The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Whether right or wrong, Kogoro Mouri's deduction at least carried weight, and even the Maruzen family's servants found it quite convincing.
After all, the mistress's affair was no secret. It had been going on for quite some time.
They had all noticed some clues, but they just pretended not to know.
"You, you..."
Mrs. Maruzen, her face flushed with anger, pointed a trembling finger at Kogoro Mouri.
"Don't try to deny it, madam."
Kogoro Mouri said confidently, "Although your plan was clever, it can't fool the eyes of a renowned detective."
"Wait a second, Uncle Mouri."
Conan, who had been squatting there observing, spoke up, "Mr. Maruzen doesn't seem to be dead."
"What?!"
Everyone in the room was startled and looked towards the body.
Jiro Maruzen, whose skin was blood-red, lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling slightly. Moments later, he abruptly opened his eyes.
"Not good."
Yaosuke Tsukahara, who had infiltrated the Maruzen residence and successfully obtained the demon blade "Oni-Kiri" and the "Soul-Killing Stone," sensed something amiss.
The red ruby, which he believed to be the Soul-Killing Stone, was actually hollow.
The extremely evil energy inside it had also vanished.
Could it be...
He turned to look at the darkness within the Maruzen residence, feeling that a terrifying demon lurked within.
...
"Aaaah!"
In the room, Sonoko's scream pierced through the night.
Seeing the corpse that was declared dead open its eyes and rise from the ground, and then charge towards her like a monster, she felt the world spinning.
"Sonoko!!"
Ran quickly held onto her best friend, fear evident on her face as she threw a punch.
Bang!!
The force, enough to break a utility pole, sent the monster staggering back a few steps.
But moments later, it lunged again, and its body began to radiate a blood-red energy.
"What in the world is this?!"
Conan's face was completely dumbfounded.
He felt his worldview shattered.
If Maruzen Jiro's previous actions could be explained with some kind of bio-virus or gene-altering drug, then this blood-red energy aura was simply beyond science, right?
"Little brat, get out of here!!"
Seeing the kid still dazed, Kogoro Mouri hit him hard on the head. He grabbed Conan under his arm, picked up the metal artwork on the table with his other hand, and flung it with all his might.
"Monster, you want a piece of me, come and get it."
The Soul-Killing Stone from the auction had already been swapped by Gu Jue, and the one Maruzen Jiro brought home was the sealed Nine-Tailed Fox's flesh.
Now, under the influence of the Nine-Tailed Fox's Chakra, Maruzen Jiro had completely lost his sanity.
Hearing this, he roared, charging at Kogoro Mouri like a wild beast.
"Ran, call the police quickly, I can't hold on much longer!"
Kogoro Mouri took off running, his potential unexpectedly unleashed, carrying Conan in his arms and still running fast.
And behind him.
Maruzen Jiro chased after him instinctively, his blood-red Chakra vaguely forming a beast coat around his body.
This greatly enhanced his strength and speed.
He rampaged through the Maruzen family's courtyard, destroying his own house.
Boom boom!!
In a blink of an eye, the rockery, railings and other things were smashed to pieces by Maruzen Jiro.
Kogoro Mouri inwardly knew he was done for. He put Conan down and assumed his judo master's stance.
"Hyaa!"
His powerful punch didn't even touch Maruzen Jiro before it sent him flying.
Kogoro Mouri stared, dumbfounded.
When did he become this powerful?
"Dad, behind you!!" Ran shouted, holding Sonoko.
"Huh?"
Kogoro Mouri turned around and saw a black shadow quickly passing by, wielding a long blade, rushing towards Maruzen Jiro like a tiger.
The two fought.
Every strike sent earth flying, leaving craters on the ground.
Especially that swordsman, it was just absurd, he was actually able to use a katana to produce something like sword energy.
That's clearly not scientific, right?
"It's Yaosuke Tsukahara!!"
Conan said confidently, "There's a photo of him in the fugitive list released by the police department."
"How do you know that?"
Kogoro Mouri looked at him with suspicion.
"Ah ha ha, this..."
Conan scratched his head, showing a cute smile, "I saw it on TV. You see, I want to be a great detective like Uncle Mouri when I grow up."
"So that's how it is."
Kogoro Mouri nodded quite proudly, rubbed Conan's head, and boasted:
"To become a renowned detective like me is really difficult, you know. I'm a genius in deduction..."
Right.
Conan rolled his eyes.