-----
-----
The atmosphere was incredibly strange—like a video that had suddenly been paused. Everyone was frozen in place, except for Hana Fuming and Haibara Ai, who could still move freely.
"What did you just do?"For once, a rare trace of shock appeared on Ai's usually expressionless face. She didn't know what had happened, but she was pretty sure it was Hana's doing.
Hana gave a faint smile. "Just hit their pressure points, that's all..."
"Pressure points? What's that?" Ai asked in that scholarly tone of hers.
"Uh…" Hana paused for a second to think, then explained, "If I had to explain it medically, it's kind of like using an external force to temporarily shut down the nervous system. So, their heart and breathing are still working fine, but they've lost all sense of what's happening around them. And, of course, they don't even know they've been immobilized."
"An assassin can do that?" Ai looked at Hana like he was telling fairy tales—clearly freaked out.
Hana just nodded, though inwardly he rolled his eyes. Seriously? He was sure he was the only one in this world who could do something like this.
At first, he'd thought he was still in his original world. But after getting no response from the assassin organization he used to work with, he realized this world might be called Earth too, but it definitely wasn't his Earth. There was absolutely no "spiritual energy" here, and humans couldn't cultivate it at all. As a result, he—the transmigrator—was the only cultivator in this entire world.
Just then, Hana heard the faint sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. That must be Conan.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the paralyzed woman in black and said to Ai, "She's useful to me. Can you cover for me when Conan gets here?"
Then, without waiting for her response, he dragged the woman to the window and jumped out.
"Clack, clack, clack..."
A few metal beads dropped onto the black-clad people. The men in black all collapsed, unconscious. The kids, on the other hand, snapped out of it. Mitsuhiko, who had been mid-sentence, finally finished what he'd been saying: "—ing on?"
Even he thought it was weird. "Huh? Why did it feel like those four words took forever to say?"
The kids finally realized something was off—mainly, the mysterious woman in black was gone. Ai, keeping a straight face, calmly lied, "She escaped out the window."
"What?!" everyone shouted in shock. "She jumped out the window?!"This was the third floor! That woman actually jumped out?!
Meanwhile, Hana was carrying the woman in black as he jumped out the window. While in midair, he released her pressure point lock—but only partially. She could feel things again, but her body was still paralyzed.
As the night wind rushed past her ears, her mind was in total chaos.
This kid just jumped down from the third floor with me… and he's totally fine?! Judging by the way he's moving, he could've jumped from twice as high without breaking a sweat…
What the hell? How's that even possible?!
Wait—why can't I move? Did he do something to me?!
Lying over Hana's shoulder, staring at his young face, the woman in black actually felt a chill. Compared to him, even devils seemed less scary. With powers like his, if he wanted to kill her, it'd be too easy.
Eventually, Hana stopped in a deserted area out in the countryside. He set her down, then tapped her chest lightly with a finger, releasing the point that had sealed her voice.
"Okay, now you can talk."
The woman moved her mouth—yep, she could speak again. She stared at Hana, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Who... are you?"
She was known as Silver Fox in the underground world—someone with a serious reputation. She'd seen all kinds of crazy things. But Hana's powers? She'd never even heard of something like that before. Could a human really do this?
"Hana Fuming. An assassin."
Normally, revealing his identity would be a big no-no for someone in his profession. But this time, he wanted her to know.
"....."