Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The corpse, now reduced to half its original size, began to stir and stand up, dripping with entrails and blood.

"Ouch...okay, it hurts...it hurts so much...it hurts so much..."

"What kind of research could produce such a boring thing? It's disgusting just thinking about it."

With a long sigh, as if expressing deep emotion, he kicked Alark, who was trying to attack him, away.

"No... I can't take it anymore..."

"Where is your 'doctor'? If you don't tell me, I'll chop you into mincemeat."

Natalia snatched the machete and held it against the man.

"Doctor...there..."

Arak pointed his trembling finger at the bookshelf.

Natalia thought there was an entrance behind the bookshelf, but it didn't seem to be.

"Electricity, television...television set..."

Arak pointed to the television and the bookshelf in turn. On the bookshelf were magic books that the mentally challenged couldn't understand, things that looked like the villagers' medical records up to now, and—.

"video tape……?"

Television and videotapes?

……

……

Shirou's "Scent Concealment" is already very proficient.

He easily bypassed the surveillance cameras and found the room where Natalia had been moved to.

"Oh, they're here?"

Natalia was sitting on the sofa watching TV for some reason.

What are you doing?

Just as Shirou was about to complain, his attention was drawn to "that thing" piled up in the corner of the room.

"what is this?"

"It seems to be someone named Arak, Heinrich Zeppelin's assistant or apprentice."

Shirou wanted to observe further, but Natalia called him over and pointed to the television.

"Zepte...?"

"Yes. Kid, it looks like a love letter from hell."

The television screen showed a man with long hair.

Half of his face was covered by a large beard, and in his deep-set eyes there was neither madness nor nihilism, only the radiance of rationality.

"—The hounds of the association who are watching the video, my name is Heinrich Zeppelin. I am the man you are hunting down."

Shirou sat down next to Natalia.

"Regardless of when you see this video, I left this world in 1978."

It's 2002 now, and Shirou is speechless:

This guy died more than twenty years ago...

--------------

Volume 6, Chapter 275: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Shirou Follows Behind

"So, this can be considered a last message."

Natalia frowned slightly.

The man on television continued his monologue: "Our Zept family has indeed gone astray."

In order to revive the human body—we can revive the physical body, the knowledge stored in the brain, and even the destroyed magic circuits.

Having come this far, all that remains is to research methods to bring back the souls of the dead.

But that's irrelevant; we don't want the spiritual, we're only fixated on the resurrection of the body.

He seemed to have gotten tired of talking and shook his head.

"A finger, a strand of hair, a nail, an eyeball—starting from these things, the technology can bring the whole body back to life."

Or it could be a technique of incorporating someone else's arm into the missing part of the arm and recognizing it as one's own hand.

Furthermore, there are techniques for recognizing new body parts and activating them.

He was silent for a moment, then continued.

"...What can you gain from doing this? Boring, no matter what words you use to describe it, it's just a toy."

"That's right."

Natalia muttered under her breath—the Zeppelin family's magic was indeed amazing, but it was a technique that no one would appreciate or acknowledge.

Nobody wants the technology to mass-produce living dead.

At this moment, Shirou noticed that the rational light in the man's eyes on the television screen gradually disappeared as he confessed.

"—Yes, it's just a toy."

However, we—no, I—have absolutely nothing to do with magicians who seek the root of things.

I just have an incurable infatuation with that toy.

"..."

The man in the video exudes madness.

The smile was like a facial spasm, and darkness flowed from his mouth.

Yes! I have feelings for you!

I've fallen in love with them; I feel genuinely happy looking at the monsters I've created!

The magician wore an innocent, childlike smile; he genuinely loved his work.

Suddenly, an indescribable madness filled the filthy room.

Natalia sensed something was wrong based on her experience: This is... mental pollution?

The little devil might get swallowed up!

Thinking this, she looked nervously at Shirou, only to find that he was completely unaffected.

"........."

It seems I was overthinking things; the kid is much stronger than I imagined. Natalia smiled with relief.

"The worst kind of guy is one whose purpose, process, interests, and hobbies are aligned with his own."

Purpose—to toy with the dead.

The process—to toy with the dead.

Interest—Toying with the dead.

Hobby – Playing with the dead.

“I create monsters, endlessly creating and creating. But at the same time, I regretfully realize that my interests have strayed from the paths of both humans and magicians. So, in this town… using this land abandoned by everyone, I do all sorts of research as I please.”

The man was talking about madness.

"Six arms, each capable of moving simultaneously. Four legs, able to run at the same time. Two heads, able to think at the same time, and eyes embedded in the body, providing a panoramic view... Ah, how wonderful this is! It's the best!"

In the midst of the frenzy, Shirou remained calm and noticed something strange.

"Miss Natalia... is the floor on the TV moving?"

"Ok?"

Hearing his mutterings, Natalia also noticed the floor in the image.

It is indeed moving.

Its trembling, spasming appearance was almost like that of a living being.

"I fused a baby and an old man to create a man with three brains... I even recreated the Hundred-Handed Giant in miniature. So, I'm satisfied. My imagination has only one limit left."

The images now show more than just the floor; everything is moving and stirring.

Natalia and Shirou both held their breath, waiting for the situation to unfold.

"Let me become the monster—that would be a wonderful ending, wouldn't it?"

As he uttered those words, the magician in the video was enveloped by some enormous object, and Heinrich Zeppelt cheered as he was swallowed up.

The video abruptly ended.

As the television screen turned static, the two got up from the sofa.

"Did he actually turn himself into a monster, that man?"

Natalia nodded in response to Shirou's question.

"...Well, not entirely."

Besides, it wouldn't be surprising if a magician who's gone mad came to some crazy conclusion.

They've come to perceive what are usually laughable, absurd ethical norms, as normal.

Natalia said while inspecting the weapons Shirou had brought.

"Human beings are like this; they fall into depravity if they take even the slightest wrong turn."

Unlike the Zeppelt family, who unknowingly went astray while engrossed in their research.

This madness will swiftly and unexpectedly rob us of our righteousness.

"........."

Shirou remained silent.

Natalia looked up at him and said, "I take back what I said earlier... Kid, you're sure you'll be fine, right?"

"Maybe it's just that they're good at disguising themselves."

The silver-haired hunter shook her head seriously: "That's not true."

My eyes never misjudge people; you have a heart stronger than anyone else's.

Shirou was about to say something when suddenly everything went black, and he felt a soft touch on his face.

Natalia pulled him into her arms and patted his back gently.

"Hey, don't treat me like a child," Shirou said, displeased.

"Sorry, sorry, you're already a very good kid."

Natalia released Shirou and rubbed her eyes with a smile.

"Alright, it's time to hunt."

For more than half a month, Natalia had been lurking in the town, searching for the enemy's whereabouts every day, but to no avail.

She once suspected that Heinrich Zeppelt might have already died or left the town.

However, after watching the footage, she was certain that the wicked magician was still alive and was somewhere in this town.

“So the answer is…”

The two of them looked at the wooden floor beneath their feet at the same time.

"Shirou-kun, may I ask you a favor?"

The red-haired boy nodded calmly.

With a magical vibration in the air, a jet-black Japanese sword appeared in his hand.

"Whoosh~" Natalia whistled.

The red-haired boy drew the "Yama Blade" and then plunged the blade, which was bursting with intense demonic energy, into the ground.