Fictions Mentioned:
Episode 18
OP Song:
【Yumi Hara】 In the rain 【Corpse Party Blood Drive】 【Eng Lyrics】
Insert Song: Start
Resident Evil 4 Save Theme (Extended)
PART 1
Somewhere in Heavenly Host, in an old dilapidated corridor nearby, Claire Redfield and Sayoko Ooue were simply walking together. Sayoko was still a bit tired from everything that had happened to her. But she still kept moving forward. That and she had a couple of sleep for once with no one disturbing her and with Claire taking the watch for those specific hours.
She needed to find Naho. And it wasn't just her. There were two other people who were with them before they separated. All four of them had the intention of exploring Heavenly Host, although each had different reasons. Sayaka personally did not want to go but Naho insisted. And yet, she still feels regret for coming to this particular place.
If only Shinichi would have come, Sayaka thought, she would at least feel a bit safe since he of all people had probably dealt with this kind of situation before. Shinichi Kudo or Conan Edogawa or Night Baron. Whichever name you pick. They are all faces of the same man that she grew to care for and secretly worry about at times in light of his admittedly dangerous job.
She did suggest that Shinichi could come with them but Naho was hesitant for a bit and eventually dropped the idea altogether, reasoning that Shinichi is busy dealing with a case at the moment and that they shouldn't bother him. But then, Sayaka thought that was strange since Naho had complete trust in Shinichi when it came to his involvement in the occult and paranormal affairs since many of his personal cases often dealt with them, with some of them Naho and herself getting involved in. Why the hesitance of calling him now? That was one thing that she took note of. Naho's behavior felt a bit off at the time. What was she actually hiding from her at the time? Nevertheless, she did recall Naho eventually calling Shinichi on the matter, telling him by phone, although it wasn't obvious enough and is given in a general gist of it kind of way.
"("(Sigh). Shinichi's going to kill me and Naho when he somehow finds out about what we were really up to. Then again...I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow knows by now since he always knows something that others don't. Plus...How many days has it been since I've been here? Two? Three? I lost count since I barely had the time to sleep and pay attention.")" Sayaka thought with an inward sigh.
In any case, she was now accompanying a foreign red-haired woman that she had met. And she appeared to be holding a gun. Would that even matter when it comes to this place? Sayaka didn't think so. How exactly do you kill something that's already dead?
"...So, I know that this is a bit prying on my part but can you tell me all about yourself? How exactly did you end up here? And..." Claire looks at the hallway that they were walking on. "...What is this place?"
"...You don't know where you are?" Sayaka asked, looking a bit bewildered at the question. She would have thought that Claire would have known since she was here and used the Sachiko Ever After Charm to get here, either by herself since she's the only living human that she's met or she's with others who are currently separated on this godforsaken place.
"Not really, no," Claire shakes her head. "Last I can remember, I was somewhere in Morocco, recently helping out the locals from a biohazard problem. Next thing I know, I ended up here, specifically at an abandoned classroom."
"That's...a long way from Japan," Sayaka blinked her eyes in confusion. "And wait, a biohazard problem?"
"Oh, basically the same old thing that's been going on in the world ever since the Raccoon City Incident, only at a localized scale thankfully enough to be contained," Claire said rather casually.
But it only further confused Sayaka who said. "Raccoon...City...?"
"Huh?" now it was Claire's turn to be confused. "You don't know what Raccoon City is?"
Sayaka simply shakes her head.
"What about Umbrella? t-Virus? Albert Wesker? TRICELL? Derek C. Simmons? Neo-Umbrella?" Claire kept asking about topics that her world as far as she knows is more than aware of and is for the public to have general knowledge of. But no matter what Claire asked, Sayaka simply shook her head.
"I...don't know who they are, sorry," Sayaka said in an honest, bewildered tone.
"Hold on a minute," Claire said in a grave tone. Her eyebrows were scrunched in concentration and deep thought. She puts her right hand to her chin. And then after much deep pondering, she realized something. "Umm, okay, bear with me a little. Can you describe to me what the world is like?"
"What do you mean?" Sayaka asked.
"I mean, what are the extraordinary things that happened in the world that you can think of," Claire asked with concern.
"Umm..." Sayaka didn't know why this question is relevant but she begins to think about the question. The first thought that came to her mind was... "Night Baron Kid?"
"Wait, Night Baron Kid?" Claire puts her right hand on Sayaka's left shoulder as they both stopped walking. "Then...do you know a person by the name of Kudo Shinichi?"
"Um...Yes?," Sayaka answered. But she was concerned and surprised about the fact that Shinichi Kudo was being brought up in a subject that was about Night Baron Kid.
"Oh..." Claire made a concerned expression. "So you're from his world, huh."
"Eh?" Sayaka muttered in shock. "What do you mean by that?"
"(Sigh). Well...this is gonna be a lot more complicated than I thought it would be..." Claire sighed heavily, pinching her eyes out.
It was one long but summarized history talk.
Sayaka and Claire were comparing each other for notes regarding the history of their world. The similarities and differences between each. To Sayaka's surprise, the history was off, especially with the Raccoon City part.
According to what Claire told her, it appeared that the former was from a different universe from hers. Claire was a part of TerraSave, a multi-national non-governmental human rights agency whose primary functions are to provide aid, both through supplies and manpower, during bioterrorism and medical-related incidents, monitor medication distribution, ensure safe drug development and research facilities, in addition to organizing mass protests against corporations and governments, all with overwhelming political and public support.
A different universe...
Actually, Sayaka was less surprised and more accepting of this fact since her world at large was quite accustomed to everything weird since the aftermath of World War II. After all, her world was more like something straight out of a Weekly Shōnen Jump superhero manga if one were to give a comparison due to many heroes with various powers and abilities existing throughout the world. And that's just one tip of the iceberg since there are a lot of documented cases of the unnatural and abnormal.
What actually concerned her was the fact that Claire knew who Night Baron was. Or rather to be more specific, Night Baron Kid, who is actually Night Baron II in shrunken form.
"...You...You know Night Baron Kid's identity?" Sayaka asked, concerned and worried. She was walking through the walkway leading outside the building and heading out. There appears to be an overpass nearby for them to cross over, to which they did.
"Yeah," Claire smiled. "I knew him. Or rather, I know that there are at least three Night Barons running around in your world. Or is it...two?" Claire made a twinkling knowing smile.
"Eh? Wha-What do you mean?" Sayaka sported a shocked expression.
"Come on, you know what I'm talking about, don't you, Ooue Sayaka-san? I can tell just from that look on your face," Claire asked with a smile. "And since I've been thinking a lot about our predicament, I've also started remembering something. Night Baron Kid once told me of a girl named Sayaka and that she had three friends plus one childhood male friend. And I do believe that Night Baron Kid told me that you were already in on his little secret."
"You...You know?!" Sayaka asked, concerned.
"Of course," Claire smiled before turning serious. "Although I don't exactly want to broadcast this in public since we are still in enemy territory after all."
"Ri-Right," Sayaka agreed as she walked slowly, looking around for any sign of danger. So long as they were trapped in this school, they can be targeted at any time and they wouldn't want to let their secrets be used to the enemy's advantage.
"Also...you mentioned this charm...Sachiko Ever After, right? You said that you and your best friend, along with two others, decided that it was a great idea to actually attempt entering a dimension where rumors of vengeful ghosts plagued the area." There was a level of disapproval in Claire's voice because of the unwise decision that Sayaka and the four others had made.
"I..." Sayaka sported a look of shame and remorse. And then she thought of Shinichi. Naturally, he would have been the first to go against this kind of idea in the first place since entering unknown dimensions without proper supervision is a very bad idea, to begin with. "I never really thought that it would end up like this...Actually, I didn't want to come here but my best friend insisted because she wanted to tag along with Kibiki-san since she was rather worried for him during half that time...but then...I decided to come because it was important for my best friend and I wanted to be there for her...so..."
"Hey," Claire made a kind smile. "It's okay. I'm not really judging you. If I didn't have the same experiences as I do now, I'd probably not even think that ghosts exist, never mind other universes existing."
This was quite the coincidental run-in that they both had. Both of them, two different people who didn't even know each other, know about the same young man who is considered by many aliases and admired by many.
"...So, how exactly did you know him?" Sayaka asked, curious about the fact that the red-haired woman knows Shinichi. And she was concerned about one thing. There was another side that Shinichi Kudo hadn't told anyone, or if there were, it must be a chosen few. Does Ai Haibara know? Does Ran Mouri know? She could not tell. It made her feel a bit sad.
Claire smiled. "Oh, that's a very long story. And I mean really long and complicated." But then...Claire turned serious for a moment as she puts her right hand on her waist. "Wait!"
Sayaka noticed something coming from afar which made her sweat in trepidation. There were slow walking decayed corpses which were on the other side of the overpass. Claire readied her handgun. It was a Beretta 92F Custom 'Samurai Edge'. She begins to open fire, picking out her targets carefully and taking many of the zombies down. A few moments later, it was clear.
"Come on, let's go," Claire said, concerned and serious.
"Ri-Right," Sayaka nodded.
And thus, they kept moving forward.
But somewhere from a rooftop nearby...
"Hehehehehehehehehehe..."
The girl dyed in red, Sachiko Shinozaki, was watching from afar, looking rather amused and softly giggling.
"My, my, things are much different than before," she said with a smile. "Ooue Sayaka was supposed to die by the hands of my puppet while I take the chocolate candy that her mother made for her. How bittersweet that was?~" As she said this, she was glancing at someone to her right.
A tall man, uttering long moans that were likened to a zombie. Actually, the term zombie may not be far off. He wears a brown jacket and a torn-up dark green shirt, both of which are stained with blood. He has black hair and red eyes. There was a doll hanging from his jacket pocket. The doll is a simple culture doll with dark blue eyes and brown hair, wearing a white dress with a red material under it and a red ribbon on the collar. It has brownish-green hair and wears a red small hat. It also had a gray string attached to it, making it able to be carried by tying it.
He was once known as Yoshikazu Yanagihori, a teacher of Heavenly Host Elementary School that was once accused of the murder of three children. Now, he was but a slave to Sachiko's will.
Fate.
Will you try to defy it? Will you give your entire being to fight it until your very last breath?
That was what Touma Kamijou had done and believed. Nothing was truly set in stone. Everything can change if one can at least try. That one always has a choice.
And now...
That is what Sachiko Shinozaki believes in as well.
But this Sachiko Shinozaki looked much older. Actually, she was more of a young adult somewhere in her 20s wearing a white dress that was waving due to the strong breeze that was coming from the west. Her aura was strange, bespoke that of the deceased. Her expression was sober and solemn. She seems to feel out of place from what was all around her.
She was standing on the rooftop of the ruined Kisaragi Academy building. The windows were smashed and the gates were torn down. The skies are broken with shades of crimson blood, and along with it came crimson lightning and poisonous rain that drops down on the polluted ground. Multitudes of spirits were seen wandering around from the ground. Neither paradise nor the underworld for they all appear to vanish. Nothing. Everything is gone.
Earth has fallen. This was the ruined future that awaits everyone in the end. A cut-out timeline from one possible takes on DCMK Earth-Prime, without the other elements getting in the way.
No...
She refused...
She refused to accept this future...
There was only one way to truly change this outcome.
"...Onii-chan..." Sachiko muttered.
A resolve burned in her heart.
She will change this future.
And she knew that her onii-chan would help her.
PART 2
Tsubasa Kazanari stopped her bike machine for the time being and detransforms her legs back to her normal armored onew. Leon S. Kennedy and Mitsuki Yamamoto were hopping out of the bike while Gilead Burgundy was now landing on the ground, dispersing his magic circles.
They were all currently looking at an abandoned town that was all covered with fog. The bridge that they just exited was also covered with fog. Naturally, it may things more difficult to see things from here in the case of natural eyesight.
"Gilead, do you see anything?" Leon asked.
"No," Gilead was currently enhancing his sense of sight to see through the fog. "It's all static and gibberish. Plus, there's like billions of restless souls all chattering from random directions. It's kinda hard to get a signal in these parts."
"Well, guess we have to do this the old fashion way," Leon turns to Tsubasa. "Tsubasa-kun, if you see anything suspicious, you know what to do."
"Right."
And so, they face through the fog bravely. Every second seemed to pass by and Mitsuki was nowhere close to finding her friends. Now she wonders where they are and hopes that they are all safe and sound.
They walked downstairs towards another corridor. Tsubasa managed to pick off at least three goat-like demons, Lamias they were called, that were raising their flaming swords toward them, killing them with one single strike from her sword that was aimed at precise points. Leon simply picks off every vengeful ghost nearby with his modified handgun. Gilead simply stays back and watches Mitsuki, never letting her out of his sight as it is his responsibility to keep any civilian safe as a member of the Covenant and also based on his chivalrous nature.
There was nothing noteworthy to describe as there were just simple skirmishes that either Tsubasa or Leon had managed to take out with ease. They look to the next corridor and find other corpses nearby. They continued walking undeterred. No enemy in sight.
After a few walks away, they managed to stop by what appeared to be a damaged airliner with the words "SOAPER 341" written from what can be found in the wreckages.
"Dear god..." Leon muttered softly, looking on with concern.
"What the..." Mitsuki looked concerned and bewildered. "What's a plane doing all the way out here?"
"I don't know," Gilead narrowed his eyes. "But I've got the feeling that we should stay as far away from it as possible."
"Why? Did you sense something, Gilead-san?" Tsubasa asked, concerned.
"Yep," Gilead nodded. "I could just feel the vengeful ghosts from that plane. Sucks to be those who fall for the obvious trap of going there. We should turn the other way and ignore it."
"Right," Leon nodded.
And so, they kept moving. Mitsuki gave one last look at the airliner wreckage before walking as well.
They kept walking. Leon had managed to take out a few wandering vengeful spirits that were floating around the roads quite easily. As of now, they find themselves near an overpass that acts like a bridge to other locations. They stepped upwards and continued on. Somewhere along the way, they spotted another corpse here.
Almost everyone except for Mitsuki narrowed their eyes. Leon begins to walk toward the corpse while Tsubasa takes point, holding her sword firmly as she watches the nearby surroundings. It was a young male from the looks of it. What little left of his black hair was owned to a few pieces found on the bald spot. His face is distorted, smashed to bits and pieces, fracturing the skull. Flesh seem to have already decayed for a while as evidenced by the foul smell that was made up of over eight hundred different chemicals. Some flies were present and hovering around the corpse.
There was an ID that Leon managed to find from somewhere on the waist and started to read. Although, it wasn't without a major shock on his and everyone's part.
Sakurami High School.
Yukiteru Amano.
Age: 14
Leon dropped the ID to the ground and stood up in shock. Almost everyone looked at the corpse in horror as the reality sunk in while Mitsuki was concerned, not knowing what's going on.
"What? What is it?" Mitsuki asked.
"This...This student...We know his name, but..." Leon muttered as he looks at Gilead. 'Gilead, can you confirm this body at least?"
"Right," Gilead said as he crouches down near the dead body in order to perform a type of spiritual scan that may verify the identity of the individual. From what he can tell from the last moments, it appeared that something smashed him. Probably a hammer. But he can tell from the few memories that he can view that this corpse is not their Amano at least, an alternate version from another reality. And to further confirm it. He grabs something from the pockets of the corpse's jacket. It was a blue cellphone. He opens it to find a bunch of random topics, many of the latest messages speaking of the personal future of the user.
"Ah," Gilead made a solemn, grim expression. "That universe."
"That universe?" Leon asked.
"The one where the Death Game continued on as planned without a certain Time Lord and other higher powers interfering and proposing a much better and more refined solution," Gilead said.
Both Leon and Tsubasa flinched for a few moments. When one speaks of a Death Game in relation to Yukiteru Amano, it relates to a specific but no longer possible future event where a Battle Royale tournament hosted by a powerful deity of time by the name of Deus Ex Machina would be initiated in order to find a potential successor which is still in its hypothetical proposal stage. It was thoroughly shut down with a negative vote and consensus for the vast majority of higher powers worth mentioning on DCMK Universe-Prime. Also, the Doctor said no, to which one of two things could happen. Either one accepts the Doctor's decision and peace is still in place...Or one doesn't accept the Doctor's decision in which case one would invariably choose several ways one could either die or suffer. Dying is merciful when it came to the Doctor. It's not dying that's even more of a heavy misfortune for those who deserved it.
The Battle Royale didn't happen on DCMK Earth-Prime thankfully. But it did happen in other potential universes unfortunately because there were no higher powers that could say no except for the Deus Ex Machinas of these particular universes, most of them ended up dead because of the equivalent of stupidity in the sense of the higher races. And these events were officially recorded in history as possible dead-end timelines that were sniped out of commission by a few Temporal Powers because of the potential danger that they pose.
"Okay, slashers I can get by just fine for the most part, but battle royales are just messy overall," Leon said. "What are the odds of us being on the crossfire of such a stupid event."
"Well, we don't really know for sure for now since just because this alternate variant is here doesn't mean everyone involved in the Death Game is here. It's possible but I hope not," Gilead stands up, making a wry smile. "Man...Now I wonder how our Yukiteru is gonna react to this."
"I doubt that he'd be surprised at this point," Leon shrugged his shoulders. "Hell, I'm barely surprised by almost anything at this point."
"Been there, seen it all, huh?"
"Right," Leon nodded. "We should keep moving."
PART 3
They stepped out into the TARDIS - the Eighth Doctor, the Companions, five of the Kisaragi Academy survivors, and Dhruv Varma - and were currently walking and venturing through the long cold dark of Heavenly Host.
The dilapidated corridors were quite familiar to the Kisaragi Academy survivors. Memories of a lifetime's worth - the good and the bad - keep coming back to the threshold as they were striving to walk once more into this hell that has been repeated for a very long time. They look and they walk, careful and resolve, to face the past once again. A past of multiple choices that continue to haunt them and threaten everything that they held dear.
They cannot deny to themselves that they feel a certain dread about coming back to the danger zone. They knew what they were up against the moment they stepped out of what was practically the safest location in this infernal nightmare. And yet, something new is happening in every single moment that counts. People who were never supposed to be here were being dragged, both good and evil. Something is happening in Heavenly Host. Multiple dimensions are forming all around the place, forming new spaces on top of one another.
They walked from three corridors and noticed a restroom nearby. They stopped. Kamijou was narrowing his eyes. He recalls a lot of bad things that happened as the restless spirits, including the girl dyed in red herself, had used the occasion of when a person would use the restroom. A lot of deaths happened. Some were hanged. Others were drowned. A lot of people had died here. Back then, he had fewer resources and had to rely more on his instinct, his critical thinking skills, his heart, and his right hand. But now, he was thankful at least that he has his allies covering his back this time.
"Everyone, wait here for a bit," Kamijou said.
And Kamijou ventured forward towards the restroom. A few steps in and Kamijou did not hesitate to begin to focus on his own power. He raised his right hand and there suddenly came a burst of wind that made all of the doors open, breaking them down, revealing the hanged corpses of young female students inside. Most of those who were outside and who were watching made surprised expressions.
"What the!" Yoshiki uttered, surprised because of Kamijou's power and disturbed because of the hanged corpses that were seen.
Kamijou continued to remain focused. He slowly cut the ropes of the deceased victims down by raising his right hand a bit and letting them all down to the floor in a respectful manner. He took something out of his pocket. A pair of blankets that he would use to cover the bodies of each victim that died too soon. Suddenly, there were multiple spirits that appeared just as Kamijou had finished covering the dead bodies that were found in the stallways. These spirits were the hanged victims of long ago, wearing their student uniforms. The marks on their neck were seen. They were smiling gratefully at what Kamijou had done.
"Thank...you..." one of the spirits, a young girl wearing a sailor uniform who is having difficulty speaking due to still feeling her neck injury, the marks of which are still present for all to see. She was smiling at Kamijou and her eyes were leaking with tears of gratitude.
Kamijou simply nodded at them without saying a word, maintaining a serious expression. And with that, the spirits disappeared, leaving Kamijou to make his exit. The Eighth Doctor, the Companions, and Dhruv Varma simply smiled, proud and approving. The Kisaragi survivors were in awe as they saw this with their own eyes.
"We should keep moving," Kamijou proposed. Then he begins to walk forward. And then, they continued moving forward, with the Kisaragi Academy survivors thinking back on this simple encounter.
They walked down the stairs, saw the lit candle, and went down the hallway. And then suddenly, a burst came from the door behind them that surprised the Kisaragi Academy students and teacher, seeing a crazed young man wearing a blue blazer barging from the old wooden door nearby and head towards Kamijou, only for the latter to put his right hand to the former's face that begins to shine with a bright white light, the sound of a scream was heard as the Darkening was expunged from him, falling to the floor. Kyon, who was nearby, was drawing out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it on the unconscious student, sending him immediately to the Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS.
And then, they keep moving. A few corridors were straightforward, there was the presence of a couple of Infected that were scuttling around from the classroom located to their left.
The Eighth Doctor was the one who first noticed it as he heard the light growling that was echoing through the area. He made a gesture of silence by raising his right index finger with the rest closed. Then he gave gestures to Kyon and Sota to take care of the stragglers, which they did. Kyon draws out his revolvers and Sota draws out his Ridebooker, shooting down all of the Infected on the head with pinpoint accuracy.
After clearing the classroom, they kept moving.
A few walks later, having cleared the hallways from Infected and kept looking for clues, Conan noticed something as he got his screwdriver to access the map that had been programmed for the convenient use of navigating the area.
"Wait..." Conan muttered as his sonic screwdriver was beeping. He glances at an abandoned classroom nearby. He walks inside, with Kamijou following suit and the rest waiting from outside, and heads towards the desk where what appeared to be an old and torn picture was found.
Bot Kamijou and Conan looked at each other, curious and concerned. Then Conan took the picture and begins to take a look.
"...!" Conan was shocked. "Touma-san, take a look at this!"
Kamijou looks at the picture that Conan was holding. It was a dusty old picture of the Kisaragi Academy survivors consisting of the following nine individuals - three boys, five girls, and one female student teacher:
Satoshi Mochida, Yuka Mochida, Naomi Nakashima, Seiko Shinohara, Ayumi Shinozaki, Yoshiki Kishinuma, Mayu Suzumoto, Sakutaro Morishige, and Yui Shishido.
What they found to their concern was that the faces found in the picture were blank as if they were never there. It felt odd and wrong.
"Guys! Get over here! You might want to see this!" Kamijou exclaims.
And so, everyone begins to go inside the abandoned classroom.
"What is it, Touma-san?" Satoshi asked.
"Take a look at this," Kamijou said, gesturing at the old photo that Conan was now showing to everyone. The more they looked at it more closely, the more they became concerned. The Kisaragi Academy survivors were looking at the photo with dread.
"What the...that's...us..." Satoshi muttered.
"Not just that but all of our faces are blank," Yoshiki said.
"That was the photo that we've taken before we ended up here," Ayumi said.
"Do any of you have the photo that we can compare with?" Conan asked.
"Yes, it's in my phone," Ayumi grabbed her cellphone and showed everyone the photo in digital format. Differences in age aside, the two looked practically identical.
"This one seems to be photoshopped then," Conan said, eyes narrowed as he scanned it with his sonic. "But then, this picture is a lot older and had been worn out over the years. The estimated date for this picture would have to be somewhere around...ten years...2028 at least."
"2028?!" Yoshiki was shocked. "Are you saying that this picture is from the future?!"
"Judging by the temporal signature scans of my screwdriver, it must be the case. But what's it doing here?" Conan begins to point his screwdriver towards another part of the classroom. The sonic was beeping. Conan was now walking slowly towards the back part of the area and crouched on the ground, seeing what appeared to be a piece of slightly rumpled paper. He stands up and reads it aloud for all to hear.
"Onii-chan...if you've received this message, then you already found the picture that I left earlier at the old desk. I will be brief since I'm borrowing on very limited time. First of all, continue to do what you and your friends are doing at this time. Find all of the soul fragments of my father and put him back together, he will help you with what you need to do next in order to ensure that the future changes to a much better outcome. I...I'm scared...onii-chan...I'm all alone...no one is here now...all dead...gone...Please change it...Please change the future... - Love Always From Your Little Sister...Sachiko. P.S. I'm sorry...for everything."
Everyone was shaken by this message, especially Touma Kamijou whose heart became heavy at each word that was read from the ominous letter. They all look at each other.
"What...the hell?" Kyon said.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Sota said.
Dhruv Varma examined the picture with narrowed eyes as his feet float above the ground like a specter. "I can feel something odd about this paper and the picture that we've just seen earlier. I'm detecting some kind of spiritual and temporal signature that is coming from a blank spot in time. And this blank spot isn't the good kind since I can just feel the restlessness and despair coming out of these items."
"What do these all mean, Touma-oniichan?" Yuka, who was right by Satoshi's side, spoke softly.
"It means that something bad must have happened in the future, Yuka-chan, and from what we can tell so far, it may not have ended too kindly," Kamijou replied softly, eyes narrowed and pondering thoughts in his mind as he tried to piece this information.
"And a future Sachiko must have sent it here to this specific point of time, probably by some kind of magic spell that bends the laws of time just a bit but not too much to the point of not drawing too much attention," Dhruv Varma said.
"One can say "time" but time doesn't really work similarly as in the case of the normal reality," the Eighth Doctor said. "Remember everyone that this corrupted dimension is connecting itself to the past, present, and future. It's already dragged me, Mrs. Kamijou, and Ms. Hojo to this point in time for example."
"And then there's Sachiko, why is she helping us now when she's basically one of the main big bads that we're basically dealing with right now?" Yoshiki pointed out the inconsistency.
"I don't know," Kamijou muttered, concerned. He looks at each Kisaragi Academy survivors. "But...do you all remember that one time, or should I say many times when Sachiko had split into two different people?"
"Oh yeah...That happened, didn't it? There was the Good (White) Sachiko and there was the Evil (Red) Sachiko," Satoshi crunched his eyebrows.
"You think it's something similar to before?" Yoshiki asked.
"Maybe..." Kamijou muttered. "Either way, we should keep moving."
And another few walks later, the Eighth Doctor, the Companions, Dhruv Varma, and the Kisaragi Academy survivors ventured on. They've already taken care of groups of Infected since the last few walks, courtesy of Satoshi and Yoshiki who made their turn by blasting the Infected with their modified Nerf Guns.
They enter another classroom nearby as the Eighth Doctor's and the Companion's screwdrivers were acting up again. This time, there was a strange type of circle on the blackboard.
"Another one of these magic circles. But...there's something familiar about it," Conan muttered. He draws close to the blackboard and inspects it. He uses his glasses to analyze the circle and the results came up with the following. Just like before, the results came up with a familiar sight. "Hey, Doctor, everyone, do you remember that organization we discussed earlier?" he asked.
"Martuba's Tomb, right?" Kamijou said, his eyes narrowed.
"Yeah," Conan said.
Before they left the TARDIS, there was a long discussion about an organization that had been around for a very long time, dating back a few years after the infamous witch hunts in Europe or probably much longer during the time Queen Himiko of Yamatai-koku and had a presence during the time of the Revolutions of 1989. Exceptionally advanced in technology, by combining magic and science, they researched and developed a new method to transmit curses via the internet and performed psychic surgeries on human subjects. They also have a large following and influence, being able to spread rumors quickly caught on by the public.
And this organization was one of those that Yusaku Kudo, the first Night Baron, and Shinichi Kudo - Conan Edogawa, the second Night Baron, had dealt with from time to time. And of course, the Doctor has dealt with them, ever since his seventh incarnation if one were to be precise.
Of note, the Kisaragi Academy students such as Yoshiki and Ayumi who have had more contact with at least one of the members of that organization more than anyone had given their insights on the manner. One of these members was one that Conan had actually encountered in his escapades as Night Baron.
Magari Mizuki.
To the surprise of most, she was actually an enemy that Conan had dealt with from time to time. She is considered to be a very dangerous individual whose doll-like appearance is often times deceiving, guilty of committing several murders already by either official order of the organization or by her own volition. Her personality is quite polarizing. At the core she is vile, demanding, bratty, and not someone to be crossed. Notwithstanding her cute appearance, she has a superiority complex over a majority of humanity, a vulgar mouth, and an unstable temper that often surfaces when things don't go her way. She will threaten anyone who gets in the way of what she wants, insulting, manipulating, and even physically assaulting them.
Since their very first encounter at least two years ago when Shinichi Kudo, before becoming Conan Edogawa, was still in his third year of middle school, Magari had a sort of genuine respect and rivalry for Night Baron, even more so than Naho Saenoki had in the many alternate timelines that came before, considered to be an opponent worthy of her time and effort. And since then, there was a kind of game that they tend to play sometimes when Magari wasn't busy doing her organization's dirty work.
When Shinichi Kudo had of course been rumored to be dead courtesy of Black Organization member Gin by giving him a certain drug which made him shrunk to the way he is now, Magari of course took notice of this. She even managed to connect the dots through her own private investigation that Shinichi Kudo disappearing from the public limelight and the appearance of a third Night Baron was not a mere coincidence. Ergo, she had managed to figure out Conan's identity after some time. But for some mysterious reason, she's keeping it to herself and not even telling it to her superiors.
"Why would I tell them? That would ruin our private fun time, don't you think?"
Or so she says that other time...
Annoying out-of-place side comments aside from Kyon regarding a potential harem member for Shinichi, Conan himself could not deny the fact that there was at least some level of interest in him, even going as far as for Magari herself to claim that he was beginning to really rub off on her, in both a good way and a bad way.
Speaking of Magari, Conan thought, based on what Yoshiki and Ayumi had told him, Magari was involved in some way with Heavenly Host, at least in terms of the aftermath. Now he wonders what was Magari's role this time in this twisted party that had been unnaturally repeating in multiple variations. He may need to take note of the possibility that Magari may possibly get involved in the main events this time around. And not just her, but the organization that she's aligned with.
"Hey guys, look at this," Sota said, getting something out of the desk. It was another piece of crumpled paper and what appeared to be a diary.
Everyone gathered just as Sota begins to read the crumpled paper.
"Take this diary, onii-chan. You need it more than I do...So cold...So cold...Why...?"
Kamijou begins to hold the diary and begins to gently flip the pages. He recognized it. It was Yoshie Shinozaki, Sachiko's mother's diary entries. He had seen this before in many lifetimes. But...he notices the differences already. There were all new entries that were never there in the original timeline. Many of these new entries were written by Sachiko Shinozaki herself. According to these entries sometime after 1953, the Shinozakis have been trying their best to search for Touya Otohime who had been declared missing. They search and search, but could never find him. And Sachiko had to spend the rest of her days alone, without her brother to be there when she needed her.
However...
That didn't mean that Sachiko gave up on life. According to the entries, Sachiko had led a very good life at least, following her big brother's example and applying it to her daily life, even reaching the age of her late 50s by the time of the 2000s, living somewhere in Beika, oddly enough. After that, she died alone under mysterious circumstances, with no one noticing her. No mention of other family members attending her funeral. But that was quite odd as it conflicted with the fact that Sachiko had died sometime in 1953. Something felt odd.
"Hold on...that doesn't make sense since if Sachiko lived on as an old woman, then Sachiko's ghost form should have at least looked like that. But she's still the same girl that we all knew back then," Yoshiki pointed out.
"Except...Heavenly Host exists outside of time, remember. Even if one were to change the past of your world, this place would still exist regardless. I should know that better than anyone since I've tried one too many times to change it so that Sachiko doesn't turn out to be the monster that she will be in the future. I didn't stick for half of the time, unfortunately," Kamijou pointed out. "So there were two Sachikos now to consider as a possibility. One of them being the vengeful spirit that we've encountered earlier and the other who had lived a long life and didn't bother anyone by the time she died, hidden from the rest of the world just like any other ordinary person in the background. There's also a version of Sachiko from the future who keeps sending these items for us to find, so that makes three of them."
"...Okay, this has gotten a lot more complicated since last time," Yoshiki blinked his eyes. "Last time, all we had to do was to appease at least three of Sachiko's victims by getting Sachiko herself to have remorse for all of her actions."
"Those were simple times despite the horrible tragedy that came with it," Satoshi made a bitter smile. "Now, this is truly different."
"Speaking of Sachiko's victims, odds are that they're still wandering around here just as dangerous as ever. We should be very careful when encountering them. If meeting them is inevitable, I'll just have to use my right hand to purify them once again," Kamijou said.
And while Kamijou said this, his thoughts go back to Sachiko, or specifically the version that lived a long peaceful life after he was missing. He was having mixed feelings on the matter. On the one hand, he was glad that he had managed to accomplish something during the loops and give Sachiko and the Shinozaki Family some semblance of peace. On the other hand, he was saddened as Sachiko had already passed away years ago before the year 2018.
Now, he can only hope and pray that Sachiko, any version of her, can finally have some form of peace.
They continued walking down one particular hallway.
Then, Kamijou's precognition was pointing him in one single direction.
"...Guys," he said as he stop his tracks, bringing everyone's attention as they all stop. "Something's coming our way..."
"RAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGH!"
A crashing sound of broken wood was heard from the distance just a few ten to fifteen meters to the north. There was what appeared to be a tall individual. But there was something terribly wrong with him. The entire left side of his body has been skinned, exposing his muscles. If one were to look closely, it almost felt like one was looking at an anatomical model of the human body merged with an actual human body through the use of artificial surgeries. To the Kisaragi Academy students who had already encountered this particular individual, they couldn't help but be shocked and disbelieving.
"It...It can't be!" Yoshiki made a shocked expression.
"Is that...Kizami?!" Satoshi made a shocked expression.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGH!"
"Shit! I think that he's about to gun for us?!" Yoshiki said, worried as he raised his modified Nerf Blaster.
This anatomical model begins to charge at them furiously. But...
"RAAA-OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!"
Unfortunately for this twisted being, Kamijou was able to lift him in the air, raising his right hand. Then Kamijou sticks him to the wall, creating slight cracks. Everyone begins to take the opportunity to go near, with the Eighth Doctor, the Companions, and Dhruv Varma thoroughly examining this particular anomaly, with Kamijou holding it down.
"Okay, this is quite surprising and complicated which is raising more questions for us," Conan muttered, scanning the struggling anatomical model with his screwdriver. "I can confirm that it is Kizami Yuuya at least but there's something not right with him. By tracing his timeline, I've reached a type of dead end point."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Yoshiki asked.
"It means that this bastard isn't supposed to exist when speaking of our time in the present, that means now," Kyon answered for his fellow companion. "Considering that Touma-san just recently nabbed the bastard and send him to the dungeon, this version is from some alternate future dead-end timeline where we didn't encounter Kizami and put the nip on the bud in order for him to not hurt anyone else."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me..." Yoshiki made an annoyed expression. His head was starting to ache a little because of how more complex the situation is growing. "So you're telling me that we've got two versions of the bastard running around now, with one being at a jail cell while the other one was already turned into Sachiko's so-called enforcer."
"I take it that this had already happened before," the Eighth Doctor noted.
"Several times actually, Doctor," Satoshi confirmed. "Some of those times ended up lasting a lot longer than it should've been, not helping the fact that we keep losing our memories and lives ended up resetting back as if someone was playing a continuous prank on us without our knowing."
"In some of those times, I was there to stop him since I got lucky if I were to be ironic since I was in the right place at the right time. Other times, I wasn't because I can't exactly control where and when I would land and that Sachiko was making things more difficult the moment I tried to step in," Kamijou explained.
"So...what exactly are we dealing with here? Some kind of time travel paradox that you mentioned a while ago?" Yui asked the Eighth Doctor.
"I wouldn't doubt it," the Eighth Doctor made a grim expression as he was examining the anatomical model like a professional medical surgeon with an introspective point of view. "He looks wrong. Not just his physical appearance, no. There's something else. It's like time has gone twisty like a piece of chocolate pretzel, randomly sticking to several directions without a sense of linearity of beginning or end. More to the point, the possibility of alternate or parallel worldlines coexisting in this dimension is not out of the realm of possibility anymore and is more than probable since we already know that other dimensions and horors are getting dragged here against their will."
"So any possible decision that may happen in the relative possible future could encounter the present time when things have yet to take course," Lelouch said.
"So what should we do with him in the meantime?" Satoshi asked.
"...Well, there's only one option that we can actually do if one were to put things from a practical point of view," Lelouch said with a grim tone to drive the point home.
"We're going to have to use my right hand in order to purify him," Kamijou said grimly. "But if I used it on Kizami, it may kill him since Sachiko did something unnatural to him by merging his body and attaching it to the anatomical model."
"...!" the Kisaragi Academy students and teacher all had mixed feelings.
"Or we can just put him in the Eighth Doctor's dungeon and lock him away for the time being since we rather not get our hands dirty unless there are no other options left to think over," Lelouch said with a tone of clarification and reassurance.
"Wouldn't that risk a paradox by bringing him there since the other Kizami is still locked away?" Ayumi asked.
"Well for one, the TARDIS is basically another universe with its own set of interior dimensions and laws of physics of its own choosing plus it's in a state of emergency so it wouldn't necessarily break down now at proper capacity unlike all of the other times. For two, he'll be kept alive in a much more secure cell than the other Kizami and maintain absolute separation and unawareness from the other. For three, we will need this version alive so that we can ensure that this isn't any sort of trap."
"Kinda like using a paradox as a type of bomb that may punch a hole in the space-time continuum or something," Yoshiki said.
The Kisaragi Academy students and teacher all looked at Yoshiki again in shock. Once again, they were surprised at the level of intelligence and understanding that Yoshiki Kishinuma had demonstrated. And he was the delinquent of the group. Appearances may in fact be quite deceiving after all.
"Right," Lelouch nodded. "Either way, we would all commonly agree that he needs to be contained for the sake of preventing him from harming anyone else and accidentally creating a potential paradox which might further exacerbate this dimension more in unpredictable ways."
"This does seem to be the more sensible option for the time being. Plus, I'd ask my other self to examine him firsthand and see what we can do with the lad. Even after all that I've learned so far, one cannot ignore the fact that he's a teenager who needs help because he is sick. And what kind of Doctor would I be f I were to not attempt first aid?" the Eighth Doctor said as the Companions and Dhruv Varma all made a smile while the Kisaragi Academy survivors were sporting surprised and intrigued expressions.
The one common thing regarding the Doctor, no matter what face he wears, is his overall sense of mercy and compassion. He will help friend and foe alike if possible. If possible, he wants everyone to live without anyone dying on his watch.
The Eighth Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver and sends the monster to the dungeon in a specific room in the case of emergency paradoxical situations for future examination and containment. Various bright white particles were seen in an encircling pattern to form around the alternate Kizami. "There, that takes care of one measly problem," he said.
They were somewhere outside the building and walked towards the woods. It was quiet. Too quiet. Only the sound of light rain was heard as they drop down to the ground. And as they were walking, Conan begins to spot someone lying down on the pavement, all covered in bruises. It was a young woman with long, black hair with light blue highlights. Two blue ribbons are tied to it. There was a gold necklace with a pink gem and a short purple yukata with a red skirt underneath. She also wears geta with long stockings tied with light blue ribbons.
"...!" Conan's eyes widened as he recognized the individual that was lying down on the pavement. He rushed to her aid immediately. "Aiko-chan!"
"Aiko-san!" Ayumi made a shocked expression as she too started running, with the others following suit.
Conan was examining her body from head to toe. He gently placed his right hand on the girl's back and slightly lifted her up a few inches. "Aiko-chan! Aiko-chan! Can you hear me?!" He said with an accommodating low but clear voice.
"Hmmm," Aiko Niwa, the girl who is now feeling a lot of pain at the moment, managed to at least open her eyes slightly. Her blurred vision was slowly clearing and slightly turned her head. And she would spot the young boy with his iconic and recognizable dark blue magician clothing and top hat. Her eyes widened slightly while from the inside, she couldn't help but feel happier and relieved as she saw the one face that she thought she never sees during the start of this nightmare.
"Shi...Shinichi..." Her eyes were nearly leaking tears, in light of the physical pain that she was feeling and in light of the one man who had come here in spite of all odds to the contrary. Though she noticed that she wasn't alone and that there were others with him, all gathered around her. "Is that...Is that really you?"
"Aiko-chan," Conan was relieved but serious. "What happened? Who did this to you?"
"...I...I was...was running...I was running from...something...Someone..." Aiko tried to concentrate on something. Then her eyes widened as she and the others begin to hear a very sinister laugh.
"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe."
It wasn't just that. It was a sound of childish laughter that made Touma Kamijou, Satoshi Mochida, Yuka Mochida, Yoshiki Kishinuma, and Ayumi Shinozaki were widening their eyes in recognition. They knew the voice. They just knew by instinct and by memory. They and the rest all turn to the northwest and find a...
"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe."
...A short, thin girl. She has short dark blue hair, with a part of the front bangs growing long past her face. She has large black, alien-like eyes and a wide, scarecrow-like mouth. She wears a navy blue dress and can be seen carrying a hatchet whose sharp edge was covered with blood, indicating that it was used for something.
"Oh no..." Kamijou muttered. His eyes narrowed.
"What the hell?" Kyon simply raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with this girl but was feeling something off from her.
"Umm...who's...that..." Yui Shishido, the only one among the Kisaragi Academy survivors, asked as she was unfamiliar with who is standing right before her.
"Sachi...Shinozaki Sachi...Shinozaki Sachiko's unborn older twin sister," Kamijou grimly said.
"Huh?! Sister?!" Kyon raised an eyebrow.
"Long story short, because of a phenomenon that is known and well documented in medical studies that have designated the official term "vanishing twin" in which she died in utero of her mother and then completely reabsorbed by the other twin, meaning Sachiko. However, when Sachiko absorbed Sachi, she tried to fight back by biting her, resulting in her two teeth getting lodged near her heart and Sachiko had to undergo surgery to remove them. I was there when that operation took place," Kamijou explained.
"That's...all kinds of messed up, kinda like a Cain versus Abel type of conflict, baby edition," Kyon simply said.
"Oh trust me, that is merely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Sachi," Kamijou said.
"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe."
Sachi laughs with an ominous intent as she raised her arm and throws her hatchet straight toward Conan, only for him to block it by activating a holographic shield from his left gauntlet that holds the symbol of a six-pointed star formed by two interlocking triangles, one pointing up, one pointing down. The Star of David. It was shining with white-blue colors. The hatchet disintegrated upon contact, destroyed due to the holy symbol that was recognized to be a symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. It also was used to defend against as protection against evil spirits and is generally associated with martyrdom and heroism.
Sparks fly as the hatchet disintegrates, and a yellow bright light shone brightly on each of the lines of the star to the point where it reflected its rays on Sachi, scorching her tremendously in pain in the light of the holy symbol. She was burning and howling in pain. A terrifying and twisted scream worthy of the damned. It made the girls among the group cover their ears and cringed.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
. It hurts, Sachi thought. It hurts. She was last seen vanishing to parts unknown, still dealing with the flames that were scorching her as if undergoing purgation in the sight of God.
The evil spirit was driven away. For now.
Now, Conan deactivates the symbol from his left gauntlet and was attending to his old friend who needs him more than ever. At the very least, he was relieved. One of his friends was safe and sound. Now, he has to worry about two others that are still roaming around the various unknown parts of Heavenly Host.
"Great, so now we have to deal with Sachiko's older sister now, and I've got the feeling that this wouldn't be the last time we see her," Kyon gave an annoyed expression.
"No, it won't, so I'd recommend that everyone keep their guard up. If experience has taught me anything is that Sachi knows how to be a persistent type that never goes away so easily," Kamijou explained.
"Hmmm," Aiko tried to sit up straight while Conan tried to help her.
"Easy, Aiko-chan, you've been through a tough ordeal so don't try to strain yourself," Conan spoke gently.
"Hehe," Aiko laughed softly. "More than you think, Shinichi. A lot of things happened...and yet never happened...yet that is..." She said this as she was looking specifically at Ayumi and Yoshiki whom she recognized the most along with Kamijou. Ayumi and Yoshiki on their part noticed this as they made surprised expressions.
"Are you referring perhaps to the unnatural reset that is surrounding Heavenly Host?" Conan said, deducing it from the way that Aiko looked at the two Kisaragi Academy survivors.
Aiko made a surprised expression, saying. "Yes...So you already knew..."
"Kamijou-san and the others have already told us, plus I've been digging a bit deeper into the case of Heavenly Host as well long before I've gathered the necessary data to at least piece many of the puzzles along the way. Although, how much do you remember exactly and how did you remember?" Conan asked.
"Not by choice," Aiko shakes her head. "I've somehow managed to regain some of my memories of a past life if one could call it by the transmission of information from one mind to another, a very old type of magic spell, only...this particular method of transference is unnatural, borderlining a temporal connection that lay out of context to the point where one cannot simply find it except for a few who know where to look."
"Future Sachiko," Kamijou said, crouching down towards Aiko's position. "It has to be her again that's doing this."
"She's been giving us hints since those other classrooms before. She's a lot more involved in the sidelines more than we thought while the rest of us, including Red Sachiko, were busy focusing on each other," the Eighth Doctor said, crouching down towards Aiko's position.
"I've barely managed to retain at least the basic gist of it the more I spent my time in Heavenly Host. But...there's something awfully wrong here, Shinichi. Whatever this place is now...it was far worse than the last time that I could recall since Maturba's Tomb's involvement in exacerbating this dimension."
What Aiko was referring to was one particular plot of a few members of Martuba's Tomb whose aftermath caused Heavenly Host to no longer be Heavenly Host and become something entirely new...becoming the Book of Shadows. And it was something that made Kamijou and Conan both narrow their eyes as the former had intimate experiences with this plot while the latter through the pieces that have been collected so far such as the magic circles are all drawn out in variations have managed to put many of the puzzle pieces in order for him to know and planned accordingly.
Flashback...
Heavenly Host...
Many temporal cycles ago...
"...Oh, one more thing, though. You've probably already realized this but this dimension isn't Heavenly Host any longer. It's now a physical manifestation of the curse from within the Book of Shadows. No clue what's going to happen in here. So careful now," Magari Mizuki reminded Ayumi Shinozaki and Aiko Niwa. They were all currently somewhere in a dilapidated corridor whose walls and floors were full of red goo, almost life-like with the beating of one heart like it was a real life breathing person.
"Magari-san, you're still our enemy, right? So, why are you helping us?" Aiko asked. The left side of her face was smeared with blood. Her injuries consisting of bites and scratches have yet to heal.
"Because everything got fucked up," Magari said, her eyes turning sideways.
"Eh?" Aiko's face was one of surprise.
"You saw all of those red magic symbols drawn all over the school?" Magari asked. Then her expression was one of displeasure and irritation that was laced with a cold tone. "Those were black magic spells created by members of my order. They came here of their own accord, without being ordered to by any of the elite like me. And every single one of them got killed off for their troubles. They were literally in pieces by the time I got here. Like I said...fucked up, right? It pisses me the hell off. The elders sent me here to investigate, but then they went and sent in another investigation team behind my back as well. The old hag who founded the Martubas has clearly lost her marbles. And because of that, the black magic in here's boosted out of control. Sachi and the Nirvana have reacted to it and gone beserk, and now guess what? End of the fucking world."
Magari sighed as she kicked the red goodish floor with her feet in displeasure. "It was a lot more fun when I was going up against you three, you, Sayaka-chan, and Naho-chan..." She shakes her head. "I'm thinking it's about time I leave that shit-for-brains order once and for all." She turns in the other direction, her back facing Aiko and Ayumi. "Anyway, I still have things to clean up, so this is goodbye for now. Ask the book how to go about meeting the Nirvana, though. It's in the center of this world."
Magari would now begin to walk away to another destination, leaving the two behind.
"...This is my responsibility. You stay here, Aiko-san," Ayumi's expression was smiling and one that was full of resolve after everything that she had just gone through.
"You sure that you shouldn't wait for Kishinuma-kun and the others?" Aiko asked with a smile.
"I'm sure," Ayumi responded with no hesitation. "This, more than anything, is a situation I don't want them getting involved in and I know if they were here, they'd insist on getting involved."
Aiko remained silent about that and made a serious expression.
"You need to meet up with everyone else and get out. Tell them I have the Book of Shadows so I'll be fine," Ayumi said before eventually stepping a few meters away and tried to move ahead.
"No," Aiko said. "I'm coming with you, Ayumi-chan."
"Why?" Ayumi made a worried expression. "It's going to be really dangerous from this point on. Didn't you hear what Magari-san was saying?"
"It's the first favor my sister ever asked of me. And I don't want to let her down," Aiko explained.
"But..." Ayumi was hesitant.
"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," Aiko said with a firm tone. "So don't argue with me."
"...All right," Ayumi relented. "I'm going to leave a note, then." She said this, writing down a note with a pen and paper and placing it somewhere visible for anyone to find. And they were about to take their leave when...
"Then...I'm coming with you both as well."
Both Ayumi and Aiko were surprised, turning to find an eleven-year-old Touma Kamijou who had both of his hands in his pockets. His eyes were serious, not taking no for an answer. Ayumi of course recognized this young boy from anywhere. A mysterious and pleasant constant in their lives that seem to turn up sometimes, especially when the situation is dire.
"...Al...Alright," Ayumi nodded in bewilderment before asking in a concerned tone. "Touma-san...how did you get here? Where have you been all this time?" She asked this question because Kamijou wasn't present for the majority of what had happened since after the conversation between Magari and them.
"Complicated," Kamijou simply answered. "But I'll tell you what I know on the way."
Present Time...
"All of those red circles that we've encountered, the runes where all of those crucified victims were," the Eighth Doctor pointed out, recalling their last destination.
"And that magic circle from the blackboard," Lelouch pointed out.
"It all has Martuba's Tomb written all over it," Kamijou said.
"Based on what I can deduce so far since coming here and encountering one of the magic circles before ending up like this, Martuba's Tomb's influence is seeping in an unnatural way. All of the rituals that they did or had done, both past and future of all temporal cycles, are merging of a sort like some twisted perpetual sacrifice. And Sachiko seems to be at the center of it all considering that she is the one that contains the accursed Nirvana," Aiko said grimly. She looks at Conan and the others. "Shinichi, what exactly have you all found out so far?"
"We'll tell you everything on the way. In the meantime, can you walk?" Conan asked.
"I think I can manage," Aiko smiled. "Still concerned for little old me?" She joked.
But Conan only gave a blank stare and didn't dignify it with a response. He only responds by helping Aiko up, with the help of Kamijou and the Eighth Doctor who were the nearest to her position.
"Alright then," Conan nodded. "Let's keep moving."
Insert Song: End
ED Song:
【ARTERY VEIN】Confutatis no Inori (Full Version)【CP Blood Covered】【Eng Lyrics】
Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:
The Eighth Doctor - A: Paul McGann
Main Companion Protagonists:
Touma Kamijou - VA: Atsushi Abe
Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa/Night Baron - VA: Minami Takayama
Kyon - VA: Tomokazu Sugita
Sota Mizushino/Kamen Rider Decade - VA: Daiki Yamashita
Lelouch vi Britannia/Zero - VA: Jun Fukuyama
The Nine Characters:
Satoshi Mochida - VA: Hiro Shimono
Yuka Mochida - VA: Eri Kitamura
Yoshiki Kishinuma - VA: Yūichi Nakamura
Ayumi Shinozaki - VA: Asami Imai
Yui Shishido - VA: Miyuki Sawashiro
Main Ally Characters:
Future Sachiko Shinozaki - VA: Ikue Ōtani
Main Enemy Characters:
Sachiko Shinozaki - VA: Ikue Ōtani
New Characters:
Aiko Niwa - VA: Rikako Yamaguchi
Magari Mizuki - VA: Maaya Uchida
Yoshikazu Yanagihori - VA: Daisuke Matsuo