Kadowaki Saori was woken up from her stupor by the screams. She felt weak all over, and her hands and feet were so soft that they didn't feel like her own. She tried to cheer up, but her memory was a little fuzzy, but she recognized two friends.

the sound of.

"Naoko...Sumei..."

She wanted to say: Help me, I can't stand up. But before the next words came out, the two people over there let out a louder and harsher scream as if they were competing, and then threw something towards her.

Turn around and run!

Kadowaki Saori:......

She blinked her eyes in confusion, not knowing what was going on. She only saw the thing thrown over by Ebihara Hisumi——

It's a broken arrow.

Broken dugong arrow.

The one I threw away... the Dugong Arrow?!!

The memory came back instantly, and the fear, panic, and confusion after losing the arrow all came to my mind, and turned into the anger after seeing the broken arrow!

Oh it's you!

It was you who stole my arrow!!

Ebihara...Sumei!!!

Suddenly, there seemed to be a surge of strength in her body. She raised her upper body and shouted heartbreakingly: "Ebihara Hisumi!"

There was another scream from the corner of the warehouse, and then an old broom was thrown over and hit her back with a "snap".

Kadowaki Saori was so weak that she was knocked to the ground by a broom. She gritted her teeth and tried to get up, but found that her legs and feet were completely unresponsive. She turned around and saw something dusty and vague.

A huge fish tail with a touch of blue.

The fish tail...is attached to her waist.

She turned into a mermaid?

Is this the retribution for losing and breaking the dugong arrow?

Mermaid...

…………………………

Listening to the screams changing from a duet to a trio, Kitahara Sosuke snapped his fingers and winked at everyone. They all nodded with serious expressions and dispersed in all directions. The smug Hattori Heiji and others were crawling.

After getting on the roof, some sneaked into the warehouse through small windows, some held remote controls for toy cars and toy airplanes, and others were pulling piano wires.

So when Ebihara Hisumi and Kuroe Naoko tried their best to stay away from the resurrected "mermaid corpse", when Kadowaki Saori collapsed and cried, many long strips of gauze hung down in the warehouse.

There seemed to be black and red blood stains on it.

Although there were only a few thin layers of gauze between the three people who were instantly separated, their sense of psychological isolation made them increasingly frightened and desperate.

The blue flames rose out of thin air, and almost the entire warehouse turned into a sea of ​​fire, but the flames seemed to be cold. Several people did not feel any heat or light, and they did not dare to go through the flames to find others.

I could only watch helplessly as the flames gradually approached, and I was too frightened to make a sound.

Until a terrifying figure appeared in the sea of ​​fire.

That's a mermaid.

In other words, he was once a mermaid.

Its hair is disheveled and covered with flames. Its old face seems to have been melted by fire. The skin on its eyes is stuck together, its fingers are as dry as firewood, and the ribs between its chest and abdomen are clearly visible. They are almost as long as a fish.

The tail trailed softly behind, and it was covered with shocking burn wounds, and even bones were exposed in some places.

The mermaid swam on the ground in a weird posture, sometimes turning to the left, sometimes to the right, wandering around a few people, as if it was blind and relying on its hearing to find prey in the flames. But whether it was just waking up

Kadowaki Saori, Ebihara Hisumi and Kuroe Naoko, who were still frightened to the point of incontinence, all "smartly" covered their mouths at this moment, not daring to let out any anger.

The mermaid opened her mouth and made a sound that seemed to have an echo: "Why... why did you burn me? Why did you kill me? Who... who did it? Damn it! I want to kill her... Damn it! How hateful it is.

...I hate it so much...Who is it...Who is it..."

Hisumi Ebihara covered her mouth, tears falling down. When the mermaid approached, she tried to shrink back, and her arm suddenly touched something cold.

The woman turned around subconsciously and saw another equally terrifying mermaid behind her!

"Ahhhhh——"

She screamed and fell in fear. In her panic, she didn't realize that it was a mirror. She kicked her feet to get away, but she felt an even colder and more terrifying pressure behind her!

Without looking back, Hisumi Ebihara realized that the vengeful mermaid was already behind her.

With a strong desire to survive, the words rushed out of her throat without thinking -

"It's not me! It's not me! It was Naoko's idea! You go find her! It was Saori who lit the fire. She also said... I want to see if you, the mermaid, really have the ability to live forever.

You go to them for revenge! It’s not my fault! Don’t blame me!”

For a moment, the entire warehouse fell silent.

After a few seconds, the mermaid seemed to finally react. It slowly turned around and turned its eyeless face in the direction of Kadowaki Saori and Kuroe Naoko.

Kadowaki Saori's voice was as thin as if she was about to die, and she cried: "Please... spare me... please... I didn't mean it... I was drunk... I didn't know..."

Kuroe Naoko was furious, but she always remembered not to make a sound and resisted without refuting.

The fire on the mermaid suddenly rose into the sky and engulfed the figure in an instant. The surrounding flames also flew up out of thin air and gathered into a ball. A few seconds later, a humanoid figure appeared in the center of the warehouse, but the mermaid disappeared.

Mermaid... turned into a human?

Just when several people were thinking this, they saw the man raise his head.

Several people were already prepared to be frightened, but found that the face looked familiar...the gentle and tired expression...

"...Mrs. Shimabukuro?" Kuroe Naoko finally couldn't hold it back and said.

"It's me." Mrs. Shimabukuro looked at her, her expression as gentle as in her memory. She slowly raised her hand and said, "So the person who killed me was you, Naoko."

Those slender, pale fingers seemed to carry a strange power. As she raised them, a cold wind roared in, and blue flames suddenly emerged, swooping in quickly like a wandering snake.

To Naoko Kuroe!

"not me!"

Seeing that she was about to be caught by the fire snake, Kuroe Naoko screamed: "Saori, Shoumei! Don't tell me how innocent you two are! Shoumei, wasn't it you who said it in the first place? The old woman refused to kill the dugong.

The arrow gave us, we should teach her a lesson! Saori, have you forgotten how active you were when you lit the fire? I did not do it alone, and revenge should not be directed at me alone! "

"Naoko!"

"I didn't, you're talking nonsense!"

Seeing that the "Mrs. Shimabukuro" in front of them seemed to be a reasonable ghost, the three people hurriedly differentiated and tried to shift the responsibility to the other two people. After a while, everything that happened three years ago was completely forgotten——

Who started the instigation, who made the suggestions, who locked the escape door, who set the fire, how proud and arrogant he was afterwards, how fearful and regretful he was when he saw his fate the next day... all told.

He came out and hurriedly bowed down, trying to express how innocent, regretful and painful he was.

"Mrs. Shimabukuro" remained silent, and the flame burned quietly until it gradually extinguished.

The cool moonlight poured in through the narrow window of the warehouse, shining on the man's face, reflecting a faint watery light.

Suddenly hearing a suppressed sob, Kadowaki Saori, who was closest, looked up in shock. Seeing the glimmer of water, she suddenly understood and remembered the person who was with her before she fell into coma:

"Jun Hui... Jun Hui... is that you? Jun Hui!"

Hisumi Ebihara and Naoko Kuroe were suddenly shocked.

"Creak--"

The door that they had been unable to open before suddenly opened, and the witch in white and red skirt stood at the door, her expression as cold as frost, without any sign of sadness.

Beside her, there was a young man in black standing against the door, with a cold light that seemed to be hidden in his eyes.

Mouri Kogoro, Conan, Hattori Heiji, Toyama and Ye and others also stood up from different corners of the warehouse. There was a broken mermaid model next to Hattori Heiji, Toyama and Ye did not dare to look at it. But Maori

Kogoro took down a camera that was still running from the shelf.

"Kimie?" The three of them turned their heads in surprise to look at "Mrs. Shimabukuro" who was crying silently, and said in a panic: "But... this is not..."

"I have a question for you three." Kitahara Sosuke's cold voice sounded: "Why aren't you surprised?"

"Wha, what?"

"I noticed that when the 'Mermaid' turned into 'Mrs. Shimabukuro', and when 'Mrs. Shimabukuro' questioned you, the three of you... seemed to have no idea that the real identity of the mermaid you killed was actually her friend's.

Mother's not surprised by this?" He looked sideways at the three of them and asked, "Can you tell me why?"

Shimabukuro Kimie slowly opened her eyes. She originally thought that she had thought of them as badly as possible, but she didn't expect that the truth could be even crueler.

"What do you mean?" Yuan Shan and Ye said in shock: "Did they already know what they had done?"

Everyone looked at Kadowaki Saori and the others. The guilty and frightened expressions on the three people's faces, the subconsciously avoiding eyes and the trembling lips completely exposed them.

"Of course they know." Kitahara Sosuke sneered: "If you are really in awe of the mermaid legend, you wouldn't be able to do that kind of thing even when you are drunk. It is precisely because they doubt her power, question her identity, and have deep thoughts

That’s why they set the fire out of malice. From the very beginning...these guys were just here to kill people."

"Perhaps there is also a reason for being paralyzed by alcohol. But alcohol is only a catalyst for them to release their evil thoughts, and it cannot turn kind people into demons. Afterwards, the police investigation concluded that it was the skeleton of a middle-aged woman. In fact, at that time you

Are you aware of the truth? You have always believed that mermaids have the power of immortality, and even hypnotized yourself to the point where you seem to truly believe in the legend. In fact, it is just a subconscious attempt to cover up the sins you have committed, isn't it?"

Ebihara Hisumi cried: "No... no... I didn't... I don't know... Junhui, you believe me..."

Shimabukuro Kimie didn't want to look at her ugly appearance. Her eyes were bloodshot with hatred, and she looked at Kitahara Sosuke for help. The young man in black nodded to her, showing a comforting smile. Although she didn't know

What did he mean? But the girl's hatred did subside a little.

"If you have any questions, please tell the police later." Kitahara Sosuke glanced at the three of them and said: "Mouri-san, Hattori, we will temporarily detain the three of them separately to avoid colluding in confession before the police arrive. Also.

have……"

He looked at the three people who looked desperate and said: "Everyone, everything you just said here has been recorded, so please don't have any unrealistic wishes. You know-if someone refuses

If you don't admit your crime, but the other two confess truthfully, those two can get a reduced sentence, but someone will get a heavier sentence. This simple legal common sense... you also know it, right?"
Chapter completed!