SFS Chapter 215: The Sign of Four (4)
Chapter 215: The Sign of Four (4)
“Haa, haaa...”
Clenching her teeth as she ran, Silver Blaze painfully realised that she was gradually slowing down. Fast.
“Ugh...”
Despite being unmatched in speed within London, the problem was that she had spent her entire life dedicated to horse racing.
Thus, her body couldn’t be in good condition when she had already sprinted several times the usual distance while still suffering from the aftereffects of the KKK incident.
- Thud...
As a result, while attempting to escape the encircling forces, halfway across London Bridge she finally reached her limit and collapsed forward.
“No...”
Nevertheless, she began staggering to her feet with gritted teeth, trying her best to stand even though her legs not fully cooperating.
“I’m going to... mate... with my master...”
Utilizing the lingering energy from her heat, Blaze murmured as she crawled forward.
“Got you...”
“... Eh.”
A cold voice from behind paired with a crushing weight on her back stopped her movements, and she collapsed completely.
“I have nothing against you personally... but the world of competition is ruthless.”
Phantom Thief Lupin, using the momentum of her propeller, was the first to catch up to Silver Blaze. She looked at the demihuman horse girl with sympathy before bending down and reaching her hand forward.
“So...”
- Riip...
“... Huh?”
Even though she was utterly exhausted, Silver Blaze still clung to the contract with all she had left, refusing to let go. A panicked expression flitted across Lupin’s face when she was unable to snatch the contract from Blaze.
“Hey, it might tear...”
“I’m going to... mate...”
“Aren’t you letting go?”
In the next moment,
- Sfff...
“Step aside, you country bumpkin from France...”
“... Urghhh?”
The second person to catch up, the princess, grabbed Lupin by the hair and spoke.
“To conquer the world, I need this man...!”
“... Let’s be honest here. It’s not like you really need Adler to conquer the world, right?”
“Sh-Shut up!”
Suddenly, the princess and Lupin, each grabbing the other’s hair, began emitting a murderous aura as they also clung to the contract in Blaze’s hand.
- Swoosh...
“”.........!””
Just then, a black hand suddenly sprang out from the shadow cast over the bridge and grabbed onto the contract as well.
“It’d be better to let go before I kill everyone...”
Half-emerging from the shadows, Jill the Ripper whispered as she pulled the contract towards herself.
“You... You’re just going to kill him...!”
“Not really? I’m going to rape him then murder him over and over again. You’re just going to do nothing and stuff him inside your collection!!”
“I’m not going to rape, murder, or stuff anyone, anywhere, so let it go!!”
“Ma... te.....”
Thus, the first arrivals began struggling, tumbling and wrestling with each other.
- Click, click...
“... Tsk.”
Moran, watching them from a distance, realised that she was out of ammunition and started running towards London Bridge while raising her gunstock.
- Rumble...
“There... it’s there...”
“But... they’re all stronger than us...”
“Just... push through...”
Almost simultaneously, monsters on both sides of the bridge staggered towards the centre where the contract was.
- Creak... creak...
And because of them, the London Bridge began swaying ever so slightly, straining under the combined weight.
- Creeeeeeak...
It seemed like a new verse would soon be added to the nursery rhymes about Britain’s most famous bridge.
“Stop right there.”
The most intense treasure hunt in British history was about to come to an abrupt end. Thankfully so, as the already tattered London Bridge would not be able to survive any more punishment. ȓâƝôᛒÊS
“From this moment, if any of you moves even a single step...”
Glaring at the princess and the women surrounding her, the girl began clenching her fists.
- Crumple...
“Oh, no!”
Just like that it seemed that the priceless treasure of the London-wide treasure hunt would permanently sink beneath the surface of the Thames River as mere scraps of paper.
“Hey! If that’s the case, might as well use it yourself!!! What a waste!!!”
- Halt...
From afar, amidst the monsters, a sharp voice suddenly echoed toward the centre. Immediately, the secretary-esque girl paused before she could rip the contract apart, her eyes widened.
“.........”
And then, there was silence.
“Uh....”
In that silence, the girl wore a dazed expression. As she had never even thought of anything along those lines, the ramifications of the thoughts overwhelmed her. Her gaze was fixed on the empty fourth signature for a long time.
- Thump, thump, thump...
Soon, her heart began racing, and even her face flushed red.
“Which bastard just spoke...”
“Eek... you can’t do that...”
“... You little shitty dog in heat!”
“The pet position should be enough for you bitch!!!”
Noticing the anomaly, the women involved in the contest momentarily forgot their fear and began charging towards the girl.
- Tsk...!
“... Huh?”
Before the others, however, there was someone who had already grabbed the girl’s leg.
“Little one.”
“”.......!?””
“... What are you doing here?”
She was none other than Rachel Watson, who had come to watch an unusual horse race on London Bridge, completely intoxicated.
.
.
.
.
.
“Hey, are you harbouring wicked thoughts?”
“... Huh?”
“What’s with this young rascal... thinking life’s so short already...”
As Watson slurred her words, she grabbed the leg of the girl standing on the railing and yanked her down, causing the bystanders to momentarily freeze.
“Grrrr.....”
Meanwhile, the girl, having lost her balance and toppled to the ground, briefly wore a bewildered expression and then bared her fangs with a fierce gaze at Watson. The doctor in question was acting like a delirious fool, face flushed and reeking of alcohol.
- Bam...!
“... Eh!?”
In the next moment, a Watson affectionately struck the girl on the head, chastising her.
“Blimey... where are you looking when adults are speaking, you two are so impolite...”
“........”
“Don’t you have eyes?”
Eventually, waving her fist in the air, Rachel Watson inevitably displayed her experience with dogs. Her original counterpart had a trained bullpup and that was clearly showing in her demeanour.
“Oh... but... why did I come here?”
In this unprecedented situation, while the girl was briefly stunned,
“... Ah, right.”
“Ah.”
Watson, momentarily puzzled, swiftly snatched the contract from the girl’s hand.
“Came to buy a betting slip.”
In the next moment.
- Shluck...
“”.......!!!””
She pulled a pen out of her pocket and without anyone stopping her, effortlessly signed her name in the empty fourth slot.
“But, why isn’t the match starting?”
“”..........””
It was the moment when the glorious last owner of the fourth signature was /genesisforsaken