Shibuya Revelation Serial Murders Case

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* Hibino

The **Shibuya Revelation Serial Murders Case** is serial murder case that happened in Shibuya, Tokyo.

It is the tenth main case in the *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* series.

## Overview

At 9 a.m., Amamiya and Toto go to the Shibuya Mall Park to investigate a murder. They are joined by Ron. The victim—Ryouji Katsunami, a member of a hacker group involved in cryptocurrency theft—was impaled on the horn of a unicorn statue; he was also blindfolded and gagged. There are ropes around his body that connected him to the arch above the statue, and a plate with the following message has been hung on his neck: "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." The verse is from the Revelation of St. John.

Katsunami died of blood loss around 2 a.m; rigor mortis set in while he was gripping something, and his palms are chafed because of that. The mall security officer checked all floors and the roof for thirty minutes but did not find anything out of the ordinary; he finished his round at midnight. He then turned on the red-light anti-intrusion sensors before he went home. The sensors did not detect anything all night. This means nobody entered or left the building around 2 a.m. Ron is quickly able to figure out the murder trick though.

Furthermore, there is a burn mark on the nape of Katsunami's neck: "0 10:00." The mark is on the exact same spot as Ron's "96"-mark. This and the fact that the Revelation quote is Chapter 9, Verse 6 make Ron realize that the crime is the work of the M. Family and this is a challenge for him.

### Further murders

The "0 10:00" announces the time and place of the next murder; the culprit apparently wants to kill the three members of the hacking group one by one. The "0" with the missing corners refers to the scramble crossing. At 10 a.m., smoke comes out of the vents and covers the crossing. A "woosh" sound is heard, and when the smoke passes, Hibino's corpse comes into sight. An arrow protrudes from his chest; on it is another code: "Δ 11:00." In the arrow's tip is iridium, a rare metal.

The third and final code is "Ⓗ 12:00."

## History

In a café in Japan, Winter goes over the information Mylo has given him. It is information about the three victims Mylo provided him to test Ron. When he is done reviewing everything, Winter leaves the café, determined to give Ron despair.

At 9 a.m., Toto accompanies Amamiya to the Shibuya Mall Park to investigate a case. To Totomaru's surprise, Ron is already there, disguised as a candy deliverer named Kamoo. Ron says that he has come to give Toto his morning snacks, and Amamiya cannot believe that Toto is subscribed to Kamonohashi Sweets and she is not. Ron offers her a subscription and tells her that she can fill out the form while they walk to the crime scene. Toto uses this opportunity to inquire what Ron is doing here. Ron replies that he knew where he was because of his phone's GPS and the bug Spitz planted on him.

When they arrive at the crime scene, they are shocked by the sight in front of them: The victim has been tied up, blindfolded, and impaled by the horn of a unicorn statue. Amamiya spots a plate hanging from the victim's neck and reads out what is written on it: "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." She wonders if it is some kind of poem, and Ron informs her that it is a verse from the Revelation of St. John.

Afterward, a police officer informs Toto and Amamiya that the victim died of blood loss and that they do not know how the murderer escaped after committing the crime because everything was controlled and cleared by a security officer and secured with anti-intrusion sensors. The security officer found the body this morning, and the sensors did not detect anything. Amamiya suggests that the culprit might have taken a different route than the officer, skillfully evaded him, and escaped before the sensors were activated at midnight. However, the officer tells Amamiya that this cannot be as the victim died around 2 a.m.

Meanwhile, Ron inspects the corpse. He notices that he was gripping something very tightly and that his palms are chafed. When he sees the arch above the statue, Ron solves the case and tells Toto the solution which Toto then gives to Amamiya: The culprit suspended the victim from the arch above the unicorn. The victim was still alive then and had to hold onto the rope with all his strength to prevent him from falling onto the horn. Unfortunately, his strength eventually left him, he let go of the rope, and was impaled. Then, an officer arrives to tell them that they could identify the victim: His name is Ryouji Katsunami and he belongs to a hacking group that recently committed cryptocurrency theft. The officer adds that they heard that Katsunami has an unusual mole on his chest that could identify him, and when they took off his shirt, they saw that he has a burn mark in the nape of his neck.

Hearing this, Ron hurries to Katsunami's corpse and checks that spot. The mark that was left on him reads "0 10:00." Ron tells Toto that the M. Family is behind the murder and that this is a direct challenge to him: The burn mark is in the exact same location as his "96"-scar, and the Revelation quote is from Chapter 9, Verse 6. Furthermore, the numbers are announcing the next murder: Someone is hunting down all three members of the hacking group. "10:00" indicates that the next murder will happen at 10 a.m.—which is in thirty minutes. Winter watches them from another roof with a pair of binoculars. He has a crossbow with him and announces that "the game is afoot."

Toto and Ron split up from Amamiya to find out what the "0" could mean. While they ponder about the mark's meaning—Ron is only certain that it refers to the murder's location and that it is not far from Shibuya Mall—Chicory runs into them. Toto asks her if she knows a place nearby which has something to do with "0," and Chicory tells him about Platform 0 at the Shibuya Station Bus Terminal. Toto and Chicory leave for the bus terminal, but Ron is not convinced of this solution as the corners of the "0" are not connected, unlike the zeros in the time mark.

At the bus terminal, Toto and Chicory look around. Around the same time, Ron passes by a restaurant where a customer complains about being unable to avoid touching the sauce when picking up the stick because it is drenched in it. When Ron hears this, he solves the code and calls Toto: The next murder will happen at the scramble crossing; the missing corners stand for the areas where there is no pedestrian crossing paint.

Ron, Toto, and Chicory hurry to the crossing and barely make it. A minute later, it turns 10 a.m. and the whole crossing is covered in smoke. When the smoke subsides, it reveals Hibino's corpse. He was pierced with an arrow through his heart; the arrow bears the mark "Δ 11:00." Toto tells Chicory to leave as it is too dangerous, and she complies.

The third hacker is also at the scramble crossing and when he sees Hibino's corpse, he runs away. Toto runs after him, and Ron stays behind.

Totomaru loses the third hacker; fortunately, Spitz was able to catch him though. The hacker begs them to save him, and when Ron joins them, the hacker tells them that he and the others were hired by someone called "Marry Ito." That person planned and organized the cryptocurrency theft. The theft had gone well until one of them forgot to encrypt their access point and they were tracked. Now, "Marry Ito" is killing the hackers he employed. Ron remarks that "Marry Ito" is an anagram of "Moriarty."

After the hacker's recounting, "Marry Ito" calls him: If he wants to live, the third hacker has to bring the cold wallet with the cryptocurrency he stole to the Delta Hotel at 11 a.m. If he calls the police, their deal will end and he will die.

Hearing this, Ron concludes that the message on the arrow means the same: the Delta Hotel at 11 a.m. He persuades Toto to use the third hacker as bait to catch "Marry Ito," and Toto quickly calls Amamiya to inform her about their plan. Then, they head to the Delta Hotel where they meet Amamiya. She tells them that a peculiar alloy was found in the tip of the arrow with which Hibino was killed; the alloy is currently being examined. She also says she and a group of police officers will help oversee the trade.

Meanwhile, Winter calls Mylo to inform him that Ron does not suspect anything and the third hacker will be next. In England, Mylo scoffs at this, and after ending the call, he warns Winter not to underestimate Ron.

In the Delta Hotel, Toto and the third hacker hide in the men's bathroom while Ron stays in the lobby and keeps a close eye on everything and Amamiya and various plainclothes officers mingle with the guests. Ron looks around the lobby and concludes that the security is too tight for "Marry" to get to the hacker; he also will not be able to shoot from a distance like at the scramble crossing. Although the situation is in their favor, Ron cannot help himself but feel uneasy; he feels like he is missing something and wonders what the M. Family wants.

At 11 a.m., "Marry Ito" calls and tells the third hacker that their deal is off because he got the police involved. The hacker panics and runs out of the hotel room to find "Marry Ito" and give him the cold wallet. Toto hurries after him. Ron notices that the chandelier will fall when the hacker passes under it because the chandelier's projected light looks off. He points this out to Toto, and Toto can save the hacker on time; the chandelier falls without injuring anyone.

A moment later, music starts to play. Ron immediately recognizes it as Haydn's 96th Symphony and realizes that they have played right into the M. Family's hands: Haydn's 96th is also known as the "Miracle Symphony" because, during its first performance, a chandelier fell but did not hurt anybody—just like earlier.

Amamiya tells Toto and Ron that she learned that the tip of the arrow was made of iridium; she wonders why the culprit used such a rare alloy as it is not more lethal than others. She then takes the third hacker to the Metropolitan Police Department, and Spitz goes to check out the crossing again. Toto and Ron leave the hotel as well. Ron shows Toto that he found a tablet with the next announcement—"Ⓗ 12:00"—behind the hotel's music player and tells him that iridium is in group nine, period six of the periodic table. This, Haydn's 96th, and the Revelation quote from Chapter 9, Verse 6 indicate that all the crimes are connected to his "96"-scar. Ron is sure that, because the third hacker's safety is guaranteed, the M. Family will now settle things with him. He hurries to Shibuya City View Tower (the only place nearby with a heliport), and Toto follows him.

At the tower, an employee informs them they cannot enter because it is inspection day. When Toto shows the employee his badge, they are granted access though; they only have to download an ID ticket to their smartphones and scan it at the gate to get inside. They go up to heliport where they see two unconscious security guards and encounter the third hacker. He tells them that the police car was attacked and he was brought to Shibuya City View Tower by a big guy wearing a helmet who ordered him to hand over a phone to Ron and Toto. "Marry Ito" then calls Ron via that phone and tells him he will taste "a detective's despair" at 12 a.m. Ron does not know what "Marry Ito" means with that, but he has a flash of inspiration and solves the scramble crossing murder: Hibino was not shot from afar. He was stabbed at close-range with the arrow, and the culprit used a whip or something similar to make a whooshing sound. This means the culprit was at the crime scene.

Angry, Ron squeezes a pack of brown sugar, sprinkling the syrup on the third hacker. Ron offers to wipe it away—and tears off Winter's disguise. Winter backs away and asks him when he realized that he was not the real third hacker. Ron tells him that he was suspicious of "Marry Ito's" call from the beginning. Only because of it, they knew about the Delta Hotel as if he wanted to assist them. The call was also strangely one-sided, and the hacker's movements were being controlled inside the hotel. Thus, Ron concluded that the hacker was either the culprit's assistant or the culprit in disguise. When he solved the scramble crossing mystery, he could narrow it down to the latter.

Ron demands to know where the real third hacker is, but Winter only reminds him about the fact that he will taste "a detective's despair." Immediately, Ron checks the phone Winter gave him. Its clock shows that it is already 12 a.m., and in that moment, a screen on the opposite building explodes. Ron can only watch the scene in horror while Winter tells him that he cannot save anyone.

Winter also reveals that he wrapped bombs around the third hacker which he set to explode at 12 a.m. Ron and Toto try to contact Amamiya, but notice that their phones are broken; they must have been ruined by a magnet when they entered the tower through the gate. Winter then adds that it is futile to call Amamiya as he also put bombs around her. Furious, Totomaru attacks Winter, but Winter easily takes him down.

Afterward, Winter taunts Ron, asking him how it feels to know that he could not save a friend. Only Ron does not react to this and instead proceeds to insult Winter and the M. Family's methods and intelligence. This enrages Winter; he longs to kill Ron, but decides against it. After all, as a Moriarty, he has to engage Ron in a battle of wits and give him "a detective's despair." Hearing this phrase yet again, Ron realizes that Amamiya and the hacker are still alive: "A detective's despair" means being unable to solve a problem you could have solved, or being unable to save someone's life. This means that the problem can be solved; the explosion was only a dummy and did not kill Amamiya and the hacker.

Frantically, Ron tries to think of a hint in what already happened but cannot think of anything. Toto says he has no idea as well and points out that there was already an explosion at twelve—and Ron realizes that it is not twelve yet. Their phones were broken, and the explosion destroyed the opposite building's clock screen. They only have the phone Winter gave them to check the time—and it shows the wrong time. As Ron solved this mystery, Winter reveals that it is, in fact, 11:55:42 and brings up that he still needs to find out where the hacker and Amamiya are.

Ron tells Toto that they need to search for anything in the area that is related to "96" because there was something connected to the number "96" at every other crime scene. Totomaru immediately looks at Ron's scar: Ron is the only thing related to "96" around. Therefore, Amamiya and the hacker must be in the tower. Winter discloses that they are in the first-floor storage room and that there are less than two minutes left. Totomaru tries to call an elevator, but both are on the first floor. Winter asks Ron how it feels to have taken too long and now being unable to save Amamiya and the hacker. Ron replies that it does not feel bad because somebody nearby can save them—and indeed, at 12 a.m., there is no explosion: Spitz listened to their conversation and could get to the storage room on time. Winter has lost.

After Ron confirms that Winter is a Moriarty descendant and not simply a hired hand, he demands to know what the meaning of his "96"-scar is. Winter only tells him that the scar is not suitable for him and that he—the sixth-generation Holmes—will get the agony "that comes from wanting to die and not being able to." Ron guesses that the "6" must stand for the "sixth Holmes generation" and that someone ranked above Winter must hinder him from talking too much on this matter and killing Ron. Winter refuses to say anything and deliberately triggers Ron's Kill on Sight by confessing to the serial murders. Ron tries to pressure him to jump off the roof, but Winter can surprisingly resist him and blows up the glass railing behind him. Winter is about to escape when he receives a call from "brother" who tells him that he will not get a second chance because the Moriartys do not permit failure; Mylo remarks that this is a pity as he had high hopes for him. Winter is then shot by an assassin and falls from the roof.

Afterward, Totomaru goes to the police headquarters where Amamiya informs him that the third hacker killed himself on the way back to the station by swallowing a hidden poison capsule. She also notes that the clerk from the Benizome Hot Springs now works for Kamonohashi Sweets before she tells him to go verify the culprit's corpse. However, when Totomaru arrives in the morgue, he has to ascertain that the corpse was exchanged.

Later that day, Toto meets up with Ron and Spitz at the Maison du Kamonohashi and tells them about the body exchange. Spitz says that he intercepted the final transmission and heard that someone called the culprit "Winter." Ron muses if "Winter" is a codename and guesses that whoever called him, the one he called "brother," is the M. Family's overwhelming darkness who put the scar on him when he became a hindrance to the Moriartys. Ron declares that, despite everything, he will not back down from challenging the M. Family.

In England, a man informs Mylo that all matters regarding the hacker disposal have been successfully cleared and none of their information was leaked. Mylo is pleased to hear this and asks about Winter. The man tells him Winter is in critical condition and fighting for his life; tonight will be the most dangerous time for him. Mylo then orders the death of Winter's assassin. This will be a lesson to the next one.

## Trivia

* Winter saying "the game is a foot" is a reference to a famous quote from the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange." While Arthur Conan Doyle did not invent the phrase, he popularized it by including it in the Holmes story.

## References

1. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 22, page 15
2. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 22, pages 3-13
3. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 22, pages 15-18
4. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 23, pages 4-6
5. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 23, pages 14-20
6. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 25, page 3
7. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 25, page 5
8. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 22, pages 1-18
9. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 23, pages 3-20
10. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 24, pages 2-18
11. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 25, pages 2-19
12. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 26, pages 2-19
13. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 27, pages 2-18
14. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 23, page 7
15. ↑ "What Does The Game is Afoot Mean?" — Writing Explained