Episode 44

True love is like the Ghost Face Killer, which everybody talks about, but no one has actually seen it.
–La Rochefoucauld¹

At some point, the smile had vanished from the Postmaster General’s face.

“…You’re more arrogant than I imagined.”
“Pardon…?”
“Allow me to offer you some advice, out of concern.”

Sir Fawcett’s voice had turned rigid.
It was as if he was on the verge of expressing his anger.

However, fortunately, one signal that my intuition picked up revealed Sir Fawcett’s true intentions.

“Keep your head down―”
“Alright.”

Before Sir Fawcett could finish his sentence, I grabbed the back of Watson’s head and pushed it down.

As the minister had advised, I ‘Kept My Head Down’.

“Holmes…?!”
“Stay still.”

The next moment, with a deafening roar, the carriage was shattered.

-Bang!

What emerged through the vehicle was a blurred hand shadow.

A massive fist blast rushed toward Sir Fawcett’s head, as he laughed menacingly.

And just as the fist blast was about to strike the back of his head, the Minister turned around at a speed that the eye couldn’t follow.

-Screeech!!

The incoming fist blast collided with the edge of the Minister’s hand. With an ear-piercing sound of breaking air, it shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.

“What on earth is happening, Holmes…?”
“What else? The culprit is attempting to assassinate a Cabinet Minister on a lovely afternoon.”

Even before the carriage was destroyed, Sir Fawcett’s hand was imbued with intense Brain Stopper energy.
The reason he warned us to keep our heads down was that he had sensed the ambush with his formidable hearing.

“Bloody Hell!”

With his face contorted in rage, Sir Fawcett attempted to charge in the direction from which the fist blast had flown, over the wreckage of the broken carriage.

However, just a bit sooner, I stepped in front of the minister.

“What do you think you’re doing!”
“Pardon me for a moment―”

Instead of giving a detailed answer to Sir Fawcett’s question, I drew the Heavenly Demon Cane’s blade about five inches and thrust it forward.

-Ting!

The projectile, flying through the dense dust kicked up by the carriage’s destruction, struck the sword and lost its momentum.

“…Huh.”

Sir Fawcett picked up the fallen projectile with his gloved hand.
It was a long needle thrown with internal energy.

“Are you alright?!”

Officers nearby ran over and took a protective stance.

“Don’t make such a fuss. It’s nothing.”

The Postmaster General waved off the officers, seemingly unimpressed.

“A daring fellow indeed.”

I continued to heighten my senses, remaining vigilant of the surroundings.
Though Sir Fawcett, being blind, did not notice, the surface of the long needle was coated with a black pigment to suppress light reflection.
A precautionary measure considering the presence of protectors.
The absence of poison was likely to prevent the minister from smelling it and realizing the projectile was coming.

Had I not blocked it in time, Sir Fawcett would have been struck by the delayed attack.

“I can’t let him escape.”

-Snap!

Sir Fawcett snapped his fingers, and a fan-shaped translucent sound wave imbued with blue energy shot forward and quickly returned.
Using Kung-Fu Echolocation, he completed the search in an instant.

“A cowardly fellow. Couldn’t even wait.”

He cleared the dust with a push of his palm and looked in the direction the perpetrator had fled, but the figure was nowhere to be seen.

Even though I wasn’t properly spreading my senses to remain vigilant, to launch a surprise attack from a distance where no killing intent could be felt…

The enemy was undoubtedly a master with considerable skill.

“I’ve ended up indebted to you unintentionally. I’m wondering how I should repay you.”
“Think nothing of it. Haven’t you already given us a ride in your carriage, Minister?”

I brushed off the sawdust from my clothes and helped Watson to her feet.

“Quite the reckless individual, isn’t he?”
“Indeed. Judging by the fact that he targeted Sir Fawcett and not us, he must have followed the carriage.”

It was entirely plausible.

The carriage, which was perfectly fine just a moment ago, was now entirely painted blue, as if to announce to the world that it belonged to the Postmaster General.

The culprit, who had been trailing us from afar after spotting the carriage, must have confirmed it stopping in front of Scotland Yard before attempting a surprise attack with a fist blast and projectiles.

“I expected the culprit might target me, but I didn’t think he would be bold enough to act right in front of Scotland Yard.”
“That’s not all. The culprit surely knows something about you, Minister.”

Sir Fawcett nodded heavily.

The fist blast launched by the culprit was meant to deafen his hearing with its roar and cause the sound to reverberate off the broken carriage fragments.
The needle thrown by the culprit, who anticipated the minister running toward him, was a projectile prepared to take a life.

The needle’s small surface area allowed it to fly with minimal air resistance.
In other words, with the Kung-Fu Echolocation method sealed, it was difficult for Sir Fawcett to notice the projectile slicing through the broken carriage fragments and flying toward him.

“Looks like we’ve encountered a troublesome opponent. It feels like I’ve seen a ghost in broad daylight.”

Thanks to the perpetrator’s lackluster skill in throwing projectiles, I managed to deflect them in time. However, I realized that I needed to reassess my evaluation of the criminal.
The perpetrator possesses formidable martial skills, a sharp mind, and considerable audacity.

In that case, I must change my approach to dealing with the enemy as well.

“Minister, I retract my earlier statement.”
“Hmm?”
“I was referring to gathering and guarding those involved in the lawsuit in one place.”
“I don’t mind, but what about the others?”

Simply gathering people in a safe place for isolation isn’t enough.

What we need is a more proactive response.
Among them, we must employ one of the more extreme methods.

“The perpetrator is active in London.”
“I am aware of that.”
“So, how about secretly evacuating all involved parties far away for three days?”
“…Oh?”

It seemed like an unexpected suggestion as Sir Fawcett’s lips curled slightly.

“I’ll take responsibility for capturing the perpetrator during that time.”

Now that I’ve taken on the case, I won’t let anyone else die.

After the Postmaster General summoned a new carriage and departed Scotland Yard, I immediately went inside the building to meet Lestrade.

“It’s become quite a headache. The officers are all frightened and trying to leave the scene.”

The Inspector started to complain, pounding his chest with his fist as if the current situation was unbearable.

“Now that the victim’s identity has been revealed, haven’t we gained more clues to catch the perpetrator? Why are your subordinates acting like this?”

The case was on the verge of being solved, yet the officers were already scared out of their wits—an incomprehensible situation.

“Last time, there weren’t just one or two who nearly died fighting the Dead Man. On top of that, rumors about the ‘Phantom Fist’ have been spreading inside and outside the Yard…”
“Phantom Fist?”

Could this be the name referring to the perpetrator of the current serial murder case?
When I asked, Lestrade nodded.

“Yes.”
“This is absurd. To think they’d even give a nickname to a murderer who only killed four.”
“Regrettably, quite a number of officers are causing a fuss, claiming the emergence of a new Public Enemy.”

Once again, it was a moment that revealed the level of Scotland Yard.

“I caught a subordinate trying to flee and asked what he was thinking. This is what he said.

“A being that commits locked-room murders while traversing the North End, South End, East End, and West End of London within the span of a Tea Time should not be called human.
It is surely the soul of a gentleman who wanders the nine heavens, committing murder for revenge.
This is evident just from the sight of those impossibly large fist marks.”

Lestrade added.

“Hmm…”

It was truly lamentable.

To jump to the conclusion that a criminal they’ve never encountered face-to-face is a transcendent being, merely based on the numbers visible on the surface, and decide to Run Away before even engaging him.

For officers of Her Majesty’s police to be so faint-hearted…

“Well, honestly, it unsettles me to the point of madness. Frankly, isn’t it the same for you, Holmes?”
“Me? Why do you think so?”
“What do you think? Somehow, the culprit managed to commit murder as if passing through walls like a ghost.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

“Lestrade, are you serious right now?”
“If that’s not the case, how do you explain the four locked-room murders committed without even touching the Zuckerberg family’s Anti Kung-Fu Lock?”

I didn’t feel the need to give a detailed answer.

It was much quicker to show in a comprehensible form rather than explaining how the culprit killed the victims.

“You and your subordinates are gravely mistaken. The perpetrator of this case, without a doubt, is a human being of flesh and blood, just like us.”
“I would hope so. If it has a form, we can catch it.”
“Exactly. Leave the roughing up to me and Sir Fawcett, and you can handle the arrest.”

Lestrade sighed deeply, folding his burly arms.

“I never understand what gives you such confidence every time.”
“Well, with that muscular brain of yours, it must be hard to grasp.”

I could see the Inspector’s eyebrows twitching in irritation.

I should stop here. If I keep teasing him, Lestrade might explode.

“More than that, I’d like to hear your thoughts on what just happened. Don’t you think, Watson?”
“I was just about to ask Inspector Lestrade myself. From what Holmes told me earlier, it seems this case is related to the lawsuit between the Post Office and the telephone company.”

Watson quickly caught on to my intention and replied.

“What on earth is going on? The gentry who never listened to a word I said…”

Lestrade glared at me with suspicion-filled eyes.

“What are you talking about? I’m asking because I think your opinion holds enough value.”
“Could you be more specific?”
“According to statistics, you never get the right answer. So just by listening to your opinion, I can eliminate one wrong choice.”
“Argh! You really are something else!”

Letting out a brief hysterical scream, Lestrade soon regained his composure and began to share his thoughts.