A week before Leon had gone to Feropia, the Leader of Vincin Community was slaughtered, which is why Fredrick requested Kami to summon Leon to the discussion for a purpose; Leon was an unmentioned suspect.
Just when Manabu and his companions had gone outside, Fredrick's demeanor turned immediately grave. The discussion didn't require Kami's presence, but Fredrick felt it would be wise to have Kami as a neutral arbiter. He placed several photographs in front of Kami and requested Leon to take a look. "These are photographs of Morgan's 9-year-old daughter, Sasha."
She was slaughtered by 'Vincin' the leader of the community—as an act of revenge on Morgan.
Morgan had unintentionally shot Vincin's elder brother. Fredrick described: "Vincin took a sharp butcher knife and slaughtered Sasha while she was conscious—with no hope of escape."
Leon listened to him wistfully.
"Her mouth was ungagged, so she could scream; her hands were tied, but not to any pillar or chair, and she crawled on the ground, begging for mercy. She screamed in agony as Vincin ripped each part of her body; he butchered her even after she was dead. He snapped photos of her corpse, which bore at least twenty-nine cuts; she died on the sixteenth slash, yet Vincin wasn't satisfied; he kept butchering her, tearing her apart completely. In the end, Vincin severed her head, left it with the photos in front of Morgan's house, and disappeared." Fredrick observed Leon's expression closely. Leon had steadied his expression yet he couldn't avoid showing wistfulness.
Leon asked him, "Why are you telling this to me?... You doubt that I killed him?"
Fredrick giggled and said. "No, that's not my point."
Vincin Community was the most violent community of all: dissimilar to the Ostrich Community, or the Negro Rights Community. Their core beliefs were fighting back against the Lafian and building a whole new nation. 'A Lafian man and An Ivann man can never live under the same shelter.' They believed.
Leon's reaction was one of distress; he recalled the incident when Morgan cried like a madman over his daughter's grave. He looked on the verge of fainting. Fredrick asked Leon whether he was feeling uncomfortable. Leon admitted, "The information you provided is too sensitive. That disturbs me."
"Well, I didn't want to cause you discomfort." Fredrick said. "But I want to reach a conclusion to this discussion with you. Several months ago, Vincin was murdered in the same manner as he'd murdered Morgan's daughter… Someone used an identical butcher knife to slaughter him and his companion."
Fredrick said, he had an uncertain theory. "We had tracked Vincin's location several months ago in a highly classified operation. The murder was not a random act; I suspected very possibly someone among the operation members, exposed Vincin's location to Morgan, and he avenged his daughter."
Kami raised a hand to his chin, "So… why wasn't I informed about any of it?" he asked. Fredrick responded that they had emphasized keeping the knowledge confidential, intending to announce them at the right time. He then turned to Leon and asked, "Do you know who might have done this? Who leaked the information and who killed Vincin?"
"I suspect Morgan is guilty of murder," Leon said. "but I don't know who might've informed him."
Fredrick smirked and said, "Morgan had been placed in special custody. But to be fair, if Morgan did carry out the murder, Vincin deserved it. If I was in power I would've spared him but unfortunately, we must act impartially."
Fredrick gathered the documents and put them into his briefcase. Suddenly he remembered, told that they had found someone who claimed to have witnessed the murderer that night.
Leon's eyes widened, "Who's the witness?" he asked.
"His name is Shaun." Fredrick said. "Shaun was found drunk and unconscious near the crime scene. He was about two blocks away from the location when the police found him early in the morning. His mental state was far from stable."
"Shaun's family claimed he had never acted this strange before. It seemed that whatever he saw that night had traumatized him."
The police tried to interrogate him, "The person you saw, can you describe him?" they recorded the interrogation in a tape recorder.
"Not a person…" Shaun said. "A nightmarish creature. It was Lam… He held two knives, and he cut through them right in front of his eyes, while they screamed in agony. Only I was there. A drunk, terrified human being, could not fight a monster. Then the creature turned; and I saw its face—"
'It has no eyes: but it can see.' Shaun said. It had Two horns sprouted from its forehead. Then, it reached out from its cloak—dozens of hands, like the hands of death. I could hardly comprehend it. I didn't want to see it, and then suddenly I fell unconscious on the ground.'
The police were bewildered. No one believed him; they all thought he was mentally disturbed.
Fredrick seemed uncertain whether Shaun was just hallucinating, a psychological manifestation caused by fear, like perceiving a person as something else. He was doubtful if Shaun had seen anyone at all. "Perhaps that was destiny," Fredrick said and left.
Leon also escorted them out to drop Manabu and the others back home.
While driving his car, he reminisced about Sasha's innocent laughter—Leon adored her.
To Leon, Morgan was like an elder brother, and Sasha was like his niece. Now It had been almost a year since her death. It was her ninth birthday, when she was kidnapped, and later her headless body was found floating in the river.
As Leon drove, thoughts overwhelmed him. His eyes began to turn red; tears filled his eyes. 'How helpless she must have been, how terrified she must have been.'
One day, A senior officer shared the information to Morgan out of sympathy. And Morgan told it to none other than Leon, "Leon, slaughter that bastard just like he—killed—my innocent daughter."
Leon didn't hesitate at all. The decision was made. Morgan's grief was undeniable.
'The death of an innocent person is equal to the death of all humanity…'
Vincin had been on his way home with a companion when Leon, armed with two meat-cutting-knives, approached them with heavy steps. (At that time, Morgan was Leon's Binocular.)
Leon suddenly emerged from the shadows. They tried to escape inside the house, but Leon threw his knife, and it penetrated through Vincin's companion's skull. Vincin was stunned, but his life was on the line; Leon dashed forward, sinking the blade into his back ribs. The sounds of tearing bone echoed as Leon's hands became drenched in Vincin's blood.
Vincin's body collapsed to the ground, the weight of his own blood pulling him down. Leon began the butchering…
He slashed at Vincin's abdomen, cutting through the dermis, fat, and muscle. Chest ribs, cavity was shredded, the muscle fibers rupturing.
Leon could feel his blood pumping rapidly through his veins as he continued tearing into them suddenly he stopped; he was tired.
Vincin was alive—barely, Leon avoided cutting the vital points, but he made sure Vincin's companion died instantly.
Leon looked at the clouds, while breathing heavily. He looked back at Vincin and muttered.
"Do you know what we criminals fear the most? It's not the consequences of our actions, but the uncertainty—the fear of being witnessed." Leon paused-inhaled. "Fear is a primal emotion. The body reacts before the mind can think. Our fear works the same way, but don't worry, Vincin…" Leon whispered sarcastically, "There are no witnesses."
Vincin's pupils dilated in shock as he took his last breath, the final signs of life fading from his body as his heart stopped…
Hours ago—before Leon dropped Manabu and his companions home—Maria woke, stretched, and began glancing around. "They're awake?" she mumbled.
She snuggled her pillow and lay down, suddenly she smelled something sweet yet spicy and rich. She sniffed twice more, following the aroma. She pushed her comforter aside and walked toward the kitchen. Mion was preparing meal for everyone. Maria approached from behind and peeked over her shoulder. "Fish curry? It smells so fine!" she said. Looking around, she noticed all the dishes were already done. "You did all this all by yourself?" she asked.
Mion replied in a strange manner, "I couldn't stand the smell of the kitchen…"
Maria smiled awkwardly. She had no idea either. But the curry smelled flavorful. It just needed to simmer on low heat for a while. Mion covered the pot and pulled out a chair at the dining table, sitting down. Maria also pulled a chair for herself. A question lingering in Maria's mind, but she was hesitating to ask. Should I ask Or not? She wondered.
"What is it, just say it already?" Mion said.
Maria, startled, glanced around. "Who? Me?"
Mion groaned. "Who else is here?"
"Oh—yes," Maria asked. "Where's everyone?"
"They all went to your father's chamber. Leon came to get them… so I didn't go." Mion replied nonchalantly..
Maria had no idea what had happened between her and Leon, but she had noticed several times—talking about Leon upsets her.
Suddenly, Mion turned to her, and asked. "How did you meet him? Leon I mean. Tell me about him, where did he some from?"
Maria put a finger on her lips, and started thinking. "I met him more than a year ago, through Julie. She was his childhood friend. She introduced me to him."
Mion frowned. "I see. What does he do?"
"That's something I do not know, he never tells anyone." Maria said.
"Oh, so he don't trust you, I guess." Mion said, which slightly upsets Maria, so she said. "No that's not true! He trusts me… It's just the contract which does not allow his to speak of such affairs publicly."
"The contract—I know it, he is a criminal, now being used by the organization for a purpose." Mion said.
The curry was ready. Mion turned off the stove and sat back down.
"He told you all that? It appears he trusts you guys." Maria said. "The Ostrich Project —it is called."
"What is the Ostrich again?" Mion asked.
Maria explained, "The Ostrich is a Rebellious community of Ivann aggressors, whose primary motives is to separate both races, and build a Nation of Ivanns." Thus Maria doesn't explain further about them. "Just remember they are called Rebels or Aggressors. In such communities leaders are core of their beliefs, and they are often kept secret. And The Ostrich Project is mainly about tracking them and arrest them for treason."
Maria guesses that Leon was assigned to it. "I thought he could be an investigator or a secret agent. But turns out he's a lose-criminal bound to a set of rules… He is strictly prohibited to do something unauthorized, otherwise he said, he'll receive a death penalty. That's why I was really scared."
That made Mion drown in her thoughts. She narrowed her eyes, and wondered. "According to the terms of the contract… Leon can't anyone without legal authority, or he'll get the death penalty. But… he has hurt people. Then why hasn't the authority taken any action?" Mion started questioning. "Does the authority actually know what he had done? He must've framed Daima to stand innocent, yet he's the one behind Hojo's hand. If he do expose me—No. He would not expose me. If he does—"
"Manabu would get involved. Kami wouldn't let that happen. If I take a rough step, would Leon be able to do anything at all?..."