Casey Selmore floated high in the air, looking down below.
The night sky felt far brighter than usual.
It wasn’t just because they had moved away from the lights of the city; the moon in the sky was unusually large.
Tonight was a full moon.
Under the moonlight that poured down like a spotlight on a stage, Casey fixed her gaze on the place beneath the ground where her opponent was likely hiding.
That man must have already sensed her presence as well.
Casey knew exactly where they were.
The abandoned mine—where she had first uncovered traces of James Moriarty’s crimes.
Back then, she had lost him right before her eyes because of a sudden explosion. But she hadn’t expected that there would be a secret laboratory hidden even deeper inside.
Casey Selmore thought.
What would it take to capture James Moriarty here?
If it was that man, no matter which passage she chose, he would immediately catch on and flee through a different exit.
Hadn’t he already shown movement so elusive it was impossible to track?
And since she had no idea what he was scheming down there, recklessly charging in through the entrance would be far too dangerous.
Casey Selmore thought.
To move slowly, step by step, was utterly meaningless.
From here on out, it was a race against time—and that meant she had to give it her all.
Fsshhhhhhh!
The moment she made her decision, an enormous mass of water gathered beneath her feet.
It came from the puddles on the ground, the moisture in the air, the clouds in the sky—nothing was excluded.
Water enough to fill several giant reservoir tanks swirled in the air as if it were floating.
The clouds parted, and the moonlight grew even clearer.
Casey stirred her mana.
The water gathered in the air began to react to her magic and change form.
Woooooooosh!!!
The massive body of water began to rotate clockwise, slowly at first.
Like a vortex descending from the heavens.
The tail end of the terrifying vortex sharpened like a drill point and then slowly descended until it touched the ground.
And then—
CRRRRRRAAAACK!!!
It began boring a tunnel straight down hundreds of meters below.
The impossibly heavy water spun at high speed, grinding through rock and stone alike.
A massive drilling machine formed of high-pressure water jets.
The drill dug down toward the underground space in an instant, piercing through all resistance.
Casey descended into the depths through the tunnel her drill had carved.
Downward. Even deeper.
And then, all at once, the blocked passage opened wide into a vast chamber.
The moment she felt the familiar fluctuation of mana, Casey halted the drill’s rotation and slowly descended, landing in the open space.
The water that had formed the drill lost its form and scattered widely around her.
She looked ahead—and saw him.
The man she was determined to capture at all costs. The criminal of the century.
He no longer wore the crow mask, but the shadowy cloak draped over his shoulders remained, casting an imposing silhouette.
“......”
James Moriarty looked up at the tunnel Casey had carved through the earth.
Above the massive hole that led to the surface, the brilliant full moon shone.
Because of that, the underground chamber, which should have been dark, was now filled with a bluish moonlight, giving it a dreamlike quality.
“How barbaric,” James Moriarty said, lowering his gaze to meet Casey’s.
“You’re still one to never knock, I see.”
“And you? What were you planning to do, digging such a deep ant’s nest down here?”
The two locked eyes.
One with an utterly calm expression.
The other with eyes full of hostility, defiance, and anger.
“You came sooner than expected. That must mean Ludwig isn’t ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) dead.”
“What a shame, huh? Your plan failed.”
At that, Ludger shook his head.
“You always get in my way.”
“So what? Do you think a detective should just let a criminal do as they please?”
Casey went straight to the point.
“You weren’t waiting here just to have a nice chat, were you? What is it this time? Another scheme?”
“You didn’t think I’d suddenly turn myself in now, did you?”
“You?”
Casey let out a scoff, as if she’d just heard a ridiculous joke.
“A man who doesn’t even know how many people he’s killed now wants to surrender? Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
James Moriarty shrugged.
“Well, it was just something to say.”
“Why say it at all, then?”
“To make you an offer.”
“An offer? What kind of sudden offer?”
“This pointless chase... Isn’t it time we ended it?”
“...What?”
Casey felt as if a massive chunk of iron had fallen onto her head.
Otherwise, she couldn’t understand what this man was saying to her right now.
“Casey Selmore. No matter what you do, you will never catch me. The gap in skill between us is obvious. So let’s end this. There’s nothing more pointless than exhausting yourself chasing a phantom you can never catch.”
“...Pointless?”
Casey’s face twisted with fury, but just as she was about to explode, something clicked—and she cooled her anger instantly.
“You’re stalling.”
“......”
He realized she’d caught on.
He had deliberately tried to provoke her, to keep her focused on him—but Casey had immediately seen through it.
“Why are you buying time by provoking me?”
Casey narrowed her eyes and looked around—then directed her gaze downward.
“There’s something down there, isn’t there?”
“......Tch.”
Ludger clicked his tongue.
It wasn’t much of a bluff—Casey was already beginning to picture something in her mind.
“The kidnapped child. The experiments. Of course... it was here.”
Now that she’d figured it out, there was no more time to stall.
Ludger began to calculate how much time he had gained.
‘If it’s Hans and Seridan, they must have escaped by now.’
He still couldn’t confirm whether Arte had completed the soul synchronization.
He’d intended to find the right moment and escape with Arte—but judging by the current situation, even that wouldn’t be possible.
Casey Selmore, now at the height of her vigilance, left not a single opening.
And the vast amount of water she had brought with her while boring into the underground chamber now completely surrounded the area, trapping him.
At this point—
‘I have no choice but to fight.’
Ludger raised his right hand and slowly brushed down from his forehead to his chin.
As his hand passed, a shadow spread across his face, forming the shape of a crow mask.
‘Coming all the way here drained too much of my mana and mental stamina.’
And his opponent—was arguably the strongest individual he had faced since arriving in the Delica Kingdom.
A single-element attribute magic user.
If he wasn’t in perfect condition, he couldn’t guarantee victory.
But on the bright side, things weren’t entirely against him either.
Casey Selmore, too, had been running all over recently without even proper rest, and had consumed a massive amount of mana just transporting all this water.
In other words, she too was nearing her limit.
Both of them were in their worst condition.
In that strangely balanced, unfair situation, both Ludger and Casey thought the same thing:
Even so—let your guard down, and you’ll lose.
Without another word, the two unleashed their magic at each other.
SPLAAASH!
Casey Selmore manipulated the water surrounding her to attack Ludger from all directions.
Her intent was clear—she didn’t want to kill, but to capture him alive at any cost.
Still, water of such immense mass was a fearsome weapon on its own.
Though her goal was suppression, there was no doubt a few bones would break in the process.
‘Blocking it isn’t an option.’
He needed to conserve as much mana as possible, and defending from an attack coming from all directions wouldn’t be enough.
Knowing that, Ludger chose to evade every incoming strike.
His body, merged with the shadows, slipped through space as he moved swiftly toward Casey.
The massive streams of water she unleashed turned into hands, trying to seize him, but Ludger danced around them with mocking agility.
As if skimming the ground, he lowered his body, just barely avoiding a sweeping wave of water.
A performance with only a sheet of paper between him and death.
‘What the—!’
Casey Selmore gritted her teeth at the sight.
He didn’t move like any mage.
His movement through space resembled a swallow darting swiftly through a dark forest.
‘Then I’ll just make sure there’s no space to dodge!’
While moving, Ludger cast his own spell.
Along with a magic formation drawn in the air, a pale mist spread outward.
A 3rd-Circle ice magic spell.
[Breath of the Ice Queen]
Crackle.
The moment one of the streams of water aimed at Ludger touched the mist, it began to freeze rapidly.
Casey withdrew the water that hadn’t frozen.
Once the water turned to ice, even she found it difficult to manipulate.
That was due to the power of ‘perception’.
Casey Selmore controlled water, but more broadly, she could handle anything that could be considered a liquid.
At least, if she perceived it as ‘water’.
In contrast, ice—though it was another form of water, just one that had fallen below freezing point—was no longer perceived as ‘water’.
Of course, if she really pushed her limits, she could manipulate ice as well.
But the mana cost was high, and her control would become much slower, so she didn’t favor it.
More than anything, her opponent wasn’t likely to wait patiently while she struggled to deal with it.
Casey decisively cut away the frozen portions.
There was still plenty of water left here.
The amount she had drawn to this place was proof of her seriousness.
No matter how powerful Ludger was, he couldn’t possibly freeze all the water.
Perhaps because of that, Ludger refrained from using more ice magic recklessly.
He knew that no matter how much water he froze, as long as Casey could still control it, it wouldn’t do him much good.
‘I’ll just have to strike her directly.’
Click.
Ludger quickly replenished his insufficient mana with a mana potion and focused his mind.
His next incantation manifested.
This time it was a powerful one. A surge of massive mana writhed above the completed spell formation.
Casey sensed it too and raised her guard even more.
This time, something big was coming.
She also gathered her full strength, channeling mana into the water and altering its form.
Then Ludger activated his spell.
5th-Circle lightning-elemental magic.
[Ballista of Thunderstorm]
Crackle!
The element he manifested was lightning.
A massive arrow formed by twisting five thick lightning bolts into a quintuple spiral shape fired forward like a cannon.
To meet it, a colossal knight formed of water raised a round shield the size of its body.
BOOOOOOM───!!!
The two spells collided midair, unleashing a tremendous shockwave.
It echoed beyond the underground cavern, rippling through the entirety of the laboratory.
SCREEEEECH!
The situation had already been unstable due to Casey damaging multiple pipes while breaking into the underground area.
Now, with the clash of two powerful mages’ mana, the underground base couldn’t withstand the pressure.
CHHHHHH!
Screws flew out of the pipe joints scattered throughout, releasing thick jets of steam into the air.
And that wasn’t all.
Mechanical components began to malfunction and catch fire, while rubble from the ceiling began to fall from the powerful tremors.
Worst of all, the backup booby traps Seridan had installed to keep intruders out were triggered by the shock of the impact.
KWA-BOOOOM!
Explosions rang out in every direction, and Ludger instinctively turned his head.
‘Arte!’
Abandoning Casey, Ludger bolted away as if fleeing.
Casey, shielding herself from the falling debris, belatedly noticed him escaping.
The instant she saw Ludger’s figure vanish down the corridor, she bit down hard on her lip and chased after him.
RUMMMMBLE!
As the underground laboratory began to shake violently, Ludger dashed forward, scanning the situation.
Debris was beginning to fall in earnest.
Smoke hissed up from ruptured pipes in every direction, and one explosion followed another.
The unstable interior, weakened by the fight, had started to collapse.
At this rate, it was certain the entire underground lab would soon be completely destroyed.
‘Arte!’
Deeper inside was Arte, still undergoing the soul synchronization process.
Perhaps she had already been buried by the falling debris...
Shaking off the negative thought, Ludger forced himself to run faster.
Chunks of debris struck his body, but he didn’t flinch.
At last, he reached the innermost final laboratory.
BEEEEEP!
The red emergency lights had activated, flashing furiously, accompanied by a blaring alarm.
“......”
Thank the heavens.
The glass capsule where Arte slept—and the one containing Automaton Alpha—were both unharmed.
Only a few light scratches marred their surfaces.
‘The stabilization process... is it complete?’
The machines had stopped operating.
They had powered down on their own because the procedure had finished.
Ludger looked at the capsule holding Arte—no, now it was Alpha—and placed a hand atop it.
“...Let’s go.”
Shadow began to creep over the capsule, slowly enveloping it.
As it spread, Ludger glanced toward the other glass chamber beside it.
The boy’s empty body—now even its soul had departed.
With a heavy gaze, Ludger stared at it for a long moment, then slowly lifted his hand off the capsule.
He parted his lips to speak—but no sound came out.
Here, in a place on the verge of collapse.
With no one to hear his voice.
There was no need to speak.
Even if he did, it would mean nothing.
And yet, he couldn’t not say it.
“...I’m sorry.”
He was simply sorry.
For everything.
Finally, Ludger’s body vanished into the shadows along with the capsule.
The two forms crumbled and disappeared from the spot.
BOOOOOM!
Moments after Ludger disappeared, the burning ceiling came crashing down.
* * *
Casey, who had chased after Ludger, frowned as she stared at the collapsed rubble.
‘This place...’
Flames were erupting in several places, but she immediately realized this had been some sort of laboratory for creating experimental subjects.
What had James Moriarty been hiding here that made him abandon the fight and flee in such a hurry?
‘James Moriarty...?’
While scanning the area for clues, Casey spotted something strange.
‘What... is this?’
Whatever had been hidden inside the wall was now exposed, the wall having crumbled to reveal its contents.
It was a massive capsule.
And inside—lay a girl with blonde hair, her eyes closed as if dead.
