Chapter 58

Sunday Tragedy, Part 2 (後編,) is the 58th chapter of the Bungo Stray Dogs manga.

Summary
Gogol holds five government officials hostage, including Tonan, and contacts the Agency to pose a challenge specifically intended for them. He also informs them about the machine where each official sits, which is a body-cutting chainsaw chair that shall be activated within 30 minutes or if anyone other than the Agency attempt to interfere in the mission. Upon being contacted, Ranpo advises them to be careful of the enemy and tells them that he has found a lead. As he enters a building, Ranpo is greeted by Taneda laying on the floor and bleeding out.

Atsushi rushes to the hostages' location to disable the automatic timing device. To ensure his entrance, he goes through the underground evacuation route, where he encounters Gogol himself and dodges a gunshot from behind. Atsushi realizes that the clown's ability is a transfer-type ability, which Gogol expounds on as an ability that allows him to transfer any object ranging 30 meters upwards towards his cloak. Atsushi tries to defeat him in close-range combat and using his tiger-like speed, but Gogol instantly pins him down with an entire telephone pole.

Taneda tells Ranpo that the Decay of the Angel comprise the demon Dostoevsky, the clown Gogol, and three other ability users. One of the three possesses an ability in which they can get the information they most wish for from another person in exchange for the latter to also receive the information they most wish for from the ability user. Taneda has met with such ability user, thereby acquiring information on the goal of the Decay of the Angel. He tells Ranpo that they have stolen a page from a certain book, where anything written on it becomes reality.

To seal his mobility, Gogol traps Atsushi's left leg to his cloak. Atsushi asks why they are cruelly killing people, to which Gogol gives out two versions of answers. As he stabs Atsushi's trapped leg, Gogol reasons out for the first version (which is also the answer for his victims) that killing is fun especially for a monstrous person like him. The second version (his real answer) is because Gogol, admitting that he is actually a sane person who understands the evil of murder, seeks the perfect freedom like birds flying freely.

Taneda tells Ranpo that the Book has a restriction: its written contents must conform to the rules of karma. For example, writing down merely "humanity will somehow be destroyed" will take no effect. Hence, though they both think it is an absurd condition, Taneda believes it to be nonetheless a good restriction. Taneda collapses, and, before fully losing consciousness, advises Ranpo to throw out their plans, since the Decay of the Angel shall involve the Agency in something destructive. Meanwhile, Gogol quizzes Atsushi where the lie was in what he just said, afterwards advising Atsushi not to listen to the words of a clown. Gogol ends his show and sticks Atsushi's leg to the floor before completely disappearing using his ability.

The rest of the Agency arrive at the location with only five minutes left. Kunikida notices the military police arrive and asks Kenji to stop them as one of Gogol's conditions not to have anyone else interfere. Gogol reappears to his hostages and frees only Tonan from his captivity. Gogol also hands him a phone to call for rescue. Meanwhile, Ranpo notices surveillance cameras in the room together with Taneda, suspiciously recalling how they were none when he entered the building. He then realizes his frame-up as a criminal caught on camera, later being asked by the police outside to surrender.

Kenji overturns the military's tanks and stops the arriving troops. Military authorities deduce that an organization is conspiring with the Decay of the Angel, since said organization had advanced knowledge of the supposedly secret meeting of the government hostages. Tanizaki, Kunikida, Kyōka, and Yosano prepare their plan to infiltrate the room and save the hostages.

Despite having a few minutes to spare before the appointed time, Gogol instructs his cohorts to activate the chainsaws and take their hoods off, to which military snipers ready themselves to identify the criminals' faces. As the hostages' bodies are halved, the criminals reveal themselves to be the four Agency members themselves. Much to their confusion despite not breaking down the door yet, they find themselves inside the hostages' room, with Gogol tied up on a chainsaw chair. Stating his desire to be freed, Gogol then screams as his body is halved, with Tonan contacting his troops that he knows the criminals' identities. Ranpo also calls Kunikida to warn them to get out of the room, but he is too late, as Tonan names the Decay of the Angel to be the Armed Detective Agency.