Detective Conan: Death Note

The train—driverless, conductorless—was now a speeding beast, hurtling along the tracks with no signs of stopping.

After some desperate searching, Hiroki and Conan finally located Jack the Ripper… standing atop one of the carriages—with Ran!

"I tied myself to this lady with a rope,"

the young man sneered, his long fiery red hair dancing in the wind, a dagger gleaming in his hand.

"If I fall, she falls with me."

Conan clenched his fists.

"You bastard...!"

With a feral grin, the Ripper charged, blade flashing with murderous intent. Conan narrowly dodged, using his small stature to evade the strikes. The knife whooshed past his head again and again—barely missing.

"If I just keep running, you won't catch me,"

the Ripper mocked.

"We're ten minutes from the final stop. What do you think happens to a runaway train with no brakes?"

Ten minutes…

That had to be the time limit for this level.

Conan smirked grimly. Even if it's just a game with no penalty for failure, I'm not walking away until I win.

"Let's fight!"

Hiroki shouted, charging forward.

Together, Conan and Hiroki fought in sync. Their cooperation was impressive, but Jack the Ripper eventually managed to split them up. He lunged—grabbing Conan by the throat and pushing him to the edge.

"Damn it...!"

Conan gritted his teeth, nearly tumbling off.

Ran, watching helplessly, suddenly remembered Conan's earlier warning to Moriarty: "Be careful of the Reichenbach Falls in three years."

She saw again the face of Hayashi Yoshiki, playing Moriarty. Then came Kudo Shinichi's haunting quote:

"If it is possible to destroy you, I will gladly accept death for the public good."

Even if this is a game... I can't stay passive anymore!

Ran forced herself to stand.

Before she could act, Jack the Ripper froze mid-swing, eyes widening in disbelief.

A bloodstain bloomed on his chest.

He collapsed.

"Sniper rifle?!"

Hiroki gasped, scrambling back up.

They saw only a glint in the distance—someone hidden in the shadows.

Conan paled.

"It's Moriarty…"

"What?"

"He used us to drive the Ripper onto the train... then set up a sniper in advance!"

The mystery deepened—but they had no time to waste.

They sprinted back to the carriages, aiming for the freight car at the end of the train.

They had a plan: use the wine barrels to cushion the final crash.

But as they burst through the freight car door—they froze.

"Nice to meet you again,"

came a calm, familiar voice.

There stood a tall man in a black cape coat, tipping his fedora.

Moriarty.

Conan's eyes narrowed.

"...Moriarty."

And he wasn't alone. Several bound and gagged hostages sat at the back:

Ms. Irene Adler.

Mrs. Hudson.

And a middle-aged man dressed as a policeman...

Conan gasped.

"That must be Inspector Lestrade!"

"What do you want?"

he demanded.

Moriarty raised his chin, smiling.

"A victory. A proper one... face to face with my dear opponent."

"Sherlock Holmes!?"

"Exactly. He'll be here."

Ran protested,

"But Holmes went to Dartmoor!"

"He'll show up."

And as if summoned by fate, a man entered from the rear carriage—young, tall, and sharp-eyed.

Holmes.

With the same face as Kudo Yusaku, but younger.

"As you can see," he said calmly, "I'm here."

"Perfect timing."

Moriarty smiled broadly.

"Tell me, Holmes. What will you do?"

He pulled out a pale gold pistol and aimed it at Lestrade.

"Three bullets. Three hostages. Three deaths."

"Let's play a game."

The train continued to roar forward, shaking violently.

Three minutes to the terminal.

"Tell me your idea," Holmes replied coldly.

"Jump,"

Moriarty gestured toward the cliffside.

"Thanks to the kid's line—'Beware of the Reichenbach Falls in three years'—I was inspired. A fitting place for a fall."

"..."

Even with Holmes here, the situation was dire.

Conan bit his lip. There's no way he plans to die here. He must have a backup plan—

"What if I shoot you instead?" Holmes asked.

"Then you'll see a very shocked expression,"

Moriarty chuckled.

"But once I die, you lose the only chance to separate this train from the engine. Everyone dies—your friends, the children..."

He smirked.

"Sacrificing one to save many. Mathematically evil, but logically sound."

"One minute remaining."

Time ticked away.

Conan shouted suddenly,

"You tied your life to this carriage. That means you don't want to die. I bet you planted explosives at the joint! Is it timed or remote?!"

"Let's gamble,"

Moriarty said confidently.

The tension reached its peak.

Suddenly, Holmes fired—not at Moriarty, but at a nearby wine barrel. Red wine gushed from the hole.

Moriarty paused—then laughed.

"So it was an empty gun. How did you know?"

"Because you aimed at Lestrade,"

Conan said.

"And he's too competent a detective for you to waste a bullet on."

"Clever,"

Moriarty shrugged, tossing his gun aside.

"Now stop the train!"

Hiroki shouted.

Conan and the others looked hopeful. Surely, Moriarty has a survival plan…

Moriarty glanced at his watch.

"Forty seconds left."

40... 39... 38...

The seconds passed like a death sentence.

Conan hesitated. Why wasn't anything happening?

18... 17... 16... 15——

Suddenly, Hayashi Yoshiki—still wearing Moriarty's face—smiled.

A bright, carefree smile.

He raised his hand and flashed a peace sign.

"Looks like I win after all, Conan, Ran."

"...Huh?"

"Wha...??"

Their eyes widened.

"Brother Yoshiki!?"

"STOP THE TRAIN!!"

"Sorry,"

he said cheerfully.

"Too late. And there was never a bomb to blow the carriages apart."

"WHAT!?"

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!!

The train slammed into the station at full speed.

Security guards screamed. Concrete exploded. Carriages derailed.

The entire train twisted and toppled like a serpent—devastation roaring like a beast.

And then—

A white light swallowed everything.

When Conan, Ran, and Hiroki opened their eyes, they were back—standing in the large square where they had first entered the game.

Hayashi Yoshiki stood smiling in front of them.

"Brother Yoshiki…?" Ran asked, still stunned.

"Yes. It's me."

Her eyes widened.

That Moriarty... was him!?

"You were pretending the whole time!?"

Conan shouted.

Yoshiki laughed.

"Yep. When I discussed the script with Mr. Yusaku, I helped shape Moriarty's character. Those lines? All carefully written."

Conan twitched.

"I studied acting in college," Yoshiki added.

"My teachers said I had talent."

"Your acting's too good—it's scary..."

Ran muttered.

Yoshiki chuckled.

Hiroki scratched his head.

"So... we lost, huh?"

"Yep. You lose, I win."

"Huh!?"

"Your mission was to capture Jack the Ripper and survive. Mine was to defeat Holmes."

He grinned.

"From the moment you assumed Moriarty had a backup plan... you lost."

"How would we know that!?"

Conan growled.

"Not my fault," Yoshiki shrugged.

"If you had freed the hostages and broken the wine barrels together, you'd have survived the crash just fine."

"Too clever is foolish,"

he added, smiling.

"Sometimes, the truth is what it looks like."

"You totally tricked us..."

Ran pouted, cheeks puffed slightly.

Yoshiki only laughed louder.