HP: Fairy Tale Wizard - 159

Chapter 159: Entangled

"Wake up."

A strange voice. Wait, why does it feel like something is shaking Sterling's shoulder? He groggily opened his eyes, then instantly became alert. A middle-aged man with a large beard looked at him seriously. The man's hat and clothes were unmistakably familiar, and a police badge was pinned to his chest.

Scotland Yard?

"Hello, I'm Cetus Will, Inspector from Scotland Yard. We currently suspect you're connected to the recent 'Jack the Ripper' case and hope you'll cooperate fully with our investigation."

Sterling felt he probably hadn't woken up.

When did Scotland Yard's efficiency become this fast? He himself hadn't even confirmed if "Jack the Ripper" was Andrew, and they were already coming to question a suspect?

"Will, do you really think such a small child could kill an adult?" The other person, who looked somewhat younger and was sitting in a chair, said this. His expression toward Sterling was quite kind. "Or do you believe the 'Jack the Ripper' who's been committing crimes since Christmas and evading us is a child, or an idiot who leaves bodies at his own doorstep?"

"Hey, kid, don't be scared," he continued, his tone reassuring. "We're police, not bad people. I'm Eldouan Carrot. Since this serious fellow already told you his name, what about you? Kid, what's your name?"

Sterling remained silent. In the moment of raising his head, he had already constructed an illusion encompassing both inspectors.

Bodies left at his own doorstep.

He repeated the phrase internally, and a disgusting realization formed in his mind.

He bypassed the two inspectors who were conversing with the illusory "Sterling Page" and approached the room's door.

A body lay there. Not particularly intact.

She—temporarily assuming a female identity based on her body shape—was drenched in black liquid. Sterling couldn't identify it. Probably not petroleum or anything similar, as it lacks that acrid smell.

Her chest bore a piercing wound. The weapon was an old clock hand, identical to yesterday's discovered corpse.

Sterling scattered starlight. The Star Observer began analyzing the black liquid.

Ten minutes passed.

Given this timeframe, it couldn't possibly be a Muggle creation.

Sterling sat back in his seat, dissolving the charm.

"Oh, so your parents didn't return all last night, hmm."

Eldouan nodded, seemingly unaware of the illusion Sterling had arranged, showing no suspicion whatsoever. "I think you needn't fixate on meaningless matters, Sterling Page. You didn't hear even the slightest sound last night?"

Cetus looked coldly indifferent, but Sterling didn't miss the eye contact between them. They were coordinating.

Eldouan was disarming suspicion, soothing emotions.

Cetus was asking what they truly wanted to know.

Sterling shook his head. He genuinely heard nothing.

He'd set many protective spells at the door. Triggering any would wake him. But wait—protective spells?

With the Muggle-Repelling Charm in place, how could these two inspectors see his room door? Why would a corpse be leaning against his door?

"Sterling? Are you spacing out?"

"Oh, yes, uncle, I'm still a bit sleepy."

Eldouan nodded, pulling a small notebook from his pocket. "What are your parents' names? Once I find them, I'll have them pick you up to go home and sleep."

This sort of question couldn't be gotten around by illusion.

"Robin."

"Robin? Robin Page, right? That should be the father—"

With a sudden thud, Eldouan was knocked unconscious by Robin.

Cetus watched his partner get knocked out by a bird and immediately reached for his waist. If he could just pull that out—

"Thud."

Robin stood triumphantly atop the unconscious Cetus's head. After all, not all alchemical creations were made by Nicolas Flamel.

"Where were you just now?"

"I saw strangers appear, so I hid under the table, chirp."

Sterling nodded, then used Levitation to move both inspectors onto the bed.

Approaching the door, he found all protective spells destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Star Observer provided its analysis: the black liquid was magic.

Purified magic, after undergoing contamination, had become physical.

If the materialized magic truly flowed from this corpse, then she was likely also a wizard.

Sterling rubbed his temples, opening his magical sight for the first time in a while.

He'd never tried viewing threads on a corpse before. The threads were so faint as to be nearly invisible, with barely a traceable "story" remaining. Even the few threads that existed were frighteningly thin. Sterling doubted whether they stored any story at all.

However, on the door frame, there was an unmistakable thread.

Sterling pinched it, bringing it close to his brow.

Past memories played in his mind.

"Expel—liarmus!"

A red light shot from his own wand, but regrettably, the incantation pronunciation was far too non-standard. The spell dispersed before even nearing the distant black-robed figure.

So "himself" felt his heartbeat accelerating, growing increasingly panicked. But the more anxious, the harder it is to release magic. Either the wand movement was incorrect or the pronunciation was flawed. Finally, "himself" was cornered against a door, falling to his knees helplessly.

"What do you want? Why chase me all the way here?"

"Himself" seemed long unused to exertion, lungs now burning as if aflame. His wand had long been disarmed by a careless Disarming Charm, sent flying somewhere unreachable.

Seeing the person ignore him, "himself" desperately pounded the door. He'd felt a magical presence in this house. Someone inside was also a wizard.

"Himself" wanted rescue, but the door remained sealed tight. Even with protective spells already broken, it was helpless.

Because an ice-cold clock hand pierced through his chest. After that, consciousness ceased entirely.

Withdrawing from the story, Sterling gazed at the woman at his feet. Complex feelings rose within him.

In the story's final moments, he saw a pair of hands.

The hands bore some wrinkles, yet were unmistakably familiar.

Hands, he recognized instantly.

"Andrew, have you truly become a villain?"