Anime Multiverse: Building a Pantheon from Scratch

The small interrogation room, lit by stark white fluorescent lights, felt even colder than it looked.

"Name."

"Luo Shu."

"Age."

"Eighteen."

"Where are you from?"

"Fujian, China."

"Where'd you get the gun?"

"My superior gave it to me."

"Which superior? Which branch of the Fukusei Syndicate? Or are you with the Hongmen?"

"Officer don't slander me like that. I'm a legal international student."

Luo Shu looked at the female inspector across the table with a speechless expression. She had short inward-curled hair and a sharp gaze. If the tall, skinny male officer from earlier hadn't called her name wrong, this was Miwako Sato.

Great. Am I about to meet Conan now? Is this going to turn into a murder case and I'm the suspect? Luo Shu internally ranted.

Before he could continue mentally mocking the situation, Miwako Sato slammed the table with a loud bang, her eyes blazing.

"A legal student, huh? And legal students go around shooting people in broad daylight?"

Luo Shu felt like he'd been cursed by Eriri. Who the hell knew that stalker guy's hands would revert to normal after death? That beastly claw he'd used to try and kill him had vanished, leaving Luo Shu to explain to the police with absolutely nothing to show for it.

And Mika? That damn guy told him to wait in place for backup—they were "on their way to extract" him. Instead of help, what showed up was Inspector Megure and his legendary zero-percent case-solving squad. This really was some Eriri-level bullshit.

Seeing Luo Shu remain calm even in custody, Sato frowned and tried to scare him further. "Listen carefully. We've already gathered enough evidence to convict you. If you don't want to spend the next twenty years behind bars, you'd better start talking."

"Ma'am, what exactly do you want me to confess?" Luo Shu replied, baffled. "I've been cooperating with you from the start."

"Who's your superior?" Sato pushed on, sensing he might actually talk.

Luo Shu paused, then answered honestly, "Captain Tachibana Kirika, head of the Seventh Division's 'SDS Department' at the Metropolitan Police. I work under her."

Bang! Water splashed from the cup on the table as Sato slammed it down again.

"You think I'm stupid? The MPD doesn't even have a 'SDS Department'!"

"Calm down, Sato. Calm down." The male officer next to her, Wataru Takagi, quickly raised his hands in surrender, trying to de-escalate before things got worse.

Sato narrowed her eyes. "Seems like you're not going to talk unless we put some pressure on."

She gave Takagi a subtle glance—her signal. If this didn't work and she needed to 'intimidate' the suspect further, he was to step in and 'stop' her. It was just a bluff tactic, after all. They couldn't actually beat a suspect. But maybe, if the kid got scared enough, he'd spill.

Takagi instantly got the hint and prepared to play his role.

But before either could act, a knock sounded on the door.

Knock knock. It opened a second later, and Inspector Megure's round figure entered, wearing a grim expression.

"No need to interrogate further. Release him."

"Huh? But this guy—" Sato blinked, confused, just about to protest.

"He's one of ours," Megure said wearily. "From a special division. Our officers made a mistake. The man who got shot was a terrorist."

"…Huh?"

Sato and Takagi both froze in place, completely dumbfounded.

And then Tachibana Kirika herself strolled in behind Megure, cigarette dangling from her lips. She smirked when she saw Luo Shu still cuffed to the regret-chair.

"Two hours, not even two damn hours apart, and you've already ended up in a precinct? And to top it off, arrested by our own people? You're really something, kid."

"Can we skip the sarcasm right now, Chief?" Luo Shu sighed, utterly exasperated. "I didn't want any of this to happen either."

He'd thought it was just a stalker, someone with clear hostility toward him. So, he'd drawn his weapon to take the guy down and had Mika call the police to do the rest. Who could've guessed the man was actually a warlock?

"You always manage to surprise me," Kirika chuckled, then turned to Megure. "Unlock him."

"Yes, Commissioner Tachibana!" Megure straightened immediately, wiping the sweat from his brow, then shouted, "Takagi, what are you doing? Unlock the cuffs!"

"Eh! Right away!" Takagi scrambled for the keys, fumbling with them as he looked pitifully at Sato.

They'd both heard what Megure just said.

Commissioner—just one rank below the highest position in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Only 38 of them in all of Japan. She was the second-in-command of the MPD, and unofficially the top dog in many special operations.

And they just arrested one of her direct subordinates. This was career-suicide-level stuff!

Once the handcuffs were off, Luo Shu rolled his wrists, then turned to Sato and said with a grin, "Miss Sato, next time you're trying to scare someone, don't do it yourself. You're way too attractive to be threatening."

"…What?" Sato blinked, stunned, but Luo Shu had already walked past her and joined Kirika.

Kirika handed him a familiar ID badge and winked. "Next time, don't forget your work ID, Inspector Luo."

Megure's mouth twitched as he looked at Luo Shu's way-too-young face. He couldn't stop the wave of bitterness in his heart. The same rank. This kid and him—same rank. How was that fair?

But there was nothing he could do. After arresting Luo Shu, he'd been chewed out by his superiors and their superiors for detaining an operative mid-mission. He still didn't even fully understand what was going on—and he got yelled at twice for it.

So now, Megure just wanted this bad-luck magnet gone. Get him out before more damage was done.

Dammit. I should've ignored Shinichi's call earlier. Every time I pick up, something explodes. It's like a curse!

Under the awkward stares of the detectives, Luo Shu reclaimed his confiscated belongings and left the precinct, following Kirika out to her sleek white sedan.

As he buckled in, Kirika lit another cigarette and said, "In a way, I can't tell if you're just unlucky… or incredibly lucky."

Luo Shu wasn't surprised. He'd already updated her through Mika.

"That guy—what organization was he from?"

"Golden Dawn, a sub-group called 'Demon Hunters.' Specifically, their so-called 'Hound' unit. They're a pack of rogue operatives specializing in all things demonic. The guy you killed was a bestial-type warlock—specialized in mimicking beasts."

As she spoke, Kirika reached into her bag and pulled out a photo, handing it to Luo Shu.

He looked down to see a short-haired young man with a blank expression and utterly forgettable features.

"Nakamura Yuuichi. One of Golden Dawn's 'Hounds' stationed in East Tokyo. He was tracking an object under direct orders from high-ranking members. Something important."

"All this is intel from our undercover assets."

"So that's the guy I killed?" Luo Shu frowned, comparing the photo to the corpse from earlier. "He was tailing my neighbour because she has what he was looking for?"

"Just a neighbour?" Kirika asked with a teasing smile.

Luo Shu shot her a deadpan look. "Don't get the wrong idea. It was a random encounter. I thought it was just a creep stalking her. How was I supposed to know it was a damn 'Hound'?"

Kirika didn't seem surprised. She chuckled again. "I'm not judging. You are the guy who found my wallet, after all. Having a little romantic luck wouldn't be strange at all."

"Besides," she added with a mischievous glint, "I met Miss Tsubakihara earlier. She's quite the beauty. No strange scent on her either. Maybe you'll be the first man to leave a 'scent' on her."

Luo Shu's face twitched at the blatant implication and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. "Before you say more nonsense, how about explaining that wallet first? I heard you can only find it if your luck is exceptional. And you swindled me into giving you 200,000 yen in 'gratitude money' for it."

"Tch. So Chisato told you?" Kirika rolled her eyes, clearly expecting this. "I respect that girl's ability to read people, but she's too blunt sometimes. It's annoying."

Luo Shu didn't push the topic further. Sensing that, Kirika also switched gears.

"Nakamura Yuuichi was tracking a ruby-inlaid ring," she said.

"The internal name for it is 'Heart of the Demon.'"

Her tone turned grave. "It's an Abyssal Relic that came from the True Celestial Astronomy."

"And according to reports from our agents, its ability appears to be very specific."

"It hypnotizes any woman who has seen the ruby."

Luo Shu's expression froze.

…It's not even late-night drama hour yet, is it?