Chapter 101: Professor Moriarty's Probability
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Professor Moriarty's Probability
“Adler.”
The moment a surge of killing intent locked onto them from the far end of the silent corridor, only one thought occupied the professor’s mind.
Isaac Adler… he was standing bravely before her, shielding her from the encroaching danger. No matter what happened, she could not let her beloved assistant die.
“…Adler, be careful!”
Because she had monitored Adler incessantly over the past few days, she grasped the reality of the situation far better than he ever could—a result of her peerless observational skills.
That eerie, persistent gaze had repeatedly witnessed Adler losing his senses, being half-devoured by a girl driven mad by grief, and subsequently regenerating his mangled body as he transformed into a vampire.
In other words, the owner of those eyes knew Isaac Adler was a vampire. They were one of the select few in all of London privy to that secret.
For days, those unblinking eyes had quietly observed the bloody interactions between the girl and Adler from behind that wall.
The professor was well aware of this, but she hadn't cared.
She was still slightly miffed at her assistant for audaciously getting drunk and undermining her prestige in his inebriated state. More than anything, however, she simply didn’t believe Isaac Adler could be brought down by such an insignificant variable.
—Bzzzt…
However, when the owner of those eyes began to spread a fog through the corridor—a mist eerily identical to the morning shroud that engulfed London every dawn—Professor Moriarty was forced to reassess the threat.
“I’m immortal, Professor. I’ll be fine.”
“Quiet, Adler. Get behind me. Now.”
Back when she traveled the world to quench the thirst of her curse—curious about anything that might offer satisfaction—she had attempted to analyze the composition of that mysterious fog.
She had failed.
Even Britain’s most renowned magical analysts had been unable to decipher the mist’s properties. It was only natural that she, whose expertise lay elsewhere, would find it difficult to dissect.
In truth, the fact that she could easily obliterate the fog with the all-devouring nature of her grey mana was the primary reason she had eventually lost interest in it.
“You should be the one behind me, Professor. You can’t use magic right now. You’re vulnerable.”
Nevertheless, the owner of those eyes was now artificially manifesting the very fog she had failed to analyze.
And, as Adler had just pointed out, she was currently unable to use her mana—the only thing capable of clearing that dreadful mist.
“Adler, before I get any angrier, plea—”
Faced with such a dire situation, cold sweat trickled down the professor’s forehead. She reached out toward him, but then…
—Swish.
The killing intent beyond the vision-obscuring fog suddenly intensified. A silhouette drew closer, emerging from the gloom.
“……!”
Out of nowhere, a silver-plated handgun glinted within the mist.
“No…”
For the first time in her life, the professor threw herself forward to save someone else.
“……Ah.”
In the wake of that subconscious impulse, thoughts began to race through her mind at lightning speed.
What have I just done? How much does it hurt to be shot? What happens now?
“………”
What would my past self from a few months ago think if she saw this? If the people I’ve killed were here to witness this, what expressions would they wear?
—Bang!!!
The gunshot echoed down the hallway, cutting her thoughts short and leaving them adrift in the transience of eternity.
“…Ugh.”
A searing heat blossomed in her chest. Her legs gave out instantly, and she collapsed where she stood.
—Hiss…
Fortunately, there was no second shot. The fog began to thin, drifting out through a window opened somewhere out of sight. Along with the mist, the assailant vanished into the silence.
“…Cough.”
The professor’s face, usually pale, turned several shades whiter. She was in a dire state.
By shielding Adler with her body, she had taken a fatal wound. The bullet had nearly pierced straight through her chest, leaving a hollow ruin in its wake.
Moreover, the silver bullet—clearly enchanted with magic meant for a vampire like Adler—was still vibrating erratically inside her, wreaking havoc on her internal organs.
“…Ah.”
It was a level of pain the professor had never experienced in her life. And it would likely be the last thing she ever felt.
“Ahaha… Ahahaha…”
Realizing this, a wet, gurgling laugh escaped her blood-stained lips.
“Ahahahahaha…”
The idea that she, who had reigned supreme from the moment she first opened her eyes, had been brought to this end by a single blonde-haired boy was simply unbelievable.
She had suspected it before, but now she was certain: if her past self from a few months ago saw this ridiculous, blasphemous sight, she would have killed her future self with a look of utter loathing.
“…Haha.”
Despite the chaos in her mind, the professor forced her heavy eyelids to stay open. As her vision blurred, the first thing she saw was her beloved assistant, finally emerging from the effects of the smoke.
“Professor…?”
As he spotted her and began to move slowly toward her collapsed form, a hypothesis she didn't want to imagine surfaced in her mind.
‘…Could this have been his plan all along?’
For a passing doubt, it was painfully credible.
He was normally a gentle lamb, but behind that facade lay an enigmatic boy with an undeniable darkness. He had never once shown his true feelings—not since the day they met.
Even when he smiled brightly and whispered endearments, or when his eyes darkened as he touched her in ways he shouldn't, there was always a primal fear etched deep in his expression. A fear directed at her.
The professor knew this, but she had deliberately ignored it.
The changes Isaac Adler brought to her life were an irresistible drug—a cure for a life of endless boredom and unquenchable thirst. Every time he deceived her with coercion or half-hearted lies, she played the fool. Anything to keep him by her side.
‘Yes. From the beginning, the one you loved was…’
However, on the day he jeopardized her murder plot at Charlotte’s mansion, he had shown his true feelings for the first time. On that day, his eyes had turned black—the color the professor hated most in the world.
After that, she could no longer pretend.
‘…It was Charlotte Holmes.’
Adler’s affections weren't for her; they were for that girl, Charlotte Holmes. The only reason he concocted these bizarre cases was to help that girl grow.
It was just as the girl had said—the one being used here was the professor herself.
‘…Did he design this case for her as well?’
Her expression turned bitter.
‘This is the worst.’
When she had seen Adler’s right eye become tainted with her own color—perhaps finally reflecting a glimmer of genuine feeling—she had harbored a sliver of hope.
A hope that…
Perhaps her reformed assistant, if only for his own survival, would truly build a kingdom of crime for her in London, just as he had once claimed. And in that kingdom, he would greet her every morning with a bright smile, his eyes dyed in her color, not Charlotte’s.
‘…It is my complete and utter defeat.’
It seemed that was nothing but a delusion.
If Adler had designed this case like all the others, he must have anticipated this ending. The price for drinking seawater to quench an unquenchable thirst was far too cruel.
“That was a close call… Adler.”
Gasping for breath, the professor mumbled as she gazed hazily at Adler’s legs. He had finally reached her.
“You almost… got hit by a silver bullet…”
Was it because she didn't want to see the contempt on his face? Or because she lacked the strength to lift her head? Whatever the reason, she couldn't look up.
“It’s fortunate… truly fortunate…”
With a resigned smile, her voice began to fade. Her eyelids slowly closed, unable to withstand the overwhelming darkness drenching her mind.
“Isaac… Adler.”
Sensing the end, she whispered his name, her eyes trembling. But her voice was so faint it failed to reach him.
“You are…”
Perhaps, since this was the end of their story, he might look at her with even a shred of sincerity…
Jane Moriarty, clinging to that small hope, tried one last time to lift her head.
“………”
But she could no longer move. All she could do was curl her lips into a lonely smile as the last of her strength drained away.
“…This… can’t be…”
“……..?”
At the end of their short, wondrous path, her ears caught Adler’s trembling voice—a voice filled with despair and sorrow.
.
.
.
.
.
“Professor… Professor Moriarty!”
“……….”
“You’re not seriously hurt, are you? I know you’re not. Stop this, it’s not funny!”
In her narrowing field of vision, she saw Isaac Adler’s face, contorted with a myriad of emotions as he pulled her into a warm, gentle embrace.
“Please, just tell me it’s a joke…”
Adler, whose right eye had finally been stained completely in her color, buried his head in her chest. Tears streamed from his eyes.
“Please… It’s my fault…”
In his voice, for the very first time, the genuine sentiment he felt for her was unmistakable.
“Don’t die……”
"You are..."
Having finally witnessed the emotions Isaac Adler had been concealing, the professor mustered her final spark of life to speak.
"...You… are the only oasis in my life. My salvation… Thank… you…"
With those fleeting words, the professor quietly closed her eyes. A tender smile of peace remained on her lips.
.
.
.
.
.
No one knew how much time passed in that silent room.
“…Is this the only solution?”
Adler, still cradling the lifeless, cooling body of Professor Moriarty, looked up into the void. His voice was flat and emotionless.
Ending 10 (Conclusive)
Peace in London
Rewards:
– The permanent death of Professor Moriarty
– Release from your duty as this world’s probability
– A permanent increase in mana capacity
– The right to choose any desired route
– The Elixir of Life (Frankenstein’s Formula): Capable of restoring anyone from a state of permanent death
– The right to choose whether to stay in this world or return to your original world
A message detailing these incredible rewards appeared before his eyes.
This is the best happy ending I can offer you under the current circumstances.
“…What if…”
Adler, still staring at the message, slowly stood up. With the professor held tightly in his arms, he tilted his head toward the system.
“What happens if I refuse this ending?”
After a brief delay, another message appeared, seemingly scribbled in haste.
You should already know the answer!
“…I see.”
Adler turned away from the message and began walking toward the basement of the mansion, which was drenched in utter darkness. He muttered coldly under his breath.
“Peace in London ends today.”
You're willing to give up the only happy ending!?
Are you fucking dumb?
“I have no other choice.”
For the first time, pure anger twisted his features. His right eye, dyed in the professor’s hue, shone with an ominous light.
“I am Professor Moriarty’s probability, after all.”