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Chapter 205: The Flying Dagger
Why?
Why was this happening?!
His brain was screaming, roaring, but he couldn't find any answers. He only knew one thing: it was all over. His life, and Asami's future, had been completely pushed into the abyss by that bizarre "confession."
"No... No! I didn't! I didn't kill anyone!"
The waiter screamed like a madman, incoherently trying to deny the words he had just spoken.
"That was fake! It was all fake!"
"Freeze! Don't move!"
Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi reacted instantly, drawing their guns and approaching him step by step.
The dark muzzles of the police guns became the final straw that broke the camel's back. The instinct to survive completely overwhelmed his reason. The waiter's eyes darted around wildly, finally settling on a steak knife resting on a nearby empty table.
"Ahhh—!"
He lunged forward, grabbed the knife, and waved it frantically, forcing the approaching officers to retreat.
"Don't come over! Stay back!"
The restaurant instantly descended into chaos. Diners screamed in terror, scrambling toward the corners of the room. Mori Ran's face turned pale, and she subconsciously shielded Conan behind her. Mori Kogoro, whose face had been full of triumph just moments ago, was now written with tension and shock.
"Hey! Calm down! Put the knife down!" Inspector Megure shouted, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
A psychologically broken murderer was more dangerous than any calm criminal!
However, the waiter couldn't hear a word. His gaze swept frantically through the chaotic crowd, looking for a sliver of hope. He saw the police, he saw Mori Kogoro, he saw Asami Otsuka collapsed on the floor in despair...
Then, he saw Kisaki Eri.
The woman sitting alone by the window, elegant and composed. She looked weak, posed no threat, and was closest to him.
"Ahhh—!"
He let out a roar of unclear meaning, like a beast driven into a corner, and pounced on Kisaki Eri!
"Danger!"
"Eri!"
Inspector Megure and Mori Kogoro exclaimed simultaneously, but they were a step too slow.
Kisaki Eri's reaction was fast; the moment the waiter lunged, she tried to get up and dodge, but his speed was too great, his movement too sudden. The cold steak knife, smelling of grease, was pressed ruthlessly against her slender, fair neck.
The screaming in the restaurant came to an abrupt halt. Time seemed to press the pause button at this moment.
"Don't... Don't come over!"
The waiter strangled Eri's neck with one arm and gripped the steak knife tightly with the other. The blade dug into Eri's skin due to the force, drawing a thin line of blood. His chest heaved violently, his voice trembling uncontrollably from extreme fear and agitation.
"Back off! Or I'll kill her!"
Mori Kogoro's blood seemed to freeze instantly. He stared fixedly at the knife against Eri's neck. For the first time, undisguised horror and fear appeared on his usually frivolous face.
"You bastard! You dare touch a hair on her head!" He roared, fists clenched tight, but he dared not take a step forward.
"Kogoro! Calm down! Don't provoke the criminal!" Inspector Megure grabbed him, then shouted nervously at the waiter, "Calm down! Don't be impulsive! We can talk about your demands!"
"A car! Get me a car! Full tank! Now!" the waiter screamed, his arm around Eri tightening a few degrees.
Eri let out a muffled groan, her face flushed from suffocation, but her eyes maintained an astonishing calmness.
"Cough... You can't escape," she said with difficulty, her voice hoarse. "Surrender now, and you still have a chance for leniency."
"Shut up! You shut up!"
The waiter's emotions were completely detonated, and he pressed the blade against her neck harder!
"Eri!"
"Mom!"
The cries of Mori Kogoro and Mori Ran overlapped.
"Okay! Okay! We'll prepare a car for you!" Inspector Megure was sweating profusely, trying to soothe the waiter while signaling to Takagi behind him. "Don't get excited, absolutely do not hurt the hostage!"
Conan hid behind Ran, his small body tense as a rock. His brain was working at a speed beyond its limit, frantically looking for a way to break the deadlock.
Suddenly, a silver light shot out from the corner of the restaurant without warning!
In the next instant, a shrill, inhuman scream tore through the deathly stalemate in the restaurant!
"Ahhhhh—!!!"
It was the young waiter holding Kisaki Eri hostage!
The madness and ferocity on his face were instantly replaced by extreme pain. The arm strangling Eri's neck suddenly loosened, and his entire body was yanked backward by a tremendous force!
Thud!
A dull impact.
Freed from the restraint, Eri's body went limp. She stumbled forward a few steps and was caught by the reacting Mori Kogoro.
Everyone's eyes in the restaurant subconsciously turned to the source of the sound.
Then, everyone froze.
Time seemed to solidify at this moment.
The waiter, who had been acting like a demon just a second ago, was now "pinned" to the wall behind him in an extremely bizarre posture.
He was pinned by his right hand.
And what pierced his palm and nailed him firmly to the wall... was a steak knife they were all too familiar with, one that should have been on a dining table!
The silver blade had passed right through the center of his palm, the tip deeply embedded in the wall, leaving only a blood-stained handle trembling slightly under the lights.
Blood dripped from the penetrating wound, running down the blade and falling onto the polished floor, drop by drop. Drip, drip.
"My hand... My hand!! Ahhhhh!!"
After a brief silence, the waiter finally erupted with even more miserable screams from the piercing pain.
"Eri! Are you okay?!"
Mori Kogoro's roar pulled everyone's thoughts back to reality. He nervously checked Eri's neck. When he saw the thin bloodstain cut by the blade, his eyes instantly turned red.
"Bastard!!"
He whipped his head around, intending to unleash his monstrous rage, but the anger got stuck in his throat when he saw the miserable state of the waiter pinned to the wall.
"Mom!"
Mori Ran also rushed over crying, supporting the pale-faced Kisaki Eri, her voice trembling with lingering fear.
Eri leaned on her daughter, gasping for air. She raised her hand to touch her neck, her fingertips feeling the warm, moist sensation.
She was still alive.
She subconsciously looked at the pinned culprit, staring at the steak knife piercing his palm. Her brain, usually cool and logical as a top lawyer, went blank.
That knife... how did it get there?
"Restrain him!"
Inspector Megure was the first to react, shouting at the stunned officers behind him.
Several police officers woke up from their dreamlike state and rushed forward, firmly pinning down the waiter who had completely lost the ability to resist. Another officer began to figure out how to get the knife out of the wall.
Conan's glasses slid down to the tip of his nose, his face full of dull shock.
What is this?
A flying knife?
Is this something a human can do?
This isn't scientific!
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