A Beautiful Dream of Death
Then she smiled faintly. "Little one. You say you followed your brother Hattori to the Takahashi estate. Which means... he saw it too."
Conan went rigid under Raiden Ei's gaze — those violet eyes fixed on him without a trace of emotion. He had never imagined a person's look alone could weigh this heavily on him. It felt as if a pair of ice-cold hands had closed around his heart, squeezing the breath out of him.
He forced himself to swallow, struggling to stay calm.
Conan had always known the Teyvat Syndicate had some contact with the Black Organization, but he'd assumed it was only a handful of people involved. After all, most of the Syndicate members he'd met were mysterious, yes, but they all had their own lives, and none of them had ever shown the slightest hint of danger. Even Kaeya — the one person he knew for certain was collaborating with the Black Organization — doted on Klee like a little sister, and was endlessly patient with the Detective Boys.
So he'd never really kept his guard up around the Teyvat Syndicate. That was precisely why he'd come right out and asked Raiden Ei about the Takahashi estate just now. Deep down, he'd never believed they would hurt a child over something like this — at worst they'd brush him off with an excuse, and maybe he could even pick apart that excuse for a crack in their story.
He had not expected this reaction. And that question — did anyone else see it? — sounded exactly like someone preparing to silence a witness.
This is bad, Conan groaned inwardly. Now he didn't just have to talk his way out of the present moment; he had to think about how to protect himself and everyone around him.
Beside him, Mr. Zhongli — who had been nothing but courteous and gentle all this while — seemed only now to realize that Conan had seen something he shouldn't have. A helpless smile crossed his face, and he gave a small shake of his head before laying a hand lightly on Conan's shoulder.
The touch was feather-light, yet Conan felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Mr. Zhongli's gaze sharpened, just a little. He regarded Conan and said, "You are a child who asks far too many questions. When Xia Yu first spoke of you, I thought to myself that such curiosity would be the death of you one day. I simply did not expect it to be today..."
"Don't be afraid, Conan. Dying is just like falling into a long, beautiful dream — the only difference is that you can't wake up from it," Nahida said soothingly. "Besides, Miss Raiden is very quick. You're my friend, so I promise she won't let you feel even the slightest pain."
Conan stared at her in disbelief. She was saying that because of one innocent question, Raiden Ei was actually going to kill him?!
If she was that terrified of being seen, then maybe she shouldn't have been drawing her sword from her chest while standing on top of a building in the first place!
No — now was not the time to be dissecting what was wrong with these people!
He had to get away, fast. If they really intended to kill him, they certainly wouldn't spare Hattori either — and Ran and the others might be in danger too. He had to escape and warn them.
Wait — Conan's blood ran cold. He'd been getting ready for bed, which meant he'd taken off some of his gear. The tranquilizer wristwatch, for one.
Thankfully, the soccer ball belt and the power-enhancing shoes were still on him. There was still a chance...
But the instant he twitched his fingers toward the belt at his waist, an enormous weight crashed down on him, pressing him flat with the force of a mountain.
He tried to struggle, but the pressure held him like an iron vise, and no matter how he strained, he couldn't move so much as a hair.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nahida and Mr. Zhongli step back from their places, clearing a path for Raiden Ei.
He noted that her hands really were empty. He kept his eyes locked on her every movement.
Even at this desperate moment, Conan still wanted to know whether he'd imagined it — whether Raiden Ei truly could pull a sword out of her own chest.
In a way, Mr. Zhongli hadn't been wrong at all. But then, that's the fate of a detective, I suppose... Conan thought, a bitter laugh rising inside him.
He watched her intently. Her right hand swept downward, and a long-handled weapon appeared in her grip — though it looked somehow different from the one he'd seen before.
But that wasn't the point!
The point was that Miss Raiden had just conjured a weapon out of thin air!
This was a magic trick, right? Which meant what he'd seen earlier was a trick too?!
Conan's mind raced through every possibility.
But Raiden Ei paid his reaction no heed at all. She had already raised the weapon above her head, poised to bring it down on him at any moment.
"Wait! I'm just a kid — even if I told people, no one would believe me, so there's really..." no need to kill me at all!
Conan shouted desperately, hoping to talk them out of it.
"And Xia Yu-neechan, she..." Just as he tried to invoke her name to plead his case, Raiden Ei cut him off.
"It changes nothing, Kudo Shinichi." Watching his pupils contract in sudden terror, she went on, "Enjoy the beautiful dream of death."
With that, she raised her weapon and, without granting Conan a single second to react, brought it down on him in one clean, merciless stroke...