Chapter 8: Chapter 03
Sherlock quickly descended to the ground floor, closely followed by Watson.
The guards at the table, startled by the sound of rapid footsteps, turned around and moved towards the duo.
Sherlock took one look at the doctor and Watson knew exactly what he meant.
Sherlock quickly got past the first three men and attacked the fourth and largest guard. Confused by his actions, the three guards turned around but before they could catch him, John moved in and swung his cane, hitting all of them.
With their attention successfully drawn, John managed to create some distance between him and Sherlock before attacking his opponents.
Despite being outnumbered, John fought valiantly. His skills were unpolished as he seemed to be a brawler fighter, unlike his companion.
With each hit he took, he made sure to deliver twice as much damage to his opponents. His strength and endurance were a key factor to the success of his fighting style.
Meanwhile for Holmes, the giant in front of him made big swinging attacks, looking to deal the most damage in as little time as possible.
Unfortunately for him, Holmes' style of fighting was agile and sly, dodging each and every blow while dealing a modicum of damage.
The giant's strength was incomparable to Sherlock's but he was losing as the accumulation of small injuries and pains slowed him down considerably.
After what felt like hours, the giant finally fell and Holmes moved towards the hooded chanter with John at his side, also finished with his own battle.
With a glance, the hooded man sent away his distant companion. John and Sherlock noticed his movements but before they could react, the young lady on the table picked up the ritualistic knife that was laid at her side and held it over her chest.
Prioritising her rescue, they ignored the fleeing man and rushed to the lady's side. Before they could make it far, another four hidden guards leapt from the shadows and attacked.
This time, they were better armed and more prepared as they divided themselves equally and each group attacked one person.
Perhaps seeing the previous fights, they might've assumed that Sherlock was the easier target but they couldn't be more wrong.
What Sherlock lacked in strength and ferocity, he made up for in strategy and guile. Each attack he delivered was planned five steps ahead, taking into account everything from his opponent's mental states to the environment they were in.
Now that he needed to face two people, his brain was pushed slightly and the scene that followed could only be described as "a parent playing with their children"
Each of his attacker's weapon swings fell short as Sherlock always seemed to just be out of range of their attack. He never went for any decisive blows but insisted on minor yet well timed attacks.
From a knee kick after a large swing from his opponent that tripped them into each other or a small shirt pull that lined up one guard's head for a devastating vertical swing from his mate. Baiting attacks and quick dodges at the last second to guide their fists into the pillars behind him. An annoying but effective strategy.
On the other side, John had his berserker like fighting style stifled as both his attackers chose to stick close to him by hugging him, limiting his movements.
As undignified as it seemed, it worked as John hadn't attacked once and the two had devolved to bites and head butts to deal damage.
Tired with the charade, John shifted his body weight and threw himself at the nearest stone pillar, twisting his body to use one of his 'huggers' as a shield.
Surprised by the sudden movement, the guard didn't react until he had been shoved headfirst into a pillar and consequently knocked out.
Without thinking, the other guard released his grip on John and fell to the ground with him.
Before he could fully realize the consequences of his actions, John pounced on him and unleashed all the annoyance he'd accumulated from their synchronised attack into his face from a ground pound position.
Meanwhile, Sherlock who had completed dominated the momentum on his end, noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
Another guard had appeared but instead of the usual blunt weapon that everyone else had, he held a revolver in his hand.
He aimed his weapon at Sherlock and fired his shot.
Out of sheer luck or lack of skill, the bullet barely missed his head and hit the pillar behind Sherlock.
A loud ringing sound rang out as the sound of the bullet ricocheting off the wall beside his ear slightly stunned him.
Still aware and recognizing the dangers, Sherlock quickly shook off his stun and pulled one of his attackers into the line of fire just as the second shot went off.
This time, his bullet hit home as his mate had been shot in the shoulder. The bullet placement, no doubt all planned by Sherlock to prevent fatalities.
As he fell to the ground in anguish, Sherlock rushed towards the gunman and used his cane, before the guard could shoot, to knock the gun out of his hand.
Followed by a brutal cane strike to the hand, knee and chin, Sherlock effectively punished his opponent for wielding a gun, dropped them down to their knees and finished him off in a timely manner.
As they finished up their fights, the girl had already positioned the knife at it's peak and was just about to let it fall. Sherlock, knowing they were too far, looked down and saw the revolver he had dispatched from his opponent.
Without a second of hesitation, he grabbed the gun and threw it to John.
Sherlock was a skilled shot in his own right but he disliked guns. Although his feelings towards the weapon were secondary in regards to saving a life, he trusted John more as he was a better shot than him.
John, upon receiving the gun, nodded understandingly and aimed the gun at the hooded man. The man remained unperturbed as he continued his chants, changing only his volume as the ritual began it's crescendo.
The girl's hands fell as the knife began to plunge towards her. In the next second, before the knife plunged into the lady's chest, the third and final shot rang out and the blade quickly flew out of the girl's hand and out of sight.
Sherlock during this time had already started moving towards the lady after handing John the gun, fully confident in his friend's skill.
As the knife flew away, Sherlock arrived at the girl's side and began administering basic first aid.
She had sweat dripping down her face while her mouth was drooling. Her pupils were dilated and unfocused. Sherlock finally knew why she behaved the way she did. She had been drugged and starved, most likely inducing a dull yet responsive state.
"Sherlock Holmes... and his loyal dog. Tell me, Doctor... as a medical man, have you enjoyed my work?"
The air stilled as the man spoke. Sherlock now had his attention on him as John trained his revolver on him from a distance. Triggered by the man's words, John replied.
"Let me show you how much I've enjoyed it" John said as he walked towards him, menacingly
"Watson! Don't!" Sherlock shouted.
John stopped, feeling betrayed by his friend, he looked at Sherlock confused but noticed that his friend didn't look at him and just stared off into the far wall as he spoke.
"Observe"
Noticing his eye line, John relented. Looking down, he finally saw what Sherlock had stopped him for. There was a long needle thin stake of glass that projected out of the man's sleeves.
John traced the glass stake from it's origin and took a gulp when he realized he had been half a step away from death.
"How did you see that?" John asked, confused but relieved
"Because I was looking for it" Sherlock replied before shattering the concealed weapon.
After calming down, John held the man at gun point while Sherlock used his cane to finally unmask the cold blooded killer who had been terrorizing London's streets for the past month.
With a simple flick of his wrist, the hood fell and a handsome, well groomed man with slicked back hair was revealed.
John and Sherlock were surprised by his face. Not because of handsome or how well groomed he was but due to his extremely recognisable face.
Any man, woman or child who knew anything about the upper class would know his name.
"Lord Blackwood" John said, dumbfounded
[Picture]
"You seem surprised, Doctor-."
"I think the girl deserves your attention more than he" Sherlock interrupted
"Indeed" John replied, moving towards the patient but not before pistol whipping Lord Blackwood.
As Sherlock continued to look at Lord Blackwood in awe and slight confusion, Inspector Lestrade and his men finally arrived.
They walked in and began rounding up all the fallen enemies as well as confiscating any weaponry and evidence they could procure.
"Impeccable timing, Lestrade" Sherlock stated, turning to Lestrade "We have one for the Doctor and one... for the rope"
"Clarkie" Lestrade spoke to the man on his right
"Yes Sir" Clarkie replied, understanding his superior's words.
Clarkie moved forward and grabbed his cuffs to bind Lord Blackwood. After ensuring the his hands were properly bound, he proceeded to move Lord Blackwood but he resisted.
"If you don't mind." Lord Blackwood spoke, indicating the lack of need for guidance or restrictive motioning.
Although he was a evil and merciless criminal, the man was still a Blackwood, one of the wealthiest families in all of England. Even Nobility would treat him kindly and Clarkie knew his place in the world.
"This woman needs a hospital immediately!" John shouted from the back
"Put her in the back of the Mariah" Lestrade ordered before looking at the prisoner "And get him out of my sight!"
Clarkie moved forward out of instinct but a quick glance from Lord Blackwood stopped him in place. Without a word, he just gestured towards the door and Lord Blackwood moved quietly without anymore resistance
"You were suppose to wait for my orders." Lestrade said, addressing Sherlock
"Well If I had, you'd be cleaning up a corpse and still chasing a rumour. Besides, the girl's parent's hired me, not the Yard"
Sherlock replied "Why they thought you'd require any assistance is beyond me"
"In any case, London will finally breath a sigh of relief" Lestrade stated
"Indeed. Congratulations, Lestrade" John added jovially
"Bravo, Inspector" Sherlock added before pulling out a cigar "Here, as celebration."
While they were occupied with their conversation, a man had quickly set up his camera, ready to take a shot
"Gentlemen!" the camera man called out.
Successfully attracting their attention, he quickly and the flash went off but not before Sherlock covered his face. Anonymity after all, was a valued asset in the world of a sleuth.
*********************
After the exit of the last person on scene, Jonathan walked out of the shadows.
He had arrived before Sherlock entered the crypt. After using [Shadow Mist], he watched silently as the duo fought through the hordes of guards and made their way to the hooded man.
Cautious, Jonathan had already began channelling his attack skills from the dark, ready to intervene if needed.
Fortunately, his worries were unneeded as John ran through his opponents while Sherlock danced around them. It was entertaining to watch but Jonathan's attention was always drawn towards the altar.
Examining the man, he didn't appear threatening in the slightest. Jonathan concluded that he was just a regular human.
Jonathan read the man's thoughts and was both surprised and revolted. The man was a Blackwood, a name Jonathan had recently come to know fairly well and Lord Blackwood himself didn't believe in what he was doing.
He had killed 5 people without remorse over a ritual he didn't believe in. It seemed that the Blackwood name in itself was a curse. Every carrier of the name were insane and unapologetic.
It was all an act to incite fear and establish his 'power'. Each life he had taken was akin to squashing a bug for him. Their existences meaningless, serving only to further his cause.
The idea of just killing him and ending the charade was tempting. The man did not even have a single ounce of supernatural power and yet, he was overflowing with arrogance and had no regards for life.
He was a stain on the world that Jonathan could make disappear at the flick of a wrist. The audacity of someone so weak and feeble to consider themselves superior due to a few gold coins was laughable.
As an immortal, the notion of money had slowly lost its meaning. The mundane world lived and breathed on these forms of currency and those who hoarded these riches considered themselves gods. They revelled in their false sense of power as they controlled the populace from the dark.
If they were gods then Ekon and Vampires, who existed outside of their sphere of control were akin to demons and Jonathan was more than willing to become a necessary evil.
Just as he was about to write off his worries as unnecessary and act on his urges, he felt one of his skills active without warning.
[Superior Adaptation] was drawn towards the altar as Jonathan felt it greedily absorb a new energy he hadn't felt before. He felt his mind clear as the violent thoughts that had been running through his mind disappeared.
Jonathan caught himself and realized that just a second ago, he had decided to kill a human in cold blood without any hesitation.
Horrified by the realization, Jonathan was scared and grateful that his skill had triggered when it did.
Drawn back to the altar, Jonathan now realized why he was fixated on it. After absorbing the energy, he could finally see the dark energy surrounding the altar.
He saw it's tendrils reaching out to each and every person inside the room, including himself and infecting them. He watched as his usually calm and reasonable friend became a mindless warrior under it's influence.
If even Jonathan, as a vampire, did not realize its effects then it was impossible for the normal people in the room to even notice it.
Although he could tell that Lord Blackwood genuinely did not believe in his actions, it didn't subtract from the fact that his actions had summoned this energy.
Seeing it's potential dangers, Jonathan waited until everyone left to approach the altar and completely absorb the energy. He did not know what effect it would have on the environment if left unattended but he did not want to find out.
After absorbing all the dark energy, he could finally assess it's capabilities.
It felt insidious and tainted with evil. Despite his adaptation working efficiently, he could still feel it trying to infiltrate and corrupt his mind. Out of curiosity, Jonathan indulged it and released some of his darker thoughts and he felt the energy consume them and grow stronger.
The infiltration became stronger and the need to corrupt grew. Simultaneously, Jonathan felt his mind become clearer and his thoughts become faster. The negative effects of the energy were tempering his mind.
No doubt [Superior Adaptation] was using this as a chance to grow stronger steadily.
As clarity and clear mindedness returned to him, Jonathan contemplated his previous thoughts. Despite being influenced, he believed that these were his real thoughts brought to the surface and wanted to reflect on them before they were influenced by something stronger and he couldn't control himself.
Although he was a cold blooded killer, Lord Blackwood was still a human and humans should deal with their own problems, just as supernaturals should keep to themselves.
Also his oath as a doctor made him promise to help EVERY patient without bias, human and supernatural alike.
He had even treated enemy soldiers during his long illustrious military career. Despite being on opposite sides, he could at least respect them for fighting for their own beliefs.
At the end of the day, they were just people who were following the orders of their superiors to fight.
Drawing parallels to his current situation, he believed that there must be a reason why Lord Blackwood was so arrogant about his actions.
It wasn't an accident that his premonition coincided with his return to London. The situation also included John, a close friend of his and the Blackwood name had made a resurgence in Elisabeth's life.
Jonathan was unwilling to carry out his next course of action but he needed to settle everything once and for all before they could move on with their new life.
He was going to need to ask Elisabeth about her past and the fate of her estranged husband, Jacob Blackwood.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone