Chapter 116: If Not for You...
Marcel—or rather, Vacher—continued, his voice taking on a chillingly reasonable tone. "I never intended for things to go this far, you see. But they refused to believe me. None of them would believe that a person could simply dissolve in water. I had no choice... I had to show them."
His gaze grew distant, lost in a memory only he could see. "And besides... I hope to restore Vigneire. If I don't do this, how can I possibly collect the experimental materials I need? How can I find a way to bring her back?"
His confession hung in the air, thick and suffocating. For a long moment, no one knew how to respond.
Finally, Conan broke the silence, his small voice sharp with indignation. "Even if you were heartbroken over losing someone you love, and even if those officials were wrong not to believe you, that's no excuse to harm innocent girls."
Genta, finally processing the man's words, balled his fists. "Yeah! They didn't do anything to you!"
"And what's more," Conan added, his expression hardening, "taking the law into your own hands is never acceptable. You don't get to privately decide someone's life or death, even a murderer's. That's a decision for the police—um, the Gardes, in this case. They hand the suspect over to a judge, who then decides the punishment."
Vacher paid the children's moralizing no mind. The dam of his composure had broken, and now, all he could do was plead with Natsume, his voice cracking as he begged her to tell him about Vigneire.
Seeing him so utterly devoid of remorse, his entire being fixated on a single name, a flicker of anger sparked in everyone present. Still, they had a case to solve. They had Natsume tell him Vigneire's last known whereabouts and even agreed to escort him to the Fountain of Lucine.
He was, after all, their only lead. They could only hope that after this reunion, he would keep his promise to confess in court and finally reveal the truth about the Primordial Seawater that dissolved people.
Natsume sighed inwardly. She had a strong feeling that once Vacher saw Vigneire, he would be in no state to testify. She didn't bother reminding the others to question him beforehand, however. Firstly, she had no logical justification for such a premonition. Secondly, Vacher, who had yet to see his beloved, would almost certainly refuse to say another word.
Upon reaching the grand plaza, Vacher turned to ask Natsume how he was meant to see Vigneire, but the words died on his lips. He froze, his head tilting as if listening to a sound no one else could hear. Without a word, he began walking, drawn like a man in a trance straight toward the Fountain of Lucine, utterly unresponsive to their calls.
A ripple of concern went through the group. Worried, but also intensely curious about what Vigneire could possibly say to him, they followed close behind.
As they neared the fountain's edge, a wave of vertigo washed over them. The world seemed to shimmer and distort. When their senses cleared, they found themselves standing not in the Opera Epiclese plaza, but in the vast, cerulean space Genta and the others had described.
Vacher was a short distance ahead, his head whipping back and forth as he desperately called out into the blue expanse. "Vigneire! Vigneire!"
As his voice echoed, a figure of pure, flowing blue coalesced in the air before them. It had the vague shape of a fish but possessed elegant, wing-like fins that held it aloft. It floated there, a silent, majestic being summoned by Vacher's grief.
Haibara stared at the creature, her mind immediately shifting into analytical mode. "So this is what an Oceanid looks like," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "It appears to be made entirely of water. But there are no facial features on its head... how does it speak? Or see?"
Conan, standing beside her, was momentarily speechless. 'Why is Haibara still thinking about things like that at a time like this?'
The Oceanid's voice, a soft, melodic sound like flowing water, filled the space. "Vacher... why are you here? Did I not tell you that you didn't need to come?"
"Vigneire?" Vacher choked out, his eyes wide with disbelief and adoration. "Is that really you? Vigneire... It's been over twenty years... I can finally see you again..."
...
Conan noticed Haibara's attention drifting again. "What are you thinking about?" he whispered. "You're not still wondering how an Oceanid sees or hears, are you?"
Haibara snapped back to the present, shooting him an icy glare. "No," she said, her tone flat and dismissive. "I'm just not interested in someone's self-indulgent narrative."
No matter how eloquently or passionately Vacher spoke, he was, at his core, a criminal who had casually experimented on innocent people for his own selfish desires. Even now, he showed not a shred of remorse.
The thought made Haibara's stomach clench. She remembered her time in the Black Organization, forced to conduct human experiments, wanting to refuse but having no choice. She felt nothing but contempt for a man like Vacher.
With a sharp edge to her voice, she emphasized, "Anyway, it's just two long-separated lovers pouring their hearts out. It doesn't matter if we listen carefully or not."
Conan flinched. 'What's wrong with Haibara? Did she eat dynamite or something? Why is she so angry all of a sudden?'
Vacher's voice, thick with emotion, continued to express his decades of longing. "I've been in agony every single day for the past twenty years, Vigneire. If not for you, I don't know how I would have lived..."
The Oceanid's watery voice replied, but its words were not what anyone expected. "And I think... Vacher, it would have been better if you had never existed at all."
The statement was so shocking it felt like a physical blow. Even Conan, who had half-expected the tearful reunion Haibara had scornfully predicted, was caught completely off guard.
'That can't be right,'he thought.'From what Genta and the others said, Vigneire loved Vacher deeply. Why would she say something so cruel?'
If Conan and the others were surprised, Vacher was utterly devastated.
He stared, his face a mask of confusion, doubting his own ears. "You said... what?!"
The Oceanid ignored his bewilderment and continued, its voice a chorus of overlapping desires. "If not for you, I could have finished my law degree and perhaps become a top-tier agent... If not for you, I could have..."
"I know! She's not Vigneire!" Conan exclaimed, the pieces clicking into place as a flash of insight, bright as Khvarena, illuminated his mind.
Hearing his outburst, Mitsuhiko looked puzzled. "How can she not be Vigneire? She knows Vacher's name and things only his beloved would know. How could she be anyone else?"
Ran also chimed in, her expression troubled. "And Vacher loves her so much... he wouldn't mistake the person he loves..."
"To be precise," Conan corrected, his eyes fixed on the glowing entity, "it's that she is not just Vigneire."
Ran's eyes went wide as she processed his words. "What do you mean... not just Vigneire?"
Seeing the startled look on her face, Conan quickly explained his reasoning. "I was already a little suspicious. So many girls went missing, so why did we only see one Oceanid? And why was it a victim from so many years ago, instead of someone more recent...?"
"Yeah, why is that?" everyone wondered aloud.
"Because they've all merged together, right?" Natsume stroked her chin, her expression thoughtful. "What the Oceanid just said... those were each of their individual wishes."
Not giving Conan the chance to prolong the suspense, she stated the conclusion directly. "Since they were all dissolved into water, and then those currents converged in one place, it's not impossible for their consciousnesses to merge as one, is it? Just like streams of water flowing into the same river."
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