Chapter 35: The Demon

The fleeing man estimated the length of the bridge and felt a sense of relief. Given that driver’s skill, it was unlikely they would catch up. Judging by their performance so far, this distance was not enough for that car to close the gap.

One billion...

He couldn't help but lick his lips.

Suddenly, a bullet tore through the air from behind, shattering a corner of his rearview mirror. His eyes sharpened, and he began to maneuver. However, this inevitably slowed his speed, and the car behind—driven by Vodka—drew closer.

Inside Gin’s car, Gin leaned out, maintaining a steady rhythm of fire.

"The search is over. There was no locker key at that woman's house," Vodka said, closing his headset.

"So, the key is likely on the woman herself?" Gin clicked his tongue, though he didn't stop firing; he simply stopped aiming for the driver. "This is troublesome. If we let them drive into the sea..."

He temporarily abandoned the idea of killing the driver outright.

"Keep chasing. The key... I have a way," Moray spoke up.

After acquiring two chess pieces, his reinforcement magic could achieve a brief "overload" through the resonance between them. Despite having this new ability, he had never found the right opportunity to use it. Now, on this speeding war chariot, feeling the roar of the engine, he suddenly felt his spiritual core ignite.

His lips curled upward involuntarily, his gaze growing scorching—he decided to strike.

The two in the front seat fell silent, exchanging a glance. Vodka pressed a button. The rear of the car instantly spewed pale blue flames, the sudden acceleration creating an intense sense of being pushed back into the seat. To Moray, the scenery outside became a blur.

The distance to the car ahead closed rapidly, and Gin ceased firing. In less than a minute, Gin’s vehicle was side-by-side with the fleeing car!

Moray seized the moment, reached back to hook onto the roof, and with a burst of strength, vaulted onto the roof of Gin’s car. Gin, beneath him, looked grim.

"—Reinforcement."

Moray whispered. Silver-gray light paths erupted from his heart, spreading instantly across his entire body. He pulled out a mask and gently pressed it to his face.

"—Overload."

The four people in the two cars felt their hearts skip a beat for no apparent reason.

On the roof, immense magical power poured out from Moray’s body, scorching the air until it rippled with distorted lines. Dazzling blue light erupted within the silver-gray paths, shooting out from the eyes of his mask and trailing a long, luminous wake behind him.

An intense presence weighed heavily on the hearts of all four. The getaway driver trembled as he looked at the roof to his right, the sight before him making him groan aloud.

"This, is..." He could barely hold the steering wheel, his dry throat only able to squeeze out a raspy, fragmented, "What..."

Against the backdrop of the giant full moon, the man stood in a trench coat that looked like the night itself, one hand pressed to his mask. Icy blue light overflowed from the mask’s eyes, alluring and heart-stopping.

The next moment, Moray’s figure vanished from his sight. Just as he began to suspect it was all a hallucination, Moray—his trench coat billowing like great black wings—crashed down onto the roof of their car!

Having not witnessed the previous scene, Akemi Miyano still managed to summon her courage. Memories of her sister flooded her mind, and her heart suddenly hardened. Tracking the sound from above, she pulled out a pistol, aimed at the roof, and fired five shots in rapid succession!

"Did you hit him?!" A glimmer of hope rose in the driver’s heart.

"Unfortunately... no." Moray examined the bullets he held in his hand before tossing them into the wind.

He had about three minutes of safe overload time left.

"Now, it’s my turn."

Gin’s support fire arrived just in time. He seized the opportunity to aim and fire, four bullets precisely shattering the four corners of the rear window before a final shot finished it off.

The driver recalled the moment Moray had vaulted from the window and realized that if he let that man stand securely on the roof and climb into the back seat, it would be the end for both of them! He slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black shadow streak past his field of vision.

"Did I shake him off?!" Ecstasy flooded his heart.

However, he saw Akemi Miyano looking behind her, her lips trembling.

"No..."

What?

He seemed to realize something and looked back, trembling. The moment that figure came into view, terror was injected into his spine like a syringe of ice water, racing through his bloodstream into his brain and soaking into the fissures of his cerebral cortex.

A dagger had pierced through the roof, and the man had used it to steady himself, smashing the rear left window with a single punch. He was now sitting in the back seat.

A profound sense of powerlessness washed over the driver. But the next moment, he saw the mask’s blue, bewitching eyes in the rearview mirror. Suddenly, his brain roared, and an inexplicable, overwhelming anger and unwillingness shattered his sanity.

On the other side, Gin saw Moray vault into the car ahead. Beyond being secretly startled by the display, a thought surfaced in his mind.

In their previous battle, had Moray gone easy on him?

However, in this mission, Moray had displayed powerful combat prowess. Combined with the reasoning and investigation skills he had shown in his activities outside... if his loyalty were confirmed, this person could become a pillar of the organization!

Yet, if he had ulterior motives...

A shadow of concern flickered in Gin’s heart. Suddenly, a disturbance in the car ahead interrupted his thoughts.

He saw one of the targets, the former race car driver, suddenly turn his head to stare fixedly at him. Sweat glued the driver’s hair to his forehead; his eyes were twisted, his facial muscles contorted, looking like a mixture of extreme fear and intense rage. Tears, snot, and saliva poured uncontrollably from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

Seeing Gin turn his head, the driver suddenly grinned in a huge, eerie way and slammed the steering wheel.

Gin frowned.

He watched as the car ahead suddenly swerved to the left, smashed through the bridge railing, and plunged toward the sea below!

Fury rushed to Gin’s brain. *Vermin... even in death, you want to disgust me?!*

Vodka saw this and slammed on the brakes, drifting the car to a stop. Gin got out, walked to the edge of the bridge, and looked down at the pitch-black, churning waves.

...

In the car, under the sea.

Under Moray’s brutal mental control, the driver’s mind had shattered, his soul twisted beyond recognition. He slumped in his seat, having lost even his instinctual reactions, letting the seawater pour into his body.

Beside him, immense grief pierced Akemi Miyano. Fragments of memories with her sister flooded her mind, and she felt she could no longer hold on.

Shiho...

In a daze, she saw her sister gently cradling the back of her head, then...

Stuffing an oxygen tank into her mouth?

Startled, she suddenly snapped to her senses, terrified to realize that the person in front of her was not her sister, but that terrifying man!

In the pitch-black sea, two faint points of light illuminated the pale mask. Under the previous burst of magical power, the cracks on the mask had spread like a spiderweb, seeping an eerie blue.

Moray casually applied a magic mark to Akemi Miyano.

"Run," his voice, resonant with magical power, sounded like muffled thunder in the water. "However, I still have questions for you."

"Tomorrow at noon, no matter where you are, I will find you."

"At that time, you will answer everything I ask."

Akemi Miyano felt consumed by immense terror. Suddenly, the man grabbed her wrist. In a haze, she saw blue light flash across her body. A wave of heat flowed through her, and in the icy seawater, she inexplicably felt both strange and at ease.

After applying a temporary reinforcement to Akemi to keep her from dying in the sea, Moray saw her dazed expression, took the locker key from her pocket, and swam rapidly toward the surface.

Akemi Miyano steadied her heart.

Shiho, and also, Dai-kun...

Thinking of the people she cared for, Akemi gathered her strength and, biting down on the oxygen tank, swam in the opposite direction. She quietly surfaced and, using the dim light of day, headed toward the dark shore.

Moray removed his mask, the blue light paths gradually fading from his body.

He felt a twinge of regret. He hadn't expected that even after his soul had materialized, he would still feel the deep soreness of being human. Assessing his condition, he realized not only was his magic flow severely limited, but his physical strength had also dropped slightly. It would likely take some time to recover.

It seemed that "overloading" was something he should avoid if possible... at least, not on targets like this.

He stood on a bridge pier beneath the bridge, sensing the movement of the magic mark. Confirming it was correct, he took out the organization’s phone and dialed Gin’s number.

After one ring, the call connected.

"Dead?" Gin’s voice was cold.

"Dead. Both of them," Moray replied calmly, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "I have the locker key."

Gin did not doubt him. He believed that even he might not have survived the situation, let alone killed two people. If Moray were a plant from the outside, he wouldn't need to risk his life like this.

"Location." A faint smile tugged at the corner of Gin’s mouth.

"By the second pier."

Gin hung up and called for the organization’s boat. Vodka, seeing Gin smiling for the first time in forever—though it was still unsettling—shivered.

...

The next day, Saturday, Conan woke up from his sleep.

After washing up, he went to the living room and drank a glass of warm milk. He turned his head, and the news scrolling on the TV petrified him on the spot.

What is this?!

A one-billion-yen robbery?!!

Isn't this the bank he and Uncle Kogoro had originally planned to go to yesterday to deposit money after school?! But Uncle Kogoro took Moray out drinking instead, and they didn't go, and then such a huge thing happened?!

What, Miss Akemi Hirota was one of the robbers?!

What, they had an internal conflict last night?! One dead, two missing?!

What, a high-speed car chase?! Plunged into the sea?!

He rushed back to his room, changed his clothes, grabbed a few slices of bread, snatched his skateboard, and bolted out the door. Miss Akemi Hirota couldn't be that kind of person; there must be some hidden story behind this—

"I’m going to Professor Agasa’s house to play————"

"Honestly, that child..." Ran Mori chased him downstairs, looking at the retreating Conan with a sense of helplessness. However, thinking of her father, who was still hungover, she sighed and turned back into the office.

After finding a phone booth and communicating with Inspector Megure using Kogoro’s voice, Conan immediately realized that this incident was not as simple as the reports suggested.

Many bullets were found on the bridge, indicating a fierce gunfight had occurred. Underwater salvage operations had yet to yield results, but Inspector Megure indicated that the situation was not optimistic.

"Mouri, my friend," Inspector Megure sighed, "to be frank, this is already beyond the scope of a private detective. The other party has guns and isn't afraid to use them in public. Such criminals should be left to the police." His tone was serious. "After all, even though you were once a policeman, you are now just an ordinary citizen. We cannot let you take such risks."

Conan agreed on the surface, but his inner suspicions grew deeper.

There should have been only three robbers. One was shot in their own home, followed by a car chase on the highway.

Conan mused, brow furrowed. Assuming Miss Hirota had an internal conflict with her accomplices, it shouldn't have lasted this long, regardless of who was chasing whom. According to police analysis, both drivers were highly skilled, but Miss Hirota actually didn't know how to drive well.

So, who was chasing Miss Hirota and her accomplices?

Could it be...

A bolt of lightning flashed through Conan’s mind.

Was it that organization?

Conan told Inspector Megure that "he" would investigate a little and give up if there were no leads. Megure considered it and agreed. After finding out the address of Akemi Hirota’s home, Conan used the fame of Kogoro Mouri to brush off the police officers investigating there.

However, he found almost nothing. His only gain was a hidden compartment behind a cabinet; based on the dust patterns, Conan deduced that a key had been stored there.

*Miss Hirota. Could it be...*

Afterward, he went to the bridge where the car had plunged into the sea.

Based on the location of the fall, the nearest coast should be...

Conan stepped onto his skateboard and sped off. *But, if they fell into the sea there, with the low temperature at night and poor visibility, Miss Hirota is likely...*

A glimmer of worry flashed in Conan’s heart. But he could not let go of the chance to find a lead on the Black Organization.

*Please, you must survive...!*

Fortunately, after some searching, Conan found traces of someone having come ashore.

And he had an unexpected harvest.

Short, silver-gray hair, a long black trench coat. Although the person wore sunglasses and a mask, the familiar feeling made him conclude almost immediately—

This was the person who had knocked out the Detective Boys with anesthetic during the Maple Gold Coin incident and had joined the Black Organization!

Perhaps he had come here looking for Miss Hirota?

Biting his lip, Conan tucked away his skateboard and secretly followed the figure in the distance.