The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 116 Witch's Love

For Hongzi, who was desperate to find that the entire Hongzi family had disappeared that day.

She immediately performed divination again.

"Damn it! Who is it?"

Suppressing the fear between her pupils, after finding another magic ball, Koizumi Hongzi tried divination.

The image in the crystal ball showed the task force sent by the alliance to the school to look for her.

"Excuse me, isn't Hongzi-san here today?"

For Teacher Konno Erika, the principal had just told her this morning.

"Several police officers came to see Koizumi Akako today. I heard they were asking about something related to a case. Could you please help find her after Koizumi arrives at school, Mr. Konno?"

Kuroba Kaito, who was sitting behind Hongzi's seat, couldn't help but laugh secretly. He already had a picture in his mind.

Could it be that the witch was seen by a policeman while using magic? Now she is in trouble -

Hehe, from today on, I will enjoy the same situation as me, Kaito Kid, who is harassed by the police every day!

However, Kaito's gloating mood gradually subsided as Hongzi disappeared for the whole day.

Plus the worried voice of Aoko Nakamori beside him.

"Could Hongzi have encountered something?"

From that day on, the name Koizumi Hongzi on the roll call list never appeared in the class again...

In fact, this was just because Hongzi was trying to figure out the origin of the group that could find him.

It's just like--

"There she is! Use the webs and water cannon!"

An elite task force sent by the alliance is surrounding Koizumi Hongzi, and they are trying to encircle her from three directions.

Using magic to create a shadow to cover up his tracks, Hongzi, who was covered in a shadow, couldn't help but grit his teeth below.

She had never imagined that these people would be so bold as to fire a gun in the street, even if it was just a spider silk gun, and those bubbles—

"Damn it, it's like I knew the weakness of red magic in advance. I can't even use too much magic in the downtown area!"

Then, the three task forces supporting each other issued the order for action.

"Headquarters sent a message! Shoot at the shadows around us!"

Damn, damn, damn!

I used magic to conceal my whereabouts! How could this group still find me?

But as the alliance report states, the situation changed after Koizumi Akako was driven into the forest.

As the afterglow of the moon shone into the forest, Hongzi, who had been chased from the city to the woods by the Alliance, finally gave up trying to escape.

The fire of angry hatred and the sorrow of her family's disappearance made the witch even bite her finger and use witch's blood to cast spells.

She tried to use the power of Hell directly.

The blood drops scattered in the air fell to the ground, carrying with them the smell of sulfur, causing the ground of the entire forest to crack and magma to gush out.

"Witness the true power of Red Magic!—Gatekeeper of the Fourth Hell, nail my enemies before me to a stake of brimstone!"

Even Hongzi herself was surprised by such a terrifying flame. She didn't think she could use red magic to command the magma from hell before.

What surprised her even more was that these enemies in front of her, who she thought had probably killed or wiped out the entire Hongzi family, actually couldn't come up with any good solutions.

They simply used the water cannons to cool down and began to retreat using the flight packs on their backs.

——The initial alliance's equipment level was not that terrible.

Besides, this is just an act of solicitation.

"The Alliance has no intention of being your enemy, heir of Red Magic. We simply need your magical assistance."

"Recruit? Enemies like you who want to eliminate magic! I'm afraid you want to make Red Magic disappear from the world!"

Under the guidance of the [story timeline], Hongzi, who had been chased all the way and was a little drunk, completely refused to listen to the alliance's explanation.

After another divination after she was safe, Hongzi was even more certain of her judgment - "Damn it! The divination still told me to do nothing!"

Is laying down my arms and surrendering the choice I should make?
Under the night sky, the words revealed by the crystal ball were deeply reflected in her wine-red eyes, and her fingertips, which had already healed somewhat, began to bleed again because of her clenched fists.

Then, after only two acts of revenge (what Hongzi considered to be) she saw that the equipment of those strange policemen who always managed to find her was becoming increasingly sophisticated.

The greatest characteristic and power of red magic is related to fire.

The last time Hongzi took the initiative to fight back against the Alliance's pursuit, there was even a scene like this -

Several teams of members ran over the lava, holding heat regulators, towards Hongzi who was standing in the center of the magic circle.

"Damn it! Is the 6,000-degree flame useless this time?!"

……

"...Ever since then, I've been hiding in the forest near Beika Town. Divination tells me that they can't use those magic-ignoring equipment here..."

Although the crystal ball repeatedly told herself not to do this, Hongzi still found Kidd stealing a gem that day.

She had to warn Kidd not to fall into the trap set by the Alliance.

"Hongzi! You've been missing for so long, everyone's been worried—"

For Kuroba Kaito, this was the first time he saw Koizumi Anko after Anko disappeared for more than ten days.

The witch who had seemed mysterious and passionate in front of him in the past now seemed as fragile as a cherry blossom that was beginning to wither.

Kaito had never seen Hongzi look so desolate, as pale as those white pottery dolls displayed in the exhibition room, ravaged by history.

And Hongzi's words made him stop in his tracks.

The sign of weakness that the Red Witch's bloodline should never show only appeared for a moment, and Hongzi quickly suppressed that helplessness.

"No one will worry about me anymore, Kid," Hongzi said with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of her mouth. "Like I said, the entire Hongzi family has disappeared."

"But...but..."

"No buts!"

The cold air in the forest at night suddenly rose because of Hongzi's excitement. Kidd even saw that the dew-covered leaves and soil under her feet became dry and charred.

Hongzi's voice suddenly dropped, and there was a plea in her trembling voice.

"Don't go looking for those gems, Kidd. There's nothing but doom there!"

"Your future will end when you steal the next gem!"

The witch finally calmed down, and her voice became cold again.

"I no longer have the energy left to protect you in the next operation, Kidd."

As the last words fell, Koizumi Hongzi disappeared, leaving only Kuroba Kaito standing there in a daze.

"You don't have the energy left... to protect me in the next operation...?"

The meaning revealed in Hongzi's words made Kuroba Kaito's heart feel like it was immersed in ice water.

In fact, he didn't know that Hongzi had already made up her mind to sacrifice herself for him, ever since Kidd saved her.

Kidd's words, "Deep inside you, there lies a beautiful gem sleeping, frozen in ice," conquered the beauty.

And his words just now, "Everyone is worried about you," made Hongzi make up her mind.

"If... the last time I use Red Magic is for someone I love, maybe it won't be a loss..."

Hongzi thought so. After experiencing such setbacks, this seventeen-year-old girl inevitably had a tendency to self-destruct.

She has lost her family and friends, and can't even cry, just because of the saying "A witch cannot shed tears, otherwise her magic power will be lost."

Flying above the forest on her broom, Hongzi couldn't help but look back in the direction of Kidd. The seventeen-year-old girl suddenly felt a sense of longing and curiosity.

A burst of witch's silver bell-like laughter with a hint of sadness startled several sleeping crows.

"If I died protecting him, would he fall in love with me?"

(End of this chapter)