Ah, the healer who doth know the craft of poison. Thy venom taketh hold with swift effect. Thus, with this parting word, I am undone.

–William Shakespeare, Romeo And Juliet

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It was no idle talk when I said the Worm in Hope’s corpse resembled a siphonophore.

The Portuguese Man o’ War is a colony of organisms composed of numerous individuals with different roles, and due to its peculiar appearance, it is better known by this name.

Though it looks like a jellyfish, its biological classification is different due to its unique ecology.

In summary, they are not singular beings.

The individuals that form the small battleship1 floating on the sea consist of four types, with each having distinct shapes and roles.

The float, balloon-like in shape, keeps the colony buoyant.

Tentacles that handle hunting and defense.

Reproductive organs responsible for breeding.

And finally, digestive organs that process captured prey to absorb nutrients.

My hypothesis was that the Worm controlling Hope’s corpse lived in a similar manner.

The reasoning for thinking that the creature in the head was responsible for digesting prey was straightforward.

There were traces of elixir on the teeth, yet no evidence of the elixir passing down the esophagus.

I deduced that multiple nocturnal Worms were hiding inside the Dead Man Drebber discovered then dismembered, which had moved unscathed to the Physic Garden before scattering once again.

The reason the connected body was dismembered at the Physic Garden was because the bugs that had been reattaching the sliced corpse fell asleep.

The entity that supplied nourishment and internal energy to the bugs throughout the body was undoubtedly the one residing in the mind.

In other words, by deceiving its senses and feeding it poison, it was possible to intoxicate the other entities as well.

-Creak!

The Dead Man, having mistaken the poison-laden pill for an elixir and absorbed it, still seemed unaware of what had happened to it, as it once again drew upon its strength.

It was scattering its energy with much fiercer momentum than before.

-Crack!

-Crackle!

The Enhanced energy mixed with corpse poison emitted by the Dead Man was decaying everything around it.

The stones on the ground crumbled into black dust.

A nearby carriage, corroded and crumbling, collapsed with a creaking sound.

“It doesn’t seem effective at all, Holmes! Didn’t you poison it?!”

“Don’t misunderstand, Watson. I most certainly administered a potent poison to him. See, even now the effects are starting to show.”

“Then why is the poisoned thing more vigorous than before?”

Watson still looked confused, and in the meantime, the Dead Man was charging at me.

“It seems an explanation is required. The situation isn’t exactly conducive to leisurely discussions, so even if it’s hard to follow, I ask that you bear with me..”

There was no other way to escape the storm of destructive energy and simultaneously satisfy Watson’s curiosity in time.

I hooked the cane’s handle on my wrist and lifted Watson with both hands.

“Huh?”

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Watson tried to say something, but I was already supporting her back and legs with my arms, utilizing my lightness skill.

-Tatatat!!!

The Dead Man was pursuing me at full speed.

Fortunately, I was confident in my lightness skill. My master had thoroughly taught me the body technique.

“Wh-what are you doing!!!”

“What else? If I stay still, I’ll die, so I’m running away.”

“Then you could just run away, why are you carrying me…!”

“Are you telling me to leave my friend to die? Just because he’s targeting me doesn’t mean you’re safe. After all, you can’t run with your leg injury, can you?”

“……”

Watson turned her head to see the destruction on Baker Street and silently thumped my chest with a reddened face.

Perhaps because she was small in stature, holding her proved no hindrance to my movement at all.

“Is this position really necessary?!”

“This is the one-person horizontal carry position they speak of in emergency medicine. It’s the best way to transport an injured comrade in martial arts.”

“That seems far from the emergency medicine I know?!”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about between men? Just hang on.”

The Dead Man was chasing us at a speed incomparable to before, and the range of the Enhanced energy surrounding it was at least twice as large as before.

Letting such a terrifying monster loose in London, it was understandable that Frankenstein was expelled from the Modern Clan.

-KwaKwaKwaKwa!!!

I heard the sound of the unpleasant store owner’s grocery store being destroyed in real-time behind me.

“Hiccup…”

I could feel Watson trembling with fear.

Despite asking to be put down, she was clinging tightly to my neck with both arms.

Even someone who has survived a battlefield can’t be brave in the face of absurd death following them closely.

“Don’t worry. I have a way to handle this.”

“Can you really defeat such a monster?”

“I never said I couldn’t defeat it. I just need a bit of time.”

I held Watson and ran around the vicinity.

And after a moment.

“Tea Time has passed. The reaction should come soon.”

-Kiruk!

As soon as I finished speaking, the movements of the Dead Man began to slow down little by little.

The semi-circle of Enhanced energy surrounding it was also slightly shrinking in size.

“See. Didn’t I tell you?”

“…What kind of sorcery did you perform?”

“The poison just took effect at the right time.”

“That thing is a Worm capable of killing a master of the Zion Clan. How did you poison it?”

“It’s simple. The poison I used doesn’t threaten its life.”

“…?!”

I leaped off the ground and climbed onto the roof of a nearby house, placing Watson down.

The noticeably slower Dead Man, instead of chasing us, was contorting its body in a bizarre manner.

The poison I administered was starting to neutralize all the insects parasitizing the corpse.

“It’s not a poison that causes chemical reactions to take life, so it can’t be detected or neutralized in time.”

Only then did Watson recall the characteristics of the herb and let out a small groan.

“I see, adding the dancing crane―”

“Yes. The juice of the Dancing Crane Cobra Lily2* *contains a large amount of Calcium Oxalate.”

Calcium oxalate. Also known as oxalate of lime, it is a sort of toxic component.

Plants store calcium in the form of calcium oxalate, and the shape of the crystals varies by type.

And in the fruit of the dancing crane cobra lily, calcium oxalate is stored in needle-shaped crystals.

The juice extracted from that fruit, metaphorically speaking, is like gathering tiny, barely visible hidden weapons, truly deserving the title of Rain of Petals in the juice world.

“When I split Hope’s head at Yan’s house, I saw the cross-section of the insect. Its circulatory system and meridians were not separated.”

Frankenstein, the Worm Poison Immortal, must have modified it so that even with the intelligence of an insect, it could manipulate internal energy. Inside it, fluids, blood, and internal energy were circulating together.

In other words, feeding it needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals means the insect’s insides would automatically be shredded.

“But doesn’t that bug have regenerative abilities? No matter how much damage it sustains from needle crystals, it will soon heal its internal injuries.”

“The poison in the elixir is not just one.”

I combined Thunder God Vine3 from the Physic Garden with other herbs to create another poison.

-Kiiiieeeek!!!

The Dead Man controlled by the insect was meaninglessly pouring out internal energy from every hole in its body.

It wasn’t power refined in the form of Enhanced energy.

That was the power that had been bound within by absorbing a large amount of elixir.

“Have you heard of Hercules Killer?”

The poison I concocted according to the recipe left by my master was called Hercules Killer.

It was a dreadful substance known as the poison that kills Demi-Gods, Hercules Killer.

“A type of Qi Disperser…?”

“Precisely.”

Hercules Killer does no harm until internal energy is mobilized, but once power is drawn, it forcibly expands the meridians, channels, and acupoints.

As a result, the internal energy circulating within constantly disperses outward.

Normally, one would have to wait a bit longer for the poison to be absorbed, but thanks to the needle-shaped crystals shredding the insects’ insides, the effects appeared early.

As the energy continuously drains from its body, it becomes difficult to regenerate wounds, and meanwhile, needle-like crystals continue to puncture its circulatory system.

The rate at which the Dead Man’s internal energy was leaking had exponentially increased due to this compounding effect.

“We’ve waited long enough, Watson. It’s time to witness the triumph of a great intellect.”

I grasped the Heavenly Demon Cane and leapt into the street.

-Creak…

The corpse, which had dispersed a large amount of internal energy, sensed the killing intent from this side and staggered backward.

Ladies and Gentlemen4, with sufficient training, could resist the toxicity of the Hercules Killer by sealing their acupoints, but these creatures lacked such intelligence.

Maintaining a thin barrier of Enhanced energy on the surface of the Dead Man’s body was the insects’ last stand of resistance.

“This is no easy task. Killing the insect while leaving Hope’s body intact.”

I walked toward the corpse, which looked as if it might collapse at any moment.

Jefferson Hope might be a murderer, but I respected him nonetheless.

I also understood the grief he must have felt after losing his beloved.

Though he succumbed to the evil schemes of the Unorthodox, his body must return whole to his homeland, to be buried beside his lover.

Even if it is a promise to the deceased, I intend to keep it.

*-Fwoosh! *

From my left hand, tightly gripping the cane, Buddha Fire erupted.

A pure flame that burns malevolent beings.

Even though it was honed through demonic arts, my True energy is purer than the internal energy accumulated through Orthodox methods.

There’s nothing better for burning away the curse created by sinister techniques.

-Rumble rumble rumble rumble…

The Buddha Fire was drawn into the Heavenly Demon Cane, which itself serves as both a scabbard and a unique weapon.

The flames slowly seeped into the sword made of Cold Iron, bestowing it with the power of Exorcism, the force to subdue heresy.

“You dare to insult the dead so brazenly.”

The distance between me and the Dead Man narrowed to six feet.

A range where the sword could reach if I extended my arm.

To claim the life of this man-made demon, I took a step forward.

“I will soon find your master and burn him as well.”

The sword of Cold Iron, forged by a master artisan, can even slice through Enhanced energy.

Nevertheless, I had not been able to approach the Dead Man because the protective Enhanced energy surrounding it was too thick.

But now, with its energy depleted.

This sword will surely reach.

“Baritsu Quick Sword, Thousand-Hand Mary―”

My naturally hanging right hand pulled the cane’s handle.

A depiction of the Virgin with a thousand arms praying for sentient beings.

This is a quick sword that cannot be followed by the eye.

The fervent and intense prayer flies faster than sound, connecting heaven and earth as one.

“Burnt Sacrifice.”

A quick sword technique based on the Mary5 Swordsmanship of the Gibraltar Temple unfolded at my fingertips.

1. ED: Resembling an 18th-century Portuguese warship under full sail, the man o’ war is recognized by its balloon-like float, which may be blue, violet, or pink and rises up to six inches above the waterline. Found mostly in tropical and subtropical seas, men o' war are propelled by winds and ocean currents alone, and sometimes float in legions of 1,000 or more. Lurking below the float are long strands of tentacles and polyps that grow to an average of 10 meters (about 30 feet) and may extend by as much as 30 meters (about 100 feet). The tentacles contain stinging nematocysts, microscopic capsules loaded with coiled, barbed tubes that deliver venom capable of paralyzing and killing small fish and crustaceans. While the man o’ war’s sting is rarely deadly to humans, it packs a painful punch and causes welts on exposed skin ️

2. ED: *Arisaema heterophyllum* mentioned in Chapter 9 ️

3. TL/N: the common name for *Tripterygium wilfordii* he used in Chapter 9 ️

4. TL/N: Ladies and Gentlemen refers to people of Kangho ️

5. TL/N: Mary = Guanyin / Avalokiteśvara ️