
Raiden had something entirely different in mind.
He transformed into Mewtwo, and at that very moment, psychic energy enveloped both of them. Before Scooby could even ask what was happening, Mewtwo floated off the ground and flew straight out through the window.
Both of them shot into the night sky.
The acceleration was so sudden that Scooby let out a startled yell.
They moved at incredible speed, much faster than any car could ever hope to achieve. Mewtwo kept accelerating for several more seconds before finally stabilizing. They were currently flying at approximately two hundred kilometers per hour. Since they were moving in a perfectly straight line and ignored roads entirely, they would arrive far sooner than if they had driven.
At first, the detective looked terrified.
Then curious.
And finally impressed.
The sensation of flying was admittedly incredible.
In less than two hours, both of them were already sitting inside a coffee shop, discussing the priest in question.
What's more, the café was directly across from the church.
In Scooby's mind, they were supposed to begin the investigation tomorrow morning, but thanks to Mewtwo's speed, they could start right away. The timing was also ideal.
It was only eight in the evening.
According to the reports, the priest usually began his nightly outings around nine.
So they sat on the opposite side of the street, inside the coffee shop.
Their plan before interrogating him was simple.
Observe first.
The idea was to learn his movements and understand his routine before attempting anything. Otherwise, if they approached him too early and he truly was involved in something, he might change his habits, making him much harder to track.
That would be bad.
For this reason, both Raiden and Scooby looked completely like ordinary civilians.
Also, Raiden had another reason for being there.
He wanted to try the tiramisu.
It looked really good, and the portion they served there was surprisingly large.
The boy happily ate his dessert while drinking coffee.
The detective did something similar, except he had ordered panna cotta alongside his own coffee.
Both of them appeared perfectly relaxed.
Neither was staring at the church.
Neither looked tense.
They occasionally talked about trivial things, and every now and then, Raiden commented on the dessert.
No one looking at them would ever guess they were conducting an investigation.
As time passed, both of them finished one...
Then two coffees.
And finally, they noticed movement.
The doors of the church slowly opened.
The priest stepped outside.