The released alchemical creatures caused considerable destruction in Tokyo, with casualties strewn everywhere. Despite the intervention of the Self-Defense Forces, the situation was only slightly contained.
However, as more alchemical creatures joined the fray, the Self-Defense Forces found their firepower insufficient.
A helicopter flew overhead.
"Are these all the work of demons?"
Chen Long, observing the hellish landscape below, frowned deeply. The scene paled in comparison to the incident at the Black Hand building, which now seemed like child's play.
Xiao Yu, also in the helicopter, watched the unfolding events. Though her face was pale, she managed to hold back her nausea, showing more resilience than before.
One should not underestimate the United States. As one of the world's foremost powers, no nation, save for perhaps superpowers like China or Russia, could even contend with it. Countries like Japan, which traded territorial sovereignty for American protection, were naturally subject to America's whims.
This was why the helicopter from Sector 13 could appear so quickly in Japanese airspace.
Chen Long turned his head, his fists clenching with a creaking sound. However, he eventually relaxed them with a sigh and asked the Sector 13 agent beside him, "Can you pinpoint the Saint Lord's exact location?"
Chen Long knew that the alchemical creatures below were merely a smokescreen deployed by the Saint Lord to distract him and buy time. If he were to stop and eliminate these monsters, he might save a handful of people.
But the cost would be the Saint Lord unleashing another demon, leading to even greater loss of life.
When faced with two evils, one chooses the lesser. Only by stopping the Saint Lord's actions could more people be saved. Alternatively, once the Saint Lord was defeated, these monsters might retreat on their own.
"We can only determine that the Saint Lord is generally in the west, but his exact location is uncertain."
Chen Long glanced at his watch. "We're running out of time. The Saint Lord could release a demon at any moment. We must race against the clock to find his location."
"Don't worry, Sector 13 has already contacted the Japanese high command. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department will cooperate with us."
Meanwhile, at an intersection.
A police car had crashed into a nearby building, its body covered in claw marks. Trapped between the car's hood and the wall was a humanoid creature resembling a lizard.
"Officer Sato, you were too reckless."
Takagi, in the passenger seat, took a moment to recover from the recent ordeal. Just moments ago, this lizard monster had been slaughtering civilians at the intersection.
Knowing that firearms were ineffective against these creatures, Sato had driven the car with Takagi in pursuit. Without a word, he had gunned the engine, ramming the lizard monster against the wall.
Sato remained silent, kicked open the deformed car door, and rushed out with his service pistol. He fired several shots into the head of the lizard monster pinned to the car, then let out a sigh of relief, ensuring it was dead.
The lizard monster was killed, but the police car was also totaled.
"This is Sato."
At that moment, his phone rang. Seeing it was Inspector Megure, he immediately answered.
"What!? You want us to find someone? What about these monsters?"
"Alright, I understand."
After hanging up, Sato walked to the passenger side and yanked open the door.
"Let's go, Takagi! Inspector Megure called and told us to find the demon."
"Demon?"
Takagi was a bit slow to process the information.
"No time for questions, let's go! We'll talk about the details on the way."
The police car was unusable, so Sato commandeered a sedan. With the accelerator floored, he sped away.
It wasn't just Sato and Takagi; Amuro Tooru on the other side had also received orders from his superiors to search for the demon hidden in Tokyo.
"I'm sorry, Teacher, I have to go now."
He got into his car and, before Kogoro could react, also floored the accelerator.
"Huh? Where's Conan?"
Inside the car, observing the heavily damaged streets, Amuro's expression turned grim.
"Amuro-niisan, are you going to look for someone?"
A childish voice reached Amuro's ears. He was quite familiar with that voice. He wasn't surprised by Conan's sudden appearance in the passenger seat. He glanced sideways and replied, "Yes, I received orders from above to search for a demon hidden in Tokyo."
Knowing that something serious was happening, and that it involved demons, Conan's thrill-seeking instincts flared.
"Okay, I'll help too."
Conan suspected Amuro knew his true identity, so he dropped the act of being a child and picked up a Tokyo map from the car door to study it.
"There are monsters in multiple areas of Tokyo right now. Are there any places with no monsters, or relatively few?"
Amuro placed a hand over his ear. "Did you hear that? Help me check."
Soon, the requested information was relayed. After eliminating several locations, Conan pinpointed a specific spot.
As the saying goes, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Although Conan didn't know why it would be this place, all signs pointed to a famous shrine in Beika Town, Ichome, Itchome.
"Is this it? Hold on tight, Conan, I'm accelerating."
The sedan sped off, quickly arriving outside the shrine.
"Why are we stopping?"
Amuro Tooru pointed to a rooftop in the shrine and handed Conan a pair of binoculars. "What do you see there?"
Conan raised the binoculars and looked in the direction Amuro pointed. On the rooftop stood a ninja in black.
"This is the place, no doubt about it. Conan, you stay in the car, I'll go take a look."
Amuro Tooru had once gone undercover in the Organization under the codename Bourbon. At the time of their meeting, the demon was accompanied by such black-clad ninjas.
After getting out of the car, Amuro Tooru slowly approached the shrine, simultaneously sending his location to headquarters and requesting backup.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated Conan's penchant for trouble. Shortly after Amuro got out of the car, Conan followed suit.
To be honest, as the protagonist of an anime, Conan's action-oriented nature was no less than Amuro's, and he even surpassed Amuro, who had gone ahead. The black-clad ninja assigned to guard the shrine outside seemed blind, allowing Conan to slip past under his nose without any reaction.
It was a pity that Conan was a staunch materialist and deeply disdained charlatans who feigned divinity. In his view, so-called magic and sorcery were merely tricks using physics, chemistry, and a few mechanisms to deceive people. Even though the television had repeatedly hinted at the existence of magic, Conan simply refused to believe it, and thus met his unfortunate fate.
In this altered world, many individuals from anime and films existed. While they were protagonists in specific situations, protected by plot armor, their overall plot armor had been significantly weakened. They were no longer invincible entities of supreme authority but rather a result of numerous coincidences, making them relatively more grounded.