Chapter III

"Those too who let the witches escape, or do not punish them with the utmost rigor, may rest assured that they will be abandoned by God to the mercy of the witches."

– De Le Demonomanie des Sorcers


The newest murder had taken place in front of a convenience store, not too far from the seedy area of Tokyo known only as "The Walled City". Crime ran rampant in this neighborhood, and only rarely did it spill over into the rest of the city, let alone in broad daylight. Police cars littered the parking lot, their sirens casting everything in an eerie blue and red glow. Karasuma and Sakaki were already there when Amon and Robin arrived.

"Man, this one's the weirdest yet," Sakaki said as he and Robin approached.

"When did it happen?" Amon asked. As Karasuma went over the details, Robin decided to have a look around.

"Don't get too close," Sakaki warned, walking over to her. Robin paused and looked at him curiously. "The police haven't given us permission to interfere yet," he explained. "Until they give the word, all we can do is hover around the sidelines." Robin nodded, and continued her search. What exactly she was looking for, she wasn't sure.

She walked around to the side of the building, away from the crowds and police tape. Amon watched as she disappeared around the corner, then returned his attention to Karasuma.

"There's a security camera monitoring the parking lot. We don't know if it caught anything though," she said, pointing to the door of the store, where a small black box rotated around, surveying the grounds.

"They won't let us have the video, either. Uptight little-"

"That's enough, Sakaki," Amon said calmly, cutting off the boy's rant. He turned on his phone and dialed the number for headquarters.

"Amon, what is it?" The hollow sound of Michael's voice echoed from the device.

"I need you to get into the surveillance from the convenience store."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll have info on the victim when you get back to headquarters."

Amon hung up, watching as Karasuma knelt down and placed her hand near the ground.

"It's the same as before," she said, straightening. "I can't pick up much from this far away. But it's exactly like the subway."

"What did you find there?" Amon asked.

"Great surprise. The overwhelming sense that something . . .wasn't right. Whatever the victims saw before their death, it was something unnatural to them. Something that shouldn't have been possible."

"A witch."

Robin's soft voice startled Sakaki and Karasuma, but Amon appeared unfazed. The three Hunters turned to see the young woman standing behind them.

"I've found something." She said, her emerald eyes gleaming excitedly. They followed her around to the side of the building. Once they were all there, Robin knelt down, examining a strange symbol written on the ground with sand.

"What is it?" Karasuma asked. Sakaki peered over Robin's shoulder, trying to get a closer look.

"It's an Ogham wheel." Amon answered. Robin and the others turned to look at him in surprise. "It's something witches use, to help them control and amplify their powers." Karasuma and Sakaki looked from him to Robin, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes," she said, pointing at the outer circle, and the lines that crossed it. "Ruis, and Straif. The marks of change." She then pointed to the rune inscribed in the center. "Eoh, which also means change. This field was cast to alter something."

"We should get back." Amon said coldly, cutting Robin off before she could explain things any further. Robin stood up and smoothed out her skirts. She tried not to frown, or show how much she had been hurt by his curt dismissal of her information.

Amon, for his part, was somewhat disturbed by Robin's extensive knowledge of symbols used in witchcraft. On one hand, it was probably necessary that she know them, so that she could be a better Hunter. On the other hand, she was a Craft-User herself. Should someone with her kind of power be trusted with that information? Could she be trusted with it? Only time would tell.


Michael was very eager to show everyone the video from the convenience store when they returned. He was always glad to contribute something to an assignment, since he couldn't go out and Hunt the witches himself. He also happened to be rather proud of himself for managing to get the video.

All the STN'J members had crowded around Michael's computer terminal, except Amon, who maintained his distance as usual. They watched as the victim, a middle-aged man by the name of Hiroyuki Takeda, walked into the store. A few minutes later, he exited, just as someone stepped out from around the side of the building.

"Wait, who is that?" Doujima chirped inquisitively, pointing at the screen. "Is that the killer?" Michael paused the video, zooming in on the man. He didn't seem out of the ordinary in any way, and a quick search of the database concluded that he wasn't on the list of known Witches or Seeds. The video continued, and the two men met up with apparent excitement. Takeda shook the other man's hand enthusiastically, and the two seemed to be conversing with one another quite cheerfully.

"It looks like they know each other." Michael said, glancing at Amon for affirmation.

"Seems that way," Amon agreed indifferently. Just then, the image on the screen seemed to waver, fading in and out.

"What?" Michael muttered in confusion, tweaking the controls to try and fix it. "It's not the computer . . ." he concluded, a look of consternation creasing his forehead. They all watched as the screen went black. Even Amon looked puzzled, Robin noted. Her attention was turned back to the screen as the video came back. But this time, Takeda lay motionless on the ground, and the person standing over him was not the man he had been talking to. Instead, it was now a young woman, staring down at the body with strange composure.

"Wait a minute, what happened?" Doujima asked. Michael's brow wrinkled in even greater puzzlement as he searched to find an answer.

"Did someone tamper with the tape?" Karasuma suggested. Michael shook his head.

"No, there wasn't time. The owner of the store said he had heard a shout, and called in the police."

Robin could only remember the Ogham circle of change, and wonder. What did it have to do with the murder? It made it clear a witch was involved after all, but how? Her thoughts kept leading her back to Amon. How had he known about the wheel? None of the other Hunters had known what it was, and they too had seemed surprised that Amon did. What did it all mean?