Personality V: I will save everything

Fortunately, however, the story had a happy ending. They successfully found Salt and the case was solved.

However, Holmes was extremely dissatisfied with the final outcome of the case.

It turned out that in order to maintain the reputation of the nobility, the Duke put all the blame on the hotel owner, Mr. Hayes.

Although Mr. Hayes was not the actual murderer, he was eventually sentenced to hanging.

The real mastermind behind the scenes, Wilder, was simply exiled to Australia.

Although Holmes successfully received his reward - a full 6000 pounds, he had no interest in the money.

Because in his view, this was not a reward for his brilliant reasoning, but a hush money.

After all, Holmes has seen through the secrets behind the nobles, and the money was actually given to him by the Duke in order to keep him silent about the secret.

But before Wilder was exiled to Australia, he asked Holmes to pass a note to Miles, and Miles opened the note in front of everyone. There was only one sentence on it - You're right.

People often desire things they lack. However, when they truly understand the darkness behind these things, they will be surprised to find that perhaps it is better without these things.

Take Wilde's experience as an example. As an illegitimate child, he could not inherit the title of Duke, so he was full of endless desire for this title.

However, when he gradually realized how great a price he would have to pay to obtain this title, he suddenly realized that it seemed that not having this title would be a better choice.

This is like people groping in the dark. They are desperately pursuing a ray of light, but they never expect that behind that light there may be deeper darkness hidden.

When they finally saw it all clearly, they suddenly realized that what they had been pursuing was not true happiness.

This case is so ironic! All the planning, calculations and arrangements ended up in vain.

Not only that, what is even more unexpected is that after all this trouble, I found that what I had been pursuing and fighting for at all costs was just a pile of worthless garbage!

What a irony! All the efforts and hard work were gone in an instant, and what was thought to be a priceless treasure turned out to be worthless trash.

This huge contrast makes people feel helpless and ridiculous.

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Originally, everything had been settled, all the mysteries had been solved, and the case had come to an end.

However, just as Holmes packed his bags and prepared to leave, he suddenly discovered that Antonio was missing.

"Today is October 10th. Antonio should be in church, right? After all, today is a special day for him. It's his anniversary." Valletta answered nonchalantly.

Hearing this, Holmes was stunned at first, then he muttered to himself thoughtfully: "Oh, so that's it, he went to church........."

But before he could finish his words, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning, bringing him back to his senses: "Huh??? Wait!!! Going to church?!"

Holmes's face suddenly became solemn, and he realized that what Antonio had done was far more terrible than he had imagined.

How could Antonio go to the church? After all, Antonio is a demon!

How could a demon enter a church? This is simply a fantasy! Holmes' mind kept flashing with various questions and concerns. He began to wonder if Antonio wanted to end his life in the church.

"Is he going to commit suicide?!" Holmes' voice unconsciously rose an octave, filled with astonishment and fear.

"Actually..." Before Violetta could finish her words, she was suddenly interrupted by Holmes.

"Which church did he go to?!" Holmes' voice revealed a hint of anxiety and nervousness. His expression did not seem like he was just asking about his friend's whereabouts. Instead, it seemed like he was worried that the other person's life might be in danger.

Violetta was startled by Holmes's reaction, but she quickly pointed to a spire building in the distance.

That was the roof of a church. From here you could clearly see its towering spire, which stood out among the surrounding buildings.

"That's where Antonio went," said Violetta.

However, Holmes seemed to have no intention of listening to her explanation. His eyes were fixed on the church, as if he could see what was going on inside through the wall.

Then, like an arrow shot from a bow, Holmes ran towards the church.

He was so fast that Violetta didn't even have time to reach out to stop him, let alone explain to him the real reason why Antonio went to the church.

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When Holmes ran to the street near the church as if his butt was on fire, he was surprised to find a large crowd gathered there.

These people were crowded together, as if attracted by some mysterious force.

Not only that, even the priests and nuns in the church ran out of the church in panic. They stood at the door of the church with horror on their faces, as if they were extremely terrified by the situation in the church, so much so that they dared not step into that door again.

Holmes' mood suddenly became heavy, his heart beat rapidly, and an ominous premonition came to his mind.

He couldn't help but worry about what terrible scene he would see when he rushed into the church - perhaps a demonic corpse, or some other more horrifying scene.

However, despite his fear, Holmes resolutely pushed through the crowd and rushed into the church.

When he finally stepped into the church, a completely unexpected scene appeared before his eyes——

A demon with flames burning all over his body was kneeling at the foot of the cross, and its hideous face was illuminated by the flames, making it look even more eerie.

However, in sharp contrast to this horrific image, the devil's hands were clasped together in front of his chest, as if he was praying the most devoutly.

Of course Holmes recognized that this flaming demon was Antonio. He approached cautiously, fearing to attract the other's attention.

When he got close enough, he was surprised to find that the expression on Antonio's face was not his usual crazy smile, but unusually calm, just like an ordinary human being.

What was even more surprising was that golden tears kept flowing from Antonio's eyes.

Under the reflection of the flames, these tears looked like sparkling gems, emitting a mysterious glow.

Antonio looked like a devout believer who was having a soul-deep conversation with God.

However, Holmes knew very well that Antonio was not a true believer, he was a demon, a being who took pleasure in evil and chaos.

Such a scene happening to him seemed very strange and inharmonious no matter what.

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Suddenly, Holmes felt a slight force tugging at the corner of his clothes.

He looked down in confusion, and was surprised to find that it was Valletta who had secretly stuck her spider silk on his clothes at some point.

Holmes looked in the direction of the spider silk and saw Violetta standing outside the church, pulling the other end of the spider silk desperately.

Her movements seemed a little anxious, as if she was urging Holmes to come out quickly and not disturb Antonio in the church.

Holmes immediately understood Violetta's intention, and he walked out of the church carefully, trying not to make any noise.

When he came to Violetta, she breathed a sigh of relief and began to explain to Holmes the reason for all this.

"October 10th is a special day for Antonio," Valletta said softly. "It is his anniversary and the day he became what he is now. Every year at this time, he would come to the church and pray silently, hoping to find inner peace. So, please don't disturb him."

Holmes understood why Valletta was so anxious to call him out, but he still had a question.

"Then how did he get in?"

Because Antonio is a devil, how could a devil enter a church?

However, faced with this situation, Valletta simply rolled her eyes at the priests and nuns beside her, as if she was full of disdain and ridicule for their views.

Then, she took a deep breath and began to explain:

"Holmes, the reason why you have such a misunderstanding is actually very simple. It is simply that those stupid guys have misinterpreted God's will.

If you really can't understand, then I'll ask you in another way. Suppose you have a child who is a very well-behaved and sensible child.

However, due to some special circumstances, he had to do something wrong. Moreover, he felt extremely regretful about it, and even at the moment of doing it, he suffered great pain in his heart. However, he had no other choice but to do it.

So, how would you treat him?"

Having said this, Violetta paused for a moment, giving Holmes enough time to think about the question.

She watched Holmes's expression quietly until she saw a look of sudden realization on his face. Then she nodded with satisfaction and continued:

"Yes, you will definitely just feel distressed instead of blaming him or holding a grudge against him."

Violetta slowly turned her head and looked at Antonio who was still sitting in the church praying.

"So that's why Antonio was able to go in, he did something wrong but he's not a bad kid."

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Holmes stood quietly outside the church, motionless like a sculpture, his eyes always on Antonio inside the church.

Time passed by, Antonio seemed to be completely immersed in prayer, unaware of Holmes' presence. Holmes waited patiently, knowing that this moment was of great significance to Antonio.

Finally, Antonio stood up slowly, his movements seemed a little slow, as if all the strength in his body had been exhausted in the prayer just now. He walked towards the church door with heavy steps.

The moment Antonio stepped out of the church door, Holmes noticed an amazing change - the tears that were originally hanging on Antonio's face disappeared without a trace in an instant, as if by magic.

At the same time, Antonio's expression changed drastically. His originally sad and pious face was replaced by a kind of madness in an instant.

Holmes stared at Antonio, with an indescribable feeling in his heart.

He suddenly understood why Antonio had always maintained that stiff smile for ten years, because apart from laughing, he seemed to have lost the ability to express other emotions.

At that moment, Holmes gained a deeper understanding of Antonio's inner world.

This man may have experienced so much pain and suffering that he can only use a smile to cover up his true feelings.

This smile is both his protective color and his only way of communicating with the outside world.

"Have you finished praying for yourself?" Holmes looked at Antonio who had already walked out of the church and asked casually. In fact, he had no ill intentions, and this was a very normal way of asking.

(How normal is this? It's a bit like asking, have you eaten?)

But what Holmes didn't expect was that Antonio said,

“I’m not praying for myself, I’m praying for the people who died in the ghetto.”

When mentioning the slums, a glimmer of humanity flashed in Antonio's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by the madness of a demon.