16 Versus Two

At that moment, inside the apartment building, Conan followed the names posted on the doorplates.

“412, Miyamura…”

After checking the last apartment, Conan was left baffled. “There’s no one with the surname Zenin anywhere. Could he have the wrong address?”

Unbeknownst to Conan, the address was obtained through bloodline sensing by Kisaragi Ryoumei, accurate without error. He pulled out his phone and dialed Kisaragi’s number to confirm the address, but to his surprise, there was no signal at all.

Conan tried every method—powering off and restarting—but nothing worked. When he tried to leave, he found an invisible barrier covering the apartment’s front door. Paired with Kisaragi’s sudden change in expression, Conan’s mind began to form a preliminary suspicion.

“Is it that there’s some danger, and that’s why I’m not allowed to follow?” Conan was somewhat annoyed. After all, he was a behind-the-scenes hero who had averted many disasters! Ignoring him when catching villains was just not right.

But when he saw the apartment door wide open yet sealed like a natural moat, Conan’s fiery spirit instantly froze.

Well, it seemed he really couldn’t help much.

“Haha, actually, watching over kids isn’t so bad! I love being a babysitter!” Conan tried to salvage his pride, but the forced smile soon fell away. “Ah, but I haven’t even found the person.”

The famed detective’s confidence was bruised.

“Megumi, Megumi, where are you?” If only he would just appear!

Perhaps the gods heard his wish, for suddenly a youthful voice sounded behind him: “Are you looking for me?”

“What?”

Conan turned around in surprise and saw a small boy with a spiky hairstyle standing on the stairs behind him. His emerald eyes looked down at Conan with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

Megumi Fushiguro asked, “Who are you? Who sent you? What’s your purpose? Did you make that barrier outside?”

One question after another struck Conan, leaving him momentarily stunned.

“My name is Edogawa Conan. I’m a detective.” He temporarily avoided revealing Kisaragi Ryoumei’s true identity and asked, “What barrier are you talking about?”

“You… didn’t see it?” Megumi, not detecting anything unusual on Conan’s face, skeptically glanced toward the window, where a grand formation stretched across the sky. The intricate array woven with spiritual power was magnificent and mysterious.

Megumi didn’t know that this was a protective barrier laid by Kisaragi to keep him safe, but he could vaguely sense that it posed no threat to him. Yet, learning that he was confined, especially after yesterday’s rash discovery that his worthless father had sold him out, left the four-year-old Megumi feeling increasingly insecure.

Conan keenly noticed the tension radiating from Megumi’s uneasy frame and felt a pang in his heart—if Kisaragi’s favored one learned that his own child had been scared to tears by Conan, he would surely be in big trouble.

Now, Conan mobilized every ounce of his skill to change the subject. “I came to deliver something to you.”

Megumi remained cautious. “Deliver what?”

Conan recalled the bracelet Kisaragi had given him. A thought struck him, and a grape-flavored dessert materialized in the palm of his hand. “Dessert.”

“Ah…”

Megumi stared at the miraculous sight, eyes widening slightly, and unconsciously muttered, “Where did that come from…”

Phew!

Finally, he had stabilized the situation!

Conan breathed a sigh of relief. While Megumi was still distracted, he swiftly climbed the stairs and grabbed the boy’s hand.

“What are you doing?”

“I mean no harm. I just want to give you this.”

Before Megumi could pull his hand away, Conan seized it and demonstrated how to use the bracelet: “Hold this bracelet and silently say ‘open’ in your heart, and it will produce a small cake. To stop, just say ‘close.’ Watch me—open…”

A peach-flavored cake appeared in Conan’s hand, which he passed along with the bracelet to Megumi. “There are many flavors inside. You can eat whichever you like, and throw away the ones you don’t.”

“For me…?”

Megumi looked at the bracelet resting in his palm. Receiving such a precious gift was rare for him, making the usually mature boy even more uneasy. “I can’t accept this…”

Seeing the bracelet returned to him, Conan hurriedly said, “He prepared this especially for you. I’m just the messenger. You should keep it; it’s okay.”

“Who is ‘he’?”

“Well…” Conan didn’t know how to explain Kisaragi’s identity without compromising the plan, so he gave up and said, “He’ll come to see you soon. Just ask him when he arrives, alright?”

Megumi thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay.” But inwardly, he planned to return the gift to its owner the moment they met.

Seeing Megumi’s agreement, Conan finally relaxed. He asked, “Can you take me to your home to wait? It’s pretty boring here.”

“Home…” Megumi hesitated briefly, then didn’t refuse. “Follow me.”

Megumi led Conan up to the third floor, pulled out a key, and opened the apartment door facing the inner hallway. Yet Conan didn’t follow in immediately; instead, he turned to look at the doorplate, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?”

Conan asked in confusion, “Shouldn’t your surname be Zenin? Why does the doorplate say… Fushiguro?”

Megumi, who had been forced to change his name, was even more bewildered. “Huh?”

Meanwhile, at a train station in Chiba Prefecture:

“We’re here! He’s right here!”

Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto had just stepped off the train when Kisaragi Ryoumei locked onto their location. A streak of silver light flashed, and Kisaragi instantly teleported to the spot.

He stood atop a streetlamp in the station plaza, raising his sword, the tip aimed squarely at the two. “Finally arrived. I was starting to get impatient.”

Ordinarily, such a sudden appearance in a crowded station plaza would cause a commotion, but no one seemed to notice. The dense crowd parted five steps around the two, bypassed them, and then converged again.

This eerie scene made Suguru increasingly uneasy. He quickly grabbed his reckless friend who was about to charge forward. “Gojo! Be careful! His aura feels off.”

“Of course I know that!” Gojo removed his sunglasses again, his Six Eyes fully open. As countless pieces of information flooded his mind, his smile grew wider. “Haha! Even though I’ve never seen your style of power before, no denying you’re strong! I can’t wait to beat you down!”

“Gojo, the opponent is a mentalist and spatial sorcerer—don’t underestimate him,” Suguru said seriously, forming hand seals, ready to act at any moment.

Kisaragi lowered his gaze, golden eyes sweeping over the two eager yet cautious opponents. He murmured, “Only two of you… fine, that’ll make this quicker.”

As his words fell, spiritual energy rapidly dispersed from beneath his feet, and within moments, a spiritual barrier enveloped a three-kilometer square area centered on Chiba Station.

Suguru’s eyes widened. “What is this…”

“An isolated pocket dimension, like a tent barrier?” Gojo clapped his hands. “Is this your technique? Interesting! Really interesting—”

“Shut up.”

Responding to him, Kisaragi suddenly flashed before Gojo and slashed at his neck.

Suguru shouted in surprise, “So fast!”

Gojo scoffed, “That won’t work on me!”

Hum!

The blade of Kisaragi’s sword was stopped by Gojo’s Infinity technique—an impenetrable barrier that approached infinitely close but could never be touched. This discovery made Kisaragi raise an eyebrow.

“Infinite extension? Your eyes can manipulate part of the spatial laws?”

“That’s right! Now you’re stuck, huh?” Gojo laughed loudly, raising his hand. Curse energy gathered on it as he swung a punch at Kisaragi’s face. “Now it’s my turn!”

Boom!

“But just this won’t be enough to survive against me.”

Kisaragi twisted his wrist, using the heavy back of his sword to deflect Gojo’s punch. At the same time, his free left hand swept, unleashing a massive wave of spiritual energy that instantly annihilated the curse spirits released by Suguru.

Gojo, throwing his punch, didn’t miss the scene. “Get your big guns out, Suguru! Level 2 curse spirits won’t hurt him!”

“Damn it, it’s hard enough to control these curse spirits!” Suguru grumbled but didn’t slow down. In a blink, dozens of curse spirits of various shapes and strong auras were summoned and charged at Kisaragi under Suguru’s command. “Attack!”

“Just watch me!”

Gojo, coordinating with the curse spirits blocking Kisaragi’s retreat, increased his curse energy output. The force of his punches made the surrounding space tremble with instability.

Kisaragi’s expression remained unchanged. Although the legendary blade Yuyumae couldn’t break through Gojo’s Infinity, it didn’t hold him back either. He had perfected every use of the sword—slash, chop, sweep, flick—and with countless blade flashes, he continuously deflected attacks and, using his opponent’s momentum, cut down one ambushing curse spirit after another.

Suguru’s face grew grimmer. “Gojo! Stop playing around!”

“It’s rare to find someone this strong in physical combat. Let me enjoy this! A few more tries, and I’ll definitely beat him!”

Suguru snapped, “Damn it! My curse spirits are limited!”

“Alright, alright, I got it!” Gojo withdrew his fist and looked up at the long-haired boy standing with his sword in the distance. His pale blue eyes gleamed with fierce battle intent. “Oh dear, I didn’t want to use my technique, but your strength is quite something. So don’t blame me if I nearly kill you.”

He raised his hand, condensing curse energy. “Ao!”

Boom!

A terrifying blue orb of energy formed, surging toward Kisaragi’s position with the force of a mountain-cleaving, sea-splitting strike.

The dazzling blue light instantly illuminated the entire barrier space but lasted only a moment before being bathed in cold silver light.

“Break!”

With the boy’s cool voice came a complete shattering of Gojo’s technique. The pale blue dots quickly dispersed. The boy hovered in the air, looking down on the two with calm golden eyes, unusually touched with emotion. “That move is quite good.”

Though expecting the opponent wouldn’t be easy to kill, Gojo was still displeased.

“Don’t think you can talk big just by blocking one attack! Hmph! That wasn’t even my ultimate move, just a normal attack!”

Gojo raised his hand again, gathering the “Ao” technique, and nearby Suguru released his strongest curse spirits.

But this time, Kisaragi didn’t continue to engage.

From their prior exchanges, he had roughly deduced their moves and patterns.

“As long as I break your protective law, I can kill you.”

Gojo, without hesitation, eagerly discussed it as if it weren’t his weakness. “Theoretically, yes. But how will you do that? Your technique doesn’t work on me. Or do you have a special cursed tool?”

“No need to be so complicated,” Kisaragi replied calmly. “If the protection is a law, then just erase it.”

Gojo lowered his sunglasses, eyes showing surprise and doubt. “I’ve never heard of that method.”

Suguru was unsettled. “Law? Heaven’s law, earth’s law? That’s beyond human control, isn’t it?”

Kisaragi said nothing, closing his eyes with serene detachment.

Humans, indeed, could not manipulate such forces. But he was no mere human.

Born of the laws themselves, having battled the celestial way for ten thousand years in his cultivation, and one step shy of transcendence, he was qualified to wield the domain of divine laws.

As his golden eyes closed, vast divine consciousness was fully unleashed. Time flowed, life and death revolved, curse energy circulated… The laws governing this world were all laid bare before him.

Kisaragi identified the special law condensed by Gojo’s Six Eyes technique, his consciousness transforming into a sword driven by spiritual power, striking at it with unstoppable force.

Hum!

On the ground, Gojo instantly showed a look of shock.

“Infinity… disappeared?”