Chapter 150: The Only "Normal Person" in the First Loop
Exactly how many years into the first loop of the Conan world-bubble this plot occurred, even Mo Yu found it hard to determine. Or rather, in a stretch of time built out of endless daily cases, there was simply no point in investigating the specifics.
In this chaotic and ambiguous timeline, only certain special events could serve as historical markers, distinguishing one day from the thousands of identical days that repeated over and over.
As Mo Yu watched, he was surprised to find that while Ran Mouri was the first to fall completely into madness, she wasn't the first to notice the abnormality of the first loop. That credit went to Ai Haibara.
Upon reflection, Mo Yu found this logical. Ai Haibara's character archetype possessed rare "Orange-tier" traits like [Rational, Mature, Intelligent, Sharp]. Her wisdom and deductive abilities were top-tier.
However, noticing the truth meant nothing.
The sole Eternal Protagonist on this eternal stage was fundamentally different from the other characters. After countless uncounted years of struggle, Ai Haibara had broken. She became numb, eventually choosing to "flatline" completely, becoming a "salted fish" girl who spent her days lying motionless.
This was consistent with her original character design; in the source material, when facing the Organization's pursuit, Ai often thought it would be easier to just die. But the Ai Haibara of this stage, though broken and numb, was still in a "good" state compared to her final end.
The residual traces Mo Yu had excavated from the second-loop Shiho Miyano revealed a void far more terrifying than this. A total collapse of mind and personality, the complete erasure of emotion, and the total withering of everything that made her human—all vanished into nothingness.
Mo Yu watched the "history" replay. A slightly motivated but still pajama-clad "salted fish" Ai Haibara walked out of Professor Agasa's house with a Ran Mouri who was already stepping into madness.
They hadn't gone more than a few steps when—Splat!—a corpse fell from the sky, shattering upon impact.
"Finding a body falling from a height the moment we step out... what good luck. Ran-neechan, want to bet on how many different types of deaths we'll encounter today?" Ai Haibara looked at the corpse and gave a faint smile.
She had seen similar bodies countless times. She was numb to it. The only shred of freshness left was guessing the body count for the day, as that still held a tiny bit of the unknown. But Ai knew that after this happened a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand more times, it would lose all meaning.
Ran Mouri knelt down, gently hugging Ai and covering the girl's eyes. "Children shouldn't look at corpses. It's scary. You'll have nightmares tonight..."
Ai responded with a soft, mocking scoff. But she didn't say anything more; Ran's concern still held a sliver of warmth.
Listening to the scoff, Ran lowered her eyes. In her memory, not "long" ago, people—including herself—would scream in terror at the sight of a body. When did they all become so numb? Specifically Ai... when did this cute, mature, sensitive, and kind girl become so "broken"?
Ran couldn't remember. She simply stroked Ai's head, trying to transmit whatever care she had left. Perhaps it was her innate kindness; even in this situation, she couldn't just ignore it. But her power was limited. She was just a high school girl. Aside from caring, there wasn't much she could do.
Ai remained silent. Ran's gentleness always reminded her of her late sister. And every time it did, Ai couldn't help but think: It's a very, very good thing that Nee-san died early...
I wonder when it will finally be my turn?
Just then, members of the Beika Police arrived. Inspector Megure looked like a man in his prime, but his expression and eyes were filled with the heavy dust of old age and exhaustion.
Megure hadn't been "signed" as a Magical Girl by Mo Yu yet, but the first-loop data from Ran and Ai contained fragments of him, allowing the "Dream Bubble" to reconstruct his existence.
Megure was tired. Deeply, profoundly tired. He couldn't remember how long he had been working overtime. But he had no choice. Whenever a murder occurred in Beika, he had to be there.
The officers with him were in even worse shape. They didn't speak; they didn't even have reactions worth mentioning. They moved mechanically, their human forms gradually blurring into "stick figures." To characters like Ai and Ran, these police were no different from the walking dead—they couldn't even remember what their faces looked like anymore.
The officers processed the scene like machines. Megure stood silently, neither speaking to the witnesses nor looking at the victim. He just waited, ancient and drained.
Suddenly, the sky over Beika darkened! Everyone who hadn't completely collapsed instinctively turned toward the distance. Mo Yu did the same.
A massive, distorted darkness swept across the horizon, intending to swallow all things. At the very center of that darkness, a small figure came skipping along!
"Are-re? Isn't this Ran-neechan and Ai-chan? The weather is so nice today; have you finally come out for a walk? Are-re, Inspector Megure, you're here too? Could it be that another case has happened...?"
It was the familiar childish voice, but it carried a terror that made one's blood run cold.
His figure was blurry and distorted—an abstract humanoid silhouette. Infinite darkness radiated from this silhouette, clawing manically in every direction, dominating the world, manipulating all sin, and toying with every living soul.
In the eyes of these first-loop characters, Conan had already become this kind of Elder-God-tier horror?
Mo Yu found it both tragic and comical. Like Megure, this "Conan" wasn't a real entity but a construct of the other characters' impressions. The mere sound of his voice inspired fear because whenever it rang out, a case was either about to happen or already had. Over time, the psychological trauma he inflicted grew deeper and deeper.
The fact that his form was non-human meant that no one in the first loop could remember what Conan actually looked like. Their only memory of him was the darkness and horror that controlled and toyed with everything.
No one spoke. Ai, Ran, and Megure all watched him with bizarre gazes. But Conan didn't care. He entered the scene like a wound-up toy, wandering the crime scene without pause.
Suddenly, Megure spoke: "Kid... don't run around the crime scene. Don't interfere with the investigation..."
Megure's eyes grew even more tired. Faintly, he felt like he had said those words many, many, many times before. He felt heart-weary. But he was a police officer; he had a job to do. He had to stop the brat.
Megure reached out and grabbed Conan by the collar. In the past, he would have given him a light bop on the head. But for some reason, Megure felt a light tap wouldn't be enough for Conan to learn his lesson. So, he pulled an iron brick from his coat. With an expression of pure horror that should never appear on an officer's face, he slammed it into Conan's head.
Again. And again.
Using all his strength, he hammered it down!!!
He hammered until blood splattered his face and clothes. When he let go, Conan crumpled to the ground. Perhaps having vented some of the bitterness of years of overtime, Megure felt slightly better.
In the next instant, Conan scrambled up from the ground, rubbing his head. "Okay, Inspector Megure! I understand!"
But even as he said it, the moment he turned around, he went right back to wandering the scene.
Megure's blood pressure skyrocketed. The iron brick isn't enough. Next time, I'll find something else and hit him harder.
Such a troublesome brat... he should just die.
Yes... why hasn't he died yet?
Why... won't he just DIE!!!
Megure's eyes turned red, veins bulging on his forehead. He pulled his gun and emptied the entire magazine into Conan's back. Conan didn't even look back. With a few "coincidental" and "casual" steps, he dodged every single bullet. He remained focused entirely on solving the case, seemingly unaware that Megure had even fired.
Megure slumped, looking older and more exhausted. He looked at his stick-figure subordinates and sighed, a grey despair surfacing in his eyes. He stopped trying. He just stood there.
Ai and Ran watched in silence. They said nothing and did nothing.
Only Conan was active. The darkness radiating from him turned into cryptic tentacles that spread across every inch of the scene, hunting for suspicious information. It wasn't a physical process, but in their minds, this was how Conan "searched"—a cold, frenzied, carpet-search that missed nothing.
Finally, the tentacles found something. They bypassed the crowd and coiled around a single man. The tentacles sprouted eyes, staring at him from every angle. (Again, this was just the "impression" of Conan finding a suspect.)
"Are-re? How strange... Big brother, something seems wrong with you..."
The forced childish voice rang out. The suspect began to tremble violently as the eyed tentacles squeezed him, making his bones pop and crack.
Next, the darkness spread to Ran, forming a writhing "mouth of darkness" above her head. The mouth began to speak, detailing the suspect's motive, MO, family background, and even the fact that he was currently suffering from a minor stomach ailment.
The "Great Detective's Deduction Show" had begun, but to the others, it was grotesque and terrifying.
The criminal tried to argue, but the tentacles sprouted fangs and bit into his flesh. Amidst the spray of blood, the criminal burst into tears, confessing everything and repenting his sins.
Conan nodded in satisfaction. The tentacles released the mangled criminal, who fell to his knees. Megure walked forward numbly and handcuffed the sobbing man. The criminal didn't notice the strange look of pity in Megure's eyes.
Through years of overtime, the old officer had gained a different insight. He sensed that in recent cases, the victims weren't necessarily innocent, and the killers weren't necessarily the "real" culprits. But what did it matter? Victims who committed suicide via "assisted murder" by provoking others? Truths that defied common sense were meaningless.
So Megure said nothing. He cast an envious glance at the body being zipped into a bag—the lucky one who got to leave—and escorted the criminal away.
"Ran-neechan! Ai-chan! It's been so long! The weather is great today. Where are you going? Let's go together!"
The case ended, and the dark silhouette smiled, inviting them. Ai wanted to refuse, but black tentacles coiled around her, pinning her in place and gagging her so she couldn't speak.
Ran lowered her eyes. She reached out and brushed away the dark tentacles from Ai, pulling the girl behind her. She stood before Conan with her usual gentle smile. "Sure, Conan-kun. The weather is lovely. Let's take a walk."
Along the way, Conan laughed happily, chatting about recent cases and suspicious events. Occasionally, he'd talk about "normal" things: That kitchen knife used in the last murder was high quality; that brand is recommended. The rope used in the hanging case was very sturdy; I suggest you buy some.
Ran smiled her invariant smile. Ai had dead-fish eyes, refusing to speak or even look at Conan. It was a one-sided conversation.
But the small talk didn't last. Inevitably, cases interrupted them. Stabbings, fires, drownings, hangings—every conceivable death appeared before them.
The mechanical routine replayed. An exhausted Megure and his stick-figure cops worked overtime again, standing numbly by while Conan performed. Over and over. Without beginning or end.
For some reason, even after dozens of cases, the "afternoon" never ended. The sun refused to set, fixed at the moment of dusk. The blood-stained path of their "walk" felt eternal.
Eons later, Ai slumped into Ran's arms. "Ran-neechan... I regret coming out with you. I'm tired...!"
Ran just smiled. "Ai-chan, if you're tired, I'll carry you. Rest. Don't worry. Everything will be fine soon..."
As Ran smiled gently, a blade appeared in her hand—something she'd snatched from a previous crime scene. Megure saw it, but he only sighed and did nothing.
Then, with a smile, Ran swung the blade at the self-absorbed Conan.
Having witnessed a million deaths, her strike was clean, ruthless, and precise. She slit Conan's throat in one go. Blood splattered everywhere.
But Conan remained standing. "Ran-neechan? Why did you touch my neck? Is there something dirty on it?"
"Yes... there's some dirt. Don't move, Conan-kun. Let me wipe it for you..."
With a tender smile, she plunged the blade into his chest, straight through his heart.
"Thank you for your concern, Ran-neechan!"
Blood fountained out, but Conan kept smiling as if unaware. Suddenly, a scream rang out. Another case. Without hesitation, Conan skipped toward the new scene, the blade still embedded in his chest.
Ai, on Ran's back, closed her eyes to escape into sleep. "It's useless... none of it works. I've tried everything, Ran-neechan. I'm so tired. Tired enough... to want to die."
Ran stroked her head. "Rest, Ai-chan. I promise it will be okay."
Before falling asleep, Ai murmured: "Ran-neechan... I have a theory. Maybe we're the ones who are mad. Maybe we see the world's crazy side, while Conan is the only 'normal person' left who sees the normal side. We live in different worlds. Maybe the solution is there... but I'm too tired to care anymore."
Ran smiled. "Conan is that lonely? It's not good for a child to be unsociable. I'll go talk to him."
She placed the sleeping Ai on a bench. This time, she didn't stand outside the crime scene. She walked into it. Specifically, she walked toward Conan.
Her smile was as gentle as ever, but the killing intent in her eyes was distorted and insane!
Mo Yu watched the history of the first loop and sighed. Seeing the landscape of the past yielded great results. He hadn't expected that in the first loop's eternal cycle, Conan had remained "normal"—though that "normalcy" was debatable. The other characters were the ones who broke first.
This was the opposite of the second loop, where Conan was the first to notice the abnormality.
This shift might be a world-adjustment, or perhaps someone from the first loop had done something to influence the second.
Mo Yu reached out and "scrolled" the timeline of the Dream Bubble, skipping ahead as far as possible to find the "Ending" at the edge of time and space.
End of Chapter
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