Haneda International Airport.

The transparent glass curtain walls allow the natural light from outside to flood in, making the waiting area spacious and bright.

The floor is laid with smooth tiles, reflecting the passing travelers, like a moving painting.

The noise is bustling, and languages from various countries can be heard.

Every now and then, there is an announcement on the public address system that a certain flight is about to take off and passengers should proceed to check-in.

The director of Institute No. 47, Sasha Mort, disguised as an Asian, had a suitcase by his feet.

Like everyone else, he sat on a chair in the waiting area, feeling tense, unable to stop glancing around, fearing that a group of people would suddenly rush out and arrest him.

He really was out of his mind.

Whenever Sasha thought about his decision, he couldn't help but have this thought flash in his mind.

Frans's death was inextricably linked to them, as he had sent people to assassinate the person who wanted to investigate Institute No. 47's funding.

This was also the United States' usual operation towards those investigating funding.

But he had no reason to harm Riki, and didn't know why, but that day he suddenly had a desire to eliminate her.

Perhaps he heard she was with the CIA, or perhaps he knew she went to Brilliant high school, thinking Riki had not given up on pursuing the cause of Frans's death.

With the iron-blooded thought of rooting out trouble, Sasha instructed someone to poison the school's principal's teapot and lured Riki over for a meeting through a phone call.

By habit, when the two of them met, they were bound to have tea.

If they had tea, the two would collapse and slowly die.

He never imagined that the cup of tea would not reach Riki and the principal's mouths but was instead consumed by Emily, who happened to arrive at the principal's office.

Even with ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare do something like assassinate a Treasure User.

If he really did it, then he hoped Emily would die.

But Emily didn't die.

She was even more determined to find out who was behind the scenes.

Before he could think of a countermeasure, Emily was again targeted for assassination while in the hospital.

Even if he explained to the other side that it was not his doing, it's unlikely he would gain their trust.

Under the weight of new grudges and old hatreds, he was certainly doomed.

Sasha decided to leave the country while he still could, first to Thailand, then catch a flight to the Eastern Great Nation.

The United States...

He didn't dare return there, only hoping that the United States' people in the Eastern Great Nation would help take care of him.

If not, he might as well take those documents and defect directly.

Sigh.

If he had a choice, Sasha really didn't want to go down this path.

He was a patriotic person.

"Attention all passengers..."

The announcement's voice suddenly seemed distant, and even with Sasha's ears strained, he couldn't make it out.

He felt a prick on his neck, not too painful, just like the gentle touch of a needle.

But just that sensation, and the numbness rapidly spread from the wound.

Having conducted many human experiments, Sasha knew exactly what it was.

He wanted to turn around, but lacked the strength, his head slumped to the side, as if peacefully asleep, seated on the chair.

"Good night."

The man sitting behind Sasha spoke softly, stood up, left with a suitcase and, following the announcement, headed to the check-in counter.

He needed to go to Thailand to lay low for a while, unable to return to Tokyo just yet.

...

"Sasha's time of death was around 2 PM, three hours ago."

Stepping out of the autopsy room, Ito Otome removed her gloves and mask.

Her expression was cold and she showed little interest in autopsying this kind of body.

Ever since attempting dissections of Monsters and the extraordinary, her "interest" in normal human bodies had significantly decreased.

This was not a good thing.

But she just couldn't quell the craving for those extraordinary corpses.

Sigh, she really wanted to dissect another extraordinary body.

Those thoughts lingered in Ito Otome's mind.

Emily got up from the bench, her brow slightly furrowed: "What was the cause of death?"

"An unknown neurotoxin, possibly a secretly researched weapon by some country, injected through a needle into his nervous system."

When Ito Otome mentioned the cause of death, it piqued her interest slightly.

She had never seen such a neurotoxin, with an exceptionally fast onset.

As for the dosage, it seemed the injected amount wasn't much either, just a drop was enough to be fatal.

"There are only a handful of countries capable of producing such a neurotoxin."

Emily's small, palm-sized face showed a surge of determination, indicating that this case was becoming increasingly complex.

She decided to start her investigation with the director's surrounding relationships, then outline the other party with vested interests.

It also couldn't be ruled out that those above, knowing what the director had done, chose to silence him.

With that in mind, Emily realized there was a tremendous workload ahead.

She faced a decision between dispelling Aozawa's suspicions and continuing with the investigation.

Emily reconsidered; dispelling suspicions about Aozawa wasn't urgent.

He wouldn't run off.

After all, that matter had dragged on for so long, dragging it out a bit more wouldn't hurt.

She pondered giving up the pursuit of the silencer.

But as time passed and clues were erased, finding the real killer would be increasingly difficult.

She was merely a detective, not an extraordinary being with foresight.

Emily made up her mind to first clarify this matter.

...

"Maggie, where are we meeting on Sunday morning?"

A message was sent to Phoenix Academy Maggie's phone. She sat inside a Bentley car, unlike the coolness of autumn, the warmth inside made it feel like spring again.

She wasn't afraid of the cold, just considering the advanced age of Butler Miwa Kazuki.