"What are you going to do?" Conan adjusted his glasses, his sharp gaze locked onto his companion.
"You keep the teachers and students occupied for a bit. I'll take care of the cursed spirit and then sever its connection," Geto Suguru replied, hands casually tucked into his jacket pockets. His dark purple phoenix eyes, however, remained fixed on the lizard-like cursed spirit clinging to Chie Kojima's shoulder.
The two had barely made it halfway when Conan suddenly felt someone grab the back of his collar.
"Conan, it's almost time for school! Why are you still hanging around here?" Ran Mouri's familiar voice rang out.
"There are still fifteen minutes before the first class starts, and Geto Suguru needs my help with something," Conan said, glancing at Geto for backup.
Geto hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah, yeah. My neighbor's two little sisters, Nanako and Mimiko, want to transfer to Teitan Elementary. I wanted to ask Conan about the school's learning environment."
Ran tilted her head, considering. "How old are they? Teitan Elementary is a good school, but you'll need to register in advance…"
"They want to ask Conan about it directly over the phone, so we'll head out first!" Geto quickly scooped Conan up and turned the corner by the school infirmary, vanishing from sight.
"Huh? What's the rush? Can't they just call him now?" Ran pouted but eventually decided to return to class. Conan was responsible enough—there was no need to worry.
Inside the school infirmary, Geto and Conan followed several teachers through the door.
The infirmary at Teitan High wasn't large, consisting of just two treatment rooms and two small wards. With so many people crowding in, the space felt cramped.
The attending physician, a middle-aged woman with short hair, examined the unconscious Chie Kojima carefully before frowning. "This student only has some minor scratches. Are you sure she fell from the rooftop?"
A teacher with curly black hair thought back. "It was strange. Kojima definitely fell from the roof, but it looked like she hit some invisible force mid-air. Her fall slowed down considerably."
"Yeah, it was odd," another female teacher agreed.
Meanwhile, Conan peeked into the clinic and whispered, "Geto, there are too many people here. It'll be hard to clear them all out at once unless…"
"Unless what?" Geto asked, lowering his head slightly to meet Conan's gaze.
"Unless we trigger the fire alarm. That would force the infirmary to transfer the patient next door to the fireproof room. I can handle distracting the nurse." Conan smirked.
Geto raised an eyebrow. "Conan, I always thought you were a good kid."
Conan rolled his eyes. "I'm seventeen. I'm actually older than you by a few months."
Without another word, he crouched down, adjusted a knob on his sneaker, and flicked an eraser from his schoolbag.
Bang!
The eraser arced through the air and struck the fire alarm directly.
Wooooo!
The alarm blared, causing a wave of commotion as people poured out of the building in an orderly fashion.
Just as expected, the staff moved Chie Kojima's hospital bed toward the fireproof room. Only a single nurse remained, guiding the bed to its new location.
"Ouch!" Conan suddenly stumbled and fell, crying out dramatically. "It hurts! Wuuu…"
The nurse immediately turned back and knelt beside him. "Are you alright? Which school are you from? Why are you here?"
While she was distracted, Geto swiftly wheeled Chie Kojima's bed inside the fireproof room, locking the door behind him.
Inside, the dimly lit room was quiet, its fireproof walls absorbing the noise.
Sensing danger, the lizard-shaped cursed spirit lifted its head. Its black eyes fixated on Geto, and its green armored scales bristled.
Cold energy swirled from Geto's palm, engulfing the cursed spirit. With a guttural growl, the creature's core was extracted through his Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique, forming a dense black sphere.
After swallowing the cursed spirit orb, Geto quickly detected the bond between Chie Kojima and the creature.
It felt familiar—too familiar. The connection bore striking similarities to the one between Ito Shun and his own cursed spirit.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Urgent knocking echoed against the door. A woman's voice followed. "Student! Open the door immediately!"
Without hesitation, Geto severed the bond, composed himself, and opened the door with an innocent expression.
"Student! Do you realize how dangerous that was?" The nurse rushed in anxiously. "How is she?"
Geto shrugged. "Sorry, I wanted to help, but the door locked on its own, and it took me a moment to open it."
"Mmh…"
A faint groan interrupted them.
Chie Kojima slowly rubbed her temples before sitting up, confusion in her eyes. "Where… Where am I? How did I get here?"
"You're awake?" The nurse blinked in surprise.
"Do you remember what happened recently?" Geto leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"Recently?" Chie Kojima repeated, shaking her head blankly.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Conan chimed in.
"Hey, kid, why are you still here?" the nurse scolded.
"It's fine! I just heard the fire alarm was a false alarm!" Conan grinned.
"Fire alarm?" Chie Kojima frowned, as if searching her memory. "I should be at home playing games right now…"
Another one?
Geto recalled that Ito Shun had also mentioned playing games before being cursed.
A coincidence?
Wait.
Ito Yuto was the CEO of a gaming company.
If cursed spirit bonds were spreading through a game, Ito Shun and Kojima Chie wouldn't be the only victims.
"What game were you playing?" Geto asked, eyes narrowing.
"Puzzle & Dragons," Chie Kojima replied, licking her dry lips.
Conan and Geto exchanged glances, both raising an eyebrow.
"Satoru's been obsessed with that game lately," Geto muttered.
Conan nodded. "Yeah, a lot of Ran's friends are into it too."
After a brief hesitation, Geto pulled out his phone and called Gojo Satoru.
"Suguru?" Gojo answered immediately. "What's up , its rare that you call me?"
Geto ignored his antics. "What were you doing before you answered?"
"Eating the pudding you made, farming for game equipment, and suffering through sorcerer regulations."
"You're playing Puzzle & Dragons?"
"Huh? Geto, you wanna play too? Let me tell you, Ito still owes me some rare gear—once I get it, I'll show you…"
Geto sighed heavily and hung up.
Why did I ever think a cursed spirit would dare mess with the heir of the Gojo Clan?