Peter and Namie returned to the warehouse where Thomas tortured his wife, the air still thick with violence. Floodlights revealed what darkness hid before: piles of gold bars, iron crates, suitcases stuffed with cash, diamond necklaces glinting like demon eyes. The mafia's treasure, missed amid the murder scene.
"We need Black Mask," Peter said grimly, photographing evidence. "Now."
Meanwhile, Schwarz Motorrad HQ, Leverkusen...
Julia Alois stared out her penthouse window when Jerome William burst in, sweating, eyes wild. "Thomas betrayed me!"
Julia turned slowly, predatory smile forming. "Now I try to kill Peter Schmidt."
Jerome blinked. "So Black Mask of Dortmund returns?"
"Of course," Julia purred, already reaching for her gear.
She texted her husband: "Helicopter tour over Germany." The chopper blades whirred minutes later, slicing toward Dortmund.
Dortmund mafia hideout...
The helicopter touched down on a rooftop pad. Julia emerged fully masked as Black Mask, flowing coat billowing, approaching mafia lieutenant Manuel Hummels.
"What happened with Thomas' wife? Where is she?"
Hummels shifted nervously. "Thomas tortured her to death himself. And now—"
"I know the rest," Black Mask interrupted coldly. "She betrayed Jerome. Thomas got arrested in Germany."
Dortmund warehouse district - moments later...
Peter hefted evidence bags toward the police van when Black Mask materialized from shadows behind him. Namie gasped, frozen.
"Nice to meet you, Peter Schmidt," Black Mask purred, voice distorted through fabric.
Peter whirled. "This ends now, Black Mask. I know how it goes."
"Oh, I want this to end," Black Mask laughed.
Peter's fist CRACKED into her masked jaw. Black Mask flew back, skull slamming concrete. "Why so angry, Peter Schmidt?"
Peter lunged, eyes burning demonic fire. Black Mask blocked, countering. "I know you're a demon. Nothing left but acceptance."
She grabbed his arm mid-strike. "Heard Bernard's signing with a motorcycle company? Or pretending you don't care about his life?"
Black Mask hurled him sideways. Peter exploded up, fury unleashed—punches, kicks, spiritual energy crackling. She parried flawlessly, counterstrikes flowing. The fight blurred into chaos.
"Annoying boy," Black Mask sneered, landing a vicious hook. Peter's face split open.
He roared, Seifros power surging—black flames licked his fists. Black Mask drew a gleaming dagger, anti-Seifros runes pulsing. SLASH—straight into Peter's gut.
Peter staggered, blood pouring. "You'll die now. Learn to prioritize your life, or die before the woman you love."
His eyes trembled—fear, not rage. Heart thundered toward death.
Black Mask screamed, unhinged: "That loser's scared face! The shock he deserves for messing with our mafia AGAIN!"
Peter howled in agony. Her fist SMASHED his jaw—darkness swallowed him as he crumpled.
Black Mask loomed over Namie, blade dripping Peter's blood. "Take everything. But never return, or you die."
Namie sobbed, cradling Peter's broken body. Unconscious, his lips moved: "I wanted to accept my strong, protective side... but I can't." Dortmund's Queen victorious. Germany's hero bled out.
Namie collapsed beside Peter's broken body, blood pooling beneath him. "Why, Peter?!" she sobbed, tears cutting tracks through warehouse dust on her face.
Peter lay motionless—pale, silent, eyes half-open but unseeing. Blood seeped from his gut wound, staining concrete black.
"What do I do to keep you alive?" Namie whispered through choking sobs. Inside, her mind screamed: I thought Peter would beat Black Mask. He was everything. Just close my eyes and he'd say "everything will be fine."
Memories flashed—childhood Peter, laughing in Leverkusen streets. She'd distanced herself thinking they liked different things. Foolish. What mattered wasn't liking—it was feeling good together.
Tears streamed. "What do I do? WHAT CAN I DO?!" Peter's pallid face stared blankly. Blood spread wider.
"My life without you has no meaning, Peter!" she repeated his name four desperate times: "Peter! Peter! Peter! PETER!"
Her scream shattered the warehouse: "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"
Peter's unconscious mind thrashed: "Despair... nothing you can do. I hear your hopeless eyes. Bernard dies for us. Namie loses reason to live. Please get up, damn it!" "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!"
His body convulsed. "I won't die."
CRACK. Bones snapped. Black flames erupted. Peter's form twisted into Seifros Level 2—eight spider legs sprouted, flaming eyes multiplied, shadow fangs dripped void. He clawed the air, fighting transformation.
"I CAN'T BE A DEMON!" he roared, voice echoing both worlds.
Sirens wailed. Police flooded in, guns drawn on the demonic abomination. Peter collapsed human again, raising bloodied hands in surrender.
"I'm the demon," he rasped to Namie's horror. "There's nothing you can do."
Cuffs snapped. Namie's screams faded as they dragged Germany's hero away.
Black Mask's knife cut deeper than flesh.
Dortmund Police Station - Processing
Peter stared at his cuffed hands, blood drying on knuckles. "Now I'm a prisoner. Nothing left to do."
Namie's phone trembled as she dialed Bernard. "Is it true? You're signing with that motorcycle company?"
CLICK. Bernard hung up, slamming his fist into the kitchen wall. "Now I know Peter's arrested. And there's nothing we can do."
Meanwhile, Akihiko's office...
Akihiko studied Black Mask's taunting letter under lamplight. "Peter's got to save us somehow. Now that he's locked up, he probably needs rescuing himself."
Germany exploded with headlines: "Spiritual Detective a Demon in Disguise!" Peter faced charges—"demonic entity masquerading as human"—with extradition pending to the United States for death penalty. Namie vowed to fight it.
German high-security prison cell...
Peter sat alone, concrete walls etched with anti-spiritual sigils. Trial loomed. Death seemed certain. Black Mask's knife had won.
Namie banged on agency doors. Bernard stared at Schwarz Motorrad's contract. Akihiko burned the taunt letter.
Germany's hero needed saving. From himself.
What happens next? Only time will tell...
Do you think Peter will be saved from the death penalty? Will Peter and Namie unmask Black Mask? What's Bernard's future?
Find out in the next chapters of Detektiv Schwarz.
The fight for Germany's soul continues…