Chapter 41.3: The Threads of Mortality

  “Why call me?” Mikami panted, one arm braced against the table as he caught his breath. Seated next to him was Makishima, whom Dante recognised as the one who initially blocked him and Ace off.

  “U-Uh, this is Shougo Makishima,” Mikami introduced Makishima as though he were an afterthought. “If you remember him from yesterday.”

  Shougo Makishima. So that was the officer’s full name. Makishima bowed his head, pink spreading across his cheeks.

  If Makishima were here, Mikami must have let something slip.

  But Dante hardly cared. The more, the merrier.

  “I called you here because you have the authority to do this.” Dante slid a folded note across the table. “I do not.”

  Mikami cleared his throat as he unfolded the paper. His eyes scanned the first line. Then the second. The colour drained from his face by the third and last line. He hacked, spitting out a wad of phlegm into a balled-up tissue. “U-Uh… Is there a need to do this? This is a tall order and a huge operation…”

  “Yes. The lives of everyone here are at risk. You know full well what we sorcerers are capable of.”

  Makishima hardly flinched at the word ‘sorcerers’. Mikami definitely filled his junior with all the details.

  “But the logistics… The manpower!” Mikami's hand trembled as he thrust the note toward Makishima. “Look at what he is asking.”

  Makishima read it, his jaw tightening. He looked up at Dante, then at the hospital entrance. “How certain are you?”

  “Clearly certain enough.” The words came out like gunshots. Dante’s eyes locked onto Mikami’s. “Get the manpower. Do everything necessary.”

  Mikami gulped, his fingers already fumbling for his phone. He turned away slightly, voice dropping as he made the first call. Then another. And another. Each conversation was clipped, urgent – invoking names and positions that made Makishima straighten beside him.

  When Mikami finally lowered the phone, his forehead gleamed with sweat. Makishima excused himself to carry out orders.

  Dante slid another folded note toward Mikami. "The moment I enter his office, I will send you the signal. When you receive it, give this to the staff." His fingers tapped the paper thrice. "I will isolate him for as long as I can."

  Mikami nodded and wiped his brow with another tissue. Dante got up from his seat and straightened his jacket, heading to the hospital. The automatic sliding doors whirred open, and the inhospitable disinfectant-scented air bit his sense of smell.

  He approached the nurses' station. A young nurse looked up from her computer, offering a polite smile. “Can I help you?”

  “Is Dr. Johann Faust in?”

  “Dr. Johann Faust is currently doing his rounds,” she replied with a slight bow. “You are…”

  Mikami appeared at Dante's shoulder, credentials already in hand. He flashed the badge with practised flair and efficiency. “Tell him that my colleague, Higashino, is looking for him.”

  The nurse's smile faltered. Her eyes darted between the badge and Dante's face. Yet, her voice did not waver. “Alright. I will page him right away.”

  The nurse paged for Dr. Faust. Dante's fingers found the rings – Regalia and replicas – circling his fingers and started turning them absently. The weight of the sword strapped across his back suddenly felt heavier, more present.

  The nurse set down the phone. “Dr. Faust will see you in his office.”

  “I’ll see myself there,” Dante said. “Michio-san will be staying behind to interview other staff. He will not be joining me”

  “Wait.” The nurse stepped around the desk, blocking his path with an apologetic smile. “Dr. Faust has moved offices.”

  Dante stopped in his tracks. “New office?”

  “He’s currently the Acting Head of Surgery.” She gestured down a different corridor. “I’ll bring you to him.”

  That’s unexpected, Dante thought as he fell into step behind the nurse. Mikami lingered behind, as told, with the note in hand.

  Acting Head of Surgery.

  For someone who had joined the hospital less than two years ago to reach such a position – in an establishment notoriously rigid with hierarchy and seniority – was no small feat.

  But it was not like it was Dante’s first time seeing this happen.

  “It’s rather quiet around here,” Dante remarked.

  The nurse agreed with a nod. “We redirected most of the cases to nearby hospitals. No one in their right mind would want to come here. Only those who insist on staying are still around, but it’s just a handful. I’ve never seen the hospital this empty before…”

  This should be easy for Mikami, Dante thought as the nurse led him to Dr. Faust’s office.

  While he waited for Dr. Faust’s arrival, he typed out a quick message for Mikami. The moment he heard footsteps approaching the door and the sound of the door closing, he hit the ‘Send’ button, signalling Mikami to start the evacuation. With another few taps, he muted his phone.

  Locate the family, ensure their safety. Those six words ran laps around his mind as he eyed Dr. Faust.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting you, Mr Higashino.” Dr. Faust gestured to the chair across from his desk, already reaching for the teapot on the side table. “Tea?”

  Dante let him pour, watching the amber liquid stream into the cup. He set up the voice recorder, positioning it in a way that Dr. Faust could not miss it. “I have some questions for you, Dr. Faust,” he said as he hit record. “Don’t mind the device. It’s standard protocol.”

  “Ask away.” Dr. Faust settled into his chair, picking up a cup of tea.

  “Could you tell me about your relationship with Dr. Iwata?”

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  “I’m very sure you asked me that a couple of days ago,” Dr. Faust lifted his teacup, blowing gently across the surface. “We were close colleagues, that’s all there is.”

  Good, he remembers.

  “We are just checking to make sure that this isn’t a murder driven by office politics.”

  “I have been here for just over two years. If I were able to be promoted to the head of surgery, pigs would fly. Right now, I’m merely a sock puppet until the higher-ups decide on a candidate.”

  “But you are rather well-respected for someone new. Some call you a genius surgeon.”

  “You flatter me.” A smile tugged at Dr. Faust's lips. “Again, even if I had many supporters, would the rest of upper management agree to promote me?”

  Dante nodded along, as if conceding the point.. “So, how is it like living and working in Japan?”

  “Very different from Germany.” Dr. Faust took another sip of tea and smacked his lips. “Took a while to get used to it.”

  “Is the research environment different?”

  “To be honest, the West is a bit more liberal, but both are more or less the same. Well-respected for the discoveries and findings and prestigious in their rights.”

  “I heard that you often send files to Dr. Iwata for his viewing,” Dante said.

  Dr. Faust's legs crossed at the ankles beneath the desk. “However, some of it may have been in the pile that was contaminated with bodily fluids, so we were not able to examine the contents,” Dante followed up, not missing a beat. “Do you mind telling me what you specialise in?”

  “To be honest, I like to push the boundaries of ethics.” Dr. Faust set his cup down, fingers tracing the rim. “Sometimes it may cause discomfort among my peers, but I am a firm believer that if we were to cross some boundaries, we would be able to discover-”

  “What do you specialise in?”

  Dr. Faust met Dante’s eyes. He smiled and sidestepped the question entirely. “To put it nicely, I’m fascinated by the human body, more so than others. Especially…”

  “Especially?”

  “Oh my, you didn’t come off as someone chatty.” Dr. Faust leaned back, the leather chair creaking beneath him. “But since you want to know, I guess there’s no harm in telling you about my new interests.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Mr Higashino,” Dr. Faust said as he steepled his fingers beneath his chin, “do you believe in the supernatural?”

  The thinly veiled question was a probe. Dante saw it coming from a mile away. “Elaborate,” he said flatly, betraying no emotion.

  “There seems to be a system that exists within us. It helps maintain the flow of energy that keeps us alive,” Dr. Faust said.

  “Like spiritual energy?”

  Dr. Faust rolled his neck, vertebrae popping softly. “To call it energy would not be appropriate, and to define it as matter would not be accurate.”

  “So it’s a mysterious entity that keeps us alive.” Dante gave a calculated wave of his hand, feigning disinterest. “Why does it interest you so much?”

  “I’m not interested in how it keeps us alive.” Dr. Faust leaned forward, placing his elbows on his own knees. “I’m more interested in what happens to it after death happens.”

  Dante narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “Birth and death are absolute points in one’s life. There is nothing after death.”

  “Not everyone dies a peaceful death, Mr Higashino. Everyone is indeed equal in death, but what isn’t equal is how fulfilling their lives were,” Dr. Faust explained. “I believe that everyone should have a second lease of life, to do what they were meant to do.”

  It seems that I have to humour him.

  “And how do you propose we do that?”

  “You see, death is not a moment in time. It is a continuation of life. Life and death… are close friends.” Dr. Faust lifted his teacup from the table, tipping it upward as he took another sip. His eyes studied Dante over the rim. For a moment, his gaze wandered subtly toward Dante's hands. Toward the rings.

  Dante said nothing.

  Dr. Faust set his cup down, seeming slightly disappointed at the silence that graced the end of his earlier declaration. “I have learnt that the humanities of the dead don’t leave immediately when they die, Mr Higashino.” His voice softened. “Who can truly die without any regrets?”

  “Those who are content,” Dante replied.

  “An idealistic pipe dream,” Dr. Faust tutted, waving the notion away. “But I can turn it into reality. Finishing unfinished business, that is.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You see, I think it is possible that we could harness this entity even after death by utilising their resentment.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  “I used to think like you, Mr Higashino. That was until someone opened my eyes, changing the very way I viewed this world,” Dr. Faust said, his smile widening. “You could say it was enlightening.”

  “Then enlighten me.”

  “I’m afraid that I would not be the best candidate for that, given my lack of experience.” A soft laugh. He leaned forward, conspiratorial. “There seem to be individuals who are gifted with the ability to manipulate this entity in its base form.”

  Dr. Faust knew. There was no point in continuing this dance of a conversation.

  “It must have been a radical change in mindset for you,” Dante said.

  “Change? I’d say it’s rather in line with my character. We live to learn, Mr Higashino.”

  “Then you must be very grateful to the one who gave you such knowledge,” Dante said, his voice remaining measured. “It must feel good to spend your life with people who truly understand you.”

  Dr. Faust’s eyes widened ever so slightly, just for a heartbeat, but his composure remained rock-solid. “Of course it does,” he said.

  Dante could feel that the hospital had gone quiet. The usual background bustle of footsteps and distant conversations had vanished. The police and the hospital were rather efficient with the evacuation. “Your wife works in a very different industry, Dr. Faust,” he pressed on “It is unlikely that she would be able to relate to your line of work,” he pressed.

  “You don’t have to be doing the same things to love each other.”

  “Oh? It doesn’t match up with what you said.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You were supposed to be at the sea aquarium with your family today. It’s your youngest child’s birthday, isn’t it?”

  Dr. Faust went still.

  “However, your family never made it to the aquarium.”

  The silence stretched. There was a sheen on Dr. Faust’s forehead.

  “The photos you had in your wallet.” Dante's voice cut through the quiet like a blade. “Little to no damage on that inkjet photo, even though you put it in for years, or so you claimed. The file on Dr. Iwata’s table… One of them had a rather heavy focus on human experimentation, am I right? You authored it; you should know it very well. I would not be surprised if you are using this as a shield to dabble in other matters.”

  Dante slid a reproduction of the report that Mikami had provided him across the table.

  Dr. Faust's gaze broke away. He stared at the document without reaching for it.

  “Dr. Faust, I was thinking about something. How would you react when someone disagrees or does not understand you? Do you walk away from it and treat it as a healthy discussion like you claimed two days ago?” Dante asked, his fingers lacing together. “Are your relationships with them as amicable and harmonious as you said they were?”

  “They are.” Dr. Faust's jaw tightened. Effort bled into his voice as he fought to maintain composure. “You're–”

  "There’s so much more that you could have done back in Germany," Dante said plainly. "You do not have to put up with these strangers who do not understand your groove.” A pause. “Or should I say jive?"

  Dr. Faust's hands curled into fists on the armrests. Catching his unease, Dante leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. His hand slipped into his pocket, fingers finding the paper talisman he had prepared beforehand.

  “I’m going to ask you this once, Faust.” The honorific dropped away. “Where are Elizabeth, Kayla and Oliver Faust?”

  For a split second, Johann Faust’s grey eyes flashed amber. “I hate those sharp eyes of yours.”