Detective Conan: The Superpowered Beings of the Detective Conan World

"ah!!!!"

At dawn, a scream startled the sleeping group.

"The deceased was the abbot of Yamane Temple. The body was discovered by several disciples of the temple, and, coincidentally, Hoshino-kun, the four of you who happened to be staying here. Is that right?"

Inspector Megure, dressed in an orange police uniform, looked at Hoshino Hikaru with a complex expression in his eyes, along with a barely perceptible hint of expectation.

"Inspector, what are the preliminary examination results for the body? Can we confirm it was a homicide?"

Hoshino Hikaru seemed oblivious to Inspector Megure's complex gaze and skipped over the topic to begin questioning the case.

At this moment, in the temple's solitary confinement room, the abbot's body was suspended from a beam 10 meters high.

The solitary confinement room was a room specifically used to confine monks who had made mistakes. The room had only one door and one window at the bottom, as well as a window next to the ceiling, and the whole room exuded an atmosphere of darkness.

"Regarding this, based on the condition of the body, the preliminary conclusion is that it was murder; someone strangled the victim. However, the body was found hanging from a beam ten meters high, and there were no traces on the surrounding walls or beams..."

Inspector Megure hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a somewhat hesitant tone:

"Moreover, it's exactly the same as the case from two years ago."

"Two years ago? Did a similar case happen then?"

Hoshino Hikaru raised an eyebrow slightly, asking with some surprise.

"That's right, Hoshino-kun, I'm counting on you this time. If possible, I hope you can help me solve this case. I was in charge of that case back then, and it ended up being a cold case."

Inspector Megure looked somewhat depressed; after all, the unsolved cases in his career remained a thorn in his side.

"It's a cold case? Inspector, could you tell me more about it?"

Hoshino Hikaru looked up at the beam where the corpse was and asked slowly.

"This must have been made by the Tengu!"

A gasp escaped Mu Nian's lips. Her eyes were filled with fear, and she muttered in a panic:

"Both Zhongnian two years ago and the abbot today were killed by the ancient abyss monster, the Mist Tengu!"

"Inspector, shouldn't we immediately request the deployment of the Bureau of Superpowers' special forces to conduct a thorough search of the mountains and find and eliminate the Mist Tengu?"

Mu Nian became more and more agitated as he spoke, and by the end, his expression had become somewhat ferocious. He grabbed Inspector Megure's collar and roared.

"Master Mu Nian, please calm down."

Hoshino Hikaru immediately stepped forward and grabbed Mu Nian's wrist.

"How am I supposed to stay calm?! How can you people from the Superpower Bureau just ignore Mist Tengu?!"

Mu Nian clutched his head, muttering to himself, appearing somewhat emotionally distraught.

"Excuse me, Inspector, Detective."

Kuan Nian, the senior disciple, stepped forward, grabbed Mu Nian, and bowed apologetically to Inspector Megure and Hikaru Hoshino.

Tun Nian and Xiu Nian followed behind Kuan Nian, silent and pale-faced, looking quite frightened.

"Inspector, could it be that there really are ancient abyssal monsters? Otherwise, what's going on with this case?"

Dr. Agasa, who had been silent for some time, spoke up with some concern.

"No, the ancient abyss monsters are just a ghost story prepared by the temple to attract guests; they don't actually exist."

Inspector Megure shook his head, clearly having a deep impression of this case.

"I was in charge of that case back then. At that time, the deceased was an ascetic monk named Zhongnian. According to the forensic examination, it was determined that he was murdered."

A hint of frustration flashed in Inspector Megure's eyes, and his tone became somewhat powerless:

"Back then, Zhongnian's body was hung on the roof beam just like it is now. The dust on both sides of the beam was neat, with no trace of anyone climbing over it. Only the dust was worn away where the rope was hanging. From the surface, this is not something an ordinary person could do."

"At the time, we speculated that perhaps a flying superhuman killed the victim and then hung the body on it."

"However, at the time, we used professional testing equipment but found no trace of superpowers, nor any reaction to unusual energy. Ultimately, the case dragged on for a long time, and the conclusion was that it was suspected to be the work of a superpowered individual who was good at hiding superpowers and could fly." The case then became a cold case.

"Because of this, we even applied for special forces to conduct a thorough search of the area, but found no trace or energy reaction of the so-called ancient abyss monster 'Mist Tengu.' On the contrary, the abbot used this incident to promote it through the media, attracting a group of tourists who enjoy the exotic."

"Is that so? In other words, this case has nothing to do with superpowered individuals or abyssal monsters."

Hoshino Hikaru squinted and activated "Eye of Light," taking in the entire layout of the room.

"Hoshino-nii, look, there are flower petals in the room! These are cherry blossom petals that only fall from waterfalls, how did they get here? Ah, Reile, that's so strange."

Conan somehow found himself near Hoshino Hikaru's feet, holding up a pink cherry blossom petal, and speaking in a silly, brat-like voice.

"Hey, Conan, we're discussing a case, kids stay away."

Inspector Megure frowned upon seeing this, and spoke with a hint of helplessness, before glancing at the embarrassed Professor Agasa.

"It's alright, Inspector. Sometimes, children can offer perspectives that are different from adults. I quite like having children as assistants."

Hoshino Hikaru suppressed the urge to dig a three-bedroom apartment out of his feet, patted Conan's head, took the flower petal, lowered his head, and whispered:

"Why didn't you just tell me what clues you found? We all know that, what are you pretending for!"

"I didn't want to either, but I've already shown my face to Inspector Megure several times with Ayumi and the others, so I have to change the impression I give Inspector Megure."

Conan's lips twitched slightly, and he spoke with a hint of helplessness. He also felt extremely embarrassed, especially saying something like "Ah, Rei, that's so strange" in front of Ran.

"Are you an idiot? You're already my disciple, so it's okay if you show a little bit of something beyond what a normal child would do, as long as you don't stupidly jump out like Shinichi Kudo and deduce the whole case, okay?"

Hoshino Hikaru vigorously rubbed Conan's head, glanced at Inspector Megure, and seeing that the other was explaining things to other officers, he then pinched Conan's cheek hard.

"stop!"

Conan forcefully pried Hoshino Hikaru's hand away, then lowered his voice to explain:

"I have a theory now: the real culprit probably sealed the entire room and filled it with water..."

"You mean it's full of water?"

Hoshino Hikaru paused for a moment, then looked up at the room again. It had a volume of 72.9 cubic meters and could hold a full 72.9 tons of water.