[h2]Mihama Nanako[/h2]

Nanako scrambled back, raising an arm and channeling magical energy through her circuits and down her arm to her fingertips, in a bit to unleash a blast of wind. It was all she could do to try and defend herself...

But she didn't have to.

Meltryllis was upon the approaching phantoms in an instant, her bladed feet flashing through the air and tearing apart the ghosts in a single blow. They shredded almost like cloth, torn pieces of their incorporeal bodies drifting into the air before fading away.

Nanako inhaled deeply, then exhaled, slowly lowering her arm.

Meltryllis was always ready to protect her!

Below them, she could see the carnage being wrought. The ghosts that the mysterious Servant had summoned en masse had been torn apart by the rain of blades. That Servant from the clothes shop the other day was here too...? At least she was helping! Indeed, Nanako was relieved to see the entire swarm of ghosts had been completely destroyed.

Now it was just the Caster that was left!

And yet...

Somehow, she didn't seem dissuaded in the least.

"Fufu... oh no, what ever shall I do?" she said, dully, waving her left hand idly as she raised her right, "Except..."

The Caster's head cocked her head to the right, a grin spreading across her face and revealing her teeth were, or perhaps had become, sharp like a mouthful of razors.

"That was just a distraction~! The real fun starts right about now~"

Shes napped her fingers. It was at that moment that Nanako suddenly detected a tremendous surge of magical energy, swelling in the center of the warehouse. It was almost like a pressure, weighing down heavily on her shoulders, as the black fluid left behind by the dead Shadow Servants started to condense at the center of the room.

"Tell me, tell me! Do either of you Servants know what happens when a great deal of anger and resentment is combined with a great deal of magical energy?" she asked, her grin having become a smirk, "When a spirit with nothing but vengeance in its heart is given untold power? I'm sure you already understand~"

She giggled, as the black goo coalesced in a vast pool... and from within it, oozing with darkness, a gnarled skeletal arm emerged.

"For that matter, what happens when many hateful spirits are brought together as one?" she questioned, "Those shades... they may not be Servants, but they're shards of their darkest impulses~ And I... am one who commands the dead."

Pulling itself from the black pool was a great, shadowy figure, oozing with tar-like fluid. What could be seen of its form was blackened bones, and red lights in the deep pits of empty sockets.

"The individual spirits are known as onryo," commented the Caster, "But this is no mere single vengeful spirit~"

It hauled itself from the blackness, disarticulated jaw hanging out of a great mess of soaking wet, dark hair as an unearthly sound emnated from within. It sent chills through Nanako's body, as if she was caught out in the middle of the night in a freezing rainstorm. It was like a cold wind piercing her entire body. The gestalt onryo was at least ten meters in height...

The Caster just kept smirking.

"A single shadow is nothing to a Servant, but a gestalt of vengeance and hatred... that should be fun, right~?"

[@PKMNB0Y][@Rune_Alchemist][@Pyromania99]

[hr]

[h2]Saber - Benienma[/h2]

While Benienma certainly knew computers existed by this point, the AI was quite curious. But not simply because of her nature as the manifestation of some kind of program. No, beyond that, Benienma could sense magical energy from the hologram... it wasn't unlike that of a familiar, though perhaps not a Servant proper.

For the moment, she chose to let Kaguya-hime speak first. She seemed more versed in this world then the little sparrow was.

"Scanning database..." announced the AI, "No further missing entries detected. Hmph, someone interfering like that... Administrator, permission to run a full diagnostic scan ahead of schedule?"

"After you've assisted our guests," Crowley replied. Her expression, however, conveyed concern. Clearly neither her nor HECATE herself were certain how someone had managed to interfere with the AI's databases.

"Very well. Isolating potential suspects..."

In a matter of seconds, the list of Casters had narrowed considerably. Remaining were all names recognizable as Casters who had existed during the Age of Gods.

Notably, the list was composed almost entirely of entries that had initially been removed. A few, perhaps ones most likely to have been able to create such Mystic Codes, were highlighted.

Among them were Circe, Arachne, Skuld, Medea, and Ceridwen.

"I have isolated the Caster-class Servants from the Age of Gods most likely able to output the quality and quantity of Mystic Codes required to fuel the black market sales and criminal usage we have seen in recent months," HECATE explained, as a holographic map of Fusang appeared alongside the list of names, "If I could make a suggestion, I believe Ceridwen's and Arachee's particularly high degrees of Item Construction makes them an excellent place to start, though it is your choice as to who to pursue at this current time."

When she finished speaking, pinpoint lights appeared across the map, each highlighting the location of one of the Casters in question.

"I will admit my confusion," HECATE added with a sigh, "I cannot understand why any of these Casters would pursue work with the black market. My analysis of their history continually fails to provide satisfactory explanations..."

Benienma scanned this list as well. This affected their work as well, even if they were currently focused on the murders. After all, these were the potential sources of the black market mystic codes...

"... Masta, Do you have any idea of how to narrow down the potential Assassins, or will we be looking at all of them?"

[@Raineh Daze][@RolePlayerRoxas]

[hr]

[h2]Reines El-Melloi Archisorte[/h2]

"Milady?"

There was concern evident even in the voice of the mercury maid as she reached out towards the petite blonde girl.

But even as she clutched at her forehead, a grin crossed her lips. It was clear she was suffering a headache of some sort, but at the same time...

"... It looks like there might be some kind of incident on our hands, hm?" she commented, even as she was helpfully supported by Trimmau. "I'll be fine, let's... nnn... take a look, shall we?"

Whatever passed above them had landed rather heavily in a nearby building, it seemed, a rather innocuous one nevertheless in the classic Japanese style of the other architecture in the district. One of the windows, however, had clearly been broken inwards.

[@PKMNB0Y][@KoL]