Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

They had only known each other for two days, yet Natalia placed unconditional trust in Shirou—something that would have been impossible in the past.

Natalia felt somewhat dazed.

She couldn't tell if it was because she had lost her guard as she got older, or if it was simply Shirou's charm.

No wonder Karen scolded Shirou as a "clumsy harem man," now I understand why.

Haha, it's a pity I'm already getting old. If I were twenty years younger...

"Miss Natalia!"

"Ah, um? I... I wasn't thinking about anything strange, was I?"

The silver-haired huntress's usually stern face flushed, and she hurriedly tried to hide it.

"No! Please come here!"

"what happened?"

Shirou's voice sounded nervous, instantly shattering Natalia's long-dormant girlish feelings.

She went over and saw that Shirou was kneeling on the ground, holding the little nun's body.

Natalia frowned: "...Has Kallen not woken up yet?"

Shirou nodded: "Not only that, her body also..."

Natalia touched the girl's forehead as Shirou had instructed.

"So hot..."

Natalia was secretly taken aback.

Not only her forehead, but also Karen's cheeks, neck, arms... her whole body was burning up with an alarmingly high fever.

"This is……"

In the battle just now, Natalia and Kallen were both attacked by Dr. Arakawa's Mystic Eye.

It was just a glance, but their reactions to the attack were completely different.

Natalia felt a strong physical impact.

The violence even suppressed Natalia, who had activated "Body Enhancement" and gained monster-level strength, slamming her against the wall behind her.

However, Karen, whose body was more fragile, was not knocked away; she collapsed silently as if her power had been cut off.

"Was it caused by A Liangju's demonic eye?"

Natalia had to conclude that the woman was able to project two completely different magical eye abilities using the same pair of eyes!

"Do you know what kind of Mystic Eye ability this is?" Shirou asked.

Natalia shook her head. She wasn't an expert in the Magic Eye, and it was impossible for her to understand the enemy's abilities based on the superficial symptoms before her.

First, put the unconscious Karen back on the bed, and then apply an ice pack to her.

Just when the two were at their wits' end, Shirou suddenly had an idea.

“Stigma…!”

Isn't Karen's current reaction the same as that of those who obtain holy marks in religious legends?

"what?"

Shirou explained to Natalia that Kallen was not an ordinary nun; she was a girl whose body developed stigmata at the age of her baptism.

"To think there is such a thing..."

Natalia asked, "What form does Kallen's Stigmata take?"

Shirou thought about it for a moment.

“I remember she told me before… that it’s a stigmata that automatically gets injured, bleeds, and then heals itself.”

In Catholic tradition, this is also a very common sign of celestial beings.

A devout priest woke up one morning to find his wrist bleeding uncontrollably—this is one of the most common anecdotes about stigmata.

Shirou initially thought Kallen's stigmata were the very common kind, but Natalia's serious expression indicated that things were not so simple.

"Any questions?"

"Kid, bleeding for no reason is definitely not a common phenomenon."

Natalia lit a cigarette, her expression cold, and said, "Do you know about 'masochistic medium hostages'?"

Shirou nodded; he had already heard about it from Kallen.

Possessing a will independent of oneself, the body is easily possessed by surrounding demons.

It can allow demons to reappear as phenomena, and may even allow demons to acquire physical bodies.

According to her, Karen would develop the same spiritual disorder as the possessed person if she got close to a demon.

She was originally to be sent to a monastery by the church to be trained as an exorcist, but she became an assistant to the "Buried Organization" after meeting her master, Chiara Kichijoin.

However, not long ago, she was thrown into the Fuyuki Church by her master as a troublesome thing.

"Hmm, it seems Karen trusts you even more than I thought. You already have a basic understanding of her."

Natalia gave Shirou's reaction a meaningful look.

"So, do you know how 'masochistic mediums' work as exorcists?"

Shirou said, "Something like a demon radar?"

“That’s right, enduring spiritual barriers is the fastest way to identify demons.”

Throughout her long career as a bounty hunter, Natalia has also encountered exorcists and humans possessed by demons on numerous occasions.

"Demons are spiritual beings, invisible to the human eye, and cannot be judged until the person possessed undergoes a change."

Furthermore, true demons will cleverly conceal the fact of possession, and will do their utmost to suppress the spiritual barrier to prevent attracting external enemies before it is fully developed.

Unfortunately, the church has no way to exorcise demons that have already developed; all exorcists can do is discover and exorcise them before they develop.

What becomes demonic can only be burned. If that's possible, then hand it over to the agents specifically responsible for interrogating those with different specialties.

"Wait a moment……"

Shirou sensed an extremely strong sense of incongruity in Natalia's words.

A chill ran down his spine, and he asked.

"How will Karen exorcise the demon?"

"It's very simple."

Natalia took a drag of her cigarette and said calmly, word by word, "All we need to do is let the person possessed by the demon violate us."

"…………!!"

Shirou clenched his fist, while Natalia continued her explanation.

Since the desire to "violate others" is a type of demon, the job of an exorcist with a "masochistic medium" is to seduce the possessed person and accept their violation.

Once the matter is over, the desire (the demon) will disappear.

Shirou was speechless: "Kallen has never told me anything like this before..."

Natalia raised an eyebrow: "Well, I just didn't want you to worry too much."

Before meeting Shirou, Kallen had been following her master at the "Buried Organization" and working as an assistant to the agents.

But now, she has been sent to the Fuyuki Church and has to start her own work.

So she found Shirou and asked him to assist her in her work as an agent—

What if Shirou had rejected her back then?

Frankly speaking, Karen is simply not capable of handling the role of the proxy with her current abilities.

She will probably fail in her mission and be seriously injured during one of her missions.

The church took in the badly injured Karen, concluding she lacked the abilities of an agent, and in order to make the best use of her—

Karen will be retrained as an exorcist.

She no longer needed to fight; she could simply dedicate herself to the demon to complete her task.

"..."

Shirou looked at the girl's peaceful sleeping face and secretly made a decision.

But before that, we first need to wake Karen up from her coma.

What is now certain is that Karen's condition is a reaction resulting from the collision between her own "masochistic medium nature" and Dr. Arakawa's Mystic Eyes.

Perhaps even Dr. A Liangju himself didn't expect things to turn out this way.

"Miss Natalia, do you have any clues?"

Given her current condition, Karen probably cannot be cured by ordinary means.

Shirou has tried every kind of healing technique since the beginning, but it hasn't worked at all.

Natalia shook her head.

Even she was helpless in the face of the situation.

"Abusive mediumism" is an extremely rare phenomenon, and Dr. A Liangju is an unfathomable woman.

"Shirou-kun, what are your plans for the future?" Natalia asked.

Shirou thought for a moment and said, "I plan to have someone I know take a look first."

Aoko, Arisa, Orange...

Shirou's mind conjured up images of his lovers: Hmm, I'll ask them to take a look first.

Natalia thought for a moment, then hesitated slightly before saying, "In that case, I do know someone who might be able to cure Karen."

"Who?"

After Shirou asked that question, Natalia uttered an unfamiliar word.

Do you know about the "Rail Zeppelin"?

……

……

"The Magic Eye Collection Train".

As the name suggests, it is a train that collects all the magic eyes in the world and travels continuously through the forests of Europe. Every year, it displays a selection of magic eyes and holds an auction that invites magicians from all walks of life.

"auctions?"

Shirou frowned: "Can the Mystic Eyes be auctioned off?"

Natalia nodded: "Yes, there are far more collectors of the Magic Eye than you think, and some magicians simply want to buy it for magic research."

For these people, the Magic Eye-collecting train holds a more special significance.

"how to say."

"It's about transplantation; they provide transplantation services for buyers there."

Natalia pointed to her eyes: "The Demon Eye is originally rooted in the person, and removing it is extremely difficult, but that Demon Eye collecting train is an exception."

Ignoring scientific principles regarding the human immune system and various other issues, they not only removed, but actually transplanted the "magic eye"—a truly astonishing feat.

Even Shirou, who has been exposed to modern magic of pan-human history for less than ten years, can understand how abnormal it is.

The reason Shirou didn't understand the auction of the Mystic Eyes was because he subconsciously believed that the Mystic Eyes, like the Magic Crest, were something rooted in the person.

No, it's a hundred times more rigorous than magic marking.

Magical markings can be passed down to children of blood, but magical eyes cannot.

Therefore, the Magic Eye is a completely innate talent, a treasure that every magician dreams of.

If there were a technique in this world that could easily transplant a Demon Eye, that technique itself would have a value comparable to the most noble Demon Eye.

Just imagine, if Fujino's "distorted mystic eyes" were transplanted onto Fujino-nee... Waaah! Modern civilization would perish!

Shirou pulled himself out of the nightmare of the apocalyptic scene.