THE KNIGHT'S JUSTICE:
DIVINE PUNISHMENT PART 5
Unbeknownst to the group, Leon had bypassed the lavatories. Instead, he drifted toward the final corridor—the restricted passage marked with a "No Entry" sign. It was the Passage of Hell gallery.
Leon stepped into the obsidian gloom of the chamber. Surveillance cameras blinked from every corner of the vaulted ceiling. Masterful sculptures and macabre canvases lined the perimeter, yet he disregarded them entirely, his focus anchored elsewhere.
He traversed the length of the room toward a knight clad in silver plate. The warrior stood rigid, gazing upward at the monstrosity it had vanquished.
Soft footfalls echoed behind the armored figure. The knight did not turn; it remained transfixed by its own horrific creation: a human cadaver, skewered to the masonry by a gleaming broadsword. Arterial spray streaked the wall, pooling sluggishly upon the cold floor. It was no longer a depiction of a hero slaying a fiend, but a butcher presiding over a fresh kill.
"You have succeeded in slaughtering the devil, yet you find yourself defiled by its essence," a hoarse, youthful voice resonated from behind the metal giant.
The knight pivoted. Before him stood a boy enveloped in a charcoal overcoat and suit, his features obscured by a funeral veil. Leon observed the silver plate mail, now slick with a crimson glaze that nearly drowned the metal's original luster.
"This is my justice... my divine retribution," the knight rasped, the words muffled and metallic behind the visor of his helm.
"Justice..." Leon murmured. He tilted his head toward a monumental canvas that dwarfed the surrounding effigies.
The knight mirrored the gesture, staring at the gargantuan oil painting. A heavy silence descended upon the chamber, thick with the scent of iron and oil.
"Then I shall christen you the Fallen Knight," Leon declared.
"Ha... haha. Indeed. I have fallen quite far," the knight replied, his voice a hollow echo. He began a slow, rhythmic retreat into the shadows. Leon did not track his departure; his gaze remained locked on the masterpiece. The image depicted a demon pinned to a jagged crag by a silver blade, a knight watching the life ebb from the creature's eyes.
Below the frame, a brass plaque bore the title: "DIVINE PUNISHMENT."
Leon turned his eyes back to the desecrated remains of the man on the wall. He clasped his hands together, lowering his head in a silent, solemn prayer.
"Leon has been gone far too long for a simple trip to the restroom," Sonoko remarked, her brow furrowed with growing concern. "Why hasn't he returned?"
"It is strange. He should have been back by now," Ran agreed.
"Didn't he wander off to inspect the art?" Kogoro Mouri added, having finally been briefed on the boy's peculiar eccentricities.
"I suppose so," Sonoko muttered, rising from her seat. "I'll check the facilities."
"I'm coming too," Conan chimed in.
"As am I," Ran said, leaving Kogoro with no choice but to grumble and follow in their wake.
As they approached the restrooms, they reached the threshold of the Hell Gallery. The "No Entry" barrier had been cast aside, leaving the path unobstructed.
"Perhaps the brat wandered in there," Kogoro surmised, peering into the shadows.
"Likely," Sonoko replied.
"Let's take a quick look. If he's not there, we'll head straight to the washrooms," Ran suggested, leading the way into the corridor.
The air inside was frigid and the light oppressive. Unlike the vibrant halls they had previously toured, this gallery was swathed in twilight. Grotesque silhouettes of gargoyles, pit-fiends, and chimerical horrors loomed from the darkness.
"This place is unnerving," Ran whispered.
"It is the Gallery of Hell, after all," Conan noted dryly.
They stumbled upon the massive centerpiece. It was a depiction of a sunset over a jagged precipice. A winged abomination was impaled through the heart, its form fused to the rock by a silver sword. Below the dying creature stood a knight in shimmering armor, viewed from behind as he bore witness to his triumph.
"The scale of this is incredible," Ran breathed.
"A literal snapshot of perdition," Kogoro grunted, staring up at the thirty-foot canvas.
Ran leaned down to decipher the inscription. "The title is... 'Divine Punishment.'"
Conan and Sonoko recoiled as if struck.
"Hey... isn't that exactly what Leon mentioned yesterday?" Sonoko gasped.
"So it truly exists. Divine Punishment," Conan whispered, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the painting.
Ran continued reading the description through her shock. "A knight of righteousness sealing away a Great Demon..."
Sonoko, scanning the dim room for their missing companion, finally spotted a small silhouette. "Leon?!"
He was standing perfectly still, staring upward. Sonoko followed his line of sight. Her breath hitched, her pupils dilated, and a blood-curdling shriek ripped through the silence.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Conan, Mouri, and Ran whipped their heads around. They found Sonoko trembling violently, her finger pointing toward the far wall. They looked up.
"AHHHHHHH!" Ran's scream joined the first.
A man's corpse was bolted to the wall. His jaw hung slack, eyes bulging in a final expression of agony. Thick, viscous blood ebbed from his open mouth and cascaded down his torso.
Kogoro and Conan froze, ashen-faced at the sheer depravity of the scene.
"I-IT'S OWNER MANAKA!" they bellowed in unison.
The man impaled upon the masonry was indeed the wealthy tycoon who had purchased the museum. He had been executed with the very sword depicted in the painting, the blade driven through his heart.
"Leon, get away from there! Come here, now!" Sonoko cried out, struggling to regain her composure.
Leon turned slowly and walked toward the group, his expression unreadable as they stood paralyzed by the grisly tableau.
"What in the world had happened here? Ran, call the authorities! Now!" Kogoro barked, snapping into professional gear as he rushed toward the body.
Conan clenched his teeth, his fists trembling with indignation. Was this what Leon alluded to yesterday? This isn't divine retribution... this is cold-blooded murder.
Conan pivoted toward Ran, his voice piercing the heavy air. "Ran-neechan, hurry! Call the police!"
The urgency in his shout acted as a catalyst, jolting Ran from her paralysis. Though her hands trembled violently, she fumbled for her phone and punched in the emergency digits.
AM N. NOT.(っ－＿－)っ♤♤DRAFT♤♤