The streets were empty except for the glow of the streetlights in the dead of night, but the silence inside the car was even more unsettling. Olga Marie, sitting in the passenger seat, stole frequent glances at Lancer.
In her memory, Lancer wasn't an overly stern person; in fact, he was usually quite easy to talk to. But his behavior this time was "strange." He didn't seem like the type of man who would say such harsh things to a little girl.
To Olga Marie, Sakura Kyoko—even if she was technically stronger than her—was still just a "little girl" in terms of how she acted and how she viewed herself.
"Did something happen?"
After hesitating, Olga Marie finally spoke up, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Yeah. I discovered some things I'd overlooked before."
As he spoke, he released his right hand from the steering wheel to drive one-handed, pulling a "gem" shrouded in a strange mist from his coat. The moment he brought it out, Olga Marie brow furrowed instinctively.
Though she could touch objects, eat, and sleep, Olga Marie was essentially a spiritual entity. She didn't need a hint from Lancer to sense the malice radiating from the object in his hand.
"What is this?"
"A Grief Seed. Or more accurately, a corrupted Soul Gem."
"You mean... there's a 'Magical Girl's' soul inside this?"
"Exactly."
Hearing this, Olga Marie pulled out her own necklace, which held a silver-gray diamond-shaped gem. Comparing the two, she couldn't find a single point of similarity.
But before she could look for long, Lancer snatched the Grief Seed away.
"It's already contaminated. Right now, it's a sealed source of pollution. Even though very little leaks out, you're a ghost—I don't know how it might affect you. To be safe, don't stay in contact with it for too long."
Olga Marie nodded, watching the faint black mist vanish from her fingertips as Lancer continued his explanation.
"Do you remember the Servants in 'Singularity F' who were corrupted by the black mud?"
"I remember. You don't mean this black mist is..."
"Not quite that far yet. Those mud pools were the crystallization of the entire world's negative emotions; only a few Servants could resist that level of erosion. I don't know how long it would take for this to turn into that mud, but their effects are similar. It wouldn't be hard for this to corrupt a soul that has lost the protection of a physical body. At this rate, that soul won't last long even if we leave it alone."
"What happens if it can't hold out?"
"Its subjective consciousness will be annihilated. It will turn into a pure mass of negative emotions. Tsk!"
Lancer clicked his tongue in frustration at the end.
Lancer had once been called the "Executioner of the Empire." The amount of blood on his hands was a number that would make any ordinary person gasp. That was why he was able to awaken "Bloodthirst," an abnormal energy.
But he had his own form of "mercy." He never tortured his targets; to him, there was no point. Dead was dead. In this world, only one thing was absolutely fair: Death.
The most heinous criminals received their necessary "punishment" beforehand, and all he did was grant them the end.
But that thing didn't just trick innocent girls into becoming "Magical Girls" who sacrificed their own souls as offerings—it wouldn't even grant them peace after they died...
Creeaaaak—
The sound of the steering wheel groaning under his grip forced Lancer to calm down, but the killing intent in his eyes only grew sharper.
He was waiting for an opportunity and searching for a method. A method to completely settle the score with "Kyubey."
When the sun rose, Lancer stretched instinctively. After a night of research, he still hadn't figured out the specifics of the Grief Seed. The only thing he knew for sure was that a soul was imprisoned inside, and it was growing weaker.
He had spent hours digging through the "Rune" data Scathach had left in his mind, but he couldn't find a solution. It felt like taking an open-book exam on Marxist Theory—he was flipping through the table of contents and still felt completely clueless.
'There are no retakes for this one. Looks like I'll need to hit the books more often in the future...'
Just as he was about to go grab breakfast, he stopped abruptly. His right hand traced the Rune "I," representing frost, in the air. An ice mirror manifested before him, reflecting a blonde girl in a school uniform.
Mami Tomoe? What is she doing here?
Lancer wasn't surprised his address had been leaked. He knew Kyubey had countless bodies; it was impossible to fully evade its surveillance, much like back in the Witch's Barrier. The only thing he could do was keep it from invading his private space.
Mami likely learned his address from Kyubey. But the question remained: why come here?
They'd had an initial encounter, but there clearly wasn't much trust between them. For her to dare enter his territory—wasn't she afraid of what he might do?
Perhaps because he had seen too many disgusting things, Lancer tended to assume the worst of strangers. He met everyone with a degree of suspicion, but—
'Fine, let's see what she wants...'
Lancer had set up warning Runes for Olga Marie as well, so she actually beat him to the door. She hadn't slept either.
Outside the villa, Mami Tomoe was hesitating on how to announce her arrival when Olga Marie stepped out, startling her.
"Good morning, Professor Olga."
"Good morning."
Snap!
With a snap of her fingers, the spell attached to the gate activated, and the doors slowly swung open.
Seeing this for the first time, Mami couldn't hide her curiosity.
Though she was a "Magical Girl," compared to a Magus who studied the fundamentals from childhood, the profession of a Magical Girl seemed quite "amateur." Furthermore, Kyubey never intended for Magical Girls to develop their craft; to it, they were just consumables. They had never seen the kind of minor utilitarian spells used in daily life.
If she couldn't see the structural spells and the mana permeating the gate, she wouldn't have noticed. An ordinary person would probably just assume some advanced electronic equipment had been installed.
However, Kyubey, perched on her shoulder, was scanning the entire villa.
In its eyes, this simple-looking villa was practically a "fortress." This only solidified its intent to investigate. But right then—
"Mami-san, there are quite a few trigger-based devices in this yard. For your own safety, I hope you'll be careful in a moment."
Was it Kyubey imagination, or did this woman's eyes instinctively drift toward it when she spoke?