The howling airflow rushed past her ears. Mary opened her eyes in shock and looked around, only to be instantly stunned—she and the others had somehow flown high into the sky, and it looked like they were about to stop!
"M-Mister!"
"Don't panic, it's coming!!"
At that moment, Mary saw a black dot in the distance suddenly dive toward them from the sky—that was the aircraft piloted by the maid!
"Whoooooosh—————!!"
The plane swept past Duanmu Huai's body at almost point-blank range, and he reached out and grabbed the fuselage. This was something an ordinary person simply could not accomplish. Yet held in Duanmu Huai's arms, Mary only felt a tremendous impact, her vision blurred, and in the next instant she was steadily placed inside the aircraft by Duanmu Huai.
"Th-This is… what exactly…"
Mary no longer had the mind to care about what had just happened. She shook her head and stood up. At this moment, Shirley was still unconscious beside her. And for some reason, the black dress she had been wearing had completely dissolved. Obviously, if this continued in a place like this, she would freeze to death.
Fortunately, Lorena also ran over at this time. Working together, the two of them placed the unconscious Shirley into a nearby thermal bag, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Only then did Mary have the chance to look out the window—and she immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.
Mary still remembered that when they had first crossed the mountain range, they had seen that massive stone city. But now, the city seemed as if it were struck by an earthquake, trembling violently. Not only that, she could see something like thick black water spreading everywhere within the city, as if it were trying to swallow the entire place whole.
"Th-That… what exactly is that?"
"Didn't I say already? Shoggoths."
Duanmu Huai stood at the cabin doorway, looking down at the viscous, foul-looking ancient city below, as if a cesspit had been stabbed open. From a distance, that mass of gray, writhing, sticky… things moving in and out of the city ruins…
…Ugh, the more he thought about it, the more disgusting it felt.
This is basically like blowing up a cesspit. Clearly, the Shoggoths have gone berserk.
But Duanmu Huai didn't care. No matter how powerful the Shoggoths were, they couldn't fly.
Still, their screams were unsettling enough.
"Tekk———— Lili!!"
A piercing screech, like fingernails scraping against a chalkboard, echoed throughout the city ruins, sending chills down one's spine just from hearing it.
"Wh-What do we do now, Mr. Duanmu?"
Mary clutched tightly onto Duanmu Huai, her face pale as she looked down at the massive, constantly writhing Shoggoth. The city itself was enormous, yet these Shoggoths had filled it entirely. Even from the air, looking down from afar, the sheer scale and unease were enough to inspire fear.
"Just take care of Shirley. Leave this to me."
Naturally, Duanmu Huai couldn't allow the rampaging Shoggoths to run wild. Strictly speaking, given the current Antarctic climate, they wouldn't be able to go far anyway. But who knew what kind of trouble these things might cause? So rather than risk it…
…he might as well kill them all.
At that thought, a fierce glint flashed in Duanmu Huai's eyes as he stared downward.
Just as I told Dr. Pamar—since they aren't stone yet, then I'll simply turn them into stone.
What a small matter.
With that in mind, Duanmu Huai leaned forward, gripped the staff in his hand, and pitch-black flames began to surge from it. Then, staring at the endlessly writhing sea of Shoggoths below, he raised the staff and hurled it downward with force!
"———————!!!"
The staff, burning with black flames, fell from the sky and plunged straight into the surging tide of Shoggoths below.
And then...
"BOOOOOOM———————!!!"
The heavens and earth shook.
From high above, one could see the massive city on the surface explode outward from within. Enormous buildings and the solid ground itself burst apart from the inside. The earth trembled violently, and the entire land overturned like a child's sandbox. Even the towering mountain nearby—comparable to Mount Everest—cracked and warped under the violent explosion. Then, a large portion of its peak suddenly lost balance and came crashing down, tumbling toward the city below!
For a time, dust surged into the sky, blotting out the sun. Meanwhile, Duanmu Huai had already instructed the maid to pilot the aircraft far away from this place of chaos.
After this explosion, Duanmu Huai was certain that the entire city would be completely buried, becoming fuel for the black flames along with the Shoggoths. Once the black flames had devoured them completely, nothing would remain here but stone.
And at that point, there would truly be no more problems.
Earthquakes were rare in Antarctica, but destruction on this scale was impossible to miss. Very quickly, Duanmu Huai and the others received a communication from Professor Pamar, inquiring about the situation. After all, they had also felt the quake, and its direction was exactly where Duanmu Huai's group had gone earlier. Naturally, Professor Pamar was worried that something had happened to them.
Fortunately, after making contact and confirming that they were safe, Professor Pamar finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Duanmu Huai had no intention of returning to the research station. After all, this trip had somehow resulted in an extra person appearing beside them. In any other place it might be manageable—but this was Antarctica.
If you suddenly had an extra person appear out of nowhere in Antarctica, how would you even explain that?
So he simply… chose not to explain.
I'm the one funding this. I can do whatever I want. Why should I explain myself to anyone?
Thus, Duanmu Huai directly contacted Professor Pamar and stated that they had some matters to attend to and would be heading back first, and they could talk later.
"..."
Heading back already?
It had to be said, upon hearing Duanmu Huai's response, Professor Pamar was completely dumbfounded. This was Antarctica, not your home—how could you just come and go as you pleased?
Although he wanted to complain, there was nothing he could do to stop Duanmu Huai if he insisted on leaving. Moreover, the sudden geological changes in Antarctica had given them plenty to study, so Professor Pamar didn't say much more.
After all, the one paying was the boss.
And just like that, the matter finally came to an end.
Afterward, Duanmu Huai took the others back to the Fog City. Only then did they learn that shortly after they had left for Antarctica, the previously sleeping Shirley had suddenly disappeared. At the time, it had even become a major unsolved case. Of course, now that Shirley had been found, the rest…
…would depend on Duanmu Huai to make something up.
"That's how it happened. Everything has been resolved."
Duanmu Huai calmly handed the materials in his hand to Inspector Lestrade. The latter accepted them with a complicated expression, unsure of what to say.
"To be honest, what's written here reads more like a fairy tale to me."
"You can treat it as a fairy tale if you like. At least the problem's been solved."
Duanmu Huai spread his hands and stared at Inspector Lestrade.
"…Fine. Since that's what you say, then let's go with that."
Inspector Lestrade shook his head and said no more. After all, Antarctica wasn't within their jurisdiction. The earthquake there had indeed shocked the world, and many organizations had even claimed that someone had detonated a bomb in Antarctica. Of course, no evidence was ever found. But Lestrade knew clearly that this was not something he could handle or worry about.
In the end, Shirley's disappearance was treated as a case of being abducted by cultists who had lost their minds, and then rescued. To prevent similar incidents, the Brontë family decided to send Shirley back to her hometown to recuperate, which also allowed Mary to breathe a sigh of relief.
For some reason, when Shirley woke up, she had completely forgotten everything that had happened before. Whether it was the Čapek Research Society, the séance rituals, or the Gate of Tartarus—she seemed to remember none of it. In Mary's view, this was undoubtedly a good thing for Shirley.
However, Mary herself now faced a very difficult decision.
After returning to the Fog City, Duanmu Huai had extended an invitation to her.
Simply put, he hoped to make use of Mary's Golden Eyes and her power for the Inquisition.
This surprised Mary quite a bit. Although she had learned a lot about the Inquisition from Lorena, she had never considered joining it herself. In her mind, she was more like someone seeking help, while the Inquisition was like a police organization. She asked them for help—but had never thought about becoming one of them. After all, what she originally hoped for was a more peaceful and stable life.
But Mary also understood that things weren't that simple—especially her Golden Eyes. Although the enemy who had been targeting her eyes seemed to be gone for now, who could say whether others might appear in the future, setting their sights on them?
Mary didn't know. But she did understand that this was an extremely difficult decision.
"Haaah..."
Walking out of the academy gates, looking at the familiar sky, Mary let out a soft sigh as she held her parasol. She had indeed thought about her future after graduation, but working for the Inquisition… felt somewhat different from what she had imagined before. And if she joined the Inquisition, the work would certainly not be easy. Shirley and Ashley might worry about her. But then again, going to excavation sites at ruins wasn't exactly safe either. Or perhaps she could work on illustrated books? She had considered that too, but…
"Mary?"
A birdlike voice sounded by her ear. Mary turned her head and looked at the petite and adorable girl beside her—Ashley, one of her and Shirley's closest friends, who was now peeking at her with concern.
"Are you okay, Mary? You seem a bit distracted."
"Mm, I've been thinking about something—about my future path."
"Huh? Have you already decided what to do after graduation?"
"Not yet."
Facing her friend's question, Mary smiled and shook her head.
"I see. But don't choose anything too dangerous, okay? Ashe and Shirley will worry about you. Shirley only just woke up after all. Oh right, during the upcoming break, should we all go visit Shirley at her family's recuperation estate? I'd also like to bring Howard along."
"So you've finally decided to let Mr. Howard meet Shirley?"
Hearing this, Mary couldn't help but tease her. Ashley immediately blushed.
"I-It's not a big deal! It's just that Shirley can be a bit scary sometimes—I didn't want her teasing Howard. Will you come too, Mary?"
"Of course."
Mary nodded, then seemed to think of something.
Perhaps… I should also invite… Mr. Duanmu?
(End of Chapter)