Chapter 255: Family Gathering (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 255: Family Gathering (4)
“Ugh…”
As James Moriarty clutched the back of his neck in response to my outrageous provocation, I saw the perfect opening.
There was no way I could confront someone of his caliber—a man capable of effortlessly overpowering even the Professor—in a head-on fight. Against a foe of that magnitude, even the briefest moment of vulnerability was a gift from the heavens.
And here he was, staggering and clutching his neck. How could I not seize this chance with glee?
Crackle… zap…
Please, let this work…
Without a second thought, I activated the scroll Miss Mycrony had prepared and hurled myself forward, fully determined to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
‘A thousand years? That would take me at least a year to craft!’
‘What? You only gave me 20 minutes!’
‘You’ve got to be joking! You said the opponent is on par with Jane Moriarty, didn’t you?!’
As I charged toward the reeling James Moriarty, fragments of my earlier conversation with Miss Mycrony flashed through my mind.
‘With just 20 minutes? At best, I can make a sealing scroll that lasts 30 years. No, maybe 25.’
‘Don’t look at me like that; I can’t work miracles! Even a genius like me has limits.’
‘If I’d had just one full day, I could’ve made it last over a hundred years…’
This was London, the home of the top three geniuses in the world. If Miss Mycrony said it, it had to be true. With a mere twenty minutes of prep time, buying any more than a few decades was an impossibility.
Of course, the fact that she’d managed to craft a scroll capable of sealing someone for twenty-five years in just twenty minutes was nothing short of extraordinary. But on the flip side, it was a stark reminder of just how powerful my opponent was.
And he was doing all this with only half his power, by his own admission.
“… Huff.”
As I thrust the activated scroll toward him, a sudden shift in the office’s atmosphere made me gasp for air.
“…… Impudent.”
James Moriarty, having regained his composure, was glaring at me with a cold, menacing gaze.
“Impudent wretch!!!”
His frost-laden roar made every hair on my body stand on end.
“A mere mortal… an inferior being… how dare you…!”
…What is he even talking about?
To be fair, I’m the Creator. Calling me an "inferior being" is a bit much, isn't it? I mean, he’s practically a bug—an unplanned anomaly—existing in a system I designed. Should someone like him really be talking to me, someone akin to a god, like that?
“Tch…”
But regardless of my outrage, my entire body began to seize up. It felt similar to the Draconic Fear the Professor occasionally employed. However, unlike the Professor, who unleashed her killing intent directly, this man’s mere roar was several times more oppressive.
Crack, crackle…
In the brief moment my body refused to cooperate, an ominous sound echoed from above.
Crackle, fzzzt…
“… Ah.”
I instinctively looked up and saw it—a grey, crackling mass shaped like a jagged bolt of lightning, aimed directly at me.
Shhhhhhh…
For a moment, I froze, stunned by the sudden attack. But then, a black aura surged over me, forming a shield.
“Haa… haa…”
Charlotte, standing behind me, was pouring every ounce of her strength into blocking the attack hurtling toward me.
“You dare…”
James Moriarty, his piercing eyes glowing a chilling blue, glared at her. Slowly, he raised his other hand.
Flash…!
In that instant, someone darted low to the ground, striking at his side with calculated precision.
“That won’t happen.”
It was Inspector Lestrade. Her eyes burned with a fierce, cold light as she lunged at him, wielding her baton.
Crash, crackle, grind…
Yet, even as her baton collided with his hand, James Moriarty continued to exert his power effortlessly.
“You… Did you really think I would fall for such a petty trick?”
“…. Ugrgh!”
“Tell me… who do you think created that curse you carry?”
True to his words, it was Inspector Lestrade who was being overwhelmed by sheer force, not James Moriarty.
I have to… I need to get this scroll to touch him…
I knew I had to press the activated scroll against his heart, no matter what. But my body, still paralyzed by fear, refused to move.
“D-Damn it…”
I clenched my teeth so hard that blood seeped from my lips, willing my hand to move forward inch by inch.
Grab…!
“Khuhk?!”
Before I could reach him, James Moriarty’s hand—having already completely dispelled Charlotte’s black aura—clamped around my throat.
Squeeze…
“Keuk! Kugh, guh…”
As his grip tightened, the world began to darken. What kind of old man had this much strength? Was he amplifying his physical power with magic?
“Grk… guh… urgh…”
“It’s useless.”
As the lack of oxygen made my muscles twitch, I began to thrash wildly. James Moriarty’s icy voice drilled into my ears.
“You dare… sully the blood of a dragon…?”
“Wait… urgh… ugh…”
“That pure, untouched blood… that has remained untainted for thousands of years!!!”
Isn’t this getting a bit too intense for a family gathering?
I wanted to hurl a retort back at him, but I couldn't even form words.
“M-Master…”
Through my dimming vision, I caught sight of Moran’s pale face reflected in the window. She had her gun aimed at James Moriarty’s head but couldn't pull the trigger, likely because I was being held as a human shield.
“The crime of defiling sacred blood… atone for it with your death.”
“Damn… it…”
Was this really the end? I had just reunited with everyone—I’d finally met the Professor again. Was it truly going to end like this?
“H-Help… me…”
I hated the thought of dying so much that I muttered those words with my last bit of strength. And that was when it happened—
Flash…!
Something darted between me and James Moriarty.
“… Kraaaagh!!!”
A scream echoed through the office.
“You… you vermin scum…”
James Moriarty let go of me and staggered back. His eyes were clamped shut, with thin, crimson lines slashed across his eyelids.
“… Ah.”
My gaze shifted to the side, and I froze in a daze.
“That’s…”
Embedded in the office wall, after grazing the Professor’s father's eyes, was a familiar-looking playing card.
“… Lupin?”
Shhhhhhh…
I muttered the name in disbelief, but at that very moment, a bone-chilling killing intent radiated from the man in front of me.
“Enough… this has gotten too tiresome.”
James Moriarty’s wounds healed instantly. He glared at us with a ghastly grey light in his eyes, exuding a murderous aura that filled the entire room.
“…..!!!”
For the first time, he unleashed the full extent of his killing intent. All of us were overwhelmed; our legs gave out as we collapsed to the floor.
“Die.”
He aimed a grey, incomprehensibly sinister sphere at us—something that could only be described as death itself.
Boom…!
But just before the grey sphere could reach us, it was devoured by an inexplicable shadow that suddenly manifested and swallowed it whole.
“No, no, no, nonononono…”
“…..?”
I wondered who had stepped in to block the attack, but the voice resonating through the office made it clear. My long-time stalker had finally tracked me down.
“That bastard… only I get to kill him…”
Ah, yes. None other than the one who had long ago transcended death—Jill the Ripper.
“… There seem to be an awful lot of flies around today.”
“Kkhhk?!”
However, no matter how powerful she was, James Moriarty saw her as nothing more than a slightly larger fly.
“I never realized my daughter had such a fondness for such vermin.”
“Graaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
With a casual wave of his hand, he summoned a dazzling radiance that threatened to engulf everything. The encroaching shadow that had filled the room flickered like a dying flame and dissipated instantly.
“You.”
Amid that terrifying spectacle, James Moriarty looked down at me, whispering in a bone-chilling tone.
“No matter how many flies a mosquito calls upon, it cannot bring down a dragon.”
Yeah, those words might actually be accurate. But here’s the thing: this man underestimated my connections.
“… Poppy.”
And most importantly, he underestimated my judgment.
“Bite.”
“… Yes.”
If he hadn’t, he might have been more wary of the fact that, despite the blinding light filling the room, my shadow was now stretching to cover half of it.
Grrrrrrrrr…!
“…….!”
At my command, Poppy emerged. She grew massive enough to fill half the room with her shadowy form and lunged at James Moriarty, her glowing blue eyes locked on him.
“You… the hound of the underworld…!”
“Immortals like you… have always been so disrespectful toward me…”
His eyes widened in shock as he hastily tried to retract the radiance he'd used to fend off Jill the Ripper.
“I’ve always hated that.”
“… Urgh!”
But it was already too late. Poppy, in her monstrous shadowy form, sank her sharp fangs into his arm.
“Haaaargh!!!”
“Khuhk.”
With that, Inspector Lestrade, now freed from the pressure, drove her baton with all her might into his stomach. James Moriarty coughed up blood for the very first time as he collapsed.
Bang…!
Before he could raise his other hand, Moran fired an air bullet at maximum output, shredding his limb to mincemeat.
Goooooooo…
At the same time, Charlotte’s black aura wrapped around James Moriarty, binding him in place.
“D-Damn…”
As soon as I managed to shake off the oppressive weight, I began moving the activated scroll toward his heart.
“STOP!!!!!!!!”
“… Arggh.”
The roar that erupted from James Moriarty froze me in place once again, my breath catching in my throat.
“””……….!!!”””
It wasn’t just me—everyone else was similarly paralyzed.
“At first… I thought I’d show some mercy, keep a few of you alive to serve as my pawns…”
“Urgh…”
“But no… it seems you lot are beyond redemption…”
Before our very eyes, James Moriarty began to unleash a power far greater than anything he had displayed before.
“You’re telling me… he’s been holding back this entire time…?”
“Shit…”
The realization that he still had strength to spare—and that he had taken almost no real damage—began to sap the will of everyone present.
“Pathetic wretches. Every single one of you… your lives end here, without exception.”
“””………”””
“And you, especially… for the unforgivable sin of defiling the blood of a dragon…”
His deadened gaze swept over the others before locking onto me. His expression twisted into one of seething hatred as he radiated raw power.
“But… I was the one defiled by the dragon, though…”
“You shall suffer the most excruciating death this world has ever known!”
As his hand, brimming with overwhelming and chilling killing intent, lunged toward my heart—
“Uwaa?”
“Eeeh?”
“… Huh.”
Out of nowhere, two bright-eyed children clambered onto James Moriarty’s knees. Their innocent faces were completely unfazed by the suffocating tension in the room.
“…….”
For a brief moment, James Moriarty stared at them, dumbfounded. Then, as if shaking off the absurdity, he tried once more to extend his hand toward me.
“Granpa!”
“Grandpaa!”
The two children giggled happily as they crawled onto his lap, babbling cheerfully. Their bright smiles seemed to ripple through James Moriarty’s otherwise unshakable composure, causing his cold, piercing gaze to falter for the first time.
Clink, clatter, chaaaain…!
“……!?”
In that exact moment, grey chains materialized and coiled tightly around his body, binding him completely.
“………”
It was then I noticed the Professor standing calmly—now free from her own restraints. Her hand was raised as she cast the spell to ensnare James Moriarty with the chains of magic.
“… How long have you been waiting for this opportunity?”
“… From the very beginning.”
As James Moriarty’s dazed question hung in the air, the Professor answered with quiet composure, her voice steady and resolute.
“Uwaaaahhh!!!”
Summoning every last ounce of strength, I slammed the scroll into his heart with all my might.
Crackle, fzzzt, buzzz…!
A brilliant, multicolored light immediately began to flood the office.
“H-Ha… haha…”
And then, in the very next moment—
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
From the once-dazed James Moriarty came an explosive, boisterous laugh that echoed throughout the room.
“Yes… now that’s my daughter!!!”
“……..”
“I almost started to feel disappointed in you…!”
He laughed so hard it seemed tears might spill, his voice ringing with pride. But then, as though flipping a switch, his expression darkened, and he fixed me with a cold, menacing stare.
“… For someone like you to dare touch my precious daughter.”
“Hold on a second! Excuse me, I was the one being touched and ravished!”
“Prepare yourself, Isaac Adler.”
I tried, against all odds, to explain myself, clinging to the faintest hope for some understanding.
“The scroll’s effect will last no more than 20, maybe 30 years.”
“Wait, hold on.”
Whether it was pure rage clouding his judgment or simply his natural disposition, James Moriarty paid no attention to my words, leaving only his ominous warning.
“When I awaken after that time…”
“Listen to me, damn it!!!”
I shouted desperately, my face contorted with indignation, but—
“First, I will thoroughly slaughter you.”
“I’M THE VICTIM HERE!!!”
The light from the scroll surged, wrapping around him completely.
“Prepare yourself… for defiling my grandchildren’s blood… y-you… you…”
“… I’m losing my mind.”
“You filthy, inferior being…”
With those final words, James Moriarty was swallowed whole by the scroll’s power, disappearing entirely.
“”……….””
And then, there was silence.
“Hoeng?”
“Uung?”
The first sounds to break the miraculous and temporary peace in the London office came from the two children, now seated on the floor where Moriarty had been. They tilted their heads from side to side, looking at me with curious babbles.
“Da.”
“Dada!”
“… Yeah.”
At this rate, I really need a break.
“It’s Dad, children…”