The Great Demon Holmes - Chapter 3: One Detective

London Police Headquarters, 5th floor, Chief’s Office.

As the highest-ranking official of the London Police Department, Chief Lestrade was currently lowering his head humbly, trying his best to display respect in his smile. However, due to his usual lack of humor, his expression appeared more like a peculiar twitch.

Facing the diminutive old man on the couch, he hesitated for a while, glancing at the clock on the wall out of the corner of his eye. Finally, he spoke up:

“Your Excellency, Scotland Yard has undergone four expansions already. The corridors and stairs are in disarray. Miss Catherine, will she… get lost?”

He didn’t dare to utter the words “get lost” as that could be misinterpreted as being directionally challenged or mentally incapable.

The old man in front of him clearly didn’t care about such matters. He simply smiled and waved his hand dismissively, saying, “Don’t worry, she should be arriving soon.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the office door was pushed open, and the young woman dressed in peculiar nun attire walked in.

Her jet-black hair was tied up behind her neck, and her eyebrows and eyes were sharp, naturally exuding a sense of pride and severity that didn’t match her age.

At this moment, her face revealed clear anger, making Chief Lestrade feel uneasy.

“What happened?” the old man on the couch stood up and asked.

“Nothing, just encountered an ill-mannered bastard,” Katherine closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in her heart.

Chief Lestrade’s heart sank, mentally scolding everyone in the entire police station from top to bottom.

He had clearly given instructions that they were receiving an important person today, and they should be polite to unfamiliar faces. How could someone still be so brainless!

“I assure you, anyone who offends the sanctity of the Church will face the severest punishment!” he hurriedly said.

Katherine shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer. She turned to the Chief and said seriously, “Have you found the suspect?”

The Chief’s smile froze, and he was in a precarious situation, on the verge of tears. “Miss Katherine, I am the Chief of the London Police Department, but your request… is too difficult.”

…

In fact, it wasn’t a major issue to begin with. It was just that a serial killer suddenly emerged in the old city district, brutally slaughtering twelve women in the span of two weeks. Each victim was subjected to heinous acts of violence, dismemberment, bloodletting, and the tearing apart of internal organs, leaving a gruesome scene.

That was all.

In an era where “Hell” invaded the real plane, demons roamed everywhere, and walking on the streets at night could result in instant death, it was difficult to garner enough attention for a serial killer.

However, the problem lay in the fact that this individual seemed to have become addicted to killing…

No longer satisfied with continuing the spree in the lower city district, the killer had set their sights on the upper city district. Just last night, they had brutally murdered a beautiful woman.

If it were just a resident of the upper city district, it wouldn’t be much of an issue, at most raising the reward money. But unfortunately, this victim in the upper city district… was the wife of an executive officer of the Church!

Now, things had become serious!

It was widely known that since the gates of hell opened, the Church became the only hope for the survival of the human race. Whether it was the countless churches built within the city districts or the fanatic warmongers in the south who used their own flesh and blood to resist demonic invasions, or even the omnipresent “Holy Light,” they were all the last support for humanity struggling on the brink of extinction.

“The Church is inviolable.”

Even before children could read or their worldview had fully formed, this phrase had already become ingrained in their young hearts, like the rising and setting of the sun, an established rule of this world.

“I don’t care what methods you use.” The woman’s face darkened. “Someone has killed a family member of the Church, an affront to the Holy Light. The killer must be found within 24 hours.”

“But… but you only gave me one slot, and…” Chief Lestrade mustered the courage to explain, but when he saw Miss Katherine’s slightly furrowed brow, he quickly swallowed the rest of his words.

There was no choice. The wife of an executive officer being brutally murdered was more shocking than the mayor of London engaging in bestiality. If the news got out, it would tarnish the supreme authority of the Church.

Therefore, this matter had to be resolved as quickly as possible, with as few people as possible knowing about it!

But…

Sending someone to investigate a series of murders and catch the killer within 24 hours, isn’t that an impossible task?

Unless…

Unless!!!

Director Leistride swallowed hard, feeling extremely helpless and uneasy as a name crossed his mind.

In that instant of realization…

“Oh? Could it be that you’ve thought of someone?” spoke the small elderly man before him. His droopy eyelids concealed lifeless gray eyes.

Director Leistride didn’t know what had come over him, but he instinctively nodded, “Yes, if anyone can do it, it’s only him.”

As the words left his mouth, he abruptly snapped out of his daze, drenched in cold sweat. Looking at the small elderly man who had been smiling all along, a hint of fear seeped through his previously respectful demeanor.

He had definitely not intended to say those words.

He had been compelled by some kind of abyssal force…

So, this honored sacrificer wasn’t merely a contractee but had already evolved to the second stage?!

“Has someone finally been chosen?” Miss Katherine asked.

Director Leistride clenched his hands, sweat trickling through his fingers. He knew that there was no point in concealing the truth any longer. He could only nervously reply, “Yes, there is someone chosen… a private detective…”

…

Several minutes later, within the police station’s holding cell.

An old gas lamp sizzled, casting a dim light in the dampness.

Several officers struggled to carry a large bloodstained suitcase, and if it weren’t for the occasional eerie movement emanating from within, no one would believe that a person was crammed inside.

The individual’s pelvic bone had been shattered, their legs twisted in an unimaginable manner and forcefully brought up to their chest. Ribs were likely broken, shoulders dislocated, and the tendons in their elbows torn apart, resembling two strands of hemp rope, cruelly tied below their neck.

In short, a living person had been compressed into a lump of flesh, and what was even more horrifying was that this person was still alive.

According to the Empire’s laws, death row inmates had no civil rights, so even if they were treated roughly, there was no recourse for complaint.

After all, these people were already destined for the execution ground.

But… but this was still too cruel.

“Zip–”

The suitcase’s zipper was opened, and the sound of bones rubbing against each other sent shivers down their spines, followed by the gasping breath of lungs finally expanding.

No screams for help, only the faintest miserable moans. The person, like a pile of mud, oozed out slowly.

The robed, small elderly man in front of the suitcase froze, then looked at the police officers beside him, only to find them averting their gaze, unable to look at the person sprawled on the ground.

“Does your detective always arrive like this?” one officer timidly nodded.

“Yes, Your Excellency, according to him… it’s more convenient to transport prisoners this way.”

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the police station, Director Leistride and Miss Katherine stood at the entrance of the lounge.

The director pointed to a couch, where a man was sitting. He wore a trench coat, had a lean figure, and held a book in his hand, seemingly reading with half-closed eyes, like a fallen noble who had lost all interest in life.

“It’s this person…” humbly stated the director.

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed the expression on the lady’s face.

“Um… Miss Katherine, your complexion… doesn’t seem too good.”