Chapter 472

"Is this better...?"

After muttering to himself, James belatedly began to introduce himself, "Ruler class, James Moriarty, and you two are?"

"Erice and Alice are here to return items from the British Museum's collection!"

"... Hmm, I see."

"The British Museum, in its New Era, is just ahead."

After learning about Erice and Kuonji's situation from Fran, James naturally took them to the British Museum.

"Because after the Clock Tower was disbanded, some remnants took up residence under the British Museum, which led to fierce struggles, so the museum's security remains very strict to this day."

In the Fr World, during the most intense period of the Global Holy Grail War, the Leidenfrost Family, belonging to the Clock Tower's Department of Spirit Evocation Holy Grail Elimination Tournament and occupying the lowest position among the aristocratic factions, was the first to break the taboo and overturn the Mage's Association's highest principle of 'Concealment of Mystery'.

In particular, the arrival of the New Era by Manazuru Chitose and Lucius was the final straw that broke the Clock Tower, directly leading to its collapse.

For powerful Magecraft, it is natural to adapt to the changing times and focus their research on Servant. For example, Kundry is such a person. She has a second type of permanent mechanism on the Magecraft level set up by the Magecraft who summoned her.

"..."

Suddenly, James sensed an abrupt stillness in the air, and he instinctively quickened his pace slightly.

When he reached the museum entrance, he held up his pass, and the doors of the British Museum opened silently.

Inside the museum, as always, the iconic central atrium, a dome made of 1,656 pieces of glass, serves as a hub connecting the various exhibition halls, allowing natural light to pour down.

Just then, the people present saw a black figure flash by in the Greece exhibition area.

"Sherlock Holmes?"

James muttered to himself as he hurried toward the Greece Rome pavilion at an extremely fast pace.

The Greece Rome exhibition area centers on the Fate Three Goddesses statues from the Parthenon and the Elgin Marbles. The grandeur of ancient Greece architecture and the delicacy of sculpture are displayed in the statues. The folds of the statues' clothing drape naturally like flowing water, and the cold texture of the marble contrasts sharply with the dynamic lines, making them seem as if they have come to life.

However, these were not the things that attracted everyone's attention.

The statues of the Fate Three Goddesses were tragically stained with various different colors.

"What... what's going on...?"

Fran groaned softly.

The reason for the sound is obvious.

Aoko Aozaki's eyes widened, and even the young James Moriarty held his breath.

If it were just a corpse, none of the people gathered in this exhibition area would be surprised.

For better or worse, Magecraft and Servant are used to this situation. If they are not careful, their lives will be in danger. Everyone should be fully prepared, not to mention that everyone present has seen a lot of death.

But.

The Servant facing the statue of the Fate Three Goddesses has a strange body. It has lost all its vitality, and there is a large hole in its chest. People think that the missing Spirit Core inside the chest is the cause of death. However, it has not dissipated. Everyone knows that once Servant's core Spirit Core is damaged, it will inevitably return to the Throne of Heroes.

But at this moment, the Servant was like a real dead Living People, leaning there in his famously contemplative posture with his head bowed.

The Servant's true name emerged from the lips of the young James Moriarty.

"Sherlock Holmes..."

The most famous detective in the Detective City of London is dead.

Chapter 490 The Piercing Woman and the Disgusting Woman.

Starting with the death of the great detective Sherlock Holmes, the entire Detective City of London was instantly set ablaze.

You mean Sherlock Holmes!?

"Yes, Sherlock Holmes! Are you really talking about the world-famous detective?!"

In the New Era of Fr, Servant are not legendary figures, but rather like 'partners', especially Sherlock Holmes, who is based in London. Although in recent years, murder cases in London have almost stopped, so there is not much information about him, his very existence is like proof of a miracle.

But he's dead now.

Why?

Chaos is approaching Kon's terror.

How can the citizens of London believe this?

Even though Sherlock Holmes is a modern Servant, he is by no means someone who dies easily. He is the world's best and only Consultant detective, the crystallization of the concept of detective, and the representative of "the revealer." He survived the Holy Grail War in London in 2011 and thwarted Professor Moriarty's conspiracy seven years ago.

And this life, spanning ten years across two eras, ended right there in the heart of London, inside the heavily guarded British Museum?

"... This is truly unbelievable."

A petite blonde woman dressed as a detective quietly moved to the side of Sherlock Holmes's body, touched the chest, shook her head after a few seconds, stood up and made the Cross.

Her name is Irene Adler, and she is a Phantasmal Spirit. Thanks to the characteristics and resources of the Detective City of London, a group of detectives with low Spirit Origin values have also been able to strengthen their Spirit Origin here to the point that they can barely appear Servant.

"Let me, as one of the detectives and based in London, declare: without a doubt, Sherlock Holmes is indeed dead."

"Although I don't know how his Flesh was preserved, his Spirit Core is indeed shattered. Under these circumstances, no Servant can continue to live."

That afternoon, after Irene said, "You've come back to hand over the museum artifacts? But as the first people to discover them, you have no problems, and you've asked enough questions, so you can leave now," the silver- Erice and her group returned to Fran's home in London.

Back in his room, the young James Moriarty fell into a brief silence.

The person who invited you to a meeting dies just before you're about to meet them; this is a classic detective case.

Especially since he is theoretically Sherlock Holmes's archenemy, this situation makes it even easier for uninformed people to misunderstand. Of course, this method is too crude for Detective City, so no one would think it could be James unless it was intentional.

At that moment, the silver- Erice and Aoko Aozaki also sat on the nearby Sofa and began to enjoy their Black Tea.

After this situation had dragged on for a long time, Fran could no longer bear it and said, "Father, Mr. Sherlock Holmes's affairs really have nothing to do with you, right?"

When it comes to Sherlock Holmes's enemies, Moriarty is the first name that comes to mind, which is only natural.

"I don't rule out the possibility that even I, now, might have such thoughts, but if I were to design it, it would definitely be more logical than it is now. As a fellow Ruler, I Class a higher position within the City, thus having more locations to commit the crime."

James replied, "And the fact that London didn't mark me, didn't refuse to offer Od, is proof enough."

"But if that's the case, who is it, and how...?"

"Asking these questions is pointless regarding this matter."

"That's what the silver- Erice Novia said."

In cases involving mysteries, who did it and how it was done are almost irrelevant. Servant are synonymous with being capable of anything in a certain area, and the ability to easily bypass City security and kill Sherlock Holmes far exceeds the limits of ordinary Servant.

The question is, why kill Sherlock Holmes? Why did he die? And why at this particular time?

Sherlock Holmes, based at the British Museum, hopes to recover the collection located in Akihabara. At the same time, he summons James back, most likely because of his Noble Phantasm, "It's common sense, my dear friend," which allows him to find clues even in the face of unsolvable mysteries. He has found some clues about the New Era.

Upon hearing this, James turned to the nervous Fran: "Fran, Projection the scene."

"Okay, okay, starting..."

Fran nodded, then rotated the horn on his forehead, emitting light. Next, Sherlock Holmes appeared on the floor of the room, his chest riddled with holes, yet he was deep in thought.

In the old days, any Magecraft with a certain level of ability in Magic Circuits could record what they saw on their Magic Circuits if they had the will. And Fran, who had been modified by Babbage, was naturally no exception.

Having observed the illusion created by Fran, the silver- Erice and James spoke in unison at the same time:

"He died in an instant."

After glancing briefly at the Erice, who had uttered those words, James placed his hand on the large hole in the chest of the Sherlock Holmes.

"There's always been an energy bursting forth between this wound and the Spirit Core, forcibly regenerating and rejoining after being crushed and cut—it's this kind of energy, like a modern serial killer using unknown methods to completely restore a dismembered body, and before that, something tore Sherlock Holmes apart in an instant."

In other words, Sherlock Holmes' seemingly intact body was restored using some means, and considering that the Flesh of Servant is different from that of a normal person, it is difficult to determine the time of death from the changes and degree of decomposition of the corpse.

"It was crushed and then restored to its original state..."

The mere thought of Alice is truly horrifyingly malicious.

Not only is the target rendered defenseless, but they are also rendered unable to even think, which is nothing short of torture for a great detective who can uncover everything.

Moreover, this method seems somewhat familiar, similar to the two murder cases in Akihabara.

Novia.

If Sherlock Holmes and the recent deaths in Akihabara all occurred in the same way, then the nature of the matter would be different.

From Erice's perspective, this is the third time.

Like an indelible mark, fate emerges from the shadows. Could it be that even on foreign soil in London, those Grim Death God are still secretly influencing the Servant can reveal the 'truth' of the world?

Yama, Mictlan-tecuhtli, I can't control the other Death God, but if you two appear in the Mot Faction, then as one of the managers of these two pantheons, I will have to take care of you.

"Then it must be that strange black figure!"

Fran suddenly asserted, since in her opinion none of the people present could be the murderer, it could only be that inexplicable phantom.

"... is that so?"

Silver- Erice leaned back against the chair, tilted her head back to the Ceiling, and placed the back of her hand over her eyes, letting out a soft sigh.

Novia could naturally sense that the black figure possessed no aura whatsoever; it was merely a silhouette. But that wasn't important. The most crucial point was that Sherlock Holmes's death occurred in front of the statues of the Fate Three Goddesses the Greece pavilion. Was this a random location, or was there more to it than met the eye?

Because James Moriarty, Class Ruler, has elements of the three Norse Fate Three Goddesses stitched into his body. Although Norse and Greece are completely different, they both feature Three Goddesses. Moreover, Novia knows that Moriarty's skill, Plotting, is at the Ex level.

With the elements of the Fate Three Goddesses, he can unconsciously weave and unfold plans; simply put, he is even better at plotting than Moriarty of the Archer Class.

"Speaking of which, Moriarty was imprisoned by the London authorities Seven Years Ago, right? At that time, the Jews Ahasuerus and the Servant Dutchman used their Noble Phantasm to land in London and affect the Bounded Field..."

Combining the limited information she had previously obtained from both Ahasuerus and Fran, a faint smile appeared on the lips of the Erice.

"Fran, do you know what Moriarty's purpose was back then?"

"Eh..."

Fran felt that his Grandpa's meaning was very clear.

I still think it was Dad who did it, but a young dad doesn't seem like that kind of person, and Dad is always under surveillance, so he couldn't possibly have had the time...

After thinking it over, Fran decided to recount what had happened back then in words.

"This is what Dad said to Fran before he left: 'Riddles lead to more riddles, cause and effect are cyclical, but the past remains unchanged. That damn bartender in the Ruined District charged me five times the price! Oh dear, now I'll have to destroy London to crush Sherlock Holmes' confidence. Fran, remember not to go out today, okay? Wandering through the sewers is the romance of us villains...' I thought Dad was going to play a live-action cosplay game, but when I went out to buy something that night, I saw him on TV, the kind where he's in jail."

These are utterly nonsensical words; there is absolutely no trace of the nickname "Napoleon of Crime" in them.

"And me."

"Hmm? What's wrong with the young father?"

Seeing Fran's serious question, James frowned unhappily. "And me, I was summoned that day."

Silver- Erice narrowed her eyes slightly. "Let me guess, is there some kind of alliance in the Ruined District of London?"

"Oops?"

Fran blinked. "Fran doesn't recall mentioning this before, does he?"

So which ones?

"Yes, it's the Black Queen Marie, Mr. K from back then, Jack from London, and Big Wolf Rob and his Headless Horseman. That's about it."

Silver- Erice didn't say much, but instead smiled again.

Isn't this configuration exactly the same as what should be in the Shinjuku Singularity?

If that's the case, then Moriarty must have used some means to 'deliberately' create two versions of himself. In that case, we'll most likely encounter two Moriarty later, but only one of them will be the real one.

It's unclear whether the one is currently imprisoned or 'hiding'.

As for James, Class Ruler...

"If you wish to see me in my old age, you must wait six days, and especially after you have parted ways with me."

James suddenly said, "City London forbids any meeting with anyone who is also Moriarty. Even if a meeting is necessary, one must ensure that neither he nor I meet for six days."

"Aren't you going to meet him?"

When asked by the silver- Erice, James clicked his tongue, his words a mixture of nostalgia, self-deprecation, and disdain.

"There's absolutely no need for that. That guy is hilarious. I never imagined 'me' would end up like that. It's a complete mess."

Then--

"... Hmm, not really."

Alice had been silent for a long time, suddenly murmured softly, but everyone present could hear it. In the next instant, Fran flew over to Alice's Sofa, his eyes shining.