Chapter 239, Seventy-Third Cycle (69)
A crucifix generally refers to a stone or portrait depicting the crucifixion of Jesus, hung high in the center of the altar.
However, the church hung the crucifix under the Cross of Light at the very center of the chapel.
On the altar side, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Amidst six tall white candles, the Virgin Mary in the painting is bathed in sunlight, gazing tenderly at the baby in her arms.
This angle can also be described as looking down at the crowd below.
The tall crucifix in the center of the church also bowed its head, as if looking down indifferently at the absurdities of the world.
"Hey! What are you talking about? Have you already determined who is dead? Whose bones are these? Explain yourself clearly!!!" The bald man clenched his fist and charged at the priest.
"Wait, don't be impulsive, let's calm down and listen to his explanation." Ida Wataru stood between the two and easily subdued the strong, bald man.
The blond-haired guy also bristled, saying, "Calm down now?! What's going on? This should just be part of the game, right? Is Gu Pu playing along? Hey! This joke isn't funny at all! Get him out here!!!"
What was initially thought to be a mystery game turned into a real murder case, and the methods were so cruel and bloody that the originally light and cheerful atmosphere instantly became tense and heavy.
However, Morofushi Takaaki remained expressionless, simply taking out a notebook and saying, "You two are out of character, deduct one point each, now you have three points left."
The two: "..."
The two of them: "?!"
The long-haired woman was the calmest. After recalling her identity and relationships with everyone, she stepped forward and asked, "Is this part of Mikami's body?"
Her words were very clever. Once the priest acknowledged it, it would directly prove two important points: the keyboardist's identity as a gamer, his death, and that this was his remains.
The priest, dressed in a black robe, glanced at her, reached into the box, took out another wooden plaque, and turned it over to show them.
Those were identity tags that everyone had to hide, with the word "Jesus" written on them.
Morofushi Takaaki placed the card on the altar, looked up at the statue of the Virgin Mary hanging high, and said softly, "No one can escape death; life and death are each determined by fate."
As the saying goes, life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate.
*
Half an hour later, the priest went upstairs again, and only then did the others dare to complain and discuss it openly.
The remaining 12 people were mainly divided into two small groups, with the band members trying their best to keep the volume as low as possible.
"What did that charlatan mean? Was that a hint? Like that saying, 'Wealth and honor are bestowed by Heaven'?" the blond-haired man exclaimed excitedly. "Is this a clue left by that guy? Does it mean the thing is hidden in the sky? Could it be the ceiling or the roof?"
The bald man frowned, and couldn't help but look up again at the dark, deep darkness above and the howling snow outside the window. He said with a headache, "Then how are we supposed to find him? We can't possibly find him, can we? Even if he's hiding in the sky, does he really have the ability to hide in a place like that? If someone climbs up there, it'll be very obvious, right?"
The long-haired woman frowned: "Most importantly, did that priest, the author of that novel, and those staff members actually know about that thing?"
"How could I possibly know?" The blond-haired guy rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. "That guy is cunning; he probably managed to sneak in and mix the stuff with the game prizes."
The bald man's lips trembled slightly: "But...but that shoulder blade..."
The long-haired woman immediately raised her hand to stop him from continuing, her eyes sharp: "Shut up, don't talk about the butterfly bone anymore. That should just be a coincidence, or maybe he deliberately gave that suggestion to the game development team to scare us. Don't overthink it. The most important thing now is to find Gu Pu and see what's going on with him. If something really happened to Gu Pu, then the problem is serious."
The two nodded solemnly.
Compared to their side, the other side was much more lively.
Hakuba Saguru leaned against the wall and sighed, "So that's how it is. Another locked-in mystery? But this isolated snow mountain and island are no different from any other place. All our communication devices have been taken away. This is indeed an excellent stage for a mystery case."
After expressing his thoughts, he didn't say anything more. He just leaned against the wall, pondering silently, and quietly observed the others.
Amuro Tooru turned to look at Jesus crucified on the cross, then at the infant Jesus held by the Virgin Mary on the altar, and mused, "I remember this religion saying that the separation of body and blood symbolizes Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. And the priest's lifting of the Eucharist, which reunites the Blessed Sacrament, symbolizes Jesus' exaltation on the cross and his victory over death and resurrection from the grave. And most importantly, Easter is just after midnight; we only have half an hour left."
Kogoro Mouri, holding the identification plaque that read "Jesus," said, "So, that unlucky guy drew the Jesus identification plaque, was then discovered and killed by a traitor, and even had that...that Holy Sacrament placed on the altar?"
Kenji Hagiwara stroked his chin seriously: "So, is it possible that the dead [Jesus] will rise again after midnight? That priest said there's danger after midnight. Does this danger come from the traitor [Judas] or from the dead Lord [Jesus]?"
Matsuda Jinpei yawned: "The most important thing now is to find out who is holding the traitor [Judas] identity card, right? That way we can prevent the next person from being killed. I wonder if the person who is killed is considered to have lost the game and is out of the game."
Subaru Okiya adjusted his glasses: "We've searched this church thoroughly. It's impossible to find no one there, unless there are other places where people could hide. For example, a locked nun's room, or a basement with a secret door."
Ida Kou nodded: "That is indeed a possibility. So who do you think is the traitor? We'd better find the traitor before midnight, so that there will be one less danger after midnight."
Hikaru Midorikawa, who seemed to be lost in thought while looking at the candlelight, suddenly looked up and smiled at Tooru Amuro, saying, "The word 'traitor' is indeed a bit troubling. I think we should look for clues in the plot and character relationships in the original novel. However, I don't think everyone needs to be too afraid of traitors. As long as you are strong enough, even a traitor can be used and controlled. Or rather, it is precisely because they are traitors that they are even more useful."
Subaru Okiya's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Tooru Amuro out of the corner of his eye without making a sound.
Amuro Tooru, however, seemed completely oblivious to anything amiss, and turned to look at the human bone.
And there was a black-haired child lying on the table.
Conan Edogawa was intently examining the human bones in the box, his face pressed against the table.
No matter how you look at it, this is too real.
Based on his experience, whether it was blood or bone, it should be fresh human body tissue.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence, no way to get a phone to contact the police outside, and it is impossible to leave the church and go down the mountain directly.
Suddenly, he noticed some white crystals in a small crevice in the bone. His eyes lit up and he was about to reach out to touch them when a hand stopped him.
A fair and strong hand grabbed his wrist. The child's tender skin and the detective's keen senses immediately made Conan Edogawa realize that the other person had quite a few calluses on their hands.
And those areas... are calluses?
Conan Edogawa slowly turned his head and saw Hikaru Midorikawa looking down at him.
The long-haired man bent down slightly, approaching him, and said with a smile, "Aren't you afraid, Conan-kun?"
Conan Edogawa shook his head, his voice crisp and clear: "Don't be afraid, these are all fake, right?"
He even reached out and patted the man's hand, comforting him like a little adult: "Uncle Midorikawa, don't be afraid, these are all fake props, it's just a game."
Hikaru Midorikawa chuckled, withdrew his hand to pick up the box, and looked at the human bones inside, saying, "Actually, I'm not that scared. This bone looks very beautiful, and curiosity has actually overcome my fear. It's amazing that there are such beautiful butterfly bones inside the human body. But just thinking about where it was taken from still gives me the creeps."
To conceal his doubts about the bone's authenticity, Conan Edogawa smiled sweetly under the man's subtle yet dangerous pressure and said, "Although the butterfly bone was taken from a person's head, it is indeed very beautiful. This really looks like a butterfly. I was wondering if it has anything to do with the butterfly window over at the clock tower."
“That’s certainly possible.” Midorikawa Hikaru nodded, then squatted down, tilted his head and asked curiously, “But Conan is amazing! The gentleman I spoke to earlier was talking about the butterfly bone, but Conan is talking about the real scientific name, the sphenoid bone.”
Conan Edogawa froze instantly, blinking in confusion as he tried to relax, and asked, "Hmm?"
Hikaru Midorikawa smirked, his deep blue eyes beneath his long bangs staring straight at him: "Most people, when they hear 'butterfly bones,' would assume they're those two bones in the back, right? But Conan-kun knows perfectly well that they're the bones in the human brain, and he habitually calls them by their real scientific name, 'sphenoid bones.' That's not knowledge that most people would know, right? That's why I say Conan-kun is amazing."
Conan Edogawa was on edge, his mind racing to figure out how to react in a way that wouldn't seem strange.
"That's because Conan loves watching TV. He learns a lot of strange and wonderful knowledge from TV and the internet. Kids these days have such easy access to the internet, they're amazing."
Amuro Tooru walked over at some point, squatted down, put his arm around Edogawa Conan's shoulder, and laughed: "You probably saw the Butterfly Bone thing in the anime 'Sakurako-san's Feet Are Buried with Corpses,' right? When I went upstairs to deliver sandwiches to Mori-sensei and the others, I happened to see Conan-kun watching that anime on his phone. I was quite surprised that anime these days are so amazing, right, Conan-kun?"
Conan Edogawa nodded with a big laugh: "Hahaha, yes, I was quite startled when I watched the anime, so I have a very vivid memory of that plot."
Of course he hadn't seen it; he'd never even heard of it!
So, are all anime these days this hardcore?!
And why do you know so much about anime?
Hikaru Midorikawa gave an "Oh," but his intensely imposing gaze remained fixed on Conan Edogawa: "Even so, Conan-kun is amazing. You can always tell that Conan-kun is really smart. He's smarter than the average child, even more so than many adults. It makes me a little curious."
"He's just imitating Mr. Mori as a detective, but he's still just a kid after all." Amuro Tooru patted Conan Edogawa's head with a helpless yet relieved expression.
Conan Edogawa immediately showed a somewhat unconvinced, childish expression.
"Is that so?" Midorikawa Hikaru smiled and said slowly and meaningfully, "I really look forward to seeing what he'll look like when he grows up."
The grown-up version of Conan Edogawa will definitely be Shinichi Kudo!!!
Conan Edogawa broke out in a cold sweat in an instant, unsure whether it was a coincidence or if something had really been discovered.
"But speaking of which," Midorikawa Hikaru shifted his gaze, his smile fading as he looked at Amuro Tooru, "you two have a really good relationship."
Even though he wasn't looking at him anymore, Conan Edogawa's nerves tightened even more, and he even felt that the tense and dangerous atmosphere in the air was more terrifying.
Moreover, Amuro Tooru withdrew his hand from his shoulder and did not reply immediately, seemingly falling into an unusual silence for the time being.
The most terrifying possibility flashed wildly through Conan Edogawa's mind, sending chills down his spine.
After realizing what was happening, he immediately opened his clear blue eyes wide and smiled, saying, "Well! It's alright! After all, Amuro-nii is Kogoro-san's apprentice, and he also works at the coffee shop downstairs from our house, so we often run into each other and we're quite familiar with each other!"
Amuro Tooru also replied in a relaxed and normal tone, "Yes, we've only met a few times occasionally at Mr. Mori's detective agency."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Hikaru Midorikawa seemed to want to stop squatting, so he stood up, looked down at them, and then smiled gently.
"But the feeling you two give off always makes me think you two are a very close and compatible team," he said.
Conan Edogawa: "!!!!!!!!!"
The alarm in Conan Edogawa's mind was about to explode and shatter.
It all boils down to two sentences:
Is he from Scotland?!
Is he jealous?
However, isn't it a bit too much to be jealous of a primary school student?!
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