Chapter 173

"Still a strange feeling." Kairi noted walking out of the portal I created.

"Really?" I took a glance around to make sure we were unseen. "I guess I'm just used to it at this point." A portal wasn't as simple as tearing a hole open in space and walking through. There was a reason I required some heavy calculations before I had Mirage created. So, it isn't strange that someone feels the effects the first few times.

Nothing disorientating, but there is certainly a sense of 'strangeness' when utilizing the instantaneous movement. There was the manipulation of both the 'X' and 'Y' Axis to achieve this result, so one's body is pulled along these lines then forced to reaffirm itself on the world-line correctly at a different location.

"Anyways, you got a plan?" I asked him. He was the freelancer, and had more experience doing this sort of thing.

"Go check with the local police, see what they've found so far." He replied, taking out his sunglasses and putting them on.

"Mmm, at the very least, having the locations of all the killings will help us find some sort of pattern." I nodded. I'd rather get this dealt with quickly, so it didn't drag on for when the sun went down.

It was left unsaid that a bit of Hypnosis would be involved. While such things are usually distasteful to use on mundane people without a good reason, butthis would certainly qualify as an exception. Frankly, I prefer methods like bribing opposed to altering someone's mental state, albeit only temporary.

"God this is going to be so boring." Mordred scowled, arms up behind her head as she walked next to us.

Raikou was also walking next to me…..astralized. She did not like spending time with other people and I didn't want to force her.

"There's always a chance a fight will break out." I shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's an assassin." She whined. "They're just going to rely on tricks or run away." The little pout she gave was adorable in its own way.

It was nice she had regained her usual demeanor, if with a little bit of a pep in her step.

She looked happy after learning Artoria was waiting at the end of this War.

"Not always." I replied. "In Artoria's War, the Assassin was actually Sasaki Kojiro, a swordsman." Well a bit more complicated than that, but I figured I'd let Artoria tell this story when they meet. I had only told Mordred about some of the adventures we had together as to not overstep.

"Really?" Mordred perked up. "He strong?"

"Artoria admitted he was superior to her in swordsmanship." I nodded. "Fought him myself, he's very skilled, even learned a thing or two from him."

"What!?" Mordred blurted out. "How'd he manage that!? Father was the best....." She got a little quiet. "Besides that damn adulterer." She added quietly.

"Well, you'll just have to meet him. He's still around and always welcoming a good fight." I laughed.

"Speaking of learning." Kairi spoke up. "You said you learned from Scáthach."

"The Immortal Witch?" Mordred spoke her thoughts aloud. "Her legends are pretty badass."

"Yeah, I went to the Land of Shadows to learn from her." I briefly explained. "I was lucky that a 'route' was still available with my Magic." It wasn't that much of a secret, I already announced it regardless and I was in no way ashamed of it. "Though I'm curious, whose asking?" I raised an eyebrow.

Kairi didn't look perturbed at my accusation. "You think you can throw around that kind of power last night and not have people ask questions? I think most other folks are going to be eyeing your Primordial Runes. A Magecraft from the Age of Gods that shouldn't exist anymore."

"It's not like they can be just 'learned'." I shrugged. "Even Scáthach had to pass them down to me in a special way. Any that are discovered nowadays are just superficial at best without the prerequisite teachings."

"But on a side note" I glanced at him. "How much money did you make?"

He smirked. "More than I should have."

"Nice." I grinned.

I didn't really care if he sold public information like that. Besides, it's not like this world would be one I came back to, or if I did it would be very sporadic and without any major purpose.

"Huh, so this is the countries capital?" Mordred looked at the city coming into view as we walked down a long road. My portal took us a little bit outside the city limits in the country side to avoid any eyes. "Is this how every city in this era looks?"

"More or less." I replied.

"I guess it's nice enough." She stared at it intently.

"Can't compare to Camelot?"

"Pfft, as if." Mordred scoffed. "But alteast the normal towns don't spell like piss and shit." Mordred gagged. "The only good thing the flowery bastard every did was sort out the plumbing for Camelot so people didn't shit in the streets."

"Eww." I blurted out.

"You're telling me. It was fucking horrible going from our pristine city to a random village somewhere and it smelled so fucking bad. The Stables in Camelot smelt better than most other cities."

"Never been brought up in conversation with Artoria before." It was an amusing thought.

"Ha!" Mordred let out a snort. "That's because the flowery bastard used his Magecraft to filter it and Father made sure to keep him nearby."

I could honestly see her doing that.

"Well, lets go get started. I'd like to get this done sooner rather than later."

***

"This is more than I expected." I eyed a bulletin board with a map of the city and several locations marked up.

Kairi walked over to where I was. He had just got finished talking to the Romanian Police, spouting some bullshit about being some special investigators or something, I didn't' really care to pay much attention. A slight shift in cognitive function, and they were led to believe our obviously fake identities.

"There are 8 cases so far." Kairi lit up a cigarette and took a quick drag. "The police haven't been able to find a pattern."

"Probably because the Servant can Astralize to go unnoticed and cover obscene distances in little time." I rubbed my chin. "Hell, for all we know, if this really is Jack the Ripper, he could have an ability that makes him faceless since his identity was never revealed. Not to mention he most likely has the highest level of Presence Concealment considering how popular his story is, and evading capture."

Kairi grunted in agreement. "I checked for any Prostitute deaths days and weeks leading up to this killing spree, nothing on that front."

"Ah, to facilitate the summoning, smart." I nodded. Creating the conditions to better summon a specific Servant, presenting the corpses of some Prostitutes would probably increase the likely hood of summoning the killer with the right catalyst. "The best conditions would have been to summon him in London." I tapped my chin. "If this Servant belonged to the Red Faction, then chances are good that's what occurred, but that Priest called that woman 'Assassin' so I'm not so sure. Any news on similar things happening over there?"

"Haven't heard anything, but one or two instances wouldn't raise any flags." Kairi shook his head. "It's more likely it was the Yggdmillennia family since they became hostile to the Mages Association."

That was the more obvious conclusion, but I wanted to check regardless. There's no way the Clock Tower would allow that family to perform the Ritual in the middle of their territory like that.

"The obvious answer would be to check out the slums, but…." I looked over the map. "There aren't any killing in the area. They mostly happen in the upper scale neighborhoods which kind of goes against the supposed killer's usual MO."

"The Master is a Magus." Kairi snorted. "You think he'd allow himself to live in the slums?"

"That's a good point." I conceded. "But you're focusing on the Master's preferences and not the Servants."

"You think the Master would concede this to his Servant?" Kairi didn't sound too convinced. "In my experience, most Magi are too arrogant to allow something like that."

Again I couldn't argue his point. "I'll agree that this is a valid train of thought, but we're talking about a possible deranged killer." I pointed out. "It's possible he's not as deranged as I would assume, and someone of noble origins with a disgusting 'hobby', but my gut is telling me to check out the slums."

Well, 'slums' isn't probably the right word. The poorer neighborhoods where you can find women soliciting themselves on the corners.

"How about we split up? You check where you want, I'll go down south and follow my instincts?" I offered, glancing towards Mordred. "I'm sure your Berserker can handle an Assassin. Worse comes to worse, make a big signal and I come running over."

"Oi." Mordred called out, perking up at my words. "Fuck you." She flipped me off as she lazed on a nearby sofa.

I just smiled innocently and waived at her.

"Sounds good." Kaira looked like he thought it over. "It'll get this job done quicker anyways. Don't want this hanging over my head for the entire War."

I couldn't fault his sentiment.

And while it was still daytime, some...leeway could be granted if we're dealing with a rogue servant causing issues in public.

"Raikou." I called out as she appeared next to me. "Fancy another stroll?" I offered my arm, much to her happiness.

***

I don't think she cared we were going to look for a serial killer, she just enjoyed the time we spent together, and I honestly felt happy as well.

A random thought…..I'm pretty sure people were assuming that Raikou was a prostitute as she draped herself on my arm….

She didn't seem to care at all the stares when we walked down the street, but I definitely recognized some of those 'glares'.

"Master." Raikou spoke up, drawing my attention. "I feel….something stirring in the air, a familiar feeling."

I paused. "Can you find it?"

"Un." She began tugging on me, leading us in another direction. As we got closer, the amount of people on the streets grew fewer and fewer, like they were all unconsciously keeping away.

"What is that?" I spoke aloud, as we approached an alleyway.

"Resentment." Raikou replied. "I wasn't sure until we got close. It's very concentrated amounts of resentment. In Kyoto, this would be a spot where Youkai or Ghosts would come into existence if not dealt with. I do not know what will happen if left alone in this era and this land. At the very least, it may evolve into a corrosive miasma that will begin to spread."

I walked in further, and I felt it more abrasively. Something or someone definitely died here, and I had a feeling our rogue Servant was to blame. This amount of…..Resentment, could only be facilitated by something not common to this age. Well, it's possible that something capable of this was still up and about, but the chances were miniscule. Especially in a land like Romania, where there simply was not many supernatural entities remaining, let alone ones with the needed abilities.

If it were Japan, I could entertain the thought of some half-phantasmal still up and about doing stuff they shouldn't, but not here.

"I'm a fairly decent Onmyoji, I can deal with it." I took a few Talismans out of my ring to create a purifying Pentagram.

"I did see you use Talismans, I am surprised such an Art persisted and is known this far from home." Raikou looked on curiously. "I was not proficient in the arts myself, but I knew many who could make use of the esoteric abilities. It was often easier to have things purified than to simply fight them."

Not exactly my forte here, but this wasn't supported by any powerful entity, merely an exertion of unnatural phenomena. Besides, what I did to that Hydra back in Kyoto was much more complicated than this.

With a flick of my wrists, my Talismans shot out to the corners of the Alley way and began to glow in a faint light, washing away this feeling.

Raikou perked up, turning her head to the side. "Master a Servant approaches." She got herself ready for battle before shifting slightly with a look of disdain on her face. "My apologies, it's just an insect, allow me to go squash it." Raikou was about to head over, but I stopped her.

I raised an eyebrow as I saw who came over from around the corner, she even paused to look at me in surprise. "Wilhelm?" A certain Saintess called out.

"Well well well, if it isn't the penniless Saintess." I greeted with a smile.

That little eye twitch appeared immediately. "Do you need to address me like that?" She sighed.

"Yes." I said without hesitation, giving her another look. She was wearing the clothes I bought her before, more conservative with some jeans and a long jacket.

"Is something the matter?" She caught my gaze.

"Just a bit sad." I shook my head.

She nodded. "Yes, this feeling does weigh on my heart." She looked around.

"Ah, no." I clarified. "I meant I was sad I couldn't watch you walk around in booty shorts anymore."

"W-what!?" Jeanne blurted out in embarrassment, her face turning bright red.

Hah!

Did her Clairvoyance or Revelations lead her here? Or was the counter force guiding her to take care of this 'threat' that could cause issues.

"Anyways!" I changed the subject. "Want to help me catch a serial Killer?"

***

A wild Saintess appears, MC uses bully, it's super effective. Wrist is hurting a little bit, I don't think it'll be a problem, but figured i'd give a heads up incase something happens by tomorrow and I can't write.

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