Whoosh~~~
A long trail of fireworks shot up from the rooftop of a residential building, blooming in the sky into a simple outline of Kaitou Kid.
It was the Phantom Fireworks.
Maggie had launched it from the roof of his own building.
Normally, Kid wouldn't have seen it. But today was different—he and Batman had just flown back from Los Angeles together, hitching a ride on Batman's plane. Lying inside the plane was Neo, still unconscious from being sedated—a tragic genius.
"Right place, right time. Batman, you take Neo back first. I'll be right behind you."
Maggie gazed up at the gray, heavy sky, thinking Kid had probably already left Gotham City and would never see the fireworks. Online attacks against Kid were only getting worse, and Maggie desperately hoped Kid would step out and say something.
Fireworks fade fast—brilliant for an instant, gone the next. The sky was already empty again. Kid hadn't shown, but Maggie kept waiting. Even if he couldn't see him, he would still wait.
"Need some help?" Kid's voice came from above. He remembered this man—the administrator of his own website—the same one he'd given these Phantom Fireworks to back during the Magic Thieves incident.
He had actually come. Under the dark clouds, the white figure was brighter than moonlight.
"Kid!" Maggie looked up, thrilled to see the Moonlight Magician under the moon's glow.
Floating in the air, Kid descended slowly and landed in front of him. "Long time no see."
Maggie's heart was pounding, too excited to speak clearly. This was Kaitou Kid, after all. "I can't believe you actually came. This is great—this is really great!"
"So, what did you want from me?"
"Kid, so many people are slandering you right now. You have to come forward and set the record straight," Maggie urged, hoping Kid would make a statement to shut up those foul-mouthed critics.
Kid blinked. He'd expected Maggie to need help with something serious, not just for him to defend himself. Honestly, he didn't care much about the insults. He started to reply, "Let them talk. It's not like I'm losing anything." But when he saw the disappointment in Maggie's eyes, he changed his tone. "I can ignore it for myself—but I owe it to those who've always supported me to prove they've backed the right person. Don't worry. Wait for my good news."
"You'll really speak out?" Maggie's mood swung like a roller coaster.
"Yeah." Kid nodded. "But this is my own business. Now, tell me—what can I do for you? You didn't set off the Phantom Fireworks for nothing, right?"
Maggie just shook his head. "You've already helped me. Thank you." With that, he went downstairs, leaving Kid unexpectedly touched. Having someone like this in his corner only strengthened his resolve—he'd have to keep honing his flair for dramatic entrances.
Back in the Batcave, Neo was still asleep. Batman had examined him—his illness was severe, and paralysis could strike at any moment. With current medical technology, there was no cure. Batman had helped with the checkup at Kid's request, but he couldn't fix it either. In Batman's mind, the best thing would be to find Neo a quiet, peaceful place—a beautiful, well-equipped retreat—where he could live out his days in comfort.
But Kid saw things differently. He valued Neo's hacking skills—this was real talent. Letting it go to waste would be a tragedy. So Kid decided to try to find a cure. If Neo recovered, he probably wouldn't cause trouble again. After all, everything had happened because of Neo's despair. If that could be lifted, he might finally live a normal life.
Kid wasn't surprised when he heard the test results—ALS was a terminal illness after all.
"What are you planning to do?" Batman asked.
Liu A'dou thought for a moment. "Maybe with some outside help, his condition could improve. I want to get Neo's consent and try to treat him."
"Do whatever you want. All the equipment here is at your disposal," Batman replied. He still had cases to solve and no time to devote to a single patient.
When Kid saw Neo again, the anger he'd felt earlier was gone. If there was a way to help him, he was willing to try.
"You awake?" Kid asked as Neo opened his eyes.
Neo found himself in a strange place, with only Kid in sight. His face lit up. "Kid, you really did bring me to the real world, didn't you? This is the real world?"
"Yes. This is reality."
Neo smiled—but the smile faded fast when he realized he still couldn't move. His legs were completely numb. Panic filled his eyes as he stared at Kid. "You said this was real! Then why can't I move my legs? Why?!"
"Because you're sick," Kid sighed. "Everything has always been real. You are Neo the hacker, and you have ALS. Everything from the beginning has been real—we've always been in the real world."
"No. No, that's not possible. The real me isn't like this. It's not like this!"
"Neo, calm down. Calm down!" Kid said. "Even though you still have a terminal illness, I think I might have a way to treat you. But it's risky. Do you want to try?"
Neo lay there like a corpse, hollow-eyed, completely dazed. Seeing him like this, Kid thought maybe he should just go ahead without asking. But since he wasn't completely sure the treatment would work, he wanted Neo to sign off on it first.
"Neo, do you want to accept treatment?" Kid grabbed his wrist and sent a Ripple through him to steady his emotions. "You've got about a fifty percent chance of recovery. But even if it works, your appearance might change."
Yes—Kid was planning to turn Neo into a Claymore warrior. That just might cure him.
Neo lowered his head, as if finally accepting reality.
"Do you want to accept treatment?" Kid asked again.
Neo looked like he'd aged ten years. He stared blankly at Kid. "Do I even have a choice? Either I die now or wait to die. I'll take the treatment."
As a computer guy, if there were a fifty percent chance in a virtual world, he'd take it in a heartbeat. But when life was on the line, he'd had to fight through a brutal internal struggle before agreeing. He didn't want to die. If he had, he wouldn't have done so much, wouldn't have fought so hard. Everything he'd done was to survive.
"Good. Don't be so pessimistic. If this works, you might even like your new look," Kid said with a grin. Claymores were either handsome or beautiful—better than any plastic surgery. "Rest for a few days. I'll start gathering the materials for your treatment."
The first step was getting a flesh sample. Kid planned to steal some from the Organization—they'd been cultivating plenty of hybrid flesh anyway, so taking a bit wouldn't matter.
Once Neo had parasitic cells in his body, his illness would be gone for sure. The only question was whether he could survive the pain of fusion. Kid couldn't guarantee that—but he was going to try.