Rin's unmasked footsteps echoed in the empty sewage tunnel. Her exquisite buoyancy magic allowed her to walk on the flowing sewage as if on solid ground, without a single drop staining her.
After turning a corner and entering the depths of the sewer, it had completely transformed into an otherworldly demonic realm. Countless tentacled aquatic monsters resided within the narrow pipes, waiting to strangle unfortunate intruders.
Was it a swarm of snakes made of countless snakes? It was an indescribable creature, perhaps more accurately described as an organ of a creature. Its body was covered with dense mouths, and the moment its body moved slightly, its mouth opened, revealing terrifying fangs inside. This was the Sea Monster from the Cthulhu Mythos that Caster summoned using the book of the abyss of the spiral labyrinth (codex of the spiral city).
How much did the author of the Cthulhu Mythos love tentacles… Lancelot cleared the path with his sword, sweeping through the entire sewage tunnel like a sudden storm. The dazzling, blinding sword light, like a spatial tear, instantly shredded the dense tentacled Sea Monster into countless small fragments, which fell into the sewage like rain and flowed into the Weiyuan River.
Passing through the almost overwhelmingly foul-smelling sewer, and past the complex defensive array into the inner layer, they should have been entering Caster's lair. If it were a normal Magus Servant Caster, the defensive mechanisms of the magic workshop should just be entering their main phase. However, what greeted Rin and Lancelot was only a large number of familiars, and beyond that, there were no magical disguises, counter-Bounded Fields, traps, or anything of the sort.
By Magus standards, this was merely a workshop. Even if protected by many guards, it was only an encirclement.
Like a thousand birds crying out, booming thunder erupted from the massive magical array in front of Rin's outstretched right hand. The dense, tentacled Sea Monster were instantly reduced to ash under Rin's magical heavenly lightning, and not even the Sea Monster that had submerged into the sewage escaped.
Lancelot, who had once vanquished evil witches and sorcerers in his lifetime, immediately sensed something was wrong. Eliminating the lesser enemies had been effortless. These numerous minor foes were mere trifles for a Servant possessing a noble phantasm; destroying them was as simple as clapping one's hands.
Could this really be the magic workshop of Caster, a great Magus?
"It's nothing strange, Berserker. The Caster summoned by this Holy Grail War isn't a true Magus, but a noble lord lauded as a devil, who obtained a good grimoire. All the magic he performs relies on the grimoire, and he himself doesn't understand Magus."
Rin explained this strangeness to Lancelot, who was suspicious.
Marshal C's position was set up with only his rank, and he himself didn't understand the mysteries of magic, so his magical workshop was easily breached.
When she reached the last turn leading to the core, Rin's steps faltered. She lowered her head, hesitating as if afraid, because she knew what horrors lay within. To be honest, Rin truly didn't want to witness the inhumane and deranged things inside.
Let's go. If you don't face everything openly, you can't face the future!
Turning the last corner, a pungent smell of blood rushed forth. Then, when she saw the scene inside, Rin, who was accustomed to life and death, was momentarily stunned. How tragic was it? Indescribable, utterly indescribable!
On a long table, a girl lay on a crucifix. Her limbs were bound, and an incision had been made in her abdomen. Her internal organs were pulled out and laid side-by-side on the table.
Beside the table sat a young man with orange-red hair. At this moment, he was staring intently at the intestines before him. He held a tuning fork in his left hand, tapping it on the corner of the table. When the tuning fork produced a clear sound, his right hand, which was holding the intestines, quickly tapped various spots on them, while he murmured, "Excellent, so this is 'mi'."
Nodding with great satisfaction, he continued speaking while marking a spot on the intestines with a thumbtack. Many similar musical note markings had already been made on the continuously twitching intestines.
It was evident that these intestines were still alive; more accurately, their owner was still alive.
The bound girl, who was sobbing uncontrollably from pain, was being cruelly treated as a living organ, almost unable to even utter cries of agony. She was indeed still alive.
After comprehending everything in this vast reservoir space, even Rin, who had seen countless scenes of blood and gore and shattered organs, couldn't help but feel a strong wave of nausea. The lunch she had just eaten, not yet digested, threatened to come back up.
To put it metaphorically, this place was like a general store.
There were furniture, clothes, musical instruments, and tableware, as well as some abstract-looking items whose purpose was unclear.
Through these works, one could discern the author's unique style and passion. The creator of these pieces must have deeply loved these materials and the process of their creation.
What was happening on the table was undoubtedly the process of creating these works. The act of using human life as a consumable for creation... The man inside was probably so engrossed in his "creation" that he hadn't noticed the unmasked roar of battle Rin had caused all the way here. Only now did he realize someone had intruded. He looked over, and when he saw Rin, he was also stunned. However, he quickly seemed to have discovered a new continent, abandoning the girl's internal organs he had just been toying with, looking overjoyed.
"Oh! Are you the new subject Master Aozaki was looking for?! You're absolutely perfect! To think such a beautiful existence could exist in this world. You will surely become the most perfect masterpiece..."
The man, whose entire face was gripped in Rin's hand and lifted, could no longer speak. He thrashed in mid-air like a live fish struggling after being caught, and Rin's gaze at the man in her palm was filled with a cold indifference, as if she were looking at a dying beast.
Ryuunosuke Uryuu, an innocent serial killer, a pure murderer through and through, extremely sensitive to the truth of death, and a mad performance artist who committed a string of murders across the country. Most of the victims' bodies in his cases are still listed as missing, and his methods of disposing of bodies are excellent, which is why he has never been caught.
This was a completely twisted being, or rather, a beast in human skin who had utterly abandoned humanity! He didn't act to achieve some goal, but took pleasure in brutally torturing humans, especially children. He found immense enjoyment in seeing blood and internal organs; a complete pervert.
Because the Uryuu bloodline contained the blood of Maguss, Ryuunosuke Uryuu unexpectedly found a document for summoning "demons" in a warehouse. He then attempted to draw magic circles during home invasions and murders, eventually, purely by accident, summoning Caster to join the Holy Grail War as a complete menace.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.