The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 261 Intense Tempo (Part Two)

The war with the Conan universe and the war with the [story timeline] are getting more and more intense.

Like musical notes being played, the melody gradually rises, culminating in an increasingly intense presto, all the way to the end of the movement.

……

CYZ Alliance - Lunar Ark, Research Layer C.

A joint operations analysis and command center comprised of the Time Research Department, the Time Sequence Department, and the Narrative Department.

A heavy and ominous atmosphere, along with the cold white lights, lingered in the minds of every researcher.

The time display then projected the situation of the Third War Zone onto everyone.

Twelve years ago, on that full moon night, during what was arguably the best game in the league's history.

Heiji Hattori led the alliance members and advanced the front line to a point 13 kilometers away from Keiji Aso's "Burning Mansion".

"But even if we disregard the cost, we still cannot directly intervene in Keiji Aso's death."

Miles Howard, the research director stationed in the Operations Layer intelligence investigation department of the Time Investigation Department, began—he also served as the Bureau's strategic analyst.

"However, it seems that with the successful removal of the Time Display Device, the Real Timeline has been completely eliminated from the past 12 years."

This is part of the "GSSRA Delayed Establishment Plan" proposed by the Alliance after observing the developments in the [real timeline].

Whether it was GSSRA itself or its predecessor, the establishment of the international intelligence alliance, the timeline was finally postponed until after the establishment of the CYZ alliance.

The timeline structure of the Conan universe dictates that any "background" not under Shinichi Kudo's watchful eye can be freely modified.

This is also where the dangers of timeline warfare lie.

"Red Demon Village, originally named 'Red Demon Village Fire Festival Murder Case,' is now part of 'Moonlight Murder Case.'"

In the silence of the crowd, a researcher from the Narrative Studies Department stood up and added to the conclusion.

"After all, it is no longer a complete historical inertia, that is, a plot."

If the established historical inertia, or "plot," is already quite frightening...

So, those shattered historical inertias don't seem to be any better than that.

“The case is not an isolated incident.”

The researcher's gaze darkened.

"The situation in Beika Town has proven that without the intervention of the Alliance, or the involvement of other 'detectives'—"

"Those cases will spontaneously follow [Shinichi Kudo] because their purpose is to be solved by detectives."

"Unfortunately, the cause of the 'Red Demon Village Fire Festival Murder Case' is moved to a full moon night 12 years prior in the [story timeline]—"

Everyone understands what he's trying to say, and this is what has already happened.

You can't just put the cause of death into a story and expect it not to interact with other things.

If the original ending disappears, they will actively try to find a new ending.

In the cycle, they are the cause-and-effect relationship of "being alive".

This "case" that lost its "ending" has actively "combined" with "The Moonlight Murder Case".

History is being reshaped at an astonishing pace, as if it had always been that way.

Keiji Aso's death, and the raging flames in the mansion—it all turned out to be because of the "Red Fire Festival".

"If Hattori Heiji hadn't managed to retrieve the Time Display from Tsukikage Island and from the story timeline this time..."

"Then the deaths of those GSSRA soldiers will lead to the conclusion that this is 'extraterrestrial equipment' in the future."

"This will alert governments in advance and create conditions for intelligence sharing among them."

"In other words, the [real-world timeline] will make the formation of GSSRA smoother."

"It's even possible that the [real timeline] actually had a shadow department in the past."

……

Inside the executive meeting room, the surrounding light seemed dimmer than usual.

"But fortunately, our plan succeeded this time."

Bai Zichen's image appeared in the middle of the conference table, and his expression finally softened slightly, causing some councilors to breathe a sigh of relief as well.

"It seems that after Hattori Heiji successfully brought the Time Display Device out of the center of the forest, the Real Timeline should be able to stabilize for a while."

"Moreover, we now have control of Moonshadow Wharf."

He paused, then looked at the councilor who was in charge of liaising with the dock.

"As long as we successfully recruit the GSSRA members who came with Hattori Heiji into the alliance, we can prevent information leaks."

—It looks like the number of people in the [Eternal First Move] group is about to expand again.

"However... the secondary effects caused by the [story timeline] have already occurred."

His voice lowered again, his brow furrowed slightly, and he pulled up two documents.

One is a historical archive that has been kept by the alliance's core layer for a long time.

The other one is the timeline development just recorded by the [Time Display Device] 'now'.

The two sets of data were surprisingly similar.

“This should have been good news,” Bai Zichen murmured. “It means that the limit of the [story timeline] is right here.”

He paused for a moment, looked at Ota Akikawa, who was temporarily serving as the council speaker, and his voice was a little hoarse.

"But there is another possibility..."

"Then even the past without the intervention of the CYZ effect will be recognized because of the recognition of the 'future' [Shinichi Kudo]."

"After all, we have already caused such a big change, but since the emergence of the alliance, history up to 'now' has remained unchanged."

Bai Zichen's tone carried a hint of bitterness, and he couldn't help but think about many possibilities.

Is the establishment of GSSRA truly a result of the current situation created solely by the [real-world timeline]?
Furthermore, the time display device previously recorded GSSRA's exceptionally rapid preparation, collaboration, and information exchange...

"Is it possible that the outcome of the third pointer case has already been determined, or even because of what happened afterward..."

"There's no point in discussing this now."

An executive councilor stepped forward, and a secret order from the core level interrupted Bai Zichen's increasingly deep speculation.

"The issues related to the operating logic of the Conan universe have become a foregone conclusion after the rise of the universe's RSI background value."

He slowly walked to the projector, brought up the main historical timeline after "Detective Conan Year One," and replaced the parts that Bai Zichen had marked as questionable.

We all know that the history of this universe, that is, the 'background story,' is entirely determined by Shinichi Kudo's understanding.

"Therefore, discussing what history was like before it was revised is not very helpful for the situation we are facing now."

"The history that [Shinichi Kudo] 'knew' and 'confirmed' has become an unalterable conclusion."

He scanned everyone present, his tone calm:
"This is actually one of our advantages."

"The dual timelines cannot, like us, risk directly confronting [Shinichi Kudo] to modify the process of the 'case'."

"This contradicts their operating logic; they are not here to fight against [Shinichi Kudo]."

"Especially the story timeline from 12 years ago, no matter what, it's not as 'intelligent' as the future; it can only wait for us to take action before reacting."

"As for Karasuma Renya, he can only harass from the shadows of Tsukikage Island and escape after a single strike."

"After we deploy 'Moonlight' near the dock, as the lighthouse nodes that receive 'Moonlight' gradually advance, its range of activity will only become smaller and smaller."

"As soon as the 'moonlight' hits him, the CYZ effect it contains will immediately fix the submarine in a 'damaged' state."

"therefore--"

At the other end of the conference table, a member of parliament responsible for communicating with the "action layer" stood up.

"What the [Execution Level] needs you to solve right now is to guide 'that case that fell down,' that is, the [Red Oni Fire Festival] that was thrown down by the timeline, to establish a logically reasonable path."

"The time-traveling device can only truly function at the central node of the Möbius strip; we need to make it reach Moonshadow Island 'two years ago'."

With a wave of his hand, he brought up the latest frontline battle situation.

"We must now be clear on one point: the cemetery area in the heart of the forest has been completely lost."

In the projection, the originally dark and decaying cemetery became brand new, and the broken iron gates were put back together.

The people from the "Red Fire Festival" were continuously "rising" from those tombstones and walking into the grove of banyan trees.

"After Masato Shimizu took the initiative to tell Kogoro Mouri the specific information about 'Red Demon Village'."

"Our series of attempts to prevent the 'Red Fire Festival' from being incorporated into 'The Moonlight Murder Case' have failed."

He projected a photograph along with a report.

"According to intelligence assessment, these new enemies have the physical characteristics of ordinary humans, but their fighting style is extremely obsessive and primitive."

"They mainly use blunt and sharp weapons commonly used by fishermen, such as harpoons, fishing sickles, and even net hooks, for close combat."

The Alliance does not acknowledge the "possibility" of this person simply appearing as a "murderer," as belonging to the human race.

“But the key point is,” he emphasized, “that they would throw Molotov cocktails or torches.”

Clearly, those "flames" will only make things worse.

"What we need to do is to limit the casualties to a certain range and avoid causing more negative impacts on the 'present' of Moonshadow Island."

The projection on the tabletop was magnified, revealing a figure rushing out of the flames.

A kind of insane firelight was reflected in the eyes of that "creature".

No one knows what kind of "perspective" they have of everything in the outside world.

……

The cause is the result, and the result is the cause.

Perhaps this is the result of the league's many efforts.

Or perhaps it was simply because of Masato Shimizu's offhand remark: "Many people died back then... even tens of thousands..."

It was because of a primary school detective's "guess" that came to mind after hearing those words.

And "guessing" is the first step in "reasoning".

How many people actually died?

This is a question no one can answer.

For a story, the answer is never in the facts, but in the narrative.

The answer is—everyone who was burned by that burning "flame".

"【Conan Edogawa】speculated that the 'Red Fire Festival' would become the 'cause' of Keiji Aso's death."

"Although it is still not certain whether the timeline of this event unfolds in a forward or reverse manner."

It may sound strange, but we know more about the 'past' 12 years ago than we do about the 'future' two years from now.

Bai Zichen projected the results sent by Dr. Agasa, allowing the Second War Zone to clearly observe the "results" from the Third War Zone.

"The flames of the 'Red Fire Festival' remain a 'historical fact' that led to the burning of that mansion."

He paused, then read aloud the summary of the battle record:
"[Story Timeline] The attempt is to make all the Alliance combatants become victims of the 1982 case."

"Although we successfully organized a defensive line in the open area on the outskirts of the forest and repelled the first wave of fire attacks, the situation inside the forest is now cut off from the outside world."

Fighting under the moonlight is a completely different challenge from fighting in the forest. Under the "moonlight," the Alliance's [Heat Regulator] can directly adjust the molecular thermal motion in an area.

Just like Heiji Hattori had seen before, there was a vast, white sea—the entire sea was a mirror reflecting the other side of the moon.

But deep in the forest is the "scene of the crime" of the "Red Fire Ritual".

As the "crime scene," the "murderers" wielding weapons such as harpoons and sickles can hide like ghosts in the shadows of the woods.

Those harpoons can even easily break through [one-way mass armor], instantly trapping Alliance members in the "crime scene" and turning them into "victims" of fire sacrifice.

In other words, once an alliance member is marked deep within the Fire Forest, they are no longer a warrior, but a 'candidate for the dead'.

Fortunately, they will never be able to get close to the dock.

Because of the CYZ effect.

Moonshadow Harbor, which has been completely controlled by the Alliance, will always have a part belonging to twelve years in the future in its logical structure.

There, the beams of "moonlight" projected down were no longer the moonlight of 1982, but came from twelve years later.

For things that are dead in the past, you don't even need to use any high-tech methods—

All it takes is a beam of moonlight twelve years from now to reduce them to ashes.

They will be denied by the future and disappear because they have defied the brilliance of the pale sun.

This is also the fundamental reason why the Alliance ultimately failed to erase Heiji Hattori's memories.

Don't forget that the [story timeline] also has a trick called "reset"!
The alliance temporarily gave him a TDD (Time Delayed) device. As long as Hattori Heiji still remembers those "future" memories, the [story timeline] can't do anything to him.

Just like now, he's running wildly through the "Flame Forest" while carrying that half-damaged [Time Display Device].

The firelight cast heavy shadows across his face, and the next second, those living shadows screamed as they fled from his body into the depths of the forest.

He is a "person twelve years from now".

He is a "detective," and a character from the original work, so he has a "persona" to protect him.

In short, Hattori Heiji has extremely high "damage reduction".

The flames that had surrounded them hesitated, and even stopped burning.

Those fires of time.

Those "dead" who were covered in charred clothes and carrying torches and harpoons surrounded the area.

Those malicious attempts to drag others into the "case" as well...

All useless!
In fact, if the story timeline hadn't forcibly given him the identity of a "time traveler," he alone would have been able to conquer the entire Moonshadow Island in 1982.

The flames went out at his feet.

The spearheads rusted and broke before they even touched his clothes.

Those who have already died are now wailing and trembling, retreating into "the history that has already been recognized".

After all, his "historical process" has already acknowledged that he will appear in the future unharmed.

Therefore, any history that can hinder this process is not "official history".

……

"But one tree cannot support a forest."

"It was a councilor who had previously served as the tactical director of the Operations Layer," he said slowly.

"[Story Timeline] It's still easy to deal with someone—especially since he's a detective."

"Furthermore, it has now been proven that sending Heiji Hattori to lead a high-intensity timeline interference mission alone was the most serious misjudgment!"

The conference room was silent.

The congressman then retrieved the final tactical report from the feedback at the dock and projected the last page.

"We did prevent GSSRA from being established ahead of schedule, but what was the result?"

"Based on our current observations of Moonshadow Village, Red Demon Village is showing signs of emerging from its history of 'annihilation'!"

"Moonshadow Island has appeared, showing signs of having a second port, and the [story timeline] is trying to use this to influence 'two years ago'."

He slammed his fist on the table. "We must nip this in the bud!"

"It is absolutely unacceptable for 'Red Demon Village' and 'Moon Shadow Village' to coexist on Moonshadow Island in the future!"

……

Yes, leaving Hattori Heiji behind 12 years ago obviously had some... disadvantages.

[Story Timeline] Apart from acknowledging the fact that "he comes from the future".

It also acknowledges his identity as a "time traveler" and a "knower of the truth".

In other words, Hattori Heiji cannot use the excuse that his twelve-year-younger self is still at the same place at that time—

For example, telling the timeline that they were actually still in elementary school at this point in time, thus refusing to fulfill their duty as a "detective".

Therefore, it is natural that he will remain on this land from 1982 as long as he continues to do so.

The fragmented, disordered, and forcibly pieced-together "case" will actively weave cause and effect, surrounding and pulling him in.

"Hattori, you must evacuate to an open area immediately!"

Meng Han's urgent voice came through the communication system.

"We observed changes in the historical deflection rate caused by your own behavioral logic; this is a nested structure of a [loop]!"

"We are guiding Amuro Tooru and Mizunashi Rena closer to your location. Retreat towards the castle immediately!"

But it was too late.

Looking at the forest that was closing in on him, Hattori Heiji sent his final message to the Alliance.

"At the dock! Isn't the guidance for the [Red Team] ready yet?!"

"This is a... nested loop structure!"

The sound from the other end became intermittent.

“You’re already trapped… As a detective, the only way is to sever the connection between the ‘Crimson Fire Festival’ and the present…”

"Cooperating with the [Red Team]...the perpetrator of the harbor case...is suspicious..."

"Hello?! Alliance Command? Alliance—"

Before Heiji Hattori could receive the complete information, he looked up and saw the entire forest begin to rotate.

The entire woodland itself rotates, moves, and closes on its own like a living thing, with even older shrubs growing rapidly from the sky to the ground and then being entwined by regrowth vines.

We crossed a road that was quickly blocked off by vegetation.

Heiji Hattori raised his hand and pinched the communication button on his tactical headset while trying to evacuate to the location the Alliance had last sent him.

"Command center! I have arrived at the designated location!"

[...loss of signal...]

"What the hell!"

Gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath, Hattori Heiji leaped sharply to the left, avoiding a withered branch that seemed to grow in reverse of time—

It was already rotten and broken, but now it was backing up from the ground and hanging back onto the suddenly appearing tree trunk.

He was completely lost.

The TDD on my wrist started flashing red.

"Warning! Time-balance flow velocity deviation alarm!"

"The current flow velocity is positive positive negative..."

"Warning! Historical coordinates contamination alert!"

"You are currently in the period of 1333 AD...BC...the Pentateuch..."

Heiji Hattori completely ignored the TDD alarm.

He is currently following the emergency operating instructions retrieved from TDD, attempting to remove the CYZ effect module from the partially damaged [Time Display] and connect it to his own TDD.

"Damn it... Hurry, hurry, hurry!!"

Heiji Hattori didn't even dare to look up; he forced himself to focus all his attention on the equipment in his hands, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

He had already been emphasized repeatedly before—

If it weren't under the moonlight, and without the protection of TDD, how would I be treated if I encountered the [story timeline]?

Heiji Hattori was certain that as long as he looked up at the outside world...

The story timeline will immediately throw itself into a time that can never be returned to—so that it can "reset" itself.

"Di-"

The TDD on my wrist finally lit up green.

When Hattori Heiji began calibrating his own spacetime.

"You are currently in:"

"One day."

This is clearly not something the TDD timekeeping function should say.

When Hattori Heiji looked up, he felt a silence that was colder and more chilling than the woods at night.

Hattori Heiji had never seen anything so bizarre.

The flames, for some reason, went out around him.

It wasn't extinguished, but rather, as if it were consciously withdrawn, it slowly receded from the air like strands of golden-red silk.

The trails of fire flowed back into the crowd along the winding edges of the woodland—

Those figures that were originally charred, twisted, and tattered... began to slowly "restore".

The charred clothes that had been covering them became soft again.

Even when rubbing against those skeletal bodies, there are scattered charred fragments among the grass.

At this moment, they actually flew back into their bodies in mid-air, mending their clothes and skin.

They seem to be coming back to life!
Immediately afterwards, a pleasant female voice pulled him out of his daze.

"Heiji Hattori? What are you doing here?" Rena Mizunashi frowned. "Are you here to help too?"

Facing this person who was theoretically his "subordinate," Hattori Heiji tried his best to act as naturally as possible.

Now, it's time to show off my privileges as a "detective".

He nodded. "What's the situation now?"

Rena Mizunashi's face showed a hint of worry.

"We still haven't found that child named Chiba Wakako. I was thinking of looking for her in the woods by this beach."

Several villagers carrying torches followed behind her.

—All of this seems so natural.

P.S.: Requesting monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)