Chapter 170: A Day in Post-War Beika Town
Culprit: Ichigo Kurosaki! Identity: Sixteen-year-old high school student and Leader of the Alien Invasion Fleet. Motive: Invading Earth! Modus Operandi: Upgrading Ikkotsu to Soukotsu (Double Bone), then breaking through mid-battle to upgrade to Shikotsu (Four Bones), publicly thrashing a Magical Girl resisting the invasion in the streets of Beika. Process: The victim did not submit to fate but fought back fiercely. After a violent brawl, both parties were severely injured and mysteriously vanished. During the battle, massive structural damage was caused, resulting in significant negative impacts on the Japanese economy and global geopolitics. Outcome: The culprit, Ichigo Kurosaki, confessed fully. Before disappearing, he stated he was "satisfied" by the combat power of Earth's humans and promised to return, telling humanity to "get ready."
"Do not approach or enter high-risk buildings to prevent secondary disasters. Please proceed to the following locations for temporary shelters..."
One day later, police and military vehicles with loudspeakers mounted on their roofs broadcasted official announcements on a loop at high volume.
The once-prosperous Beika was now exceptionally dilapidated. Fallen buildings were everywhere; a slight breeze would stir up choking clouds of dust. Though the Magical Girl had vanished, the scarlet flesh-solution she left behind still clung to the streets and structures.
As time passed, the solution withered, hardening into crusts that eventually shattered into ethereal red dust. Occasionally, small patches retained a lingering vitality; if they sensed a person nearby, they would writhe like living organisms, attempting to spread and consume. However, without the support of the main entity, this instinctive behavior was unsustainable. After spreading only a few inches, the remaining vitality would exhaust itself, and the flesh would rapidly desiccate and turn to ash.
Despite being battered by the war between the Alien Giant and the Magical Girl, Beika was anything but desolate. On the contrary, the streets were bustling.
The "Beika Alien Invasion Riot Case"—broadcast to the world via a hijacked television signal—had shocked the planet. As everyone knows, human curiosity is boundless. And when the event happens in Beika, curiosity doubles. People desperately wanted to know what made Beika such a "sacred land" of wonders: first birthing the Stand Progenitor Shinichi Kudo, then a Tokusatsu monster in the form of a homeless man, then being chosen as the first step of an alien conquest, and finally spawning a mysterious Magical Girl!
Consequently, many traveled thousands of miles for "sightseeing" or "pilgrimage." At least, that was the public excuse. In reality? Who knows.
Initially, the Japanese government set up blockades to prevent outsiders from entering. But in the current "Era of Stands," a simple fence couldn't stop people. Some used Stand powers to scale walls, some lurked in the shadows, and others simply teleported inside. Facing political pressure and logistics, the authorities eventually accepted the situation, saving face by officially labeling these tourists as "Volunteer Disaster Relief Teams."
The streets were lively. Citizens walking to the few open supermarkets for supplies were frequently approached by mysterious figures in baseball caps and masks, speaking with foreign accents. These "tourists" tried to strike up conversations, but they were amateurs compared to Beika residents—people who have seen every crime imaginable and can devise forty ways to kill someone with a plastic bag.
However, being "hospitable" citizens, the Beika locals didn't let the tourists' efforts go to waste. As long as the visitors were willing to pay a "modest" consulting fee, the residents were happy to talk. Having traveled so far, the "tourists" were generous with their cash. But they were soon disappointed.
The residents didn't remember much of the legendary battle. When they were merged into the Magical Girl, their minds were in a trance, like sleepwalkers. When they woke up, they were lying in piles of decaying flesh-slurry, and the Magical Girl was gone. Truthfully, the local residents knew less than the people who watched the broadcast on TV. Many simply woke up to find the aliens repelled but their houses destroyed.
Regardless, life went on. The only good news was that because the disaster involved aliens, the world was watching, forcing the Japanese government to shed its usual bureaucratic sluggishness and move with "lightning speed" for relief efforts.
However, for the citizens, that "lightning speed" was focused more on the massive search operations under the guise of relief. The government was obsessed with any trace of the monster, the Giant of Light, or the Magical Girl. The progress on actual "life-saving" measures—like insurance claims and livelihood support—remained... subtle.
The locals didn't care about the government's findings, but they were happy to sell what they knew for income. While intel on the fight was scarce, the locations of the government's secret cordons and search zones were sold for a premium.
When the tourists were satisfied with that, the "hospitable" residents would hint that for a bit more money, there were even deeper secrets. The tourists usually bit. The locals would then dig up "neighborhood gossip"—detailing horrifying cases like the [Mysterious Dismemberment Case] or the [Rainy Night Serial Murders]. They claimed these cases hid cryptic secrets: killers with mysterious backgrounds, artifacts with unearthly power, or "Secret Realms" that made one doubt they were still on Earth.
To ensure value for money, the residents even provided the exact crime scenes and relevant clues, suggesting that a tour of these spots was the only way to truly understand Beika.
The tourists were stunned. They hadn't expected a random NPC on the street to hold so much lore. In gaming terms, the player had found a generic villager, given them some gold, and the NPC had responded by handing out dozens of Purple Quest Markers pointing toward hidden rewards. To complete them all would require scouring every alleyway—a literal [Beika Town Encyclopedia]. Once finished, the player would no longer be an outsider; they would be a "Senior Beika Resident."
The "kind" locals would add a warning: These hidden exploration tasks carry unknown risks. Please act according to your ability.
Of course, the tourists who chose to come here at this time were all self-important. Few listened; most were eager to start. The locals would simply smile and fall silent.
Occasionally, an exception occurred. If a tourist was handsome or beautiful, paid very well, and seemed cautious—not like a "brainless mob" that dies five minutes into a horror movie—the resident might offer a genuine warning. They would share the unwritten "Citizen's Rules" that every Beika local lived by.
In Beika, knowing too much isn't always good. If you know, you must have reverence. For instance: If you approach these places, do not go alone. Have a detective or a police officer with you. At the very least, form a large party.
If you treat Beika's "flavor" or its hidden secrets with contempt, the result is usually becoming the next topic of "neighborhood gossip." This warning was the true secret of Beika—the ultimate "treasure" for surviving the Super Capital of Crime.
Naturally, very few tourists heard those survival rules, and even fewer cared. They hadn't realized how terrifying the city's true face was. That terror had already seeped into the hearts of the residents.
The tourists didn't notice that many of the cases the locals told them about were unsolved. By rushing to those crime scenes, the visitors were making themselves easy targets for the actual killers. Even with solved cases, a lone wanderer might encounter a "Copycat Killer" paying homage to the original. They came to find Beika's secrets only to become one.
The citizens didn't lie. They gave advice. But Beika is "hospitable"; it opens its arms to every guest, letting them peer into the dark.
Until the darkness swallows them whole.
Only those who survive the baptism—who become intoxicated by the dark majesty or shackled by its cruelty—are "True Beika Residents." As for those who can't take it? Beika doesn't care. The city has no room for those who "want to play but can't afford the price."
Beika is a noisy city, full of unknown surprises. As tourists chatted with locals, occasional explosions rumbled in the distance. When the tourists asked, the residents would smile and say it was just a "gas explosion" in a fallen building. They weren't lying; that's what the news always said.
In truth, they knew exactly which alley sold explosives, cyanide, intelligence, or black-market weapons. These places were near their homes; they passed them while walking the dog and chatted with the owners. They generously shared these "Secret Realm" coordinates with the tourists—provided the tourist could survive the baptism of the [Encyclopedia]. If they couldn't, those shops didn't serve tourists anyway.
All the eldritch darkness was hidden within simple neighborly chatter. Beika's will was condensed in those words. The tourists took photos and collected "active flesh samples," hoping to find the secret of the Magical Girl. They didn't know that by learning this info, Beika was already watching them.
In the true dark side of the city—in the deepest, lightless alleys—a rat hopped out of a dumpster and entered a patch of shadow.
The rat's vision shifted. It saw a street filled with thick fog. The colors were distorted and abstract, alien to reality. Grotesque, deformed houses lined the road. In the depths of the mist, illusory tentacles flickered.
The rat ran through this place, feeling no fear—only joy, as if returning home. As the mist eroded it, its fur turned grey, its flesh withered, but its body swelled. As its body mutated, its primitive intelligence grew. The rat lost its joy and became cautious.
The fog-shrouded buildings were collapsed in places; in others, space itself had vanished, leaving only pitch-black voids. The ruins felt dangerous because "People"—dressed in rags with withered flesh—wandered through the mist. They shrieked in anger. The "Promised Paradise" was in ruins, and the residents felt the pain. They wanted to sin, to kill, to riot—to rebuild their paradise with their own hands.
But they couldn't leave. Having become part of the Paradise, they were rejected by the "Real Beika." They could only shriek toward the deepest part of the mist.
The rat followed the shrieks, passing through broken streets until it stopped. Its new intelligence remembered this place: Beika Park. But it looked nothing like the park where it used to scavenge.
Boundless mist swirled here. A terror deeper than darkness held court. This was the center of the Paradise, the origin of the Nightmare, and the ultimate home of all vagrants. It was a Forbidden Zone that no one entered without a summons.
Because the King of All Darkness sat within.
The rat felt the unutterable majesty and prostrated itself, kowtowing before scurrying away, fearing its presence might profane the Great One.
In the heart of Nightmare Beika Park, the King of Beasts, Lord of the Forbidden Zone—Edogawa Conan—sat on a throne made of cardboard boxes. He rested his chin on his hand, staring at a campfire. On the other side of the fire, a smooth, pitch-black ball rolled around on the ground.
After a long silence, Conan spoke: "Enough rolling. I'm getting dizzy."
Ichigo Kurosaki's voice vibrated from the black sphere: "Don't rush me. I need time to adapt to this new form and devise a combat style that fits it."
In the riot case, Conan had done everything he could, and the result was a miracle. The riot was locked inside Beika, evolving into the Nightmare City. The Giant and the Magical Girl had fought to a stalemate, minimizing casualties. Aside from the unlucky few at the start, almost no one died.
But miracles have prices.
"With your current state," Conan asked, "can we really break the shackles of Nightmare Beika and get out?"
To "murder" the Magical Girl, Ichigo had utilized the city's criminal power to the extreme. They had resonated and merged deeply. The girl was crippled, but Ichigo took heavy hits, too. He couldn't maintain the Giant form, and the city itself turned into these broken ruins.
The real problem: because of that deep resonance, Conan and Ichigo were pulled inside Nightmare Beika. And now, they couldn't leave.
"Don't worry," Ichigo said casually. "I can do anything. Even as a ball, this place can't hold me. Once I adapt, I'll go three hundred rounds with this city and see how 'intense' it really is!"
Conan sighed. "Hurry up. I have criminal plans to execute in the outside world. And people are probably looking for me. If I don't report in soon, the Distillery might clear me out as a traitor..."
Conan's reasons went deeper than he let on. During the fight, Ichigo had sensed the city "activating." Conan felt it too. Ichigo didn't care, but Conan knew better.
End of Chapter
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