Jackpot

**Location: Unknown**

**The Next Day — Inside a Dark Room**

The projector flickered in the darkness, casting a stream of images onto the wall — each one related to the recent incident at the abandoned building where the red portal had appeared.

One photograph showed the lifeless body of Denji, impaled by a strange, sharp liquid emerging from the ground. Near his corpse, the unmistakable mark of the *Shinigami* was etched into the floor.

A middle-aged man, seated alone on a chair, flipped through the photos with increasing frustration. His brown eyes hardened, the light glinting off their tired edges. Suddenly, he slammed the remote onto the ground.

“Damn it… these images tell me nothing — not even a single clue leading to that bastard Shinigami!”

The room fell silent for a moment. Then, a knock echoed, followed by the creak of the opening door.

A uniformed police officer stepped inside.

“Riyochi-san, did you find anything? Any clues from the photos?” the constable asked hopefully.

Riyochi Takamine ran a hand through his brown hair and sighed, exhaustion visible in every motion.

“No… nothing useful,” he muttered. “Just the same thing as always — the Shinigami leaves his mark… and nothing else.”

“That’s unfortunate,” the constable said softly. “But don’t lose hope. You’re the detective who’s solved cases even more impossible than this. I’m sure you’ll uncover whoever hides behind that Shinigami mask.”

“I hope so,” Riyochi replied, though his tone carried more doubt than conviction.

Tension thickened in the air. Another knock sounded.

“Come in,” Riyochi ordered.

A female officer entered, saluted, and whispered something into the constable’s ear. His expression tightened in shock.

“What?! Is that true?” he exclaimed.

“What’s wrong, Sakamoto-san?” Riyochi asked.

“It’s about the Shinigami case,” Sakamoto said grimly. “Reports just came in — more Shadow Hunters were found dead at the abandoned warehouse near the city outskirts.”

Riyochi grabbed his brown coat from the chair and headed toward the door.

“Let’s move. Sitting here staring at photos won’t get us any closer to solving this. I need to see the scene myself.”

Sakamoto nodded and followed. “Agreed.”

Moments later, they got into their car and sped through the empty streets toward the warehouse.

### The Train

Elsewhere, Kuro stood on top of a speeding train, wind roaring past him. His hair and jacket whipped wildly in the air. Eyes closed, a sharp grin spread across his face.

He whispered, “So… the time has come.”

Ahead, a massive red portal tore open across the tracks. The train’s driver panicked, slamming the brakes, but the controls failed.

Kuro paid no heed. He shifted his stance from left foot to right, loosening his body. Then, with a powerful stomp, he sprinted and leapt toward the portal. The shockwave from his jump was strong enough to crack the train’s wheels, sending it off balance. Sparks flew as it screeched along the ground—but it barely stopped short of being swallowed by the portal.

Kuro emerged on the other side, landing lightly within the courtyard of a vast black castle. He looked around, then gave a satisfied whistle.

“Well, looks like I hit the jackpot,” he said, smirking at the luxurious yet eerie fortress.

“But first… time to dance with the shadows.”

All around him, the ground shook as zombie-like undead rose from beneath, their skeletal hands breaking through the soil.

### The Warehouse

Back at the city outskirts, Riyochi and Sakamoto stood before a bloodstained wall marked with the familiar Shinigami symbol.

“Looks like his work again,” Sakamoto said grimly.

“Yeah... Did we find anything on the bodies?” Riyochi asked one of the investigators nearby.

“Nothing useful, sir. All victims appear to be Shadow Hunters. Their IDs were badly damaged, soaked in blood — it’s hard to determine their rank or guild.”

“Run a fingerprint analysis anyway,” Riyochi ordered. “If the Shinigami touched any of their belongings, we might get a match.”

“Sir!” A voice shouted from above.

“Sir, we found an unconscious woman here!”

“Get her down and take her to the medical unit immediately,” Sakamoto ordered.

He turned to Riyochi with a glimmer of hope. “If she’s still alive, she might tell us everything we need to know.”

Riyochi nodded. While the rest of the team wrapped up, he decided to take one final sweep of the building. In a far corner, he noticed a piece of paper half-buried under debris, stained almost entirely in blood — except for a faint shimmer that caught his eye.

He carefully unfolded it. At the top was a crimson crest — the *Red Blood Guild’s* seal.

“So, these bodies belonged to Red Blood Guild members…” he murmured. Turning the letter over, a name caught his attention: *Shinra Kuro.*

“Shinra Kuro, huh? Interesting. Seems we’ll be meeting soon,” he said with a faint grin, slipping the bloodstained letter into his coat pocket.

### The Castle

A thunderous blast of black mist filled the courtyard, and blood-red crystals rained from the sky. Kuro crouched as shards shattered around him, then smirked.

“Not gold, but red’s still valuable.” He chuckled, collecting the glowing crystals into his waist pouch until it was full. “Now then… where’s the boss hiding?”

Placing a hand against one crystal wall, Kuro gathered energy and struck — breaking through multiple barriers until he reached an enormous gate.

He pushed it open slowly. Darkness greeted him at first, but then torches flared to life one by one, revealing a grand throne at the far end of the hall.

Seated upon it was a fully armored warrior, motionless, both hands resting on the hilt of her sword. When she finally stood, the pressure in the room shifted — a wave of killing intent so intense it nearly snuffed out the flames.

Kuro grinned wider.

“So this is the jackpot… if I’m sensing right, this might just be my luckiest day ever.”

Her aura was unmistakable — an S-class. And beneath the helm’s shadow, when her eyes opened, they burned with a cold, fierce light — the unmistakable gaze of a deadly woman.