༺ Peace in London ༻
“He… hehehe…”
“Stop laughing and explain yourself, Adler.”
Isaac Adler, frozen in place for some time, started laughing awkwardly at the sight before him. On the other hand, the professor, her hands resting on his shoulders, silently leaned closer toward him.
“What was the meaning of the actions you just took towards me?”
“……..”
“Honestly, if it wasn’t you, then anyone who dared to do such a thing would find their body shattered into pieces by now.”
Her voice and expression were cheerful and bright, but her eyes and gaze were anything but that.
“As you know, I’m not a very patient person.”
– Creak…
“So, convince me quickly.”
Instead of her face, the professor’s pale hands, which had found their way up to his neck and were gradually tightening around it, conveyed the emotions she really felt deep down.
“What was the reason? Hmm?”
And with those words, silence settled between the two.
– Crackle…!
As Adler gazed at Professor Moriarty’s eyes, racking his brain faster than he had ever done before, he was able to catch a glimpse of an anomaly that flashed for a split second.
“… Hmm.”
Professor Jane Moriarty was busy choking him with her hands, however, a momentary spark of grey and gold emanated from her body at that very moment, making her frown and groan out loud abruptly.
“It seems that… you couldn’t completely escape from my spell, after all, Professor.”
Staying still for some time, Adler repeatedly confirmed the phenomenon transpiring in the professor’s body. Once he was able to come to a consensus, he relaxed and began murmuring to her in a low voice.
“You were able to withstand it to some extent at first, it seems. However, as the mana continued pouring into your body like an endless tide, you were unable to hold it all in and had to leak some of it out.”
– Fizz, crackle…
“After all, how could a single person’s mana capacity be more than the combined mana of half the women in the entirety of London? That’s simply absurd, impossible even.”
Nevertheless, as the professor remained silent and just gazed at him in a daze, Isaac Adler began to chatter with an even more excited tone in his voice.
“But still, the professor is truly amazing. Not only is your mana capacity vast enough to withstand the initial onslaught, but you also grasped the principle of the attack so quickly and came up with a countermeasure.”
– Crackleee…
“Even a convincing bluff too.”
He gently caressed the professor’s cheek and whispered into her ear with a bright smile on his face.
“You do realize that you’re my ideal type, don’t you, Professor?”
“Enough with that, Adler.”
“I don’t want to though…”
With a chuckle, a sly smile appeared on Adler’s lips as he took hold of the professor’s arm.
“But alas, I will have to stop this banter here.”
“Why?”
“As I have mentioned before, if I don’t correct the error that has occurred in this case, things will get quite a bit troublesome.”
Seeing the professor look at him with a confused gaze, Adler stroked her head and added,
“My curse is, in fact, a phenomenon that can cause a substantially sizeable havoc if a mystery isn’t constructed perfectly, in a certain way, you see…”
“You didn’t even know what a curse was until recently, did you?”
“I still don’t know, to be honest. But you see, the curse on me is a bit different from those curses.”
Quietly receiving his stroking, the professor bobbed her head and posed a question. In response, Adler, watching her characteristic bobbing with an amused expression, murmured in her ears.
“If we continue like this, both Charlotte and the professor will be in danger.”
“… Hmm.”
“You understand, right? So you need to behave yourself, okay?”
Adler, who finished speaking while patting her head on his tiptoes, raised his hand to bind her once more.
– Snap…!
Just like before, the sound of fingers snapping echoed crisply throughout the silent hallway.
“… Huh.”
However, if there was one difference from a few minutes ago, then it was the fact that the golden chains didn’t so much as show a hint of being summoned to bind Professor Moriarty, let alone actually restraining her as they did before.
“Why isn’t this working…?”
Isaac Adler, who had been harboring a bright smile on his face till now, couldn’t help but frown as he looked at his hand with a puzzled gaze. He started flicking his fingers again but…
“… Adler.”
The professor, watching him quietly, opened her mouth at that very moment with a chilly smile.
“That fascinating magic you used just then…”
“… Yes?”
“I suppose there’s nothing in this world that I am unable to do.”
A look of utter bewilderment settled on Adler’s face as he heard those words.
“… Impossible.”
“Why so?”
“I only succeeded because I could gather the mana of nearly half the women of the entirety of London. But you, professor…”
“Are you implying that I do not wield such an immense amount of mana?”
The professor’s lips curled into a wicked grin.
“Oh dear, Adler.”
“………”
“Do you really think that I’m releasing mana because I am unable to withstand your attacks?”
“Could it be…”
Hearing the professor’s laugh, laced with amusement and mirth, Adler couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
“Have you been deflecting my attacks all this time, or rather, have you been pouring your own mana into me on top of that?”
“… And simultaneously into all the vessels of the women you have under your control, connected to you with the seal imprinted on your abdomen, to be exact. I am going to make sure that you are unable to even try to do such a wicked deed ever again.”
The professor answered his question, delivered in a low and hesitant voice, with a kind look in her eyes.
“So, just how large is your mana capacity?”
“Adler.”
As Adler turned pale and asked in alarm, Jane Moriarty gently stroked his collarbone and whispered in his ears.
“The sea doesn’t overflow even if a river flows into it…”
“……….”
“… Rather, it only makes the river flow backward and overflow instead.”
At that very moment, her eyes, looking down at her beloved assistant, started flooding with the aura of an apex predator.
“… Eeek.”
Adler, his body trembling at her words, gazed up at the professor and abruptly grabbed her arms. Putting strength in his hands, he shoved her up against the wall, his gaze desperate.
“What are you doing?”
“… If you’re pouring all your mana into me, then you can’t use magic either, right?”
The professor, observing Adler with curiosity brimming in her eyes, posed the question in a casual voice as though unperturbed by his actions. And her question prompted Adler to speak in a voice trembling with fear and desperation.
“Then I have no choice but to use my body to fight against you.”
“………”
“Even if you are the strongest mage to ever exist, you must be physically weaker than me, correct?”
In his eyes, the last glimmer of hope shone amid the crippling despair.
“I’m still a vigorous teenager, Miss Moriarty.”
“Is that so…?”
“I’m confident of being able to overpower a wicked professor who’s only been doing research behind locked doors all these years.”
However, even that last shred of hope was doomed to fade into darkness.
– Squeeze…
“Uh…”
Abruptly, Professor Moriarty shook off Adler’s grip on her arms and immediately pushed him against the wall instead.
“T-This is a-absurd…”
“Nothing absurd about it, Adler.”
As Adler began his desperate struggle with a confused, horrified look, the professor added just a bit more strength in her grip, just enough to subdue him, and whispered in a low voice.
“You’re not a vigorous teenager, Adler. Just a patient on his deathbed.”
“… Ah.”
“And even if that wasn’t the case, do you really believe that you could challenge me to a physical brawl?”
She leaned in close, her face colored with amusement and mischief.
“Before I met you, I had been hiding the fact that I was a mage.”
“………”
“… Then, how many people do you think I’ve killed with my body alone instead of magic?”
Her eyes darkening into an ominous void, Professor Moriarty posed the question in a whispery chant.
“… Obscene little fox.”
As her hot breath touched his ears, Adler – his head buried in her sizeable breasts due to the clear height difference – swallowed dryly and looked up at his supervising professor.
“I’m a vampire, Professor.”
With those words, for some time, a squelching sound began to echo throughout the previously silent hallway instead of human speech.
.
.
.
.
.
“… Lift your head, Adler.”
Several minutes later…
“… Adler.”
Walking down the corridor with his head hung low – sporting a bite mark on his lower abdomen, one near his ear, and several on his neck – Adler proceeded to wipe his moist and puffy lips as he quietly turned his gaze to the side.
“Are you upset because I was too forceful?”
Professor Moriarty, wiping her damp mouth likewise, posed the question to him…
“But you enticed me with your antics first, Adler, didn’t you?”
“………”
“I am but a human Adler. Regretfully, I was no longer able to resist the temptation.”
She whispered in a subdued voice as she gently stroked Adler’s neck.
“The rest, let’s save it for later; when this case is finally resolved.”
– Brrrr…
“… And then, we’ll live together. Forever.”
Hearing her wistful words, a violent shudder ran through Adler’s body, leading him to open his mouth.
“Were you disappointed?”
“What do you mean?”
“… Just a moment ago, I attacked you, Professor.”
Only a calm voice could be heard as Professor Moriarty responded to his words.
“I realized that your actions always have unavoidable intentions behind them.”
“That is…”
“… You mentioned a curse, didn’t you?”
Her voice was a murmur as she gazed at the empty space where Adler would usually look with a startled look in his eyes.
“Could it be that it compels you to create these mysteries and riddles?”
“……….”
“Then, could our relationship also be…?”
After a long silence, Adler finally responded in a barely audible voice.
“… I believe we have already gone too far to use that excuse now.”
A fleeting expression of relief crossed the professor’s face at his words.
“Professor, I…”
“… Wait a moment.”
Just as Adler was about to say something with a hint of seriousness in his face,
“Where is she?”
“Pardon?”
“… Miss Neria Garrideb, where is she?”
Halting her stride, she posed the question in a sharp voice.
“When you were interrogating me earlier, she seemed entranced and headed somewhere.”
“And?”
“I had sprinkled a bit of powdered magic stone on her back earlier, so I was just following the trail she left behind…”
Adler couldn’t help but cock his head in confusion at the sudden shift of atmosphere.
– Chiiiik…!
Abruptly, thick smoke began billowing out from the end of the corridor ahead of them.
“Adler, be careful!”
The professor – looking warily at the smoke that rapidly enveloped the whole corridor, akin to the ethereal fog that often engulfed the streets of London at dawn – started retreating to the back while pulling Adler by the hand.
“I’m immortal, so I’ll be fine, Professor.”
“Be silent, Adler. Just come behind me quickly.”
“Rather, you should come behind me instead, Professor. You can’t use magic right now, so you’re vulnerable.”
However, amid their retreat, a minor quarrel arose as Adler tried to place the professor behind him instead.
“Adler, before I get any angrier, ple…”
– Swoosh…
“……!”
In the midst of their dispute, the professor was too late in sensing the presence that appeared suddenly in the fog. Her eyes widened in alarm as she turned her attention toward the ominous presence when…
– Bang…!!!
The resounding noise of a gunshot filled the mansion.
“”……….””
And with that… a dreary silence engulfed the scene.
.
.
.
.
.
“Professor…?”
As the smoke filling the corridor dissipated in a puff, Adler, frozen in place, was met with a scene he didn’t believe he would ever see in his life.
“That was a close call… Adler.”
With disbelief in his eyes as he stared at the shocking scene, Adler heard a familiar yet unusually faint voice entering his ears.
“You almost… got hit by a silver bullet for a second there…”
There, before his eyes, lay Professor Moriarty; With a silver bullet lodged deep in her chest, crushing her heart, she coughed up a fountain of blood before collapsing right in front of him.
“It’s fortunate, truly so fortu…”
Adler’s rationality snapped as he gazed down at her immobile figure for a long, long time.
“… This… can’t be…”
