The truth lies at the bottom of the arena and the bottle.

–British Proverb

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“How, how on earth…?”

One person mutters in a frustrated voice.

Behind it sits a member of The Royal Combat Society, who had vanished after burning a piece of paper when the Highlander lost to Lady Sunshine, with a solemn expression.

“…Oh, I see. So that’s how it was.”

-Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Guessing my intention, Watson immediately fired in another direction.

As the mirrors placed around shattered almost simultaneously, those in hiding revealed themselves once again.

“This requires an explanation. How did you find out?”

“I picked up something interesting earlier.”

I lifted the piece of paper I had retrieved earlier to Commissioner Henderson.

“I found someone burning a piece of paper similar to a betting slip from a racetrack. I thought perhaps the Almack’s, whose patrons have dwindled since their heyday, had found a new way to make money.”

“Could it be…?!”

“Yes. It’s a gambling den. The tournament-style duels of the debutantes have great appeal. There must have been plenty of people eager to place bets.”

Confirming that the partially burnt paper was the edge of a betting slip, I figured there must be a place where one could watch the duels up close without being seen.

And the answer was hidden nearby.

The mirrors installed on the walls are one-way mirrors, allowing one to observe from one side to the other, and beyond them lies a secret viewing area, which explains everything.

“And, in most gambling dens where money changes hands, there’s usually some trickery involved to manipulate the outcome.”

Before I even finished speaking, I saw the host of the party, the representative of Wenham Company, backing away in the distance.

“Don’t move!”

“Ugh!!”

But before he could escape, Inspector Gregson tripped him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Don’t be too rough with him, Gregson. He hasn’t committed murder.”

I had previously put many under suspicion, then methodically eliminated them one by one, starting from the VIP seats on the second floor down to the four attendees on the first floor.

This was all a ruse to make the eavesdropping culprit believe I was chasing the wrong lead and thus prevent them from beating a hasty escape.

And now, having mentioned the mechanism created for match-fixing.

The villain would have finally realized they had fallen into a trap.

“It’s nearly impossible to bribe all the attendees and chaperones of the U-35 Invitational. However, the Almack’s officials had a way to fix the match without risking exposure.”

I picked up one of the broken ice pieces and ignited Buddha Fire.

As I walked towards the spot where the body lay, the quickly melting ice dripped clear, cold droplets into the pool of blood at my feet.

“Found it.”

The transparent ice water pushed aside the blood, revealing the floor of the ring beneath.

But only for a moment.

The water from the melted ice quickly disappeared somewhere.

When there was only sticky blood, it was impossible to notice any change, but using water, I could immediately see what had happened.

“When we removed the body, I noticed thin stab marks on both soles. I suspected there might be small holes made in the floor for match-fixing. Even a tiny amount of poison applied to a needle could increase the chance of defeat for the one struck.”

The culprit laced the victim’s smelling salts with a poison that caused a loss of sensation, then pricked their numb soles with a needle.

Next, they immediately used the Inner Heavy Hand Technique. They channeled a large amount of internal energy, causing an explosion within the body.

“The assassin was hiding from the beginning. Right beneath our feet.”

Given the presence of the mechanism that lifts the ring, it’s not strange that there is a space below it where a person could enter.

However, the person managing the mechanism is currently detained by the inspectors of Scotland Yard, and the underground area has also been sealed off.

Now, the culprit cannot escape.

“Shall we continue hunting the mole then?”

I lifted my right foot.

The internal energy from my energy center began to rapidly circulate through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians of my body.

The concentrated internal energy transformed into a solid mass of energy and settled in the Bubbling Well1, and a pitch-black vortex began to swirl around it.

‘If you don’t accept the epithet of Little Demon, I won’t teach you this technique.’

‘What does the name Heavenly Demon mean, you ask? If you want to know, defeat me first.’

‘I assure you, once you master this ultimate move, there will be no opponent you cannot defeat at the Debutante Ball.’

The voice of my master echoed in my mind.

This is the only ultimate move from the secrets of Baritsu that the damned old man taught me and that I can currently execute.

My master assured me that with just the power of this incomplete technique, I could dominate the Debutante Ball.

“In the end, I am showing it here, just as you wished.”

I forcefully stomped the resilient floor of the ring, which normally wouldn’t budge from a mere shock.

“Heavenly Demon Descending Steps, Diablo Step.”

-Kwaaaang!!!!

The ring collapsed, revealing the secret underneath.

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Every year, the Willis Room, where the grand ball attended by the gentlemen and ladies of London, including the U-35 Invitational, is held, was renowned for its sturdy ring.

The wooden surface was merely the exterior.

Beneath it lay a massive boulder of blue granite, processed as a whole.

Its thickness was roughly estimated at 4 feet.

To shatter the rock in a single strike and surprise the culprit hidden below, I had to maximize the internal energy I possessed.

-Crash!!

What was the floor to us, but the ceiling to the culprit, was shattered and collapsed by Diablo Step.

“Krugh…”

The culprit, who had been hiding under the ring and eavesdropping on the conversation, staggered after being struck on the shoulder by one of the broken fragments.

The hooded murderer, though not as massive as the victim, was a fairly robust man, holding a long iron needle as tall as himself in both hands.

“…As expected, properly using Diablo Step is still beyond me.”

However, my attention was momentarily elsewhere.

Diablo Step.

The representative footwork and ultimate skill of Baritsu.

If one perfectly masters the principles of the technique, a single stomp can turn a hill into flat ground, and my master actually demonstrated this before my eyes.

The power of his Diablo Step was entirely different from what I executed, not merely because I could only utilize half of the internal energy from my energy center.

‘Wasn’t the Heavenly Demon the strongest martial artist worshiped by the Eastern heretics? Why does Master refer to himself as the Heavenly Demon?’

‘Surely you didn’t believe that something like the Demon Cult actually exists. The Demon Cult is nothing more than a fictional product created by those in power who feared the Sun and Moon Divine Cult.’

‘Then why is Master’s call sign the Heavenly Demon?’

‘The lifelong enemies I must confront. I am the entity that punishes them, hence I am the Heavenly Demon.’

My master said he would reveal who those enemies were when the time was right, but I never got the answer from him.

It was because my master soon left to travel the world with his maid.

As the name of the technique included Heavenly Demon2, I concluded that without a clear understanding of its meaning, its full power couldn’t be harnessed.

To fully grasp the mnemonic verse, I had to uncover the intent my master had imbued in it.

This applies not only to the Diablo Step but also to other techniques in Baritsu.

“Damn old man.”

If he has no plan to tell me, I have no choice but to find the answer myself.

More than that, I ended up using an inefficient amount of energy by employing the Diablo Step.

Had the technique been complete, I would have had enough internal energy left even after shattering rocks.

It is not ideal to have so little internal energy left when I need to subdue the criminal.

Of course, I had prepared a contingency plan.

“What are you all doing, not subduing him? The one who nearly framed you is right there, isn’t he?”

“……”

“……”

“……”

By my side were three skilled debutantes and one master concealing his identity.

As I mentioned earlier, I assigned them roles akin to a magician’s assistant.

The first role of the assistant was misdirection.

I placed them in the ring to make the criminal drop his guard.

And the second role was support.

The assistant is responsible for helping the magician conduct the show.

“The enemy has an injury on the shoulder. If four of us attack, we can easily capture him.”

The murderer killed a top martial artist with a single blow.

However, with four skilled individuals here, including Lady Sunshine, he won’t be able to escape.

“Why should we…”

“Look around.”

Around the collapsed ring, nearly a hundred gentlemen were holding their breath, staring at us.

So, the four gathered here, driven by a burning sense of righteousness, would subdue the ruffian who disturbed the order of the martial world and committed murder at the U-35 Invitational.

“…Y-yaaah!”

The hesitant debutantes began to charge at the culprit, starting with the woman above the enemy.

The masked murderer resisted by swinging his remaining internal energy, but he was beaten down and fell in less than fifteen seconds.

“Is it over?”

Lestrade, who had been watching nearby, approached and asked.

“Yes, indeed. Arrest him. One of those sitting behind the mirror must be the accomplice who let him in by revealing the secret of the mechanism.”

“We just need to find the person who placed a hefty bet on the victim’s defeat.”

“Amazing. I never imagined you could use your head.”

“……”

Lestrade closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and posed a question to me.

“But, Holmes. What kind of grudge did the culprit have to commit murder against the victim?”

I wondered if I really needed to explain that, but Watson had come closer, eyes sparkling with curiosity, so I had no choice but to reveal what I had discovered.

“I watched Drake’s first duel earlier. He insisted on the ‘post-initiative’ strategy, waiting for the opponent’s move before countering. However, even if one knew that Drake would stop at the baseline when the duel began, to pierce his sole with a needle through a tiny hole below, one would have to be very familiar with his habits. More importantly, the culprit must have been someone who could poison the victim’s smelling salts. In other words, there was a connection between the two people.”

I extended my hand to Lestrade.

“No matter how resourceful you are, you must have secured the list of attendees for the U-35 Invitational, right?”

“Here…it is.”

I scanned the names on the list and found the only absentee.

“Here it is. Jonathan Drake. The victim’s younger brother.”

1. TL/N: 湧泉穴/Yong Quan acupoint. Located under our feet ️

2. TL/N: The Korean name of Diablo Step is actually ‘Heavenly Demon Descending Steps’. The author has included the English name ‘Diablo Step’ for this move ️