Chapter 87: The Shadow of Britain (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: The Shadow of Britain (3)
“Haa… haa…”
“………”
The ragged breathing of the two women echoed through the silence of Adler’s secret hideout.
“You’re… not bad.”
“Forgive me if I don’t appreciate praise from an enemy.”
Jill the Ripper murmured the words as an omnidirectional aura of darkness bled from her form. Gia Lestrade’s response was immediate, her voice cutting through the air like shards of ice.
“Isn’t this a bit much? I am royalty, after all. Ordinarily, inflicting even a minor wound upon me would be grounds for immediate execution.”
“I don’t recall ever swearing an oath to serve a cancer like you as my sovereign.”
“Pfft.”
Jill the Ripper let out a sharp snicker and silently extended her hand.
—Goooh…
In an instant, shadows converged from every corner of the room, manifesting into razor-sharp knives that hovered in mid-air.
“How many times must I tell you?”
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!
Before the blades could fully take shape, Lestrade’s composed gunfire shattered their formation, forcing them back into nothingness.
“Neither the Abnormal nor the Irrational hold sway before me.”
“………”
“That includes your strange abilities, Jack the Ripper.”
“If you’re going to use a nickname, please call me Jill the Ripper. I am a woman, after all.”
Jill watched Lestrade in silence for a moment before murmuring in a frigid tone.
“That aside, yours is an incredibly unfair talent. A power that perfectly resists all supernatural phenomena… How does it feel to be born with such a magnificent gift, hmm?”
“…To me, it is nothing short of a curse.”
“This ‘curse’ talk again? It’s not even funny anymore.”
A mocking smirk played on Jill the Ripper’s lips.
“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, much like mine. I don’t understand why everyone insists on being so pessimistic.”
“You’ve experienced the side effects yourself. How can you say that?”
“Perhaps because I haven’t experienced any? I simply happen to enjoy the act of killing, you see.”
With a hint of laughter in her voice, she leaned in and whispered to Lestrade. The Inspector met her gaze with eyes like frozen glass.
“But tell me, what is your side effect?”
“……..”
“I’ve suddenly become quite curious. You are the object of admiration for nearly every man in London. You’re the woman who makes Isaac Adler bristle with such rage that he’d kill me for even touching you… Just what kind of misery is a woman like you enduring all alone—”
Bang!!!
Lestrade pulled the trigger, emptying the final chamber of her revolver. Unlike the start of the fight, Jill the Ripper was fully focused; she deflected the bullet aimed at her forehead with a casual flick of her knife.
“Shut your damn mouth.”
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t like you.”
The smile vanished from Jill’s face, replaced by a mask of cold gravity.
“Who are you to define what is normal and what is abnormal? Don’t you think that’s a bit arrogant, even for you?”
“……….”
“I hate it. It’s annoying. I want to gouge out those pure white eyes of yours and kill you.”
Her words were filled with raw murderous intent, yet they came out like the petulant whining of a child—a jarring contrast to her lethal aura.
“Then try it.”
“Oh, I plan to. I know you just used your last bullet.”
“Do you intend to engage me in close combat?”
As Jill the Ripper took a predatory step forward, Lestrade responded with a frigid smirk.
“I spend over half my day in shooting practice. How long do you think it will take me to reload and fire?”
“I’m not sure, but I suspect it will be slower than my knife finding your throat.”
“…It seems you’ve misunderstood something.”
A terrifying killing intent surged between the two, thick enough to make one’s skin crawl.
“What I meant was… the time it takes to reload and fire after I’ve broken your arm and slammed you into the ground.”
“You’re confident in your hand-to-hand skills, then?”
“You should know well enough from our brief exchange earlier. I can parry and dodge your attacks with ease.”
“Well, considering how desperately you kept your distance, I’d say I have the advantage up close…”
Recalling their brief clash from minutes prior, Jill the Ripper eyed the small nick on Lestrade’s cheek with mirthful eyes.
“I simply judged that maintaining distance was more efficient than drawing my baton while I still had the option of ranged combat.”
“Honestly, even if you pull that baton now, do you really think you can subdue me?”
“I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I am certain I can hold you off until the time limit.”
“Time limit?”
Jill the Ripper tilted her head, idly twirling her knife. Lestrade continued, her voice calm and steady.
“Do you think I came here alone? In a few minutes, the full force of the London Metropolitan Police will descend upon this location.”
“See, I think you’re the one who’s misunderstood.”
Jill the Ripper countered with a dark, knowing smile.
“If the police rush in right now, it only benefits me.”
“I don’t follow.”
“You may be the symbol of justice in London, but ever since you started associating with Isaac Adler, your reputation has been plummeting. There are even whispers that you’ve already fallen for him.”
“……….”
“If a member of the royal family is found in this back-alley hideout, attacked by Isaac Adler and his girlfriend… wouldn’t that spell ruin for the two of you rather than me?”
As Jill the Ripper curled the corners of her mouth in triumph, Lestrade bit her lip and glared in silence.
“…You’re wrong.”
A weak voice rang out from the side.
“It’s you who’s in trouble, Miss Ripper.”
“…Miss Ripper?”
His face deathly pale, Isaac Adler—who had briefly lost consciousness—narrowed his eyes. He used the nickname she despised, causing Jill’s expression to twist in distaste.
“Because when the police burst in, they won’t be facing the heir to the British Empire. They’ll be facing the serial killer of Whitechapel, who has finally begun to show her true form to the world.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Take a look at your face.”
Jill the Ripper reflexively turned her head toward the window.
“…Hmm.”
Seeing her reflection—her face half-submerged in flickering shadows—she let out an annoyed groan.
“As I thought. The damage you took when the Professor thrashed you hasn’t fully healed, has it?”
“………”
“If you force a fight while you can’t even control your shadow abilities, you’ll reveal your true self. You might just lose your royal status tonight, don’t you think?”
Adler offered a faint, mocking smile.
“…If it hadn’t been for that Professor.”
“Miss Moriarty might be cute, but her skills are unmatched.”
“Cute? That woman…?”
Jill the Ripper, momentarily jolted by the resurgence of her trauma, looked at Adler with utter incomprehension.
“You really have peculiar taste…”
“Let’s at least respect each other’s preferences.”
“…Hey, are you doing this to stall for time, too?”
Jill’s eyes hardened.
Click.
“Don’t you see?”
Lestrade, having swiftly reloaded her pistol, aimed the muzzle directly at Jill the Ripper’s face.
“Even without my colleagues, I believe I can handle you in your current, unstable state.”
“…Tsk.”
As her shadows flickered violently, Jill the Ripper grimaced and took a step back.
“I thought you were bluffing because I didn’t sense anyone nearby, but you really did call them.”
“”……….””
“I might have stayed to see this through if it were just the police.”
She muttered to herself, her eyes clouding as she glanced at Adler. A lopsided smirk pulled at her lips.
“Listen, Adler.”
“…Yes.”
“Next time we meet, I will make sure to slaughter you.”
Regaining her composure, she stretched her shadows outward, her form beginning to phase out of reality.
“No matter how strong you are, I wonder if you’ll stay alive once I’ve chopped you into pieces. So—”
“Don’t forget our appointment next week.”
Jill’s expression turned solemn at Adler’s reminder.
“Good. It’s for the best, actually.”
She shuddered, the bizarre sensation from minutes ago still lingering on her tongue. Her face contorted into a fierce scowl.
“Doctor Jekyll just happened to create a new drug.”
“…What did you just say?”
“If it’s from her, it can be trusted…”
Adler lost his composure for the first time, calling out to her in a hurry, but she was already halfway through the wall.
“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 that day has passed, I’ll chop you up and swallow you whole.”
As she dissipated into a puff of smoke, Jill the Ripper cast one last glance back.
“If you don’t want to be devoured, try your best. Struggle until the very end.”
With those words, she vanished completely. A heavy silence descended upon the hideout.
.
.
.
.
.
“Miss Gia.”
Only after confirming Jill the Ripper was gone did Lestrade relax. She turned toward the ingratiating voice beside her.
“That was a good bluff. There was no backup, was there? Fortunately, you fooled her.”
“………”
“Still, I didn’t know you carried such a curse. Is that why you were so surprised when you fell for my magic… Inspector?”
Adler approached her with a pale, weak smile, but Lestrade met him with a gaze as cold as ice.
“…Was what you said earlier true?”
“What do you mean?”
“That you rushed her because she threatened to kill me? That you threw yourself into this without knowing what you were doing and ended up in this state?”
She stepped toward him. Adler’s injuries were grave—so deep that his internal organs were nearly exposed.
“…It makes you angry, doesn’t it?”
“……..”
“Where in the world would you find a boyfriend who wouldn’t get angry when someone threatens his girlfriend’s life?”
Adler, bloodied from head to toe and shivering, maintained his cheerful smile.
“You know, Inspector…”
As Lestrade instinctively pulled him into a hug, Adler’s expression turned dazed, basking in her warmth.
“I’ve been thinking…”
Her gaze dropped to his eyes as his voice, filled with grand designs, reached her ears.
“It seems it’s about time I 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 cold eyes wavered as she saw the blood continuously seeping from his wounds.
“What exactly do you plan to do?”
“I’ll gradually expand my influence. Eventually, even the cute Professor will be in my grasp. After that, I’ll mobilize the various criminal organizations all 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…”
She responded with a firm, unwavering voice.
“I refuse.”
“Oh…”
“No matter what happens, no matter what 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 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 cooling cheek.
“…Me too.”
The moment she whispered the words, her left eye flickered with a faint golden hue.
“…No, I’ve finally lost it, haven’t I?”
She shook her head in denial. As she stood up, cradling Adler in her arms, her eyes had returned to normal, as if the change had been a mere trick of the light.
.
.
.
.
.
“…That aside.”
With a deeply troubled expression, she stepped out of the hideout, carrying Adler.
“I know you’ve been watching, Professor.”
She stopped on her way to the hospital, her voice frigid as she looked back.
“Don’t skulk in the shadows. Just come with us to the hospital.”
“I have a question first.”
From the shadows of the alleyway, the owner of those shining grey eyes stepped forward. Slowly, she spoke.
“…Do I really look cute?”
“What?”
Lestrade, who had been hurrying along, turned to look at Professor Moriarty. Her serious expression crumbled into confusion and bewilderment. Professor Moriarty stood there with her hands behind her back, her gaze cast downward and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson.