give it all to miss machima

Then she looked at Kurosawa Sae, her eyes full of apology.

“I’m sorry, Sae… I abandoned you that day…”

Sae didn't show any resentment; on the contrary, she simply smiled happily.

"It's alright, sister, we've finally reunited..."

The two held hands, then looked at Machima together, Kurosawa Yae's eyes softening:

“Completing the ritual is our inherent responsibility. Let’s leave here… If you can, please take care of that child for me.”

Machima was a little confused: "You mean Mio and Cocoon?"

"No, their fates are no longer tied to this place. I'm talking about the child who broke into the Himuro Mansion—my descendant, Hinasaki Miku."

That name sounds familiar... wait, isn't that one of the main characters in the Zero series?

Machima nodded: "I will, but... you don't have to do this. Perhaps there are other ways to stop the Void..."

Yae smiled:

"Perhaps... But even if we don't end here and continue to stay in this world, what difference will it make? Our destiny has already ended..."

The two sisters' illusory figures, hand in hand, arrived at the edge of the deep pit.

At this moment, the void, no longer suppressed by Machima's demonic fire, was about to burst forth.

Machima was a little annoyed:

"Is this what you want—to be trapped in the void and suffer the pain of eternal wounds?"

Yae shook her head:

“The village of Minakami is gone. From now on, there will be no more Crimson Sacrifice Festivals or Yin Sacrifice Festivals, no more twins like us, no more innocent people becoming sacrifices. Time will fade everything, and besides…”

Yae turned to look at her younger sister.

"I still have Sae, we will be together forever..."

Machima frowned slightly.

I can't understand...

but……

"If this is your choice... I respect it."

The two held hands and looked at Machima with smiles.

"Thank you."

Then, the two looked at each other again, smiled at each other, and disappeared into the darkness together.

The "empty" sound quickly ceased.

Machima walked forward and came to the edge of the pit again, but instead of seeing the boiling black mist, some red lights slowly emerged from the darkness and got closer and closer.

A dozen seconds later, a pair of red butterflies, seemingly made of light, fluttered and came to Machima.

"...Red Butterfly?"

They circled Machima a few times, then paused briefly on her outstretched fingertip before flying towards the exit.

Along with them came even more—countless red butterflies, flitting past Machima.

I can't understand...

Machima took one last look at the pit—the void was gone, and only red butterflies continued to emerge.

Is this... a happy ending?

Having abandoned her plan to jump off the cliff and thoroughly understand what the Hollow was, Machima left the place accompanied by the red butterflies.

Stepping out of the Kurosawa mansion, although it was still dark, Machima could see a glimmer of dawn on the horizon.

The two Amagura sisters were anxiously waiting for her at the entrance to the torii gate of the distant village. Upon seeing her arrive, they immediately waved.

"Miss Machima!"

"Are you OK?"

Machima took one last look at the dilapidated village, then took the hands of the two sisters, one on each side:

"It's all over, let's leave."

As if accompanying them one last time, the red butterflies escorted the three onto the mountain path, then flew up into the sky, gradually disappearing into the distance in the embrace of the heavens.

Chapter 163 Scouting the Mountain

Shortly after leaving Minakami Village, Machima discovered that she had restored communication with Tamiya Ryoko.

Several helicopters quickly arrived above her, and Ryoko Tamiya also arrived with her entourage.

She glanced at the Tiancang sisters, then looked at Machima:

"Are you... alright?"

"Of course nothing's wrong, what's wrong?"

Tamiya Ryoko glanced at the Amakura sisters again—although she didn't know exactly what had happened, based on her experience, she figured the two sisters hadn't been eaten by Machima yet.

This... given her understanding of Machima, this was simply too incredible.

Cats don't steal fish?

“I feel like your taste is rather rude, Ryoko.” Machima raised an eyebrow.

Tamiya Ryoko shrugged: "So, what's next..."

"Take these two children to the hospital first, and if everything is fine, send them home."

Tamiya Ryoko was even more surprised—she thought Machima would take the two sisters back, after all, Machima didn't care about whether it was illegal or immoral, she would eat meat if there was meat, and she would take girls if there were girls... that was her true nature.

But today, she actually changed her mind?

Once again being scrutinized by Tamiya Ryoko's gaze, Machima rolled her eyes—she was practically driven mad by her own dog of a subordinate!

She looked at the two people sleeping side by side in the ambulance not far away, and thought to herself that the experience of the night must have been too exhausting for the two children.

Therefore, Machima simply waved her hand: "Afterwards, send someone to give them regular check-ups. Also... isn't the academy I requested almost completed? We can enroll them then—these two sisters have very high spiritual vision."

"I've noted it down. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, have you gotten any results regarding those things I asked you to investigate before?"

Tamiya Ryoko nodded:

"The time is too short, and we haven't been able to find Himuro Residence yet, but Mount Hikami... that's quite famous, and it's not even too far from here."

Machima boarded the helicopter:

"Tell me more about it?"

“Mt. Hikami is also within the administrative boundaries of Aomori Prefecture, but it is located at the northernmost point, about 70 or 80 kilometers from here. It is a coastal mountain and was previously a tourist attraction and a suicide hotspot.”

Machima was starting to lose her composure.

"Can a suicide hotspot also be a tourist attraction?"

"I have already sent people there to investigate in detail, but it will take time to get more comprehensive information."

"Okay, I was just planning to take a short rest anyway. But since it's a tourist attraction, could you please arrange an itinerary for me tomorrow?"

The next day, the hospital reported that the Tiancang sisters were in good health. After meeting with them, Machima did not disturb them for the time being.

She then took a helicopter to Mount Hikami.

Upon arriving here, Machima learned that Mount Rikami was once a volcano.

Due to past volcanic activity, a volcanic lake formed on the mountaintop. Because of the geological environment, although other places are full of lush forests, the lakeside here is a pure white pebble beach. Coupled with the lingering smell of sulfur in the air, it has a rather desolate atmosphere.

"This lake, known locally as the Lake of the Other Shore, is shrouded in mist for most of the daytime. Locals say that the depths of the lake are a hidden world, and that when the sun sets on the lake's surface, the hidden world and the present world connect..."

Tamiya Ryoko strolled along the lake with Machima, showing her a tourist map.

"Of course, the actual reason is the steam brought by geothermal heat, which is simply a geological reason."

To Machima's surprise, there were quite a few tourists at Rishang Mountain besides them.

"Has anything ever happened here? Like, someone going missing or anything?"

Tamiya Ryoko shook her head:

"There shouldn't be any, otherwise the local police would definitely have reported it. In fact, the local government is preparing to vigorously develop Mount Rikami as a tourist destination to boost the local economy."

She pointed to the tourist map of the mountain.

“Look, the government has already started to repair the abandoned shrines and roads. However, because the traditional mountain roads are not easy to walk, the investors plan to build a cable car station that leads directly to the parking lot at the foot of the mountain, so that tourists and worshippers can directly reach the mountainside.”

"In addition, the government is currently building a tunnel for self-driving tourists. It is planned to connect to Dahujing at the top of the mountain. Construction is about to begin and it is expected to be completed within a few years."

Machima was speechless. Trying to develop tourism in this godforsaken place? They're practically delivering takeout to ghosts!

"Isn't this supposed to be a suicide hotspot? What happened to the people who committed suicide? Did they drown themselves in the lake or jump off a cliff?"

Tamiya Yoshiko pointed to a spot on the map near the mountainside.

"That's in the Unknown Forest. The central part of Mount Hikami is relatively flat, and there's a vast forest there. The situation there is somewhat similar... um... the Aokigahara Forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. People do go there to commit suicide, but in recent years, the number has actually been quite small. At least according to local police records, it's far less than the number in Aokigahara Forest."

Machima then toured all the sights on Mount Hikami, including the waterfall where, according to rumors, shrine maidens were massacred, the abandoned inn where the owner committed suicide, the Katadai Shrine where ancient dolls are enshrined, and the cemetery-like Akaya...

The two even encountered many other paranormal enthusiasts who had come to explore the area.

However, even though Machima, unwilling to give up, spent three consecutive nights on the mountain, she did not encounter any supernatural events.

Machima could only sigh in response.

"It seems that Dazhu is still stable for the time being, or perhaps I am not good enough for her?"

"...Dazhu? Her? Who?" Tamiya Ryoko looked completely bewildered.

"Local legend."

Machima patted a book that recorded local customs.

"If the sun rises on the mountain and a mountain roars, the adults must be soaked in water to perform the ritual of 'avoiding the mountain'... The mountain roar has not yet occurred, the night spring has not yet gushed forth, and the human pillar has not yet collapsed... but it is only a matter of time."

"...Can you speak human language?"

I'm so angry at my own dog of a subordinate again!

Machima pinched Tamiya Ryoko's chin impatiently: "You're not human yourself! Why should I talk to you like a human!?"

"So, you mean..."

"Like Minakami Village, this place harbors a huge hidden danger, which is forcibly suppressed by some kind of ritual. Once it gets out of control, it could be even more troublesome than Minakami Village..."

"I understand, but could you tell me how you knew?"

Machima stood up and waved her hand:

"This is just another pointless tragedy... Pass the word down to the local government to immediately halt development on Rishan Mountain, establish a cordon to prohibit unauthorized personnel from going up the mountain, and... station a resident investigator here. If any paranormal events such as someone going missing occur, notify me immediately."

Chapter 164 Kobayashi's...what maid?

A few days later, Himuro Mansion was also discovered in Aomori Prefecture. It was a well-known haunted house in the area, but now it is just an ordinary abandoned mansion. The vengeful spirits that haunted Himuro Mansion seem to have been eliminated.

As for Hinasaki Miku, Makima's subordinates found some clues about her, but they couldn't find out where she went—after all, it wasn't even the new millennium yet, and finding someone wasn't easy.

Their understanding of the Zero series was limited to Machima on Mount Hikami. Seeing that further investigation would be difficult to make any progress, they stationed a team of investigators in Aomori Prefecture and then returned to Tokyo.

Taking this opportunity, Tamiya Ryoko also told Makima about the series of anomalies that the Special Investigations Division had previously discovered, but the latter, with only the limited clues, really couldn't guess what it was.

However, no matter what, the Zero series incident has finally come to an end. After returning to Tokyo, Makima also welcomed her first New Year in this world.

After watching the world's timeline change from 1996 to 1997, Makima finally realized that the timeline of this world where Conan exists did not fall into the bizarre situation of this week being winter, two days later being summer, yesterday being Valentine's Day, and the day after tomorrow being New Year's Day.

Time, indeed, is passing by.

However, once Conan and the people around him are involved, time seems to stand still for them. They still stubbornly believe that the high school detective Shinichi Kudo has only been gone for a short time.

So, 1997 arrived.

The Japanese used to celebrate two New Years, namely New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, similar to the Chinese New Year. However, in modern times, they have basically only celebrated the Gregorian New Year.

Welcoming the New Year is also a big event for the Japanese. In addition to the custom of staying up all night on New Year's Day, many Japanese people will wear traditional kimonos to visit temples or shrines, or visit their parents and relatives to pay New Year's visits on the second day after the New Year. Customs such as giving New Year's money, eating mochi soup, giving greeting cards, or eating pufferfish are also common in various regions.

Machima had no interest in celebrating the Japanese New Year, but she still couldn't help feeling a little lonely during this foreign holiday.