Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"Is this better...?"

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

"Erise and Arisa are here to return items from the British Museum's collection!"

"...Hmm, I see."

……

"The British Museum, in its modern era, is just ahead."

After learning about Eri 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 a fierce struggle, so the museum is still under very strict guard."

In the Fr universe, during the most intense period of the global Holy Grail War, the family of Leidenforth, belonging to the Clock Tower's Enchantment Department 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 and mystery'.

In particular, the creation of a new era by Chitose Manazuru and Lucius was the final straw that broke the clock tower, directly leading to its collapse.

For powerful magicians, it is natural to adapt to the changing times and focus their research on Servants. For example, Quindre is such a person. She has a second type of permanent mechanism on the magical level set up by the magician 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 1656 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 Greek exhibition area.

"Holmes?"

James muttered to himself as he hurried toward the Greek and Roman pavilion at an extremely fast pace.

The Greek and Roman exhibition area centers on the Three Fates statues from the Parthenon and the Elgin Marbles. The grandeur of ancient Greek architecture and the delicacy of sculpture are displayed in the statues. The folds of the statues' clothing fall 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 Three Fates were tragically stained with various different colors.

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

Fran groaned softly.

The reason for the sound is obvious.

Kuonji Yuju's eyes widened, and even the young James Moriarty stopped breathing.

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

For better or worse, magicians and Servants 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 Three Fates has a strange body. It has lost all its vitality and has a large hole in its chest. People think that the missing spiritual core inside the chest is the cause of death. However, it has not dissipated. Everyone knows that once a Servant's core spiritual core is damaged, it will inevitably return to the Throne of Heroes.

But at this moment, the Servant was like a real dead person, 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 ignited.

You mean Sherlock Holmes!?

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

In the new era of Fr, Servants 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 is 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, which spanned ten years across two eras, ended right 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 Holmes's body, touched the body's chest, shook her head after a few seconds, stood up and made the sign of the cross.

Her name is Irene Adler, and she is a phantom 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 origins here to the point that they can barely appear as servants.

"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 body was preserved, his soul core is indeed shattered. Under such circumstances, no Servant can continue to live."

That afternoon, after Eileen 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-haired Eri 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 are about to meet them; this is a typical detective case.

Especially since he is theoretically Holmes's archenemy, this situation makes it easier for uninformed people to misunderstand. Of course, this method is too crude for a detective city, so no one thinks it could be James unless it is intentional.

At that moment, the silver-haired Eri and Kuonji Yuzu also sat on the nearby sofa and began to enjoy black tea.

After this situation had continued for a long time, Fran could no longer bear it and said, "Father, Mr. 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 that even I might have such thoughts now, but if I were to design it, it would definitely be more logical than it is now. As a fellow Arbitrator, I hold a higher position within the city, and therefore have more locations to commit crimes."

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

"But in that case, who is it, and how..."

"Asking these questions is pointless regarding this matter."

"That's what the silver-haired Erizo Novia said."

In cases involving mysteries, who did it and how it was done are almost irrelevant. Servants 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 Servants.

"The question is, why kill Holmes, why he died, and why at this time?"

Holmes, based at the British Museum, hopes to recover the collection located in Akihabara. At the same time, he calls 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, and he has found some clues about the new era.

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

"Okay, okay, start it..."

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

In the old days, any magician 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-haired Eri and James spoke in unison at the same time:

"He died in an instant."

After glancing briefly at the silver-haired Eri, who had uttered those words, James placed his hand on the large hole in Holmes's chest in the phantom.

"There has always been an energy bursting out between this wound and the soul core, which forcibly restores and rejoins itself after being crushed and cut—it is this kind of energy that possesses this nature, just like a modern serial killer cutting up a corpse and using unknown means to restore the corpse completely, and before that, something tore everything off from Holmes in an instant."

In other words, Holmes' seemingly intact body was restored using some means, and considering that the body of a follower 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.

"Crushed and then restored to its original state..."

The idea of ​​pearlescent luster is truly terrifying and malicious.

Not only does it render the opponent powerless, but it also prevents them from even thinking, which is nothing short of torture for a great detective who can uncover everything.

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

Novia pondered.

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 Eri's perspective, this is the third time.

Like an indelible mark, fate emerges from the shadows. Could it be that even in London, a foreign land, those Grim Reapers are still influencing the Servants who can reveal the 'truth' of the world?

Yama, Miktlantikutri, I can't control the other gods of death, but if you two appear in the Mort 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 that, in her opinion, none of the people present could be the murderer, so it must be that mysterious phantom.

"……is that so?"

Silver-haired Erise 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 detect that the black figure had no aura whatsoever; it was just a pure human figure. Moreover, these things were not important. The most important thing was that Holmes died in front of the statue of the Three Fates in the Greek exhibition. Was it a random place or was there some other mystery?

Because James Moriarty, a class of Arbiter, has elements of the three Norse goddesses of fate stitched into his body. Although Norse and Greek are completely different, they both feature three goddesses. Moreover, Novia knows that Moriarty's skill, Conspiracy, is at the Ex level.

With the elements of the three Fates, he can unconsciously weave and unfold plans, simply put, he is 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 Jew Ahasulus and the Servant Dutchman used their Noble Phantasms to land in London and affect the barrier..."

Combining the limited information she had previously obtained from both Ahasulus and Fran, a faint smile appeared on the lips of the silver-haired Eri.

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

"Eh……"

Fran felt that his grandfather'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 it's impossible for him to have that kind of time...

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

"This is what my father 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 ruins charged me five times the price! Oh dear, now we can only destroy London to crush Holmes' confidence. Fran, remember not to go out today, okay? Wandering around in the sewers is the romance of us villains...' I thought my father had gone to play a live-action cosplay game. It wasn't until I went out to buy something that I saw him on TV, the kind where he's locked up."

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

"And I."

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

Seeing Fran's serious question, James frowned unhappily: "Me too, I was summoned on that day."

Silver-haired Erise narrowed her eyes slightly: "Let me guess, is there some kind of alliance in the ruins of London?"

"oops?"

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

"So those are them?"

"Well, it's the Black Mary Queen, Mr. Card from back then, Jack from London, and Rob the Wolf and his Headless Horseman, that's about it."

Silver-haired Erise 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 will most likely encounter two Moriarties 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, the Arbitrator...

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

James suddenly said, "Metropolitan London forbids any meeting between 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-haired Eri, 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."

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