Chapter 45: The Worst Criminal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45: The Worst Criminal
When Isaac Adler first vanished from her side, Charlotte Holmes hadn’t felt much concern.
At most, she figured he’d gone to destroy evidence or perhaps craft another riddle for her. Maybe he simply wanted to see her reaction when he disappeared right from under her nose.
In truth, either would have been fine. Contrary to her expectations, his latest riddle had been a bit too easy for her liking. If he wanted to add a bit more entertainment to the mix, she would have welcomed it with open arms.
“Gurgle, gurgle…”
However, she certainly hadn’t wished for anything like the scene currently transpiring before her eyes.
“No!”
As Adler finished speaking, blood spilling incessantly from his lips, he collapsed. A frozen Charlotte Holmes rushed to him, unbridled desperation accompanying every step.
“Hey, snap out of it!”
“…………”
“Wake up, Isaac Adler!”
Before long, she was cradling the blood-soaked man in her arms. She pleaded with him like a beggar, her hands stroking his ice-cold cheeks.
“I’m feeling sleepy, Miss Holmes…”
“No! Don’t you dare close your eyes. If you do, I’ll kill you!”
“……….”
“Please… I beg of you…”
Despite her desperate cries, Adler’s eyes slowly drifted shut.
“……….”
Silence descended upon the room of horrors.
“Call a doctor… get a doctor!”
“From what I can see, it might already be too late…”
“Now!”
Charlotte, driven to the brink of panic as she held the dying man, screamed at the police officers behind her, her voice trembling violently.
“Mr. Adler, I’ve called for a doctor. So please, just hang on a little longer.”
As the officers rushed down the corridor, she whispered to Adler, forcing her voice into a calm she didn't feel through sheer willpower alone.
“There’s still hope. Once the doctor arrives, you’ll get better. So…”
However, the moment she looked down, Charlotte’s voice faltered. Her entire body stiffened.
“So…”
Adler’s injuries were far too severe to survive.
Blood seeped relentlessly from his mangled, slashed abdomen. His internal organs had already been ruptured.
“Ah… ah…”
Witnessing the dreadful sight again, Charlotte reached out with trembling hands, trying in vain to stem the flow of blood. But given the depth and brutality of the wound, it was a meaningless endeavor.
“…What is this?”
A new mark caught her eye—eyes that were slowly being swallowed by the hues of despair.
“……….”
Bright red handprints, as though someone had violently throttled him, were clearly visible on Adler’s neck.
“Who did this…?”
The peculiar thing was that only the marks of a left hand remained.
It meant the assailant had choked Adler with a single hand while simultaneously disemboweling him with the other. Isaac Adler had fought against such a monstrous being all alone.
“What kind of abhorrent bastard would do this…”
Charlotte, shaking uncontrollably, murmured as she buried her head against Adler’s chest.
“…Even if they held a grudge, there is a limit.”
Only now did she understand why Adler had suddenly disappeared without a word, leaving her behind at the crime scene.
“There was no need to go this far…”
The image of Isaac flashed through her mind—how he had murmured in relief at seeing her safe before losing consciousness.
“Miss Holmes…”
“………!”
At that exact moment…
“…Run away.”
A faint voice emerged from Adler’s lips, though his eyes remained closed.
“Adler? What are you talking about…?”
Charlotte clutched his hand, her throat tightening with the realization that he was still alive. She listened intently, her expression a mask of confusion.
“She’s still… here…”
“……..”
“Run…”
Slowly, Charlotte’s gaze took on a chilling, predatory light.
“You’ve finally noticed…”
A sinister voice echoed from behind them.
“Sorry, but I’m not done yet.”
A shadowy figure reappeared in the room, stepping forward with a chilling smile veiled in the cloak of darkness.
“Could you move aside?”
At the figure’s playful request, filled with mocking laughter, Charlotte Holmes silently rose to her feet.
“…Is it you?”
In her metallic-grey eyes, directed at the mysterious being before her, there was a flicker of unadulterated fury.
.
.
.
.
.
Whoosh—
The room was suddenly filled with a dark, murky energy.
“You’re quite something… little one.”
“……….”
In the absolute darkness, where no trace of light could penetrate, the voice of the shadow-veiled being resonated clearly.
“You use black mana. I’ve killed many, but I’ve never seen this shade before.”
“…Shut up.”
“It’s powerful and discreet. The range of your attacks is impressive. Most mages wouldn’t stand a chance. However…”
“…….!”
The chattering voice paused for a split second as a sharp attack flew at Charlotte from the side.
“…The user is still inexperienced.”
“Ugh.”
Charlotte narrowly dodged, but a shallow cut appeared on her cheek.
“…How did you dodge that?”
Looking puzzled, the being vanished instantly once more.
Whizz—
“Ah, I see now.”
Charlotte managed to block the next attack the moment the shadowy figure reappeared. The corners of her lips curled into a knowing smirk.
“…You’re a genius, aren’t you?”
Whizz—
The knife clutched by the shadow-veiled being trembled slightly as it was blocked by Charlotte’s mana.
“In this limited space, I can see your every move—even the ones you haven’t made yet.”
“Hmm…”
“I’ve already calculated two steps ahead.”
“…Is that so?”
The moment she finished speaking, the knife in the mysterious being’s hand flew toward Isaac Adler, whose frail body was still slumped against the wall.
“So, why not surrender now?”
Without faltering, Charlotte conjured a hunting whip from her black mana, batting away the knife headed for Adler.
“I’ll commend you for compensating for your lack of experience with that brilliant intellect.”
However, Charlotte’s gaze wavered.
“…But you see, I am… a variable.”
The knife she had deflected with her whip was now, inexplicably, aimed at Adler’s throat once more.
“And I’m more confident in combat than anyone else.”
“…Stop this.”
“Why should I?”
As Charlotte took a step forward, the ominous knife wriggled in the air, lightly grazing Adler’s cheek.
“Today, I’m going to kill Isaac Adler. I have no intention of killing you, so would you mind stepping aside?”
“…Why…?”
“Killing someone else on the day I kill Adler feels wrong, you know? Besides, I’m not even sure if I can kill you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Charlotte clenched her fists as she watched blood trickle down Adler’s cheek. She gritted her teeth and posed the question again.
“…Why are you trying to kill Isaac Adler?”
“Huh? Isn’t it obvious?”
The being veiled in shadows responded with a faint, airy laugh.
“…Because I love him.”
“What?”
“I love Isaac Adler.”
The being’s body began to tremble with excitement.
“There might be many in this world who like him, but I’m the one who likes him the most. No, I’m certain of it.”
“If that’s the case, then why…”
“To become the only one.”
Then began her rambling justification.
“By killing Isaac Adler, I will be reborn as the sole holder of his identity. The culmination of his life and fate will converge within me. I will become everything he was.”
“………”
“I want to torture Isaac again. I want to strangle him once more. I want to dismember his cold, lifeless body and carry the pieces with me. I want to turn him into a doll and embrace him for all eternity…”
“…What are you?”
Charlotte Holmes, unable to bear the rant any longer, asked in an icy voice.
“I love him, I love him, I love him…”
“What are you?!”
“…Me?”
The shadowy figure played coyly with her fingers, murmuring shyly as she tilted her head.
“Well, I’m not really sure anymore.”
“Stop talking nonsense…”
“Oh, there is a name the newspapers have been calling me lately.”
The mysterious being’s eyes glowed ominously.
“Jack the Ripper… was it?”
“………!”
“It’s a strange name, isn’t it?”
The shadowy being scratched her head and added with a chuckle.
“I’m a woman, yet they call me Jack?”
The serial killer who had swept through Whitechapel, plunging all of England into a cauldron of terror…
Despite their crimes, the identity of the worst criminal in history had never been revealed, even on modern-day Earth. Their very existence served as the sole evidence against the theory that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.
“Wouldn’t Jill the Ripper be a better fit?”
And thus, Jill the Ripper made her appearance in this twisted world.
.
.
.
.
.
Barely clinging to my fading consciousness, I watched the scene unfold. I couldn’t help but chuckle when a message appeared before my eyes.
[Jill the Ripper is obsessed with you!]
[Warning!]
[Erosion Rate — 15% → 20%]
…She’s really crossing the line here.
A character who hadn’t even been screened—who wasn’t even supposed to appear in the game—was standing right in front of me, smiling.
Crackle, crackle!
“…Hm?”
However, her smile quickly vanished.
“What’s happening?”
The door, which had been sealed shut by Jill the Ripper’s machinations, suddenly shattered. She tilted her head, shifting her gaze toward the entrance.
“Who are you?”
Silently passing by her blurry figure, a familiar face approached me.
｢Please save me, Professor…｣
“…Mr. Adler.”
Professor Moriarty was panting heavily, as if she had sprinted the entire way. In her hand, the faintly glowing message I had sent as a last resort just before falling into Jill’s clutches dimmed and vanished.
“Professor…”
Gazing at her with a faint smile, I lost consciousness, murmuring in a feeble voice. By then, the Professor had already reached me.
“…There seems to be an error in the riddle.”
The last thing I remembered was Professor Moriarty’s contorted face—wearing an expression I never could have imagined she’d possess.