One moment Aiko stood before him, the next she materialized behind him like a whisper of smoke.
Her heel shot toward his ribs—
—but hit the air.
Masato had dissolved into a thick cloud of darkness, fading like dust in the wind.
"A shadow clone," she muttered.
From the left, something lunged. She teleported again, barely dodging a panther-shaped silhouette that cracked the ground with its claws.
Masato raised both hands, and three more beasts erupted from the darkness—wolves, snakes, and a massive boar. They charged, jaws open, teeth shimmering like obsidian.
Aiko flickered across the field, teleporting just inches out of their reach. Every time she blinked out, she reappeared at another angle, striking at Masato's blind spots.
A kick—
A chop—
A knee strike—
But every time her attack connected, his body dispersed into dust.
Another clone.
Masato laughed, arms spread. "How many of me do you think you're fighting?"
"Too many," she muttered, teleporting again.
A clone grabbed her ankle—but turned to smoke when she elbowed it in the face.
Aiko circled Masato's real position, searching for flaws in his form, timing her attacks. She teleported behind him and drove her foot toward his spine—
—but again she slammed into a clone that dissolved.
"Damn it!"
Masato had multiplied himself into a field of illusions—tall, short, shifting forms all grinning with that same smug smirk. They all spoke at once:
"You'll need more than speed…"
A giant shadow bird swooped down from above. Aiko teleported midair, momentarily upside-down before landing on her palms and flipping upright.
Masato unleashed a dozen shadow serpents across the ground. They slithered in spiraling patterns, cutting off her teleport landing points. Aiko blinked to the far right, but a tiger-shaped shadow pounced her. She dodged by less than a hair.
"Not good enough!" Masato shouted.
Aiko teleported behind him again. Her fist swung—
—but the clone melted like black ink.
"HOW MANY SHADOW CLONES DO YOU HAVE!?" she yelled in frustration.
Masato only shrugged. "Enough."
Aiko narrowed her eyes. She teleported again and again, launching rapid kicks at every angle, her speed becoming a blur of afterimages. But the field was filled with false Masatos—each one evaporating under her blows.
He's studying me.
He's watching for patterns.
She teleported upward, surveying the dozens of shadow illusions circling Masato like a vortex.
If I don't find the real one soon… he'll trap me.
Aiko blinked behind one clone—only for needles of shadow to erupt from the ground.
She twisted midair.
Too slow.
One slashed her thigh.
Blood trickled down her leg as she reappeared a few feet away.
Masato grinned, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Getting tired, Aiko?"
"Not even close," she lied.
She teleported again, preparing to strike at Masato's back—
—but this time—
Her foot hit something solid.
"I GOT YOU—!"
The figure turned to smoke.
Aiko jumped back instinctively—
—but right where she landed, the ground rippled like tar.
Shadow snakes burst upward.
Two wrapped around her legs instantly and tightened like steel cables.
Aiko gasped as she stumbled. Masato's grin widened.
"You always do the same thing," he said smugly. "Teleport. Strike. Retreat exactly one step. Every single time."
More snakes wrapped around her thighs.
"I noticed your pattern halfway through the fight," he continued. "So I set traps on every spot you've landed so far. Shadows leave no trace… not to normal eyes, anyway."
The snakes slithered higher, constricting like cold tattoos crawling across her skin. Aiko slapped at them, trying to tear them off—
—but her hands passed through them like they were part of her own body.
"What—?" She gasped. "Why can't I—?!"
"They're not physical," Masato explained. "They're shadow bindings. The more you struggle, the deeper they sink."
Aiko fell to her knees. She tried to stand—
But the snakes reached her abdomen.
Her body stiffened.
Paralysis crept up her torso, cold and numbing, until her arms and legs felt like they belonged to someone else.
She collapsed onto her side, unable to move.
Masato walked toward her, shadows swirling at his feet.
"It was a good try," he admitted.
The snakes reached her shoulders.
Aiko tried to speak, but her voice cracked. "Damn it… I… I can't move…"
The shadows crawled toward her neck—
"Aagh—! I GIVE UP! I FORFEIT!"
Instantly, the snakes evaporated.
Aiko gasped, air flooding back into her lungs.
The crowd erupted in cheers. The Northern Shrine members shouted Masato's name triumphantly.
Itsuki-sensei raised one hand. "MASATO IS THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH!"
Masato extended his hand to Aiko.
"That was a good match," he said sincerely.
Aiko took his hand and stood, her knees wobbling. "You're annoying," she said, smiling. "But good job."
The crowd applauded as the two left the arena.
Carted walked into the precinct, her shoulders tight with exhaustion and frustration.
Reid was waiting for her, arms crossed.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"Walking," she replied without emotion. "From the woman's house. All the way here."
She brushed past him, refusing to look into his eyes. She sat at her desk, opened her laptop, and began typing.
Reid walked up beside her. "Lisa, listen—there's something I need to talk about."
"I'm working," she said coldly.
"Lisa—"
"I. Don't. Hear it."
She didn't look at him. Didn't want to.
Instead, she typed the words:
Cannibal Killer
Hundreds of articles popped up.
A serial killer.
A monster.
Jeffrey Dahmer.
She clicked through the crime scene photos, grimacing as lifeless bodies stared back at her—skin missing, flesh torn, blood painting the walls like gruesome art.
And there, always in the background—
The same symbol.
The eye-circle.
It marked every scene like a signature.
But Dahmer was long dead. Stabbed in prison.
So who was copying him?
A wannabe?
Someone obsessed?
A cult?
But then—
The couple in the alleyway…
The Thompson family…
Now the boy in the park…
Different ages.
Different backgrounds.
Different methods of killing.
This isn't one killer…
It can't be.
Unless—
It's a group.
Carter's mind raced with theories. Her pulse quickened.
She needed answers.
She needed the truth.
And she needed it without Reid's lies clouding her investigation.
She closed her laptop slowly, exhaling through her nose.
I'm going to solve this. Alone if I have to.