Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 174 Death and the Magician
The Dead Bone Plains Wetland was still shrouded in mist at night.

Under the cold moonlight, the old trees, withered branches, and aquatic plants mingled together, resembling deadly monsters lurking in the night.

Shiratori Renzaburo watched Hattori Heiji walk out of the manager's office downstairs, but didn't pay much attention, his focus remaining on Gao Mo's room on the other side.

According to his deduction, Gao Mo should have started a secret investigation, but it turned out that only Osaka Black Chicken was busy from beginning to end.

Gao Mo seems to have really only come to see the magic show.

Is it because they feel that having Hattori Heiji is enough?

That's how it happened with the magic enthusiast incident last time... it pushed him to the forefront.

It's strange, how can there be a detective who doesn't like to be in the limelight?

Shiratori Ninzaburo has some self-doubt.

Aren't these detectives just enjoying the thrill of solving mysteries?
"Heiji!"

Kazuha casually knocked on Hattori Heiji's door.

"You must be in there, right? I can't sleep alone, not because I'm scared... Don't think that just because I'm not saying anything..."

"Hattori-kun," Shiratori reminded her, "seemed to have gone to the lobby just now."

"what?"

Ye stopped knocking on the door in a huff and hurriedly went downstairs to cover up her embarrassment.

"Heiji is really something, always preferring to act alone."

I ran quickly to the lobby, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

There were so many people during the magic show, but now it seems like they've all disappeared.

"Gulu."

Kazuha looked uneasily at the open hotel door, vaguely seeing a figure flash by in the woods.

"Hei-Heiji? Heiji——!"

hotel room.

The apprentice magician, Zanjian, fiddled with his little puppets, feeling somewhat lost about the future.

She knew nothing but magic, but the world of magic wasn't as wonderful as she had imagined.

She had just seen the commander's wife return to her room in a panic—perhaps the death of Reiko Chikamiya five years ago was indeed related to these people.

"Gone!"

In the next room, the clown Sakonji frantically rummaged through his luggage.

The magic notebook I stole from Reiko Chikamiya 5 years ago is gone!
Although he had memorized all the magic tricks in the notebook, it was still someone else's notebook and therefore of great value, so he always carried it with him during performances.

"Could it be that the teacher has really returned? No... impossible! How could such a thing happen?"

Sakonji's face was ferocious.

"Someone must have stolen the notebook! Damn it, was it that Hell Puppet Master? Just you wait, I won't be killed!"

The hotel manager on the first floor squinted, gently stroking the Reiko Chikamiya doll in his hand. His memory seemed to return to 5 years ago, until Kazuha barged into the manager's office.

"Oh no, Mr. Nagasaki! Heiji seems to have chased someone into the woods!"

"That young man from earlier?" The manager stood up in surprise. "This is troublesome. There are many bottomless swamps over there. What if he accidentally falls in..."

"Gu——!"

"Heiji!"

"Hattori-kun!"

The birdsong echoed through the wetlands at night, followed by the anxious shouts of Kazuha and the others echoing through the woods.

The heavily wrapped-up Hell Puppet Master sat on a bare tree branch, holding the "Kazuha" doll in his hand, looking down at "Hattori Heiji" who had stopped below with a slightly embarrassed expression.

It was just a little bit more; if we had run a little further, we would have gotten stuck in the swamp.

"What a pity, I thought I could get rid of you like this..."

According to his plan, the high school detective would lose his composure after his girlfriend was kidnapped and be lured into the swamp by a doll.

But once they got here, it seemed their trick had been seen through.

He's definitely a dangerous guy.

"Heiji Hattori, you can't destroy the greatest and most perfect magic of my life. Can you please just die?"

"call!"

Blood-red rose petals scattered from the treetops, only to be caught by the boy as they drifted towards him, transforming back into whole roses. The dark-skinned boy's figure took on an eerie quality, as if he had become a different person.

"Huh?!" The Hell Puppet Master exclaimed in confusion, his gaze turning exceptionally dangerous. "You're not Hattori Heiji... who are you?"

"I came for you, Takato Haruichi."

Gao Mo's voice turned old.

"It's really disappointing. You're not qualified yet."

"who are you?"

The Hell Puppet Master, suspended by silk threads, fell back to the ground. Even after being processed by a voice changer, his voice was still filled with terror and confusion.

After joining the magic troupe, he always used the name "Kirishima Junpei," but now someone has actually called him by his real name.

"The moment you decide to eliminate Hattori Heiji, the so-called death magic becomes meaningless. How can a magician drive away the audience just because it will be seen through?"

Gao Mo's voice was calm.

"The crimes you committed were not beautiful at all; they were nothing but self-deception and pointless self-gratification."

The Hell Puppet Master narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Gao Mo across the swamp, his memories drifting back to his high school days.

He seems to have said the same things to others before.

"The Death Magician Kirishima Junpei?" Takato Yoichi suddenly remembered.

He was forced to get involved in a murder case during high school.

Junpei Kirishima, who considered himself to be like him, used people around him to perform death magic tricks in an attempt to drag him into the criminal world, only to be killed by him in the end.

That was the first time he killed someone.

I didn't feel much, and it couldn't even be called revenge; it was just a counterattack because I didn't want to be killed.

"What is your relationship with Kirishima Junpei?" Takato Haruka asked once he regained his composure. "Or... are you Kirishima Junpei himself, who crawled out of hell?"

"I'm not that kind of childish brat."

Gao Mo's eyes glowed, his gaze piercing straight through the body of the Hell Puppet Master opposite him.

The terrifying feeling of being completely seen through instantly sent chills down Gao Yuanyao's spine, and his proud talent seemed to vanish at this moment.

My whole body was trembling slightly...

It turns out he gets scared too.

"The outside world calls me the Grim Reaper, the real Grim Reaper."

Gao Mo reviewed all the information he had collected.

Although he had been regarded as the Grim Reaper before, this was the first time he had actually played the role of the Grim Reaper; it felt like dancing on the edge of a knife.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to turn back.

"The Grim Reaper?" Gao Yuanyao laughed. "How could there be any real Grim Reaper in this world?"

How can you be so sure it isn't?

Gao Mo's voice was faint and elusive.

"The true art of death is always around you. Watch closely. There is only one fate awaiting Ms. Yuumi and Mr. Sakonji."

"What do you mean?" Gao Yuanyao tensed up.

“Your performance is over, Gao Yuanyao,” Gao Mo turned around and listened to the shouts echoing in the woods. “As a magician, once a magic trick is exposed by the audience, you should leave the stage… We don’t need you here anymore.”

"Exposed?" Gao Yuanyao chuckled, clenching his fist. "When was my magic trick ever exposed? I admit this high school detective from Osaka has some skill, but he's still a long way from seeing through my perfect magic trick..."

"What's perfect about it?"

Gao Mo paused.

"The more you do, the more mistakes you make. You set up too many things for your so-called magic show, leaving too many traces... You checked in with a fake identity in advance, and then sent the body to the hotel by freight train. Did you really think it was foolproof?"

"you……"

"This high school detective has also cracked the trick of making a corpse disappear using balloons."

Gao Mo's figure gradually blended into the thin mist.

“I will be watching you until the day you can become my agent.”

Gao Yuanyao stood quietly at the edge of the swamp, as still as a wooden stake, his fingers loosening and clenching again: "Hmph, what Grim Reaper? Playing tricks, I'll see what you're up to!"

(End of this chapter)