The Great Demon Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 16: An Accident Happened

A loud "Bang!" resounded!

This was certainly not the sound of the old priest's head exploding!

On the contrary, Deacon Baldr's massive body suddenly flew backward and to the side in a bizarre manner!

He first knocked several guards away, then, without losing momentum, smashed through a long row of steam valves along the roadside, finally embedding himself with a crash into the wall beside the street.

Only then did those around see that where his heart was located was a pitch-black spike, only the thickness of a finger but over a meter long!

This spike was undoubtedly extremely hard, its surface keratinous like shiny black metal, and its speed was incredibly fast. Even now, with Deacon Baldr already embedded in the wall, the bricks creaking softly, the whooshing sound of the spike cutting through the air had only just caught up, sounding like a strange and distant echo.

Sherlock stared at the sudden scene, his mind instantly processing incredibly complex calculations and deductions. Such speed, compressing the immense impact into a tiny area the width of a thumb—just how terrifying would that be…?

Yet, even such terrifying damage failed to pierce Bardell's chest!

Sherlock turned his head, looking in the direction the spikes had come from. Under the Zeppelin's massive lights, a remarkably slender figure stood silently atop the tallest tower in the entire block.

Catherine…

And beside her, crawled—no, more accurately, grew a large clump of dark plants.

Resembling some kind of vine, but each branch as thick as an arm, they intertwined and nearly covered the entire top of the tower. These vines grew silently, blending seamlessly into the darkness when unlit, so much so that even Sherlock hadn't noticed them beforehand.

At the center of this cluster of vines, a cluster of jet-black spores was growing, currently expanding at an alarming rate…

The surrounding air was rapidly drawn in, and the spores swelled dozens of times larger in a single second. Even under the light, the jet-black veins within the spore walls, like blood vessels, were faintly visible.

Sherlock was somewhat surprised. He had never read anything about this in the books he had read before. It turned out that contractors could control not only abyssal creatures, but also plants.

Well, the authors of those books probably only collected information on low-level contractors. How could a bunch of lousy writers possibly have access to contractors who had reached the second stage?

Just as she was thinking…

Suddenly, the enormous spore sac on the tower contracted violently, instantly unleashing an explosive burst! Simultaneously, another jet-black spike shot out from the spore sac, instantly traversing the entire street, exceeding the visual limits of everyone, including Sherlock, and even surpassing the sound of the wind piercing through the air. Only the resonance from the recoil made Catherine's long hair dance wildly in the night!

"Boom!" With an even louder sound, the jet-black spike pierced Bardell's heart once more. This vine-like plant undoubtedly possessed a more precise method of targeting than sight; the two spikes struck almost the same spot. Instantly, the wall was shaken back, billowing thick smoke, and cracks spread rapidly.

Catherine gave him no chance to catch his breath. Before the aftershocks had subsided, a third spike arrived, followed by a fourth, and a fifth.

Boom! Boom!! Boom!! A series of deafening explosions merged into an indistinguishable roar!

The wall, bearing the immense force of the impact, collapsed with a deafening crash, billowing thick smoke. Then, a sixth, a seventh, countless spikes pierced through the smoke, relentlessly bombarding the structure.

The deafening roars continued for an unknown duration, until Sherlock felt his eardrums were about to tear apart, before the attack finally ceased. Looking at the building shrouded in smoke, it resembled a building that had endured a dozen horrific gas leaks—completely collapsed, reduced to rubble!

In this state of affairs, even if the attacker were a contractor, they should be dead by now.

Those terrifying spikes should have already pierced them into a b****y, mangled mess of flesh.

Everyone seemed to think so. Catherine, standing atop the tower, finally exhaled a soft breath. The old priest sensed the abyssal beast, which had symbiotically coexisted with Deacon Baldr, rapidly weakening until it howled, collapsed, and lay motionless. He too finally opened his weary eyes.

The deafening roar of turbines on the long street gradually subsided, and the armor, not yet completely destroyed, began to hiss and spew steam to dissipate heat.

It was finally over… the taut nerves could finally breathe.

In truth, everyone knew this was a battle whose outcome was predetermined from the start, for those who violated the laws of the Church deserved only death!

…However, Sherlock, hidden in the shadows, remained motionless. His eyes seemed even brighter, fixed intently on the collapsed ruins.

The hail of bullets, the smoke carried by the bullets, the terrifying force tearing through armor, the horrifying impact of spikes slicing through the night—all this information once again raced through Sherlock's mind at an unbelievable speed! In an instant—

No…

It doesn't match the result of his deduction…

Almost simultaneously, countless possibilities flashed before his eyes, some good, some bad.

He grew increasingly silent, increasingly vigilant, increasingly calm.

Finally, at the moment the first raindrop fell on the long street…

The detective who had been hiding in the shadows moved!