Chapter 155
As the man fell with his mouth open and blood pouring out, James Moriarty collapsed onto the cobblestone road as well. He looked up at the full moon glowing with blue light, feeling the air brush against his body and the scents it carried.
The vision that had previously been distorted had now returned to normal. James Moriarty slowly rose to his feet, kicked the corpse, then touched the torn section of his black trousers.
'Damn it!' James Moriarty cursed, suppressing a groan as he stepped toward the middle-aged woman.
James Moriarty had initially not wanted to stir up trouble in the outskirts with his revolver. However, seeing the oppressed expression on the middle-aged woman's face had caused him to act on emotion.
"Are you alright?" James Moriarty asked in a flat, cold tone.
The middle-aged woman let out a faint groan, her face twisted in pain even in her unconscious state.
'She's covered in bruises and has cuts along the outer side of her elbow?'
James Moriarty stared at the wounds with a cold expression before finally deciding to stand and continue his search for the group of extortionists.
After remaining there for several minutes and receiving no signal from the three of them, James Moriarty felt this plan was going to fail, at least for now from what he had anticipated.
He had never placed excessive trust in them anyway and would continue the search according to his own will.
With every step he took after leaving Yan Alley No. 37, James Moriarty knew that several people were peeking at his movements through cracks in their windows and slightly opened shutters.
However, since they were ordinary citizens and did not fall within the scope of this hunt, James Moriarty continued walking calmly and indifferently.
Then, at Yan Alley No. 50, James Moriarty stopped as he looked at a post standing by the entrance to the alley.
'I've walked a kilometer already, huh?'
With an almost expressionless face, James Moriarty let out a short sigh before continuing onward.
...
On the outskirts of Kan Alley, several hundred meters from the southeastern entrance, the three of them stopped after noticing the suspicious movements of three men.
Before firing the signal, he moved away until he stood directly in front of Luis with one hand raised.
Luifis covered his ear with his left hand while his right hand pulled the trigger of the Very pistol.
Whoosh...
A blood-red light suddenly appeared across the misty night sky, illuminating the southeastern outskirts, Kan, and Yan. The light lasted only a few seconds before fading back into complete darkness, creating an intense sense of dread.
James Moriarty, who was not far from the location, glanced over before the light disappeared.
He immediately recognized the signal.
Turning around, he retraced the path he had already traveled before entering Yan Alley No. 34. His steps were hurried, his breathing heavy, but none of it showed on his face because a faint grin was carved across his cold features.
Upon reaching the main road, amid the thin mist and lingering steam of Ource, James Moriarty stopped walking and raised his head when he saw the signal for the second shot.
He glanced at the street sign to his right before his expression turned cold and serious.
About to employ one of his strange tactics, James Moriarty looked around before his attention settled on a madman lying face-first against a wall across the road.
Because the situation was urgent, James Moriarty had no choice but to do this or that, since he did not want the trouble of walking all the way there.
James Moriarty stood beside the madman, hesitated for a moment, then sat down, placed his bamboo hat in the gap between two buildings, and lay down in the same position as the madman.
Several hundred meters away from where the three of them stood, at the mouth of an alley dimly lit by weak light, James Moriarty summoned his clone from deep within the alley behind them, startling them from behind with a cold, piercing voice.
"What are you doing here?"
Their minds went blank for a moment as the three slowly turned around.
Luis stepped back, his lips twitching.
'How is it possible for Mr. James Moriarty to be behind us? Isn't this alley a dead end?'
Knowing the layout of the outskirts well after spending time studying it, Luis was bewildered by how James Moriarty had managed to pinpoint their location so accurately, even though he knew Luifis had fired the signal twice.
Luifis slipped the Very pistol into a hidden pocket in his cloak, looked at Miss Evelina for two seconds, and spoke clearly.
"My apologies, Mr. James Moriarty. The situation developed very suddenly because the group of extortionists is about to leave their base at the corner of Kan Alley 39."
Evelina raised the lantern high without realizing it, allowing her to see James Moriarty's face more clearly than before.
'W-What... what exactly did he do?'
Evelina found herself worrying about the same thing as Luis. How had James Moriarty appeared behind them?
"Moriarty." Evelina finally spoke to satisfy her curiosity. "Aren't we already too late to hunt them down?"
Although the alley was dimly lit, James Moriarty looked at them with a profound gaze.
"According to the plan. I thought they were in Yan based on what Luifis said earlier. It turns out they're here."
James Moriarty strode past them.
"One more thing. I'll be back within ten minutes, and I'll bring what you want," said James Moriarty, his confident gaze locking onto Evelina.
Evelina held her lantern as usual and answered with a bitter smile.
The group of extortionists was already beginning to leave the area, prompting James Moriarty to continue forward toward the alley ahead.
By using a clone for the operation, Zavi did not need to worry about being injured, although the technique consumed a considerable amount of spirituality.
The three of them did not remain idle either as they followed James Moriarty, watching his actions unfold.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
A large building stood at an intersection, still in excellent condition and free of rust, as though it had only recently been abandoned.
A massive wall bordered the road to the right of the intersection, while they themselves stood on the lower road. James Moriarty and his companions watched the men loading goods into wooden crates, and some of them noticed a man standing in the middle of the road.
Curious murmurs instantly filled the courtyard of the CorsFigtore building.
"Who is that man? Do you recognize him?"
Another man, still carrying a wooden crate, paused.
He looked at James Moriarty for several seconds before replying, "No. Maybe he's here to meet the boss?"
A third man wearing a classic hat responded.
"I don't think so."
He carefully observed every movement James Moriarty made.
The three men assigned to transport the goods exchanged glances before looking at their four colleagues lying face down on the ground. Two wooden crates pinned their arms beneath them, while pools of thick red blood flowed from the backs of their necks.
Their pupils widened, their chests rose sharply, and they quickly turned their attention back toward the road.
'Gone?'
The man dropped the wooden crate as a pale hand gripped a familiar dagger across his neck.
A bitter smile appeared on his face for the last time before Zavi ordered his clone to pull the serrated blade free.
Slash!
"Huh?" The other two men only realized something was wrong after hearing a heavy thud behind them.
They looked toward James Moriarty, who lifted his bamboo hat while blood dripped from the tip of the dagger held between his fingers.
"W-Who are you?" One of the men, who had previously been curious about James Moriarty's presence, drew a pistol and quickly aimed it at his head.
Swing!
A rapid metallic clatter echoed as something spun across the ground, the sound shortening as the rotation slowed before the pistol finally came to rest on the stone courtyard.
"Arghh...!"
An agonized scream escaped the man's mouth as he grimaced and clutched his bleeding right arm, unwilling to pull the dagger free.
James Moriarty had remained silent the entire time, observing them before ordering the fox to retrieve the dagger and stab the man before he could fire.
Realizing only one person remained, James Moriarty allowed him to live for a few more seconds while walking around him.
"What do you want? How do you know about us?"
"..."
James Moriarty did not respond at all.
Not long afterward, both James Moriarty and the man heard hurried footsteps accompanied by slight impacts coming from inside the building several meters away.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, the man ran behind the wagon on the right to buy himself time.
However, the attempt never came to fruition as James Moriarty raised his revolver. The corner of his eye caught the gleam of the weapon, a faint smile appearing on his face before he pulled the trigger.
Bang...
One bullet pierced the left side of the man's back.
Click...
Bang...
The final bullet struck his left shoulder blade, followed by a sharp scream that echoed through the area.
The sound of footsteps inside the building grew louder, forcing James Moriarty, still wearing a calm expression, to focus his attention there. At the same time, his hands carefully and precisely reloaded the cylinder of his revolver.
The three observers had initially found it hard to believe, but after witnessing the slaughter from beginning to end, every one of James Moriarty's movements resembled those of a circus magician.
"Luis, Moriarty is... truly dangerous," Evelina said firmly, her fingers tightly gripping her dress.
Luis looked at Evelina with an expression that was difficult to describe.
"I know."
Meanwhile, Luifis continued observing what James Moriarty would do next.
....
In the courtyard of a building surrounded by a fence with dark blue paint peeling from age, James Moriarty felt something was off about the footsteps that had suddenly gone silent.
He wanted to say, "What exactly is going on?" but never got the chance when he saw a burly man walking down the slope connecting the courtyard and the road, his eyes sharp and hostile.
"Intruder... what exactly do you want?" the man asked in a heavy, piercing voice.
James Moriarty remained silent, studying the man's movements and expression, which seemed to conceal something he immediately noticed.
Relieved, he smiled and spoke in a voice as calm as flowing river water.
"You'd be better off going home. No matter how big you are, you're afraid of this revolver, aren't you?"
"..."
The man slowed his pace while James Moriarty bent down to pick something up.
'Damn it, they made me the scapegoat to fight that weird-hat guy while they ran away? That's not fair!'
After complaining inwardly, the man signaled twice to his left.
In the blink of an eye, he realized something was wrong with his knees.
'What? What just happened?'
"Aghh..." His knees, slashed by two daggers, immediately gave out, causing him to collapse uncontrollably onto the ground.
James Moriarty glanced at the kneeling man below him before cleaning the daggers and flicking them aside.
"Thank you. You're actually quite kind."
After saying that, James Moriarty's body faded away in an instant. The burly man finally let out a relieved breath despite being severely wounded.
'Damn it. I acted tough earlier, but now they've run off... bastards.'
The man bit his lower lip before noticing three shadowy silhouettes approaching from ahead.
Weakly, he raised his head just as the muzzle of a pistol hovered inches from his forehead.
'Huh?'
Bang...
....
On the other side of the building, James Moriarty spotted six wagons covered with tarps while standing to the left.
'Are all of those stolen goods from the outskirts of Ource?'
James Moriarty raised his revolver and calmly pulled the trigger.
Bang...
They reacted after hearing the sound. A brief pause followed as the figure they feared had arrived.
"Move quickly!" one of them muttered quietly.
James Moriarty froze in place after confirming that his three companions could not see him.
A pack of foxes appeared beside the six wagons. Each fox was dark purple-black, and the grayish-white aura surrounding them rapidly exploded before James Moriarty moved closer.
Although the explosions produced no loud sound, the flames were visible to everyone, and their explosive force was capable of causing serious injuries because the animal manifestations had been enhanced by the color transformation.
Zavi complained inwardly, feeling that this action was wasteful and consumed too much of his spirituality.
However, because he did not want James Moriarty's image to fade, he ordered his clone to approach them and force them one by one to gather in a circle in the courtyard behind the building.
One important thing: James Moriarty did not neglect to check whether they were carrying weapons before ordering the ten men dressed in classic suits and cloaks to form a circle with their hands behind their backs.
James Moriarty interrogated them with a firm voice and genuine threats, pressing the barrel of his revolver against each person's forehead as he asked who had sent them.
While absorbed in the interrogation, the three of them—Evelina, Luis, and Luifis—finally arrived beside James Moriarty.
"Did Moriarty really handle all of this alone?"
Luis stared in shock after seeing the destroyed wagons, while the twelve men remained standing in place among the scattered remnants of ruined goods.
'But the contents are still here. Huh, is that gold...?'
Luis laughed inwardly without realizing he had started running toward the pile of gold and other luxurious jewelry.
Naturally, one of the captives was unhappy about what Luis was doing.
"Hey."
Luis remained silent and did not react, his gaze fixed on the broad-faced bald man.
"Don't touch that stuff, or else..."
James Moriarty responded by aiming his revolver at the man's forehead.
"...It's fine. Really, it's fine."
The bald man with a mustache forced a bitter smile.
"So... what are we going to do next?" Evelina asked, lifting the hem of her luxurious red dress as she approached him, still carrying the lantern.
James Moriarty looked at her with a furrowed brow.
'That's what I wanted to ask.'
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