Chapter 247: The Adventure of the Empty House (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: The Adventure of the Empty House (6)
“Hah… hah…”
Breathing in shallow, nervous hitches, Lovecraft stepped out of her room for the first time in ages. Her face was flushed a deep red, the makeup she’d clumsily applied looking heavy and unpracticed.
“…Mr. Sherinford must be waiting downstairs.”
Creak…
“It would be wonderful if he’s a pretty boy… but a sturdy, imposing figure with the superior physique of an Englishman wouldn’t be so bad either…”
As she descended the stairs—which groaned under her weight despite appearing perfectly intact—her mind ran wild with fanciful delusions.
“Ehehehe, hehehehe…”
With a creepy, lingering smile spreading across her lips, Lovecraft finally reached the first floor. Instead of stepping out immediately, she peeked her head around the corner to steal a glance.
“…Huh?”
Her face twisted in confusion, and she tilted her head.
“I’m sure I was told… that he’d be waiting in the living room…”
However, the living room, where she was certain Mr. Sherinford would be, was inexplicably empty.
C-Could it be… did he leave because I was too late?!
She stood frozen for a moment, her expression blank, before she began mumbling to herself. Her lips trembled as her eyes welled with tears.
For today… I tried so hard…
Flashes of her grand adventure flickered through her mind—the long trek to the library just to borrow books on how to make friends and apply makeup.
“I should’ve just… just come out earlier… Why did I even bother with the makeup…”
Sssshh…
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, an ominous presence manifested beside her, sending a violent shiver through her entire body.
“Eeek?!”
Turning her head instinctively, she let out a shriek, lost her balance, and fell flat onto the floor.
“”………..””
Three women, who had been lurking in a corner of the living room, stared down at her with expressions of utter disdain.
“…Just to clarify, it’s not her, right?”
“For someone behind the supernatural anomaly plaguing the world, she looks pathetic. Ridiculously so.”
“W-Wha… huh?”
Their gazes narrowed at the sight of the awkward, gloomy girl sprawled before them, their doubt growing by the second.
“She’s almost cute, in a way, but… I don’t feel like getting anywhere near her.”
“Agreed.”
“W-W-W-What do you mean, barging into someone’s home just to insult them…!”
Lovecraft, now on the verge of tears, glared at them with a mix of indignation and despair.
“…You know Sherinford, don’t you?”
“W-What?”
The frosty tone in Charlotte’s voice froze Lovecraft in place, her eyes widening in shock.
“Wait, y-y-you… don’t tell me…”
“My plump sister used to say that if I were born a boy, she’d name me either Sherlock or Sherinford.”
“A-Ah…”
“But, alas, I was born a girl, and thus I became Charlotte Holmes.”
As soon as the name Charlotte Holmes left her lips, Lovecraft froze entirely. Her breath hitched as she stared up at the detective in dazed terror.
“Then… you all are…”
“It would be better if you didn’t resist.”
“With that frail body of yours, we could shatter you into pieces in less than ten seconds.”
“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkk!!!”
Lovecraft’s eyes darted between the grim-faced inspector, the sharp glare in Watson’s eyes, and the menacing, almost ominous aura radiating from Charlotte. Her face turned ghostly pale as she scrambled to her feet.
Thud, thud, thud!
In a blind panic, she bolted back toward the staircase she’d just descended, her footing clumsy and desperate.
“Where do you think you’re going—”
“…Hold on.”
Watson, her eyes flaring, moved to give chase, but the inspector suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
“It’s dangerous.”
“What? What do you mean, dangerous?”
“…You can’t see it, but…”
The inspector muttered darkly, her uneasy gaze fixed on the staircase.
“That’s no ordinary staircase.”
“Then… what is it?”
“It’s covered in a slimy, gelatinous substance, with bizarre tentacles and feathers sprouting all over it.”
Watson shuddered, taking a cautious step back as a wave of revulsion swept through her.
“Actually, the entire place is like this. I just refrained from mentioning it for the sake of your sanity…”
“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”
“You might see sofas, chairs, or a fireplace, but to me…”
The inspector’s voice grew tense, her expression stiffening.
“…It’s nothing but an empty, desolate, sticky ruin.”
As she finished speaking, an eerie stillness hung in the air, sending chills down their spines.
“…But even so, we can’t turn back now. Not after coming this far.”
“Wait, hold on…”
Charlotte broke the silence, stepping forward with determination.
Goooooooooooooo…
The tentacles littering the staircase reacted immediately, writhing and shifting in unsettling movements. The inspector swiftly raised her gun, shouting an alarm.
“Danger!”
“Don’t make such a fuss.”
“What…?”
The writhing tentacles stilled and retreated without incident, leaving the inspector momentarily dumbfounded. She tilted her head, visibly confused.
“As long as you follow the exact steps Lovecraft took when she went up, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Oh…”
“But how do you even remember that?”
“I’m always observing. Everything…”
Charlotte delivered her response with confidence before picking up her pace, her eyes blazing with fiery determination as she ascended the stairs.
“…Whether I’m in my right mind or not, that’s just who I am.”
*
“E-Excuse me… Inspector.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ve been feeling this eerie chill ever since we came up… I’m not imagining it, am I?”
Having followed Charlotte up the stairs safely, Watson wiped the cold sweat from her brow and voiced her unease.
“It’s probably… because of the terrifying aura seeping out of that room.”
“I see…”
“If even someone like you, an ordinary person, can sense it… then whatever is inside must possess power beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.”
The inspector, also sweating nervously, cast a sidelong glance at Charlotte.
“That’s why I propose we retreat for now. We could formally request support from the U.S. Bureau of Supernatural Anomalous & Aberrant Phenomena Correspondence and prepare—”
“…The bureau has been practically useless these past two years since no anomalies have occurred. Even if we asked for help, nothing would change.”
“Still…”
“If you insist, feel free to go make your requests. I’m going in regardless.”
“…If you’re that determined, I suppose I have no choice.”
Faced with Charlotte’s unwavering resolve, the inspector let out a resigned sigh, then turned her gaze to Watson.
“But since Miss Watson is an ordinary civilian, we should at least send her away—”
“I-I’m going with you!”
“…Haaaah.”
Watson’s immediate, determined response left the inspector shaking her head. She reluctantly drew her baton from her belt.
“Very well. I’ll open it.”
As they approached the door from which the ominous aura emanated, a tense expression settled on both Charlotte’s and Watson’s faces.
“Huff.”
Taking a deep breath, Lestrade raised her baton high.
Crash!
“Hands up!!! Don’t move a single—”
With one powerful strike, she shattered the doorknob and burst into the room, her voice booming as she aimed her gun.
“…What the…?”
But her words faltered, her face twisting into bewilderment.
Drip, drip, drip…
“Ugh… uhh…”
Inside, Lovecraft was cutting into her own arm with a knife. Tears streamed down her face as her blood trickled onto a bizarre magic circle drawn on the floor.
“W-What the hell are you doing?!”
“We have to stop her now!!!”
As the morbid scene unfolded, the inspector hesitated for a brief moment. It was Charlotte who, with a sharp cry, threw herself toward Lovecraft in an attempt to stop her.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!?”
However, at that exact instant, grey flames surged violently from the ground, forcing Charlotte to retreat.
“What… What is this? Is it Professor Moriarty?”
“No… it’s different.”
Charlotte muttered under her breath, shaking her head at Watson’s question as she backed away from the flames.
“But… why does it feel so similar, then…”
Rustle, rustle…!
“…What?”
Suddenly, the notebook on the desk began to flip its pages frantically, as if possessed.
Finally, finally!!!
“That’s…”
Charlotte’s eyes widened as the word finally began scrawling itself endlessly across the pages of the notebook.
Boom!
“Mmff!?”
“Cough, cough…”
Before anyone could react, the magic circle erupted in a blinding light, followed by a colossal cloud of dust that consumed the entire room.
“Ugh… Wh-What the hell is this…?”
“I… I feel dizzy…”
“Aah…”
Caught entirely off guard, the trio—Charlotte, Watson, and Lestrade—were engulfed in the dust. They collapsed to the ground, their faces pale as though the life had been drained from them.
“Aagh… no… aaah…”
“W-Why… why is this happening… to me…”
“Is… is this… hallucinogenic gas…?”
Their expressions twisted in terror, as if they were gazing upon the most horrifying nightmare imaginable.
“…Hmph.”
From within the swirling smoke, an enigmatic figure emerged, watching them with a faint smirk. It was impossible to tell when or how they had arrived, but their presence was chillingly calm.
“Perfect…”
“Gghk…”
With an air of satisfaction, the mysterious figure grabbed the limp, unconscious Lovecraft by the arm and began dragging her across the floor toward the door.
“Sorry, but you all will need to disappear from here.”
They muttered coldly, their piercing gaze glinting as they reached for the window near the door and shut it completely.
“…I can’t have anyone interfering while I go to meet my dear daughter.”
With those ominous words, the figure flashed a sinister smile and quietly exited the room, leaving only a lingering aura of dread in their wake.
*
Meanwhile,
“Hey, Miss System.”
[Yes.]
Isaac Adler, still hidden in the bushes near the mansion, stared blankly at the unfolding events, his face utterly drained of color. With a voice laden with bewilderment, he asked the system.
“Is what I’m seeing… real?”
[You saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you?]
“No, but… but…”
He couldn’t believe it. He had just witnessed a figure who should never exist in this world.
[It’s exactly who you’re thinking of.]
“……..”
[In the original ending, they are also the reason why Professor Moriarty goes berserk.]
“…Goddamn it.”
*
“…This is impossible.”
At that same moment, in Professor Moriarty’s office in London.
“I’m certain, absolutely certain…”
The Professor stood by the window, staring blankly at the torrential rain pouring down more fiercely than usual. Her expression was one of sheer disbelief as she muttered to herself.
“How is this possible… when I killed my father with my own hands?”
“Eek?”
“Eeeeek?”
Clutching her beloved children tightly in her arms, she spoke with a face so pale it was almost ghostly.