BWDC:SDDK Chapter 71: Mission [Scarecrow · Hunt]!
Ren Ichimonji knew exactly who Koizumi Akako was.
The Scarlet Magician, the Witch of Red—one of the most bizarre entities in this world's logic. She possessed supernatural powers ranging from prophecy and disguise to flight and even summoning small tornadoes.
But for such a Red Witch to believe that he could be the savior of Kaito Kid?
That was strange indeed.
Although Ren didn't know much about Magic Kaito, he knew that Koizumi Akako, much like Nakamori Aoko, supposedly had feelings for Kuroba Kaito. Under these circumstances, with Kaito facing inevitable danger, shouldn't Akako be the one heading out to save him herself?
Lunch break, the rooftop of Ekoda High School.
Numerous students had already gathered here to eat. Among them, Ren Ichimonji stood out conspicuously; he wasn't wearing a school uniform and clearly looked like someone from outside the student body.
However, no students seemed to find his presence problematic.
Usually, no matter why an outsider entered the school, they wouldn't be standing on the rooftop drinking coffee and enjoying the breeze. He looked so relaxed and leisurely that most assumed he was simply a teacher they didn't recognize.
Kuroba Kaito leaned against the rooftop railing, scratching his head as he whispered:
"You might be Batman, and she might be a magician. But I am not Kaito Kid. If you two really want to talk to Kid about some magical prophecy, you should go stake out the site of his next heist notice, not corner me on a school rooftop."
He hadn't even had a chance to eat his lunch yet.
If Aoko came looking for him with his bento and found these two "eccentrics" still insisting he was Kaito Kid, things would explode. Aoko had made it very clear that she detested Kaito Kid for constantly making her father look like a fool.
"Miss Akako, what exactly did you see?"
Ignoring Kaito's grumbling, Ren went straight to the point, asking about the contents of her magical prophecy.
As for whether Kuroba Kaito would use his magic to slip away—he couldn't.
Ren was a magician himself; simple sleight of hand wouldn't fool him. Unless Kaito intended to drop a smoke bomb and use a disguise to vanish, but with so many students on the roof, Kaito wouldn't risk such a public display. Therefore, Kaito was stuck listening to them.
"What did I see?"
Koizumi Akako repeated her prophecy.
To which, Ren mentally projected a giant question mark.
Ren: ?
I'm giving you a question mark not because I have a problem, but because I think you have one. Can you speak plain English, lady?
Sensing Ren's disapproving, icy gaze, the Red Witch felt a sudden chill. She felt like she was about to turn from a Red Witch into a frost-covered Blue Witch. Finally, Akako explained the specifics.
Last night, Akako had used her crystal ball for divination. She was scrying specifically about Kuroba Kaito.
Then, she saw a vision of Kaito Kid being captured.
As she pressed further for the cause, a terrifying web materialized out of thin air upon a building. An eight-eyed spider, larger than a human, crawled across the webbing, aiming to pierce Kaito with its sharp, spindly legs.
But the moment the spider struck, a bat tore through the web and severed the spider's limb.
Kaito was saved because of it.
"What on earth is all this?"
"Akako... first you call him a Being of Light, then you say he's Batman. Now you're saying a giant eight-eyed spider is going to eat me? I mean, eat Kaito Kid?"
Kaito pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed.
He didn't believe in these so-called supernatural prophecies; it sounded like something Akako made up to scare him. If she had said there were eight hundred axe-wielding assassins waiting for him, he might have believed it a little. But a human-sized spider? He wasn't buying it.
This wasn't New York City with a Daily Bugle; where would a spider that big come from? Was this world secretly a Marvel sub-universe? Did a giant spider crawl over from a parallel dimension to eat people?
Ren, however, didn't entirely dismiss it—though he didn't believe in giant monsters either.
This world hadn't devolved into "monsters and ghosts" territory yet. A spider that large definitely didn't exist. If it appeared... then it could only be an illusion created by someone else.
The reality behind Akako's vision was likely this: someone had trapped Kaito in a hallucination, making him believe a giant spider was attacking him, only for Ren to intervene with a Batarang to stop the actual killing blow.
"...Scarecrow?" Ren whispered instinctively.
Scarecrow. Along with the Riddler, he was a classic Gotham villain. A master of fear, much like Batman, though while Batman used atmosphere and theatrics, Scarecrow relied on Fear Toxin to achieve results through chemistry.
If there was anyone who could plunge a master magician like Kaito into a state of hallucination, it was a Master of Fear like Scarecrow.
The moment Ren reached this conclusion, the system screen snapped open.
[Mission: Scarecrow · Hunt] [The Master of Fear will arrive in Gotham City shortly. Employed by the League of Assassins, he will spare no effort in helping them achieve their goal: obtaining the lost Lazarus Pit. But before that, the Master of Fear will first hunt the supervillain 'The Riddler'—who has been obstructing the League—to prove his capabilities. As Batman, you cannot tolerate any act of murder in Gotham, even if it is one supervillain targeting another!]
[Reward: One dose of Fear Toxin per day] [Note: Scarecrow is a terrifying opponent. Even the Dark Knight has fallen into fear before him multiple times. Only a will of iron can resist it... or pain!]
Ren: !
What? Scarecrow was a lapdog for the League of Assassins now, and he was being sent to kill the Riddler?
If this were Gotham, even the old Batman would probably scratch his head trying to figure out how this plot twist happened. But in Beika, the situation was crystal clear.
The "League of Assassins" likely referred to the mysterious Black Organization. The "Lazarus Pit" referred to the Pandora Gem from Magic Kaito, which was said to grant immortality.
This mission was a targeted assassination attempt by the Organization against Kaito Kid!
Ren couldn't let the Organization succeed. Even setting aside the long-term benefits of Kaito Kid's future heists, simply because Kuroba Kaito was a good person, Ren could not allow him to be murdered while he had the power to stop it!
End of Chapter
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