Chapter 132: There is Only One Truth (Stand Version)
The culprit should have been this real estate agent. He possessed both the criminal motive and the necessary conditions. However, through the medium of the Legion of 666 Beasts, he merely provided information, while someone else carried out the murder for him.
Conan turned to look. Sure enough, as Kogoro Mouri muttered this information, the real estate agent's expression turned awkward and he seemed shaken. But he quickly regained his composure; clearly, he was prepared.
Conan guessed that the Legion of 666 Beasts had likely given him special instructions or training before implementing the Exchange-Based Crime. As long as he stubbornly insisted he knew nothing and relied on that alibi, the case would have "nothing to do with him."
Conan now understood why the Criminal Mist for this case was so massive. It wasn't because of the MO, but because of the form of the crime.
Standard cases are solved by investigating the victim's social network. Facts prove this is effective; over 80% of crimes are committed by someone within the victim's circle. Transient criminals aren't familiar with the victims and can't figure out the details easily.
The brilliance of Exchange-Based Crime lies in presenting a premeditated murder as a transient, random act. The police find the person with the most motive, only to discover an unbreakable alibi. Or, they suspect a stranger, only to find zero connection between them and the victim.
Though he understood the logic, Conan found it extremely thorny. He had never encountered such a case! Previously, even wealthy culprits did their own dirty work. He had rarely dealt with organized group crimes—the only exception being the ambush by the Distillery, which was more of a "full-force rush" than a technical operation.
Conan's only immediate solution was to convince the police to detain the "Mystery Enthusiast" and keep a close eye on the real estate agent. According to the principles of exchange crime, the agent would eventually have to commit a crime for someone else to "pay back" his debt.
But Conan soon realized the biggest problem with this plan: Time.
In the Japanese judicial system, which leans toward procedural justice, a suspect without hard physical evidence at the scene can easily be exonerated by a decent lawyer citing "lack of motive" or "no basic conditions for murder." If the Legion sensed the enthusiast's arrest and paused the agent's assigned task, the police's patience would eventually run dry. They didn't have the manpower to stake out a house for months.
Despite the difficulty, Conan's Detective Soul blazed. In the old days, this form of crime was rare because it was a "cheap mutual-aid version" of hiring a hitman. It required a powerful middleman to coordinate and ensure enforcement—otherwise, one party would commit their crime while the other just bailed. But in this Stand Era, with the convenience of Stand abilities and the supernatural lowering of criminal costs, a group like the 666 Beasts had the perfect environment to grow.
But what makes it strong also makes it vulnerable, Conan thought. In this Great Stand Era, there must be a corresponding method of detection.
His belief was well-founded. Even a muddled detective like Kogoro Mouri could play a powerful role through his Stand. Others—especially Inspector Megure, who had walked crime scenes for decades and was now a renowned "Little Brother Hunter"—would surely have more tricks up their sleeves.
But first, Conan had to communicate what he knew! He watched Kogoro, who was alternating between staring at the Inspiration Stick and wandering the scene. Suddenly, the office began to vibrate.
Outside the window, the Criminal Mist surged like a tidal wave. The sounds of battle echoed. Kogoro's expression changed, and he rushed out.
Outside, the horrifying giant spider wreathed in black mist was locked in combat with Megure's Stand. The battle was so fierce they had smashed through walls to get here. Megure was bruised and exhausted. Seeing Kogoro, he roared:
"Mouri-kun! Did you find a clue!?"
Kogoro waved his hand and shouted, "I found it!"
Oh no, Conan thought. Kogoro was waving the "Suicide Note" from the desk! The power of the Criminal Mist was manifesting through that prop, and Kogoro had fallen for it.
"What's the clue!?" Megure yelled.
"The victim committed suicide out of guilt for a past workplace bullying incident!"
In the next instant, a bizarre ripple spread from the note. In Conan's vision, the visibility of the area dropped several tiers, as if light were being devoured. The giant spider let out a sinister laugh, its figure becoming translucent.
A strange force seeped into everyone's hearts. Even in Conan's mind, the conclusion that the executive had hanged himself out of guilt became vivid and undeniable—as if it were the only truth.
Megure looked dazed, but he forced himself awake. "Suicide? Good! That's one cause of death solved! The culprit's Stand is weakened! Good job, Mouri-kun, keep going—"
"Inspector Megure, watch out! You've been tricked!" Conan shouted. "It wasn't suicide! The culprit's Stand hasn't been weakened—it's been BUFFED!"
Having solved some of the truth earlier, Conan resisted the false cognition. He noticed that the spider becoming translucent didn't mean weakness; it meant it was merging with the Criminal Mist, becoming far stronger than before.
Megure didn't doubt the warning because the evidence arrived immediately. The spider lashed out with a powerful slash, blasting Megure and his Stand straight into a wall.
Megure finally realized: "The 'clue' Mouri found was a trick you set up!?"
The spider Stand cackled. "What use is knowing that? As my tricks manifest one by one, your investigation will derail. The truth will be sealed, and you will forget everything. My tricks will be your only reality! Accept your fate! By the way, Inspector, you and that detective aren't as strong as I thought. Were all your past cases just 'false truths' locked by Criminal Mist?"
Megure's face twisted with rage! The spider was accusing him of building his career on wrongful convictions. But Megure didn't waste words. He glanced at Kogoro, and his spirit rallied.
"Mouri-kun! You might not have found the right clue, but you found something even better! Throw the Inspiration Stick here, quickly!"
The spider Stand only then noticed Kogoro holding two Inspiration Sticks. It looked stunned. "Inspiration Stick? What is that?"
Kogoro threw the sticks. Megure caught them, his energy surging:
"Hmph. A low-tier criminal like you wouldn't know. You think everything favors the criminal inside the Mist? You don't realize that the Truth you try to bury is its own power! It will not bow to darkness. It grants enlightenment through various means to become the blade that tears the mist!"
Megure paused, then declared: "Your true identity is a member of the Legion of 666 Beasts!"
The identity was called out, and the Mist's surge hit a wall. But the spider remained stubborn: "So what? The Legion is decentralized. No one knows my real identity except the Master of the Swarm. Knowing my affiliation won't help you solve the case!"
Megure sneered. "Useless? That's because you don't know the true use of the Inspiration Stick. Let me show you... why I am called the LITTLE BROTHER HUNTER!"
Megure crushed an Inspiration Stick. It dissolved into streams of light that fused into his Stand.
"An Inspiration Stick carrying the light of Truth doesn't just provide info—it stimulates a Stand into a Super-Burst State! At this stage, my Stand's power leaps forward! My ability was originally just to mimic my 'Little Brothers' to a degree, but now..."
In the original work, a detective's "flash of insight" was a surge of fortune. In this era, it was a literal power-up.
Megure's aura exploded. The spider cringed. "So what if you power up? Inside the Mist, I am INVINCIBLE!!!"
"Invincible? That's because you haven't seen my STRONGEST LITTLE BROTHER! Come forth—SHINICHI KUDO!!!"
Megure roared. His Stand erupted into crystalline shards and restructured into a majestic humanoid figure. Conan stared, mouth agape. The figure was a bit blurry, but its face, clothes, and expression were an exact replica of his former self.
However, there was a difference. Conan felt that even at his most arrogant, he was never as "cool, arrogant, and domineering" as this summon. It radiated a pure "I am better than you" vibe.
Megure pointed forward. "Cut the crap! Kudo-kun, go! Show this low-tier criminal your INVINCIBLE DEDUCTION!"
The summoned Shinichi Stand moved. He pointed a finger at the spider:
"THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH!"
In that instant, the world changed. With that finger point, heaven and earth seemed to collapse into a crushing weight upon the spider. It was locked on—there was no escape!
The Shinichi Stand leaped, moving almost like a teleport, and delivered a devastating Whip Kick.
The spider took the hit. Half its body was nearly pulverized. The force of the kick rippled outward, blowing away at least a quarter of the distorted hallways and the Criminal Mist itself.
"THE CULPRIT IS YOU!"
Another line, another kick. The spider tumbled through the air like a soccer ball, vomiting blood. The shockwave blew away another quarter of the Mist.
The Stand then slowly vanished, and Megure, looking drained, panted:
"My ability... still can't fully summon Kudo-kun... but even so, you've witnessed the deduction that shakes the world!"
The spider didn't answer; it was facedown in a pool of its own blood, half-dead.
Conan, watching this, just wanted to say: Inspector, what kind of weird stereotype do you have of me? I don't shout 'One Truth' and then perform 'Martial God Strong Kicks' as physical deduction! Apologize to the real Shinichi Kudo right now!
But he couldn't deny the results. Summoning "Shinichi" had flipped the case. The culprit's Stand was broken, and the case difficulty had been slashed in half. The mist was thinning, and the Criminal Domain was collapsing. The building returned to its normal state. The spider, which had touched the B-rank domain, had its power plummeting.
And terrifyingly, Megure was still holding one more Inspiration Stick, looking ready to summon "Little Brother Shinichi" for two more kicks.
"Reveal your true self and surrender. This is your last warning. Otherwise, I will attack again, and your life will be like a candle in the wind..."
To a detective, solving a case means finding the truth. To a cop, it means beating the criminal half to death and then taking a confession. Both worked.
"Damn it... I was so close... but I met Shinichi Kudo... is this my fate? No! I won't accept it! I can still go on... even at a price...!"
As the spider hissed, the Mystery Enthusiast (!?) appeared, standing before the spider and holding a glowing shard.
"So the killer is YOU! Come to the station and talk!" Megure shouted.
Conan's pupils shrank. From the shard in the enthusiast's hand, he sensed an incredibly familiar aura.
The power of Moriarty was condensed within it.
"Great Existence! Look upon me! I offer everything to you! I shall please you with this crime...!"
The enthusiast screamed. The shard erupted with sinister light. The spider Stand dissolved and flowed into his body along with the Criminal Mist. His human form began to mutate into a distorted, pitch-black silhouette.
In a higher dimension, a soft chuckle echoed:
"Oh? How interesting. In the settings of this new world line, my body exists as shards scattered across the world?"
End of Chapter
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