"What a difficult little devil."
"Never mind, this is more interesting."
"In the end, the prey caught in the spider's web will eventually be eaten."
8:21 PM — Ekoda City Museum
The police of the Second Investigation Division had yet to lift the blockade surrounding the museum. Outside, members of the press continued enthusiastically interviewing officers about the botched security operation.
The high school detective Hakuba Saguru, who had participated in the event, found himself cornered by reporters as well.
Amid the chaos, Günter Ilie, cloaked in black, emerged from the shadows.
He wore a black hooded windbreaker to conceal his blond hair and a glowing red mask over the top half of his face. Calm and collected, he turned away from the museum, a playful smirk forming under the mask.
—He had already crossed paths with Kaito Kid.
Though it had been a sneak attack, Kaito Kid had proven completely defenseless after falling under his illusion. If not for Hakuba Saguru's sudden interference, the famed thief would have been a corpse by now.
Now confident in his superiority, Spider was in no rush to kill him tonight.
At precisely 8:36 PM, he paused for a moment—then continued walking as if nothing had happened.
The night was silent and still.
A silver E-W210 Mercedes-Benz sat parked in a secluded alleyway.
When Günter Ilie arrived, he walked directly to the car and opened the passenger-side door.
No sooner had he sat down than he began to speak:
"The essence of my illusion lies in the imaging device I wear. It emits a specific red light that, when combined with an odorless gas, induces a hypnotic trance."
"That trance causes people to let down their subconscious guard."
"What follows is a form of advanced hypnosis. The gas enhances perception. It doesn't create illusions—it amplifies imagination."
"The ability to 'fly' or move in the air? I achieve that with a system of transparent drones and finely tuned spider-web tethers. I use them to restrain targets or maneuver myself."
Hayashi Yoshiki sat in the driver's seat, quietly absorbing every word. A killer purely dependent on technology...
"Under my clothing is a gas release unit."
"Both the gas and webs are synthesized using materials I acquired myself."
"The gas's main component is a neurotoxin derived from a specific spider species. The venom causes a trance, then vivid hallucinations. I refined it into a colorless, odorless airborne compound."
"This ring on my left hand? It's my ace. It holds a potent burst of that gas, plus one final high-intensity light pulse."
"It's a one-time-use emergency illusion device."
He disclosed all of it—like spilling beads from a broken string.
The red light and hypnotic gas—those were the two keys.
For some reason, Yoshiki recalled the red-glowing pens often featured in hypnotism-themed anime.
The contrast between this world's outdated desktop computers and Spider's hyper-advanced technology felt surreal.
His inventions were on par with Professor Agasa's fantastical devices.
Still smiling, Hayashi Yoshiki nodded.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Günter."
"But about the gas—could you write down the full formula and preparation process here?"
He handed over a notebook.
"Please include how the raw materials are sourced."
"I appreciate your trouble."
Spider accepted the notebook and began to write.
Five to six minutes later, he handed it back—neatly filled.
Hayashi Yoshiki reviewed it with care. The process wasn't complicated. The materials were accessible, and even if the techniques were unfamiliar, he didn't mind learning them.
If necessary, he could always rely on Black Organization resources.
After ensuring nothing else needed clarification, he spoke:
"That's all the information I need."
"You may go. Have a nice weekend, Mr. Günter."
Spider exited the car.
Before walking away, he left behind all his illusion gear on the passenger seat.
Yoshiki glanced at it, then started the engine and drove off.
"At 20:36 on the evening of April 27, I walked into an alley near Ekoda City Library and entered the passenger seat of a silver sedan, license plate 'Shinjuku 414-10-02.'"
"Once inside, I disclosed the secrets behind my illusion abilities in full."
"I answered every question asked by the man in the driver's seat."
"Afterward, I exited the vehicle and left behind the tools used in my illusions."
"I will then proceed to create and store a new batch of illusion equipment. It will be deposited in Safe No. 47 at the Beika Hotel in 15 days."
"The key will be handed to the hotel's front desk under the password 'Spider.'"
"I will lose all interest in my profession, choose to abandon the killer path, and travel to the United States to live a normal life."
"Twenty-two days after this name is written, at exactly 03:55 AM local time, I will scrawl the word 'Rum' on the wall of my room in blood."
"Then I will commit suicide."
Such was the death script written in the Death Note.
Yoshiki planned to retrieve the hotel stash later by using a third party.
And as for the final message—"Rum"—he added it purely to stir up chaos within the Black Organization.
A world-renowned illusionist suddenly committing suicide would surely become an international headline.
Whether the FBI or other law enforcement would suspect Spider's involvement with the organization was a separate matter—but even Hakuba Saguru, a high schooler, had already suspected it.
The name "Rum" was intentionally provocative.
If the Black Organization and the FBI ended up pointing fingers at each other, so much the better.
Unfortunately, Spider wasn't officially part of the "zoo" (FBI's internal metaphor for enemy types), so a full war was unlikely to erupt.
"I need to test out this new ability when I get a chance..."
"...And I should start building a better relationship with Koizumi Akako."
While cruising down the empty nighttime road, Hayashi Yoshiki kept thinking to himself.
And of course, mastering hypnotic techniques was now on the to-do list.