Lost Judgment's eighth chapter, Phantom of Ijincho, focuses heavily on the fallout from the one which preceded it. Players will need to investigate the crime scene at Sawa's apartment before later making their way over to Kuwana's home in order to figure out the link between him and the now-deceased teacher.
Though the chapter starts out relatively slowly, it does feature one or two significant moments as it comes to a close. Players will need to defeat a few difficult enemies in order to reach the end, but the bulk of their work will come in the form of Active Searches at the two primary locations.
Investigating the Murder Scene
Chapter 8 of Lost Judgment begins with Sugiura calling the police and Tak investigating the crime scene before their arrival. When players regain control, they should examine the blood on the floor and then the Kurokawa Academy yearbook on the nearby shelf. Looking at the latter will prompt a conversation, in which players should opt to take the yearbook with them.
Sugiura will leave at this point and players should take the opportunity to examine the broken security chain on the door. Finally, they should return to the body and focus on the wound on the nape of Sawa's neck, which will conclude the investigation. After the conversation with Nabe finishes, time will skip to the following day, and the chairman addressing the staff and students of Seiryo High.
When players eventually regain control of Tak outside the faculty office, they should head up to the third floor to speak to the chairman and then go back down to Classroom 2-2 to check in on Sawa's former class. With all of that taken care of, there's nothing left to be done at the school for now, so players should leave and make their way back to Yokohama 99.
Examing Kuwana's Shack
There's a new side case available on the notice board at the detective agency, but to progress the main story, players should talk to Tsukumo. After going over the series of events that led to Sawa's death, Kaito will reveal that Kuwana lives in a pre-fab shack off West Central Street and will offer to join Tak for a search of the residence.
There are plenty of things that players can examine during the Active Search of Kuwana's home, but only two of them are needed to progress the story. The first is an immaculately clean ashtray on the table, while the second is a packet of cigarettes on the futon set by the TV. Upon closer inspection, the lighter in the cigarette packet is actually a USB stick, which contains all the information that Tak needs.
Upon leaving the apartment, Tak and Kaito will be confronted by a large group of RK members. Despite how many of them there are, defeating them is actually fairly straightforward, though players should try to avoid Isobe's grab attacks if possible as they can dish out a surprising amount of damage.
Once all of the RK thugs are down for the count, Kuwana's neighbor will show up to check if everything's okay. When Tak asks the man where Kuwana might be, he mentions that Kuwana's uncle owns a bar called Siren over in Chinatown, which is where players will need to head for the next part of their investigation.
How to Beat Soma
Initially, it seems as though Siren is completely deserted, but, after a moment or two, it becomes clear that Tak and Kaito are not alone. As players approach the phone on the bar it begins to ring, providing the perfect distraction for Soma to sneak up on Kaito. The RK leader stabs Kaito with both an icepick and a knife before turning his attention to Tak.
What follows is one of the trickiest battles so far, thanks largely to Soma's devastating knife attacks. He's also incredibly fast, meaning that players will need to be on their toes when it comes to dodging. They'll also need to bear in mind that several of his slash attacks are multi-phase, meaning that players can't just dodge once and then attack like they can with most other enemies.
Though perhaps a little cheap, using weapons can make this fight considerably easier as it allows players to attack Soma without getting within range of his blade. Those who would prefer to take him on unarmed should be using Tiger Style and have a Hemostasis Booster or some Elbow/Knee Protectors equipped to minimize the duration of bleeding just in case they do get cut.
Once Soma's health has been depleted, the phone will ring again and the person on the other end of the line will ask to talk to Tak. It ends up being Kuwana's uncle, who, after calling an ambulance for Kaito, requests a meeting with the detective at a karaoke bar in the entertainment district called Survive. As he pulls away in a taxi, Chapter 8 comes draws to a close.