Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

However, Father Pucci is not a trustworthy 'companion'.

Having finally reached a decision, Roswaal Z. Mezas took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Father, I don't believe you. It's because those unfortunate people in 'Fuyuki City' were mostly wiped out by that 'legendary mercenary' because they believed in you..."

Faced with the accusations of Roswaal Z. Mezas, Father Pucci remained noncommittal. After all, he was still a little young at the time and acted a little roughly, which led to his exposure.

Age-appropriate bar

That’s right, he didn’t regret what he did back then, he just regretted being discovered.

But he knew that when the man in front of him said this, there must be a 'but'.

as predicted.

"However, as you said, there is indeed a basis for cooperation between the two sides."

"For the sake of our clan's 'Sad Wish', I will not allow you to contact the 'Holy Son'. If you are still willing to help, then perhaps we can cooperate!"

Looking at the arrogant 'Roswaal Z. Mezas', Father Pucci still had a smile on his face, but there was no smile in his eyes.

'Arrogant fool!'

This was Father Pucci's evaluation of the man in front of him.

However, in order to achieve his own goals, he didn't mind using him.

"Of course, as I said, for me, 'Lord Earl,' you being able to achieve your goal is the best news for me~"

"If this request can put you at ease, I am happy to accept it. I hope that you will see my sincerity in our future cooperation."

Father Pucci smiled and raised his glass again.

It's a pity that 'Roswaal Z. Mezas' still doesn't give him face.

Father Pucci remained unconcerned, smiling and drinking by himself...

Chapter 76: The palace has been locked, and navigation has begun————

“It’s in the mountains! The church is in the mountains!! Please! Spare me!!”

In the cognitive space, a middle-aged man in a butler's uniform was lying on the ground, wailing continuously, while Shirou Emiya, who was standing beside him, was holding a gun in both hands and staring at all this silently without saying a word.

When he first saw Lan Ke's "merciless" treatment of the shadow, Shirou Emiya instinctively resisted. After all, he "turned dark" only to those who hurt or might hurt his sister. He still held a simple view of good and evil towards ordinary people.

But Lan Ke made him realize what it meant to "know a person's face but not his heart".

According to Lan Ke, although distorted desires do not necessarily mean that one is a bad person, because the biggest difference between humans and beasts is whether they can control their desires, it is undeniable that as desires become distorted, once a wrong step is taken, one may fall into the abyss.

Therefore, it would be a bit absolute to say that all those who can be anchored by the 'other-dimensional navigation' are bad people, but if it only steals the hearts of half of the people, there will be 100% loopholes.

For example, the seemingly honest and dutiful deacon in front of him was actually the Bishop of the Witch Cult. According to Lan Ke's interrogation, he was involved in at least two dozen criminal cases, and even he himself couldn't remember the crimes that didn't reach the level of criminal responsibility.

What shocked Shirou Emiya the most was the so-called 'Black Mass'.

As for what specifically was done?

Shirou Emiya didn't know either, because before he could finish his words, Lan Ke stepped on his head and pressed him to the ground.

For this kind of people, Shirou Emiya felt that there was one word that best described them - madman.

After the initial silence caused by shock, Shirou Emiya felt more fear before he became angry.

Because he couldn't be sure what would happen to 'Miyu' if she was really adopted.

Compared to Emiya Shirou's silence, Lan Ke was much more direct.

He kicked him over and shot him in the thigh.

"boom!!"

"Ahhhhh!!"

Amid the smoke and wailing, Lan Ke waved to Shirou Emiya, indicating that he should follow him, and left the "Impression Space" directly.

This time, Shirou Emiya did not ask Lan Ke why he did not deal with the other party.

It was obvious that they planned to deal with it together after the 'culprit' was dealt with.

"Whoo~"

Emiya Shirou breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously after returning to the 'material world'.

Although the midday wind was very warm, Shirou Emiya felt a hint of chill.

Although Emiya Shirou's "method" is indeed very useful, it is quite expensive. Even though Emiya Shirou said that he was "willing to pay for the Phantom Thieves (sister)", Lan Ke, as the leader of the group, is a frugal person. Using gold coins for "anti-counterfeiting" is not a solution. But now that there are other options, Lan Ke will naturally save as much as possible.

The final result was that Lan Ke took Shirou Emiya and sneaked directly into the "Mezas Residence".

Unlike Lan Ke, a jack of all trades who can only use the 'cognitive world' to bully ordinary people, Emiya Shirou has received professional training. Even though infiltration is not his best skill, he is still much more professional than Lan Ke, not to mention Lan Ke's authorization for 'extra-dimensional navigation', which makes him feel like a fish in water.

In less than half an hour, the other party stole a schedule from the 'Mezas Residence' where the banquet was being prepared.

The next thing is easy. You just need to go through the schedule one name at a time from the beginning to the end. As long as you catch someone related to the "Witch Cult", even if the other person is just a small fry, at least you will know who the "colleagues" in the room are.

By asking one by one, you will always find the goal you need.

Lan Ke and his friends were lucky. After asking three people, they found the "Bishop".

And this 'bishop' also provided a lot of information to the two.

"I really like the saying 'Using history as a mirror, we can understand the rise and fall of nations; using people as a mirror, we can understand gains and losses.' However, I think both reflection and mourning should be done after the real work is done. Because when 'evil' is happening, the faster we can act, the fewer people will be hurt."

Lan Ke's words were rather subtle, but Shirou Emiya undoubtedly understood them.

"I see……"

Lan Ke couldn't read minds, and he didn't know whether Emiya Shirou had taken everything he said to heart, but Lan Ke believed that at least in this matter, he could distinguish the importance of the matter. After all... this was related to the other person's sister.

Lan Ke didn't say much, but continued to explain the process of "stealing hearts" to the other party.

"As mentioned before, when a person's inner distortion reaches a certain level, their spiritual body in the 'cognitive world' will unconsciously attract things 'outside the world'. These could be 'gods', 'demons', or even 'monsters'."

As he spoke, Lan Ke summoned 'Jack Frost Spirit' and then switched to 'Angel' and 'Lion'.

"As desires expand, the 'Impression Space' will begin to reject these shadows. This is because the so-called 'Impression Space' is actually the 'palace of everyone's desires.' Existences that are too unique will naturally be rejected by the group."

Having said that, Lan Ke gestured to Emiya Shirou to look at the "Bishop" lying on the ground and wailing behind him.

"When a person's desires expand to the point where they can no longer remain in the 'Impression Space,' they will form their own 'palace.' At this point, simply beating them up won't solve the problem of 'changing their hearts,' because their desires have become distorted to a degree far beyond the imagination of a normal person. At this point, we need to find the 'source of their desires,' also known as the 'secret treasure.' Only by completely isolating the 'secret treasure,' or 'source of desire,' from the person themselves can we restore them to normal..."

The "palace" is quite special and not so easy to see. I had originally planned to take Shirou Emiya to Jotaro Kujo to see the world, but because the clues were found more smoothly than expected, the two of them came directly to Hokkaido.

But it didn't matter, because they would soon be able to see the 'palace' with their own eyes.

Having said that, Lan Ke also took out the 'Other Dimension Navigation'.

He also reported the second clue to the palace after 'Roswaal Z. Mezas'.

"Witch's Church."

The second column above 'Different Dimension Navigation' was also filled in.

Lan Ke continued to explain.

"Another-dimensional navigation requires three elements to locate a palace: the palace owner's name, the palace's location in the material world, and the palace's image in the cognitive world. Or, you could also think of it as what the palace owner believes the world they control should be like."

As he spoke, Lan Ke spoke again to the 'Alternative Dimension Navigation'.

"hell."

Lan Ke's answer was not random. After all, the personnel system adopted by the "Witch Cult" was almost copied from the "Roman Vatican", and the ritual of the "Witch Cult" was the "Black Mass", so Lan Ke felt that the founder of the "Witch Cult" should have established it from the perspective of an "anti-church".

But to his surprise, the 'Different Dimension Navigation' displayed an error.

Lan Ke was a little surprised, then spoke again.

"Demon Realm?"

This surprised Lan Ke a little. After all, since a 'Black Mass' was being held, why wasn't the target hell or the demon world?

The other party’s faith is not sincere enough!!

Looking at the red prompt above "Different Dimension Navigation", Emiya Shirou frowned and then proposed a possibility.

"Doctor, do you think it could be the 'Fairy Country'?"

Shirou Emiya's words made Lan Ke a little surprised. After all, this was completely contrary to Lan Ke's inference.

But anyway, just give it a try, Lan Ke didn't waste any words and spoke again.

"The land of fairies."

As Lan Ke finished speaking, the originally red prompt of "Alternative Dimension Navigation" suddenly turned green.

"The palace has been locked, and navigation is starting——"

There is no doubt that the "Extra-Dimensional Navigation" has locked onto the palace, but Lan Ke did not move. Instead, he looked at Shirou Emiya with some confusion.

"Rider, why do you think it would be the 'Fairy Country'?"

It was obvious that Lan Ke didn't quite understand this logic. As for Shirou Emiya, who guessed the correct answer, he didn't seem happy at all. Instead, he took a deep breath and sighed.

"This is the inspiration I found from 'Tachikawa Ryu'."

"Although we all know that both the 'Tachikawa School' and the 'Witch Cult' are 'cults', this is obviously not the case for ordinary people... or their followers. However, no matter what their reasons are, they must have their own reasons for joining the 'Witch Cult' or the 'Tachikawa School'."

"The 'Tachikawa School' claims that one can take a shortcut to the 'Western Paradise' through the 'Yin Yang Avenue,' so the majority of its followers are drawn to sexual matters. While the 'Witch Cult' rejects the practices of normal religious sects, they also have their own logic. For example, they believe that the power of 'witches' comes from 'fairies,' and that the ultimate goal of the 'Witch Cult' is to transcend humanity and gain the power of 'witches' or 'fairies...'"

After saying this, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but take a deep breath. It was obvious that while explaining his ideas to Lan Ke, he also had to recall what he had read before.

As for Lan Ke, although he understood the logic, he was even more surprised as to why Shirou Emiya knew all this.

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility!

"Wait?! Shirou, you haven't read all the texts of the 'Witch Cult', have you?"

The information on 'Count Mezas' that the two of them had purchased previously also included some information on the 'Witch Cult', but Lan Ke did not look at the detailed information.

After all, the things in "xiejiao" are really destructive to people's values, and Lan Ke doesn't want his mind to be polluted.

Stop ① and start the blame

But he didn't expect Emiya Shirou to fight so hard.

Not only did he read that kind of shit, he actually studied it?!

Lan Ke can only say that "sister complex" is really a scary creature!

Fortunately, both sides are teammates, not enemies...

Chapter 77: The Hostility of the Fairies

Having finally locked onto the 'hall', Lan Ke and Emiya Shirou entered the mountains together.

Just looking at Shirou Emiya who was clearing the way in front with a machete in his hand, Lan Ke didn't know what to say for a moment.

The other party was able to read all those messy classics. Coupled with his previous inexplicable blackening, Lan Ke couldn't tell for a moment whether Emiya Shirou was "frenzied" to EX and looked normal, or whether he was simply fighting poison with poison and the two were neutralized.

"I asked Tina before, and she said it might be due to Shirou Emiya's unstable mental state. After all, a 'persona' is the manifestation of a person's spirit, so that's not wrong, but I always feel like there's more to it than that."

But Lan Ke had no choice at the moment. If he thought his surgical skills were pretty good and the only thing he lacked compared to his predecessors was experience, then he was a rookie in psychology.

"Anyway, with me watching over you, Shirou shouldn't be in any trouble...right?"

Just as Lan Ke was daydreaming, Shirou Emiya, who was leading the way in front, suddenly spoke.

"Docter, the place ahead should be what we're looking for, right?"

Lan Ke, who was suddenly awakened, looked in the direction of the other party's finger, and saw only a bush. It was obvious that with Lan Ke's professional knowledge, he could not distinguish the "secret base" deliberately hidden in the wild, but he had G!

As a golden halo flashed in his eyes, Lan Ke's vision changed. The originally normal world instantly turned gray, but there were a large number of golden spots in the area in front of him.

"These rats are really brave. Digging holes is fine, but setting so many traps isn't it afraid of hurting themselves?"

Looking at the densely packed traps and alarm devices, Lan Ke couldn't help but sigh.

Emiya Shirou was stunned after hearing this.

Following Emiya Kiritsugu's instructions, he found something unusual outside the cave, and since he was basically certain that the Witch Church was located nearby, theoretically, it was unlikely that there would be other hidden human buildings. That's why he concluded that their target was right in front of him.

But from Lan Ke's appearance, it seemed that he not only confirmed the target, but even discovered the trap.

But he didn't say much, just silently waited for Lan Ke to give orders.