Chapter 316: Knowing

Chapter 316: Chapter 316: Knowing

With just one all-encompassing "Ten Thousand Fish Returning to the Source," over eighty percent of the mutated rat monsters in the entire open space completely lost their signs of life.

The few remaining lucky ones, located in the gaps or at the edges of the attack, reacted as if they had seen their natural predator. They no longer cared about any orders, emitting terrified squeaks as they scrambled back into the pipe crevices they came from, fleeing in panic and vanishing without a trace.

Silence returned to the sewers, leaving only the sound of flowing sewage and a thick, lingering "aftertaste" in the air that was enough to make any creature with a normal sense of smell faint instantly.

Stelle stood where she was and shook the salted fish sword, seemingly trying to shake off "stains" that didn’t actually exist on it.

She looked at her surroundings, which had become much cleaner in an instant, and then looked down at the meritorious Curio in her hand.

(The effect... is acceptable.)

She was about to report the situation to Herta via the communicator, only to find that the connection had been cut off at some point.

(Bad signal?)

Stelle tried to reconnect, but to no avail.

Herta, who had reappeared in another secluded alley, frowned and held the miniature communication device a bit further from her ear with a look of slight disgust.

Just moments ago, after a burst of intense combat sounds from Stelle’s side, an indescribable stench had suddenly mixed into the communication signal.

Herta had even instinctively held her breath, even though she knew it was impossible for it to be transmitted through the communicator.

She made a decisive move and temporarily shut down the communication link.

(What is she doing in the sewers? Did she use biological weapons?)

After a brief interruption, the encrypted communication was re-established.

"Is it resolved? What’s the situation down there?"

Herta’s voice came through, carrying her usual briskness.

In the sewer, Stelle stood amidst the remains of the mutated rat monsters, which were rapidly losing their vitality and emitting a complex "aftertaste."

Her golden eyes scanned the surroundings, finally landing on a shriveled corpse nearby that had the most obvious twisted form, with parts of its carapace showing eerie, incubation-like patterns.

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she knelt down and, using her hand not holding a weapon, gently poked at the broken joint of the corpse’s appendage.

There, in the gaps between the chitin and the dried flesh, remained an extremely faint mark.

It was so faint that it almost merged with the foul magical energy in the environment. If she hadn’t just witnessed a frantic mutation catalyzed by it and then violently suppressed it with a Curio like the "immortal salted fish" that carried a strong "purification" effect, she probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

Stelle stared at that nearly dissipating mark, and descriptions of certain Path powers flashed through her mind.

She spoke two words calmly into the communicator:

"The Propagation."

On the other end, standing in the secluded alley, Herta’s violet-black eyes suddenly narrowed like a hawk that had precisely locked onto its target.

(The Propagation...?)

(Remnants of Tayzzyronth? In this world?)

(No wonder... the incubation inside Kayneth, the forced mutation of the sewer rats... that quality of distorting life forms...)

(If that’s the case, then the thing under Fuyuki City might be even more troublesome than expected.)

She didn’t ask for details; Stelle’s judgment on this kind of direct observation was rarely wrong.

A spreading contamination of "The Propagation"... this was much more interesting than some Holy Grail War.

"Understood. Come up first; we’ll discuss the details in person."

Herta gave a brief command and then ended the communication.

She needed to re-evaluate the situation in Fuyuki City, as well as... the role Phantylia might be playing in this incident.

Destruction and Propagation.

Inside the Tohsaka Residence, Tokiomi was enduring waves of increasingly intense abdominal cramps, trying to maintain a facade of composure.

In the mage’s water mirror before him, the perpetually expressionless face of his disciple, Kirei Kotomine, appeared.

"According to Assassin’s tracking, Miss Tohsaka Rin has appeared at the Central Park amusement park in the Shinto District. With her is Sakura Matou."

"Sakura?"

Tokiomi’s brow furrowed deeply, his abdominal pain seemingly suppressed for a moment by his surprise. "How could she be with Rin? The Matou Family..."

His first thought was what kind of scheme that old fellow Zouken Matou was up to again—using Sakura to constrain or threaten him?

"Your disciple has already investigated the Matou Residence."

Kirei Kotomine’s voice was flat and emotionless. "The residence is empty, with no signs of combat, but there are indications of an abnormal evacuation. The whereabouts of Zouken Matou and Kirei Matou are unknown. Protecting the two young ladies are two unfamiliar women. Based on preliminary observation, one is confirmed to be a Servant, and the other is highly likely to be a master."

"Can you determine the Class?"

Tokiomi pressed, his fingers unconsciously pressing against his abdomen.

Kirei Kotomine in the water mirror paused for a rare moment, seemingly weighing his words: "The Servant’s behavior... differs greatly from conventional understanding. However, through the process of elimination, the only unconfirmed Class remaining is Berserker. But..."

"But what?"

"Her appearance is far removed from the characteristics of a ’Berserker.’ Although she displays some unconventional power, she is logically clear, and even..."

Kirei Kotomine’s tone underwent a subtle change, "it cannot be ruled out that there is a second unconventional Assassin, or that an unknown anomaly has occurred in the Class determination."

Listening to his disciple’s report, Tokiomi’s face, already pale from physical discomfort, grew even more unsightly.

A Servant with strange behavior who was suspected to be a Berserker but didn’t seem like one, and a mysterious master had rescued Rin and Sakura? The entire Matou Family had vanished? The fog was growing thicker and thicker.

Were they friend or foe? What was their goal?

Was it targeted at the Tohsaka Family, or did they simply intervene in the Matou Family’s affairs?

He quickly thought of countermeasures: have Assassin continue monitoring them in secret to uncover their background and intentions; try to make contact to ascertain their stance, at least to ensure the safety of Rin and Sakura; meanwhile, he had to find out the truth behind the Matou Family’s disappearance as soon as possible and see if it was related to other movements in the Holy Grail War... However, an even more violent intestinal cramp interrupted his thoughts. Cold sweat instantly soaked his hairline, and he had to bend over, his fingers gripping the edge of the table tightly.

"Teacher?" Kirei Kotomine noticed his abnormality.

"It’s... nothing."

Tokiomi squeezed out a few words through his teeth, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Kirei, continue monitoring. You must grasp their movements and who they contact. For now... do not alert them. I... I need to handle something."

"Understood. Please take care of your health."

The communication was cut off.

Tokiomi could no longer hold out and, with a speed that was as graceful as possible but absolutely swift, he rushed toward the residence’s bathroom.

The turmoil in his stomach intertwined with the heavy worries in his heart, making this head of the Tohsaka Family, who always emphasized decorum and control, experience an unprecedented level of wretchedness.

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