Chapter 22: Gin, Vodka, Make a Contract with Me and Become a Magical Girl!
The Organization. A Secret Base. Night.
The air was thick with the lingering smell of gunpowder and blood.
Gin stood in the shooting range, his long, silver hair glinting under the harsh lights. His mind was on a mission from a few days ago—an assassination of a police mole. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a random office worker on a street corner had suddenly erupted in a bizarre flash of light, transforming into... some kind of magical girl cosplayer? Who then proceeded to battle a twisted, monstrous creature.
The speed, the power... it was all beyond human comprehension.
Gin's finger had frozen on the trigger. He hadn't fired. Not out of hesitation, but out of... interest.
Since then, he had been investigating the strange incidents cropping up all over Beika Town. Traces of some unknown force were present in multiple cases: explosion sites instantaneously cleaned up, people falling from skyscrapers being caught by an invisible force.
And then there were the urban legends... about "magical girls."
During another surveillance mission, his target a shady politician, he had witnessed it again. A normal high school girl, her face a mask of anguish, talking to a small, white creature. Then, the flash of light. The girl was granted some kind of power, and the look in her eyes changed completely.
A cold, cruel smirk had played on Gin's lips. Interesting.
"It seems you're quite interested in us."
The calm, emotionless voice came from directly behind him. Gin spun around, his hand instinctively going to his weapon.
It was the white creature. Kyubey. It was sitting on the back of a park bench, its ruby-red eyes staring right at him, as if it had already seen through his every thought.
"I know what you're looking for," its voice echoed in his mind. "A more efficient method of elimination? Have you ever considered... magic?"
Gin didn't waste words. He drew his Beretta, racked the slide, and aimed.
BANG!
The bullet struck Kyubey square in the head. The white creature collapsed, a lifeless husk.
But a second later, from the shadows, another, identical Kyubey padded out. It calmly walked over to the corpse of its predecessor and, with a series of sickening crunches, devoured it completely. Then, it looked up at Gin.
"There's no point in that," it said, its telepathic voice flat. "It's just a waste."
Gin's face was a stone mask.
BANG! The second Kyubey fell. Another emerged from the shadows to eat the body.
BANG! The third.
After the third shot, Gin holstered his weapon. He had confirmed two things: first, this creature was effectively immortal. Second, it possessed a power that defied all logic.
"Talk," he commanded. "What can this 'magic' of yours do for me?"
In a dark room, lit only by the glow of a monitor, Gin delivered his report on "Kyubey" and "magical girls," including the results of his little test.
Silence on the other end of the line. Finally, a distorted, unidentifiable voice spoke.
[You are authorized to make further contact.]
[Find out what it is. And... if it can be controlled.]
"Understood." Gin cut the communication.
Late night, Mouri Detective Agency.
The lights were still on, the atmosphere heavy. Ran, Mitsuhiko, Haibara, and Kogoro sat around the table with Conan. In the center, four Soul Gems glowed softly: pink, blue, silver, and amber-brown. Each one, to varying degrees, was now tainted with a murky corruption, no longer as pure as they once were.
"My gem... it feels like it's getting darker," Mitsuhiko said, his voice low. The dark smudge inside his blue gem was noticeably larger than it had been a week ago.
Haibara held up a Grief Seed, the strange black object they had managed to snatch from Kyubey after the last battle. After some study, she had discovered some of its properties, and Kyubey, seeing no reason to hide it any longer, had confirmed its name. She brought the Grief Seed close to Mitsuhiko's Soul Gem, and the murky corruption was slowly drawn out of the gem and into the seed. The Soul Gem regained some of its luster, but they all knew it was a temporary fix.
"The number of Grief Seeds is limited, and Kyubey is also competing for them," Haibara explained. "And each seed can only absorb so much corruption before its effectiveness diminishes. I have a feeling something bad will happen if a seed becomes overloaded. For now, it's safer to let Kyubey dispose of them." She looked at the others. "The fact that Kyubey is so eager to collect these is a huge red flag. Considering what might happen if our Soul Gems become fully corrupted... it's hard to believe it's just 'waste disposal'."
Ran looked at the thin black threads swirling inside her own pink gem. They would vanish after being cleansed, but they always returned after she used her power, like a stain deep in her soul.
Kogoro sighed, looking at the gem on his wand. "The price for this power... it's higher than I thought."
Midnight. The roof of an abandoned warehouse.
A cold wind howled. Gin had come here intentionally, knowing Kyubey would sense his purpose. Sure enough, the white creature was perched on the railing, its red eyes glowing in the dark, as if it had been waiting.
"It seems you've weighed your options," Kyubey's voice echoed in his mind. "So, what is your wish? What power do you desire in exchange for your soul? Gin. Make a contract with me, and become a Magical Girl!"
Gin stood at the edge of the rooftop, his black trench coat whipping in the wind. "My wish... is for the power to eliminate all of the Organization's enemies."
Kyubey tilted its head, seemingly unfazed by the bloodthirsty wish. "The contract is sealed."
BOOM!
The light that erupted was not bright, but a vortex of pure, abyssal black. It exploded outward from Gin, a gale of dark magic tearing through the night. In the heart of the storm, his iconic trench coat was ripped apart and reforged.
In its place was... a bizarre, black, gothic-style dress. It was a cascade of tattered, butterfly-wing-like layers, trimmed with dark red lace and cold metal accessories. The tight-fitting black bodice and high, restrictive collar were strangely fused with his own cold aesthetic. The silver of his long hair was a stark contrast against the black of the dress.
At the same time, the Beretta M92F in his hand was enveloped in the black light. The gun twisted and elongated, its lines becoming sharper, deadlier, covered in strange, dark runes. It was no longer a simple firearm, but a demonic-looking magic pistol.
The maelstrom of magic subsided. Gin stood there, clad in the absurd dress, yet his presence was colder and more menacing than ever before. He glanced down at his new attire, his expression utterly blank, as if it were no different from his old coat—merely a necessary vessel for his new power. On his chest, a Soul Gem pulsed with a malevolent, deep blue light.
"B-Boss... your... your outfit..."
Vodka, who had been standing a short distance away, looked as if his jaw was about to unhinge. He wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare. He wanted to say something, but he didn't dare. The sight of his terrifying boss in a frilly dress was so reality-shattering that his face was a twitching mask of horrified amusement. One look at Gin's warning glare, and all thoughts of mockery evaporated.
A cold sweat broke out on Vodka's brow. He knew what that look meant. Oh no... no, no, no! Anything but that, Boss! I don't want to wear a dress!
"Make the contract," Gin's voice was flat and cold.
Vodka's throat went dry. Kyubey helpfully appeared at his side. "Vodka? Have you decided? Will you make a contract with me and become a magical girl?"
Vodka closed his eyes in utter despair. "I'll... I'll do it..."
"And your wish?"
"To support my boss! I need the power to better support my boss!"
The contract was sealed. A flash of dark gray light, and Vodka was now clad in a heavy, matronly gray dress, like a clumsy maid's uniform. The sight of his thick, muscular calves under the simple hem was deeply unsettling.
Gin, still expressionless, raised his new magic pistol and aimed at a point in the far distance. Three kilometers away was a small safe house belonging to a rival faction. Without needing a scope, all the information flooded his mind: wind speed, humidity, distance, the very life signs of the people inside... and the location of a particularly volatile gas main.
He gently squeezed the trigger.
Fzzt—
A thin, black beam of light shot out, silent and almost invisible.
A few seconds later, a massive "gas leak" explosion rocked the distant building, a brilliant fireball blooming in the night sky.
Gin lowered his weapon. The deep blue Soul Gem on his chest pulsed with a dark, satisfied light.
This power... is good.