༺ The Shadow of Britain (3) ༻
“Haa, haa…”
“……….”
The ragged breathing of the two women echoed throughout Adler’s secret hideout.
“You’re… not bad.”
“Sorry, but I don’t need praise from an enemy.”
As Jill the Ripper, exuding an omnidirectional dark aura, murmured under her breath, Gia Lestrade’s frigid voice immediately lashed out in response.
“But isn’t this a bit too much? I am royalty, after all. Normally, inflicting even a slight wound would set grounds for immediate execution.”
“I believe I have never sworn to serve a cancerous existence such as you as royalty.”
“Pfft.”
At her response, Jill the Ripper let out a snicker and silently extended her hand forward.
– Goooh…
And in the next moment, from all over, shadows converged and began to take the shape of razor-sharp knives in mid-air.
“How many times must I tell you.”
– Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
However, before the shapes could even properly take form, Lestrade’s composed gunfire disrupted their formation altogether, invalidating their existence.
“All things considered Abnormal and Irrational don’t work in front of me.”
“………”
“Your strange abilities included, Jack the Ripper.”
“If you’re going to address me with a nickname, please use Jill the Ripper. I am a woman, after all.”
Watching on silently as Lestrade spoke, she soon murmured in a frigid tone.
“That aside, it’s an incredibly unfair talent. A power that perfectly resists all supernatural abilities. How does it feel to be born with such immense power, hmm?”
“… To me, it’s nothing short of a curse.”
“This curse talk again? It’s not even funny at this point.”
A mocking smirk appeared on Jill the Ripper’s face.
“To you, it might be a curse, but to others, it’s a blessing. Just think of it as a divine gift with a penalty, like mine. I don’t understand why everyone thinks so pessimistically.”
“You must have experienced the side effects yourself, so how can you say that?”
“Because I didn’t experience any side effects perhaps? I just happen to enjoy killing people, you see.”
Then, with a note of laughter in her voice, she whispered to Lestrade as the inspector looked at her with a gaze molded in frigid ice.
“But tell me, what’s your side effect?”
“……..”
“Suddenly, I’m curious about this side effect you speak of. The woman who’s the object of admiration for practically all men of London, the very woman who can make Isaac Adler bristle and come at me, saying he’ll kill me if I did anything to you… Just what kind of misery such a woman as yourself is enduring all by yo…”
– Bang!!!
Before she could finish her words, Lestrade fired the last bullet, emptying the bullet chamber of her revolver. However, dissimilar to the events that transpired at the beginning, Jill the Ripper, fully focused, deflected the bullet aimed at her forehead with a simple flick of her knife.
“Shut that damn mouth of yours.”
“Honestly speaking, I don’t like you.”
Then, the smile etched on her face faded, turning into one of seriousness.
“Who are you to define what’s normal and abnormal? Don’t you think that’s a bit too arrogant, even for you?”
“……….”
“I hate it. It’s annoying. I want to gouge out those pure white eyeballs of yours and kill you.”
Her murmurs – filled with pure murderous intent yet coming off like the whining of a child, a stark contrast to her intentions – echoed in the room.
“Then try it.”
“Yep, I was planning to do just that. I know you’ve used up all your bullets just now.”
“Do you plan to engage in close combat?”
As Jill the Ripper whispered and took a step forward, Lestrade responded with a frigid smirk on her face.
“I spend over half my day in shooting practice. How long do you think it’ll take me to reload this pistol and fire at you?”
“I’m not sure, but I suspect it would be slower than my knife digging into your neck.”
“… It seems to me that you’re misunderstanding something.”
A terrifying killing intent began flowing between the two women, making the hair on one’s body stand on end in fright.
“What I meant was, the time it takes to reload my pistol and fire… after I’ve broken your arm and slammed you to the ground once you came close.”
“You’re confident in hand-to-hand combat, I see?”
“You should know well, owing to the brief encounter we had earlier. I can dodge and parry your attacks well enough, I’d say.”
“Well, considering how quickly you kept your distance, I’d say I have the advantage in close combat…”
Recalling the short close combat situation that occurred just a few minutes before, Jill the Ripper looked at the small wound on Lestrade’s cheek with eyes full of mirth.
“I just judged that keeping my distance rather than pulling out my baton would be more advantageous for me when I had the chance of engaging in ranged combat.”
“Honestly, even if you pull out a baton now, do you think you can subdue me?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer, but I am sure I can hold you off until the time limit.”
“Time limit?”
At that word, Jill the Ripper, who was smoothly twirling her trusty knife in her hand, tilted her head, prompting Lestrade to continue her explanation; her voice calm.
“Do you think I came here alone? In a few minutes, the whole available force of the London Metropolitan Police will descend upon this place.”
“Look, I think you’re under some misunderstanding.”
Jill the Ripper responded with a dark smile, countering her words.
“If the police forces were to rush in right now, it would only benefit me.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Even if you’re the symbol of justice in London, ever since you started associating with Isaac Adler, your reputation has been plummeting. There are even whispers that you’ve already fallen for Adler.”
“……….”
“If, in such a situation, a member of the royal family is found in this back alley hideout, attacked by Isaac Adler and his girlfriend… wouldn’t that spell trouble for you two instead of me?”
As Jill the Ripper finished her explanation, curling the corners of her mouth, Lestrade bit her lips quietly and glared at her.
“… You’re wrong.”
Just then, a small voice rang out beside the women.
“It’s you who’s going to be in trouble, Miss Ripper.”
“… Miss Ripper?”
With a face dyed deathly pale, Isaac Adler, who had momentarily lost consciousness, narrowed his eyes and referred to her with the nickname she disapproved of, causing Jill the Ripper’s expression to twist.
“Because the police bursting in here will not be facing the next heir to the British Empire, but rather the serial killer of Whitechapel who’s started revealing her true form to the world.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Have a look at your face.”
Hearing his words, Jill the Ripper quietly turned her head towards the window.
“… Hmm.”
Discovering the reflection of her face, half-covered in shadows, she couldn’t help but let out an annoyed groan.
“As expected, the damage from when you were thoroughly beaten by the professor last time hasn’t fully healed, has it?”
“………”
“If you force a fight with us while you can’t even fully control that shadow ability of yours, and reveal your true self, you might just lose your royal status, don’t you think?”
Adler, with a faint smile at her, murmured in a soft voice.
“… If it hadn’t been for that professor.”
“Miss Moriarty might be somewhat cute, but her skills are unmatched.”
“Cute? That woman…?”
Jill the Ripper, jolted by a momentary resurgence of her past trauma, muttered with a look of incomprehension after hearing Adler’s words.
“You really have a peculiar taste…”
“Let’s at least respect each other’s preferences.”
“… Hey, are you doing this to stall for time too?”
Her eyes hardened.
– Click…
“Don’t you see?”
Right at that moment, Lestrade, swiftly loading her pistol, aimed the muzzle at Jill the Ripper’s face.
“Even without my colleagues, I think I could handle you as you are now, unstable.”
“….. Tsk.”
As Jill the Ripper’s shadows began to flicker unstably, she grimaced and took a step back.
“I thought you were bluffing because I didn’t sense anyone around, but you really did come.”
“”……….””
“I might have tried to see it through to the end if it were the police.”
Muttering to herself for a moment, she then glanced at Adler with clouded eyes and the corner of her mouth lifted into a lopsided smirk.
“Listen, Adler.”
“… Yes.”
“Next time we meet, I will make sure to slaughter you.”
Regaining her composure, she stretched her shadows omnidirectionally and began phasing out.
“No matter how strong you are, I wonder if you’d die if I were to chop you to pieces. So…”
“Don’t forget the appointment we have next week.”
However, hearing Adler’s words, her expression turned slightly solemn.
“Good, it’s actually for the best.”
Shuddering at the bizarre feeling she felt at those words, as though the taste of her first experience minutes ago still lingered on her tongue, she whispered fiercely with a face contorted into a frown.
“Doctor Jekyll just happened to create a new drug.”
“… What did you just say?”
“If it’s from her, it can be trusted…”
At her mumbling, Adler, losing his composure for the first time, asked her in a hurry, but she was already halfway into phasing out of the hideout.
“Next time we meet, you can do as you wish until the day is over. I won’t kill you, no matter what you do to me all day.”
“………”
“But once the day has passed, I’ll chop you up and swallow you whole.”
Muttering to herself as she was about to fully dissipate into a puff of smoke, Jill the Ripper averted her gaze and added,
“If you don’t want to be devoured, try your best, struggling to the very end.”
With those words, she completely vanished, and a heavy silence descended upon the hideout.
.
.
.
.
.
“Miss Gia.”
Only after confirming that Jill the Ripper had completely vanished did Lestrade relax, turning her head towards the ingratiating voice that came from right beside her.
“That was a good bluff. There was no additional support, was there? Fortunately, you fooled her well.”
“………”
“However, I didn’t know you had such a curse. That’s why you were so surprised when you fell for my magic… Inspector?”
Then, she looked at Adler with a gaze cooled in frigid ice as he approached her with a pale smile on his face.
“… Was what you said earlier true?”
“What do you mean?”
“That you rushed at her when she provoked you, saying that she would kill me, without knowing what you were getting yourself into, and ended up in this state?”
She asked, approaching Adler who had sustained injuries so grave that his innards were already exposed.
“… But it provokes your anger, doesn’t it?”
“……..”
“Where in the world would you find a boyfriend who wouldn’t get angry when someone threatens to kill his girlfriend?”
In response, Adler, shivering and bloodied from head to toe yet maintaining a cheerful smile on his face, replied to her.
“You know, Inspector…”
As Lestrade unconsciously hugged him, Adler began to wear a dazed expression, feeling her warmth.
“I’ve been thinking…”
Her gaze lowered to Adler’s eyes, as his voice, dreaming of his plans, began to reach her ears.
“It seems about time to seriously take London into my own hands.”
“Do you even realize what you’re saying right now?”
“I didn’t want to go this far, but when things that shouldn’t exist in this world keep popping up, I have no choice.”
Lestrade’s eyes, which were cold as she looked at him, began to waver silently upon seeing the blood continuously seeping out of his wounds.
“What exactly do you plan to do?”
“I’ll gradually expand my influence, and eventually even the cute professor will be in my grasp. After that, I’ll mobilize various criminal organizations at once to… Ah, but the rest is a secret.”
“……..”
“If you promise to support your miserable boyfriend’s ambitions, I might be willing to tell you more…”
However, she ultimately responded with a firm voice.
“I refuse.”
“Oh…”
“No matter what happens, whatever our relationship becomes, I will always stand against you as an inspector sworn to uphold justice and peace.”
“That’s quite regrettable…”
Adler, who had been smiling brightly with his eyes, quietly closed them.
“… But I still love you.”
Clutching Lestrade’s hand, he finally lost consciousness.
– Swish…
Lestrade gently placed her hand against his now cold cheek.
“… Me too.”
The moment she murmured to herself unknowingly, Lestrade’s left eye flickered in a faint golden hue.
“… No, I have finally lost it, haven’t I?”
However, shortly after, she shook her head in denial. As she stood up carrying Adler in her arms, her eyes had returned to their usual state as though the previous change was merely a fleeting lie.
.
.
.
.
.
“… That aside.”
With a deeply troubled expression, she stepped out of the hideout, holding Adler in her arms.
“I know you’ve been watching since earlier, Professor.”
She said, stopping on her way to the hospital and looking back with a frigid voice.
“Don’t skulk around in the shadows, just come with us to the hospital.”
“But first, I have a question.”
From the shadows of the alley near the hideout, the owner of the shining grey eyes stepped forward, revealing herself. Slowly, she began…
“… Do I really look cute?”
“What?”
Lestrade, hurrying along with Adler in her arms till then, turned to look at Professor Moriarty; her expression serious. Only to show a look of confusion and bewilderment as she saw Professor Moriarty, standing with her hands behind her back, casting her gaze downwards; her cheeks flushed.
Translator’s Note: Daily chapter releases till we reach the equilibrium of this month’s chapter. Also, all the chapters will be priced at 16 orbs from now on regardless of the length and difficulty of the chapters. Apologies for all the delay.
