A pure white suit without a single blemish accentuated a slim, elegant waistline that would make any woman jealous. The monocle over his right eye caught the light with a mysterious gleam, and a confident, unchanging smile curved his lips.
"It's… Kaitou Kid!"
"I was just thinking about it. I didn't expect him to actually show up!"
"Quick! Photographer, start shooting! Whether we get tomorrow's headline depends on you right now!"
Many of the guests in the hall were reporters from major news outlets. The moment Kaitou Kid appeared, they leapt to their feet in excitement, pulling out anything capable of taking photos and frantically pressing their shutters at him.
"That's Kaitou Kid? So he really exists. I thought he was just an urban legend cooked up by the GCPD, like Batman."
Another group of guests stared in astonishment at the figure who had suddenly appeared on the stage. From the beginning, they had not believed he was real.
The recovery of the Tear of the Goddess had led them to think that this so-called Kaitou Kid was merely a spectacle scripted and staged by the Gotham Museum of Art to create publicity and draw in tourists.
After all, no thief in the world would steal something and then voluntarily return it.
Not even the lunatics in Arkham would do something so self-contradictory.
Except for Two-Face.
But Two-Face only robs. He does not steal.
"Wow! I'm actually seeing Kaitou Kid. He looks even more handsome in person than in photos!"
"It's incredible. Even though I can't see his face clearly, I just feel like he's unbelievably handsome!"
"It was definitely the right decision to come to the banquet with Dad. I actually got to see Kaitou Kid. This trip was worth it!"
There was no shortage of young women among the guests. They might not have cared much for the Vanafor Family's commemorative banquet, but a mysterious, elegant, handsome, and dangerous man was another matter entirely.
"Robin, the surveillance feed for the Vanafor Family Estate has gone completely black. What's happening on your end?"
Oracle's anxious voice came through Tim's earpiece.
"We've been played. Kaitou Kid cut the power to the estate. The hall is pitch-dark right now."
Tim quickly explained the situation on site.
"So it's a power outage. I thought Kaitou Kid had blown up the entire estate with a bomb. It's good that nothing serious happened. But without live surveillance, it'll be hard for me to give you effective support now, Robin."
Oracle sounded apologetic.
If her legs were still functional, she would have rushed to the scene to fight alongside her partner.
But now, she could only do her best from behind the scenes.
"I'm hacking into the street cameras around the Vanafor Family Estate. If I spot Kaitou Kid escaping outside, I'll notify you immediately."
"It's okay. That's enough."
After replying to Oracle, Tim quickly left his position.
As he ran, resentment surged through him. So that's how it is. I finally understand the meaning of that Notice. You sneaky Kaitou Kid, to actually pull off a word trap like this.
The instant the banquet hall lost power, Tim understood everything.
The "swaying road to heaven" that he and Oracle had obsessed over was actually the least important part. That phrase truly had no metaphor at all. It was simply a literal rainbow.
The real trap lay in the second line.
Baldr, killed by mistletoe, was the god of light, but he was not the sun god.
Baldr's death did not herald night, but darkness.
That was why Kaitou Kid did not appear when night fell. As long as the lights were on, the interior of the hall was still bright.
Only when the power was cut and the hall truly sank into darkness did it become time for Kaitou Kid to make his entrance.
In the end, Kaitou Kid had not violated his Notice at all. He had done exactly as he promised.
The sudden, unanticipated power outage left even Tim momentarily stunned. Others were even more shaken, including the dozen or so plainclothes officers hidden among the crowd.
It was not until the sound of the first reporter's shutter clicking as they photographed Kaitou Kid that everyone snapped out of their shock.
"Kaitou Kid! This estate is surrounded. No matter what you intend to do, there's no way you're escaping from here!"
At that moment, Gordon rushed to the foot of the stage, raised his pistol, and aimed it at Kaitou Kid in warning.
"Surrender now, and we won't hurt you!"
A dozen plainclothes officers hurried after him, surrounding Kaitou Kid on the stage.
"Surrender? That makes it sound like I don't have any other choice."
Faced with a dozen dark gun barrels, Kaitou Kid showed not the slightest hint of panic.
"But I refuse."
Kaitou Kid smiled as he spoke.
"A mere pistol. Who do you think that's going to scare? I have one too."
The moment the words left his mouth, Kaitou Kid's right hand blurred, and a uniquely shaped white pistol appeared seemingly out of thin air.
As he produced the weapon, Kaitou Kid casually spun it a few times in his hand, the motion smooth and effortlessly stylish.
With a soft swish, he raised the muzzle and aimed it directly at Gordon.
"My apologies, Commissioner Gordon. If you move carelessly, you might die~"
A gun!
Kaitou Kid actually had a gun!
Gordon stared at the oddly shaped white pistol in disbelief.
From the outside, it looked almost like a toy, but in a place like Gotham, the more harmless a weapon appeared, the more terrifying its true power could be.
Gordon did not dare gamble on whether the gun was real or fake.
No one present dared to gamble either.
"Kaitou Kid! What are you trying to do? Before, you were only committing attempted theft, but once you use a gun, the nature of the crime changes completely—"
Gordon warned him with a grim expression.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
"Ah..?" Gordon felt a sharp pain in the center of his forehead before his body toppled backward. Thud!
Kaitou Kid fired.
He actually fired.
"Commissioner!"
The dozen plainclothes officers nearby flew into a rage, pulling their triggers at the same time as they fired at Kaitou Kid, determined to avenge Gordon.
However.
Not a single bullet was fired.
"Do you find it strange? Why are there no bullets in your guns?"
At that moment, the corners of Kaitou Kid's mouth curled upward. He raised his left hand into a fist, then slowly opened it.
"It's simple. Ahaha~ Because they're with me!"
A string of bullets slid from his palm, clinking against the floor as they fell.
The entire hall fell silent.
Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for one hand to hold that many bullets, but at this moment, no one cared about such a detail.
"…Even my gun has no bullets. I clearly checked it half an hour ago. How did you do it? And when did you make your move?"
After an unknown amount of time, someone finally spoke up.
The instant that voice was heard, the dozen plainclothes officers and all the guests in the banquet hall froze.
"Isn't that… the Commissioner's voice?"