Nimthewriter

Hound of the Dead Chapter 19:

Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331

Steel Eyed Faker Chapter 24: Evolution Part 2

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

Lyrical Sword Chapter 22: Dates

Beta read by Opal and FalbledLife

Next update is Sef or Hound

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-Midchilda-

(The next day)

"A date?" The words left the redhead’s mouth early in the morning, the day after they returned from their mission. His voice was still rough from sleep, his hair sticking out in several directions as he rubbed his eyes and stared at the screen of his device. He had just woken up and was still halfway through his first coherent thought when an unusually energetic Nanoha called him.

"Yes! It's a local, well-known restaurant," she replied cheerfully, her tone bubbling with excitement. "The owner owes me a favor from a while back after I saved him from a large fire years ago, and I decided to cash it in. It’s not just any place, either. It’s one of those places where you’d normally have to be on a waiting list for months just to get a seat. People say it’s among the best in the entire galaxy."

“... The entire galaxy? That's a bit much.”

That line caught his attention. It was one thing to claim to be the best restaurant in a country, but to call yourself the best in the galaxy was something else entirely. The scale of it alone made him pause, unable to fully grasp what such confidence implied. He had to admit, his curiosity was instantly hooked.

"Since you arrived, it just dawned on me that we never actually showed you around, so I figured, why not have both of us go there for once?" Nanoha continued, her voice softening slightly. "Usually, I’m fine eating at home or grabbing lunch with Hayate and Fate in the cafeteria, but this seemed like a good chance to show you another side of Midchilda. There’s more to see than just the usual routes you’ve explored and the dozens of different training simulation islands. I don't want you to think we are living inside a military camp; there is plenty of fun stuff to explore.”

So she said, and he knew she was right because he had gone sightseeing for a bit. Whether it be with Lutecia, Fate, or even with Subaru —most of it happened in the city center. The planet was as big as Earth, so there were plenty of different places to explore.

"That’s a good idea," he replied, suppressing a yawn as he reached for the coffee pot. Pouring himself a mug of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate for Lutecia, who sat quietly at the table, watching him in silence.

"Great! I’ll text you the address. The reservations for the evening are right after I finish my shift. We’ll meet there, okay?" Her enthusiasm practically radiated through the call, and before he could respond, she had already ended it. He smiled faintly and wished her a good day before setting the device down.

With that matter settled, he placed both cups and two plates on the table. Each had toast, fried eggs, a piece of grilled mackerel, and some rice. Nothing too fancy or heavy since last night they had a feast with most members of the team being present.

"Vivio’s not joining us for breakfast?" he asked, noticing the absence of two certain blonde girls.

"She had to leave with Fate early this morning for a medical check-up," Lutecia answered in her usual dry tone, barely looking up from her food. He nodded, accepting the explanation. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked after a short silence, glancing up at him curiously.

"Nanoha invited me to dinner tonight," he replied without much thought.

"A date?" she asked, her voice filled with sudden interest. “Like the one between two couples dating?”

"I don't know what else is there to compare, but yes, something like that," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Don’t worry, it’ll only be for about an hour or two at most. I’ll be back before bedtime. Subaru and Teana will drop by to check on you and Vivio."

"I have the feeling you won’t be coming back until morning," she remarked flatly.

“—!”

He nearly choked on his drink, coughing as he stared at her in disbelief. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if she actually understood what she had just implied, or if she was simply repeating something she’d overheard.

"N-No, nothing like tha—cough! Nothing like that," he managed to say quickly. "It’s just dinner. I’ll be back before you know it."

He went along well with Nanoha, but he doubted it was to that extent. They had kissed, sure, but just a simple first date to a restaurant wouldn't lead to that… he was sure of it. ‘I am getting paranoid for no reason, being a couple means more than that, I need to get my head out of the gutter.’

At that moment, the boy felt like he was back in his late teenage years in Fuyuki all over again. Having similar thoughts occasionally popped up whenever he was around Sakura…

"That’s not what the couple in the TV show did," she said matter-of-factly, tilting her head slightly.

"Perhaps I should set some restrictions on what you’re watching," he sighed, frowning as he turned toward her. "I don’t like the kind of shows you’re picking lately."

"I hid the TV remote," she replied calmly, her expression perfectly neutral as she took another bite of her breakfast.

“...”

‘For a society capable of space travel, they sure are behind on simple things like television,’ Shirou thought, letting out a faint sigh. “Hah, is she entering her rebellious phase now?” He wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it, finally starting to understand how the old man must have felt years ago. Then again, he couldn’t recall ever having a rebellious phase himself, so he wasn’t sure how Kiritsugu could have handled him if that were the case.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Lutecia’s voice broke his thoughts. She raised an eyebrow, her unusually sharp gaze fixed on him with suspicion. Uncertain why she was staring at him like that, the redhead tilted his head and made a random guess.

“I think, no, I’m quite sure I already did the grocery shopping.”

“No, not that.”

“Did I have a training session planned with Subaru and Teana?”

“Nope.”

Not even that? Nothing was coming to mind aside from the desire to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. This situation started to feel oddly familiar, like dealing with a certain former guardian of his whenever she got in a sour mood. “Uh… happy birthday?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, forming an X. “Wrong again.”

Why was this turning into some sort of game? Then again, Lutecia wouldn’t keep him guessing if it were something truly serious. Shirou scratched his cheek and sighed. “I genuinely have no idea what I forgot,” he admitted, deciding to focus on his breakfast instead. He expected something minor, maybe a promise to buy her something he’d forgotten, but he was fairly certain he hadn’t made such a promise. So, he waited.

“Didn’t you have another date scheduled today with Hayate?”

“...”

The spoon froze halfway to his mouth, his entire body locking up as every thought in his head ground to a halt. Two seconds passed. Three. The silence that followed was almost deafening. He prayed he had misheard her, that she was simply teasing him.

Somehow, the person in front of him was able to guess what was going on in his mind.

“You actually forgot… didn't you?” Lutecia’s tone carried a playful edge, pouring more oil into the fire. Any trace of drowsiness vanished from him instantly. His eyes widened as the truth hit him; she was right. He did have plans with Hayate. They were supposed to go to the movies together.

“Shit,” he muttered, not realizing he’d said it out loud. Lutecia looked at him with amused satisfaction, continuing to munch on her breakfast.

“You did forget,” she said between bites, “strange since you were talking about it all afternoon yesterday. Maybe I should start asking you for anything when you're half asleep from now on.”

“How did I forget this?” He groaned, face-palming hard enough that it almost hurt. The memory of his last conversation with the brunette resurfaced, the talk they’d had after landing on Earth. Then he remembered what Nanoha had mentioned earlier this morning, and the realization deepened his regret.

“It’s not that bad,” the girl in front of him remarked casually. “You can just cancel one outing with one of them and have it happen some other time. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, maybe. But I'm sure they'll be a bit disappointed at the end of the day.”

“Not helping.”

“My point still stands.”

“I… I can't do that,” he replied immediately, then cleared his throat after catching her narrowed eyes. “I made a promise to Hayate that I’d spend time with her and help her relax for once. She helped me a lot yesterday. Without her, I would have lost something important.”

He remembered fiddling with the gem all night, trying to draw some kind of response from it. Even after pouring his magical energy into it, the gem remained inert. It didn’t behave like the others he’d used before; it refused to store energy like how Rin showed him, refused to resonate, refused to reveal anything. The lack of reaction only deepened his confusion as to what purpose it could have served her and why it got here. Still, it was thanks to Hayate’s intervention that he had managed to keep it in his possession.

Even if it served no purpose, he wanted to keep it close as the sole reminder of reality, like a connection.

“I can’t cancel. I owe her too much to go back on my word,” he said quietly again, reaffirming his prior decision.

Lutecia raised a brow. “Then cancel the appointment with Nanoha.”

“Easier said than done,” he replied with a weary sigh. “She’s been looking forward to this. She even managed to reserve a table at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the galaxy, in her own words. It apparently takes months to get a seat there, and she called in a favor to do it. If I cancel now, it won’t just disappoint her — it’ll make her look bad in front of the people who arranged it.”

He leaned back in his chair, staring at his untouched meal with a tired expression. One part of him wished the ground would just open up and solve the problem for him, but knowing his luck, he’d have to face this mess head-on.

Truthfully, this felt like a genuine conundrum, and Shirou was already running through every possible solution in his head that could help him resolve both issues without disappointing either party. “I got it!” A small wave of inspiration struck him, and he lightly smacked his fist into his open palm. “The movie starts earlier than my appointment with Nanoha. I can watch most of it without much issue, with Hayate, then get changed and head straight to the restaurant. Even if I have to sprint between places, I can make it. I just need to move fast and stay on schedule.”

It was close, a matter of minutes, but the window between them was apart enough to give him some wiggle room.

“This is a bad idea,” the girl in front of him said bluntly, shaking her head before he could even finish explaining. “I don't know Hayate that well, but she will get the wrong idea if you try to leave as soon as the movie is finished. Are you even sure this will work? Because I don’t think it will.”

“I’ve got some confidence in myself at the very least,” he replied, half-smiling with stubborn optimism. “I won't just be leaving without saying a word to Hayate. I can come up with an excuse. The plan is simple enough. A two-hour movie and a dinner happening right after the other, if I keep track carefully, I’ll be able to attend both. It’s just about managing time, and I get to keep my promise to both people.”

“That’s not exactly what I’m trying to warn you about,” she said with a sigh, giving him a look that blended concern and exasperation. “But if you’re that sure of yourself, I’ll trust you.”

He appreciated her words, even if he knew deep down it was his fault for forgetting about the original arrangement. Still, a small breath of relief escaped him. At least he could keep his word until the end, no matter how difficult it turned out to be.

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(A few hours later)

Aside from that small episode of doubt earlier, the rest of the day had gone smoothly. Shirou spent most of his free time tidying up the house and catching up on chores he had put off for too long. The quiet rhythm of the afternoon felt oddly peaceful, though it also left him wondering where Fate and Vivio had gone off to. Neither had returned yet, and their absence tugged at his curiosity, but there wasn’t much time to dwell on it. The movie time was drawing near, and he was already dressed and ready to head out to meet Hayate.

Lutecia had just been lounging around the living room the entire day and playing around with some of her summoned insects, taking the time to relax after the mission.

“Hm?”

His phone began ringing just as he was slipping on his jacket. Glancing at the screen, he saw Nanoha’s name flashing on the caller ID. Curious, he picked up immediately.

“Hey, I’m just about to leave,” he said in a confident tone. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there on time.”

“Um… well, actually… hahaha, funny story actually.” Nanoha replied, her voice carrying a hint of apology, “There’s been a small change of plans. Apparently, there was a mix-up with the reservation. The owner got the time wrong, and we were supposed to be there two hours earlier than we thought.”

“What?” Shirou’s voice was filled with disbelief and a creeping sense of dread. Was it a joke? He really hoped so; never had the man ever imagined desperately wishing that this was just another one of her teasing attempts.

“Exactly!” Nanoha sounded as exasperated as she must have thought he felt. “I barely managed to wrap up my work early enough to make it. Thankfully, that’s all done now. Since you’re already ready, I figured it wouldn’t be that big of a problem. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it, and I’d have to postpone everything. Unless… you can’t get there now?”

At first, the words ‘sorry’ nearly came out of his mouth, wanting to make an excuse and possibly postpone this meeting for another time. Only for him to bite his tongue at the last second and shut up.

“Shirou?”

“N-No, it’s fine. I’ll be there,” he said quickly. But the moment he ended the call, regret hit him like a wave. He wanted nothing more than to punch himself for sharing too much earlier. His situation had gone from mildly inconvenient to completely impossible in the space of a minute.

The line went dead, leaving him staring blankly at the phone screen. His thoughts scattered in every direction, his expression empty, but his mind racing. Checking the time only made it worse; the movie started around the same time, maybe even ten minutes earlier. Hayate had already sent him the location, complete with photos of her waiting.

He started pacing back and forth, mind spinning as he tried to think of some miracle that could let him keep both promises. He was putting more thought into this than anything he’d done since arriving in this world, to the point his head began to ache with the effort.

Crunch.

The sound pulled his attention sideways. Lutecia was sitting on the couch, casually munching chips while watching him, her expression making it painfully clear what she was thinking. Her eyes said everything — an obvious, silent “I told you so.”

“Hold on,” he muttered suddenly, pausing mid-step. “I have an idea.”

He turned slowly toward the purple-haired girl. She blinked in confusion, sensing something unpleasant was about to involve her. “Yes?” she asked cautiously, already dreading whatever came next.

“Do you want to watch a movie with me?”

{Break}

There have been many things Hayate dreaded in her life and wished to avoid at all costs. Having to share an office with Regius for an entire year, finding a stack of paperwork on her desk, or even just waking up several hours late for work.

But the last thing she expected to be horrified about was being confronted by several of her close friends in such a manner. “Can't believe this is happening. I already told you, Signum, this is not a date.” These words left Hayate’s lips as she sighed and massaged her forehead, facing a few members of the Wolkenritter. Who, for some reason, was curious about her activities and decided to follow her not so secretly while wearing the most ridiculous disguises picked by Zwei.

Especially a certain pink-haired knight who had a trenchcoat on.

“We were just curious what changed from that earlier mission to make you behave so differently than your usual self. Also, you spent hours asking us which clothes looked better on you; you should have expected this.”

As hard as it was to admit it… Signum had a point.

“You should have told us about this much earlier, Hayate.” The second voice came sharply from Vita, who stood beside her fellow Wolkenritter in a simple white shirt and blue shorts that, from afar, made her look like any other child. “You have never had a boyfriend, not even a proper date. The closest thing that comes to mind is when Fate dragged you to that carnival or that one time Chrono invited you to that party.”

“That was not a date at all! And he invited every other colleague to that event, so there is no need to even mention that.” Also, she was pretty sure that the man was more interested in Nanoha than herself… she wondered if anyone had already told him of what had happened recently. She did not want to be the one to convey the news to him if there were really any intentions of pursuing Nanoha.

“And for you to choose Shirou of all people,” Signum spoke quietly under her breath, wearing a complicated look that shifted between concern and understanding. “I cannot think of anything truly troubling about him. Even I can tell he is not a person with malicious intentions, a capable fighter, so he can keep you safe, at least in principle, and he does seem like a decent man. But all of that is still debatable until I confirm it myself. The whole situation needs proper evaluation.”

“Yeah, like she said,” Vita said while Zafira nodded quietly. “Let me try to smack him around a couple of times with my hammer. If he's still willing to go after you and can beat me in the process, which I highly doubt, most of you will get my approval.”

“What are you, my mother? And for your information, Shirou's quite the capable mage himself. I don't know about beating you, but he sure will not let himself be smacked around by your hammer. Also, I wouldn't let you do that at any point since we are not dating!”

“Yet!” Zwei added mischievously, most definitely enjoying everything that was happening at the moment.

“Please do not start this. I wanted a day off without dealing with any of this nonsense,” Hayate muttered, her frustration slipping easily into her tone. “And like I said earlier, this is not a date. I am just spending time with him. It is nothing more than that. Not an actual date.”

Her insistence accomplished nothing. Instead, it only seemed to heighten the curiosity burning in the three knights' expressions.

“Then why are you wearing such nice clothes?” the red-headed Wolkenritter asked immediately, her eyes narrowing as if she had uncovered some critical clue in an investigation.

“That is not up to you to decide. I am free to wear what I want, Vita.”

“That is not the behaviour of someone who claims this is not a date.” The girl crossed her arms, looking entirely too satisfied with her accusation.

Hayate’s eye twitched. Annoyance and growing irritation spread through her as if every comment they made pressed against an invisible bruise. Being questioned so intensely before she even stepped outside was the last thing she wanted. “Even if this was a date, what does it matter to all of you? I am not a little girl anymore. I can make my own decisions without being supervised.”

“It is our duty to protect you,” Signum replied at once, her voice steady and unwavering. “We are not telling you that you cannot date him. We simply need to evaluate him further and see if he is worthy of you.”

“He is already in a relationship with Nanoha,” Hayate said plainly, watching as every pair of eyes in the room widened at the revelation. Vita’s mouth fell open, her shock so obvious it nearly looked comical.

“What the hell, Hayate!? You are going after a man who is already taken? Are you his side chic—” Vita barely managed to ask the question before Hayate’s arm moved in irritation, cutting off the next round of disbelief forming on Vita’s face. Covering the latter's mouth while several people around were looking at them weirdly.

“Go. Away. Now. That's an order.” She rarely used such a commanding tone with them, but at this moment, she truly felt like she had no other choice but to do it.

“Hah… fine, we didn't mean to get in your way or anything like that. We just want to make sure that you are happy and you're not going to do anything you might regret.” Signum added after some moment of silence. Hayate appreciated her concern, thus making her smile in return.

“I'm doing fine, and I'm glad you are looking out for me. But it's for the best that you let me handle this on my own.”

The group looked at one another before nodding along together, one by one walking away, and finally giving the brunette some space. Signum, being the last one to walk away, not before leaving her with some parting words. “If things do not go well, if you don't get what you may have wished for, just know that we are always here for you.”

“I know.” She answered, knowing full well just how true those words were.

These people could be quite eccentric with their own safety at times, even after years, some habits remained the same. She did not hate it and was grateful for them.

Thankfully, he did not arrive around the time they were talking to her, or else it would have been very complicated to explain the details to the boy without being embarrassed.

Truthfully, Hayate hadn’t planned anything beyond a simple outing. Her invitation held no hidden intent; she just wanted to spend some time with him, something that had become rare these days. Fate practically lived in the same apartment complex, given how often she visited Shirou, and since both he and Nanoha were in a relationship, she sometimes felt like the dynamics between them had frozen in place. There was a polite distance that hadn’t gone away. They were cordial and friendly enough, but it felt more like the mutual respect between coworkers or a superior and her subordinate. She didn’t like that and hoped to change it by doing something light-hearted and easy.

It crossed her mind that this looked an awful lot like a date, though there was no rule that said colleagues or friends couldn’t see a movie together. Still, she found herself overthinking it. ‘Maybe I should’ve asked Nanoha’s permission, just to be safe,’ she muttered quietly. Nanoha had once said she wanted to spend a day hanging out with them both, but she’d never mentioned when. ‘It probably would’ve been better if I had invited her along, too. And Fate as well. It’s been ages since the three of us went out together.’ Zwie had been right; she'd buried herself too deep in work lately. Maybe this break was long overdue.

A few minutes later did she received a message from him, notifying her of his arrival, which made her look around to finally spot the redhead walking towards her while waving his hand.

“...Shirou?” It took a few seconds for her to realize who it was, for the person was wearing a large hoodie with his lower face mostly hidden with a mask, waving as if this were just another day.

‘Did he get sick?’

What she hadn’t expected, though, was that their little outing wouldn’t just be the two of them. And even more surprising was who Shirou had brought along, a young girl Hayate recognized instantly, someone who had once worked under Jail. “Lutecia?” she said again, blinking in surprise.

“Hello,” the little one greeted with a small nod. She wore a dark-themed dress that Hayate could tell wasn’t Shirou’s choice. It suited Fate’s taste far more, reminding her of how the blonde had dressed in her early days. “Don’t mind me. He was the one who brought me along.” Lutecia wasted no time pointing directly at the boy behind her and ratting him out. The latter smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

“Hahaha, sorry about that. It’s been a while since I’ve taken her out anywhere, and she wanted to spend some time together as well—ouch!” He winced when the girl promptly stomped on his foot, earning a small laugh from Hayate at his expense.

A bit confused about what was going on, she found it funny regardless.

Now that she thought about it, perhaps this was exactly why he did not mind when she mentioned the outing. Bringing Lutecia along might have been his subtle way of keeping things comfortable, of avoiding any awkward impression between the two of them. It was a considerate move, and she appreciated that. She clasped her hands together and smiled warmly. “I’m glad you brought her along! The more the merrier. And now that I think about it, it’s been a while since we last hung out, Lutecia. I hope you haven’t forgotten about me,” she teased, ruffling the girl’s hair.

Lutecia smiled brightly. “I think so too. Thank you for having me.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Hayate said cheerfully. “Now then, let’s go watch the movie! It’s one of my favorites!” With that, she grabbed both of them by the hand and led the way inside. Her usual commander-like composure melted into something lighter, almost childlike, as she pulled them through the lobby toward the screening hall. After a bit of searching, they found ideal seats at the very back. Being a commander did come with its perks; she didn’t even have to pay since the Space-Time Administration Bureau covered it under leisure allowances.

“Well, this looks familiar,” Shirou commented once they sat down, glancing around at the theater’s interior.

“Midchilda has people from so many different planets,” Hayate replied, speaking between bites of popcorn. “Some of the locals try to recreate parts of their home worlds here. This cinema belongs to someone from Earth, so they designed it to feel the same. Aside from the projection technology, it’s practically identical to what you’d find back home.”

Lutecia sat quietly beside her, sipping one of her many drinks while the theatre lights dimmed and the screen brightened with the first trailers. “By the way, were Signum and Vita outside the cinema just now?” The moment she asked, Hayate’s face tightened with an awkward look that settled across her features like an uncomfortable veil.

“Sorry, did they ask you too many questions? I told them it was just a simple outing.”

“No, nothing like that. I think it is good that they care about you,” he answered.

“Yes, but sometimes they care a bit too much. I cannot blame them, but there are moments when I feel like they still see me as a young child who cannot stand on her own. Back then, I really was fragile, but I am not the same person anymore, and I am no longer a vase that needs to be hidden away.”

“I am pretty sure Signum was about to challenge me to something with the looks she was giving me earlier.”

That earned a laugh from Hayate, a small one but genuine enough to ease the tension around her shoulders. “She most likely did. Do not mind her. She will get over it once she convinces herself I am not about to collapse.”

Just as the movie was about to start, Shirou stood up, much to her confusion. “Sorry, I will be right back for a moment.”

Hayate nodded and watched him walk off, then sank deeper into her seat with a slow exhale. Even if the start of the evening had been scattered and a little messy, it had come together well enough. With him stepping away for a minute, she figured there was no point in letting her nerves spin up again. She tried to close her mind and simply enjoy the atmosphere. Maybe Zwei was right earlier. She did need a moment to settle herself and just breathe.

As she drifted in her thoughts, the theatre grew quieter around her. At the edge of her sight, she saw a familiar figure returning and taking the seat beside her without a word, posture relaxed as the movie’s first title card appeared. “By the way, have you seen this movie before? It is one they got from Earth, and it was supposed to be quite popu—eh?”

Her sentence stopped when something appeared right in front of her face. Lutecia extended her soda with a quiet whisper. “I cannot drink all of it. You have it.”

Taken aback, Hayate blinked several times before accepting it without protest. Only after wrapping her fingers around the cup did she realize it was still more than half full. Unable to resist, she glanced down at the girl, whose lap held an impressive collection of snacks and drinks, almost a dozen in total. She wondered why Lutecia had bought so much if she could not even finish a single cup. After thinking it through, she decided it was probably just excitement, the kind that made someone her age want to try a bit of everything.

She gave a quiet chuckle and took a sip while settling her gaze back on the screen. The film began to play, and she relaxed beside her company, unaware that the hooded figure seated next to her had not moved or spoken at all.

Within the hood, no strands of auburn hair peeked like before from the person who had gone to the restroom moments earlier, but a shiny black exoskeleton belonging to a humanoid insectoid wearing identical clothing, its posture perfectly still as it glanced toward its summoner. The latter, giving a subtle gesture for the creature to stay silent and remain unnoticed, as the theatre filled fully with the glow of the opening scene.

{Break}

(Outside the theatre)

“Garyu is in place, target is distracted.” Luticia’s voice came through Shirou’s earpiece while he sprinted across the street, pulling in sharp breaths as he wore a vest around him.

“Good. Just make sure she doesn’t glance toward my supposed position too much.”

“Don’t worry, I have it handled. I expect ample compensation after this.” Her voice carried a dry note that made him smile wryly despite his hurried pace.

“Anything you want. This is just a one-time thing, I promise.” He meant it, though a faint stab of guilt still crawled up his spine. Leaving a body double behind was hardly a noble choice. He knew that. Yet with everything happening at once, it was the only plan that made sense, and if Hayate could enjoy herself without tension for a while, then he could live with the discomfort. If his time with Nanoha ended earlier than he hoped, he could slip back and make it seem like he had never left in the first place. Besides, he trusted Lutecia to keep the illusion steady for at least an hour.

Now dressed in fresh clothes and smoothing out his hair, Shirou reached the restaurant Nanoha had mentioned, not so far away from the theater, still far enough that he needed to spring to get there. He halted just outside the entrance, momentarily stunned by the scale of the building. “...Wow.” The place stretched as wide as a full shopping mall, complete with grand lights, polished floors, and cars that gleamed like freshly cut gemstones rolling up to the curb. Every guest stepped out in tailored suits or dresses meant for formal galas, and the weight of their presence made him feel slightly misplaced.

“Eh… did I go to the wrong address?” Checking the information he got once again, this did seem to be the place. Yet he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed already without even having taken a step inside.

“Shirou!”

His name rang across the entryway, having him turn around just in time to catch sight of the brunette weaving toward him, and he froze for a heartbeat when the full view of her dress settled in his vision. Nanoha wore a deep crimson gown, similar in color to the one from the auction, but this one hugged her figure in a more refined way. Small flecks of glitter caught the lights overhead, giving the fabric a gentle shimmer every time she moved. Her smile brightened the room as she waved, which earned more than a few curious looks from nearby guests.

“Sorry, I’m late. I needed a few last-minute preparations,” Shirou said, returning her hug once she reached him. She went still in his arms, something that made him pull back a little in confusion. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that.” She shook her head quickly and gave him a warm smile. “I’m just surprised to see you dressed so formally. It suits you much more than you think… You should try it more often. It's like I'm talking to a completely different person.” She stepped closer and adjusted the collar of his shirt before studying his eyes and hair. Her hand brushed upward, guiding his hair back with simple motions. “There. Now you look like a proper dashing man.”

She stepped aside and handed him a small mirror from her purse. When he glanced into it, the man nearly winced. The reflection staring back at him resembled a familiar heroic spirit with a judgmental expression that seemed to say he had no idea what he was doing. His smile tightened before he forced it into something lighter.

“Thanks. It looks… nice,” he said, and he tried to sound as natural as possible, leaving the air as they were without changing it back to its previous self. It was just for this moment, nothing permanent, and she seemed to like it.

“All right then, that settles it. Do not just stay outside, come in. You will love it, it is beautiful.” She said it while pulling him along with enough enthusiasm that he nearly tripped on the polished floor. Her grip tightened, urging him forward until he finally matched her pace, and the two of them passed into the grand interior she had spoken about with such certainty.

Just as she mentioned, the inside was far more extravagant than he ever expected. Chandeliers the size of small cars shimmered above them, each one carved with intricate crystal patterns that reflected the warm glow drifting through the hall. Golden light painted the marble tiles in gentle streaks. The hallway stretched so far that it felt like the building was challenging him to find its end, and each towering pillar was covered from top to bottom with elaborate carvings that mixed alien motifs with classical designs. A faint melody of classical music drifted around them, soft enough not to overwhelm the senses yet clear enough to fill the space with an inviting atmosphere.

“How is this place even overbooked if it is this big? You could fit the entire population of Fuyuki in here.” The thought escaped him aloud before he fully processed it.

“Do not forget what I told you. It is one of the most popular places in the galaxy, so people from distant worlds travel here just to visit.” Her tone carried a hint of pride, as if she had personally influenced its reputation. Rather than feeling impressed, he found himself struck by an unexpected wave of sympathy. He imagined the chefs working behind the scenes, juggling orders from visitors scattered across countless planets. A part of him could not help but grow curious about the kitchen itself, picturing it as a maze of counters, pans, machines, and ingredients sourced from half the universe.

“I do not suppose they will let me take a peek?” he wondered silently while they walked.

Before long, the two of them reached their table. A neatly dressed waiter was already waiting for them, greeting them with a polite smile and a welcoming gesture that felt almost rehearsed. Once they sat down, she leaned closer and studied his expression with a sharper focus than before.

“Is it just me, or do you seem different than usual?” The question froze him in place. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, tracing its way down from his earlier run while he tried to think of an answer that would not sound suspicious.

“Um… n-not sure what you mean by that. If I look nervous to you, then it may be because of the overall environment of this place. I tend to become kind of nervous.”

A hum escaped her lips as she then shook her head. “No, not that. You just look quite tired. Did you seriously actually run all the way here? Why not just take the bus or get a ride?” Her eyes narrowed slightly, worried rather than accusatory.

He had taken a bus, but only to reach the theatre earlier. After that, he ran across several blocks to avoid losing more time. “I just did not want to keep you waiting too long.” He managed to produce the answer with a casual tone that he hoped sounded convincing. It appeared to be enough, judging by the way her expression eased.

“Sorry if this place seems a bit too bougie. I was searching for the perfect place, and nothing felt right. I had several ideas, but none of them clicked, and this one showed up out of nowhere, so I figured I should go with it.”

“Were you worried that I would be disappointed or something?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Kind of?” She took a moment before giving her answer. “I was... I just wanted to impress you, I guess.”

The urge to chuckle at that statement grew as he heard that part. The moment he first met her already impressed him more than enough; that memory of an entire city-wide area getting obliterated would forever remain burned in his mind.

But he figured that giving such an answer would only serve as teasing material, given how much she did not like having that subject brought up. So he figured giving her a more straightforward answer would suffice. “I am someone who is easy to impress. You do not need to bring me somewhere extravagant to prove anything. Honestly, just spending time with me is enough for me to forget most of my problems and enjoy the moment.” He meant it, and his voice reflected that truth, at least he hoped so.

“That is sweet.” She gave a small smile, one that softened her features noticeably. “To tell you the truth, I was nervous these past few days. Nervous that maybe I rushed things with all of this without actually hearing your side, and I do not really have a plan.”

“What plans? Fate was right, you really do think about battle the entire time.” Shirou said with a chuckle, he could no longer hold back.

The comment earned a small gasp from her. She stared at him with disbelief before finding her voice. “What is that supposed to mean?”

In return, he simply grinned. “You heard me. You are treating this like a mission. I am hardly an expert myself, and this is my first time, too, but even I can tell that you do not need to strategize this early. Take your time. The world is not ending tomorrow. If things work out, great. If they do not, at least we tried.”

That seemed to calm her down as she proceeded to take a seat back down while huffing. “But I do want things to go well. I just do not want to do something that makes it impossible in the long run.”

“What do you mean by that?” He leaned slightly forward, curiosity replacing the earlier tension.

Nanoha grew visibly nervous, which confused him since she always gave him the impression of being someone quite blunt with everything she had in her heart. So for her to hesitate was definitely a first. “Say, Shirou… Let us say that in the future, someone else fell in love with you. What would you do?”

The question caught him off guard, although he did not dismiss it. After a brief moment of thought that lasted less than a second, he answered with a straight face. “I would politely decline her feelings.”

“Really?”

He shrugged and tried to keep his tone light. "I mean, what is there to be surprised about? I already have you. Taking an interest in someone else would feel unfair to you, and it would be wrong on my part anyway."

She tapped a finger against her chin. "What if it was someone very close to both of us, someone we both cherish to some degree?"

Close to both of them. That line landed with an unexpected tone, and a specific face pushed itself into his thoughts before he could stop it. He frowned. "Hold on. Are you saying that either Subaru or Teana has a crush on me?" He asked it with clear disbelief, because he had never once caught even the slightest hint of that from either of them. They were close, they were friendly, they argued and teamed up with him all the time, but nothing in their behaviour had ever suggested anything romantic. His reaction, bewildered as it was, only made Nanoha burst out laughing.

“Pft-hahahaha!”

Her cheerful laugh carried across the room and made him realise that perhaps his assumption was nowhere near the truth. "Oh? Those two? That is interesting. I do think they both get along well with you, but even I do not think they see you in that way. At least not yet." She said with a mirthful tone.

"Oi. What is that ‘not yet’ supposed to mean?"

She raised her brows. "Does no one else come to mind?"

He stared for a moment and answered with a deadpan tone. "I want to say Quattro, but both of us know that would be a lie."

Nanoha rolled her eyes with a tired sort of frustration. "She definitely wants something from you, and I do not think she is even trying to hide her intentions. But no, she is not who I was talking about. Let us think about this in a purely hypothetical way. For example, what if Fate had feelings for you, too?"

"Fate?" He repeated the blonde's name with real disbelief and immediately shook his head. "Impossible." He said it with so much certainty that Nanoha actually blinked, caught off guard by how firm he sounded. Since she looked confused, he continued. "I admit that we get along well, but that is all. I do not see her being interested in falling for me. I do not even think I am her type."

For some reason, the smile on her face grew even more, touched by a faint mischievous glimmer that moved across her eyes. "Is that so? Then tell me, Shirou. What do you think her type is?"

He had no idea how to even answer that, given that anything he said would purely be speculative. "I… I would guess someone very accomplished in TSAB? Maybe someone is already deep in the same career path as her. Someone stable and settled. As you can see, I still need time to get a foothold here; my future is hanging in the air, I do not know how long I will be staying, and I have no idea how far I could go if I continued working under the Time Space Administrative Bureau. I doubt many people in the higher ranks even trust me fully. I do not see Fate being interested in me at all. But I do think she sees me as a friend at the very least."

To his surprise, Nanoha actually pouted. "The more I listen to you, the more I feel you are overestimating Fate and her supposed taste in men. And speaking of that, did you ever hear the rumour that Fate and I were actually together?"

He nearly choked on his drink. "Really?"

"Yes. Plenty of people tried to approach her, and as you can guess, every single one of them was politely turned down. She always kept her distance from most men in TSAB. Meanwhile, the people she spent the most time with were me and Hayate. At one point, it was not even a secret that Fate and I shared a room. That was all it took for the rumours to spread across half the base."

"I guess people will gossip regardless of which world I end up in." He muttered the words under his breath while sitting on the opposite end of the table. The Clocktower came to mind, a place that carried a completely different atmosphere compared to the TSAB in this world. Even with so many types of people studying and working there, gossip still moved through the halls with the same stubborn energy as ever, and Luvia happened to be the biggest magnet for such things.

"But you see, lately these rumours have started to shift a bit. People noticed how she spends more time with you. Some even found out she visits your apartment almost every day. You can imagine how the old rumours about Fate and me being in a relationship changed. Now people have decided that she suddenly has a new love interest and has already started living together with him."

"What? Shouldn’t people be more concerned with saving the galaxy and handling world-level threats at this point?" He asked with a tone caught somewhere between disbelief and irritation.

She gave a small laugh, the sort that came naturally to her. "Even now, our organisation has moments like these. We are human after all, not machines."

"Does she know about these rumours?"

"Of course she does." She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

This was bad. A heavy weight settled in his stomach as he realised how thoughtless the situation had become. He felt genuinely horrible leaving her to deal with such nonsense. Fate only visited his place because Vivio got along so well with Lutecia. The idea that she would now be dragged into annoying assumptions just because she made sure Vivio was doing well made him feel worse. "I should be apologising to her for all of this," he said under his breath. Nanoha shook her head gently.

"You do not understand, Shirou."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said before, Fate may be more open than she used to be, but she is still a very reserved person. She only opens her heart fully to a small group of people. She never talked about the rumours except by smiling them away. She does not ask someone else to look after Vivio. She does it herself. She does not feel uncomfortable staying the night if it becomes necessary, and she cooks for you regularly without hesitation. Do you not find any of this a little unusual when you think about it more clearly?"

He supposed she had a point. As he tried to piece his thoughts together. But before he could look deeper into it, his earpiece rang loudly enough to cut through every other concern. His attention shifted and the redhead immediately focused on it, because only one person would call him through his earpiece.

"We have trouble. Hayate is trying to go to the bathroom, and I had to unsummon Garyu to avoid being seen. I already told her you went back to buy more snac—" Anything else she planned to say was cut off as the connection disconnected without warning.

His pulse spiked with sudden worry. For a moment, he felt his chest tighten as if something had gone very wrong. He stood up too fast, leaving Nanoha staring in brief confusion. "Sorry, I think I must have dropped something from my pocket. I will be right back!" He said the words quickly and walked off without waiting for a reply.

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“Hah… hah… hah!” Running back to the cinema at full speed was not exactly a challenge, but it still drained a lot of his stamina and energy as he used reinforcement to strengthen his legs. Only for him to come to an immediate stop as a black car suddenly came to a stop not so far ahead of him. “—!”

The windows rolled down to show Fate of all people staring back at him. “Eh, Shirou? Why are you running so quickly? Did something happen?”

In the entirety of Midchilda, the boy started to wonder why he had to come across her of all people in this specific spot and this particular time. It was like fate itself started to wish for his downfall at this point. “Oh, I… I uh, I just remembered there was some last minute shopping I needed to do.”

Even he could see just how ridiculously bad that excuse even was.

“Is that so?” Somehow, Fate seemed to accept his answer. “I can give you a ride, oh, and you can come with me to pick up Vivio… maybe we can swing by your apartment to pick up Lutecia and the four of us can hang out? As a way to celebrate your first mission outside this planet, Vivio would also love to be with her best friend. I wanted to ask you this morning but it slipped my mind for some reason.”

“...”

He already made a major mistake early on this morning on accepting Nanoha’s invitation and not recalling his prior schedule with Hayate. Now, there was absolutely no way he could change up his plans even further, it had become a complete mess already! “Sorry… maybe next time? I can't for today, but I'll make sure to call you when I'm free! I have to leave now, it's important!” As bad as it was to run away, this was his only solution to the matter and he swore to make it up for her later on. The world around him turned into a blur until he finally came to his destination and just so happened to see the girl looking around, trying to find something or someone.

“Shirou?” She saw him, tilting her head over so slightly with confusion. “Is something wrong? Why do you look so tired? And did you change your clothes?”

If his state when meeting Nanoha was bad, then now his entire shirt was covered in sweat. And he forgot about the entire clothes part!

“Oh, it's nothing. Had a small argument with someone who then threw water on me, and then figured that it would be best for me to just head outside to one of the nearby shops and get myself something that won't be sticky. It was quite far and I had to run.”

“I see… but Lutecia mentioned you went out to get yourself some snacks. Did you meet that person over there? That is not appropriate behaviour, lead me to them and I will make sure they apologise.”

Still out of breath, it did not take long for him to realise his blunder and just proceed to smack himself on the head. “Damn it! I must have forgotten it on the counter. Head back to the movie without me. I'll be fetching it and returning in a minute. And there is no need to go that far, we already talked things out and realized it was just a simple misunderstanding hahaha…”

She did not seem convinced at first, but he just kept a composed face without revealing much and thankfully enough it worked. “... Okay.”

Relieved by her answer, the boy used that moment to think about his next step more carefully. “That bought me some time. But I can't just leave Nanoha all alone back there… Lutecia will cover me. I should end that date as fast as possible, there is still an hour of the movie left!” He proceeded to go back to his previous location right after seeing Hayate walk back into the movies. Once again pushing himself to his limits in order to arrive several minutes after back at the restaurant, but this time, he was met with an empty table. With Nanoha nowhere to be seen at all.

“N-anoha!” He called out with a trembling tone, looking around to find where she had gone, only to find no sign whatsoever of the woman. “Did she leave?”

He looked around to find her and saw not a trace of the woman. Soon, his chaotic thoughts started to simmer down until he realised that she must have left. And calling her did not help him in the least for she was not picking up. With a heavy heart, Shirou slowly walked outside before having his back rested against the wall and slid down till he was on his butt. Tired both physically and mentally, it dawned on him just how disastrous the entire day had been. ‘Hah… that's what I get for trying to make everyone happy.’

He could already imagine the look of utter disappointment on her face when they would meet next time. At this point, he was not even sure if he would be able to even face the woman had on without shame. And it was only a matter of time before Hayate herself found out what happened. He had no plans on keeping it a secret after this disaster nor would he stop Nanoha from telling the others.

“You look sad, Shirou.”

Out of nowhere, he heard the voice come from behind, feeling immediately relieved that nothing unexpected had occurred, he turned around to come out with an explanation only to freeze mid sentence upon seeing someone he had not expected to see here.

“Fate?” He whispered her name, only to realize that she was not alone.

Accompanying her being none other than Nanoha and Hayate, the latter holding on to Lutecia like one would a doll. The little girl gave him a guilty expression before looking away. “Sorry, I ran out of drinks to distract her.” Much to his horror throughout the two girls smiled, but for some reason those expressions looked quite ominous in his mind.

How was Hayate here? He was pretty sure to have seen her just now at the cinema!

“I-I… I can explain. I just… I just did not want to disappoint any one of you and forgot about my plans with Hayate this morning which was why I accepted Nanoha's! I couldn't bring myself to cancel when I had already agreed!”

He would be lucky to survive this day, but this was the only thing he could do at the moment and just tell the full truth. All the while waiting to either be slapped, punched, blasted by a powerful pillar of light… or all three at the same time. Yet none of that happened, instead, he heard them all giggle with Fate being the loudest one.

“Seriously, Shirou. I thought you were a mature one but it's clear even you can be pretty reckless at times. You should have just told us this from the beginning.”

Eh? They weren't angry? Where was the violence and the punching?

“Agreed,” Nanoha said. “I could have just asked the others to join us as well. Would have made the date more fun!”

“—?”

Now he was really confused about what was going on.

The Legendary Saiyan In a Fairy's World Chapter 56

Not beta read yet.

Next update is Nanoha which will is in a few seconds. Followed by Steel Eyed Faker and Hound of the Dead

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-Magnolia-

“Cana?” Standing outside the brunette’s room within their new abode, Broly knocked on the door and called her name to check up on her. “Is everything all right?” He asked, because of what had happened earlier and how she had gone upstairs so suddenly without giving anyone the chance to reach out to her. Her behavior felt strangely distant compared to her usual relaxed mood, and even someone as straightforward as Broly could tell that something was genuinely wrong.

“Can we do this another time? I’m not feeling too well.” Her voice came from the other side of the door, thin, as if speaking took more effort than it should have. The more he heard it, the more concern settled inside him, so he knocked again with a firmer rhythm.

“It’s better if I check up on you. If you are feeling sick, then I can bring you to someone who can heal you.”

“I am not sick,” she answered after a brief silence. “I just don’t feel like doing much today and wanted some alone time.”

Stubborn… at least that part did not change.

“I remember you told me that if something is bothering me, something I’m trying to bottle up, I should share it with my friends so the burden eases. You were the one who kept reminding me of that. So now that you’re going through something similar, I’m wondering if you’re willing to follow the advice you gave me.” He spoke calmly, unwilling to walk away. The door could have been removed from its hinges with barely any effort on his part, but he refused to force his way in. He stood there waiting, hoping she would open it on her own.

Time drifted by in a slow stretch, long enough for him to think she truly did not want to talk to him. Just as he began to accept that possibility, he heard soft footsteps approaching from the other side, followed by the quiet click of the lock turning. The door opened slightly, and Cana peeked through the narrow space with tired eyes.

“Hey, big guy.” She tried to sound cheerful, but the effort only made the tone feel hollow and worn. The Saiyan eased the door open a bit farther, and she offered no resistance. She stepped back to let him inside. He entered and saw her standing with her gaze lowered, one hand held behind her back. Her hair looked tangled and unkempt, and her room was in complete disorder, though he suspected the messy state of the room was simply her usual habit rather than a sign of whatever was weighing on her.

“You didn’t have to come this far to check up on me,” she said. “I’m just dealing with something small. I’ll recover in the next few days once I stop being stupid, hahaha.” The forced laugh scratched the air without any real humor behind it. The longer he listened, the more obvious it became that she was not doing well at all.

He did not waste time on more questions. Broly stepped closer and placed one large hand on her forehead. The sudden gesture made her tense in surprise, though she regained her composure quickly and stayed still, allowing him to check.

“You don’t seem to have a fever,” he noted quietly. He felt her heartbeat quicken for a brief moment before she turned her head aside and pushed his hand away with a light touch.

“It’s nothing like that. I’m fine. Just thinking about something, that’s all.”

"Would you care to share what's going through your mind then? I was told that it is usually best to talk with someone when you're feeling lost or uncertain," he said, repeating the same advice several servants from Lucy's mansion had given him before, Lucy included. He felt a faint sting of hypocrisy as the words left his mouth because he rarely voiced his own thoughts. He never lied or twisted anything, he simply stayed quiet and let silence do the work. "Is it because of Gildarts?" Even he had noticed that her mood shifted the moment the man appeared. Broly could tell there was nothing threatening about Gildarts and the man himself had given a warm first impression, yet Cana’s reaction was strange enough that it stayed in his mind. He assumed they must have some sort of history and he wanted to understand what he was missing.

"If it is something too personal then I will not pry for much longer and I'll get out of your hair. But if it is anything I can help with, I will try my best. We are teammates after all. It should be my responsibility to look out for you just as much as you, Lucy, and everyone else in Fairy Tail looked out for me when I needed it the most."

Cana sat on her bed with her head lowered, her long hair spilling forward and hiding her expression until a soft chuckle slipped out. "It feels almost silly now that I think about it. I will look like a spoiled child if I tell you my issue. Compared to yours, I wouldn't even call my part an issue at all."

"So?" he said, one eyebrow rising. "Not everyone needs to have problems as intense as mine for them to matter. People deal with different things. You don't need to compare your situation to someone else’s."

"I guess that is a good point. If everyone had problems like yours, we would not have a moon by the end of the day. Maybe not even the world we are standing on."

Both of them laughed, the heavy atmosphere easing until Broly quietly sat beside her. Cana leaned into him, resting her head against his arm, her voice lower now. "Yes, it is related to Gildarts."

"Did he do something bad to you before?" Broly asked, his tone sharpening just a little. Cana sat up straighter immediately and shook her head fast enough for her hair to sway.

"What? No, no, no, nothing like that, I swear!" Hearing that only made him more curious and her nervousness made him pay closer attention.

After some moments of hesitation, her hands clenched and she exhaled slowly. "Alright. I will tell you, but promise me that you will not repeat it to anyone. Not even Mirajane or the Master know about this. I think."

Her voice changed in a way he rarely heard from her. The girl was usually relaxed, casual, and difficult to rattle, the type of person who made jokes even in trouble. Seeing her the opposite made him more careful. "All right."

"Did you know I have been a part of Fairy Tail for a very long time? Longer than Natsu or Gray. I think I was six, maybe seven. I can't even remember clearly anymore."

"You basically spent your entire life here," he said, keeping his voice steady.

"Yep. They are my family just as much as they are the annoying bunch I deal with daily. I care about them. Well, almost everyone. There are a few dicks in the guild and even a few bitches. But nobody pays them much attention."

"Am I one of them?" he asked with a teasing grin, copying the mannerisms of a certain Celestial Spirit would have with him at times. Cana gave him an exaggeratedly thoughtful look before leaning in and whispering, "You? Well… huge dick."

"What!?" That wounded him more than any spell Irene ever hurled at him. “Did I do something wrong?”

"Pft, hahaha~!” She let out a melodious laughter soon after. Gently slapping his shoulders, “Oh come on, lighten up. I did not mean it like that. You are like a lovable bear with the strength of a thousand Vulcans… or a dozen dragons — most likely more but who's counting. You could be the scariest person in the world, but you usually end up looking silly instead. Which I found adorable."

He had no idea if she was complimenting him or poking fun at him, but he accepted it anyway. Liking the idea of not looking scary.

"But yeah. My story starts a long time ago, and it was around the same time my mom died. I came to Fairy Tail for one reason. I wanted to look for my deadbeat dad."

She paused, her fingers curling into the blanket beneath her. Cana’s voice did not crack, but something in it grew heavier, like someone finally speaking a truth they had avoided for years. She shifted slightly, as if gathering her thoughts before she went any further.

"Both my mom and dad met here and the former was also a Fairy Tail member, so I thought joining the guild would help me find him. I imagined he would be out there somewhere and that someone here would know something. I did not come with any grand dream or goal. I only wanted answers. I wanted to meet the man who disappeared on us and left my mother to raise me alone."

Broly listened quietly, nodding along as she went on. He hesitated after learning that part of her past, not knowing how he was supposed to respond, so he followed the moment instead and gently tapped her head with a slow, careful motion that he hoped felt reassuring. “I am sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks. I do miss her a lot. But I managed to accept what happened and move forward because the people in Fairy Tail helped me through it. They kept me… whole, mostly, even on the days when thinking about her felt too heavy. Nothing a barrel or two of beer can't fix.”

“Did you ever find your dad?” This question in particular plagued his mind, for it felt like she had accomplished her goal but also not entirely?

“Yup, I found him alright. In fact, I already knew exactly who it was. My mum gave me his name, described how he looked, and even kept a picture of him. So it honestly did not take long. A few days after joining Fairy Tail I saw him with my own eyes.”

That made things easier, “That is good. Did he recognise you? Surely he must have been happy to see his daughter join the same guild as him.” Broly searched his memory for anyone in Fairy Tail whose face resembled Cana’s, someone who shared even a small trait with her. Nothing came to mind. It could have been someone who left the guild long before his arrival, or someone he had only seen in passing. With no clear idea forming, he simply continued listening.

“Recognise me? Of course not. He did not even know he had a daughter. He left my mom long before I was born.”

He immediately fell quiet again, wanting to smack his head against the wall for not realising that part. The atmosphere shifted again, more awkward than before. He could not help comparing her situation to Lucy’s. The latter at least knew who her father was and lived in the same mansion. Their relationship was strained, but she could still speak to him, argue with him, or even ignore him if she chose. She still existed in his world. Cana did not even have that.

“Turns out my dad is someone very famous in the guild. So famous that I did not feel right walking up to him and suddenly saying that I am his daughter. And even if I tried, he would not have believed me. I bet he has had plenty of random people show up claiming they are his children.”

Broly narrowed his eyes. The direction of this story became clearer with each sentence. “Is that really the only reason? I do not see why those things should stop you. If you mentioned your mother’s name he might remember her. He might even accept you.”

There was that same brief flash of uncertainty going through her eyes. “It… it's not as simple as you think it is, big guy.”

“But you make it sound harder than it needs to be. If I were in your situation I would have walked up to him and explained everything.”

She laughed softly and shook her head. “You could do that because you are you. And I am… not you. Let’s be honest. Any wizard would be thrilled to learn they have a son like you. If I were a dad and found out my kid could destroy the moon whenever he felt like it, I would be terrified and proud at the same time. But my situation is nothing like that. How is Gildarts supposed to feel anything close to pride when some girl he did not know existed suddenly walks up to him with no real talent for magic and says she is his daughter? There is nothing there except disappointment… worst case scenario is that he just thinks of it as a joke.”

Broly listened closely, his expression tightening. He wanted to stop her, to tell her she was wrong, to tell her she had worth even if she did not see it herself. Every sentence she spoke hit something inside him that reminded him of Paragus. His father never saw him as a son despite how powerful he turned out to be. There was pride, sure, but not the same kind of pride a father would have for their son. He saw a weapon, a tool, something to control. Strength never guaranteed love. Power never guaranteed acceptance. If anything, it only made things worse for him.

He drew a breath, not exactly ready to share even a fraction of what he had experienced, but the last part of her explanation slammed into his mind and shattered all of his previous thoughts. His eyes widened. His mouth opened slightly as he stared at Cana, trying to confirm he heard her correctly.

“Your father is Gildarts?”

In return, she nodded her head weakly.

“Seriously?”

“Yup. No doubt about it.”

“...”

Gildarts Clive, known throughout Fairy Tail as the strongest wizard in the guild. A man who could walk into a century quest, vanish for years, then return with nothing but a tired grin and a few stories. Someone whose casual stumble could flatten a neighborhood without him even noticing. That was the man she called her father.

Several thoughts drifted through Broly’s mind. He pictured the wizard, the rough lines of his face, the easy smile, the relaxed way he spoke, and then he looked at Cana, quietly comparing the two. The eyes matched neatly, carrying the same colour? But almost everything else felt different. Their personalities lined up in small but noticeable ways, cheerful and outgoing in a manner that felt naturally inherited.

Realising this truth only pushed the confusion further, because Gildarts never struck him as someone who would keep his distance from his own child. The man did not give off the impression of someone who cared about status or talent. Even if Cana had been a normal girl with no magical ability at all, Broly felt certain he would have cherished her just as fiercely.

Cana lowered her gaze before speaking again. “My plan changed the moment I discovered who he was. I told myself that if I became an S Class wizard and earned that title through my own power, it would be easier to reveal the truth. I thought it would prove something, not just to him but to myself. But now that you are here, and I do not mean that in a bad way, I just cannot picture myself ever reaching that level. No matter how long I train or how many years I put into improving my magic, I do not believe I will ever reach the point where I can destroy a mountaintop in a single moment even at my absolute best.”

Broly had heard plenty about S Class wizards, both from Makarov and from Erza and Lucy during their many conversations. The title was not handed out lightly. Erza carried it along with Mirajane, and even without seeing them fight at full strength, he already understood the amount of authority and respect it carried. It was a recognition given only to the strongest mages in Fairy Tail.

“So, you won't reveal to him that you're his daughter even if I advise you to do so?”

He got a head shake as his answer.

“I still don't understand why you can't just tell him. We fought and he gave me the impression of being a pretty nice guy.” Seeing how she was not reacting, he figured there was no point in pushing this matter if she did not wish to do so.

Then another idea came to mind.

“Let's make a bet then.” He said, catching her attention. “I don't know how a person can become an S class wizard, but I do have something that may work just as well. Since you want him to be impressed with you, then just have a fight against him and defeat him!” He said it loudly and filled with confidence, slapping his knees with the idea that this method was completely full proof!

“Do you want me to die?” The brunette asked with an extremely dry tone and a deadpan face.

“Why would you die? It's just Gildart—ugh!” He was immediately pushed onto the bed with Cana on top of him and holding onto his collar.

“Are you out of your mind!? ‘JUST’ Gildarts!? He's known as the strongest for a fucking reason! He wouldn't even need to lift a pinky finger to flatten me like a pancake! It's like if I were to challenge you to a fight, how do you think it would go!?”

“I never underestimate my opponent and take you seriously.”

“Don't reply with such a serious face, it's scary!” Cana exclaimed with a pale face before looking at him straight in the eyes. “Again, are you crazy?”

Rather than nod, he shook his head. “No, I really believe you have the means to challenge Gildarts in a battle and even impress him more than anyone else. It will most definitely be far more impressive to him than you earning a title, you have my word on that.”

“You're actually being serious… “ she said in disbelief, covering her face with both hands. “I must be having a dream right now. No way you would ever think someone like me can pose any sort of challenge to him. You're either too optimistic about my strength, an idiot or both.”

She really had little faith in herself from what he was seeing. With his hand on her shoulders, he made the girl look at him again. “I don't make false promises and I do not bother to sugarcoat things or lie when it comes to a person's potential. Just like with Lucy, I know you are quite capable and if given enough time, I promise you I'll make you reach a level that will be beyond anything you ever thought possible. Just believe in me, please? That's all I ask.”

Her expression went through various phases, from hesitation, anger, disbelief and so on. Until it strength seemed to have left her body and she collapsed on top of him with her head resting on his chest. “It's really not fair for you to say such things while making a face like that.”

“Is it working?” he asked, hands gently patting her back.

“Fine… I'll trust you. So just shut up and stay like this for a moment, I'm feeling a bit sleepy.” Was all she said before a few seconds later, he heard her snoring quietly, not trying to push her away. He covered both of them with the blanket and decided to catch some sleep as well since her bed turned out to be quite comfortable.

Cana had potential as a wizard, he was not even thinking about giving her the ability to use Ki since that would not make her suddenly stronger than Gildarts. She just lacked self confidence and if Lucy could reach her current level through discipline and dedication — then so could the woman on top of him.

{Break}

(Next day)

“Alright people, come on now, whoever is ready for the Magnolia Harvest Festival Swimsuit Competition, enter now! Lets see who will be this year's Miss Fairy Tail!”

The announcer’s voice echoed across the plaza. The crowd erupted in loud cheers, filling the entire street with an excited roar. Broly had only recently learned about the event, a spirited competition where the guild’s women showcased outfits, magic tricks and various other talents that drew a huge turnout every year. The name made it sound like a simple fashion contest, but everyone called it the swimsuit show because almost every participant wore such clothing. Only the girls were permitted to enter, and nearly all the Fairy Tail women were taking part, including Lucy since the cash reward reached a promising two hundred thousand jewels.

“I can see all of you are excited and so am I! Let us find out which of our local beauties will win this year and claim the crown from last year’s champion!”

“Wow, this sure brings back memories.” Gildarts stood beside Broly, cheering along with the crowd. The familiar scent of alcohol drifted strongly off him, reminding Broly once again of the traits Cana shared with her father. “Let me think. Last time I was here the winner was Evergreen. She really earned it too. Shame she is not here this year. I was hoping to see Laxus around as well. I wanted to slap some sense into the boy since I heard he has been rude to his grandfather, then maybe share a drink with him and talk about old times.”

Broly watched the arena with a curious gaze, sensing several familiar Ki signatures on the stage. “Everyone does not seem to have a good impression of him,” he said while the next contestant stepped forward. The first to appear was Levy, and her squad immediately erupted with the loudest cheers of the entire section. They waved bright flags with her name painted across them in uneven strokes, clearly homemade but full of enthusiasm. The blue haired wizard wore a simple one piece in the same soft blue shade as her hair. The outfit gave her an innocent charm that washed over the crowd like a gentle breeze, and Broly understood why so many people were taken by her presence.

“I can see why,” Gildarts continued while observing her. “Even during the times I met him whenever I came back, it was clear the boy had changed from how he was when he was younger. Now he focuses on Fairy Tail’s reputation and on making the guild something bigger, something more respected and even feared if needed. The goal itself is not bad, but the way he goes about it is not something I agree with, and Makarov feels the same. Go for it, Levy!”

The middle aged man’s encouragement blended with the voices of others. Levy grew embarrassed at the sudden wall of support, but she still pushed through it. She performed a short dance made up of careful steps, light turns and small gestures that showed both her nerves and her determination. Somehow it captured the attention of everyone watching. By the time she left the stage with a shy smile, the crowd’s cheers had grown even louder. Broly found her courage admirable.

“It is strange he is not here yet,” Gildarts added while scanning the area behind the stage and the crowd itself. “Normally during large events he wanders around and reminds certain people not to cause trouble with Fairy Tail. He even puts Natsu in his place when that boy starts acting up.”

The next contestant emerged, and Broly recognised her instantly. It had been a long time since he last saw her, not since the day they all left the resort. The moment she stepped into the light, a familiar rough voice boomed through the crowd.

“Go for it, Juvia! Show these Fairy Tail punks why Phantom Lord reigns supreme!”

Gajeel’s shouting was followed by the loud encouragement of several Phantom Lord members. Their enthusiasm only made Juvia more nervous. She lowered her head and fidgeted with her hands, growing tense and shy until her eyes finally landed on Broly.

‘Wasn't this a Fairy Tail member only contest?’ He thought to himself with some confusion, but looking at the people around along with the judges… no one was pointing that out.

“Hello, sun man!” she called out, instantly brightening. Her earlier hesitation disappeared, replaced by a cheerful expression that made several spectators lean forward in surprise. She removed the robe around her shoulders in a smooth motion and revealed a deep blue bikini decorated with wave patterns. The simple design seemed almost made for her.

The reaction from the audience was immediate. The cheers exploded in volume, and a few dramatic spectators even collapsed from excitement. Juvia lifted her arm with confidence.

“Witness me! Water Parade!”

She activated her magic, forming a clear ribbon of water that twisted upward in a spiral around her body. The flowing water caught the light and made her movements appear smoother and more graceful. Broly could not deny that the display made her look striking. The crowd watched in awe as the water circled her like a living curtain.

Gildarts slapped his shoulder with a loud laugh. “Holy shit, you even have her under the bag? What is your secret, man? At this rate I will be falling behind you.”

Broly blinked, unsure what the brown haired man meant, but before he could speak the announcer started shouting.

“Amazing display from the members of Phantom Lord! Look at the amount of cheers and look at that score! A near perfect result! Will this be our winner for the year? Will Fairy Tail’s winning streak finally be broken? WILL IT BECOME MISS PHANTOM LORD!?”

Broly sensed several unfriendly glares coming from backstage. They were all aimed at Juvia, who seemed completely unaware of the situation. She kept her eyes locked in Broly’s direction while continuing her water performance. Broly felt it would be cold to ignore her, so he gave a wave and a thumbs up.

Juvia reacted immediately. “Did Juvia finally earn your approval? Yes! I have beaten that blonde bimbo at last!”

A sharp voice shouted from behind the curtains. “Who are you calling a bimbo? Your turn is over, so move away! You're not even supposed to be here!”

Several ropes shot forward and wrapped around Juvia, dragging her backstage even though she tried to pull free. Two figures stepped out a moment later. Lucy walked forward first, wearing a yellow bikini that reflected the warm lights of the arena, clinging a bit too tightly to her chest and making the fabric sink a bit into her flesh. Cana stood beside her, matching Lucy’s pose with a confident stance. Her black laced bikini revealed more skin than her usual outfit and drew a loud reaction from the crowd.

The announcer’s voice cracked with excitement. “What is this? A tag team strategy? Is this even allowed? Because I do not care and I accept it! Ten points!” his shouted with full enthusiasm, his voice carrying across the arena while most of the crowd agreed with him. Cana stepped forward and scattered her cards in a sweeping arc that burst into a firework like display. Lucy followed by retrieving several keys and calling forth her summons to brighten the sky with flickers of light. Lightning trailed between the sparks while Taurus lifted both girls high into the air. They balanced on his broad shoulders and struck matching poses as the crowd cheered.

"My dream has come true, Mooooo! Two beauties on top of me. I can die happily from now on and I will always be at your service till my last breath, Lucy-sama! Ugyah!” His words came to a stop with Lucy kicking his face.

"Shut up and stay quiet before I unsummon you. I told you no weird comments!"

Even Broly could not help laughing. He liked that bull. The strange comments were constant, yet Taurus genuinely cared for his summoner. Seeing Cana look more cheerful than she had yesterday eased something tight in his chest. The gloom that clung to her before was gone, replaced by a confident smile. He wondered if it was genuine or something she put on for the show.

"Ten out of ten!" Gildarts shouted beside him. "I knew that girl had potential but I did not expect Cana to work in a tag team with her. You are a lucky man. Both girls are sexy and I am jealous, also did you see how that black fabric is being tightly pulled around her as—urgh!"

Broly moved before he finished.

His fist struck Gildarts square in the face, launching him across several streets until he disappeared into the distance with a plume of smoke rising behind him. Now that he knew Gildarts was Cana's father, having him make comments like that about her felt wrong. Broly preferred to spare him the embarrassment and the awkward moment that would come when Cana eventually revealed the truth.

The show continued with Lucy and Cana ending their display with a short coordinated dance. Then came Erza's turn. She stepped forward wearing a bunny girl themed swimsuit, something no one expected. She froze the moment she saw Broly. Her eyes widened and nerves stiffened her posture. Even with the entire crowd cheering her name she could not move. Several Fairy Tail members hurried over and gently pulled her off the stage before the audience noticed how rattled she was.

"Is she embarrassed because I am here?" Broly wondered. The idea was almost amusing but also a little concerning. He could not tell whether she feared he would disapprove or whether she simply hated appearing vulnerable in front of him.

Then the final contestant stepped out and the crowd erupted louder than before. Broly did not need to guess who it was. Long white hair slid into view and Mirajane walked forward with a calm smile that somehow drew more attention than the flashes erupting from the cameras aimed her way. Remembering the photo shoot he helped her with not long ago, Broly immediately understood the excitement. People whispered about which swimsuit she might wear. Others lifted their cameras early, waiting for the perfect shot.

To everyone's surprise she did not appear in a swimsuit at all. She wore the same red dress instead and stopped in front of the cheering crowd. That choice only raised the anticipation even more as the energy around the arena grew sharp with eagerness.

"I am so glad so many people came to see my performance. But I am feeling a bit shy. Maybe a louder cheer would give me the courage to change~?"

"Mirajane!"

"Mirajane!"

"Mira!"

The voices rose higher than for any of the previous girls, even surpassing the cheers Lucy and Cana received. He realized at once just how beloved she truly was.

"It's been so long since I performed, and I decided to do so today for a special friend of mine. I dedicate this transformation to him, and you will be seeing more of it in the upcoming issue of Sorcerer Weekly." She spoke in a cool and practiced tone while giving the crowd a deliberate wink. Broly doubted that anyone was actually listening to her words. Most of them seemed far too lost in their own excitement, their eyes practically turning into cartoon hearts as they shouted her name. Some held up posters with her smiling face, and a handful were crying or even getting nosebleeds from the sheer thrill of standing this close to her. The atmosphere was lively to the point of chaos, and even Broly, who had seen plenty of strange things across worlds, started to feel overwhelmed by how unrestrained the crowd had become.

"Okay, here I go. This is a new look I just came up with, and I am sure everyone will love it."

A burst of white smoke erupted around her, puffing out in every direction and covering her from head to toe. It rose in a thick cloud that swallowed her silhouette, and the cheers somehow grew even louder. The volume struck Broly like a physical blow. His ears rang from the shrillness, and he winced while trying not to cover them with his hands. Slowly the smoke began to fade, thinning from the edges until fragments of a shadow inside became visible. At first, he assumed Mirajane had simply switched to one of her more dramatic takeover forms.

Then something felt wrong.

"Did she get bigger?" he thought, leaning slightly forward as more of the figure appeared through the settling haze. The outline was wrong in every direction. The shape was broader, taller, and the posture did not match Mirajane's usual confident stance. The fading smoke drifted off in small streams until a soft force pushed the last of it aside. The transformation was revealed in full.

“—!”

What stood onstage was not Mirajane in a new outfit. It was Broly himself, wearing the bright green speedo Mirajane had jokingly shown him during their photo shoot. His jaw dropped, and for a moment he felt like his soul had stepped out of his body and left him behind.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The entire venue fell silent.

The roaring crowd that had nearly deafened him just moments ago now sat frozen, as if time had suddenly stopped. The excitement drained from every face in the stadium. Color fled from their skin until they looked pale and on the verge of fainting. A few mouths hung open in expressionless horror.

"Flex!" the false Broly declared in Mirajane's sweet voice before striking a pose that the real Broly had never performed in his life. He watched the announcer drop the microphone with a loud metallic clatter. Judges slid off their chairs and slumped onto the floor. Even backstage, he caught a glimpse of Juvia collapsing, though for reasons beyond his understanding she was still somehow bleeding from her nose.

“Urgh!” Someone vomited and chaos erupted all across the area.

“M-My eyes!”

“Nooooo! My beloved Mirajane!”

“Who is this muscled abomination!? I will kill him! Why does Mirajane transform into him!?”

“Uuuuuuaaa! Mommy!”

"This is maybe a bit embarrassing," he muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. He took a slow step backward, trying to slip away unseen before anyone realized the real Broly was standing at the very back of the arena. Just as he turned to leave, someone bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry," he said automatically, but when he looked up the figure had already dissolved into a thin curl of black smoke. Broly blinked in confusion and glanced down at his hand where something had been slipped into his palm. He opened the folded piece of paper to see a short message written in quick, sharp handwriting. The words left him staring with a deep frown.

.

.

.

On the outskirts of Magnolia, just outside the main entrance and atop a quiet hill at the forest's edge, Broly descended from the sky. He still held the note tightly between his fingers, and he had wasted no time in following its instructions. Below him, a hooded figure sat calmly on a large stone. Broly could not make out the person's full features, but their presence felt familiar in a way that made his chest tighten.

"Who are you?" he asked at once. "And how do you know about that boy?" He clenched his fist, the note slipping from his hand and falling onto the grass. The message written on it had been simple: "I know where Jellal is. Meet me near the forest. You will know where to find me."

The unknown figure let out a quiet huff. "It is strange how you have not changed at all after all these years. Your face remains exactly the same, which only makes it more obvious that you are not human the way you claimed." The stranger raised his hood just enough for the lower half of his face to become visible. A dark tattoo marked the left side of his cheek, and strands of blue hair slipped through the shadows of the hood.

The longer Broly stared, the stronger the recognition grew until it struck him with full force. His initial instinct to begin an interrogation faded completely. His entire body went still in midair.

"Jellal? Is that you?" he whispered, unable to keep the disbelief from his voice. His tone wavered, unsure if he should trust what he was seeing.

Slowly, the hood was pulled back, and only then did the Saiyan see a face he had not seen for years. Ever since the incident at the tower of Heaven, someone he promised Erza to find and bring back. That very same person now standing right in front of him, though this time covered in some strange dark markings all across his body. Strange patterns moving across his skin, creating an almost ominous pattern around him.

Like snakes slithering all over, along with several scars across his forehead.

Scars that were not there the last time he saw the boy.

“Hey… it's been a long while, Broly.”

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 40: Liar

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

To Love a Sword Chapter 41: Memories

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

An Archer's Promise Chapter 78: Back Together

Beta read by Gamercrusher55, Shigiya and Fluffy

My Teenage Highschool Romance Comedy Can't Be This Perverted! Chapter 107

Not beta read yet

Next update is An Archer's Promise

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-Kuoh, Grigori Apartment Complex-

"You know, it's usually not my place to ask questions or stick my nose in in places that I'm not involved in… most of the time, but I can’t help it, what the hell are you doing there, kiddo?"

What I was doing?

Honestly, I was wondering the same thing. I had lost count of how many hours I’d spent going through the endless shelves of books and papers in the Governor General’s personal collection. For someone who preferred wasting his time drinking or visiting strip clubs, his library was big enough to make a small university jealous. Rows upon rows of ancient texts, forgotten manuscripts, and documents that smelled like they’d been through at least three different centuries. Some of the materials I highly suspected were even stolen items Azazel most definitely forgot about, though I was not in any hurry to use that as blackmail material.

As I turned another page whose paper turned out to be so affected by the passage of time that I worried about it crumbling from a simple touch, the man himself appeared beside me, wearing a bathrobe, holding a half-empty wine bottle, and reeking of cigars as usual. At this point, I started to suspect that it had just become his natural scent. He leaned close, his interest caught by whatever I was reading.

"You're interested in fallen angels? Shouldn’t you be asking me questions instead? You know, since I’m literally one of the first ones that fell." He tapped his forehead with a smug grin. "What’s in these books doesn’t come close to what I know within this mind. My knowledge is absolute, verified, and one hundred percent accurate… no refunds."

"Wow, I feel so honored to be in the presence of someone like you," I muttered sarcastically, not bothering to look up from the page. The book detailed the descent of angels through the ages, their names, their sins, and the reasons for their fall. To my surprise, lust wasn’t the most common cause, rather it was the second one. Wrath being first and envy second tied with lust, those showed up more often. Apparently, some angels envied those who had already fallen, who could indulge freely in whatever they wanted. Others grew arrogant, believing themselves above their peers, until that same arrogance dragged them down.

As for wrath, most cases were during the Great War, the reasons behind them being obvious enough that I did not even need to read the entire passage in order to get a general gist of it.

"Hey, Azazel, can you tell me exactly how you fell?" I asked, closing one side of the tome with my finger marking the spot.

"Why answer a question you already know the answer to?" he replied with a faint smirk, snot putting too much attention at the reason behind my question or just not caring. He wasn’t wrong, but I pressed on.

"Was it just a one-time thing, or were you actually serious about her?"

The man went quiet. He took a long sip from his glass, eyes drifting toward the ceiling. The expression on his face shifted between nostalgia and something that looked like guilt.

"That was a long time ago," he finally said. "Back then, I was naive, easily swayed, and honestly, a complete fool. Curiosity played a part, I admit. But I suppose I was also drawn to that woman in a way I couldn’t explain. It did help that she was quite sexy herself."

"So what you felt for her was lust, not love?" I pressed, knowing full well that to get anything from him required persistence.

"I wouldn’t say that. After I fell, I didn’t just abandon her after sleeping one night. She lived her life with me, and I stayed by her side until the end. But humans don’t last long, especially not the ones from those days."

I turned another page, pretending not to notice the faint regret in his tone. "Do you think that if you had only loved her, you would’ve stayed an angel?"

Azazel scratched the back of his head, letting out a dry laugh. "What’s with this sudden interrogation about my past? I feel like I'm talking to Michael all over again, he wouldn't stop hammering me about similar things. Don't tell me you've gone all philosophical on me, kid. I got enough of that bullshit from the likes of Penemue and Barakiel."

Barakiel being philosophical? That sounded quite absurd, that guy was as blunt as a rock with no interest in such things for as long as I knew him. As for Penemue? Perhaps, I barely saw that woman regularly, let alone talk to her to know her history and interest. In the end, I just rolled my eyes while leaning further against my seal with the wood creaking.

"Hey, you’re the one who claimed to know everything up there. Don’t tell me you’re surprised to find a few pieces missing. But don't worry, that's a normal thing that happens to all elderly, geezer."

"Tch, I traded one smartass for another," he muttered, finishing the whiskey in his glass with a faint clink. "You can't exactly love someone without lust eventually making its way in. Sure, it can start off innocent, but sooner or later it creeps in. Unless you go through some extreme measure like castrating yourself or somehow killing off every other basic fundamental urge to focus entirely on love. Not many would ever choose that given how it rarely works out and ends up inviting lots of unnecessary issues. It's worse for angels. They can’t allow themselves the slightest imperfection, that’s why they stay locked up in Heaven. Only a handful ever descend, and even then it’s only for something truly important. You won’t see an angel dropping by to help a local orphanage just because they feel like it every other Sunday."

He leaned back as well, swirling what little of the red beverage that remained in the glass. "That’s another reason many fell. They felt trapped. Suffocated, even. Especially during the Great War. Trying to keep your thoughts pure while watching your kin die one after another takes more than willpower — it's pure torture. It takes something close to madness. Most of the former angels that have fallen because of the sin of wrath were during the Great War for a reason."

"I... I never thought of it that way." The more he spoke, the more it made sense. I couldn’t help but pity them. Yet worry came just as fast. I didn’t doubt Gabriel’s words that day, what she said was too genuine to be a lie. Thinking otherwise would make me the biggest fool alive. But if this went on… would it lead her to fall eventually?

I wasn’t a saint, and I didn’t pretend to be. I had my fair share of indecent thoughts whenever around her, but I could usually ignore them. Having two girlfriends already kept me grounded. Accepting Gabriel’s feelings, though, that would make things a lot harder. I didn’t like uncertainty, and this was the worst kind of it.

"Would a Seraph fall because they simply loved someone?" I asked.

The man froze mid-sip, his eyes narrowing at me. "Loving itself isn’t a sin. Lust is. But unfortunately, those two go hand in hand in the long run." He set the glass down with a sharp sound and leaned forward. "Oi, what the hell happened?"

I hesitated. Revealing details like this wasn’t something I planned, but he was bound to find out anyway. "Gabriel is in love with me."

"Eh?" His face stiffened for a second before a loud, booming laugh escaped him. "Hahaha! That’s it? You had me worried! Of course she loves you. Gabriel’s the type who loves everything about life itself."

"Oh, so you’re thinking about that kind of love." I sighed, rubbing my temples before looking him dead in the eye. "No, I mean she really loves me. She literally kissed me on the lips and most likely wants to be more than friends."

Bang!

At some point, the table between us — along with all my books and his glass — shot up, crashing against the ceiling with ridiculous force. Before I could react, Azazel appeared in front of me, his hands gripping my shoulders tightly. The casual glint in his eyes was gone, replaced by a mix of disbelief, curiosity, anger, and something else I couldn’t even name. Expectancy? Maybe.

"Tell me everything." His usual relaxed tone had vanished, replaced by the voice of the Governor-General himself, the one that made others listen without question. Yet using that kind of tone in this scenario did feel out of place completely, I'd rather not have him know that.

"There’s not much to tell," I replied quickly. "She kissed me on the lips, then teleported away before I could say anything. That’s it."

Color drained from his face as multiple magic circles began forming across his body, glowing faintly before his usual leather gear materialized around him. His wings twitched, and his expression turned grim.

"Penemue! Shemhazai!" he bellowed.

I flinched at the sudden roar, and within seconds, two figures rushed into the room, both wearing equally baffled expressions at his sudden shift in tone.

"What happened!?" one of them demanded.

"No time to explain!" Azazel barked, his aura flaring. "Prepare every single available Fallen Angel we have in the human world! Summon all those stationed in the other realms as well! We’re about to go to war!"

“—!?”

"Shemahazai, you on the other hand prepare a grand feast. We’ll soon be having a new member joining us, one I’ve been dreaming about for literally centuries! We fallen angels are about to rise to the top of the world! There is nothing stopping us anymore, not even Aphrodite and that other arrogant bitch will be able to measure up against us anymore! Hahahaha! I won in the end, father!" Azazel spread his arms wide, his grin so broad it made me wonder if he had finally lost it.

"Hold on, hold on, what just happened!?" Thankfully, the two of them seemed to have functioning brains and didn’t immediately follow their superior’s erratic command. "At least tell us what’s happening. Who’s attacking us? Is it the Chaos Brigade? Are they trying to wipe themselves out again after the last failure? We can contact Michael and Sirzechs for reinforcements—"

"No, you fools! There’s no point in calling Michael. He’s the one who’s about to bring all of Heaven’s fury down upon us!" Azazel threw his head back and laughed. "Hahaha! Gabriel just fell in love and kissed this boy right here!"

Silence. The kind of silence that made you feel like someone had just pulled the plug out of reality. The only sound left was Azazel’s laughter echoing awkwardly through the room. Both of his subordinates turned toward me with faces full of disbelief, as if I were holding the last ticket to sanity and they wanted me to validate it. Unfortunately, I had to ruin their moment.

"Gabriel didn’t fall. She’s still a pure, twelve-winged Seraph. She did kiss me, though." I replied with a dry tone, wanting to see where this little play was heading but deciding to put an end to it before Azazel got distracted with something else. The latter stopped laughing. His grin froze mid-motion, replaced by skepticism so sharp it could probably cut through the awkward air.

"That’s why I’m here," I continued, scratching my cheek. "I’m trying to figure out if she’ll actually fall in the future and where the line between pure love and sinful desire even lies."

I trusted Gabriel’s judgment. She was older, wiser, and definitely more qualified to understand such matters. But trusting someone didn’t mean turning off your brain. Caution was just… built into me. Old habits die hard.

Azazel groaned dramatically. "Oh man, I actually got excited there for a second. That’s just lame. Couldn’t you have pushed things a bit further? A little tongue action would’ve done the trick and made her fall on the spot, maybe."

"What the hell is wrong with you!? You’re talking about your sister!" I shot back, glaring at him. "At least pretend to have some decency! Maybe worry about the whole ‘Heaven might attack us’ part!"

It was official. Every fallen angel was insane. From the top to the bottom, all of them were degenerates. Not one of them had a normal sense of morality, and somehow, I’d ended up right in the middle of it all. Lucky me.

...

Hours later, once things had finally calmed down, I found myself sitting on the rooftop of the apartment complex. The city lights flickered below, and the breeze carried a faint smell of smoke and oil. Azazel leaned against the railing beside me, his expression somewhere between amused and thoughtful.

"So, what do you plan on doing now?" he asked.

"Plan?" I leaned back, watching the clouds drift above. "I don’t have anything planned. I’m still trying to make sense of everything before figuring out what comes next."

"What’s there to understand?" he asked, turning toward me with that same baffled face he always wore when I said something that required basic introspection. "Gabriel was pretty clear, wasn’t she? She likes you. She wants you. You can take the easy way or the hard way… your choice."

I scowled and shoved him lightly. "Take this seriously, damn it."

He smirked. "Did you just curse God’s name? I thought you were a devil."

"We already established that nobody actually knows what I am anymore. So let’s leave that discussion buried where it belongs and cross that bridge another time."

Azazel chuckled quietly, finally done teasing. His eyes drifted toward the horizon. "I’m being serious, though. You might be overthinking this. Gabriel isn’t scheming. She knows what it means to fall in love, it’s like walking a tightrope where one wrong step leads straight to ruin. She’s not stupid. She knows the risks and still went for it with a pure heart. It’s kind of beautiful when you think about it. She’s willing to risk everything for you, someone who already has his own share of burdens."

He looked at me with a faint smile, half proud, half envious. "I don’t know if I should be impressed or jealous. Either way, you’d better make it worth her while. If not, that’d be one hell of an investment gone wrong."

I sighed, staring out over the city lights. "I know. I’ve changed since those edgy days, but I’m still not exactly the kind of person anyone should be betting on. There are better people out there than me, that’s for sure."

"Who are you to say that there are better people in the world than you?" he asked, his tone steady, neither harsh nor soft. "From Gabriel’s perspective, and she’s lived longer than most peope you’ll ever meet, she’s seen countless faces. Thousands, tens of thousands of humans have crossed her path, and yet, despite all that experience, despite knowing the breadth of human nature, she still chose to fall in love with you. So tell me, who are you to question her choice? Who are you to say that someone like her could have done better?"

"You’re telling me I should just accept her love?" I replied, rubbing the back of my neck as I leaned forward a little. "I have my doubts. Even with Rias and Akeno, things are already complicated enough. They’re… unique cases, considering their bond with each other and how I'm pretty sure there's some feelings going on between them. But Gabriel? She’s different. There’s no connection between her and the others. She’s only interested in me, and that alone is bound to cause problems. It’ll be a tangled mess, not to mention stressful for everyone and unfair to her."

"Of course it will be. She knows that herself," he said calmly, flicking away a bit of ash. "But if she’s willing to take that kind of risk, to walk that thin line knowing how uncertain things are, then wouldn’t it be right for you to meet her halfway? To put in as much effort as she’s willing to give?"

"You make it sound like I’ve already decided not to reject her," I muttered.

"Have you?" he asked with that knowing grin, giving me a small nudge with his elbow. "Don’t pretend you don’t find her appealing. She’s beautiful, kind, gentle, and wise beyond measure. She’s practically the textbook definition of perfection."

"The more perfect something is, the more fragile it tends to be," I said after a pause. "The weight of perfection isn’t light, and I don’t want to be the one to crack it. I’m fine being near her, being a friend, helping however I can. But beyond that… I just don’t see myself being the one. She’s a twelve-winged seraph. That’s not something you can casually live up to."

I continued to insist. Hoping he would understand where I was coming from.

"The woman I knew, she was a peasant once," Azazel said suddenly, and I turned to him, confused with what he meant by that. He drew in a long breath from his cigar before exhaling slowly, watching the smoke spiral up into the dim light. "A simple young woman from a small isolated village in Armenia. They all lived a quiet life, cut off from the larger world, but she was devoted, utterly devoted, to her faith. Back then, I descended out of curiosity, wanting to understand humans better, so I disguised myself as one of them. That’s when I met her. She had no family left, raised by the church, her only dream to see the world beyond her little village and to one day have a family of her own."

He spoke without pause, his voice clear but low. "There was nothing extraordinary about her. She wasn’t gifted, not gifted with magic, not a scholar, not a warrior, just… a regular human. But that simplicity drew me in. Days became weeks, weeks turned to months, and before I realized it, a year had passed. We grew close, but I kept my identity hidden. I was afraid. Afraid that the truth would shatter what we had. I was young, impulsive, arrogant. One night, she confessed her feelings, and safe to say, I got quite addicted. She was my first love, and I was hers. Naturally, the old man above wasn’t exactly thrilled about that. I fell, quite literally, and it was a dark time for me."

He took another drag, the tip of his cigar glowing faintly. "I got drunk on the rush of it all, on pleasure and it certainly did not help that the woman herself was sexy enough to even make my mind go blank — I probably still have a painting of her somewhere, just need to find it. I wanted to share that feeling with others, convinced they were missing something so good that it made no sense for father to call it a sin. Gabriel was one of them who I tried to convince to join me, and as you may expect, I was immediately struck down by lighting. But despite everything, despite learning the truth about me and the lies I had told, that woman never left my side. She stayed, through every hardship and even when I would sleep with others. When I finally realized the stuff I had done, she was already frail and fading. Next thing I knew, I found myself holding her hand, weak and wrinkled, as she whispered her last words. That’s the kind of pain you don’t forget easily."

He looked distant now, at some point his voice having grown softer. "I’ve had many regrets, but one of them was not being wise enough to think of something like the Evil Piece system back then or anything to extend her life… hah. Maybe, if I had, things could have turned out differently. Perhaps, she’d still be here."

I listened quietly, not interrupting. There was no forced emotion in his tone, no trembling of voice or dramatics, but somehow, that made it all quite sad and I genuinely felt sorry for the blonde and black haired man next to me. The story definitely turned out to be more complex than I imagined, it wasn't a secret of how Azazel fell, but I didn't expect him to still remember that person fondly.

"Is that why you never remarried?" I finally asked, breaking the stillness.

He shrugged. "I guess you could say that's part of the reason. I’ve had plenty of relationships after that and even during, I won’t lie. Slept with more women than I can remember. Lost count somewhere along the way, I perfected my craft and could pocket even the most devoted nun if I tried hard enough… It was like a game to me. But I can probably count on one hand how many of them I actually thought about genuinely marrying a person I met. Guess things just never worked out and everyone would eventually part ways or die of old age. I never managed to achieve what Barakiel did... In a way, I envy that bastard and at the same time, I’m proud of him, that masochist bastard. Which is why I’m thankful to you for saving Shuri that day you awakened your Sacred Gear. If you hadn’t done so, that would have easily been my biggest regret in life."

The man gave my shoulder a firm tap before walking back inside. He didn’t leave without tossing another bit of advice my way. "Even beings like us, who people think are perfect or god-like, don’t necessarily want the most perfect things in the world. Sometimes, we find beauty in what others don’t even notice. We’re flawed, just like humans and the people we end up loving the most are usually the ones we share our happiest moments with. Not because they’re strong, not because they are some adonis or Aphrodite level of beauty demi-god, not because they’re perfect, but because they make us happy. That’s all there is to it. Don’t overthink it, kid. If you want my advice, just focus on keeping her happy. Because it’s not the fall that will hurt her if it were to happen, it’s the heartbreak that will come if you reject her. And that pain stays longer than you think." He said it calmly, then closed the door behind him, leaving me alone on the rooftop.

“...”

Humph, guess he did care about his sister in some non creepy way after all.

The stars above looked brighter than usual, or maybe it was just me trying to distract myself. Thoughts kept coming in waves. If I had a mirror, I’d probably stare at it long enough to reach the same conclusion I always did: I was painfully average. My face, my build, everything about me screamed background characters. The only thing people ever said stood out were my eyes, not because they were beautiful, but because of how lifeless they looked. Like a dead fish with a pulse. I never cared much about how others saw me, but apparently, my way of thinking had a special talent for pissing people off. Being blunt wasn’t exactly a skill most appreciated. I’d made plenty of mistakes, and worse, I’d gone against my own principles more than once because of emotions I didn’t even understand. And still, somehow, first Akeno, then Rias, and now Gabriel… all of them saw something worth caring about. I just couldn’t see what.

"Am I missing something, Vritra?"

I closed my eyes. Even if he couldn’t talk back, I could feel the faint pulse of his presence, like a sigh brushing against the edge of my mind. "Exasperation, huh? So I really am an idiot for missing what you think is obvious. Maybe that’s for the best."

My thoughts were a mess, and I wasn’t in the mood to sort them out. It felt easier to just crash and let tomorrow deal with the consequences. With that, I teleported straight to my room, already imagining the comfort of my bed and maybe five seconds of peace before sleep hit.

“—?”

As it turned out, I wasn’t alone.

My brain froze, heart included.

On my bed were two very familiar figures. One, completely naked, comfortably reading a manga she must have brought from her collection. The other, lounging beside her in violet lingerie so see-through it barely counted as clothing, it didn’t hide anything, not that it seemed meant to. Rias, reading her manga, looked far too absorbed in her book to care about modesty. Then again, she was a nudist who never wore anything when going to bed regardless. The second, Akeno, had been scrolling through her phone before glancing up and greeting me with that smile of hers. The kind that always made my heart skip a beat whether I wanted it to or not.

"You’re back, finally. I was about to call you.”

"Sorry," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. "Got caught up dealing with stuff that shouldn’t even matter. Guess I’m just overthinking again."

"Fufufu, that does sound like you." Her tone had that familiar mix of amusement and warmth. "Rias has been in a good mood lately. She got news that Sairaorg will be attending school soon. Apparently, she’s hoping he’ll keep troublemakers like Riser in check, and maybe help train the rest of the peerage in the process."

“Oh, well, I’m not surprised. He did show interest in visiting Kuoh after his mother got well.” I pretended not to know this particular piece of news, even though I’d literally seen the guy being escorted into a police car earlier for public indecency. The image was still clear in my head and from the looks of it, Rias knew of it as well when made a frustrated face.

“And he's already in trouble. Something about public nudity of all things… I thought there was something wrong with my hearing when I heard that. Hah… anyways, I sent Yuuto over to bail him out and have the two be escorted to an apartment where they can stay for as long as they want to.”

“Sairaorg’s not a bad guy,” I muttered, at the end of the day, despite his quirks, he had a good heart. “And yeah, I’d appreciate some help from him too. Even Vritra agreed that I've been neglecting my basic strength for far too long. I made absolutely no progress with Touki for quite a while.”

I said that while half-distracted, checking off a few pieces of clothing and getting ready to slip into my pajamas. But before I could even finish putting them on, I felt a pulse of magic energy surround me like static before being yanked backward. “Wah!” The next thing I knew, I was flat on my bed, pinned down by a certain redhead who had climbed on top of me, settling herself firmly on my waist.

Her beauty, on full display, strands of hair covering the left side of her face and making her look very seductive…

“What are you doing?” I asked, blinking at her in disbelief.

“Getting ready for bed?” she said, her voice carrying that smug tone she used when she knew exactly what she was doing.

I hesitated. Her fingers brushed lightly across my chest, gliding down until they stopped right above my navel. A shiver ran down my spine.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done it,” she said softly. “And today’s been a good day overall, so let’s have some fun before going to sleep. It's just us today, and I made sure to put a silencing spell around the room.”

Oh. So that was what both wanted. Wonderful. For some reason, I felt sweat forming on my forehead. What stood before me wasn’t just pure romance between people who loved one another, it was a trial. The kind that involved two final bosses teaming up, with no rest point between phases. I was confident in my stamina, sure, but not to that extent.

“Hehehe… maybe another time?” I said carefully. “Given we have school tomorrow, it’s probably best we get some proper sleep. You know, to be fresh and fully awake in the morning. And I’ve been feeling a bit tired lately, so—”

“Don’t worry. I already took care of that,” said the damned raven haired succubus who had just returned. Akeno stood at the edge of the bed, holding several vials in her hand. The sight alone drained every bit of color from my face.

“These are some high-quality potions we were gifted by Grayfia,” she explained. “Not exactly on the same level as phoenix tears, but they’ll restore your stamina instantly and get rid of any drowsiness. Perfect for tonight. I’ve got a few extra cases, just in case we run out.”

Run out? There were ten bottles in her hand! What did she mean by run out? And why… why was she drinking it first?

“Wait, hold on a second, I just need a bit of time to prep—mmph!”

Whatever I was about to say vanished when the raven-haired beauty closed the distance between us, pressing her lips against mine. Her hands cupped my face, and her tongue slid forward like a serpent, forcing its way in and letting the contents of the potion spill into my mouth. I swallowed instinctively, and she seemed to enjoy every second of it as she took my hand and had it press against her breast.

Rias, meanwhile, had already taken the opportunity to pull off my shorts.

After a few seconds, Akeno finally pulled back. A thin string of saliva connected us before breaking.

“Let’s make sure we give our peeping Toms something to enjoy,” she whispered with a mischievous smile.

My mind felt hazy, a fog between pleasure and panic. Her words barely processed through the sensations running through my lower body with Rias getting busy.

“Wait… peeping Toms? Who?” I managed to ask, but my question died in my throat when another moan escaped instead.

Any logical thought I had was pushed to the back of my mind. Akeno giggled against my lips while Rias continued her own kind of mischief below.

That night, I didn’t get a single second of actual sleep. Not one.

{Break}

–Himejima Shrine–

“You look like crap.”

Those were the first words Sairaorg greeted me with as we climbed to the top of the hill. The training ground was larger than I expected, an open field surrounded by trees and shrine structures, the morning sun filtering through the leaves.

This looked full of energy, smiling like he’d just completed a successful sparring session. Meanwhile, I felt like a dried-up husk. My body was heavy, my legs shaky, and my soul somewhere between life and the afterlife.

“I had… a hard battle to fight last night,” I said quietly.

“Oh? Did you go after a stray devil?” he asked, his eyes lighting up. “Excellent! I’m glad to hear you’ve taken my suggestion to train seriously! Even without your Sacred Gear, you persevere and never give up. I’m proud of you!”

I didn’t even have the strength to argue. He wasn’t wrong, it was a battle. Just not the kind he thought.

“Trust me, I wanted to give up time and time again, but the two demons would not let me.” My voice started to wobble, close to breaking, and I admit I sounded pathetic, but no one seemed to care. We moved into the clearing. It was the kind of place made for this sort of thing: far from paths, wide enough that Barakiel could throw up a bounded field to keep passersby out, and private enough that no one would stumble in on the mess we were about to make.

"Kuroka?" I asked because the black-haired Nekoshou was already there, wearing the school gym uniform like it was a second skin. The fabric clung in places that made me feel like an idiot for noticing. Behind her stood someone else I did not expect.

"You're here too, Koneko?"

"Yes, I am here nya~! I heard from Sairaorg who said Hachi-kun would be taught toki, so I decided to join. Shirone wanted to learn, too. I could not say no. Let us train together nya!"

I did find it a bit odd as to why Koneko joined as well, looking at her, she looked back at me with a determined stare. "If I do not keep up, I will be the weakest Touki user at school."

It was the kind of answer that shut down an argument before it started and also led me to laugh with amusement. I ruffled her hair because it was the only kind of affection I could muster that did not involve me saying something embarrassing to her. Also her hair had definitely grown very soft lately, I started to develop an addiction to patting her head. "Don't worry. With how bad my talent is, even in fifty years I would struggle to match your current level. You are way… way ahead of me."

Saying that felt necessary. It was the truth and a lie at once. I had seen too much to be confident, but I could not let her doubt herself.

On the other end, my new trainer tossed a bundle of clothes at me like I was a rag doll. “What the!?” I caught it awkwardly and almost lost grip. The thing hit my arms and felt like a slab of stone.

"This is what you will wear for every training session. Maybe every day. Toki is simple in principle. It has a clear progression, its advantage is consistency, you cannot cheat the system and basically there are no shortcuts. If you want strength you must break your body down and rebuild it stronger. There are also no limits to it, whether you were born to use it or not, with enough perseverance, anyone can become as powerful as a Maou-class Devil."

That felt like a gross oversimplification…

I tried to pick up the shirt with one hand. It did not move easily. The weight on my arm made me question my existence. I was not the skinny kid from another life anymore, but this was ridiculous.

"Don't tell me you pulled this from some anime and decided to use it," I said, trying for a joke, but my voice had a shred of dread.

"This came from a member of my cousin’s peerage," the man said while stretching his body in the distance and throwing some punches that freaking caused shockwaves by themselves! "He said the person who used this became a hundred times stronger in months."

The thought made my eyes twitch. I asked, carefully. This was something that would be more effective on an alien from another planet with a tail, not a sorta human like myself.

"Who is this genius?"

"You really do not know? It was Hyoudou Issei. Talk to him more. He has creative ideas. I cannot wait to try them with you."

I made a mental list of men I wanted to have my revenge on in the future. Issei easily went to the top with little to no hesitation on my end.

"Maybe this is a bad idea. Don't you have anything else?"

"Actually, I do. That is why she is here. I asked her to help."

"Kuroka?"

"Yes! I have waited weeks. I feared you would never train toki or attempt senjutsu. I could not allow that nya!"

I muttered a refusal when the idea of senjutsu was raised. If toki already stretched me, saint-level techniques were beyond my patience and tolerance.

"So, what now?"

"Take off your clothes~" she said seductively with a visible smirk on her face. Koneko’s eyes were widening but she said nothing to her sister and kept on looking.

"Outside of sleeping with me, what is your actual plan?"

To my surprise, Kuroka stomped and pouted, the exact expression that made a grown man consider bad choices. She insisted, "Just take off your damned shirt, nya! This will help, I promise!"

I had nothing to lose, other than my dignity if she decided to pounce on me in the open like this. Hopefully her sister would not ignore my plea and keep this horny cat in check. I took my shirt off. Kuroka used the moment to come behind me and press her hands across my shoulders and started to explore every part of my body from the back to the front, to the point I even felt her breast pressing against my back.

"You have more muscle than I thought. Hm?” She stopped talking, her nose immediately resting against my neck, making her shiver when she even licked my skin! “The scent is... Oh my~!"

"Can we focus on touki training please?" I asked, because my composure was evaporating. I had showered but even that seemed less than effective to fool a Nekoshou’s nose!

"Okay~! But a small warning, this will hurt."

I expected that. When Kuroka pressed down her hand again on my back, energy stabbed into me like someone driving needles through flesh. The weight on my shoulders increased in an instant. I gasped and an involuntary sound escaped me.

“Urgh!”

"Too much? Let me adjust it a bit," she said, adjusting until the load eased but remained a boulder crushing my chest.

"W-What is this supposed to do?" I asked through grit teeth.

"I know some mages who used this on their newly recruited disciples to force a sense of mana faster than naturally feeling the element out. Toki is not identical, but this technique can increase bodily load so the body can later support large amounts of toki that you produce." Sairaorg answered instead, “think of it as stretching, it will hurt since you barely use your body this way. But eventually, it will stop with time.

"Like a balloon?" I tried the metaphor. I did not enjoy the image of myself inflating.

"In theory, yes."

"N-Never tried it yourself? Ah!" I asked them, another sharp grunt escaping my throat.

"Of course not. I had no need. The one behind you, she is a natural. She was born with the ability to use toki like most yokais. She is already a master of sensing it and I just went through the regular path and just kept on training until I could expand my own reserves gradually with time."

I felt a huge punch of envy that had nothing to do with strength and everything to do with fairness. Never in my life had I envied two sisters for a biological quirk. I closed my eyes and clung to breath.

The pressure was like a wooden roller being driven across me, compressing me to fit a new shape. Momentary seconds stretched thin while I counted to keep from throwing up. Kuroka finally stepped back and I collapsed to the ground, wheezing.

"This will not show results on the first try. Before each session she will apply the load. We will increase intensity each time."

"Monsters," I muttered. I was gasping like someone who had been crushed by a mountain and flattened. This sensation made me recall the time I spent training under that old hag, even death felt more appealing than her methods.

"Warm up done. We still have the whole day."

I internalized the word whole and promptly decided I would die. I had to escape, right now and go back home to hide in my room under the soft embrace of two beautiful women. Unfortunately, my escape was thwarted when the madman grabbed me by the collar. “Aaaaah!” The next thing I knew I was airborne and being flung in the air with the clouds getting close enough that I could touch them for a brief moment before starting to plummet to my demise.

"Aaaaaah! What part of this is training? I'm going to die!"

"This is a jump start. Use your wings and it will be fine."

"I cannot use my sacred gear, you idiot!"

He laughed like an enthused lunatic. I had trusted him once. That trust felt like a poor currency now. My anger morphed into a raw scream that felt more like betrayal than fear.

Spells ran through my head. My hands patterned a magic circle I had practiced until the motions were second nature, “oh wait, why am I panicking?” After forcefully calming down, I realised that I could still just use teleportation rather than start casting everything that came to mind for no reason. So I did just that, going through the familiar motion and hoping to find myself up here back in my room. But that failed, instantly.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that I asked Barakiel to add teleportation block to the field around this place. Where is the fun in that otherwise?"

“All of you wish to see me die!” I shouted back in anger, and then gave up trying to be ironic about it. I threw everything at the wall. My hands pointed downwards and I chanted. A circle bloomed under my palm and wrapped around my body with several runes that created a similar effect also being used. Each cast slowed my descent a little. I repeated the float as my fallback, the primitive spell that should have been trivial. By the tenth cast, the world around me stopped blurring. My fall steadied, then eased. The ground was still rushing up at an uncomfortable pace, but at least it no longer felt like I was plummeting to my death. Just to be sure, I prepared one last trick.

“Magic Arrow!”

A golden arrow formed beside me, hovering for half a second before firing downward. The explosion that followed created a powerful shockwave, the force pushing against my descent and slowing me further. I hit the ground with a soft thud, the impact rough but survivable. Dust rose around me, my heart hammering as I lay there breathing heavily.

“Haah… haah… haah…”

I was miraculously preserved and alive.

“Come on now! You can’t rest already!”

That damned devil’s voice again. I turned my head and saw his shadow stretching across the dirt. I didn’t even have to look up to know what was happening. Something massive blotted out the sunlight above me.

My mind went blank for a moment before pure dread settled in.

“Please tell me that’s not—”

It was.

A boulder. Twice my size. Falling straight toward me.

I had energy to move but felt a bit lazy. My limbs just refused to cooperate, my brain using every curse in the dictionary. I just lay there for a moment despite my impending doom, watching death approach like it was some mildly inconvenient chore.

“I’ll make sure you regret this one day.”

I should have just stuck with Akeno and have her teach me magic like we used to do in the past.

Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 43: Burn and Mystery

Beta read and cowrtitten by Gamercrusher55

So, again, this chapter ended up fitting the spooky season. It was not necessarily done intentionally but worked out in the end. Added a few images to see how it will be. Tell me if ya liked it.

Also all images are from fate, no or or stuff that does not exist in canon fate.

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-Fuyuki outskirts; Abandoned Building-

The hallway within the Matou family's safe house echoed with the wet, crawling noise of countless worms moving over one another. Down a narrow path that led to the basement, a vast underground chamber opened up, far larger than the small house above could ever suggest. Dim light flickered against the damp walls covered in stains, cracks and several patterns hidden under all of the filth.

At the center, Zouken rested within the gloom, half-buried beneath an ocean of crawling life. The old man sat still, his body wrapped in a carpet of his familiars, thousands of worms festering all over as he continued to take shallow breaths — the gaping air coming out of the flesh, belonging that of a man who had been on the brink of exhaustion. The air reeked of rot, thick enough that it seemed to cling to every breath.

A place where no sane living human could ever enter willingly.

The creatures themselves acted as part of his very being, positioning over his frail form, slowly shaping themselves into something that resembled a body… no matter how grotesque it looked. A dry, rasping breath escaped him, followed by a faint sound like wind through broken pipes. Bit by bit, the swarms either dispersed into the air or sank beneath the surface of his skin.

From within that grotesque shell, a face began to take shape. Calling it human would have been an insult. His body barely held together, each part threatening to fall apart before more worms crawled in to fill the gaps. A dull green yukata began to cover the wrinkled mass of his torso and lower body.

As the insects continued to do their task, Zouken figured it would be only a matter of days before he could fully recover. Despite his appearance being scarred with uneven patches and sunken skin, the outline of his imperfect skull, visible from the thin amount of wrinkled skin.

Yet behind that dying shell, his mind remained as sharp as ever, a single white spark within an otherwise blackened void where his eyes were. His eyelids twitched, and then slowly opened them to stare at the empty spot on the other side of the room.

“What is it now?” His voice cracked as he spoke to the empty air. For a few seconds, nothing answered him, but he remained patient. Then, with a scowl, he tapped the tip of his cane against the rotten wooden floor, the sound echoing sharply.

“Do not play these games with me. I have no time for such nonsense, Servant.”

The space before him flickered. A wave of blue light shimmered and folded into itself, condensing into the form of a man in red and black armor. Archer appeared a few steps away, his gear contrasting with the dull light emanating of the lightbulb above both men. The noise of insects stopped at once, as though the whole room's swarm now paid close attention to the newest arrival, waiting for their master's orders.

“...”

“Are you finished tending to your Master?” Zouken asked, his tone dry. “I was under the impression you would not leave her side for quite some time. A Servant’s duty, after all.”

“That is correct,” Archer replied evenly. Zouken’s half-formed eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering faintly. Even so, Archer continued speaking without pause. “You are a stubborn man, coming out even in this state. Still chasing revenge, still trying to interfere with the Grail War. You mages like to claim to walk the line between life and death, but at this point, old man, are you not simply inviting it?”

“This is only a minor inconvenience,” Zouken replied. “My plans, my foundations, those I’ve built over centuries, will not collapse because of a few attacks on my household, nor will they be swayed by the presence of a single Heroic Spirit. This is at most, a small setback in the grand scheme, you should be aware of that.”

Archer shrugged his shoulders slightly, neither disagreeing nor agreeing with the person in front of him. Eyes closing for a brief moment before opening again. “I would say this is more than just a small setback, but I do agree, in the overall picture, it's not much.”

“Humph, enough of this pointless conversation. It's going nowhere. I’m afraid, however,” Zouken said, the faint curl of a smile forming on his ruined lips, “that you waste your time trying to negotiate something concerning Sakura with me. You are a Servant. Your existence is to obey, not to change outcomes meant for the living. That privilege belongs to your Master alone.”

The old magus could read the intentions behind the Servant’s calm expression. He was no fool; he understood what Archer might be considering. Yet he felt no fear.

Sakura was obedient, loyal and he held no doubts about that for he had molded her for years. Even now, she will anchor him, and despite the power that stood before him, one that could crush most mages without effort, Zouken’s confidence did not falter. He had survived far worse and lived far too long to be unprepared.

He had been around Heroic Spirits for over two centuries, long enough to understand how they thought. Some were believers in virtue, others driven purely by pride, but all shared the same flaw: an ego too large to bow before anyone completely — there was always some level of defiance. That was precisely why he had created the Command Spells, to ensure the safety of the Master. Even then, such willful beings had not accepted that easily, and more than once he had faced them head-on and outwitted them.

Now, as his mind worked through new contingencies, he reviewed everything he had observed about the Archer’s class, his adaptability, his defense against that outsider’s attack, and every subtle quirk in his behavior. After accounting for every possible move the Servant might make, he expected resistance, not amusement. Yet the man before him only gave a quiet, mocking chuckle.

“Though I’d probably agree with you again,” Archer said, his tone calm, “something tells me you’re still missing something important. To me, it sounds like you are still under the belief that you hold the title of Master. And no matter how I try to explain it, you’ll never change your mind, clearly.”

Zouken's grip on his cane tightened. “Do not attempt anything foolish, Servant. Know your place, or you won’t be the only one to suffer.”

At his command, the swarm began to stir. Even though their numbers had dwindled after recent battles, there were still enough of them to overwhelm one man. Especially one with neither name nor legend. The entity standing before him lacked both presence one would expect from a Heroic Spirit from legends belonging to kings and powerful figures in history, not only that, he was unable even to recall his own identity. Compared to the true heroes Zouken had seen throughout his long existence, this Archer was insignificant.

With the King of Heroes still alive and walking the earth, this nameless spirit was the least of his worries. The last thing the Matou head wanted was to draw that man’s attention; if Gilgamesh ever turned his gaze here, before he was ready, it would spell certain death.

“This is your final warning,” the ancient magus said sharply. “Leave before I lose my patience.”

But Archer’s response was as dismissive as before. “Unfortunately, my Master’s orders were clear and I’ve decided you're in the way. I intend on handling you here and now, both as a Servant and as a Heroic Spirit.”

At that point, Archer made no efforts to hide his intentions.

A sudden whoosh filled the air.

Without hesitation, Zouken slammed his cane into the ground, and the basement came alive. The swarm of worms flooded toward the Servant in an instant, covering the wooden floor like a living tide with more emerging from the many holes around the walls. Several bounded fields ignited at once, drawn by the old magus’s precise control. Complex symbols flared across the walls and floor, sealing the chamber in layered light.

All of this caught Archer's attention who looked at them with a slight frown, most likely having noticed their effects immediately. Though as the worms drew close, many instantly recoiled and became slower, giving the Servant time to cut them apart — yet Zouken showed no change on his face.

“That material around you, a holy shroud as I suspected. Definitely a useful item, but its holy trait will not protect you against all of my familiars for long.” With another tap of his cane, the swarm changed course, heading for parts where the shroud did not fully cover. They were able to pierce their way through armor eventually with cracks starting to spread, others displaying sharp blades like stingers, teeth, or horns — too numerous for even the Servant to keep up. “Many people have fallen by my hand for underestimating my magecraft. It has been four centuries since I was given the rank of Pride by the Clock Tower. My skills as a magus are beyond you, or the understanding of most mages for a reason, foolish man.”

Some insects threw themselves at his shroud, dying but managing to cause some amount of damage, their bodies sticking to the surface and allowing others to gain ground. This cycle repeated hundreds of times in a short amount of time until most of the material on his arms had been destroyed. Blood dripped from his forearm onto the ground below and then feasted by the insects.

Zouken’s thin lips curved upward. “Being a Servant doesn’t make you untouchable. My familiars have been refined for generations to consume beings like you who many fear as impervious to most ordinary attacks. Right now, the bounded field around us has the ability to cut off connection to the space outside its range, so you won't be benefiting from drawing from Sakura's reserves. And weakening your very existence, just existing must already drain your energy.” His voice stayed steady, each word deliberate as his black eyes fixed on the spot where the Servant had been swallowed. “No one in this city understands the Holy Grail system better than I do, thus no one truly understands what a Servant is better than I do. Losing a summoned Heroic Spirit is a tragedy, but I can always call another, perhaps even establish another contract with one that has already been summoned after killing their Master — my options are plenty. And even if that fails, I’ll summon again once the ley lines are ready for the next cycle.”

When no response came from Archer who was pushed back enough to have half his body covered by the swarm , he finally turned away. His thin fingers adjusted his robes as he began to walk back toward his seat, already considering how to restore his strength. The thought of punishing the girl upstairs crossed his mind, she needed to be reminded of her place, but that could wait until he—

“Urgh!?”

A loud grunt tore from his throat as a sharp pain burst through his chest. Looking down, he saw the tip of a black sword jutting through him, its blade traced with faint red hexagonal markings that almost looked like they were glowing. Before he could react, another flash followed, a white sword spinning through the air and slicing across his neck. His head nearly detached before he caught it in his trembling hands.

“You!” he hissed, fury twisting his face as he directed more worms to knit his shredded body back together and fill in the ones that had been killed. His gaze darted toward the swarm now having fully enveloped the man, completely consumed. A few had died from him throwing those swords, but a dozen more came to replace them.

“For an Archer to rely on blades as a last measure…” Zouken spat, voice shaking with rage, “humph! You keep disappointing me at every turn. Was that your final act of desperation? How pitiful. I cannot die. You cannot kill me. Death itself would need more than this to take me — it has been this way since long ago.”

“Trace on.” A calm voice spoke from behind, neither sounding like he was in pain nor screaming like he expected. Instead, a strange change started to occur all around him with the previously damp air itself starting to turn dry.

Every bit of moisture disappeared until his very throat felt dry like sandpaper.

Several thuds sounded, with his insects falling to the ground by the hundreds, smoking with each other, refusing to go anywhere near and even crawling away in pure fear. In the gap, he saw a blood covered arm held onto a blue hilt of a sword he had never seen before. Disbelief spread across Zouken's face, “How is this possible? Another Noble Phan—argh!’

A flash of light blinded his eyes, and waves of heat spread through the damp basement, setting the crawling worms around Archer ablaze. Zouken recoiled with a sharp howl of pain escaping his lips, stumbling back in disbelief as the Servant held a massive sword that radiated an overwhelming amount of magical energy. The sensation it emitted brought back a familiar dread he had long buried.

Fear.

“W-What is this!? Your actual Noble Phantasm? No, you're an Archer! How is this… ” he muttered, his mind spinning, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. A Servant of the bow could not possibly wield a sword like that. “Impossible, you’re not one of the Knights!”

“I already knew piercing your chest or head wouldn’t kill you,” Archer said calmly. “Someone like you has long since abandoned your true body. What you possess now is merely a shell, an imitation, built from worms carrying fragments of your soul. But that doesn’t make you immortal.”

The heat intensified, the wooden planks under Archer’s feet beginning to blacken and burn. The air shimmered, the entire room bathed in blinding white light. Zouken shielded his face, stepping back again until his spine hit the wall. His arms began to smoke, the skin burning and curling as realization struck him hard. His eyes widened. “The Sun!?”

Archer said nothing, raising the sword higher. Every worm in the room had already turned to ash, the entire basement reduced to a scorched ruin.

“You think this will kill me!? I cannot die! I will not accept death! I will not let everything I’ve worked for be destroyed by the likes of you!” Zouken screamed, his voice cracking.

Rays of pure sunlight burst from the blade as Archer took a firm stance with the blade held horizontally to his side, both hands gripping the weapon. His lips moved, his voice faint beneath the roaring flames. “Ex… ur… tine.”

With one swing, an arc of blinding plasma shot forward, tearing through the air like a miniature solar flare. The light replicated the very essence of the Sun, its power exploiting Zouken’s weakness to that element. The old magus barely had time to comprehend how a single person other than that monster can hold so many Noble Phantasms and how this Servant could even know such a secret before his words broke into panic.

“That traitorous girl, this won’t end well for y—”

The sentence was cut short. A wave of searing fire swept across the room, consuming everything. The heat tore through every bounded field in the house, setting the building ablaze by instantly turning it into a burning blaze. The rooms where Sakura and Shinji once stayed, now empty, were reduced to nothing but ash.

“...”

As soon as Noble Phantasm unleashed a fraction of its prowess, at the same moment it got halted before causing too much damage encroaching upon the surrounding neighborhood. In the aftermath, molten stone glowed across the floor. Steel boots stepped over the scorched remains, Archer walked across in the center of the ruin, his gaze fixed on the spot where the old man had once stood. Nothing remained. Yet his face showed no satisfaction, no triumph. His eyes only narrowed as he stared into the flames, unmoving for several seconds.

Blood dripped from both his arms and parts of his shoulders where the insects managed to hurt him. For them to work against a Servant, even with Magic Resistance, the old man certainly had reasons to be arrogant.

‘A-Archer, is everything all right? I just saw a flash of light, and then everything started burning.’

‘Did you manage to take everything with you before leaving?’

‘It’s fine. I didn’t have much to begin with. Onii-sama is with me too… Is grandfather… is he…’

‘You saw it yourself through my eyes,’ he replied, already knowing the fear behind her hesitation. ‘Are you worried he’s still alive?’

The silence that followed was enough of an answer.

‘Just know this, Master,’ he continued. ‘I am your Servant. As long as I remain by your side, whatever danger appears, I will eliminate it.’

As his words faded, the large sword in his hands began to crumble into particles of light, scattering into the smoky air. The burning wreckage around him slowly quieted, leaving only the crackle of dying flames.

Then her voice returned one last time. ‘Are… are you really an Archer?’

A faint smile touched his face.

“Of course I am. Why would I ever lie to you, Master?”

On the other end, Sakura heard his reply while looking at the distant burning house. She didn’t know how to respond to that, nor to the sinking thump deep within her.

.

.

.

-Miyama; Northern Side; Emiya Residence-

“Hm?”

Far from the scene of the battle, down in the old district of Fuyuki, inside his house, Shirou paused with a tray of warm tea in his hands and some snacks, enough for four — he looked toward the distant sky. For a brief moment he was certain he had felt something off, whether it was instinct or something that had caught the corner of his eye.

In any case, lately, the same pattern kept repeating: after a fight, someone would appear at his door. This time it was the second visit from the same person. It struck him as almost comical how her expression changed each time she arrived. If looks could kill, hers would have done so many times over with the furious, apprehensive glare she aimed at him now.

"Are you still mad? I already apologized for groping your chest and whispering near your ear. I didn't do it on purpose and you were kind of trying to kill me," he said, trying to keep his voice light.

"I already said it wasn't because of that! Stop bringing it up, you idiot," Rin snapped, face flushed crimson. She snatched one of the few sitting pillows near the table and flung it at his head.

"Whoa!" Shirou called, steadying the tray with careful balance and footwork so not a single drop spilled. "Careful there, Rin," he added, more to ease the tension than because he feared the tea would fall.

The girl only wrapped her scarf tighter and turned her attention away. Lancer stood nearby. The blue-haired Heroic Spirit moved through the room with a loose, casual gait, pausing to look at the framed pictures on the table before taking a seat beside his Master. His spear was nowhere in sight.

"I have to admit, kid, you got quite the nerve inviting us to your place when we literally tried to kill you," Lancer said, half amused.

"I don't think she wants to kill me anymore," Shirou replied.

"No, I'm still contemplating that," Rin said, crossing her arms. She sounded like she could be joking, though Shirou hoped she really was.

"This is good tea. You should try some, Master, or else I don't mind taking yours. Can't just have you wasting any good stuff." Lancer added, as he was the first to praise the tea. Rider nodded along from where she sat.

"Thanks. They are tea leaves I got recently from a friend of mine. I can give you some if you want more," Shirou said, pressing the tray forward.

"Normally I would have declined the kind offer, but unfortunately I was summoned by a Master who takes the definition of Servant literally and has forced this poor soul into cleaning, cooking, and repairing her home. I had to relearn skills I hadn't used for years. So, sure, I appreciate the offer," Lancer said, sounding amused as he accepted a cup.

"Enough talk," a new voice cut in when a hand slammed down on the table. The impact startled everyone, but nothing spilled. He had guessed the motion and steadied the tray before it could tip, and Rider made a quick move to help as well.

"Tell me where Sakura is. No, tell me everything you know right now, or else you don't want me to throw Lancer at you," the voice demanded.

"Do you have more snacks?" the Servant who had been focused on the food asked, finishing the plate in front of him without looking up. He chewed with the calm of someone used to eating what was set before him, unconcerned by the mood in the room.

Rin's eyes twitched with a murderous glare that moved between the two men. "Why the hell are you suddenly so friendly with him?" she said, the question sharp despite her words.

Shirou set the tray down on the table and took a breath, placing his hands flat on the wood. The teapot made a small, steady clink against the cups.

"Come on now, Master. He seems like a good guy to me. Even though we just met, I can tell he doesn’t feel like a bad guy."

"Do you even know or have the slightest idea who his father was?"

"The sins of the father should not be passed down to his child. Some fathers can be absolute pieces of shit, and that should not affect how people see their children, who have no control over such things."

Surprisingly, his answer came out more meaningful than he intended. Even Shirou felt there was more to the story, but he did not pry any further. Instead, he focused on the conversation he promised the girl.

"Sakura left the house the day after Berserker’s attack, in the middle of the night. Truthfully, I’m not sure why she made that decision back then, but apparently she didn’t want to keep being a burden to me and wanted to pull her own weight. But I also suspect it’s because Zouken was forcing her to go back."

Having finally calmed down, Rin tapped her fingers on the table with a thoughtful look. "I suppose that makes sense. The Matou family, being one of the founding members of the Holy Grail system, are guaranteed a spot just like the Tohsaka and the Einzbern."

"Couldn’t Shinji have been chosen instead?" he asked.

To that, she shook her head, scratching her hair with a frustrated sigh. "That idiot has no talent in magecraft. Even I can see that. While Servants don’t necessarily need a Master who can provide them with a constant supply of mana to exist, since they can consume souls, blood, or other sources to sustain themselves, it would still weaken them considerably. It’s not an ideal situation which could even weaken them. Since the Matou bloodline has basically thinned out, I assumed they wouldn’t have a Master this time, but I guess that was just wishful thinking. Sakura, on the other hand, has the potential of a true mage… I don’t know exactly if she’s at my level, she’s still far better than someone like Shinji and could easily sustain a Servant. Hah, that girl… why did she have to do such a thing?"

"So you believe me now?" he asked.

"Not entirely," Rin replied, "but I feel you’re telling the truth in this matter, I don’t think you would have risked yourself in our fight otherwise.” Rider snorted to herself while Shirou had bashfully scratched the back of his head. “Plus it sounds exactly like her, and it makes logical sense. Think about it. Just a day ago, I nearly got killed by Berserker and had to have my skin saved by you. The longer I would have stayed without summoning a Servant, the more danger I would bring upon myself. Sakura must have felt the same way. Still, that doesn’t explain the sudden attack on her house, or why you were fighting her Servant."

She asked with narrowed eyes. The boy shifted in his seat, taking a moment to think about his next words carefully.

"I just couldn’t let her go," he said. "When I woke up and found that she was gone, even though I knew why she wanted to summon a Servant and be part of this war, I didn’t think it was something she needed to do. She was putting herself in danger. If she was being forced by Zouken, then I was prepared to confront him, even if that meant putting a bullet through his skull."

Rin scoffed. "As if something like a bullet would be enough to kill that monster. Do you have any idea how old he is? He’s been around since the creation of the system itself. Something like a bullet would only enrage him, and you’d die in the end, Servant or not."

"I wouldn’t be so sure about that," Rider commented. She didn’t need to look over to see that Rin felt belittled again at the mention of facing Zouken. Despite not showing it, the woman still carried pride in her own capabilities, and the idea that she’d have no means to protect him against a human mage sounded insulting.

“Careful, you don’t know Zouken. There’s no way he would have survived if he hadn’t overcome a Heroic Spirit or two.”

"Anyway still, I had to. I can’t just leave her like that, Tohsaka," he insisted. His words only deepened the frustration on Rin’s face, but she stayed silent and let him continue. "I don’t know who or what attacked them. When I was heading over there, something just came out of the sky. Everything was too chaotic for me to make sense of it, and I just wanted to make sure she was safe. When I got there, that’s when I saw the Servant. I thought he was the one behind the attack, so in a moment of rage, I attacked him."

"....Of course you did. Why am I not surprised anymore," commented the girl with a dry tone. Rubbing her temples at the stupidity of it all.

"Heh, well, you can figure out what happened next. Thankfully, someone came to my aid and pulled me away. I couldn’t find Sakura afterward, but that Servant did mention she was safe."

Rin nodded slightly, growing a bit suspicious how he did not elaborate on this particular’someone’ but not forcing him to reveal it. "It’s possible that the attack came from an Archer-class Servant. Maybe even their Noble Phantasm. That’s the only way to explain such a wide destructive range. The Servant you fought, what weapon did he use?"

"Um, a bow and a sword? He fired a few arrows at me, but then he definitely used swords."

Her expression shifted into one of confusion. "What… A sword and a bow? He can’t be a Saber, if he uses a bow… then again, why would an Archer wield swords? But if he’s an Archer, then was he the one who attacked the mansion? No, that would mean Sakura ordered him to do it, and that doesn’t make sense. Was it Caster then? Caster could use large-scale spells like that. I don’t think the Berserker you faced could cause that kind of destruction, and definitely not an Assassin either."

She started mumbling through several possibilities under her breath, but he quickly interrupted her. "It doesn’t matter who or what it was. Right now, our main goal should be to find Sakura and make sure she’s safe."

“...”

He exhaled, seeing the embers of doubts still showcasing on her face, "Do you still not trust me because of my father? Because he was the Magus Killer? He’s done terrible things, I know that, and I won’t deny it, but he wasn’t like that in the end. The man that saved me… the man that raised me was different. This may be just me, but I believe everything he did was for what he believed was right. My father was someone who never sought glory or fame, he only wished to see a better world. If he were alive right now, I think he’d wish for this war to end before it begins. There’s already been enough senseless death."

"That’s one way to see it," she replied calmly. "But unfortunately for you, others have different goals. Some look forward to this war. Do you even understand what a wish means? It’s the culmination of centuries of research, the dream of countless magi who dedicated their lives to it. An impossible longing given form. You can’t dismiss that effort just by saying too many have died. Many would gladly sacrifice thousands, even hundreds of thousands, for the chance to claim it."

"I know," he said quietly, raising his gaze to meet hers. "But that doesn’t make it right. Are you one of them?"

"I do want to win," Rin admitted. "That I won’t deny. But I’m not a monster. I won’t spill an endless ocean of blood for it. In any case, we should plan our next move."

"We? You’re willing to work with me now?" he asked with a faint smile.

"Don’t make that face! I’m just feeling pity for you, that’s all. I’m lending a hand, nothing more. Once we find Sakura, I’ll go back to being your enemy, and I won’t hold back next time!"

Lancer, who had been quietly focused on his food and tea until then, turned with a small smirk. "I’m sure you’ll both enjoy another... physical exchan—ouch!"

An empty cup struck his face before he could say more, thrown directly by Rin.

"Don’t make unnecessary comments!" she snapped, standing up as if to leave. She paused at the doorway, glancing back. "Aside from me, that enforcer lady, and Luvia, who else knows that you’re a mage?"

Shirou’s smile fell a bit, as aside from them only another face emerged. And unfortunately, he already guessed the kind of reaction Rin would have. But it was best to tell her… "Um…?!” No wait, perhaps that was not the best path to take. He’d already decided to keep Ayako away from getting even more involved. “T-There’s no one else.”

He immediately got three dry looks from not only Rider somehow, but also Rin and Lancer. It appears his moment of hesitation had exposed his deception. The latter even added, “Wow kid, you really do suck at lying, don't ya?”

“Emiya…” Rin called him, getting up from her spot and slowly, purposefully getting closer to him. He got up as well and tried to back away from her, keeping his distance. Also he felt fear when watching the unnatural smile that emerged on her face, it looked too innocent! “We’re allies, aren't we? An alliance goes both ways right?”

“I-I-It’s not like I don't want to share it with you or that I don't trust you, Tohsaka. I just promised her to keep it a secret.”

It took him less than a second to realize his mistake, as her eyes narrowed but it was already too late.

“Thump” Without even realizing it, Rin had lured him to the wall.

“Her? So it's a woman. Of course it is!” She said cheerfully, immediately shoving both arms to the wall behind him and trapping him in the middle with no routes to escape. “Wouldn't it be easy if I knew about this person as well? Could help to avoid many misunderstandings in the future.”

"... It's not that simple.”

Her eyes narrowed even further, as she leaned her head in so that they were face to face, very dangerously in his personal space. “You groped me earlier, Emiya.”

“—!”

She actually was going to use that against him? He had to admit, it was effective. He could see his blushing red face, in her beautiful blue aqua eyes. “The very least you can do is share some of your information. You act like it will be troublesome for me to know about this person, am I that untrustworthy? I or someone else is bound to find out sooner or later. Wouldn't it be better for me to learn of it first to also help you out if necessary?”

Well in his defense, she did try to kill him earlier… also he was not going to budge on the matter. Thus he gave her the same answer with his following words. “Still though, this isn’t something I can just tell you, someone’s safety is on the line, and this is just too soon for something like this?”

Rin rolled her eyes, her frustration growing with his stubbornness. “Alright then, I’ll also give you my word as the Second Owner. But there is also the matter of our alliance to consider, so I can't trust you so easily based on your words in the end given your… link to the Magus Killer. Regardless of whether or not he had a change of heart at the end of his life, I can't verify this claim. How about this, we resolve this issue with a Geis.” As soon as she uttered that last word, it immediately pulled Lancer from the laid-back grin of enjoying Shirou's misery, to a serious stern expression as his smile faded away to a frown.

“Geis?” The redhead tilted his head, the term sounded familiar but his mind remained a bit foggy about the detail. He remembered reading about it from the books Luvia gave him… something about a contract?

Seeing his silence as ignorance, Rin continued. “Yes, a type of magical curse that can only be cast with the consent of both parties. Think of it like a mage’s version of a contract, a binding law agreement that only affects the agreed upon parties in a supernatural manner. It’s where the parties involved have a curse placed upon them that hinders their movement in the event they choose to act against it. There are also different versions that can be used to invoke other forms of punishment or fulfillment of agreements.”

“So you're saying if I make this Geis with you, then that means the person I’m referring to, has ensured safety from you?” He asked again just to make sure.

Rin’s smile grew, “The geis will benefit you just as much as it will benefit me. An ally you can trust during the Holy Grail War is as valuable as having your own Servant. So if you trust me having your back and promise not to backstab me, and vice versa then surely you would trust me with certain pieces of information. Right?”

While Shirou heard her suggestion, so did Rider whose voice echoed in his mind. ‘It’s quite interesting the way she conveniently made sure to exclude the part of not harming that person to the geis itself. Don't be fooled, Master.’

‘She gave her word.’

‘Promises are not worth much but geis’ or any sort of binding contracts are not to be trifled with in the Supernatural world, even during my own time.’

Rider definitely had a point.

The intense gaze Rin was giving him as she offered her proposal made him feel the blood in his veins actually stop. He pondered while staring into her face. As close as they were he could feel her hot breath on his skin making him shiver as if he was enchanted by it. It sounded so reasonable, all he had to do was get the help of the Second Owner, and Ayako’s safety was guaranteed. She had been practicing magecraft far longer than he ha—

…Wait!

“Well, what do you say?” Rin asked, still patiently awaiting his answer.

To that, he shook his head with an awkward smile. “Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be accepting that, Tohsaka. A geis is… it's not something I want to use unless absolutely necessary.”

“Huh?”

Rin was taken aback by his refusal, while Rider visibly relaxed as seen by her posture. With Lancer silently raising the cup of tea at her as a peaceful gesture. His smile had grown after hearing Shirou's answer.

“You're not really helping your case in having me trust you.” She commented dryly, not letting go of the idea that easily.

Shirou continued on with his explanation. “I know, but you're also smarter than me Rin.”

Rin visibly blushed, he wasn't sure if it was due to his previous remarks or something else he said — the girl was hard to read at times. And those words were not said just to flatter her, he truly meant them.

“Huh, well that’s even more reason for you to trust me… would be useful having someone like me by your side you know…”

He wasted no time agreeing with her, “I know. I'm not denying that. But before making any sort of magical binding contract… I would also prefer to have someone else look it over first. You know, to avoid parts that I could have missed initially or even possible unwanted loopholes. So that it's safe for the both of us.”

Though he did not say it outright, the meaning behind his words were clear enough for Rin to freeze up on the spot. Her face had a look of sheer shock, and whatever pressure she was invoking on him vanished.

“Pft-hahahahaha!!!” Lancer’s laugh burst out after the awkward silence between the two Masters. “Oi brat! Way to go! You realized the serpent in front of you, for what it was, and pulled away before it bit you in the hand.”

Rin’s prior blush grew more red to match her turtleneck. She then whipped her head to Lancer. “You, shut up before I use a Command Spell on you, to make you unable to talk, except with telepathy for the whole war!”

The man raised both hands in a mock gesture of backing away, clearly not wanting to tease her any further since Shirou genuinely felt Rin would use her Command Spell for that purpose.

“Okay, okay, still though that wasn’t too bad. I like unreasonable promises, but that doesn’t mean you should throw yourself into anyone you come across. If I did that a certain pink haired queen would own my ass.”

Rin turned to face him having slightly recovered, still having pinned Shirou to the wall. “So then, since you know that stopping me isn’t going to be easy. Will you actually be willing if a third party were to get involved? Or are you just buying yourself time for something?”

He couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh, deciding to lighten the mood. “You're quite paranoid, Tohsaka. If I wanted to harm you, I would have already snuck inside your home and hid a few C4 bombs all over the place, you have everything already covered, so not like you'll realize it. All of this could have been done a long while ago.”

“Excuse me!?”

“Just a joke.” He added quickly with a light grin, “I’ll just have to convince you to see it my way, or protect her myself. Since I’m the one who created this situation it’s my responsibility to fix it.”

Shirou stared at her with as serious an expression he could muster. The blush on Rin’s face had faded as she then looked away and finally set him free. Looking at the ceiling and thinking things through for a few seconds. “Be that as it may, if we are going to be allies, then we need to have each other’s backs. So if you really want to prove to me, your serious about Sakura, you'll at least give me her name as a sign of good faith.”

She did have a point. Also, Shirou felt Rin would genuinely get herself in trouble if she started to investigate who this person was and possibly cause Ayako more trouble in the long run without even doing so intentionally. “I'll tell you. But in return, you must promise me to not confront them about this nor bring up anything from the supernatural side to her. I don't want her to get more involved than she already is… if she does get too close, then let me handle it.”

The twin tailed girl gave it some thoughts before nodding.

“Fine. You have my word.”

“It's… well, it's… Ayako.”

A heavy silence filled the room, her eyes widening in disbelief. Then, a sharp shriek rang out across the estate.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

{Break}

-Shinto, Kurokizaka district, block 4, Semina Apartments-

There were many things that drew Ayako’s interest in her day to day life.

Whether it was archery practice, hanging out with her friends, trying to be more feminine, or sneaking in video game sessions when her parents weren’t paying attention — she enjoyed all of it. Some could say it was quite busy but she enjoyed it… that, not even counting her practice of martial arts, but that she more or less kept up out of duty and fitness.

Yet lately, something new had slipped into her life. A subject she would have once dismissed as nonsense, fantasy, rumor, nothing more. But now having seen it with her own eyes with her nearly getting literally devoured by a freaky monster, followed by a frightening woman trying to wipe her memory from that moment, then everything Shirou mentioned after jumping off a several story building… holy shit, it just dawned on her just how ridiculous all of this sounded.

Yup, magic was real. And ever since that moment, her curiosity toward the supernatural had only grown stronger.

“It’s said that in the Semina Apartments, on a particular floor blocked off to everyone, there used to live a person, Mr. A,” she began softly. “He had rented a room on the eleventh floor, with there being no one there but himself and a family of three, his only neighbors. Once he moved in, he was ready to start fresh. The place was cheap, too cheap for this city’s standards. It was almost a miracle he found it. With the money his parents sent, he could cover the rent easily and even treat himself a little. He didn’t care for friends or visitors, and preferred the quiet. He liked his solitude. That small apartment became his own fortress, a place where he could live freely without interruption. His own little fortress of solitude, you could say”

She whispered the rumored story in the dead of night. Next to her, the streetlight nearby flickering with the winds blowing her brown hair, creating a nearly chilling atmosphere with no sound whatsoever from the usually boisterous city, no car, no cat, dog, or any crickets. Pure silence and not a single other person inside outside of themselves.

“He lived a quiet life for a while,” she continued, her eyes glinting faintly in the half-light. “It was peaceful. He went about his days in comfort, walking the halls or taking the elevator as usual. But after a while, he started to feel… something. It was hard to put it into words at first, but that sensation kept becoming worse by the day. The lights would flicker, sometimes footsteps echoed behind him, or faint giggles, but no one was ever there. That feeling, almost similar to being watched, never left. And then one day he saw—”

“Waaaah!”

“Ah!”

The sudden shriek tore through the silence, making Ayako flinch. She turned sharply toward the source, glaring at the tanned girl sitting beside her outside the apartment complex, where they had gathered rather than staying in her room or Kane's, mostly just because she wanted to check the outside of the building in order to not miss something obvious.

“Kaede!” she snapped, lowering the book in her hands, its worn cover reading ‘Rumours and Mysteries of Fuyuki’. “What the hell was that for? I haven’t even said anything scary yet! You'll wake everyone up at this rate.”

Across from her, Kane nearly toppled off her seat from the shock. “Seriously, Kaede!” she added, pressing a hand to her chest. “You’re going to give someone a heart attack.”

“It was scary!” Their friend shot back, clutching her knees and shaking slightly. “I swear I could hear footsteps too! Also why did we have to come outside rather than staying in one of your rooms!? The outside just makes it all the more creepy!”

Both Ayako and Kane sighed at the same time. The latter pushed up her glasses and gave Ayako a dry look. “Told you this was a bad idea. Let's just go back inside, I left my hot coffee on the table, it’s definitely cold by now. Kaede and horror don’t go together, she gets startled by shadows and starts swinging.”

“Of course I do!” Kaede protested, her voice rising. “What, you expect me to just stand there while a ghost rushes me?”

The gray haired girl crossed her arms, frowning. “You can’t punch a ghost even if it existed.”

“What do you mean if? Of course they’re not real! That’s why this is stupid. Why are we even here?”

Reaching her limit, Kane sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Oh for the love of… fine, whatever. She’s got a point though. Why did we come here anyway? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just tell ghost stories at the temple if you wanted a creepy atmosphere? The place already has the right ambiance going on for that sort of thing, especially for our girls’ night out. Or just our rooms with the lights off.” Kane stopped, and took something out of her skirt pocket. A vibrating phone she opened. “Yukika just sent me a message that she's not feeling well and couldn't come.”

Ayako shook her head. It was clear their little group had split into two sides; those who believed and those who didn’t. Kane obviously leaned towards the former while Kaede was the latter. And of course, after she herself had been shown proof, she also genuinely knew that this was no mere camp story but possibly an actual thing. Still, the girl understood that simply claiming it was real wouldn’t change anyone’s mind. Most would just think she had lost it. So she decided to gather more evidence before saying anything, even if that meant doing it herself, with help from her friends, this including a certain redheaded boy..

“Aren’t you curious about it too? The story’s pretty well-known. Wouldn’t it be better to see it for ourselves and maybe even uncover the mystery behind it?” she said, masking her excitement as a simple suggestion.

In truth, she didn’t have solid proof that any of the local rumors were real. Most of the folktales floating around town were just talk, strange stories passed between classmates or whispered online. But this one, for some reason, felt different. There was something about it that tugged at her instinct.

“Especially you, Kane, we live here. And I'm sure you heard the story in the past. Why not see it for ourselves if it's true?”

She wanted to bring Shirou with her, but she already knew what he would say. He’d try to stop her, probably with that serious expression and those well-meant words about staying safe. As much as she found his protectiveness cute, Ayako also wanted to show him she wasn’t helpless.

To that Kane showed some hesitation. “I mean, who hasn't heard of that story? Your next door family's kids won't stop talking about it. But even they never bothered to check it out themselves,” she said dryly. “But sneaking around this late at night on the restricted floor? I'm more worried about the building owner possibly throwing us out or getting us in trouble with our family.”

“You’re no fun, Kane. And besides, that old man is too busy getting that aunty's attention who just moved in to care. I'm pretty sure there aren't any hidden security cameras… I checked,” she added. “Anyway, we’ll only look around for a bit. If nothing happens, we’ll just go back and watch a movie or play games. How does that sound?”

“Fine,” Kane replied, shrugging. “I just hope this place doesn’t end up being the next target of that meteor shower that hit the town yesterday.”

“Urgh, please don't bring that up. I won't be able to fall asleep with that in mind more than the ghost…”

Putting that grim memory from yesterday to the very back of her head. They were on board and that was good enough for her. Patting her shirt, she soon went back to the book still open in that particular page of the story. “Already then, let's just go back inside. Well take the emergency stairs to the eleventh floor, they made it so, you can’t access that floor through the elevator unless you use the Master Key. The stairs should be fine though.”

Both girls nodded, with Kaede still visibly hesitating, seeing that Ayako had a particular idea come to mind which made her smirk. “Unless you don't mind staying outside all by yourself, that's your choice.”

“O-Oi! Don't leave me here!”

That proved to be effective, she quickly followed both in. The entrance led to a mostly quiet foyer where the tenants could find their mailboxes. A few doors leading to other rooms belonging to the janitor, the main office and so on. But rather than taking the elevator, Ayako started on the emergency stairs next to it, in case it was unavailable.

This actually was the first time in years she took this path, the last time being due to a power outage.

“It's quiet today.” Kane noted as they made their way upwards slowly but surely. “More so than usual.”

“Ye-Yeah, this place is giving me the cre-creeps. W-Who would even live inside an apartment complex with ghost rumours!?” Kaede muttered, glancing around hastily while getting two unimpressed stares from her friends.

“We just started…,” Ayako said, smiling faintly. “Stop worrying. I’m right here, and nothing’s going to happen. If anything, the ghost should be afraid of us. Between my courage, Kane's surprisingly painful kicks, and your fast punches, we’re unstoppable. Didn’t you once say ghosts could be punched in the face?”

“Ah-haha… hahaha… e-eh… I guess that makes sense.”

The dark-haired runner gave a small laugh, clearly nervous but trying to play along. She drew a deep breath, straightened her posture, and gave a nod. “F-Fine. But remind me again, what’s the story supposed to be about? I’d rather know what kind of move I’ll need to use if we run into something weird.”

Amused by her friend’s tone, and her trying to distract herself from her surroundings, both girls stayed quiet as Ayako picked up where she left off. “Well, years ago, it was said that a family used to live happily in this place, on the same floor as Mr A. But happy times are only temporary. One of the parents was either possessed by something or went through a terrible experience. Some versions say the wife or husband caught the other cheating. Others claim one of them lost everything to gambling and couldn’t handle the guilt. Another said the husband was beating the wife. There are many different versions, but none of them agree on what really happened. Still, all of them end with the same thing. A family suicide. The wife killed the husband, slashed the daughter, then committed suicide. Everyone died, and the daughter went missing.. Mr. A was the only person close enough to hear anything or do something, but didn’t…apparently there was a knock on his door he didn’t bother answering… and after talking to the police he shortly went missing.” Kaede was shaking in her feet as Ayako finished recounting the events. Ayako, wanting to tease her a little bit, went on. “They say it was so brutal that faint echoes of their screams can still be heard in the hallway, and sometimes people see bloody handprints sliding across the walls and something on the lenses of the spyhole on his door.”

“Grim stuff,” Kaede noted, her voice lower now, the group reaching the fourth floor rather quickly and continuing to make their ways upwards. “Hopefully it’s just a story and not something that actually happened. My punches are powerful, but they can't do much against a knife!”

“Actually,” Kane replied, pushing her glasses up, “I did some research. There really was a dispute between a married couple according to old reports from neighbors who heard them arguing regularly before they were found dead. Still, I do find it a bit strange why they still blocked off access to that floor. If it were a murder case with an unknown killer on the loose, I guess I could understand. But it's not and years have passed, so it’s strange.”

“From what I understand, they did try to rent the place to other tenants but they would always leave the very next day or within a week at the longest.”

To Ayako, she never really paid attention to such things in the beginning. Having only learned such a detail through her brother who mentioned it earlier on.

“You really think they left because of the ghost?” Now, the one who held a fair amount of skepticism for the existence of the supernatural found herself feeling uncertain — all of this visible on her face as they went past the eight floor with the restricted area getting closer.

“H-Hopefully not…”

“You're sweating.”

“Shut up! Also why did we just not take the elevator to the tenth floor and then take the stairs here!? All of this walking is making me nervous…”

“...”

Honestly, Ayako just forgot… and so did Kane from the look she made.

Seeing those two start to feel more uneasy, Ayako continued, with their only being not that much left to the story within the book. “After that, people say the echoes of the little girl who died that night still return. Mr. A, the man from the story, couldn’t sleep because every few nights he’d hear knocking on his door. When he looked through the peephole, no one was there. It kept happening, over and over, always at night when everyone else was asleep. The knocking would start soft, then grow louder each time, until it sounded like someone was desperately slamming the door. Whispers of a young girl came with it too, faint but clear enough to send chills down his spine. At first, he never dared to open it. Maybe his instincts warned him, or maybe he already knew that whatever waited beyond that door wasn’t something human. I wonder if he thought it was something like a judgement because he didn’t do anything. Anyway he was convinced it would go away, but the knocking never stopped.”

With each mentioned passage from the story, the sound of their own steps grew louder to her ears. The stairway they took after reaching the tenth floor, being so close to their destination — her eyes lingering on the no entry warning on the wall. In bold red, words warning people from going anywhere near the place, saying that it was under construction.

A flimsy excuse at best, but it worked for many years.

A glimpse at the hallway ahead was dimly lit, the lone yellow bulb flickering above them. She hesitated to head any further, her hold on the book tightening before she whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Kaede to hear. “It’s just a story. It’s just a story.”

The place ahead being a similar layout to every other floor in the apartment, yet very much different at the same time. Lacking any sort of decorations from other tenants, no nameplates on the doors, layers of dust on both floor and wall, cobwebs and a lightbulb that seemed it had not been changed for years.

There, as per the story, she recognized the apartment, that from the story would be Mr A’s, Room 2. “Then this one…” All three girls’ heads turned to the one next to it, a simple looking door to anyone ignorant of the story. But to all three, it was something worse that now none wished to approach.

--Room 1. Site of the family suicide.

Again, Kaede repeated those words from earlier. That it was just a story, and none of it was real. Working up the nerve she spoke to Ayako.

“That’s right, it's just a story. Say Ayako, we came this far already, we don't have to go any further for something that’s probably fake.”

Kane, feeling that she should say something, after coming this far, offered a bit of facts. “You know me and Ayako were living in the apartment when it happened. It was real. I’m pretty sure you visited around that time.”

“Gwah!”

“Say, Ayako, did you hear anything around then?”

“It’s not like I can hear everything going on in these walls. We did have a bit of distance from this floor. It doesn't help that most floors only get two apartments to rent. You?”

“No, but my father did speak once about how it would lower our complex’s property value.” Kane mentioned, now all three standing without moving. No one, even willing to even turn the doorknob first. “S-Say, how did the story end again?”

Ayako paused for effect before going on. “He’d sometimes peek through the peephole again, and the hallway would flash red for a second, showing bloody handprints smeared across the wall before disappearing in the blink of an eye. He thought he was imagining it, but the sleepless nights and stress started getting to him. Eventually, he snapped. One night he finally had enough and opened the door, ready to confront whoever it was. But once again, there was no one. Not only that, the voice and knocking suddenly vanished. For a moment, he finally believed to have been freed from all those mind numbing noises, he closed the door and intended to walk back inside his apartment.”

She took a moment to gather her breath.

“But then right before him a figure stood there alone. He could barely see her face, but she was smiling, a wide grin carved across her cheeks, red like fresh blood. Her voice didn’t sound human when she spoke. She just said, ‘Press the button… the little r—’”

“Excuse me?”

“WHAAAAAAAA!!!”

Kaede, Kane and even Ayako screamed out, their voices raw from panic and loud enough that half of Fuyuki most likely heard it. Ayako jumped, a chill racing through her when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She spun around quickly, her breath catching in her throat, only to find a familiar face staring back at her with the doors to the elevator that should have been blocked access to this floor opened and soon closing behind the newcomer.

“…A-Ayaka Sajyou?”

Hound of the Dead Chapter 18: Death's Call Part 1

Beta read by Shigiya

Looks at calendar

Damn, I really REALLY should stop saying, 'Gonna update tomorrow!' or anything of that sorts. It feels like every time I do so, I jinx myself! Hah...

Next update is Fate Coiling Sword and Snafu.

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-Tokonosu-

The existence of firearms had always piqued Cu's interest, particularly the modern ones.

In his time, becoming a true warrior meant years of training and hardship; reputation was measured by how many opponents one had bested. Those same feats that once required a lifetime of skill and endurance could now, it seemed, be replicated by almost anyone who could lift and aim a simple metal tube. The thought struck him as odd and practical at once… not exactly despising the change, nor did he admire it with sentiment. Humanity had always pushed forward, and the pace of its progress only accelerated. Gods or mages could not hold that back, and there was a kind of quiet acceptance in how useful the new tools could be.

Now, of all time, that usefulness mattered to him.

Aside from two members, the rest of the group were not fighters, and even those with some training, are quick to freeze at the sight of blood. Cu had seen how quickly shock could ruin an otherwise competent person, and he could not risk that for any of them. For the better part of several minutes, he sat in the Humvee they had found in the garage earlier before taking it with them, driving across the empty streets without the wind hitting his face and hair. Turning the pistol over in his hands while Igou, grinning, kept his foot light on the accelerator and nudged the vehicle across the broken road now and then — the engine itself roaring each time he pressed on the accelerator. Outside, a handful of the undead shuffled past the edges of the street, their movement lazy as usual.

Bam!

Until they ran over one of them, splattering blood on the window, yet the vehicle’s front did not crumple at flesh slamming into metal. “Oi, careful there, lad. I haven't even used any runes to reinforce the damn thing.”

“Sorry,” Igou answered with an awkward smile. “Still trying to get a handle on this thing. Who the hell buys such a large car to be driven on Japan’s narrow roads!? It's a miracle that whoever that woman managed to get this thing inside that garage of hers without scratching some of the paint job.”

“Must be a smart one.”

“Or another mage who used magic?” Cu shrugged. As unlikely as it was for this Rika to be a Magus, it would still be surprising for a mage to use their spells in such a manner. He met weird people in his life. "An M9 Beretta?" The Irishman read aloud as he traced the stamped letters on the slide with a fingertip. "Nine millimetres… That'd be the bullet size? So this little guy…"

Just looking at the little bit of metal loaded with some gunpowder, it felt almost ridiculous just how lethal such things could prove themselves to be. The slide snapped back and forward with a metallic click when he worked it, a plain mechanical noise. Playing with the item for a few more seconds and getting familiar with the overall mechanic hidden within, it definitely possessed its own form of beauty.

"Don't accidentally shoot that thing," Igou said without glancing away from the road. "We don't want to damage our latest asset. And please don't point the barrel at me. I don't feel comfortable. Better yet, just put that thing down,"

"Ah, my bad," Cu said, noticing his mistake, and he set the muzzle toward the floorboard. The pistol was not loaded, but nothing beats cautious over a dumb, avoidable mistake. "Never actually used one properly, so I'm not different from a kid getting a new kind of toy. Who would have imagined something so small could take out several people with a single well-placed shot? Humanity goes far, so it does."

The boy snorted, half-amusement and half disbelief. "Says the man who can use magic. How are you amazed by a gun when you can make exploding pebbles with your runes? Doesn't help that you can throw your spear like a fucking missile itself. Compared to those, a piece of metal is actually quite tame."

"Just because magic exists doesn't mean I'm blind to getting impressed by other things," Cu answered. "I didn't grow up around firearms… though probably got fired at by one at some point.” The Holy Grail War system in Fuyuki scrubbed a lot of memories from past summonings. It didn't wipe everything fully clean, since specific moments were enough to trigger a moment of deja vu at best. It wouldn't be surprising if, during one of his summonings, a Master of Servant had used such a weapon against him.

“For some reason, I am not surprised.”

The Humvee shifted as Igou found a smoother line through the rubble. Cu's attention continued to wander around the weapon in his hand. He rolled the pistol in his palm, feeling the textured grip and balanced weight. The metal and polymer were practical in how they fit together.

"Kohta will be foaming from his mouth when he sees the goodies we brought back," he said with the small smile of someone picturing an obvious reaction.

"Kohta?" Igou asked. “Who is that again?”

"The big kid with the glasses. Real gun nut, from what I learned, and he'll know how to handle this better than I ever will." Cu flexed his fingers around the grip once more, testing the weapon. The material felt solid; the slide moved smoothly enough. For him, the pistol was unnecessary. It belonged to someone who would rely on it to survive rather than as a curiosity.

He flipped the gun over, holding it by the upper slide, then passed it back toward the people sitting behind. "You take it," he said.

"You didn't like it?" Rei asked. From the rearview and the side mirror, where he saw the back seats, Saeko and Rei sitting separately yet close enough to catch each other's expressions, an awkwardness hung in the small space between them. Takashi stood further back, peering through the roof hatch to check their immediate surroundings, and Alice was almost acting as a barrier, sitting between both girls.

Hands reached for the pistol and took it back. "That is a good weapon to use in case you end up in a tricky situation and don't have access to magecraft like me or any other weapon. It'll be more useful to you than it will ever be with me." Also, he recalled the words Takashi shared with him that night, and he intended to take them seriously.

"You do not trust my skills?” The orange-brown haired girl asked with a slight frown on her face.

“Heh, I do. I just really don't have any uses for it." He answered with a small chuckle. It might have sounded arrogant if overheard by any of the other individuals, but it was the truth. There was no point in pretending otherwise or showing false humility. His natural reserves of magical energy were plentiful, a result of his lineage. And should he ever find himself in trouble, his runes were more than capable of helping. Some even allowed him to gather magical energy through the existence of naturally found ley lines underneath. Of course, all of this assumed that nothing ridiculous happened, like someone feeding him dog meat again and breaking his sacred vow.

Though he doubted that Geass remained active even after being reborn or as a Servant back then… not that he was willing to test it out anytime soon.

"This is quite the collection," Saeko remarked as she examined the assortment of weapons crammed into the back of the vehicle that they had found in the house. Her expression briefly softened, a flicker of thought passing across her face before she sighed. "It seems firearms will never suit me after all. I’m simply more comfortable with what I already have."

"I'm all for you being confident with your sword, lass," Cu advised, his tone even as he looked ahead. "But just like what I said to Rei, it’s best to keep at least one gun on hand in case of emergencies. Staying alive is worth more than pride, bringing you an early death."

"Says the guy who only uses his spear," she replied, arching a brow at him.

"I already told you my reasons," he said simply. There was no need to explain further. Whether they used the firearms or not was their own choice. His role wasn’t to command, only to advise. He trusted that none of them would be foolish enough to let pride cloud their judgment.

A few minutes passed, and soon, a small yawn escaped Rei’s mouth. The former Servant of the Spear caught the movement from the corner of his eye, seeing her resting against the door. Her head leaned against the window, forehead touching the cool glass, eyes slowly closing as sleep threatened to take her.

"You look tired, Rei," Saeko said softly, glancing sideways. "You don’t seem to be in the best condition since we left the house.”

"It’s nothing," she replied, not noticing the faint smile tugging at Saeko’s lips. "I’m just exhausted and sore because someone went too far with his… training, as usual."

He wanted to argue his innocence, to point out that she had only herself to blame for trying that reckless stunt last night. He might enjoy good fun, but she had practically been begging for trouble with how far she’d pushed it.

Saeko chuckled, “Heh… must have been quite the sparring session.”

In return, she got a narrowed-eyed glare, “Jealous? I can spend as much time with him as I want. Perhaps this outbreak must have fogged up your mind, but I'll remind you that we're together and you two only met one another recently… he considers you as a good friend, knowing him.” It did not take long for an awkward atmosphere to settle in the car, with both Igou and Cu just looking ahead without feeling the need to butt in on their conversation.

“Why would I feel jealous?” Saeko asked with genuine curiosity. “I am happy you two are getting along. But from my understanding, you two only knew each other for less than two months at best, and that is not a lot of time. Many things can change, and in the end, I know we get along quite well. As for Cu here, I know how he sees me. Fufufu~ I already got my answer last night.” She replied with a small smirk, her finger gently gliding across her lower lip.

“A-argh! Cough! Cough!”

“Ah! Watch out!” Takashi shouted as soon as the car started to jerk sideways.

“S-Sorry!” Igou choked on air, quickly apologising before sending a stunned look towards his friend after hearing what Saeko mentioned. Only for the blue-haired man to make an X gesture with his arms, shaking his head vigorously at what the boy had misunderstood. This, thankfully, made Igou release a sigh of relief.

Takashi remained oblivious of the conversation with the sound of wind and the car's engine filling his ears — Alice had long since fallen asleep.

As for Rei, her previous smug look immediately disappeared and was now replaced with pure frustration. Eyes lingering on Saeko’s body, the woman was sitting perfectly relaxed within the car and showing off a figure that few could not admire. Biting her lips, she whispered low enough that only two people in the car overhead could hear, “Stay in your lane. Or else, next time, I'll leave the door open so you can get the message loud and clear.”

Not backing down, Saeko returned. “And I'll make sure to mine lock for any unwanted intruders.”

Okay, this was getting scary real quick.

“Cough! Cough!” Now it was the Irishman's turn to let out several coughs, “Well, would you look at that, it feels like we've nearly arrived at our destination. Stand ready, you lot!”

He didn’t even need to look back to know the purple-haired swordswoman was giving him that strained, half-playful smile and, Rei, one with suspicion despite how far he went yesterday to prove her otherwise.

"Look out for anything unusual," he said again, cutting through the growing tension that had settled over the two girls. "We’ll be reaching Saya’s house soon. Did you finish mapping the route, Takashi!?"

Takashi climbed back down with a notebook, a map with several lines drawn on it, and a pen in hand. "Everything’s noted. Can't say it will remain the same after we bring the others here." He confirmed. "Also, it looks like the number of undead is rising the closer we get. Must be drawn by all the noise and the gunfire in the distance."

He gave a small nod at that, his eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on the road ahead. Having long since picked up the sounds of gunshots as well, several of them in fact.

“Seems like it,” muttered the man while stretching his neck, spotting what Takashi had seen earlier. A growing number of undead were moving in the same direction, their movements sluggish. Just as Takashi mentioned, the density of the horde increased the further they went. It wasn’t overwhelming yet, but it was clear that things were starting to build up.

“—!”

“Shit!”

Then, from out of the blue, came a thunderous explosion in the distance. Fire erupted in the distance, a plume of dark smoke rising into the air as the shockwave followed soon after, rattling the armored vehicle hard enough to make the metal groan.

“That must be it! Quick, let’s go!”

Igou slammed his foot on the pedal, the engine roaring as the vehicle shot forward toward the Takagi estate. The humming deepened into a furious growl as the car tore down the road and some walking corpses, cutting through the air at breakneck speed. It didn’t take long for him to understand what was going on or to see the reason for the chaos ahead.

“Shit, things are looking bad!” Igou shouted.

At the far end of the road leading to the estate, the sight was grim. The grounds were swarming with undead, nearly a thousand of them crowding near the walls. Most were drawn by the fires and the sound of gunfire echoing from inside rather than focusing on the armored vehicle. A few lunged toward them, but the reinforced frame made their efforts useless.

“Doesn’t look like they’ve breached completely,” Takashi said while peering through a pair of binoculars. “Only the front line’s gone down so far.”

“What should we do?” Rei asked, worry etched on her face. Her earlier discomfort had long vanished, replaced by alert focus.

“What to do…” Cu repeated softly before giving a brief nod. “Move back a bit, Takashi. I’ll handle it.”

He reached for a small leather pouch beside his seat, the faint sound of pebbles shifting inside it. As he stepped out through the back, Rei moved aside to give him space, but Saeko didn’t. She stayed seated, her calm gaze fixed on him as she pressed her palm against his chest, stopping him momentarily.

“What are you planning to do?” she asked, her tone firm. “I hope you aren't going to once again go ahead without anyone covering for you. Magic or not, I can still be useful.”

Cu looked back at her with a small, restrained grin. “Well, I’d hate to see Saya in tears if she found out her family died while we stood here watching. And we kind of need that estate standing for everyone’s sake, don’t we?”

“That’s not what I asked,” she replied, voice sharp.

“Just sit back and enjoy the show,” he said simply. “You'll know when to join.”

Saeko held his gaze for a moment, then gave a quiet hum before pulling back. Takashi had already retreated inside the car, sitting with Alice beside him. The little girl clutched Zeke tightly until the dog wriggled free and climbed up onto her shoulders, barking once before settling down. The small scene made Cu chuckle faintly before he turned away.

“Alright then.”

With a light grunt, he climbed through the roof hatch and emerged on top of the car. He pulled his spear free, its polished head glinting faintly under the sunlight. From up there, he had a clear view of the road and the wall of undead blocking the bridge.

“Hey, how tough would you say this car is compared to the one you used yesterday to ram through that horde?” he called down.

“Well, it’s not exactly a tank,” Igou shouted back, “but it’s close enough to take a hit or two! Just like earlier!”

“That’s good enough. Just make sure it gets there and doesn’t die halfway.”

“I was planning to anyway!” he replied, gripping the wheel tighter.

The engine howled again, and Cu planted his boots firmly on the roof to keep balance as the vehicle surged forward towards the vast number of zombies. Just before the impact was immediate, he quickly traced a few runic characters along the metal hull of the vehicle, a quick usage of strengthening the frame since they still needed the car for later use. Bodies slammed against the steel frame, bones cracking and blood splattering across the hood. The armored beast plowed through the horde like a knife through wet clay, the undead crushed under its weight or thrown aside or into the air.

Cu’s spear moved in a blur, thrusting, spinning, slashing anything and everything ahead. Every swing tore through rotting flesh, every strike clearing another patch of road. “Keep driving! Don’t stop until I tell you!” he yelled.

He continued cutting down anything that came close, his movements efficient and unbroken. As they neared the mansion, he saw what the fire had done—flames had trapped several survivors behind the burning gates, leaving them no way out. Cu reached into the small pouch again, pulling out a handful of runed stones.

“Ansuz,” he whispered.

The runes pulsed faintly as he hurled them skyward. In an instant, the sky above them gleamed white, the stones flashing like falling stars before they exploded one after another. The ground shook as several dozen undead were torn apart by the blasts, their remains scattered amid spreading fire.

The vehicle burst through what was left of the barricade, clearing a path for those trapped inside. Cu leapt from the roof, jumping ahead of the car by a good distance. Smoke rolled past him, the stench of burning rot filling the air.

As he straightened, his eyes caught sight of someone standing at the far end of the yard. Recognition flickered immediately. He hadn’t seen this person in quite some time, and of course, the guy had his sword nearly unsheathed like last time… he wondered if this was going to become their way of greeting each other as he pushed the katana back inside the scabbard with his foot as soon as he landed.

“Yo, old man,” he said with a small grin, spear resting on his shoulder. “Long time no see. Still got that sharp frown on your face, I see, and still looking as uptight as ever. Anyway, came here to help ya out.”

.

.

.

(A few minutes later)

"Barricade the opening! Keep our defenses tight and make sure there are no gaps for these creatures to exploit! Don't fire all at once; only Kyo’s squad is cleared to shoot! Avoid aiming toward the center! Everyone, focus on closing up the hole as fast as possible and reinforce our defences after you've put out the fire!"

Soichiro Takagi had never been a believer in miracles or luck. In his eyes, everything worth achieving came through hard work and persistence. Miracles were for the desperate, and relying on them could easily cost lives. When the first breach occurred, he had been prepared to give his own life if it meant protecting others, fully ready to leave command in his wife’s capable hands. He hadn’t expected the tides to shift, nor for hope to return in such a way. Yet here he was, shouting orders while watching the heir of his swordsmanship master’s clan carve through the undead like it was second nature.

The young woman’s swordplay was a perfect display of the Busujima fighting style, clean, efficient, merciless. Even in the raging fire, he found himself pausing to admire her technique for someone so young. She reminded him of her Master Busujima in his prime, every movement a testament to the training and discipline passed down through generations.

But despite her ferocity, she was not the one who drew every eye. There was another anomaly among them, a man whose presence felt nothing short of unnatural. Watching him fight stirred a cold unease in Soichiro’s chest. If Saeko's style were to be graceful and merciless, it could be compared to nothing less than a blender. The way the spear moved in his hands was terrifyingly fast, as if it weighed nothing. No wasted energy, no unnecessary flair, just raw, overwhelming power. With a single, smooth swing, he could tear through several undead at once, heads flying before anyone had time to blink.

"He doesn’t even feel human," Soichiro muttered under his breath, unable to look away. The man lifted his spear mid-swing, bodies already skewered on it, and held it effortlessly in one hand as if it weighed nothing. When he ran out of targets, he simply grabbed one of the undead by the neck, hurled it into a cluster of others, and sent them scattering like bowling pins — yet he smiled the entire time. Soichiro’s eyes struggled to keep up. By the time he caught a glimpse of the man again, dozens of corpses already littered the ground, all cleanly cleaved apart. Not a single trace of blood clung to him.

But that previous pure steel coloured spear, every inch of it, dyed pure crimson with the blood practically clinging to it stubbornly, regardless of how fast he swung it.

"Do you know him?" his wife, Yuriko, asked, standing close beside him. Her voice carried both curiosity, looking a bit haggard after running around helping the others to put out the fire.

"I… I don’t," he admitted quietly. He had once planned to have his men gather information about this mysterious figure after a brief encounter at the shrine, but the outbreak had erased all such plans. Now, watching the man fight, Soichiro realized he had severely underestimated him and should have continued his endeavour.

"They look like high school students," his wife observed, eyes drifting toward a parked Humvee where two others were stepping down, followed by a young girl who couldn’t have been older than ten. The sight didn’t bring comfort; if anything, a chill crept deeper into his chest when the person he hoped to see was not amongst them.

"Takashi is with them," Yuriko whispered under her breath after noticing the son of her close friend.

With him, Soichiro's first instinct was to rush over, grab the young man by the collar, and demand answers about his daughter, where she was, whether she was still alive, but duty chained him in place. His men needed him here; the others were still fighting, and he couldn’t abandon them for his own worries.

Grinding his teeth, he pushed forward, ignoring his wife’s call behind him. Drawing his blade, frustration and fear fueling his movements, and cut down the nearest zombie with a clean strike across its neck.

“Ha!”

At least the sensation of executing a few of them managed to keep his negative emotions in control, allowing some of the lost calmness to return with each swing.

"Joining the fight, old man?" a voice called out nearby, eyes twitching at repeatedly being called old man. While not young anymore, his still held enough vigor and muscles to fight all day if needed. "Sorry to tell you, there aren’t many left. My runes earlier kind of killed most of them. Your people have nearly finished setting up the first defense line."

Runes? He was curious as to what kind of grenades were capable of delivering such a high charge; the shockwave alone was enough to rattle his bones. But runes… this was the first time he had such a weapon. How had the boy gotten hold of such dangerous items? Perhaps the same place he got that Humvee… the American military veteran in Tokonosu never made mention of such a dangerous weapon being brought into his home.

He'd have a word with her later.

"I know," he replied, keeping his focus on the next wave. Every motion of his sword followed the teachings of the Busujima school and his master’s guidance. His eyes, however, betrayed him, drifting toward the young girl again. She fought with a wooden weapon, but her stance and movement mirrored the same discipline. Had it been a real sword, she would have been formidable.

Just as he was about to ask more questions, a hand patted his shoulders.

"Don’t make that face," the spear-wielding man said, walking past him with a calm face. "Your daughter may not be here, but she’s alive. Probably screaming someone's ear off with her nagging back at school." He paused, resting the spear on his shoulder. "Oh, by the way, my name’s Seth, but you can call me Cu. I just realized we never properly introduced ourselves.”

"Soichiro… Takagi Soichiro." He answered as they slowly retreated, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword. He shoved the tip of the blade into the face of one of the last undead, then pulled it free and wiped the metal on a cloth he kept at his belt. Around them, the last sandbags were laid, and the metal wire and wooden barricade were being secured with several men adding more bricks and cement to reinforce it further.

Tch, not just ammunition, they were also running out of such resources. But that was a problem for another time.

"We did it? The walls are secured?"

“Fuck yeah they are!”

“I really thought I was gonna die back there! Hahahahaha!”

“Stop celebrating and keep working!”

Many of his men shouted simultaneously. Their words soon broke into a unanimous cheer that rolled over the big compound. People jumped and some fired bullets into the air in short, careless bursts — only to be punched in the face by others to avoid attracting more of those zombies. The front-line men, who had stood ready for death until that minute, let out laughter that sounded less like triumph and more like relief, and their joy spread quickly. Soichiro felt the urge to scold them for wasting ammunition and making noise, but he had more important matters to attend to right now.

"Honestly, you say you can maintain your calm, and then you still have moments where you just throw that tantrum." His wife stepped forward, a napkin in hand. She brushed the sweat and a smear of blood from his temple with an exactness that made the motion look almost routine. He smiled as she cleaned him; he could not deny the comfort in her hands.

"I'm not afraid when you're here," he said.

"Do that again and I'll be the one sticking a sword in your guts." She said it gently, but the threat was plain. A laugh threatened to come free from him, but he kept it down. He let his shoulders relax for the first time in hours. "Our daughter is alive."

"Of course she is." She rolled her eyes, not at all surprised by the news. "She is my daughter. I have told you a dozen times that a small thing like this will not kill Saya. If she is not with the main group, then she is with another. She probably told them to regroup or to take supplies. I know that girl better than anyone, even better than you do."

"She is stubborn," he conceded. Only his wife would describe a literal outbreak that brought the world on its knees ‘a small thing’. "So it seems."

He let her finish and adjusted his stained clothes. He turned toward the newcomers, heading over, wanting to say several things on his mind but then he paused. The sight of the blue haired boy who he now knew was Seth, among the new arrivals, took his attention. The person bent to a purple-haired girl and, without hesitating, smoothed a handkerchief across her cheek, removing flecks of blood and a smear of dust. That contrast surprised Soichiro; the newcomer had been in the thick of the fighting and had killed more of the creatures than any of them, but he wore almost no blood. The lack of gore on his clothes just ended up making him feel more of a monster than his initial impression.

Not everyone liked the man's actions. An orange-brown haired student with a familiar face stepped forward, the Takagi patriarch could not place the face at first but she definitely felt familiar… She pushed both the man's hands and her own aside, grabbed the handkerchief, and wiped the girl's face with a rougher motion. Cu only smiled at the interference. The orange-brown student muttered something under her breath as she worked.

The blue-haired boy nearby laughed, and the other one beside him joined with a quieter chuckle. Takashi, who had been watching at the edge of the group, simply shook his head.

"Welcome to the Takagi estate," he said, finally walking over and bowing slightly, a tired, formal movement he seldom offered. "First, I want to thank you for your help. If not for you, I would have lost a dozen good men who have families inside these walls. Not only did you save lives, you kept this place standing until more help could arrive. Second, thank you for the news about my daughter. I am glad to see all of you alive."

The bow was simple. He was not a man given to public displays, but the students, as he kept thinking of them, had earned the gesture. He no longer cared for the maintenance of image.

"No. Don't worry, old man," one of the newcomers replied, waving a hand as he wrapped the tip of a spear in cloth. "Saya wouldn't want to see her family die. But, we will ask you for help in return. Think of this as an exchange for saving your people's skin from turning into rotten undead. Consider it an advance payment from our end… also it's a favour I want to cash in right now."

The way Cu wrapped his spear and secured it in the back of a vehicle told him more about their plans than words would have. They were not staying long.

"I understand," he said, nodding toward the estate behind him along with all his personnels. "The entire Takagi estate is at your disposal."

A few moments earlier, he would have taken a different course. He would have stepped forward to die for the men who sheltered here. He would have thrown himself into a gap and held it with his body. These people might be the ones to find and bring back his daughter and the others. That possibility left no room for hesitation. He would do whatever it took to let them go and return with her.

{Break}

(A few hours later)

-Fujimi Academy-

"Is it just me, or have we been getting less food lately?" Kohta asked as he and the rest of the students sat inside the gymnasium, their makeshift shelter since the outbreak began. The wide space had turned into their base of operations, with desks, blankets, and classroom furniture scavenged to create crude beds, small dividers for privacy, and even a corner that served as a dining area. It was far from comfortable, but it gave them something to hold on to, something to keep their minds away from the outside and the constant worry about their missing families.

"Half a melon bread and some water from the faucet that hasn’t even been boiled, for goodness’ sake," Saya muttered beside him. She took a reluctant bite of the stale bread, her expression twisting in disgust, yet she kept chewing. After a few bites, she washed it down with several gulps of lukewarm water. “I miss the existence of convenience stores and ready made food that can at least be warm.”

“Melon bread can stay good for several days.”

“Shut up!” She snapped at him, making the boy shrink back. “I know for a fact we have more food that will perish earlier than melon bread! That is what we should be consuming rather than this! How the hell did our supplies drop this fast? It’s barely been two days, and we should still have enough left," she continued, glancing toward the storage area marked by overturned tables and stacked crates.

"I… I still don't think that the bread is so bad," he added with a small pout, actually liking the taste, trying to sound casual as he bit into his portion. The flavor was not that bland, the texture still soft, he just felt that the girl was perhaps a bit too spoiled with expensive stuff. "At least I might lose some weight this wa—Ouch!"

The comment earned him a light smack on the head from the pink-haired, twin-tailed girl sitting across from him. Her glare was enough to shut him up before he dug his own grave any deeper.

"When are those five going to be back already?" she said, clearly irritated. "They were just supposed to check if the road to the Takagi estate was clear. It’s almost noon the next day now, and I don’t like leaving this place under those idiots’ watch."

Her eyes flicked toward the back of the gymnasium, where another group of students sat together, chatting in low tones. Their numbers had grown lately, and most of them seemed to have drifted away from their side of the group. Kohta noticed something off about them. The food on their side looked more plentiful: sandwiches, snacks, and what smelled suspiciously like yakisoba bread. They looked far too energetic for people supposedly running low on supplies.

Shido, as usual, was nowhere to be found. Kohta didn’t particularly care to know where that man had gone. He had more pressing things to handle, like making sure the tension in the group didn’t explode into something worse. Picking up a paper bag with the other piece of melon bread he managed to sneak out, then making his way over to Kyoko, who was talking quietly with both Fumiko and Momo.

"Sensei, you haven’t eaten since yesterday evening. At least have something," he said, holding the bread out to her.

Their once composed and confident teacher looked tired. Her usually neat hair was now a little unkempt, and the dark circles under her eyes stood out. Even so, she still carried herself with a kind of natural grace that hadn’t faded despite the exhaustion. It didn't help that she had taken off her bloodied suit and put on just a shirt borrowed from one of the girls that emphasized her assets. He was no pervert, but it was hard not to have his eyes end up lingering over her chest from time to time.

No wonder half the male teachers in this school were pursuing her.

"Oh, Hirano, that’s kind of you, but I’m not hungry," she replied softly. "You should eat it yourself. You’re still a growing boy, and it’s important to have proper meals, even in times like these. Missing a day for someone my age isn’t the end of the world, and I’ve been meaning to cut down a bit anyway."

She tried to make light of it, smiling faintly, but the attempt only made him feel worse. He wasn’t particularly close to her, and he remembered how few teachers had ever bothered to help him when he was bullied — the woman herself barely did much outside of having him report this matter to the dean. Yet now, she was thinking about her students before herself. It kind of changed the image he had of her earlier on, perhaps she did not ignore him deliberately…

He sighed quietly. "Aren’t teachers supposed to get a bigger portion? Or at least something better than this?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

The brunette shook her head. "No, it's just... I told them to redistribute my share to those who might need it more. If I get hungry, I can always ask later, but for now, I’m perfectly fine." It wasn't exactly a mystery on why she acted this way, especially after watching how often she glanced toward the gate, just like she used to during the first days of the outbreak, waiting for a certain someone to return.

"Sensei," he continued, "I may not have known Cu for that long, but I feel like he’s more than capable of handling himself. Maybe they had to take a break and hide inside one of the abandoned houses to avoid trouble during the night. Or maybe they already reached their destination and are helping the Takagi group."

The woman managed a faint smile. "I’m glad you think so. Yes, he is capable, but in times like these, no one can ever be fully prepared. I’m starting to regret letting students go outside on their own and risk their lives like that. I should have stopped them... I’m a failure as a teacher."

"It’s not your fault, and we still need to—"

"WHERE THE FUCK IS AIMI!?"

The sudden roar interrupted him. The shout came from the behind, followed by the sharp crash of glass breaking. An entire desk came flying into the gym, smashing into the floor and splintering apart. Students screamed and scrambled for cover, narrowly avoiding the shards and debris scattered across the ground.

Kyoko, Kohta, and several others turned toward the entrance, their expressions frozen in disbelief. A familiar figure with a large frame, dark-skinned stepped into view, muscles tense beneath his sleeveless shirt. His arms were covered in tattoos, a bandana tied tightly around his head, and his eyes burned with fury.

"Yoshito?" Kohta muttered, recognizing him as one of the survivors Cu brought along and someone that he had gotten along with in recent days. Now that he thought about it, the man had practically disappeared since earlier this morning, he had been searching for him to see if he could help out with finishing his project but couldn't find him.

"What the hell is your problem!?” Takayama, their gym teacher, barked as he stepped forward. "Making a scene like this will only fucking attract more of those things and put everyone here in danger! What the hell are you thinking, brat!?"

For someone like Kohta, that man had always been intimidating. His opinion of him was far from good, given that most of the students who bullied him were the very same ones Takayama often got along with. Even when he had tried to report them, the teacher’s response had been nothing short of humiliating — a look of disgust followed by words that still rang in his head; they weren’t wrong, they were just trying to make him lose weight for his own good. From that day onward, Kohta had done everything he could to avoid the man, skipping gym whenever possible. And now, faced with the teacher’s anger, he had no idea what was going to happen.

"I don't give a crap about the zombies, and don’t you dare try to change the subject! Where the hell is my sister?" Yoshito ignored the shouts and glares aimed towards him. "I know you bastards took her! I searched the whole damn night, and a few of those idiots said the last place they saw her was down the hallway after I beat the truth out of them. So if you don't want to see your insides and have your entire body turn black and blue — you better spill the beans, fucker.”

“Eh, Aimi?” The name sparked a memory. Kohta recalled assigning her a small errand yesterday, though it wasn’t her who had returned with the supplies. Another student had come instead, saying that the girl had stayed behind to help elsewhere. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it with both him and Yoshito taking the story as it was given. Now that he thought about it, she had not even arrived at the gymnasium to get her rations… “Damn it, how did I miss that!?”

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to bash his head for having overlooked something so important. He even spoke with their grandparents earlier! Now, seeing how Yoshito was behaving, there was no chance this thing was going to end peacefully any time soon. Immediately, he held out an arm to stop Kyoko as she started to step forward.

"What is it?" she asked, startled by his sudden action.

"Please don’t go there," he said quietly. "You’ll only make it worse."

“How could you say that? Those people are arguing and there is a child missing! As a teacher I can't just ignore it.” She insisted, only for him to shake his head once more with a difficult expression soon coming over.

“I'll… I'll find a way to deal with this.” He said, seeing how some of the boys who used to believe him started to surround the sole Yoshito. And he knew full well that these people were not the type to talk, and given the overall atmosphere, he doubted it would get better anytime soon. “Just stay here, I'll be back in a second, please. You two, please keep an eye on her!” He said while heading out of the building with Momo and Fumiko weaving at him.

“Don't worry, we've been babysitting her all day after all.” Momo exclaimed, much to the dismay of the brunette who looked in disbelief at the young girl who just made a small mischievous face.

As for the argument, it kept turning uglier by the second.

"I have no idea where your sister is!" Takayama shouted back. "It’s your job to look after her, not ours! And you actually dare to raise your hands on my students? Are you looking to die, punk!?"

"Save the intimidation for another sucker, I know you're kind, the type who likes to talk all day!" came the enraged reply. “I am doing this for Aniki’s sake or else I would have long since bashed your head against the wall. Where. Is. Aimi?”

Before the shouting could go any further, Saya of all people stepped in. "Honestly, I was willing to overlook the fact that you’ve been hoarding supplies and using them to buy people’s favor, while leaving those you dislike with barely anything. I tolerated it because this is supposed to be temporary, and I figured I’d never have to deal with you again once help arrived. But kidnapping a child? That’s beyond stupid even for you."

"You’re accusing us without any proof!" one of the boys snapped, his tone defensive. Another stepped beside him, taking Takayama’s side. "Ask anyone here. We were just helping out to keep things organized. We wouldn’t do something like that! The only reason we give others more food is because they are doing more work around here, unlike you."

She scoffed, “What work? We already brought all our supplies from the cafeteria to here. None of you have the balls to stand even ten meters near the gate outside and the only work you've been doing is showering Shido with praises while he goes god knows where. Just tell us, where is the girl.”

“What's your tone, Takagi!” Takayama shouted, only for her to roll her eyes. “Are you honestly trusting a random stranger over your fellow students and teacher? This is below you, aren't you ashamed?”

“I told you, she's just salty that she is not the one in charge. Such a control freak.” One of the girls whispered at the back.

“She's always been like this and now is even turning her back against her fellow students.”

“It's all because of Rei, she's the one who influenced them to become like this and now left us to deal with the issue by ourselves.”

Hearing each and every word that came out of their mouth, only fuelled the anger in Yoshito's eyes and the frustration with Saya who couldn't help but massage her temples. “Are we seriously going through this again? Just how desperate can you all be to no longer have any capability for critical thinking when you need it the most? We already have a plan to move somewhere safe and you all are already losing your minds.”

“Please step out of the way, Aneki… These people aren't going to talk. Maybe a few punches to the skull will make them. I am not leaving till I see Aimi.”

Some of the students flinched and backed away from his obviously intimidating presents, but others stood their ground and were prepared to confront him physically.

Before anyone could respond further, a calm yet mocking voice echoed from the corridor. "What is this commotion? You all know it’s dangerous to make so much noise. We wouldn’t want the already weakened gate to give out and let the monsters join us inside our precious school, would we?"

The moment that voice sounded, the tension shifted. Many of the students visibly relaxed at the sight of the lanky man walking in with now another girl aside from Miku clinging to his side. Both girls with which he walked along calmly, without even caring how wrong the image looked… especially when Saya’s eyes immediately zoned in on the roughness of their clothing and the clear signs of sweating on all three as if they had ran a marathon.

Her face scrunched up upon realising the truth. “Disgusting bastard.”

Miku herself had the reputation of using her body to get what she wanted in school for quite a while, so that did not surprise her. But rather at how nonchalant the guy looked walking in, holding two girls without any attempts to hide it.

Furthermore, most of the students in his group did not even seem to care. Some even looked at him with admiration much to her disbelief.

"Oh, it’s the hoodlum that our friend Seth took in," Shido said smoothly, pushing his glasses up with a polished smile. "Causing trouble for innocent students who were only trying to stay calm during these trying times. Have you no shame?" He sighed, shaking his head before turning toward Saya. "And you too, Takagi Saya. I expected better from someone of such a well-known family. Throwing baseless accusations around and making others uncomfortable... disappointing, truly."

Saya’s eyes narrowed. "You’ve gotten awfully comfortable with the students, haven’t you?" she said sharply, her gaze flicking back toward the two girls practically clinging to him on either side, their expressions sickeningly adoring. "Some teacher you are. What, gonna start your own little harem?"

"Don't speak like that to sensei!" Shouted Miku sharply. The other girl, whose name escaped Saya, only nodded and smiled.

"If it were not for him, I would have lost all the hope and given up on life. But he has shown me the truth and helped me relieve the burden within my mind when others couldn't. Ever since this started, he has spent countless hours and sleepless nights just to make us feel better and at ease, you have no idea what you're saying."

For a long breath neither she nor Yoshito answered. "Urgh, you're one of those… huh. We are not doing this again," she said after a few seconds of silence.

"You do not know what you are saying," Miku replied, annoyingly having her voice sound softer than it usually sounded. "You are starting to behave like Rei. I know you are better than that."

"You do not know me," Saya shot back. "And do not pretend you do. Do not pretend to be understanding. Do not think I do not know about how you are sleeping with him behind people's backs to become his mistress and get everything. Now he got another to join in through lies and your manipulation, most likely. Stupid slut."

“—!”

The accusation landed like a stone. Outrage rose at once from the group, louder than the words required, a chorus of shocked voices and angry shouts. Yoshito stepped forward, palms open, trying to put himself between the woman and the others. "Back away," he said, but his voice was swallowed by the noise.

"How dare you?" one of the boys cried. "You are accusing Yuki!?"

"Look at yourself," someone answered. "Who put you in charge anyway? Are you accusing her of such things because you're also guilty of doing it yourself? I saw you go over to the rooftop all by yourself the night before he left, sure must have been worth it to sleep with him just so you can put you in charge for no reason whatsoever!"

“Look in the mirror yourself!”

“I always couldn't stand her, bossing everyone around as if she's some sort of big deal just because of who her family is.”

“There is no guarantee that they even survive this outbreak when the military itself failed! So she has nothing backing her up, why are we even listening to her?”

“Yeah, she should just shut the fuck up!”

Yoshito moved to step in, having reached his limit dealing with these people and immediately pushing several people to the side with all his strength before grabbing onto Shido by the collar with enough strength to practically lift the man up from the ground. "You bastard," he snarled. "Tell me where my sister is, cause I swear I am this close from just smashing your head to the ground.”

“Have you any idea what you are doing!?”

“Oi! Pull him away, you idiots! What are you all waiting for!?”

Several hands grabbed onto him, trying to pry them away.

Shido let out a short, contemptuous laugh. "You act like I would have some reason to harm her or have any interest whatsoever in a girl who is not even from this school. Someone like you, who could not keep an eye on his own sister, I even received words that she tried to steal what little food we have left and nearly starved the others. If one of my students had not come by, we would not even have caught her in the act. Unfortunately, as far as I know, she ran away."

"Liar, you do know where she is," the man shot back. Only for Shido to lean in and whisper silently to his ears.

"It is my job as a teacher to make her learn her lesson and to maintain control," Shido said. "And I am certain that trying to antagonize everyone here will not lead to the best outcome. You would be wise to not ignore me and not get in my way… perhaps your sister might just end up coming back after seeing things have calmed down finally. Think carefully."

“You!”

At that the shouts rose again, Yoshito's hands going for Shido's throat and practically strangling the guy. Leading the rest of the students to panick and use every desperate way to pry him off. With one even grabbing a chair and slamming it against Yoshito's back.

“Argh!” The pain alone was enough to make him release his hold of Shido.

"Pull him away now!" someone shouted. More boys pushed toward him, and their combined hold of his limbs and many going so far as to continue kicking him made it hard to breathe. He raised his arms to shield himself and the few people closest to him. The blows came, not hard but constant, enough to wear him down.

"H-Hey, stop it!" Momo called, moving forward. "Are you crazy!? You're going to kill him at this rate! Stop it! Get off of him!"

Of course, the others were not going to sit idly by and let it happen. Momo tried to pull the crowd into reason; Fumiko and Kyoko edged in beside her. For a few seconds their words had no effect, but Kyoko's presence still had some weight and that moment of hesitation was all that Momo needed to pull Yoshito away with Saya's help.

"You have gone crazy, Shido," Kyoko said, voice low. "Violence like this cannot be tolerated. What is this about his young sister and what do you know about this matter?"

Shido paused, surprised. For an instant his anger lost its shape. He breathed out, slow while massaging his throat. "You are right. This cannot continue," he said, and then he turned his attention back to the students as if addressing an assembly rather than a mob.

"My dear students," he began, voice carrying now and clear, "it has become obvious that some people will take drastic actions to get their way, whether we want it or not. Seth has clearly made a mistake, allowing not only a street rat but also a gangster to have a place to stay and sleep here. Eat our food and then accuse us of things we have not done. Then becoming violent upon not getting the answer he wants before going so far as to attempt at ending my life. Will you allow this to continue?"

"No!” they shouted in unison.

"Then if you wish to remain safe and whole, we must take control before things fall apart further. In such trying times, making a harsh decision is a must if we have any hope of surviving together and making our way back to our loved ones. I know many amongst you all miss them dearly, not a day goes by where I feel your burden and the need to fix this issue." A few already started to cry, his words triggering their emotions they kept bottled up. “But for us to reach this goal, we must continue to remain in control and not let random strangers tear all our hard work apart. To not let this place be plunged into anarchy ruled by an iron fist.”

Many of them cheered, especially Takayama and his group agreeing with the teacher. Immediately, Saya had a bad feeling Bout this… especially when several students surrounded them. With Yoshito barely managing to get back on his feet, when saying while holding his stomach from the attacks earlier.

“Get away from him, Takagi.” Said the coach, “He's dangerous to keep around.”

“Dangerous? What are you planning on doing?” She did not budge, even though her instincts were telling her to not pursue this matter for her own sake.

“Something that should have been done long ago. Why are we allowing a dangerous individual here when we can barely take care of ourselves? And now this person even tried to kill Shido… He is actively endangering the students' lives by staying here. We have to make a difficult choice and this will also help us extend what little rations we have left.”

“Endange—that’s pure nonsense!” She argued back, starting to realise what these people were aiming to accomplish and being completely horrified by that idea. “Are you seriously thinking about throwing him out!? He was just worried about his sister!”

“That does not give him the reason to try and strangle a teacher! If he behaves like that with them, then what stops him from doing so with the rest of us?” One of the students exclaimed from the back, several others soon voicing out the same worry. Even those that kept their silence already made their stands by just looking away. The very few who did not agree with it, were helpless to make any sort of changes.

“Help from ny family can arrive at any moment, we don't need to plan for several days like many of you are thinking! All of you are just being hysterical! H-Hey!” Whatever she was about to say next was left unheard when Takayama just pushed her to decide, the young girl falling to her knees and watching in disbelief as they made their way towards Yoshito. Pushing away Momo and Fumiko as well.

“Get your hands off me! You won't get rid of me until I find my sister!” Yoshito tried to fight back, but in his current state, couldn't put up much of a fight. His prior bruises flaring up and making it impossible to hold his own. Especially against several dozens of men ganging up on him and willing to use force.

Just as Saya felt like she had no options left to turn this situation around, a faint whistling noise came from nearby.

“A-argh!”

A sudden cry cut through, with Takayama staggering to the ground, hand pressed against his right hand. “W-Wha—hngh! Aah!” A nail had driven through his palm, a jagged piece of metal sunk into flesh. Blood welled slowly, dark and wet.

“Kya!” For a few seconds no one could process what had happened before pure chaos erupted and everyone that was near Yoshito immediately put some space between them and him. Some even fainted or tripped to the ground in pure panic.

“Everyone back away!”

Heads turned as one and all of them found Kohta standing at the entrance, with his makeshift nail gun held steady in his hands.

“Ah!”

He aimed and fired again, several projectiles this time punching through the wooden floor and scaring everyone away to the back of the gymnasium with Shido and Miku who remained stunned in place. The chamber had already reloaded with a soft, mechanical click. He raised the weapon again with little effort.

"All right, now," Kohta continued. "I will shoot another one if you keep this up. If you thought that Cu put Saya in charge, then think again. Until he comes back, none of you are to move or try anything funny."

The group stood frozen, slack-jawed, with Takayama still struggling from the shot. “A-A gun! He shot me! He shot me! Help! I don't want to die!”

“He's going to kill us!”

“Mommy!”

“Put the gun down, Hirano.” Surprisingly, Shido was the one to talk, raising both hands up with a smile on his face. “I must admit, it is quite the surprise to see you get your hands on something so dangerous. Did you make it yourself? I am impressed, this is truly something that needs to be praised and an excellent tool that will help us be set free from our current predicament. We just had a small disagreement, there's no need to fire any more shots and hurt your fellow students and teachers. We can talk this out peacefully.”

“W-What are you saying!? He shot me! He is working for that gangster! They will kill us all!” Takayama shouted, only to be completely ignored.

“I said don't move,” much to the bespectacled teacher's disappointment, Kohta had no plans on lowering the weapon. Having barely been able to rush to the room on the third floor of the school building and return with his creation, expecting to just use it to scare a few into compliance but instead met with the horrifying sight of these people planning on throwing Yoshito outside.

“You would threaten your classmates and teacher with a weapon?”

“This is just for our safety. I didn't have any plans on using it, but you all kind of forced my hand.” He spared a couple of glances at the coach, “and he won't die. Just removing the nail and disinfecting the area will be more than enough. None of the ammunition is rusted for him to catch tetanus… I think.”

Shido said nothing in return.

“You okay?” He asked the man, wincing when he saw the amount of bruises on his body while keeping his gun aimed at the group just in case anyone tried anything funny. “Sorry I was a bit late.”

Yoshito shook his head, groaning while he clenched his teeth. “Just… just ask him where Aimi is… please… I searched everywhere… but couldnt… find her…”

To be honest, that was his goal from the beginning. So he brought his attention back to the teacher. “You heard him. Where is she?”

Again, Shido remained calm and shook his head. “I… have no idea.”

“THIS FUCKER!”

“Ah!”

Kohta did not have enough time to react, the person next to him enraged and reached the end of his wits, getting back up through sheer will and pushing back against the pain. Immediately snatching the gun away from his grasp and aimed straight at Shido…

And then pulled the trigger.

Steel Eyed Faker Chapter 23: Evolution Part 1

Fully beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and S

Hound of the Dead Chapter 16.5: Steamy Night

Not beta read yet.

This was what I wanted to add at the end of chapter 16 but couldn't finish it in time. Damn, 3 updates with a total wordcount of 20k, I'm tired.

Anyways, next update will be either SEF or Hound.

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-Tokonosu- 


Truth be told, this was not actually Cu's first time lying with a woman in this new body of his. While far less active than he had been in his original life, back when he was still a youth learning how to fight properly under the guidance of his teacher, that never meant he had suddenly transformed into a saint. 


Having indulged before even arriving in this town, though only once since awakening in this form. In his hometown, he can still remember a night where he was at a drinking party, sharing company with a pleasant barmaid. They ended up spending the night together, mostly drinking and talking. One thing led to another, her intentions were clear, and he had no reason to deny her—thus ending up sharing a room together. Morning came, and they parted, neither seeking anything beyond physical satisfaction. It had not been romantic in any real sense between two people who needed a release. They kept in touch for a short while before she moved on, and so did he.


Now, that memory resurfaced faintly before being buried once again, replaced entirely by the sight of the girl before him. He leaned down and kissed Rei, soft at first, cautious so she would not feel overwhelmed. It was meant to be slow, a way of letting her adjust. 


At least, that had been the plan. “—!?” Her reaction, however, kinda threw that gentle approach right out of the window. She pressed against him with sudden urgency, her arms circling his neck with surprising strength, her fingers threading through his hair while her legs tightened around his waist. Her lips moved hungrily against his own, and soon her tongue sought his, eager and with the taste of beer. He resisted giving her control, meeting her insistence with his own steady rhythm, not allowing her to win so easily.


For nearly a full minute, the kiss carried on, the room filling with the muffled sounds of wet lips, uneven breaths, and the occasional moan that slipped past her restraint. When at last she broke away, her chest rising, a thin string of saliva lingered between them. Her eyes were glazed, as though hazy from both sensation and disbelief. She whispered, almost too softly, “That was… that was my first kiss.” The words sounded almost timid, which clashed completely with the way she had thrown herself into the embrace.


He chuckled, the sound carrying amusement and faint honesty. “Hard to believe, with how aggressive you were, lass. I nearly lost my balance there for a second. Either you’re frighteningly good for a beginner, or I’ve let myself grow sloppy since my younger days.” Tilting his head, he added with a trace of curiosity, “That really was your first time?”


“Y-Yes! Why would I lie about something so important?” she shot back, her tone touched with annoyance. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, smirking slightly at her reaction.


“Calm down, I was only asking. You caught me off guard, that’s all. Honestly, that felt better than I expected.”


Her eyes widened slightly. “It felt good?”


“Of course,” he answered, voice lowering as he leaned closer, until their faces were separated by less than an inch. “And judging from your reaction, it truly was your first. I have to admit, that makes things… interesting. Now I can’t help wondering how you’ll respond to everything else.”


His lips touched hers for a brief moment before going down to her throat, where he trailed soft bites along her skin. “A-Ah~!” This immediately made the young woman’s eyes widen, and her body shivered at the sudden shift, each nip of his teeth drawing a sharp gasp from her. When his mouth settled, sucking gently at her neck, she trembled again, her arms tightening reflexively around him. “Hmmm!”


His hand, which had been resting upon her shoulder, slowly traveled downward. It reached her chest, where with a single pull of her shirt, two large mounds were set free. A slight jiggle to them from his actions until the man cupped the firm curve of her breast before brushing his thumb across the already hardened nipple. “C-Cu!” Each touch drew louder sounds from her, her voice breaking in uneven moans as the pleasure overwhelmed her in waves, every motion he made coaxing a stronger response than the last.


He noticed how sensitive she was, whether it was her erogenous zone or the result of the alcohol still in her system, he could not tell. Her breaths came out uneven, her chest rising and falling as if she could barely keep up with what was happening. “Why are you so good at this?” she whispered, her voice trembling. After finally deciding to give the poor girl some breathing room, he eased his hold and pulled back slightly. She took the chance to breathe properly, her lips still parted, her face painted with a stunned expression. Her eyes held a mix of awe and disbelief as she looked at him. “You said I was good, but how did you get this good? You’ve only been kissing me, touching me… but it feels like my whole body is on fire.”


“You mean like this?” His hand moved and grabbed her left breast. His fingers pressed firmly, squeezing and exploring the soft flesh as his palm sank against her before his tongue suckled onto her nipple. 


“Aaah~!” She let out a breathy moan the moment his thumb brushed across her right nipple. He had found another sensitive point, one that made her body twitch underneath his touch. 


“Experience, and mostly confidence,” he told her calmly. “I have to play the part if I want to convince you that things will be alright. And if you think this is already overwhelming, then you’re not ready for what comes next.” His lips closed the distance before she could reply, pressing against hers in another kiss that deepened as her body melted beneath his weight. He gave her more than a taste of pleasure, enough to blur her thoughts with raw sensation.


“Ah,” she gasped against his mouth, her voice almost breaking. “Down there…”


Her eyes lowered, and he followed her gaze. She was staring at the bulge pressing against her stomach, his arousal impossible to hide given their position. He gave a small smirk, his tone relaxed. “Well, ya can’t blame me, especially in this kind of situation.”


“I wasn’t going to say anything,” she admitted softly, hesitation in her voice as her cheeks flushed deeper. She seemed to struggle for the right words before finally whispering. “Does it… hurt?”


“A little uncomfortable, but not painful,” he answered without pause.


“Is it because of me?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.


“Because of you? You’re lyin’ under me with a body like this, your chest out, skin flushed, eyes begging me not to stop… who else would it be?” he teased with a grin. Her stare lingered, her eyes unable to look away from him. It sparked an idea in his mind, one he knew he had to follow through on if only to see how she would react. “It might also be because of earlier. That spar with Saeko wasn’t exactly light training,” he added, his tone carrying a hint of amusement. It was not a lie, but it was far from the truth of why he was holding back now. Lust had already taken root, his control hanging by a thread. She had been giving him every sign she felt the same.


Her expression darkened, lips pursing as she grabbed his face, forcing him to look directly at her. “You’re supposed to be thinking about me, not her.”


He smirked, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a serious answer. “Eeeh, you’re probably imagining it.”


Her brows furrowed, but he leaned in closer, his tone dropping to something steadier. “Just so you believe me… to prove there’s no one else in my mind but you, let me show you something you’ll love.”


“What?” She blinked, unsure if he was being serious. Her confusion turned into something like disappointment when he pushed himself up and shifted away. For a second, she thought he was leaving, her lips parting as if to call him back. “Kya!” she blurted, but froze when he suddenly caught her ankle and pulled her downwards. The motion slid her closer to the edge of the bed before she even realised what he was doing. Her voice caught when his hands went to her hips, hooking under the thin fabric of her panties. They were damp, clinging slightly to her skin as he pulled them off. Her entire body went red when she realised he was now staring openly at the wetness between her thighs.


“Wait, don’t look down there!” she cried, her hands covering her face in mortification. Her legs trembled, but did not move to close, leaving her fully exposed to his gaze.


“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said honestly with a cheerful tone. “You’re a beautiful woman, and this only proves that what I did earlier felt good to you. It’s a sign that you were enjoying it.”


“Don’t say that…” she muttered behind her hands, her body twisting slightly as if she could hide from him. Her cheeks burned hotter, and her voice was muffled, but her legs stayed parted. No effort was made to close them, and despite her embarrassment, she let him look. Her eyes locked onto his face as he pressed her knees further apart, making space for himself. The soft, surprised moan that left her when a playful lick touched the entrance of her womanhood, his tongue gently brushing against her folds before he pressed it against her opening.


"Mm!" Rei moaned softly, her hips lifting off the bed as she arched her back, trying to get his tongue inside of her, to which he obliged, pushing his tongue into her pussy, his nose bumping against her clit as he pushed deeper. He began to lick her with quick, short strokes, his tongue flicking against her clit over and over again. Eyes closed with nothing but the desire to continue feeling this sensation as long as possible. Nails digging into the bed as she groaned loudly, unable to believe how good it felt to have his tongue inside of her, to feel it flick against her sensitive folds.


His tongue slid deeper into her pussy, causing her to moan loudly, her hips arching upwards as she tried to get more of him into her.


Cu rolled his tongue over her clit as he did so, making it impossible for her to keep silent. Even as she tried to keep her silence in the beginning, eventually she started to lose herself to the pleasure and no longer cared. Her hips buckled as she cried out his name, her pussy quivering beneath him.


He kept doing it, driving her to the point where she was almost delirious with pleasure, her body shaking as the pleasure overwhelmed her. She reached down, grabbing his hair and pulling him deeper into her wetness. “Heh, feisty one.” He grunted softly, his tongue continuing to swirl around her pussy, his eyes locked on hers as they stared each other down, both of them completely lost in the moment.


“Ah~! A-ah~! Oh!” 


All of that earlier shyness, nowhere to be seen, Rei came fully unabashed, shuddering as she cried out his name. Her body trembled as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her, her toes curling as she melted under the force of her orgasm. “C-Cu!” Her inner walls clenched around the Irishman's tongue, squeezing it as he pleased her, his tongue swirling around her insides until he finally pulled away, his tongue glistening with her juices as he licked his lips.


Her body was flushed with pink, the color extending from her cheeks to her chest. The sight of her made his cock ache. “That was… that was amazing.” She whispered, taking deep breaths while trying to calm her heart that beat wildly within her chest. He could feel it. Just from how her chest pressed against his, each beat was sensed with his own touch. 


“Glad to hear that. But that was just an appetiser!” With energy still coating through his body, he spun the girl around till her backside was fully visible to him. Her ass was moving left and right almost in a hypnotic fashion, inviting him in, to which he complied as his already hardened member was set free and his hands went to grip her ass before pulling her hips closer. “Ah~! You devil~!” 


It turned out that she also still had energy to play around, giving him a coy look that showed no signs of exhaustion or anything like that. Pressing her buttocks against his member as it was sandwiched between the folds of her butt. Fitting perfectly in place and with each slight movement, sending a current of pleasure within the man. “Here I thought you couldn't get any more sexy. You sure like to prove me wrong, lass.” He chuckled and then moved back to his position behind her doughy ass, sliding his cock back into place and rubbing the tip against her pussy lips and her asshole. His cock throbbed with desire, and he couldn't wait to bury himself inside her, but he made sure to tease her some more first.


Rei moaned and whimpered as he teased her, his cock touching her pussy, only briefly before he withdrew it. She groaned as he did this several times, and she could tell that he was enjoying it too. The thought of him being turned on made the girl's body react accordingly, and her lust-filled mind now wanted to go ahead without anything stopping them. 


"Please... Just do it... Fuck me already..." She groaned, practically begging him with her eyes. 


“It might be painful, since it's your first. Don't be afraid of some blood.” 


Much to his surprise, the girl actually laughed, getting up and turning her head around just enough for her lips to touch his. With her going so far as to let her tongue lick his lips, where remnants of her own love juice remained. “I trained extensively when it comes to Soujutsu for years and lots of other physical activities. My hymen has long since been torn, so I won't be bleeding. Still, you can be gentle with me, but I know I can take you on fully~” 


Cu’s smile widened as he gripped her hips tightly and pressed his cock against her pussy lips, waiting for her to push back against him. When she didn't, he finally grabbed her shapely hips, and with a quick thrust, sank inch after inch of his member inside her, filling her up, the head of his member pushing firmly against the entrance of her womb.


"Ohhh~!" Rei moaned and held onto him tighter with both her arms and her pussy. The latter with an iron-like grip that felt like it was sucking him in. "Fuck... This feels better than I imagined...'


He held onto her hips tightly as he let the head of his cock enter her and then slowly sank inside, inch by inch. Her insides, warm and wet around his shaft, and he reveled in how tight she felt. He kept his pace slow, letting her adjust to him before he sped up.


"Mmm, a little rougher?" Rei asked, tilting her head to the side seductively.


Cu looked over at her with a smirk and whispered in her ear, "You like that, don't you? Being treated roughly?"


She purred softly in response.


He pulled out of her pussy and started to thrust harder, slamming his hips into hers each time. “Ah!” The orange-brown haired girl gasped and moaned under the hot pressure of his thrusts. This being even further pushed to her limits which he picked her up by holding her thighs and pulling her easily up. Having her entire body come down on his cock, making it reach places it hadn't before. “Aaaaaaah~! I love it! I love it! I love it!” Adoring how full she felt, every movement sent waves of pleasure throughout her entire body. It was almost too much to handle, and she would have collapsed onto the bed if he hadn't been holding onto her by her thighs, keeping her steady while her back rested against his chest. 


Cu growled as he pounded into her, loving the way her pussy wrapped around him. Her juices were flowing freely and coating his cock, making it easier for him to slide in and out of her. He held onto her hips tightly, feeling her tighten up around him, and he released one hand to grab her breast. His thumb rubbed over her erect nipple as he plunged his cock deep inside her.


Rei continued moaning loudly as she felt his thumb touch her sensitive nub, "Mm... Yes... Harder…!" She begged again, loudly. Sounding far more demanding and bordering on desperation. 


The man slammed his hips into hers again, and she cried out in surprise as he bit down on her shoulder. She gasped and shivered slightly at the sudden pain mixed with pleasure, and he let her shoulder go. “Nnnnaaah~!” He continued to pound into her, driving his cock in and out of her so fast that she couldn't keep track anymore. Rei moaned loudly, panting heavily as he fucked her hard and fast.


"Oh god... You're big... So big... Aaah~!" She panted, sweat covering her sexy body, glistening under the moonlight and highlighting her contours. With each thrust making her breasts bounced, fully visible as he walked in front of a mirror where the girl had a full view of herself getting plowed. “N-No, it's… it's… ah~!” 


Embarrassing, that was what she wanted to say. But the sensation grew intense enough that she no longer cared about her own image.


“I-I’m cumming! I'm cumming!”


Cu did not slow down and instead grew more energetic with each thrust, burying himself inside of her, and then yanking his hips back. He began to move faster, and the girl moaned loudly as he forced her to cum. She let out a long, loud moan as she came all over his cock, and he was close to his own climax. He growled in satisfaction as he felt her pussy tighten around him, and he pushed his cock inside of her as far as it would go.


"Aaaah~!" Rei screamed out as he bottomed out inside of her, "Yes! Oh God, yes! I-I'm cumming!"


Soon, he let out a low grunt as he felt himself getting ready to release, and his cock throbbed inside of her. Gritting his teeth and biting down on her shoulder once more, this seemingly something she enjoyed, given how loudly she moaned and how much her pussy tightened with a death grip. Rei screamed loudly and started to moan as her orgasm took over her. Her pussy clenched around his cock, and the force of her orgasms caused her to push back against him.


Her cries of pleasure filled the room as she clamped down around him, her body tensing up and her pussy squeezing him. Wanting him to empty everything inside so desperately, but he resisted the temptation as tantalising as it was and pulled out at the last second.


“Hn!” Ropes of white cum flew in the air, covering not just the mirror ahead but also Rei’s body, from her breasts, face, and dripping pussy. Her body was shaking with the last moments of her orgasm coming to pass, and finally giving the girl a moment to breathe for once. Especially after he put her back down on the bed where she sprawled without any grace, not that it mattered at all. The fragrance of their sweat filled the room, and the phantom sensation of their love still lingered on both bodies. 


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A few minutes of silence, that was what both… no, what Rei needed to recuperate. Having nearly fainted mid intercourse. Now, the girl did not even look like she had enough strength to move in the slightest. All the while, he still had enough strength to move around and even go another few rounds if needed, but the poor girl had already reached her limit, and he did not want to ruin the experience. 


Grabbing a bottle of water, he quickly glanced outside to see if anything had changed. Having been mindful enough to put a noise-dampening bounded field within the room so that no matter how much she screamed, no one and nothing would even hear her. Now, that was no longer necessary, and he dismissed that particular spell.


“Here, have somethin' to drink at least.” He said to Rei, gently poking her with the bottle, yet she just pushed it away. “Alright then, I'm going to put this by the bedside table. You'll definitely need it in the morni—!” His voice came to a sudden halt when the sound of footsteps drawing closer reached his ears, soon followed by a soft knocking on the door to the room. 


“Cu, are you still awake?” 


“Takashi?” Stunned by the boy still being awake at this hour, especially after he made sure that everyone was asleep, he could only allow himself to answer with a controlled tone of voice. Trying his best to hide any indication or clues of having done so much with Rei earlier, his sense of guilt rose only to then realise that he hadn't done anything bad to feel such a way. ‘Ah, damn it. Even if I say that, I still feel like an asshole.’


Rei had made her intentions involving him pretty clear to everyone before they left the school. So it was not like he was breaking any promises or going behind one's back or even cheating, for that matter. Yet that feeling lingered stubbornly within his heart, and he could do little to nothing to remove it or even ignore it. “Do you need somethin’, lad?”


“I was just checking on you, and catching any sleep has been kind of hard for me. Mind if I talk with you for a bit?”


“Wait, if you open that door, then be prepared to see me naked!” He shouted, nearly slapping himself with how he tried to come up with a reasonable excuse, only to dig himself further into his own grave of shame. 


“W-What, you sleep naked!?” Thankfully, it seemed that the boy understood otherwise and immediately distanced himself from the doorknob, making the Irishman release a sigh of relief. Not sure exactly how a mistake like that managed to become such an effective trick, and for once decided to thank his luck. 


“Of course, that's how I used to sleep back in my hometown, and it's not a zombie apocalypse that will change my habit all of a sudden. Unless we are at school, then over there I don't really have a choice or much privacy.” 


Takashi, on the other end, grew silent for a few seconds. “I think I understand?” Heh, he sure did not sound like it, at least. “I know it's kind of sudden and maybe inappropriate, but I wanted to talk about Rei, if you don't mind.” 


“Oh? Is it something I should be worried about?” He asked jokingly, only to freeze up when he felt a pair of hands slither their way beneath his waist and grab onto his manhood tightly. His head snapped to the side, and looking at the one responsible in disbelief, the girl, who was barely even able to talk now crawling on all fours towards him. Her face rekindled with various desires that caught him completely off guard. 


“Oi, this is not the best time for this!” Who would have thought that someone like him would eventually say such a phrase to another beautiful woman? Never had he imagined finding himself in such a tricky scenario, especially one where the woman did not even listen to him and just smirked. 


“Did you say anything?” Takashi asked from the other side, only for him to quickly let out a forced laugh. 


“Hahaha, nothing, I was just talking to myself, that's all!” Rei moved swiftly, sliding down and now sat on top of his legs, both hands already grabbing for his half-erect shaft as she pouted at him with a mischievous glow in her eyes and a delicate blush on her face. “Y-You were talking about Rei? Maybe we can wait for tomorrow morning!” 


“Oh, it's nothing major, actually. Just a small thing, I decided that it would be best if I tell you personally, then have her listen to it. I know she'll get mad from hearing me say this.” Takashi said from the other side. With that said, she slid completely off his legs and positioned herself before him, face right in front of his now hard cock. She licked her lips and took a deep breath.


Without any warning, her hands began to stroke up and down his length, sending a shiver through his spine. ‘So warm…’


Cu closed his eyes, letting the young woman experiment with feeling his shaft. Her eyes bounced from it to his face as she caressed, stroked, scratched, and squeezed for maximum effect, her breath washing over him all the while.


“Say it then.” He urged the boy, not liking this conversation and what the girl in front was doing at the same time. Truly making him feel like the bad guy. Just as he was going to say more, those words were immediately stopped by the sensation of hot, slimy softness gliding on the surface of his shaft. It felt like a burst of electricity coursing through his spine, all the way to his brain, where the pleasure intensified with each of her strokes.


She gently blew on the tip of his cock, making him shudder at the sharp breeze and the sensation of his precum liquid contrasting with his hot flesh. Her hands still moved, but her focus was mainly on licking him. She started at the base and ran her tongue along the length of the shaft before reaching the tip, swirling around it. Her other hand moved to his balls, fondling them with gentle squeezes — which were then accompanied by her soft lips, making him stiffen at the wave of pleasure. The orange-haired beauty peppered his shaft with kisses along the length. Her face was flushed with desire while she locked her gaze with him.


“After what we saw today, I kind of am second-guessing if using melee weapons truly is the best option. While it works for us now, it's only a matter of time before things become a bit too much. So, I hope in the future, if we get the chance, you can convince her to focus on a different kind of weapon.” That was rather unexpected, he had to admit. Not the kind of thing he expected Takashi to bring up. 


“That's not a bad idea—hn!” 


Though the girl below him certainly interpreted it in a different way when she gave him a playful bite at the tip before letting it go with a wet smack kiss. Her hands continued their motion as she stroked his cock. “Hn!” This made an audible moan involuntarily escape his mouth.


Seeing his reaction, Rei smirked and took her mouth off, then wrapped her fingers around the hardened shaft, her thumb circling the tip. Her other hand went down and slid into her slit, feeling her own wave of pleasure overwhelm her mind.


The bedsheets ruffled under her movement when she lowered her head over the head of Cu’s lengthy cock, her plump lips planting a light kiss on it before eagerly parting around it as they began to slide down around its throbbing head. His mind and body trembled and tensed, a fog of heat and pleasure descending over him as surely as her luscious lips descended around the shaft of his cock. Struggling to focus as she pushed her tongue's tip between her lower lip and his shaft to welcome his length into her mouth as easily as possible, letting out a muffled gasp as it reached the back of her throat. 


For him, the sensation itself was both painful and pleasurable enough that his arm twitched and his hand pushed her head down the rest of the way, his cock forcing its way down her throat in but an instant. Her lips and tongue made out with the head of his rod before pulling back out so she could slide her lips down around it all the way to its base, deep-throating him of her own accord, enjoying the sensation of his heat and firmness within her, and the pulse of his heartbeat through his throbbing cock as it filled her throat.


"Hn~!" The girl moaned, her throat convulsing as she did so, sending a mighty quake up and down his spine.


“You said something?” 


Cu did not know why she was doing this specifically when the guy was here or if it was all just unfortunate bad timing. But he had to end this as soon as possible. “I-I’ll make sure to keep an eye on her. She can get emotional at times but who doesn't at these times? I-If we do end up finding guns and other firearms, I will be more than happy.” 


Again, for some reason she did not like that as she bit him again and then began to 'swallow' around its shaft, her wet, tight, and hot throat gently but eagerly pulling him in as she mentally prepared for him to cum, and for a few lust-addled moments.


"If you say so, people like Saeko and you are just natural when it comes to melee weapons and of course… magic. Rei is a different story, she's good but still has her limitations. I'm afraid she'll eventually get herself in trouble by trying to impress you constantly, given you two are together. She can get needy like that. Alright, that was all I wanted to say, good night." 


“She does tend to do that. Good n—ouch! Why you!” Again, getting playfully bitten down there, still hurt like hell! Even to a demigod! “Sorry, I just stubbed my toe…”


Again, he had a point. But could barely voice out his thoughts when in the next moment, it finally happened, he clenched his teeth, his balls aching almost painfully as he climaxed deep behind Rei’s lips, his cock almost hurting the lusty woman as it tensed up in an effort to keep her from moving away, Cu’s cum nearly roaring out as it hit the girl's insides. 


“Hnmm…” It took almost several seconds for his cum to stop painting her insides white, with the girl tenderly suckling and swallowing around his cock until it stopped. Only then did she pull up, licking at his shaft and making it shine with luster as it left her lips, a hand caressing it again. The girl gasped and shivered in his arms.


Having gone through a small orgasm of her own while fingering herself, her nipples, as hard as little diamonds by now. Her body trembled with heat as he held. “That… that was easier than I thought.” She said to his ears, biting his earlobes, which earned her a face pinch. 


“You have quite the nerve sayin’ that after making such a move for no reason, lass!” He exclaimed, genuinely a bit miffed with how dangerous that was. Gently smacking her head and hoping she would not develop some of Emer’s strange fetishes! He had his preferences but even that was pushing it. Rei just pouted and whispered quietly, 


“You didn't look satisfied after our first round… I didn't want to leave you like that and wanted to try something I saw online before. It's not my fault he decided to show up at that time!” She said sincerely that it was hard to guess if she was being honest or not. “And what's with you agreeing with him!? I can handle myself with a spear no problem! I don't need a gun!” 


As much as he wanted to be proud of how much she was confident with her skills, he did not ignore that sometimes, it was best to just accept whatever advantage one could get. Guns were not his thing but he would never deny them, especially for the people around them. He could afford getting bitten, not them… Even someone like Saeko was not free from danger. 


“Ah!” So, to avoid having her get too overconfident and to teach her a lesson for that silly little stunt she just pulled. Cu pushed the girl on the bed with his member fully recovered, which stunned the exhausted girl herself. 


“If you can keep going till sunrise, then maybe you have a point. Also, don't do that ever again, this will be your punishment.” He whispered after also biting her nipples and thrusting once more, both actions making her moan like never before. 


This exchange went on till the sunrise, when she genuinely tried to keep up. But given it was her first time, the girl ended up just falling unconscious during their fifth attempt, falling completely flat on him after riding him for half an hour, trying to maintain some control. “Hopefully, you learned your lesson.” 


With him soon closing his eyes as well, deciding to take a two hour nap before waking up to make breakfast for the others. 

The Legendary Saiyan in a Fairy's World Chapter 55: Harvest Festival Part 1

Not beta read yet.

Next update is the hound lemon.

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-Magnolia-


"What the hell is this?" There were few things in the world that could genuinely baffle Irene. After living for centuries, she had come to believe she had seen all that magic could offer. The few remaining mysteries lay within the secrets kept by Zeref or the one who preferred to see himself as the Magic King himself. Anything beyond that crossed into the domain of gods, a realm she had only glimpsed through fragments of ancient texts and failed experiments. Something that she preferred to stay cautious around and not meddle too deeply given what cursed befell upon the emperor.


It would be dishonest to claim she felt no curiosity toward those who possessed sources of near-unlimited magic, or what some referred to as a key. Whether it be Fairy Heart or the newly discovered presence of Ki, perhaps such power could answer her long-standing questions, or at least point her toward them. Yet she was in no rush to chase those answers. There were still other matters to handle, including the dragon that continued to roam unchecked across the world.  


But now, standing before this absurd sight, she found herself utterly lost for words.  


"Can you stop pinching my face?" asked the Saiyan, his voice tight with annoyance. Normally, she would never do something so childish, but the man was now no larger than a plush toy fitting neatly in her palm. The sensation of holding him, of having him so utterly within her grasp, was oddly satisfying. She hadn’t expected that… nor was she willing to let go any time soon.


"I’m just testing this new form of yours," she replied, her tone casual though her eyes still studied him like a researcher examining a rare specimen. That wasn’t entirely untrue. "How long will this last?" she asked, glancing toward the other man walking beside her as they made their way back to the main city.  


The battle had ended not long ago. As for who had won, that was debatable. By some standards, Gildarts could be considered the victor since his magic had reduced his opponent into several smaller copies of himself. Yet Irene had been forced to intervene when their reckless exchange threatened to unleash an attack so destructive it could have erased the entire region. All because this small Saiyan had briefly lost control. In her mind, it was best called a draw just to spite them, but clearly someone would have died had she not intervened — or at least lost several limbs.


"Not that long," Gildarts said, scratching the back of his neck. "Honestly, it’s been a while since I used my magic that way on someone. So I'm not sure about the details myself, I can try to combine him back into a single being, but after what happened back there… I'm kinda scared to do so."  


"The ability to divide one’s power into several fragments," Irene remarked, "is a clever usage of Crush Magic, but definitely efficient."  


"Efficient my ass!" Fairy Tail's ace shot back, pointing toward one of the miniature Brolys lounging atop Irene’s head, using her hair as a makeshift cushion while meditating. "What the hell happened at the end there!? That power didn’t divide, it multiplied! Forget destroying the moon, that could’ve wiped out the whole continent!"  


The tiny Saiyan cracked one eye open and peered down at them. "I made sure not to use too much energy. When you have perfect ki control, you can release as much as you want without letting a stray shot destroy the planet. Even in my uncontrolled state I could at the very least manage that much, even before I arrived in Ishgar."  


Gildarts stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. It wasn’t disbelief that fueled it but a weary acceptance. "You know," he said between chuckles, "I think I finally found someone more dangerous than Natsu and that black dragon combined. He talks about destroying continents like it’s nothing. No wonder Master’s been stressed lately. I would be too, knowing someone like this is walking around freely."  


"And whose fault was that?" Irene asked, her sharp tone cutting through his amusement.  


He shrugged. "How was I supposed to know his power would multiply like that? It makes no sense."  


"It didn’t multiply," The woman explained, closing her eyes and rubbing her chin briefly as one of the small copies perched on her head tilted his own curiously. "When a person’s strength surpasses a certain threshold and sets foot into the infinite, dividing it or trimming it down doesn’t work the way you expect. Even a fraction of that energy appears endless to the mind of a regular mage. Your spell didn’t just split his power, it shattered his focus and forced multiple streams of energy into one single point, without actually draining his reserves."  


Gildarts blinked at her. "I only understood half of that," he admitted.  


She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose while one of the tiny Saiyans yawned lazily above her. "That’s more than I expected," she muttered. “At least you learned not to do that ever again. And how it's a bad idea.” 


“Yeah yeah, I learned my lesson. No need to say it twice.” 


Irene scoffed, unsurprised that someone like him would ignore her words so easily. Across the world, countless people would give up everything they owned just for the chance to become her apprentice, yet this one brushed her off without a second thought. No,make that two of them. And one of them was twice as troublesome who kept trying to paint her as Titania's sister even though he knew full well this was not the case! Just the memory of that made her release some of that frustration onto her new favourite toy.


"I can't speak," said the other Broly she was holding, his voice muffled as she tugged at his face again. His cheeks felt oddly soft, almost like a plush toy beneath her fingers. The woman didn’t bother restraining her strength, aware that it made no difference. A grip that could have crushed a human skull left not even a mark on him and came off as a mild annoyance to him at most.


"Can you guys help me?" the Broly in her hand asked, his eyes turning downward. Dozens of other copies walked beside her, each behaving differently. Some wore unreadable expressions and moved quietly, others flew above the ground, and one simply held an apple he had picked up somewhere, staring at it with wide-eyed fascination. He looked as though he were wondering if he could devour food larger than his own head, the thought alone filling him with visible excitement.  


The longer Irene observed them, the more her mood sank. The one who carried the potential to uncover the secrets of the gods had turned out to be little more than a child trapped in a man’s body… someone whose biggest thoughts revolved around food and making friends. It felt like a cruel joke, a curse that bound overwhelming power to a personality so guileless. She was pretty certain that the idea of dominating the world did not even surface in his mind once!


"You don't look too worried yourself, kid. I don't think I’ve seen you panic once over your new form. Hurts my pride, won’t lie," Gildarts muttered, picking up one of the copies and placing him on his shoulder. His words drew silence from the group as they seemed to ponder his remark together. The one who finally answered was the Broly he carried.  


"I guess I was certain you wouldn’t use anything that could cause a permanent change to me. My instincts never told me I was in real danger, not even now. And you said it yourself, it’s only temporary."  


"Tch, that’s no fun," answered the middle aged man with a crooked grin. "Would’ve been better if you panicked a little so I could mess with your head like I would have with Natsu. But I’ll take what I can get. And I bet the girls will love it. You don’t even need to look far; this lady here can’t seem to keep her hands off you."  


The remark earned nothing more than a sharp eye roll from her.  


"In any case, I can’t return to town with both of you. I have my own matters to attend to," she mentioned and headed towards a clearing rather than continuing on the path, preparing to teleport away, but Gildarts stopped her.  


"Hold on there, woman. You’re forgetting someone important you’re holding. Can’t let you take him with you, he needs to stay with the rest of his pieces." He pointed at the Broly she still carried.  


For a brief moment, hesitation clouded her face. A strange temptation settled over her as she stared at the small figure in her grasp. The power she felt from him was immense, nearly matching his prime strength yet far more manageable. A thought crossed her mind, how convenient it would be to keep him contained, to have such a force at her disposal. The idea of locking him in an unbreakable cage and displaying him like a prized relic near her bedside almost sounded appealing.  


But reason prevailed, if only for now. With a faint sigh, she released him, and the small Broly floated upward to rejoin the mass of copies hovering in the air.  


"Before I leave, there’s something important you should know," she said, drawing both of their attention, though her eyes focused only on Gildarts. "By now, it’s clear you’ve caught the interest of the dark guilds. First you destroyed the Oración Seis. My involvement is irrelevant, no one knows the full story. But they’re aware of what happened recently with the Grimoire Heart. So it’s safe to assume the third dark guild of the Balam Alliance has also taken notice of you."  


"There are others? More of them?" Broly asked quietly, each one of himself now fully focused on Irene. 


Seeing his surprised face, she was not that surprised but the fact that the third person also showed a similar expression made her stand there in disbelief. “You of all people should have guessed the outcome by now. Why are you acting surprised?” she asked, her tone carrying a sharp edge, seriously starting to question how these people survived this long. The men shrank under her scolding and one of them just chuckled and hit his own head, putting on a, “Ah, I just remembered!” face she had seen her students use several times.


“Oh right, it really did slip my mind after the fight we just had. But you’re right, it’s likely we’ll get the attention of the demons sooner or later. This is going to be tricky. I’ve never dealt with them myself, but I’ve heard the stories, and none of them sound good.”  


“Demons? Like the ones from Galuna Island?” Broly asked, “I recall meeting the people on an island just before my clash with the dragon, those who appeared human by day yet transformed by night.” They had not been evil, only cursed, and misunderstood because of their appearance. His question earned a small shake of the head from the red-haired woman.  


“Not exactly. How much do you know about demons?” she asked, her gaze steady on him.  


No particular faces or memories came to mind, and that silence was enough for her to understand. “I’ll take that as a no,” she said. “To give you a brief overview, there are other humanoid species living in this world besides humans. Humans may be the most numerous, but they aren’t alone. Among these other kinds are demons, and demons themselves come in many forms and origins. The ones you met on that island were most likely natural-born demons.”  


That information caught Broly’s interest. Aside from their physical differences, he hadn’t noticed anything that set those demons apart from humans. Before he could ask more, she added, “I suppose I should include you among these different species as well. You’re clearly not human to begin with.”  


“Wait, what? Who is not what?” Gildarts, who had been listening quietly, froze mid-sentence and stared at them with a confused expression, only to be ignored as Irene continued.  


“Another subspecies of demons was created centuries ago by a certain mage you may have heard of, Zeref. We call them the Etherious.”  


The name struck a familiar note. Broly had heard it more than once, whether from Lucy, Erza, or even the master himself. Most recently, it had come up in the words of Fairy Tail’s late former master. “He just created a new species?” Broly asked, frowning.  


“Zeref’s knowledge of human biology and life itself was unmatched,” Irene explained, her tone calm yet with a faint trace of pity. “His research allowed him to craft beings that even other demons see as inferior, though in truth, many of his creations were far stronger and more dangerous. They’re essentially immortal, capable of living for thousands of years, defying death and age alike. Yet still failures in the eyes of their creator. Why? I'm not sure myself.”  


“I see. But what does this have to do with the dark guilds? Do they have a demon among them who’s one of Zeref’s creations?” Broly asked.  


Gildarts suddenly let out a deep laugh that echoed across the forest, slapping his knees and tapping the Saiyan on his shoulders with a finger. “A single demon? Change that to demons, plural. Tartaros isn’t just a guild, it’s a nest full of them. Most, no, all of their higher-ups are Etherious according to rumours, all trying to bring their creator back to life. Again, this is mostly from word of mouth, no one actually ever saw them.”  


Irene stood quietly in the background, saying nothing, her attention fixed elsewhere. Gildarts continued, his tone more serious than usual. “They’re a dangerous bunch. If you thought the other dark guilds were bad, then you haven’t seen anything yet. Not that I have either, I’ve been lucky enough to avoid them so far. But I’ve fought and destroyed several dark guilds that worked under them. Every one of those had members modified into half-demon creatures. People so desperate for strength they’d sell their souls if it meant more power.”  


It was the first time the Saiyan had seen Gildarts wear such a grim expression from the moment they met, which wasn't that long but still, he listened closely.  


“Unfortunately, Tartaros is a secretive guild, the most mysterious of the Balam Alliance by a mile. I can’t tell you much, because they’re experts at staying hidden and keeping out of sight. But given what you’ve been through lately, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that they’re already coming after you too.”


Broly nodded, taking in the information and so did the other copies as they made their way back to the guilt and silence with Irene soon teleporting away.


{Break}


(A few minutes later)


It didn't take long for them to return to the guild, and as soon as they stepped inside, everyone’s reactions were just as wild as expected. Lucy, especially, was left completely speechless the moment she saw several tiny Brolys flying in like a swarm of mosquitoes. She hadn’t even processed it before snatching one of the miniature versions mid-air and clutching it tightly in her arms.  


"This is so cute! This looks like one of my dolls from when I was a kid!" she exclaimed, rubbing the tiny figure against her cheek in delight. "Uwah! It even looks exactly like the real Broly! Where did you get this from? Is it powered by some kind of hidden lacrima that lets it fly?" she asked Gildarts, turning him over curiously, only for the small Broly to wriggle free from her grasp.  


"Stop it, that feels weird," he muttered, clearly uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to being this small, let alone being handled like a toy twice at this point. Having spent his whole life towering over others, this new perspective was something he didn’t quite know how to feel about.  


"Wait, it’s not a toy!?" Lucy shouted, eyes widening as she finally realised it was really him. Her gaze darted to the other dozens of tiny Brolys fluttering about, each one heading straight for the bar counter where Mirajane was watching, laughter already bubbling in her throat.  


"Can I get... ten plates of roasted Vulcan meat?" the one in front said, his voice serious as the rest nodded in unison behind him.  


Mirajane burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as she bent over the counter. "I… pft— ha… I-I can’t breathe, hahaha! I can’t breathe! Hahaha!"  


He watched in mild confusion, unsure why everyone was reacting so dramatically to his smaller form. Them being shocked for a bit made sense, but he did not expect to see them laughing this loudly. Before he could question it further, armored hands suddenly grabbed him by the sides, lifting him clean off the ground. He found himself face to face with a certain redhead who immediately started squishing his cheeks.  


"What sort of magic is this?" Erza asked in disbelief, poking at his tiny face. "Can you stay like this forever?"  


"No," he replied flatly.  


"Oh..." The disappointment on her face was short-lived, soon replaced by renewed delight as she continued tugging and pressing at his cheeks anyway — exactly like Irene had done throughout their way back to town. Even their expressions were the same. 


Mirajane, still recovering from her fit of laughter, finally leaned against the counter to catch her breath. She had never laughed this hard before, and seeing her this happy was enough for Broly to just let it be. If she was amused, that was fine by him. Once she steadied herself, Mirajane leaned down until she was eye level with the small group of Brolys, a playful spark in her eyes. She extended a finger and poked one in the stomach. "And how exactly do you plan to pay me in that form? Do you happen to have tiny jewels in your pockets?"  


Now that she mentioned it, he hadn’t checked whether his belongings had shrunk along with him. Curious, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewel, now no bigger than a bean, even when compared to his current hand, practically the size of his palm.  


"Oh… "  


Mirajane trembled again, covering her mouth as laughter threatened to burst out. Meanwhile, Broly frowned, realising that all the money he and Lucy had worked hard to earn might now be practically worthless.  


"I can find another way to pay," he said calmly.  


"Oh, I’m sure you can," Mirajane replied, the teasing tone returning to her voice as she poked his face again, her hand gliding up to ruffle his hair. Her innocent smile curved into a mischievous smirk. "In fact, I have a few ideas in mind actually... a lot of them."  


Bam!  


A jug of beer slammed onto the counter, the sound echoing through the guild. Erza leaned against the bar, giving the white-haired mage a sharp look. "Don’t get any funny ideas. I don’t like that expression you just had. I'll pay for him, or you could just put it on his tab like you do for everyone around her. What's with the sudden change?"


"Now why would you think that? I'm hurt. I would never do anything crazy with this cute little version of Broly," she said in a cheerful tone. Yet for some reason, he noticed that her voice sounded a bit too bright, almost forced, as if she were trying too hard to sound innocent. Even Erza picked up on it and her brow twitched with irritation. "Also, you're acting as if you didn’t have any thoughts of your own," Mirajane argued back with a strained smile. "Don’t tell me you were planning something with him, just like those scenes in your book?"  


"What? Are you crazy?! I-I-I would n-never!" Erza stammered, her voice cracking with genuine surprise, though the reaction only made Mirajane’s grin widen. She looked far too pleased with herself, like she had just won some unspoken contest.  


Broly, still in his smaller form, sat cross-legged at the table, uninterested in their argument. He was waiting for his food, his stomach already growling. He wanted to test if this form could handle more food than his regular body. His mouth watered at the thought of a roasted meal ten times his size. A vague memory came to him of an old dream where he had eaten endlessly, only to wake up on Vampa with an insect creature that tried to bite him during his sleep. Since then, he had never dreamed again nor slept peacefully until ending up in this world.  


"It's cute that you still have abs visible even in such a tiny body. Your head looks ten times bigger, like a bobblehead," a teasing voice said. Broly turned to see Cana approaching. Oddly enough, she didn’t reek of alcohol or carry a massive barrel of beer like usual. "What happened to you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.  


"I had a match with Gildarts," he replied calmly. "He used a spell that split me into several smaller versions like this. He said it’s temporary, so I’m not worried."  


"You fought who!?" Cana nearly choked on her breath, stumbling backward and grabbing the edge of the counter for support. "Repeat that. Tell me I didn’t just mishear everything!"  


Broly tilted his head, confused by her reaction but decided to repeat it anyway. "We fought. I managed to push him back, but he used a spell that divided me into these forms. It caused me to release more energy than I meant to. The blast nearly destroyed the town, but Irene shielded everything and redirected my energy into the sky. Don’t worry, this time I made sure I wasn’t aiming for the moon."  


"Everything you just said made no sense!" Cana exclaimed, grabbing him and shaking his body violently. Perhaps being so small was not that good after all, outside of the food aspect. "Am I drunk or is this some weird dream?"  


"You’re always drunk," one of Broly’s copies said. "Except today, you’re actually sober." Several of the tiny Brolys hovered around her, sniffing curiously as if to confirm. "Are you sick?"  


Cana frowned and tried swatting them away, but her hand met the solid resistance of their tiny bodies. "Ow, ow! You might be small, but you still feel like solid steel!"  


"Hahaha! He's telling the truth!" a familiar voice boomed. Gildarts appeared suddenly, taking a seat beside Broly while Cana went quiet, turning her face away while the man continued. “It was an exciting battle, I never had so much fun for quite a while hahaha! It felt like I was back in my younger days.”


"What did you just say? Broly beat you?" One of the guild members in the background repeated in disbelief.  


"That can’t be true!" Reedus added from across the table. 


"I bet he slipped and fell again!" Macao cut in, laughing. "Gildarts can be such a clutz sometimes!"  


"You idiot," his friend shot back flatly. Taking a puff of his cigar and exhaling it on the blue haired wizard’s face. "That’s the same guy who destroyed the moon. Of course he can beat Gildarts."  


"Wasn’t that supposed to be an ancient weapon he redirected?" 


"Who cares!" Wakaba shouted again. "He still blew up a mountain afterward!"


"So you did not see it once, that proves nothing!" As one might have expected, the guild was quite divided, with many either refusing to believe those words or accepting them at face value. A heated debate erupted soon after, hundreds of guild members shouting across the hall about the outcome of the battle none of them had even witnessed, twisting and exaggerating every word Gildarts had shared. Before long, frustration got the better of a few, and fists started flying. Chairs and tables were thrown across the room, turning the argument into yet another full-blown brawl.


"Wait, that’s not fair! I wanted to fight too! Fight me!" Natsu burst forward, leaping toward one of the Brolys. The Saiyan barely reacted before using his body weight to ram his shoulder straight into Natsu’s stomach, launching the poor boy upward into the ceiling and out of sight.


"Ah, my control’s still not perfect in this form," Broly muttered, scratching the back of his neck. He had only meant to knock the boy out for a moment, not send him flying through the roof. The smaller frame of his current state still threw off his sense of strength, and with everyone around him looking much larger, he unconsciously used more force than intended.


"All right, food’s here!" Mirajane’s cheerful voice instantly caught his attention. She appeared with several large plates, each filled to the brim, and the entire hall was filled with the rich, mouthwatering scent of grilled meat. Every Broly turned his gaze toward what looked, in his eyes, like a mountain of food glistening under the light. Each dish was covered in a thick sauce reduction with roasted vegetables on the side. The sight alone made him oddly emotional; it had been so long since he had seen this much food, even if it was just a few plates stacked high.


"I made sure to give you the biggest serving we had," Mirajane said with a teasing smile. "You don’t have to worry about paying me back with jewels. I’ve got a few ideas on how you can repay me in other ways."


"Mirajane!" someone shouted from across the guild, likely one of the members dragged into the ongoing fight.  


"Ignore her," she said without looking back, "just focus on me."


"I swear I owe you this favor, and I’ll do anything you ask," Broly said, his tone sincere. The words came easily, and he meant every one of them. For him, this simple act of kindness was something worth remembering.


"Huh, that was easier than I thought," Mirajane muttered under her breath.


"You really are that big of a fan of food, aren’t you?" Gildarts said, chuckling as he dug into his own plate. "Can’t blame you. This girl might just be the best cook across all of Ishgar."


Mirajane chuckled softly, waving off the compliment, while Gildarts turned his attention to Cana, who was sitting nearby. "From what I heard, you, him, and that other lady over there are all part of the same team, right?"


Cana gave a small nod. "You could say that." Her answer came out quieter than usual, lacking her typical energy. Gildarts noticed immediately, his grin fading slightly as he observed her tone.


"Hahaha, glad to see this guy surrounded by beautiful women," he said, laughing again to lighten the mood. "You must be proud, eh, small guy? Still, I’m glad you’ve got a team of your own now. Every time I come back, the master tells me you’re always off on missions alone. It’s more fun with friends, right?"


"I suppose so," Cana replied softly. Broly glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he chewed his food. She didn’t sound uncomfortable exactly, but something was definitely off. He couldn’t tell what it was, though it was clear enough that her voice carried a trace of unease.  


He wondered if there had been some history between her and Gildarts, but nothing in the older mage’s tone suggested that. "Now that I think about it," Gildarts continued, "you must’ve grown a lot as a mage, being around him all the time. He’s a strong guy. Probably only a matter of time before we have another S-Class—eh?"


He stopped mid-sentence as Cana suddenly stood up. "Excuse me. I’m not feeling well. I’ll be going home. See you, Broly." Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked quickly toward the exit, her reaction leaving both men surprised. Gildarts blinked and looked at Broly, confused.


"Did I say something wrong?" he asked, guilt creeping into his tone.


"I don’t know," Broly replied honestly.


"Ah, damn. Maybe I came on too strong. The young miss might just be the shy kind," Gildarts said, rubbing the back of his head. "Strange though. I remember her being more cheerful with others."


Broly nodded slowly, agreeing with that assessment. There was definitely something bothering her, though he couldn’t quite tell what. She had been behaving a bit strangely for quite some time now around him, but not to this extent. Something was clearly plaguing her mind. But for now, he put this matter at the back of his mind and instead focused on another odd thing he noticed ever since returning to the guild. “Where is Master Makarov? I haven't seen him at all.” For someone who spent most of his time at the bar drinking just as much as Cana, it was strange to not see him here.


Gildarts nodded, “Yeah, there is no way he did not feel the explosion from earlier as well. Kind of strange he did not come shouting and demanding us for answers on what we destroyed. Don't tell me the old man started having afternoon naps? Would make sense for someone his age.”


Mirajane shook her head, the previous cheerful expression on her face dying down ever so slightly. “No, it's not that. He has just been busy preparing for the upcoming harvest festival on the fifteenth of October. And well… He's been trying to get in contact with Laxus lately to have him at least be present for some occasion. Given he is not here yet, Master started to wonder if he is going to skip it again this year. Oh, in case you're not aware, Laxus is Master Makarov’s grandson.” Mirajane Mentioned before he could even ask. “He has been stuck in his office ever since this morning hoping that Laxus will pick up his communication lacrima, but since he hasn't come out yet…”


Seeing the somber face on both the barmaid and Fairy Tail’s ace, Even Broly could understand that the relationship between those two people were not exactly the best. He was no stranger to complicated ties between family, but he could not make any comments yet given he knew little of their history nor exactly the kind of person this Laxus was. 


“I can try to find this Laxus and bring him back forcefully,” he offered, his response getting a chuckle from the woman. 


Mirajane hummed, “That's kind of you. But forcing anything with those two would not be ideal and they'll just end up arguing with one another once again. It's not just them, but lately Laxus hasn't exactly been the best around everyone else in the building general. Then again… he might actually get along with you… or maybe not, your mindset is kind of the opposite compared to him.” 


You raised an eyebrow at that comment, but seeing she was not elaborating further, he decided to just ignore it and continue to focus on his meal. And his earlier theory turned out to be correct, the smaller form allowing him to eat technically much more than his body was used to, a single steak now made him feel more filled and he truly felt like he could keep eating all day without having to worry about using up all of their savings on food.


Poof!


Unfortunately, his moment of peace and gratitude only lasted so long until a plume of smoke suddenly expanded from all around his body and of every single of his copies within the guild. The next thing he knew, was him standing near the counter, standing tall and with the half eaten piece of steak still held between his fingers this time rather than both hands. 


“Ah, sure took its sweet time to revert you back.” Gildarts commented, not surprised by the outcome. 


“Oh…” 


As for Broly, a wave of disappointment fell upon him when immediately he lost that sensation of being filled and stuffed with food as his stomach now growled with hunger and the nearly empty plate before him no longer seemed as endless as before. “I'm hungry… Can you use that spell again on me?” He asked with the most hopeful expression.


“Absolutely not! You're crazier than Natsu to think of using such a spell just to eat more!” 


Only to get viciously denied by the strongest wizard who flinched away. Most likely still traumatised by what happened earlier. 


Once again, he felt a burning sense of envy to the people of this world who could use such spells. Now he wanted to learn that one… 


{Break}


(Near Magnolia)


A few days of barefoot travel away from Magnolia beyond the mountains and across the river, within a large clearing in the forest smoke rose within to the sky. Remnants of a battle visible across a vast expanse of land, from craters, to burnt pieces of land and trees. Shattered hills and a dense amount of ethernano gathered in one spot that slowly started to dissipate back into the atmosphere. 


The sound of static electricity present in the air, yet no dark clouds were visible in the sky. 

 

Flashes of yellow light emerging from trench hidden amongst the trees below ground, soon followed by a large explosion until a person flew upwards and landed on the ground with a loud thud. 


A man who looked in his twenties, blonde hair and a tall robust figure That had now been riddled with various wounds, burn marks and terrifying looking bruises. Around him several other people that had long since been taken out lying on the ground with faint signs of life from their rising chest as they struggled to breathe. An emerald haired woman, a man with a mask covering his face and a third member with several black scripture like patterns gliding across his skin, yet even that one failed. 


“Hngh! Fucking bastard! You think this is enough to beat me!?” The one who just landed tried to get back on his feet, though his efforts soon forwarded when a dark shadow emerged from the same place he came from and struck the man right in the chest sending him spiralling backwards like a ragdoll. Crashing through several trunks of trees until he came to a sudden halt. 


The air viciously pushed out of his lungs, making him have a hard time to breathe let alone summon any sort of electricity to power his attacks. Yet his eyes glared hatefully and the figure ahead who walked closer. 


“If you want to blame someone then blame yourself. You did not give me a choice here, sorry.” Were the last words he had before getting struck in the head, several of his belongings falling from his fur coat, one of them being a small sphere of communication lacrima that emitted a light, with someone on the other side trying to contact him. 


The hooded figure walked ahead, grabbing onto the orb and observing it closely. Blue strands of hair peeking through the hood. “Magnolia, huh…” with one swift move, The orb got crushed with shards of dust dropping to the ground. The figure paid the ones who had already fallen by now no attention before making his way back on the path heading east towards the nearest town. 

Lyrical Sword Chapter 21

Beta read by Opal and FabledLife.

3 updates! This one, Broly in a few seconds and the Hound .5 chapter with the fully finished lemon in a minute. (Perhaps it will be reworked again but for now, it looks good to me.)

Sorry for the lateness, took a small break at the beginning of this month.

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-???-


It was hard to imagine the thoughts that must have gone through the people on this planet. Teana, looking at the ruins that extended throughout every corner, felt a rising sense of pity. Knowing full well the same reaction was going on with her friend, but the latter hid it quite well. 


“Did you find anything, Subaru?” Her voice echoed faintly across the desolate street. The ruins of the once-lively city sprawled endlessly ahead, with burned cars, vines growing in every corner, and a thin layer of moss. The wind carried only the faint rustle of leaves from the nearby trees, no signs of life beyond the occasional flutter of a bird fleeing from their approach. Both Subaru and Teana crossed the broken road, following the route marked earlier by Lutecia's insect scouts.


“Can’t say,” Subaru replied, landing lightly after vaulting down from a half-collapsed pillar. Dust puffed around her boots as she straightened, her blue hair catching the faint light that filtered through the clouded sky. “Everything looks calm here. The whole place is basically dead, as far as I can tell. Makes me wonder if those creatures we saw earlier just ran off after getting scared of us. Can’t really blame them… we did a pretty good job back there; even I'd be scared.”


She made a small sound of acknowledgment, her gaze drifting over the collapsed buildings and shattered glass. Even if she wanted to dismiss Subaru’s words, the girl couldn’t shake the odd silence hanging over the ruins. Lutecia had been certain that clusters of those undead creatures were still roaming nearby. The absence of movement and no sound at all definitely felt worrisome.


“Maybe those things aren’t completely mindless after all,” Subaru murmured after a pause, her tone growing quieter. “It’s a bit grim when you think about it. Are those things still clinging to fragments of who they used to be? Imagine the people who once lived here, still aware but trapped inside those twisted shells. Watching everything fall apart, unable to stop themselves.”


Teana stepped closer and gave her a gentle pat on the back. Her voice softened. “Don’t think about it too much. Sometimes it’s better not to know. If you want to see the bright side, at least we put them out of their misery.”


“Unless there’s still a cure out there,” Subaru replied under her breath, kicking away a stray rock nearby. Yet even as she said it, her tone lacked confidence. It had been months since the incident, and no cure had surfaced or a way to reverse what had already occurred. The thought lingered for quite a while. She exhaled slowly and nodded, “Yeah… probably best to turn that part of my brain off for a while.”


A brief silence followed as the two continued through the wreckage. Then Subaru spoke again, seemingly out of nowhere. “You know, I’m kind of surprised that it wasn’t Fate.”


Teana blinked, glancing over with a raised brow. “Fate? What do you mean?”


“I mean, the whole relationship thing is going on with Shirou choosing Nanoha. I was fully convinced that it would have been Fate; those two got along so well from the start,” said the girl while pushing away another slab of concrete as they went deeper into the ruins. “I used to see them together more often than Nanoha and the others — hard not to notice given how frequently she hung out around the apartment. Especially lately with Vivio around. If you ignore the context, they practically looked like a family. The kid with her mother’s hair and her father’s eyes, it just fit somehow.”


“Pretty sure Vivio has heterochromia,” Teana replied, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “And none of those eye colors is remotely similar to what Shirou has, with his being golden brown.”


Her friend hummed thoughtfully, pretending to think it over. “His face, then?”


She shrugged. “Sure, let’s go with that. Still, I don’t see why it surprises you that he’s with Nanoha now. She’s the same way, isn’t she? Vivio adores her, and so does Lutecia.”


“I guess Nanoha gives off more of an older sister vibe compared to Fate,” Subaru said with a short laugh. “But that’s just me. Either way, I’m glad those two ended up together. I just hope things work out for them and that they don’t get buried in whatever’s happening with Jail right now. We still don’t know if that guy’s even alive. Without a clear answer, it’s hard to relax.”


To that, she agreed. In a short span of time, they had to deal with a multitude of problems related to that person. 


“I doubt he’ll try to come after Shirou again,” Teana added, hoping that she would not be proven wrong anytime soon. “After what happened last time, losing the Saint’s Cradle must’ve been a huge blow. If I were him, I’d steer clear of that man like he was a natural disaster.”


That made both of them laugh. The thought of Shirou as some unstoppable calamity didn’t quite fit the image they had of him. Despite his frightening prowess when it came to the sword and range battle, he had never struck them as destructive. If anything, the way the man behaved or treated them felt similar to a caretaker at times, though he wasn’t above tossing out a sarcastic remark when the moment suited him. It was enough to catch them off guard now and then.


Teana smirked faintly at the memory. To her, he often came across as a polite brat at times, the kind who acted mature yet couldn’t resist throwing the occasional jab when no one expected it. Not that she would ever dare say that to his face.


“Let’s make sure there won’t be a next time,” Subaru said firmly, slapping her palms together with a sharp crack. The metallic hum of her devices answered the gesture, glowing faintly with gathered mana. Soon, the two of them resumed their path through the dead city. “I want to get this done as soon as possible and go home.”


“You don’t have to tell m—hm?” The brunette’s words caught in her throat as she stopped mid-step, her body tensing. Subaru halted beside her almost instantly, both girls turning their heads sharply toward a building in the distance. Their eyes narrowed, instincts kicking in before words could form.  


“Did you hear that?”  


“No, but I definitely saw something move over there.”  


That was enough. They didn’t need to speak further. Years of training and living together made verbal communication unnecessary during such moments. Teena's hand reached for her device, while her partner already had her weapon active as the large, bulky gauntlets covered her arms with several parts spinning. A single nod between them and Subaru made the first move. 


A glowing platform materialized beneath the brunette’s roller skates, lifting her upward in a smooth arc that angled straight toward the fifth floor, all the while her partner kept watch from the back, and from that new vantage point, she spotted movement. Several distorted shadows peeling themselves away from the darkness within the building and walking into the sunlight for both of them to see.


“Incoming!” she shouted.


Without hesitation, she fired with the barrel of her Cross Mirage, glowing a bright red color. Her weapon unleashed a rapid burst of shots, streaks of light striking necks, chests, and skulls. Each hit left a faint shimmer before tearing through its target. The air was filled with the crack of energy bolts and the faint stench of iron.


“Damn it,” she muttered, annoyed that her accuracy wavered without her usual tracer enchantments. While the enchanted rounds would normally hone in precisely, at that moment, she was relying on manual aim. Her bullets still found lethal marks, but not always the intended ones. Something that she felt proud of accomplishing in the past, now just felt like a lackluster performance when compared to someone else… The difference frustrated her.  


“Knuckle Buster!” 


Below, Subaru engaged directly, her armored fists glowing faintly blue. She crushed the skull of a nearby ghoul with a single blow, the creature collapsing into a splatter of bone, and even shattered the ground below with ease. The sight still made both girls flinch, but they managed to ignore it soon after.  


“Shit, careful! There are way more of them hiding within!” Subaru shouted, momentarily retreating backwards to avoid getting overwhelmed. “Caliber Shoot!” Using her skates to slice up a few of them that got a bit too close with ease. Able to recover swiftly by jumping around from chunks of concrete to another as they all crumbled.


Yet the swarm didn’t stop. More of the creatures poured from the building’s shattered windows, tumbling toward Subaru like a collapsing wave. She raised her guard, scanning the motionless sky for escape routes. The bodies of the fallen piled along the edge, some slipping over the ledge and disappearing into the night.  


“Look out!” Teana’s voice cut through the chaos.  


“Get back, I'll take care of those at the front!” Subaru barked, and her weapon fired a cord of light that wrapped around a nearby lamppost. The line tightened instantly, yanking her upward and out of the mob’s reach. The ground below erupted as dozens of ghouls crashed into each other, their claws scraping concrete in frustration. 


“Cross Fire Shoot!”


Midair, she twisted gracefully and unleashed several explosive bullets, orange spheres of mana colliding into the pack below. Her gun released a flurry of reinforced blasts while Subaru joined in from above, using a more aggressive form of approach by crushing her opponent. Together, they cut through waves of the undead, but something didn’t add up in her mind.


“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Teana asked, pausing her fire for a moment. Noticing this odd behaviour after one of these creatures in particular rushed straight past her as she intended to use the dagger form of her gun to cut its head. 


Subaru frowned, watching the swarm also rush past her position as if neither of them existed. “Weird… It’s like they don’t even see us. They’re ignoring everything.”  


“They aren’t trying to dodge or defend either,” Teana added, eyes narrowing further. “Doesn’t look like they’re even scared of us, like we thought earlier.”  


A grim thought crossed her mind. “Call Erio and Caro. These things are heading somewhere; they might be able to lead us to the relic — this is definitely not normal. They might even be in danger if too many of them show up.”  


“Got it,” Subaru replied, already tapping her communicator.  


“I’ll try to reach Shirou and Lutecia,” Teana added. “We’ll keep following the horde from above.”  


With a plan in mind, both of them leapt from rooftop to rooftop, their skates and grapples carrying them across the cityscape with ease. From that far high, the previously quiet city immediately became a loud hellscape with sounds of windows shattering, her own gun firing occasionally to clear off the rooftop, and the chilling groans from below. The horde grew thicker, joined by more ghouls emerging from alleys and abandoned buildings. At this rate, the mass of creatures formed a dark, writhing tide moving toward the city’s center.  


A sense of dread pressed against Teana’s chest, and she tried calling Shirou again. “Tch, no answer. Something must have happened to them!” 


Meanwhile, Subaru managed to get through to Erio and Caro. Within minutes, the two youngsters arrived with the brown haired boy standing atop a dragon, Caro perched behind him with her staff glowing faintly. The dragon descended, and he jumped off before it even landed, touching down beside them.  


“Are you all okay?” he asked, scanning them for injuries.  


“We should be asking you that,” Subaru said while checking the younger pair over. “What’s going on? Any clue what triggered this? They aren't even reacting to any attacks or even our presence.”  


Caro shook her head, her pink hair flowing wildly as the creature batted its wings. “No idea. We were just patrolling the outskirts when these things started appearing everywhere. They completely ignored us, same as what you’re describing.”  


Teana frowned deeply, tightening her grip on her weapon. “That’s not natural. If they’re converging like this, it has to be related to a relic.”  


The group exchanged uneasy glances, each of them aware that the relics rarely caused anything like this… so it had to be something else. The ground below continued to rumble, the horde’s synchronized march growing louder. 


Teana exhaled slowly, best not to panic, and there was no reason to feel like that. If these ghouls ignored all four of them, then it was very likely that the same was going on with Shirou. “Then we follow. Whatever’s drawing them out, we’ll find it before they do.”  


The four nodded in unison. Above them, the dragon roared, spreading its wings as the group prepared to move again. "Since when does a relic have the ability to control so many creatures at once?"


"You're not even sure if it's the standard kind of relic we're used to dealing with or something else entirely," Suabru replied as they entered the ruined street. "It could even be a person behind all of this, for all we know."  


Teana frowned. With involvement in nearly every recent incident, the suspicion wasn’t far-fetched. "I really hope it’s not him," she muttered. "If it is, we’ll need to capture him once and for all. He’s been relentless lately."  


The group pressed on without further talk, not ignoring the ghouls and continuing to let their weapons cut through a handful of creatures that blocked their path. Each time one of the twisted ghouls lunged from the shadows, a burst of mana, a shot, or a slash met it in kind.  


"Something’s going on over there!" Erio shouted, pointing ahead. They stopped at once, and Teana followed the direction of the boy's hand and found herself frozen at the sight before her. For a moment, she doubted her own eyes.  


"Are those… swords?" she asked quietly.  


It should have been an easy question, yet what unfolded in front of them was anything but ordinary. Dozens, no, hundreds of blades materialized out of thin air, glinting like shards of light due to the sunlight shining across the surface before raining down on the horde below. The sound of the roars grew more intense and drowned out the storm of steel slicing through bone and flesh with terrifying precision. Each sword struck its intended target without a single one of them missing, impaling or cleaving through multiple creatures before even more similar copies showed up several times. 


In the center of it all stood a redheaded boy. Even in that dangerous situation, he remained seemingly confident of not getting overwhelmed, walking forward through the massacre. Every ghoul that tried to approach got impaled in an instant, without him even needing to use the swords she had grown used to seeing him fight with during their spar.  


"I thought he could only create one or a handful of swords at a time," Teana whispered, eyes wide with disbelief at their sheer number. 


The sight was intimidating, yet strangely beautiful. Each sword, even the most regular-looking one, managed to cause as much damage as a powerful spell. Short swords, longswords, gladii, and several other variations of bladed weapons had shown up. The boy never looked where he aimed.


Cross Mirage could fire volleys of bullets at once, but the more she spread her projectiles, the less control she had with each of them. Each bullet needed her focus and attention to aim properly, or it risked hitting anything in front of her other than the target. Yet that did not look like an issue for Shirou, who definitely was not able to focus on so many weapons at the same time when firing… at least, that was what she believed.


"I don’t even think we need to intervene here," Erio said after a moment, lowering his spear slightly while letting out an awkward chuckle. “Even Lutecia is there to help him out if needed, I don't think she's injured.” 


Despite knowing he was safe and that Lutecia was standing protected behind him, Teana felt a faint pang of disappointment. In this battle, he didn’t need their help at all. No strategy, no teamwork, he had everything handled… The rest of them were spectators at best.


"Holy shit, what is that?" Subaru blurted out suddenly, pointing beyond the whirl of swords.  


Her voice pulled everyone’s attention past the flying steel to something massive in the distance. Between flashes of light and the chorus of blades striking, they managed to glimpse it. What they saw made several of them recoil, and it did not take long for the orange-haired gunslinger to figure it out. “I think we found what was making these ghouls act strangely. It's that thing for sure.”


A creature towered amid the chaos, its grotesque body formed of countless fused corpses. The mass of flesh pulsed and shifted like molten wax, limbs jutting and retracting as if the thing couldn’t decide on a single shape. Eyes opened and closed randomly across its surface, many of which did not even look human. The longer they looked, the more their stomachs churned.  


"That’s the thing controlling the ghouls," Teana said grimly.  


Now it made sense. None of the smaller creatures had tried to flee or protect each other; they were somehow linked to this thing that had them in control like some sort of hive mind. Whether through a hive mind or a parasitic link, she could not be certain, nor was she willing to find out any time soon if there were more of these around. The creature didn’t care about losing its lesser bodies; it only wanted to survive, to keep itself from getting torn into shreds amongst Shirou's rain of weapons.


The swords continued their assault, piercing its flesh with relentless rhythm. Each strike drew a shriek that didn’t sound like any single voice but rather hundreds crying out together.  


"Should we help out?" Subaru asked uncertainly, clutching her weapon tighter.  


Her question hung in the air as they all watched the redhead advance closer to the monstrosity. The sound of blades clashing and flesh tearing drowned out everything else. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t even flinch as shards of bloodied metal rained beside him.  


Teana exhaled slowly, her gaze fixed on him. In that moment, he seemed less like a mere ally and more like a force of nature—a walking arsenal that erased everything in his path.  


Whether relic, human, or something in between, there was no denying the truth of what they saw. The boy who commanded countless blades moved like a shadow of war, and the world around him bowed to his will.


“I know it doesn’t look like he needs any help, but it’s not like Shirou has an unlimited amount of energy. At this rate, he’ll eventually run out.”  


A brief silence followed after that statement, with no one who could argue against it. Just as they were debating what to do, the rhythm of the sword projections slowed. Then, before their eyes, the red-haired man rushed forward, holding both Kanshou and Bakuya. Moving quite fast and giving both girls a memory from the time they fought him, with several slashes removing another obstacle between him and the monstrous creature.  


In a blur of motion, he threw several copies of the same black and white swords, all of which impaled the monster like a porcupine. Then he creates another copy for himself and closes the distance between them. Impaling the final blades within its face, jumping away just in time for all weapons to start glowing withand an eerie blue colour. “Take cover!” 


The group realized what was about to happen and took cover right as an explosion ensued. With all blades detonating at once and sending shards of steel everywhere. The beast howled in agony, a sound that sent a shiver through the ruins around them. The creature staggered, its colossal form trembling before collapsing into the bloodstained dirt with a heavy, final thud.  With Shirou then approaching and removing something from within that thing.


“...”


“...”


The silence was pretty loud with how loudly the fight ended, with them having just arrived and not even getting an opportunity to help him out.


“Hah… guess we were too late in the end. He handled it himself regardless,” Subaru muttered, lowering her head with a deep sigh that followed. The others around her nodded silently, the odd atmosphere beginning to dissolve into relief. Teana, however, remained fixated on the scene ahead. Her eyes followed Shirou, noting how his posture stiffened as he crouched beside the fallen creature. His attention was drawn not to the battlefield but to something in his hands, an object he seemed to have retrieved from the beast’s remains.  


“It doesn’t look like a relic,” she whispered under her breath. Her brows furrowed before she shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Worry outweighed curiosity. “Let’s go down.”  


She activated one of her spells, an orange circle forming beneath her boots before lowering her gently to the ground. Her landing was soft, yet the moment her feet touched the soil, the eerie atmosphere of the place pressed against her. From her point of view down below, this looked no different than those battlefields from olden times when people fought with swords and shields. Having seen a few depictions from her history books, but that did little justice to the actual thing. 


Then again, most of these were ghouls and not humans… anymore.


The air smelled faintly of blood and sewage, enough to give her nausea. Most of the blades were still intact, their hilts jutting out of the ground like markers near a grave. The fact that his swords did not look like magical constructs did help in selling the image. Longswords etched with worn handles, chipped edges, with some curved short blades dulled by age. 


Teana felt drawn to them. Without realizing it, she reached out and rested her fingers on the hilt of one sword. Its grip was somehow warm and strangely comfortable beneath her touch. A faint amount of goosebumps coursed up her arm, the kind that sent her heart beating just a bit faster. Quickly, she pulled back, shaking her head and taking a quiet breath. 'Best I don't touch his weapons without permission. No wonder Jail is interested in capturing him; these weapons are frighteningly sharp, and an anti-magic field does not even work on them.’


Moments later, the swords began to dissolve. One by one, they shimmered and broke apart into countless motes of blue light. The glow drifted upward, illuminating the battlefield with an otherworldly beauty. Had it not been for the blood soaking the ground, it might have been mistaken for a peaceful sight.  Unfortunately, that moment barely lasted a few seconds before their communication devices turned on.


“Agent Teana, Agent Subaru, you and your team are ordered to return to the main ship immediately. This is a direct command. I will not accept delays,” a stern voice barked from the communicator. The tone was rough, older… definitely not from Hayate. 


Teana blinked, startled, exchanging a brief look with Subaru, who was already just as confused as she, then turned toward Shirou, who answered loud enough for them to hear the following words.


“Sorry. I can’t do that.”  


The channel went silent.  


.  


.  


.  


What would Rin have done at this moment?  


It was a question he often asked himself when caught in situations where every decision carried weight. Over the years he’d spent with her, Rin had taught him one truth: hesitation could be fatal. She acted decisively, even when the outcome was dodgy. That was her speciality, and one of the things he had always admired most about her, though it often dragged them into trouble. One case in particular, he recalled being with the heir of the Edelfelt family, having him serve as her butler for a day, just because she won a bet against Rin.


Regardless, she used to tease him that he was no different, perhaps even worse. Reckless, impulsive, and too willing to shoulder everything alone. And now, standing here, he could not deny that she had been right. Once again, her words echoed through his mind. 


“Emiya Shirou.”  


The voice cut through his thoughts and pulled him back from reminiscing about memories of the past. In its place stretched a spacious office dimly lit by white light, where he barely even saw the faces of those ahead. He stood at the center, surrounded by a semicircle of desks where high-ranking officers sat watching him.  


Several faces were unfamiliar, their expressions unreadable. Others, he recognized. Among them was one man whose presence stirred unpleasant memories, a superior he had had some arguments with not long ago.  


“Your team was instructed to investigate the anomaly affecting this planet,” one of the officers began, his tone clipped and formal. “You were informed that our intelligence identified the possible source of the catastrophe as a relic. Is that correct?”  


Shirou gave a short nod.  


“I repeat,” the officer continued, flipping through the pages of a report before him, “your mission was to locate the relic, secure it, and return it to the Bureau for containment. You were ordered to ensure it did not fall into the wrong hands. Is that correct?”  


“Yes,” he said evenly. “That was the order.”  


The words lingered between them with nothing but the sounds of the pages flipping and a few murmurs from those present. He had noticed how Hayate was not present, despite having asked about where she had gone, but no one gave him an answer. Same with both Nanoha and Fate, none of them present here when he was called. 


So, he continued to speak. "It wasn’t even certain if there was a relic in the first place. We were only told to investigate and retrieve the source in case we found one. The assumption that it was a relic was merely a guess, nothing more," he explained, hoping to clarify the situation. His words, however, met little understanding. The faces around him turned uneasy, a few frowns tightening across the group.  


"Yes, we did find the source and dealt with the matter. I don’t believe it will happen again," he added after a pause. "Unless there were other gems that ended up on the planet." He doubted that possibility. Rin had been entirely focused on that single piece, the one containing the majority of her energy reserves. He still remembered seeing her spend entire days working with it, using spells and methods he could not make heads and tails about… as long as it did not blow up their apartment, he was happy. She had never used another gem with such importance, so he doubted there was another one.


'She not only sent me to another world but also her most important piece… she must be pissed. At this point, I'm kind of glad I'm not there and being at the mercy of her anger.’ He wanted to laugh, but held back.


"That is not for you to decide. Unless you are the one behind this," muttered the man he remembered as Gaiz Regius. The accusation nearly drew a sigh from him. Giving this man the satisfaction of a reaction would be unwise, especially in front of everyone here.  


"Please, calm down, Regius. You're scaring the boy; he has helped us save many lives on this planet when we first found him, and even had us retrieve the Saint's Cradle. He has been under observation for so long and has had many opportunities to betray us." Another elderly man intervened, his tone warm as he had already made his stance clear enough. The reminder seemed to work, and Regius leaned back in his chair, though his eyes never left Shirou.


"Let’s move past this," the third voice spoke, calm but with an air of finality. "The orders are clear. Hand over the relic so it can be secured safely away from harm."  


The grip on the gem in his hand tightened. This was the moment he had been dreading, though retreat was out of the question. He met their collective gaze and spoke evenly. "It’s not a relic. And again, I assure you, it poses no danger to anyone."  


"And how would you know that?" another man asked, his tone curious rather than hostile.  


"I believe I mentioned this before," Shirou began, exhaling softly. "I arrived here by accident. An experiment went wrong and somehow threw me into this reality. The accident in question involved one of my closest friends, who was testing her own version of what you might consider highly advanced magecraft bordering on True Magic. During that experiment, she used this particular gem as a kind of fuel to empower her spell. That was when everything went wrong."  


He hesitated briefly, running a hand through his hair. "I suppose it must have been pulled along with me when I was displaced. But with how chaotic everything was back then, I didn’t notice until much later. Now it barely holds any energy after being overused by that thing. At best, it’s just a high-quality gemstone."  


Inwardly, he pictured Rin’s expression if she heard him describing her experiment in such plain terms. She would have scowled, maybe even called him an idiot for simplifying her work so carelessly. He almost smiled at the thought before forcing his attention back to the group.  


"And we’re supposed to take your word for that?" Gaiz snapped suddenly, slamming his fist against the table. The sound echoed sharply through the room. "For all we know, this thing is what caused that disaster to begin with! And if it's truly just a gemstone right now, then you should have no problem handing it over!"  


The outburst made Shirou’s eyelids twitch. "No, that’s not possible," he replied quickly, keeping his tone even. "I don’t know how those creatures came to exist, but Rin’s magecraft doesn’t involve necromancy or any kind of way to change people into such creatures. She isn’t an Apostle. She doesn’t raise the dead or twist them into monsters. Whatever that thing was, it existed before I arrived and was using the gem as a power source, not something born from her craft. I also can't give it to you since it's the only item from my world I have found. I can't let it go."  


He spoke carefully, trying to present his reasoning clearly, but the expressions facing his face remained mixed. Doubt lingered on nearly every face. Some looked thoughtful, others skeptical, and a few simply tired of the argument.  


"Let’s say we believe you," the man in charge said after a few moments of silence. "If we assume your account is true, then the gem still needs to be handed over. It’s imperative that we study it, confirm its properties, and ensure whatever created that creature doesn’t repeat itself. We might even uncover something useful from it."  


Shirou’s fingers flexed around the item in question, feeling its faint pulse of energy against his palm. The idea of handing it over did not sit well with him. It wasn’t distrust of them exactly, but rather what this thing had that he knew nothing about. For all he knew, she was even researching something about a jewel sword when working on this item, and for all he knew, this item could do more than just store energy. And having the entirety of TSAB possibly uncover its secrets could be dangerous.


For a moment, the room fell silent. The faint hum of the fluorescent lights filled the pause. Shirou looked around, noting how each pair of eyes seemed to expect submission. 


A complicated expression crossed his face once again. Had it been one of his own swords, or even a matter related to his magecraft, he would have gladly demonstrated every single step without hesitation, even if the observers tried to imitate him. He had never feared imitation; back in his world, Rin herself had experimented with the seven steps of projection before he vanished. Yet she also reminded him, more than once, how dangerous it could be if her studies ever fell into the wrong hands. Those warnings still echoed in his mind, and with Jail’s involvement and the words Zest had left behind, trusting anyone in this place aside from a handful of people felt impossible.


“I really can’t,” he said quietly at last. “This belongs to a close friend of mine, and it’s important that I protect it, just as she would have wanted.”


“Safeguard it?” Gaiz scoffed, folding his arms as his glare hardened. “This is ridiculous. I don't know how you can be arrogant enough to believe that you hold the capabilities of protecting this item by yourself, and how we will just take your word for it. We’ve seen forces arrogant enough to attack Midchilda’s own base. And you’re telling me you’ll just keep it hidden?” His voice rose until it filled the chamber. “Why should we even believe you that this thing has been rendered useless? Or that it contains only a small amount of energy? Do you take us for fools? Whatever it is, that device is clearly more than a simple power source! It did something to that creature, we all saw it!”


“I can’t explain how that thing came to be,” Shirou said slowly. “But the outbreak on that planet started before I arrived. There has to be another explanation for it.”


A murmur spread through the officers gathered around the table, their faces unreadable in the pale overhead light. None of their whispers carried in his favor. Seconds stretched into something longer, and the silence became a quiet verdict before one of them finally spoke.


“While we acknowledge that some of your points have merit, this is not a matter we can simply overlook. We cannot allow that item to remain in your possession. You will be asked one more time to hand over the gem. If you do not comply, we will have no choice but to detain you and take it by force.” 


The words lingered in the air, and Shirou said nothing, scanning the faces surrounding him. There was no warmth there, only a cautious distrust, and the elderly man from earlier was giving him an apologetic look. Thoughts flickered across his mind in rapid succession. He could surrender the jewel and hope Rin would forgive him for failing to keep it safe, or he could resist and risk everything on principle. Giving it away would be easy, but once it was out of his hands, he could never guarantee who might end up using it or how. 


Bam!


Before he could decide, the door burst open with a loud bang that echoed through the room. Everyone turned as Hayate strode in with an expression that was a mixture of disbelief and irritation, her narrowed eyes immediately finding Gaiz before narrowing even further into a hard stare.


“What is going on here? I was informed this was meant to be a small debriefing,” she said, her tone clipped. “A simple report from Shirou about what occurred down there. Not an actual interrogation where you are forcing him into a corner, from the looks of it!”


“Commander Hayate,” Gaiz said stiffly, turning toward her but not lowering his voice, “this is not a matter you should involve yourself in. Your clear bias toward the boy makes it impossible for you to remain neutral. You cannot make an objective decision when it comes to him.”


“I am his commander,” Hayate replied, crossing her arms with firm authority. “He works under me, and that gives me every right to step in. If he’s being treated unfairly, then I will intervene.”


The tension between them felt almost tangible now, like two opposing currents colliding in the confined space. Gaiz exhaled heavily, clearly frustrated, but he didn’t back down. “We have no personal issue with him. We only need him to surrender the object he retrieved from the wreckage. It could be the source of the infection that spread across the colony. So far, he’s refused to cooperate and insists on keeping it.”


Hayate turned to Shirou, her eyes searching his face. “Shirou?” she asked quietly. “Is that true?”


He hesitated, then offered her a faint, apologetic smile. “I can’t,” he whispered after a pause, making sure only she could hear it. “It’s complicated. This gem belonged to a friend, someone who trusted me with it. I can’t share her secrets with anyone. But I can tell you that it’s highly unlikely it caused the outbreak. That’s not how her magecraft works, and she has been using this thing for other purposes, so having someone tamper with it could be very dangerous.”


Hayate studied him for a long moment, then glanced back at Gaius and the others. “Alright, I see what's going on,” she said. “Until there’s evidence that proves otherwise, there’s no reason to assume that a gem is the cause. Our focus should be on containing what happened, not harassing one of our own. He has proven time and time again that he's on our side, so why are you all treating us like someone we can't trust?”


Some of the officers exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing. He could still sense the distrust beneath the surface, and despite Hayate’s presence, it was clear this confrontation was far from over. Hayate, meanwhile, stood with quiet defiance beside him. 


He truly felt bad, and the weight of that guilt pressed against his chest. He knew perfectly well that this situation placed her in a difficult position, and the chance of this confrontation turning into something dangerous was far from small. “I do not want to hand it over because I am afraid it might end up in the wrong hands. It could create even more trouble in the future for all of us,” he said firmly.  


“Are you accusing us?” One of the men spoke for the first time from the side. “The Time-Space Administrative Bureau is an organization that exists to protect the world, not cause disorder. Are you really accusing us of being untrustworthy?”  


He did not respond to the outburst, instead keeping his attention locked on Hayate. “Is there truly no way you can change your mind?” she asked.


“I… I can trust you. If it is just to confirm what this gem is and to clear up the misunderstanding, then yes. But I cannot let it out of my sight,” he answered carefully. Though he had not spoken the rest aloud, the meaning behind his words was clear. Hayate recognized it, and she gave a small nod with an apologetic smile, tugging at her lips. “It saddens me. I am your commander, and I promised you that you would be safe, that you could trust the Time-Space Administrative Bureau. But clearly, I did not take into account that, aside from good people, there are always others who bring trouble not only to others but to themselves as well.”  


“Do not blame yourself,” he said quietly, rubbing the back of his head. “You have done far more for me than I will ever be able to repay.”  


Hayate inclined her head slightly, drawing in a slow breath before closing her eyes and then opening them again with renewed resolve. “I will be a bit selfish here and ask you to trust me once more. Can you do that?” she said, extending her hand toward him.  


He hesitated, his mind running through the consequences, but then realized that this might be the best outcome he could hope for. Anything else would only give the others reason to label him as something far worse, which would make protecting Lutecia far harder, nearly impossible. “Alright,” he said at last. With a faint smile, he placed the orange gem into her palm. In the background, the man’s expression shifted into a slight smirk. 


“You have done well, Commander Hayate. By letting go of your bias, you have thankfully not allowed yourself to be—”  


“Who said I am handing this over to you?” she cut in sharply, which sounded so unlike her usual tone that it startled even him at her side and several officers posted nearby. The man froze, eyes widening as if he had been waiting for her to simply hand it over, only to watch Hayate slip the gem into her pocket instead. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.  


“I should be asking you that,” she replied evenly. “Now that Shirou has complied with the orders and handed over the gem, this should no longer be an issue.”  


“He did not hand over the gem to—”


“He did,” she snapped, cutting Gaiz off again and crossing her arms. “I am a commander, part of the Time-Space Administrative Bureau. I represent our organization just as much as you do, and his handing the item to me should be no different. I will overlook your attempts to keep me away from this meeting, and even your choice to call back the team behind my back, but I draw the line here. Push any further, and I will retaliate, Commander.”  


A dense silence settled across the room, heavy and suffocating. Several officers exchanged uneasy glances, while others simply watched in silence, their faces showing everything from unease to disbelief.  


“I feel like lately, Commander Hayate, you have become far bolder since this outsider appeared,” the man finally said, his voice cold and cutting.  


“Personally, I don’t think so,” she replied evenly. “But even if that were the case, I don’t see the problem. So why would you?”  


Clearly unwilling to continue the exchange, the man gave a low scoff before turning his back to her and walking toward the door at the far end of the room. “Tread carefully, Commander Hayate. You can only shield this outsider for so long before you find yourself caught in the storm that follows him. He is a risk not just to us, but to the Bureau as a whole.”  


“Thank you for the advice,” she said cheerfully, the edge in her smile impossible to miss. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”  


He let out a faint “Hmph” before exiting, the door shutting behind him with a dull thud.  


.  

.  

.  


Within the quiet hallways, Regius’ footsteps echoed, each step heavier than the last. His overall demeanour, visibly clear for anyone to see, was anger and frustration. Both emotions, evident not just on his face, were also the way he walked with his hands curled up into a fist. The man almost looked like he was ready to punch the first person he came across. 


“I take it things did not go well,” came a voice from ahead. A woman with light brown hair approached, and glasses approached, clipboard in hand, her expression as calm and neutral as ever. His earlier anger heavily subsided as soon as his eyes landed on her.


“She’s starting to get on my nerves,” he muttered. “Always covering for him, always finding a way to protect him. After today, I doubt she’ll take her eyes off him for even a second.”  


“Do we let the matter drop, then?” she asked quietly.  


He shook his head. “No. He’s not telling the full truth; I can tell there is more to that thing. It’s far too convenient for that gem he found to be just a depleted energy source. Even now, he refuses to surrender it, which only proves there’s something more hidden within. The problem now is that it’s in Hayate’s hands. She won’t hand it over easily, and for all we know, she might return it to the boy after pretending it’s harmless.” He paused, his tone lowering. “Any word from him, Auris?”  


“He has reviewed the footage,” Auris replied. “He admits it has caught his attention. He said that if we require help, he’s willing to assist.”  


The man let out a short, derisive laugh. “Is that man still under the illusion that he can mount another major invasion like before without facing an even greater loss? He may have a brilliant mind, but without his main trump card, what could a handful of drones possibly do? Midchilda has already doubled its defences; another attack would not even require them to send any high-ranked mages.” He spoke with cold disdain, brushing past her without noticing the faint twitch that crossed her expression as he did.


"Then what do you propose?"   


The man took a few seconds to ponder their next move. He was in no hurry, nor desperate enough to go after that item at the expense of his own side. Though his animosity and strained history with Hayate were well known, he still acknowledged her as one of the strongest mages alive. Going against her would be nothing short of suicide, yet he wasn’t willing to back down easily.  


"She brought this upon herself. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she eventually backs away," he said at last, turning toward the exit.  


The woman didn’t follow. Instead, she watched him leave, her gaze narrowing as the door closed. A few moments passed before her face started to morph, short hair turning to long straight ones, both face and eyes changing till they resembled someone entirely different, then she reached into her coat and retrieved a small device. The screen flickered to life, revealing Jail’s face, the man looking far healthier than during their last conversation.  


"Anything to report, Due?" Jail asked. “He hasn't discovered your identity, right?”


She shook her head. "No, I made sure to dispose of the body and behave just like the original one to avoid any suspicions. Also, it’s as you said. He wasn’t able to do anything. Commander Hayate has gone out of her way to keep him protected," she replied.  


Jail hummed, unsurprised. "I expected as much. Gaiz is many things, but he lacks the drive to push boundaries and take unconventional risks. He’s useful only to a point, and beyond that, he becomes more of a burden than an asset."  


"Should I make my move and retrieve Quattro? Or should I dispose of Regius as well?"  


"No, not yet. Capturing Emiya Shirou would only lead to the same result as before. Doing such drastic actions will draw too much attention back to us, and Regius is still of use to me. Our current resources aren’t enough to hold or suppress Emiya Shirou's magic. It’s too volatile and far removed from what we understand. But I am curious about what he has given to the Commander. Hayate may be a greater threat to us, yet her power is still of this world. She’s not unbeatable…  You know what to do."  


"Understood."  


The screen went dark. Due exhaled softly, sliding the device back into her pocket and reverting back to Auris’ face as she turned towards the door and stepped out, spotting Regius waiting on the other side with a faint frown.  


"You’re late," he said.  


"My apologies, Father."  


{Break}  


(A few hours later)


"Home sweet home," Shirou murmured. Subaru had been right; he’d started to see this planet as home too, and returning filled him with quiet relief. 


"The mission actually turned out to be short and successful, I’d say. I honestly expected them to have us scouring the entire planet for those creatures and wiping out every last one," Teana added, stretching his shoulders.  


"That would be impossible, even for us," Subaru replied. "There could be millions of those things. Even with our mana reserves, it would take months, maybe years, of constant fighting. I have confidence in my stamina, but that sort of life sounds like torture. I’d lose my mind before we were halfway done."  


"Tell me about it. I already lost my appetite just seeing all those walking corpses. Sorry, Shirou, I’ll be skipping dinner again. I don’t think I can stomach anything tonight," she said, her face faintly green.  


He gave a small shrug. "Don’t worry, I won’t be making anything heavy. Maybe something sweet, just to cleanse the palate."  


"Good idea."  


Though he smiled at her response, his mind was elsewhere. The weight of recent events lingered in his thoughts. He was dissatisfied, both with how close he’d come to causing trouble for Hayate and with the growing possibility that things might only get worse if certain people kept insisting on stirring up conflict with him. It was starting to feel too much like the Clock Tower all over again.


The spaceship touched down near the headquarters, its metallic hull humming softly as the landing struts settled into place. The doors opened with a hiss, and a rush of cooler air filled the cabin. One by one, the crew began stepping out, with Fate going first as she wanted to check up on Vivio. Nanoha, on the other hand, stayed by his side for a bit longer, having heard what happened earlier and having kept him company. “It's really rare for Hayate to genuinely get angry like that. I don't know why Regius is coming after you to such an extent, so you'll have to stay careful, Shirou.”


Lutecia walked alongside him as well, nodding her head. “He is a bad person.” 


“Well, I wouldn't say bad, yet, but he definitely does not like me. Hah… eh? Ah!” In the middle of his speech, he had not expected a pair of lips to gently press against his. This action even surprised Lutecia, who looked at the two with widened eyes and a slack jaw. 


“Feel better?” Nanoha asked, even leaning closer with her eyes meeting his. “Or would you like another one?” 


“...”


Several thoughts crossed his mind, yet he already had his answer when he moved in to return the favour. This time, the surprise formed on her face, instincts having already grabbed hold of his actions with his hand gently caressing her cheeks and his other arm circling around her waist to pull her closer. Momentarily get lost in the sensation of her soft lips, her fragrance, and much more. This went on for long enough that Nanoha ended up being the one who backed away with a reddened face. “W-Woah, ha-haha… w-we should continue this somewhere more private.” 


She did not even give him time to respond before walking away quickly, holding onto Lutecia, who was still in pure shock. 


“... No wonder she likes teasing me, it's addicting.” He muttered with a slight smirk growing on his face. Part of him wanted to see more of that face, and he did not miss what she said at the end of her phrase, which meant she liked it as well. Looking forward to more than just cooking, Shirou was about to follow shortly after, though he stopped when he felt a gentle tug at his sleeve. Turning around, he saw Hayate standing there, her expression calm yet expectant.


“Hold on there, lover boy. Can I have a small moment to talk with you?” she asked with a hint of amusement. “I promise I won't hold you back for long. Pretty sure Nanoha is looking forward to being with you.” 


He nodded without hesitation while scratching the back of his head. “Sorry about earlier, I thought we were alone…” He assumed she wanted to discuss what had happened earlier, perhaps to clarify something about the mission. But to his surprise, she reached into her coat pocket, pulled out a small gem, and placed it carefully into his palm.


“What?” he asked, puzzled by the gesture.


“I wasn’t really planning to take something important that once belonged to your friend,” she waved her hand and explained. “I only made it look that way so the others would think it was with me. That way, they wouldn’t bother you anymore. Most of the higher-ups are decent people, but they’re bound by rules, and sometimes those rules can make things more complicated than they already are. Then there are people like Regius, who has been a pain. I would say that I'm happy that he's no longer targeting me, but that would be a lie.”


He frowned slightly. “If you’re giving this back, won’t that cause you trouble?”


To his mild astonishment, Hayate simply shrugged. “Nothing like that. I’m still a commander, remember? I can just say we ran some tests and found no danger in it, so we returned it. It’s not as complicated as you might think. I have my ways.” She finished with a small grin, the kind that made it difficult to tell whether she was serious or joking.


He felt a mix of gratitude and guilt wash over him. These people had gone out of their way to help him, and the sense of debt he owed them only grew stronger. “Now I feel kind of silly worrying about this the whole way back,” he admitted.


Hayate laughed softly. “I could see it all over your face. You were so tense. Did you really think I was going to keep your friend’s item forever?”


His eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. “No, no, I wasn’t worried about that! I trust you!”


“Sure didn’t look like it,” she said, resting her hands on her hips. Her suspicious tone only lasted a moment before her cheerful smile returned. “Just kidding.”


He sighed, half amused after realizing what she was trying to do. “You and Nanoha are the worst.”


“Thank you for the compliment,” she replied with mock pride. “Still, I did you quite a favor today. Shouldn’t I expect something in return? If it's good enough, I'll be sure to turn a blind eye next time you two decide to go all lovey dovey.” Her voice carried a teasing lilt, but her eyes sparkled with genuine playfulness.


He hummed thoughtfully, realizing that she had a point. He owed her far more than a simple thank-you. “Hmm… I suppose I should repay you somehow.”


“You don’t have to think that hard,” she said with a small wave of her hand. “Making me a meal and inviting me for dinner would be fine.”


“No, that’s too simple. You’ve done far too much for me for that,” he replied immediately, his tone serious. Hayate gave a small groan, pressing her palm to her forehead and muttering something under her breath that he couldn’t quite catch.


Meanwhile, Shirou stood there, clearly troubled. He wanted to offer something meaningful, but his mind was blank. He was still unfamiliar with the city, and compared to her position as a commander, there wasn’t much he could offer that she didn’t already have access to.


“You really don’t have to overthink it,” Hayate said again, her tone softening… almost sounding like a plea. “Really, a diner would suffice… There is this really good restaurant that I got use reserve tw—”


“—I do also have another idea, maybe I could help you with paperwork. Every time Fate or Nanoha talks about you, they mention how you spend entire days in your office sorting through reports.”


“Urgh!” she suddenly groaned, clutching her stomach dramatically as if something had punched her. “Those two…” Her complaint hung in the air.


“Geez! Just take her to the movies!” Surprisingly, the one who came up with the answer was none other than Zwei, who floated right above his face, looking at him while she was upside down herself. “She's been complaining nonstop lately about how she wants to watch a movie that came out lately, but is too busy with her own work to do so. But with you here, you can just force her to relax for once.” 


“Zwei!”


“I'm just saying~!” The little one said before flying away. 


Actually, the idea was not bad. She definitely needed to relax for once, and watching a movie certainly helped. But the issue came with this possibly looking like a date, and he did not want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings between the two friends. There was nothing wrong with just accompanying Hayate for that, since he had no plans on doing anything beyond hanging around with a friend. In fact, he had done so several times with Luvia, Ayako — even that polite hooded girl with a somewhat familiar face who was like an unofficial assistant to Waver, and things turned out fine. 


But still, he had an idea in mind just to avoid things being too awkward. 


“Let's do that.” He said those words right in the middle of Hayate, who started to mention how he did not need to feel forced to do so and to disregard Zwei’s comments. Now, the woman went quiet at his quick answer. Looking at him closely as if to make sure he was not joking. 


“...You're serious?” 


“Of course!” He exclaimed with a wide smile. “I'd love to accompany you to the movies. So let's schedule one for tomorrow.” 


It was a simple hangout; he doubted anything problematic would happen to ruin the moment.

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 38.5: Red Love

Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness, Maglad and GamerCrusher55.

Double update with this and Chapter 39

Had this been added to the regular chapter 38, total wordcount would have been nearly 22 freaking K word total. Haven't checked how much is this one on its own... Probably more than 5k i think.

So yeah, next update is the extra Hound chapter, followed by Nanoha and Broly.

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-(Lemon Start Chapter 38.5)-


All they did was gaze at each other for a time. This went on until she leaned forward and boldly pressed her lips against his, as they had done several times now.


Her lips were soft, molding against his as he tasted her cherry lips, and the sensation went straight through him. She held the kiss, savoring it, before finally pulling back in a controlled, slow separation.


"Huh. Even after all that, I still don’t really feel any better, and I still think I can change your mind," she muttered with some stubbornness.


"What do you mean?" he managed to answer, as she shifted above him. Her face hovered just above, red silk-like hair falling, framing his vision, some brushing over his cheeks, the strands tickling him as they danced across his face.


"We're going to crack the Servant system together. We'll find a way to keep you, Rider, and maybe even some of the other Servants around, as long as they’re not our enemies. But for now, I need something to replace that Command Seal I lost." Her words came out low and intent. "I want to feel you closer, Emiya. I want you right here with me."


“We can talk about that later. Perhaps a moment of rest will make you feel better, Master. It’s been a long day.”


She ignored him. Instead, she reached for his hand and pressed it firmly against her chest. The roughness of his palm met the soft, yielding flesh of her breast, a heavy, firm, perfect curve that molded itself around his fingers. Underneath he could feel her nipple, already stiff, and straining against his touch, along with the gentle speeding rise of her chest as she inhaled and exhaled — all of it betraying her excitement. Her face reddened, the blush vivid, but she didn’t let go. Hesitation flickered in her eyes, followed by something more determined, and a flicker of hope. 


“I-I want you to stay with me, not just as my Servant.”


“Quite the demand.”


She then averted her eyes, clearly nervous, before meeting his gaze again. “Archer… do you think I’m beautiful?”


He raised a brow. “That’s an odd question for you to ask. You already know the answer.”


She shook her head, pressing his hand more firmly against herself, her voice almost pleading. “I want to hear it from you.”


He let out a breath. His grip tightened around her breast, thumb grazing the hard point of her nipple, making her flinch, yet still stare at him waiting for his answer. 


“You are a beautiful young woman, Rias.” 


She smiled affectionately, happiness soaring within her at the affirmation.


“Th-Then… not just as your Master, but also as Rias Gremory, I want to give you something very important to me for having saved me and everyone else. And also as a replacement for the lost Command Seal that bound us together, I want to give you something else in exchange, as proof that we'll always be together.” She finished her declaration by slowly bringing her face closer to his.


Their lips connected once more.


Emiya reveled in the taste and feel of her lips. They were soft and persistent against his own, and full of such passion he felt as though he’d become drunk on it if he indulged too much. She kept pressing more and more into him, as Emiya felt more and more of her affection, until finally she pulled back, unable to hold her breath any longer, a thin strand of shining saliva was the only proof of their brief union, still connecting their lips for a brief moment.


“Haaa… haouu… Haaa… haouu.”


“Master, you don’t have to—”


However whatever he was going to say was cut off, as two deep breaths were all she took before once more diving into him not even letting him adjust from her previous aggression, attacking him with the taste of rich, sweet cherries once more. 


The richness of her desire filled him, as she continued to taste him, just as he was tasting her. 


Eventually once more after another stretch, she pulled back when her lungs demanded she take a breath, and Rias had to be content with admiring her precious Servant’s visage. 


“Haaa… haou… Has it occurred to you that maybe I just want to?” Rias said in a throaty voice, a pouting blush covering her face.


“Eh?” He blinked twice at that.


“I’m kissing you because I want to kiss you, Emiya, and I won’t stop until I’ve had my fill. I’m not doing this because I feel some debt to you, or that I’m forcing myself — I’m not stopping because I don’t want to stop.” she said before leaning in for yet another kiss.


This time, it turned out to be different however. He now felt her tongue probe his lips, demanding entrance. So desperate and demanding, the greedy Devil. As soon as he realized she wasn’t going to stop, he permitted her entrance.


“—!” 


Ah, he still ended up underestimating her. As soon as he let down his guard and allowed it, she attacked him like a whip, rushing past his defenses, and wrapping her tongue around his own. 


The fierceness of her actions took him by surprise. She was getting more and more aggressive as time went on, further giving herself to him, and demanding the same in turn. Quickly building her experience with her every action. Her passion and need propelled her to learn at an unbelievable speed that startled even him.


But, at the rate they were going, it wouldn’t be long before he would be genuinely pulled in, and cross a point of no return as they found themselves completely immersed in the moment.


But that was not a preferable outcome for the Servant. Before things escalated too quickly, he needed his Master to understand the consequences behind her choice.


Resolving to make sure she wasn’t making a mistake with this before it went too far, he gently yet sternly pried the woman off him, yet he still held her close and forced her to meet his gaze. 


“Nwhaa…You don't want to?” she asked, her head still trying to lean in, her voice coming out as a whine as she struggled to continue, ever wanting more. 


“…It's not that.” 


He gently cupped her soft, rosy face, wiping the trace of saliva from her lips with his thumb.


“Rias I can feel the passion driving your affection, and how much you want this. I won’t pretend I don’t want it myself. But that doesn’t change how much of an important decision this is, and I fear that you’re rushing headfirst into it. It would be irresponsible for me to not remind you that.” 


He could see the conflicting emotions on her face, shifting between a spectrum of want, compassion, hurt, gratitude, betrayal, and pleading. 


“I'm not saying I'm unhappy that you feel this strongly about me, or that I don't appreciate what you're doing. I'm just… surprised you want to go this far. Remember how strongly you hated the idea of being someone’s nameless conquest, how badly you did not want to be tied to Riser? Sometimes, during moments of extreme emotions, people can make decisions they would not want to make normally.”


Slowly Rias’s eyes grew blurry, her blue orbs shining as tears began to stream down her face. “Sniff… mngrh… I… I was s-so scared. I-I thought you were going to d-die, that you were… You were going to leave me…”


He gently brushed the heiress’ tears away as she slowly hugged him crying into his arms. He could feel her shaking as she let out all the emotions she felt within her. 


“I am not going anywhere, Master.” 


He let her emotions pour out, as she nestled deeply into his chest. They stayed like that for a while as she held on to him tightly. All the while, he said nothing, gently caressing the Gremory heiress from the top of her flaming red hair, to the base of her smooth, supple back.


After a while she finally calmed down. As she gently lifted her head to look at him, her eyes were still brimming with tears and her makeup was a mess, but warmth had returned to her sapphire orbs and she wore a smile as she stared at him..


He quietly projected napkins and started cleaning her face with a small smile. “You're not one to use makeup that much, especially not at night. You'll just end up messing the pillow covers, silly.” 


She froze, especially after he removed the last trace on her face, “There, that's better.” 


If that was not enough, he even started to gently pull on her cheeks which made the girl’s initial saddened face switch to one that glared back at him. “Uuuuh, I was pouring out my feelings for you and you're more worried about the pillow covers?” 


“It is my duty as your Servant to keep you and the house in perfect condition.” He said cheekily, making it hard for her to look angered and instead started to chuckle. After a few moments, he continued with a more genuine expression. “I don't need some form of reward or compensation for what I did during the fight to be happy, Master.” 


“I know.” Rias answered, “You are satisfied with the strangest things, Arc— no, Emiya. But you are also stubborn and can’t get the hint at times, I am not doing this just for you.” 


He could not argue against that, looking at her in the eyes and realizing she was being serious. “If I am stubborn, then you sure have an odd way to reward me or from another angle feel the need to establish a stronger connection between us just because of a single Command Seal.”


At that moment, the girl had decided that enough was enough and grabbed his face.


“I'm not doing this just for that!” She exclaimed loudly. “Lately, I feel like I’ve just been losing you. Not just because of the absence of a command seal, or how close you almost disappeared, but also because of how close you have been getting lately with Akeno, Rider, and even Grayfia too! I used to have all your time to myself, but now it feels like you’ve been getting more and more distant.”


He calmly listened to the redhead, the latter's voice growing louder with each syllable. There was no surprise or shock, for he knew her well enough to understand why she felt like that. 


“I won't disagree with you on that. Things were simpler before and not as… erratic as now. But I spent just as much time with others back then as I do currently, as your Servant I am bound to you. It’s just that you are just noticing those moments now more than ever.” He said with a chuckle, seeing her intense aqua blue eyes practically disagree with his comment. “But if you want, I can change that. I guess including all the time we already spend together, including spending every night sleeping next to each other, I can always increase it just by stopping being a teacher.”


“Ah, wait.” The girl realized what he was proposing and quickly shook her head. “I-I… I'm not asking you to go that far!” 


“Oh? Aren't you more interested in spending time with me?”


“I am,” she replied silently. “But, I also see you enjoy being a teacher… I don't want to take that away from you. I was rather thinking… you know… moments like that shopping spree we had before. More of those moments, where it's just the two of us.” 


The shopping spree? That was quite a while ago, he recalled his summoning to this world still being recent back then. Understanding what she was trying to say, he couldn't help but laugh again.


“W-Why are you laughing now!?” She exclaimed with a red face. 


“Nothing,” he shook his head with a smile on his face. “Just amused how hard it was for you to just ask for a simple date. Heh, still, a date despite us spending so much time together and even sleeping in the same bed. Does your greed know no bounds?” the man asked lightly.


The girl at first averted her eyes, but then gathered her courage to look back at him and cross her arms beneath her chest, pushing them up further. “No, it doesn't, and as a Devil I am proud of it! I’m greedy and I want to spend more and more time with you. The way I am now, I can say it with certainty down to my very core. I feel like that’s the only way to get this sick feeling out of me.”


He continued to play along. 


“Oh my, oh my, I’ve got such a demanding Master by my side. Still you shouldn’t overreact if I spend time with your Queen, my fellow Servant, and your sister-in-law who’s always worried about you.”


“Your talking about them, like being with them is just natural,” she mumbled under her voice, clearly miffed at him. “Rider and you are technically enemies, but you would never guess that, with how close you two are. Akeno is my Queen so you two are technically working for me together, but sometimes it feels that you're glued more to her side than with me. You and Grayfia both look after me and care about me, but lately it feels like you’ve got this strange dynamic between each other — she’s also married you know! She’s off limits, mister!” 


That made him roll his eyes. Jealousy, an emotion this girl certainly was quite prone to fall for he noticed. But it was not a surprise for him, for this was not the first time he had a jealous Master with wild ideas. “I am half certain that the woman is still planning on torturing me for using her kitchen rather than holding feelings for me.”


“Humph!” Rias grumbled, but looking at Archer’s stern face and crossed arms. “You sure did get along quite well with her today if she feels like that.” 


He waved her words with a shrug, “Just think of it as respect amongst professionals. She earned my respect with her skills just as I earned hers. Besides,” he gently flicked her forehead. “I can always say no even if she had such feelings.”


In the end, she relented. “Alright fine, I’ll… I'll stop harping about you and Grayfia. But next time, I want to try cooking as well.”


“Are you serious?” he asked with amusement, seeing through her intentions immediately.


The heiress raised her head with some smugness. “Of course, I may not look at it, but I know how to cook as well, and I enjoy it too as a hobby. I just haven’t had many opportunities to do it lately, but now I don’t see any reason why I can’t pick it back up if it means we can spend more time together.”


Japanese cooking most definitely with how much this girl was obsessed with anything Japan related. 


“As you wish, I'm not against the idea.”


“Of course, and you have to teach me some excellent Japanese dishes. I want to know just how you can make them taste so delicious.”


Archer chuckled to himself at her statement. “Sure, sounds like fun.”


“Hehe!” Rias continued working on the finishing touches on her face. “Anyway, from now on the two of us are going to spend even more time together, and be way closer. I’m sorry, I know you enjoy your time with others but you're important to me, so I’m gonna monopolize your time when I can… and also…”


“Yes?”


“Thank you for being my Servant,” she whispered with a sparkling face and a genuine smile. Framed by two beautiful aqua blue eyes the color of sapphire, and by flowing red hair as vibrant as the sunset.


‘…Whoah.’ Archer stared at her stunned at the stunning beauty. The beauty gently touched his thighs as she felt their firmness and tenderness, never taking her eyes off of him. He sat there mesmerized as she slowly used her swaying hand to powerfully push him down onto the bed, as she crawled over him once more. Her crimson hair once more took the world in front of him, replacing it with only her.


“If this has to happen one day, I want it to be with someone like you, who genuinely cares about me and who I am. I want to be with you. I want us to have something more than what we have had so far. Right now I want you to look at me more than just your Master, or just an innocent girl you need to protect. I want you to look at me as just Rias.”


She leaned in again for a kiss, full of passion and want. Feeling her determination, he finally welcomed her and returned her kiss. As Rias gave her love to him, he in turn accepted hers.


…


Their bodies melded together as they continued to explore each other’s lips. Their tongues danced in each other’s mouths as they continued to savor their taste. Archer pulled her in close, his hands sinking into her luscious red hair as he worked to reach her smooth and pleasant back. Pushing it gently down, she obligingly sank into his flesh, the warmth of their bodies enveloping them. 


The softness of her breasts pushed against his chest, her hardened nipples poking at him, and a shiver spread across her body as his arm moved to caress her waist. While they shared their kiss, she grinded into him, rubbing herself on him more and more. He could feel her soft and firm breath entangle his senses as they massaged his chest, her smooth legs entangling with his own, her lower region pushing itself against him. Their tongues kept interlocking for dominance all the while, their sole focus was on each other, canceling out anything that could interrupt them. The dominance was one that was ultimately his as his dominant experience defeated her inexperience. He began to enjoy her to his leisure, sending shiver after shiver of pleasure up and down the light Devil's spine.


“A-ah! Ah…” She moaned, seemingly incapable of threading sounds into words as she struggled to lean down against his lips. In the end he eventually overwhelmed her, her instinct losing to him as she stopped resisting him, letting him have his way with her, turning her into a pile of dough for his use. She had given up so much that he had decided to release her, separating them at long last, as he gave her a moment to catch her breath.


“Hah… hah… hah…” Her lust found a mirror in his eyes as she stared into them.


“You were good for your first time, but sadly I’m still too old and experienced to let you just have your way with me.” “Mmmgh-mmgah.” “Sigh, while you're recovering let me just air this out one final time. I am not just going to disappear, that much I can promise you. But you feeling this way is something I still must advise you to reconsider, Master. I am obliged to say as such as a Heroic Spirit; it might not end well in the future, aiming at a ghost.”


“Then just like you said, I'll find a way to achieve a miracle. For tonight, can you be mine? I want to feel you closer, I want to forget how I nearly lost you, and I just want to show you how I feel about you.”


Their faces once more connected as they continued making out. Their hands groped each other’s body as they felt the curiosity of the other. 


“Ah~!” She moaned louder, getting overwhelmed within moments when, just for a fleeting second, that sense of control slipped from her hands. “You did this before?” She asked in between her breaths. Hazy eyes slowly getting filled with pure desire and barely managing to hold on to sanity. 


Archer then stopped, various thoughts crossing his mind, including keeping what had happened before a secret. But the more he pondered, the clearer it became how this would only invite trouble later down the line. So, deciding to bite the bullet, he opened his mouth. “In my previous life? Yes. But, also here.”


He decided to be honest with her.


Seeing the sudden dazed expression on her face, he started to talk, recounting the events from the beach, including both Akeno and Rider. Skipping over some unnecessary details and just laying everything on her. After what felt like an eternity, he waited for an extreme reaction of anger or disbelief. But instead, the redhead just had a face of pure determination as she pushed him to the side. 


In the next moment, she was sitting on top of him. “That Akeno… I should have known she would do something like that. Rider, I have to admit I am at a disadvantage given your past shared history somewhere. But that means I'll just have to be better than them.” 


“What? This is not some sort of competition where you need to—oi!” Moving swiftly, she slid down and now sat on top of his legs, both hands already grabbing the edge of his shorts, with the blush on her face growing bigger. 


“This may be my first time, but I have read and watched enough of Akeno's secret collection to know what to do, and I am confident that my body is not lesser than any of them.” With that said, she pulled down the piece of clothing guarding his manhood, immediately facing his member. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. Without any warning, her hands moved to take hold of the appendage, feeling her soft hands wrap around it in a gentle hold, causing a shiver to go up Archer's spine. “So warm… “ Archer closed his eyes, letting the waves of pleasure wash over him as the young girl's hands started to explore his manhood. Her face was close to his member, her breath hot and heavy. 


“…and soft, yet hard,” she muttered, her eyes transfixed in her actions, gliding her hands on the sensitive appendage. She seemed to want to caress every inch of it, as she continued to rub, tip to the base. He didn't know how long it went on, but after a while, he heard her murmur under her breath. "It's so big, I can barely wrap my hand around it."


She didn't realize her voice carried, but it was loud enough for the man to hear, "If it's too much for you, you don't have to force yourself."


Rias huffed, "It's nothing," she replied stubbornly. But, despite her words, she didn't increase her speed and continued to go at the same slow pace. Her fingers gently caressed his manhood. “I can do more.” 


Just as he was going to say more, those words were immediately stopped by the sensation of a hot, slimy sensation gliding on the surface of his shaft. The sensation felt like a burst of electricity coursing through his spine, all the way to his mind, where the pleasure intensified with each of her strokes.


She gently blew on his tip, making him shudder at the sharp breeze contrasting with hot flesh, shortly followed by a soft wet sensation as Rias stuck her tongue out. Her hands still moved, but her focus was mainly on licking him. She started at the base and ran her tongue along the length of the shaft before reaching the tip, swirling around it. Her other hand moved to his balls, fondling them with gentle squeezes — which were then accompanied by her soft lips, making him stiffen at the wave of pleasure. The redhead peppered his shaft with kisses along the length. Her face was flushed with desire while she locked her gaze with him. He started to realize that this girl was getting better at a freight rate. 


Meanwhile, a different thought occurred in her mind.


‘It’s strange, I almost feel like… I’ve done this before.’


The face behind his member slowly resembled one might associate with a succubus rather than a Devil.


She gave a long kiss to the tip before letting it go with a wet smack. Her hands continued their motion as she stroked his cock. “Hn!” This made an audible moan involuntarily escape his mouth.


Seeing his reaction, Rias giggled and took her mouth off, then wrapped her fingers around the hardened shaft, her thumb circling the tip. She looked at Archer and was rewarded by a moan, a sound that caused her own loins to stir. Her other hand went down and slid into her slit, feeling her own wave of pleasure overwhelm her mind.


The bedsheets ruffled from her movement when she lowered her face over the head of Archer's lengthy cock, her plump lips planting a light kiss on it before eagerly parting around it as they began to slide down around its throbbing head, as she resumed her oral service. His mind and body trembled and tensed, a fog of heat and pleasure descending over him as surely as her luscious lips descended around the shaft of his cock. Struggling to focus as she pushed her tongue's tip between her lower lip and his shaft to welcome his length into her mouth as easily as possible, letting out a muffled gasp as it reached the back of her throat. 


For him, the sensation itself was both painful and pleasurable enough that his arm twitched, and before he realized it, his hand pushed her head down the rest of the way, his cock forcing its way down her throat in but an instant. Her lips and tongue made out with the head of his rod before pulling back out so she could slide her lips down around it all the way to its base, deep-throating him of her own accord, enjoying the sensation of his heat and firmness within her, and the pulse of his heartbeat through his throbbing cock as it filled her throat.


"Hn~!" The girl moaned, her throat convulsing as she did so, sending a mighty quake up and down his spine.


“Mmm~!" Rias felt a mighty tensing on Archer's cock and began to 'swallow' around his shaft, her wet, tight, and hot throat gently but eagerly pulling him in as she mentally prepared for him to cum, and for a few lust-addled moments.


…Nothing else mattered between the two.


"Hn-ah!" 


The next moment, it finally happened, he let out a loud groan, his balls aching almost painfully as he climaxed deep behind Rias' lips, his masculine shaft almost hurting the lusty Devil as it tensed up in an effort to keep her from moving away, Archer's cum nearly roaring out as it hit the girl's insides. 


"Ah!" He groaned against the redheaded beauty.


“Hnmm…” It took almost several seconds for Archer's cum to stop painting her insides white, with the Gremory heiress tenderly suckling and swallowing around his cock until it stopped. Only then did she pull up, licking at his shaft and making it shine with luster as it left her lips, a hand caressing it again. The girl gasped and shivered in his arms.


Archer Projected a napkin so she could wipe her mouth. Swallowing whatever was left, she wiped out any remnants and took a few relaxing breaths. 


Having gone through a small orgasm of her own while fingering herself, her nipples were as hard as little diamonds by now. Her body trembled with heat as he pulled her closer so their heads were right next to each other. Feeling the softness and warmth of their bodies as they just stayed there for a bit. 


“That… that was easier than I thought,” she murmured into his ears, biting his lobes, which earned her a gentle cheek pinch. 


“Now, that was impressive,” he said dryly, genuinely not expecting her to be this good. Hearing his words, she grinned mischievously, the prior shyness having heavily subsided, and she seemed more relaxed at the moment. 


But the lust in her eyes, on the other hand, had not diminished, quite the opposite in fact. 


“I'm still not done,” she got up, turning herself so that she was on all fours with her rear facing him and swaying back and forth. Her juices dripped from her womanhood, streaming down her thighs and inviting him. 


“Can we… please? That wouldn't have been enough to satisfy you, and you need to return the favor to me~” 


She smirked with grown confidence as she looked over her shoulder and saw him stare at her, transfixed. His cock, once more standing tall, once more smacking itself up at the sight, the shaft and head already hard enough for service once again. Entertaining the idea of taking it back into her mouth and seeing him squirm a bit, the image provided an almost irresistible air of indecency to it that sent a shiver through her hips.


“Quickly~! I am waiting~! Do it before Grayfia stops by and butts in places she shouldn't be present,” she asked eagerly, though he immediately sensed her nervousness.


“I ask again, are you sure about this? There is no going back after.” 


“Do it, I don't want to have regrets because I wasn't proactive enough. And please, right now, call me by my name. Don't look at me as your Master.” 


Hearing these words, it became clear that the girl was certain and barely able to hold herself back. 


“If you say so, Rias.” He simply pulled her back against himself and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her neck, making her moan loudly. 


“Ah~!” 


He gave her more than a few kisses across her shoulders and neck before pulling her head back to kiss her lips and caress her body. He made sure she was ready before positioning himself at her entrance, while Rias’ eyes lit up with a spark of anticipation. The head of his shaft began pressing against her delicate folds. Slowly, he rubbed the tip up and down the length of her slit, making her mewl in lustful need.


After about half a minute of sweet torture, the poor girl tried to push her hips back against him, but Archer reacted by pulling back, earning him a cute pout before he finally grabbed her shapely hips, and with a steady thrust, sank inch after inch of his member inside her, filling her up, the head of his member pushing firmly against the entrance of her womb.


"Ah~Nrg~Oo-oh… Oh~!" The Gremory heir moaned in pain at first, leading him to stop as he awaited her permission to move again. Feeling blood surrounding his member, as it gently trickled down. Her arms and body trembled, the moment’s passing by as the girl adjusted, doing what she could to calm down and get over the initial sharp pain from losing her virginity. Holding onto his hand tightly gripping it so tightly it turned white. Archer could feel her insides caving in around him, demanding he never leave, her warm wet passage encasing him in pleasure. Both sides continued holding each other trying their best not to move, being patient with one another as the pain subsided.


“Are you alright?”


“Yes…” she nodded faintly, showing a smile on her face to reassure the man. “Just needed a few seconds, but it’s… not as painful as I was expecting.”


“It depends from person to person, you'll definitely feel something later.” He said.


“Hey, I'm still a Devil you know? We recover quickly, so keep moving. It doesn't hurt anymore strangely enough.” 


Nodding, he moved after a few seconds. Her pussy was just too tight, clenching around his shaft as he softly but firmly sank inside her wet depths. The young Devil gasped and moaned loudly, back straightening with both arms grabbing onto his head behind her as she pressed herself back harder against him. Her eyes showed pure pleasure, which had proved that now it had overtaken most traces of pain.


‘She does recover fast.’


“Ah~!”


Seconds passed, the heat within grew and slowly but surely started to overtake any uncomfortable sensation that lingered for long. Her mind, becoming more hazy with each slow thrust, as the redhead's voice started to grow louder and louder. “Yes… yes! Like this! Keep going~! Fuck… it feels good!” 


He started slowly, gaining momentum with each thrust. Rias, having never been filled up to this extent nor treated in such a way, found her body quivering as he buried his dick deep inside her in long, powerful strokes, causing her core to ripple and her breasts to bounce from each thrust. She grabbed a hold of her own swinging melons and squeezed them, crying out in bliss as she was brought to the pinnacle of pleasure every time Archer moved his hips. 


"Mnn~! Nn-!" Rias moaned salaciously, her body undulating as he fucked her from behind at was now a fast pace, never slowing down.


The young woman looked like she was in heaven, ironically enough. Her pussy was so full, impaled on his shaft as he pounded her in a rhythmic tempo. 


“Aaaah~!” Her entire body quaked as her eyes rolled from the ensuing climax. A string of her juices leaked from her pussy towards her ass as the pleasure took hold of her.


"Nn! Aah! Ah~! Don’t stop, Archer!" she screamed, body convulsing as she orgasmed, her pussy spasming and squirting juices onto him while she felt him approach his limit. He was about to pull away, only for her to push backwards and put him back in, the sensation making both partners moan in bliss. 


"Ahh~! A-Ah~! Archer~! Fuck me! Cumming!"


"Ooh~!" Archer let out a groan from feeling Rias tighten around his cock, pushing him over the edge as her climax milked out his own. As soon as he let go, he flooded her walls with his thick essence. The sensation lasted for a good while before he rested on the bed and Rias collapsed next to him. 


“Hah… hah… hah…” 


The woman was left panting heavily as she recovered from her intense orgasm, all the while staring at the man next to her. The man she’d fallen in love with. 


“Any regrets, Master?” She heard him say, pouting cutely at how he called her. 


“Just call me Rias in such moments, you're ruining the mood.” Basking in the afterglow, despite the exhaustion, she felt no regrets and immersed herself in the intoxicating feeling. At that moment, everything felt perfect.


Still, as seconds turned into minutes and she continued to keep her body warm through his touch, rather than going to sleep, she looked downwards.


Eyes lingering on his arm which had already recovered nearly entirely before their moment together — her fingers tracing along the contours. “I may be imagining it, but it looks healthier now. Some parts of it back then still looked a bit ghost-like earlier but now it is completely normal. I guess that means Rider was right after all.”


“What?” Archer felt like he had heard wrong and asked her to repeat. 


“Oh… I-It’s just… before leaving school, I was talking to Rider, and she mentioned a tantric ritual for wounded Servants who need more than the usual flow of magical energy to heal. I just recalled that conversation…”


“…”


Was this what she meant by having her revenge? Had she told anyone else?

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 39: Rematch

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and Shigiya

To Love a Sword Chapter 40: Little Brother?

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and FabledL

Next random idea oneshot-ish story poll

So, like I mentioned earlier, this is a poll to see what you all want to see next. Again, just doing these extra updates in my free time and as a way to relax my mind with stories where I can just go crazy and test out various ideas. I have more ideas but those are not nearly fleshed out to be included.

An Archer's Promise Chapter 77: Poison

Beta read by Gamercrusher55, Shigiya and Fluffy Slayer

Gonna be posting the poll for what y'all want me to start working on whenever I have free time. Either today or tomorrow, I'll add all the ideas I had in mind along with the option for a follow up chapter for Unlimited Souls Works.

Next update update is To Love a Sword

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Archer remembered his first days after being dropped into this unfamiliar land. He had spent them gathering scraps of information wherever he could, and continuing to do so as he traveled across Eostia. Passing from one settlement to another, speaking to traders, mercenaries, and anyone who would answer a question for the price of a drink. He wanted to understand the borders, the rulers, the alliances, and whether the enemies he was tasked to hunt down might have extended their reach beyond his estimation. Thankfully, the Kuroinu were mostly focused on Olga's domain back then.

But every document he found about the geography and history of this world came from the archives of the clergy from the Church of the Goddess, copied and edited by priests who cared more about doctrine than accuracy. Dates shifted, names changed, entire events conveniently vanished from the records, and even an entirely false origin story. Frustrating for sure, but not exactly something he had never dealt with before.

Most of what he learned about Fullstar did not come from books at all. It came from innkeepers swapping tales with travelers, from off-duty soldiers bragging in taverns, from passing merchants who spoke more about taxes and road conditions than about politics. The information was scattered, inconsistent, and often outright wrong. Still, he gathered every rumor he could find, piecing together a picture that was more guesswork than fact.

Now, standing in the center of a ring encircled by armed elves with the apparent Queen Evelyn herself held at swordpoint, Archer found the irony hard to ignore.

“This is going to be tricky,” he muttered dryly, eyes flicking towards Maia, who shot him a questioning look to which he couldn't help but release a faint chuckle at, that held no real humor. Trouble kept arriving without pause, stacking problem upon problem until irritation gave way to resignation. He had stopped expecting peace and instead braced himself for whatever nonsense came next.

Evelyn, however, met the situation with fury rather than being compliant, as one would expect from someone caught like this.

“Is this another of your schemes, Celestine?” she demanded, her voice raised high. The edge of his sword hovered at her throat, close enough to chill her skin but not yet cut it. A faint tremor in her tone betrayed nerves she tried to hide. “Do you plan to kill me, or take me hostage so you can seize my kingdom after losing your own to that wretched Dark Elf? I should have known you would fail and turn to such disgraceful tactics sooner or later. Release me now, unless you want to face another army marching from the west!”

‘Not exactly the best way to negotiate one's safety,’ noted the man dryly. For a woman with cold steel at her neck, she showed little concern for her life, or at least…she tried to showcase that image with little success. Her entire focus on Celestine, most likely pressuring the blonde to give him a signal to let her go or something.

“You misunderstand, Evelyn,” Celestine said evenly with a relaxed smile on her face. “We didn’t come here to make war with you. Truth is, we didn’t even come here willingly.”

“Then learn to lie better,” she snapped back.

“She’s not lying!” Maia shouted before Archer could answer. She sounded exhausted rather than angry. “We were literally teleported here! One second, we were in some abandoned elven ruins, the next thing we know, we’re literally landing right in the middle of your territory!”

“Silence, human!” Evelyn cut her off sharply. “I should have all of you hanged for daring to talk over the queen, you dirty li—hn!”

She froze when Archer shifted his grip, the blade sliding a hair closer until the cold steel kissed her skin. Not deep enough to cut, but just enough to remind her that her life hangs in the balance.

“You’re too loud,” he said, voice low. “As I told you before, we just want to leave. Let us walk out of here, and you keep your life and throne. Like Maia said, none of us want your crown, your land, or get involved in your war — this is all just a misunderstanding.”

“You dare make demands of me? Of a queen? A human speaking to me like this!? Kill him! No, capture him and throw him into the dungeon!” Evelyn glared at him as though the words themselves offended her more than the weapon at her throat. The elves around them shifted uneasily, watching the exchange without moving in. Archer only lifted one eyebrow in return. He had seen this same pride throughout several instances in his life; rulers measuring a person’s worth by race and birthplace before anything else… It was honestly getting annoying.

“I am—” Evelyn began her rant again, her tone rising.

“Evelyn, please,” Celestine interrupted, stepping forward slightly. “I know there is little trust between us. I know our kingdoms have not stood side by side in years. But we are not your enemies. Both our kingdoms have been attacked, and in response, we have always stayed neutral and even sent each other help several times before. Our families have aided each other before in the past, and all I ask right now is that you listen to me, that the same dangers we are facing right now are the same as yours, whether you want to admit it or not.”

"Don't you dare put us in the same boat! You're nothing but a messenger with the gall to call herself a goddess. You're not even of royal blood!" Evelyn shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. Even though she remained loud and uncooperative, Archer still managed to get something out of their little exchanges. Aside from the fact that they knew each other, their relationship was not exactly the best, and a possibility that people here did not truly believe Celestine was the Goddess… or at least, not the royal family.

"If you're going to kill me," she went on, her tone shaking despite her efforts to hold it steady, "then I swear on my name that no one will let this go unpunished. All of Fullstar will hunt you to the ends of the world!"

Her words tried to carry a threatening tone, but her trembling frame and breaking voice betrayed her fear. The threat lost some of its force when her knuckles went white as she squeezed them too hard, her shoulders stiff as if locked between fear and pride. Even her eyes were teary, looking as if she were about to cry at any moment.

"Then let's make a deal," Celestine said suddenly, raising her chin slightly. "Since this is all a misunderstanding, and if Archer truly wanted to kill you, he would have done so already, why don’t we help each other just this once? We will let you go. In return, guide us to the fastest way out of this forest. I know this is your land, and a place like this must be surrounded by layers of restrictive magics and crawling with ferocious creatures. Without guidance, we could be wandering for days in your land or worse."

"What a worthless bargain," Evelyn snapped back almost instantly. "I gain nothing from it. I don't negotiate with enemies."

Celestine's expression barely changed, though the faint curl of her lips hinted at amusement. "Perhaps you don't want to. But what about the others?" She gestured lightly toward the guards encircling their queen. Some shifted uneasily, realizing the weight of her words before she even finished speaking.

"It has been centuries since I last set foot in Fullstar," Celestine continued, her gaze moving slowly across their faces. "I can't say whether your laws remain the same. But if I remember correctly, when a ruler is slain, the guards sworn to protect her meet the same fate. Execution for failing their duty. Isn't that right?"

Her question hung in the air, and immediately the tension crackled through the clearing. Faces paled; even Evelyn stiffened as if someone had poured cold water down her back.

"Hah! What nonsense," Evelyn snapped, though her voice faltered halfway through. "There’s no such thing! T-That ridiculous law has been thrown away completely, and o-only those who do not follow my words are executed! R-Right, m-my words are the rules, and I will execute you all if you don't obey me!" Her voice grew louder, more desperate as a slight quiver betrayed her…Everyone could tell that she was lying.

Celestine did not let the moment slip. "Archer," she said smoothly, "is my most powerful mage. Harm either of us, and not even a thousand of you could stand against him. He alone crushed the Kuroinu and captured Olga Discordia. All by himself."

“...”

“...”

The reaction was not immediate; some tilted their heads in confusion until whispers started to spread around bit by bit. It continued until every elven guard now looked at him with various expressions on their faces. The women’s spears wavered at first, until they slowly lowered their arms entirely. “What the hell are you idiots doing!? She is lying! No human can defeat an elf of any kind, even the impure ones! Are you that stupid!?” Evelyn’s fury climbed, her authority slipping as more signs of resignation continued to spread through her ranks.

"This is treason!" she shrieked, eyes wide. "If you refuse to save me, I’ll seriously have every one of you executed! Kill this human now and capture the rest!"

But no one moved. The guards stayed frozen in place while Celestine’s smile only grew, calm amid the rising panic. Basically becoming a smirk by now, while both Radomira and Mistiora remained frozen in their spot, the former watching the entire thing as if it were a show, and the latter just gazing at everything with very little change in her expression. As for Maia… she was no different than a ball of nerves, looking around hastily as if to search for an escape route.

“Keep talking, and things could get bloody for you. If even your guards are acting this way, then the situation must be dawning on you. You're only going to put yourself in an even worse position if this goes on.” Archer said evenly, as if to remind Evelyn not to forget the situation she was in. He held himself perfectly still, only his eyes shifting. A small part of him considered striking her temple with the pommel of his blade to knock her out cold and be done with her. It would have been quick, efficient, and it would have silenced her arrogance in an instant.

But another part of him held back, curious to see whether this so-called Goddess Reborn had the sense to defuse the tension herself and perhaps even turn it to their advantage. There was also the risk that the moment he made a move, the guards would leap to the wrong conclusion, convinced he had harmed her or worse. Not that he feared them hurting him, rather he worried these protectors would end up hurting the others, and possibly worse if he was not fast enough.

Now, with every eye fixed on her and her pride crumbling, Evelyn stood frozen. The chill bite of Kanshou remained at her neck, the metal pressed just firmly enough to remind her what would happen if she moved. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The defiance in her stance was cracking apart with each passing second as though a storm had stripped it down piece by piece. Moisture gathered at the edges of her eyes, making her look as though she might break down entirely any second and weep where she stood. Celestine waited for her answer patiently.

Maia and the others held their tongues, and as for Archer… he suddenly felt droplets of liquid fall onto his arm and was stunned to realize that for all that previous bravado—the queen of Fullstar really was starting to cry.

“Uuuuh… sniff…Fine,” Evelyn whispered at last, the word barely louder than the faint hum of a mosquito drifting through the air.

“Did you say something?” The blonde elf Goddess Reborn replied, his voice sounding even more cheerful and even somewhat smug. “Better make it louder so everyone can hear it. We wouldn’t want there to be any confusion, Your Majesty.”

“Damn you, Lucross, I said I’m fine!” Evelyn snapped, her voice cracking as the last of her restraint slipped. “I accept the deal! Now get this filthy human away from me! Uuuuaaaah! He has already tainted my body and my honor as it is! Uuuuh! How long do you intend to humiliate me!?”

At this point, the tension seem to evaporate, and Archer let the weapon disperse in the air and watched as the girl fell onto her knees, holding her body as if he had done something irredeemable to her. ‘And this is the queen of Fullstar… somehow, she's making the Princess Knights from before look more competent. She's no different from a spoiled brat.’

He truly started to worry about this world. If Draco wasn’t around, then these people alone were more than enough to cause enough damage to the world as a whole just by themselves.

“No, we're not done yet,” Celestine said at once, countering Evelyn's pleas, shocking the elven queen. “I want you to give your word. Swear on the name of your royal house and your crown as queen that you will not go back on what you have agreed to. No treachery. No betrayal.”

Every layer of caution she added tightened the snare around Evelyn further, forcing the woman to nod through clenched teeth, her pride trampled into the dirt.

“Whatever, just b-because I am a forgiving queen… sniff, I-I will give you some face and accept.” He could see that even some of the other elves around looked away in what could only be described as embarrassment for what they had just witnessed.

He really pitied these people.

.

.

.

(An hour later)

They had walked in uncomfortable silence for a while. Evelyn had put her clothes back on, refusing to spend one more second in her birthday suit. Of all the things she could have worn, she dressed herself in a pink and white leotard that wrapped around her like a one-piece swimsuit and barely covered her hips and breasts with a little pink ribbon tying her chest area. She wore pure pink leather thigh-high boots and gloves with crown-designed sleeves, and a pink cape lined with white fur. And to wrap up this ridiculous, skimpy, and pink excuse for a royal garb, she wore a bejeweled pink and gold queen’s crown on top of her head.

“Hah…”

He just had to tell himself that this was accepted here, that, for some reason beyond his understanding, this was, for whatever reason, normal here.

Evelyn really was quite spoiled; she even needed her handmaid's help dressing herself rather than doing it herself. After she was done, Evelyn had directed one of her guards to show the fastest way off their territory, which they obliged. Now they were being watched slowly as they made the trek out.

When they finally began their return journey, Archer found his attention tugged towards the forest they were re-entering around them, saying goodbye to the beautiful, clear lake clearing they had found themselves in. Something about the overall place unsettled him, though he couldn’t name exactly what. The trees stretched high, their branches weaving together in places to blot out the sun. The air was damp, carrying the faint scent of moss and wet earth.

There was something very strange about this place, and it made him feel uneasy. ‘Now that I think about it, Celestine mentioned monsters when talking to Evelyn, but we haven't encountered even a single creature on our path yet aside from the distant chirping of the birds.’

They moved as a group, his own group huddled together with the queen's protectors, keeping an eye on them. Again, Archer could not shake the prickling sensation of being watched. His instincts whispered warnings he could not so easily ignore, or just call it paranoia for all the times it had saved him before. Perhaps it was Olga trailing them or something similar… If it were the dark elf, he doubted she would abandon them now. The woman had no family left but the one traveling with him. That alone would ensure she remained close, if only from the shadows.

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Maia muttered, finally getting close to him. Despite her words, tension lingered in her shoulders, her posture telling all that he needed to know about her current state. She scanned the trees. “I was half ready for an all-out fight. That girl in the horse-drawn litter is glaring at you with so much hate I almost mistook her for Alicia for a moment.”

Archer’s mouth curved slightly. She was not wrong. From the horse-drawn litter ahead, Evelyn’s golden hair gleamed in the dim light as she sat stiff-backed, no longer bare, her eyes locked on him with a venomous stare. Beside her, Celestine spoke to her in calm tones, the picture of control, while the rest of the guards marched outside the carriage.

“I still think it would have been smarter to split off and find our own way out,” Maia went on, her voice low. “I’m seventy… no, at the very least, ninety percent sure these people won’t let us leave once we reach even close to the capital. They’ll just box us in with more soldiers and throw us in the fucking dungeon! The Queen was such a little brat, I’d half expected her to go back at her word the moment she could; it’s so obvious even a blind man could see it.”

“Celestine claims the royal family values their word as much as their bloodline,” Archer replied. “According to her, they will not betray us.”

Maia shot him a look of disbelief. He answered it with a shrug before adding, “I know what you're thinking, and no, I don’t buy it. But the least I can do is give the benefit of the doubt. Not that it gives me much confidence, considering how things went back there. So yes, it is likely she will go back on her words.”

“Ah, phew, for a second, I thought I was talking to someone else,” Maia said dryly. “Never knew you could be this trusting with some random elf queen we just met. She kinda reminds me of that fucking Michelle.”

“I’ve never met him, but based on what I heard, she can’t have been that bad. You're exaggerating, right?” She rolled his eyes but let it drop. She at least had the sense to keep her doubts quiet rather than stirring trouble. Truthfully, he trusted none of them and planned for them to slip away the moment they neared the capital’s walls.

“Hey, Archer,” came a hushed voice from behind. Radomira drew close, her tone barely above a whisper. “What should we do about… You know, the others?”

“Right…” Again, he did not believe for a second that Olga would vanish or run away after all the effort she made to track down Chloe and now that Mistiora was also with them, then he suspected that either the dark elves were following them, Olga most likely using one of her spells to stay hidden, looking for her chance to act, or perhaps was just waiting for him back in the cave they found on the way here. Both options were good since he made sure to remember the path back to that place in case things got messy here.

“Everyone is already on edge; best to not antagonize them.” He said, turning his attention to Mistiora, who was following Radomira very closely. Her hand grasping at the Tiefling's clothes as if she were a child following its mother, it was funny in a way, as the latter did not even seem to notice it. He knew that there were several eyes on those girls by the surrounding elves, but most of their attention was on Radomira.

‘Not that welcoming of her kind, I see, she did call her a demon after all. But their reaction is not as extreme as those in the seven kingdoms back at the beginning.’ If they tried something at this moment, he was confident that Maia could handle herself for a few moments, but even her blessings would not make her flexible enough against so many different opponents in an all-out brawl. She was not a one-person army, still having her limit of running out of energy eventually.

“She still hasn't talked much yet.” He was told by the redhead, who also took it upon herself to keep an eye on their traveling dark elf. “Can't believe I’m saying this, but I almost feel sorry for the girl. She isn’t as arrogant as Olga. Honestly, that woman could learn a thing or two from her,” she finished, speaking loud enough for Mistiora to hear the entire thing, but of course, she still, just like always, did not react.

“Don't go looking for trouble now, Maia.”

He scolded her a bit, earning a scoff from the woman, who just retorted by crossing her arms while whispering to herself, “Well, look at you already getting defensive over her. Was she that good in bed?” Jealousy sure was a strong drug, though he was not protecting her out of any particularly selfless reasons, just that talking about anything related to the dark queen while surrounded by these people was not exactly the brightest of ideas. Better to wait until they split paths. “Speaking of which, I am a bit surprised your reputation even reached this area of the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you didn't do anything big, but Fullstar is so far away and they barely cared about us all these years, so I'm kind of surprised how they reacted after knowing you killed the black dogs.”

“I don’t think they reacted because I defeated Vault and his mercenary group,” he said, earning her attention as she raised an eyebrow. “It was the part with Olga that caught their attention. Regardless of how they may see Celestine and the seven kingdoms, these people still held some level of caution with that woman. She was raising an army of dangerous demons whose numbers just looked like they could keep on growing forever. One would be the right to assume that if the seven kingdoms fell, her next target would have most likely been one of the closest places of import, which would be this one.”

That made the redhead cross her arms with a bitter expression. “So this fuckers were secretly thinking we were going to fail in the end, didn't they?”

He gave her a side eye. “I would like to remind you that, despite having control over seven entire kingdoms, all of you relied on a group of mercenaries, of all things, to solve your problems. A group of mercenaries that you had given an unreasonable amount of authority and power to the point that they basically became the de facto rulers in the eyes of the people. At some point, you all were nothing more than just figurheads.”

She shrank a bit into herself after he reminded her of their past failures, at least showing she had the decency to look slightly ashamed. “All right, all right, stop reminding me about it, you're starting to sound like Claudia. I don't need a second person in my life acting like she's my mother.”

Archer chuckled; at least he was glad to see she accepted his words despite her answer. “After we get out of this forest, we should find a way to make haste back to Feoh and get in contact with Alicia as soon as possible… that place will fall into chaos if she does not properly reign in everyone.”

“You want to go again to that place? I know that Draco has been our main source of problems lately, but I'm sure, now at least, Alicia has everything under control. Wouldn’t it be a good opportunity to go back to Ansur? It's been a while since you've been there. I doubt the beast would stay there after what you did to her. If it's just communication, I know Fullstar has a shrine operated by a few shrine maidens working for Kaguya. They have ways to communicate with one another with those talismans of theirs.”

“Kaguya?” He had to admit that piece of information caught him a bit by surprise, anything having to do with that insect-worshipping cult. “Here, of all places?”

“Their faction is quite a friendly one, just like Luu-Luu’s. They mesh well with others and are welcomed almost everywhere, so don't be surprised if you see miko maidens walking down the street. We can stop there and contact Alicia.”

True enough, she had a point; he did not know Draco's current whereabouts, and it was very possible that the blonde pipsqueak could have migrated somewhere else. But he still had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. That woman was the personification of arrogance and pride; leaving that place without one final trump card would be no different than admitting defeat, which for sure she would not accept. He knew that Alicia alone wouldn’t be able to handle it in the future if something else happened there. “We’ll see. Let's first focus on our current proble—hm?”

That sensation again—a prickling along the edge of awareness, subtle but unmistakable. Archer snapped his head around, gaze fixed outwards, as if the motion itself might catch the unseen observer in the act. Of course, nothing; his eyes found only empty distance, unchanged. Yet that was enough. Now he knew—they were definitely being watched. The more he dwelled on it, the more this place seemed to shift under him, growing stranger with every heartbeat…

Her overall entourage was not that numerous to begin with, a few dozen of her personal soldiers, just like the entourage Celestine used to have with her knights back in Feoh. He did wonder why a queen like her needed to come this far from the kingdom just to take a dip in a random pond in the middle of nowhere, but the fact that the teleportation spell also brought them near this place made him question why that was the case in the first place. “Maia, do you perhaps have any knowledge of whether or not this place holds any significance to the elves in FullStar?”

”This place? Beats me, I'm not a history nut like Kaguya or even Celestine. Best to ask the bossy elves themselves. That is, if you don't mind getting scratched by that brat as soon as you get close to her.”

“This is their ancestral land.” Both turned in shock to a voice Archer had only heard once at an inn. To their surprise, the one who actually gave them their answer turned out to be Mistiora of all people. The silver-haired beauty had kept her silent all this time, never once even acknowledging them, yet now had finally said something.

Archer, Radomira, and Maia looked at her, as she showed no signs of embarrassment, her mouth still somewhat hidden under her veil, as she continued to speak. “Legend has it that the goddess once came to this pond in order to give birth to the first light elf who would create the kingdom of Fullstar. At least, that's the story the royal family likes to spread. It hasn’t been proven solidly yet, and many old records show no evidence of such a thing, besides their word of mouth.”

“You know your history.” He asked with genuine curiosity, grateful for the peace of information.

“I heard of it during my travels; it is a popular tale spread in Fullstar by their local church.”

Oh? So this place also had something similar to the church of Celestine. He didn’t exactly deal much with those people back in Feoh; still, Archer had a feeling that they would not be so accepting of him and the effect he had on their goddess. He hoped at the very least that things would go as smoothly here, hoping he would not be interacting with them whatsoever in Fullstar.

“Is she safe?” she asked, garnering his attention, as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She didn’t stop as she looked at him with her amber eyes.”You were with her earlier.”

‘How’d she know?’

You think I abandoned her?” To that, the woman shook her head in the negative. “You’re quite trusting of me. Weren’t you determined not to speak to me, and just follow? Anyway, yes, she’s here. And this time, I am going to have to ask you not to do anything hasty or run off anywhere. That would force me to save both of you again, and the more you do that, the more likely you will just end up putting her in danger.”

She lowered her head, complying with his words and not saying anything else for the next few seconds. The moment of silence did not last long as the next moment brought it to an abrupt halt, as he raised his hands to stop those who were trailing behind him. ”Wait,” he said, his face frowning as he stared around the forest with narrowed eyes.

His actions of stopping the journey had reached the front, where the two high-born elves had been discussing, looking at him curiously. “What are you doing? Keep walking!” Some of the elves that were around him immediately wasted no time in drawing their weapons and pointing them at him, already showing him that it was very unlikely these people would let them go after reaching the end of this route.

“Archer?” Maia called out his name, looking where he was gazing to see what he could, but finding nothing unusual.

“Something's not right,” he answered. The nagging feeling kept growing stronger, as if they were being observed. It had clung stubbornly to his senses for the last hour from the moment he arrived in this forest. He thought it was just his unusual environment, but the feeling grew to alarming levels, and unsettling weight rested in his gut.

…

…

Yet no matter how closely he observed his surroundings, he came up with nothing. Nothing seemed to stand out. “There's something really wrong about this forest, I can't even tell if I'm being observed by someone or something… It's messing with my senses. ‘

“We will not ask you again. Keep walking, or else we will make you.” One of the elves warned him, her tone filled with a clear amount of hostility, with intention in her eyes growing more evident by the second. Though this time, he did not even need to say anything, for the next moment, several dozen large orbs were thrown from the forest right in the middle of their group.

Seeing them, Archer immediately put himself in front of Mistiora, who was the closest to him. Right before the cluster released a dense smoke that filled the area quickly.

“Shit, Celestine-sama!” Maia made haste to the carriage, with him giving Radomira a signal to follow the redhead to keep an eye on her.

“—!”

His body reacted before his thoughts could assess the situation, muscles moving on instinct as he yanked Mistiora toward him. “Kya!” The feminine dark elf stumbled into his chest with a startled cry, just as a dagger sailed through the air and buried itself in the spot where she had stood seconds earlier. One glance at the weapon told the man all he needed to know. The blade was smeared with some sort of dark, oily substance, its faint sheen betraying a poison crafted to either cripple or numb rather than kill outright. If she had not moved, that shaft would have punched into her legs, taking her out of the fight without ending her life. A capture shot, not a killing one.

‘It can't be the same group from the village after her. No one there should know she is here, nor would they have the means to get here this fast. Are there others in service to Mandeville? We teleported here. No one should know where we are, unless they came with us.’’

For a fleeting moment, the clash of steel in the distance and the growing roar of chaos around them made it feel as if he had stepped back into the ruins he had fought through earlier. The smoke twisted in the air, carrying the shouts and clangs of battle. Even amongst that, he could still hear that brat’s voice shouting for her elven guards to kill the enemy quickly or be killed.

He never imagined meeting someone possibly more headache-inducing and hard-headed than Alicia before the woman finally grew up, but here he was.

“Hm?” At the edge of his vision, the air shifted unnaturally, the hair on his head straightened, and Acher’s instincts screamed. He turned around to react, but even before his eyes locked on the source, a figure was already there, less than a meter away from him, crouched low enough that her chest practically pressed against the ground. A massive iron greatsword loomed over her shoulders, the weapon’s surface marked with nicks and scars — exactly like what he had seen earlier.

Her orange eyes focused on nothing else but his steel gray, locked on him like that of a predator ready to attack as she launched forward. Makeshift bandages of broad leaves and torn cloth covered her arms and legs, the crude wrappings hiding earlier wounds that did little to hide her modesty, even more so than before. Yet nothing about her movements suggested weakness. The weapon came up in a single, vicious arc, the ground beneath her feet cracking as she put her full strength into the swing.

There was no doubt… This was something that a normal man could not have survived, even with piled-on armor after armor. Shields would have splintered, swords would have snapped, and any form of hard leather cleanly cleaved through. Bone and steel alike would have shattered under the weight of that blow.

But instead of the brutal, decisive impact she must have expected, the ascending greatsword encountered no such thing from the other side whatsoever. “Hn” rather than cleaving through flesh, its sharpened end came to hit Archer's boot, with a klang.

“Eeh!”

“Nrgh!”

While his initial intention had been to stop that attack from happening by forcefully pushing down on her sword, he had underestimated the amount of force she pushed within that swing, as he could already feel the metal digging into his boots. Enough to not only overcome his move but to continue on its path, forcing him to go along with the motion, he pulled Mistiora in closer to his chest, as he used it as a platform to jump in the air. ‘Enhanced strength, around the same level as an Orc.’

More of a reason to not let Mistiora be all by herself. He landed on a sturdy high tree branch, hiding Mistiora behind the trunk. His bow already traced behind the trunk — he fired several shots.

Leona’s eyes had widened in disbelief at the first outcome already, so she was caught completely off guard at his new weapon. On instinct, she could only bring the sword in front of her to act as a shield, digging it into the ground. Its size, luckily, was big enough for her to find cover against the arrows that tore through the air. Impacting the sword with such shocking force that it pushed her backwards, her blade leaving a deep gash on the ground. “You gotta be kidding me!” Leona shouted, watching as part of her hair got shredded by the projectiles. Having completely thrown out any current plans of capturing the dark elf.

As Archer landed back down, his bow disappeared in molts of blue light, giving her a glimmer of hope which she grabbed onto firmly and rushed ahead. All of her actions were observed by him as the giant weapon came swinging. ‘Blocking that thing will be foolish when she swings it around with that much strength.’ Reinforcement would help to somewhat even out the gap, but he was not here for a strength comparison contest, opting for something simpler. Bakuya nestling within his grasp, he parried the flat side of the blade against the incoming attack.

A loud screech stung his ears, but the desired outcome occurred as he managed to push that thing off its course using a precise strike. The blade goes above Archer’s head, the crushing momentum missing him by less than a hairbreadth… thus leaving Leona completely open. The latter already realized her blunder but was unable to recover fast enough despite her monstrous strength. “Motherfu—urgh!”

Reinforced boots dug deep within her unguarded stomach, pushed deep with a quick spin to add more momentum. Air forcefully pushed out of her lungs and caused some spit to fling out of her mouth, the Lycanthrope fell backwards like a tumbleweed.

“You somehow survived that fall from the teleportation. I'm almost curious to know how.” Archer said quietly, eyes never leaving hers. “Give up, I won’t let you take her.. Leave with what few men that were dragged along with you in that teleportation accident.”

Was it mercy? Perhaps. Though in a way, he was grateful she attacked, as the conflict painted them in a better light and focused Evelyn’s attention on another party instead. If killed immediately, the blonde elf could just as easily bring her ire back on them.

“Tch.”

The snarl came from deep in her throat before she pushed off, bare feet digging into the ground. She sprang back into the swirling smoke, vanishing into it as if it swallowed her whole. Archer’s gaze tracked the faint trail she left before it too disappeared.

“Stay there and do not move,” he ordered Mistiora before dashing into the middle of the ground where they stood before, never taking her out of his sight.

‘Moving like that with such a weapon, and so silently at that, either she relied on magic to mask her steps, or it’s indeed just pure strength alone.’ Even Archer himself admitted that he would have made some noise carrying something that heavy, yet she slipped through the battlefield like a shadow. How she managed it did not matter.

The battle beyond them began to quiet down. The shouting of Evelyn’s elves was thinning, fewer voices cutting through the smoke. ‘Maia should be able to keep those two safe along with Radomira. These mercenary men were already injured from their last battle; using a surprise attack method would not help much in the long run.’

Then, a faint motion flickered through the haze.

‘There.’

If she had attacked him from behind earlier, then her next move would almost certainly be the same: to run around his blind side and strike again. He was proven right when she repeated the tactic, this time skipping any buildup of momentum or strength, going straight for a thrust.

Clang!

The sound split the air as her blade scraped across the gleaming white edge of his Noble Phantasm. Sparks burst between them while his hand twisted, deflecting the strike upward before he stepped in, ready to drive his foot into her side. Yet she clearly learned her lesson from last time and twisted with the deflection, vanishing once more into the smoke.

She made no sound as she retreated. That silence was starting to bother him. Maybe a spell was masking her presence, or a skill that enabled her to blend in with her surroundings… something similar to the way Assassin’s presence concealment worked, but he had doubts if it was something that complex. If so, this fight had just become far more troublesome than he expected.

“Ah!”

She came at him again. The pattern repeated, each emergence from the haze bringing a different attack. Sometimes she struck with a high downward slash, other times with a long horizontal cut meant to carve him in two. The woman even went for thrusts when the opening seemed right. But every blow was met by Bakuya’s edge, steel crashing against steel with a rhythm that rang across the battlefield.

Through it all, he stayed calm. His gaze never left the shifting smoke where she hid between strikes. Leona’s assaults were coming faster now, the intervals shrinking. At first, she always leapt back into the mist after each failed blow, but lately she had started chaining a second attack immediately after the first, hoping to catch him off-guard before vanishing again.

‘She’s not as fast as those Lycanthropes I fought with Olga,’ he thought, adjusting his stance to meet her next strike. ‘But she’s every bit as strong.’

More than a dozen clashes had passed already, and she showed no fatigue. Her breathing never faltered, her movements never slowed. She fought as if her body ignored the limits that should have dragged her down by now.

“Is she trying to wear me out first?” he wondered. “Not a bad plan.”

No longer being a Servant, his limitations as a human would make it impossible for him to engage in prolonged combat; exhaustion would end up catching up to him sooner or later. In fact, he was already getting a bit of soreness in his grip from the prolonged fight on top of the small skirmish against the mercenaries earlier.

The longer the battle dragged on, the clearer her overall style of combat became. She wasn’t a warrior who thrived on head-on clashes and using strength to overpower her opponent, even though she could perfectly do so. Rather, Leona was shaping the fight using stealth, speed, and timing rather than sheer force. Their first encounter before the teleportation incident had been abrupt, catching her unprepared.

He compared her to others in his mind. Alicia had been fast, Maia had been devastatingly strong. This woman fought like the best traits of both had been fused together, not possessing either’s monstrous abilities in that field, but a balance she knew how to use, that in his eyes honestly made her more dangerous than the Princess Knights, at least. Aside from Maia herself or perhaps Claudia with her high durability, he doubted any other Princess Knight could have lasted this long against her.

But he had no interest in dragging this duel out. She struck mostly from his blind side, avoided direct frontal attacks, and favored overhead swings for the momentum they offered.

Thrusts, on the other hand, left her open whenever he deflected them, and she always struggled to recover in time afterward. With each exchange, the pattern became clearer in his mind. So when she lunged again with another thrust, he redirected her blade and countered at once, his strike catching her in the side and sending her sprawling through the smoke once more.

She was slower to rise this time. Her earlier wounds from fighting Olga must still be taking their toll.

‘Perhaps that was the reason she is avoiding a direct clash. The woman knows she is running out of time, each moment carrying her closer to the edge where pain will finally make it impossible for her to stay focused and get caught off guard.’

Archer read that rhythm once more, and in the next heartbeat, using the sequence he had prepared earlier, he flicked his wrist and sent Bakuya spinning through the air. The blade vanished into the haze lingering across the battlefield. “Argh!” A painful cry cut through the smoke a moment later.

“Damn it!” An enraged roar answered it.

Leona emerged once more, this time with a streak of crimson running across her shoulder. Her eyes burned with fury as she charged straight at him, sword raised high above her head. There was no caution now, not even the sign of an attempt to retreat back into the smoke if her strike failed. Most likely in her mind, he was unarmed, and this was her moment to finish him.

“You fool,” Archer muttered under his breath, too low for her to catch. It looks like she hadn’t figured out what those blue molts of light were.

Shock widened her eyes when, in the next instant, his other hand flared with Magical Energy and Kanshou shimmered into existence… its edge gleaming. Instead of turning the black blade to block her downward strike as he had done before, he slashed upward with full force. Steel met steel. Her weapon split clean in two, one half spinning away to bury itself into the dirt while the other half remained in her grip, useless.

“It's already over for you.”

Leona instinctively tried to retreat toward the edges of the fight, but the move came too late. From the swirling smoke behind her, Bakuya shot forward like a silver flash, the blade biting into her side before she could react. The strike tore across her lower stomach, leaving a deep, open wound with blood spilling everywhere.

She twisted desperately at the last possible moment, saving herself from a killing blow, but the wound was still severe enough to wrench a cry of pain from her throat.

“Gah!”

“Leona!”

As the smoke began to disperse, what few remained of her group saw her condition and immediately tried to intervene. “Get her to safety! I'll distract them!”

He had to give it to them; at the very least, they were loyal to their leader. Despite not being in the best shape, with severe wounds on their own bodies, these men pushed themselves to get between him and Leona. The first one, pointing his chipped sword straight at Archer, the latter, on the other hand, merely kept his silence. “Cocky bastard!”

“Your leader has fallen.”

Despite his words, the bearded man tried to attack him first, swinging his sword with all his might, but Archer parried him, doing very little against his opponent. In a flash, both Kanshou and Bakuya moved with him, landing less than a handful of swift cuts. The first one rendered the attacker's arm useless, causing the sword he held to fall, and two more slices across his stomach. He stumbled a bit, his back hitting a tree as he slowly descended downwards, leaving a trail of blood on the trunk.

“W-What the hell! Did he even move!?” Some shouted, confusing his sleight of hand with the blades for speed. That particular display already demoralized them further, and with the sight of their comrades dying at the hands of the elven warriors around them. Their numbers already dwindled down by the second.

With a simple command, several swords were conjured in the air, taking aback both the elves and mercenaries. Leona especially became horrified upon finding that each one of those blades was aimed at what remained of her men. Their death at his fingertips with just a simple command, acting as a separating line.

“W-Wait…” Archer stopped right as another one was about to rush at him, turning his attention to Leona, who was being supported by one of the White Wolves mercenaries while a quick, bloody cloth was coiled around her waist. “D-Don’t kill them…if you spare them…I will h-hand-urgh, I will hand myself over.” She said in between her grunts, gritting her teeth while trying to stay conscious.

“...” He stood there quietly at first, observing the woman closely to see if she was planning something else or waiting for him to lower his guard. He doubted she was going to try anything in her current state anymore, and what little remained of her men would not count as a threat anymore. “I can’t make promises for the queen or her entourage, but surrendering right now is your best option regardless of the path you choose — you still have valuable information.”

Understanding what he meant, she nodded. “Give me… your word… that my men won’t be harmed.”

He scoffed, “As long as you don't try anything funny. From Feoh, all the way to the ruins, and now going so far as to launch a surprise attack against the queen of Fullstar. Despite not having fully recovered from your previous injuries. I hope it's worth whatever the person who hired you is paying,” he said. In the next moment, the dozens of swords around him dispersed, this being his answer to the woman who, using her last bit of strength, gave him a nod before losing consciousness. It's a miracle she managed to stay conscious for so long despite having lost so much blood. I'll factor it due to her Lycan side giving her much better survivability.

“Archer!” Radomira's voice called out for him, though this time it sounded quite urgent. He dropped whatever questions he had for Leona and immediately ran off towards the carriage, where his eyes immediately widened upon seeing a scene he never thought would occur right now.

“Maia!” He shouted the redhead's name upon finding her on the ground, held close by Celestine, as a dagger embedded itself in her shoulders. Her face was pale, and she was having a hard time breathing.

“Archer, it’s Maia, she's hurt!” said the Tiefling with a worried expression, tears coming down her face, watching as he rushed to the woman's side and carefully observed her condition.

“Damn, she was poisoned!” he barked, the irritation clear as he watched the girl trembling from the effects already spreading through her system and her temperature soaring unnaturally by the second. Acting quickly, he yanked the dagger out with the blade still having residue of the poison. Blood surged from the wound in a steady stream, splattering across the dirt before he pressed his palm hard over it to stop the flow, creating several bandages and tapes to keep the wound closed. “Can you help her?” he asked, eyes darting toward Celestine. The goddess knelt beside Maia, her face fully focused on her Princess Knight as she placed both hands on the girl’s head. She kept her focus for several seconds before slowly shaking her head.

“I can try to heal the wound itself… but I am not as skilled with healing as my sister,” Celestine admitted calmly with a hint of what sounded like frustration. “But whatever has entered her body… I cannot draw it out. I don’t even know what it is.”

“Damn it, does anyone here know how to treat poison?” he shouted, his voice carrying through the area as his gaze swept across the mercenaries, the elves, even Evelyn's attendants. Nobody stepped forward.

He strode over to one of the captured mercenaries, seizing the man by the collar and hauling him up so roughly his boots barely scraped the ground. “What poison did you use?” Archer demanded, his face close enough that the man could see the cold gleam in his eyes. Perhaps it was the memory of how their leader had fallen earlier, the display of his magecraft, or the killing intent radiating off him, but the mercenary stammered, his composure shattering.

“I—I don’t know the name! It’s just a sap we found on one of the plants here!” the man stuttered, voice cracking as Archer’s grip tightened until the fabric bit into his throat. “Leona said it was poisonous, that’s all!”

“We know of that plant,” came a feminine voice from behind. One of the elven women stepped forward, her expression darkening the moment she laid eyes on Maia’s wound. “If that poison comes from a blue-capped, red-spotted mushroom, then your companion is not in a good situation. It grows only in these forests and is used by our alchemist for brewing various kinds of potions. Left untreated, it kills slowly and painfully.”

“Then you know what I’m about to ask next.”

She nodded. “The palace keeps every kind of antidote against every kind of plant and venomous creatures that walk these areas. But even if you reach Fullstar, the court physician only treats those the royal family authorizes. And with her condition already this bad… by the time you arrive, it will be too late.” She glanced toward her queen, who was busy kicking the corpse of one mercenary who had apparently tried and failed to attack her earlier.

Archer glanced at Maia again. The poison was spreading too fast. Her breathing was shallow now, sweat running down her temple as if her body itself was aflame. He didn’t waste another second. Scooping her up into his arms, he rose in one smooth motion. “Then tell me the path. Now.”

“Follow this road until you reach the river,” the elf woman replied instantly, not even questioning his words, to which he was grateful. “Head upstream until you see the beacon towers. They lead straight to Fullstar.” She paused before adding, “If you take a horse, I can guide—”

“No.” Archer cut her off before turning to Radomira. “How fast can you fly?”

“I’ve improved,” she answered without hesitation, already spreading her wings. “Whatever speed you need, I can reach it.” Had this been before she attained her adult form, the man would have seriously doubted her words. She could barely float back then, let alone fly at great speed. But in her adult form, her rate of improvement was ridiculous to say the least, both in terms of her own magical prowess and the usage of her wings.

"Good, then I want you to keep up with me. I will be running to Fullstar."

As soon as those words landed, several heads snapped towards him. Several pairs of eyes widened, confusion painted across their faces that clearly expected some other plan, anything other than simply rushing straight for the capital. More than a few exchanged glances, their disbelief plain. Some looked at him as if he were an idiot to choose running over just taking a horse.

Archer paid no attention to any of it, gently picking Maia up. Radomira stepped forward, nodding firmly, already bracing herself with a pair of black feathered wings emerging from her back.

"Also, carry her along. She owes us a favor, and she’ll be our entry ticket.”

He pointed directly at Evelyn, who blinked in surprise, as though only now realizing the sudden shift in the topic of conversation. “What the—Hua!” She barely had time to form words before the tiefling swooped in, catching her cleanly by the leg and hauling her upward without a single ounce of delicacy. “K-Kidnapped! I am getting kidnapped by the demon! Help me, you idiots!” Evelyn’s startled cry rang through the clearing as the winged figure beat powerful strokes into the air, lifting her skyward while she kicked wildly in protest.

"Your Majesty!" several voices called after her, alarm and anger rising, but the elven guard who spoke to him earlier raised a hand, silencing them before turning to Archer.

“Just keep her safe.”

"I will And you too, keep the others safe," Archer told her plainly, with a reassured tone. He started to find these people more pleasant than he imagined, at least this person in particular was more rational than many he had met so far. "And make sure no one amongst the mercenaries runs away."

He wasted no more words. Reinforcement surged through his legs, the ground beneath him cracking faintly under the sudden burst of speed as he shot forward, the treeline blurring past. His pace was quick, his body moving in perfect rhythm with the flow of energy coursing through him.

Behind him, Radomira somehow managed to keep close, though the strain etched itself across her features, with her wings flapping as fast as they could to keep up. Evelyn, still gripped firmly by the tiefling, flailed in midair with arms swinging helplessly, her voice carrying across the wind as she unleashed a steady stream of curses at both rescuer and captor alike.

“Aaaaaaah! Forget the dungeon, I will skin you two alive and drop you in a bath of saltwater! Unhand me!”

"Not a wise idea, that last one. You might fall and snap your head. Also, we saved your life," Archer replied back, though the White Wolves perhaps were not dumb enough to kill the ruler of an entire Kingdom — she did not need to know that. "The least you can do is save one of ours."

Whether Evelyn heard him or not was another matter entirely. The wind tore at her words, scattering them, though the shrill edge of her furious protests remained clear enough. It didn't help that Radomira flew very close to some of the trees, having the elf get struck by several thin branches along the way.

The route given by the elf earlier guided him through the woods with few obstacles showing up ahead. Celestine and the others would be safe for now; with their queen in his grasp, no one would dare harm them. And if anything went wrong, he knew Olga would step in before the situation reached disaster.

"Over there!" Radomira pointed ahead as the terrain started to clear up a bit.

The kingdom appeared at last, rising against the horizon with towering walls and wide spires glinting faintly in the light. Its size dwarfed even the Princess Knight's domains Archer had seen so far, but there was no time to take in its majesty. He vaulted across the outer defenses in a single motion, Evelyn’s indignant shouting now drawing the attention of townsfolk below.

“Is that the queen?”

“No way, that can't be right.”

“Halt! Intruder!”

People stopped mid-step, staring upward in confusion as they caught sight of the upside-down figure with windswept hair and garments in disarray. The resemblance to their queen was undeniable, yet few could accept what they were seeing; their ruler, carried like a sack of grain by a demon with wings.

This kind of reaction happened all throughout the road, the closer he got to the center. Some of the elves tried to shoot arrows at them, some almost hitting Evelyn. “S-Stop shooting at your queen! Traitors, everyone is trying to kill me! This is mutiny!”

Her reaction immediately stunned the warriors, who started to realize that this person was not just a look-alike, but actually their queen… Guards rallied quickly near the palace gates, spears lowering in unison as Archer landed before them.

"Who dares approach the royal palace? By order of Her Majesty, none may enter! Leave now or face execution!" one barked, a male surprisingly enough, glaring at the trio — only for his words to falter when Archer caught Evelyn by the collar mid-protest, lifting her with effortless precision so she dangled there like an unruly kitten.

The relentless speed and the fact that the woman had been held upside down for so long left her visibly sick, her skin pale and clammy, the sort of look one had right before vomiting. The man holding her stepped forward with urgency in his voice. “This is your queen. We are her allies, and we were attacked on our way here. She needs immediate medical treatment; both of them have been poisoned!” His shout took a few seconds to fully sink in; the gathered guards glancing at one another in hesitation before confusion broke into disarray.

Seeing them falter, he barked louder, his tone carrying through the night air. “If you value your lives, follow my orders now! Open the gates!” His words cut through the hesitation, recalling that particular law mentioned by Celestine for those who failed their ruler, and within moments, the guards moved. The gates groaned open with reluctant speed, the man releasing a faint sigh of relief before hurrying through, Maia still in his arms.

“Urgh… I can see the lights, so… annoyingly bright,” she murmured weakly. Even in her state, there was enough of her spirit left to make such tasteless remarks, the corner of her mouth twitching faintly as she tried to smile.

Archer glanced down at her, lips curling in faint amusement despite the situation. “If you intend to keep the promises you made about all the things you claimed we would one day do together, staying away from that light would be in your best interest.”

“Wait… re… really? Even in the throne room and Alicia's office?” she whispered, a ghost of humor clinging to her words. “Maybe… I already died… this is… cough! This is heaven.”

“Just save your energy, Maia,” he said, the faintest edge of warmth in his voice, relieved that she still had enough strength to joke.

A sudden shrill cry cut through the moment as they reached the inner palace and waited for the healers to show up. Evelyn regained her composure and immediately showed her fury. “You there! I am done with you humans and Celestine's lies! I will have you hanged! Help! Call the guards! I will—GAH!” The woman who had regained her confidence within her own palace clearly thought her earlier fear no longer applied. Her attempt to reverse her promises was cut short when he silenced her with a swift strike to the back of her neck. Her body went limp instantly, collapsing into his arms before he shifted her aside.

“I suggest you summon the physician now,” he called out loudly. “Your queen’s condition is worsening by the moment, and she fell unconscious.”

The words sent the attendants outside into a frenzy, voices rising as they demanded the healer’s presence. He ignored the noise, carrying Maia to a bed and easing her down gently.

“You’ll get better soon,” he murmured, settling beside her, waiting in silence. Radomira was sitting by his side, unconsciously holding his arm for comfort while looking at Maia worriedly.

“Don't worry,” he said, patting Radomira on the head in comfort. “She survived worse.”

My Teenage Highschool Romance Comedy Can't be This Perverted! Chapter 106: Incorruptible

Not beta read yet.

Next update is An Archer's Promise

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-Kuoh-


It had completely slipped my mind that someone like Gabriel had taken up the role of a teacher in this school, a Seraph no less. Honestly, who could blame me? Between traveling to the Underworld, handling that ridiculous young devils gathering, the string of battles that came afterward, and finally taking a direct punch from a man who could probably bench-press a mountain just because he felt like it, remembering her existence had sort of fallen through the cracks. It wasn’t something I was proud to admit, but it was the truth.  


And of course, when it came to my luck, I managed to get on her bad side — which the discovery she even had one, was a shock in itself.


“You go to the Underworld, surround yourself with plenty of beautiful women to indulge in your lust, come back and openly flirt like some kind of deviant in school no less! How sinful, humph,” Gabriel remarked, voice light yet carrying that faint sting of judgment which did not truly feel like it naturally belonged there.


I scratched the back of my neck, already feeling a dull headache creeping in. Wanting to smooth things over, I decided to accompany her for the walk back instead of using teleportation back to my house like usual. We cut across the mostly empty streets leading away from the school, our shoes clicking against the pavement as the occasional car passed by. With a few students occasionally waving at her and curiously looking at me and why I was walking by one of the most beautiful teachers no less.


“I wasn’t flirting with her,” I said, tone louder than intended. “The last thing I’d ever do is get involved with Raynare. She’d rather enslave herself to some random human off the street than be anywhere near me like that. She wouldn’t even think twice about it.”  


The words came out blunt, maybe even cruel, but they were the only honest way to describe things between us. We were allies on paper, but in reality, there was always that invisible wall between us. She tolerated me because circumstances forced her to. Deep down, I was certain she still carried the memory of our first meeting like a splinter under her skin, not that my actions back were any better with how volatile I was back then. Add in her lingering bitterness toward humanity in general, and there was no way she saw me as anything more than a nuisance.  


“That’s a bit insensitive, Hachi-kun,” Gabriel cut in, her disapproving look inflicting far more damage than anything else, both physically and mentally. Still, I turned to her, surprised. I had expected her to take Raynare’s side in such a manner. 


“The young woman may be a fallen, but she is still one of our Father’s children,” Gabriel continued, voice soft while looking at the sky with sadness flashing across her pupils. “She is, in a way, my sister. And I can tell from the depths of my heart that she does not hate you like you think. Quite the opposite, she enjoyed being around you in that room more than anyone or anywhere else!” 


That serene smile of hers paired with words spoken in such genuine faith left me no opening to argue. Urgh, how could someone be so radiant that every passing second felt like my presence served no other purpose to taint that purity? I stayed silent, watching her shiny blonde hair catch the faint breeze while she kept speaking.  


“She can be harsh and guarded because the world hasn’t been kind to her. But there is still good in her. Her wings may be black, yet her heart remains that of an angel.”  


“Are we actually talking about the same Raynare?” I asked finally, unable to stomach the saintly image this woman was trying to paint. 


“You don't agree with me?” 


“I’m not saying she’s evil,” I replied, shaking my head slightly. “Mostly she’s reckless, selfish at times, but not heartless. Definitely not the generous kind either, if you know what I mean.”


"Then why did she save you all those months ago?" she asked. The question hit harder than I expected, leaving me quiet for a moment. Months ago? There could only be a single moment she was referring to. "Back when you were sent on that mission to retrieve a shard of the Grail, I heard everything from Michael. How you were at death's door. How she risked her life to save you. That isn’t something many people would do, yet she did it for you."  


"She had a reason," I said frankly, back then we were still at each others’ throat with little to no goodwill between us given how we were practically forced together by Azazel. "I was her only ticket out. If I had died, she would’ve been next."  


At least, that was the excuse I clung to. Lately, though, something in the back of my mind had been muttering things I didn’t want to hear. Like a  faint voice poking at holes in my reasoning, pointing out details I wanted to ignore. It reminded me that someone like Seth wouldn’t have lifted a finger for her if I had died, kind of a waste of effort in his eyes, I figured. He wouldn’t even have bothered to kill her out of spite. No, she would have survived just fine if she had chosen to stay out of it. The thought kept circling, like an irritating fly I couldn’t swat.  


Back then, there had been a soul bonding contract between us, yes. That alone could have been reason enough for her to intervene, right? Maybe she didn’t want to die because the terms bound her fate to mine. It was a logical explanation when looking at it from afar.


Except it wasn’t entirely true.  


My understanding of those contracts had grown since then, after the hours I had spent under Scathach’s tutelage. She made it clear that her life wouldn’t have ended with mine. The Fallen would have been weakened, sure. Injured or crippled, probably. But death? No. She would have lived. Which meant she hadn’t saved me out of self-preservation. That left the question of why and I didn’t like the answer forming in the back of my head.  


"Well," I said, more to myself than anyone else, "I guess there’s something inside that girl I haven’t figured out yet. Some corner I haven’t seen."  


"Hehehe, I knew it," she said suddenly, with a bright smile that even the passing people couldn't help but do a double take. "Hachi-kun’s heart is kinder than he wants anyone to believe and I am sure you’ll bring out her true self. One day, she’ll laugh and smile for real without hiding behind that thorny shell of hers."  


“...”


Her smile really was so blinding I didn’t bother pointing out that, factually, Raynare was already showing her true self. There was no mask she was putting on to hide her vulnerable self, she would even vomit had the woman heard this. The more I thought about it, the more apparent it became that Gabriel was most likely confusing the Amano Yuuma and Raynare personalities. Not that I planned to get into that mess by pointing that out, not that she would even believe me with how stubborn she was showcasing it.


Instead, I steered the conversation elsewhere. "Weren’t you supposed to be angry at me? Or does this mean you’ve forgiven me already?" I asked, glancing sideways while sipping the coffee of the gods I had stockpiled all over my room and the clubroom like some paranoid survivalist since Aika started to get hooked on this stuff. Worst case scenario was Asia to also get a taste of it.


"Oh!" Her eyes went wide. It was obvious she had forgotten her original reason for cornering me in the first place. She scrambled to pull herself together, walking ahead briskly as if that could hide the expression on her face.  


"I-I’m still angry at you! So angry." She declared, but her tone wasn’t convincing. If anything, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself into it.  


If Asia and Gabriel shared one common trait: they were easier to read than they thought. If she was anything like the nun I had met for the first time all those months ago, I already had an idea of how to lift her mood.  


"Want to grab something to eat? There’s a s

Saizeriya nearby. Best food in town and it's been a while since I last we—urgh," I said, trying to sound casual at first, but didn’t even get to finish the sentence before she turned so fast her face nearly collided with mine. The giant smile she wore practically took up her whole face.  


"Yes! I would love to!"  


Her mood swung so violently I started thinking she was physically incapable of holding onto anger for more than a few seconds and had to rebound someway. Also, she was absurdly strong. Before I knew it, I was being dragged along at a speed that made cars look slow.  


"Wait! The restaurant’s on the other street! You’re heading straight for the church!" I shouted, half airborne.  


"Oh my, force of habit. Let’s go before it closes!" she said cheerfully, nearly dislocating my shoulder when doing an abrupt turn.


"It won’t close for another six hours, you lunatic!" I said, though I doubted she heard me… too busy sprinting like this was some kind of competition.  


Since I was basically being ragdolled through the air by someone with the strength of a tank, I decided to at least make use of the time. Fishing out my phone mid-flight, I called Akeno and Rias to let them know what was happening. The last thing I needed was them panicking because I didn’t make it back on time.


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(A few minutes later)


Just as I expected, what I considered to be heaven disguised as a humble little establishment turned out to be an excellent choice. Our newest resident, someone who had been cautious since arriving in this city, was practically glowing the moment she tasted the pasta dish in front of her.  


"This is just as good as the food I had at the Vatican!"  


Okay, I wouldn't go that far. It was hard for me to picture people like that being stingy enough not to hire highly acclaimed chefs whenever a messenger of God came down to mingle with us mortals. For all I knew, they probably had whole armies of chefs making meals fit for kings. It was the Vatican, after all. Then again, they were the same people who had excommunicated Asia so blatantly, so it wasn’t like my grudge against them was going anywhere anytime soon.  


"Are you going to eat that?"  


That snapped me out of my thoughts. The biggest surprise so far wasn't the food or even how casually she fit into the noisy atmosphere around us. It was the fact that this woman turned out to be a massive eater. This was already her third plate, and we hadn’t even been here for half an hour.  


"Sure, you can have a piece," I said, nudging my plate a little closer toward her.  


Gabriel’s face brightened as she grabbed a few ravioli from the edge of my dish, her smile growing wider with each bite. She looked like someone tasting freedom for the first time, enjoying something as simple as a meal in a place that didn’t come with divine duties attached to it.  


"This is heaven," she murmured between bites. 


"It sure is," I replied, watching her expression closely. Seeing someone like her relax this much in such a simple setting was strange. For all her power and grace, she was looking at this restaurant like it was some priceless treasure.  


But as I sat there, my mind drifted back to something else I had seen earlier. Her wings, that faint shift in color that didn’t make sense no matter how many times I replayed it in my head. I remembered Michael himself mentioning that someone like Gabriel could not fall. If that were really true, then what had I seen?  


The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. Part of me pictured Heaven’s entire army descending on me if I had actually done something to cause her to fall, spears and swords pointed at my throat while Michael himself scowled like I had just committed the ultimate crime. On the other hand, knowing him, he would probably show up just as quickly to pat me on the back for giving his sister a reason to smile. That man had issues.  


"I always wanted to try going out to restaurants like normal people. It’s so lively and colorful out here," Gabriel said suddenly, her eyes roaming around the busy room.  


"You didn’t go out much back in Italy or at the Vatican? I mean, I know Michael kept you pretty sheltered, but you’re telling me you never went out just for fun? Not even once?"  


"It only happened once. Maybe twice if I count the day when my brother brought me to one of the establishments opened by someone from the Vatican. But it was always in a heavily guarded area, with our brethren and members of the clergy watching over the place."  


The more she talked, the sadder it sounded. Sheltered didn’t even begin to cover it. It was unbelievable, especially considering she was one of the most powerful beings walking the earth. This wasn’t about protecting her from physical harm, so why all the restrictions? Was he just that protective?  


Then again, older siblings in this world had a habit of being obsessive. Maybe he wasn’t all that different from Sirzechs or Serafall when it came to their younger siblings.  


"Eh?" I blinked when I felt something soft against my cheek. I had only taken my eyes off her for a second, and now Gabriel’s hand was on my face, her touch warm and gentle. Her skin was flawless, smooth like porcelain. It was almost dangerous how someone could look like that and still act this innocent.  


"Does it still hurt?" she asked quietly.  


I realized she was talking about the fight.  


"No. Most wounds from the Rating Game heal after the match ends. My head took the worst of it, but I’m fine now," I said, though the memory of my brain rattling around inside my skull wasn’t exactly pleasant.


“Asia and I had been watching the fight from the sidelines, and she was cheering for you the entire time,” her voice full of genuine concern yet carrying this soft tone that somehow made the whole thing feel oddly lighthearted. She looked so utterly earnest while doing so that it was almost disarming. “Both of us nearly fainted when you were sent flying halfway across the field after taking that hit square in the chest. I swear my own stomach lurched as if I had been the one punched through the air instead of you. I almost acted impulsively right then and there.”


My gaze slid toward her, my eyes narrowing slightly. “Please don’t tell me you were seriously considering storming the entire underworld on your own again?”  


She froze, her smile twisting into something painfully awkward as her eyes darted anywhere but toward me. “I have… uhm… n-no idea what you’re talking about… w-what a nice day today, isn’t it?”  


Her voice cracked halfway through, the lie falling apart as quickly as it left her mouth. She could never fake anything to save her life. The woman might as well carry a sign reading a terrible liar around her neck and watching her fidget like that… I had to press my lips together to stop myself from laughing. Not that there was anything remotely funny about Gabriel of all people potentially deciding to personally intervene in something as absurd as this, but her expression was so transparently guilty that the amusement slipped in anyway.  


Still, I chose to trust her brother when he swore he could keep her in line. He was supposed to be the responsible one after all. Then again, I wasn’t entirely convinced given he let her teach in Kuoh Academy of all places. Maybe ridiculousness ran in the family. Thinking about it now, Serafall and Gabriel shared more traits than I originally believed.  


After that, rather than driving straight back home, Gabriel decided to take a longer route. The car rolled lazily along the quiet streets until we passed through the park on the edge of town. The place looked exactly the same as it had years ago, almost like time had simply skipped over it. The benches were still there, the pond still had the same faint shimmer from the lamps nearby, and even the playground in the corner looked like it had been frozen in time. For a moment, it felt strange seeing something in this town remain untouched by all the chaos that usually followed in its wake.


“This town is peaceful,” Gabriel said, her voice calm but carrying that gentle tone she always seemed to have. Even though we were sitting at a rather secluded spot in the park, her presence alone drew attention. It was the kind of attention you couldn’t really avoid when someone looked the way she did. “There may not be many here who follow Father, but seeing people live this comfortably without hardships… it makes me happy.”


She spoke while watching a group of kids chasing each other near the fountain. Their laughter echoed faintly across the open space, mixing with the soft rustle of leaves above us.  


“You’ve been enjoying your time here,” I said, not as a question but more as an observation.  


Gabriel nodded lightly, her golden hair catching the faint light from the lampposts. “This place has its charm, even with all the chaos it tends to attract. It’s strange, though… Most of the time, the only thing that ever gets destroyed is the school. You would expect more damage, but no, always the school.”  


I had no idea whether she was joking or serious, but with this world, she wasn’t wrong.  


“Hopefully all of that is behind us,” she continued. “Now that I’m here, I’ve taken it upon myself to protect the school and my precious students.”  


That made me raise an eyebrow.  


“Getting quite attached to them already?” I asked before realizing it was a pointless question. Of course she was attached. She was Gabriel.  


“Yes,” she replied without hesitation, smiling faintly. “They’re all so kind. Whenever I get lost in my lessons, they help me get back on track. They bring me small gifts, little snacks, things like that. The boys especially are very enthusiastic. They’ve invited me to join the swimming club many times. I didn’t know they were so passionate about sports.”  


My eye twitched. I had a sinking suspicion about which boys she meant. Matsuda and Motohama… it had to be them. Two of the most infamous idiots at Kuoh Academy, definitely not members of any swimming club and definitely not subtle with their motives. Their intentions were clearer than glass.  


Still, the mental image of Gabriel in a swimsuit slipped into my mind before I could stop it. Even someone like me wasn’t immune to that temptation. She had the kind of beauty that could probably make entire crowds lose their sanity if she so much as smiled in their direction while wearing one. I quickly pushed the thought aside before it could go any further. The last thing this town needed was me joining Matsuda and Motohama in their stupidity.  


“You don’t look very happy about what I said,” Gabriel said, noticing my expression.  


“It’s not that,” I replied quickly. “But maybe it’s better not to go along with everything those two suggest. The girls might have pure intentions, most of them anyway, but those two are definitely trying to talk you into a swimsuit so they can take pictures and sell them later. Probably to half the school.”  


“Then what’s the problem with that?” she asked.  


I turned my head slowly to look at her, certain I had misheard. But no, she looked genuinely confused.  


“If swimming a few laps makes people happy, then I don’t see the issue. It isn’t a sin,” she said simply.  


Technically, she wasn’t wrong. But this woman was far too innocent for her own good.  


“You wouldn’t be committing any sins,” I muttered, “but you’d definitely make others fall into lust easily.”  


“Does that include you too?”  


“Of course,” I answered before I even thought about it.  


Her eyes shifted toward me, unreadable at first but focused in a way that made me regret answering so quickly.  


“I’ve told the others before,” I continued, feeling the need to explain, “I’m no noble man who can just ignore everything around him like some dense protagonist. I have my weaknesses, and I’ve made peace with them. It would be unfair and hypocritical of me to pretend otherwise. That’s why I’m telling you to be careful.”  


She was quiet for a moment before speaking again, softer this time. “But… I wouldn’t mind if you fell into lust looking at me.”  


Her words hit harder than expected. A wave of heat ran through me as if she had whispered something far more dangerous. My head snapped toward her, eyes wide, only to see her watching me closely.  


“I’ve known you for a while now,” she continued, “I know you’re not a bad person. You’d never hurt me.”  


“You’re overestimating me,” I replied quickly. “I’m no saint.”  


“I don’t want you to be a saint,” she said quietly. “I just want you to be Hachiman.”  


Her words lingered in the air, heavy but not in a way that felt unpleasant. It was the kind of thing that could almost make someone feel moved, though deep down I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this situation was just a little off. I tried to stay calm and think very carefully of my next answer, “Cough, hm, eh… Well, I'm glad you are this comfortable around me. It's quite nice when you have friends that are open around each other, never thought I would say something like this in my younger days.” 


I hoped my message went across without hurting her too much. She was still new in this whole relationship thing, despite being an entity older than my ancestry combined, Gabriel was no different to a naive girl who could fall prey to the most obvious of lies and misunderstand certain emotions for something else. 


“So does that mean I can wear a swimsuit around you and have you fall to lust around me without worry?”


Why the hell did the topic of the swimsuit keep coming up!? 


“Pft-hahaha!” Out of nowhere, the girl started to laugh, so taken aback by her reaction, I watched her get up and walk in front of me while giving me a small cheeky grin. “You make the most funny expressions with your eyes, Hachi-kun.” It took a few seconds for my mind to process what just occurred until it finally dawned on me… I got punked… by Gabriel no less.


“Hah,” acai escaped my lips, not a sigh of disappointment but rather relief. “Hahaha… You really got me there. I guess I was just getting a bit paranoid because I feared you might fall if people kept telling you to do such things and for you to get along with them so easily. Eh?”


Confusion will soon replaced by disbelief when my front view was covered by strands of blonde hair and pale blue eyes getting closer to me until I felt the soft touch of her lips against my, the aftertaste of the strawberry cheesecake she ate earlier still lingering on them along with her natural fragrance making my head spin. 


Woosh!


Several pure white wings unfurled behind her, twelve majestic wings only belonging to a Seraph being on full display with every person around the park having at one point disappeared. She pulled back, a smile on her face as she whispered silently, “Why would I need to fall in the first place over such a small matter?” 


“...”


My mind drew blanks, for I had no answers to that. 


“My intentions are not malicious, my feelings are pure, I am not going against my father's wishes nor am I breaking any rules. And as you can see, nothing has changed.” She caressed my face once more before leaving another kiss on my forehead. “I'm just happy being around you, so take that as you will. I just don't want you to be afraid around me or to hesitate because you are looking out for me. Just understand that I know the rules just like Michael, I am not as clueless or naive as you're thinking. In fact… you are the naive one, Hachi-kun. I find that endearing.” 


I try to say something, anything rather than remaining mute like an idiot. But that opportunity never came as for some reason, she just went on and teleported away before my eyes. Disappearing in the flash of white light and leaving me all by myself. 


Or at least… that was what I thought until I heard the sound of hands clapping from nearby.


“What an amazing scene! I told you didn't I, mother, this guy is filled with surprises! It's always fun hanging around him, you never get bored!” 


My heart was still beating far too fast for comfort, like a car engine refusing to idle. Not because I was flustered or embarrassed or feeling any of those overwrought emotions some cliché anime protagonist would be drowning in right now. No, this was a colder, more practical kind of fear crawling through my chest. Every few seconds my eyes flicked skyward, half-expecting the air itself to split apart and rain down a host of furious angels brandishing spears with my name on them.  


Meanwhile, the man beside me strolled along as if nothing in the world could bother him. He was busy showing his mother around the city, speaking as though he were a tour guide rather than someone whose presence alone could start a war if handled poorly.  


“He’s the one who managed to win over Rias, Akeno, two fallen angels, an exorcist, an actual Valkery, and now even a certain Heaven's most beloved daughter,” Sairaorg announced loudly, clapping a hand on my shoulder with a grin far too wide for my liking. “I told you, didn’t I? Quite the impressive guy! The numbers just keep rising, hahaha!”  


His mother gave a small, amused chuckle at that while my brain threatened to short-circuit.  


“This isn’t funny!” I snapped, throwing my hands up. “Do you have any idea what will happen if this little fact somehow spreads? Someone will hunt me down for the rest of my life! And what the hell are you even doing here!? Shouldn’t you be back in the underworld at some banquet or council meeting or whatever it is devils usually attend?”  


“Why would I be at a banquet?” he replied lightly. “I lost the last rating game, remember? My father and grandfather would rather choke than see my face right now.”  


He said it so cheerfully that it took me a second to realize just how depressing that actually sounded. His mother’s smile softened into something smaller, more fragile, as she laid a hand gently on his shoulder.  


“Don’t mind him, dear,” Misla Bael said. “Your father can be difficult, but he truly cares. Give him time. He will come around eventually.”  


“There’s no need to worry about any of that, Mother,” he replied calmly. “I’m not concerned whether he changes his mind or not. If he wants to talk, we can talk. I’ll be right here at least until I finish my studies.”  


My brain screeched to a halt like a record player grinding off-track. “What do you mean finish your studies?” I asked slowly, a pit forming in my stomach.  


“Well, I took your advice to heart,” he said with a shrug. “The underworld felt too crowded. Too many politics, too many people waiting for me to fail. Not great for my mother’s recovery either. So I thought, why not come to the place you recommended? While she recovers, I might as well stay and study a bit. Seems peaceful enough, right?”


"You are a bad liar," I said flatly, not even bothering to hide the disbelief in my voice. It wasn’t hard to see through him. His mother looked fine, better than fine, actually. Her skin had that ridiculous glow people pay good money for in commercials, the kind that makes beauty products sell out in hours. She didn’t look like someone who had just woken up. No bags under her eyes, no sluggish posture, no telltale signs of fatigue. If I hadn’t known they were mother and son, they could’ve passed for one of those staged TV families used to promote happy, healthy lifestyles. And there he was, standing next to her, smirking like he had just won something.  


"Since you're saying that, you should already know why I’m here."  


"I'm not fighting you."  


The words slipped out before I could think too much about them. Like I’d want to fight him of all people. The idea itself sounded ridiculous, as if I’d need to be drunk out of my mind or possessed by some vengeful spirit to even consider it. My current condition didn’t help either. Picking a fight now would be about as smart as running headfirst into a moving train.  


"But I do," he said, almost too casually. "You have no idea how much I’m holding back right now to have a rematch with you."  


"You're making it sound more intimate than it should be," I muttered, keeping my tone dry. "Listen, you might not believe me, but there’s a complicated reason behind all this."  


"I know. You can’t use your Sacred Gear for a while, can you?"  


I paused. That… wasn’t even asked like a question. More like he already knew the answer. Did Sirzechs tell him? I hadn’t exactly asked the guy to keep it secret, but it wasn’t the kind of thing you expected to hear casually dropped in conversation.  


"No, it wasn’t Sirzechs who told me," he said before I could speak.  


My brow twitched. "Can you read minds?"  


"No, but I can read your eyes."  


"Well, please stop. I already have two girlfriends."  


"I think you mean three girlfriends now, right?"  


My headache flared the moment he said that. Of course he’d bring it up. I still hadn’t figured out how I was supposed to handle that tomorrow. Maybe she had acted without thinking, copying what she saw around her like some sort of misguided attempt at closeness because of some show or influenced by the girls at school. But no, she wasn’t a kid. She knew what she was doing. At least, I refused to believe she didn’t.  


"It was actually Serafall who told me," he added.  


"What?"  


And before I could ask what that meant, the guy decided to take off his shirt. In public. Several people who somehow just returned on the scene now turned to look, mostly women, and a few even gasped like they were watching a celebrity on stage. I ignored the collective swooning and focused on the large bruise right in the middle of his chest.  


"She paid me a visit," he said. "Wanted to even the odds. Left me with some information too. Helped me understand why you threw in the towel back then."  


That crazy woman. Was she planning to hurt anyone who fought me? I really hoped not, I did not want to deal with a magical girl obsessed potential yandere with the powers of a Satan.


"I see. Then you should know why I can’t fight you."  


"It’s not that I don’t understand," he said. "Actually, I’m a bit disappointed in you."  


That got my attention. "Oh?"  


"You barely used any Touki or other tricks during our fight."


"I used everything I could to protect myself from you," I said, my voice sounding steadier than I actually felt. "Tricks would have just delayed the inevitable and I'm not exaggerating. If I hadn’t, my head would’ve been nothing more than a red smear on the pavement. That wasn’t some metaphor to make things sound worse than they were. Any ordinary human would’ve been dead the moment your attack landed. I had to pull every scrap of energy, every bit of magic I could force out of myself just to throw up that shield in time. Even then, some of the force got through. I only survived because I managed to dull the worst of it before it crushed me."


"And it’s still not enough," he said flatly. There was no arrogance in his tone, only blunt honesty. "Like it or not, you have more enemies than you realize. Even if you try to hide it, word will spread. And if you stay this vulnerable for long, people will come hunting. They’ll find you. And her."  


"I’m well aware," I said. My voice probably didn’t inspire much confidence. "That’s why I’m planning to keep things quiet for the next few days."  


"And you think that will guarantee your safety?"  


Of course it wouldn’t. We both knew it.  


I still didn’t know what had become of Diodora after I handed over the information about him to his brother. Was he captured for interrogation? Locked away somewhere? If I had to bet, probably not. And if someone like Rizevim showed up again while I was in this state, I wouldn’t be able to stop him. Not even close.  


"You don’t need to answer," he said, as if reading my thoughts. "You already know how bad things are for you. Your entire strength depends on that Sacred Gear of yours. Without it, you’ve got nothing aside from a handful of mediocre spells that are built around your Sacred Gear. Sure, you know a bit of magic, you can throw around some Touki. But let’s be honest, none of that is enough to save you."  


"Then what do you suggest?" I asked. I didn’t mean it as sarcasm and genuinely wanted to hear if he had something in mind. The last thing I wanted was to drag others into danger just because I couldn’t protect myself.  


"We keep training," he said without hesitation. "Like we did in the Underworld. I’ll teach you how to sharpen your Touki and your martial arts. Close-quarters combat. Survival skills. All of it." He folded his arms across his bare chest, looking completely serious.  


His mother, at some point, had wandered across the park. She was tossing crumbs to the birds with a bright smile on her face, not even glancing in our direction. Her son was standing there shirtless in public, talking about life-or-death battles, and she might as well have been enjoying a sunny afternoon picnic.  


"You do realize that won’t magically fix anything, right?" I said. "You can train me all you want, but my progress with this kind of stuff is painfully slow. Always has been. Magic, martial arts, it doesn’t matter. At best I’m average. Most of the time, below average. A year of training for me is like a week for someone like you."  


To my surprise, that didn’t wipe the smirk off his face. He stepped forward and clapped a hand on my shoulder.  


"Don’t worry about that. I’ve got plans. When you’re at your lowest, the only way left is up. And I’ve got my own tricks when it comes to Touki. I’m not a master, but I can teach you how to survive."  


The annoying part was that he wasn’t wrong. His proposal made sense. I couldn’t just sit around hoping things would fix themselves. Vritra was still alive inside me, so I wasn’t afraid I’d lose the Sacred Gear entirely. But counting on an unknown variable to solve itself? That was nothing but wishful thinking. The last thing I needed was to wander back into the Underworld while rumors spread and attention piled up around me.  


"Fine," I said after a moment. "I’ll give it a try."  


I was sure Kuroka would be thrilled if she heard about this. She’d been pestering me to let her train me for a while now.  


"Good," he said, finally sounding satisfied. "We start right now. Take off your shirt."


"...Get away from me," I said in the flattest tone possible, not even bothering to look him in the eye.  


Sairaorg, naturally oblivious, grinned like this was some kind of motivational drama. "What better time to start than now? You have to harden your resolve and push yourself beyond your limits! Especially after getting a kiss from such a beautiful maiden, will it only motivate you even further! Trust me, I know the feelin—Ah?"  


Whatever overblown speech he had prepared got cut short when a handcuff suddenly clicked around his wrist. A gloved hand landed on his shoulder, firm and heavy. Both of us turned to see two police officers standing behind him. I had no idea when they showed up, but there they were, frowning like they had just stepped into the weirdest scene of the day. One of them looked at me, his expression worried but his voice carrying that edge of annoyance cops get when paperwork is inevitable.  


"Kid, is this man bothering you? We've gotten several reports about a pervert running around with no clothes."  


"What? Oh right, the police in the human world..." Sairaorg glanced at them, still smiling in that awkward way people do when they have no idea how bad things look. "Please, officers, this is just a misunderstanding! We’re friends, and I was simply teaching him how to get strong like me. Isn't that right, Hachiman?"  


"I do not know this man. Please help me," I said without so much as a blink.  


Sairaorg’s face twisted in disbelief as one officer draped a coat over him while the other started pulling him away. "W-Wait, Hachiman? Hachiman! You're abandoning me here?"  


I kept my face straight, even as his mother stared after him with growing concern. He yelled something about catching up later, about wanting to see what the human world had to offer. His laughter sounded less like amusement and more like someone trying too hard to stay calm.  


Maybe a night in jail would help him think things through. With luck, tomorrow’s training wouldn’t require public indecency charges.  


"Please don't worry," I said to his mother, keeping my tone polite. "Rias can handle this case when she gets here, the police basically work for her and Sona. Would you like to come by for tea? She can also help you find a place to stay while you're in Kuoh, if you haven’t arranged anything yet."  


"That’s very kind of you," Misla said softly. "We were going to stay at a hotel, but my son has the keys... so thank you."  


As we walked toward my house, I tried to focus on small talk, but the thought lingered. Today, I might have crossed a line that could bring more trouble than I wanted.

Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 42

Beta read and cowritten by Gamercrusher55 and Shigiya

Next update is Snafu in a few seconds.

Also... Super long chapter, nearly twice the regular wordcount.

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• -Fuyuki-

Life was a strange thing.

One moment, Rin found herself on top of the world after summoning her Servant at long last.

An endeavour she had been preparing for and working towards for a decade of her life, if not the majority of it. Training constantly, researching jewelcraft, studying other branches of spells, preparing everything that she would need to properly supply her Servant, and being ready for every single factor that could occur during the war.

While it was unfortunate that she did not get Saber as planned, a Lancer class was not a bad choice either; they had their own advantages with high agility, high endurance, and hers had Protection against Arrows. Her Lancer in particular was amazing, with several of his parameters being at A and B. Now that she was a Master, she was granted a Master’s Clairvoyance ability and could see the details.

Protection against Arrows meant he would be practically invincible against ranged combat like the Archer class. It meant that she would not need to worry about long-range enemy attacks, including sniping. His B-ranked Magic Resistance granted him protection from most spells and greatly increased his defensive capabilities, especially against the Caster class. With a high A rank, Battle Continuation made it possible for him to survive even fatal attacks. And Disengage granted him an escape from any nasty traps the other teams had in store. In pure survival mode, she and Lancer would be set. Maybe the Assassin class could get past his guard, but that was an issue for another time.

At this rate… she did not even need to fear a Saber-class Servant!

It was her greatest moment and a dream come true! Of course, just as quickly as it came, the pride and joy she felt was soon replaced with pure disbelief and horror. All of it started with the sound of her rotary phone ringing loudly nearby — awaking the girl from her much treasured sleep.

“Yes?” Rin answered with a groggy voice, half certain it was perhaps the fake priest who had a habit of using this number. But the voice that sounded from the other side turned out to be from someone much worse.

“Ah, you answered, so if that wasn't your doing… hm, you may want to look outside, Tohsaka.” Luvia’s voice sounded through her ears, not even bothering with any greetings or wordplay, which alerted Rin at first.

Still half asleep, she tried to make sense of things. “W-What are you…”

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!!!

“A-Aaah!” Whatever had happened forcefully woke Rin up, breaking her peaceful slumber as she dropped the phone, gripping onto her wobbling bed as she looked around to see her entire room shaking, her entire mansion rattling with clinking glass and porcelain. ‘Okay, I must be seeing things, my entire room’s not experiencing an earthquake, it's just that I must still be half asleep.’

Blaming everything she saw and felt on her own half-sleep mind, as time went on, her room could still feel the vibrations, as her chandelier, cabinets, and her own bed still shook as if an impact kept rushing through it. Focusing her mind and catching her senses up to her, she realized that a bright orange-red light was coming out of her curtains. Lancer stood calmly near it, watching upwards without making a sound as he stared at something. Finally speaking after a few seconds.

“Tch, not much for subtlety, aren't they? Though it seems like we are not the target.”

Biting her lip, she threw off her bed sheets and rushed to her window. Throwing the curtains away, she finally saw the cause of what woke her.

The sky erupted with a streak of fire that slammed into the south-western district of the city, the foreigner’s district. She instantly froze where she stood, looking at the red sky as projectiles from below impacted projectiles from above. She could still see shards of debris from the ensuing competition blasting in all directions, some of which even came close to the Tohsaka Estate. Her Servant opened the window and leapt into action, blowing away any that came in range of the mansion. Some were batted away by his crimson spear, and some were blown away by his mere presence. She deduced that it was the ‘Protection of Arrows’ at work. He dashed like lightning, making sure nothing even came close to touching her home; the mere wind generated by spinning his spear blew away any fires that came on her property.

The strength and speed of her Servant, on full display, amazed her beyond belief. Finally, the destruction that attempted to touch her home was clear. Without it, she could clearly see where it originated.

It wasn’t just near her; it practically hit her next-door neighbor. Her mind connected the location with a certain household she knew all too well. It was where a certain someone lived, or at least where she wished they currently lived, given the present circumstances.

“Lancer! Let’s go! Check if anyone is still there!” she ordered hastily, her voice clipped with urgency as she grabbed her emergency bedside gemstones. Lancer didn’t wait for her to get dressed, as she was still in her cat pajamas when he leapt to the window, pulling her close before they headed out, the young brunette glued at the hip.

She could feel the hot wind blowing on her face, as they leapt across the streets and buildings, till finally they saw sparks at the front gate.

“There’s fighting going on there.” Rin’s chest went into itself, hearing Lancer’s words as they picked up the pace, but just as soon as they noticed the fighting, the sparks vanished, as if it ended like a firework. Finally touching down at the gate, all she saw were pieces of the Matou mansion destroyed, and the building was burning in flames.

She was preparing to sprint toward the flames herself when the Irishman in blue moved in front of her, blocking the path. His usual casual demeanor was gone, replaced by a steady, almost grim look as he shook his head slowly.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere near there, Master,” he said, his words no longer sounding nearly as laid-back as before. “That fire isn’t normal. There’s something very nasty woven into it… poison? Can’t say for sure if it’s a curse, but best not to tempt fate. So let me handle it.”

His tone left little room for argument. Rin stood still for a moment, her lips biting into each other, watching as he darted toward the burning complex with a speed that only someone beyond humanity could possess. Minutes passed, and the crackle of fire far in the distance mixed with the echoing voices of approaching figures. Soon enough, members of the Church from the police and fire department arrived, moving efficiently to cordon off the area and keep wandering eyes away.

Rin barely paid them any attention. Her chest felt tight, her thoughts circling on one person alone. Using her new connection with her familiar to cast a variation of the Transference of Consciousness Spell called “Shared Perception", her own senses received what Lancer saw, heard, and felt. Following him as he scoured the destruction for any sign of people.

Then he returned, brushing stray embers from his shoulder like they were nothing more than dust. “Good news,” he said plainly. “Didn’t find any bodies aside from the remains of some worm-like familiars and an assortment of other creepy crawlies. No signs of anyone being trapped, either, or any signs of Servants being involved.”

The words hit her harder than she expected. Her knees weakened, relief flooding through her all at once as though someone had cut the strings holding her upright. She staggered before catching herself, muttering under her breath, “Thank goodness… thank goodness…”

For all their current distance, despite belonging to different households now, Sakura was still her sister. Nothing had changed that, no matter how badly the years had twisted things. Rin wanted to win the Holy Grail War, yes, but not at the cost of her last remaining family.

“She should be there then,” Rin whispered to herself, voice barely audible. “She must be with him. I need to check up on her.”

The girl turned to leave but was immediately halted by another presence who, at some point, had appeared behind her, accompanied by several members of the church who not only put out the flames but also went around to deal with any witnesses by helping them escape the damage, or erasing memories of those who had seen too much.

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Rin.”

The familiar voice belonged to none other than Kirei, the ever-smiling priest with hands clasped behind his back… even this time, he had the audacity to smile. That calm expression of his had always unsettled her, and tonight was no exception.

“And why not?” Rin snapped, temper flaring now that her nerves were wound so tight. “If you’re stopping me for something meaningless, I swear I’ll blast you on the spot.” Her hands trembled as she aimed a Gandr curse shot straight at him, a red-black orb emerging from her index finger as she aimed it like a handgun. Though she tried to hide it with her confrontational attitude, her voice was dropping low. Seeing Sakura mattered more than anything else right now.

“You misunderstand me, as always,” Kirei said smoothly, still wearing that infuriating smile. “I’m not here to block your path. Quite the opposite. I’m here to save your life.”

Rin wanted to roll her eyes, to scoff at the man’s usual cryptic nonsense, but she forced herself to stay composed.

“Then speak,” she said curtly. “I don’t have time for your useless riddles! If you’re warning me about danger, I can handle it, even if the other side has a Servant!”

Kirei shook his head slowly. “Fiery as ever, and here I thought I taught you better than that. Just listen to me for a bit; it's important, I’m not warning you because of a Servant. I’m warning you because of two things: First, the one you’re searching for, Sakura Matou, isn’t at the place you're thinking of. Our information confirms it. Several witnesses saw the violet-haired girl heading this way earlier. The boy you thought she was with, followed soon after.”

“H-Hold on, s-she was here?” Rin’s voice caught sharply. Whatever relief she had felt earlier vanished at once.

“Calm down, and let me finish,” Kirei continued, unbothered by her reaction. “The second reason is the boy himself. Even if he lives, you may want to stay away from him, considering his last name. I was curious when he showed up to register at the church, so I did some digging into his guardian, and I was surprised to find my suspicion confirmed. I won't keep you waiting for an answer — he’s the son of Kiritsugu Emiya.”

“Eh?”

The name meant little to the twintailed girl at first, her mind too rattled to piece things together. Kirei, perhaps expecting this, went on without pause.

“You likely wouldn’t know of him, since that man vanished from public life after the last war. But before then, he had quite the legacy. The mage all mages feared as their hunter, the ‘Magus Killer’ as it were. He would travel the world ending the lives of the most prominent mages, with a mix of methods, both mystical and mundane, always emerging the victor, no matter how skilled his opponent was. A man who hunted magi with methods so unorthodox they were seen as… primitive and insulting. Yet despite his methods and how they were perceived by many, no matter the target, he never failed. Not once.”

Rin just stared there as she absorbed the information about such a dangerous man, trying to wrap her head around how Emiya was his son. Unconcerned with how she was taking it, the man’s smile remained unchanged as he added, “Yes, your reaction is warranted, but for all his legacy, however, his greatest point to fame was the fabled Fourth Holy Grail War. He was also a Master in the previous war who was recruited to serve as a Master by the Einzbern.”

“...”

The Fourth Holy Grail War.

‘Wha…?’

Rin’s consciousness tumbled.

Even now, so many years later, there were still gaps in the records that drove Rin to the edge of tearing out her own hair. Every time she searched for answers as to what happened, she would hit a wall of missing reports, vague testimonies, or outright contradictions. And yet, in spite of it all, she had managed to learn a few things about those who had taken part in that war. A war that had claimed her father, a mage so skilled that the idea of him falling to just anyone was laughable.

There were only a handful of people who could have done it, and among them was the one name, or rather the one title, that made her pause in disbelief.

“The Magus Killer?” Rin muttered the words under her breath. “Shirou… the school janitor is the Magus Killer's son? That can’t be true.” Someone like that couldn’t have been so close to her all this time. “It almost sounds like a joke, a bad one.”

The man standing across from her did not waver. “I have no reason to lie to you. I am simply telling you what I have uncovered: the Magus Killer was indeed Kiritsugu Emiya, and after the war, it seems he chose to live in this very city years ago. He erased nearly every trace of his existence once the war ended, so that not even I could find him, even using your authority as the Second Owner, and my connections with the Church. I assumed he was long gone, so you can imagine my surprise when, during the Fifth War, a certain boy came to the church to register as a Master, carrying the same surname: Emiya. One who was seen in this very place before the attack.”

Rin’s mind worked like lightning, her mind rushing to make sense of the information. Several images pushed into her mind all at once. Shirou Emiya, a schoolmate whom she had known for years and had only just recently found out was a mage. She didn’t see him as a friend, not really, but as a classmate who seemed to live in a world far too ordinary for anything involving magecraft. He was helpful to the point of being taken advantage of, the type who would carry someone’s books or fix a broken desk just because no one else would bother. But he was also disciplined, someone who actually put in the effort to meet his goals even if no one else recognized it.

Her impression of him had never been bad; quite the opposite. And now she was being told that he was not only a mage, hiding it right under her nose, but also the adopted son of the Magus Killer himself?

“Get out of my way, Kirei,” she snapped suddenly, her anger finally slipping through. The orb on her finger was glowing even brighter, the threat veiled with drive.

The priest only sighed faintly. “Rin, you have always been impulsive. But surely I also taught you better than to rush headfirst into a den of beasts. Servant or no Servant, you would not leave alive if you barged in without thinking.”

“You make it sound like you wouldn’t enjoy watching me suffer for my choices,” Rin shot back sharply.

“I do not deny that,” Kirei replied without even blinking, the smirk on his face growing wider. “But I remain your guardian. Your father entrusted you to me, and keeping you alive is a duty I intend to uphold. You are clever enough to know when patience serves you better than rage. Think before you act.”

“That doesn’t apply to the Holy Grail War. You forget your place, Overseer. Your duty is to monitor this fight and make sure it doesn’t go too far. When I need your protection, I’ll go to the church myself.”

A silent pause coursed through the two of them, stretching on between them as something deep transpired. Eventually, Kirei relented, sighing as he turned away, his coat swaying lightly as he walked off toward the destruction to aid his fellow clergy. His voice, still carried by the breath, reached her from the back over his shoulder. “This tragedy will draw attention soon. I must see to it before the wrong people start asking questions.”

Lancer leaned on his spear against one shoulder and watched him go, eyes narrowing. “There’s something terribly off-putting with that guy,” he muttered, not even bothering to hide his distaste. “Feels like talking to a corpse that hasn’t realized it’s dead. And that guy is a priest on top of that? Ha! What a joke.”

Rin clenched her fists but said nothing. As much as she wanted to storm in and demand answers about Sakura, even she had to admit Kirei was right. Charging in now would solve nothing. “Lancer, go help the clergy with anything major. Afterwards, return so we can move on to our next step.” So she swallowed her anger, as bitter as it was, and waited.

Waiting for her chance…

.

.

.

(Present)

And just like she feared, something had indeed happened to Sakura. The girl had not shown up at school, not even once throughout the day, and the silence surrounding her absence weighed heavily. Yet the most insulting part was that the boy had the nerve to come over and talk about Sakura as though he bore no responsibility for what had happened. He spoke as if her disappearance was nothing more than a passing concern rather than a matter that might have been set in motion by his own actions.

For her, the secrecy was what cut the deepest. She had grown tired of being left in the dark, of whispers passed between others while she remained with nothing but fragments of the truth. Even that dumb blonde felt like she was more informed of what was going on than herself!

She would force them out now with blood if she had to. Their Servants stared at each other while the Masters followed them.

“Please, Rin, calm down. You're obviously not in the right frame of mind. I think you're misunderstanding a lot of things.” Shirou said hastily. Her eyes twitched at those words. Not in the right frame of mind? Calm down? That suggestion alone carried the opposite effect. The smile on her face tightened, and her eyes grew colder.

“All these years,” she said slowly, her voice tightening with each word, “you were right under my nose as if you were just a normal student. You approached Sakura. You made her live with you. And then you dragged her into this war. First, she was nearly killed by Berserker. And now? I don’t even know what’s become of her!”

Her voice broke through the air, all the frustration she had buried since yesterday poured out, no longer held back.

“So tell me where she is now!”

“I really don’t know!” he shot back quickly, the words coming fast as though he feared what might come next. “I tried to save her yesterday, but another Servant appeared. I think he was Sakura’s Servant; I bet he knows the answers to both our questions, and that's why I came to find you, so that you can help me track him down!”

So he claimed. Yet Kirei had mentioned that the Matou family never even came to the church to announce their entry into the Holy Grail War. Not that they needed formal acknowledgment; both the Tohsaka and Matou families had automatic rights to participate… The Einzbern as well, given that Berserker was already summoned. So it was not unthinkable that the new Servant belonged to her sister, since she was certain that Shinji possessed not even an iota of requirements to even be a borderline third-rate Magus. Considering he was the original heir to the clan, it was obvious why Zouken accepted Sakura, for his own descendants were now just regular people.

“If that Servant truly belonged to Sakura,” she asked coldly, “then why did he fight you? If it were her Servant, why did it treat you as an enemy? Something doesn’t make sense here, Emiya.”

“I kinda… didn’t realize who he was at first, and launched an attack… but in my defense, I just saw a massive attack on the Matou household and I got too worried to think straight.” He answered shamelessly as if he hadn’t given more reason to distrust him.

“Are you trying to deceive everyone? To play us all so you can win this war? Are you planning to use the same tactics as the Magus Killer, taking out your enemies one by one while pretending to play the hero?”

“The old man wasn’t like that, at least how I knew him,” the redheaded boy snapped, his voice cutting through her accusation. “He wouldn’t have pretended anything; in his own way, I bet he really tried to save people.”

“Yet that didn’t stop him from KILLING MY FATHER!” she shot back sharply, “Or from ruining my life!”

The words, laced with such emotion, struck him silent, leaving him taken abackl. His gaze shifted away, sliding toward the floor as though he found it difficult to look at her now. She could not tell whether that was guilt or calculation working behind his eyes. Was the Shirou she thought she knew just a mask for something else, some other person hidden beneath the surface? Or was he truly what he claimed to be?

If he really wanted to save everyone in this war, then why did he walk around with secrets buried behind his words? Why carry a Servant into battle while hiding the truth about Sakura’s disappearance? Nothing about him added up anymore, and the uncertainty twisted in her chest.

“…”

Eventually, he forced himself to look at her. He knew there was a chance his father was guilty of the crime she claimed he did, but if that was true, why didn’t he tell him that? It would have made sense to warn him about a potential revenge from the Second Owner? “Are-Are you sure it was my father who killed him… You know without a shadow of a doubt it wasn’t anyone else?”

“...Fine. It doesn’t matter if you tell me the truth or not,” she said firmly, raising her left hand toward him, using her right to roll up her sleeve. Her index finger leveled at him like the barrel of a gun. “I’ll get my answers one way or another. I don’t trust a word coming out of your mouth, so I’ll have my own way to verify them.”

“Please. You don’t want to do this, Ri—”

“—Anfang!”

The word left her lips as her Magic Circuits came alive in a surge of heat beneath her skin. A flash of the dagger piercing her heart flickered through her mind as her trigger snapped into place. Mana swirled outward in thin streams, responding to the formation of her magic crest glowing on her left arm, as blue intricately connected circuits appeared on it, humming with powerful magical energy.

“Lancer.”

“You got it, boss.”

Her Servant moved the instant his voice ended, vanishing from sight with speed no human eye could follow. Even trained enforcers would have struggled to track him. He reappeared beside Rider, spear already drawn back, and thrust forward with precise force.

“Clang!”

Sparks snapped through the air as Rider deflected the strike with her chained nail, the chains connected to them whipping outward to wrap around the spear. Lancer realized the trap instantly. Rather than pull back, he surged forward instead, knees driving toward Rider’s midsection. She swung the other chain to block, but his strike carried so much force that it sent both combatants hurtling through the nearby window in a shower of glass.

“Rider!”

“You should worry about yourself first, Emiya.”

She fired off several Gandr curses in rapid succession, the magical crest around her arm allowing her to skip the incantations entirely. The energy gathered fast, a dim red glow humming at her fingertips before each curse shot forward like a bullet of raw energy. She had heard more than enough about the so-called Mage Killer to know better than to hold back, even if this one was his son.

“Damn it!” he hissed, twisting sharply on his heel as he leapt aside. The curses hissed past him, punching through the plaster walls with small, precise holes that let faint streaks of daylight through from the outside. He deserved credit for that much; he was quick but still manageable. Another volley slammed into the wall behind him, splinters of concrete flying as shards skittered across the floor, yet he still slipped through the gaps with only seconds to spare.

“It was never my intention to keep this from you!” he snapped, boots scraping against the tiles as he darted to the side. “I didn’t think there was any reason to bring it up!”

“What kind of answer is that? You didn’t think it was worth mentioning to the Second Owner?” she shot back, voice echoing sharply through the hallway. Another trio of curses crackled through the air like gunfire. Glass burst from a row of windows in glittering showers, jagged fragments scattering across the corridor. The walls were pitted with blackened marks and chipped masonry, enough damage that even Rin knew repairs would be needed soon, though the thought barely registered.

“Stop running and surrender already!” she called, her fingers already glowing again.

“Then stop shooting curses at me first!”

She ignored that sound request entirely. Her next words were flat, final. “Then we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

He skidded to a halt at the end of the school corridor, shoulders rising and falling with his breathing. “Rin, come on… I don’t want to fight you.”

“You know my answer,” she replied coldly. “Stop wasting your breath, Emiya and stand still.”

Another blast ripped past his shoulder as he ducked low. Her right hand stayed buried in her coat pocket, gripping three cut gems tightly between her fingers. Half were for offensive use, the others for emergency barriers. Her inventory had been gutted after the fight with Berserker, and she had no intention of wasting what little remained unless she had to.

“In that case… I’m sorry,” he said finally, his back hitting the wall. He was cornered now. One side blocked by a wall, the other by the shattered window overlooking the school courtyard. If he tried jumping, it would be a hard fall.

She stood at the mouth of the corridor, the faint noise of weapons clashing outside reaching them from the direction of the schoolyard where Rider and her Servant were still locked in combat. She did not task him to kill the woman, knowing full well the high likelihood of Lancer himself emerging injured, so he was just buying time.

“So you’re finally going to fight back?” she asked, eyes narrowing. “Then show me. I want to see what you can really do.”

Her answer came when he raised a hand, and blue sparks of Magical Energy flickered into the shape of a weapon. Projection magic, of all things. A crude firearm solidified in his grip, followed by bullets formed the same way.

Bang!

The first shot cracked the air, the round whizzing just past her face and tearing through her hair. Shocked, she reacted instantly, flinging a green gem forward. “Sieben!” It burst midair, unfurling into a translucent barrier the color of green jade.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of several more shots being fired spread across the school. Each bullet slammed into the shield, the cracks spiderwebbing fast under the repeated impact. They weren’t ordinary bullets, but projected constructs, dissolving into shards of broken magical energy as they hit.

“Projection magecraft?” Rin muttered under her breath. “ Of all things, that’s what he’s using? What is he planning now? Tch.”

Refusing to retreat even as the barrier spell began to fray at its edges, she poured more energy into her Magic Crest. The faint hum rose into a steady vibration that rippled across the cracked ground. The crimson spell gathering at her fingertip swelled before she unleashed it the instant the barrier broke apart. “Fixierung, Eile Salve.” The air snapped with the release, followed by several shots that tore through the night like a machine gun. Each curse projectile shattered mid-flight, fragments of cursed mist breaking apart under the barrage of his bullets with frightening precision.

“What?” The word left her before she could stop it. In less than three seconds, dozens of her attacks had been destroyed with near-perfect accuracy, as Emiya dashed towards her after all the shots were fired. Her opponent closed the gap in silence, the speed of his advance leaving little room to counter. His eyes locked on her right hand, the source of the curses, and she understood his aim immediately. He wanted to deny her any range advantage, to pin her down before she could recover.

He caught her wrist with an iron grip, but she had no intention of staying idle. Guided by muscle memory drilled into her through Kirei’s harsh training, she shifted her weight. Her free hand snapped open and drove forward, palm striking dead center into his sternum. “Oof!”

The results were immediate, as his body buckled under the strike. Reinforcement surged through her frame as she twisted her torso and planted her legs, the impact forcing the air from his lungs in a single harsh exhale. This made him stagger a few steps away, giving her enough room to toss her other gem. “Stark Groß zwei!” This one released a bright light, followed by a powerful wave of energy that pushed them away from each other. Shirou followed by throwing down his own tool, a black orb — a smoke bomb which produced a wall of smoke, further cutting each other off.

Now, both were completely blinded by their own efforts.

‘Never thought I'd be grateful to Kirei for his training.’ Learning Bajiquan had been a challenge, especially with that man's way of inflicting as much pain as possible with the excuse of further improving her skills. ‘I’ll rush him with a series of strengthened, powerful blows and finish this—Eh?’

Yet her moment of certain victory only lasted so long until she heard the sound of chains behind her. “Lancer!” Fearing that something had happened to her Servant, she looked behind, only to find nothing there — just the same chained needles Rider used, pierced on the ceiling. The chain not leading to the outside, where she still felt the two Servants fighting, but rather from within the smoke itself.

“—!”

She was too slow, as Shirou's figure came flying through faster than earlier. A loud gunshot rang in her ears, and a surge of pain shot across her palm — yet no trace of blood showed. ‘R-Rubber bullets?’

If that was not enough, the chains that somehow found their way into the redhead’s hand wrapped around her entire arm, with his foot coming down and sticking the fetters downwards. “Ah!” She tried to break them with her last remaining gem, a Topaz. “Anfang!” Yet that proved futile as the jewel detonated with a white light and still left no marks on its surface. Her body was forced downwards by that forceful pull; she found herself falling to her knees and then lost sight of him.

Only to realize that a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist and stomach. Linking together and applying a growing amount of strength, with her weight getting pulled upwards. A surge of panic soon followed when she recognized the technique he was using! Her eyes closed, bracing herself for the impact on her head, yet that never came.

“Please, Tohsaka, I can go all the way if I wanted to right now… but I really did not come here to be your enemy.” He ended up whispering right next to her ears, sending a jolting shock across her spine with how his warm breath caressed her ear and how weird that felt! “I… I can't answer for what my father has done, or defend him properly either… because of that, I cannot fault you for hating me. Truth be told, I don’t even know if my father killed yours or not. But I'll accept any punishment, anything you think I deserve for any slight you think I did, just, please, please, only after Sakura is found safe and sound. I am not the Magus Killer… and I refuse to be someone who would hurt Sakura.”

“...”

He sounded sincere, at least even after the aftermath of the short confrontation between them. She felt her mind feel less crowded with the several negative thoughts and intense feelings of anger that had swirled within her since the morning. He had her bound and in a vulnerable position, capable of killing her if he wanted to. Yet he continued to plead.

Continuing the fight would not make sense anymore, and the odds weren’t in her favor…regardless of what happened next.

“You… just… fine, let go of me first.” She whispered, thankful that her face was not visible, or else he would have seen the blush. The position they were in was not exactly ideal, to say the least. She felt completely entangled by him, and his hot breath against her neck did not help! He nodded his head.

“Please, Tohsaka. I just want to save Sakura as soon as possible, and I think you do too. We won't be able to do that if we're fighting one another.”

“...”

Again, his words echoed in her mind, and she found herself reluctantly agreeing with him.

“Fine…”

He had started to untangle himself from her when…

Crash!

The wall next to them shattered into pieces as a figure was sent flying through several layers of cement, crashing into the nearby classroom. “Now that was a mean kick! I nearly felt my spine crack, hahaha!” The recently formed hole from where Lancer had been launched was covered in a thick layer of cement-like dust in the air. Lancer walked out of it with barely any bruises and a large grin on his face as he cracked his neck. Rider showed up opposite him, with some cuts on her clothes and the blindfold hanging around her neck. “Eh? Are you two seriously flirting while we were fighting? You got quite the ballsy Master, Rider.”

Shame and anger built up in her heart, but she controlled them. Instead of focusing on something rather odd, the fact that Rider was still holding onto her weapon.

Despite her body being entangled by that very same chain.

Rider seemed to have noticed it as well, with how she raised an eyebrow. Her enchanting face even made Rin feel her heart skip a beat. She definitely was quite the beauty.

“Uh… “ Shirou hesitated, “I just believed it was the best choice of weapons.”

Putting aside that he used Projection Magecraft to copy his Servant's weapon, and how they were durable enough to resist her spells. Rin was reaching her limit with other things.

“Can you stop whispering near my ear for once!?” Before she realized it, her elbow had already connected with his stomach.

“Gah!”

{Break}

(Around the same time)

She could not explain the sensation clearly.

The longer Sakura recalled his face, the more her thoughts seemed to tangle together. ‘He reminds me of someone,’ she thought.

But who? The idea itself came out of nowhere. She liked to think, vaguely and uncertainly, that it was like a shadow flickering across her mind. Perhaps it was nothing more than surface resemblance, her mind playing tricks on her after everything that had happened. Maybe it was because her head still felt heavy and strange after the attack on the manor. She had only just woken up, still stiff and disoriented, staring at the cracked and stained ceiling of a house that clearly did not belong to the Matou estate. It was one of those half-abandoned hideouts Zouken kept scattered across the city, places where he could disappear when things went wrong.

“Finally awake, I see. Hope you had a wonderful sleep, master.”

The voice came from the doorway, low and rough, dragging her attention away from the peeling paint on the ceiling. She turned her head and saw him standing there. A tall man leaned against the wall, arms folded, his expression unreadable as always.

“Archer?” she said softly. Her voice cracked from the dryness in her throat. “Where…?”

“On the outskirts of the city,” he answered. “Less than a few hundred meters from the ocean. Far enough from what happened to the manor. The old house won’t be seeing anyone for now.”

She pushed herself upright, feeling the cold floor beneath her feet as her pulse thudded harder than she liked. Memories from earlier clawed their way back into her thoughts: her grandfather stepping forward, about to demand answers from Archer, the sudden shift in the air when Archer stopped mid-sentence, his attention snapping to the sky. The missiles had come without warning, hissing arcs of metal cutting down through the clouds. That was the first time she saw him fight properly, her own servant unleashing his weapon without hesitation.

Calling it powerful did not do it justice. Even from the ground, those arrows had met the incoming weapons with impossible force and accuracy. They crossed the distance in moments, streaks of light tearing into the projectiles one after another until the sky erupted in fragments and flame. No matter how many came, he never slowed, loosening arrow after arrow until the air itself seemed to split with each impact.

Something else attacked afterward, she remembered dimly. Something that tore apart the barrier around the manor as if it were paper. Her grandfather had turned around in a panic then, fury flashing across his face as he looked toward the direction the assault came from. But the second wave had already landed, another explosion swallowing the grounds before he could react. The last thing Sakura remembered was pushing a panicking Shinji out of the way of a falling piece of their own house that would have crushed him. She hit her head back then, and before losing consciousness, she remembered seeing Archer already moving, pulling her out of the blast’s reach with unshakable calm.

“Did you see who it was?” she asked.

“Whoever it was had enough sense not to show themselves,” Archer replied, still leaning against the wall. “They used familiars. Several kinds, from different sources, by the look of it. I destroyed most of them and the worm colonies along with them as collateral. Not that the old man can complain.” He spoke without a trace of concern, his tone flat with parts of her even suspicious that he did so intentionally.

“My grandfather,” Sakura said quietly. “And Onii-sama… what happened to them?”

Archer gave her a glance from the corner of his eye. “You’re worried about them?” His mouth tugged slightly at one side. “Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Master, but from what I’ve seen since being summoned, I can’t help wondering why.”

“It’s true we all have problems… but… they’re still my family,” she replied, though the words felt thin even to her. She wanted to say more, to explain, but nothing else came.

Thankfully, the Heroic Spirit let it drop. “Your business, then. That old man’s harder to kill than he looks. He won’t die from something like this, though I did see his physical body cut down by something. As for the boy, I brought him with us. You wanted to save him for whatever reason, so as your Servant, I merely responded in kind. He’s locked himself in his room trying to cope. Won’t stop asking if I sense another attack coming or if the area is secure. He talks too much when he’s scared.”

“I see,” she murmured.

The white-haired man approached the bed without a word, his footsteps even and measured across the wooden floor. He reached the small table near the wall, lifted a tray, and carried it to her bedside. Steam rose gently from the dishes, carrying the smell of broth and fresh vegetables. A faint fragrance spread through the air, catching her off guard the moment he set it down beside her.

“What is this?” she asked, her voice uncertain as her eyes darted between the tray and her servant. The food looked freshly cooked, the miso soup still sending up light wisps of steam, the rice in its bowl releasing the scent of warmth and starch. She had not expected this, not from him.

Archer stood by the window, his posture stiff but not hostile, one hand resting casually on the frame as though the night outside held more interest than her reaction.

“You are not in your best condition,” he said evenly. “The attack you endured wasn’t limited to explosives. There was a curse woven into it, contaminants that seeped into your body. Ironically, the worms inside you kept the worst of it at bay, though they left you exhausted.”

Her grip on the blanket tightened at the mention of the worms. Her eyes dropped, not out of embarrassment alone but out of the quiet unease that came whenever she thought of what her body carried. Facing him now felt heavier, her servant bound to a master like her, neither of them able to ignore what had happened.

He continued without turning toward her. “Since those two weren’t going to take care of you, the old man told me to handle it. I agreed. A Master who can’t even stand isn’t useful to anyone.”

No comment followed about the worms themselves. He didn’t so much as twitch, his attention still on the window as though the conversation was secondary to whatever thoughts filled his head. She couldn’t read him. Was he quietly disappointed in her? Resentful about the contract between them? Or simply indifferent, treating this as routine?

She forced herself to set those thoughts aside. It wouldn’t help to dwell on what Archer did or didn’t feel. Instead, she reached for the chopsticks resting on the edge of the tray. Her fingers trembled faintly as she picked them up, the heat of the miso soup carrying a simple comfort she hadn’t expected.

The first taste stopped her hand in midair. Warm broth spread over her tongue, rich but balanced, carrying the faint sweetness of tofu and the salt of miso paste. Her eyes flicked to the side, a creeping sense of familiarity prickling at her thoughts.

“Did you make this, or was it someone…?” She cut herself off. No one else would have cooked this. No one even knew this place. Her grandfather wouldn’t have exposed their location, and no outsider would have walked in so casually.

“You’re thinking about the redheaded boy, aren’t you?” Archer said suddenly, as though the thought had been spoken aloud. His tone held the faintest trace of amusement. “I’ll admit, he surprised me after our talk.”

“Senpai? He was there!?” she asked, her voice tightening.

“That reckless fool drove into the burning manor looking for you. Saw me, jumped to the wrong conclusion, and opened fire with a gun. Humph, using a weapon like that on a Servant? No different than throwing an egg against a rock, hoping to crack the latter.”

“He did what!?” Her hands slammed the tray harder than she meant to, the bowls rattling faintly. “Is he hurt? Archer, please tell me you didn’t hurt him!”

He gave a small shrug, one shoulder lifting lazily. “Depends on what you call hurt.”

“Archer!” She shouted louder than usual, sounding very much characteristically different from her usual self.

The man waved his hand in mock defeat, “Fine, fine. No need to yell. I didn’t harm him much. I just defended myself, nothing more. His attacks wouldn’t have done anything anyway. I gave him a warning and left. Fighting him or Saber would have drained your energy further. I wasn’t going to risk that.”

Some relief eased into her chest before confusion took its place. Also… Saber?

“My sister,” Sakura said flatly. “She’s the only one talented enough to summon a Saber-class servant.”

"A bit hurtful. You're making it sound like you got the short end of the stick by summoning an Archer," the man replied with a quiet hum, his tone faintly amused. "I admit they have plenty of advantages as a class, especially with their strong resistance to magic. But even with that, they remain at a disadvantage against someone like me. Range wins most fights against close combat experts. It's not as if their Servants are fast or durable enough to survive against them, or worse, have protection against arrows. They try to rush in close, and that’s where they die."

"Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that!" she said quickly, hands lifting in panic. "You’re incredible as a Servant! If it weren’t for you, then—" Her words tripped over themselves before she fell silent. The man had raised an eyebrow, the faintest smirk on his lips. That tiny expression was enough to tell her he had been teasing from the start.

"I already told him you’re alive and unharmed," the Archer continued, as if the exchange amused him, but still taking care of her most pressing concern. "So he isn’t running through the streets looking for you. At least, one can hope he isn’t. Not the best impression he gave me yesterday, with how reckless he is. Still, he lived through several of my attacks. That says something about his endurance."

"You said you didn’t hurt him!" she blurted out in disbelief.

"Come on now, just a few bruises, maybe a fractured rib or two. One on his upper torso, but no ruptured organs. Hardly worth calling it an injury for someone like him," the man said lightly. "Either he’s already healed or he will within hours."

Her jaw tightened, the urge to scold him rising again, but exhaustion pulled at her shoulders. Before she could form words, another presence slipped into the room.

"You seem lively enough if you can talk this much, Sakura," a rough voice said.

She froze.

Her eyes shifted toward the newcomer, and her breath caught in her throat. Recognition landed first, followed by something colder. The voice belonged to her grandfather, but the thing standing in the doorway barely qualified as human anymore.

He had looked unpleasant before the attack, pale skin stretched thin over sharp bones and those sunken, dark eyes. Now even that miserable trace of humanity had been stripped away. His body was nothing more than a shifting mass of worms, crawling beneath his skin in uneven layers. Patches of his face were gone entirely, showing clusters of pale, slick bodies weaving together, struggling to hold a man’s shape but failing. Some slid out from hollowed sockets in his arms and shoulders, wriggling down before climbing back toward the main mass of his torso.

"Grandfather?" she whispered, uncertain if the word even fit anymore.

"Don’t be shocked by this form," he rasped, voice wet and uneven. "That cursed woman destroyed years of my work. I had to recall every familiar I sent out to scout, just so I could stand here. It’s temporary. I will recover. We first need to deal with more important matters.”

“Grandfather, about the person that attacked u—”

Tap!

His grotesque hand which still held a cane for support struck on the ground, cutting her off and pushing the room in a wave of silence. “—That person is someone I will handle myself, you have no business with her nor should you even so much as attempt at trying to find her, even with the Servant by your side it's dangerous. I will tell you what you need to know and when it is acceptable for you to move against her; there is no reason for you to learn matters beyond what you need to. I will not allow the last vestige of my life's work to be destroyed so easily.” The way he worded his phrase was no surprise to Sakura; the man cared more about the worms inside, what she could do for him, and the destiny she was chosen to follow rather than herself.

“Understood.” She never even had any plans like that, not even a thought about it, even if she wanted to.

“Good, let me worry about such things, and you worry about your current well-being. For now, I have more important things to address, especially when it comes to you, Servant.” Zouken turned his attention to Archer, the latter briefly acknowledging him with a side glance. “I'm afraid that your master has already become a target for someone very dangerous. It is not just the other contestants you need to worry about anymore, so it would be wise for someone else to temporarily take her place while I finish up my preparations for her.”

Her eyes widened as soon as she heard that, especially when he retrieved the book from his robes and presented it to her.

“This will change your master to someone else, though you will no longer receive as much supply of energy as before. I am sure you can find other ways to sustain yourself, and as an Archer, your independent action will come in handy.”

At that, Archer chuckled. “You are seriously planning on making that boy my master? Perhaps that explosion has affected you in more ways than physically or just plain senile, old man. You must be a fool if you think I will accept going through with that plan, especially against someone so powerful. I’m going to need all the strength I can get.” The only other person who could take on the title of master was none other than her brother, but he did not possess working magic circuits to sustain a servant. So she was confused as to why her grandfather was going through with this plan.

“This was not a suggestion,” Zouken stated with a firm tone, until a sickening grimace etched onto his face. “And I never mentioned that my useless grandson would be the one to take her place. Rather, I shall be the one to become your master; you will be of more use to me in this way than anything else.”

Her grandfather being the Master? Sakura was stunned, and so was her Servant from the looks of it. Was that even allowed? Was he doing so because of the person who attacked them? She had so many questions. “Wait, you promised that you would let me keep Archer!” She exclaimed, finding enough strength to confront her grandfather.

“Plans change, Sakura.”

“I believe there has been some misunderstanding here,” Archer said after a moment of silence, “You are not the one to make the decisions here. I do not care what control you may have over my Master, but I do not want to be passed around like some toy. Especially to a walking corpse who can barely keep himself whole at the moment.”

“Are you defying me?”

“Depends, I can see you have some plan in store, and I’m well aware that you have many means to use against me, should I disobey.” Silver grey eyes sharpened, deeply staring back at black eyes with little to no fear within them. Almost challenging the old man to do something. “But are you foolish enough to earn the ire of a Servant when you already have so many enemies running around your territory?”

The air flashed with notes of blue light, soon taking the shape of… swords? A pair of black and white blades was held firmly in his hand while being pointed at Zouken.

“Because right now, to me, it clearly seems like you are the next biggest danger to my Master. Even if you try to use her against me, as you said, I can act independently long enough to make sure that body of yours no longer can regenerate and be left at the mercy of whatever enemy attacked us.”

“Ah!” A wave of pain soon forced its way into her heart, the girl falling from the bed and clutching her chest with both hands, the Servant and the old man looking at her.

“This is your last warning,” Zouken said, walking away from the room. “You have a few minutes left until I am done making the preparations. Do not disappoint me, Sakura.”

He left her those words before leaving, the silence in the room suffocating her as the pain gradually subsided. Now left with no strength, she clenched her fist with frustration and equal parts sadness for how she found herself in such a helpless situation despite promising to stay strong. “I am sorry, Archer.”

“Sorry that you are going to agree with his decision, or because you think you'll fail keeping me bound to you?”

Both, even if she wanted to, even if she could stand against that man and defied his orders, it would only be temporary. If he so desired, taking away her Servant could be done easily without even needing her consent. She let her silence be the answer he was waiting to hear.

“I see.” He said, walking closer, and soon, she felt his presence nearby as he went down on one knee with their eyes on the same level. “Do you want me to change that?” He asked, and as much as she wanted to say her true thoughts—she knew how useless it was.

“You can't kill him.”

“Maybe. But I remember you wanted to keep me around in order to keep that precious senpai of yours safe from danger. Do you still want that?”

Sakura nodded her head.

“So make sure to do that at least. Make sure he doesn’t die from his reckless actions. Still, I don’t think that’s enough. Instead of just making sure he’s okay, why not become strong enough to stand by his side as an equal? Return to his side yourself without needing his constant protection, because I can say with certainty, the moment you let that old man do as he wishes, I might not be able to return to you and will be stuck playing the waiting game. This may be our last meeting, so I wanted to at least say that.”

“I… I wish I could do everything you said… but I, a person like me, I’m…?”

“It’s not about whether you think you deserve it or not. You’ll be surprised by how many people you think really value that. Instead, think of whether you want to do it or not. Even if you think there are way better people who can do it besides you, I think there's meaning in wanting to be that person yourself and working hard for it. At least then you can say you did all you could.”

She was a bit taken aback by how much he brought up things she was not even sure had been mentioned before. But perhaps she did and had no recollections of them anymore after that chaos. Still, though, what he said touched her in a way not many people would.

“How much do you cherish that brat?”

“...”

More than her life.

“Do you fear going against the old man or losing him?”

Both.

‘There’s no opposing grandpa. Uncle Kariya tried to do that with every fiber of his being, and he ended up dead. His mind broken, and body devoured by worms by his own father.’

The girl’s soul had truly been engulfed by the feeling that opposing this entity was all but impossible. At least, that’s how it was before.

‘Senpai…’

Just the thought of the man who came into her life and gave her back hope and her heart made her soul soar. If she were to lose him, then she would… The latter, in this moment, outweighed the former. In this moment, she feared losing her Senpai far more than what her grandfather would do.

Somehow, he was able to know her answer without her even needing to say anything.

“Then, Master, as I am still your Servant. It is my duty to obey your commands and bring you victory through whatever means necessary. So I ask you, what do you desire now?”

She already knew the answer to that, but just was not sure if it could be achieved. But then, she recalled how, despite facing impossible odds against a towering monster of a Servant, Shirou also never showed much fear. He was willing to go ahead and risk his own life just to save her, and yet here she was, despairing, and bundled in a corner.

It angered her.

Her hands clenched into a fist, slowly raising her head until she looked back at Archer, who waited patiently.

“I want to be by his side, to also protect him… and I need your help for that.”

For some reason, his eyes twitched. “Heh, what a strange summoning, where I have to protect a Master I should usually be killing. But,” he got up, walking calmly towards the door and slowly closing it while leaving her with a few more words. “I suppose keeping you safe, fulfilled, and human isn’t so bad either… for now, that has become my priority. Rest easy, Sakura… it will all be over soon.”

—-

Rin’s German Spell’s Translations:

Anfang = Beginning (Her mental trigger, her version of Shirou’s Trace On)

“Sieben!” = Seven

“Fixierung, Eile Salve” = Aim Volley Fire (Another translation is Fixation, Haste, Salvo)

“Stark Groß zwei!” = Strong Big Two

Hound of the Dead Chapter 17: Explosive Entrance

Beta read by Gamercrusher55, Shigiya and Darklord331

Sorry for the lateness! The lemon I had planned is gonna take longer than I expected, so rather than have people wait more days, I'll post the chapter now and post the lemon a bit later.

Currently finishing working on the fake familiar reborn lemon which will be updated this month along with the regular updated chapters. So technically both stories kinda will get double updates with the lemons.

Next update is Fate Coiling Sword and Snafu.

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-Tokonosu-

Despite the chaos, the fire that had raged for days had finally burned itself out, leaving only faint smoke rising from distant rooftops. The air was thick with the smell of ash and burning plastic that had clung to the city since the dead began walking. Despite all of it, Takashi woke to the sound of birds that somehow broke through the chaos.

"Urgh," he muttered, groaning as he stirred awake from his sleep. His head throbbed, the dull ache mixing with a heavy exhaustion that sleep had done little to fix. He blinked at the slant of daylight falling across the room, finding a second pillow for some reason on top of his face.

Blinking hard, Takashi turned his head to see the culprit, being none other than Igou, sprawled across the opposite sofa, one arm hanging low where a pillow had clearly been launched mid-sleep. Typical. The guy had always been like this. During old sleepovers, he proved himself to be the type to roll around, sleepwalking, sometimes even kicking Takashi off the bed entirely. Once, twice… maybe more times than he cared to count.

"Damn it," Takashi muttered, dragging a hand across his face, “Hah…God, my head…” A sigh escaped his lips. Not feeling in the best of moods, he took a moment to calm his messy mind before heading toward the window. The glass was stained, streaked with smoke, and coated with a thick layer of dust. But through it he could make out the road below… where the car they rode yesterday could be seen from his spot. Yesterday had been messy to say the least, the kind where the streets had swarmed with zombies, hundreds of them pressing against gates, fences, cars, anything in their way.

At that time, he really thought it was the end.

"Are we still surrounded?" Igou asked, his words slow and muffled by sleep; he yawned—a long, jaw-cracking noise—and absently scratched at his scalp, his eyelids only half-raised as if waking was a distant shore he struggled to reach. His face, too, carried the tell-tale signs of his headache; Igou pressed fingers to his temples, attempting to knead away the weighty throb of hangover fatigue.

"They’ve thinned out," Takashi said, studying the scene beyond the fence. Wishing he had binoculars to see things more clearly in the distance. "A few are still clinging to the gate, but we can clear them and make a run for it. If the car still works, we can get moving before more start showing up."

Igou sat up with a groan, glancing toward the same sight as him. "Something in the car’s busted. We slammed through too many of them yesterday… not exactly a vehicle made for such a thing. I don’t know much about fixing engines, do you?"

Takashi shook his head. "Not a chance. Worst case, we ditch it and find another ride. Something bigger and tougher this time. A bus, maybe an SUV."

Igou gave a short, humorless laugh. "Good luck finding either in Japan. In the suburbs, maybe, but here? You’re looking at tiny city Kei cars that barely fit four people, or five if we squeeze in. Anything bigger and more durable will be a miracle."

"Shizuka-sensei said a friend of hers has a place nearby," said the dark-haired boy, reminding his friend of the words their nurse had left them before leaving the school. "Supposedly, with a bigger car that belonged to the military."

“Then let’s hope it’s still there," Igou said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll say it now, I don't like our chances. If I were that friend, I’d have been long gone two days ago using that car."

"Can’t argue with that," Takashi admitted. "First things first, though, let’s check the news."

Of course, each room had its own television and working cables to showcase any news. The screen lit up in dull gray as he switched it on with a remote. Electricity still running felt like a blessing, and the same for the water in the taps. Both were things he kept expecting to vanish at any moment, like in those movies where everything failed one by one until people were left in darkness to fend for themselves.

Igou leaned forward as bold letters filled the screen. "Standby," it read. No images, no voices.

"Guess they’re only broadcasting at certain hours," muttered the man. “Going by yesterday's broadcast, we'll need to wait till around noon; hopefully, we will already be on our way back to the school.”

Takashi frowned at the silent screen. They needed information, evacuation routes, safe zones, and whether the army planned to lock down or bomb the city. Because if the situation slipped too far, the higher-ups would consider wiping the whole place off the map… just like how they did with the other towns. And if that happened, moving hundreds of students out safely would turn into a nightmare.

"How long until we reach Saya’s house?"

"The Takagi estate isn’t far," he said, glancing outside again. "If the roads stay as clear as they look now, maybe thirty minutes. Less, if nothing blocks us. But again, we need a car."

“Then let's focus on that first. I would rather not walk if we can avoid it.” Igou stretched, bones audibly popping in the quiet room. "Also, we should get something to eat before we head out. Not that I’m hungry, haven’t been since this all started… but it wouldn't be a good idea to go out fighting on an empty stomach.”

Takashi knew what he meant. His own stomach felt empty, but he just didn’t feel like eating at the moment. His mind felt like it weighed as much as a cement block, thoughts swirling on and on over the past few days. It felt as if he stopped to rest for even a moment, all of the accumulated stress waiting just behind his eyes would come crashing in all at once. Worries about his life, his friends, his parents, and even their current situation did not mesh well together. But he held it together… somehow, with everyone doing the same, breaking down in tears would not help anyone.

As they left the room and headed downstairs, the smell reached them before they even saw the kitchen. It was strong enough to make him pause mid-step, a mix of sizzling meat, seasoned vegetables, and the faint herbal note of freshly brewed tea drifting through the air. Igou caught it too; his nose twitched as he slowed down to savor it.

“Damn, is someone actually making breakfast?” he commented, the disbelief clear in his tone. Despite their earlier reservations, both felt their stomachs growl and their mouth salivate.

“Never thought I’d be looking forward to a proper meal in the middle of a zombie apocalypse,” said the person next to him. “And here I was not looking forward to it.”

“Same,” Takashi agreed, glancing toward the hallway ahead. At the same time, he wondered who was the one who was cooking right now? His imagination supplied its own answer before he even realized it. He pictured a certain orange-brown haired girl, dressed in a neat apron over a summer dress, standing in the kitchen and greeting them with a bright smile, sunlight streaming behind her through the window as she set out a tray of breakfast. It was such a ridiculously domestic scene in the middle of their current situation that he nearly laughed, shaking his head quickly to scatter the thought away.

‘Yeah, Rei would never wear such a thing… I think she has changed quite a bit lately.’

But then, another image replaced the first. This time, it was a dark-haired beauty clad in a soft kimono, her long hair draped down over one shoulder, carrying bowls of steaming rice as she turned toward them with a gentle voice announcing the meal was ready. Both scenes felt very vivid, each one making the heart in his chest slip a beat before he forced himself to shove the mental pictures aside as well.

“I know for a fact Rei can’t cook at all,” Igou muttered with a suspicious stare, clearly following the same line of thought. “So that only leaves us with one option, having Saeko actually make breakfast for us… Feels like a dream come true. No wonder she’s got half the guys in the school going after her. Hehehe, I can already hear their teeth grinding if they found out what’s going on right now.”

Takashi gave a faint nod, acknowledging the point without adding much. Almost on instinct, both of them adjusted their appearances, straightening collars, brushing down their hair with quick sweeps of their palms, even pulling themselves up a little taller as though preparing for inspection. Their pace quickened slightly, anticipation creeping in as they neared the kitchen, half expecting Saeko’s serene smile waiting on the other side.

“—!?”

Instead, they froze.

The first thing they saw was the table; plates stacked with grilled meat glistening under the sunlights, mashed potatoes in heaping portions, and a large bowl of some thick soup releasing steam. None of it even looked like the standard Japanese cuisine, but that wasn’t the real shock.

The real shock was the cook.

The person at the stove was no dark-haired beauty nor a cute brunette… but instead a broad-shouldered man, heavily muscled, wearing nothing but shorts, an apron that covered only the front, and nothing else. He hummed cheerfully while flipping something in the pan, then turned toward them with a grin far too wide for the situation.

“Hey there, lads! Perfect timing. Breakfast’s ready! Or you can take a bath first, I already heated the water for you! Or you could join me for some morning exercise.”

Their expectations were shattered instantly.

“Argh!”

“My eyes!”

Both recoiled as if blinded, Takashi stumbling back while Igou looked ready to retch.

“You bastard! You tricked us!” the latter snapped, feeling as if they had been robbed of something amazing.

“Eh? What’s with those reactions?” Cu asked, looking genuinely confused. “My food can’t be that bad?”

“Why the hell are you cooking in just an apron!? Those are not for guys like you!” Igou barked, his face twisting between horror and disgust.

“My clothes are drying! It’s hot in here! I wear what I want!” the Irishman shot back.

“You’re torturing us!”

“Shut up and eat before I smack you with ma spatula!” he yelled, pointing the pan at them like a weapon.

Takashi barely had time to react before the Cu grabbed both him and Igou by the ears of all things and hauled them into the room like misbehaving children. There had been no chance to resist, no room to argue, just the humiliating tug of his ear until he found himself thrown in a chair at the table. He sat there, rubbing the offended spot, silently cursing his luck while Igou muttered under his breath, stringing together several insults aimed squarely at the blue-haired man across from them.

The man in question didn’t even bother replying. A wooden spoon flew across the room in an unerring arc and smacked Igou right in the face.

“You lot are acting as if the world ended,” he said, leaning back in his seat with a slight frown. “All because the one cooking wasn’t some pretty lass. You act like you’ve seen something ugly. I’m anything but ugly, thank you very much. Now look at this body. Doesn’t it motivate you to get a better body? Inspire you even to reach this level? Both of you are skinny as twigs, and that’s not gonna cut it in this environment. You want to survive, you’ll need some muscle in those noodle arms.”

Takashi didn’t want to admit it, but the man had a point. While he was not exactly thin without any muscles, he did find his own physique to be lacking — even on the smaller side compared to Igou, let alone Cu.

“Never mind that,” he muttered, shaking the thought off for a later time. “Let’s just eat.”

He shoved the earlier embarrassment to the back of his mind, hoping it would fade by evening, and focused on the food spread across the table. The sheer amount surprised him. The steam rising off the dishes carried the smell of seasoned potatoes, slow-cooked meat, and fresh bread that filled the whole room.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” he said at last, eyeing the man who was already piling food on his plate.

“Same,” Igou added, still rubbing his face from the spoon assault.

“Ah, thanks. But compared to several people I've met, my cooking is pretty subpar,” the Irishman said through a mouthful of potatoes. “I only know the stuff from my hometown, and even then, just a handful of dishes. Picked it up because I had to fend for myself whenever there wasn’t a proper kitchen nearby. Ask me to make anything else, and it’ll be harder than learning a new rune.”

“Runes?”

Takashi froze. That last word slammed into his mind like a hammer.

‘Oh right… this guy can use magic… magic is real.’

Yesterday had been a blur with how quickly it went by, and yet those words from before came flooding back: magic is real. He had barely processed it then, thinking it some hallucination conjured up by stress and fatigue. But now, as the man in front of them traced glowing symbols across small stones on the table with his free hand while still eating with the other, Takashi couldn’t deny what he was seeing.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” Igou said, eyes wide as he watched the strange markings appear in faint light. He sounded genuinely impressed, as though the concept of magic had already slipped neatly into his worldview without protest. “What’s with the squiggly lines?”

“Emergency tools,” Cu replied without pausing his work. “So next time things go bad, we won’t be stuck smashing cars through a horde to escape. Some of these make barriers. Some act like trackers or waypoints. That one there explodes like a grenade. Here.”

“Woa—hey!”

He held up a pebble, then tossed it lightly at Igou. The boy nearly jumped out of his seat. Takashi flinched too, half expecting the thing to blow a hole in the wall.

“Relax,” Cu said while waving his hand dismissively, “It’s safe. Did some small alterations so that it needs magical energy to activate. Neither of you has any, so it’s just a rock. Hurts if it hits you, sure, but no boom.”

Even with that assurance, Takashi picked up the rune-carved stone carefully and set it back down as though it might change its mind and go off anyway.

“Where are the others?” he asked, glancing at the door. “We should wrap this up soon and head back to the school. I’ve got a bad feeling about staying out too long.”

"You too, huh? Can't blame you," Cu said, continuing to work on several other stones while finishing his breakfast. "There are snakes lurking in that place, no question about it. I’d bet my entire life savings that some of them are already scheming. That said, they’re not the sort to push things too far too quickly. If they did…. Hmph, works out for me. I’ve got a person in place who would keep the peace for a while, even if it’s only temporary. He'll manage, also both Saya, Yoshito, Kyoko, and Kohta, to name a few, will make sure to prevent that outcome. But, well, I'd rather for us not to be gone that long and give Shido much time to prepare whatever he's thinking about."

So he said, but those words did little to soothe his worries that much. But there was nothing he could do about that other than just wait.

“Any plans on what we’ll do once we reach the Takagi estate?” Igou asked, pausing to take a long sip from his glass of juice. “It’d be a real waste of time if we go all the way over there just to knock on the door, find out someone’s alive, and then turn around without gaining anything else from the trip aside from knowing the optimal path.”

Cu leaned against the chair, arms crossed, after finishing with his etching on the stones. “We’re going there not just to confirm someone’s holdin’ the place nor to just scout out a safer route for the buses to travel. This road we’re on right now? We need to see if there’s a better option. And if the people at the estate have supplies or need something themselves, we can coordinate with them. On our way back, we could collect whatever they ask for to strengthen their defenses and help keep things running. Out here, resources are the number one priority. Doesn’t matter if it’s the modern day or back in the Stone Age. Even kings learned that lesson fast.”

He shifted his weight slightly. “A king waging war didn’t lose because his soldiers lacked skill or bravery. He lost when his men starved because the supply lines failed. No matter how strong an army is, without food, water, and shelter, it crumbles before the enemy before they can even swing a sword. That’s when order falls apart. And when that happens here? People will turn on each other, fighting over scraps long before the dead get to them.”

Igou chuckled at that, shaking his head. “Didn’t take you for a philosopher. You keep surprising me every day. Got any more secrets you’re hiding?”

Cu smirked faintly. “I’ve got my share, sure. But most of them wouldn’t help you, even if I told you. You’d just end up with more questions than answers. Best to leave some things where they are.”

“Oh, come on,” the brown haired boy pressed. “Something small at least? Or better yet, teach me something about magic. You said most of us can’t use it, but there’s got to be a way around that, right?”

Takashi, who had been quietly listening, turned his head at the mention of magic. His interest was obvious. Like many others, he’d grown up watching shows where magic was just part of the fantasy, something people dreamed about before going back to normal life. But now? With the dead walking outside and a man casually talking about mana, the idea of actually learning it felt almost real.

Cu scratched his chin, taking a moment before answering. “There are ways,” he admitted. “Back before folks figured out magic circuits, there were always people pokin’ around with other ways to mess with the supernatural. Some of it even worked, though not all that well. But first, let’s get what magic circuits actually are straight."

He tapped two fingers lightly against his own chest. "Think of them like nerves or blood vessels, only hidden deep inside and invisible. Most people never see ’em, never feel ’em. These circuits pull in mana from the air or the life force inside you, what mages call od, and turn it into energy for spells. Once you learn to control that flow, it’s like learning to walk or talk. That’s magecraft in a nutshell."

Cu smirked faintly, shifting his weight. "Now, picture it like an engine. Push it too hard, and it overheats or breaks down. But it’s also like a muscle. The more you train it, the tougher it gets, the more power you can handle. You use it right, you can cast bigger spells, hold more energy, or just run longer before burnin’ out. Thing is, everyone’s circuits are different. No two people have the same layout or strength, just like no two people have the same face or build.”

Igou’s eyes lit up at the explanation. “Whoa, so… it’s kind of like those mana cores in video games? Wait, do those actually exist?”

Cu chuckled at the question, not looking the least bit annoyed by the continuous stream of questions. “They do exist! Magic Energy Reactors are a step above magical circuits, and can supply a person or thing with way more magical energy than what a normal person can do. There are a lot of different types, but it’s often considered that the most powerful ones are the Magic Cores, which generate magical energy like a factory. Very few people have them, and they’re powerful beyond anythin’ you’d normally see. You’ll usually find them in certain beings like dragons, for instance.”

That got both Igou and Takashi to react loudly at the same time. “Dragons are real!?” they shouted. But there was no humor in Cu’s expression as he just looked at them with confusion.

“What’s so strange about it?” he asked with a faint shrug. “You’ve already got me here using magic. So why not dragons? Though, don’t get any ideas about looking for them. They’re gone now, and the few that might still be around wouldn’t welcome visitors, probably isolated in the wilderness or away in the supernatural areas. Survive this mess first before thinking about giant, flying lizards that can spit fire and tear through buildings like they were paper. They’d sooner eat you than let you stare at them.”

"Wow — Wait, I feel like we’re drifting off topic here. Back to what I was asking before. So why don’t we just learn how to use these magic circuits? That way, we can use magic against the zombies, too.

Both Takashi and Igou were excited to learn about the magic inside them and how to use it, but Cu put a stop to it before they got any funny ideas.

“Hold the phone there, buddy. I get this excites you and all, but I ain’t done. I told you before that magic circuits are different for everybody, right? Well, the truth is, there are cases where people aren’t even born with it. That means there’s no guarantee you have them in the first place.”

The news had ripped the wind right out of their sails as their bodies slumped down, their heads bent down, depressed at the statement.

Igou was the first to reply. “Are you sure… that we don’t have them? I mean, is there a way to check?”

“There is!”

Both of their heads snapped up to look at him nervously in anticipation.

“The time it takes to learn how to, check for it, open it, get used to it, and use it could take a while, and have adverse side effects. I don’t think it’s a good option right now.”

“Is there really no other way for us to use magic right now? Think about it, if everyone could do the things you do, we wouldn’t even need to rely on the military or the police to clean out this town. We could handle it all ourselves and make things so much easier."

"Well," Cu replied, leaning back slightly as he spoke, "There are other ways, but they’re complicated, slow, and not worth the trouble. You’d be better off with a gun. Quicker, simpler, and it gets better results most of the time."

The answer left the boys quiet for a moment. He couldn’t deny it was a little disappointing to hear, though part of him wondered if Cu was being entirely honest or just giving them a simple explanation to keep them from pushing further. Still, he accepted it for now.

"Why the long face?" Said the blue-haired man after a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Makes the food taste worse when you look like that. And just because you can’t use magic yourselves doesn’t mean you can’t make use of magical items."

That drew everyone’s attention back to him. Their heads turned almost in unison, eyes fixed on Cu as if waiting for more. He smiled with amusement, faintly, before continuing.

"From what I’ve gathered so far, the infection spreads through bites, saliva, blood, anything like that. So the most basic thing we can do to protect ourselves is stop those nasty teeth from breaking through skin in the first place. I can temporarily reinforce your clothes with my runes, making them as tough as good leather. Long sleeves, pants, those will hold up well enough. Problem comes with the girls’ skirts; bare legs won’t stay safe if somethin’ lunges low. We’ll figure something out for that later."

He pushed himself up, stretching his shoulders a little as he prepared to leave. "Anyway, I’ll get to work on it. You lot eat as much as you can while there’s food. We don’t know when the next meal’s coming, so fill up your guts, but don’t make yourselves sick."

With that, he walked off, leaving the group to sit there, processing everything they had just heard.

{Break}

The conversation went as he initially suspected. Finding the curiosity those two showed to be completely normal. He was a bit surprised that no one asked him any questions, but today, he realised that it was a slow process. Cu’s gaze shifted again, this time to the corner where Rei still slept, her long hair spread across the blanket in a disheveled heap.

The talk with the boys had gone smoother than he expected. They had kept their curiosity about magecraft contained yesterday, probably too hesitant or too distracted to voice everything on their minds. Today was different. He could already tell some of them had questions they had forgotten to ask, or perhaps new ones had come to mind after sleeping on the subject. He couldn’t blame them. If the roles were reversed, he would have reacted the same. His younger self had been no better when his old teacher first took him under her wing to teach him the ways of Norse magecraft. The runes were interesting enough, sure, but back then, his attention had been fixed squarely on spearmanship.

With that thought lingering in his mind, he returned to his room. The door creaked softly as he pushed it open, and his eyes immediately fell on the figure sprawled across the bed. A certain orange-brown haired girl lay there, completely asleep, her breathing steady, bare chest rising and falling, and a single thin sheet that barely clung to her lower half. "I should probably wake her," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. She hadn’t even bothered to retrieve her clothes after last night’s events.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Breakfast is ready. Time to wake up,” he said, crouching beside the bed so his voice reached her without startling her too much.

She responded with a muffled groan, clutching the edge of the sheet and yanking it higher over her shoulder. “Come on, you can’t sleep all day,” he continued, giving the edge of the bed a small tap with his hand.

“Yes, I can,” she murmured, voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes cracked open slightly, unfocused, still half asleep, and some resentment, funnily enough. “Everything… hurts.”

He raised a brow at that, leaning a little closer. “We train all the time. Your muscles should be used to it by now. It can’t be that bad.”

“I’m not talking about training, you idiot,” she shot back, voice edged with irritation as she glared at him from beneath messy strands of hair. “I-I'm talking about the other… thing we did… you know…”

So the lass did remember after all, with how drunk she was last night, despite saying otherwise, he was half expecting her to have forgotten all of it by morning. He was guilty of experiencing the same thing in his younger days. Still, he blinked once, then his eyes widened a fraction. “Oh. So you’re on your peri—oof!”

The pillow hit him square in the face before he could finish, followed by two hands grabbing the collar of his shirt and hauling him close until their noses nearly touched.

“Not that, you moron!” she snapped, cheeks burning as she locked eyes with him. “It’s because someone wouldn’t stop last night and kept going until the sun was about to come up! It was my first time, you know!”

He couldn’t help it. A faint grin tugged at his mouth despite the glare aimed his way. Teasing her always brought out this fiery side, sharp enough to push through any lingering grogginess. It worked during training, too, whenever she started dragging her feet or complaining about drills.

“Hey, I told you to pace yourself. Not my fault, you ignored the warning. Besides, I was taking it easy on you.”

She stared at him like he had grown a second head. “You call that going easy!? If you went all out, I’d be dead by now!”

“You wouldn’t died,” he said, straightening a little but not moving away. “We’ll work on your stamina. Build it up until you can handle it. We’ll be able to go longer next time~”

Her face turned scarlet at the casual way he said it, as if they were discussing running laps instead of what actually happened. For a second, it looked like she wanted to argue, but whatever comeback she had died in her throat. She let go of his shirt slowly, and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent before muttering under her breath, “You absolute horn dog.”

“Yes, I’m also that,” he said with amusement.

“Because the usual insults don’t cut it anymore,” she replied sharply, yanking her face from his neck, though the corner of her mouth twitched like she was holding back a reluctant smile. “I hope we didn't make too much noise last night…”

“With how you were screaming, I had to use some noise-dampening bounded field or else half of Tokonosu’s undead population would have been on our front door.” He stood, about to head toward the door, when her voice stopped him.

“Hey.”

He turned. “Hm?”

She held out both arms toward him, eyes half-lidded but expectant. “Pick me up.”

He huffed through his nose, shaking his head with a short laugh escaping his lips. “You send a lot of weird signals, you know that?”

Still, he stepped forward and slid an arm beneath her knees and shoulders, lifting her easily into a princess carry. The sheet slipped off in the process, making her squeak and twist in his hold, hands flying to cover herself while her cheeks darkened further.

“What’s the point of hiding? I’ve already seen everything,” he said lightly.

“It’s called having shame,” She snapped, refusing to meet his eyes. “Something you clearly lack. And don’t you dare walk around like that in front of anyone else. Just… only me, alright?”

“I don’t know,” he said thoughtfully, “Takashi and Igou looked pretty impressed when they saw me in the kitchen earlier.”

She froze, then burst out laughing, all traces of sleep gone now. “Why would you traumatize them like that? They didn’t deserve it!”

He grinned but kept quiet, noting how she didn’t seem as stiff when mentioning Takashi anymore. After everything that had happened, it was good to see some of that tension easing.

“Fine,” she said after a moment. “I will join you all for breakfast in a bit. I need a long shower first and check if you did not leave any visible marks on my body.”

“Aside from the handprint on your butt, you have nothing to worry about. You know,” he said, placing her back down and following her as she walked toward the bathroom, “a shower sounds perfect right now.”

Before he could take another step, she shoved a hand into his face, glaring. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Helping you wash the spots you can’t reach?” he offered innocently.

“D-Down, boy,” Rei said hurriedly, but started to blush, her eyes looking him over, and nibbling on her bottom lip. “M-Maybe we can… no, another time! My body will give out if we try anything again today.” She shut the door before he could reply, leaving him standing there with a faint chuckle escaping his throat. Very certain to have heard some hesitation in her last words, the girl clearly contemplated going along with his suggestion.

Regardless, teasing her never got old.

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(An hour later)

"Is everyone ready?"

Cu stood at the front door, taking a quick glance over the group before his eyes swept over their surroundings. He had traded his usual school uniform for a pair of dark pants, a sturdy set of boots, and a loud Hawaiian shirt he had pulled out of a closet earlier. The shirt looked wildly out of place with its bright flowers, but he didn’t really care. It fit him well enough, and it was comfortable.

"Before we leave, we need a plan."

Saeko leaned against the wall near the window, her arms folded neatly. She had stuck to her school uniform, though she had pulled on a pair of black gloves that covered her wrists. Unlike him, she hadn’t bothered to change her outfit much at all.

"She’s right," Rei added, brushing her hair back while her expression remained brighter than earlier this morning. "The car’s wrecked. Even if we could repair it, staying outside with the noise will bring another horde down on us. I’m not risking it."

"Wait," Takashi spoke up after observing Rei for a few seconds, a slight frown on his face, along with confusion while observing the unusually cheerful girl. "You can use magic, right? Can’t you just… fix it with that?"

“Or at least keep it working long enough for us to use it. Just like what you did back then with Yoshito’s car?”

"Hold your horses, all of you," Cu said with a small grin tugging at his lips. "Yoshito's car was mostly fixed by having the tire forced back in place and giving it a good smack. My runes can do a fair bit, but they’re not some miracle fix for everything. I can’t just wave my hand and have the car looking brand new if I don't know the issue. Doesn’t work like that. Best option we’ve got is either going on foot or finding another set of wheels. Even if I managed to fix that car, we would barely fit in it, let alone stock much supplies later on."

Igou frowned from the other side of the room. "So we’re really following Shizuka’s idea? We don’t even know where the car is. She only gave us a vague description of the house, remember?" He cleared his throat and repeated the nurse’s words with a deadpan tone. "'A big modern house, several stories tall, metal gate, garage doors, brown walls.' That’s it. You know how many places look like that around here? Dozens." He looked toward Cu with a dry expression. "That could be literally anywhere."

"Yeah, I know." Cu scratched the back of his head. "Worst case, we go on foot. As long as we move carefully, we shouldn’t attract too many of the dead. They react more to sound than anything else. Maybe smell too, but noise is the main problem. But they don't react to other undead makin’ a ruckus, so they probably also have a keen sense of smell. Smellin’ like them could help to avoid getting detected? But I can't confirm that theory without testing it."

Rei visibly cringed at what he said next. "You’re not about to suggest we coat ourselves with… with their blood, are you?"

The thought earned several disgusted looks from the others. Saeko, however, didn’t immediately reject the idea. She seemed to be weighing it seriously while the rest of the group looked horrified. Cu waved off their concerns casually.

"It’s not as bad as you’re imagining," he replied. "Still, it’s a last-resort method. I’d rather avoid it unless we’ve got no other choice."

"Actually… I think I know where the car is!"

All eyes turned toward the smallest voice in the room. Alice, with her usual bright smile, had raised her hand like she was in class.

"You saw the car?" Igou asked, hopeful.

She shook her head. "Nope!"

"You know where the house is, then?"

Again, she shook her head with the same cheerful energy.

Cu crouched in front of her, lips twitching into a faint, puzzled smile. "Not that I don’t trust you, lass, but you’re giving us mixed responses here. How can you know where it is if you’ve never seen it?" He reached out to ruffle her pink hair absentmindedly, which she leaned into with a happy grin.

"Because Zeke knows!" she said proudly, holding up the small dog in both arms so its nose was practically touching Cu’s face. The terrier bared its teeth and growled low in its throat, before biting the man's nose. The latter didn’t even flinch, just sent the mutt a flat glare.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Cu said evenly.

"He can help!" Alice insisted. "He’s the best tracker ever! When I first found him a few days ago, he helped me find my dad’s keys after we searched for hours!"

Cu raised an eyebrow. "That so? Well, just so you know, I’ve got a nose for tracking myself as well. Once, my mate thought she’d be clever and hide her ring deep in a forest, and lied to me that she threw it in a pond. I found it in under an hour. Think your little hound can top that?"

Zeke growled again, as if he understood the challenge.

"Big talk, lad," Cu muttered at the dog. "But outside’s crawling with rotters, and the air stinks enough already. Your nose’ll be useless in that mess. Best leave this one to the expert."

"Yesterday, you were arguing with the poor little thing. Now you are competing with it to find the car?" Rei said with a look that mixed disbelief and exasperation. "Don't try to outdo an animal. The creature is only trying to help us."

The man, feeling as though he had been betrayed by his own ally, glanced at the animal held within Alice's arms with narrowed eyes. It was clear they all had already fallen for the mutt’s charm. "Fine then," he said in a flat voice, knowing it was pointless to fight a losing battle. "Let’s see who finds that blasted vehicle first." Without another word, he scooped the girl up and settled her on his shoulders. She laughed softly, resting her arms loosely around his neck as the mutt wagged its tail and promptly rubbed its rear on his head like it owned the place.

"I swear," he muttered, side-eyeing the creature as he felt it wriggle on top of his hair, "if this thing does its business on me, it’s going to the fire pit."

"Wait. What exactly are you planning to do?" Igou asked, his brow furrowed, both worry and curiosity creeping into his voice.

"Oh, nothing much. Just going to walk across the walls, check the houses one by one." Cu replied casually, shifting the girl so she wouldn’t bump her head. "The thing will be fine. All of you stay quiet until I signal." Before anyone could object, he was already moving. His steps were deliberate, making sure the child was steady before leaping upward.

"Ho!" With a single spring, he landed atop the wall as if he had simply stepped onto a low bench rather than a vertical barrier taller than most men. From below, several undead turned at the sound. Their arms flailed upward, bony fingers stretching for him, but they fell far short. Their guttural noises rose like a foul chorus, but none of them could reach him.

The girl on his shoulders stiffened, clutching at his hair with both fists. He patted her ankle lightly. "You scared?" he asked without looking back.

"...Yes," she admitted in a tiny voice.

"You don't have to be," he replied, stepping across the wall carefully while maintaining his balance. "These rotting things won’t even scratch a single hair on your pretty little head. And if more come wandering in, well..." He snapped his fingers casually. "I can make them vanish just like that."

He reached the next house, and the garage door shut tight behind them. With one smooth motion, he jumped down. "Yosh!" he barked, grabbing the metal door. His fingers dug into the sheet of steel. With a rough pull, the door groaned, bent, and finally tore upward with a shriek of metal giving way. Inside were only a few bicycles propped against the wall, no car in sight.

"Guess this is plan B," he said, brushing dust off his palms.

"Wow, you’re so strong!" the girl exclaimed, her earlier fear replaced by awe.

Cu chuckled and lifted her again, hopping back onto the wall with easy strength. "You think that’s strong? Bet you can do it too," he teased.

"Really?" she asked uncertainly, side-eyeing both him and the dog, who was watching from his shoulder with an untrusting glare.

"Sure. Give it a try. I bet you’ll surprise yourself," Cu said, setting her down in front of the next garage.

"All right then... Hmph!" She gripped the handle, puffing her cheeks out as she heaved. The door rattled but didn’t rise more than an inch. She didn’t notice the spear moving faster than her eyes could follow, sliding forward to punch a neat hole through the center of the metal. The butt end hooked the frame, and with a flick of Cu’s wrist, the door flew open.

"Waah!" she yelped as the handle jerked upward, lifting her right off the ground. She dangled for a moment before dropping to her feet, staring wide-eyed at the open garage. Cu had already slung the spear back across his shoulder before she turned toward him.

"I did it!" she said, eyes shining with triumph.

"I knew you had it in you, lass!" Cu said with a grin, scooping her up before she could see the half-eaten corpse slumped in the corner of the garage. Blood pooled beneath the body, black in the dim light. “True spirit of a warrior here, bet you'll start crushing heads soon enough! Right?”

“Crush the heads!”

“Pierce the heart!” He added.

“Pierce the heart!” She repeated loudly as well.

“Hahaha!” He kept moving, leaping back onto the wall before her curiosity drew her gaze to the floor. "This makes two houses down," he murmured, heading for the next one. He felt her arms tighten slightly around his neck, but said nothing. While he did manage to distract her from her earlier fears, it was only temporary, as seeing the undead again would only serve to bring them back again. A traumatic experience would not so easily disappear from someone so young.

"You want to play a game while we look?" he asked after a moment, noticing her mood lift again, the earlier fright fading as they crossed above the streets.

"Another game? Which one?" she asked quickly, the word game already catching her attention like bait on a hook.

"You know about fishing?" he said, smirking as more zombies began to drift from the alleys below, their groans echoing faintly in the evening air. Not as many as yesterday, but still dangerous for the group if they were to head outside.

"My dad used to fish," Alice said suddenly, catching him off guard. Cu’s head jerked a little as if he had just stepped on a landmine, blinking before steering the conversation elsewhere with a small, awkward smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You see," he went on, "there are different kinds of fishing. There’s the usual one with a rod and some flimsy string tied at the end. That one’s good if you just want to sit back, relax, maybe take a nap while waiting for a bite. And then," he grinned, tapping a finger against the spear in his hand, "there’s the exciting kind that almost no one does anymore. You can even try it with undead running around here."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what do you call that?"

"Spear fishing," he said with a flourish, as though unveiling a grand idea.

"Spear fishing?" She repeated it slowly, looking at the weapon in his grip before turning back to her.

"Exactly. I take this spear here, throw it at the zombies, and here are the rules. One kill means one point. If I skewer two at once, that’s two points. Three in one throw? Three points. And so on. With all these walking corpses around, how many points do you think I can rack up before we reach the next house?"

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, the girl tilted her head back and began counting on her fingers, lips moving silently as if calculating the grand total required to win a world championship. "One, two, three, four, five, six… twelve… fifteen…" she murmured with furrowed brows.

He watched her with growing amusement, arms folded, while her concentration grew so intense it was as if the fate of the planet depended on her math. This was going to take a while.

"Alright," he cut in, "how about this? If I manage to nail every single one before we reach the house, I get to flick the dog’s nose."

"Woof!" Zeke immediately barked at the proposal, tail stiff as if he understood every word and was ready to lodge a protest.

Seeing Alice hesitate, he leaned in, voice dipping lower. "And while we’re at it, I know a shop nearby. On the way, I’ll buy you all the candy and ice cream you want, with electricity still running across town, the freezer should still be working and keeping those things cool for now. Who knows… in the future, there may no longer be any way to taste those treats ever again."

Her eyes lit up. "Deal!"

The dog turned to her slowly, ears flattening in disbelief, as though betrayed by his own partner in crime. His grin stretched wider, almost sly now, muttering under his breath, "Damn, I think Archer’s attitude is rubbing off on me."

Without wasting another moment, he twirled the spear once and let it fly. The weapon cut through the air like a crimson streak, piercing straight through several skulls in a single throw. The bodies didn’t even fall right away. They stood frozen, heads torn open with hollow holes, before collapsing like puppets with their strings cut.

"Six points already?!" Alice shouted, gripping his shoulder in excitement.

With a flick of his hand, the runes carved into the spear blazed, summoning it back. The weapon returned instantly, spinning before landing neatly in his grip. He leapt onto a wall, hurled it again, then vaulted across the street in a fluid rhythm. Each strike was precise and filled with enough force to pierce through a wall if required. Sometimes the spear punched through one skull, sometimes two, sometimes more. Blood sprayed walls and pavement alike, blackened by decay, and occasionally several heads came back stuck on the shaft before burning to ash under the spellwork.

It was as if the weapon had its own will, twisting mid-air to find the next target, obliterating heads without ever striking anything else. Alice clung tighter as the ride grew wilder, her fear gone, replaced by laughter as she shouted numbers that grew less accurate by the second. He didn’t care. She was enjoying herself, and so was he.

By the time they reached the third house, the streets were littered with corpses, the air thick with the stench of iron and rot strong enough to turn anyone’s stomach. Yet the mood felt absurdly lighthearted. Cu caught the returning spear and swung it hard once to remove all stains, its surface spotless as though untouched by the massacre.

"Alright," he said, glancing at Alice. "What’s my total?"

She froze, eyes going wide as realization hit her that she had long since lost count of his score. After a long pause, she blurted the first number that came to mind.

"T-Three hundred thousand?"

"Wow! That has to be a new record in all my years alive," he laughed, knowing full well it was not anything close to that number accepted it nonetheless with pride. "Not even that shishou could match this many in one fight. Now, for my prize."

The large dog growled low in its throat but made no move to stop him. It stayed crouched on the ground, ears twitching as Cu’s hand approached its head. The man closed his eyes slightly as if preparing to flick the creature’s nose, yet the strike never came. Instead, the dog felt a slow nudge followed by a firm hand ruffling the fur atop its skull.

"You silly mutt," he said, smirking as he patted the creature’s head in a steady rhythm. "You’re still ten times too small for me to take you seriously. Grow up a bit, and maybe then I’ll think about it."

The dog blinked at him with what could only be called reluctant acceptance, muscles relaxing as it allowed the brief moment of attention. After a few more seconds, Cu pulled his hand away, grip tightening around the shaft of his spear. He turned toward the thick steel door barring their path.

Without so much as a warning, the weapon blurred through the air. His movements were too fast for Alice’s eyes to follow, each strike forming shallow grooves across the metal’s surface. Again and again, the spear cut until the entire sheet shuddered, split, and finally crashed to the ground in hundreds of pieces.

Alice half expected to find nothing but an empty garage or maybe some neglected bicycles behind it, yet Cu only whistled at what lay inside.

"So Shizuka-sensei wasn’t lying after all," he said. "I like it."

{Break}

-Takagi Estate-

Gunfire cracked across the Takagi estate courtyard, drowning out nearly every other sound. Dozens of bodies, both dead and undead, littered the open space, the smell of blood and gunpowder mixing into a harsh stench that clung to everything. Soldiers stood behind makeshift defenses of overturned military trucks, stacked cement barriers, and rolls of barbed wire. Every time one of the undead got close, the line of rifles answered in unison, the recoil slamming against tired shoulders.

"We’re running low on ammo!" someone shouted between bursts of fire. "We need resupply now!"

"There are civilians mixed in with the horde! Orders, sir?" another called out, voice breaking as he sighted down his weapon.

"We lost contact with the recon team too!" a third reported, frustration leaking through his words.

One after another, men yelled across the gunfire, keeping their weapons trained on the mass of bodies pressing closer. Their eyes were bloodshot, some from exhaustion, others from the chaos wearing down what nerves they had left. A few simply fired at anything that moved, barely able to focus enough on keeping their hands steady. Others hesitated when familiar faces appeared among the undead, faces of neighbors or old friends stumbling forward with empty eyes and torn flesh. Worse still were the living civilians still trapped inside the swarm, waving and screaming for help. Any attempt to save them ended quickly, either cut down by the horde or by bites too deep to stop the infection from spreading.

At the center of it all, Soichiro Takagi stood watching, his expression tight and lined from lack of sleep. He had gone nearly two days with little rest, juggling the defense of the estate, the morale of his soldiers, and the steady stream of survivors pouring through their gates, which was by no means an easy thing to manage.

"Tetsutarou," he ordered, voice carrying across the barricade, "get Senji and the others to bring ammunition from the basement and resupply the front line. Team B, if you spot survivors inside that horde, do not stop shooting! If they’re not torn apart already, then they’re infected. We can’t risk bringing them in! Hold steady for those still living within these walls!"

He shifted his gaze toward the communications team. "Akira, keep trying to reach the recon squad. If there’s nothing within the hour, we assume the worst and send reinforcement to the nuclear plant. Tell the team protecting the water treatment plant to continue their operation and to ask for reinforcement in case they see a large number of dead getting close."

Each command came clearly from his mouth, mostly consisting of a defensive approach to these issues and protecting what they still had rather than going on the offensive and retaking lost land or facilities.

They had been forced into such a position, holding ground but unable to advance. The estate’s layout, at least, gave them a chance. It stretched over a broad expanse with reinforced gates, enough outbuildings to store supplies, and open spaces that allowed clear lines of sight for sentries. Barricades had gone up at each perimeter, their angles carefully taken into consideration so no blind spot was left unguarded. Patrol routes had been drawn, men rotated in shifts, the estate slowly turning into a fortress rather than a home with several survivors seeking refuge.

“You should try to sleep,” a calm voice urged beside him.

He turned to find a beautiful, slender woman with long purple hair reaching her back, approaching him while fastening a gun holster around her red dress. His wife looked energetic to anyone looking at her, though the faint shadows beneath her eyes betrayed her exhaustion. Her beauty had not faded, even now… but if he had to describe it, then it was her usual brightness that seemed to have dulled.

“You haven’t eaten anything since morning,” she continued, the concern in her tone clear as she stopped a few paces from him. “This is no way to keep going.”

He studied her face for a moment before answering, noting the slight hoarseness in her voice. “You don’t look much better,” he said quietly. Despite the situation, she remained composed, the same woman who had stood by him through every trial; he trusted her judgement, but unfortunately, could not afford to rest. The survival of his men, the survivors, and the people who served him was not the only thing that plagued both of them.

The thought of their daughter filled their mind and grew with each passing moment. She had not reached the estate; no messages, no sightings, nothing. Fujimi High School was the most likely place she might still be stuck in if that place had not been overrun by now, but even that was a guess. The other possibility, the one his mind pushed back against each time it surfaced, made his chest tighten. He forced it down again, unwilling to give it shape.

“I swear on my name, on our family’s name,” he murmured, taking her hand, “I will bring her back alive.”

She squeezed his fingers gently, grounding him as always before guiding his face toward hers until they shared a gentle kiss.

“Our daughter is not reckless,” she told him firmly. “She knows how to survive. As her mother, I feel it; she’s alive. And as her father, you must keep that same faith. Our blood runs through her veins. This will not be enough to take her from us.”

Her confidence bled into him slowly, pushing back the darker thoughts until he managed a faint smile. She had always been his strength when his own began to fray. He had returned that strength when she faltered. “I hope her friends made it too,” she added softly. “I tried to reach out to Komuro. She's just as desperate for news of her son being safe and sound. If we can help them, we will.”

“Tadashi’s a good kid,” he replied after a moment. “If he’s with her, she won’t be alone. I trust him… and I trust her judgment.”

Boom!

Their moment of peace was quickly ended by the sound of a loud explosion coming from the distance. Soichiro quickly turned his attention back to the front lines, where, much to his dismay, one of the trucks had been set ablaze with towering waves of fire and black plumes rising in the air. This immediately put the group at the forefront in danger as their path back to the estate was cut off.

“Damn it! How did this happen!?” He demanded while running forward, sword in hand, while his wife followed along as well.

“H-Hayate was carrying the bombs to place around the perimeter! I heard him shout one of his relatives' names amongst the horde, and he tried to stop us from firing and got shot instead by accident! W-We didn't have enough time to react and stop shooting!” One of the soldiers explained with shame on his face, his explanation forcing the man to curse under his breath. This being one of the main issues that worried him the most, soldiers faltering at the sight of their families amongst the undead and making irrational decisions.

He could not even blame them, for he understood what they were going through and the horror of seeing their loved ones dying.

“H-Help! We're out of ammunition!”

“The fire is spreading!”

Now, faced with two options, Soichiro realized that they didn't have enough personnel to handle these two tasks at once. If the fire continued to spread, then it would encroach upon the estate and burn down important supplies and vehicles. But this would leave his trapped men on their own without any way to save them in time.

Without even realising, his body started to move and was about to head in front, only to be stopped by Yuriko. “Dear, I know what's going through your mind, and I am telling you that you are only walking to your death.”

“I can grab one of the vehicles to make my way to the front and aid the men; they can use the vehicle to bring back any wounded, and we can hold our position until Tetsutarou returns with the ammunition.”

“You know full well that won't work! With only a sword in hand or even a gun, their numbers are just high, and many of the front-line men have been injured by the explosion.” She insisted, and he knew she was right. “Our best option now is to put out this fire before it becomes too big for us to control. Reinforce the entrance and slowly build up our defences while regaining our strength. We can take back the lost ground tomorrow.”

But that would entail sacrificing dozens of lives.

Stuck in a dilemma, Soichiro knew he could not stay idle without making a decision at that moment. “What kind of leader would I be if I were to just sacrifice them while staying here doing nothing?”

“Honey…”

“I am not planning on dying anytime soon. I still have my promise to uphold on getting our daughter back safe and sound. It is a risk, I admit, but having those men alive will benefit us more than anything else. You focus on putting out the fire, I will go ah—hm?” His words came to a sudden halt, not because of another explosion or incident, but rather due to him seeing an odd sight at the corner of his eyes.

That of several zombies being thrown in the air by something approaching fast.

“Car incoming!”

Several of his men shouted, everyone staring at a black Humvee tearing through the horde and throwing bodies left and right. The sight alone was quite ridiculous to say the least, given he was certain this was not one of his vehicles, nor was it the military, given the conclusion of their last communication. But instead, his eyes were more drawn to what was happening on top of the car itself, which his wife just happened to voice out the next moment.

“Is that… a man standing on top of the car with… a spear?”

“...”

He could not say anything for that was indeed the case, a familiar blue-haired man holding a spear standing on top of the car. On the other hand, holding several glowing… rocks? Whatever those were, throwing them in the air all at once, all of them shining brightly for a brief moment like stars in the night sky. But the sun was still up, and those things gave him a bad feeling; he immediately tensed until they landed in the middle of the infestation…

Boom!

Several explosions occurred one after the other, taking out a large chunk of the zombies that were going to overrun the frontline soldiers and raising a large cloud of smoke that spread everywhere. “Ugh!” He raised his arms to shield his face from the wind smacking against them. Yuriko held onto him for stability as several tents and supply boxes were getting thrown away.

“—!”

Soon, a figure emerged from the smoke and landed in front of him, making him instinctively go for his sword and about to unsheath it — only for a foot to kick the end of the katana and force the sword back in.

‘This boy…’

Memories came back, from the time day tried to uncover the mystery behind the dead body found at the shrine. The same face, the same smile, and the same reaction speed that rendered him unable to even counterattack. This time holding a spear and… a puppy on his head?

“Yo, old man, long time no see. Still got that sharp frown on your face, I see, and still looking as uptight as ever. Anyway, came here to help ya out.”

Soichiro felt like his day was just going to be one long headache.

Steel Eyed Faker Chapter 22: Save the Base Part 2

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

Had to help out my family with some local event these past few days which is why I'm late. Now time to accelerate the engines for the next update to be out soon!

Next update is Hound.

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-Night Raid Base-


Emiya’s mind was far from at ease. Taking down Seryu and Hekatonkheires who had been fighting Tatsumi hadn’t brought the battle anywhere close to a close. Too many enemies still lingered deeper in the forest, likely lying in wait, looking for a gap to exploit. As Emiya moved through the woods, his steps slowed, his senses attuned sharply to the shifting shadows.


Then, without warning, a body crashed through the air, smashing into a tree a few paces ahead. Splinters flew in every direction along with blood and what remained of the man’s insides. Emiya stopped short, stepping back just enough to keep his face from getting splattered by the spraying blood and guts.


“Did you have to do it like that?” he asked dryly, eyes narrowing as he looked toward the direction the body had been thrown from.


A familiar buxom figure emerged from the dense brush, panting with sweat dripping down her forehead. Leone stepped into view. Her body had been transformed by Lionel to give her feline ears atop her head, with her hair having become a long and wild yet majestic mane, and her hands had sprouted fur with powerful claws at their tips, that dripped with blood, and her skin was streaked with the same.


“You look like you really went wild against the enemy,” Emiya remarked, one brow lifting slightly.


Leone’s eye twitched. “You’ve got some nerve making that kind of pun to me after what just happened. Mark my words, I’m still going to make you pay for that little stunt,” she snapped, voice edged with a growl. Her irritation only deepened when the man in front of her allowed himself the faintest smirk.


“And here I thought you would have appreciated and even benefited from a deep tissue massage.” he replied innocently, shaking his head and acting completely oblivious to her anger.


Thankfully, she did not pursue the matter any further, instead swiping off some of the blood on her hands and rolling both shoulders. “Anyways, looks like both you and Mine went ballistic on those grunts in fetishwear earlier. I’m pretty sure you left enough bodies behind to build a wall out of them around the base.”


He folded his arms, noting that the woman even had a tail which was flicking slightly. 


“Grim way to put it, but you’re not wrong. Rather I'm surprised at how many of them there were in the first place. Makes you wonder what they were actually after. They didn’t show up just to die here.”


“Maybe,” she said, scanning the trees. “But we’ll find out soon enough. Right now, the priority is thinning them out before they regroup, Like, what’s the point in figuring it out now? What matters is teaching these bastards what happens when they storm our base while I was in the middle of something important!”


She shouted loudly, this meant for the rest of the attackers to hear. Then she shot Emiya a pointed look. “And you. Shouldn’t you be back there firing arrows instead of wandering out here?”


“Mine’s got the ranged defense handled,” he replied calmly. “I helped Tatsumi earlier. He and Sheele are covering the base’s entrances. Lubbock is securing the perimeter and is planting traps for anyone who tries to leave, and the girl who let us know about the attack is… somewhere. As for Najenda—”


He didn’t get to finish his sentence before a series of blinding white beams lit the sky above. Both of them looked up as white energy blasts cut through the air, striking with merciless accuracy. From the rooftop of their headquarters, projectile beams rained down, killing anyone who ventured too close.


“As you can see,” Emiya said, watching the relentless fire, “she’s keeping Mine company. With those two there, we shouldn't have anything to worry about when it comes to people getting inside the base.”


“Good,” the blonde muttered, wiping more blood from her face. But then she got annoyed with some of the bloodstains soaking into the fur on her hands. Her Teigu had changed her in more ways than just granting a physical boost for sure. This being the second time he'd seen her in this form this closely and got to see the details to her transformation, as even when fighting Liver and Daidara with her and Spear, he’d split up and focused his attention on the former general.


“What about Akame?” he asked.


The girl opened her mouth to answer, but an answer came before she could speak. Another corpse crashed to the ground beside them, its upper torso streaked with dark, spreading marks. Within seconds the man stopped moving, breath gone before he could even scream.


“So that’s how fast the cursed poison works,” Emiya said quietly, studying the body. “No time to resist it, no chance to fight back… definitely earns its name as the one-cut killer. An impressive weapon.” He didn’t need to look far to know who had struck the killing blow. Though unlike the brawler next to him, she did not seem to be in a bad shape at all or tired. 


Akame emerged from the trees, in a much better condition than Leone, her sword still faintly glistening under the moonlight as it was sheathed within its scabbard. All the same, she’d clearly had a hard fight as well, as evidenced by the bruises along her arms, the thin cuts across her side, and the tear in her shirt that had nearly split the fabric down the front.


“Damn, girl,” Leone said with a short laugh, eyeing the damage. “Did you fight through a thousand monsters out there?”


“You're one to talk,” came Akame’s reply, followed by a cool glance at her slain foe. “He had a weird ability… similar to a Razortail… Had to be careful. It was still weird. There is something wrong with them.” 


Seeing her gaze and even Leone's turning towards him almost simultaneously, he came to the realization that they were waiting for him to explain things. Their actions made him sigh a bit exasperatedly. “Not sure why you two would like me like that as if I had all the knowledge in the world.”


“Well duh. It's easier to just have you explain the complex stuff and not waste energy in trying to figure it out ourselves. Super efficient!”


“…” 


These girls… he almost felt a sense of betrayal seeing how easily Akame agreed with Leone, as if the beastly brawler had said something philosophical. But alas, denying her words would not work since it did not apply in the current situation. "Hah… whatever. From the look of things their skin and muscle density have been reinforced. Danger Beasts essence was somehow used to create these patchwork hybrids, by the hands of Doctor Stylish most definitely. He's the only one crazy enough and capable of doing so.” 


A faint look of disgust mixing with concern crossing Akame’s face. “…Were any one of them Jaegers?” 


He shook his head, “Aside from Seryu. No, it does not seem like it.” Surgically grafting Danger Beasts traits onto people was already dangerous and experimental enough on its own without attempting such on a Teigu wielder. The creatures were the closest thing this world had to a Phantasmal Beast, relentless, and difficult enough to put down as they were. Now to imagine humans fused with them, gaining their attributes and certain perks, and seeing the procedure actually work… neither Leone nor Emiya needed to guess too hard. They could already tell what this meant. It was like seeing a lesser version of a new kind of Shingu in action, dangerous in a different way but far from harmless to even one with a famed Teigu.


As for the one Akame killed, Leone approached the body to check out some of the other physical changes.


"What the hell?" Leone muttered, eyes widening slightly. Her usual smirk faltered for a second before snapping back into place. "Look at this. These idiots are even trying to copy my style."


"They were all given attributes of an Earth Dragon to a certain degree for armor, and others for offense. That explains why they’re so hard to kill," explained Akame.


The older woman snorted at that. "Hard to kill is an understatement. Do you even know how hard I had to hit these bastards just to make them stay down? Felt like I almost snapped my own wrist throwing some of those punches. And that was before I tore a few apart with my claws, barely."


She wasn’t exaggerating either. He had seen her strength firsthand. Watching the way she punched through one of those enhanced soldiers made him second-guess whether he had underestimated her raw power or overestimated the durability of these altered humans. Whichever the case, the conclusion remained the same.


This fight needed to end, and fast.


"These people are definitely not part of Esdeath’s group," he said, expression tightening as he considered the situation aloud. "Nor is she aware of this attack in the first place. That makes it twice now she’s been left uninformed of missions the Empire’s taken against me."


Both women turned toward him with puzzled looks.


"So what if she doesn’t know?" The blonde asked, brow raised. "It’s not like Honest tells her every little plan he cooks up — he's the Prime Minister after all. She might be terrifying, but she’s still just a general. Not the damn empress."


"That’s not what I meant." His tone shifted slightly, recalling and questioning Seryu's presence. "Esdeath wouldn’t care if Honest sent people against me. Even an entire army wouldn’t bother her. But for Stylish to intervene and that Seryu girl to be here… Honest sent two members of her own forces without telling her? Even if we consider that Stylish himself is not present, it does not change these are his people. She wouldn’t tolerate that for a second, it undermines her control."


Leone blinked, then slowly pieced it together. "So you’re saying Honest is stealing control from her? Pulling people away behind her back?"


Absurd as it sounded, suicidal even, the thought lingered. That old man proved himself countless times to be a cunning and corrupt individual, willing to stoop to any level in order to achieve his goals. But Emiya knew even he wasn’t reckless enough to provoke Esdeath outright without having some sort of insurance plan he was confident would be able to handle her, or even kill the woman. He wouldn’t go about things like this. Unless something deeper was at play.


"There’s a possibility things aren’t going well at the Imperial Palace. We might see something drastic happen at the Capital soon without needing to lift a finger."


"Best case scenario, Esdeath might just skewer that fat fuck for us," Leone replied, cracking her knuckles. Then her grin returned in full force, teeth bared, eyes bright with anticipation as she slammed her fists together, producing a dull boom. "But we can figure that out later. For now, let’s bust some more skulls."


He gave a nod. They could sort out the details later. For now, he shot a look toward the girl with the cursed sword.


"Let's take them out as quickly as we can. If possible, leave at least one alive for questioning. The rest, handle them however you see fit."


Akame adjusted her grip on the katana, the faint traces of blood from earlier kills still clinging stubbornly to the blade. 


The faintest clink of metal sounded as she shifted her stance. Then she was gone, already moving toward the enemy lines. The clang of steel against steel erupted soon after, followed by rough screams of pain and the hoarse roars of dying men. Akame moved like the wind, slicing through the mob in a ruthless manner. Even the enhanced skin many of them had meant nothing to her cursed blade; a single cut, no matter how small, spelled certain death. If she couldn’t strike the head, chest, or limbs cleanly, she went for the softer targets — the eyes, the inside of the mouth — any weak point that offered her the slightest cut.


Her style shifted the longer she fought. Where her usual form emphasized speed and economy of motion, now she began to strike harder, putting more weight behind every swing, letting her mobility suffer in exchange for pure power. 


"Get her! Don’t let the swordswoman—argh!" one of the enemy soldiers shouted, his words breaking into a scream as her blade found him mid-sentence.


Nearby, Leone fought in her own way. It always took her longer to finish an opponent. She had the strength, no one doubted that, but her fighting relied on brute force rather than Akame method which relied on the smallest cut. She tore into a half-beast hybrid with mantis-like arms, catching one of his bladed forelimbs and ripping it off in a slow, savage motion. The tearing of flesh and snapping of bone echoed through the trees, mingling with the horrified cries of the altered man as her muscles bulged and strained under the effort.


The moment she tore the limb free, the blonde woman turned them on another opponent without hesitation. The serrated forearms cut deeper than her fists ever could, plunging through armor and flesh alike. The man shrieked as the improvised weapon drove through his chest, blood spraying as Leone wrenched it free again. 


“Shit.” 


But unfortunately, it was damaged, forcing her to throw them away and grab the last remaining one with both hands.


"How good are you with swords?" came a voice behind her.


Emiya had asked it casually enough as he sidestepped an axe meant to split him in two. With one smooth motion, Bakuya carved upward, cutting through the attacker’s forearm and leaving the limb useless. A second strike came fast, slicing low across the man’s abdomen.


The man cried out, clutching at the wound as blood soaked the ground beneath his boots. Even enhanced, his body gave him little defense against effects of these Noble Phantasm in particular. The perfect weapon to be used on half-monsters like them. His expression shifted from pain to a feral red-eyed rage in moments, but Emiya moved first.


He hurled his second blade, the weapon spinning before driving clean through the man’s face, pinning the corpse against a nearby tree.


"So the enhancement twists the body and the mind," Emiya muttered, watching the lifeless form slump.


Even with Lionel's enhancement, Leone had just cut down her third half–.Danger Beast opponent when she quickly stepped back, sweat glistening across her brow. Her grip on the remaining mantis claws was still tight, though it had snapped halfway through the fight just like the first one. Akame, by contrast, had already slain her sixth target with minimal effort, moving like a shadow across the battlefield. Watching the black-haired assassin dispatch enemies so effortlessly, she realized she was losing momentum.


"Hah… hah… fu~… I'm not really the best at using these kinds of weapons, but I can manage," the blonde muttered, steadying her breathing.


She tossed the shattered claws aside, fingers curling around Bakuya as it materialized in the air. “Thanks, handsome!” Her stance lacked the grace of a trained swordswoman, but there was still something resembling technique as she lunged forward. The blade shot toward an approaching enemy’s chest, and the man froze, disbelief flickering across his face when it sank deep into his heart. He stumbled backward, falling to his knees yet somehow clinging to life for a moment longer before collapsing altogether.


Leone stared at the white blade in her hand, eyes widening. "What the hell… it cut through like nothing. I barely felt any resistance at all. Didn't I see you struggling earlier when you used arrows on them? Did these idiots really send the ones with the highest defense first just to die?"


Questions spilled out of her in rapid succession, but the man supplying her weapons only gave a calm smile. With a casual motion, he Traced another pair of swords. The twin blades spun through the air, glinting under the light, before slicing through three more opponents in a single elegant arc, severing heads before returning neatly to his hands.


"You’ll find that these swords work extremely well against monsters," he explained evenly. "To conserve energy, I usually rely on Reinforced arrows that can be shot quickly or in volleys. Good as they are, my typical arrows don’t have the same anti-monster properties that these swords do. But with the attraction effect between them and a good throw, I can simply use them at medium range without much trouble."


Leone blinked at him, trying to follow the explanation. "I understood maybe half of that, and I’d probably be convinced you created some kind of Teigu were it not for the fact I can hold this thing while transformed without dying. Whatever, if it works, it works."


Her confidence rekindled, she charged forward again, slashing through the enemy ranks with renewed vigor. The weapon cut through flesh and armor alike as she unleashed her full strength, muscles coiling with each strike. Enhanced speed and power turned her into a blur of golden hair and flashing steel, carving a path through the remaining opponents.


Seeing the two women dismantle the enemy force, Emiya decided not to interfere directly. Charging into melee alongside them would only slow things down. Instead, he hung back, materializing his bow once more. His focus shifted to the ranged hybrids lurking on high elevated areas, those spitting acid, firing bolts, or hurling poison-tipped weapons.


One by one, his arrows sang through the air. Several enemies fell instantly with accurate shots to the head. Others watched in shock as their own projectiles were intercepted mid-flight, deflected or shattered before reaching him or the women. He never moved from his position. Attention shifted rapidly toward him, but it was already too late. Each time his fingers released the bowstring, another life was extinguished before the target even realized they had been marked.


"Whoever sent these people should have gone all out from the start," Emiya said under his breath.


It was pure luck that Tatsumi wasn’t facing this group. The boy was talented, but long-range battles weren’t his strength. Even with his Imperial Arm, he lacked the mastery to counter barrages like these effectively. Emiya intended to test Tatsumi’s awareness later, to see how quickly the youth could read a battlefield before making any judgment on his growth.


"Strange," he murmured quietly. "Feels like they’re just trying to stall us."


Any competent commander, whether this ambush came from Stylish himself or another, should have called the retreat by now after witnessing how little their Danger Beast-enhanced soldiers did against Noble Phantasms or even Akame’s cursed blade, Murasame.


Woosh!


From the edge of his vision, Emiya caught a sudden glint slicing upward from the earth itself. A high-pitched scraping ring like metal against stine filled his ears as his reflexes snapped into motion. The upper limb of his bow slammed outward with precise force, knocking aside a dagger that had been hurled straight toward his ribs.


‘From the ground?’


His eyes flicked toward the patch of dirt where the weapon had originated, yet nothing stirred there. No human silhouette, no trace of a presence at all. Whoever or whatever had attacked was concealed entirely, perhaps by invisibility or something even stranger. Still, his instincts screamed at him to stay on alert.


Another hiss of metal came at him. His body moved before thought could catch up, bow whipping around to meet the incoming threat. The black weapon deflecting it in a clean arc. Then another dagger followed, then another, each one emerging as though the earth itself spat them out.


Clang!


Clang!


He sidestepped and turned sharply, his arms in constant motion as he batted each blade aside. Though there were several of them, none so far had managed to so much as graze him. His focus locked on the shifting dirt around his boots, predicting where the next strike would come before it even formed.


‘No holes on the ground after the weapons were thrown, but it's tangible given I could intercept them. Can't be something like Projection, they are not constructs woven from the earth itself… So, that’s it. A phasing ability? Whoever this is can move their weapons through the ground itself, sending them wherever they please without meeting resistance. The terrain itself becomes both their shield and their firing platform. Clever.’


His expression hardened as he deflected another dagger that came from his left. Such an ability would keep the user hidden while allowing constant attacks from safety. It wasn’t the powers of any Danger Beast he had faced before, nor any Teigu he knew of. Whoever it was likely intended to delay him, keep his attention fixed, wear him before moving in to finish him outright 


Emiya’s gaze swept the battlefield even as his arms kept moving. A mental order surged outward. Above him, dozens of weapons blinked into existence with motes of blue light coalescing together and taking shape. Greatswords, spears, the air was filled with a mass of steel drawn from his Reality Marble as they answered his call. The sheer size of some of the blades dwarfed a man’s height twice over, yet none were meant for his own hands.


With a sharp gesture downward, every weapon fell at once.


The ground shook with brutal force as each blade was slammed deep into the dirt, cleaving through the trees and shattering any rocks in its path. Again and again, steel plunged through earth until the entire clearing became a forest of weapons jutting upward, a grim monument erected in seconds. Each square foot of soil around him lay pierced, leaving no patch of ground untouched, no hole left for his opponent to hide in.


Then he saw it.


One sword near his feet trembled faintly. “There you are.” Emiya stepped toward it and yanked the weapon free, his eyes narrowing at the smear of fresh blood along its edge. “So that’s where you were hiding.”


He drove his hand into the loosened soil, fingers clamping onto something solid. With a heave, he dragged the figure out from underground. A man in a long coat and trousers emerged, his front exposed as though armor had never been considered necessary. A wide-brimmed hat tumbled from his head as he hit the surface.


A gaping wound opened across his chest, so deep that he could glimpse the heart beneath, beating weakly as blood poured from the cavity in uneven spurts.


“I suppose Stylish didn’t give you the same upgrades as the others. Or maybe it would have been impossible to truly use it alongside your phasing ability. Doesn't matter.” Emiya muttered. “Tell me… where is Stylish? He seems the type who’d want to see how his experiments turned out with his own eyes.”


He had only personally encountered the man once shortly before Syura transported him and Esdeath to that island, yet Najenda knew his history far better and every source she had agreed on the doctor’s nature: a genius of rare caliber, arrogant beyond measure, convinced his intellect placed him far above common humanity. A man with ambition enough to scheme in the shadows even when working directly under someone like Esdeath — someone he would never truly submit to, for he did not acknowledge her as his superior. A calculative man. The sort who never exposed himself to risk without reason. 


"Heh… no wonder he has his eyes on you. Cough… cough… That kind of ability would be pretty damn nasty in his hands. Useful too." The man spoke between hacking fits, blood bubbling up at the corners of his lips. He was already too far gone. Emiya could see it in the dullness behind the man’s eyes, in the way his shoulders sagged with each breath. He had accepted death long before Emiya raised his blade, and there was no point dragging out a meaningless conversation.


One clean swing was all it took. The edge of the Kanshou cut through flesh and bone with practiced precision, ending the man’s suffering before his body collapsed into the dirt. It rolled back into the same crater he had crawled from, his lifeless hand twitching once before going still.


"If he’s that interested in my magecraft," he thought aloud as he flicked the blood from his blade, "then killing me wouldn’t have been his first priority. Capturing me alive would have been the plan, but he would still have to know that would be unlikely without help from Esdeath.”


His mind kept running through possibilities, yet none fit neatly together. Especially when it came to someone like Doctor Stylish.


"Akame!"


Leone’s voice snapped his focus back to the battlefield. The former Counter Guardian turned his head quickly, having not expected that the pair of women would be in much danger initially, arriving just in time to see the black-haired assassin crash into the dirt, her slender frame skidding across the ground. Her already damaged clothes were now scorched and torn at the midsection where the attack had landed… nearly revealing her bare chest and other intimate regions. A deep bruise marred her abdomen, her skin singed badly enough that even Leone winced.


Akame staggered back to her feet, breath caught between clenched teeth, blood trailing from the corner of her mouth. She jammed the tip of her katana into the ground, forcing herself upright with quiet defiance.


"How…?" Her voice came as barely a whisper.


Both Leone and Emiya turned sharply toward the sound of slow, deliberate clapping.


The man approaching was strolling through the field of corpses as though he were on a casual evening walk. Around him, bodies of his allies lay broken and twisted in grotesque positions or torn apart from the earlier confrontation, but not once did his eyes flicker with grief or even mild irritation. He wore a polite smile, the kind one might see on a man serving tea rather than stepping over the fallen.


"Magnificent," he said with a smooth, almost mocking cadence. "Excellent, even. As one would expect from Night Raid… and of course the son of the late General Nagumo. Emiya, wasn’t it?"


The two assassins and the former Servant of the Bow locked their attention on him. Emiya especially tightened his grip on his bow, ready to draw the moment the man so much as twitched wrong. 


Yet there was something off. His eyes narrowed, scanning him closely.


The stranger bore several deep cuts along his torso and arms, marks that could only have come from Akame’s blade. But there he stood, calm as if the curse had never touched him. The very poison said to kill anything with a single cut.


‘He's the one leading this operation…?’ Emiya’s mind turned over the details. ‘So Stylish really didn’t come. Odd… very odd. No Teigu on him either, and yet he walks like this. Skin shows no traces of those modified patterns. What could make him immune? No Danger Beast in existence could resist Murasame’s curse… not since those creatures from whom the material used for the blade were hunted down to extinction centuries ago.’


Speculation circled in his mind, but he pushed it aside for the moment. The immediate threat came first.


"Stylish isn’t with you," he said flatly.


"It’s Doctor Stylish," the man corrected smoothly, putting a touch of irritation at him not using the title, but keeping that courteous smile plastered on and then proceeded to bow. "You can all call me Toby, it is a pleasure to meet you all like this. Now that the introductions are out of the way, do you have any idea how long it took him to craft those soldiers you slaughtered? Hours of work. A lot of hard-to-obtain resources. All wasted in a single evening."


He toed one of the fallen corpses aside in open contempt. Leone’s eyes hardened at the display, her lip curling in disgust.


"I know we’re supposed to be enemies," she said, voice tight, "and I’m the one who tore through half of them, so, I shouldn’t be the one to say this. But still, you could at least show some respect for the dead. Or you know, at least ignore them?” 


"Respect?" The man actually chuckled, shaking his head. "These failures were tools. Tools that served one purpose and failed. When tools break, you discard them. Nothing more."


The woman stiffened, her cat-like golden eyes narrowing. “You sure talk big for someone about to join them, tool!” She sprang forward, muscles tightening beneath her skin as she lunged with the clear intent of smashing him into the ground before he could draw his next smug breath.


“Watch out!” Akame’s sharp warning cut through the air.


It was warranted.


Because in the next heartbeat, Leone froze mid-motion, shock rippling through her as a gun barrel snapped forward, extending straight from the man’s mouth, aimed directly at her face. The metal glinted coldly, its tip glowing with the ominous heat of a shot about to fire.


“Fucking damn it!” she cursed under her breath, her instincts screaming to dodge, yet the trigger was already half-pulled. It would have been too late… until a whistling arrow streaked across the field, striking the barrel with enough force to wrench its aim skyward. The bullet tore harmlessly into the clouds instead of Leone’s skull.


She wasted no time. Instead of pressing her attack, she darted back in a blur of motion, boots tearing into the dirt as she landed several paces away. “Phew… nearly got my head blown off there, thanks for the save!”


Toby grinned faintly before both his hands snapped upward. From his forearms, twin blades unfolded in a smooth, mechanical blur, edges slicing cleanly through the air where Leone had stood moments ago.


“Shame. I missed,” he said flatly, as though commenting on spilled wine rather than a failed execution. “Next time I won’t.”


Leone scowled, wiping the sweat from her brow, her tail bristling behind her. “What the hell are you?” she demanded. “You don't seem like you got the same kind of upgrade the others got, and they sure as hell wouldn't have survived getting cut by Akame’s sword.”


The gun barrel slid back into his mouth with a click, his features reverting to a nearly human shape again. His voice came next, dry and certain, his tone too calm for someone surrounded by all three of them. “Do not confuse me with the pathetic fodder you’ve cut down before. I am a far more advanced creation of the—urgh!”


His words choked off abruptly as a second arrow punched through his chest, armor-piercing and merciless.


Emiya did not even wait for the man to finish his sentence. He had already drawn, aimed, and fired again, his expression cold as the shaft tore straight through the figure’s heart and buried itself in the dirt behind him.


“You talk too much,” he muttered, nocking another arrow without pause.


Yet the man did not die as he would have preferred or even in pain. Instead, a low chuckle slipped past his lips, swelling into wild, ragged laughter. “Hahaha… ruthless, aren’t you? I should have expected nothing less. Had it been before, that would have definitely hurt like hell!”


To everyone’s disbelief, he straightened with little effort, gripping the arrow jutting from his chest before ripping it free in one violent motion. Not a flinch, not a single sign of pain crossed his face, licking some of his blood much to their dismay and disgust.


“I wonder,” he said, voice brimming with delight. “If I kill you two here… and capture the one even General Esdeath could not subdue… wouldn’t that make me the ultimate creation of Doctor Stylish? A being even she could never surpass?”


Emiya’s eyes narrowed, but it was Leone who responded. “You’re a cocky bastard, aren’t you?”


“Cocky?” Toby repeated, tilting his head slightly. “No. This is certainty.”


And then his body began to change.


All the while the conversation continued, Emiya was deep in thought, he had seen transformations before in this life — Seryu’s arm turning into a living cannon had been disturbing enough — but this was worse. This… abomination was something beyond anything human he had witnessed in this world so far. 


Metal split from flesh with a sickening sound as weapons unfolded across Toby’s body; the gun barrel jutting once more from his mouth, his arms warping into cannons, shoulders sprouting spinning gatling guns, chest plates sliding aside to reveal rows of missile ports. Even his legs bristled with hidden barrels. The man who had once looked almost human now stood as a walking arsenal, a nightmare of steel and gunpowder given form.


“I am a true walking armory and army at the same time. Now die,” he ordered, and the sky erupted in muzzle flashes.


Leone and Akame both leapt for cover, instincts screaming to retreat, only to stop short when he quickly stepped ahead of them, motioning for the women to stay behind him.


Without a word, he raised one arm.


A massive shield came into existence, so large it dwarfed a grown man, more akin to a wall with a tiny handle attached to it than any conventional shield. Yet he wielded it as though it weighed nothing, bracing it before him just as the first storm of bullets crashed against its surface.


Bang!


Bang!


Bang!


Bang!


The area bathed in sparks and smoke.


Dozens of bullets flattened uselessly against the gleaming barrier. Rockets slammed into it with deafening roars. Shards of stray metal even shredding through the surrounding fauna. Grenades burst in violent flashes and they just kept shooting, making him wonder just where the hell all of the ammunition was stored in a small body like that. 


‘Tch, I still can't fully wrap my head around how this world can still be around the middle ages while also having such advanced weaponry.’ 


Regardless, through it all, Emiya held steady, feet digging into the dirt for stability, shoulders locked and using the overall weight of the Noble Phantasm to his advantage. 


‘Advanced they may be, his weapons are ultimately still mundane,’ he noted coolly, glancing at the cracks of light across the sky. ‘The cybernetic enhancements might have given him superhuman strength and all the weapons one could ever dream of having… but the ammunition carries no mystery. No supernatural element to bring any danger against a Noble Phantasm.’ 


Behind him, Leone grit her teeth, squinting against the brightness. “My ears are gonna start bleeding at this rate. Is that guy even still human?” she muttered, tail lashing. Like seriously, how can someone survive being pierced through the heart… and slashed by Murasame’s blade?”


As he let her words settle in his mind, a memory stirred, an old one back during his days as a Counter Guardian. His eyes narrowed as the pieces began to align. Most of that man’s body had to be synthetic, he thought, not flesh and bone at all but metal and circuitry wrapped in skin that only looked human. The recollection came from one of his deployments long ago near the Atlas Academy, a place known for its genius in engineering and bio-mechanical research. He remembered seeing creations there, homunculus-like beings, androids fashioned so perfectly they could pass for humans. 


Toby might have once been a flesh and blood man, but by this point the only part of his original body that still remained might be his brain.


That would explain why Murasame had failed. A machine could not possess the same attribute as a regular body nor was it considered living. Cutting through him would be like carving up armor, not flesh, thus the curse would not work.


“I see,” Akame said at last as he explained the basics. She did not need additional information. Her crimson eyes sharpened as she drew her blade, fixed on him. “Can you hold the shield for longer? He’s my target. I want to bring him down.”


“If you’re certain, then go for it,” he replied, giving her a brief nod. “I’ll step in if things go wrong. Besides, I can stand here all day if I need to.”


Akame gave a single nod in return. But then hesitated, looking at Leone’s hand and asking quietly. “Can I borrow that… for a bit? I will return it, I promise.” 


He rolled his eyes hearing that, there was no reason to make it sound like the times she kept asking for more food and assured it was for the last time. “Just take this one.” He gave her Kanshou, the girl accepting the weapon with the closest thing to a smile on her face and shifted her stance, both hands tightening around the hilts of the swords as she sank low, her entire frame coiling like a drawn bowstring. She waited, breath steadying, shoulders stiff with focus.


The gunfire rattled on, a furious storm of lead chewing through the clearing and dense clouds of smoke filling the area. Yet he knew it could not last. That much firepower, carried by one man, meant limited ammunition no matter how advanced his body was. When the next grenade went off and a column of smoke presented itself, a grey curtain rolled between them and the enemy. 


“Go,” Emiya shouted.


Akame’s eyes snapped wide. Then she was gone, her figure blurring as she burst forward with speed that went beyond the limits of what was possible by even a trained human. She hit the ground once, twice, then closed the gap before the man could so much as turn his weapons toward her.


A dark arc cleaved through the haze. The first swing from Kanshou cut the barrels of several guns clean through, the metal shrieking as it fell in ruined halves. Before the pieces even struck the ground, the second stroke from the same blade carved through the man’s neck in one merciless sweep.


For an instant, his headless body remained upright, arms twitching, as though refusing to acknowledge his own death. His severed head rolled across the dirt, eyes still open in stunned disbelief, watching his own corpse stumble and collapse. Then the black curse-mark began to spread. It crawled from the wound outward, staining both flesh and machine alike with crawling lines of death.


Akame landed lightly, blades held steady, though her pallor betrayed the toll that burst of speed had taken on her. Emiya moved in, eyes narrowing at the sight. He had known she was powerful, but this… this bordered on inhuman.


“You alright?” he asked.


She nodded once, chest rising and falling as she exhaled slowly. She turned to him and gave a faint, “Thanks.” and then handed him back the sword.


“Don’t mention it. He was your target,” 


“He’s still alive,” Akame replied.


Emiya froze, gaze dropping to the twitching body. Sure enough, the man’s limbs still jerked, the mouth moving as a voice spilled out, flat, metallic, stripped of anything human.


“Most of him was mechanical,” Akame observed coldly, eyes following the spreading curse-mark. “Even part of the head.”


He grabbed the severed head by the hair, lifting it so their eyes met. The man’s mouth twisted faintly, as though amused. “You still look confident,” Emiya said evenly. “But there’s no one left to help you.”


The man tried to speak again, though without lungs or vocal cords, only garbled static escaped. 


Emiya read the lips instead: Our task is complete.


The light drained from the man’s eyes as the curse consumed him fully.


“What did he say?” Akame asked, to which he said nothing. He turned away, already heading into the deeper treeline. 


“Clean up the mess. I’m checking something. I’ll be back soon.”


.


.


.


(Outskirts of the hideout)


“Hah… hah… hah…”


It was a massacre in every sense of the word, crimson staining the forest back there, uneven streaks where bodies had fallen. Kaku, Hana, Me… none survived with some even killed off by either those arrows that pierced whatever defense they had and those powerful lasers from Night Raid's leader. Mimi would be lying to herself if she claimed any real confidence about taking these people down with just Team Stylish backing her. While her own talents rarely leaned toward direct combat, there were others among them who could handle a fight, on paper, at least. 


But they were never the same without the doctor leading them. His presence brought some form of order, and most importantly, a plan. Without him, the whole lot of them operated more like a beast with its head hacked off—staggering, biting at absolutely nothing, all instinct and no coordination whatsoever.


Useless, all of them!


The fools never listened to one another, no chain of command, no cohesion, just raw ego smashing into raw ego. Toby, especially, fought like the world revolved around him, never giving a damn about anyone else. The brunette with bat-like ears clicked her tongue when she thought of him. 


“If that idiot dies, serves him right,” she muttered in her head, clutching her burden tighter. “Might even open a spot for me.”


Working under the doctor had its perks, after all. As his second-in-command, you practically lived above the law. Any crime in your past was wiped clean, any problem in your future erased with a flick of his wrist. New body parts, upgraded reflexes, whatever twisted thing he could graft into one's body. Helped that the guy was pretty convincing with his words, selling his upgrades like a merchant in a bargain sale. Creepy as hell, yes, but power made people overlook a lot. Mimi certainly had. A few modifications here and there felt like a fair price for safety and authority.


“Come on, come on… can’t stop now,” she whispered to herself, ears twitching as they picked up every faint scrape of movement in the dense forest. Those long, furred ears had saved her life more than once, catching the sound of footsteps or blades long before the person they were attached to reached her. But now, she wasn’t thinking about fighting. She had only one goal left; get the item back to the doctor.


Her arms wrapped protectively around the container, the cold metal nestled firmly in her grip. Inside sloshed some strange fluid, the thing barely big enough to hold what looked like a sword — one of the many weapons that had been fired or hurled by that terrifying man earlier. She hadn’t even looked at it too closely. The small screen built into the casing flickered with lines of text she couldn’t read, glowing symbols shifting faster than her eyes could follow. None of it mattered. Her job wasn’t to understand the damned thing, only to deliver.


“A-argh!” 


Then pain exploded through her body without warning. A sharp, searing pain bit along her left leg that sent her tumbling forward with a cry, landing hard against the roots and dirt. For a heartbeat she couldn’t even breathe. Then she looked down.


Her foot was gone.


Not mangled. Not broken. Cleanly severed, sliced through like her flesh and bone had been nothing but warm butter.


Panic flooded her chest, breath coming in ragged gasps as her eyes darted around. She hadn’t heard anything, no blade, no gunshot, nothing. Then she caught sight of it. A single glistening line stretched across the forest floor behind her, thin as a strand of hair, shining red in the moonlight with her own dripping blood.


Footsteps approached from behind the trees until a faint shadow grew closer. 


A man stepped into view, green-haired with some sort of goggles on her head, gauntlet on his arm gleaming as it spread dozens—no… hundreds of razor-sharp threads through the trees like some monstrous spider webbing the entire forest. The strands caught the moonlight at certain angles, thousands of near-invisible blades waiting for the smallest touch to cut something apart.


“Careful where you run,” the man said lightly, almost sounding bored even… as if he was just talking to a random passerby on the streets. “These woods can be… unfriendly. I set a few traps for Danger Beasts to eat later on. Keeps Akame happy when she’s hungry, you know? Girl gets cranky if I peep at the wrong time so gotta find a way to make it up to her and Leone.” He shrugged casually. “Didn’t expect to catch a person tonight, but I suppose you people count as beasts in your own way.”


Lubbock barely glanced at her, eyes instead following the container as it rolled from her grip into the dirt.


“I should’ve guessed something was off,” he continued, tone almost bored. “Your lot came charging in, but no leaders, no Jaegers, none of the real muscle. Just a bunch of subordinate freaks. Insulting, honestly. Thought the Empire had forgotten a few nobodies couldn’t hope to handle us. But no… they were just a distraction, weren’t they?”


He smiled faintly, eyes glinting toward the container. “So then, pretty face… what’s this you’re carrying? Tell me, and maybe I’ll let you crawl out of here alive.”


Mimi froze. Pride meant nothing now; her life balanced on the edge of one of those wires. Forcing her face into a mask of fear, she stammered in a timid voice, “Please, sir… don’t do this. I didn’t have a choice. M-My family… he’s holding them hostage. He’s done horrible things to me already. I just needed to bring this back. Please, I’m begging you.”


A lie, but sprinkled with just enough truth to make it stick to any single individual with a bleeding heart. Many in Team Stylish had been forced into service. He didn’t need to know she wasn’t one of them.


Lubbock tilted his head, expression shifting slightly. “Really? Huh. Funny. Always figured that flamboyant bastard preferred men, the way he struts around and well… his overall atmosphere.”


She nodded hastily.


"He's a real creep! He likes everyone and everything! You have no idea the kind of degenerate things he does to us at night when he gets bored! I-I… I had to use my body just to stay alive…" she said, voice shaking as tears actually streamed down her face, making her look every bit the frightened victim. It sold the image perfectly, even if the act was masking her real intent. Inwardly, she steadied herself. Just a few more steps closer, that was all she needed. When he was close enough, when his guard was fully down, she would end him.


‘Come closer,’ she kept repeating inside her mind, hiding the venom on her face and continued to use a trembling tone as she saw the green-haired assassin strolling toward her. Each step brought him nearer, ready for what he thought would be another simple kill, unaware that she was readying her claws to rip out his throat in one strike. Her thoughts boiled over with anger, not just at him but at the memory of the foot he had sliced off earlier. It burned like fucking hell with every movement and she highly doubted it could be reattached… maybe, if Stylish was in the mood at least. She was certain infection would set in by the time she made it back to the capital, if she made it back at all.


‘I’ll cut off your own damn leg and use it as a replacement,’ she hissed inwardly, jaw clenched, feeling the dull throb pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat. ‘It won’t be as beautiful as my original one, but I’ll manage.’


The assassin kept coming closer, until only a few meters separated them. She breathed through the pain, focusing on timing. When the distance was perfect, she struck with everything she had left. “Ha!” Her claws shot forward and aimed straight for his throat. 


Fast enough that even a trained mercenary wouldn’t have time to react, not at this range.


But the sensation she expected, the tearing of flesh, the hot spray of blood, never came. Instead… her entire body seized as if lightning had struck her. “Hn-nnngh!” More pain surged through every nerve at once, far worse than before, as the same threads she had seen earlier lashed around her limbs and torso. In an instant, they encircled her completely, biting deep into her flesh with cruel precision.


She froze, unable to move, her breath catching in her throat. Even the smallest twitch made the threads tighten, carving shallow lines into her skin. The pain was so sharp she felt her vision swim.


"A-ah!" She tried to scream, but opening her mouth made the strings around her neck constrict further, slicing into the tender flesh there. Warm blood slid down her throat and over her collarbone. A single strand hung so close to her eye she swore she could feel its cold metal against her eyeball.


Lubbock smiled faintly, the picture of calm, as her claws hung less than an inch from his throat. His other hand remained raised, the nearly invisible threads glinting faintly in the sunlight.


"I won’t lie," he said evenly, "you almost had me there. And I’ll admit, it does feel nice having a cute woman like you look at me like that every now and then. I’m an assassin, sure, but I’m also a man with a soft spot for beautiful faces. Can you really blame me for that?"


He turned his back on her, ignoring the muffled, desperate noises coming from her bleeding throat. Even breathing made the threads tighten cruelly.


"Thing is," he continued, voice cooling, "the only ones I trust to show me real emotion are my friends. Your smile, your story, all of it stank of lies. You remind me of those nobles who bowed and said beautiful things to my father and I during parties, then would curse his very existence behind closed doors. I really hated them." His fist clenched, and the threads tightened until her choked cries turned into nothing but wet gurgles. "If you’d been genuine, maybe I’d have given you a chance. But this forest is mine. And I have a job."


With a sharp tug, every thread snapped tight. Blood arced through the air in thin lines as her body fell apart in silence, the stench of iron filling the clearing. Lubbock didn’t even glance at the remains. His eyes were on Emiya now, who was gripping the container as the blade inside dissolved into motes of fading light. Having arrived at some point, he did not notice his presence. 


"Got any ideas?" he asked flatly.


“He was trying to steal my creations,” the younger man muttered, crouching near the battered container. He tapped one of the strange devices attached to it, his finger tracing over the wires and odd crystal-like components fitted along the edges. 


“Yeah, I figured out that much, but have you got any idea what this container thing actually does? It’s kind of weird how it has all these gadgets and doodads stuck all around it.” He gave the container a shove with his boot, frowning. “This thing doesn’t look like it was made for simple transport. Way too high-tech for that.”


Lubbock remained silent, arms crossed, watching the boss’ younger brother prod at the now-ruined mechanisms.


“He’s pretty interested in your weapons, you know,” he went on, tilting his head toward the scattered shards of metal. “Sacrificed that many people just for one blade? I don’t even know what to say about that. Can he even recreate them?”


“Impossible,” Archer answered at once, his voice flat, leaving no room for argument. He wasn’t about to belittle the doctor’s ingenuity, far from it, but even with all the man’s scientific talent, recreating a Noble Phantasm based on a sample of a fake was far beyond his reach. The kind of power stored inside these artefacts didn’t come from skill alone. Not even a miracle would be enough to reproduce it.


Not to mention, he was pretty sure most in this world even knew how to use magecraft despite the existence of the supernatural. But most of it was focused around Danger Beasts rather than people.


“Oh, is that so?” Lubbock shrugged and kicked a loose pebble aside. “Well, if that’s the case, nothing to worry about then. Let’s get moving. I’m betting Miss Najenda is already wondering where we are.”


Emiya gave the container one last glance, then dropped it at his feet. His heel came down hard, shattering the main chamber and the surrounding devices in a single blow. Sparks jumped briefly before the fragments fell still. Satisfied nothing of use could be salvaged, he followed the assassin away from the scene.


“Oh, by the way, I heard that the crazy woman with the dog was here today, right?” Lubbock asked, as they made their way back.


“Seryu and Hekatonkheires.” He said their names, earning a nod from the boy.


“I did some research, that thing is impossible to kill without destroying the core which is also hard to find. Heard from Sheele earlier that you took care of it.”


“Your point being?” Emiya asked, wondering where this was going. 


Lubbock shrugged, “Just curious if you used another weapon against it. That thing tore through my threads around the forest. Seriously, I never thought it was possible for a dog like that to accomplish such a thing. So it got me curious what kind of weapon is powerful enough to kill it when I saw no big explosions earlier.”


An uncomfortable expression rose on the white haired man's face, but he gave his answer a few seconds later. 


“I… didn't really fight it.”


{Break}


-The Capital-


Inside the laboratory, rows of monitors cast pale light over the room, each one flashing with data feeds and shifting graphs. Stylish barely looked at them, his eyes glancing across the screens only long enough to note another face fading to gray. It had been happening for nearly thirty minutes now, yet he showed no reaction beyond sipping calmly at his tea. Dorothea sat across from him, chewing on a slice of cake as the silence stretched on.


“That makes nearly a hundred,” she finally said, frowning. “At this rate, the number’s going to double. You’ll lose your whole army. Shouldn’t you be doing something about it?”


“They are merely pawns,” Stylish replied smoothly. “Replacements can be built in a month at most. While I lose manpower, the data gained will be worth far more than the bodies. Their next replacement will be better, the recent improvement was done hastily, so next time it will be better without the side effects.”


As for Seryu, he did not fear Esdeath's wrath, for he did not order the girl to make such a decision. She did so all on her own and walked to her death, he was an innocent bystander who even advised her to stay behind and let his minions handle things. 


She did not listen. 


Dorothea’s eyes narrowed. “Still chasing after those magic weapons?”


He smiled faintly but didn’t answer, the glow of the monitors painting his features in cold light.


“You’re overrating them,” she said at last. “So he made a few swords with abilities similar to Teigus or even the Shingus. Big deal. They’re strong, sure, but they didn’t even manage to kill Esdeath. Your own creations can be just as dangerous.” 


"Then you are blind. I am not pursuing them because they are flawless weapons — they are not even close to being perfect. I am pursuing them because I know they can be made better, reshaped through my intellect. That boy stumbled upon something remarkable, yet he lacks the capacity to refine it any further. His breakthrough was the product of chance, nothing more. Luck favors him as though the world itself bends in his favor, while I am cursed to be handed the shorter end of every deal life throws at me, yet I persist and rise higher still through my sheer intellect."


She exhaled softly, unwilling to start yet another argument with him. Accepting he had his own strange fixations, she simply turned back to the monitor as the room filled with the glow of cascading lines of code. One sequence after another scrolled by until they shifted to a live feed, catching Stylish’s immediate attention.


"Aaaaand there goes your last one. Honestly surprised she lasted that long. My money was on her being one of the first to go down. Oh wait, seems that dumb one is still alive, though I doubt that’ll last for long since she can’t fight back any more,” she remarked dryly, eyes wandering elsewhere while the scene played out. 


The man gave no reply. His gaze was locked on the footage where a massive tank filled with pale green fluid came into view, a single sword resting upright within its depths.


"That’s not the one he’s been using this whole time," Dorothea commented, leaning forward slightly. She had seen records of his weapons from other members of Jaegers, two married blades marked with the yin-yang motif, one dark as midnight, the other pale as ivory. Those blades had been his signature. What floated in the tank, however, looked painfully ordinary. A standard gladius, no distinctive design or remarkable craftsmanship visible at all. Something any low-ranking gate guard might carry on patrol.


"No," Stylish replied sharply, eyes glittering, "that is indeed one of his creations. Look closer."


As if on cue, the weapon began to break down before their eyes. Lines of light spread along its length until its entire form dissolved, scattering into countless fragments like shards of a broken illusion. Dorothea blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the process, her brow furrowed.


"Surprising, isn’t it?" Stylish chuckled, a touch too pleased with himself. "You should have seen my reaction the first time I witnessed this. I nearly went and tracked down Night Raid’s base just to storm it alone in a fit of rage, completely ignoring General Esdeath’s orders. Fortunately, I am a rational man, one of calm mind and unshakable reason."


Dorothea rolled her eyes at his self-congratulation. If he kept patting himself on the back this hard, he’d dislocate a shoulder.


"Strange," she murmured. "Weapons dissolving like that and leaving nothing behind? No dust, no residue… either he is teleporting them into some sealed-off space, or… no, I honestly have no explanation. Honestly, it looks like magic.”


"Wrong again, my dear Dorothea!" Stylish declared, spinning dramatically on one heel and pointing at the screen with theatrical flair. "What is magic but just advanced science that humans have yet to comprehend? These weapons are not magic, for if I had them in my hand, I would have understood the process of their creation easily. All I need is a clue, that's all. Also, there is something left behind."


"I don’t see anything."


"Because it cannot be seen with the naked eye," he replied. "When dismissed, the weapons convert into an unknown form of matter—no, energy would be more accurate to say."


"So he isn’t storing them in some private dimension after all? Rather disappointing. Pocket dimensional theory would be far more interesting to study than shaping energy into swords," she commented, still a bit unimpressed by the whole thing. “Even if you know it’s some form of energy, that won't exactly help you recreate the same thing.”


Stylish just continued to look at the screen, scratching his chin with a smirk on his face. “No traces of orichalcum… the energy is just taking shape and mimicking different sorts of material while keeping its overall structure. He can also manipulate the energy to take different forms of the same blade somehow. Would explain how he can manage to make them so sharp and create so many copies… Weapons show the exact same signs of being used in battle but so did the others… the similarities must have come from an original blade that was carried over to the replicas.”


But there was still one thing that bugged him overall. 


“How does he draw upon this energy? Let alone turn it into something tangible…” 


The more he thought about it, the more similar the process looked to Esdeath's own Teigu: Demon’s Extract.


The power to create constructs, weapons, even semi-autonomous soldiers and clones out of ice she formed from thin air. That ice wasn’t even formed through water particles, surprisingly enough. It definitely followed a similar principle, he was sure of it!


“In the end, the answer still lies in the mysteries behind Super-class Danger Beasts after all, huh…” he muttered, relieved that his path was correct, and also excited. For that same path was now more clear to him than ever.


“To celebrate this occasion, I still have one last appropriately stylish gift for the fine assassins of Night Raid.” 


At that, Dorothea looked over with curiosity, seeing him finally turn his attention to the screen showing those that had died.


“Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of fireworks to cap off a lovely night? And it just so happens I left plenty inside my favorite test subjects!”


With one press of a button, almost every name shown on screen turned red with a ‘Bomb activated’ message shown clearly for her to see with an expression of disbelief. 


Somehow, for a tiny bit, she truly pitied those who worked as subordinates for this man.

Unlimited Souls Works Chapter 0 (Oneshot?)

Beta read by Shigiya and FabledLife

So.

The Legendary Saiyan in a Fairy's World Chapter 54: Multiply

Not beta read yet

Next update is... Either steel Eyed Faker or Hound.

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-Magnolia Outskirts-


It had been some time since Broly had last fought anyone seriously. His final spar had been with Erza and Natsu, and by now it felt like it had taken place a lifetime ago. As for the opponent standing before him today, he carried his own thoughts. He was curious, wondering whether the rumors about this man were true or simply talk passed along by those with too much time on their hands.


“This is a good spot,” Gildarts said casually, arms stretching overhead as if preparing for a casual jog rather than a battle. The clearing they had chosen was enormous, the grass swaying gently beneath the open sky. Beyond the edges lay a dense treeline that stretched out for miles, with Magnolia barely visible in the distance. The mountains stood distant like silent witnesses, their shadows long and unmoving. “Far enough from Magnolia that the old man won’t keel over if things get a little rowdy.”


Broly, standing a few paces away, rolled his shoulders slowly, even though he felt like there was no need to stretch — he did it out of courtesy. As for what was mentioned, he also shared the same thought as he glanced around the clearing. “Was it really necessary to come this far out?” he asked, his voice carrying a note of genuine curiosity. It was not that he objected to caution, but he doubted their fight would reach the kind of destruction Gildarts seemed to be preparing for.


“Trust me,” Gildarts said, grinning as he leaned side to side in his stretches. “You don’t want me anywhere near Magnolia when it comes to things like this. Even if it’s just for a warm-up, Makarov seems to have some kind of sixth sense whenever I’m about to do anything exciting. He comes down on me the moment I so much as raise my voice in town. Out here, we’re well off his radar. No cleanup crews, no lectures, no angry mobs. Unless, of course, our lovely guest over there is volunteering to help tidy up after we’re done?”


He gestured toward the far side of the clearing, where atop a cluster of smooth boulders sat a striking young woman with long, scarlet hair. She leaned lazily on one arm, her chin resting against her palm, watching them with an expression of mild boredom. Her eyes drifted toward Gildarts, one brow arched.  


“If by help you mean scraping what’s left of you off the dirt afterward,” she said dryly, “then sure, I’ll help. You’ll make excellent fertilizer for the land.”


“Woof, fiery as ever,” Gildarts replied with mock offense, flashing her his trademark grin. “Been a long time since anyone complimented me like that.”


“Do you have anything else to say besides flirting with every woman you lay eyes on?” she asked flatly. “I thought Broly was the stubborn one here, but you’ve already managed to be worse.”


Her hand lifted in a casual flick, and a faint shimmer spread across the clearing before vanishing entirely. Both fighters paused, glancing at each other before looking back at her.  


“Don’t mind me,” she said with a shrug. “I just set up a few analysis spells. I want some proper data out of this fight. Now hurry it up, will you? I’m getting tired of waiting.”


Broly studied her for a moment longer. For all her sharp remarks, Irene, at least that was the name Gildarts had mentioned earlier—did not seem as cold as she pretended to be. Beneath that tone, she simply struck him as someone who refused to let others read her easily.


“Fine,” Gildarts said, clapping his hands once before looking at Broly with a grin. “Let’s not keep the lady waiting. Out of courtesy, big guy, you get the first move.”


Broly raised an eyebrow. “You’re serious?”


“Of course. Give me your best shot.”


Broly said nothing at first. He knew his strength, knew what happened when he held nothing back. Even in this world where magic and monsters were common, power had limits. Too many times he had been reminded of that fact.


“Still hesitating,” Gildarts remarked, tilting his head. “All right then, start small. Hit me with something light. If I can handle it, we’ll take things up a level. Sound fair?”


‘Something small? I guess a Ki blast should be enough.’ Broly gave a small nod, a faint grunt leaving him as he raised his right hand, energy crackling faintly around his palm. A sphere of translucent Ki began to form, its glow against the open air as it swelled to the size of a melon. He didn’t bother with anything complex, just a straightforward blast to start with. The moment the orb was fully charged, he thrust his arm forward. The attack tore through the air in a straight line toward Gildarts. 


‘If he fails to deflect or even block that one, at worst it will give him some mild bruises or a broken bone at worst.’ He had trained himself long enough to adjust his power output that a single Ki blast of his could be weak enough to leave half a dent in a tree. 


Given what he had seen so far, he expected the man to either dodge or counter in some obvious way. Taking the blast head-on was usually a terrible idea, no matter how strong someone was. Yet to his surprise, the older fighter didn’t dodge at all. Gildarts raised one open palm toward the attack, calm as if he had done this a hundred times before.  


Broly’s brow furrowed. He thought at first the man would return fire with his own energy blast, maybe something similar to Ki manipulation. Instead, the instant his attack touched the man's palm, the glowing sphere shattered into fragments. It broke apart into dozens of cube-shaped pieces, each one shrinking and fading into nothing before reaching the ground.  


Broly blinked once.  


Twice…


What happened?


The sight wasn’t just unexpected. It was something he had never seen in all his years of fighting. Energy attacks could be blocked, resisted, sometimes redirected, but to see one disintegrate like that? His hand slowly lowered as he stared, the confusion plain on his face.  


Irene smirked from where she stood off to the side, clearly enjoying the reaction. “Wipe that look off your face, it's unbecoming of someone of your power. You shouldn’t be so surprised. What you’re seeing is Crush Magic, an ancient form of destructive magic hardly anyone practices anymore. It’s so rare that most modern mages think it vanished centuries ago. The principle is simple enough. It crushes anything it touches. Matter, people, energy, concepts, even certain kinds of enchantments. It doesn’t matter what it is. This magic breaks it down until nothing is left. It was already being called mankind’s most destructive magic before Dragon Slaying techniques were even invented.”  


Gildarts chuckled, shaking his head as if impressed by her knowledge. “Lady, you know more about my magic than I do. Half of that is new to me.”  


“Of course it is,” Irene said without hesitation. “Most of that information was lost long ago. Records vanished, archives burned, whole libraries forgotten when kingdoms fell. The origins of Crush Magic come from outside this continent entirely. How you even learned this particular version is a mystery I’d like explained one day.”  


Broly, still silent, listened closely while Gildarts grinned.  


“Pretty sure I’ve seen other people use it,” he muttered.  


Irene tilted her head slightly. “No. What you’ve seen is a diluted version. Similar concept, far weaker in practice. The version you use is the original, the kind that can even shatter kingdoms if used properly — unfortunately you still can't do much against a dragon. The rest? Watered-down copies. Even I can use those, though I’d never match your level with it.”  


“I am well aware how useless it is against a dragon. Thankfully I won't have to be fighting one any time soon. Also, figures you’d be able to use it too,” Gildarts said, scratching the back of his neck before nodding toward Broly, who still looked faintly unsettled. “So, big guy, did I pass your test? I told you I can handle myself.”  


Broly didn’t answer right away. His expression shifted slightly, then his hands came up again. Energy swirled around his palms, brighter this time, gathering far faster than before. The air seemed to shake faintly as dozens of smaller spheres appeared around him in a wide arc. With one sharp motion, he sent the entire volley flying toward Gildarts without any warnings this time.


The older man only grinned and raised both hands. Every blast that came close shattered on contact just like before, each one breaking into the same cube-like fragments before vanishing into the air without leaving so much as a scorch mark behind.  


“Dangerous stuff,” Gildarts said with a quick laugh, even as the last fragments faded. “What do you call this again?”  


“Ki manipulation,” Broly replied curtly. His knees bent slightly before he launched forward, closing the gap between them in a heartbeat. His speed forced Gildarts’ eyes wide a split second before Broly’s leg came sweeping toward his head.  


“Shit!”  


He ducked low, the kick cutting through the space where his head had been with enough force to whip his cloak sideways. He didn’t get long to breathe before Broly pressed in with punches and kicks in rapid succession, his strikes landing with the same speed he had shown against Erza and Natsu earlier.  


For all his raw power, Broly’s fighting style wasn’t perfectly refined martial arts, but there was enough precision in his movements to make them difficult to predict. Gildarts blocked where he could, dodged when he had to, and deflected blows that came too fast to evade outright. Step by step he found himself forced back, the defensive rhythm barely keeping him ahead of the assault.  


Finally, Broly slammed a fist into his guard hard enough to drive him sliding backward. The brown haired man used the momentum to slam his own fist into the ground.  


“Mizuwari!”  


The earth beneath Broly’s feet shattered into cubic fragments, throwing off his balance just long enough for Gildarts to dart forward and drive a white-glowing fist into his stomach. The impact hit like a hammer.  


Broly staggered back a step, eyes widening slightly. That actually hurt.  


“Damn,” he muttered under his breath. Shaking his hand and flexing his knuckles with a wince. “Are you made out of iron or something? I haven’t punched anything that hard and gotten so little for it since the day I hit Natsu’s skull.”


“You can fight.” 


“Of course I can!” He said while laughing loudly, “I would be a one trick pony if all I relied on was only my magic alone. Crush needs some martial arts prowess to use effectively. You're not half bad yourself, your technique reminds me of Natsu's, more on the brawler side.” 


He had guessed correctly, there was no real style behind his fighting. It was a mixture of lessons taken from countless battles, scraps learned from facing his father, Natsu and fragments gathered from a variety of opponents over time. All of it had been stitched together into something entirely his own. A patchwork of techniques, adapted and adjusted until they worked for him.  


“You holding back on purpose?” Gildarts asked, watching Broly carefully. “You know keeping a lid on all that power will backfire sooner or later. You lose control, it won’t be pretty.”  


“I know,” Broly replied evenly. No one understood the risk better than him. “Still want to keep going?”  


“Of course. This was just the warm-up.” Gildarts rolled his shoulders, his tone light. “And here I thought I was giving you a decent preview. Maybe I need to put in a little more effort.”  


He threw off his cloak. Old scars marked his skin, and a few fresh wounds from earlier still trailed faint lines of red. But what Broly felt wasn’t the sight of injuries, it was the change in the man’s presence. That calm, easygoing air vanished the moment Gildarts settled into stance. The intent was there now, serious and direct, and Broly felt himself becoming more cautious in response.  


“Crush!”  


Gildarts thrust his hands forward. A surge of raw magic power blasted out, a solid beam racing across the field before Broly had the chance to move. It struck hard, lifting the Saiyan clean off his feet and throwing him through the air until he smashed into the side of a hill. And surprisingly… it hurt?


‘He’s as strong as Hades… no. Different.’  


Broly pushed himself up inside the rubbles, slowly making his way back up, pushing away boulders twice his size with ease and wiping away some of the dust, feeling the sting across his arms and chest. Hades couldn’t break apart a ki blast like that. Whatever this Crush Magic was, it chewed right through energy attacks, leaving nothing behind.  


“Come on, I know you’re fine in there!” Gildarts called out, laughing as though this was nothing more than a friendly match. “Don’t be so stiff about it! Loosen up! Trade some blows with me like we mean it! Hah! Damn, I’m starting to sound like Natsu. That’s not a good sign.”  


Under the rubble, Broly’s mouth twitched upward slightly. Most people who shouted for him to fight harder carried malice behind it, enemies who thought power alone could take him down. This man didn’t. He could hear it in his voice. Gildarts wasn’t looking to humiliate him, to push him to his limits just to cause destruction, wasn’t looking to crush him just to prove a point. He wanted the fight itself, the challenge.  


“Alright then,” The Saiyan muttered, shoving debris aside. He stood, brushing the dust off his arms and shoulders, eyes locked on the grinning mage across the field. “I’ll make sure not to hurt you too much.”  


“Challenge accepted,” Gildarts said with a grin stretching even wider. The resemblance to Natsu was there, but tempered,like watching a fire after it had been taught where to burn.  


A thin aura of ki shimmered to life around Broly, wind kicking up at his feet as the ground cracked beneath him. He charged forward, fist drawn back.  


“Hand-to-hand, huh? Fine by me!” Gildarts slammed his palm down, Crush Magic running through the ground in a single pulse. The earth split apart in jagged squares, cubes of stone shooting upward and spinning through the air, cutting off Broly’s line of sight.  


‘Trying to block my vision?’ Broly thought. Smart. But not enough.  


He gathered a ball of ki in his palm and fired. The blast tore through the flying debris in a single shot, clearing the space between them in an instant. Dust and fragments scattered, revealing nothing — Gildarts had already moved.  


Broly didn’t need to see him. He turned sharply, sensing the magic signature flaring behind him just as a dome of white energy hurtled straight his way. His aura brightened, arms crossing in front of him to take the hit.  


The impact exploded across his guard. For a split second, he expected to hold his ground. Instead, Broly watched in surprise as the shield of ki around his body fractured apart into neat cubes, disintegrating the same way his earlier attack had. The blast slammed into him full force, throwing him back again across the torn-up field. He slid through dirt and stone before digging in his heel and stopping, eyes narrowing now with a far more cautious focus than before. 


"Crush magic… how can it destroy a Ki if it itself isn't magic?" He muttered under his breath, his voice low yet carrying irritation. "No matter. There has to be a limit to it. I'll just force my way through… I'll increase my powers gradually then."


A surge of power tore out from his body, a translucent aura wrapping around him with twice the force as before. Even Gildarts, who had already prepared his next strike, felt the air grow heavier around him. He launched the same crushing wave of magic toward Broly, its destructive energy tearing across the battlefield.  


But instead of charging straight through like earlier, Broly suddenly shifted. His body moved in short, sharp bursts, weaving left and right as the attack ripped past him. Debris flew into the air from every point the magic struck, but the Saiyan closed the distance without slowing.  


Reaching Gildarts, Broly swung his leg wide and fast, aiming for the side of the older man's torso. Gildarts crossed his forearms just in time to block, the impact forcing his feet to dig deep grooves into the ground beneath him. The blow still left a faint grunt of pain escaping the seasoned wizard’s throat.  


"S-Should’ve known… cough! A big guy like you would hit like a runaway train," Gildarts said with a faint smirk while coughing several times, shaking the sting from his arms as he stepped back into stance.  


He came right back at Broly with fists ready, no hesitation in his movements. Broly welcomed it. Their battle shifted into close quarters, a blur of fists, knees, and elbows colliding at breakneck speed. When Gildarts threw an uppercut, Broly blocked with his forearm before sending a punch straight for the ribs. The older man twisted just enough to lessen the impact, countering with a knee toward Broly’s stomach.  


Broly’s attacks carried raw power behind every strike, shaking the air with each hit. Gildarts, however, refused to crumble. He braced through the punishment, even as his body felt the weight of every blow. Each time his fists connected, a faint shimmer of Crush Magic coated them, bypassing his protective aura just enough to leave faint stinging marks across the Saiyan’s skin.  


It was not much damage by his standards, but it was enough for him to feel his heartbeat rising.  


"This… this is actually fun," he realized, his grin widening as the fight dragged on. He began to push harder, each motion growing faster and heavier, his footwork more aggressive as he forced Gildarts back. He wanted to see it — whether this man could endure him at his fullest, whether he could strike back with equal force.  


And through it all, Gildarts laughed.  


They clashed again, both warriors locking arms in the middle of the battlefield. Their muscles strained against one another, four forearms pressed together as the ground beneath them split apart from the pressure.  


"You're smiling," Gildarts said between breaths, sweat running down his temple.  


"I… I am," Broly answered, the words leaving his mouth as he felt a strange looseness in his chest. There was no fear inside him, none of the hesitation he normally carried about losing control. This man could take it, he did not need to fear hurting him — the memories of him fighting his father resurfacing. It wasn't the same feeling but still a great sensation overall where he did not need to treat his opponent as if they were made of paper. Irene also came close as in her dragon form she was just as strong as the black dragon. 


Green light began creeping into his eyes, faint at first before spreading fully as his aura shifted. The pale glow of his energy deepened to a light green, the ground trembling under the rise in power. Each second felt longer than the last as he forced Gildarts back step by step.  


"Shit, Crushing Evil, Spreadi—"  


Gildarts never got to finish.  


Broly’s hands shot forward, clamping onto the wizard’s face and blocking his mouth from activating whatever spell that was. With brutal force, he slammed him into the ground, the impact cracking the ground deep enough into a miniature human sized crater. Gildarts’ eyes went momentarily white until he was pulled back to consciousness by another brutal smash against the ground. He lifted him again and slammed him down once more, then a fourth time, before hurling him across the battlefield like a ragdoll.  


“Gah!” Gildarts choked out as pain shot through his body, crashing through rubble before skidding to a stop. Not managing to stop himself from sliding against the ground unlike Broly earlier.


“Hah! 


Broly did not wait. He charged, landing beside the man before his opponent could recover. One knee drove into Gildarts’ gut, pinning him deeper into the ground, then he extended his palm directly at his face. Energy gathered there, green light swelling as the air hummed violently around them growing in intensity and size with a Ki blast this powerful could easily destroy anything in its path.


Fairy Tail Ace’s eyes widened. From this distance, the blast would erase his head completely.  


And yet, right as Broly felt he had done enough for now, fully intending to dismiss his attack and call the match over at that moment… the world around him turned pure white. “—!?” His instincts screamed.  


A loud boom spread across the region.


Pushed back several feet, Broly brought his forearm up to shield himself as a towering column of energy erupted upward. The blast tore into the air with a deafening roar, its release sending a crushing wave of pressure across the clearing. Wind whipped through the battlefield, fierce enough to rip smaller trees straight from the earth while rocks shattered apart under the force, reduced to fine powder scattering across the ground.  


“You liar. You’re holding back too.” Broly’s grin widened, the excitement in his face growing bigger as the shadowed figure within the pillar of magic stepped forward. The faint outline became clearer with each second, the glow of crimson eyes cutting through the haze. Broly’s thoughts raced back to Makarov’s words, the guild master claiming this man truly earned the title of the strongest. The pressure pouring out now was not that far off with dragons like Acnologia or Irene — for a human, he definitely was the strongest one he met so far. No one in the entire guild, maybe not even in all of Fiore, possessed magic that felt this close to a destructive erupting volcano. For once, Broly let the wellspring of power inside him surge freely by his own will, not to fight an enemy but just because he wanted to continue this fight. His restraint loosened, replaced by an anticipation he rarely felt in battle.  


The ground trembled as Ki and Ethernano collided, two forces pushing against each other with unrelenting intensity. The air itself cracked, heat and static snapping across the space between them. Neither side bent nor broke; both forces clashed endlessly, each trying to dominate without yielding an inch.  


“All Crush.”  


His magic formed a grid-like sphere around Broly, his signature Crush Magic snapping across the battlefield like invisible jaws tearing apart everything it touched. Segments of the ground twisted and disintegrated under its effect, chunks of land shearing away into nothing. Yet Broly’s aura simply poured back in, sealing the gaps, his power instantly replacing whatever Gildarts managed to crush away.  


“So you’re one of those with energy that never runs out,” Gildarts muttered, half amused, half exasperated, watching the impossible flow of Ki replenishing itself. 


Broly said nothing. Instead, he lunged forward, his fist cocked back, muscles coiled tight as he drove himself straight at the middle aged man. Gildarts mirrored the movement, his own punch arcing forward. Their fists collided at the center, the shockwave blasting outward with earth-shattering force.  


The destruction spread far beyond the earlier craters dotting the hillsides. Entire sections of terrain fractured into hovering cubes from Gildarts’ magic before Broly’s raw Ki shattered them completely, expanding the devastation across half the landscape like a storm tearing through Magnolia’s outskirts. With even locals within the town looking above to see a clear sky with parted clouds, some even noticing the ground earthquake but ultimately went on about their day normally.


“Emperyan!” Gildarts unleashed another barrage, grids of magic hammering Broly’s barrier again and again. Yet every gap carved through the shield filled instantly with more Ki, an endless tide holding the line no matter how much destruction rained down.  


Broly finally pressed through the assault, charging head-on. Gildarts was ready, fists already flying. The Saiyan raised a knee to block the first strike aimed at his ribs, the impact shaking the ground beneath them, before swinging his elbow forward, aiming straight for Gildarts’ jaw.


“Hn!” 


Gildarts tilted his head back, avoiding the hit by inches, and countered with a straight jab to Broly’s side. The latter caught the punch with his left hand and shoved it aside, following up with a quick hook toward Gildarts’ midsection. One side pushing with kicks and leg sweeps with the other preferring punches and dodges. To any outsiders watching the fight, their moves barely visible with all the light work but Irene herself watched the spectacle with a bored look. “So the Ace of Fairy Tail holds that much power, easily at the level of a spriggan.” 


Their confrontation grew more intense with debris flying everywhere, some nearly hitting her until with a mere flick of her wrists once more she destroyed it. Though her boredom only lasted so long until she saw Broly fly upwards and be away from Gildarts range — much to the latter’s dismay. “A disadvantage of Crush Magic is its requirement to stay close to the target. Preferring to be used in combination with hand to hand combat.” 


Green Ki gathered in one single point just like all of Broly's attacks. Yet she immediately noticed how this one differed from the rest as it actually began to grow. 


“A magic made to crush everything it touches,” she whispered while looking at the sky as slowly but surely, the radiance from the sun eventually got overshadowed by pure emerald light. The sharp ringing sound grew louder and louder with the sensation of dread clearly showing on the brown haired wizard’s face. She smirked at that sight, not at all surprised by the outcome, just a bit unsatisfied with how long it took to reach that point. “What use is crushing your opponent or their energy when they just have a limitless amount of it?” 


Expecting the fight to end right and there with Gildarts having no way to even defend against an attack of that calibre she turned around and started to walk back to her temporary abode. “Waste of time, thinking he can give that monster a challenge even if it's a small one. At least I gathered some essential inf—?” 


At the corner of her eyes, she saw the one who was supposed to lose get back up again and face the giant sphere of energy above without showing any intentions to back away or even give up. Instead he just laughed as usual, opening his arms like an invite for the Saiyan to continue. Uttering something under his breath until a beam of white light shot straight and the Saiyan. 


That man couldn't be this stupid now could he? The only reason his magic worked was because his opponent held back a smaller amount of his Ki, but this sphere was too dense for crush magic to even affect it. Yet much to her disbelief, he did not aim for the growing sphere, but rather at Broly himself. And the intended effect did not occur as it had earlier, instead, his opponent’s entire body started to glow bright white. 


Seeing this, Irene recalled one of the abilities of Crush magic and saw its effects in real time. The hulking body filled with muscles broke apart into cubes, taking shape into several dozens of humanoid forms all bearing the same resemblance to the original one but just much smaller. 


Unfortunately, so did not even have the opportunity to marvel at such a curious ability as all of those smaller entities were doing the exact same thing as the original one and powering the sphere above it. With their powers having diminished considerably but already catching up quickly to the original one, the entire construct started to balloon beyond control — making her go completely pale. 


“That fool!” 


Grabbing her staff, Irene ran back to the field, placing herself in the middle and slamming her staff to the ground. A giant dome formed from the earlier spell she had casted, encompassing Broly alone right as the entire thing detonated. 


Crack! 


Her shield did not even last a second, the upper portion getting completely shattered with a pillar of pure destructive emerald energy rising above. “Hn!” all the while she did her best that the walls around the sphere would not break, hoping that it would continue channeling the attack upwards.


The shield eventually gave out but thankfully, most of the energy had dispersed beyond the sky into space making her able to stand through the shock wave and tank it with her own body alone. As for the human who caused all of this? She did not care any longer, more occupied with not having this entire region disappear from the maps. 


“Hah… hah… hah…” 


With shards of her barrier now raining down a snowfall, Irene took a moment to catch her breath given she did not hesitate to pour all of her mana within the barrier. Having even at one point considered transforming into a dragon and just using her body to contain the explosion, she did not have a death wish nor was it worth going that far for these people. 


Pa!


“Ouch.”


“Ooh!”


“Wah!” 


“Look out!”


“My hands!” 


In the middle of her thoughts, several tiny voices sounded all around her around the same time too. Things landed on top of her head and the other even slipped right into her cleavage. 


“...”


The redhead woman froze, coldly looking below to find a miniature Broly with a doll sized body and a head three times the size of his body staring back at her. 


“How… did you get so big, Irene?” The little one asked, even his voice had changed. He tried to climb out of her chest but only managed to sink deeper within the gap between her breasts. “H-Help.” 


She ignored him, at that point starting to contemplate if he was killable in this form.

Lyrical Sword Chapter 20: A Relic? Part 2

Beta read by Opal

Next update is Broly.

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-Abandonned Ruins-


It had been quite some time since Shirou last fought opponents who were neither attack drones nor human sparring partners. He would never claim his skills had dulled with the passage of time, nor that his blade-hand had lost its edge. His reality marble and the magecraft ensured that his mastery of the sword would remain constant, even if he left it untouched for decades. Yet the same could not be said for his magic circuits. They were far less forgiving. Leave them inactive too long and, much like muscles wasting away after months of disuse, they weaken. The decline was not dramatic in his case… he had been keeping himself occupied enough for that.


Regardless, what mattered now, though, was not the state of his circuits. It was how smoothly he had come to wield his barrier jacket, how naturally the battle suit responded to every motion and thought. His voice was quiet when he summoned the familiar call. “Trace on.”  


Magical Energy surged through him, a steady pulse, energy running along his limbs and gathering at his hands. The familiar shape of the bow shimmered into being, its weight settling into his grip with him already going through the same motions with it as he always had done. Drawing the string with an arrow forming already locked in place between his fingers and the bow’s middle. The pointed end being a serrated edge and loosening in one fluid motion.  


Woosh!


With a piercing sound, the projectile flew across the terrain and covered the entire distance within seconds. Holding enough force to not just pierce through the head of one of the creatures, but rather completely obliterate the head. The scene observed by the redhead who kept a calm face, eyes sharpening with the wind momentarily fluttering his hair backwards. 


‘No signs of flesh degradation despite the appearance, so they are being sustained someway whether it be supernatural or something else. No enhanced defenses, a standard bladed weapon will be more than enough to pierce the skin.’ The creatures around the first one that died reacted, their attention now turning to him instantly. ‘Immediate recognition of where the arrow came from and who shot it. This only made them more aggressive, so, no possibility to scare them away.’ 


With that in mind, he felt no hesitation to continue his assault with more arrows knocked and fired. A dozen of the creatures crumpled before they even understood what had hit them, dying mid-run and their fall causing those behind to stumble and making them easier targets. Yet the sense of accomplishment only lasted only seconds. More figures shambled from the broken streets beyond, pale shapes replacing the fallen as if the ruined city itself were spawning them endlessly.  


“This looks horrible, those poor people…” Caro gasped, growing pale at the sight of decomposing flesh in front of her. Even from this distance, their appearance remained visible to the young pink haired girl — thus bringing forth a sense of pure unease. “Can we really not save them?” 


“I… don't know. I wish I did,” was all the answer he could give.


“They used to be regular civilians, weren't they… even their old clothes are still on.” Teana murmured as well, looking just as conflicted. Her hands tightened on her weapon as she spoke, voice low, eyes fixed on the distorted bodies ahead. “What could have led to something like this?”  


“The only mercy left is to end it quickly,” Subaru said as she swept past her teammate. The device on her arm flared, constructing a glowing path spiraling through the air. She sprinted along it without breaking stride, launched herself above the swarm, then dropped with a sharp cry. Her fist struck the cracked pavement and the ground erupted beneath her, scattering the nearest monsters in a blast of force and dust.  


“I’m counting on you, Cross Mirage.” Teana whispered, The gun in her hand shining a bright orange light with a ball of energy forming in front of it. 


[Variable Barrell!]


“Shoot!” Teana shot the gun, several bolts of energy fired in a matter of seconds. With great accuracy, striking several of those ghouls and taking out most of her target as she had aimed for critical areas. Those that had missed, instead struck the ones behind. Her aim had definitely improved since the last time he saw her. Unlike before, the twintailed woman took a few moments to aim her shots with both hands on the device, taking a more careful approach compared to her previous self. “I'll cover you.”


Her blue haired partner thanked her before going ahead with Mach Calliber’s rollerblades spinning quickly and pushing her form ahead. “Ha!” Beneath her feet, a blue platform construct came into existence, spiralling and going into different directions in the air which Subaru rode with perfection. This allowed her to get in the middle, closer to the horde before letting herself free fall off the platform. Hands raised high with no fear whatsoever with him, her fists clenched before she unleashed a devastating strike causing several of these creatures to get crushed on the spot itself.


‘They do not react that quickly as well to close quarter combat, their attacks are slow and cannot get past the barrier jacket’s defence.’ The more he observed these creatures, the more apparent it became how less of a threat they posed individually. As for Subaru, her skills had also shown signs of improvement, even though her approach was rather bold, she still managed to keep herself safe despite being surrounded. Her attacks powered by her device creating a large area of impact each time, if she were to get even the slightest bit overwhelmed, the girl would just reposition herself using her rollerblades. Teana continued to provide support, killing the creatures that were bundled up in the blue haired girl’s blind spot.


“Strada!” 


[Spear form!]


Above him, a shadow flew by with Fried having grown into his bigger form with both Caro and Erio on top of it. The young boy brandishing his blue spear, standing at the edge of the dragon and proceeding to plummet downwards. His descent accelerated, with the device accelerating the downfall with small thrusters at the base of the spearhead. 


Of course, he could not let these two be burdened all by themselves. Shirou’s bow was raised again. More of the creatures fell before they closed within reach, his arrows piercing skulls and hearts until the ground was littered with motionless husks. The count climbed past a hundred, but the horde showed signs of thinning.  


“I can help too,” Lutecia said. Magic circles bloomed around her like unfolding petals, light spilling across the rubble. From each portal burst chittering insect constructs, a storm of wings and claws, and towering over its summoner came the familiar shape of the humanoid insect he encountered once before.


“Take down as many as you can, Garyu,” she ordered.  


“▄▅▅-----!”


The creature obeyed without hesitation. Its figure rushed ahead with cicada-like wings pushing him forward as he tore into the ghouls in a frenzy of motion, limbs and heads sent flying as the air filled with the wet sound of rending flesh. Garyu itself smashed through the pack like a living battering ram, carapace unmarked by claws or teeth, its blows pulping anything foolish enough to stand in its way.


The roaring chaos shook the clearing as the remaining ghouls could do nothing but accept their death. Shirou grimaced, drawing his bow with practiced ease while the thought crossed his mind, half exasperated, half amused. What is it with Berserker like entities always having younger girls for Masters? The sight before him brought back memories from the past with Illya standing beside her hulking Berserker during the war. Only this time, Lutecia was the one commanding an intimidating figure. Thankfully, she had shown no inclination toward decapitating him yet. He hoped it stayed that way.


“Teana, bring back Subaru,” Shirou called, while he could continue to fire a volley of arrows, it would be pointless to do so for so long and he did not want the others to also waste their mana reserve or stamina for nothing. As he spoke, his free hand tightened on the sword he had already begun to convert into a projectile. The blade shimmered faintly before reshaping itself into a long, sleek arrow, its form trembling with condensed magical energy. The air around it buzzed faintly, with the sound of cracking spreading all around.  


“I got her! Erio also is back with Caro!” 


By the time the blue-haired girl and the young boy had withdrawn far enough from the last surviving cluster of enemies, the arrow was already complete. Shirou drew it back even further and released it without hesitation. It streaked toward the center of the remaining ghouls before detonating in a sharp, contained blast. Rather than an explosion generating a dome of fire incinerating everything in its path, this one was more tame in comparison, with the blade shattering into hundreds if not thousands of shards of metal that peppered each target and those behind them. 


“What?” Teana’s voice cracked slightly as she spun back toward him. She had been prepared to offer support, expecting him to thin the herd, not wipe them all out in one shot. Her hands had already been raised, ready to fire, but now she stood frozen, the tension draining from her stance as she realized there was nothing left to aim at.  


“Was that… one of Ruben’s new abilities?” she asked, clearly confused.  


“Not really,” Shirou replied casually, lowering his bow as if the whole thing had been routine. “Just my arrow.”  


Subaru gave him a long, slow whistle before shaking her head. “I’ve been hit by those irritating homing shots of yours before. The kind that twist mid-flight like they’ve got a personal grudge against me. But I didn’t know you could make them explode like a grenade basically. And it was a sword, wasn’t it? Not even an arrow. What in the world was that?”  


Shirou blinked, tilting his head slightly. “Wait, did I never show you this before?” He genuinely seemed puzzled, thinking back to past battles and training sessions. He had fought beside them plenty of times, but now that he considered it, he had never actually used a Broken Phantasm in front of them until today.  


The tension left his shoulders as he exhaled. At least he had not resorted to using Caladbolg, or something equally flashy. The reaction to that would have been even worse. He had picked something weaker, more ordinary — a D-rank cutlass with little going for it except a sharper edge than most standard weapons. A practical choice, and one that burned less Magical Energy for the group as whole while avoiding unnecessary attention by the noise.


“Still, that was so cool!” Subaru said suddenly, eyes lighting up. “Is that what you used against that crazy scientist on the ship? The one that turned the whole place into scrap?”  


Her partner caught her by the arm before she could blurt out anything else. “No. As capable as Shirou is, don’t think for a moment that destroying the Saint’s Cradle with something like that is possible. That ship was from an era far beyond our own. It was designed to endure attacks much stronger than anything we’ve thrown at it. If he had that much raw power, he would be on the same level as Instructor Takamachi herself… also he already showed the weapon he used yesterday.”


“Did he turn that one into an arrow too?”


The orange-haired girl just shrugged, 

“Don't ask me. No, I do find the idea of turning a weapon as big as that into an arrow, it does have the necessary shape but I still don't really understand how something that big can be converted into a sleek shaped projectile capable of being shot.”


Both Subaru and Lutecia nodded slightly at that, with Erio and Caro wondering about said topic as well. His Reality Marble did give him a variety of abilities depending on the swords. Caladbolg against the Cradle, it had been the right weapon in the right place, nothing more.  


“Which brings me to my question,” Teana continued, eyes narrowing slightly. “How did you destroy it, then? I asked Fate, but she told me to speak to you instead. I saw the pictures, the hole is huge enough that it would require an attack similar to Divine Buster.”


Five pairs of eyes settled on him now. Even Lutecia looked curious. “It's hard to explain, I didn't shoot an arrow given I did not have the time to charge a Broken Phantasm on the spot. Also they would have noticed my action and attacked much earlier, that weapon you saw yesterday was the perfect choice in that scenario.”


“Now that she mentions it,” Subaru said slowly, “you can fight with swords, summon endless copies, summon shields, shoot faster than a gun with your bow, and apparently make them explode when you feel like it. Are you hiding something else? I thought your magic was just making weapons and reinforcing yourself. Seems like you can do a lot more than that.”


“Not really?” Outside of Unlimited Blade Works, he really did not know any other spells beyond those tied to that reality marble. It was understandable why the others were confused. “Besides what you already know, I can now float and store some energy in case of an emergency.” he said with a small note of excitement, still in awe at the gift he had been given, pointing toward his barrier jacket. “I couldn’t do that before.”  


“That’s really it? I feel like we always discover something new with you.” one of them asked, raising an eyebrow.  


“You’ll just have to find that out in the future,” he replied with a faint grin, watching as the two rolled their eyes but chose not to press the matter further.  “In any case,” he continued, his voice firming as he looked toward the fading horizon, “it seems clear for now. We should get closer to the city. I have no intention of staying out here until nightfall. Things might get far worse than this before long.”  


“Shirou is right, outside of the dangerous monsters, the temperature on this planet also plummets in the negative. With no power within the city, it'll be rough to stay warm, even with the barrier jacket, it will cause problems.” The girl had a point. The entire landscape, no, the entire place as a whole just felt uneasy for some reason to him. The creatures they had faced so far were not particularly threatening on their own, dying as easily as any ordinary opponent, but their sheer numbers were unsettling. That alone kept everyone on edge.  


All five began to move again, boots sinking into the dry sand as they approached the rusted, broken silhouette of the metropolis looming in the distance. With each step, he felt the stench in the air grow more pungent. On top of that, a sense of familiarity gnawed at him, memories creeping in of his first day in this world. He remembered the first time he had opened his eyes in this place, how fire and smoke had swallowed the skyline while screams tore through the chaos. For a moment, he wondered if he had been thrown back into the past, if he was reliving that nightmare all over again. Things were quiet now, at least compared to before, but in his ears, phantom shrieks still lingered, whispering at the edges of his thoughts.  


“Don’t you find it strange?” Subaru finally asked, breaking the silence. “We had to deal with so many of those creatures when we first arrived. The report said there was barely any left after the inspection, and I know how instructor Takamichi and Fate destroyed half the city.”  


He had read the same report. It made little sense. By now, the threat should have been minimal, with only scattered remnants still wandering. Instead, they had run into far too many. The thought weighed on him as he replied, “They might not be from this city at all. Didn’t the report mention the whole planet was hit by whatever turned people into these things? It’s possible they migrated here from surrounding areas.”  


“That doesn’t explain why,” another voice said, this belonging to Teana. “They don’t seem to have any intelligence left. For them to gather here all at once is… worrying.”  


“If we go by movie logic, maybe something’s drawing them here,” Erio suggested lightly. “Or maybe it’s just coincidence.”  


“Or maybe there are actual survivors here,” he continued, his tone more thoughtful. “If someone’s managed to live here this long, I can’t imagine how. But it’s worth considering.”  


“Speaking of which,” Subaru added, “why do we keep calling them ghouls? Shouldn’t they be called zombies? They fit the description better.”  


“Maybe because they didn’t technically die,” her partner answered after a pause. “The reports said people just changed all of a sudden. No bites, no infection through blood. It just happened. And there must be some kind of magic keeping them from rotting away like normal corpses. They probably also retain some intelligence given some even tried to avoid our attacks but were just too slow, zombies wouldn't have such an advanced way of thinking.”


“You call that advanced? I'd say it's common survival instincts at that point.”


“Survival instincts wouldn't work given they already died and came back. So ghouls definitely is the apt description.”


The two girls kept their debate going, each insisting her description was the right one for the strange creatures, the argument flowing back and forth like a well-worn routine. Meanwhile, Shirou’s focus shifted to Caro, who had stayed quiet through the entire exchange. She walked with her head slightly lowered, the small dragon perched on her head nuzzling against her cheek as though sensing her unease.  


“If you’re feeling uneasy, we can have the main team come pick you up,” he said finally, his voice even but not without concern. “Our task is only to retrieve the Relic, there is no need for there to be this many of us at the same place to begin with.” 


The girl looked absolutely shaken. Her face was pale, the kind of pallor that came from more than just fear. The streets around them still bore the signs of slaughter that took place on this planet on his first day here; collapsed walls, charred debris, shattered windows and the sight would have been overwhelming to anyone her age. It raised the uncomfortable question of why the TSAB had ever agreed to recruit someone this young in the first place.  


Yet the moment Shirou thought that, his eyes flicked toward Lutecia, who walked several paces ahead, alert as always. He realized he had no right to criticize anyone else’s decision. He had allowed the girl to come along as well, and she was barely older than Caro if not the same age.


“It’s fine,” Caro said at last, voice faint but steady. “I can manage. I was just… shocked by their a-appearance. This is my first time seeing anything like that.”  


“I agree with her. They looked disturbing,” Erio added, glancing toward the younger girl. Despite his words, the boy himself seemed oddly calm, his posture loose, not as tense as the others. “Drones are easier to handle mentally,” he continued. “These things? They may be harder to look at for long without feeling the need to empty your guts, but at least they aren't as annoying as drones. The latter with the anti-magic field is far more deadlier.”  


“You have a point,” Shirou admitted.  


“Also, I’d still rather fight them or another swarm of drones than deal with the Numbers you fought before,” Erio replied, giving the redhead a side glance. “Those things really did a number on you.”  


“...”


Shirou paused, brow furrowing, before looking down at the brown-haired boy grinning up at him. Erio scratched his nose, the smile on the boy's face growing faintly wider the drier his expression became. 


“Pun intended,” he said.  


Caro actually laughed at that, a short chuckle slipping out before she covered her mouth. The sound seemed to lift a bit of the heavy mood clinging to the group.  


“See? Nothing to fear, Caro,” Shirou said lightly, nudging Erio with his elbow. “You’ve got a knight in shining armor right here. The moment you call for him, he’ll come charging in. Isn’t that right, Erio?”  


“Eh? Erio being my knight? I like that idea,” Caro said brightly, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she glanced at the boy.  


Erio nearly tripped over his own feet at that, his face turning the faintest shade of pink before he quickly looked straight ahead, clearing his throat like nothing had happened. His reaction made Shirou chuckle under his breath. For all his tried to act composed, he was still a boy not much older than Caro herself.  


“Anyway,” Subaru broke in, tapping the holographic screen hovering before her. It projected a rough map of the city, several red zones marked across different districts. “The area where the relic’s signal was detected covers half the city. Yesterday we picked up a reading, then it disappeared, only to resurface somewhere else before vanishing again. It’s done this several times, and we’ve got no clue where it is now.”  


“This place is massive,” she went on, gesturing at the glowing markers. “Bigger than Michilda. The relic could be tiny for all we know. Unless we’re standing right on top of it, sensing it will be next to impossible. It’ll take us over a day just to cover these sections alone.”  


“Should we split up then?” Shirou asked.  


“That would be ideal,” Subaru agreed.  


“Let me handle the scouting,” Lutecia offered, raising her hand slightly. “My insects can cover more ground than any of us on foot. I'll have them scout the place out first to give us a better idea.”  


The group fell silent for a heartbeat, only now remembering how versatile her abilities could be outside of combat.  


“That’s actually a good idea,” Subaru said. “But before that, we need a temporary base. Somewhere to regroup once we’ve got leads.”  


“Fine by me,” Shirou said.  


Finding one didn’t take long. On the outskirts, abandoned houses stood with doors wide open, left behind in the panic of evacuation. They picked one at random but checked every shadowed corner before stepping inside, weapons ready in case anything was lurking.  


The interior was worse than expected. The air was stale, heavy with a faint but persistent stench. Dried stains of blood marred the walls, dark and crusted. Dust filled every corner with cobwebs and some of the local plant life having grown across the walls.


“Not exactly cozy,” Shirou muttered, “but it’ll do.”  


Lutecia remained at the entrance. She lifted her arm, summoning a mass of insects that swarmed around her in a chittering cloud, their wings humming like static.  


“Scout the entire sector,” she commanded softly. “Stay safe. Report back as soon as you find anything.”  


The living storm scattered in all directions, dozens upon dozens of tiny forms vanishing into the streets until not a single one remained in sight. Where afterwards she went ahead and took a seat next to Shirou while the rest gathered around waiting for her insects to come back with some good news on the Relic's location at the very least. Teana on the other hand had gone to check the rest of the building, only to come back empty handed and with a look of confusion. 


“Strange, no traces of those ghouls anywhere. It felt like their numbers were never ending back when we first arrived. Did we actually kill what few actually remained?” 


“No,” answered Lutecia with a shake of her head. “My insects are telling me there are more of them all over the place, but they are not moving and they're hiding. They are not reacting to my insects as well and some are even moving away from our location.” 


As he listened, this kind of behaviour certainly was quite strange. Given what Teana said earlier, he was not sure whether or not to treat them as the undead from his world, but with their current behaviour, it proved that they had at least the ability to think. ‘Did our earlier display intuitate them to retreat? That would be the best case if it were true, our goal is not to get rid of all of them.’


While he was in the middle of his thoughts, Caro visibly grew more curious about Lutecia’s powers. Her head tilted to the side cutely as she observed the young girl who was in the middle of concentrating. “How do you know all this? Can you see through them? That's amazing! Can I also learn that ability with Fried?” 


"No, it doesn’t work like that. I can communicate with them, and if they find something unusual, they relay the information back to me. But I can’t see through their eyes, not even one of them. There are simply too many, and it isn’t possible." She answered while keeping her focus on communicating with her summons, all the while Shirou had his gaze fixed on the city outside the window. His eyes moved slowly across the skyline before narrowing slightly.  


"This place really hasn’t changed since the first time I came here," he murmured after a moment, watching the smoke rising from collapsed buildings in the distance.  


"You’ve been here before?" the girl sitting next to him asked, her brow lifting slightly. Erio and Caro leaned forward, curious, while Subaru and Tiana exchanged a glance. The two of them already knew the story behind his arrival and the condition of the planet he had once stepped into.  


"I have," he answered, his tone flat but carrying a weight beneath it. "Back then the place was a nightmare. Burning buildings everywhere, people running through the streets, the air thick with ash and the stench of blood. For a moment, I thought I had walked straight into hell."  


He resisted the urge to sigh. That particular memory stirred memories of fire that had consumed a city in Fuyuki years ago. The causes were different, but the sight of death on such a scale didn’t care about reasons. It was the same everywhere. Yet here, on this planet, it was far worse. It wasn’t just a city lost to chaos and monsters. It was everything. The whole planet had gone under.  


"They never even managed to hold the line for a single day. Or find a way to cure these people, if it's even possible at all.” he said quietly. 


"Doesn’t look like it," Subaru remarked, stepping over broken glass as she peered into what had once been a hallway. Her eyes flicked to the mess inside the rooms, the trails of soot on the walls. "The TSAB has to protect thousands of worlds. When this happened, other disasters were breaking out too, some just as bad. This place was too far gone. They did what they could, saved the ones they could reach and made sure whatever caused this didn’t spread any further." Her voice carried a note of frustration, and her expression hardened as she turned away from the wreckage.  


"My sister told me about this place a while back," she added softly, "but I didn’t think it would be this bad. I wish we could have saved more people."  


He nodded once. The same thought had crossed his mind before. He knew Nanoha and the others felt it too,  


“Hm?” Something felt wrong, though. His thoughts stalled when Lutetia’s eyes suddenly snapped open. Worry and disbelief washed over her face, enough to gather everyone's attention in the room.


"Did you find something?" he asked.  


"I’m… not sure."  


Not sure?


"What do you mean?"  


"My insects," she said, her voice low. "Something is destroying them. Fast. I didn’t even get a good look at it."  


"Ghouls?"  


"I… don’t think so?" She shook her head, yet her tone sounded just as uncertain. "They’ve passed near plenty of those creatures before. None of them attacked. They don’t even react to my insects. This is something else. And it’s happening in different directions. I can’t tell if it’s one thing… or several."


"It might be connected to the relic," Erio suggested at last. The idea seemed plausible especially when considering none of them actually had the faintest clue which relic it might be, nor any understanding of what its capabilities could include. From what little he knew, relics were artifacts containing frightening levels of energy. What the doctor wanted with so many of them, Shirou could only guess. Perhaps it was to fuel some sort of weapon. Maybe it was to power the Saint Cradle indefinitely. The possibilities went in circles without any firm answer.  


One thing was certain, there were only so many relics in existence. For an unidentified one to surface out of nowhere raised more questions than any of them could answer, especially whether others like it existed, hidden and undocumented.  


"Then we should investigate," Teana said decisively. Her proposal met no objections. Shirou gave a short nod, and one by one, the others followed suit.  


Conveniently, the energy signature readings had come from three different areas close enough that they could divide the investigation evenly. It made sense to split into groups so everything could be covered at once.  


"I’ll stay with Shirou."  


Lutecia didn’t hesitate. She moved to his side immediately, fingers tightening on the fabric of his sleeve. Her expression made it clear she had no intention of hearing any argument against it. The silent claim earned quiet amusement from the rest. Tiana even gave a small giggle behind her hand, while Shirou himself managed a faint, awkward smile. Her determination wasn’t something he could control, no matter what he said.  


"That’s unfortunate," Subaru spoke up with a grin. "I was hoping to team up with you this time. Not that I mind working with Tiana, but I was curious to see how we’d do together. With you backing me up from range like before, we might have made a solid pair."  


"I wouldn’t mind partnering with Lutecia," Tiana added with a teasing smile. "Feels like we’d make a good team too."  


Their words had an immediate effect. Off to the side, a purple-haired girl crossed her arms and hugged herself, a small pout forming on her face.  


"No. I don’t accept this," she said flatly.  


The redhead beside her chuckled softly and patted her on the head. "Don’t take it seriously. They’re just teasing."  


"But I’m being serious," the girl muttered, clearly unwilling to drop the matter.  


Seeing she wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise, the conversation shifted. Plans formed quickly, each group marking the sections they would patrol. Shirou ended up assigned to the central district, still wearing the same faintly puzzled expression as before.  


"Alright then," Subaru said, "if you spot anything, use the box intercoms to contact everyone else. Don’t take on any of the enemies alone. Even weak ones can be dangerous in numbers. If you find clues about the relic, or the relic itself, call Nanoha and the others right away. We shouldn’t risk staying here any longer than necessary, not until we know exactly what happened and what kind of threat we’re dealing with."  


"Understood!" came the collective response.  


.


.


.


After that, the groups split up. Before long, Shirou found himself alone with Lutecia walking quietly at his side. Her brows were slightly furrowed, eyes drifting toward the distant skyline — most likely in the middle of communicating with her remaining summons. 


“More of them are getting destroyed,” she murmured, her voice carrying a trace of unease. “They keep saying it’s something big. But I’m not sure what it is exactly, so I am removing all of them before too many get destroyed. I already have the general location in mind, we can head there and see what's going on ourselves.”


“Don’t worry,” Shirou said, glancing briefly at her before focusing back on the path ahead. “I have a bad feeling about this, but this whole place in general just feels off to me. I doubt it will be anything we can't handle. But still, stay close to me and don’t wander too far.”  


“Got it,” she replied softly, falling in step beside him once more.  


The two of them walked on. For a while, only the distant sounds of battle reached their ears, mingling with the faint rustle of the wind through the nearby trees. It was Lutecia who eventually broke the silence.  


“Are you and Nanoha… in a relationship now?”  


The question made Shirou stop for half a step, his breath catching in surprise before he let out a small cough. “Er… Yes, I already said so on the way here, didn't I?”  


“You did, so you two kissed.” How she said something so casually as if it was a random conversation they had daily was beyond him. 


“... Who told you that?” 


“No one, you just did.” 


Now that was just unfair.


“Oh… Well, it is a bit embarrassing to admit it.” Shirou muttered under his breath while scratching his head. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to expect back then. Nanoha seems fine with it so far, but…”  


“Does that mean she’s going to sleep in your room?”  


Shirou nearly stumbled over his own feet, doubting his own ears on whether or not what he just heard was actually real or not. Of all the awkward questions he had imagined facing today, that one had not been on the list. What threw him off even more was how serious Lutecia looked while asking it. Then again, it was hard to tell when she was joking too as well — so it was anyone's guess.


“That’s moving way too fast,” he said quickly. “We barely even went on an official date and… other stuff couples do.” To which he was just as clueless as the next person, he already enjoyed their dynamic and was not sure what more he could do other than a date every so often. Though Nanoha did say she was already happy with how things were at the moment so that was a relief.


“I remember my mom used to say she missed having my dad around when he was still alive and how they shared the same room before he passed away.”   


“That’s… a different situation entirely,” Shirou said carefully. “I only just started a relationship with Nanoha. We’re not engaged or married or anything like that. Thinking that far ahead doesn’t really make sense right now.”  


“I prefer Fate more.”  


Shirou blinked at her, genuinely unsure how to respond. “Sorry, but I don’t think Fate sees me that way. And I’m already with Nanoha. Why Fate, though? If you don’t mind me asking.”  


“Because it would make Vivio really happy if you and Fate ended up together,” Lutecia said after a pause. “And her cooking tastes nice. I don't hate Nanoha, she is a nice person, but I feel like you and Fate are better together.”  


He hadn’t expected that answer. Choosing Fate simply because she wanted her friend to be happy? That was surprisingly thoughtful.  But unfortunately, things did not work like that and he had to tell her that. 


“It’s not like I’m going to stop spending time with Fate,” Shirou said. “We’re still good friends. She comes by the house sometimes along with Vivio, so she can still be just as happy as she is now, if not more.”  


“I guess. Just… don’t choose Quattro.”  


Shirou gave her a baffled look. “Wait, where did Quattro come into this conversation? There is nothing going on between us for me to choose her for whatever reason.”  


“Nanoha told me everything that happened when she first found you and I managed to overhear your conversation with her during the visit,” Lutecia said simply. “I’ve known Quattro for a while. She never behaves like that. She’s always loyal to the Doctor, never anyone else. She’s planning something and it most definitely will involve you getting in trouble for her sake in some way.”  


“Of course she is,” Shirou said, rubbing the back of his neck. Not bringing up the part with the woman having a growing life within her belly at the moment. For this information was still sensitive and he believed it would be better to first bring it up to others instead. He was not planning on taking her side even with such a scenario, for doing so meant betraying everyone's trust. “Even I can tell that much.”


“Which is why I am worried,” she said at last, her voice low but even. “Quattro isn’t stupid. She would notice if her actions were drawing my attention and the attention of others. Yet she keeps going. That either means she’s planning something much bigger or she’s confident enough not to care. Worst case scenario, I believe she will try to kidnap you again after luring you into a false sense of security and trust around her.”  


Her fingers slipped forward, grasping the corner of his shirt. There was a small, perceivable amount of worry on her face which bloomed into a small smile when he reached out to pat her head with the same faint smile he always gave her, the one that somehow made things feel less heavy than they were.  


“Are you worried I’ll vanish again?” he asked, watching her closely.  


She gave a quick nod, not trusting her voice for a moment.  


“Then don’t be,” he said after a brief pause. “I have never once failed you. I never broke the promise I made to you before, and I’ll make another one right now. I won’t disappear. I won’t leave you. Even if Jail and the Numbers ambush me again, I’ll do everything I can not to be taken.”  


“And I’ll be there next time,” she said with a half-smile that held no humor. “Garyu will teach them a lesson they won’t forget. I'll tell him to break their bones if they keep being stubborn.”  


The similarities between her and Illya were growing somewhat each day — which he was not sure how to feel. He found himself hoping she wouldn’t one day command the beast to slaughter people in that same small, innocent voice while smiling as though it were nothing.  


“We’re getting close,” she said suddenly, bringing him back to reality as they had walked for quite a while. The moment she spoke, he raised his guard higher. With them now being closer to the center of the city, all around them were several sky scrapers with the desert where they landed no longer in sight. The path opened into a wide clearing, sunlight pouring through the gaps in the trees above. The area itself was also strangely quiet and quite open — his hand flexed once on the hilt of Kanshou. 


“Are you sure it's here?” If something was destroying her summons, he reckoned they should have already spotted it by now. Yet there was nothing here whatsoever. “Outside the city we ran into countless creatures, yet here we haven’t seen a single one. You told us you spotted several before, didn’t you?”  


“They’re hiding,” came the quiet reply.  


“Either hiding from us… or hiding from something else.”  


Shirou summoned Bakuya fully into his other hand, the white steel gleaming faintly as he kept his stance tense — ready to move at any moment. His eyes moved carefully across the clearing, the familiar unease in his gut growing worse the longer he looked.  


“Wait… this place…” His words trailed off as recognition began to surface. “This is where—!”  


He never finished.  


The ground beneath them darkened suddenly, a massive shadow swelling outward. Acting on instinct, the redhead grabbed Lutecia and leapt back just as the earth split apart with a deafening crash. Dust and chunks of stone blasted outward, forcing him to raise Kanshou to deflect the larger fragments even though his barrier jacket could have blocked them easily.  


“Shirou, behind you!” she shouted sharply, warning him just as a huge hand burst from the ground behind them. Its fingers, each as thick as tree branches, swept toward him. He pivoted, driving Kanshou into the center of its palm and slicing upward, splitting the limb cleanly in two.  


“▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-----!”


A guttural roar tore through the clearing, his heart almost coming to a halt when for a brief moment he feared seeing a tall mountain of muscles welding a giant sword that seemed like it was made out of rocks. Even with an upgraded barrier jacket, Shirou held little confidence to take on that creature all by himself while keeping Lutecia safe.


As the dust thinned, he backed off further, pulling Lutecia with him until the open space gave them a clearer view. When the thing stepped fully into sight, both of them froze.  


“What is that?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly despite herself.  


He had no answer.  


Fortunately enough, it was not Berserker, but instead something he had no idea whatsoever on its identity. The creature towered over them, a grotesque mass of bulging red muscle and decaying flesh fused together into something vaguely human in shape. If Berserker had been carved from stone by a master’s hand, every line sculpted to embody raw strength, this thing was the opposite — rotting tissue, warped limbs, and a single twisted face rising above it all like a nightmare made real.  


“Garyu…” she breathed, barely above a whisper. 


Wasting no time, the purple haired girl was the first to react, her voice cutting sharply through the chaos as she summoned her trusted companion. The black carapaced beast burst forth in a blur of muscle and carapace, its charge shaking the ground beneath it. The roar it released blended with the guttural cry of the towering creature ahead, the two forces meeting with violent intent.  


“Just kill it as soon as possible, don’t try to overpower it!” she shouted, raising her hand where a dark violet sphere formed with the jewel of Asclepius glowing a deep purple colour, and was instantly launched as an attack. On impact, it did little to no damage but managed to break its attention fast enough to distract it.


Garyu heeded instantly. Rather than locking horns with the monster head-on, it slipped into several dashes that evaded all of the attacks. It twisted and coiled through the onslaught of bloodied hands and bone-like limbs, moving with a surprising amount of grace for a creature of its size with every sidestep and leap. Flowing like water through the narrow gaps between strikes until, in a heartbeat, it was directly beneath the creature’s exposed torso.  


“▂▃▃▄!” 


With a loud roar, Garyu’s claws lashed upward and sideways several times in a second. The attack itself was merciless and quite bloody to say the least. The upper half of the abomination tore apart from the lower, both halves collapsing in opposite directions with a wet, sickening thud that sent shards of bone scattering across the clearing with Lutecia being slightly out of breath. “That… that was close.” 


That was… fast. Shirou had to admit, he was prepared to be confronted with a difficult battle with a creature similar to Berserker for a moment. But given it died this swiftly, either Lutecia was far more terrifying than he imagined or it was not actually that powerful.


“That was too close,” Lutecia muttered again under her breath, one hand pressed against her chest as if to calm the frantic hammering beneath her ribs.  


Shirou, standing a few paces away, ignored her words. His eyes swept the treeline, searching for movement, for the next threat waiting to emerge. “This isn’t a regular ghoul,” he said flatly.  


“It is not.” 


Shirou could not even make a guess at what it really was. He studied the mangled corpse, trying to make heads and tails of what actually stood before them. “The face resembled the ones we killed earlier; white eyes, rotten flesh… but whatever this is, the similarities stop there. We need to inform Subaru and the others. If these things destroyed your summons before, there could be more waiting. Hm? It's chest… there is something there.”  


A sharp crack split the air.  


Shirou froze, instincts screaming. He yanked Lutecia back just as the supposedly dead creature lashed out, a massive fist slamming down. Garyu reacted too late, its shell crushed under the blow, fragments scattering like shattered stone.  


“Garyu!” Lutecia called, panic flashing across her features as she recalled the insect beast, though the damage was done.  


“That thing isn’t dead,” Shirou said in pure disbelief, watching as its torn halves knit together before their eyes. Worse still, more undead ghouls began closing in from every direction.  


The creature roared again, larger now, its shadow stretching long across the clearing.  


"Stay back! I'll take care of this one," Shirou warned, his stance already shifting forward. He charged in with both arms crossing before him, blades flashing in a tight crisscross pattern as the monster charged ahead. The curved edges tore through its massive palm without resistance, severed fingers scattering across the dirt in grotesque arcs. The undead creature reeled, but he twisted mid-step, pivoting hard to his right, his body moving on instinct. He struck again with his right-hand blade, the cut clean, quick, and then followed with several more slashes in rapid succession. Each blow landed perfectly, carving through the creature’s forearm until it was nothing but severed chunks thudding wetly to the ground.  


Dismissing Bakuya, he replaced it swiftly with a golden spear which pierced the ghoul's stomach with a sickening squelch. ‘Good, no signs of regeneration anymore.’


It wasn’t as fast as some of the monsters he had faced before, but Shirou stayed on high alert. This thing’s strength was nothing to take lightly, even slowed as it was. He prepared to close the distance again, angling for the legs this time to take away its mobility before it could recover.  


Then it happened.  


The spear buried in its front should have kept it from moving or healing, yet even as it staggered, the wound began to twist and pulse. The flesh pulled in on itself, tightening, writhing, before it started rebuilding despite the weapon still lodged deep inside. Shirou barely had time to register the sight when the creature’s leg snapped upward with shocking speed.  


The kick caught him square in the stomach.  


The air left his lungs in a harsh gasp as he was launched backward. He skidded across the ground, rolling over dirt and broken stone until his back collided with a cement pillar hard enough to send a cloud of dust spraying into the air. He groaned, feeling the ache spreading through his body in slow, heavy waves. The barrier jacket absorbed most of the impact, keeping him from serious injury, but the pain was still enough to leave his muscles burning.  


"Shirou! Are you okay?"  


Her voice cut through the haze in his mind, trembling with worry. He couldn’t remember the last time she had sounded this afraid. Seeing her expression made something twist sharply in his chest. He hated that look on her face, hated himself for letting things reach this point.  


What the hell am I doing? he thought bitterly, clenching his teeth as he forced himself upright. I promised I wouldn’t let her feel like this again.  


“That thing… it doesn’t regenerate,” he said suddenly.  


The girl blinked at him, confusion flickering across her features until he pointed toward the battlefield. Only then did she understand what he meant.  


The chunks of its arm he had cut off earlier still lay scattered across the ground, motionless. They hadn’t reattached. Instead, a new arm had formed entirely, sprouting the moment one of the other ghouls had gotten too close. Its body absorbed the lesser creature whole, flesh and bone wriggling together like a living swarm before knitting itself into a new limb.  


The wound left by the spear hadn’t healed at all. It hadn’t needed to. The monster was replacing entire sections of its body with whatever it consumed.  


Shirou gritted his teeth. It was the first time he had seen anything like this. The usual advantage of his weapons meant nothing here because the creature wasn’t truly healing. It was rebuilding itself piece by piece out of whatever it devoured.  


“Stay back. I can handle this. I’ll summon Gar—”  


“You don’t need to do that, silly,” Shirou cut in, his voice sounding almost amused as if to show he was not in a bad state at all. The man turned toward her, brushing a hand along her cheek so she had no choice but to meet his eyes with a gentle smile on his face. “You know, it's a bit funny how Zest also tried the same thing before, but this isn’t like back then. I just got caught off guard for a second. My fault for letting you worry.”  


Her expression wavered, hesitation clear, but finally she nodded.  


“Then trust me,” Shirou said. “Let me show you I can handle this. I've faced worse before and this thing does not come close. I was just taken by surprise on how its healing worked.”  


“W-We won't be able to kill it if more of these ghouls keep coming here and getting absorbed by it.” 


To that, he grinned slightly, “Then good thing my magecraft would work perfectly under this scenario. Let me show you.” 


He stepped past her, patting her on the head one last time, rolling his shoulders, checking for damage. The barrier jacket had held perfectly, no broken bones but definitely some bruises later on. ‘Keeping a low profile should be my priority to avoid trouble, but at this point Jail is already after me so revealing more would not change anything. And… it's not worth keeping Lutecia worried every time I get hurt in front of her.’ 


Across the field, the creature tore the spear from its body at last, its shape swelling as more ghouls threw themselves into its frame. The mass of flesh twisted larger, heavier, until its outline barely resembled anything human but at least the hole had closed up.  


“No point cutting you down while you can keep replacing yourself,” Shirou muttered, tightening the straps of his gloves with the swords dismissed as he faced it with a blank face. His hands curled into fists, his breathing steady as he focused…


“I am the bone of my sword.”


A large portion of his Magical Energy reserves drained in an instant, the strain of manifesting weapons accelerating as more and more of them emerged from his inner world into the open air. At first, a single blade hovered above him. Then ten. Five more followed, then ten again, then twenty, the number growing steadily until nearly a hundred swords glinted in the dull light overhead. The count continued to climb, a silent storm of steel waiting for his command.  


Their number blowing up where in the next following minute, a large shadow that blocked out the sun loomed over them with him at the center.


“There’s also no point trying to match your strength,” Shirou muttered under his breath, observing the grotesque creature lumbering before him. “I’ll cut you apart piece by piece if I have to till nothing is left, sorry.” 


“▂▃▃▄!” 


The monster bellowed, its guttural roar shaking dust from the shattered buildings ringing the plaza. Like before, it seized a massive chunk of broken stone in its misshapen arms and hurled it straight at him. A single sword launched from his arsenal met the rock mid-flight, shattering it into harmless fragments that clattered uselessly across the ground.  


Woosh!


At his mental command, the hovering blades shot forward as one. The shriek of cleaving steel filled the air as dozens of weapons tore into the creature’s body, driving deep and locking into place like a thousand needles into a pin cushion. The beast howled, a noise half-rage, half-pain for a brief moment until its mouth also got pierced by a weapon and so did its neck. Staggering under the barrage of swords as its unnatural body struggled to mend itself. Chunks of its own form sloughed off where the weapons struck, the ghoul discarding damaged flesh and frantically absorbing lesser creatures nearby to rebuild itself.  


‘So even piercing the brain and throat made no difference. If I just cleave the head off, then either it will grow another one or just make itself an entirely new body.’ More Magical Energy drained in a steady stream, his body growing warmer but not at all uncomfortable nor nearing his limit. Most of the weapons called forth barely even counted as D-rank Noble Phantasms and many were simply just mystic codes. 


“How long can it keep this up?” Shirou muttered, summoning even more blades into the air above him.  


The assault didn’t relent. Each time the monster tried to shield itself behind debris or corpses, the swords simply tore through whatever cover it found. Its thick legs were severed soon after, initially with spears driving through the thighs to pin it in place until more swords shredded them apart. Forced to crawl, it swung its remaining arm wildly as more weapons punctured its limbs, tearing them apart faster than it could reform them. Still, there was a flicker of intelligence in the way it tried to shield its core, using dead ghouls like makeshift armor before consuming them to heal.  


The weapons as a whole rained down on the entire area itself, unanimously attacking everything in its path whether it be the giant monster or even the ghouls that had surrounded them earlier. With only him and Lutecia remaining completely untouched.


“▂▃▃!” 


Finally, with another enraged roar, the ghoul abandoned defense entirely. Launching itself forward with its last functioning arm until it got stuck with a rapier pinned against a building and a giant greatsword cleaving through the shoulder entirely. It lunged at Shirou, mouth gaping wide, jagged teeth aimed straight for his head less than a meter away from him. 


At that small moment, cold golden brown eyes stared at lifeless white.  


Then a massive iron greatsword materialized above, dropping like a guillotine. The blade slammed straight through its back and out the abdomen, nailing the writhing creature to the broken ground below. The entire time, the redhead not having moved a single step from his position, the entire road around them now having turned into a garden of steel. 


‘About half of my reserves… not bad, unfortunately I can't replicate a certain King of Heroes fully but against an enemy of this calibre it is more than enough.’ His previous tense shoulders relaxed and he looked back to see Lutecia just standing there with her mouth hung open. 


The sight making it impossible to hold back his own grin

 

“See? Told you.” 


She nodded faintly, almost as if the gesture had been an afterthought, saying nothing in return. Whether it was because she had nothing to say or simply lacked the strength to speak, he could not tell, but it was enough for him to continue forward. His boots scuffed lightly against the ground as he moved closer, eyes narrowing when he glanced down at what remained of the creature. Despite its ruined state, the thing was still alive or clinging to life, rather.  


Its torso was gone, its body reduced to little more than a head with fragments of its upper frame clinging together in some grotesque mockery of life. Yet it moved faintly, twitching. He stared down at it, voice carrying a dry edge.  


“You’re more stubborn than some of the undead I’ve fought before.” If Rin were here, she’d be interested in whatever was keeping this thing going and even try to either sell it to others in the Clocktower for some extra cash he kneeled beside it, “I don't know if you can still understand what I am saying, I don't know what happened to you and everyone on this planet. But there is no need to worry about that any longer, you can finally rest.” 


His words faded as his gaze shifted lower. The thing’s chest, or what was left of it, revealed no trace of a heart. Instead, faint light glimmered within the hollow cavity. Leaning closer, he caught sight of something embedded deep inside the ruined flesh. His eyes widened, the disbelief plain on his face.  


“No… that can’t be right.”  


He studied it again, more carefully this time, but the conclusion remained the same. Without wasting another moment, he knelt and drove his hand straight into the partially split cavity. The deeper his arm sank into the mangled tissue, the more his expression darkened. Finally, fingers brushed against something solid. With a sharp pull, he tore it free, the effort escaping his throat in a strained grunt as he ripped it loose with a wet, tearing sound.  


Pa!


The creature went still at once. Its body crumbled in real time, fragments collapsing inward before dissolving entirely, leaving only scattered remains of what it had devoured and the odd debris of prior victims.  


“It really is…” he muttered under his breath. His shoulder jerked suddenly, then he laughed, the sound raw and abrupt, startling Lutecia .  “Hahaha… she’s going to kill me for this. No, probably not, it's her fault after all.”  


In his hand rested a bright blue jewel, large and faintly glowing, the same one Rin had spent months crafting for her experiments before he left his own world. Something she had gotten as a gift from Luvia during her birthday, which in itself was a surprise and an item that cost a fortune. She’d been using it regularly for her studies under the Wizard Marshal. “It probably got dragged along by mistake along with me… I must have missed it back then.” Now, however, the gem’s light was dim, almost exhausted. 


“What is it?” Lutecia asked, curious at his sudden silence.  


“It's…. Something that used to belong to someone very dear to me. Most likely it was brought upon this world in the same way and at that time — I most likely had missed its presence.” 


On queue, their comms came live. Rather than hearing their commander's voice and him reporting to Hayate on a successful mission, all he heard was a voice that did not belong to the woman and instead spoke gruffly at him. 


“Agent Emiya Shirou, you are tasked to bring the recovered relic back and hand it over. Also, you are summoned to the main bridge after this mission.” 


Hand it over? But this… this…


“This is not a relic.” He tried to explain to whoever it was on the other side, still wondering what happened with Hayate, “It's already lost its use, so it won't be dangerous.”


“That is an order,” was the last thing the voice commanded before turning off the communication link between them.


“Damn it…”


He said, his grip on the gem growing stronger. At this point, it had merely a fraction of what it used to, not long till it eventually reverted back to a regular gem. ‘I don't know if it holds anything else aside from energy… if so then Rin wouldn't want me to share it with anyone.’