Ginoza and his team theorize that a mastermind might have influenced the murderous actions of two recent suspects by essentially providing them with the ability and motivation to carry out their deadly desires. Kogami sees eerie similarities between these cases and the earlier unsolved case that got him demoted to Enforcer which also resulted the grotesque death of his Enforcer, Sasayama. Meanwhile, Akane seeks out more information on Kogami from Kagari and Shion Karanomori and learns about Sasayama and the cold case known as the Specimen Case. At a girls' school, Rikako Oryo, the enigmatic president of the art club, ensnares an unsuspecting victim and mutilates her corpse into a work of "art" under the tutelage of the evident mastermind, Makishima.