Chapter 244, Seventy-Third Cycle (74)

Even Kaito Kid, upon seeing the situation inside, couldn't help but gasp.

What is this?!

Isn't this a large-scale cult sacrifice ritual?

Through the glass, you can clearly see the six people inside.

Each of them was chained to a chair, with a huge silver cross inserted into their chest, from which blood was slowly flowing.

The blood of the first people to disappear had even stopped flowing; only the blood of those who had disappeared recently continued to replenish the strange patterns on the ground.

The most terrifying thing was their heads—their attire was no different from before, but each person had a huge red butterfly perched on their face. The butterfly spread its wings to cover their heads, and could even be said to serve as their heads, gently fluttering its wings as if breathing.

Instead, their scapulae were all removed from their heads and neatly placed under the butterfly statue in the middle.

Kaito Kid got goosebumps all over his body; even without disguise, his face would look terrible.

In this cold, snowy mountain, in the underground sacrificial ritual of that eerie church, the rules of the ordinary world seem to have vanished entirely. Here, another set of laws prevails, devoid of any humanity, eerie and cold.

Kaito Kid had indeed made preparations before staying, but even so, he never expected to see such a scene.

Because he initially thought the event venue was just the castle, he only scouted the castle and overlooked the church on the other mountain, completely unaware that such a secret was hidden there.

This has gone beyond the realm of normal human behavior. It's not a transnational criminal organization, nor is it a dark organization eyeing magical gems... This doesn't seem like something a human would do.

The first thing that came to his mind was Hongzi's vague remark: "An existence that should not have appeared in this world."

If that's true, then were these guys the ones who summoned that "being that shouldn't have appeared at this time"?

But, but Akako clearly said he wouldn't die... His gaze was fixed on the brown-haired boy dressed as Sherlock Holmes on the chair.

It's just a regular theft case. Even if it involves some strange entity, how did Hakuba Saguru end up dead here?

There are even those guys here...

"Bang!"

While everyone was staring blankly in that direction, a loud slamming sound of a door closing suddenly came from behind them.

They turned around abruptly and met the gaze of the blond man standing by the door.

The blond-haired man slowly gave them a maniacal smile, pulled a gun from his guitar case on his shoulder, and raised it towards the shocked crowd.

"Don't move, hands up." He said with a smile, "Don't make any rash moves, or I won't mind bleeding you out first. Although the priest will nag if it's a waste, it's better than that Okiya Subaru who almost ran away."

"I didn't expect him to be able to withstand the effects of the sleeping pills for so long; I almost fell for his tricks," the priest's voice came from the side.

“Officer Morofushi, you…” Kogoro Mouri turned to look at him with a look of surprise and uncertainty, then looked at what was happening in the glass room.

He was a little confused about the situation, but when he caught a glimpse of Midorikawa Hikaru's furrowed brows and pensive expression, he suddenly remembered something.

When Midorikawa first met him, Midorikawa discussed a case about using movie projection technology to fake a murder, and he also mentioned that a similar technique was used in "Run to the Sun".

Kogoro Mouri's mind hadn't fully processed what was happening, but his intuition prevented him from making any rash moves.

Faced with the gun pointed at him by the blond-haired man, he quietly allowed Morofushi Takaaki to tie his hands.

While being tied up, Kaito Kid observed the reactions of the others and has now calmed down.

He pretended to be terrified, sitting blankly on the ground, internally considering the possibility that the whole thing was fake.

The priest is actually a very capable police officer. Apart from him and the blond guy, everyone else at the scene is a police officer or detective who knows them well. It's impossible for them to fall into a trap so easily.

Moreover, even if Huang Mao didn't know, he was very clear about the relationship between the two policemen on the chair and them. If that policeman had died, their reaction wouldn't have been so calm.

Although they acted as if they were terrified, it didn't match their true identities; they were clearly still acting.

Are they working together to stage a performance for the murderer?

As for the terrifying scene inside the glass case, it could be a fake projection. He himself often uses similar techniques to temporarily deceive the police.

But why go through all that trouble? Was it worth it?

Those present were probably mostly their own people, right? They had an overwhelming advantage, so why go to such lengths to put on a show for just an ordinary prisoner?

I just can't figure it out...

Furthermore, Conan Edogawa's behavior has always been a bit off; he seems unaware of the situation, and even seems to be just like him.

But that guy's acting skills at crucial moments were also very impressive, and for a moment he couldn't tell the difference...

"Why would there be police stationed at the foot of the mountain?" Huang Mao came out from the next room, which sounded like a surveillance room.

"Didn't you know? There was a case at the castle on the next mountain, related to the suicide that happened there not long ago. They're probably still dealing with it." The priest took the last identification tag from Conan Edogawa and put it into the box.

"I remember that high school detective and his eagle, where did they fly off to?" The blond-haired guy also took out an ID card from his body and casually threw it into the box.

Conan Edogawa squinted and saw that the sign read... [Judas].

He actually has the "Judas" card? Is he the real "Judas"? Or did he exchange identity cards with "Judas"? And what's his reason?

"I caught him and locked him up when he was running around." The priest placed the box on the table, his tone calm but still conveying a sense of composure and reliability.

Huang Mao, relieved, didn't ask any more questions. He twirled the gun in his hand and laughed at the men tied to the chairs, "Don't look at him like that, pleading for help. This guy isn't some priest who saves the world; he's a devil."

The priest did not refute, but just smiled, then pulled up the nearest man, Date, and held a gun to him as he walked to the next room.

"Wait, where are you taking him? What are you going to do?" Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but ask.

The blond-haired man pulled up a chair and sat down opposite them, grinning as he said, "Don't worry, it's just a small experiment. Don't rush, everyone will get their turn."

"Experiment? What experiment?" Amuro Tooru's face darkened. He turned to look at the glass room and gritted his teeth, saying, "Will we become like that too?"

The priest had already led Ida Kou inside, and the door was closed.

The blond-haired man shifted his position, but the gun was still pointed at them. He said, "Actually, I think those guys are crazy, much crazier than me. You probably won't believe me if I tell you, but he did all of this. And I also know that he is actually a real cop, which is why I call him a devil."

Kogoro Mouri's breath hitched: "What did you say?"

Conan Edogawa's hands, which were tied behind his back, suddenly clenched tightly.

Could it be... could it be that Morofushi Takaaki really is...?

Hikaru Midorikawa frowned: "What exactly is going on? And what does this have to do with the novel 'Running Towards the Sun'?"

“It doesn’t matter if I tell you, I’ve been wanting to vent to someone for a long time.” The blond guy slapped his thigh. “I called them crazy because they confuse reality with fiction! Or to be more precise, their purpose in writing that novel was impure! Things like the time machine in the novel that can travel through time, and the dark organization that tries to control the past and future of the entire world using the time machine, actually exist in the real world, and they’re right in front of you.”

He pointed to the tightly closed door: "There's a time machine inside, but it's supposedly only half-finished. Only people with exceptionally strong mental power can succeed. If an ordinary person sits in, they'll basically become an idiot. And those who fail will have their butterfly bones dug out and arranged according to a formation to sacrifice to the totem butterflies of their organization. It's insane, isn't it?"

The man laughed hysterically: "As for you, you are people with strong mental strength who were selected through layers of testing. You are their favorite test subjects and sacrifices."

A storm raged in Conan Edogawa's mind, but because the situation was unclear, he didn't dare to speak for the time being.

Amuro Tooru, however, suddenly asked, "And what about you? You don't sound like you're with them, and that person doesn't seem to have strong mental abilities, does he?"

Kaito Kid, who was pretending to be stupid but was suddenly called out: "..."

The blond-haired guy also looked over, his face full of disgust: "He's just a muscle-bound simpleton, a coward, and only good for doing manual labor in the team."

Kogoro Mouri suddenly looked up and met his gaze: "You're the gang of thieves from last week's news report."

Conan Edogawa inwardly applauded and was both amazed by the uncle's exceptional intelligence.

The blond-haired man showed no nervousness at the prospect of his identity being exposed; he even laughed: "I was before, but not anymore."

A hint of ferocity suddenly appeared on that thin, delicate face, and he cursed, "They're all a bunch of idiots, brainless idiots, idiots who only know how to kill, indecisive idiots, and idiots with too much ambition."

"Boring, so incredibly boring. Everyone is stupid. Just dyeing my hair blonde and pretending to be dumb is enough to fool most people into thinking I'm frivolous, naive, stupid, and rebellious." He said irritably, "I'm tired of this. And these idiots will drag me down sooner or later. I might as well take this opportunity to kill them all and then join that organization for some fun."

He ran the gun barrel across everyone present, then laughed and said, "As for you, and that bunch of idiots, you are my pledge of allegiance to that organization."

Conan Edogawa's heart sank little by little.

He now knows most of the situation, but there's still one thing he doesn't understand, and that one thing is crucial...

The priest came out again.

He came out alone; Date Wataru, who had gone in with him, wasn't with him.

The blond-haired man didn't even bother to ask, and simply watched as he led Kogoro Mouri inside again.

Conan Edogawa glanced at Tooru Amuro, recalling how Amuro had said more than once here that he should take the game seriously, even treating it as reality.

Reality? Or illusion? Truth? Or acting?

The black-haired child tried to adjust his expression and tone, tilting his head back and frowning as he said, "But why? Why do you have to make us waste so much time playing games when it's such a simple thing? When we're completely off guard, it's easy for you to arrest us, isn't it?"

The blond guy rolled his eyes: "I knew you were a troublesome kid before, what's so strange about that? It's simple, there are two main reasons, which is why I'm here patiently explaining to you."

He held up one finger: "First, because we need to create a reason that can perfectly explain this case, a seemingly unsolvable perfect crime, a place where we can get away with it."

Since it's a perfect crime, then their script must be...

The blond-haired man slowly raised his second finger, his eyes practically overflowing with malice. He grinned and said, "Secondly, they require that the sacrificed individuals be in a state of extreme terror before they die. The being they worship enjoys negative human emotions. So the more you see, the more you know, and the clearer I explain to you, the more you will think, the more afraid, resentful, and unwilling you will become. This is the perfect sacrifice they want."

The priest opened the door again and came out.

This time, those blue, upturned eyes slowly turned to Conan Edogawa.

Conan Edogawa's eyes paused, and he suddenly lowered his head in fear and tension, while the watch cover that had been opened behind him was slowly closed.

He decided to take another gamble and follow Morofushi Takaaki to see what was going on in that room and what this so-called time machine was all about.