"Onmyoji kid, haven't eaten one in a long time."
Kamaitachi exclaimed with undisguised delight, paying no mind to the child in the room, his gaze fixed intently on the elevator.
Then.
Under his watchful eye.
The elevator numbers slowly descended. With a ding, the numbers stopped at Kamaitachi's floor.
And then.
The elevator doors slowly opened.
Kamaitachi's vision was filled with three figures inside the elevator: one youth and two children. One child had a cute face and held an Onmyoji talisman. The other child wore a small blue suit and had a rather large head. Despite being a child, he already wore glasses.
Huh?
Two children?
Kamaitachi was stunned. His sense of smell had indicated three people in the elevator: one youth and one child. But now, why were there one youth and two children?
Instantly.
Kamaitachi subconsciously looked at the child in the blue suit:
[Ding! Kamaitachi is bewildered. Why does this child smell like an adult? And... why does he look a bit familiar? I feel like I've seen him somewhere before.]
[Host gains System Points +50]
Just as Kamaitachi was wondering,
Inside the elevator, Yu Xiaoqi and Kazuto Fū also noticed Kamaitachi standing at the entrance. Yu Xiaoqi's expression changed. There really was a yokai!
Without any hesitation.
Yu Xiaoqi reacted decisively, shouting at the suited boy beside him:
"Quick! Conan! Kill it!"
[Ding! Kamaitachi paused... This kid's name is Conan. Wait, holy crap, I know where I've seen him! This is literally Edogawa Conan from Detective Conan!]
[Host gains System Points +60]
Kamaitachi's eyes widened.
No wonder he looked familiar. It wasn't that it had gone to Akihabara for a hunt, and during the Detective Conan anniversary celebration, there were many Detective Conan merchandise. Because of this, it was very familiar with Conan.
Looking closely.
The child called Conan in front of him really did look like Conan from Detective Conan.
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Unbelievable. This kid not only looks and dresses like Conan, but even his name is the same!]
[Host gains System Points +70]
However, before Kamaitachi could think further.
As if sensing something, its yokai instincts triggered a strong sense of danger. All its fur stood on end. Kamaitachi transformed into a whirlwind and abruptly left its spot, moving several meters away.
At the same time.
Kamaitachi looked back at its original position. Its pupils contracted sharply:
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Human? Shikigami? When did this thing appear behind me? I had no idea.]
[Host gains System Points +80]
It saw.
At some unknown time.
Where Kamaitachi had been, a figure appeared behind it, entirely black, with only a row of white teeth and a pair of eyes exposed. In its hand, it held a kitchen knife, raising the knife as if about to stab.
It was certain that if Kamaitachi had remained in its original position, it would have been stabbed through the heart from behind by this dark figure.
At this moment.
The dark figure also noticed Kamaitachi had dodged. Although it maintained its raised posture, its face had turned towards Kamaitachi. Its eyes widened, staring at Kamaitachi with a predatory gaze, and it bared its white teeth in a grin. Kamaitachi felt an inexplicable chill from its stare.
However.
There was no time to ponder what this thing was. Upon clearly seeing the appearance of the dark figure, Kamaitachi subconsciously glanced at Conan again, then at the dark figure.
"????"
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Holy crap, it's one thing if Conan looks the part, but this guy too? Why does he look exactly like the killer "Little Black" from Conan!]
[Host gains System Points +90]
Amidst its surprise.
Kamaitachi did not idle. Its tail, behind it, transformed into a scythe, ready to whip out, creating a gale as sharp as a blade, aiming to kill the "Little Black" that attacked it.
But just as its tail was raised...
"Huh? Where did he go?!"
Kamaitachi froze. The Little Black in front of it had disappeared in less than the blink of an eye, just like the killer Little Black in Conan. Until discovered as the killer, in its "Little Black state," it was elusive.
The next second.
Kamaitachi once again felt an instinctive danger. It abruptly looked up and behind, almost scared out of its wits.
The Little Black, which had been several meters away, had vanished without a trace and had silently appeared behind it. Just like before, it raised its hand, holding the kitchen knife, and with a classic maniacal killer smile, lunged towards Kamaitachi's chest.
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Damn it!]
[Host gains System Points +60]
Quickly, Kamaitachi's tail, which had been raised to unleash a gale, moved to block Little Black.
Clang!
Like metal tools colliding, sparks flew.
Kamaitachi's tail collided with the kitchen knife, blocking Little Black's fatal attack. It then transformed into a gust of wind again, creating distance.
It was at this moment.
A voice was heard.
"Is this the killer Little Black from Conan? So strong, hahaha."
It was Yu Xiaoqi speaking. He had seen Little Black almost kill the yokai twice, and surprise appeared on his face. He had been startled when he first saw the yokai Kamaitachi waiting for them at the elevator entrance. Fortunately, he had foresight. As soon as they exited, he had used the Conan figure to summon Conan, and that "ubiquitous killer Little Black."
As his words fell.
Kamaitachi was first stunned. It looked towards Yu Xiaoqi and the others, clearly having heard Yu Xiaoqi's words:
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Are you kidding me? Little Black from Conan? Trying to trick me, huh? You think I'd believe that... Damn it, here it comes again!]
[Host gains System Points +70]
Initially, Kamaitachi did not believe Yu Xiaoqi's words. After all, it had watched Conan and knew about the Little Black in it.
But then.
Little Black disappeared again and reappeared behind it once more. No matter how it dodged, the opponent could always appear behind it. Even if pressed against a wall, Little Black would poke its head from behind the wall and stab from behind it.
Seeing that its attacks had been dodged by Kamaitachi for the third or fourth time.
Conan, standing beside Yu Xiaoqi, seemed unable to watch any longer. He pushed up his glasses and activated his wristwatch.
This scene.
Kamaitachi saw it.
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Tranquilizer Watch?]
[Host gains System Points +80]
Then.
Little Black once again appeared behind Kamaitachi. Kamaitachi instinctively tried to dodge, but just as it was about to act, a sound reached its ears.
Whoosh!
Kamaitachi caught a glimpse with its peripheral vision. The Conan, not far away, aimed the scope of his activated watch and fired a dart.
It wanted to dodge, but for some reason, even though it dodged, the dart accurately hit the back of its neck.
Instantly.
Kamaitachi reached to touch the back of its neck, looking at Conan with a hint of anger:
"You damned brat, you're looking for death..."
[Ding! Kamaitachi... Holy crap, am I Kogoro Mouri? Is this a game? Shooting me with a toy tranquilizer watch? A kid is just a kid. Even if you shot me with a real one, I wouldn't... Ugh, what's happening? Holy crap, I'm so dizzy.]
[Host gains System Points +90]
As the system prompt sounded.
A strong sense of dizziness washed over Kamaitachi. Its entire body became unsteady, staggering like Kogoro Mouri, its expression becoming as comical as Kogoro Mouri's.
This situation.
Kamaitachi happened to see its own changing appearance in a mirror along the corridor, and couldn't help but look at Conan:
"You..."
[Ding! Kamaitachi is bewildered. How could this happen? Isn't this just a kid cosplaying Conan?]
[Host gains System Points +90]
At this moment.
Kamaitachi recalled everything. It remembered smelling an adult on Conan, then connecting it to Conan's identity in Detective Conan, and then recalling Yu Xiaoqi's earlier words. An unbelievable thought emerged in its mind...
At the same time.
Facing Kamaitachi's words, Conan pushed up his glasses. The lenses reflected light, and then he said slowly:
"I am not a child. My name is Edogawa Conan. I am a detective."
...