Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all advance chapters!
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
───────────────────────────
Chapter 216: The Magician and the Monster
Night winds howled, kicking up dust on the rooftop.
Kaitou Kid knelt on one knee, panting heavily. His white top hat had rolled several meters away, revealing a young face usually brimming with confidence but now written with shock and suspicion.
He quickly checked his hang glider. The frame was intact, the fabric untorn, and even the hydraulic system of the control stick showed normal readings. The strange wind that had swatted him down like a fly just moments ago seemed to have never existed.
"Damn it..."
Kid cursed under his breath and reached out to retrieve his hat. Regardless of what happened, he had to leave this place first. Inspector Nakamori's loud voice was already echoing from downstairs; without looking, he knew the stubborn old man was leading a large force charging toward the roof.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the brim of his hat...
A foot stepped on the white top hat first. It was a black leather shoe, polished to a shine, reflecting a cold gleam under the moonlight.
Kid's pupils contracted sharply.
Someone's here?
As a top-tier thief, his perception of gazes and presence was extremely acute. But when did this person appear? The rooftop was clearly empty just a moment ago!
Kid didn't hesitate, nor did he even look up at the person's face. With a flip of his right wrist, his card gun slid into his palm.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three alloy poker cards shot out in a triangle formation, aiming straight for the opponent's calf and knee. At this distance, aiming wasn't even necessary.
However.
The three cards, capable of slicing through aluminum cans, suddenly stopped ten centimeters away from that leg. It was as if they had hit an invisible wall. Then, they fell powerlessly to the ground, making crisp metallic clangs.
"You should put away these children's toys."
A young, lazy male voice drifted from above, carrying an oppressiveness that made one's scalp tingle.
Kid looked up sharply.
Backlit by the moon, he saw a man wearing a casual suit and an Action Kamen mask. The man had his hands in his pockets and was looking down at him, his gaze as calm as if he were looking at a stray cat by the roadside.
No killing intent. But that high-and-mighty condescension made the hairs on Kid's body stand on end.
"Who are you?"
Kid retreated rapidly, opening up a safe distance. He pressed down his slightly messy bangs with one hand, trying to retrieve his usual poker face. "A magician? Or... a colleague from another faction?"
Blake tipped his toe lightly. The white top hat flew up, arcing through the air before landing steadily in his hand. He twirled the hat casually, not answering Kid's question, but instead asking one of his own:
"Kuroba Kaito, is this the extent of the current Kid's ability?"
This sentence was like a thunderclap exploding on the empty rooftop.
Kid—or rather, Kuroba Kaito—froze instantly.
Disguise? Mask? In front of this man, they seemed nonexistent. The opponent had called out his real name in one breath!
To hide this identity, he had kept it a secret even from his childhood friend Nakamori Aoko. Aside from his assistant, the old butler Jii Konosuke, there shouldn't be a third person in this world who knew!
"I don't understand what you're saying, sir."
Kaito forcibly suppressed the stormy waves in his heart, forcing the corners of his mouth into his signature confident smile. "Trying to shake me with such words? Unfortunately, detective tricks don't work on me."
While speaking, he made a subtle hand sign behind his back. A smoke bomb slid from his sleeve.
Just one instant. As long as he created a blind spot, he could use the preset steel cables to escape. Who cared who he was or if he knew his identity? It was useless if he couldn't catch him!
"Shake you?"
Blake smiled. He tossed the hat back casually. "You think I'm playing psychological warfare with you?"
The hat's trajectory through the air was slow. Kaito instinctively reached out to catch it.
In that split second.
Blake's figure disappeared.
It wasn't the kind of disappearance used in magic tricks involving light and shadow. It was a true "disappearance" where the retina couldn't capture the movement due to excessive speed.
Kaito only felt a blur before his eyes. Immediately after, a tremendous force assaulted him from behind. It didn't strike him but pressed down on his shoulder. That hand wasn't heavy, yet it felt like a mountain, suppressing him so he couldn't move a muscle.
"Too slow."
The voice was right next to him, right in his ear.
Kaito stiffened, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.
Teleportation?
Impossible! This is the real world; we have to respect science!
He pulled the trigger violently, and the smoke bomb in his sleeve exploded. Pink smoke instantly swallowed both of them.
"Now let's see you..."
Kaito's words choked in his throat before he could finish.
The smoke didn't spread.
The pink gas seemed to be imprisoned by some invisible force, forming a perfect sphere around the two of them, yet not a single wisp touched the man.
Standing in the center of the smoke, Blake blew gently.
Whoosh—
A gale rose abruptly. The dense smoke was instantly shredded, rolled up into the high sky, and vanished without a trace. The rooftop regained its clarity.
Kaito stared blankly at this scene, the card gun in his hand nearly falling to the ground.
This isn't scientific!
This is absolutely not scientific!
Who can blow away a smoke bomb with one breath? Are his lungs a typhoon?!
"Magic, plainly speaking, is just a pile of visual tricks and props." Blake released his hand and walked to the edge of the roof, looking at the flashing police lights below, his tone flat. "Using visual persistence, psychological blind spots, and ingenious mechanisms."
"But in the face of absolute power, these flashy things are as fragile as paper."
As he spoke, he reached out and grasped the empty air lightly.
Zzzzt!
The sound of electric sparks suddenly crackled in the air.
Kaito watched helplessly as the steel cable launcher hidden in his sleeve, the balloon inflation device on his belt, and even the gravity sensors in his soles... all failed in an instant, emitting black smoke.
"My equipment..."
Kaito was completely dumbfounded.
What is this?
Electromagnetic Pulse?
Does this man carry a mobile EMP emitter?
"That gem isn't what you're looking for."
Blake turned around, pointing at Kaito's bulging pocket. "The Deep Blue Dream. Although the quality is good, it doesn't contain the Light of Life you want, nor will it turn red under the moon."
Kaito instinctively covered his pocket, his eyes becoming incredibly wary. "Who exactly are you? Why do you know about 'Pandora'?"
That mysterious organization had been searching for the legendary gem "Pandora" that could grant immortality. Kaito had taken up the name of Kaitou Kid to lure out the organization that killed his father. This was his biggest secret. And his deepest obsession.
"Who am I?"
Blake walked up to Kaito, the distance between them less than half a meter. Kaito wanted to retreat, but found his feet rooted to the ground, tightly bound by an invisible airflow, unable to move.
This feeling again!
The force that pulled him down from the sky just now was this power!
───────────────────────────
Support this fanfic by leaving positive reviews, comments, and Power Stones!
For advance chapters, visit:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations