36 – Don’t introduce a Chinese (12)
Massacres and purifications were taking place all over East End.
Forlock, who had successfully eliminated a few key figures with the help of Sue Robinson’s subordinates, lit another cigarette and opened his mouth.
“Is it all over?”
“Yes, yes, it seems so.”
“Is that so?”
At that moment, he pushed a cold pistol towards one of Sue Robinson’s subordinate and Forlock made a hole in the Chinese.
“Tr…Traitor! Kek!”
While the startled men tried to resist, the carnage resumed as if on cue with a knife lodged in their throats.
“But, aren’t our guys going to die quite a bit as well? There has to be a reason we’re doing this much, right, Forlock?”
“It’s called weeding out.”
Even while continuing the operation for Forlock’s response, Mack joked with Forlock while pretending to be scared.
“Really? The professor is really scary. Forlock, the professor isn’t ordering me to be removed, right?”
“In that case, Mack, did you get an order to accidentally stab me in the stomach, country bumpkin?”
“We both need to survive for a long time, raise salaries this time! I, I’m gonna marry Jenny next year!”
“Stop with the lame jokes and finish the job fast. Sweeney probably has that side covered, but we must find the hidden wolf pups in the East End.”
Faced with the sudden additional task, Mack couldn’t help but grumble.
“Why the werewolves?”
“You know that werewolf the professor keeps, he said to capture them alive so he could have his dog kill his own kind. Really, he has a very unique taste, doesn’t he?”
“It’s… it’s Scotland Yard!”
Interrupting Forlock and Mack’s conversation, the subordinate, who had been patrolling outside, came back and made a report. As per his word, a short while after, three constables and five of their subordinates from Scotland Yard appeared late at the scene, each armed with a club.
Of course, they couldn’t help but be taken aback when they encountered a dozen gunmen.
There was no doubt that something unusual was happening in various parts of East End. Bryan, the constable, thought they had cursed their luck for the day, but when they faced the armed thugs on the scene, they realized it was the most unlucky day of their lives.
Suddenly, the thought of his unpaid rent for the month and his two sons he had to raise until they were adults came to mind. At that moment, sensing death, the wizard-looking head thug with a mustache stepped forward, fumbling around.
Fortunately, signs of a conversation emerged, so Constable Bryan stopped his subordinates for now.
“Um, who was it… Ah, Constable Bryan, right? I’ve heard you’ve had a hard time patrolling East End.”
“What…what do you want?”
“Cool down, we’re not going to eat you. I heard you have two children. Here, take this, a small token of our sentiment.”
Saying this, the wizard-like man sneakily handed over a reasonably heavy leather wallet to the constable. Then Forlock whispered to him.
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“There is a warehouse about three blocks west from here that’s suddenly on fire, constable.”
“Wha…what are you talking about?”
“Calm down, even though it’s an empty warehouse, fire suppression is a priority, isn’t it? You’re off to handle that fire first, and in the meantime, we’ll be gone. Who’s going to care if some Chinese people died in these parts, right? Constable, think about your children.”
“……Underst…understood. We…we’re heading west!”
The only one who heard Forlock’s whisper was Constable Bryan, but his subordinates who had been dispatched with him were not without perception. It was customary to have adequate acumen to patrol in the East End district in the first place.
Of course, the new recruit who had come in recently still seemed to adhere to justice, raising his voice.
“No, Officer Bryan! What on earth is this?”
“Shut up, Lestrade! Now, let’s go, quickly!”
His colleagues forcibly silenced the small man and disappeared, and Holmes and her subordinates finished up their work.
As Holmes had said, the empty warehouse was ablaze due to an unexplained fire, so Officer Bryan and his crew intended to pretend to be extinguishing the fire.
However, the totally clueless new recruit still shouted.
“Officer Bryan!”
“Lestrade, I still have kids. Please, this is not something we can handle anyway, so please, let’s move on, okay?”
In front of Officer Bryan’s humane plea, the new recruit Lestrade, no matter how strong his sense of justice, couldn’t open his mouth.
However, he couldn’t help but feel helpless in front of this irrational reality. They had to do something. Somehow, he had to go higher and realize justice for those damned criminals.
The East End, full of crime, was set ablaze with sin by unknown adversaries and organizations.
And that invisible flame had surely reached the City of Run-Don’s restaurant, where an execution had just taken place.
Moriarty leisurely moved toward Fu Manchu, who was still breathing. The old Chinese man lying on the ground was dying.
It was truly ironic. And a very enjoyable sight.
The poison Moriarty had put in the wine was none other than the guy he got in East End. Of course, Fu Manchu was involved. The old ruler of the East End was finally facing his end in this distant foreign land, due to poison he had created.
The saying that a barber cannot cut his own hair applied here.
Fu Manchu was dying. He knew death would come soon, but he didn’t expect it to come this way.
Therefore, despite feeling no regret for his life, the elderly man was afraid of everything. But right now, even as he was dying, it was pure resentment that held up his life.
He was dying, but that didn’t mean he lost his mind. He couldn’t see everything properly due to his impatience and senility, but cruelly, in this fleeting moment of death, he understood every reason.
He realized that he was ruined by the hands of a devil-like man who observed him with cold eyes. And he could intuitively feel that it wasn’t just the end with the death of his own family. It was savvy insight, fitting for a crime lord who climbed his way up by stepping on numerous competitors over a long period.
Currently, in East End, Fu Manchu’s gang, those loyal to the defeated ruler who have not yet surrendered, were preparing to meet their master in the afterlife.
“Cough… why… why…”
As he was dying, Fu Manchu slowly opened his mouth. His short words were loaded with profound meanings. Perhaps even dying Fu Manchu couldn’t fully comprehend all the meanings.
Even Moriarty wouldn’t know all the non-logical things about a dying person. But it was okay. Moriarty interpreted it his own way since it was a man destined to die.
Of course, the answer he gave would also surely answer Fu Manchu’s question.
“It’s a simple story. I never had any intention of sharing from the beginning. Because a king rules alone.”
The childhood dream Fu Manchu mentioned was not wrong. Someone had to bring order to this boring London, to the divided gangs and street thugs and the history-rich gangs and trash.
Someone had to turn this boring city into a city full of mysteries and rule over it.
But that’s not you. You could never do that because you had no legitimate right to do so.
There was no need to let them know who was worthy of that legitimate right. There was no need or duty to tell the dead any more, and there were no more emotions.
James Moriarty silently watched the dying Chinese man, smiling for a moment. He waited for the curtain to close while calmly capturing on his eyes how a defeated man looked, something he himself would never experience.
He was a pitiful and stupid old man. A foolish man who pathetically grew old and ended up dying, thanks to his own daughter.
Losing due to a woman, I will never let that happen. Moriarty learned such a small lesson and calmly waited.
“Ah… devil… devilish man! You… you…”
Moriarty couldn’t understand why fools always spit out similar words facing their last moments.
However, whispering to the old man who was poisoned and couldn’t do anything anymore as if bidding his last goodbye, Moriarty said.
“The Chinaman is dead. Long live the King.”
Fu Manchu soon breathed his last. His eyes that couldn’t close yet were filled with resentment and curses towards Moriarty, but he was already not there anymore.
The Chinese man is dead, and only a new ruler stood there.
Of course, he wasn’t alone. Moriarty had not forgotten one of his objectives. Slyly, he opened his mouth to a girl who was still holding a gun, watching everything from just next to him as if she had lost her soul.
“Moran.”
“Eh….. Master.”
Unable to hold back a satisfying smile. Could this gratification be akin to the one experienced when a dog that previously ignored commands finally obeyed an order?
Moran, still visibly confused and directionless, obediently approached Moriarty’s side.
Dogs were loyal servants and friends of humans. It was essential to give due praise and rewards to faithful hounds.
Moriarty kindly opened her mouth as she caressed Moran’s head.
“Well done. You’re naturally talented, despite only a few days of practice. Keep up the good work, Moran.”
Feeling Moriarty’s touch, Moran growled softly, an action she hastily attempted to hide, signaling an improvement in mood.
Master was absolutely right.
Watching this spectacle, Moran pondered. Yet it still did not feel real.
However, the tangible presence of the cold gun in her hand, and the reality that she had just executed that woman, indicated that this was not a dream.
There was no discernable feeling at taking a life for the first time. In fact, there existed a hint of pleasure. The woman had dared to imperil her position a few days ago. It was nearly regrettable that she had been dispatched so swiftly.
But that was it. After all, Master had ordered the execution be swift. So Moran simply had to obey.
Because it was Master’s command.
Master, yes, Master. Moran now instinctively acknowledged the man before her eyes as the ruler of her pack.
Master was unquestionably strong. The previously strong Holmes now lay beneath Master’s feet, a mere corpse.
He was strong, but he was Moran’s master.
Therefore, there was no need to worry about losing her happiness anymore. As long as she followed Master and correctly performed his commands, there would be no need for such worries.
When Master summoned her, Moran immediately went to him. She felt his gentle touch. The touch that no longer felt weak, but rather, basked in warmth as it completely accepted and caressed her, was pleasurable.
Of course, the girl was young. And so, complex thoughts continued to confuse Moran.
But it was still strange. It was clear Master was strong, but at the same time, he was weak. Moran was too young to reconcile this contradiction.
But it was all fine.
Moran now felt like she knew the reason.
Master is strong, so I should follow him. But Master is weak.
I see, that’s why Master needs me. I am to protect him. That is my task and the reason I can stay by his side.
Now, the wolf girl felt as though she comprehended everything.
A wolf becomes a tamed dog.
Even the most tamed wolf never loses its natural instincts; they just lie dormant for a while. Wild beasts endlessly challenge their alpha.
What would become of such instincts, neither Moriarty nor Moran knew yet.
But Moran didn’t care. She was happy just to be able to stay by Master’s side.
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Sebastian Moran was unquestionably a joyful wolf.
