Episode 14

**The Corpse** (死体 *Shitai*) is the fourteenth episode of the *Dead Mount Death Play* anime.

## Official Blurb

Fortune telling for a reporter is interrupted by a police raid on Polka's building, and the necromancer could find himself on the wrong end of a frame-up. Does he have a new enemy, or is he caught in the crossfire between underworld power brokers?

## Synopsis

After Youtoukorou closes for the night, Urai is so wiped that he slumps over the bar that Nishida was supposed to tend alongside him. Nishida did not because he bailed on their shift without notice, leaving Urai no choice but to do the work of two people; Urai wonders why Nishida hung him out to dry. Lisa Kuraki rewards his efforts by promising to give him a pay bonus, and by pouring him an immediate bonus of a cocktail, which Lisa's lovers Koruto Ichinose and Izuna Ajishiro enviously note Lisa mixed herself. Assuaged, Urai happily woolgathers about the photo books he will be able to purchase.

Lisa descends a staircase leading to a room and asks if one—no, two, as a safety precaution—of the agency's members therein would pay a visit to Nishida's apartment on her behalf.

On a roof illuminated by a half moon, Momoya Agakura remarks to Kuon Higuro that the world is going to hell. Higuro replies that the world is surely already in hell, since *he* of all people is Shibuya's meditator.

Momoya lifts his large duffel bag to join Higuro at the ingress of the stairs that lead inside the building, then puts the bag down while Higuro unlocks the door. He insists that the world is at least getting worse, what with Phantom Soltaire spouting the truth: that someone in the police force ordered his demise. That same somone, Momoya continues, who hired him for a job like *this*. He crouches to zip the bag closed over Nishida's corpse, asking, "What should I do?" He lifts the bag. "I've lost my faith in the police."

Two such policemen, Tsubaki Iwanome and Ranmaru Yatsu, are still reviewing footage from Shinjuku's street cameras in one the Shinjuku police department's conference rooms despite the late hour. Iwanome groans about the dense crowds and admits that his head is spinning. Yatsu thinks trying to pick Solitaire out of the crowd is futile anyway, given Solitaire's penchant for disguises.

Iwanome agrees that a disguise would be undetectable. Still, he adds, as he opens the can of coffee Kōzaburō Arase hands him, Solitaire typically cannot resist returning to the scenes of his stunts to watch how people react.

The unvoiced question that Iwanome has is *what* was it that attracted Solitaire to that Abandoned Building. Perhaps Solitaire's learned of "Polka Shinoyama's" familiarity with the emblem—speaking of whom, Iwanome is overdue for another housecall.

Yatsu exclaims at a man's tall stature and turns his laptop toward Iwanome. "Tall" is an understatement; Momoya, who Iwanome guesses must be over two meters, towers above everyone else in the streetcam footage. This biological anamoly is one Arase has to see for himself—but when he does he grows still, his eyes wide. "You mean I *wasn't* seeing things?"

Iwanome assumes he means Momoya, whose height is so astonishing that any Japanese might think they were hallucinating. Arase instead points to Higuro, the man Momoya is with, and identifies him as someone involved in an organization that he destroyed. An investigation into Higuro is not possible, Iwanome reminds him. Comps-3 has to focus on the Solitaire case. It is with an unusually bright expression and a smile that Arase replies the two *are* related. "Polka's" friend Takumi Kuruya is the one gang member Arase let flee when he crushed Sons of the Styx—the organization that Higuro once led.

Higuro and Momoya begin descending the stairs only for three muggers to demand their money. One appears unarmed; another brandishes a knife; the third man grabs Higuro's shirt menancingly. In return, Higuro offers him a bracing smile and question: "Do you have pull?"

The man does not understand, so Higuro clarifies that "pull" refers to contacts, i.e. connections, i.e. *love*." He rattles off examples: politicians, police shots, superheroes, legendary mercenaries, world karate champions—anyone powerful at all? No? What about someone ordinary whose love for the murggers might drive them to risk everything?

The two other muggers wonder if Higuro is high. If he is, jeers the third mugger, murdering him will be a favor to the cops.

Higuro calmly repeats himself. "No one like that? No one at all?"

The third mugger gives him a resounding 'no' and mockingly advises Higuro to think hard about whether he has a connection to an undertaker.

Higuro's smile widens. As a matter of fact, Higuro *does* know one, albeit of the illegal persuasion. He shoots the man twice and shoots the other two once each before crouching over their collapsed forms. Momoya leers when Higuro asks if the men realize why they are going to die. Should they blame their choice to loiter in the stairwell? Their braggadocio about abusing a woman? Their decision to mug him and Momoya? No. They should fault their lack of connections(=love). If they had only one person who loved them, Higuro might have decided against killing them, since a person who loves is weaponized by hate can be a deadly foe.

One of them begs forgiveness, but why should Higuro grant it? He has no love for them. They are connectionless, unloved, and no one will care if he shoots them dead. He does, and resumes his descent.

Momoya follows, commenting that Higuro has quite the *uncommon* fervor for 'connections.' Higuro lightly explains it started when he "messed" with someone whose friend retaliated by destroying Higuro's organization. Ah, says Momoya. What if the muggers did claim they had friend like that or some other powerful connection?" Higuro replies he would have "stayed hidden" for a while. Momoya laughs. With scum like Higuro walking free in the public, the world is indeed going to hell in a handbasket. Higuro reiterates that the world has always been hell—but not for much longer. He stops at the door they have reached, then faces Momoya. "I mean that this world is going to greet a new dawn."

For now, though, the question is whether the route used five years ago is or is not in disrepair. He swings the door open.

A man stands nonplussed, in the rain, on a pedestrian street. He dizzily walks ahead without direction or his phone, which means he has no way of knowing the time. As he nears a row of vending machines, he spots Urai speaking with a woman. The time, then, must be some time after the end of Urai's work shift. He calls Urai's name, but Urai walks away with the woman. Blood drips onto the ground; the man looks down, which causes more blood to splash. It is his, but he does not remember why until his head falls off.

Kochou Eightport introduces Corpse God and Misaki Sakimiya to the first of two clients she has brought: A-*san*, fresh from the neighborhood's streets. Urai appears in the doorway and nervously acknowledges them.

Takumi, monitoring the situation from his workstation, grips his head in dismay. Eightport selected a familiar face; she must have a scheme in mind. And she does: she sought out Urai—now sweating buckets across the table from Corpse God—specifically because he has ties to Lisa, the building's owner. Urai is a means for her to gauge Corpse God's reaction.

Urai is sweating because, like Takumi, he recognizes the delicacy of the situation. Eightport had promised him easy cash if he would help with a story she was writing; she never specified that this would entail him having his fortune read by "Polka." He greets Corpse God nevertheless, who vacantly smiles back. No recognition whatsoever. Bummed, Urai looks at Misaki expectantly. His fellow Youtoukorou employee. He has served her refreshments, for God's sake. Misaki quizzically stares back. Crestfallen, Urai quietly says it is nice to meet them.

Since Corpse God and Misaki's obliviousness here is to their advantage, even at Urai's expense, Takumi decides not to remind Corpse God of who Urai is, instead sitting back while Corpse God asks Urai what troubles him. Urai is gripped with a desire to vent about work, but he refrains from doing so lest it gets back to Youtoukorou. He lamely says instead that his shoulders have been stiff for a while; Corpse God replies that he is aware. Taken aback, Urai hesitates before an idea comes to him. He asks Corpse God if he could divine the location of his coworker who skipped his shift without notice. Corpse God, his Evil Eye blazing, asks if the coworker is dear to him; he answers that the two of them are not close like family, say, but at least they are friends who can have comfortable chats.

Corpse God falls silent, apparently choosing his words. Dread creeps over Urai as it hits him—he *knew*, but only now is it really sinking in—that Corpse God is the genuine necromancer.

Over in Youtoukorou, which is closed, Lisa's subordinates report that Nishida *was* at Youtoukorou, but—as caught on the security cameras—left in such a rush that he was still in his uniform. Someone must have intercepted Nishida before he reached his flat, but for what purpose? Clarissa is particularly troubled that Nishida disappeared within 24 hours of the 3–4 AM flock of hands incident. Koruto asks if she means someone might have captured Nishida to torture him about Corpse God, but Clarissa replies that Nishida is unaware of the truth about Polka. The only bartender who does, is...

Urai, who had trembled behind the wall while watching his colleagues risk their lives by confronting an entity wielding magic circles. In the moment, his colleagues still had their lives to lose. In this moment, he is chilled with trepidation.

"Your friend," Corpse God says, his gaze fixed in Urai's direction, "may have been caught up in something disastrous."

Behind Urai stands Nishida, whose left arm cradles his startled head. Speech is difficult: he jabbers words that stutter, sputter, and repeat much like a toy with a broken voicebox, but he forces them out: "You can see me?" Assuming as much, he implores Corpse God to tell Urai that someone killed him. Urai asks what Corpse God means by *disastrous*. That the conversation has taken a grave turn does not seem to register with Eightport, or if it does she does not care, who is vexed that nobody has reacted like she expected. These three *know* each other. What is going on?

One of the Youtoukorou waitresses whispers her latest report about Nishida in Clarissa's ear. Izuna and Koruto enter the bar to report another problem, one that Lisa guesses before they can relay it: the police are here to confirm whether Nishida was an employee. Surprised, Koruto asks if Lisa is psychic. Lisa implies she and the police have been through this before; the police are as "awfully good at this" as they were when it was "Hosorogi-san's" turn.

Momoya, stationed by a window of the building opposite the Abandoned Building, enjoys a shark parfait and the thought of having "better luck" finding *him* this time.

With an umbrella in one hand and a bag of shark merchandise and groceries in the other, Xiaoyu Lei ponders how he is supposed to confront—no, approach the fake Polka Shinoyama. What would *he* do if, say, Sayo Shinoyama learned he came from a clan of assassins? She would question the clan's relevance to sharks, of course. He turns the corner only to duck back at the sight of Arase and Iwanome standing in front of the Building. The detectives might have come armed with questions about the Solitaire rooftop incident. Best that Xiaoyu remain out of their periphery.

Iwanome plans to use the Solitaire incident as an icebreaker for their visit, which Arase thinks will be over quickly if Takumi is inside. A drone whirs over their heads. Arase *bets* Takumi is inside, his manner just intense enough that Iwanome tells him to cool down.

A man in a suit (Ikeuchi) dismissively motions for Iwanome to stand aside as he and his colleagues approach the entrance. Iwanome flashes his Inspector ID from the Shinjuku branch, so Ikeuchi one-ups him by saying he hails from HQ. Assuming that Ikeuchi is here to investigate Solitaire, Iwanome attempts to one-up him back by explaining he is one of the Solitaire case's lead investigators. He *has* to be involved.

Touch luck. Ikeuchi is here on reasonable suspicion that a man who pulled off a nasty mugging last night fled to hide in this building. The Top Brass ordered his unit to investigate, and nobody one-ups top brass. Ikeuchi remarks that remarks that a community safety inspector like Iwanome must have heared of the man's workplace: Youtoukorou, a nearby bar. Stunned, Iwanome steps aside so Unit 1 can enter.

"Oh. hey, the fun's already started," Momoya quips. Higuro busies himself with spying on the people through his binoculars until he spots Arase; this elicits a sharp gasp and a muttered "what's *he* doing here?"

When Momoya asks who "he" is, Higuro tells him he saw the detective who annihilated his gang. Arase is as much an unwelcome blast from the past as proof that Higuro should have predicated his plan on more than just the informatioin given by his higher ups. Momoya agrees. Better to assume the worst than the best of a client when it comes to supplying sufficient information. The Agakuras have botched jobs thanks to clients failing them. Higuro supposes he shall have to conduct a private investigation; Momoya asks if he has any connections he can tug. There used to be an information specialist in his gang, Higuro recalls, but Higuro's Shinjuku business rival reeled him in after the gang went bust.

Takumi warns Corpse God to "DROP EVERYTHING THE COPS ARE HERE," fingers flying over the keyboard. Corpse God's tripedal eyeball eyeballs his monitor.

````
SORRY, I DROPPED THE BALL
JUST PLAY ALONG
AND DO WHAT THEY SAY

````

Corpse God sees the message a second before someone knocks at the door, causing the others to jump. Misaki opens the door to Ikeuchi and a man in a suit and tie, who respectively flash a police ID and a search warrant. Once Corpse God identifies himself as the 'manager,' Ikeuchi asks him and the other three to vacate the premises so that the police can conduct a full search of the building. He then shows him a photograph of a man he says is suspected of a violent mugging and of hiding in this building. Nishida is smiling at the photographer; Nishida, bloodied and aghast, stares back. "Huh? Me? Me? No."

Corpse God shows no signs of recognition and agrees to cooperate with Ikeuchi's search. Nishida protests his innocence.

Eightport has perked up at the news they might be sharing the building with a deranged mugger. A mugger who enters a building that Solitaire left some 20-odd hours before, that is. The chance that the events are linked is too enticing to pass up, so she asks to see the photograph *and* claims that she is one of Corpse God's employees when Ikeuchi asks.

Though some manner of mental or spiritual link, Hosorogi asks Corpse God to check the basement via his magic *right now*. When asked why, he simply, enigmatically says he has a bad feeling. Corpse God checks. The basement contains Nishida's headless corpse—or, in colloquial slang, a ticket sending him to peace's antipode if the police find it. Hosorogi comments that Corpse God is rather a cold person with matters outside of children and his friends. He remembers how his master said that he, as someone "too kind to wield death," needed to maintain a firm boundary between himself and others and to never over- or underestimate the reach of his power, lest he ensure great loss.

Corpse God can neither deny her words nor those of Hosorogi. Even so, he decides his hands can reach a little further.

Two uniformed policemen open the basement door and shine a flashlight inside. The room appears empty, but they switch its light on and enter it to confirm it is empty. It is. One of them exclaims that he was *sure* the perpetrator would be here. Two skeletons in the passageway underneath the basement remain as still as the corpse they cradle so as not to make noise, having carried Nishida down a secret flight of stairs.

The policemen report their lack of findings to Ikeuchi. Ikeuchi takes the news in impassive stride unlike his taken aback, perplexed partner, the one who flashed the search warrant before. When Ikeuchi looks at him, he hastily says he was thinking the suspect might be upstairs instead of downstairs, the former of which has yet to be searched. Ikeuchi points out the suspect might have already escaped, in which case they should start checking the purlieu's security cams. His partner hesitantly agrees, though a bead of sweat remains on his cheek. The men leaves sans a mugger to throw in prison.

From his cell in the Tokyo Penitentiary, Grocer follows the latest in and and predicts the future of Shinjuku finance via his computer. Sakuradamon's big store is stocking up, which means the Shinjuku market will turn volatile, which means the price of hitmen could be affected.

Bao calls Takeru Shinoyama to report that cops—non-locals, probably from TMPD—have entered Polka's current residence. She adds that Polka and his companions are outside it when he asks for their status.

One of the policemen herds Eightport, Sayo, and Takeru outside to where Misaki and Corpse God are with the other policeman. Sayo holds one of her large shark dolls while Takeru holds her larger sleeping bad so that it obscures his face. They keep close together, acting like a couple. "Cold outside, isn't it darling," Sayo deadpans.

Corpse God mulls over the rest of his collusion with Hosorogi. Hosorogi informed him that the basement rests on top of a secret passage—something Corpse God already discovered when he was searching the whole building "a while back." That it seemed to lead to another building did not concern Corpse God then due to signs of disuse, nor did it seem abnormal, since secret passages were commonplace in the Empire. Now, though, he has concluded that someone is attempting to entrap the building and either its current residents...or its owner, Clarissa.

Arase peers around the corner of another building at Takumi, whose face is visible from Arase's angle. As much as Arase clearly wants to join the party, so to speak, Iwanome reiterates that they had better not since "Kochou-*chan*" is one of the partiers. From what Arase has overheard, Kochou Eightport is writing a story about Polka for the *Weekly Dry* tabloid.

Iwanome is more wary of the uniformed policemen accompanying the MDP Unit 1 men, wondering if they are affiliated with Shinjuku police. Never mind how unbelievable it is that the hotshots at MPD would bother coming to Shinjuku for one lousy mugger. Never *mind* that they claim the mugger is one of Clarissa's bartenders who took refuge in one of Clarissa's buildings; who tipped them off about that in the first place? He stew over how *convenient* the MPD's timing is—for the MPD, not them. Although the timing is so perfect that he could almost believe Solitaire is involved, it rings too similar to what happened after Hosorogi vanished five years ago.

When Hosorogi vanished, he texted Iwanome with a link and address to a location where he uncovered important evidence. Iwanome had arrived at this very building, approached the basement, and discovered it bare save for blood spatter on its back wall that matched Hosorogi's DNA.

Higuro is in a pensive mood himself, what with the plan falling to pieces—i.e. the police emerged without Nishida's corpse—and Arase on the scene. If Arase is involved, a mere hat is not going to cut it anymore as a 'disguise.' Momoya, hand pressed to the window, is staring too intently at something to be paying much attention. Now it is Higuro's turn to ask him what or who he has seen.

Destiny. Rather, Xiaoyu, who has been watching the police proceedings unfold from his corner station with some confusion—but now, suddenly cast in a shadow, whips around to see Taipei's hulking form.

Taipei sternly reminds Xiaoyu of his duty to guard Sayo. Xiaoyu responds that he was just now returning to her. As he should, says Taipei, for although he is worthless now to the Heilei, he can do the bare minimum of dying as Sayo's human shield. Xiaoyu retorts that he washed his hands of the Leis years ago and thus of Taipei's lectures, which Taipei should not presume to give him now. Washing your hands of your family means becoming nobody who has nobody, however, so, as a nobody, it would behoove Xiaoyu to speak to Taipei properly. Xiaoyu flexes his hands and tells Taipei to remove his from his person.

Misaki chirps a hello at Xiaoyu and plucks his grocery bag from his arms before he can protest. She takes his hand in hers and leads him back to the group and Sayo, who eagerly accepts the shark merchandise Xiaoyu bought.

Xiaoyu's phone buzzes with a text from Xiaoyu's older sister Imbi, who chides her brother for saying what he did about the Leis to Taipei. No matter what Taipei of their father says, she loves Xiaoyu more than the world itself. As a demonstration of her love, she pledges to transfer all the money in Taipei's bank account to Xiaoyu's account as Taipei's punishment.

Taipei walks around the corner to a street deserted aside from Misaki, the girl who spoke to Xiaoyu. Taipei assures her that he is an ally to the Shinoyamas. Unassured, Misaki points out this does not inherently mean he is an ally to Polka. She smiles and advises him to stay on his toes in Shinjuku, where one never knows who one will encounter.

Taipei watches her walk away and puzzles over why her life force is so faint. "'[One] never know[s]'?" His lips twitch into an unpleasant smile. "This really is the underworld."

When Misaki returns to Xiaoyu, she immediately piques the interest of Momoya, He guesses she has killed at least ten people; in that case, Higuro says, she is probably one of Shinjuku's assassins. Higuro pans his binoculars to Arase, then the Shinoyamas' heir Polka, then Taipei, then *Takumi*, the last person he expected he would run into. Momoya is inordinately pleased. He feared this work would be boring, but with players such as these, it may well prove opposite.

## Adapted From

* Chapter 38
* Chapter 39
* Chapter 40
* Chapter 41

Certain panels or scenes from the above chapters are condensed in the episode for want of time.

## Trivia

* The shark parfait Momoya is eating is portraying the moment Sharkborg surfaces in the ocean in the *The Sharkborg from Hell* movie *~ The Shark Six ~*. It was specially released in one or more convenient stores.<ref>*Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 5, Specimen 5.
	+ Budget constraints meant that the planned variety shark parfaits had to be abandoned.
* The man leading MPD Unit 1's search squad tells Iwanome he is Ikeuchi once they step inside the entrance per Ch. 40. *Then* he tells him about the mugging, rather than on the street.
	+ The scriptwriters likely condensed this for time's sake. It is possible that they felt Ikeuchi too minor a character to bother with a name. Nevertheless, this 'Ikeuchi' for sake of readability.
	+ It is *then* that he tells Iwanome about the mugging and the Youtoukorou connection, rather than telling him in the street like in the anime.
* Although Chapter 41's manga translation does use Imbi, as do the translations of a few other chapters, at least one future chapter refers to this character as Yenmei.
	+ After reading the text, Xiaoyu realizes that Misaki has vanished.