VIP Shoutout: Massive thanks to Kurupt for joining the Inner Circle!
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Everyone turned toward Gordon, who had just collapsed, only to see him standing upright again.
What the hell.
Jim Gordon had just come back from the dead...?
"Chief… you're not dead?"
The dozen plainclothes officers around Gordon stammered in disbelief, their voices overlapping in a stunned chorus that echoed faintly through the grand banquet hall.
"Oh.. For a moment, I thought I really was about to die. Kaitou Kid, that gun of yours was never real, was it?"
Gordon raised his right hand slowly, his fingers trembling just a little from the lingering shock, and produced a playing card—the ace of hearts, its edges crisp and gleaming under the stage lights.
"The 'bullet' that hit me was actually this."
"Ahaha, just a little prank. I hope the Commissioner wasn't too shaken."
Kaitou Kid chuckled, the sound light and teasing, carrying effortlessly across the hushed room.
"But don't underestimate a playing-card 'bullet.' Used properly, it can still hurt."
"Like this!"
Snap!
The moment the words left his lips, Kaitou Kid fired downward with a sharp flick of his wrist, the card gun emitting a soft, whip-like crack.
"Ah!"
A card shot out and struck the wrist of an officer who had been reaching for a loose round.
The man cried out in pain, jerking his hand back as a sharp sting radiated up his arm, the card embedding itself just enough to draw a thin line of blood before fluttering to the floor.
Moments earlier, the officer had edged off the stage while Kaitou Kid was speaking with the "resurrected" Gordon, hoping to gather the scattered cartridges near the podium. His heart pounded with opportunistic excitement as he moved, convinced his stealthy shuffle would go undetected amid the confusion.
He believed his movements were subtle enough, far enough within Kaitou Kid's peripheral vision to go unnoticed.
Maybe he could even circle behind Kaitou Kid and, together with the others, launch an ambush and claim the credit.
Unfortunately, Kaitou Kid had not only noticed him but had chosen the precise moment he bent down for the first round to stop him, timing it with flawless precision that left no room for error.
"Sorry. No live rounds allowed." Kaitou Kid announced calmly, his voice steady and almost amused, as if lecturing a child.
"No bullets means no bullets, Kaitou Kid. You still don't understand the situation," a powerfully built officer said as he stepped forward with a shrug, his broad shoulders rolling under his ill-fitting suit jacket.
"We've got a dozen trained cops. You've got a toy that stings. You really think that's going to stop us?"
"Guys, you haven't forgotten your takedown drills, right?"
"Yeah! Rush him. Take him down!"
He charged first, his heavy boots thudding against the wooden stage, the others following close behind, forming a crescent to cut off any escape. Their faces were set in determined grimaces, breaths coming quick and heavy with adrenaline.
"Heh. Just what I was waiting for."
Kaitou Kid grasped his cape and snapped it forward with a dramatic flourish.
The white fabric billowed out like a sudden sail in the wind, turning into a curtain that instantly cut off sightlines on both sides, filling the air with a soft whoosh and casting fleeting shadows across the stage.
"You think a scrap of cloth will hide your escape?"
"Useless. Behind you is nothing but a wall, and we've sealed every exit!"
The officers charged straight through the billowing fabric without hesitation, pushing past it with grunts of effort, the material brushing against their faces and suits.
"Huh?"
The lead officer yanked the cape aside and froze, his hand still clutching the fabric as he stared at the empty space before him.
"Empty? How can no one be here? Where's Kaitou Kid?"
"Did anyone see him?"
He turned to the others, his eyes wide with confusion.
"Not even a shadow."
Every face was filled with disbelief, brows furrowed and mouths agape as they scanned the stage frantically.
"Can he turn invisible? Teleport?"
"Wait. He's disguised as one of us! Who remembers how many plainclothes officers we had?"
A bold theory was shouted out, the voice cracking slightly with rising paranoia.
In an instant, every officer on the stage looked at the others with suspicion, hands hovering near holsters, the tension thick enough to feel in the air.
Offstage, Gordon was just as stunned. He had held his position and kept the entire stage in view, his sharp eyes never wavering despite the chaos.
Yet he had not seen anyone leave, nor could he explain the disappearance. His mind raced through possibilities, rejecting each one as improbable.
After counting heads, he confirmed that every person on the stage was one of his own. Kaitou Kid was not among them.
So how could this be explained?
How had Kaitou Kid vanished in plain sight?
Magic? This had to be magic!
There was no other explanation that fit, no rational thread to pull on in the face of such impossibility.
While the GCPD wrestled with reality, the banquet guests were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, murmurs and exclamations rippling through the elegantly dressed crowd like waves.
"Amazing! He just flicked that cape and vanished. That was better than any Van Act I've ever seen. How did he do it?"
"Exactly! If this were an ordinary trick, I'd say trapdoors or doubles, but there's nothing like that on the stage, and the GCPD certainly aren't his accomplices. He must know real magic. Only magic works like that!"
"And the bullets. Over a hundred rounds from a dozen officers. When did he take them without anyone noticing?"
"Right? Picking out the plainclothes officers in a hall of hundreds, brushing past them, stealing spare magazines and clearing chambers, all without a single witness. That's impossible!"
High above them all, Kaitou Kid lay flat atop the massive chandelier, careful not to set it swaying, his body pressed low against the cool metal framework as crystals tinkled faintly around him.
Fortunately, the Vanafor Family had built the banquet hall like a cathedral. Lofty and expansive, with an enormous chandelier sturdy enough to support his weight, its intricate arms sprawling out like a frozen explosion of light.
Gone was the white suit. He now wore dark stealth gear that blended seamlessly into the shadows, the fabric matte and silent against any movement.
The vanishing act was no magic spell, just a rapid costume change beneath the cape and a grappling ascent toward the lights, executed in the split-second blindness provided by his own distraction.
Between the sudden darkness and the white distraction below, no ordinary eyes could have spotted him, even if they had been staring straight up.
Listening to the crowd's awed reactions—the gasps, the excited whispers, the scattered applause—Darren Greer felt a surge of exhilaration coursing through his veins like electricity.
He had once performed on stage before thousands, earning thunderous applause time and time again, the roar of arenas filling his ears night after night.
At first, every ovation had thrilled him, but after a few years, it had all become routine, the cheers blending into a familiar hum that no longer sparked joy.
Tonight was different.
A few hundred gasps sent a thrill through him that no packed arena ever had, raw and immediate, laced with genuine wonder and disbelief.
Especially when, as Kaitou Kid, every single gaze was fixed on him, even if they couldn't see him now—the knowledge that he commanded their attention so completely.
In that instant, he relived the first time he'd ever faced an audience.. excitement he'd thought long forgotten, bubbling up fresh and intoxicating from deep within.
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12 Advance chapters:
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