Heavenly Demon Holmes: London’s Subjugation

Every morning, a Kung-Fuist who finishes Breath Control, establishes the day’s chivalry agenda, and puts it into action is the same as one who, even if he falls into a maze-like inner demon amid the chaotic martial world, is still gripping the ten-thousand-year heavenly silkworm thread that surely leads to an exit.

-Victor Hugo-

Elder Darwin looked dazed, as if he had taken no small shock, but soon showed a faint smile.

Compared to those who live on nothing but the sword, Elder Darwin was indeed the type of Kung-Fuist who carried the thick scent of ink.

However, he was the North Star of Mysticobiology, a polymath among Kung-Fu scholars who had long enforced his will in the martial world with nothing but his fists.

The virtues of an old veteran who had carved his mark into martial world history after countless crises were not limited to outstanding force alone.

The fact that he was still alive with all four limbs intact at the age of seventy-two suggested many things to me.

People of the martial world who made many enemies in their youth yet still enjoyed a comfortable old age generally fell into two types.

Either their skill did not decline even with age, and they repelled every ambush. Or they precisely understood Murim people’s common mindset and knew how the dynamics of grudge and grace were formed.

“A clever move.”

I could not know which type Elder Darwin was, since I had not known him long, but it was certain he understood the way of conduct of Kung-Fuists in the latter category.

“Even in the Galapagos, where spirit beasts struggle without end, few beasts are eager to rush to an early death. If you live holding the resolve of a suicide attack, you can earn the fear of the wise.”

“That is exactly it.”

If we bound the Tsar in London and made the Vermilion Phoenix’s chick hatch earlier than scheduled, I guarantee something quite delightful will happen.

Humans are dull creatures.

No matter what pain it is, one cannot empathize without experiencing it firsthand.

If he wanted to burn this lovely city, would it not be fair for the Tsar himself to feel even a little of the Vermilion Phoenix’s heat as well.

“With that, the direction is roughly set. Thank you for your cooperation. However, may I borrow the materials Elder Gould left behind for a time? I want to read the rest before handling the matter.”

Apart from personal interest, I wanted to check in more detail the information the late Elder Gould obtained while observing the chick.

To carry out the plan smoothly, it was necessary to grasp concretely the process by which the Vermilion Phoenix’s young broke out of the egg.

I considered reading it here and then leaving, but for now it seemed better to save time and finish checking the material while moving by carriage.

Above all, it would be easier to move the Butler Agency if I showed it to Mycroft as well.

“Hm…”

Meanwhile, Elder Darwin looked unwilling.

“I can return it in three days, but it seems it was an unreasonable request after all.”

It was the reaction I expected.

If a Super Junior he met for the first time today said he would take a secret manual left by a Kung-Fu scholar who had been his close friend, how many people would permit that.

If he would not permit it, then I had no choice but to spend some time and read it all before leaving.

That was what I thought, but.

“It cannot be helped. The situation is urgent.”

“You will permit it? Thank you!”

Elder Darwin’s answer betrayed my expectation in a good way.

“However, there is one condition. Since you would borrow a precious secret manual from me, I too would like to keep something of value in trust during that time.”

No. Perhaps in a bad way.

“…Is there something you want in particular?”

“Your cane will do.”

“This is a distinct weapon my master left to me.”

“I know.”

A demand that was somewhat out of the blue, and impossible to understand.

Only after hesitating for a long time could I make up my mind.

“Haa…”

I was sitting alone in the carriage seat.

In my hand was the draft of A Century of Birds I had obtained from Elder Darwin.

“…In the end, I did bring this back.”

I did not expect Elder Darwin, of all things, to try to take the Heavenly Demon Cane as collateral.

No matter how precious the material Elder Gould left was, to tell me to leave behind my master’s sacred token.

No. From the moment he told me to hand over my weapon to another Kung-Fuist, it was a remark that crossed the line.

To think that mild old man would make such an absurd demand.

“It is fortunate I made him compromise within reason…”

Needless to say, I refused Elder Darwin’s proposal.

No matter how much I loathed my master, the Heavenly Demon Cane was a cherished weapon as good as my life.

Perhaps I could show it briefly, but there was no way I could leave it in another’s hand for three days.

Above all, Elder Darwin still had a secret he had not revealed to me yet.

“…Should I be glad I noticed in time?”

I had steadied my Qi Frequency as much as possible and disguised a calm manner, but he couldn’t deceive my eyes.

Elder Darwin was suffering from a severe inner-demon.

Earlier, because Watson and Mrs. Darwin were present, I intentionally avoided mentioning it, but the symptoms he showed were those seen in men who had given their inner-demon an opening while facing the wall and the like.

If I sought a close example at once, Her Majesty once had those eyes during a Sword Debate chess match with me.

Perhaps his fixation on the Heavenly Demon Cane too was an act meant to overcome his inner-demon. Though I could not even guess what, specifically, he intended.

“Well, I must return Elder Gould’s manuscript anyway, so I will have to ask again then why he wanted the Heavenly Demon Cane.”

Elder Darwin lent me the precious material on the condition that later, he would examine the Heavenly Demon Cane in front of me.

When I visited his estate again, my curiosity would likely be resolved as well.

“There won’t be any trouble…, will there?”

For now, I should handle the immediate concern first.

-Knock knock-

When I knocked on the carriage wall, the small sliding door connected to the driver’s seat opened.

“What is it, sir?”

A bright, brisk driver’s voice.

But I knew it was put on.

“Stop with the acting. That doesn’t suit you.”

/<…Since when did you notice?>

The driver replied not with his voice but with a Direct Message, then removed his mask.

So much for ‘silent practice,’ when he could put on a voice so well while disguised.

“Recently I opened my minor meridians, so my five senses have grown keen. You could have at least concealed the scent of Dusk Ink.”

/<I grew curious what you heard from the Lord of the Lunar Society, so I followed. I couldn’t erase the fragrance because I hurried, so understand.>

“Then the note I sent through Watson?”

/<I received it on the way and confirmed it. The eldest son of the Chenzhou Yan Clan, and the head of Zuckerberg & Co.’s England branch, was it? I issued orders, so agents are bringing those you wanted to the safe house.>

“Good.”

When I heard from Mycroft in front of Claridge’s that Butler Agency agents went about disguised as drivers, the first thing that came to mind was something from my previous life.

Before I went for a suicide attack with Moriarty, Watson and I fled abroad to evade the killers he sent.

In that process, we repeatedly joined and split up while shaking off villains, and on the first day of flight, the driver who took Watson to the station had been Mycroft in disguise.

I never dreamed I would live to ride in a carriage driven by my own elder brother, but one does learn by living long.

/<So, what did you reap?>

“I found what I wanted.”

Before I examined the material, I explained to Mycroft the matter of the Vermilion Phoenix’s chick and the outline of the plan.

/<To hasten the hatching, hm…>

“The Tsar’s plan must have been to freeze the egg with the House of Romanov’s fierce ice arts and take it to Saint Petersburg. The closer the Vermilion Phoenix’s chick is to hatching, the stronger its intent becomes, so once it is frozen, it won’t be able to properly inform its mother or father of its location.”

/<If it goes according to the Tsar’s plan, the Vermilion Phoenix that flies in blindly after only grasping the direction will fail to find the young, and in its rage, burn London, is that it?>

“If we hatch the egg early and then head to the sea with the chick, it means we can lure the Vermilion Phoenix.”

/<…Indeed. We must arrange a fast boat at once.>

Mycroft nodded heavily.

The plan after securing the egg is already decided.

Bind the Tsar’s feet, and return the chick to the Vermilion Phoenix.

Simply executing this simple concept would make the Tsar swallow a big mouthful of water.

/<The problem is how to steal the egg.>

“That is why I recruited a Civil Engineering expert.”

/<And the undertaker?>

“I will tell you that separately later.”

/<That woman Irene Adler is surely no ordinary person. Her skill at shaking off the agents tailing her was not common. Luring her into a formation will not be easy.>

“She is the party leader of the Afternoon Tea Party. Shouldn’t it be normal that she is difficult to deceive?”

/<…What?>

“For a Butler Agency Chief not to even know that. Why not wash your hands with a gold basin and leave the martial world already.”

Of course, it was something I learned after meeting Moriarty, but if I could mock Mycroft, there was no need to choose means and methods.

/<To fall behind a mere consulting detective in information. The agents’ discipline has grown lax.>

“If the upper water is clear, the lower water will be clear.”

/<Once this is finished, I must order them into two-shift closed-door training.>

“I do not know why you vent your anger in the wrong place.”

/<In any case, to think the head of the Afternoon Tea Party was living in London. It was a mistake to send agents to Paris.>

“Did you just change the subject?”

Mycroft continued as if nothing had happened.

“Answer, Sherlock. How do you intend to steal the Vermilion Phoenix’s egg held by the unorthodox ringleader of a vast intelligence organization? Will you enter the party leader’s estate and leisurely set up civil engineering to show hallucinations? Will they leave you alone?”

“Didn’t I say it? She is not a woman who would fall for a half-baked trap.”

/<Then what do you intend to do?>

“All I need to do is this.”

I took a handkerchief from my coat and held it out to Mycroft.

That’s right. It was Irene Adler’s handkerchief. The one I had shown to Moriarty and then retrieved.

“Of course I must go to the estate in person. The homeowner even invited me, saying I could come anytime.”

/<…Oh. An affair?>

“Stop spouting nonsense. In any case, once I get inside, I will certainly steal the egg.”

In my mind, memories of entering Irene Adler’s home before my regression were reviving.

I did not intend to use exactly the same method as then, but as I revisited those memories, a new stratagem came to mind that would fluster her.

“I have a stratagem that will completely knock that woman’s wits out, so leave it to me.”

That is why one must be careful when inviting into one’s home a man one has only met a few times.

No matter how upright a gentleman he appears to be, until he shows his true nature, you can’t know what dark intent he harbors.