Chapter 153: The Final Case of Human Extinction — (Teitan High School Ball Apocalypse Case)
If the sixteenth special event of the first loop had to be given a name, it would likely be [The Beginning of Conan's Despair].
The Omniscience Authority continued to function, analyzing the current data. According to its feedback, at this specific point in history, Conan had still not yet fully "awakened." Just as Ai Haibara had hypothesized, the Conan of the first loop truly existed on a different plane; what he felt and perceived was fundamentally different from everyone else in the world.
However, the heroes who had embarked on that road of no return like moths to a flame, the resolve and readiness of all humanity to die fighting to the last soul, and that series of Movie-scale criminal plans had finally taken their toll. On this eternal stage, every character—whether they were supporting cast or background extras—was screaming in madness and marching toward an unrepentant death. This created a majestic "atmosphere" that shrouded the entire eternal stage, and Conan, as one of the actors, began to faintly sense it.
A stage play cannot be performed by one person alone. The continuous exit of supporting characters and background roles was enough to make Conan sense a growing dissonance. Most importantly, Kogoro Mouri's deductions were correct: on this eternal stage themed around detectives and criminals, there truly were game rules to be exploited, and the human offensive had indeed left "wounds" on Conan's body.
If the atmosphere was the fuse and the dissonance was the spark, then these "wounds" were the decisive evidence. Though Conan had not fully awakened, as a detective, he had begun to piece together parts of the truth through this series of anomalies.
Despair was born from this.
Gradually, Conan reduced the frequency of his appearances outside Beika Town. Living characters like Ai Haibara and Ran Mouri saw him less and less; sometimes, they even thought he had vanished from the world. Conan used logic to deduce a portion of the truth, and then, using that same logic, he made a choice.
As a detective... he stopped solving cases.
But for humanity, this choice was not the end. The stage continued to churn; the endless cases and the immeasurable stretch of time persisted. A day might be 24 hours, or 240, or hours—it was a question no one could answer correctly anymore. Because since Conan stopped solving cases, "that day" had never ended.
The sun never set; it did not move even a fraction from its position. People falling into madness continued to be captured and swallowed by Beika, becoming part of the "case." Crimes continued to play out, but no one came to solve them.
Corpses gradually paved the streets and alleys of Beika.
Led by Inspector Megure—who had completely collapsed into madness and become a living-dead puppet—the officers of the Beika Police Force moved like the legendary "Shichinin Misaki," arriving at crime scenes in rigid, rotting throngs. They would simply seal the scene and stand in silent vigil, waiting for that Eternal Protagonist to step onto the stage once more and speak the catchphrases that judged all things, bringing the plot to life and to its close. If no one came, they would leave under Megure's lead when a new case occurred, repeating the cycle at a new scene.
Simultaneously, a bizarre phenomenon emerged: those corpses, frozen by an invisible force, refused to rot. They simply piled up continuously. The world was fixed on that single, endless day! This eerie transformation and the infinite extension of the day caused more and more people to fall into madness. Without "people," the thing called human civilization began to disintegrate rapidly, losing its social function.
The slogan "Humanity will surely defeat Conan" was no longer mentioned, as everyone sensed that the end of mankind was not far off. Yet, this war—one that exhausted everything in human civilization—did not stop. Those who remained sane launched offensive after offensive, trying to kill Conan for revenge and for one last sliver of possibility, or simply to kill themselves and find burial within this eternal catastrophe.
To kill or be killed—both were forms of liberation!
---
Conan might escape the summons of daily cases, but when a "Movie-scale case" composed of a series of events arrived, he was inevitably pulled in by fate; there was nowhere to hide. The game of detective and criminal thus continued on this eternal stage.
No one knew what the scenery in Conan's eyes looked like or what his internal cognition was. When those Movie-scale criminal cases appeared before him, his actions showed signs of resistance and hesitation, even a tendency toward a passive strike. But it was meaningless; humanity's purpose was to kill Conan or be killed by him, and the offensive they unleashed left him no choice but to face it.
Attacks, and more attacks. Conan responded passively, but his subconscious reactions were still beyond anything the human offensive—which grew more decadent and powerless by the day—could overcome. Mysteries were unraveled, truths revealed, and death followed death. However, humanity, growing more familiar with the game rules, used them to leave increasingly heavy "wounds" on Conan.
Conan remained unawakened, using "deduction" as a tool to indirectly interpret reality. Every human attack provided more information for his deduction. Consequently, the despair in his eyes thickened.
After several Movie-scale cases acting as special historical nodes, in the twenty-first special event of the first loop, Mo Yu witnessed a true repetition of history.
Sonoko Suzuki's lover, Makoto Kyogoku, had served as a primary combatant in a previous plan and had already been sacrificed. Sonoko had wanted to follow him into the fire, to share his life or death, but Makoto had stopped her. Despite the despair reaching this point, there were still those with unquenchable courage and hope. If they could kill Conan this time, perhaps others wouldn't have to die.
Hope and despair are sometimes only a hair's breadth apart.
Makoto gave his all. His fists nearly pulverized half of Conan's body, leaving him with shattered bones, but he ultimately failed to truly kill him. In the end, Sonoko was left alone.
The ending goes without saying: Sonoko went completely insane. She did not launch a Movie-scale criminal plan; she simply found Conan and attacked him. In the past, such a reckless, mad act would never have succeeded. But Conan, his eyes clouded with despair, responded to her madness.
Conan reached out and snapped Sonoko's neck, granting her liberation!
This did not fit the logic of the Eternal Stage, but at that moment, Conan's status as the Eternal Protagonist took precedence. The world gave him "face," acknowledging—or rather, ignoring—the irrationality of Sonoko's death and departure. At the moment of her death, the Dream Bubble world shuddered violently, and its colors turned pale.
Mo Yu was unconcerned; this had happened once before when Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki made their exit. This informational world was built on the residual memories of those swallowed by the armor. When they exited their fated history, the data they carried reached its end, and the First Loop world built upon it naturally suffered.
---
After personally killing Sonoko, the despairing Conan seemed to have realized or decided something. In a Beika Town paved with corpses and guarded by the living-dead puppets of the police force, Conan dragged his heavy steps and despairing gaze through one accumulated case after another. He no longer evaded or resisted the human Movie-scale attacks; in fact, he began to consciously or unconsciously cooperate.
In these Movie-scale cases, Conan deduced less and less, and fought more and more. If a matter could be settled with combat, he absolutely would not use logic. The soccer ball kicked from his feet became a roaring bolt of lightning, and "accidentally" or otherwise, Conan's aim began to fail. His attacks would catch witnesses, extras, and even innocent "background citizens," covering them in the blast. To put it simply, Conan kicked wherever the crowd was thickest.
One ball meant a sky full of blood; one ball landing caused a thunderous explosion that leveled buildings. In these Movie cases, the death rate spiraled vertically! But such brutal slaughter was a gospel to this despairing world. The protagonist of the stage was personally opening the gates of death, granting the hope of liberation to everyone.
In one particular Movie, even Inspector Megure and the others were "accidentally" killed by Conan. This was another special historical event, which could be named [Conan's Rampaging Slaughter]. At this moment, Conan was trending toward total madness.
How terrifying an all-out Reaper could be was soon made clear. The once noisy Beika, and indeed the entire world, fell gradually silent. Only the walking dead remained on the streets, clutching weapons and wandering in a daze. The hosts and guests on television programs simply twisted their limbs and laughed with hysterical mania. The entity called "human society" took its final breath in madness and despair; only corpses remained, puppets of fate mimicking every move they made in life.
---
Kaito Kid stood atop a high-rise, his white cape fluttering as he looked down coldly. Humanity had researched the Evil God's rules and discovered that the "Phantom Thief" was a vague, ambiguous setting in this world of detectives and criminals.
Though the principle was unclear, a Thief could not truly harm the Detective or the Criminal, and vice versa. Thus, in various Movie-scale plans, Kaito Kid could only play a supporting role. He could not be the "killer" to wound Conan, but he also could not be a "victim" to find liberation through death. Whether this was luck or a curse, Kid no longer cared; almost everyone he cared about had already been sent to their liberation in the Movies. He remained in this rotting world, but he had one final task.
It was the last commission humanity had given him: To steal Conan's fire of life.
"Kaito Kuroba, can you really do it?" A whisper as cold as eternal ice crackled in his earpiece—Gin's voice.
Kid gave a smile. He had long forgotten how to smile from the heart, but his professional training allowed him to "perform" the correct expression and tone. "Gin, at a time like this, calling me by my stage name or my Organization code name would be more formal. And don't worry. A Thief is an entity capable of anything seemingly impossible, even a lie that swaps the heavens. But... I must ask one last time. Are we really doing this?"
Gin's voice had lost all human emotion, leaving only a cold void. "This is the oath of the Organization, and of humanity. To defeat Conan at any cost, even to the last soul. Otherwise, we cannot face the heroes who never returned."
"Fine, fine. Then, as you say, let us exhaust the last of humanity's foundation. I will wager everything on the greatest, most brilliant magic show of my life... and fight the final battle with Conan."
Kid suddenly leaped from the building, his hang-glider snapping open. He soared over the silent city of Beika, offering a silent prayer for this decaying world and the planet itself!
---
Human civilization was effectively extinct. Very few members of the Distillery remained. Those who were left gathered in the Mouri Detective Agency—the Organization's final branch. Shuichi Akai maintained his weapons; Vodka drank in gloomy silence; Vermouth applied her makeup. Professor Agasa was dragged out of his basement; he sat on the sofa where Kogoro once sat, laughing manically without stop. A few others, like Kid and Gin, handled the final preparations.
Fewer than ten people. This was the Organization, and the final sunset of humanity. The atmosphere was silent, yet oddly relaxed. This was the end.
Ai Haibara and Ran Mouri looked at each other in silence.
"Ran-neechan, this is the end. In this Movie, even the Heroines earn the right to be set free..."
Ran's eyes were now a pure, blood-stained red. She stroked Ai's head and smiled gently. "Yes. We're going on a trip. We can all finally rest..."
Soon, everyone's earpiece crackled with Gin's voice:
"I have no more words. We are the libation poured upon the earth to honor the fallen; we are the moths rushing the fire. I wish us all... no return!"
The final plan and the final war thus began!
---
On the other side of Beika, Conan dragged his weary steps and despairing eyes through one crime scene after another. Suddenly, he looked up, sensing something. Pulled by fate, he moved toward a specific location.
Teitan High School. The walking-dead students were numbly decorating the hall for a festival. Conan passed them silently and entered the auditorium. The stage was set. A graceful figure in a gown stood there, smiling gently.
"Conan-kun. It seems today is the 890,000th anniversary of Teitan High. A good day for human extinction. The ball has started. Will you... dance with me?"
Conan stopped and looked at Ran. Within his despairing eyes, he seemed to realize something. His gaze fell on the blade in her hand. The edge was mottled with blood—blood that had dried, been layered over, and dried again until it forged the weapon. Since the Movie opened by Kogoro, Ran had participated in nearly every performance. As a Heroine, she had the power to act; many were sent away by her hand. She had witnessed uncounted deaths, bathed in endless blood, and refined the art of slaughter.
She had forged a single blade. Its name was Slaughter.
The blade was drawn to reflect death. Conan was not fully awake, yet he knew everything. He smiled, yet it looked like he was crying.
The blood-stained blade slashed out! As the final plan initiated, the killing intent within the blade was pulled into reality, transforming into a savage, crimson arc of force. Conan did not dodge. The force tore into him, spraying blood. But this was only the beginning. Gunshots rang out; blood bloomed from Conan's back. Ai Haibara had taken the stage, firing her gun.
"Are-re... Ran-neechan, Ai-chan... it's been so long. Your greeting is... very warm."
Conan smiled his crying smile at them.
Ai spoke: "Edogawa Conan—no, Shinichi Kudo. I can finally call you by all your names. That is proof you are emerging from your world and waking up to reality. So, at this final ball, please listen to our final narration as a detective..."
Ai's tone was complex—sorrowful, yet ruthlessly cold. She knew that for this Movie to reach its true finale, they needed Conan's cooperation. She believed that a conscious Shinichi Kudo would help them. No other reason was needed: he was a detective! Even if he had brought eternal despair as an Evil God, she chose to believe.
"The case begins with Kaito Kid deciding to steal the world's nuclear arsenal..."
Ai narrated as she flicked a card from her hand—the Kid card. It read: *[No riddles this time. I'm stealing the world's nukes. Stop me if you can, Conan. PS: One question: Can a god die?]*
Following the stage rules, the crime had to be presented to Conan for it to have power. Fate pulled at him; Conan's figure blurred as he prepared to teleport to solve the crime.
"Are-re... stealing the world's nukes? Even Kid can't do that. I... I don't need to go, right?" Conan resisted, anchoring himself to the spot and fighting destiny.
Ai continued: "However, Kid succeeded. Through an impossible trick, he stole every nuke and every launch key..."
In the distance, the silver-winged magician toyed with a key. "Every nuke armed and ready, the systems left defenseless, the keys on an empty desk... the most boring and most thrilling thing I've ever stolen. Humanity's resolve at the edge of the abyss is truly terrifying..."
Back on the Teitan stage, Ai spoke:
"After the theft, the killer took the stage: Ran Mouri. As the Heroine destined never to find Shinichi, she went mad and joined the Distillery. Alongside codename Sherry, she devised this plan. Together with every remaining member of the Distillery, they decided to launch a final nuclear war on this stage to destroy humanity—all to force Shinichi Kudo out!"
In the narration, Ran's eyes blazed with blood-light, her blade shining. Ai's gun radiated lethal intent. By creating the ultimate crime of extinction, the two Heroines had finally successfully altered their roles, stepping into the domain of "Criminals" to earn the right to attack Conan.
"Edogawa Conan! As a detective, deduce the undeniable truth! Acknowledge the final death of humanity! And be buried in eternal death alongside us!"
Ai Haibara became the bird of ill omen, announcing the end of all things.
End of Chapter
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