I don't want to be an elf!

Recalling his previous conversation with Kurumi Tokisaki, he hesitated and said, "Nightmare... Could Kurumi Tokisaki not be a truly evil person?"

"Huh? Seriously, Atsushi-kun? You've been tortured like this, and you still think she's not a bad person?"

Dazai Osamu was taken aback, then his expression turned strange: "Don't tell me that you were successfully trained by Nightmare in such a short time."

"No, that's not it! I just think she's not purely evil!"

“There is no pure evil in this world, Atsushi.” Dazai Osamu patted Nakajima Atsushi’s head. “However, it’s a bit early for you to understand this. Anyway, let’s cheer up for now. We have other things to prepare when we get back.”

"Anything else to prepare?"

"Yes, the Special Abilities Agency just sent a notification."

Dazai Osamu gazed into the distance, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"The group is coming soon."

Chapter Eighty: Day and Dusk Meet

The following afternoon, in an empty garage in Yokohama.

This place is like a graveyard for cars, with countless cars, both cheap and expensive, parked on the floors, many of them covered in dust.

The Armed Detective Agency's van parked on the second floor, the engine was turned off and the lights were switched off, and everyone filed out.

At this moment, all the members of the Armed Detective Agency were gathered here, a rare occurrence, even Bandage Three, who was not a member, came along.

The crowd looked around and saw the man emerge from their blind spot.

He was a handsome man in a suit with a mole on the corner of his mouth, and dark circles under his eyes that were visible from a distance.

He is Ango Sakaguchi, the head of the Yokohama branch of the Special Ability Agency.

At this moment, all members of the Armed Detective Agency and the head of the Yokohama branch of the Special Abilities Agency gathered together.

The convergence of daylight and dusk, whatever the discussion that follows, has a crucial impact on Yokohama.

"You haven't died from overwork yet, Sakaguchi."

Seeing Sakaguchi Ango's dejected appearance, Dazai Osamu couldn't help but say sarcastically, "The red wine I stole from Chuuya when I defected from the Port Mafia was meant to be drunk at your funeral. I've always been thinking about it."

"Thank you for your concern, but I won't die anytime soon."

Ango Sakaguchi remained calm and said indifferently, "I have no intention of arguing with you about the past. We should focus on the present and the dangerous future that is looming."

"Truly worthy of being a high-ranking government official, they can let bygones be bygones."

Atsushi Nakajima found it quite novel to see Osamu Dazai, who immediately became sarcastic and eccentric upon meeting him.

At least, before this, he had never seen the unreliable Dazai Osamu show such obvious disgust towards someone.

"Let's put personal grudges aside for now, Dazai," Fukuzawa Yukichi interjected at the opportune moment. "Now is the time to discuss the safety of Yokohama with Department Head Sakaguchi."

Upon hearing the president speak, Dazai Osamu clicked his tongue, crossed his arms, and turned his head away, looking as if even seeing Sakaguchi Ango would offend his eyes.

But Ango Sakaguchi wasn't angry at all; he pushed up his glasses, his expression remaining calm.

"Well then, President Fukuzawa, I'll get straight to the point."

Ango Sakaguchi placed a document on the hood of the car: "This is the group's application to enter Yokohama. It was processed through official procedures, and we can't refuse."

"So, the group really did come?"

"As expected? You guys guessed all along that the group would come to Yokohama?"

“Mr. Sakaguchi, I must correct you. We didn’t guess, we deduced.” Edogawa Ranpo took the lollipop out of his mouth and corrected him.

"We made a deal with Nightmare, and the arrival of the duo in Yokohama is an inevitable part of that," Dazai Osamu said bluntly.

"You made a deal with Nightmare? Are you all crazy?" Ango Sakaguchi frowned.

“We had no choice. You saw it yourself, didn’t you? Yesterday, those twenty clones surrounded the Armed Detective Agency.”

"..."

Ango Sakaguchi opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

As the supernatural intelligence agency that controlled the city's surveillance, he naturally witnessed everything that happened yesterday.

The oppressive feeling of twenty clones surrounding the detective agency sent chills down his spine, even through the screen.

If before he was merely wary of nightmares, now they have truly become a nightmare in his heart.

An unknown number of clones, powerful time-manipulation abilities, and the ability to lurk like a ghost...

She can cause a ruckus in Yokohama whenever she wants.

After Tokisaki Kurumi defeated the Armed Detective Agency yesterday, even razing its headquarters to the ground, Sakaguchi Ango reported the incident to the central authorities, hoping to obtain reinforcements from the central supernatural beings through expedited processing.

However, the government has not yet responded.

This caused Ango Sakaguchi, who was already overworked, to be unable to sleep last night.

"This is actually the topic I want to discuss with you."

Ango Sakaguchi took a deep breath: "The group's goal is clear: to capture Atsushi Nakajima. But Nightmare's purpose is still unknown. I cannot allow a madman who can destroy Yokohama at any time to act unsupervised within my jurisdiction."

“I understand your thoughts. We would not cooperate with Nightmare unless the situation allowed it,” Fukuzawa Yukichi nodded and said. “However, cooperation is just cooperation, not an alliance. The Armed Detective Agency is helping Nightmare fight the Group in order to find out from the Group’s leader why they put a bounty on Nakajima Atsushi. Once the cooperation ends, the Detective Agency and Nightmare will have no further connection.”

"In that case, I hope you can help the Special Abilities Agency to arrest Nightmare."

"You should discuss this with the Port Mafia."

“Mr. Mori has tacitly agreed that he will not take any action while we deal with Nightmare,” Ango Sakaguchi said. “It seems that he will not allow an ability user he cannot control to run rampant in the organization.”

"hehe......"

Dazai Osamu laughed: "It's quite rare that the three major organizations in Yokohama have reached a consensus on sending Nightmare to prison."

"This also directly demonstrates that she has sufficient ability to threaten the safety of Yokohama."

"So, how do you plan to deal with the Nightmare?"

“Only monsters can defeat monsters.” Ango Sakaguchi looked at Bandage Three: “Our strategy should be formulated around this clone.”

“Her?” Dazai Osamu scoffed. “Hoping for her is like hoping for Nightmare to commit suicide.”

"What do you mean?"

Bandaged Three angrily raised his fist and pounded his back repeatedly: "I'm very strong! Stronger than all of you!"

“This one is really unreliable. Although she is a Nightmare clone, she doesn’t know much at all, otherwise the Nightmare wouldn’t have abandoned her.” Edogawa Ranpo chimed in. “Speaking of which, Director Sakaguchi, didn’t you also encounter a Nightmare clone that ran away? If you want to devise a strategy, you should find that clone who calls himself ‘Tokisaki Shozo’.”

“If I could find her, I wouldn’t be at a loss.” Ango Sakaguchi sighed. “Although I have her contact information and have contacted her many times, she has not responded. I think she may have been killed by the nightmare.”

The sound of leather boots hitting the ground came from the shadows as soon as the words were spoken.

The gunmen immediately aimed at the source of the sound and cautiously cocked their guns.

This is a secret meeting place; there shouldn't be any third party involved.

From the shadows, a nightmare clone, dressed in a gothic gown and with waist-length black hair, emerged.

"Did I say that I would decide when to meet?"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Eyepatch Three spoke calmly.

"It is very impolite to assume someone else is dead without permission."

Chapter 81 Let's sing the song of resistance!

The moment the blindfold appeared, everyone's eyes were focused on her.

Some were wary, some were very curious, and some were panicked.

No one expected that Blind Mask Three would appear at this time.

"How did you know we were here?" Ango Sakaguchi asked warily.

"Of course I'm tracking you. Unlike my original self, I can't control Zafkiel, so I can only use this old method."

"Have you been following me all this time?"

"Don't make me sound like some kind of pervert with no private life. I just put a GPS tracker in your car."

"...I'll get a different car later."

"Whether we change them or not doesn't really matter," Eyepatch Three said casually. "After all, this is probably the last time we'll see each other."

"The last time we met?"

Ango Sakaguchi frowned, instinctively sensing the hidden meaning in the other's words: "Why do you say that?"

The others shared the same doubts. The sharp-minded Dazai Osamu and Edogawa Ranpo exchanged a glance, both seeing the unease in each other's eyes.

After all, the phrase "this is the last time we meet" is enough to leave much to the imagination.

Why was this the last time they met?

Is it because blindfold three will die?

Or is it because... the other people here will die?

Facing the increasingly uneasy crowd, Eyepatch Three made no attempt to hide his feelings and bluntly stated, "This city is about to perish. Before that happens, I will leave here and never come back."

"what?!"

"Don't exaggerate."

"You had better be able to produce evidence."

The crowd started arguing amongst themselves.

The possibilities hidden behind this statement are too chilling to be true.

After all, the person who said such a thing was an avatar of Nightmare, and Nightmare himself did indeed have the power to threaten the safety of Yokohama.

Dazai Osamu's eyes were gloomy. He took a step forward and looked directly into the single eye of Eyepatch Three: "You know why Nightmare came to this city, don't you?"

“That’s true.” Eyepatch Three nodded slightly. “However, I’m just guessing. After all, I’m not a real nightmare.”

"Even if it's just speculation, tell us what Nightmare is trying to do?"

Dazai Osamu's tone was solemn, and even his face no longer held its usual leisurely ease.