Chapter 14: The First Witch
Beika Town, East District. 11:30 PM.
An unusual tension hung heavy in the air, far more palpable than at a typical crime scene. The police cordon was wider than normal, and the flashing lights of dozens of cruisers painted the surrounding buildings in eerie shades of red and blue. A massive police presence kept a growing crowd of reporters and curious onlookers at bay. A cold wind whipped scraps of newspaper across the empty street, adding to the grim atmosphere.
Inspector Megure stood over the latest victim, his face ashen. This was the seventeenth death in three days. The entire department was under immense pressure, with media scrutiny and public panic rising like a tidal wave.
And the cause of death was still a complete, damnable mystery.
"No external injuries, organs are intact, no signs of poisoning," the medical examiner reported, his voice heavy as he packed his kit. "But the victim's face is frozen in an expression of absolute terror, pupils dilated to their limit... It's a perfect match for the other sixteen." He shook his head. "Preliminarily, it's as if they were literally scared to death. But we can't find any physical or physiological cause for such extreme fear."
"Scared to death? Seventeen people?!" Inspector Megure sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How is that possible?"
"The higher-ups have given us a direct order: find the truth and control the panic, now. We can't hold back the media much longer. Tomorrow's headlines are going to be screaming about the 'Beika Phantom Killer'."
"We have to stop the next one from happening..."
Dr. Agasa's House.
"I've mapped all the death locations," Conan said, pointing at a digital map of Beika's east district on the main computer screen. Red dots marked each victim.
"See? The points are spiraling inward," Haibara observed, her tone clinical. "If this trend continues, the next death should occur somewhere within this radius."
"Something that normal people can't see is causing these deaths," Conan mused. "First thought is a colorless, odorless nerve agent or bioweapon."
"But the toxicology reports have already ruled out all known toxins," Haibara countered. "There were no foreign substances in any of the victims' bodies. Besides, a gas attack wouldn't create such a precise, spiral pattern."
Dr. Agasa typed furiously, pulling up more data. "Radiation?"
Haibara shook her head. "No signs of radiation sickness or tissue damage."
"A sonic weapon?"
"The locations are too spread out to pinpoint a single source."
"Mass hysteria induced by psychological suggestion?"
"The victims are from all different ages and professions with no common links."
Conan looked at Haibara, a grim understanding passing between them. "After ruling out every scientific explanation..."
Haibara finished his thought. "We have to consider the other possibility."
"Magic."
Dr. Agasa looked at them, startled, but quickly composed himself. "Given your recent... experiences, that's a hypothesis we have to test." He turned to Haibara. "We need a device that can detect supernatural energy. Can you build one?"
Haibara nodded. "I can try to integrate my own magical abilities with scientific instruments. If you have the basic hardware, Professor, I can modify it with magic."
[Non-Human Beings Chat Group]
SpongeBob SquarePants: WOW! Conan and Haibara are so smart! I want a magic detector, too!
Tom Cat: [Cat_Thinking_Hard.jpeg]
Kyubey, Giver of Hope: Do you have anything of value to trade from your world?
SpongeBob SquarePants: A delicious Krabby Patty?
Kyubey, Giver of Hope: No.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Ooh! I know! My super-special Rainbow Jellyfishing Net! It can catch glowing, invisible jellyfish!
Kyubey, Giver of Hope: No.
SpongeBob SquarePants: How about bubbles that can sing and are square-shaped?
Tom Cat: [Cat_Jaw_Dropped.jpeg], [Cat_Wants_it.jpeg]
[SpongeBob SquarePants and Tom Cat are initiating an item trade.]
Kyubey ignored them, its attention focused on the events unfolding in Beika. Three hours later, a makeshift magic detector was born. "Let's test it," Dr. Agasa said, holding the device.
Haibara released a tiny pulse of her magical energy. The detector immediately let out a piercing shriek, and the numbers on its small screen went haywire.
"It works," Haibara stated, withdrawing her power.
East District Warehouse Area. 4:15 AM.
Conan and Haibara moved cautiously through the desolate streets, the detector in Haibara's hands. The wind moaned through the rusted corrugated iron roofs of the abandoned buildings.
"Ahead," Haibara said suddenly, pointing at a dilapidated warehouse. "The detector's readings are getting stronger."
Conan pulled out his phone. "Uncle Kogoro, Mitsuhiko, we've found it. East district warehouses, C-7 block."
Half an hour later, Kogoro Mouri arrived, his face a mask of reluctance. "You better not have dragged me out of bed this early for nothing," he grumbled, yawning.
Mitsuhiko arrived right after him, his expression unusually serious. "I can feel it... the magical energy here is chaotic."
"It doesn't feel like a normal magical signature," Haibara agreed.
"Looks like the whole gang's here," a familiar voice said from above.
They all looked up. Kyubey was sitting on the railing of the warehouse roof, its tail swishing gently, its red eyes glowing in the dark.
"Kyubey!" Conan yelled. "What's going on? Are you responsible for these deaths?"
"What you are about to face," the creature stated calmly, "is a being known as a 'Witch.' It is more deadly than any danger you have faced before."
"A Witch?" Mitsuhiko repeated, his voice trembling slightly.
"If you leave it be, more people will die," Kyubey continued. "A word of advice: protect your Soul Gems. A Witch is powerful enough to shatter them. If your gem breaks, you will die." It had no intention of letting its primary energy sources get destroyed before they were fully harvested.
"Where are these Witches coming from?!" Conan demanded.
Kyubey simply turned, leaped from the roof, and vanished into the darkness.
[Non-Human Beings Chat Group]
SpongeBob SquarePants: OH NO! That's so scary! Kyubey, how could you just leave them like that?!
Tom Cat: [Cat_Looking_Shocked.jpeg]
Kogoro sighed. "Well, whatever it is, we have to take it down."
The three contractors exchanged a look and pulled out their Soul Gems. In a blinding flash of light, they transformed. Mitsuhiko in his blue dress, looking mortified; Haibara in her white, lab-coat-inspired outfit; and Kogoro in his frilly, red-and-black lace number, the contrast between the dress and his hairy legs as jarring as ever.
"I will never get used to this," Kogoro muttered, tugging at the hem of his skirt.
"I'll set up a perimeter with smoke bombs to keep civilians away," Conan said, all business. "Be careful."
The three magical... heroes approached the warehouse. The moment they stepped inside, the world turned upside down.
The derelict warehouse vanished, replaced by a twisted, surreal landscape made of swirling money, fluttering photographs, and broken heart symbols. In the center of this Labyrinth, the photos coalesced into a giant, vaguely humanoid Witch, with a bloody, treasure-stuffed heart beating at its core.
"Is that the Witch?" Mitsuhiko gasped.
"Its weak point is the heart!" Kogoro yelled, his "Eye of Truth" already active. "Aim for the heart!"
The Witch shrieked, unleashing a storm of photos and coins. Mitsuhiko became a blue blur, drawing its fire while Haibara erected a silver shield. It quickly became clear their direct attacks were useless against the Witch's thick defenses.
"We have to hit it when it attacks!" Kogoro commanded. "Mitsuhiko, keep it busy! Haibara, prep an attack!"
Haibara nodded, struggling to maintain the cracking shield while quickly mixing several vials of magical reagents for a decisive blow. Mitsuhiko dodged frantically, but the power drain was immense, and his movements began to slow.
Suddenly, a tendril made of photographs lashed out, breaking through the shield and striking Mitsuhiko's right arm with a sickening CRACK.
"Argh!" he cried out as the tendril wrapped around him, hoisting him into the air.
"Mitsuhiko!" Haibara screamed, a flash of fear in her eyes.
He gritted his teeth, trying to focus magic with his left hand to heal the broken bone. "Don't... worry about me! I'll use magic to—"
But Haibara had already extended her right hand, a silver light enveloping Mitsuhiko's arm. Her healing magic was far more efficient. The pain subsided as the light stabilized the fracture, while her left hand finished preparing the silver potion.
"NOW!" Kogoro roared, seeing an opening. "Eleven o'clock, three inches into the heart!"
Haibara's eyes narrowed. With all her might, she hurled the silver potion. It flew like a comet, slipping through a gap in the Witch's defenses and striking its core.
The Witch let out an unearthly screech as its body began to disintegrate. The entire Labyrinth shook violently. As it crumbled, Haibara intensified her healing magic, the bones in Mitsuhiko's arm slowly knitting back together.
"Your healing magic..." Mitsuhiko gasped.
"It's more efficient than you trying to brute-force it. This is what my power is for," she replied, relieved, though her own Soul Gem was now tainted with a faint smudge of corruption from the massive energy expenditure.
The Witch dissolved completely, leaving behind a single, ominous black object: a Grief Seed.
Kyubey appeared from nowhere, snatched the Grief Seed out of the air, and swallowed it. "Well done."
"Kyubey, you have to tell us where these Witches are coming from!" Haibara demanded.
The creature just blinked, then leaped into the shadows and was gone.
The Labyrinth vanished, and they were back in the dusty warehouse, returned to their normal forms. Conan rushed in, his face paling when he saw the blood on Mitsuhiko's sleeve. "Are you guys okay?"
"We're fine, thanks to Haibara," Mitsuhiko said. "But we saw Kyubey take the black thing the Witch dropped..."
High above them, on the roof of a nearby building, a figure in white lowered a pair of high-performance night-vision binoculars.
The distance and Conan's smoke screen had prevented him from seeing the battle clearly, but the flashes of otherworldly light and the elaborate effort to conceal the area had piqued his interest immensely.
Kaito Kid watched as the four figures regrouped below. His sharp eyes caught the glint of gemstones on their chests or in their hands.
"Hmm? Jewels?" he mused. "Jewels appearing at the scene of such a bizarre incident... I wonder what they could be. Could they be related to Pandora?"
He was about to make his usual stylish exit when a flicker of movement caught his eye. A small, white creature was now sitting on a nearby chimney. Its red eyes, unnaturally bright in the darkness, were staring directly at him.
The Phantom Thief instinctively ducked back behind cover. When he cautiously peeked out again a moment later, the strange creature was gone.