NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101
Abraham Van Helsing. Known in the world as Dracula’s arch-nemesis, he is regarded as the most significant adversary.
Not just one, but multiple advanced degrees—the man is an extraordinary scholar. As someone who has experience in graduate school, Jeongjae couldn’t belittle Abraham Van Helsing; especially considering that the idea of ‘having at least three or more doctoral degrees’ already set the bar so high. It wasn’t much different from the awe he felt when watching a superhero movie where a genius scientist boasted about having seven doctoral degrees.
This elderly professor from the Netherlands had mastered medicine, psychology, philosophy, and more, playing a crucial role with his rational and logical thinking in tracking down and ultimately defeating the king of vampires.
And now, right in front of him, this white-haired old man was casually claiming to be Van Helsing while smirking. Even more shockingly, it appeared that the great Abraham Van Helsing had now become a vampire himself.
Jeongjae slowly walked down the path to the basement alongside the frail-looking Count Harker. Jeongjae asked the Count, “I have so many questions I want to ask, but if I start talking now, it might take a while to finish, so I’ll hold off. Is the device down here going to help with your treatment?”
“It will be painful, but the effects will be instantaneous. Let’s calm your condition down first and then I will prepare continuous medication.”
“Are the materials something we can obtain?”
“It will take some time. So until the meeting with Jeffrey, we have no choice but to take extreme measures with that magical power.”
The two of them finally reached the end of the stairs, arriving at a cozy-looking basement. The white light of magical energy shone gently throughout the room, just like always. Count Harker frowned as he looked at the floating white orb in the air.
“Does that Moriarty machine imply that coffin? Looks like it’s stuffed with light bulbs.”
“Four times sixteen. A total of sixty-four light bulbs. But it will need a little time to get it operational.”
Approaching the glass lid, Count Harker removed it from the coffin and unveiled the bulbs inside. While Jeongjae calmly watched from the side, the Count placed his cross necklace firmly into one of the small grooves among the bulbs before closing the coffin lid again.
After sealing the glass lid to prevent any noise from escaping, he turned back to the chair and collapsed onto it.
“Is it ready now, Count?”
“No, this is just the beginning. But since it hasn’t been operated for a long time, that machine is going to need time to get prepared. Since it’s not a typical engineering device, it has to be handled delicately.”
Jeongjae nodded, fully aware of how sensitive and delicate mana machines can be.
Seeing Harker take a seat across from him, he extended his hand as if inviting Jeongjae.
“If you have anything you want to ask, go ahead. I will answer as much as I can.”
“Well, there’s quite a bit, but the most important question is… how did you end up suffering from such an illness? There can’t be that many ways for a human to become a vampire.”
“I fell victim to the most traditional and common method. I was bitten by Dracula. In terms of the vampire lineage, I’ve become his offspring.”
“But how did that happen?”
“There’s really no elaborate story. I simply got bitten during a battle. To justify a bit, at that time, I was underestimating Dracula’s power. After meeting with Holmes and engaging in various discussions, I had certainty that he became stronger than when he was on Earth, yet I still underestimated him.”
“Did that guy bite you?”
“Afterwards, he forced his blood into my unconscious mouth. Sherlock Holmes intervened just in time to prevent him from dragging me into his ranks. Had Holmes been even a little later, the name Arthur Harker would have vanished entirely from history.”
In the end, the man known as Van Helsing defeated Dracula on Earth but lost to him in this world. Jeongjae thought that such a twist might not be entirely impossible.
Rather, the more rational and logical a man like Van Helsing was, the higher the likelihood of him being unable to break free from the impressions he had of Dracula, leading to his underestimation of the powerful magic that this world’s vampire lord wielded.
Feeling the torment threaded between each response, Jeongjae considered it pointless to delve into this subject any further.
“How did you come to this world?”
“I walked in by myself, Baron. Given that you know my name and Harker’s, it’s clear that records of Dracula and our group’s battle have somehow survived and been passed down for a hundred years.”
“In fact, it has become a story known to everyone in the world.”
“In the tale’s conclusion, Dracula was said to have been decapitated and impaled through the heart, leading to his permanent demise.”
“That does seem to be the case.”
“That is a lie. Only I know the truth behind that lie. Dracula was indeed vanquished by the blows of Quincy Morris and Jonathan Harker. But he didn’t die. The moment he sensed a life-threatening danger, he poured all his power into erasing his physical body on Earth and opened a passage to the other side, leaving only his essence behind.”
“How do you know that, Professor Van Helsing?”
“Because that’s not how vampires vanish. I was certain that Dracula didn’t die, but I lied that he did to calm everyone’s fears. Then I embarked on my own investigation to discover what he truly did. While staying in London for that purpose, a man claiming to come from the British Intelligence showed up seeking me. He was a big, chubby fellow, but there was a glint of intelligence in his eyes.”
Jeongjae felt he could almost guess the name.
“Is it Mycroft Holmes?”
Count Harker raised his brows in surprise at Jeongjae’s question.
“Are you really from Asia a hundred years later?”
“Just think of it as the kind of fame that everything about that log is well-known. So, what did Holmes come to you about, Professor?”
Mycroft Holmes. The older brother of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, he is renowned for having an intellect that surpasses his brother’s. If Sherlock Holmes is a real person, then naturally Mycroft must have existed as well.
If Moriarty was indeed plotting for a world war as recorded by Holmes, then the best brain in the British Intelligence would not have sat idle.
Most of the time he probably spent sitting, but that was the characteristic Jeongjae remembered of Mycroft as a ‘character.’
“He said the government is collecting the world’s mysteries. One of the most dangerous men in the world has begun to meddle with dangerous powers that humanity has never known, and the British Intelligence has initiated a secret battle to stop it. But I think it’s ultimately the fault of the British.”
“The fault of the British?”
“England was exceptionally prosperous in the 1800s. They ruthlessly shattered the wonders remaining in fantasies and sought to incorporate them into the realm of reason. The world we live in now has formed a realm of science where magic and rationality harmonize, but 1800s Europe couldn’t do that. Science and superstition, reason and mystery stayed within their respective domains and were strictly separated.”
“Are you saying that those who prioritized the role of reason began to poke into areas that reason shouldn’t touch?”
“Those dangerous challenges piled up and eventually exploded into reality. During that process, Dracula, who was lodged in Transylvania, realized that attempts to ‘clarify’ and ‘investigate’ him were drawing near, and resolved to head to England. Before someone could threaten his existence, he decided he would crush the British Empire first. At the same time, entities that should not have sought power began to notice the existence of mysterious energy, or ‘mana,’ and started moving to seize it.”
“Moriarty.”
“Exactly, and Sherlock Holmes moved too. While I was preventing the existence of mystery from intruding into our realm, Holmes was trying to stop those wicked humans from using mystical powers. The two attempts created a peculiarly twisted outcome.”
“What… outcome are you speaking of?”
“According to the story Holmes told me, the Holmes brothers ultimately failed to prevent Moriarty from acquiring the essence of mana. However, before that wicked mathematician could use his power for his plans, he successfully eliminated Moriarty’s hands and feet by dismantling his organization. Infuriated, Moriarty chased after Holmes by himself to eliminate him.”
“To Switzerland?”
“Precisely, to the Reichenbach Falls. Is that incident famous?”
“Yes, when it comes to the brawl between Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty, yes. Dr. Watson recorded it very well. I had always wondered why Moriarty didn’t shoot Holmes dead the moment he saw him…”
“Because he possessed a weapon stronger than a gun. Moriarty probably thought he could make Holmes vanish without a trace right there with the power of mana he held. That way, there’d be no evidence left, and it would be much cleaner. But Holmes was already aware of that. Sure that Moriarty was not adept enough in handling mana, Sherlock Holmes rushed in before he could attack him with his mystical powers and used a grappling technique to throw Moriarty over the precipice.”
“That part makes some sense. At least it’s more convincing than the public narrative.”
If Moriarty wanted to obliterate Sherlock Holmes with the magical power at his disposal, it was plausible that they would have fought barehanded without the use of guns.
“But just before Moriarty plummeted over the waterfall, he managed to unleash the power of magic, which ultimately caused a rift between this world and Earth. The moment the rift occurred may have been an instant, but souls that died nearby were immediately sucked into it at that very moment.”
“Like dust getting pulled into a vortex. Exactly. Since both people died as they faded away in the explosion of mana, not a single corpse was left at the bottom of the falls. Only the two who were sucked into the rift in that instant. However, speculation about the events between the two only rested with me and Mycroft Holmes. Even Dr. Watson, Holmes’ most loyal friend, was ignorant of the world of mystery and couldn’t be drawn in, leaving me unable to explain the whole truth to him.”
It was a tale that seemed grandiose yet chaotic. Yet for Jeongjae, who had gradually adapted to the laws of this world, it also sounded pretty convincing.
Just as Jeongjae was lost in thought, Count Harker stood up abruptly and headed towards the machine.
“It should be ready now. You might be curious about how I came to this world on my own. This machine is the answer. The Moriarty machine. James Moriarty, who became aware of the existence of mana and seized that power, poured all his mathematical genius into designing a mana device made on Earth. It was a possession acquired by the London police after dismantling Moriarty’s organization.”
“If that’s the case, isn’t it evidence of a crime?”
Jeongjae said jokingly. Harker laughed heartily, finding it amusing.
“What does it matter? There’s already more than enough evidence to prove the guilt of Moriarty’s goons. I’ll show you how to use it directly, so there’s no need to worry. I’m feeling a bit tense—this treatment process will be quite painful for me.”
Hearing this made Jeongjae tense up as well. The Count slowly peeled off the glass lid from the coffin. Jeongjae was startled. There hadn’t been the slightest sound of clattering as he removed the lid.