Aaru, the world with a System that judges with its deserts. Horus is the World Representative and approves of justice, but he wasn't always the Rep. It was original his uncle Seth. Seth was the only hero to defeat the great netherworld dragon Apophis, and Horus had inappropriately suggestive feelings for him since he was young. And then the rest of the family pushed for Horus to become the World Representative. The family split into two camps, and the fighting was ugly as both claimed to have legitimacy on their side. The claims were contradictory, and Horus still doesn't know the truth of it all even now despite being in the middle of it. His mother and relatives did the scheming and kept him in the dark. In the end, Horus defeated Seth, Seth was judged guilty of all crimes and exiled from the world.
Horus has wondered why only Seth was considered guilty in a familial dispute. It was just a power struggle. Everyone else including himself should have been judged too. But what REALLY stuck and mentally scarred Horus was his beloved uncle being burdened with all sins. It meant he himself was treated as an ignorant child, and he cursed his own youthfulness. When he came to Tokyo, he became a judicial police officer. He swore to face judgement himself and settle things with his uncle into terms as clear as day. He'd make his uncle accept him and show himself as not some little rich boy anymore.
Present
Nobumichi: I'm here, Horus! I mean, Sir!
Temp judicial police HQ in Chiyoda Yurakucho. Police tape is all around.
Nobumichi: I'm done with my witness investigation.
Horus: Very good. I just got back the examination report as well. (taps a bunch of papers on his desk)
Horus: This is from our virtuous biology researcher collaborators, reporting on that body part we found in Yurakucho. The conclusion: no definitive evidence was found.
Nobumichi: From my asking around, it's it was the same. The victims were nowhere to be found! We searched every Entertainers Portal and found absolutely nothing. Not even the smell of dead bodies. It's like a god spirited them away!
Horus: ...Officer Nobumichi. We have the trust of our respective networks. If a police dog like you could not find anything, then--
Nobumichi: Dog police officer.
Horus: Excuse me?
Nobumichi: All due respect, I am a dog police OFFICER and not a police dog. Please remember that.
Horus: O-oh, sorry.
Nobumichi: It's okay! So what were you saying?
Horus: Ahem. I hypothesize that the victims are in neither this world nor the next.
Nobumichi: what
Horus: If they are neither alive nor dead, that is the only logical explanation.
Maybe Yurakucho
Quantum: I'm Quantum, definitely maybe. This is where people who might or might not be alive come to.
MC: what
Quantum: ...oh, sorry MC. (stares at MC)
MC: Uh...something wrong? Did we meet before?
Quantum: ...I don't know. You seem like you both are and aren't the first person to observe me...we're alike. What were we talking about? Oh right, this place...well if you're from Utopia like me, maybe this will explain it? This is where things not picked up by failsafes fall, deeper than Exceptions. Oh, but personally I was born somewhere like here. Then I went to where the person who observed me was, but then they disappeared. I've been looking for them in Tokyo ever since. Had no luck, so I came here to recheck.
MC: You came from Tokyo? / Lost roles... / (ask for more details)
Quantum: ...wait, we should leave that for later. The other maybe/maybe not alive people are staring.
Not Zombies approach.
MC: W-what
Quantum: Those are the remains of people who lost their roles, just like you lost your future. Anyone who falls here turns into that. They're hollows of the world, the Missing. And you'll turn into one if you touch them.
In their previous world, they'd have damaged or defective bodies. There's something missing from them all over their body parts.
MC: ...that sounds familiar.
Flashback!
Shirou: I found something odd about the crimes that happened in Shinjuku.
Flash of policemen.
Present
MC: The stuff Shirou was talking about! / The Yurakucho case!
The Missing approach!
MC: Are these people the victims!?
Yurakucho
Horus: The Entertainers have been using a particular admin ability: the ability to give and take a role from someone. Remember how the Rule Makers and Entertainers formally signed the alliance at the Tokyo Cathedral? I was against it and brought you along. Remember the familiars the Entertainers guildmaster brought with him?
Nobumichi: Um, Babe Bunyan and Bigfoot or whatever? That's what their name tags on the app said.
Horus: Yes, but in truth they are very different people because the guildmaster gave them temporary roles. They'd normally have different names and classes. Our roles determine how our power works out, like it or not. Hmm, so the Yurakucho case was the same as the one before it. A serial crime with no identified criminal or victim, and only the crime happening is definite. You know, what with the body parts left behind. If this IS a copycat crime, we should have caught the first person of interest back when it first happened. What if that was a rehearsal for their real act later on? They could have been planning this even longer ago.
Nobumichi: Sooo, is the criminal one of the Entertainers or...
Horus: Or is it someone in the Rule Makers, yes? Right now, we don't know and they worked hard to make it that way. But what if the alliance was to make the case harder to solve? What if--
bwoom
Nobumichi: What just happened!?
Horus: An Exception!? No wait, this is different!
Later
Barguest: MC disappeared? What!?
Oh, Kirito and Bigfoot have disappeared too now. Bigfoot has Presence Concealment the Artifact while Kirito's gives fog cover. Which is to say, both have the ability to hide themselves.
Barguest: WHAT'S GOING ON!?
Elsewhere
Horus and Nobumichi are running towards the Exception(s).
Nobumichi: This would never have happened if we didn't let the Entertainers do their thing!
Horus: But the rules!
Nobumichi: ...what do we do if the serial killer case is an inside job?
Horus: But The RuLeS. I'll take responsibility as an accomplice as well in that case. Clarifying things to the utmost was the entire point I came to Tokyo.
Nobumichi: Haha, you are such an honest rich boy. I like admire that about you...Sir!
Horus: ...never call me a rich boy ever again.
Nobumichi: Oh, sorry. Let's hurry on then, S--
Horus: Wait, stop!
Someone is in the way!
Horus: ...what is the meaning of this, High Judge Ahura Mazda?
Ahura Mazda: Horus, your hypothesis is so right, but please stand down. Or else, fight me.
Nobumichi: :angry:
Horus: ...why? I thought you were also someone who wants to make good and evil clear too. I always thought of you as an ally...until now.
Ahura Mazda: ...I'm keeping you in the dark for this case.
End of Episode
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