In an instant, the image of a wicked high school girl "joining forces with the Hell Puppeteer to lure Jiang Xia out, then viciously stabbing him in the back while he was off guard" slowly unfolded in Hashimoto Maya's mind.
Hashimoto Maya: "..." I knew it. How could anyone who spent every day with lackeys like Suzuki Sonoko and Conan be a good person?!
Conan looked at Mouri Ran, then suspiciously at Hashimoto Maya. "What did you just say? Explain it clearly."
Hashimoto Maya took a deep breath and repeated what he had just seen word for word—except he quietly changed "I had been keeping an eye on what was happening in Jiang Xia's house, so I noticed the Hell Puppeteer in time" into "I wanted to admire the moon in the middle of the night and accidentally noticed what was happening outside the window."
Meanwhile, in the pitch-black woods.
The chase continued, one pursuing the other.
The "Hell Puppeteer" held a puppet disguised as a hostage as he sped forward with the help of mechanisms he had prepared in advance, listening closely to the footsteps chasing him from behind.
Thinking of Jiang Xia's illustrious past, he sighed. "Poor sacrifice, though you have done nothing wrong, your very existence is a threat—there is no need to struggle any longer. Come with me to this dark, cold Death Altar."
With a low laugh, he slipped into the trees, then flicked the threads in his hand and tossed out the specially made puppet in his arms.
"Mouri Ran" traced an arc through the air and landed on the ground with a thud. As it fell, the ground beneath it rippled strangely before returning to stillness.
Above and to the side of the puppet, the "Hell Puppeteer" stood among the treetops, holding