Chapter 48: The Human Soul, Pretty Amazing, Right!
"Emiya, starting with the first victim you discovered, the perpetrator has actually caused over a dozen cases of disappearances or human modification, all of which now have obvious Cursed Residue left behind.
After statistical analysis, a total of one hundred and eight victims have been confirmed. Seventy-two of them are still missing, and only thirty-six victims had their remains left behind after the human modifications.
Perhaps, for the perpetrator, they are nothing more than failed products after modification..."
On the way to their destination, Nanami Kento didn't forget to follow his duty and tell Emiya the overall course of the incident.
He knew that such a truth might cause Emiya's emotions to turn to anger, but the other party, having decided to get involved, certainly had the right to know.
And this kind of thing—let alone Emiya—even Nanami Kento was exceptionally furious about it.
Regardless of whether the culprit was a Cursed Spirit or a curse user, Nanami Kento felt that rather than deliberately choosing to capture them alive to find something out, it would be better to directly kill that scum.
"There are so many victims, that kind of guy..."
Over a hundred victims, every single one of whom had undergone that modification which was painful to even think about...
No matter what, Emiya couldn't find a reason to let that guy go.
"It's only natural to feel angry. But precisely because of that, you should be even more on guard in the coming action."
.
.
.
"We've arrived. The perpetrator's hiding place."
After being dropped off nearby by Ijichi driving, and walking a certain distance, the two reached their destination.
Clash—Clash—Clash—
A torrential downpour was falling from the sky at that moment. The rainwater incessantly hit the moss-covered ground, and then surged into the front drainage system's channel along the grooves.
The entrance of the channel was quite large. The main reason the government originally built the city's sewer system to this size was to prevent floods from washing out the city during heavy rain, but the protective barrier at the entrance had been violently breached.
Each bar of the steel grate forming the barrier was as thick as an arm, yet the hole in the damaged section looked as if it had been struck by some behemoth, with the entire grate bent inward.
This was clearly not a trace that a human could have left.
Emiya and Nanami Kento exchanged a look, then both simultaneously drew their weapons and cautiously began to walk into the channel.
In such a large city, its sewer system certainly couldn't be simply described as complicated.
It's no exaggeration to say that you could potentially reach any point in the entire city through the intricate roads and pipes inside, though it's highly likely you'd get lost even with a map.
And although the pipes were complex, there weren't too many tunnels large enough for a person to pass through normally.
Although there would certainly be no road signs in a place like this, Emiya and Nanami Kento only needed to follow the trace of the Cursed Residue.
As for lighting, the omnipresent emergency lights were enough.
Clank—
The footsteps of the two paused as they entered a certain fork in the road.
This was because the Cursed Residue, which had until then only been a single trace, suddenly split into two at this point, entering different forks.
"It seems the perpetrator doesn't want to face us both at once... or maybe they want to face one of us alone.
However, I think the possibility of them targeting you, Emiya, is greater."
Nanami Kento turned his head and analyzed seriously: "Moving together is the safest action at a time like this. But the possibility that the perpetrator doesn't know we're coming is slim, so if we don't follow the perpetrator's intention, there's a high chance they will abandon the conflict and avoid us."
Crucially, Nanami Kento didn't know why the perpetrator was leading them with such a flawed method, which made it impossible to further judge their intent.
"Neither of us is afraid to directly confront the perpetrator alone, so my suggestion is to split up. If one encounters the perpetrator, the other can at least arrive in a short time.
But Emiya, your opinion on how to decide is also very important."
Precisely because he was roused to a certain degree of anger and clearly knew that the only reason they were able to track down the perpetrator was due to the clues they deliberately left behind, even the usually steady Nanami Kento was unwilling to miss this opportunity.
If such a dangerous individual were allowed to continue their rampages, who knows how many more people would be victimized.
Emiya was precisely aware of this point, so he agreed to the other party's suggestion without hesitation.
"Let's go with Nanami-senpai's approach. We can't miss the chance to catch that guy."
"Good."
Nanami Kento nodded, then first walked into the darker channel on the left.
"Remember, you must notify me as soon as you encounter the enemy. No matter what the situation, you must prioritize your own safety."
As his words completely faded, Nanami Kento's figure completely vanished into the shadows of the channel.
"As expected, Nanami-senpai is still the same."
Emiya sighed slightly, then walked into the other fork, which was relatively brighter, though only illuminated by dim, yellow light.
After walking along this long tunnel for perhaps a few tens of minutes without finding anything, even Emiya couldn't help but feel a bit fatigued from such a prolonged state of high mental focus.
A dark tunnel where you couldn't see where you came from or where you were going was indeed capable of driving a person mad.
"Ugh... Ah..."
Fortunately, just as Emiya was gradually beginning to suspect that the real culprit hiding in the dark might simply be toying with them, a sound similar to a shout suddenly came from around a corner ahead.
Sensing something was wrong, Emiya didn't retreat. Instead, he immediately rushed past the corner and successfully saw the true situation in the shadows under the dim light—
It was a monster of terrifyingly immense size.
Its entire body was swelling up in an incredibly exaggerated manner. The swollen chunks of flesh were pressing tightly against the walls, taking on an irregular shape and a dark-purple interior under the pressure.
The scene was exactly like an entire block of meat being forcibly stuffed into a can one size too small.
"What... what exactly is this?"
Emiya had just subconsciously uttered the question when an unfamiliar voice answered him from behind.
"Why ask? It's a human, of course.
This is an experiment to test just how large a human can become.
Even though both the body and soul were originally so tiny, they can increase to such an enormous size after modification. Pretty amazing, right!
But an ordinary human soul is too fragile. This level of growth is already the limit, huh...
Alas, it's regrettable, isn't it?"
"...."
What in the world was this guy sighing for!!!
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