Chapter 123: The Opening Act — The Jet Coaster Murder Case
In Mo Yu's view, the impact of this change was potentially gargantuan.
The law-setting of "Frame-Skip Movement," though always part of this world, was previously only triggered by specific characters, during specific actions, at specific times—and its occurrence was subtle. In one frame, Shinichi Kudo discovers a corpse; in the next, Inspector Megure and his team make their grand entrance. The intermediate process of calling the police and the drive to the scene is omitted entirely.
Neither Shinichi nor Megure ever questioned this, as the world's laws simply folded reality, accelerating the boring parts. Of course, whether the actual driving time from the station to the scene matched the clock was a rabbit hole no one needed to fall down. As long as they weren't trapped in a "Blizzard Villa" setting, the police appeared in the very next scene after the call, while the victim's body was usually still warm.
But that was passive influence. Now that these "Anime Protagonist" rules were becoming universal settings, the situation was drastically different. Humans are creatures who excel at finding loopholes; once they consciously perceived and utilized these rules, the "macho operations" would be endless.
And that wasn't even the biggest impact. If Frame-Skipping went public, what about the other laws? When all the rules usually hidden in the world's backend manifested in reality, what would the world become?
It should be very interesting, Mo Yu thought with anticipation as he stepped forward, vanishing into the shadows.
Shinichi and Gin fought as they retreated. Every clash of fists caused them to vanish, reappearing kilometers away in a flash.
Shinichi's forced frame-skips with Gin had no specific destination—he just wanted to get as far away from Ran Mouri as possible. But perhaps by coincidence, or some hidden guiding hand, their battlefield drifted manically from the outskirts back into the heart of Beika Town. Behind them, cars appeared and vanished like ghosts, leaving terrified pedestrians convinced they were seeing spirits.
As the duel intensified, a third party broke in!
The massive Night Baron, wearing his napkin and wielding dual chainsaw "cutlery," charged in with a series of "Ke-ke-ke" cackles. He unleashed a "Scattered Wind" blade style so terrifyingly fierce that neither Shinichi nor Gin wanted to trade hits with him. After a heavy collision, the three split apart.
The line of cars flickered into existence nearby. Yusaku Kudo stepped out. Night Baron flew back to hover behind him, glaring at the other two with predatory intent.
Mo Yu appeared as well. He looked around and couldn't help but chuckle:
"Oho... how interesting. The world's OCD is kicking in. It's starting a hard convergence of the world line."
Mo Yu's reasoning was simple: Shinichi's aimless teleportation had brought them, across a vast distance, to the Tropical Land Amusement Park.
In the original work, this was the Fated Land where Shinichi Kudo was knocked out by Gin, fed the APTX poison, and regressed into Edogawa Conan. This was no coincidence. Behind the luck lay a deliberate push.
As Mo Yu, the Alien God, interfered, the world's destiny had begun to spiral. Shinichi, an ordinary high school detective, had evolved into the Super-Xiao Hei, Moriarty—immortal, undying, and god-like. If this continued, Edogawa Conan would have no room to exist. For a world bubble obsessive about the details of its source material, this was unbearable.
Thus, the world pushed the wheels of fate, providing Shinichi with a critical "Fate Convergence."
But to Mo Yu, the "fact" of the convergence wasn't the important part; the method was.
In Mo Yu's vision, the "Heavenly Killing Intent" permeating the world was boiling. It surged into a grand torrent through all things. If viewed metaphysically, this killing intent had formed the shape of a Book. The book was open, pages fluttering, as the crimson malice acted as ink, engraving the fate of myriad phenomena word by word.
Mo Yu recalled the revelation from the Omniscience Authority when he first arrived: if an alien army invaded, Conan would likely find a "Death Note" falling from the sky to fight them as a true "Elementary Student Reaper."
The omen was now clear. The Heavenly Killing Intent had truly manifested as a Ledger of Life and Death—a World-tier Death Note capable of writing the final fate of all creation.
The source of Beika's killing intent has such a specific form... Mo Yu sensed a secret buried here.
In Mo Yu's mind, the Omniscience Authority—now wearing a deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe—pondered deeply before deducing: "My Lord, I believe there is more to this than meets the eye!"
Mo Yu shook his head to clear the sensory feedback. Regardless, while the Authority hadn't instantly solved the truth, it confirmed that the origin of this "Heavenly Malice" hid a mystery. For now, the "Book" was busy engraving fates.
The tourists in the park panicked as the group appeared. Yusaku Kudo stepped out of his car, ignoring Gin. He looked only at the figure standing on the Jet Coaster tracks: Shinichi.
Seeing his son now devoid of human features—a pitch-black silhouette radiating "Absolute Evil"—Yusaku's composure wavered, his eyes full of grief.
Like father, like son. Yusaku knew Shinichi had embraced this form for one reason: to better welcome death.
"Shinichi... things haven't reached the point of no return. There are other ways. You don't have to do this!"
Shinichi didn't answer. He looked down at his arm. Within that limb of shadow, the Sinful Blood pumped by the Moriarty Heart flowed with high purity.
He understood his father. From Yusaku's perspective, even if Shinichi became Moriarty, so what? Even with the port explosion and his current rampage against the Distillery, a death sentence in Japan was notoriously hard to carry out. With Yusaku's connections, Shinichi would get a private cell in a "good" prison. With his talents, he'd be recruited as a special consultant. He'd solve cases from behind bars, accumulate merit, and be out in a few years.
Why sacrifice a life for this?
But that was Yusaku's logic—the logic of a mature, "smooth" man who had seen the world and was comfortable with compromise.
Shinichi Kudo was not that man.
Perhaps in the future, he would become that flexible. He might even cooperate with Kaito Kid at the cost of "letting him go." But that was the future. Right now, Shinichi was driven by an uncompromising, stubborn purity.
The moment he made his choice, there was no turning back. Like a criminal who puts a plan into action, the reason no longer changes the outcome. And the more he fused with Moriarty, the more he felt what that essence was...
The convergence of all sin. The final presentation of all conspiracy and destruction. The unbearable predator of all life.
A mortal prison? Laws? To Moriarty, those were jokes. Even if he did nothing, his mere existence would irreversibly twist reality toward evil.
Deeply sensing this, Shinichi's resolve hardened. A world without Moriarty was worth his life—even if this "Heroic Murder" remained unknown and misunderstood by all.
Shinichi lowered his hand. Standing on the iron stairs of the roller coaster, he looked down at his father and said solemnly:
"Dad... Moriarty must die. And my life is the sharpest blade to pierce his chest. Do not try to stop me. You cannot...!"
Yusaku wanted to speak, but the words died in his throat. The pressure of the pitch-black will of Absolute Evil slammed into him. In that instant, all color drained from Yusaku's vision, turning the world a withered, ashen white. Only Shinichi, atop the tracks, retained his color.
Infinite darkness, manifesting as the Great Evil.
Not just Yusaku—Inspector Megure and the others felt their legs shake uncontrollably. Their cells were screaming, a primal urge to flee.
"Shinichi...!"
Suddenly, a cry broke through the terrifying aura. Ran Mouri stood with tear-filled eyes, looking up at him. She didn't know what to say, but she felt her childhood friend drifting further and further away. If she didn't call out now, they might never meet again.
"Shinichi... let's just go home together..."
Shinichi remained silent, masking his inner turmoil.
To his father, or even to Mo Yu, he could speak of his conviction and march forward. But to Ran, he was speechless. His EQ was low, but his IQ was not; he knew Ran Mouri.
Ran was an ordinary high school girl, out of place in the circle of detectives and logic. She couldn't keep up with mystery talk, but she listened because it was Shinichi speaking. To her, complex deductions and "Universal Truth" were distant; only Shinichi was real.
The future of the world mattered less than a morning on the way to school where Shinichi showed up late, holding his bag, with an apologetic smile.
That heart was pure. And because it was pure, Shinichi didn't know how to face it—especially now.
Mo Yu watched, rubbing his chin. In the 3D world, Ran Mouri was a controversial character, but Mo Yu understood Gosho Aoyama's intent. She was the classic anime "Yamato Nadeshiko"—gentle, kind, and "virtuous," capable in the kitchen and the parlor. While the author gave her high combat power for "character flavor," her core was her devotion. She could wait and endure. She was the anchor of the plot.
And now, guided by her intuition—or the world's convergence—she had thrown the "Straight-Ball Attack" that dealt the most damage to Shinichi Kudo.
Compared to the world, you are more important!
Such pure sentiment was quite potent. Love is the hardest gate to pass, not just because of its weight, but because it demands a choice. Heroes get drunk on it; prodigal sons turn back for it.
Everything depended on a single thought.
Shinichi could live with everyone's help, walk into the future with Ran, and use justice to fight the darkness. Or, he could bury himself and the darkness here, dying a lonely death with a grand, misunderstood feat.
His eyes flickered manically as he weighed the options. Long after, in a raspy voice, he spoke to Ran:
"Ran... go home first. I have things to do. We might be apart for a while. Don't wait for me... because this parting will be a little... long."
His gaze became hyper-rational. At the end of that rationality was absolute coldness. He held the same pure feelings for Ran, but for that very reason, he refused to trust in justice or love. He knew those things were a joke before a version of himself that had fully become Moriarty.
Shinichi's gaze bypassed Ran, ignoring her heartbreak. It landed on Gin.
"Only a true Hero can kill Moriarty. Gin... after our battle, I've confirmed it. You have the potential to be that Hero. Step forward... and end the monster I've become!"
End of Chapter
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