Stop trying to control me, Miss Moriarty!

Chapter 41 The Source of Fear

Moriarty: Five minutes.

That's amazing.

Even Erin never imagined that he would one day feel warmth and kindness from Moriarty's messages.

This concise message, consisting of only three words, felt as reassuring as the light of a distant lighthouse.

bang bang bang-

The dagger and the magic barrier continued to collide, producing a loud bang.

The Ripper's attack was extremely fierce and almost relentless.

Her figure kept moving back and forth, and after learning her lesson, she no longer focused on the abdomen, but instead attacked vital parts such as the neck and heart, clearly not wanting to give Erin the chance to repeat her old tricks.

Each strike left a tiny crack in the pale gold magic barrier.

As the cracks widened, the magical barrier seemed to crumble.

then--

Erin used some more magic, and the pale gold barrier was instantly renewed.

The Ripper possessed immense strength, and with the aid of the eerie fog, his speed became so fast that it was impossible to react.

But without the ability to use magic, she seemed to have no stronger means of attack.

Sixty-seven seconds had passed since the message was sent back.

The magic power of the second magic crystal in his pocket had been used up by less than a quarter.

That should be enough to hold out until Moriarty arrives.

Suddenly, the Ripper stopped attacking, and the mist around him stopped spreading. Instead, he deliberately distanced himself from Erin.

She turned her head, her dark eyes fixed on the southeast.

"Mary, a very bad guy is coming soon."

Her voice sounded somewhat alarmed.

"Ellie, we felt it too! Looks like we have to call it a day!"

The professor arrived so quickly?

Since just now, Erin has been using magic to sense the surrounding environment, but there is nothing unusual within a 200-meter range.

This guy clearly can't use magic, so how does he sense it?

Error-001: Eliminating Mary the Ripper

[Progress: 0/1]

[Node Correction Reward: "Apocalypse · ■■■■"]

After the Ripper revealed her real name, the black square in the first line of text disappeared, but for some reason only one of the names was displayed.

Erin glanced at the tempting reward once more.

No, we can't let them leave like this.

"Ladies," he said, his expression and tone laced with provocation, "you could kill me with just a little more effort. Why don't you try a little harder?"

The Ripper's deep eyes did indeed turn back to Erin.

"Speaking of which, Mary, we have another problem."

"Ellie, we're curious too!"

Their voices were filled with an unprecedented excitement.

The next second, the face made of flowing black liquid, with only two dark eyes, was instantly pressed against the magic barrier in front of Erin.

The magic barrier shone brightly, and a powerful stream of magic struck the Ripper directly.

But she seemed oblivious, remaining pressed against him, staring intently at Erin through the thin layer of pale golden light.

"Mary, even after all this, he's still not afraid of us at all."

"Yes, Ellie, it's the same on the surface and in essence!"

"Adler, why aren't you afraid of us?"

Perhaps because they were pressed against the magic barrier, their voices sounded somewhat muffled.

For a time, Erin was also somewhat mentally disturbed by this schizophrenic patient.

My heart skipped a beat just now, okay? How can you call that not being scared?

He was now only about six inches away from the Ripper, close enough to see the direction of the black liquid's flow and the transformation of the mist on her body.

As for those outstretched eyes, they were nothing but empty void.

If you disregard the inherent danger of the Ripper, her inexplicably dark and goofy appearance is actually kind of adorable.

"Um."

Erin tried to respond, "Your appearance is very creative, but it's not scary enough. How about trying a scary mask?"

The shadowy figure began to tremble.

"How could this happen, Mary?"

"Ellie, I don't know either."

Judging from the Ripper's tone, she seemed to be very troubled by the current situation.

"Mary, there's just a little time left."

"Let's go verify it, Ellie!"

The words fell.

The mist around her began to rise again, spreading towards the iron cage.

The next moment, just like countless times before, she crossed a distance and appeared directly in front of Lady Burtis.

Erin had already considered the possibility that she might shift her target, so she immediately deployed another layer of magical barrier, enveloping the duchess and her three children.

Fifty seconds have passed since then.

Even if we need to defend against both sides simultaneously, the remaining three and a half magic crystals will be enough to sustain us.

"Monster!"

Lady Burtis suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

Erin turned his gaze and found that she was now slumped on the ground, her face pale, her eyes wide open, and her lips trembling violently.

Immediately afterwards, a pool of light yellow liquid spread from beneath her, seeping onto the ground.

Perhaps influenced by her one-eighth Rupert bloodline, Lady Burtis's tastes were somewhat perverse. But even when faced with Archie's deadly trap, completely unaware of the danger, she did not behave so poorly.

What happened? The Ripper didn't even launch an attack!

Upon witnessing this, the Ripper seemed to nod, appearing quite pleased with Duchess Burtis's reaction.

Then, she lifted the black cloth.

The three children remained huddled together, and under the influence of the magic light, they curiously raised their heads to look at the dark figure in front of them.

They only exchanged a glance before a piercing, mournful, and even desperate scream echoed throughout the warehouse.

They fainted immediately.

The Ripper's gaze lingered on Lady Burtis and the children for a moment before turning back to Erin.

"Mary, it seems this isn't our problem."

"That's right, it's Adler's problem, Ellie!"

"A troublesome fellow is coming."

"We should go too!"

Goodbye, Mr. Adler.

"Adler, you're so lucky!"

The personality named Ellie seems to be more polite; she not only says goodbye but also knows to add "Mr."

The two voices overlapped again: "Next time, we'll tear you to pieces—!"

...I take back my previous comment.

The shadowy figure began to retreat, shrinking back into the corner where she had appeared.

The mist contracted, while the black liquid began to lighten.

A few seconds later, the Ripper disappeared from the spot, leaving only a few wisps of residual mist drifting in the air.

Even though there were only two minutes left, she still managed to escape.

Erin felt somewhat regretful, but he really couldn't stop the Ripper's methods.

He walked around the pale yellow water stains and approached Duchess Bourges, asking with some curiosity, "Madeline, what did you just see?"

"I...I can't explain it clearly..." She was trembling all over, and even now she had only slightly recovered from the fear; her teeth were still chattering.

"That...that was a black...black flowing object, and...and it was shrouded in mist...In short, it was extremely terrifying!"

Erin found it somewhat difficult to understand.

Clearly, in her eyes and in her own, the Ripper was a mixture of black liquid and white mist.

Then why is it that only I don't feel the terror?