193 Terrible Findings

"This is worse than I thought... What even happened here...?" A good question to be asked considering the sight in front of him. Ironically enough, it helped Seth distract himself from the latter part of his previous encounter.

Asterios and him were at what used to be a park. The Demon was a few meters away seemingly keeping watch. Although, considering the creepiness of the scene, he doubted anyone would choose to willingly approach here. That was, of course, not taking into account the one that did the mess.

It was—it used to be a park. Now, everything was nothing more than ruins. The ground was so destroyed that it looked as if an earthquake had gone trough these parts. The greenery of the decoration trees was contrasted with the red of human blood.

Wherever they looked upon, the sight of human parts followed them. Of those, limbs only amounted to a small part. The rest was composed of a variety of organs that worked to detail the hellish event that transpired long ago going by the dryness of the red liquid.

If there was something Seth could feel glad about, then that would be the fact that he was the one that stumbled upon this scene. As much as he believed that Fujimaru had matured a bit in the sense of getting used to horrible sights, he did not think the youth was ready for this.

Of course, nothing guaranteed that the Japanese young man wouldn't find a similar situation during his exploring with his Servants. The only thing ex King could do was leave it to fate.

"This... sacrifice?" Asterios brought him out of his musings, causing him to look at his Servant with some empathy.

"It indeed is." After his confirmation, Seth knelt down and traced a finger over a former pool of blood. Some residue remained on it as he brought it closer to his face to examine it. "It's faint, but there is a trace of magic here."

"Done... here?" Berserker's voice told tales of how uncomfortable he felt. His eyes were closed, for if he were to see what was laid before him, his mind would shift the images to make him remember the place he lived his whole life in.

"Yes... They did not even bother to do it in their base. It was as if they wanted to show the world their little 'work of art'." He wouldn't be a hypocrite and condemn the act of sacrificing itself since he had partaken on them numerous times in the past, but he did find the fact that it looked senseless and meaningless to be disgusting.

To someone that respected tradition greatly, this half-assed attempt was nothing more than an insult. Even so, he would, naturally, not mention this out loud in consideration of his Servant. Starving himself to the point of madness, and just when he managed to regain a bit of clarity, the first thing he saw were the remains of some offerings would obviously lead to an aberration to this type of thing.

"We... need... stop... them. Too much... nothing gained." That he could agree with. Not to mention that he had a little score to settle, and he wouldn't be diplomatic about it. You just don't joke around with that thing as if it was just a little toy you can give to others.

There were some inconsistencies with Ikaros' wording that he managed to pick up, but whether those were intentional or not, he had no way of knowing, and only the future would be able to give him a clear answer.

"Right. This looks more like the work of a madman than something carefully planned. What's more..." Seth inspected the dried blood in his fingers, giving occasional sniffs to detect any trace of something unnatural, and going by the narrowing of his eyes, he definitely found it. "There is no doubt about it. This... is Norse Magic."

It all started making sense now. Why they would be in possession of that thing, the need for them to make sacrifices this messy, and the interest regarding him participating in some kind of tournament. It was like a path where conditions after conditions have to be met to achieve the desired result, and the base for all of that was this land.

'Focus your hearing on the sky and hear them approaching to fight you. Their hunt... is merely beginning.'

Those were the last words Ikaros had said to him. At first, he had believed he referred to something else entirely—no... He wanted to believe that. However, now the entire situation changed entirely. It had taken a turn for the worse.

While he might just be overthinking, his hunches were usually spot-on, and after so long, he was inclined to trust them more than just his wishful thinking.

His gaze moved upward as Asterios mimicked the motion. What greeted them was perpetual darkness. There were no clouds in sight, and neither it was night, but even so, they were shrouded in a veil of obscurity. Yet, amidst that blackness, the faint sound of thunder could still be heard.

'So it is just as I thought...' Seth stopped looking at the sky after getting up from his kneeling position. Very few times in his life he had wished he was wrong, and this was one of them.

'Odin... Thor... You two are coming here, huh? Your arrival seems all the more imminent now. The question is, am I ready for it? I doubt everything will be resolved with just some talk...' A quiet sigh escaped his mouth as his thoughts travelled in a certain direction. It seemed that his preparations for the foreseeable future would have to be more mental than physical.

"We are going back, Asterios. Now that I have gained a little clarity on what is going on, we just can't waste time in an aimless search." He originally planned to get to the source of it all—or at least make something impactful to resolve the matter of the murders and turning of humans into homunculus, but for today it was enough.

"Understand. Strong... enemies... incoming?" Berserker also got ready to depart. Judging by the solemn expression his Master was having, he knew things were not going to be easy. He just hoped to do a good job in setting the stage for the future fights, as well as contributing as much as possible in their victory.

"I don't know if they will be strong or just mere shadows of the past. Regardless of the answer, though, I will have to rely on you and your Noble Phantasm to trap us all in it. They will surely use the people here to grow even more powerful, and that is not something we can afford. It seem I will also have to rely on Darwin this time around as a failsafe." He was being truthful. Seth had no idea in what shape or form they were going to come; just that they were.

In the case the only similarities were their appearances, then his worries would be unfounded. However, if they descended with their full, or at least a considerable amount of their former power, then things would get ugly.

Facing a Divine Spirit was currently a hard task for him. He might be able to pull something off since he was resourceful if anything, but against a proper one, no amount of tricks could do the work. And if he had to fight two on top of that, then it was plainly worse. Not to mention that those two were not some run-of-the-mill characters. Even if they were just a shell, it was something that required carefulness.

'The only ones who have a chance are the unhinged woman, the time geriatric, and I. Let's see if their legends have enough weight to close the gap, because mine surely does not.'

──────────────────────────────

"You got everything we needed, don't you?" A figure leaning on a wall, partially covered by darkness asked Ikaros as the Greek man entered a ruined building near the outskirts of London.

The wounds from his previous fight remained, but for now he was not bleeding anymore. His wings had also disappeared, and in their place there was a sword hanging from his waist that possessed a blade made of feathers instead of metal.

"Yeah, yeah, I do. It will be the last time I run some errand for you guys, though. I almost kicked the bucket there. Seriously, who in their right mind will send someone like me against someone who can control fire?" His tone of voice was filled with complaints; ones that he felt were justified with how reckless the order had been.

"You said it yourself. Someone in their right mind wouldn't do it. That's why Caster did it." The answer came instantly, leaving the man speechless for a few seconds. His mouth opened and closed in quick succession but no words came out of it.

"...Right. In hindsight, I should have refused it instantly. Someone that has a double Class of Caster and Berserker is never a good combination. Even less so if you have to follow their orders. Anyway, take this." Accepting his own fault, Ikaros extended his hand where the strand of hair he had obtained from Seth resided.

The figure removed his back from the wall and approached his companion. Now that he was out of the darkness, his features could be distinguished more clearly. Long grayish-blue hair that fell loosely over his right shoulder and partially braided. The man was quite tall and slender, possessing a long white lab coat over a blue turtleneck sweater. He also wore knee-high metallic boots that clanked every time he moved.

His red-eyes were looking intently at the 'material' as if he was appreciating a legendary ingredient. "At first glance it looks common, yet its uses might very well be anything but."

Ikaros just rolled his eyes at the comment, letting the man grab the hair before huffing indignantly. "Can you stop with your alchemy-induced boner? I already feel bad as it is for using my capabilities for something so trivial, Paracelsus."

Paracelsus observed the other Servant from the corner of his eyes, not at all fazed by the rude comment before speaking to reassure him. "As menial as this task might have seemed to you; it is undeniable that you are the only one that could do it. Getting it? Many of us could. Escaping with it? Only you."

"Whatever. There is no need to comfort me. As long as everything ends well for me I am fine with it. More importantly, are you sure you want to give that to that madman? I thought you were of the kind type who loved helping people. It goes without saying that it won't be looking good for the residents here if you let him do what he wants."

"Mhm... I could say the same to you, but that would be an insult, would it not? The strings attached to our backs are so close that they might tangle, but the hands behind them are different and too far apart. Sometimes, to achieve an elixir, you have to mix poison in the formula. That is how things work in this world. Nothing more, nothing less." Despite the philosophical words, Ikaros was able to understand the meaning perfectly. However, he still wanted to draw the line.

"You are not wrong, but not entirely correct either. You at least have some free reign. Meanwhile I have to offer meat to a rabid dog and hope for it to not bite my hand off while also try to make it follow the big boss' orders." Seeing as this was going become another series of complaints, Paracelsus sighed tiredly. Once he put the strand of hair in a tube that he saved in his pocket, he turned to Ikaros to give him his whole undivided attention.

"Freedom is black and white. You either have it or you don't. There is no in between. Your task is harder than mine, I will at least admit that." Many people lived in the illusion that a little freedom was just fine, but they couldn't be further from the truth. As someone who had the "liberty" to do his desire research, but he couldn't do with it what he wanted, he understood that more than anyone. In the end, it was that fakeness that brought his end.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's stop talking about this or you will just make me depressed. I just hope you know what you are doing. Things are going to get pretty hectic, and you absolutely don't want to get involved. You can't expect that insane prophet to do something coherent when he plants to make this city a battleground of Gods." With his piece said, the featherily blade twisted like a whip and enveloped him. Once Paracelsus blinked, the man was gone.

Shaking his head with a barely perceptible smile, he turned around and started walking to the corner of the room where a Magic Circle resided, pondering the words of his ally in the meantime.

It was true that the future looked grim, but it was precisely in those types of situations were heroes emerged, and that was what they needed. There was no shortage of candidates, so he was not that much worried about it.

'But... It is also in these times where the common folk suffer the most. I suppose this is where I come in to prevent as much collateral damage as possible.' With such worries in mind, Caster activated the Magic Circle, teleporting away to places unknown.

Preparations had to be done.

For the Wild Hunt was about to begin.