Fictions Mentioned:
Episode 24
OP Song:
【Yumi Hara】 In the rain 【Corpse Party Blood Drive】 【Eng Lyrics】
Insert Song: Start
Marilyn Manson - Resident Evil Main Title Theme (Corp. Umbrella) (SX Long)
Misaki Shokuhou, Seria Kumokawa, and Ayu Mitsuari continued walking forward, careful with every step that they make in light of any possible trap that may be sprung upon them.
Shokuhou may have taken care of the ghost from earlier, but she had a feeling that it wasn't that easy. But she still carries her trusty shotgun just in case. The same can be said for Kumokawa and Mitsuari, armed with their own shotguns, the same type that Shokuhou was carrying.
No sign of any danger. Could be a good thing but the three girls sorely doubt this.
They had already passed a few corridors and managed to find a way towards what appeared to be an overpass connecting from one part of the building to another. They begin to carefully inspect the overpass while crossing it. It was quite long of a passage, about a few meters between one building to another. The half-blood moon shines down upon them as they noticed something that was moving in droves just a few meters down.
"...Oh you have got to be kidding me," Kumokawa said, more annoyed than anything as she and the rest were seeing what appeared to be a horde of zombie-like creatures that were all gathered together and walking in slow motion. They can just hear the guttural sound of their predatorial growls.
"I guess down isn't so much of an option for us unless there is no other choice," Shokuhou said, narrowing her eyes at the horde.
And they keep moving forward. A few walks later and they finally managed to enter the other building. They keep moving and find more dead bodies that were scattered to the sides, all of them were reduced to mere skeletons at this point.
A few walks later and...
"...!"
They see something...
It was a young boy, no more than eleven, with familiar spiky hair, wearing a black shirt, white shorts, and white sneakers.
Slowly but surely...they recognized this boy...they couldn't mistake him for anyone else...
It was...
"Kamijou-san..." Shokuhou muttered softly, her eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
As if the young boy didn't hear them, he continued walking with a solemn, determined expression down to the other hallway to the right. The girls begin to follow him. They turned right and found...nothing. Not a trace, not even a footprint, like it was some kind of afterimage. The girls all looked at each other, concerned.
"Okay, just to confirm, we all saw what we saw, right?" Kumokawa asked.
"Yes," Shokuhou said, nodding.
"That's correct," Mitsuari said, nodding.
"Then either what we saw was some kind of illusion or it really is kouhai," Kumokawa knitted her eyebrows, thoughtful.
"Then I should check first," Shokuhou summoned a remote and pressed one of the buttons, forming a forensic scan that would be received into her brain. A moment later, Shokuhou made a concerned expression. "It wasn't an illusion." She said. It made both Kumokawa and Mitsuari sport concerned expressions. "Whatever we saw in this hallway wasn't an illusion, rather I'm detecting a kind of temporal afterimage, separating from one specific time zone to the next."
"What you are saying is that what we just saw was a past version of kouhai, a version from long before he ever met us if I judged correctly that this version appears to be somewhere around late elementary, eleven I think," Kumokawa said.
"Correct, we just peered beyond the veil so to speak, if only a bit temporary," Shokuhou confirmed.
"Then...could it be possible that this is not the first time that Kamijou-san had come here? And if so, he never really told us about it," Mitsuari said.
"Remember girls, kouhai had a whole lot of adventures with the Doctor and his best friends long before he ever met us to the point that telling all of them may take days to months to even be said. It's not surprising that kouhai may not have told us everything," Kumokawa said.
"That's true. There were times when he, the Doctor, and his best friends went off on family hunting trips on SPN Universe-Prime and visited the Winchesters and Castiel-sensei before and after we met them, so they already had multiple experiences dealing with supernatural threats, and this is probably not mentioning the other adventures," Mitsuari said.
"Still..." Shokuhou looked around. "I've got the feeling that this particular situation feels different if our mysterious stalker is anything to go by."
They keep moving.
After a few walks down the hallway, Shokuhou took notice of a particular note that was flying in their direction. By instinct, Shokuhou grabbed the note as she felt something odd about it. She looked at the crumpled note to find something written down.
"I don't have much time so listen to me very carefully you three. If you want any possible explanations as to what is happening here, I cannot say much for now but know that I am your ally. One of the main problems that you three and the rest of the women marked with crosses from the shrine that you three saw earlier are dealing with is that my other self, the stalker that you may suspect, is deliberately dragging all of you if possible to this twisted dimension. Call it what you will: Heavenly Host, Nirvana, or anything else. It does not matter. What does matter is that this dimension has become unstable and has been dragging multiple horrors from beyond this domain. Slashers, ghosts, monsters, demons, and many others. Not only that, but its influence is now becoming known in several universes, including your own, with the main center point of incursion being Kudo Shinichi's Earth. Know as well that Touma-oniichan and his friends are here as well and I have been helping them out as well. If you can, be on the lookout for them. - Your Ally From The Future - Shinzoaki Sachiko."
The three girls become rather curious at this remarkable coincidence.
"If this letter is speaking the truth, then we really have do a very big problem on our hands," Kumokawa said grimly.
"That's not all, this person called Kamijou-san "oniichan" meaning that she must be quite close to Kamijou-san," Mitsuari pointed out.
"There's also that warning about an "other self" being confirmed as the stalker that we're looking for. I can only assume that to be a person carrying the name of Shinozaki Sachiko, but different in terms of personality. Hypothetically speaking from a scientific viewpoint, we could also be dealing with a person suffering from dissociative identity disorder, two personalities, one person. Or rather, if one were to add a supernatural element and think outside of the box, plus adding the statement "Your Ally From The Future", then it would mean that there are two different variants of Shinozaki Sachiko, one from now and one from sometime later," Shokuhou explained.
"It's something to take note of at least. For now, we'll take what we can get from this letter that did give us a heads up," Kumokawa said.
They kept walking.
They were already outside the broken-down doors, seeing one of them from the left side leaning to the wall while the other was lying on the floor. They stepped outside and sees...something...
"...!"
They spotted what appeared to be a young teenage girl with medium short brown hair that reaches below her neck, wearing a tan-colored sailor outfit with blue-collar, light blue cuffs, a yellow ribbon held by a blue brooch, a blue skirt, black knee-high socks, and white uwabaki slippers with blue stripes near the soles. She was lying on the ground, appearing to be unconscious. The girls looked at each other for a moment, concerned, before sprinting toward her location.
Shokuhou uses one of her remotes and checks on the unconscious girl if there were any signs of heartbeats. "She appears to be breathing, unconscious but breathing."
"Can you check her memories at least?" Kumokawa asked.
"I can try too," Shokuhou said.
Then she presses a button.
"Category 010: Memory Scan."
But...
"...!"
Something happened. Shokuhou put her left gloved hand to her hair. Her face was showing painful contortions, her teeth clenching, as memories were being shown to her slowly. It was noticed by Kumokawa and Mitsuari who were calling out to her, but she can't hear them because she was currently connecting herself to the memories of this girl. The specific memories of this girl...
Mayu Suzumoto.
What she saw were various images. Shokuhou can confirm at least that this girl was from DCMK Earth-Prime, the world of Touma Kamijou's best friend, Shinichi Kudo. She saw this girl along with seven other students and one teacher. She knew their names based on the memories of this girl. She knew that these people including the girl were sent here based on an occult charm called Sachiko Ever After.
Something went wrong...
They fell into the abyss...
And then, the nightmare started.
"Kaahh!"
Shokuhou could feel her impending death as if by phantom pain.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
She could feel this girl's pain, being ripped apart by three ghost children, one of them Shokuhou recognizes as the girl that she shot with her automatic shotgun. And from around the corner, she would see a girl dyed in red making a slasher-like smile, pleased with the outcome.
The girl dyed in red...
"Shinozaki Sachiko. That is her name. Remember."
Someone echoed from the memory. This voice came from afar and from what Shokuhou could tell, she could feel the deepest regret and despair from this voice that wanted nothing more than to turn the clock back and set things right.
But the clock did turn back. Over and over again. Something was wrong with the timeline of DCMK Earth-Prime. It was like there was the same Earth but with different elements separated and opposed to each other. History does not match. Most of the people, places, events, and many others are removed and isolated into one artificial timeline.
But that was not all...
Apparently...
This dimension has suffered some kind of temporal anomaly where things repeat many different times. This was one of the main reasons that lead to the master of this place, Sachiko Shinozaki's mental state, declining swiftly into madness and boredom if it was not more obvious.
Of course, one can be driven mad by such a fate. A fate worse than death is to repeat everything over and over again. And you are the only one who remembers it.
Forever.
This accursed word seems to be accompanied by the silent screams of the girl dyed in red. A part of her wants to be free from this never-ending cycle. What was keeping her there?
Why? Why? Why?
From the images and interior knowledge that she had gained, it appeared that Heavenly Host was in an entirely different dimension whose true name and form was Nirvana, along with additional information such as the concise life of each of the nine individual survivors of Kisaragi Academy, and there was...
"...!"
From upwards, she sees a young eleven-year-old Touma Kamijou staring down at the dead body right in front of him, looking tired and filled with regret to save Mayu Suzumoto.
"...How many times must I do this again?"
Shokuhou heard the young Kamijou mutter in a soft but clear tone.
He just wanted to go home. He just wanted to be with his family and friends. But he can't. He keeps getting sent to various places and times. Who knows how long he has been doing this? He's just tired but he just does not stop. How long does he have to do this?
The residual thoughts came through Shokuhou's mind. It almost made her heart break in light of what she knew based on facts and multiple accounts and perspectives. And thus, she slowly realizes that the present-day events that she, Kumokawa, and Mitsuari are involved in are connected with The Test of the Witches which was carried out for the sole purpose of testing one Touma Kamijou to his very limitations, testing his resolve, testing his convictions, testing what it truly meant to be Touma Kamijou.
This was the nightmare that Touma Kamijou used to talk about sometimes and for most of the time kept completely silent, with only a look that showed a subtle horror of the things that he had bared witness to that could drive most people mad and that he would not want other souls to experience.
But this was not the end of it...
Rather...
"...!"
What was odd was that Shokuhou was no longer accompanied by her two teammates. The girl—Mayu Suzumoto—was no longer here. She was now in another place. And it felt dark. She could just feel the stench of death in the air.
This was no different than hell itself.
She stands on what appeared to be a worn-down rooftop of an abandoned high school. The windows and doors were broken. The gates were broken. T
She sees the broken crimson skies that were clasping with red lighting and ominous grey clouds. She sees the zombies and restless spirits and grotesque monsters that were roaming down the deserted streets, some of whom were playing with actual corpses.
From one of the street lights, she would see to her horror a corpse of a man skinned alive to the point of death who is hanging upside down an electrical pole with an electrical wire. There was the translucent ghost of an elementary school child, Brazilian in terms of appearance based on the complexion of the brown skin, that was singing a type of lullaby that echoes throughout the area and that sends shivers down her spine.
"Night-night little mama, Night-night little mama, If you don't sleep, the crab will eat you If you don't sleep, the crab will eat you. Your mama isn't here, she went to the market, Your papa isn't here, he went to the river, If you don't sleep, the crab will eat you If you don't sleep, the crab will eat you."
From afar, she can just see the skyscrapers either torn in half or burning.
What was this...?
But if that wasn't enough...
"Awful, isn't it."
It was the voice of genuine regret. It was a familiar voice of a woman.
Shokuhou turned around to find what appeared to be a young woman with long black hair and wearing a white dress. The woman's expression was one of sadness that was accompanied by a simple smile that wants to hope against hope.
"...Shin...Shinozaki...Sachiko..." Shokuhou walked a few steps back, curious and concerned about this woman.
"Listen, Shokuhou Misaki," Sachiko spoke softly with a sense of urgency. "We don't have much time so listen and listen well. I have managed to bring a projection of your soul straight to this time that you're now in through the use of the mind of one Suzumoto Mayu. This is the future of Kudo Shinichi's world if whatever happens in your time is not to be stopped and soon, this will spread to other worlds, including your own. I can already feel the incursions happening. You and your friends must find the nine survivors of Kisaragi Academy. Five have already been found by oniichan and his friends. You three have found one of them. But there is another cause for concern. My other self has another main target that is connected to oniichan. The Club of Hinamizawa. Almost all eight members of whom were dragged out from their own past, with one from your current present perspective. Two have been found, but the others are still out there. Help onii-chan and his friends in finding them."
Kssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
"...!" Shokuhou noticed that she is slowly disappearing.
"It seems that our time is up. It was nice to finally meet one of onii-chan's friends. I only wished that things were in better circumstances. I'm sorry," Sachiko made a sad smile.
"Oi, Shokuhou! Shokuhou!"
"...!"
Shokuhou made a gasp of her breath as she begin to hear Kumokawa and Mitsauri calling out to her. She noticed something odd as she felt liquid present in her eyes. She touched her cheek to find tears. She looked at the unconscious girl that was now slowly waking up and started to take notice of them.
"...Huh...Where...Where am I...? Who...Who are you, people...?" Mayu Suzumoto softly asked as she tried to get herself to sit up straight.
Shokuhou didn't answer. She only looked meaningfully at Mayu as she was now given infused knowledge about the situation from a Sachiko from the distant alternate future. She looked back to her comrades.
"Girls...Things are a lot more dire than we realize..." she spoke softly.
"I know that look," Kumokawa muttered softly. "You already figured out what's going on."
"Not all of it, but more than enough to know that this girl," Shokuhou looked at Mayu, the former sporting a look of grave concern while her tears were leaking. "Is far more important for this situation and needs to be kept alive to the best of our abilities and interests, for everyone's sake."
Misaki Shokuhou had seen the dark alternate future of Conan Edogawa. Not only that. She is armed with the knowledge of events that are important enough for her to take notice and inform her other comrades.
However, they still have to trek their way through the long cold dark of Heavenly Host.
And it would not be an easy task.
And it would prove itself as the sound of sharp metal was heard that made all of the girls turn around.
"...!"
Shokuhou, Kumokawa, and Mitsuari were shocked as they recognized the figure that was walking towards them. No, not one. There were three figures coming from the east side. They had a large pyramid-head-shaped helmet and butcher's smock. They were carrying a large, heavy half-scissor with their right hands. The Pyramid Heads have come once more as they are summoned.
"All of the girls are falling down, falling down, falling down."
There was the sound of a child singing to her heart's content. And it made Shokuhou's hair stand in fright as she recognized and discerned the malicious voice. Even more so were these words recognized to be the ones that she and her comrades had found from that twisted shrine.
She glances around and spots someone right near the door that they had just exited. It was a young girl in a red bloody dress, looking a bit too cheerful for her liking. There was the stench of malice throughout the air. A spirit of pure vengeance that bespoke of madness and sins.
"What the!" Kumokawa exclaims as she and Mitsuari were in shock, noticing the girl as well.
"("Sachiko!")" Shokuhou was now widening her eyes as she was seeing the Devil herself for the first time. She knew this monster and she knew that she can't take her, not even with her Mental Out powers as it wouldn't work on something like her whose mind and thoughts are just pure evil and malice. That and she'd rather not know just what this girl's memories are in the dark as Shokuhou's more than aware based on intimate knowledge received from the other Sachiko.
"All of the girls are falling down, my fair ladies, W.E.L.C.O.M.E. T.O. H.E.A.V.E.N.L.Y. H.O.S.T., M.Y. D.E.A.R. A.N.G.E.L.S., S.U.R.V.I.V.E. I.F. Y.O.U. C.A.N.! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
It was a peal of terrible demonic laughter that echoed throughout the surrounding area as the Pyramid Heads were drawing near to them. Shokuhou responded quickly, putting her right hand to Mayu's left arm in order to lift her up from the ground while saying.
"No time for explanations. Come with us if you want to live,' Shokuhou said with a grim tone. She turned to her comrades and said. "Ladies, we should go, now!"
"Right!" both Kumokawa and Mitsuari nodded in spite of the natural feeling of dread on the girl who was not that worried about them and was all too rather excited for the chase for her beloved toys to begin.
The girls turned their tails and run in the opposite direction while the Pyramid Heads eventually pursue them by walking slightly faster than usual.
"All of the girls are falling down, falling down, falling down. All of the girls are falling down, all is fair in love and war."
Meanwhile, Sachiko was simply singing to her heart's content. She was almost like a normal child when singing which is in deep contrast to the current tone where three Pryamid Heads are beginning to make chase.
And then...
There were at least two young women standing beside her.
But there was something wrong with them. Their skin was pale and their eyes were pale yellow instead of the natural hazelnut eyes. They were wearing two different types of uniforms, summer and winter, that could only be found in Tokiwadai Middle School, some of their parts appear to be torn and bloody. One girl to the left wore a short-sleeved white dress shirt worn under a light brown vest with the school emblem on the left side. The other girl wore a darker shade of tan buttoned jumper and a checkered blue skirt with black and tan crisscrossing lines. They all commonly have chestnut hair and slightly bloody goggles are worn around their head.
They were the deceased clone sisters of Mikoto Misaka from a very different timeline. In other words, they were literal walking corpses of deceased souls. And they were all Sachiko Shinozaki's to take and command. And Sachiko smiled. She would have to thank the Accelerator of that timeline for unknowingly taking part in delivering all of these yummy souls to her domain.
"Follow them, my pets, and do as you will," she commanded.
"As you wish, my lady," one of them commented in a cold professional tone.
And so, they begin to take flight as they dash faster than a leopard thanks to their electrical-based powers that enhanced their knees.
Insert Song: End
ED Song:
【ARTERY VEIN】Confutatis no Inori (Full Version)【CP Blood Covered】【Eng Lyrics】
Main Companion Protagonists:
Touma Kamijou (Past) - VA: Atsushi Abe
The Nine Characters:
Mayu Suzumoto - VA: Yūka Nanri
Main Ally Characters:
Future Sachiko Shinozaki - VA: Ikue Ōtani
Main Enemy Characters:
Sachiko Shinozaki - VA: Ikue Ōtani
New Characters:
Mikoto Misaka Clone Sisters (Deceased) (Unknown Alternate Timeline) - VA: Nozomi Sasaki