Detective Conan: Developing a younger version of Ran Eri, and the stunning Yukiko.

"What do you mean?"

"A person possessed by a demon can pull phantom thieves and phantom thief idols into their mental sanctuary. Only by defeating the master demon of the mental sanctuary can they leave."

Conversely, phantom thieves and phantom thief idols can also actively enter the mental sanctuary of those possessed by demons.

The way to enter the sanctuary of the soul is to issue a warning of stealing it.

"A hint at stealing hearts?"

"It's like issuing a pre-announcement of a heart-stealing scheme."

"I still don't quite understand."

"Don't overthink it. All you need to do is make the Heart Thieves' cards and distribute them before stealing hearts."

"Uh...I understand."

"Also, there's something I need to remind you: time in the Temple of the Mind is not equal to real time. No matter how long the Phantom Thief and the Phantom Thief Idol stay in the Temple of the Mind, it's only a moment in real time."

"Where am I?" Xiaolan looked around blankly.

This place really doesn't look like the normal world.

If Shiraishihara hadn't been there with her, she would have been terrified.

"This is the spiritual sanctuary of the bandaged monster." With the help of the system's explanation, Shiraishihara had a general understanding of his current environment.

"Huh?" Xiaolan still looked confused.

"Well... to put it simply, we've entered the inner world of the Bandaged Man, and here we can learn everything about him."

"But...why is that?"

Xiaolan still looked confused, her big, watery eyes revealing a pitiful expression.

To be honest, Shiraishihara himself didn't fully understand either, and could only take it one step at a time.

"Once we defeat the demons in the Temple of the Soul, we can leave this place."

As he spoke, Shiraishihara took Ran's hand and intertwined their fingers tightly.

This small gesture gave Xiaolan a great sense of security.

No. .

020 Evil

Chapter 20

"it is good--"

Afterwards, Shiraishihara and Ran began exploring this dungeon-like labyrinth, encountering many demons along the way.

However, these demons were quite weak and were not real demons, but merely projections of demons. Shiraishihara controlled the demons formed from the Persona and easily dealt with them.

The two explored the dungeon methodically until—.

"That person is Ryoichi Takahashi... What's he doing here!"

Xiaolan pointed in surprise at a man in an abstract execution chamber; this man was none other than Takahashi Ryoichi.

Takahashi Ryoichi was naked, doing something unspeakable to a girl. Seeing this, Shiraishihara's lips twitched involuntarily.

"Is this the inner world of Ryoichi Takahashi? It's utterly disgusting."

"Ryoichi Takahashi, what is he doing?"

Ran gripped Shiraishihara's hand tightly, increasing her strength.

“Everything here is simply a manifestation of Ryoichi Takahashi’s inner world. So, you don’t need to take it too seriously,” Shiraishi said. He couldn’t very well tell Ran directly what Ryoichi Takahashi was doing…

"Is this a manifestation of Ryoichi Takahashi's inner self? How could Ryoichi Takahashi be like this? He's completely different from the person I remember." Ran was filled with disbelief. In her memory, Ryoichi Takahashi was still that kind-hearted, chubby guy.

"People are often hard to see through."

The commotion they made caught the attention of Ryoichi Takahashi.

Ryoichi Takahashi suddenly turned his head and stopped what he was doing. His rolling eyes stared straight at Shiraishihara and Ran.

"who are you?"

Ryoichi Takahashi's actions and expressions were so terrifying that Ran gasped and froze, unable to utter a word. Shiraishi, however, remained calm.

“Mr. Ryoichi Takahashi, please think back carefully. We just met, have you already forgotten?”

When Takahashi Ryoichi heard him say that, he actually started to think about it seriously.

Suddenly, he slapped his forehead: "Oh, I remember now, you two are Ayako's friends, Shiraishihara and Ran Mouri, am I right?"

Shiraishi nodded, giving a graceful smile: "Mr. Takahashi Ryoichi, you're amazing, you got it right."

Ryoichi Takahashi grinned, revealing a strange smile: "I knew it."

"Oh my god, it really is Ryoichi Takahashi!" Ran exclaimed in disbelief after confirming that the other person was indeed Ryoichi Takahashi. "So you weren't the fat guy after all. I always felt there was something strange about you!"

“No, I am fat,” Takahashi Ryoichi argued in his defense.

“But, your stomach…” Xiaolan reached out and pointed to Takahashi Ryoichi’s flat stomach.

"Ah!" Takahashi Ryoichi looked down at his flat stomach, his expression instantly changing. "Damn it, it seems I can't let you live."

Suddenly, a hideous demon appeared behind Ryoichi Takahashi.

Shiraishi Hara still had some questions for Takahashi Ryoichi and didn't want to take action right now.

“Mr. Ryoichi Takahashi, please calm down. Although Ran has discovered that you are not fat, she hasn’t told anyone else yet, so you don’t need to be so nervous.”

"That seems to make sense. Mr. Shiraishi is right; I was too impulsive."

"Mr. Ryoichi Takahashi, can you tell me who this woman is?" Shiraishi Hara pointed to the woman lying motionless and naked on the execution platform.

“Oh, her. Her name is Atsuko,” Takahashi Ryoichi replied casually.

“Atsuko… I remember Sonoko’s older sister mentioned that she was a member of the club… but what’s she doing here?”

“You don’t understand. Atsuko is different from other women. She is the woman I love.”

"What I'm asking is... why is she here?" Shiraishihara emphasized again.

“This…this…” Takahashi Ryoichi began to stammer.

Seeing Takahashi Ryoichi's guilty expression, Shiraishihara felt that things were not so simple, so he made a bold guess.

"Ryoichi Takahashi, you killed Atsuko, that's why she's here, am I right?"

"Huh? How did you know...?"

"That's obvious. If you weren't evil at heart, how could you be possessed by a demon?"

"You guy!"

As soon as he said those words, Takahashi Ryoichi's previously gentle face instantly turned ferocious and terrifying.

Behind him, a terrifying one-legged, one-eyed demon appeared.

Ran, who was standing nearby, was shocked when she heard Ryoichi Takahashi admit that he had killed Atsuko.

No. .

021 Ran Mouri: Fun

Chapter 21

"Mr. Takahashi, are you saying that you killed Atsuko? Is that true?" Ran asked.

Since he was going to kill Shiraishihara and Ran anyway, Takahashi Ryoichi decided to stop pretending.

"That's right. This despicable woman dared to reject my confession, so I killed her and made her my possession forever!"

"What!" Xiaolan couldn't believe that such a terrifying person existed in the world. "Could it be... that you also killed Ms. Ikeda Chikako?"

"That's right. I strangled Atsuko with a rope and staged a suicide scene, successfully fooling the police."

At this point, Ryoichi Takahashi's expression was full of smugness.

“I took Atsuko’s manuscript and gave it to Chikako. Chikako had already agreed to be my woman, but after she became famous, she immediately dumped me.” At this point, Takahashi Ryoichi’s expression turned ferocious again.

They all deserve to die!

Ryoichi Takahashi's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

The demon behind Ryoichi Takahashi also exudes a powerful and evil aura.

"And you too, you all must die!"

"Well--"

Xiaolan's face turned deathly pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably with fear.

"Ran, you're the Phantom Thief Idol, don't be afraid of him!"

A warm hand gently rested on Xiaolan's fragrant shoulder, encouraging her to be strong.

At the same time, Ryoichi Takahashi merged with the demon behind him and launched an attack on Ran.

Ryoichi Takahashi transformed into an ugly, one-legged, one-eyed fat man, wielding a large axe, and fiercely chopped at Ran.

Shiraishi Hara immediately equipped the Oni Persona and swiftly dodged, blocking Takahashi Ryoichi's attack.

Ryoichi Takahashi immediately shifted his attack target from Ran to Shiraishihara.

And so, Shiraishihara and Takahashi Ryoichi began their duel in the cramped execution chamber.

Having merged with the demon, Ryoichi Takahashi became exceptionally powerful, and Shiraishihara struggled to fight him.

The chaotic axes kept slashing at Shiraishihara, who dodged left and right, finding himself in a very dangerous situation.

"Shiraishi-kun!" Ran's heart leaped into her throat when she saw Shiraishi in danger.

The situation was urgent, and Ran knew she couldn't stand idly by. She remembered Shiraishihara telling her that her character was a phantom thief idol. Although the premise sounded far-fetched, she had to believe it at this moment!

"I am the Phantom Thief Idol."

A cool silver mask instantly appeared on Xiaolan's face, a holy lance appeared out of thin air in her hand, and the image of Joan of Arc, her Persona, appeared behind her.

"Shiraishi-kun, I'm here to help you!"

Ran, wielding the Holy Lance, stands shoulder to shoulder with Shiraishihara as they launch a campaign to defeat Takahashi Ryoichi, who is possessed by a demon.

Ryoichi Takahashi is possessed by a demon, and the pressure suddenly increases when facing the combined forces of the two.

Shiraishi's pressure eased, but he was surprised to find that Ran was more capable than him.

"System, what's going on? Why is Xiaolan stronger than me? I'm the protagonist!"

"Host, this has nothing to do with who the protagonist is. The strength of a phantom thief is related to his own strength, so Ran is stronger than you. Host, while this is true for now, you should also train more and strive to become stronger."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could you defy me? This is clearly my world!"

Seeing that he could not fight against the two, Takahashi Ryoichi became extremely anxious.

Shiraishi struck a cool pose: "We, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, will steal your evil heart."

"The Phantom Thieves of Hearts? Another new concept?" Ran's eyes lit up; she found it quite interesting.

"It's not a new setting. It's always been like this. You and I are members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and there will be new Phantom Thief Idols joining later. I am the Phantom Thief, and you assist me; you are the Phantom Thief Idol."

"I see. So, Shiraishi-kun, you're the leader, and I'm a member."

Ran asked Shiraishihara with wide curiosity, finding it increasingly amusing.

"Yes."

So, Ran followed suit and struck what she thought was a cool pose: "I am Ran Mouri, the Phantom Thief Idol, representing the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, to steal your evil heart!"

No. .

022 Is it just pure friendship?

Chapter 22

Ryoichi Takahashi was completely enraged, his eyes turning red with fury.