Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

We can't alert them, nor can we continue the investigation. We can't just hide here until dawn, can we?

At this moment, Kallen's smooth thighs were pressed against Shirou's face, while Shirou's firm chest was pressed against Kallen's forehead.

Because the underground space was very small, the two of them had to stand close together in an odd pose, much like a sculpture in modern art.

Shirou: "Well, at this point, we have no choice but to go back and ask that person for help."

Karen's face turned ashen: "…………"

Shirou: "You should apologize to Miss Natalia properly, okay?"

……

……

"It's even faster than I expected."

Natalia lit a cigarette and looked at the two people sitting on the sofa.

In the end, Shirou and Karen returned to where they started.

The hotel where Natalia is hiding is probably the only safe haven in this town.

The hunter tilted her head, a mischievous grin on her face: "Excuse me, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."

Karen blushed and hummed, "Please...please cooperate with us!"

"Huh? Who was it that just said they didn't want to work with a suspicious magician?"

"Well……!"

"Alright, alright, Miss Natalia, stop bullying Karen."

While trying to smooth things over, Shirou began to explain the situation that had not been revealed before.

As a gesture of goodwill in requesting cooperation, he explained to Natalia the real reason why he and Karen had come to the town.

“Od Bolzak…you mean that ‘Demon Bee Master’?!”

Natalia's reaction was bigger than expected; she almost dropped the thing she was holding onto the carpet.

"Do you know this person?" Shirou asked.

"It's more than just knowing each other...!"

Natalia bit her lip.

Unlike her usual cold and ruthless hunter persona, she was emotionally agitated, radiating a strong killing intent.

Shirou later learned that Od Bolzac was also a target she had been eyeing and had clashed with.

Something unpleasant must have happened, but Shirou didn't inquire further.

It took Natalia several minutes to calm herself down before she lit another cigarette.

"Really? You killed Od Bolzac?"

"He was already a living dead when I killed him."

"In any case, you were the one who ultimately took care of him... I thank you, Shirou Amamiya."

Natalia murmured in a very tired voice.

Her succubus bloodline must be much thinner than Lady Avalon's...

Shirou thought to himself: That's why most of the human emotions have been preserved.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt your sad memories, but can we get to the point?"

Karen's indifferent voice brought Natalia back to reality.

As she spoke, she said, "Excuse me, excuse me," and took out a photo.

"This guy is the one I'm hunting, the one who turned Ode Bolzak into a living dead."

"...Hmm."

Shirou raised an eyebrow—

The object in the photo appears to be something made up of multiple humans joined together.

The chopped, glued, fused, and separated corpses were combined into a large lump of flesh, with a charred hole in the center.

"This was discovered more than 20 years ago in northern Bavaria, Germany. Although the photo is not clear due to the framing, this guy ran on eighteen horse legs."

"A horse's leg...?"

Natalia gave a cold laugh: "There's no limit to freaks. The man who created this was a magician named Heinrich Zeppelin."

Shirou asked, "What was his purpose in creating this freak?"

"Don't be surprised. It seems to be about the 'resurrection of the dead.'"

"This is blasphemy..."

The nun, who considered herself an apostle of God, frowned.

The photo shows a mad magician conducting inhumane research in an attempt to resurrect his dead lover.

"Kid, what kind of resurrection do you envision for the dead?"

"That is--"

That is—to reclaim the lost body, the lost soul, and to turn back time.

Natalia shook her head: "Heinrich and kid, your idea of ​​'resurrection' is a bit too far removed from reality."

Generally speaking, the miracle of "resurrection of the dead" is the same as what Shirou thought—the hope for "resurrection of the soul and body".

Neither of them can be given up.

If the soul is not resurrected, it is merely a moving walking corpse.

If the physical body doesn't revive, it's no different from a rotting lump of flesh.

Natalia smiled wryly, "As long as the body is resurrected, it doesn't matter what happens to the soul—see, isn't that a heretical idea?"

"I don't understand. What's the point of just resurrecting the physical body?"

"Who knows...maybe even he himself doesn't know."

"why?"

Natalia explained, "The Zeppelt family has been dedicated to the miracle of 'resurrection' for generations."

At first, they racked their brains to revive the complete corpse, and then they tried to piece together the broken corpse.

Finally, they learned the technique of piecing together different corpses to give them biological functions.

What the magician has arrived at is no longer the initial "resurrection of the dead," but rather...

"Yes. It has completely deviated from its original purpose. This is no longer 'resurrection of the dead,' but 'monster creation.'"

The Zeppelt family has been considered to be "out of control" for generations.

To resurrect the dead in their complete form—

However, putting aside the elderly, it is impossible for someone who died in a sudden accident to be completely resurrected to the same state as before they died.

Therefore, even if a limb has been severed, the person must be able to revive.

No, it's not limited to having all limbs intact; even if they are incomplete, the person must be able to revive.

However, this requires the technology to completely manipulate the body.

In order to fuse, combine, bond, and manipulate various parts regardless of their state—

"They've completely gone astray, and now the association is holding them accountable?"

Natalia stared indifferently at the mottled ceiling and said:

"If he uses an entire village as experimental material, even the association would have a hard time supporting him."

Heinrich, who had committed an unforgivable crime, fled Germany and disappeared without a trace.

Many years later, their whereabouts were finally discovered recently.

"That guy is hiding somewhere in this town right now."

Sensing the potential profit, Natalia accepted the commission to eliminate the evil magician and entered the town alone.

And what awaited her there were ten thousand residents who were now completely under the control of the magician.

She had to disguise herself and hide in the hotel, gathering intelligence while looking for an opportunity.

Thanks to her succubus bloodline and the barrier she erected, she has been able to remain hidden in the enemy's stronghold without being discovered until now.

The ones who broke this deadlock were Shirou and Kallen, who were tracking down the Dead Apostle Odd Polzak.

However, that man had already become Heinrich Zeppelin's test subject, probably on the very first night he entered the village.

The infamous "Demon Bee Master" was killed and turned into one of the companions (residents).

That concludes the entire process up to now.

“The enemy is the whole town… Are you kidding me…” Karen clicked her tongue.

Natalia said with a smile, "Actually, I've prepared six escape plans. Would you like to hear them?"

"No need."

Shirou narrowed his eyes.

This guy named Heinrich Zeppelt absolutely cannot be allowed to stay in this world any longer.

Natalia said with satisfaction, "I knew you would say that."

Alright, I've told you all the information I know.

Now it's your turn to provide me with "assistance," isn't that what a healthy partnership should be like?

Hearing her emphasize the word "assist," Karen immediately became wary.

"what do you want?"

“What I want is simple.”

The female hunter pointed at Shirou as she said this.

"...?"

A certain light flickered in Natalia's eyes.

Shirou only ever saw that kind of look in the eyes of wild beasts hunting their prey in the animal world.

Shirou felt like he was about to be completely devoured.

……

……

"You really just sleep, and don't do anything else, right?"

Sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, the red-haired boy asked.

Natalia closed the door with her back to him, then turned around and smiled.

"If it's Shirou-kun, I wouldn't mind if he wanted to do something else, okay?"

"...I can't do anything." Shirou said, turning his head away.

Natalia's ancestors were a hybrid of a nightmare and a human.

Although by her generation, the half-demon bloodline within her had become quite diluted, she still retained some of the special abilities of a dream demon.

Yes, although she does not possess the immortality and physical regeneration abilities of a nightmare demon, Natalia still retains the racial power of gaining magic by absorbing human essence.

A nightmare that approaches men, creates dreams, and drains their life force until they are completely depleted.

They are a completely different kind of being from fairies and elves, but rather resemble the demons, the sworn enemies of the Holy Church:

Nightmares do not possess a physical body in the material world, but rather are fantasy beings that exist primarily in the spiritual realm.

For this reason, Natalia's physique as a magician is somewhat different from that of ordinary people.

Unlike human magicians, she has difficulty restoring her depleted magic power through normal eating. Once her stored magic power is exhausted, she can only take it from humans.

In a normal society, it would be fine, since the one resource that is most abundant in this era is human beings.