The full moon hung high.
Moonlight spilled down from the night sky, illuminating the museum rooftop.
Recovering from the illusion, Fujino turned his gaze towards the dark figure standing on the stairwell landing.
By now, the illusion had shattered.
The dark figure's appearance was clearly visible.
It was a man dressed in a black ninja-like suit.
A black bandana was wrapped around his head, its tail fluttering in the wind. He wore a silvery-white mask, from which three red lights emanated from three eye-like openings.
"After I turned around earlier, I saw the red light and fell into the illusion. That thing must be responsible, right?"
Fujino's eyes narrowed slightly, pondering inwardly.
Psychological suggestion?
Hypnosis?
Or perhaps, magic?
As a materialist, Fujino didn't know the principle behind it.
But he was certain that the tool the opponent used to pull him into the illusion was likely the mask he wore.
Fortunately, the mask couldn't continuously pull people into illusions.
It seemed to have a cooldown time.
[New Detective Profession Task Detected. Please check!]
A sound suddenly interrupted Fujino's thoughts.
"System task?"
Fujino paused upon hearing this, then used his peripheral vision to open the system task interface:
[Detective Profession Task: SPIDER]
[Objective: Repel 'SPIDER']
[Reward: 1,000,000 Yen, +100 Detective Reputation]
"The nightmare I bestowed was actually broken?"
The man on the landing observed Fujino with interest. "Truly remarkable. Those capable of breaking my illusion through sheer willpower are few and far between. You are one of them..."
"I'm very curious, how exactly did you break through my illusion?"
Fujino accepted the system task, looked up, and stated gravely, "Human will."
"Human will, is it..."
The man let out a classic villain laugh, then continued, "My target this time is Kaito Kid, it has nothing to do with you. I advise you not to interfere!"
Fujino glanced at the newly issued system task, ignored the chuunibyou before him, and turned his gaze towards Kuroba Kaito.
At this moment, Kuroba Kaito's eyes were vacant.
Clearly still trapped in the illusion.
Looks like he needs some physical awakening.
To deal with the weirdo named Spider, he couldn't do it alone.
Fujino raised his bokken and slammed it hard onto Kuroba Kaito's crown.
"Thwack!"
"Ow!"
Kuroba Kaito snapped out of the illusion.
Feeling the sharp pain on the top of his head, he stared blankly at Fujino.
"Awake?"
"What just happened to me..."
Kuroba Kaito rubbed his aching head, looking confused.
"You were caught in that guy's illusion just now. I knocked you awake with one strike."
Fujino hefted the bokken in his hand. "You owe me one, you know."
"..."
Kuroba Kaito looked at the bokken in Fujino's hand with complicated feelings. "No wonder my head feels like it got hit by a brick. So it was you..."
But before he could finish, a familiar shout came from the side: "Spider!"
Fujino turned to see Hakuba Saguru rushing up the stairs, shouting sternly at the man named Spider, "It all ends here!"
"You again... truly persistent!"
Spider waved dismissively at Hakuba Saguru, clearly indicating they were old acquaintances.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Fujino and Kuroba Kaito, Hakuba Saguru slowly began to float two or three meters into the air.
"Magic?"
Fujino's gaze fixed on Hakuba Saguru. "No, not magic, but a magic trick."
"You figured it out too, huh."
Kuroba Kaito, nearby, smirked. "Good observation skills, great detective."
"Likewise."
Fujino glanced at Kuroba Kaito. "Although that guy's technique is somewhat mysterious, fundamentally, it's just a magic trick."
With the aid of his visual enhancement glasses, Fujino quickly discovered the trick behind Hakuba Saguru's levitation.
The reason Hakuba Saguru floated was due to two transparent, golden spider silk threads attached to his shoulders. These threads were specially treated to blend with the night under dim light. At the top end of the wires was a hot air balloon device.
The underside of the balloon was coated with something that refracted light, creating the illusion of invisibility.
"I'll deal with this Spider guy. You go rescue that narcissist Hakuba Saguru, then come help me, got it?"
Fujino said to Kuroba Kaito, then reached into his pocket, crushed an Advanced Reaction Card and an Advanced Perception Card, raised his bokken, and charged forward.
The black figure in the illusion earlier was essentially the embodiment of his original self's lingering unwillingness, resentment, and various negative memories residing in his subconscious.
Spider's illusion had inadvertently activated that subconscious.
Having severed that subconscious aspect, he now felt invigorated, even his swordsmanship seemed to have improved considerably, and his thinking became more flexible.
His dao heart was stable.
However, pulling him into the illusion couldn't just be forgiven.
He had to let this Spider fellow experience the pain of entering an alley with six legs and leaving with two.
Come on! How many floors does one loan carry! (Note: This is likely a meme or inside joke, kept as is)
"Hey! You're just ordering me around like this..."
Kuroba Kaito watched Fujino charge towards Spider, sighed, feeling inexplicably resentful.
Didn't this guy just look like he was ready for a life-or-death showdown?
Why was he being left out now?
Why did it feel like he was being ignored?
Kaito: Look at me! Look at me!
Fujino charged swiftly towards Spider.
Seeing Fujino rushing at him, a cruel smile spread across Spider's face.
He raised his hand, and a steel needle appeared between his fingers.
With a flick of his hand, the steel needle shot towards Fujino.
The needle's speed wasn't particularly fast. Fujino's eyes locked onto it, raising the bokken in his hand.
"Clink!"
The bokken accurately struck the silvery-white steel needle, deflecting it in the direction of the swing. It fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
"?"
Spider clearly paused, stunned.
Fujino gave Spider no chance to react.
He stomped hard on the rooftop floor with his right foot.
With a sense of weightlessness, Fujino's body leaped high into the air.
Mid-air, he raised his bokken and slashed down towards Spider on the stairwell landing.
Spider actually hadn't taken Fujino's attack seriously.
If it were a real katana, he might have been slightly concerned.
But a bokken...
It was just a wooden sword.
He didn't believe a bokken could pose any threat to him.
With the sound of the bokken whistling through the air "WHOOSH!", Spider, raising his hands defensively, unpreparedly tried to block the bokken head-on.
Then, Spider was sent flying back a meter by the immense force, crashing into the wall of the stairwell behind him like a swatted... well, spider.