Nimthewriter

Wrought Iron Taimanin Chapter 3: Trap?

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and Gamercr

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 43: Peace Talks

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomness and GamerCrusher55

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-Bran Castle, Romania-

The ball went on as planned with surprisingly no major issues, continuing on until sunrise. Though there were a few minor scuffolds with several individuals getting a bit too drunk for their own good and unable to maintain control over themselves.

Those troublemakers, fortunately enough, were immediately taken care of by Lancer who just threw them out of the castle itself before going back, tending to the guests. For some, the event proved to be an enjoyable moment where they got to meet and familiarize with other people. But for a certain few, this became no different to torture and sucked out every bit of their social batteries to the point that not even a good night’s sleep could help them to fully recover.

“You don't seem to have a fever. Can devils even get a fever? Never mind, perhaps it would be best for me to cook you something light like soup rather than what they provided us for breakfast.” Archer said, pressing the back of his hand on his Master's forehead, the latter fully engulfed in blankets like a burrito, stuck in bed ever since she came back.

“If I ever have to speak to another vampire again, I really might end up blasting them away! The people here are insufferable, even worse than the devils in the Underworld!” she complained. A sentiment he found out last night to be shared by not just her, but also every other member of her peerage and even Sona's.

“Vampires are known for their arrogance, and I doubt such people will change drastically in a matter of days just because they are under new leadership.”

She groaned in agreement. “Do you know how tone deaf or arrogant one must be to so blatantly insult devils and call some parts of our culture barbaric — to the literal sister of the current Lucifer’s face, no less? Several times I genuinely believed that I was dealing with a vampire version of Riser Phenex, someone who was just saying those things to get a reaction out of me. But no, they were just genuinely trying to have what apparently passes as their idea of a conversation! I still can’t decide who has their head shoved the furthest up their own ass!”

“It must have been hard for you.”

“Forget about me, imagine how much of a headache this must be for Valerie and Lancer who have to deal with both sides on the daily.”

That certainly was something to think about. Though he doubted many would have the courage to talk in such a way in front of Lancer given how much they clearly feared him. From what he remembered, most of the vampires were just busy licking his boots and showering him with empty words of praise. Even for him, such behaviors got tiresome very quickly.

‘They are more annoying than Gilgamesh and that dog combined… Which is saying something,’ he thought to himself, further impressed at how Assassin could so seamlessly handle such people. But then again, she used to be a queen and most likely had gotten used to it. The same could not be said for Rider, the latter having disappeared from the party with her Master and several other guests halfway through the night, retreating back to their rooms well before the party came to a close.

“So, what's our plan for today?” Rias asked with a groggy voice.

“I don't need to tell you that the actual summit is today, so you have to attend and speak to several people once again. Good news though, they won't be the same kind of people you were dealing with yesterday. And we still have several hours left, it only starts at dusk.”

“Mmm, that means I can still sleep for a bit more. Please wake me up an hour before I have to leave.”

She really was exhausted, he could not even fault her for that. With another comforting part on the head, Archer then left the room for several minutes before coming back with a small bowl of soup he ordered. As much as he wanted to make it himself, this was not his house and they were guests here. But it did not matter much, the cooks here were still exceptional, and there was nothing to complain about the dishes they made.

“I'll be checking up on others. Rest now, Rias.”

She mumbled something under her breath so quietly that most wouldn't be able to hear it. “Take care, Archer… don't get in trouble.”

“Saying that to me? I'm disappointed you have so little faith. I’ve made sure to always maintain the image of an upright and disciplined Servant who would never cause any trouble to my dear Master,” he said jokingly, though she had already fallen asleep. With nothing more to add, the Servant disappeared from the room, leaving the redhead to continue her rest while he returned to the mostly empty living room. “Oh?”

Surprisingly, not everyone ended up being bedridden for the day after all. Both Gasper and Yuuto were present, each one talking rather animatedly to one another, showing no signs of mental exhaustion and were even visibly preparing to head out somewhere. “Planning on going out to the nearby village?” he asked, reverting back to his physical form as Gasper was startled by his sudden appearance.

“Gasper mentioned there being an open area for us to use as we please. I planned to head out there and polish up my moves a bit, and asked Gasper if he was willing to join me.”

“You're actually considering it?” Archer said, surprised that the young dhamphir was actually willing to do such a thing given his aversion to the outside world.

“I just thought that it would be nice to see what other things have changed around here. I never really got to explore much of the place before. Both Valerie and I used to be confined to a specific space.” The more the little Bishop revealed of his past life in this castle, the more Archer started to question how any trace of love or longing could be left for any of the people of this faction. Gasper did not show any particular love for his blood family, but he also showcased no hate either. The same could be said for Valerie; any other individual in their places could have easily gone down a path of vengeance.

“Alright, I'll join you too. Rias is sleeping, so is Koneko and Akeno. Issei left with Kiyome to visit Sona’s group, and I don't have much to do myself, for the moment.” He could not exactly just start cleaning the entire place, nor was it his place to do so. The kitchen was off limits to guests, and he did not have any papers to grade. All in all, Archer found himself with a rare moment where he genuinely had nothing else to do.

“Alright then, I look forward to your help, Archer.”

“The same cannot be said for Gasper; look how much he is shaking.”

Yuuto chuckled. “Many of us are still traumatized by your training sessions, he must be having bad memories from that moment resurface. Is that right?”

“I-I don't want to get shot in the head!”

Well that was as good an answer as any.

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Swish!

As one would expect from the vampires, every part of Bran Castle held an ancient feeling to it. Its rooms, hallways, and gardens emanated a rich history that had remained intact despite the passage of time. Every detail remained well-maintained and perfect for its intended use — just like the training courtyard reserved for those who wanted to polish their swordsmanship.

Filled with several kinds of dummies, made from a combination of straw, wood, leather, stone and metal. They filled the area with Yuuto at the center of it all, taking a wide stance with his sword held high before bringing the weapon down and in a swift motion, reappearing on the other side of the training dummy. For several seconds, no change could be spotted on the stand, until a thin line formed from the head to its base. Then the dummy fell apart, having been cleaved in two.

“Hah!”

The Knight did not stop there, calling forth more weapons into his grip. He sliced through several more dummies, each time with a different sword. With each new blade his style changed, not hesitating to use their elemental prowess to either burn, freeze, electrify, or disintegrate his targets with pure demonic energy. On the other side, Archer was comfortably sitting on a post, watching his movements and periodically glancing at a stopwatch he had in hand.

“Hn—ah!”

“Oh?”

With all but one of the dummies destroyed, Archer had figured Yuuto would rush towards it using his speed as a Knight. But instead, he adjusted his grip on his weapon and then swung it in a wide arc, sending the weapon flying across the air until it struck its target right in the chest.

‘A bit unnecessary, but that was a nice shot. Especially since I’ve never seen him do that before.’

Aside from just observing and keeping watch on the boy, he also had the role of watching for any potential point that could be improved or any flaws in his form.

‘There are no faults in his stance, and his base form does not need any adjustments. Creating a new style upon changing his weapon is probably a bit excessive, but he is managing to use them as intended without slowing down. The cuts themselves are near perfect, straight without faltering. He kept the edge of his blade perfectly aligned too.’

The more he analyzed the more it became obvious that there was little to improve anymore. Unlike his past self before the Rating Game with Riser, Yuuto had improved leagues above anyone else in the group skill-wise. Clearly, he was still visibly unsatisfied with his progress given the lack of any pride on his face for his performance. Instead, disappointment could be seen lingering on his expression.

“What is my time?”

“Eleven seconds on the dot,” he answered calmly, noticing the disappointment growing after hearing those results. “Not that I don't find your dedication admirable and a good mindset to have, but clearly something else is occupying your mind.”

Yuuto said nothing, keeping his silence for a while, contemplating until he eventually relented. “It feels like I'm still stuck in the same spot I've been since the beginning.”

“That is objectively false,” Archer said. “You have improved your fighting skills beyond anyone in this group. If the version of you before I was summoned were to fight your current self, I doubt that the former would have been capable of even cutting you even if you had to fight ten of them.” He was not exaggerating; he meant what he said in full. The only way for Yuuto to improve was just standard experience that could only be attained through battle.

“I appreciate the kind words, Archer. But in the end, have I grown this powerful to just be able to fight other devils, only?” the Knight said with a tired smile. “Before you say something, I know we had this conversation in the past about how I shouldn't compare myself to Servants. But by your own words, Servants aren't invincible and there are entities in our world who can take you on in a battle too, right?”

“Of course there are. We would have been a pretty frightening existence if nothing could kill us aside from another Servant. As long as you possess the ability to control magical energy or any sort of other mystical power, then you theoretically have the ability to harm a Servant if you can land a hit. But that does not mean you should try to do so.”

“I can't continue just being the way I am now. I know it's a far stretch, but eventually, I will need to obtain a level of power capable of at least allowing me to fight back against one. Even if only for a short moment. And I can only see one way to obtain that power in such a short amount of time.”

Yuutoès face clenched, taking a deep breath and then staring at the sword he held in his hand.

“I need to achieve my very own Balance Breaker.”

Balance Breaker, something he heard mentioned from the mouth of the Governor General himself and through his own research of this world’s supernatural as well. It was seen as a forbidden move from all three factions, where one's Sacred Gear’s full potential is unleashed.

Whether it was something akin to a Broken Phantasm or some sort of limitation present in all Sacred Gears being removed, he was not sure. Having never seen one himself, Archer could not give much insight on this matter.

“I can feel it, you know,” Yuuto continued. “I know that I should be at a point where something happens. That Sword Birth could take another step forward, but for some reason, I am unable to achieve that. It's somewhere in there, but how can I get to it… I can’t seem to figure that out.”

“Have you tried talking to someone? I heard one of your teachers before I arrived was none other than Okita Soji. Perhaps he could give you some information that I can't, given he should be more familiar with this matter than most people around you.”

To that, Yuuto sighed once again. “I did. But the only answer I got was how everyone's Sacred Gear differed greatly from all others, that the requirements of achieving one’s Balance Breaker cannot be applied to everyone. He talked to me about Issei, or rather past users of the Boosted Gear; mentioning how as long as one possessed enough passion, enough anger and a strong enough body, that most of its wielders reached that limit through their own means.”

That… actually made sense. The very nature of Issei’s Sacred gear gave him the impression of being a weapon that worked in tandem with strong emotions and a powerful body. The brown-haired boy already had one thing covered, though his physical body still needed more training to reach its full potential.

“So that means, if I push him close to death enough, he will achieve a Balance Breaker?”

Yuuto chuckled again. “In theory, yes. Unfortunately, I haven't found any records of previous sword birth users going to that level or what the requirement could even be. Since Sacred Gears adapt to the will of their own user, the method to unlock it is unique to each person, and sometimes even the Balance Breaker itself can differ.”

A true conundrum, but not one they wouldn't be able to figure out what time. So the Heroic Spirit shrugged. “There is always a way. Great power cannot be attained so easily, as long as you don't get discouraged and keep working to improve yourself, you will get rewarded, eventually.”

“I hope so too.”

“I'm back!” As their conversation reached an end, a high-pitched voice came from the other side of the field. They turned to see Gasper running towards them, holding a bag filled with some soda cans and light snacks. “Sorry it took so long, They don't have any vending machines here so I had to sneak into the kitchen to get some of these.”

Both looked at the younger boy with confusion.

“Couldn't you have just asked one of the maids or butlers to fetch you some?” Archer asked, only to get an embarrassed look from Gasper who avoided his gaze.

“I-I was too scared to talk to them. But it's alright! I left a note saying what I took so that no one thinks they were stolen.”

What an odd fellow this one was…

In any case, Archer accepted the drinks from Gasper, while the Bishop glanced curiously between the both of them. “So, how did it go?”

“Quite well. It's just that Yuuto here is aiming to achieve a Balance Breaker. So we are trying to figure out what he may be missing or what's stopping him from achieving that, since he is already pushing the limits of his Sacred Gear.” As he said that, an idea propped in his mind, looking down at the boy, he couldn't help but ask. “Technically, at one point we will also need to figure out your own Balance Breaker.”

“N-Noooo!” instantly, a loud screech came from the boy who immediately sought refuge behind a large pillar away from them. Gasper hesitantly peeked his head out from the side to look at Archer with pure terror in his eyes. “I don't want to have my bones broken again! I barely survived the last time, it huuuuurts!”

With such a loud voice, half if not the entirety of the Bran Castle’s residence for most likely had been jolted awake from that.

“It's supposed to hurt. You’re never going to get any stronger without paying a price. Besides, you have seen the fruits of your own efforts so far and how effective it was in the end.” Archer said, getting the boy to hesitate and be unable to deny his words so easily. “You wanted to get better in order to protect your King. Now that you are reunited with Valerie, I’d say you now have even more reason to get stronger to protect those dear to you.”

“But she already has Lancer. What good will I even be if I try to help her?”

“None.” Out of the blue, a stern voice answered the question, the familiarity of the tone making Gasper flinch in place. The group watched as a tall man approached the field, wearing a different but equally regal set of clothing to what he had worn yesterday.

It was none other than Gasper's father, Lord Vladi, who continued on where he left off. “As the head of our faction and leader of both House Carmilla and House Tepes alongside all those sworn to them, she does not require the aid of a weakling boy who cannot even muster up the courage to face other people for a mere conversation.”

His tone came out much harsher than expected, with Archer raising an eyebrow at how the father was addressing his son. Speaking to him so harshly as if he were not even his own blood.

“I have heard the prior conversation concerning your training. To show such fear when presented by a gift many would kill to have, to be trained by a Heroic Spirit of legend in order to reach your full potential and balk at the offer because of mere discomfort… You disappoint me.”

“…”

“For your own sake and that of others forced to put up with you, I will advise you to cease any notion of wanting to protect Queen Valerie or to be by her side. She is no longer the same person you once knew from a bygone past; her status has risen beyond your comprehension and she is on a different level in terms of power and responsibility. You will only sully her name by being near our queen, and even invite danger.”

Gasper had nothing to say except looking downwards in shame, his shoulder sagging ever so slightly as if a giant pressure descended upon him. Unable to flee or even hide, he could do nothing but endure his father’s verbal onslaught.

Of course, there was no reason for Archer to let this continue on, and thus he appeared in between them, blocking the man's view of his son while Yuuto resting a hand on Gasper's shoulder.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Lord Vladi?” he asked, showing no smile on his face or any desire to continue this conversation. A notion which the vampire most definitely picked up on, but showed no reaction on his face.

“I have brought you a message to share with your Master, Servant Archer. The summit shall commence in the east wing of Bran Castle. The area has been sealed off from the outside world with several layers of security added. Queen Valerie has also extended an offer for any group who is less than certain about our preparations to examine the safety measures themselves, or even post their own security if they should feel it is required.”

Archer shook his head. “While I am sure she would appreciate the offer. We are more than content and are willing to trust your faction when it comes to security. My Master and her peerage will be present during the summit and thus will not be sending anyone to join security. Of course, Lord Lucifer and the other Satans may have their own feelings on the matter, but that is for them to decide.”

“I shall relay your words to Queen Valerie and Lord Dracula.”

Vampires certainly made no effort to hide their true feelings, even when it came to Lancer. Archer almost found it funny how the vampires continued to call him that name behind his back. Treating it as a title and a revered name despite knowing full well that to him, it was nothing less than an insult upon his legacy. An amusing yet ironic situation.

He was not sure if he should pity Lancer for the kind of luck he had to be summoned into a world where his descendants were actual vampires.

Seeing the old vampire walk away, Yuuto came to his side with a frown on his face. “He sure is a pleasant guy, isn't he?”

“Compared to how volatile and arrogant some of the vampires who spoke with Rias were at the party yesterday, I would actually say that he is more tame in comparison… and far more blunt,” he noted, looking back at Gasper who just continued to hide behind the pillar with his face more downcast than ever before. “Don't let his words get to you. They will only hold meaning or any sort of truth if you let them. I am here to make sure that does not happen.”

Gasper shook his head.

“He isn't trying to insult me… that's just how he has always been.”

“I suppose not everyone has the luxury of having supportive parents. And even those who do, it's really a coin toss if they are genuinely able to express that in a way that’s conducive to the child’s growth.”

“Not every orphan has dead parents.” Yuuto added, turning around and walking towards the young boy and giving him a pat on the back for reassurance. “At the very least, we will always be with you as your true family.”

“…I know.”

After that, both Yuuto and Archer headed back towards the field, but Gasper remained behind, staring at his father's retreating figure in the distance. Complex thoughts crossed his mind, none of which he could voice out. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and clenched his hands before turning on his heels and running to join the other two.

“W-Wait for me! I want to train too!”

{Break}

(Evening)

Just like that, time passed in what felt like an instant, and before the three knew it, the sun had begun to set and the time for the summit was drawing close. Going back to their accommodations, the trio found that Rias, Akeno, Koneko were already prepared and enjoying some tea and snacks. The redhead and her Queen were in the middle of playing a game of chess. Issei was half listening to Kiyome with the latter holding a book themed around familiars and talking about them with visible excitement which he obviously did not share, yet he could think of no way to excuse himself without appearing rude.

But he still tried his best to pay attention, if only because Kiyome clearly cared about the subject a great deal.

“Ah, you're back.” Upon seeing Archer, Akeno got up from the table and went towards him. “I was looking forward to showing you that recipe I promised you.”

“I was a bit occupied helping out Yuuto and Gasper with their training, .”

She pouted. “You didn't even come to check up on me to see if I was alright. Last night was pretty taxing on my body, you know? You really ought to show more consideration; I thought we were closer than that.”

“…”

“The least you can do is come and keep me company, I promise I won't bite~! Again~”

“Ahem!” Clearly displeased by what was going on in front of her, Rias cleared her throat to get their attention. “What's going on here with you two being so chummy out of the blue? Archer is here as my precious Servant. We don't want people to get the wrong impression now, don't we?”

“Ara ara~ Is someone jealous that Archer and I are getting along so well?”

“No, I am just trying to maintain our image here.” Rias retorted, though her words were not that convincing, unfortunately. “You've gotten very comfortable around him lately. Is there something I should know?”

“Oh? Whatever might that be, Buchou? Archer and I have always been this close, I feel like he knows me from the inside out. As I do with him just as intimately.”

She was not being subtle with her words at all.

“Maybe I need to remind you who is the King here, Akeno.” Rias mentioned with crimson energy covering her hand.

“Oh my, playing the King card? How desperate you must be to keep him for yourself.” Akeno challenged with lightning coating hers.

He had to put an end to this.

“We can have this conversation later, both of you. Right now, there are more important matters to focus on. We should be getting ready to join the summit; the others will be waiting for us.”

“…”

With everyone gathered, they left and soon reached the spot where the summit was going to take place.

“They really were not exaggerating when it came to taking this matter seriously.” Rias muttered as they passed another row of vampires in full armor. Each one of them looked like they were readying themselves for war.

It did not end there, amongst the guards were a mix of devils, fallen angels, and regular angels too. Despite the presence of lingering tension between each faction, they managed to maintain a professional face without betraying any emotions. All of them were taking their duties seriously without getting in each other's way, and so long as no one acted rashly it would remain that way.

“Makes sense. This summit will be the deciding factor for what's to come in the following years. Their future along with every other member of the three factions will be decided by the outcome of this meeting. It could either end with a whole new bloody war that could end with at least one side going extinct, or long-lasting peace where they can finally rest.” Archer did not mince his words about the outcome, something he knew his Master and everyone involved was equally aware of.

“By the way, what happened with Gasper? He's been particularly quiet since you three came back.”

“We had a brief encounter with Lord Vladi.”

“Oh.”

That was all she needed to hear to figure out what must have happened. A trace of anger flashed across her eyes as she let out an audible huff. “If he has something to say about my adorable Bishop, then he better do so to my face. I will not allow anyone to insult him or demean him in any way, whether they are blood-related or not.”

“It did not go that far, thankfully enough. And it did ironically serve to give him the motivation he lacked recently to continue practicing. That and wanting to be worthy of standing by Valerie's side.”

Rias nodded, their steps slowing down as the group soon reached a large set of doors leading to a highly guarded room. Just from standing there, one could sense the plethora of defensive and privacy spells making it impossible to even sense how many people were inside, let alone hear whatever conversation was being had inside.

“Let's hope this turns out well, then.” Rias said, looking behind and getting approval from her group who gave her a nod. “Listen, this will be stressful, I know. But we are not the main group who will be expected to do much talking. Our goal is just to answer any sort of questions as briefly and as honestly as possible. If you don't know what to say then just signal me, and I'll take it from there. Got it?”

“Yes, Buchou!”

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The doors slowly opened, revealing a dark but well illuminated interior, where the peerage walked into to find a giant round table in the middle occupied by the leaders of all three biblical factions and the vampire faction. Accompanying them were those who could be considered as their right-hand individuals — or in Sirzechs’ case, his fellow Satans and his wife.

Azazel brought along both Vali, Assassin, and Kalawarna.

As for Michael, he sat alone, though not really since two nuns accompanied him. Xenovia and Irina were standing nervously behind him, for some reason refusing to take a seat.

Finally, on the vampires’ side, Valerie sat equally as nervous as the two nuns, with Lancer proudly standing behind her and to her right.

“Finally, everyone is here! We can get this meeting started.” Azazel exclaimed, scratching his ears with an annoyed look on his face. “Let's get this over and done with so that I can find the idiot who stole the latest additions to my wine collection.”

“…”

Of course, everyone ignored him, and Rias naturally went to join her brother, noticing that Sona was already present and waiting for them. Both heiresses greeted one another quietly, a quiet message being exchanged through their eyes and waiting for one of the others to start speaking.

Valerie opened her mouth. “Before we start, I would like to thank every faction leader present for yesterday's pleasant evening. The ball went amazingly and we got to meet and understand each side more than we could ever imagine before such an important summit.”

“Oh, don't mention it, Your Majesty. I am willing to revert to how I used to be before I fell for an entire year just to get a taste of your amazing wine collection, hahahaha! Speaking of wine, in case I don't find the thief, can you sell me a few dozen more? I swear I'll make it worth it!” The governor general exclaimed with a hearty laugh. Assassin next to him remained quiet, though one could not miss the sight of her eyes twitching with irritation.

“Be silent and stop making a fool of yourself, Azazel.”

“Tch, spoilsports.”

Afterwards, everyone expressed a few words on how well the party went and also to thank Lancer and Queen Valerie for hosting the event. Even Serafall spoke with courtesy, showing no signs of her usual hyperenergetic self. Something that Archer could see weirded out her younger sister and even Rider to some degree.

Lanceer spoke next. “Now, onto official matters. The vampire faction, formed with the union of the Tepes and Carmilla clans under Queen Valerie, will be acting as the moderators of today's discussion. Our goal is to not place ourselves as another major power seeking validation, but rather to make sure this summit concludes in a manner that allows the human and moonlit worlds alike to experience a period of peace where all four of our factions — and possibly others if they are willing to join us — can prosper in unison.” Lancer’s voice echoed across the room and caught everyone's attention.

Archer found it difficult to imagine that a Servant of such oratory skill did not possess any variant of the Charisma skill. But perhaps that was an unfortunate reflection of his lack of worthwhile allies in life.

“From our brief discussion yesterday, I believe the Fallen Angels have something to bring forth.”

“Right, I won't beat around the bush and will address the elephant in the room. Namely the recent conflicts that took place in Kuoh involving both Raynare and the more eventful one with Kokabiel. I’m not going to pretend that rogue elements of my faction have done a lot to stoke tensions of late, so I will address them right now myself. As you can see, Raynare and her group are of no threat to anyone whatsoever any longer. They have been stripped of any influence and power they had within our faction and are now tasked with repaying the devils by working for them as school staff.”

Yes, Kalawarna had been hired as the school’s secretary… though he was pretty sure Raynare did not even have a job. Was she part of the staff this entire time, or would that be coming shortly after this summit? Best to find out soon. All that said, he did not have much of an opinion on them anymore, having dealt with their group already. Kawalarna now being Assassin’s Master was a separate matter in his mind, and one that also meant the priest who’d been responsible for Yuuto’s suffering in the past would never be able to cause such a horrific scene as the Holy Sword project again.

“As for my brother. Hah… What a mess he created,” sighed Azazel. “For his actions, I would have locked him up in Cocytus for seven centuries, but he is no longer amongst us thanks to the Servant Saber.” Those words were not uttered with any form of gratitude within them, nothing but sarcasm and even some slight resentment. Not that Archer could not understand. After all, they were still brothers, and he could tell that Azazel did not want to lose another one of his family members. “All in all, our side has lost the most and we would also be benefiting the most from this peace agreement.”

“I wouldn't say you were the only one who lost a lot during these past few conflicts.” Michael spoke out. “Do I need to remind you that our precious holy weapons have been destroyed as well? They are not something that can be recreated anymore.”

“Oh don't even try to bring that up. Those two girls behind you were sent to Kuoh on their lonesome with the sole objective of retrieving the weapons that had been stolen by a Cadre. And I remember hearing that they also were tasked to destroy them if they couldn't get them back. Doesn't sound like they were weapons you were all that worried about keeping around.” Azazel retorted, not taking a word from Michael's mouth too seriously.

Then, Sirzechs raised his voice after staying silent for a while. “In this particular case, we can't even blame each other for how things turned out. In the end, the swords were destroyed by a completely different party unassociated with any of us.”

“Speaking of which, didn't that Saber also cause you some trouble? I understand she killed off dozens of your scouts in the Underworld.”

“I won't even ask how you came to know such information, Azazel. But yes, we have lost many in the past few days by the hands of that Servant. As for the specific reason why they did so, your guess is as good as mine.” So he said, though it would be a lie for him to not have suspicions.

Azazel then looked past the Satans. “Don’t suppose you have anything to say about her, Archer? You've confronted this Servant twice now, right? How likely is it that she'll get in our way once more?”

Suddenly he had the gazes of several people on him, all curious about Saber. His knowledge about that particular woman did not go beyond the basic information any Master could read of her parameters.

…At least, that’s what he would have said were it not for that helmet of hers.

“Very likely. She gives me the impression of being someone who does not like to follow the rules and can rebel at any moment. She is driven by her emotions and desire for a worthy challenge, so if someone or something taunts her, then her following reaction would be to match that energy.” He gave a brief description of Saber identity and character, and he privately enjoyed seeing the flashes of surprise at learning the Rebel of the Round Table was a woman.

“That said, as long as what you are doing does not involve holy swords specifically linked to King Arthur such as Excalibur or Caliburn, then Mordred shouldn't be an issue so long as you don’t deliberately provoke her. She must have been in the underworld last time due to orders from her Master.”

Azazel rubbed his chin. “That little lady is Mordred, huh? Damn. It fits her legend, but I truly did not expect her to react that strongly to King Arthur’s swords.”

“Well, as long as she is not after our throats, I’m happy to let her keep her distance.” Everyone silently agreed with that. From there, much of the conversation consisted of back and forth involving minor material and subjects, and the summit lasted for another ten minutes before silence came back once more.

“Before we change topic. I have one last thing that needs to be asked.” Michael mentioned and then proceeded to turn his attention towards the red-headed devil. “What’s going on with Diodora? The heir of the Astaroth clan going behind your back, after somehow managing to steal such precious information about summoning a Servant and then proceeding to lose control of his Servant… You're losing your touch, Sirzechs. Should we be worried for there to be more cases like this arising in the future? Especially since Archer insinuated there being more classes of Servants that have yet to appear.”

The Servant of the Bow hummed in agreement, yet spoke up to give his two cents. “While there are other classes, it all depends on the system put in place. There are specific requirements for each of them and some can't even be summoned at all under normal means. Since we have not seen their appearance so far, best to not entertain the idea… Some of them can be more troublesome to deal with than a simple Berserker.”

The last thing he wanted to deal with was another case of an Avenger Servant tainting the Servant system itself in some way to cause a cascading amount of trouble.

“You heard what he said, Sirzechs. It wouldn't be wise if you started playing around with such dangerous beings."

Though the words themselves seemed quite confrontational, Michael's tone made it sound like anything but. Yet it did not stop others in the room from growing more tense, especially his Master who he could feel started to become more and more nervous as time went on.

“I will admit, what happened with Diodora was a mistake on my part. I should have kept that information in a more secured place.”

“I should be the one saying that, Sirzechs.” Ajuka intervened, sounding solemn unlike his peers. “At the end of the day, any information involving the summoning ritual was entrusted to me by every party. My oversight on the matter cannot be dismissed, and I am willing to take all the blame.”

To that, Azazel scoffed. “What's even the point of saying that? The information is already out there, and you can't change the past. Unless that brain of yours somehow managed to create a time machine to go back and change things. But given how things turned out with Assassin here… I am not angry. But just like you said, you made a mistake, and what better way to seek forgiveness than offering compensation?”

Ajuka’s eyes remained calm, almost as if he predicted Azazel to say that. “You sure are quite greedy, asking that after having gotten a Servant of your own.”

The governor general just waved his hand. “That was more because of luck than an opportunity, much less anything that had to do with your mistake. Assassin here approached me of her own volition, so technically I wouldn't really count that as me being greedy. Come on now, do I need to spell out what I'm seeking?”

The Satan nodded.

“The Evil Pieces.”

“Yup,” said the man with a snap of his fingers. “My rule as the governor general is not to just have an advantage over you all by having a Servant on my side. Sure, they are powerful entities, but since when were we lacking such people? Unlike you devils, our most major concern is the continuation of our race, which is trudging the line of being endangered even outside a warring period. Do you agree with me, brother?”

“…”

Michael's silence served as an answer itself.

“What's the point of being able to summon one Servant or ten of them if soon there won’t be any more fallen angels to make contracts with them in the first place? Sure we can have children with other races, but eventually full-blooded fallen angels will diminish in number until before we know it, less than a handful will remain, and it’s not as if there are that many pure angels around to fall in the first place. I don't even want to imagine the stress you must be going through, Michael.”

“Angels can experience love, we are merely forbidden from lust.”

“Tomayto tomahto, same thing.”

They truly looked like siblings lightly arguing with one another. But something did not feel right about what Azazel mentioned. Insinuating that angels were in an ever bigger danger of going extinct than their fallen brethren? Wouldn't this world's God be able to create more of them at any time? Really, something did not add up here. And he was not the only one who noticed this discrepancy; Sona raised her hand to get everyone's attention.

“I'm sorry to ask such an obvious question, but wouldn't your Father be able to create more angels whenever they were needed, Lord Michael?” she asked with a confused face, one shared amongst every member of her peerage and Rias’ group. But Archer noticed that the Satans and even Azazel showed no changes on their faces, or even a hint of curiosity.

They knew.

“Hah… beside that last part, I will agree that we are in a difficult spot. I believe I should be bringing this point up since it is not something that can be kept hidden forever, and the people around this table are entitled to know such an important fact.” Michael said while rubbing his forehead, then looking at the two nuns behind him along with Asia, he confessed the greatest and most terrible secret of his people.

“During the Great War, many people perished on all sides. I've lost countless brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, it did not just end at that. During the final phase of the war, right as we started to see that light at the end of the tunnel, did the unthinkable happen — Father Himself perished before the war reached its conclusion.”

The room became silent, his words taking a few seconds to register and everyone's mind until they finally reacted simultaneously.

“What!?”

“E-Excuse me?”

“Lord Michael! You can't be…”

As one would expect, the ones with the biggest reaction when none other than the nuns and former nun. Their faces were all filled with immediate disbelief, wanting to reject what their minds instinctively processed as heresy. But given this piece of information came from none other than Michael himself, calling him a liar would be ridiculous.

Archer himself was quite taken aback by this information. Though unlike the others, he was quick to accept it after remembering one important detail.

‘The gods in this world are different from the ones in mine. They are not at the same kind of conceptual existence where calling them living beings is not fully accurate. They have flesh and blood here, capable of going around and living as humans if they wanted to.’

Gods. Angels. Demons. Devils. Dragons.

All of them differed greatly from his world's counterparts.

‘Then again, even my word has a similar great war between gods and an alien, resulting in the former nearly going extinct. So it's not that shocking.’

He looked at his fellow Heroic Spirits to see their reaction. Rider did not suit care whatsoever, and Assassin looked intrigued but not saddened or shocked. But Lancer…

“God… is dead?” He repeated those words, momentarily forgetting the existence of the devil in the room who experienced a minor headache when hearing that name. Even if he had mentioned to realise the difference between this world and theirs, Archer figured that even that sort of mindset wouldn't be enough to fully take in such shocking news and accept it so easily. “How can that be possible?”

Azazel spoke after, this time with a more serious tone. “I am still surprised by this little piece of information given my familiarity with the Dracula of my world. But I understand that you are a man of the Lord; a true Christian whose faith never wavered, right?”

“…”

“I know it is a hard pill to swallow. He was my Father too. The day I heard of this news I rejected it like many others. But the signs of His passing were clear to anyone who is familiar enough with how the system works. The existence of Balance Breakers, the angels closing their doors to the outside world and staying silent for so many centuries, the decline in faith and the corruption seen throughout the church… Had Father been alive, He would have never allowed a tragedy like the Holy Sword project to even see the light of day.”

Too many, it was like pieces of a puzzle snapping into place, with them also realising the truth of the matter and unable to believe how they even missed such an important detail themselves.

“Gra— L-Lancer…” Visibly worried, Valerie turned to her servant and held his hand, more concerned about him than the news she just heard. “Are you ok?”

The man did not answer immediately, instead closing his eyes and clearly trying to maintain his composure. Though everyone did not miss the sight of his hands clenching tightly, Xenovia, Irina and Asia were going through a similar crisis of faith, but their reactions were much more visible. They glanced around towards others, hoping to hear at least one trying to deny those words and say it was not the truth.

“No… no, this cannot be. How can the Lord be dead? M-My prayers, everything you have done…”

“Before His death, Father put in place a complex system that would take on His role and continue to listen to prayers and keep Heaven stable.” Michael added, But then looked down with a disappointed expression on his face. “Unfortunately, It is by no means perfect and needs someone to supervise the entire process. I have been taking that role for the last few centuries. I am not my Father and I have let many errors slip through despite my best.”

“Don't be like that, the fact you even managed to keep that entire thing running all by yourself speaks volume. I doubt even I could have done half of what you have, brother.” In a rare moment, Azazel comforted Michael. Yet his words did not seem to have any effect on the Seraph who just shook his head.

“That doesn't change the moments where others suffered because of this. Asia, the reason you were excommunicated is because your actions have healed a devil, when it should have been impossible. We could not allow people to start suspecting, which is why you were immediately excommunicated. If word of that incident got out, if people so much as started to suspect Father’s absence, then the outcome would be catastrophic for the faith. We had to make a choice, and you were the one who had to suffer through this.”

“…”

The young girl did not know what to say, her shoulders shaking as she tried her best to hold back her tears. Issei patted her back, even him not knowing what to say to calm her down.

Finally, Lancer broke his silence with surprising words. “Yes… your Father may well be dead. And I am willing to accept that truth.”

“Eh?”

He continued with a farm stance and a powerful tone. “But this does not mean the Lord that I have followed for years is dead!” His voice echoed throughout the room, jolting Xenovia, Irina and Asia from their despairing state. “The Lord that I follow, His blessing still remains active to this day. Our prayers are always listened to by Him, and He has aided those who worked for the church whenever they required His strength to combat the forces of evil! Were He truly dead, the prayers, chants used in combat and weapons blessed by Holy Power by the church would have gone dull and inert."

Archer nodded. Having at one point even worked alongside church executors, he had seen the kind of techniques and chance and weapons they have used. As far as he was aware, there was no system in place that could play the role of God in place of the Almighty Himself. This just being another example out of thousands he had to show how different this world was to the one his fellow Servants came from.

“That is… One way to look at things,” Michael said with a smile.

“Even if the God of this world is dead, so what? He has imparted upon us His teachings. We have known our duty and our responsibility without Him needing to remind us. Even if I were someone of this world, my faith would not waver. I would continue to spread His message across the world and continue to do my best with His name upon my lips and in my heart. I did not need a living God to know right from wrong, and even though I have never met Him, I am certain the one of this world also had a similar goal, for He would not have created the system otherwise. Because He placed His trust in us.”

Definitely someone who had a way with words. With only a handful of sentences, the atmosphere had flipped in its entirety. A look of contemplation was prevalent on the faces of the girl who only moments ago had been distraught by the news.

‘Even I feel invigorated by what he has said, despite being a devil,’ Rias mentioned through their connection, something that very nearly made him chuckle.

‘That's a true monarch for you. He led his nation to victory against two warring kingdoms while being sandwiched between them. Practically landlocked and doomed for failure and ruin in the eyes of many. Yet he managed to achieve the impossible, kept his land safe and even terrified away any and all invaders through his cruel methods and inspired the following generation to do the same. One simply cannot achieve such an outcome just by being powerful in combat, they need to have a strong tactical mind and the ability to reach people's heart through his words as well.’

Lancer continued to speak. “That is why I am a firm believer that such a burden should not just be carried by Lord Michael. Our Father’s teachings have always emphasised the importance of helping one's neighbour. Only by aiding with his care can we keep the peace going and protect our people. This is not their burden, but ours. And it is our solemn duty to look after them just as the Lord would have wished of us.”

“Share the burden?” Michael looked intrigued at that proposition, knowing that there was more to it and waited for Lancer to continue.

“As you may know, Romania is a very religious country. What better way to tackle this issue than by reinforcing the faith of those who already believe in the Lord? Rather than continue to stay silent and let those corrupt fools at the Vatican do as they please, we continue to honour his wishes and continue our duties as they were centuries ago?”

“Hahahaha!” Azazel burst out in laughter, One that sounded more amused than anything else rather than him being rude. “The vampires seeking an alliance with the angels! Truly, even after living for so long, I still end up seeing things beyond my imagination! This is absolute gold!”

Lancer smiled. “The world has already noticed the suspicious absence of angels descending upon this world. It is no different to a ticking bomb for eventually, someone will blow the whistle and chaos will follow. So why not instead continue with traditions established here in Romania? To have people witness miracles and reignite their belief once more. All of this will be supervised by Queen Valerie of course, but we can begin working closely with both the angels and the Vatican if they are willing to cooperate.”

“A-Ah… y-yes! What Lancer said…” The poor girl jumped from her seat upon having everyone's eyes fall upon her, shaking with a momentary lapse in composure but quickly managed to recover. Serafall, who had kept her silence, also decided to speak out.

“I don't think that's necessarily a bad idea. Not to mention, for this peace treaty to work, we need to be able to tolerate each other's existence way more than what we are doing now. In fact, isn't Kuoh doing the same thing that Lancer is offering? A church built right not too far from where the heiresses live and where an angel descended? Pretty sure that served to showcase how our side has a more friendly disposition to outsiders.” She then turned her attention towards the two nuns. “That is if you two are willing to continue staying there.”

“We will.” Xenovia answered along with Irina who nodded. “Just like what Lancer mentioned. Our faith in the Lord is not so fickle that it will be broken by such a revelation. We devoted our lives not just to Him but also His teachings, and He will continue to live on in our heart as long as we continue to practise them and spread His teachings to the lost lambs who find their way to our doorstep.”

“Great! I'll make sure to finalise your papers to join our students tomorrow!”

“E-Eh?” Stunned by Serafall’s words, both were confused about what she was talking about now.

“What? Even if you two are allowed to continue working as nuns at the church in order for this peace treaty to work. That does not mean we're allowed to ignore the rules and laws, so you’re being enrolled into Kuoh Academy. Also, the school could serve as a place for all three or four factions to congregate, having it be a symbol for the outside world.”

“Great minds think alike.” Azazel commented before slapping his hand on the table. “So, what are we waiting for!? We all want peace, that's clear, so let's just get this done with and sign the papers already! I'm still not giving up on finding that wine thief and possibly buying a few more bottles if someone were to accept my humble request. Lady Valerie?”

“Uhmm, y-you can ask L-Lancer…”

“My Master has a generous heart and will gladly accept the request of an ally.” the Heroic Spirit answered. “In fact, the greater the ally the better the quality of wine she is willing to give. Especially amongst her most prized collection dating back millennia ago, one conserved through magic and made by using grapes that no longer exist.”

“Y-Yes I would! Wait, I don't have a colle—”

“Amazing! I knew you were more than just a beautiful girl, also quite wise! I have some unused land to sell you if you're willing to check them out, also a few of my associates have been interested in opening their own business in Romania. It’s a shame that the vampire leaders from before were so stingy and arrogant that they ignored our past requests. I even offered to let them share in the profits. Oh, I promise you it's not brothels or anything that you may not like.”

“Queen Valerie sees no issues with this.” Lancer answered with a proud look on his face.

The conversation became more jovial with each group reaching a consensus, with binding contracts being brought up to the table, right as they were about to sign it — Rider stepped ahead with one word that made everyone freeze up on the spot.

“Blood.”

“—!”

She whispered the word quietly, but her voice reached everyone's ears who all looked up at her and then around themselves. Archer himself was already standing beside Rias, prepared to bring out his swords at any moment.

“I smell blood.”

Before anyone could even say something, Archer was already on the move to kick the door open. He trusted her, and if someone were to immediately detect the presence of spilt blood, it would be her even before any vampire.

Bang!

The doors burst open, breaking off their hinges and flying down the hall which Archer now stood in the middle of with Kanshou already in hand. And just like that, a horrifying sight greeted their eyes.

“What!?” Rias and Sona exclaimed out loud, stupefied by the gory scene right at the entrance. All of those angels, devils, fallen angels and even a handful of vampires who’d been standing guard — now all of them laid upon a stone floor slick with their own blood. They’d all been killed in silence, with some having their throats ripped apart and others with bloody holes in the middle of their chests.

‘Looks like they were ripped apart by someone biting off a chunk. Other holes are large enough to pass a hand through them. All of this must have occurred at the same time without anyone even knowing that they were in danger.’ Given there were no vampires earlier on then angels, devils and fallen angels compared to the handful of the ones here that had been killed, It did not take a genius to figure out what was going on.

“I'm sorry to say this, Lancer, but it looks like not everyone is so keen on this peace agreement like you were.” Azazel mentioned, while getting up from his seat and approaching the door with his hands in his pockets. He looked visibly displeased when looking at the face of his fallen brethren. “And so we march ever so closer to extinction.”

“So those cowards have finally decided to bare their fangs.” Lancer said, staring at the sky where several hundreds of magic circles started to surround the castle’s towers, covering the very sky with a red tint. A great many figures appeared on floating platforms with a pungent stench of blood permeating the very air.

Amongst them, most were vampires, but so too were there a number of human mages among their ranks.

“Are the houses of Carmilla and Tepes rebelling against Queen Valerie? Perhaps her treacherous half-brother Marius is also amongst you all, hiding like a rat,” he asked calmly, specifically looking at the individual standing at the forefront. “Is this truly the outcome you are seeking, Lord Vladi?”

Behind Lancer, Gasper stood there in complete shock, watching as the person who flew above was none other than his own father. And he was surrounded by several other vampire nobles who had been present at the ballroom last night, all of them now looking down on Lancer and the other leaders with a hostile gaze.

“You should have known that this outcome was inevitable, Lancer.” Lord Vladi answered. “We vampires were perfectly fine without needing to lower ourselves by consorting with lesser beings who are already destined to disappear in a matter of time. You have undermined everything we have created these past centuries, and tarnished our image to the world by being mere boot-lickers to them. We vampires are beyond them, and we shall not allow ourselves to be reduced to becoming servants to our inferiors!”

With the wave of his hand, more portals opened with hundreds of mages floating out atop magic circles, all of them already in the midst of preparing a spell that quickly enveloped the entirety of Bran Castle.

“Looks like another party decided to meddle in our affairs alongside these rebel vampires.”

Assassin nodded, glancing at Archer. “Careful, there is something odd about that bounded field they set up. And I refuse to believe they would be so foolish as to attack this summit without taking the presence of us Servants into account, even if some of our identities and Noble Phantasms are a mystery to them.”

“It certainly wouldn't be wise to ignore a wise and deadly queen such as yourself.” Archer replied, taking in everything in front of him. “This spell is using the blood of those they killed as a component from the looks of it, along with their own abilities. Can't be sure of what it is by just looking, but it does remind me of something.”

He looked at Rider who was also observing the bounded field. “It’s unlikely to hold the same ability, but if it's anything remotely similar to your Blood Fort… then destroying it should be our priority.”

He did not feel his life force being sucked out and there were no giant eyes hanging in the air. Still, he had a bad feeling about it, and ignoring that sensation was not a good idea.

Right as he was about to dismiss his sword and Trace his bow. Lancer raised his hand, stopping all three Servants from acting along with the gathered faction leaders.

“I am terribly ashamed of what has happened to you and those who have fallen. This summit was supposed to be a safe haven in which to discuss terms of peace; yet here we are, drawn into a new conflict. Such an insult on my Master’s name shall not be permitted to stand.”

With a swing of his arm, a beautiful black and silver spear with golden accents appeared in his hand. Swirling the weapon around, the King of Wallachia walked ahead, stepping across the puddles of blood formed by the fallen guards.

“Let these traitors and brigands who would dare to intrude upon Queen Valerie’s domain and spill blood at a peace summit be made to understand why I am called the Impaler, and know their own folly.”

Lancer raised his spear to the sky.

“Kazikli Bey!”

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 42.5: My First

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomness and GamerCrusher55

Lemon warning!

Next update is either Nanoha and Broly or Taimanin if i can finish it in time.

Also added this scene to Chapter 42 where i added Lemon WIP last time for those who just want to read the chap as a whole.

Chapter 43 will be posted in a second.

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Lemon

(Chapter 42 scene when Archer and Akeno head outside)

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“I am tired of being interrupted,” she said while circling both arms around his neck with very little distance between their faces. “I am fed up with everyone who keeps getting to you, even though I was the first one brave enough to make a move… before I had that opportunity stolen from me by Rider. Then when I wasn’t looking, Rias went and ran ahead of me too. Just for this night, for this moment alone, I also want to be utterly selfish and be comforted by someone special to me.”

“How thoughtful,” he commented. “Though I’m pretty sure Grayfia sent me out here to find you. So while I certainly wouldn't mind keeping you company, I am more concerned at not having that silver-haired maid hunt us down if we are a second too late.”

Was he afraid of her? Not really. But he came to quickly learn that she was an equally stubborn individual who took her duties very seriously. But just as he expected Akeno to get back up and head to the main area, she instead looked back at him with pure confusion. “What do you mean Grayfia is looking for me?”

Archer blinked. “I'm not sure what part of that was confusing. She took Rias to interact with the other guests and asked me to bring you back since you disappeared.” Even as he said that though, he felt like he was missing something, given the kind of reaction she showed him at those words.

“I get that, but… I already spoke with her and many of the guests before I stepped outside. I know full well that I would be inviting trouble if I were to ignore her instructions; she's very strict when it comes to such things. Not to mention, she could have just contacted me herself.” The raven-haired priestess said, retrieving her phone she had on her person.

‘Then why even ask him to go find Akeno?’

“Can you give me that for a moment?” he asked, pointing at the phone which she handed over to him curiously. Quickly finding that maid's number he diallied her up, and she did not waste any time in picking up the call. The sound of several people chatting in the background was audible from the other side.

“Took you a while,” mentioned Grayfia, The tone of her voice making it clear that she knew she was speaking to him rather than Akeno, even though he did not utter a single word.

“What was the point of this elaborate plan of yours?”

“To keep her occupied. Or rather, keeping her company for a bit with someone she trusts. Something has been gnawing at her mind lately, and she hasn't been able to focus on her daily responsibilities.”

“The same could be said for the others.”

They just came out of a rather stressful event with his confrontation against Berserker. So it made sense as to why all of them were a bit on the edge lately, especially now that they were at a party with several Servants present.

“I already have the others handled. But I was a person too short when it came to dealing with Akeno, and you were available. It's as simple as that.” He could practically see the woman shrugging on the other side of the call.

“Couldn't you have just said this from the beginning? Why the need for all this deception? I wouldn't have necessarily denied such a request.”

It really was not like her to use such means unless there happened to be more to the whole thing he was not told. Then again, that strict maid also happened to be a Devil, so Archer did not put lying beyond that woman… Not to mention her husband possessed the title of the Prince of Lies.

“Because I did not want Rias to get distracted. She needs to focus on her duties as a Pillar heiress. I am aware of how close you two have gotten, and openly asking you to look after her Queen could have easily made her lose concentration and even try to join you as soon as possible without consideration for her responsibilities.”

He started to wonder if by helping Akeno with her troubling thoughts, Grayfia meant what the ravenette was trying to do at this very moment.

“If there are no further questions, I shall end the call.” So she said, ending the call from the other side in an instant and leaving him with a complex feeling in his chest. And he was confused as to what was even going on in her mind to do all of this.

“Did she say anything?” asked Akeno.

“Apparently you looked troubled, and Grayfia wanted me to look after you by keeping you company,” he told her bluntly, leaning back against the rocky backrest which had been smoothed to make the sensation rather relaxing.

“That's… both weird and sweet of Grayfia.” Even Akeno admitted this felt odd coming from Grafia, before smiling. “Good for us then, that it worked out. Less to worry about.”

With that said, Akeno leaned forward, her lips touching his as he felt her heartbeat quicken. They opened their mouths and explored each other. The oral exchange went on for quite a while, with nothing but the sound of wind rustling the leaves in the garden behind them and some of the trees nearby to cover up the sounds of their gasps. Meanwhile, Akeno’s hands started to move, pulling the left strap on the side of her dress away, fully exposing her left breast and showing that she was not wearing anything underneath.

Ending the kiss, she shifted her head and proceeded to press her cheek to his; moving her mouth upwards, and whispering into his ear with a sultry tone. “Don’t let the chilly wind give you cold feet. Because this time, I’m not going to stop, no matter who tries to interrupt me. They'd be better off just watching the show unfold than trying to pry me off of you.”

Looking into her hazy eyes filled with lustful intent, Archer found that she was genuinely being serious with those words.

He chuckled. “Quite bold of you, given that we have arguably the best view of the castle garden from here. It's only a matter of time before someone stumbles upon us. And this time, getting interrupted will be because of your own decision and you'll have no one to blame.”

Getting caught? From the looks on her face, he saw how little that bothered the raven-haired woman. “I'll take the risk,” she responded cheekily. “I’ve waited too long and I’m too pent up to pass up an opportunity like this. So, let's just forget about the outside world and have some fun together. We deserve this.”

Archer merely shrugged, a helpless smile playing on his lips. “You aren't going to let this go anytime soon, are you? Like I said before, this entire place is open for others to come and explore. We will definitely get in trouble if we're discovered. Besides, we don't need to rush this and you don't have to forc—”

“Don't try to pull that noble concern on me now of all times,” came her warning with a sharp edge. “I am not Rias. Try and play the older gentleman with me rather than fuck me like a horny old man, and I will make sure to break that habit out of you with a rain of lightning.”

“Just looking out for you in case it's the alcohol talking. It's easy to say you don't care, only to then regret it when word starts to spread. It could get rather embarrassing, especially if we get caught.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that~” Akeno mused, her gaze raking over his clothes. The suit, unlike his armor, was much easier to remove. With just a single movement she cast a simple spell to slice through the front of the fabric and have it break down into particles of light as she exposed his chest. Her bare hands slid across his muscles, with the girl enjoying the sensation and engraving the experience into her memory while the smile on her face grew by the second. “If they wish to stay and watch the show, then let them. Besides, it is not uncommon to see two lovers sneaking away from a party to have some fun in the middle of the night.”

“That’s a rather risky path to take,” said the man, not that he was truly worried. If someone were to draw too close, he would sense them. “Are you planning on continuing from where we left off in the Underworld?”

Akeno hummed in agreement, both of their faces growing closer again before she whispered quietly. “That and more.”

With that, their lips met again. A chaste one this time, if only for a brief moment. An action both of them had grown familiar enough with to step into something more intimate without needing to waste much time.

Finally he relented as he acted as a guide to the needy Fallen Angel hybrid, whose hips were straddled over him, and her dress bunching up around her waist. The warmth from her body melded with his, her chest pressing against his own allowed the man to even feel her heartbeat.

Akeno wanted to have more of this, pressing every part of herself against his and grinding against him slowly as the soft wet sound of their tongues entangling with one another filled her ears — a soft moan escaping her lips.

She eagerly explored every single part of him her tongue could reach. His oral appendage managed to stay in control but Akeno proved herself able to adapt at a frightening speed even beyond that of Rias. Sucking on his lower lip and biting without drawing blood, she did her utmost to give herself some breathing room while mischievously challenging him with her gaze alone.

‘If that's how you want to play, you minx, then so be it.’

One of his arms circled around Akeno’s lithe waist, pulling her closer while his other caressed her face. As their tongues danced in a passionate embrace, his hand moved from Akeno's face to the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in her silky raven hair. Then, he traced the curve of her spine before cupping her perfectly rounded buttocks, kneading it roughly and pulling her even tighter against his growing arousal.

‘What a ridiculously erotic body…’

And it fell perfectly in line with what he had been told about Fallen Angels who fell from grace after being tempted by lustful desires. Though she was not a true Fallen, he doubted that Akeno came up short to anyone. With the right amount of confidence and experience, she had the potential to equal even someone like Rider.

“Ah~!”

Akeno gasped into his mouth as she felt his hardness pressing against her most sensitive area, the fabric of his trousers doing little to conceal his own desire for her. The roughness from his firm grip on her rear only made her shiver in delight even further, with him discovering how every movement from his side always succeeded at making the girl turn into putty.

‘The alcohol either heightened her sensitivity, or she really is like this naturally.’

Breaking the kiss momentarily, Akeno's violet eyes gleamed with mischief as she shifted her position. Her fingers deftly worked at the fastening of his trousers, and quickly released his straining erection. She took a deep breath as she felt the bare member pressing against her core.

"My, my," she purred, her breath warm against his ear. "Someone is eager for attentio—ah~!”

Another squeeze easily made her react.

“And I wonder who might be responsible for that.” Even without seeing it, the smirk present on his face couldn't be more obvious when he said it like that.

Akeno narrowed her eyes and continued, her delicate fingers wrapping around his length. She began to stroke him slowly, her thumb circling the sensitive head as she maintained eye contact, her touch alternating between feather-light touches and firm strokes.

Archer's hands moved to her breasts where her nipple had already hardened. Pulling the right strap of her dress aside like the left had been, he admired the gorgeous woman in his lap as her enormous, perfect globes were exposed to the night air. Pale and flawless, her large breasts were topped with rosy nipples that begged for attention.

Leaning forward, he captured one nipple in his mouth while his hand continued to pleasure the other.

“Hn~!” Akeno arched her back, pressing her breast deeper into his mouth as her hand on his member quickened its pace. The combination of sensations was overwhelming, and she could feel herself growing wetter with each passing moment.

"More," she whispered huskily, releasing his erection temporarily to r discard her dress completely and tossing the garment aside, leaving Archer mesmerized by her full naked splendor. Grabbing his dick again. Akeno relished feeling its warmth against her palm, and she resumed moving her hand back and forth slowly. He responded by capturing her other nipple, giving it the same attention as the first. His free hand roamed down her body, exploring every curve and dip of her flesh until it reached her dripping folds. With a practiced motion, he slipped two fingers inside her, curling them to hit that special spot that made her gasp and see stars.

"Ahn! Th-That's… hm!” Not prepared for his move at first, she faltered and nearly lost herself in the pleasure. Her reaction once more made him realize that she may indeed be far more sensitive than he first suspected. Nevertheless, he did not stop and took advantage of that window to play with her a bit more.

And her reaction was exactly what he’d hoped for. “Yes! Right there!"

Akeno's body trembled as pleasure jolted through her core. Her hips bucked against his hand, her inner walls clenching around his fingers as she chased her release. The garden became filled with the sounds of their heavy breathing and the slick sounds of his fingers working her open. She could feel the familiar coil tightening in her belly, the promise of an orgasm that would shatter her to pieces building with each thrust of his fingers.

Just as she was about to tip over the edge, he withdrew his hand, leaving her gasping and wanting.

“A-Ah! What are you doing?” she exclaimed, gasping with hazy eyes staring back at him. “You had me right at the edge….”

"I figured you’d like it, being a masochist and all,” he grinned.

Akeno glared at him, yet she felt the corners of her mouth rise. “Are you sure you want to poke this thundercloud, Archer?”

“Hmph, we'll see about that. I'm just getting started.” He met her challenging words head on.

Now fully naked except for her thigh-high stockings, she moved, getting off of him and going down on her knees right in front of the bench where he’d sat. The grass beneath rustled when, this time, she positioned his shaft between her breasts.

“Hoh, trying to get back at me by going for round two?” Archer asked with amusement, only to eat up any following words when an electrifying sensation surged from his groin as she got to work.

Akeno began by kissing the head of his shaft and having her pair of soft, plump lips wrapped around it, her glistening tongue swirling before going up and down to fully coat it in her saliva. Assaulting with far more fervor than she ever did that time at the beach, she fervently worked to break down any sort of defense he had with a frightening amount of skill.

Archer groaned as she pressed her soft mounds together, creating a warm, tight channel for him to thrust into. Her eyes never left his as she began moving, her breasts sliding up and down his length. Occasionally, she would dip her head to flick her tongue across the tip of his cock, tasting the pre-cum that had begun to bead there.

The sight of this usually composed and elegant woman taking control so eagerly — her face flushed with desire — was intoxicating.

"So good… I made sure to improve my skills compared to last time, you know. This time, I'll turn you into putty," she murmured, unable to hide her grin upon seeing his reaction and comparing it to her first time doing this with him. Using one of her hands to pump the base of his shaft while the other caressed his balls, he could tell that she was determined to drive him wild.

His hips bucked involuntarily at the sensation of her soft breasts and the electric stimulation from her lips kissing the head of his shaft. The Queen then even went as far as to sprinkle in playful little nips from time to time.

"Akeno," he growled, his fingers tangling in her hair. "You're playing with fire."

"That's the idea," she replied with a sultry smile, releasing her breasts and taking him fully into her mouth. Her head began to bob up and down, her tongue swirling around the shaft as her throat relaxed to take him deeper. The combination of her wet heat, the electrical tingles, and the sight of her stretched lips wrapped around him while she stared up into his eyes was nearly too much to bear.

Archer could feel his control slipping, the pressure building at the base of his spine. He was close, so close to finding release in her talented mouth. But just as he thought he couldn't hold back any longer, she pulled back with a wet pop, a string of saliva connecting her lips to his glistening erection.

“Not yet~!” Sensing his approaching climax, Akeno slowed her movements, prolonging his pleasure. She wanted to savor every moment, to draw out their encounter until they were both completely satisfied. With a mischievous smile, she lowered her head once more and took him into her mouth again.

His breath hitched as her warm, wet mouth enveloped him for a second time. Her tongue swirled around his shaft as she took him deeper, her lips creating a tight seal that sent jolts of electricity through his entire body. One hand played with his balls while the other stroked whatever her mouth wasn’t currently accommodating.

The sounds of her enthusiastic sucking filled the air with wet, slurping noises that only added to the eroticism of the moment. Archer's fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her movements as with every forward motion of her head she took him deeper and deeper until he could feel the back of her throat.

“Puah!” Finally pulling back, the woman continued to stroke his shaft until its tip erupted, spurting hot ribbons of white across her face, and she smiled at him all throughout.

She looked so erotically beautiful. Marked by his seed, her chest heaving as she caught her breath.

She used her fingers to scoop some of it up, bringing the liquid to her lips.

"Mmm," she hummed, tasting him. "Salty. I like it." With a cat-like grace, she cleaned herself off, her violet eyes never leaving him. "Is this all that a great Heroic Spirit can offer? How cute~! I want to gobble it all up again."

She was taunting him, he knew that, but it definitely was effective. Especially when she went back in and started to plan several tiny kisses and licks all over his shaft, teasing it back to a fully erect state.

Breaking the small rains of kisses, Akeno's violet eyes gleamed with mischief as she shifted her position. Seeing his still erect shaft that remained standing even after making sure she sucked him dry brought a cat-like grin to the Queen’s face.

"My, my," the woman purred, her breath warm against his cock. "Someone is filled with endless energy."

She capped off her observation by enveloping his length with her breasts once again. Archer took deep breaths as he admired the sight of her perfect globes bouncing almost hypnotically while she worked her magic, pale and flawless, topped with hardened rosy nipples that begged for attention.

“Ara ara~ Does someone want to continue to play with my breasts?” Akeno teased him, pressing them together with her arms, making her look more like a bewitching succubus toying with his mind than anything else. “Maybe you want a closer look at them, fufufu~! Mine are bigger than anyone in the club, even Rias. I always know when someone is staring at them.”

She stopped pleasuring him with them and got back up, only to use his lap as a seat once more, swaying her enormous breasts left to right, directly in his face. The sweat on them along with her saliva having accumulated from her recent action made them shine in the faint light of distant lanterns and the moon.

“We could keep this going all night,” she said with a smile, relishing the feeling of his shaft pressing against her ass and nether region. Akeno didn’t waste a second before moving her hips back and forth, teasing him by having the head press against her moist entrance but then letting it slip at the last possible moment — much to his frustration. “You like to act rational and collected all the time; I want to see you lose control and just shove it right in there before you proceed to pound me like an animal in heat.”

Her movements grew more frantic, his dick pushing against her folds only for her to stop once again, and keep this cycle going for an excruciating amount of time.

“Treat this as payback for earlier; it's not so wonderful being on the receiving end of this, isn't it, Mr. Heroic Spirit~!” she whispered near his ears, then nipping them and then latching her lips onto his neck, sucking that part of him while her lower body went crazy.

And she was right, he had reached his limit.

“You won't be able to leave a hickey on me, no matter how hard you try. Now it's my turn.”

Seizing her by the hips, Archer stood up from the bench and took a few steps forward before putting Akeno’s feet on the ground and then spinning her around to lean her against the stone parapet. The garden itself was built on one of the higher points of the castle, and overlooked the forest below as it stretched into the horizon like a green carpet. Akeno eagerly grabbed onto the stone railing, leaving her luscious derriere facing him, which she promptly began swaying from side to side as she presented herself to him.

“Come and claim your prize, big boy~” she teased.

"I'll make you eat your words," he promised, his voice low and husky.

He knelt behind her, his face inches from her sex, her arousal evident in the way her clit peeked out from its hood, begging for attention. Without warning, he took two big palmfuls of her ass and delved in, his tongue tracing her outer lips before plunging inside her.

"Ahn! T-That’s… a-ah~!” Having not expected such an action, Akeno found herself caught off guard and almost lost her balance. Though she quickly recovered, biting her lower lips with an erotic expression on her face that spoke of pure pleasure. “Ah! N-Not so quickly, I won't be able to hold on! Ah~! Fuck! R-Right there! If you keep going then I'll—hn~!" She cried out, her hands gripping the stone tightly for support. Her hips pushed back against his face, seeking more of the delicious friction. He lapped at her folds, his tongue exploring every inch of her before focusing on her clit. He sucked it gently, then with increasing pressure, his fingers joining in to stroke her inner walls.

Akeno’s thighs trembled as pleasure built within her, the familiar coil tightening once again, and this time she was determined to reach its climax. "I'm close, Archer! I'm so fucking close!"

He redoubled his efforts, his tongue and fingers working in perfect harmony to bring her to the brink. And then, with a strangled cry, she came, her body convulsing as her folds tightened fiercely; wave after wave of pleasure washing over her.

“Hah… hah… hah…” Her legs felt like jelly, he could see that, but she remained stubborn and kept standing.

Before she could fully recover, he rose to his feet and wiped his face clean, positioning himself behind her knowing full well what she would ask for next. He rubbed the head of his cock against her still-sensitive folds, but then paused.

“There will be no going back from this. So I will ask you—hn! O-Oi!”

“Gnn-Haaaaaah!”

Not even giving him time to finish his question, Akeno slammed her hips backwards in one swift motion, and instantly had her nether regions swallow his cock to the base.The boldness of her action caused him to grunt with both shock and pleasure, and his hands instinctively found themselves at her hips.

“Hrrrgh…You're so big… aaaah,” Akeno looked at him over her shoulder, the lustful haze in her eyes carrying an undertone of steel. “D-Don't ever ask me such questions again when I should have been experiencing this much earlier than Rias! Now fuck me!”

Despite this being her first time, she once more surprised him by being the first to move. The pleasure she gave him was ecstatic. Archer looked down and allowed himself a moment to admire the sight of her derriere rippling as she rocked back against him with growing intensity, and astonished him with the ease with which she took his full length despite being a virgin until now. And all throughout, Akeno did not give a single sign or even any hint that she was pushing herself to go this hard, for in her eyes there was nothing but an endless abyss of lust and pleasure to be found from this experience.

How else could he have responded but by giving her what she sought and matching her energy?

Tightening his hold on her hips, Archer began to deliver powerful thrusts to the beautiful young woman, producing audible claps of flesh on flesh that was only eclipsed by the sound of Akeno’s joyful cries of pleasure. The sensation of his cock driving in and out of her intoxicatingly tight pussy drove both parties into a rutting frenzy.

The sound of their bodies slapping together filled the night air, mingled with the lovers’ moans and gasps. He reached around with one hand to fondle her massive breasts, pinching her nipples and rolling them between his fingers. And with this action, Akeno’s moans took on a whole new pitch that was music to his ears.

The view from this vantage point was breathtaking; the entire region was spread out below them, the lights of the village in the distance shining dimly, the green forest swaying in the wind, the night’s stars shining down on them like a tapestry. But for Archer, the only view that mattered was the sight of Akeno's back, her muscles tensing with each thrust, her hair spilling over her shoulders, and the way her buttocks rippled each time he pushed into her.

"Hgh…! Hyaaaaaaaaaaah~! Archer! I-If you do it so roughly, I’m… hn!" Akeno tried to keep up and not get overwhelmed, even as her body pushed back to meet his every thrust. Yet the friction, the fullness, the sheer intensity, was all driving both lovers to their limit, and her movements were only growing more wild and out of her control. He could tell she was already rapidly approaching her second climax, her butt slamming against him at an increasing pace, with more force and desperation. And with her growing intensity her walls grew tighter, to the point she had a mind-numbing grip on his member.

“M-More! …Harder!”

He complied, his movements starting to parallel hers. He felt his own release also approaching, the pressure at the base of his spine reached an unbearable level. Akeno had already lost herself to him, her instincts alone were what guided her, as her insides did whatever they could to claim the man’s seed. With a final, deep thrust, he buried himself to the hilt inside her, his seed spilling into her in hot, pulsing waves.

Ah! Ah! Archer! I'm gonna… I'm gonna—Aaah!" Akeno's back arched into a sharp bow as her climax slammed into her, inner muscles spasming almost violently.

Akeno’s eyes rolled back, lashes fluttering while she moaned incoherently, lost to the overwhelming rapture of her orgasm. She cried out her release, her body shuddering as her inner walls milked his pulsing cock dry as he spilled his seed into her. Juices from their union squirted from her filled pussy, soaking down her quivering thighs and pooling on the floor. Akeno's whole body convulsed with the force of her orgasm, her pussy milking Archer's cock for all it was worth.

It was a tight, hot, perfect fit, as though her body had been crafted for this exact purpose, this exact union. For a long moment the two stayed locked together, both panting, their bodies slick with sweat and the evidence of their passion. The air felt like a shock against their heated skin, raising goosebumps wherever it touched.

Slowly, Archer pulled out with a wet pop, the glistening mess of their combined fluids trailing down Akeno's inner thigh. She remained bent over, boneless and spent, for a few seconds longer before he helped her straighten up. Her stockings , once pristine, were now rumpled and stained… nothing that couldn't be cleaned . Her legs trembled, almost refusing to hold her weight, but she managed to turn and lean back against the railing, her chest heaving.

"Archer…" Akeno's voice was exhausted, yet also invigorated. “That was… incredible," she gasped, violet eyes half-closed and slowly coming back into focus, her lips parted invitingly.

He gathered her into his arms, her head gladly resting on his chest as they both struggled to catch their breath. The night air felt good on their heated skin. They stood in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the afterglow of their passion.

At least, that was the outcome he thought to experience after such an intense round of sex. For this still remained her first time, and he figured not even someone like her would be able to go for a second round without her body screaming in protest from too much exertion.

She looked up at him and took a step back.

"Akeno?"

“Had I been a bit more bold, or just less hesitant, tt would have been me as your first time in this world, right?”

Not sure how to answer that, the man kept his silence. ‘Where is this going?’

"But Rider came and swept you out from under me. Then Rias gave you her virginity before I could… I don't want to lose to them in making things special for you," she said with a determined face, turning around and bending over the railing again.

Then to Archer’s astonishment, Akeno grabbed onto her buttcheeks and spread them apart to reveal her untouched asshole.

"I don't want to lose out to the other women in your life. Let's go another round, Archer… I am giving you my other virginity.”

His eyes widened with disbelief. “Oi, are you being serious?”

She smirked. “Very. Now please, fill me up, stretch me wide, wreck my tight little hole and cum inside it until you’ve got nothing more to give… Please fuck my ass."

Akeno then released one of her asscheeks as it slapped into place, only to sink several fingers into her dripping pussy to scoop as much fluid as she could gather on her fingers, and then she stuck three wet fingers into her own anus to lube it up. The hole winked and twitched hungrily by the time she extracted her fingers, now very slick and silently begging to be stuffed full of his hard shaft.

Archer's breath caught in his throat, already stroking himself back to full hardness as he gazed upon Akeno's wanton display. Her rosebud twitched and clenched, the shiny, puckered flesh glistening with sweat and lube and the remnants of her recent climax. He could practically feel the searing heat radiating from her eager hole, beckoning him to fill that needy void.

"Are you serious?" he managed to ask, not rushing into things so quickly. Akeno had shown to be quite bold and extreme with such things, but this took it a step beyond anything she had done before. Not to mention this would be another first for her right after another intense one; he feared she was pushing herself too far for too little gain.

Akeno's response was a sultry laugh that vibrated through his very soul. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life." She turned slightly, looking over her shoulder with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Rider may have had your first time, and Rias may have been your first virgin, but I'll have you in ways neither of them ever even imagined. Besides, your body is very honest about how badly you want my ass, so you should answer it~!”

With a low exhale, he stepped forward and gripped Akeno's hips, positioning the swollen, blunt head of his cock against her puckered entrance. She whimpered and pushed back, trying to impale herself on him again, but this time he held her firmly in place.

"Alright then," he murmured, voice getting rougher with barely restrained desire. Slowly, achingly so, he began to ease the tip of his shaft into her tight passage. Akeno's breath hitched, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as she felt herself being penetrated in an entirely different manner from before.

Despite the generous application of lube, Archer's cock still stretched her backdoor painfully to her limits, but for her that was just a different kind of thrill. Akeno's inner muscles fluttered and clenched around the thick intrusion, her body instinctively trying to adjust to the sudden invasion. Yet to her surprise, the initial sting of pain quickly melted into a delicious, all-consuming pleasure.

"Ohh, Archer…" she moaned, violet eyes sliding shut as she savored the feeling of being so deliciously filled in an entirely new way. "It feels so good… Don't stop… please…"

The man gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to just bury himself to the hilt in her tight warmth and start rutting into her like mad. Instead he held himself in check and inched forward slowly, bit by excruciating bit, allowing Akeno's delightfully tight body to gradually accommodate his girth. With each subtle roll of his hips, her anal passage yielded a little more and Akeno moaned ecstatically every time he pushed a tiny bit deeper into her. She made frequent attempts to push back to meet him, but he held her still and took things slow, to her frustrated delight.

Finally, he was sheathed to the root inside of her, his heavy balls resting flush against her still-dripping pussy while his waist was pressed tight to the bountiful flesh of her ass.

“Aaahn~!” The woman let out a strangled cry at her accomplishment of taking his full length in both her holes, nails scratching the stone railing as she was completely impaled on Archer's cock. The sensation of being so thoroughly stuffed, of having her most forbidden and sinful hole so deliciously breached, was almost too much to bear. Waves of searing pleasure radiated outward from her core, setting every nerve-ending ablaze.

Archer paused, giving her a moment to adjust to the full intrusion, trailing his hands up the lush curves of her sides, marveling at the soft, silky yet sweaty feel of her skin. Akeno shivered at his touch, tough yet tender. Her violet eyes fluttered open to gaze at him over her shoulder.

"I-I’m fine. You can move, Archer," she pleaded, voice thick with need. "Fuck me in my ass, please… I need you to ravage my ass until I can't walk straight."

Archer's grip returned to her hips and tightened, knuckles whitening with the effort of restraining himself. With a low groan, he began to move his hips back and forth slowly, bottoming out with each thrust, filling Akeno’s eager, tight tunnel every time he collided against her bubbly ass.

Akeno let out a strangled cry as Archer finally began to really fuck her ass, his thick cock dragging against her tender inner walls with every punishing stroke. The delicious friction set her nerve endings alight, waves of searing pleasure radiating outward from her core.

"Yes, Archer! Just like that!" she moaned, violet eyes screwed shut in ecstasy. "Fuck me harder, please! Make me yours in every way!"

The pleasure started to become unbearable, forcing him to grit his teeth. And since he had to admit that Akeno could now certainly take it, his hips began snapping forward with bruising force as he pounded into Akeno's all too willing body. The obscene sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed through the empty garden yet again, likewise punctuated by Akeno's wanton moans and his own grunts of exertion.

He could feel her anal muscles fluttering and clenching around his shaft, as if her body was trying to pull him in deeper. This woman was an absolute vision, her raven hair. unhooked and lustrous, spilled out wide and free across her back, tickling his skin at every thrust. Akeno’s creamy skin was flushed with arousal, including her massive tits that bounced with each powerful thrust, begging to be squeezed and devoured; much like the flesh of her luscious ass which was already rippling hypnotically each time his hips impacted against it.

Archer leaned forward, blanketing Akeno's back with his broad, muscular frame. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, breathing in her intoxicating floral scent as he set a relentless pace, hips pistoning like a well-oiled machine.

"Akeno…" he whispered, his hand covering her mouth; only to have the girl start sucking on his digits, her tongue coating his fingers with her saliva. “If you keep on screaming like that, someone will hear.”

“Mmph—I-I can't help it! Aaa-aahn! Ah! Mn—Too good! …J-Just let them hear it! I… I don't care so long as you fuck my ass!” she practically shouted, arching her back to press her ample rear more firmly against his groin. "Don't hold back, Archer! I've been waiting for this for such a long time, and I finally have it! I want to feel you throbbing inside me for days after this, so fuck me!"

The air was silent, save for the sounds of their lovemaking. Most if not all of the attending guests were people from the supernatural world, like vampires, who could easily hear a faint sound much better than any human. Not to mention Servants who had even further heightened senses.

He had to keep her quiet and end this quickly, much as he didn’t want to.

Grabbing onto her left thigh, he turned her hips and pulled her leg up, raising it so that it rested on his shoulders, stretching her unbearably wide. Akeno stared back at him with blissful wonder, for their new position granted him better control, enabled eye contact, and allowed his cock to push even deeper into her bowels.

He ensured he had a solid hold on her, then picked up the pace, jackhammering into Akeno's eagerly yielding body with reckless abandon.

“Hoooaah~! Y-You're getting close to your limit too—Mmm!—aren't you?” Akeno mumbled in between her moans, giving him a confident smile that indicated she had no intention of losing. Each earth-shattering thrust stole the breath from her lungs, leaving her a quivering, mewling mess, yet somehow she still had enough self-control to at least maintain her balance.

"Ah! Ah! Archer, yes! Ruin me, turn me into a mess who can't think of anything but you! Have your way with my ass to the point that even when you’re with Rider or Rias, you'll think of me!" she laughed, violet eyes rolling back into her head as he rocked her. "Your cock feels so good, so perfect inside my ass! I…I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum so hard from getting fucked in my ass!"

Archer's strong hand gripped Akeno's thigh, fingers digging into her soft flesh as he drove into her relentlessly. The slick sound of his cock plundering her tight, slick passage echoed through the empty garden, mingling with Akeno's desperate cries of pleasure and the slapping of his hips against her perfectly heart-shaped rear.

"Yes, Archer! Fuck, you're splitting me open!" Akeno wailed, violet eyes screwed shut in ecstasy. "I'm so close, I can feel it… Ahh!"

Sensing her impending climax, Archer leaned down, his lips grazing the shell of her ear.

"Then cum for me, Akeno.”

Without warning, he drew his hand back and brought it down in a sharp, stinging slap against the lush curve of her ass. Akeno let out a strangled scream at the wonderful addition of stinging pain to this rapturous pleasure, her inner muscles clamping down on his thrusting shaft in a vice-like grip.

"Ah! Archer!" she cried, back arching as white-hot pleasure lanced through her. "Yes, spank me! Punish my naughty ass while you fuck it!"

Archer obliged, holding her thigh with one hand while his other rained down a flurry of sharp, stinging slaps to her jiggling cheeks. Each strike sent tremors of sharp, blissful pain rippling through Akeno's quivering body, her pussy clenching in sympathetic spasms while her anus maintained a grip that would have locked him in place were it not for the power he put into his thrusts.

"I'm cumming, Akeno," Archer exclaimed, trying to get it out, only for her to snake her hand around his neck and pull him down into a deep kiss while her ass squeezed him and made it impossible to hold back.

With a ragged muffled scream, her climax crashed over her in a blinding wave of ecstasy. Her whole body convulsed, inner muscles milking Archer's cock as fluids gushed from her spasming pussy. Stars burst behind her tightly shut eyes as she was consumed by the all-consuming rapture.

Archer gritted his teeth, hips pistoning relentlessly as he chased his own release. Akeno's ass felt divine, clenching and fluttering around his throbbing shaft in time with her powerful orgasm. He could feel the familiar coil of pleasure tightening in his gut, ready to snap at any moment.

With a final, deep and very rough thrust, he buried himself to the hilt, and erupted inside her orifice in powerful spurts. Archer covered her mouth once more as Akeno cried out her ecstasy, writhing beneath him as she felt his hot seed flooding her abused passage. The sensation of being so thoroughly claimed, of having her most forbidden hole that so many boys and men alike had fantasized about, now stuffed full of Archer’s essence, sent her careening into another, earth-shattering climax when she had barely come down from the last one.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

After that, both needed a moment to rest. Taking a much needed breather, they laid down together on the bench once more, Akeno’s head resting contentedly on his chest.

“…Someone definitely heard us.”

“Fufufu~! I know, which only makes things that much more exciting, don’t you think?”

Truthfully, he had heard some suspicious noises in the distance, that being the reason he tried to muffle her voice long enough for said noises to disappear. He was unsure if it was just a passing servant going back to the kitchen to resupply, or one of the many guests who had gone out for a walk and some fresh air.

Either way, they had disappeared soon after he heard them, much to his relief.

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(Rest of Chapter 42)

To Love a Sword Chapter 44: Heavy Snow Part 2

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and FabledLife

This part was supposed to happen on the December update for Christmas. But given how long it was, it had to be a 2 part thing.

Anyways, next update is A Fake Familiar Reborn

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-Sainan, Yuuki Household-

In Yui’s eyes, this right here was a true battlefield.

There were far more people at this Christmas party than she ever expected. Several of them were people she knew from school, while the rest she had never met before. Furthermore, they all clearly had a close relationship with Emiya!

Feeling overwhelmed by the overall atmosphere, the girl decided to retreat somewhere a bit less chaotic and thus went outside to the backyard garden. Taking a seat on the porch while supporting her head with both hands, Yui let out a deep sigh and tried to calm down.

“This was a mistake… I should just go back home after… an hour should be long enough.”

If she were to leave right now, then it would send the wrong message and have Emiya misunderstand her. How could the girl even explain to him that she came here under the expectation of it just being a small party where it was going to be his family, the alien princesses, and herself with perhaps two or three other people joining them?

“Planning to go home so soon? That's a bad idea, you'll miss out on so much.”

“Ah!”

Startled by the voice coming from beside her, Yui looked to the side and realized that she had completely missed this person who’d sat down right beside her! Looking over at them, the first thing she saw was dark blonde hair, along with the girl it was attached to, sucking on a lollipop.

“R-Risa?”

“Yep, surprised to see me, Yui?” she replied with a mischievous tone. Unlike her school uniform, the dark-haired girl was used to seeing, Yui’s schoolmate now wore something more casual yet quite provocative. A simple tank top that exposed her midriff and some short jean shorts, which left her legs bare from ankle to mid-thigh. Before she could even shout at how shameless Risa looked, another thought filled Yui’s mind, which she chose to voice first.

“Aren't you cold?”

It was well into the winter season, and the temperature continued to drop every passing day.

“Eh? You didn't notice? Lala added a device of hers to the house that regulates the temperature in the backyard so that it stays warm enough to still be comfortable no matter what you wear. That's why it's not freezing out here.”

Now that she mentioned it, Yui did take notice of how different the temperature outside was compared to when she’d been coming over with Momo.

‘She really is quite amazing to be able to make such things. And I can barely keep those idiot perverts at school under control even on my best days.’

The difference between them was just not fair, even aside from this little tidbit. One just happened to be an alien princess who they recently discovered was part of a royal family that controlled basically the entire galaxy. As for herself… Well, she was as normal a girl as they came.

“Are you suddenly thinking that it's unfair how amazing Lala is and how you can't compete with her?” Risa asked with a soft, knowing smile, those words stunning Yui, who felt goosebumps spread across her skin as she immediately backed away from the girl. “Yep, your reaction just confirmed it.”

“Y-You tricked me!”

Risa shrugged. “Hey now, you're the one who is easy to read. Your expression alone says everything. And don't worry, I won’t blab to anyone. I recognize that look all too well; I see it every time I look in the mirror,” she paused and cringed at herself a bit. “Shit, that sounded more corny and then I wanted it to. Let me take that back and come up with something less cheesy.”

She said it so casually, yet it completely shook the young woman next to her who just stared at her for several seconds, wondering if she heard her correctly or not.

“Risa… you…”

Seeing her stunned face, the blonde chuckled awkwardly, scratching her cheeks and looking up at the sky. “Yeah, I won't try to hide it from you.”

Yui wanted to believe this came to her as a shock, a revelation she was not expecting to hear. But the more Yui thought about it, the more sense it made. Risa was known to spend quite a bit of time around Emiya at school, and would frequently receive his home-cooked bentos for lunch. If one were to look for that guy, then there was a fifty percent chance that a certain rambunctious girl would be beside him, munching on his food. But given how the former kept being extremely friendly and touching everyone's breasts if they were big enough, Yui herself had been a victim of her gropes several times in the past.

‘I'm basically admitting that I have feelings for him to a person who is also in love with him. This couldn't get any more awkward.’ Forget about waiting an hour; at this moment, she just wanted to run on the other side of town this very minute and lock herself up in her room for several months before ever showing her face at school again!

But while Yui’s thoughts were all over the place, Risa spoke.

“I don't know why you feel the need to overthink things so much. We both like him, and that's all there is to it. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Or is the president of the disciplinary committee supposed to be someone who is not allowed to have feelings for another person? Pretty strict, I gotta say.”

“No, no, no! I just… I just feel overwhelmed by this entire thing.” Finally, she was able to speak to someone about what was in her heart, yet Yui felt like her face couldn't get any redder.

Meanwhile, Risa remained completely unaffected. “That’s okay. But since we both like him and we’re here, I feel like it’s worth talking about.”

Yui took a deep breath. “S-So, how long have you… l-liked him? Knowing how close you two have been, I suppose it's… been a long time?”

A pondering look came upon the blonde. “Not really, surprisingly enough. Honestly though, I only truly fell for him very recently, like at the beginning of this month. Before that, sure, I was plenty friendly with him and thought he was hot, and I was teasing the guy trying to break that overly strict and unfazed expression he makes every day. And he provides me with damn good food for free whenever I ask; hard to say no to that. There have been times when I was genuinely flustered, but that's because he has a silver tongue. That guy… I tell ya, Yui, if he ever tried, then I guarantee you he’d be a serial heartbreaker.”

The surprises just kept on flooding in, and Yui was at a complete loss. Fortunately, Risa continued to talk. “I got sick, not that long ago.”

“Oh, the day you were absent?”

“Yep, I shouldn't be surprised that you would recall such details, but never mind. That day, I was in a rough spot, completely bedridden and everything hurt. I felt like shit, and of course, my parents were way too busy being at work to spend any effort looking after their daughter — seriously, not even something left in the fridge or a cup of water at my bedside! But then, a certain someone just came through the front door uninvited and just had to change his personality from a grouchy mom to a goody-two-shoes mom who treated me like practically a child.” Risa rested her chin on a propped-up hand and got a faraway look in her eyes. “And I won't lie, at that moment, I started to understand that I wanted to be treated like that more often. Specifically by him. And that's when I became certain about how I felt.”

“Wow…”

It would be a lie to say Yui wasn’t moved by the story. It sounded beautiful and unexpectedly sweet, coming from a girl like Risa — almost innocently romantic. As for herself, she had no such defining memory of any special encounter with the same boy. There was no single moment where everything clicked for her. When she tried to trace where those feelings began, she found only a series of small moments, piling up one after another, until they became too obvious to ignore. If it weren't for Momo, then she wouldn't have even entertained the idea of coming here in the first place, much less with Christmas gifts only for him.

‘I should be happy for her… But all of this is just making me feel more miserable.’ Her eyes stung, for reasons she could not or refused to comprehend. A sensation of loss started to settle in her heart.

At the end of the day, she started to wonder if this was just a nonsensical first-time crush she had that would just go unfulfilled, given it held no substance at all. She never tried to work on their relationship as anything more than a school disciplinarian and occasional helper. They rarely spoke to one another compared to the other girls he was close with and to make things worse for her, she needed the help of others to even be part of this evening.

Yet right at that moment, an arm came to rest upon her shoulders, gently pulling her head to rest against Risa’s shoulders.

The other girl patted her head while showing her a beautiful smile. “Remember how we were talking about Lala earlier? Well, I too sometimes feel that I'm just wasting my time and trying to compete against that is pointless. But you know what? I don't really care anymore. He is technically engaged against his will from what I learned recently, and he said it himself, that he is not looking for a relationship at this point. That sounds to me like I still have time.”

“Risa…”

“What's the point of being gloomy over this for so long? If things don't work out, then so be it. It's not like we will stop being friends, and his food is too good to let him get away. Even after a decade or two, I'll be crashing into his house most likely, demanding free food, and crashing on his couch to watch TV after I'm done with my job. And if by some miracle he and I do end up together, then that's a bonus I'm more than happy to accept.”

It was at this moment that Yui finally saw Risa in front of her in a completely different light. Or rather, it was like she was facing someone else entirely. The young girl always gave an impression of being a laidback and easygoing individual who rarely took anything seriously. Someone who never put much thought into her future and education. But hearing her now, it finally dawned on her that in the end… Risa had everything already figured out.

‘I also want to be like that… I want to have that same confidence too. The same kind of confidence she has, along with Momo and the others.’ If earlier the world had seemed dark and cold, right now a fire ignited within to offset that. Small but persistent.

“R-Right! I can't give up! Whether it be Lala, Saki, Momo, or even Mikado-sensei! Oh and you too, Risa. I won't go easy even if it's you.” Yui then awkwardly began scratching her cheek. “Sorry…”

That only earned her a mischievous grin from the blonde who just waved her hand dismissively. “It's all fine, it would be no fun if there were no competition, don't you think? But then again, I also found a few books in one of the rooms here that were all about the practicality and viability of a harem, so imagine it could easily be the case that rather than competing with me, we and the others could all end up in bed with him together.”

“Risa!” That completely threw her off and shattered the beautiful moment. Her mind conjured up an image of what Risa just said, and she felt embarrassment flood into her at the mere thought of being involved in such a shameless future!

“Hahaha! Just kidding! Just kidding… Oh, by the way, did you get a gift for him? I'm kind of curious as to what it is. Do you mind telling me, or is it a secret?”

“Y-You can't just say such things and change subjects so suddenly… But fine, I-I did get something for him with Momo's help, b-but I'm not sure if it's appropriate for me to give it to him with so many people around.”

“Eh? Now I'm curious.”

“It's just this thing I found with—eh?” Right as she tried to reach over to get the bag, the girl realized that it was no longer there. “W-Where is it? Did it fall? Eh-eeeeh? N-No, I definitely brought it with me!”

Panic started to settle in, for the possibility of someone else discovering its contents brought a level of shame that would be enough to knock her out for several days.

Unbeknownst to either of the young women, a certain green-haired Plantas child was waddling back inside the house at that very moment, dragging along a small bag that had several holiday-themed floral patterns on it that she’d taken a liking to.

{Break}

(Around the same time)

In the end, his adoptive parents couldn't make it.

With a disappointed sigh, Emiya watched absent-mindedly as the water in front of him continued to boil and cook the pasta inside, along with making a variety of dishes for the party while his thoughts simmered. He neither felt happy nor saddened. ‘I should have known that this would happen. As much as they care about their family, those two both put far more of their effort and time into their work.’

With the clock ticking by and most of the guests already present, the chances of them stopping by kept getting lower by the minute. Worst of all, calling either one of them had already failed, for their phones were busy for some reason.

‘Should I just kidnap them after all?’

Saibai was nearby, most likely still in his office, drawing away to respect a deadline. As for Ringo… that would be a bit trickier to even catch her, given how often she flew around to different countries.

Such thoughts continued to dwell in his mind until a cold sensation pressed against the back of his neck jolted him back to the present. He quickly turned around to find a certain brunette nurse standing there, holding a cold can of beer.

“If you keep thinking so much like that, you’ll lose what remains of your red hair and become an old man. Not that I’d mind the change, but as a nurse, it is my responsibility to look after your health.”

“It's nothing, just trying to plan out how things will go tonight.”

In response, Ryouko just rolled her eyes. “This is not some sort of mission or battle; the only thing that needs to be planned out is the food we would make for the others and that was already done. Rather than planning, you should be loosening yourself up a bit more and have fun. The others are enjoying themselves too… but they’d likely enjoy themselves more if you were involved in the party. Many of them are only here because they’re friends with you, after all.”

She had a point, he admitted. Rito could be seen in the living room playing games with Nana. Mikan was talking with Haruna, Oshizu, and a few others. Even Yami had started to have a conversation with Tearju, with the latter occasionally glancing towards the kitchen as if signaling him that she was not doing anything bad. He figured the rest were perhaps outside or on the second floor. Rather than focusing on being in the kitchen all night, It would be best to just move on and engage with people. He doubted the atmosphere would be any better if his siblings’ parents were forcefully brought along.

“Just grab a drink, didn't Tearju bring some soju?” She mentioned, to which he shook his head.

“I am not that good with alcohol and it's not my taste.” Not to mention he was not allowed to drink given his physical age — but both of them long since stopped applying such rules on him. He just genuinely did not see the point of drinking. “Alright, I just need to make a quick stop at the nearby convenience store to get more snacks first. Can you keep an eye on the food for me?”

“I don’t mind, but are we really that close to running out already?”

He shrugged. “Strangely enough, it looks like it. I thought I told Rito to get far more just in case, but it’s not worth making a big deal over.”

“Heh, better hurry then. Wouldn’t want you to miss your own Christmas party.”

Ryouko waved him off with a smile, but as he left, he didn’t notice that more than a few sets of eyes were on his back as he closed the door.

.

.

.

The streets were empty, and upon walking a couple of steps away from his house, Emiya felt the temperature plummet even further, with the warmth from Lala's device vanishing. He had on only a simple jacket for warmth as he continued to walk along in silence.

There was no one else around, and the quiet ran for a long period of time; the only sounds were running water and the faint buzz of nearby lampposts. Some might have called the atmosphere creepy, but he found a serene comfort in it. It gave him a kind of peace he hadn't known in months… Was it years at this point? The cold wind felt pleasant, the thin layer of snow crunching beneath his boots was satisfying, and for the first time in a long while, Emiya walked on with a completely blank mind.

Unfortunately, at times like these he tended to become his very own worst enemy.

‘Should I ask Lala for help?’

In the wake of the incident that occurred during the VR gaming session, the revelation at the end was not something that occupied his mind all that much. Emiya had shelved it in the deepest corner of his memories and just treated it as a strange one-off incident. It made no sense for her device to be able to read his old Servant parameters since he was not even one. He figured it had to be some lingering part of his memories that somehow were read when the device scanned him and interpreted the information as in-game data.

The girl did say that the machine was capable of reading one’s entire body down to the very last atom in order to create a perfect replica, and even scan the player’s mind on the surface, but nothing too intrusive. Just enough so that they could be able to control their characters without needing to move their hands in the real world.

But even long after such events, during the Amazon tribe hunt, he’d begun to have several doubts about how perfectly everything just lined up. He had to at least be fully certain of what was going on, whether it be bad news or good news, just to give himself peace of mind.

“Hm?” In the middle of his walk, the young man came to a sudden halt as his ears detected a sound from nearby. It did not take an expert to realize what was going on.

“Oi, how long are you planning on following me like that?”

“Kya!”

A startled yelp came from behind the lamp post, followed by the sound of trash bins being knocked aside from someone falling to the ground with an audible thump. A sigh escaped his lips and he retracted his steps by a couple of paces to see who this mysterious stalker was, and he raised an eyebrow upon discovering the culprit’s identity.

“Shizu?”

He called out the name of the spirit, the latter living inside an artificial body that Ryouko grew for her to possess at will in order to live a normal life.

“Weren't you with Mikan? Why are you following me? And trying to be secretive about it? I'd rather not call the police on you,” he said jokingly, though she may have taken that seriously, her face going pale and with tears threatening to stream down her face.

“Uuuuuw! Please don't do that! I don't want to cause any trouble for Mikado-sensei! I was just… I was ju-just… uhm… I-I just saw you leaving and hoped that I could help you?” She managed to finish her words after stuttering nonstop, an answer that took him by surprise since he was not expecting her to take the initiative to go out of her way and actually do this. Not that long ago, the ghost girl was literally terrified of him and even after apologizing for what happened, he figured her fear would not disappear so easily.

“Did Ryouko send you after me?” he asked out of curiosity, only to get a quick head shake from her. “…Is it because you actually wanted to stay away from that dog that passed through our garden?”

“…”

“That's the reason, isn't it?” concluded the man dryly. At least this explanation made more sense, strangely enough. “I don't know if I should be amused or aggrieved that a hound makes you feel more fear than my own magecraft.”

“So… is that a no?”

Looking past her at the empty road, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Fine. I wasn't going to buy much in the first place, but I don't mind having you along.”

“Thank you!” She instantly recovered and got back to her feet, following him while humming a tune.

“How's it been going for you at school lately?” Emiya asked, wanting to have some conversation going rather than the entire trip to be in awkward silence. “As an old spirit who hasn't lived a normal life for what sounds like centuries, are you experiencing any troubles I can help you with?”

“Please don't call me old!”

“But you are old. Easily the oldest in the group,” he commented, seeing her make several faces wanting to dispute his fact, until she realized that he was right and admitted defeat.

“It's been going quite well. I made a few friends, namely Run and Mea, and I have been hanging out with them quite frequently.”

“Mea?”

Not seeing the change in his expression, the girl continued. “Yes! Do you know her? I think she spoke about you before, though I can't remember what she said.”

“You could say that.”

“She has been helping me a lot, even helping Run from time to time despite being a new student herself. I tried to invite her to join the party today, but she wouldn't pick up her phone.”

“That's because poor Mea has been incapacitated and had her mind scrambled by Emi over here.”

“—!”

His body acted on instinct, immediately pulling Shizu close to him with a handful of weapons forming above him and firing towards the voice instantly. Shizu, startled by the sudden change, practically glued herself to him and used his body as a shield. Thankfully no one was present to see the scene, though now he wondered if this was done intentionally.

From the other side of the road, where his weapons had pierced the guardrail and several trees, the dust settled and a skewered figure could be seen walking through his weapons nonchalantly.

Both her flesh and clothes she wore were mending from the cuts left behind.

“Oh my, who is the actual living weapon here? Can't even get a greeting in without being bombarded by swords every time.”

From the dust, an overly despondent Nemesis emerged. She wore a black yukata and held a traditional wagasa above her head that shielded her from the snow. Except now it had been cut by his projectiles and rendered unusable, which further annoyed her.

‘It really is ineffective on her…’ Their prior battle was not forgotten by the incarnate Heroic Spirit. ‘Her clothes reknitted themselves along with her body. It can't be some form of high-speed regeneration then. Her body’s composition shows no signs of any blood, even before I cut her; nothing but those same black wisps of matter came out. Even when attacking she uses the same thing, similar to Yami and Mea, using her own body as a weapon. Using anti-regeneration Noble Phantasms showed no effect. Even after that little stunt she pulled by changing her appearance, she recovered.’

His mind circulated at a high speed, hundreds and thousands of possibilities and scenarios being played out in a fraction of a moment.

‘Hold on… why did she choose that moment to change her appearance, then?’ When thinking about their prior battle, the small moment stood out amongst the rest. ‘But that doesn't explain if she was indeed in danger from that weapon, and she still managed to heal herself.’

“I can see you're thinking about different ways to kill me.” Nemesis saw right through him, and rather than being more cautious, she smiled. “Big sister is so proud of you, you have so much potential.”

“Big… what?” Shizu reacted upon hearing that part. He did not even need to look back to know she was most likely gazing at him with several questions brewing in her mind.

“Ignore her, she is just spouting nonsense. I am in no way related to her, nor is she related to me.”

“What a mean thing to say to your big sis. Well, I do admit it is hard to get a full story out of Mea’s mouth, given she herself is confused about what exists inside your mind. Seriously, just what did you do to her? Even in her sleep she tends to get restless and that's… very unusual for someone like her.”

“Treat it as karma for invading someone's privacy. She deserved it.” He felt Shizu flinch behind him and quickly added more to his sentence. “Intentionally. If it was not intentional, then I accept it as my fault.”

Thankfully, that managed to calm down the ghost and make her feel less guilty.

“Just tell me why you're here,” he demanded, bringing his focus back to Nemesis. Everything about this individual rubbed him the wrong way; he could not be fully certain of what was going through her mind or what her plan even was. Without a surefire way to deal with her permanently, he had to keep his distance and carefully consider his every move.

“Oh, don't worry, I didn't come here to attack you or anything like that. Just decided to stop by to wish you a Merry Christmas. That is what’s being celebrated, yes? I had to update myself on the kind of holidays celebrated by the locals of this planet.”

“What do you want?” His patience was running thin; anything and everything that came out of her mouth was taken with a grain of salt or just outright ignored — especially after that stunt she pulled.

“Nothing,” said the woman casually. “I just stopped by to see my wayward brother. I even decided to bring you an actual present.”

“No thank you. But if you really want to give me a present, then I'd really appreciate having some peace and quiet from you.”

“How cold~!” Nemesis chuckled, not offended or taking his words badly, instead even daring to approach both of them while several weapons still hovered around him. Each one of them followed her movements, but she held no fear, and he understood that at the moment, she did not need to fear him.

‘I can't guarantee that she won't aim to attack Shizu if I go on the offensive. Even if the girl is a ghost and already dead, ghosts can still be eradicated through several means. I can't be certain Nemesis does not have such means at her disposal.’

First of all, he suspected that Nemesis knew he was worrying about this, given the kind of smile she showed when glancing at the girl behind him.

“Oooh, you must be the living ghost? I was always curious about your side of the supernatural. It makes me curious if one day I'll also become a ghost myself, or if I'll have to deal with the ghosts of those I've killed before.” Nemesis smiled, her words only making the poor girl feel even more threatened. “I heard from a little bird that you were another one who managed to get a sneak peek of something inside this guy and got really scared because of it. Did you also see his past life's memories this guy keeps hidden involving a wasteland filled with swor—”

Nemesis’ words came to a halt when the edge of Kanshou appeared in front of her face. Her own features were barely reflected upon the black surface filled with hexagonal red patterns, with its owner looking down at her with a cold glare.

“This is your last warning. Leave.”

“Tch, I was just asking a question. But never mind, I'll just give you my gift and be on my way.” She actually dared to turn her back towards him, letting herself be completely open without a care and went back to the place he fired his swords earlier on. “Someone will be attacking you very soon. This person just happens to be someone who has quite a grudge against Golden Darkness, and she is not the kind to just forget about matters of the past.”

“Against Yami?” That caught his attention. Had it just been someone interested in Lala, then he could have chalked it up to being another fiancé candidate too arrogant for his own good and coming over to cause trouble. But someone who was targeting Yami was a bit tricky, for it could be another assassin or mercenary who she’d poached a job from. ‘Can't be a target whom she failed to kill. According to Ryouko, she never failed a single mission. It could also be someone related to an old target who is back for revenge.’

Such things were not foreign concepts for him, for at one point he had also been dealing with a similar scenario back when he still lived his first life.

“Did you do something?” he asked again, having no reason to believe that this person did not have a hand in this matter.

“Yes I did. Oh, and before you start shooting another barrage of your swords against me, I'll let you know that she would have come here even sooner had it not been for me. What I did was just delay her a tiny bit with a few other missions, that's it. Now, not only did I buy you some time, but I even came over to tell you about her intentions. Isn't my gift quite amazing?”

Emiya kept his cool. Whether or not her words held any truth did not matter. “I'll deal with this person myself.”

“I know you will, dear brother. I would be quite disappointed if she proved to be any challenge to you. Ta~ ta~!” With a wave of her hand, she disappeared in the darkness, leaving both of them alone once more. Though this time, Shizu’s fear turned into a questioning look upon recalling what Nemesis mentioned earlier.

.

.

.

After buying a couple of packs of drinks and other snacks just in case, the duo headed back to the Yuuki household in silence.

This time, an awkward atmosphere lingered in the air with Shizu occasionally glancing at him, opening her mouth, clearly wanting to say something, but stopping herself at the last moment and rethinking her choices. This went on several times until he got sick of it.

“If you have something to ask, then just say it. I'll answer to the best of my abilities and hopefully it does not cause more unnecessary misunderstandings. I'm getting quite sick of those lately” he said exasperatedly. This all started with him wanting to live a peaceful life and not having his past get too involved, especially when it made no sense for it to be even brought back in such a peaceful time. But fate sure had a humorous way of proving him wrong.

“T-That person… she…”

“She's called Nemesis. From my understanding, she’s another biological weapon created by Solgam, similar to Yami. She came to Earth on some ridiculous mission to remind Yami of who she wants her to be and have her return to being an assassin once more.” He gave her the most important points without missing a beat, leaving out some unnecessary details like powers and so on, for it had no place in this conversation yet.

“W-What!? She wants her to start killing people again? Isn't that bad? We should stop her!”

“Hah, trust me, I share the same opinion as you,” he said with a tired huff. “Unfortunately I don't know what her nature is, but even my weapons have a difficult time wounding her. Sometimes it feels like her body is made out of some form of fog-like substance where you could just phase through everything I throw at her. I'm still trying to work on a permanent solution. For now, hopefully she won't be bothering the others too much.”

“But why did she call you brother then? Are you also…”

“No, that’s just a misunderstanding on her part.” He ended the train of thought before it took root within her mind. “I tried to tell her, but she is too adamant on that version of the story for some reason. My magecraft shares some similarities with their abilities. Superficial ones at that, I might add.”

“Oh…” the girl nodded absentmindedly. Just looking at her face told him everything he needed to know; they were just minor inquiries. Something else was plaguing her mind and she was buying time with these other questions in order to figure out if she should ask the main one or not.

Thankfully, he did not need to wait long before she asked. “A wasteland filled with swords as your past memories?”

At that moment, Emiya knew he was at a crossroads with two options he could choose for his answer.

The first one being to outright lie and say it was all just another misunderstanding with Nemesis and Mea confusing his memories with something else or just making up facts just to cause rifts between them.

The second option was just to tell the truth.

Given that Shizu already knew Mea and had even befriended the redhead, the first option would just cause more confusion and conflicts to arise between them. And when eventually the memories Mea had seen in his head would get sorted out, there was a possibility for Mea to share that knowledge out of spite and cause even more confusion. Overall, this option promised a momentary period of peace but guaranteed a messier future.

The choice was an easy one to make.

“Remember when I gave you a description of my magecraft? If you're worried that I may have lied to you, then don't, that was the truth.” He first assured her of what was already established . Which worked since she let out a sign of relief. “As for those memories of the past she's talking about? Well, that's a bit trickier to explain. Tell me, do you believe in the concept of reincarnation?”

He asked the question casually, only to get a dry stare from the blue-haired girl. “I am a literal ghost…”

Ah, he should have figured. That realization made him chuckle. “Let's just say that the reason I'm so proficient at using this magic and have so much experience with both the sword and bow is somewhat related to that.”

He could see the gears in her head turning until it finally clicked into pace and she stared back at him with widened eyes. “You actually have memories from your past life!?”

Well, not the way he would put it, but close enough.

“I suppose so. I was born with them and it helped me skip a lot of steps in order to master my craft. That is why I'm capable of fighting against powerful opponents without really having fought enemies in the past. Of this life, at least,” he said with a shrug, not knowing the kind of reaction she would have, and he could see her become visibly more excited than anything else as he spoke.

“That's amazing!”

“Amazing?”

“Yes, it explains so much! I even heard Mikado-sensei asking herself whenever she thought I wasn't paying attention to how you could be so capable fighting when you never did anything like that in your past. It all makes sense now!” Shizu exclaimed loudly, as if she had discovered a truth that had been eluding her for years. She was visibly shaking with various emotions, which he found amusing.

“Are you not weirded out?”

“Why would I be?” she said genuinely with a tilt of her head. “Wait, does that mean you were once a ghost too?”

“Uh… I suppose so?” At the end of the day, Heroic Spirits were ghosts, and Servants were that but given physical form through an abundance of magical energy and an anchor to the physical world.

The girl huffed, smiling from ear to ear at his answer. “Hehehe, so I'm not the only one after all. Wait a second… Does that mean you're also my senpai in more ways than one, Emiya-senpai?”

He waved his hand quickly. “Just call me as you usually would. And I'm not sure if meeting older ghosts or reincarnation means that you need to treat them as your senpai. Right now I'm just a regular guy who can use magecraft. I'm not a ghost anymore, hopefully.”

“Oji-san? Grandpa Emiya? Old man Emiya?”

For some reason, each of those words were like arrows being shot into his chest. He was not someone who usually cared about such things, but this was definitely the first time he had anyone ever call him an old man. “J-Just Emiya is enough, please. And… can you perhaps keep this conversation between us? Things are already confusing with what I have already revealed to the others. This will not help at all.”

In response, Shizu gave him a big thumbs up.

“Don't worry! As a fellow ghost, I will keep your secret for the next few centuries!”

“I am alive now, you know…” The way she worded it sounded like the woman was already labeling him as a dead man.

“C-Can you also change into a ghost form like mine? That would be so awesome! We could both go and explore places I could never take others! It would be so fun!”

It started to dawn on him that perhaps Shizu did not truly understand the concept of reincarnation and be alive once again with memories of the past. Granted, he also had doubts of what he truly was at the moment, but he was pretty certain that he could not turn into a ghostly form.

Seeing her excitement though, another realization reached his mind.

‘She’s lonely.’

To become so joyful and excited just because she found what she thought was another ghost, it told him a lot. Unfortunately, he could not perform the same kind of feats as she could.

“I can't say this for everyone. But in my experience, you’re quite the odd ones out for a ghost. I don't remember ever being capable of using telekinesis or just flying. In fact, you're quite a powerful ghost.”

“But you use that ability when spinning your floating swords around you,” she pointed out from the confrontation earlier. “Oh! Oh! If you have memories of your past, how far does it go? Is it only memories of your powers, or who you used to be?”

“Doubt you’d find it interesting, it wasn't that amazing.”

“Come on! You can tell me a bit… Please?”

“We should be heading back. The others may start to worry if we take too long.” He brushed that question away without providing a yes or a no. Explaining his past to Mea was one thing, but Shizu did not need to know all that. Not to mention, he did not remember much to begin with…

“A-Ah, wait for me! Oji-san!”

“…”

{Break}

(A few minutes later)

After dodging several of Shizu’s questions that started from curiosity about his own past to what kind of scary things he did as a ghost and even the kind of place he haunted, both of them finally returned to the house.

“Remember our promise?” he asked, giving her a side glance. Unlike before, even after he asked for forgiveness, there was still some lingering fear within the girl whenever he was close by. But now, after learning about their apparent similar natures, every bit of that fear had dispersed in the air to the point that she was even willing to pull on his arm just so he’d stop ignoring her questions.

Shizu made a zipping gesture over her lips.

Seeing her face, an idea crossed his mind. “As a former ghost, let me tell you a small secret. If a ghost were to break their promise to another spirit, then King Yama would punish them by having the poor soul be trapped in a room filled with their worst fears for the next one thousand years. You wouldn't want to be locked in a room surrounded by dogs, would you?” he asked with a small grin on his face, barely able to contain his satisfaction upon seeing the girl turn pure white from fear, and her soul literally almost left her artificial body.

But then, she quickly recovered and gave him a stern glare. “Of course, I wouldn't reveal such a personal detail. It would only hurt everyone and I don't want to make your family sad.”

“Sad?” That part confused him, and seeing his reaction, Shizu elaborated.

“I mean, even if you are alive now, if I were your sister or brother and I ended up learning that at one point you were alive before and then died, then regardless of what happened afterwards, I would be horrified. It's even worse when you consider that you probably remember your own death… Do you?”

“…”

“I thought so,” Shizu said with an understanding smile. “I agree with you, it would be best if we both kept the secret.”

Perhaps seeing how accepting people were in this world about every big revelation, he had forgotten that this did not apply to everything and recalled Mikan’s despair-filled eyes when he first confronted Yami… He did not want to see that expression again on either of his siblings, and it might happen if they were to learn of his past.

“Some secrets are worth keeping, even from your family.”

Family…

Being so preoccupied with these thoughts, Emiya did not notice the commotion inside growing stronger, with a familiar voice belonging to a certain president of the discipline committee apparently panicking over finding something she’d lost. But then others reassured her by ‘sharing’ their gifts with her.

The moment he opened the door, the former Servant of the Bow came upon a rather chaotic scene.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, but this time almost everyone was wearing very different clothing than what he remembered them being dressed in. Some of which included erotic reindeer cosplay, others having sexy elf costumes — especially the twins — and as for Ryouko and Tearju… those two wore rather skimpy-looking Santa outfits consisting of a red tank top and a red short skirt that barely covered their buttocks, with the blonde too embarrassed to even move from her place standing in the corner. She was fully focused on just covering her chest and lower region with both arms while complaining to her friend that it was far too provocative.

Rito, for some reason, was lying unconscious on the ground with Haruna hiding in the corner, covering her face in embarrassment.

“I was gone for maybe fifteen minutes, what the hell is going on here?” he exclaimed with a rapidly growing headache, his voice immediately causing a long silence to fall on the room with every set eyes looking at him with disbelief.

“Oh right, I forgot to stall for time!” Shizu shouted from behind him, visibly mortified and further clarifying the real reason why she had followed him.

“Um…” Momo, who was wearing an equally skimpy elf costume while clearly in the middle of setting up some sort of device, was the first one to react. But rather than give him an answer, she instead grabbed her D-Dial and whispered something in a panicked tone. “P-Plan B, Onee-sama! Plan B! He got back too quickly!”

“—!”

“Oh, right, I'll try that.”

More confused than ever before, he turned to his ever-so-reliable sister, hoping she would just tell him what was going on. But the girl in question was having something whispered into her ear by Momo, and she nodded in agreement. Proceeding to look at him deeply in the eyes, the brunette suddenly got on her feet, holding on to a giggling Celine.

“Distract him!”

Whoosh!

“What the—oof!” His vision was immediately clouded by strands of blonde hair with red tips topped off by a large flower. The Plantas child launched herself like a missile and aimed for his face, using enough force to knock him off his balance, and it did not end there.

“I'll join too!”

“Hands off him!”

“That's not how you distract someone!”

“Yami, bind him!”

“Order received.”

Risa, Saki, Yami, and even Ryouko joined in and dogpiled the clueless and slightly terrified Emiya who got crushed under the weight of all these people. He felt several parts of their bodies squish against him, and Celine was seemingly still on a mission to kill him by making it difficult for him to breathe with how she was clinging to his face!

Feeling his patience growing thin, right as he was just about to forcefully pull himself back up even if he had to use Reinforcement, the others moved first and, for some reason, got off of him.

“Eh?” Confused by the sudden change, he peeled Celine away from his face, only to see the middle of the living room glowing a bright blue light from the device that had just been installed by Momo.

Right before his eyes, a bright flash of light that nearly blinded everyone appeared, and from that something emerged that was completely absurd.

An entire sleigh crashed into his living room…

And that was just the beginning. The one pulling the sleigh was none other than Peke, who had deer antlers coming from its head. And holding the reins was none other than Lala, wearing a ridiculously large Santa costume complete with a beard and hat, laughing while raising both hands. “Happy Halloween!”

“It's Happy Christmas!” Momo quickly reminded her.

“Oh, what she said!”

Behind Lala were two giant sacks, and both of them opened up together.

This time, it was not just Emiya who was surprised by the sacks’ contents. But also Mikan as well as the now-awake Rito. All three of them stared in unison and muttered.

“Dad?”

“Mom?”

“You two…”

The two Yuuki parents stood there, with the father grinning widely at their reactions while the mother seemed to enjoy the holiday-themed costume she had put on, as well as admiring the clothes worn by the others.

“Wow, the house has changed so much since the last time I was here! And there are so many people around too! By the way, aren't there too many girls?”

“Hahaha! You boys really are my kids! They take after their father when it comes to the ladies!”

“Oh, what do you mean by that, dear?”

“Urgh! I-I’m sorry, honey! I love you!”

Staring at those two idiots who had appeared in the living room, Emiya found himself at a complete loss for words. Recalling all the times he tried to have them be present only to get vague noncommittal answers or even none at all, yet here they now were.

“Shirou!” He finally looked at the one behind all this. Lala jumped down from the sleigh, the fake Santa suit looking quite comical on her. She even tried to put on a return belly underneath to sell the image even further, and it frankly worked. “How did you like my gift?”

Her gift?

“We actually did not have any plans like this. Both were supposed to be busy with their work, but I created a bunch of robots to help your parents who made sure to finish all their tasks ahead of schedule, and then I brought them here so they can spend Christmas with you! What do you think?”

“…”

He was still speechless, staring at the girl for several seconds as she continued to jump around and toss other smaller gifts to others.

‘She really went out of her way to do this.’ A part of him had already accepted the fact that these two wouldn't have come before the party even started, having grown used to just how focused they both were on their work; it was an outcome to be expected.

Ringo went to hug Mikan and check up on her daughter while Saibai curiously looked at Celine in Rito’s arms.

To call this day a roller coaster of emotions would be an understatement. All the ups and downs made him feel a bit dizzy.

“Sorry it took so long. I wanted this to be perfect, but I didn't expect that you would return so soon.” Lala said, laughing awkwardly and scratching her fake belly. “Don't worry, next time I'll make it an even bett—”

She did not need to explain any further, nor did he want her to think he was not satisfied with the outcome. So, to make things clear to her, he did the thing he knew would prove this notion. By going forward and embracing the eldest Devilukean princess, pulling her towards him right in the middle of her sentence. His face gently caressed her hair as he whispered into her ears.

“Thank you. I couldn't ask for a better gift.”

“Hehehehe,” The pink-haired alien princess started to giggle in a silly way, melting in his embrace and wrapping her arms around him as well. “Alright, let's all celebrate! Mama even gave me a few drinks to share with you! She said she specially made them for you as a gift, and this is the perfect occasion!”

His mood couldn't be any better at the moment. Any trace of his old headache, the prior ambush, or even stress was nowhere to be seen. He was now firmly feeling the holiday spirit and so happily accepted whatever gift Sephie sent him. Ryouko then approached him, handing him a some juice with a knowing look on her face.

“Finally willing to relax now?”

“You knew?” he asked out of curiosity, glancing over at Saibai and Ringo.

The nurse shook her head. “No, I was not made aware of this little surprise. I knew Lala was preparing something special, but I didn’t know what exactly. I’m just glad it turned out to be a success. It's so rare to see you make such faces as the ones I’ve seen this evening, much less a smile like that.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Very.”

Nemesis’ arrival did mess with his mind, not to mention the warning she gave him about someone who would soon attack him to get to Yami. It made him very cautious on his way back since for all he knew, it could happen at any moment. Yet this surprise by Lala made him forget all about that and actually start enjoying the party.

Lala, who was still by his side, pulled him along to the living room to join the rest. “Come on now, it’s time for us to finally start celebrating! Also, I'm super hungry. I heard you made a lot of different dishes with Mikado-sensei? I want to try them all!”

She really had the effect of making the place brighter, regardless of what happened before.

“Alright then… Thanks again, Lala. I'm glad you're here.”

After that, the entire group finally started to calm down and enjoy the festive ambience. Some already started out to hand gifts to other people, with Rito giving one to Mikan and so did he, his gift being a small locket he forged in his spare time. Even Celine got him something.

“Hmm, what’s this?”

“Mau!”

“Ah!” From the other side of the table, a certain dark-haired girl yelped in panic upon seeing the gift being given to Emiya. Yui recognized her package but was unfortunately unable to stop him from opening it right in front of everyone.

Revealing the gift, the redhead's curiosity soon turned into disbelief, when rather than a flower or some other similar kind of item, what he retrieved was a black and white speedo.

“…”

He slowly put it back into the bag while Yui had gone and huddled up in the fetal position out of pure embarrassment. She was not willing to show her face to him at this time while he decided to just accept it with a smile and move on, though he noticed the likes of Risa and Ryouko eyeing the gift with open approval. The night continued on with a similar atmosphere, with the food finally leaving the kitchen and being enthusiastically shared with everyone, bottles were opened, and several activities were played until late into the night.

.

.

.

Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen.

“Urgh…” Emiya barely managed to open his eyes, mustering what he could to fight against a splitting headache that bombarded him as soon as he regained consciousness.

He was staring up at the ceiling of his room, illuminated by the sunlight, and his ears were greeted by several birds chirping outside. But today, those sounds were no different from ear-screeching noises that only made the throbbing inside his skull even worse.

The sensation… He had not felt it for so long that it might as well be his first time today.

“A hangover?”

How?

He could barely believe it at first. He was certain there had been no alcoholic drinks at the party aside from the two cans of beer Ryouko got for herself and Tearju. Which would not even be enough to make him drunk, despite being somewhat of a lightweight himself… nothing a quick cycle of magical energy wouldn't dissolve. He tried to think back to what happened last night, but his memories stopped becoming clear the moment everyone had finished eating, and he was bringing the plates back to the kitchen while the others continued to have fun.

Everything after that was a complete blur or just non-existent.

‘How is this possible? If I were getting drunk, then I should have seen the signs and stopped drinking—ah, that bottle Sephie gave Lala!’

It finally dawned on him what could have been responsible for him ending up like this, but he was sure that he put that bottle back in the fridge! Someone must have gotten it out and given it to him without him even realizing what it was.

Aside from that, there was no other explanation that made sense to him unless he was hit in the head by a surprisingly powerful individual. But given his skull was still intact and there were no lumps, that possibility was quickly ruled out.

“Hm?” Trying to get up from his bed, his left hand came to sink into something soft and supple. Turning his head, he was met with the sight of a naked Lala sleeping right next to him. And that was when he finally noticed another strange thing.

“Where… are my clothes?”

This was getting stranger by the second. Lala was someone he had grown used to seeing naked, someone who never slept with clothes on, even when he told her to do so. But for him to have also removed his clothes while he slept next to her was a completely different issue! Why were his clothes missing!?

“I-I need some fresh air.” Wanting to get his mind back in order, he tried to leave from the other side of the bed, but this time, his right hand sank into another mass of flesh that was both soft and supple. Nearly twice as big as Lala's and just as firm.

“Ah~! Eh? What?”

He froze, and so did the second person who had been woken up by his action. Swiftly pulling herself upright, a disheveled Ryouko looked around with a stupefied expression that made it clear she also had no idea how they ended up there.

Her mouth hung open, speechless just like him.

There was not a trace of clothing to be found on her either…

Both of them just sat there, staring at one another in pure confusion while Lala continued to sleep peacefully. The princess then absentmindedly scratched her neck, where several light bruises could be seen.

Looking back at Ryouko, he saw she had a similar set of bruises on her neck as well.

‘…Those aren’t bruises.’

An Archer's Promise Chapter 81: Planted Seed

Co-written and partially beta read by Gamercrus

My Teenage Highshool Romance Comedy Can't Be This Perverted! Chapter 110

Not beta read yet.

Next update is An Archer's Promise

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-Underworld-

Just like Azazel mentioned, the Underworld was an enormous land that stretched across such an absurd distance that trying to find a single person felt pointless from the start. Looking for anyone out here was like searching for a single nail thrown somewhere in the Sahara. No, it was worse than that. According to what little information I had been given, the Underworld was considered larger than the human world by a wide margin. That was not even counting the rumors about pocket dimensions scattered throughout the place. I never bothered confirming whether those were real or just another exaggeration passed around by bored devils.

Because of that, the existence of the contract guiding me toward Raynare saved me from an unreasonable amount of wasted time. I caught myself thinking about it and immediately felt annoyed. Look at me, getting all worked up over her. Selling the idea that I actually cared felt impossible even in my own head. It was a ridiculous thought, yet one I had no choice but to accept for practical reasons. Whether I liked it or not, this was the situation.

While those thoughts kept circling as usual, the group and I arrived in the middle of what could only be described as a barren wasteland. This kind of scenery dominated most of the Underworld from what I had seen so far. Despite the surprising amount of life that supposedly lived down here, the land itself remained empty and dry for reasons I could not figure out. Strangely, it was not a sand desert either. Just cracked ground, distant rock formations, and a sky that never bothered pretending to be welcoming. None of it made much sense, but then again, there were still plenty of places I had never seen. For all I knew, the logic here simply worked differently.

“All right, you kids, make sure to have fun and be back before night time for dinner,” Azazel said. “Oh, and do not forget to take videos so I can see.”

With that, he left almost immediately after dropping us off, keeping communication open through a phone instead of staying nearby.

“That is strange,” Xenovia said. “I was under the impression that he was going to join us.”

I shrugged in response. “Do not mind him. He might sound like he is leaving this to us, but he is just making sure this area stays sealed so that curious eyes do not start poking around what we are doing.”

“Well, we are just saving one of your team members,” another voice said. “I do not see the need to hide that. Would it not be a good opportunity to show your strength and discourage future trouble?”

I shook my head at that response, “It's not so simple as you're making it out to be. For all we know, another powerhouse could show up to help Diodora. And before you start saying that you'll be able to handle them, that's not the goal here. We came to get back that bitch, not start a mini serious war.”

“Hahaha! Fair enough.” Despite being somewhat of a meathead, the guy was still capable of critical thinking more so than he let on. I could not prove it, but part of me believed he was just forcing people to see him in such a light. He was cunning when it mattered and crude if given the opportunity — The only reason you did not use that side of him was because he had enough strength to not bother.

“There is an illusion spell nearby, most likely hiding it from you.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” Damn it, had I still been capable of using my Sacred Gear, a single use of Delete Field would have been enough to greatly weaken such a spell and potentially break it and one go. ‘But that would have most definitely alerted Diodora, If that guy is smart enough, then he would have taken that opportunity to just run away. But there is a large possibility that he would just take us on and underestimate us, but would I have taken that risk? No. A third possibility would be to just use Raynare as a hostage in order to buy time. With that Rizevim guy helping him, I can't take any unnecessary measures.’

Several plans flashed across my mind at once, unlike my battle against Sona, there was literally no room for error given a life was genuinely at stake. I could not even just throw cider org in the middle of the mansion and have them go berserk and lay everything to waste.

“Can you detect how many people are present inside?” Realising that I needed more information, I turned my head and relied on the one who had super enhanced senses beyond that of a devil's.

Kuroka closed her eyes and concentrated for a few seconds, “Quite a bit of them in fact. Can't sense their numbers precisely given many of them are within the mansion which has more barriers protecting it. And from the remnant light energy, Raynare was definitely here and even had a fight.”

“Is she…”

“I don't think so. Again, it's hard to tell.”

Kalawarna visibly flinched at the idea that crossed my mind. As a long time friend of hers and partner, such an outcome would be heartbreaking for her.

“No matter their numbers, we can just cut them down.”

At least Xenovia was ready to take on the group without much fear. Holy sword in hand and a visibly eagerness to confront a group of devils without needing to hold back. While I appreciate her enthusiasm, I could not let her run wild without any plans. “There is no way Diodora did all of this without expecting some sort of confrontation. He was confident enough to try and take Asia, That means he should have known that such an action led to having an angry Gabriel out for his skin.”

While the Seraph was a sweetheart, that did not mean she did not possess a ridiculous amount of power capable of erasing an entire town from the map if she so desired. Not someone who got angry so easily or even confrontational, but if there happened to be a method to guarantee such a reaction then it would be kidnapping Asia. ‘The fact that she hasn't tried to join me in this endeavour is a miracle by itself. Or maybe she would have, had I stayed on earth for a bit longer.’

“I am not that familiar with Diodora,” Sairaorg mentioned while crossing his arms. “He never gave me the impression of being someone who would do something so crazy without some sort of plan.”

“Or maybe that devil just could no longer hold in his obsession with Asia and just did the first thing that came to mind without any plan?” Kuroka added nonchalantly. “It's not the first time I've dealt with such people who usually keep a composed attitude.”

That also was a possibility I could not ignore. “Regardless of what it may be, staying here trying to make sense of this entire thing is a waste of time.” I added while massaging my head.

“Are you planning on killing him?” I stared back at the fallen angel as she said that, wondering if this was a question or an expectation. “If he is crazy enough to do this, then nothing is stopping him from trying to get revenge against you. I don't know what Ajuka plans to do with him, but it's not going to be death. Probably just in prison in the depths of Cocytus or leave him chained in some luxurious prison. At the end of the day, he is the heir of the Astaroth clan and Devils are very protective of their own kind.”

Rather than trying to think of an answer that made the most sense, I chose to take the next most logical step and instead retrieved my phone and dialled a number. Putting in on speaker and in front of everyone who looked at me with confusion, I waited until the beeping stopped and a voice answered on the other side. “Any good news?”

“Yo, Ajuka, I have a question for you. Would you hate me if I killed Diodora?” The others around me were immediately stunned by the question itself I asked so boldly. I even nearly said if we were allowed to kill Diodora but change that to it just being me as to not have this matter way upon their shoulders as well in case Ajuka objected.

“...”

The silence on the other side was quite loud, I could practically guess the kind of expression he was making. While the guy himself presented himself as a calculating kind who put logic above most things — a sentiment which I agreed with him. That did not mean he was not emotional and had attachments to other aspects in life and people.

So after what felt like years, I finally heard an answer.

“No. I would not.”

Had it been any other scenario, killing would not even be an option I considered. Even in the past, the fear of losing myself to bloodlust and recreating another mask killing incident heavily scarred me. But time always healed every kind of wound, even the most persistent ones eventually became dull and one would grow numb.

Did I hate the guy? Yes I did. Did I hate him enough to go wanting to kill him with my own hands? Well not really. But I also had to understand that if not handled properly, he could come back again and harm someone else more permanently. The choice was easy, even if it went against my own liking to a certain extent.

“...—e… ry… -h—”

“Hm?” a slight buzz sounded in my head, while not a clear voice but the intent of what he wanted to communicate was understood immediately. ‘You have a Valkyrie with you, use her.’

That statement caught me so off guard that I nearly looked past the fact that his voice was getting more and more clearer by the day. With whatever Rizevim had done to me loosening up. But he was right, looking back at the white-haired woman, I stared at her closely.

“Ah!”

Jolted by my sudden reaction, she took a step back as if I was plagued with a curse. “Oi, Why are you always so afraid of me? Pretty sure your current state you could easily turn me into a mist of blood without a snap of your finger.” I couldn't help but ask come on watching her back press against a hollow tree trunk, looking no different to a cornered animal! “Hah, never mind. Hey, So who do you work for exactly? Odin or Akeno?”

“B-both…” Even she did not sound so certain herself. “Technically Odin, since he told me to follow her words as a way to seek forgiveness…”

Forgiveness?

For what?

I was pretty sure he was just messing with her, everything that happened back then was just a stupid misunderstanding which I did not even care to remember. “Alright, so how about I make you a deal. If you perform well today, not only will I personally go to your patron deity and tell him that I forgive you, but I will also give you a small compensation prize.”

I could just bark orders at her, but I truly felt bad for the woman and tried to paint this as a deal with both parties agreeing to it. Not to mention she was dragged here against her will for some reason, a mighty Valkyrie being pulled everywhere like a doll was definitely not something I expected to see anytime soon.

“That's not a proper way to handle things. I gave an oath to Lord Odin that I would carry out my duties properly without taking shortcu—”

“This is how much I am paying.”

“I accept!”

Huh, that worked out better than I imagined. Remembering how Akeno spoke to her before, I tested out a certain theory crossing my mind and tapped some numbers on my phone before showing it to her. I was not low on cash, even if I ran low, Rias always was there… Yes, I was not ashamed to ask for money. She already treated that as mere numbers and as a man who wanted to be a househusband — this was to be expected.

Just how little did they pay these people?

In any case. For him to win… he needed to use Diodora's arrogance against him.

{Break}

(Around the same time)

Pa!

“A-ah…”

Bam!

“Hm~!”

A series of harsh sounds echoed within the underground chambers Found right beneath Diodora's current hideout. A place he regularly frequented in the past when he first acquired his set of evil pieces, a perfect secluded hideout to conduct any kind of research or play whatever game he wanted without any prying eyes stopping him from doing so. In fact, this place held fond memories for it was also back when he acquired this very first Queen.

His first holy maiden whose will and body he broke bit by bit each and every passing day, the walls still holding echoes of her pain-filled screams and eventually pleasure. Untainted paintings that were slowly corrupted, the process and transformation being a euphoric sensation for the young man who got addicted to it and continued his practice from then on out.

It was only later on after he felt confident enough to hide these activities perfectly from the eyes of Ajuka did he change places to his own castle in Lucifaad.

Unfortunately, as his grip around the wood grew stronger and each of his strikes grew more harsher, Diodora began to realise that he was not having fun or enjoying the moment at all. For His current prisoner did not show the same kind of reaction as each of his pieces he broke down all by himself, with each strike, what he heard was not the cries of pain and begging for him to stop.

Instead it was…

“Hn~! Is that all you got? Your whip barely feels more painful than a mosquito sting! Sleeping on a bed filled with crumbs of chips hurts more than these love taps!”

“Shut up!”

Any ounce of satisfaction he would usually experience at fizzled up and now replaced with pure frustration and anger. For his prisoner was actually enjoying the process from the beginning! No matter how strong he hit her with his whip, she enjoyed the process and never showed any genuine pain. There was no begging or pleading, no cries of mercy and the other side shouting the name of God at the top of their lungs to save them. Nothing came out but just pure provoking insults!

“What the hell is wrong with you!? How can you even enjoy this!? Don't you realise the position you are in!? I can kill you anytime I want!”

“Yeah yeah, you already said that too many times that I lost count. Oh by the way, can you whip me around my ass? It feels a bit itchy there, maybe your heads will make me feel better. Oh, I have a better idea, just use the other whip with those spiky barbs on it, they feel better.”

“I said shut up!”

With another anger the roar, he threw his hands that still held on to the whip, demonic energy covering the entire length as it smacked her stomach hard enough to leave a visible red line. But once again, what he saw was not paying, but instead her eyes rolling up, body fidgeting in place and slight moaning as she sensually bit her lower lips.

She… she was enjoying the entire process!

“Why you…” He did not even know what to say at that moment, while he enjoyed seeing pure maidens turned into hollow toys to be used for his own pleasure, this did not feel the same. In fact, it felt like his entire practice was being mocked, his entire existence being toyed with by this bitch who did not know how to shut her mouth.

“Aaah, that hit the spot. Keep up the good work, fucking cuck, soon you'll be around the same level as Kalawarna was when we first started to experience a century or two ago. Next time, I'll be the one to lock you up here and peg you in front of your Peerage while stuffing your mouth with Asia's used sock—”

“SHUT UP!”

That was it, the young man had reached his limit and his patience had long since evaporated when it came to this person. At first he wanted to break her, turn her into a complete broken mess for Hachiman to find. A sight that would have shaken that pathetic human and shattered his mind before eventually dying by his hand. Making him suffer for taking Asia away from him. But now… he was not getting any close to that outcome through this method.

“What, already giving up? Figures. That’s what I thought, you useless fuck. At the end of the day you’re nothing but an amateur who’s never met a real challenge in his miserable life. Go on, try hitting harder, justify your bullshit however many times you need to, you spineless cuck. Break my legs, burn my hands, beat me till your arms feel like overcooked dicks. It won’t change a damn thing. You lost, motherfucker.”

He said nothing, His teeth grinding against one another as his fists clenched with more demonic power condensing around it. Growing in power until even the width started to break down, for a brief moment, any bits of rationality was clouded by pure anger. “Enough!”

No longer having any plans to continue his attempts at breaking her, Diodora decided to take out a more literal approach. Raising his fists and forcing it to strike Raynare’s stomach. The punch digging into her flesh, forcing every bit of air out of her lungs with her previous wounds flaring up.

“Heh,” that finally owned him embers of satisfaction, seeing her face twist and a pain filled ground escape her lips. “I should have known that my previous approach would not work. At the end of the day, you are nothing more than a fallen angel whore who ruined my plans. If you like pain so much, then I'll be glad to give you that satisfaction in speeds with my fist. Or better yet, a dagger to carve out a more beautiful face and permanently paint over this ugly o—ugh!”

His words came to a halt when the black haired woman spit a mixture of saliva and blood right to his face. Her action disgusted him to the core and forced Diodora to take several steps backwards while wiping his face away from the sticky mucus and red stains.

“You talk too much. Seriously, now I can understand why that bastard always talks about how unknowing it is to hear villains monologuing every time. It gets old quickly. Also, Hachiman's punches hurt more than your weak ass twig armed punch, at least he managed to rearrange my organs for a brief period. Yours is not going to even leave a bruise behind.”

“I'll kill you!” There was no way around it anymore, Diodora, filled with rage, grabbed a dagger from his belt, intending to plunge it to her heart. Raynare closed her eyes and looked away, waiting for the sudden intense pain until—

“Lord Diodora.”

Until a voice interrupted him right as pointed and touched her skin, only going deep enough to draw blood but without putting her in any major danger. But the cold feeling of the steel was enough to make her heart beat frantically, trying to calm down.

“What is it now!?”

He shouted loudly at the servant that interrupted him. Looking backwards to find another one of his many maidens whose face was completely hidden by a layer of cloth.

“Someone has breached the outer perimeters of the estate.”

“Huh?” His mind went blank at that moment, for this place was heavily guarded and hidden from everyone he knew. Even Ajuka did not know of its location, a place where he could meet even the other members of the old Satan faction without fearing of being discovered. “Damn it, it must have been because of this bitch! Who is it? Did Sirzechs and his followers already find me and sent an army?”

Had it been in the past, then he would have never so much as contemplated the idea of facing any one of the current Satans. They were no different to abominations even amongst Devils, irregulars born with and a natural amount of power for exceeding their peers and even the prior generation. Monsters who disguised themselves as devils, but now… with two blessings he had received. Diodora felt like he could now stand amongst them in terms of power.

Drawing a fraction of a single snake was more than enough to multiply his powers by several factors. Giving him a momentary sensation of invincibility, where nothing could cut him down. He finally understood why Sirzechs and Ajuka We're so confident even when facing so many enemies at once, the power they wielded gave them that assurance that at the end of the day, they would come out alive and as the victor.

So facing either of them, while risky, would not mean death.

“No, it's a single person.” The newcomer answered with a blank tone before handing him a crystal. Taking a back by those words, he quickly grabbed it from her hand and activated it. A translucent screen showing up in the air where it showed different parts of the land around his mansion in real time. Observation stones that could be installed anywhere and were discreet enough to not be noticed by even the most sensitive of devils and mages.

And through this, both the devil and fallen angel were equally as surprised to find a single individual walking around the forest shouting loudly.

“Raynare! Raynare! Where are you? Don't worry, I'm here to save you, my dear! Just hang tight and I will save you from Diodora's evil hands!”

Right there, shouting at the top of his lungs was none other than that despicable human whose entire existence was the source of his recent hatred and all of his issues. Diodora's eyes went crimson from rage just from seeing Hachiman's face, recalling once more that it was because of him that he could not get his hands on Asia!

Holding on to a spear, he traversed the land while not looking in a good shape himself, some of the majors that were patrolling the area attacking him, forcing him to back off and seek cover. Using several spells, he shot an offensive blast of elemental attacks ranging from fire, ice and lightning. Some of the attacks created a cloud of dust which gave him enough cover to use it as a smoke screen to approach the mages and either pierce them with the spear or strike their heads with a powerful leg kick.

“Hah? What the fuck?” Raynare exclaimed beside him.

“Humph, so even after Rizevim sealed his Sacred Gear he remained a nuisance. But I will grant this human one thing, he is not as helpless as I thought.” He said, neither impressed or fearful of what he was seeing. Those mages were the bottom of the barrel, people who just started to use magic or had no talent whatsoever, only able to use a single spell and relying on external factors or artefacts to empower themselves. They were of no use in combat and he just put them as security to patrol his hideout.

Even a second class devil would be more than powerful to take them down.

Looking at Hachiman's dishevelled state, a wicked thought stirred in his mind and a grin soon stretched onto his face. “This is a gift handed to me by fate. Yes… yes, This is excellent, daddy idiot actually came alone! Hahaha! He came alone!”

No other individuals were spotted nearby, even his own servant assured him that they checked several times and could not find anyone outside other than him. “He must have forgotten so desperate to save you that he actually rushed to the underworld all by himself! Hmph, how insulting, he has forgotten that he no longer holds the power of the Black Dragon King!”

Soon, he turned his attention back to Raynare. “I couldn't break you physically. But I will break you mentally not with violence but by shattering whatever hopes of being saved you had in mind. Right before your eyes, I will cut down this human.”

This way, nothing would be getting in between him and Asia anymore. For he was not even worried about Rias or the Angel factions getting in between, for Rizevim would handle them somehow.

Why he let Hachiman go remained a mystery.

But he will now finish the job!

“Stay here and keep an eye on this bitch. If she talks then stab her as many times as you want but don't kill her. I will handle this by myself.”

Without waiting another second and potentially even risking his prey to flee and escape his clutches. Diodora quickly used a teleportation spell and left the confines of his mansion, his excitement growing with each second at the idea of killing this man. ‘Maybe Rizevim couldn't kill him because he just was not powerful enough. With Ophis’ blessings, I will accomplish what even that madman couldn't!’

Glory was at his fingertips and a barely suppressed excitement, he appeared in the middle of the forest surrounded by shattered trees and scorched ground. The aftermath of a lengthy battle which obviously ended with those useless mages defeated at the hands of a mere human. But at least the latter now looked completely out of energy.

“You…”

Their eyes met and Diodora looked back with pure scorn. Contempt and disgust along with several other similar emotions gathering in his heart. Such a weekly was the source of his problems? Unacceptable.

“Where is she!?” Hachiman shouted at the top of his lungs, lunging ahead with his spear ready to pierce its target. While fast for a human, to a devil's eyes, he was slow and it required a single side step to dodge the attack and to deliver a crushing blow to the abdomen with his knee.

“Hm?”

The moment he struck Hachiman, Diodora’s eyes widened as pain shot up through his own legs. His knees actually ached, the impact rebounding as though he had slammed his fist into a wall of solid steel rather than flesh.

And yet… Hachiman’s body still went flying. Getting hurled backward, tearing through several trees and shattering boulders in his path, his trajectory carving a massive gouge into the ground that stretched for dozens of meters before finally coming to a stop. Diodora stared at the destruction left behind, momentarily caught off guard.

“Eh… did I really use that much strength?”

Even he hadn’t been prepared for it. The sheer display made him pause, a faint confusion flickering beneath his satisfaction as he wondered whether the power of the snake still lingered within him, seeping through his body without his conscious awareness.

It made sense. The power of the Ouroboros Dragon was beyond the understanding of even the sharpest minds in their world. It must have already begun reshaping him, reinforcing his body in subtle but profound ways, empowering him long before he realized it.

This day just kept getting better. His confidence swelled, steady and undeniable. At this point, he could kill this man without even bothering to cast a single spell. Still, he preferred not to get his hands bloody with human filth.

“I still remember the first day I saw you,” Diodora said coldly. “The audacity you had to interrupt my conversation. A lowly human who doesn’t know his place, spoiled rotten by that Gremory girl and swollen with an ego far too big for his station. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sona let you win during the Rating Game. It certainly worked in her favor. No— even if it was legitimate, you’ve always relied on the power of others to achieve anything.”

He scoffed.

“Hmph. The so-called Black Dragon King… what a joke.”

In the distance, a growling could be heard, and soon Hachiman was back on his feet using the spear to hold himself up. “L-Let her go… She has done nothing. She is innocent.”

Diodora smirked, “I knew fallen angels were decrepit beings who would lay in bed with just about anything and anyone. From my understanding, you two used to be enemies? Yet now you come here to save her like a night in shining armour. What is she, your lover?”

Hachiman glared back at him, hesitating at first but continuing on with a whisper. “What if she was? Release her now! The others will be here soon, it's not too late for you if you just give up right now. We can talk things through. Come back to your senses, Diodora!”

"Come back to my senses?" This time, his chuckle did not stop at a laugh. It spilled out into loud, uncontrolled laughter that echoed across the ruined ground, lingering far longer than it should have. His shoulders shook as if the thought itself amused him too much to contain. "You think I will stop now, when I am this close to my goal? The others do not matter anymore. With the powers I hold now, I no longer need to fear them. If anything, you should be worrying about your own life."

His gaze fixed forward, pupils wide with confidence rather than rage. "I will give Raynare a proper show," he continued, voice rising with every word. "I will pull you apart piece by piece so she can see it clearly. In fact, I'm half the mind to keep you alive and have you watch helplessly as I break her!"

One of his hands lifted, palm open. An emerald magic circle expanded into existence, rotating slowly as glowing symbols formed along its edge. The crest of his clan shone at its center, clear and deliberate, as if he wanted anyone watching to recognize it. Energy condensed within the circle, gathering into a dense sphere that hummed with pressure. It was the same spell he had used against the Fallen earlier, refined and packed tighter, forced into a smaller space before release.

The human reacted the moment the spell launched. He tried to move aside, boots scraping against cracked ground as he twisted his body away. It was not enough. The attack crossed the distance instantly, striking his head with a heavy impact that sounded more like a collision than an explosion. A loud boom followed as the energy detonated, dust and debris erupting outward and briefly swallowing the area in smoke.

When the dust finally began to settle, Diodora stared at the result. The body lay half buried in the ground, legs awkwardly angled upward, head driven downward into the earth in a way that looked almost comical. He frowned at the sight, confusion slipping through his triumph for a brief moment.

"Why did the body get buried downward?" he muttered to himself. "Shouldn't it have been thrown back instead?"

He had intended to strike the head completely and render him unconscious. But with this scene, no way he remained alive. Best to leave nothing behind, if such a simple attack turned out to be enough to kill him, then he should have used something more grand, to have the corpse collapse to its knees so Raynare could see it clearly. In the end, it did not matter. Dead was dead, regardless of how it looked.

Then he laughed again, louder than before. "Hahaha. I did it. Did you see that, Rizevim? I killed the one you could not!" His chest rose as he took a breath, pride filling every movement. "Not even the Irish goddess of death herself managed it. Not those fools from the so-called Hero factions. Not those useless remnants of the old Satans. Me. Diodora Astaroth! I did this! Hahahaha!"

His laughter continued for several long seconds, bordering on crazed, until another sound reached his ears. Footsteps. Calmly, boots crunching against hardened earth behind him.

Before he could turn, an arm slipped around his neck, casual, pulling him slightly backward. A familiar voice spoke right beside his ear, relaxed and almost conversational.

"Damn. You really aimed for my head. You sure do hate me quite a bit, don't you?"

Diodora froze. His thoughts stalled completely, as if someone had cut them off mid sentence. Slowly, stiffly, he turned his head.

Standing beside him was the human. Alive. Scratching his chin as if he were inspecting minor property damage. His eyes moved from the crater to the body that was still half buried in the ground, then back again, thoughtful rather than alarmed.

Diodora's mouth opened, but only one word escaped. "H-How is this…?"

"Hm? Oh, right. The other one," the human said. "All right. You can stop acting now."

As if responding to a cue, the legs sticking out of the ground twitched. The buried body shifted, then pushed itself free, dirt sliding off as it stood upright. The first Hachiman straightened, brushing soil from his clothes. His head was intact, skin unmarked, no sign of burns or damage anywhere.

"So?" the sitting one asked. "How was it? Did you like my performance?"

The Hachiman beside him rolled his shoulders once, expression neutral. "It was okay. I will give it a seven out of ten. You went a bit too far with the dramatic speech and throwing yourself like that. It almost broke your cover."

"I was trying to make it convincing," the first replied.

"How does taking a single hit to the stomach lead to flying that far and smashing into the ground like that?" the second asked. “And he hit your head and you ended up getting buried in the same spot? There is no logic to that.”

"It happens to the people I fight."

"That is because you are an anomaly with a ridiculous amount of strength where the laws of physics themselves become too scared to be applied on you. You do not count," the second said flatly. "And I am fairly sure the people you kicked earlier are probably dead by now. The last one had his skull flattened, I don't have that kind of strength."

Diodora stared at them, eyes darting back and forth. The conversation passed over his head entirely. None of it made sense. His thoughts refused to settle, rejecting the scene in front of him outright.

Then the first Hachiman began to glow. Pale light wrapped around his body as unfamiliar symbols appeared in the air, circling him in slow rotation. Diodora recognized them as runic patterns, layered and complex, shifting as they connected to one another. ‘Norse… magic?’ As they moved, the voice of the glowing figure changed, growing deeper. His posture straightened. He grew taller. His hairstyle shifted, clothes reforming into something far more refined.

The wounds left by the earlier attacks faded without leaving scars, skin smoothing as if nothing had ever touched him.

Diodora's face got drained of color.

Sitting on the ground, now fully revealed, was the strongest devils of the current generation. He rested his elbows on his knees, wearing a slight pout as if mildly annoyed.

"Come on," he said. "At least I sold it with the dialogue. Bump my score up to an eight out of ten."

"You're lucky I didn't give you a six out of ten. Since when would I ever call Raynare, ‘my dear’? Urgh, almost puked when I heard that. You made it sound like she's my girlfriend or something."

Sairaorg shrugged, tapping the side of his muscular arms. "There's nothing wrong with adding a bit of romance during an action scene. It sells the moment better. It makes the villains more motivated to take you down and make a show out of it! Trust me, I've been seeing plenty of those drama shows since my mother took a liking to them."

Hachiman let out a short breath through his nose. "Fine. It did work, so I'll bump it up to a seven point five out of ten. Happy?"

"Very," Sairaorg replied, sounding genuinely satisfied. "I just need to do better next time."

The sudden shift in atmosphere cut off any logical thinking going on in Diodora's mind.

"This couldn't be real. This has to be fake. An illusion. All fake. I-I refuse to accept this!"

The man shouted the words, his voice echoing across the scene as demonic energy poured out from his body in uneven waves. The air felt heavier, the temperature rising slightly as the power gathered around him. Before it could spread further, a bright light flared beneath his feet. Circular rune patterns formed instantly on the floor, clean and precise, overlapping one another with no wasted space.

His energy sputtered out as if smothered. His legs buckled, and an unseen pressure forced him down onto his knees. His arms locked in place, his body frozen in a strained position, unable to move no matter how hard he tried.

"That should do it."

From the darker corner of the room, another figure stepped forward. A white-haired woman emerged into the light, her long hair tied neatly behind her. She wore fitted armor reminiscent of something one would see on a Valkyrie serving Odin, polished but practical. Several glowing spell patterns hovered above her open palm as she looked toward Hachiman.

"This should keep him from moving," she said calmly. "Just to be safe, I suppressed his demonic energy with my own magic."

Hachiman clicked his tongue quietly. "I still wonder why that hag never taught me sealing magic using runes. This is ridiculously convenient, especially when paired with Delete Field."

He finally turned his attention back to the restrained devil, whose breathing had grown uneven. "You're probably wondering why you didn't notice us earlier. Or maybe you're hoping someone else will show up to help you."

He shook his head. "Don't bother. We were inside for some time. Kuroka and Rossweisse helped us bypass your bounded field whilst avoiding triggering the damn thing. It alerts others of intruders but it completely ignores the surrounding wildlife, we just fooled it with Kuroka covering that part. You kept checking outside without realizing we were already in."

As he spoke, a dull explosion echoed in the distance. The floor trembled underfoot as smoke began to rise. The illusion covering the hideout peeled away, revealing the damaged structure beneath.

"They should be done by now," Hachiman added. "Xenovia is probably enjoying herself. I rarely tell her to go all out. I wonder if our Rating Game would have followed a similar path… no, Rossweisse wasn't in my team back then. Your magic is really useful, I can pay you more if you keep working for me."

“R-Really!?” The Valkyrie exclaimed. “You a-are not messing with me, right?”

“Of course not, I'll even throw in a contract to guarantee you a monthly salary and several benefits like paid vacation, bonuses and other knick-knacks.” After Rossweisse started crying tears of joy, the man looked up slowly, his earlier nonchalant attitude slowly disappearing. His voice dropped, stripped of emotion, as a single word left his mouth.

"Checkmate."

Desperation took hold of Diodora and his moment of crisis, he turned to the sole remaining lifeline he had left.

Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 46: Red Blue Gems Part 1

Beta read and Coowritten by Gamercrusher55

First poll of the year 2026!

Aight, kept y'all waiting long enough.

The list is still almost same like last time but with some changes. This time I added some small teaser cause judging a story just with the title is not exactly ideal. So hopefully this works in making your decisions easier. But I won't be writing any teasers for Bleach and Taimanin since the chapters for those stories were already written.

Someone gave me the idea to take into consideration for the second winning choice in case Taimanin wins again, the second winning story for a future update. But I suppose it would be fair or else Taimanin may always win these polls, just an idea for now. Curious what y'all think. Not a double update, just already starting to make plans and so on.

That's all.

Here are the teasers! Hope ya liked them. A bit rough since I made them quickly, so forgive me in case you spot some errors.

1. Mahouka x Fate

“I see, so that's the path you've chosen, Master. You've chosen to go get yourself rather than finding yourself. Hmph, you have grown into a fine Master, much too good for a blockhead like myself. Guess I'm the one who needs to prepare himself. Oh nameless Master without a past or future; at the very least, may you seize the truth.”

“...”

“Oh? Why so gloom all of a sudden? Are you scared now that we've reached the final stretch or are you having second thoughts?”

“...”

“Heh, there is no need to worry. I'll spend every ounce of strength I've got to take you to the seat of Heaven's devoted.”

“...”

“What an odd question to ask at such a time. But, I suppose I can humour it, even if I already gave it an answer.” He crossed his arms, staring back at the brown haired Master of his. “I don't have any regrets, Master. No, maybe it's better to say that I've made peace with them. If I was given a second chance, well, I would do a few things differently just for efficiency… but the path would remain the same.”

The nostalgic feelings of his past surfaced. There was no lingering bitterness, for he had always followed his own sense of justice, even though he never truly considered himself as a true hero. “Ah, forgive me. I may have gotten a bit too sentimental, that's not good. You've rubbed off on me too much.”

“...”

Her words made his smile falter, despite all that determination still existed hesitancy and reluctance. Not emotions that should be seen at this point, but one he could understand given the nature of his caring Master. So offered her an honest smile, feeling a mixture of pride and joy at having gotten to help someone like her. Seeing her journey, her resolve and confidence grow proved itself to be inspiring to say the least.

“After this point, I will be of no other use. But that's okay, I have done my job to the best of my abilities and I hope it was good enough.” He saw her fists clenched, more words spoken with a broken voice that barely held back a floodgate of emotions. “Your story does not end here, unlike mine and his only the beginning. If fate has other plans then perhaps we might meet again under different circumstances. But for now, this is goodbye, Master.”

“...”

“Saying such things at a moment like this. Fine, you deserve that much. Hah… guess I should have seen that coming. I'll miss you too, Hakuno.”

…

At the crack of dawn, the sun rose illuminating a small apartment in the heart of Tokyo, expensive for anyone who wanted to live here but quite cheap for those who worked for a certain high school. From a bed surrounded by strange decorations of several types of guns and even bladed weapons hanging on the wall, a young man awoke, the lingering memories of that dream evaporating with each passing second but the sensation of bittersweetness remained.

Oh well, he had grown used to seeing them without understanding them. With the clock telling him that he only had an hour left to prepare, time was of the essence and quickly he got up and readied himself. Putting on a simple shirt and pants, not forgetting to grab his duffel bag and glasses. The white haired man rushed towards the entrance only to stop at the last second.

“Ah, can't forget about this.”

Hands reaching for the table, the former Nameless Hero grabbed onto a small badge with his face printed on it along with a particular line right next to it.

‘Combat Instructor at National Magic University.’

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2. Snafu x Highschool of the Elite.

If someone were to ask me what my future prospects were, my answer would be quite cut and dry.

A house husband.

That was it? Were you being serious? Please stop joking around. Hah, I should have known you wouldn't give me a serious answer.

Such were the reactions I'd end up getting from others upon hearing my answer. I did not particularly find them to be rude, or even offensive really, it was something to be expected given the nature of my answer. A boring future, one without much in store and some could even call it lame. It wasn't that I was genuinely hoping to achieve this with a lot of effort, rather I knew that this was a most likely outcome for someone like me. Working a blue collar job, wasting myself from day till night like your average salaryman and coming back home drunk and in despair.

Hey, at least my parents would be able to see themselves in me.

Oh well, I couldn't complain, that was life and rather than fight against it and wasting my time, It would be far easier to just embrace the truth and work with it the best I could.

“Please introduce yourself to the class.”

Get despite that long, almost cynical, monologue… Why the hell did I find myself in this situation!?

I only once heard about this place and that was through a random conversation I had with Yuigahama!A place that guaranteed employment after graduating amongst the best of companies, saved only for the most brilliant of minds and those with such inflated egos that it put Mount Fuji to shame. No, scratch that. Fuji at least has the decency to stay quiet and not tell you how special it was. This kind of ego was more like a hot spring mascot that never stopped bragging about its mineral content. You could practically hear it whisper, "I am chosen," while looking down on everyone else like they were background NPCs designed to make it look good. Honestly, if self importance were taxable, this institution alone could have solved the national debt, though it would probably still complain that it deserved more recognition.

“Hikigaya-san?”

Ah, I was getting distracted. Left with no other choice, pushing the sheer uncomfortableness I felt at the moment and just how ridiculously out of place I felt… The show had to go on and I'd rather not become the class clown in the eyes of these pricks. Hold that thought, I'm most likely already was! Look at them gazing back at me as if they were my bosses. Ha! I've gotten more disgusted and scornful looking for this to have any effect on me!

Tremble before one of my 108 skills, absolute poker face!

Take that! One point for me and zero for you!

Hah… how sad that sounded. Urgh, some of my inner chunnibyou nearly leaked out.

“Um, my name is Hikigaya Hachiman… transferred from Sobu High, nice to meet you all.”

Simple and direct, what more could one expect from me? I was not here to put up a show, and these people clearly were not interested to hear more.

‘Shouldn't Yukino be the one here rather than me? This doesn't make sense at all, our papers must have been switched. I smell foul play here.’

But that was the least of my worries, as the school bell rang and everyone left one by one, only a single person remained, sitting all by himself right next to me, turning his attention towards my direction upon noticing my gaze.

What was with that look?

“What?” I asked first.

“Nothing.”

“Okay.”

“...Do you need any help?”

“I can manage, Ayanokoji.”

“I see.”

The conversation was dry and short, but that was all I could manage with him. Each syllable exchanged between us was painful enough as it was, trying to have a natural conversation with this guy would be a nightmare. Hey, Hayama, I finally found a guy more repulsive than you but just how fake it was.

“See you tomorrow, Hikigaya.”

“...”

“...”

“I'd rather you stop trying to act like that with me. It's disturbing.”

“Noted.”

What a scary guy. Hard to even call him a human with how fake he was, nothing about him resembled anything else but a robot trying to be human.

Worst of all, for some reason I always felt his eyes on me, looking at me as if I was the weird one!

Stay away from me! I just wanted to have a normal high school life!

…

With the door closing behind, with Ayanokiji remaining behind. The young boy kept his silence for a while longer, a flash of light crossing his mind while looking outside as Hachiman immediately had his path blocked by a classmate who had practically taken the role as the girl's leader. Her golden blonde hair fluttered in the wind, almost looking like she was threatening him for some reason.

But given their interaction from these past few days, it would be more accurate to say she just kept hounding him while he avoided her at all cost.

Something to investigate for later.

“It didn't work today as well.”

A person who could see through any layers of acting and masks, regardless of how believable they were or how many people vouched for him. It served no purpose and lies fell flat within seconds, half truths were never taken seriously and eventually nothing remained behind but the naked truth.

It wouldn't even be accurate to say it was like staring at a mirror. They had nothing in common.

A troublesome person.

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3. Fate X re zero. (There was 2 versions of this story but I went with this version of Shirou. If people are interested I can also give a teaser for the other one and see the reaction)

“I am just a human? You're slow on the uptake, King of Heroes. What you are facing… is a true imitation of a Heroic Spirit!”

He could not lose, not at this moment, even if it came at the cost of his own mind and body, he could not lose.

This very action made it clear that he had failed to become a hero of justice, he understood that better than anyone and yet the boy felt no regret. Surrounded by a sea of swords, he pushed on relentlessly against a force that he knew from the beginning was beyond his capabilities. The single wave of her hand, thousands upon thousands of treasures descended upon him, true Noble phantasms which he replicated and sent back in droves.

The king of heroes, an entity where victory was not possible for his current self. No matter how much mana coursed through his circuits, this battle was nothing more than just him buying time. Victory was never in the picture, but despite that… he had to achieve it for her.

Searching tiny glimmers of warmth in a frozen horizon, the light of the moon illuminating the lonely… desolated landscape. Riddled with wounds, blood dripping from his forehead, the perfect synchronisation continued to force changes on his body and turn him into someone else.

Shirou raised his hand as a last-ditch effort, confronting the endless tide of crimson that threatened to send upon him. The sword of rapture descended and He sent everything, every blade in his reality marble pushed back. Thousands of them getting destroyed by the seconds and thousands more being created at the same time, bit by bit getting pushed back with his end near, the boy did not feel any regret or even sadness as the moon above went dark and the world crumbled around him.

Maybe… except for one thing.

‘Ah this is bad. I wonder if she'll be mad at me... for forgetting about our promise to see the ocean.’ where his last thoughts before his world turned dark as the torrent of destructive crimson energy originating from Ea engulfed him entirely.

…

-Royal Capital-

Not much business happened on this particular day, the loot house was not exactly a place known for its bustling arms beyonds but not seeing any clients for nearly a week was not exactly good news for the old man tending the place.

Though he was not complaining exactly, given this period of quietness and peace would only last so long with that little gremlin roaming the streets. She was down to bring back something sooner or later, “Hopefully she doesn't get herself into trouble with those powerful folks.”

These treats were dangerous, people of all different backgrounds ventured from one place to another. Their face is hidden but beneath that cloak could be either a royal knight or a bloody murderer out hunting for fresh blood. A mixed bag each promising trouble somewhere or another. Thankfully, he taught her everything one needed to know to avoid such people and just stay in your lane.

Bam!

The door to his place was kicked open with a familiar voice sounding. “Rom! I found something!”

Hah… He should have known, with how absent she had been lately, that girl was most likely trying to find her next victim in order to snatch a valuable item. Given the tone of her voice, he figured she must have targeted someone she shouldn't have. “What did you steal this ti—WHAT THE HELL!?”

It was much worse than he anticipated, for what she brought back was not some rare jewellery worth more money than he had seen in his life or some shiny sword she must have stolen once more from a rich client. Rather the thing she brought back was still breathing!

“What did I tell you about kidnapping people, Felt!”

This was bad, and just looking at his appearance made it clear this person was trouble!

“I didn't kidnap him, old man!” The young blonde girl shouted back. ‘I found him in an alley, and he was holding on to this expensive looking sword that he's not letting go off!” She said well pointing at it a black sword, just from a single look he could tell this was no ordinary weapon and most definitely cost a fortune.

“What should we do? I tried everything but he is not opening his hand. Should we saw it off?”

“No! For goodness sake, just bring him to a room upstairs! He'll die at any moment and I don't want to deal with a dead body now. We'll figure something out later.”

“Tch, cheapskate. If he is some rich noble, I swear I'll leach every single coin from his savings.” Even though she did not look pleased, the girl still listened and carried the man who was twice her size to the back rooms, away from any curious eyes or ears.

“Hah… I'm getting too old for this.”

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This took more time than I wanted to. There are other stories where I didn't have time to write a teaser, like the snafu X code Geass one and a Fate x Ragna Crimson. So I'll leave them out.

Hound of the Dead Chapter 21: Change

Not beta read yet.

Gonna be posting the polls in a few hours. First need some sleep.

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-Tokonosu-

Defending the Takagi estate was not an easy task for any of the soldiers stationed at the gates. With the most recent attack, their forces nearly got swept away and overwhelmed had it not been for the intervention of that strange group of students.

“Perimeter clear. Group of ten undead spotted at eleven o’clock. Team C has been dispatched to eliminate them before their numbers increase.” The words left the soldier’s mouth with practiced precision, just another report among the hundreds he delivered each day. There was no room for hesitation or error. Every detail mattered, because a single mistake could cost lives, and hundreds of people depended on the accuracy of his voice to remain safe within the enclosure.

“Oi, any words on the young Miss’s whereabouts, Hiroshi?” another soldier stationed in the same spot as him came over, cigarettes in mouth while handing him a piece of gum which Hiroshi accepted. Given their already dwindling supplies and personal stash, regular things that used to be quite plentiful like beers, cigarettes and even chewing gum slowly started to become a luxury.

Getting more of them meant traversing across the undead infested city was just not worth it. Unfortunately, no one was stupid enough to take such a risk and the boss himself was more preoccupied with other more important things. “Nah, nothing yet I'm afraid. Then again, it hasn't been that long since that last group left. That is if they didn't get fucking killed on the way back to school.”

“Hey, a bit of positivity here? Don't say such grim stuff.”

“Positivity, huh…” It had become a luxury in times like these, one of those things people only noticed once it started running out. Almost as essential as water and food, yet far rarer by the day. The small victory from yesterday had not changed that. At best, it had bought them a bit of time, nothing more. “I can’t complain, I guess. Unlike most, my family is still alive, and I get to see my kids every day.” His voice softened at that thought. “I can’t even imagine the stress the boss is carrying. To push past all of that and still lead us, still keep this place running and everyone breathing… yeah. I really do feel bad for him.”

“You don't have to stay the obvious. Before that Irish kid got here, I remembered him occasionally coming outside late when we were on night patrol and observing the entrance. As if waiting for someone to appear or a group of people.”

“A bus.”

“A bus? Well, I suppose a bus makes sense, but there's no guarantee that the young Miss would have been inside. Could have been another group of civilians like last time.”

“No, you idiot! I mean look ahead, bus incoming!” jolted from his earlier state, Hiroshi looked ahead and just like his partner explained, a bus was indeed heading straight towards them at a rather scary speed. “Shit! At the rate it's going, it will bulldoze through our defenses!”

“Fucking shit! It's another case of the driver dying while still on the wheel! I can't even fucking see the inside because of all the sunlight!” Dread filled their faces, for moments of the past resurfaced where they were genuinely getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of zombies. If this vehicle were to destroy all of their efforts after they rebuilt their defenses, the result would be catastrophic. Hiroshi's mind worked to its limit, gun race and pointed at the approaching bus. Shooting through the window would serve no purpose if the driver was dead.

Even if this was some sort of attack by an enemy, at the rate this thing was going, even if the person in front of the wheel were to be shot, it would be too late. This only left them with one option…

“Shoot the wheel!”

“Yeah, you make it go off course!”

With a bridge separating the estate, their sole option was to change its direction and avoid destroying the walls. Without hesitation, several men opened fire at once, sounds of bullets being fired at once, a handful of people gathered in front of the gates taking position, doing their best to aim for the wheel with some straight shots hitting other places.

But rather than actually puncturing the rubber or creating holes into the metal haul or the glass, this thing remained impervious and stayed strong! “What the hell is wrong with that thing!? Did one of those secret military heavily reinforced vehicles get stolen!?”

“Why the hell would someone still do such a thing and be painted as a school bus!? Heck, why would the government even create a vehicle like that in such a shape?”

“Don't ask me, keep shooting!”

Panic flooded the group yet they could not do anything but just keep shooting. The distance starts to grow less between them until…

Screech!

The brakes slammed down, and the bus began to slow, the heavy vehicle skidding across the asphalt as the tires clawed desperately for any kind of grip. The entire frame lurched sideways, metal groaning under the strain as its momentum carried it far longer than anyone inside wanted to endure. By the time the driver tried to correct it, control had already slipped away. When the front windows finally cleared. Faces drained of color almost instantly as dread settled over the passengers. There, just ahead of them, was the familiar pink haired girl, clinging to the edge of a seat with white knuckles, her body pressed low while the bus shook violently around her.

“Isn’t that the young Miss!?” Hiroshi shouted, disbelief mixing with fear as the thought struck him all at once. Opening live rounds anywhere near her meant death for him. If the father did not do it personally, then the mother certainly would rip off their spine with her bare hands!

The bus screeched again, tires screaming as it slid sideways before finally coming to a stop. For a moment it tilted at an angle that made everyone brace for the worst, then gravity won and it slammed back down with a dull, heavy thump. Students were plastered against the windows, palms and foreheads pressed to the glass. Many of them looked terrible. Several were pale and sweating, mouths open as they fought the urge to vomit.

The doors burst open with a loud bang, metal snapping from its hinges and giving out, being sent flying several meters away. Coughing filled the air immediately. One by one, then all at once, students spilled out of the bus, stumbling and dropping to the ground. The first to fall forward was the same blue haired boy who had arrived with his group the day before. Back then, he carried himself with confidence, spinning a spear and throwing those powerful explosives. Now he looked completely haggard. His shoulders sagged, his eyes unfocused, like someone who had just stepped out of a human centrifuge.

“Damn it, woman, where the hell did you learn to drive!?” the Irish man shouted, his voice hoarse as he staggered away from the bus. “I’ve been closer to death every day since I got here because of you!”

Around him, several more people collapsed near the edge of the bridge. Some emptied their stomachs onto the concrete. Others simply passed out where they stood. A few managed to sit down, backs against the railing, breathing hard and staring at nothing.

“I did the best I could!” the blonde woman snapped back from the driver’s seat. “It’s not my fault the streets were full of those things and I had to run them over!”

“You were aiming for them!” he shot back. “If I wasn’t here, this whole vehicle would be a pile of scrap after you smashed through half the walls in the district!”

“Stop shouting!” she yelled, with tears practically streaming down her face. “The windows were covered in blood! I couldn’t see anything!”

A blonde woman stepped out next, moving carefully down the steps. Unlike everyone else, she looked perfectly fine. The soldiers watching could not help but stare for a moment. She had the largest chest any of them had ever seen, made even more obvious by the way her strained buttoned shirts seemed to give out at any moment. She pouted slightly as she looked around.

“Hmph. You should have driven yourself if you were going to complain so much,” she said.

“I would have,” he replied, “if yer massive tits hadn’t shoved me aside and taken my seat!”

“That’s no way to talk to your nurse!” she whined, crossing her arms. “Now stop moving, I-I need to do a basic check up on you. You're bleeding everywhere!

“Not my bloo—w-woah! S-Stay away from me!” he barked. “I nearly die every time you’re near me. No, nonono—urgh!”

His fear proved justified.

Shizuka stumbled on the uneven ground, her balance failing at the worst possible moment. She fell forward, landing squarely on his face with the latter getting buried within her soft bosoms — but the impact against the concrete made it impossible to enjoy the sensation. The rest of her body followed and the hit knocked the air from his lungs, her weight pinning him to the ground. His arms flailed uselessly for a few seconds before going still. His eyes rolled back as his body went limp beneath her.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch. My forehead,” she muttered as she pushed herself up. “I knew I should have left my high heels behind. Eh? Seth? Seth!? Oh no, Seth is dead!”

Hiroshi and the other soldiers stood frozen, unable to fully grasp what was unfolding in front of them. A chaotic scene to say the least, but not the same kind they had endured the day before. This was louder, messier, and filled with too many moving parts at once. None of them knew where to focus first, and for several long seconds they simply stared, hands tightening around their rifles without acting.

That hesitation shattered the moment a pair of furious eyes snapped toward them. Saya turned, her expression twisted with frustration and exhaustion, and her voice cut through the noise without any effort. “What the hell are you looking at with those stupid faces!? Help us out before more of those undead find this place! We made enough noise to alert half of this god forsaken city!”

The sound of her shouting alone was enough to send a cold chill through the soldiers. The tone was far too familiar, carrying the same authority and threat as their boss. No one wanted to test her patience again. “Yes,” several of them answered at once. Without wasting another second, every available soldier rushed forward, spreading out to assist.

They guided everyone inside as quickly as possible. One by one, frightened and shaken students were ushered toward safety, some limping, others clutching onto any object serving as support for each other. Members of the Takagi estate staff moved to help, joined by adults who had arrived from nearby shelters. A few of them were parents, their faces pale and tense as they scanned the crowd, searching desperately for familiar faces.

Cries filled the air, some breaking into sobs of relief when families reunited, others collapsing when it became clear that some of their families were not there. Students clung to their parents, while others stood alone, staring at the ground with empty expressions as the reality settled in. It was a mix of relief and grief, layered together. Through it all, the bus remained parked at the entrance, its heavy frame blocking the entire street that led to the mansion grounds. Positioned sideways, it served as another barrier, its door facing inward toward the estate like another shield against anything roaming outside.

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He did not know how long he had been unconscious. At this point, Cu was almost convinced that Shizuka was cursed or perhaps simply his natural enemy in this world. Every time he was anywhere near that airheaded woman, death seemed to brush against him without fail. Then again, he supposed there were worse ways to go than being crushed or suffocated by an attractive woman. Still, it was not his time yet, and any thoughts of the afterlife would have to wait.

When he finally stirred awake, the young man found himself leaning back against a tree. The rough bark pressed against his shoulders as awareness slowly returned. A quick glance told him that only a few minutes had passed. Some students were still being escorted inside, their silhouettes moving in the distance within the enormous compound. He did not need to ask who had dragged him here. The familiar scent lingering on his clothes gave it away immediately, warm and faintly sweet, clinging to him.

Kyoko rested right beside him, her head leaning against his shoulder. Strands of her brown hair had slipped free and now brushed against his chest and arm, shifting slightly with each breath she took. The steady rise and fall of her breathing, along with how loose her posture was, told him everything he needed to know. For the first time in days, she had allowed herself to relax, even if only for a short while.

Without fully thinking about it, Cu lifted a hand and gently brushed her face — pushing some strands of her locks away. His fingers traced along her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin. When he looked down, he noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes, evidence of exhaustion. That was when her eyes opened. She was not asleep after all, looking up at him and smiling, her expression soft and hard to look away from… almost angelic.

“I am sorry to wake you up, Kyoko,” he said quietly.

“It is fine,” she replied. “I was not sleeping, just resting my head after carrying you here. You are quite heavy.”

Even the way she spoke sounded different now, slower and calmer than before. The tension that usually followed her movements was gone, replaced by something closer to relief. She turned her gaze toward the mansion grounds, watching the last few people being brought inside, a small smile still on her face.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Thank you for what?” Cu asked. “I should be the one saying that. You helped me out back there and for carrying my ass here.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “I mean thank you for keeping your promise. I know it was not easy, and I know it caused you trouble. But I am glad you brought them all to safety.”

He let out a quiet breath and leaned his head back against the tree. “Like I said before, I am a man of my word. Keeping a promise to a beautiful woman is a strong motivator.”

She lifted a hand and lightly slapped his shoulder, a quiet laugh slipping out despite herself. “You really have a way with words. Speaking to a grown woman like that, people might misunderstand and think you are flirting with me.”

"Heh, there’s nothing to misunderstand. I am flirting with you. I am kind of surprised you never noticed that, since I have been doing this from the beginning," he said with a joking tone, clearly enjoying the way his words caught the grown woman off guard. In the past, that sort of comment would have earned him an immediate and forceful reprimand, delivered without hesitation. This time, however, she did not react as harshly, neither did she raise her voice or pull away the same way as before. Whether that restraint came from acceptance, exhaustion, or something else entirely, he could not tell, and he did not press the issue.

"This… this isn’t right. You have a girlfriend with you now. You shouldn’t be messing around with an old woman anymore just to tease me," she replied, though at first hearing it sounded quite firm, it lacked that bite they usually carried. Her eyes avoided him for a brief moment, and that small detail told him enough.

"I’m just being honest. Everything I’ve said before was not a lie, and I stand by my words," he answered calmly. At least this part of the situation had finally been resolved without any unnecessary deaths; Shido’s life was not one he even considered. In truth, had it not been for Kyoko stepping in much earlier before the outbreak, there was a real chance things could have taken a more… harsh path. As unpleasant as it sounded, those who did not wish to be saved, or who actively tried to put others in danger, did not deserve to be rescued. They had chosen their own path. He was not here to change their minds, nor was he interested in judging them or forcing them to comply.

Even now, he did not trust everyone completely. Bringing them somewhere safer did not magically erase resentment they had. Some of them almost certainly held grudges against him, and it was not a question of if they would act on those feelings, but when. It could happen during a dangerous situation, or it could be something smaller, like making his daily life just a little more troublesome. Either way, he had accepted that as part of the cost.

"Good thing I don’t need to look after them anymore," he said in an even tone. "I’m not the best babysitter. But I’m more than happy to keep an eye on a few others, like you."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently ruffled her hair. In the past, that casual and familiar gesture would have made her scold him immediately, especially with other people around. This time, she did not resist. She stayed where she was. In fact, he could feel her body relax against his, her weight leaning into him instead of pulling away. It did not help that all of these elements made it hard for him to not get distracted, Especially when just looking down a bit one could see a large part of her cleavage.

Unlike Rei, and even Saeko to some extent, Kyoko possessed a kind of charm that stood on its own; unique in a way. Beneath her strict behavior and the hard shell she presented to the world, there was a gentle side that rarely showed itself. She did enjoy his more intimate gestures, even if she often tried to deny it. Whenever his now former teacher thought things went too far, or when her shyness caught up with her, she would push him away and pretend to be annoyed. Her hair was down, blouse hung open just enough, three buttons undone, teasing the creamy swell of her full breasts, the lace edge of her black bra peeking out like an invitation. The fabric clung to her skin, damp with the faint sheen of sweat, outlining the peaks of her nipples straining against the thin material. Her skirt had ridden up her thighs, exposing the smooth, toned expanse of her legs, crossed in a futile. Even for someone who had lived as long as he had, it took effort not to react… this person exuded enough sex appeal to make heads turn without even realising it.

"There’s no need for you to thank me, Kyoko," he said again, this time with more sincerity in his voice. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her a little closer. "I would be a real scumbag if I didn’t listen to you after all you’ve done for me. Don’t treat me like a stranger."

"Heh, you’re the one making it hard for me to do that," she replied, her voice quieter now, carrying a hint of amusement she did not bother to hide.

As he sat there with her, a thought crossed his mind, and it made the former Servant of the Spear smirk. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes that he did not bother to conceal. "Well, you know, even though I’m more than willing to face an entire army for you if I have to, and given that I already did this task, shouldn’t I be entitled to some kind of reward?"

In truth, he did not want any reward at all. As long as she was happy, as long as she smiled and showed him that expression he liked so much, that was more than enough. One could even call it selfish, but he had never denied that part of himself. He simply wanted to make a beautiful woman happy, without any deeper or more complicated reason behind it. Being unable to say no to a pretty face had always been one of his weaknesses, and he had accepted that long ago. It was part of who he was, no matter how much time passed or how many lives he had lived. For now, the request was nothing more than a way to tease the woman resting against him, and he was content to leave it at that.

"I-I… I… um, I do not really have anything left to my name at this point," Kyouko said, her voice uneven as she searched for the right words. "With how this disease turned this place into a literal chaotic ruin, I doubt money will be of any value in the near future. Or rather, come to think of it, it has no value whatsoever even now."

She clasped her hands together in front of her, fingers twisting and untwisting. "As a teacher, I cannot even offer you extra points for your yearly grades. I cannot do that anymore. I cannot give you extra days of holidays, or even help you out by slipping some of the questions from the exams early on. None of those things hold any meaning whatsoever now."

The longer she continued to talk, the more stunned Cu became. She was not joking or brushing it off. She was genuinely taking this seriously, weighing every possible thing she once had and finding all of it worthless in the current world. Her words tumbled into a growing list of things she could no longer give, material or otherwise, all spoken with the same earnest tone.

It was almost endearing in a strange way. Seeing her this flustered and so determined to repay him was amusing, but it also made him a bit exasperated. Perhaps she was taking this matter a bit too seriously than he intended.

"Hey," he said, raising a hand slightly to get her attention. "Maybe you are taking this a bit too seriously."

She froze mid sentence and looked at him, eyes wide as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

"I am not a materialistic person," Cu continued with a small grin. "A kiss from a beautiful maiden is a standard gift I heard that heroes receive in olden times. So I would not mind that."

As he spoke, he turned his head slightly and leaned in just enough to make his intention clear, offering the side of his face. It was meant as a joke, or at least half of one. A kiss on the cheek would have been more than enough, and if nothing else, seeing her get more flustered might have lightened the mood.

"E-Eh?" Kyoko let out a small, confused sound. Her face began to heat up almost instantly. "W-Well, I suppose so. Y-you are still a young healthy boy with a lot of energy. It is my fault for ignoring your feelings back then, but I was afraid that you would regret doing so with an old woman like me. Rei is also your girlfriend, and maybe I am just taking too much already."

Holy shit. She had started rambling again.

Cu felt his patience thinning, not out of anger, but out of a mixture of frustration and exasperation. Letting this spiral any further would only make things worse. He turned back toward her with an apologetic smile, ready to shut this down before she dug herself any deeper.

"All right, I was just kidding. You do not need to take i—oof!”

The rest of his words died in his throat. Both sides of his face were suddenly grabbed, fingers pressing in with surprising force. He blinked in shock as Kyoko pulled him closer, her grip firm despite how badly she was trembling.

Her face had gone completely red, all the way down to her ears. She avoided his eyes for only a second before leaning forward, clearly acting on impulse rather than thought. Her lips pushed against his in what could barely be called a kiss, more like she had nearly headbutted him with her face.

Cu reacted on instinct. Raising a hand and placing his palm between them, slowing her down just enough to prevent the collision. The moment stretched for several more seconds, with him even feeling her erratic heartbeat sounding like it would burst out of her chest at any moment.

Her lips met his in a simple, stiff kiss and quite inexperienced, with just a faint raspberry taste from her lip balm she must have kept on herself. She stayed frozen right after that, unsure, like it was her first time or close enough after years without doing anything like this.

He smiled inside, not laughing at her, but wanting to make it better than awkward. He shifted, cupping the back of her head to pull her closer gently, his other hand on her cheek, thumb stroking soft and slow to ease her. “Mm~!” It worked right away with the faint sound that came from her. Her wide eyes softened, her body relaxed, and her lips moved with his, still shy but better than before. Her hands slipped from his face, arms wrapping loosely around his neck.

Unfortunately, it ended quickly. A few seconds in, she tensed up, pushed him back with both hands, and stepped away, catching her breath while fixing her clothes and standing straight.

"T-That… that should suffice," she said, forcing a serious tone. "As a teacher, I should not be doing something this scandalous. It is immoral and completely out of line. But since you said so, and so many students then I will…"

Cu did not let her finish.

Rolling his eyes as she slipped back into another spiral, he reached out and pulled her toward him before she could step away again. She let out a small yelp as he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a firm embrace.

"There is nothing to be shy about," he said calmly. "You are a good person, Kyoko and I enjoyed that reward. Know that I will always be here to help you out."

She hesitated, then slowly relaxed against him, her forehead resting against his chest.

"You need to take care of yourself too."

She whispered quietly, staying like that for quite a while till they eventually went back to sitting with having each other close by. Her breathing grew more shallow and the last of her tension faded as sleep finally claimed her, her weight settling against him. Not long after, the young woman began to snore softly, peacefully, her head resting comfortably on his lap. One of her hands curled loosely in the fabric of his pants, fingers twitching once before going still. Cu did not move, letting her rest without shifting even an inch, his posture steady despite the awkward position.

After a moment, he lifted his gaze forward where he spotted a man approaching them. One hand remained behind his back, while the other gripped the familiar katana he always carried at his side. The blade stayed sheathed and as clean as ever. His eyes met Cu’s, and though his expression remained as unchanging as a rock, there was something different there today.

From an outsider’s point of view, one might have assumed this man lived in a permanent state of irritation, similar to Archer, but with a bigger stick up his ass somehow.

Which in itself was an astonishing accomplishment.

“You brought her back,” Soichiro said, observing Kyouko for a brief moment before taking his attention off of her.

Cu smirked faintly. “Of course I did. Just like I said I would. Saya was never really in danger, not even without me, that lass would have made it here one way or another. I only sped things up, or slowed them down, dependin’ on how you want to look at it. Probably slowed it down, considerin’ I had to keep an eye on every student along the way.”

He glanced toward the surrounding people, many of them resting, others speaking quietly among themselves. The man followed his gaze, several emotions passing across his face in quick succession.

“We took in as many people as we could,” the middle aged man added. “Some of them are civilians, parents whose children were trapped at that school. Back then, many of them chose to push past their despair and stay strong, all for the chance of seeing their loved ones again. In ways you probably have not considered, you saved more people than you realize. For that, I am grateful.”

He bowed deeply, a full and sincere motion. The action caught several of his own soldiers off guard, their surprise clear as they exchanged brief looks.

“There’s no need for that,” Cu replied, letting out a quiet chuckle. “You’re going to make me blush. Besides, it wasn’t exactly charity. I had something to gain too. A room to myself and decent food are rare luxuries these days, and I’m not about to pretend otherwise.”

Soichiro straightened and nodded. “Those requests hardly compare to what you have done. Still, you kept your word, and I will keep mine. If you need anything at all, provisions, ammunition, weapons, whatever resources we have, they are at your disposal.”

Cu considered the offer in silence.

The idea of having a private space where he could work without curious eyes watching every move held its appeal. He imagined setting up a small workshop, maintaining his weapons properly, maybe even improving them. Unlike many mages, doing such a thing was hardly an interest of his, but he knew the advantages of having one more than anyone. His teacher made sure to drill that in his head after all… sometimes literally.

He could have done some of that back at the school, but the atmosphere there had been strained. Here, at least, things felt more stable. The decision sat easier in his chest.

“So,” Cu said at last, “what’s the next plan?”

Soichiro’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at him. “You just arrived and you are already thinking about heading back out there? I admire your drive, young man, but rest is not optional. It will become something you cannot ignore if this continues.”

Cu waved a hand dismissively. “I can go days without sleep and still perform at full capacity. No drop in focus, no mistakes. Besides, I’m not asking to leave right now. I just want to know what I should be expecting. You are not planning to sit here and wait for this outbreak to solve itself.”

"You are correct, we cannot afford that."

Another voice joined the discussion as Takagi’s mother stepped forward. Yuriko Takagi. This time wearing a purple dress that practically clung to her figure, her hair neatly arranged despite the circumstances. It crossed his mind, not for the first time, that there had to be something wrong with the water in this world. Let alone the younger ones, even women into their early middle age looked like they had stepped out of a magazine shoot with no exception. Compared to many noblewomen of his own era, she would not have looked out of place among royalty.

‘This one could even give Medb and Shishou a run for their money… then again, so can many here.’

"Right now, despite having generators, we are still relying on the local grid for electricity, as well as water from the municipal plant," Yuriko continued, ignorant of the thoughts crossing his mind. "Keeping those running does not only benefit us. It allows other groups in the city to access clean water and to receive information through broadcasts. That matters more than most people realize."

She gestured toward the east, where the distant skyline sat under a dull, gray haze.

"Unfortunately, just as the number of undead keeps increasing around this district, the same is happening near the power stations and the water treatment facilities. We have been informed that army units are on their way. They should arrive in a few days, at which point we can begin a proper evacuation and move as many people as possible out of the city. Until then, we have to keep this place functional. If the infrastructure collapses, everything else will follow."

Cu nodded slowly, his expression turning serious as he listened. Even if they were to be in an age where magecraft existed like in his own world, he understood the truth of her words. Entire armies had fallen without a single spell being cast against them, simply because food and water stopped coming. Supply lines mattered more than heroics. People needed to eat. People needed to drink. That truth did not change with time, the world and it did not care whether one wielded a spear or a spell.

"So what’s the plan, exactly?" he asked. "From what I saw the last time I was here, you’re already stretched thin just keeping this place secure. I can’t imagine it’s improved now that you’ve got hundreds of students to look after, at least for today."

Takagi Soichiro exchanged a glance with his wife. Both of them clearly agreed with the concern, but before either could answer, Cu continued, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

"And let’s be honest. At a time like this, if you can run and you can carry a weapon, whether it’s a sword or something more modern, you should earn your stay. No one should be sitting around while others risk their lives. Whip these kids into a group that can at least hit a target close to them. If not that, then have them help with chores, patrols, or gathering supplies. Everyone pulls their weight."

Neither Takagi nor Yuriko dismissed the idea outright. Instead, they fell silent, looking at each other as several considerations clearly ran through their minds.

"That is something we have discussed," Soichiro said at last. "If the situation escalates faster than expected, we may not have any other choice."

Yuriko’s expression tightened slightly.

"The problem is trust," she added. "Handing weapons to students means giving them the power to kill. In a panic, many of them will not think clearly. I cannot expect all of them to hold their ground or make rational decisions under pressure."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted toward Cu, lingering on him for a moment longer than necessary.

He let out a short breath and shook his head.

"You flatter me, but I can assure you I’m not the only one who can handle themselves out there," he replied. "You’d be surprised how many capable people are hiding in that school."

"I am aware of Miss Busujima," Yuriko said.

Cu shook his head again.

"I’m not just talking about her," he said. "I mean others too. Some of them have gone well beyond what anyone would expect. One kid even put together a makeshift firearm using industrial nail guns. Crude, sure, but effective. It can put those things down from dozens of meters away."

He folded his arms.

"People in my group like Igou, and even Takashi, can be vicious when they have to be. I’ve watched them crack skulls over the past few days without hesitation. Give them proper weapons and they’ll adapt. You can also count on Yoshito, the mean looking lad. Don’t let his face fool ya. Give him a job and he’ll see it through seriously."

He paused briefly, then added, more casually, "As for your daughter, I can’t say much. I haven’t seen her fight firsthand, so it wouldn’t be fair to judge."

"Oh, she is quite capable. I made sure of that myself, fufufufu~!

"Huh, guess I should have known. Anyways, going back to what we discussed," he continued once the humor faded, his tone returning to business, "what is the last word you received from the power plant and the water treatment facility?"

At that, the man across from her shifted in his seat. His expression changed in a way that did not inspire confidence, his mouth pulling into a thin line before he finally spoke.

"For now, things are stable at the power plant," he said. "There are no signs of failure, and emergency systems are still functioning. But our records show something else. A body was found not that long ago, before the outbreak fully surfaced. It was discovered on the same day, floating near the water treatment facility."

"What?"

The word left Cu before he could stop himself. His earlier laid back posture vanished as he sat upright, careful not to disturb Kyoko as he adjusted his position. One arm remained securely around her, keeping her settled against his side while his attention locked onto the two adults in front of him.

"You do not mean to say that it is responsible for this entire shit hole?”

The man let out a slow breath. "Honestly, this matter slipped my mind at the time. I received the report only a few days ago. The local cleaning crew already removed the body and disposed of it somewhere we are not aware of. For all we know, it could still be sealed in a coffin inside a van. But I have a suspicion. That body could have been patient zero, or at least partially responsible for how fast the virus spread."

"Hold on," Cu said, cutting in before the idea could settle. He raised a hand slightly, then brought it to his forehead, rubbing slowly as if trying to organize his thoughts. "Something does not make sense here. Ever since the outbreak, I have mostly been drinking bottled water and beer. But I have seen plenty of others using faucet water to wash themselves regularly. Some even tried to drink it early on. None of them showed any immediate changes."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted for a moment, recalling the past days with uncomfortable clarity. Even though he had warned many people early on to stick to bottled water, it would be wrong to assume everyone followed that advice. Some washed their hands with the same tap water. His own group had done so while they were stuck in that house. They had showered, rinsed off sweat and blood alike, letting the water run over their skin. It would have been easy for that water to enter their system in one way or another.

"So if the water was contaminated," Cu continued, lowering his hand, "it should have affected more people much sooner."

"It is not a guarantee that everything happened because of that body," the man replied. "But it does help explain why the spread was so fast in this town specifically. There is also a possibility that the infection only happens if it enters our bloodstream through an open wound. With how many times my men got splashed by the blood of those they shot, half of my group would have been dead by now. My guess is those who got infected first either had open wounds inside their mouths or washed themselves when they had an injury. This allowed a swift contamination to be spread quickly across the entire town.”

Cu's eyes twitched. That lass who got shot by the nail gun had to be treated back then, the only reason they used water from a bottle was because it happened to be close by. And Shizuka immediately followed it by using alcohol and other antiseptic solutions.

‘Good thing I was there to make sure no one in my group got hurt when we were searching for a path. Alice had no injuries too.’ This proved itself to be far too close for comfort.

"Then what about the other towns?" Cu pressed. "Those places were already overrun before things started here. I remember dealing with a couple of them the day before the outbreak even hit us. Our water system does not extend that far."

"Yes," the man admitted, nodding once. "That point does weaken the argument. Still, the timing is too coincidental to ignore completely. The most logical conclusion is that this did not start here. We were simply one of the last areas to be hit. A few days earlier, multiple countries and cities around the world went radio silent almost overnight."

"We have another possibility," the woman said, speaking up at last.

Cu turned his attention to her, his expression expectant as he waited. She took a moment before continuing, choosing her words carefully.

"Another assumption is that this was intentional," she said. "If there is an entity behind this, then several points around the world may have been set up at once. Multiple patient zeros, spread across different regions. For what purpose, I cannot say. It is hard to tell whether it was a terrorist biochemical attack, an experiment, or something else entirely, given how quickly everything escalated."

Compared to the theory about the contaminated body, this one also made sense.

In the end, those two explanations stood above the rest.

Cu shifted, then gently lifted Kyoko into his arms, making sure her head rested securely against his shoulder. He stood up slowly, careful not to jostle her. Before turning to leave, he looked back at the two adults, his expression steady despite the weight of the discussion.

"Whatever you plan on doing next, I will support you," he said. "Consider it thanks for building a sanctuary here. There would be no point in joining a place like this if it was going to fall apart in a few days because of bad decisions or hidden problems that no one bothered to address."

With that, he gave a brief nod and turned toward the exit, Kyoko held close as he left them to consider what came next.

“We appreciate this,” the mother said, before reaching into her purse and pulling out a key, the metal clinking softly as she held it up. “Second floor, third room on the rightmost hallway. You will find Miss Kyouko’s accommodation right next to yours. She can rest there along with Miss Shizuka and any other female teachers. I am sorry we could not give her a private room like yours.”

He lifted a hand and waved it once, easy and unbothered. “Don’t worry about it. I’m already grateful for this.”

With that settled, he carefully gathered the unconscious Kyouko into his arms, adjusting his grip so she rested securely. As he moved deeper inside the building, Cu gazed at his surroundings. The interior felt like a maze in places, almost like a giant modern castle.

The door opened into a spacious and well-furnished room. A large bed stood at the center, wide enough for two people to sleep without discomfort, which made sense given it was meant for Kyoko and Shizuka.

He carried her inside and laid her down on the bed, taking a moment to make sure she was comfortable and properly covered. Before fully stepping in, he glanced back outside through the window. Several students who had been part of Shido’s plan now stood with their parents, laughing and smiling as if nothing had happened. He could not decide what to think about them anymore. Still, watching them carefully felt like a sensible choice.

Saya remained busy nearby, issuing instructions to the soldiers serving under her father. Takashi and Igo assisted where they could, moving crates and speaking with the adults. For a brief moment, Saeko looked up and met his gaze from across the field and smiled at him. Whatever went on inside her head was not something he cared to guess at right now.

Strangely enough, Rei was nowhere to be seen. He assumed she had gone to take a shower or was changing somewhere.

After carefully placing Kyoko on the bed and adjusting the blanket, he turned to leave. He stopped short when he noticed an orange-haired girl leaning against the doorframe. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered as Rei stood there with her arms crossed, watching him with a look that carried more suspicion than curiosity.

“I get that you are close to one another,” she said, her tone controlled. “She shares your role as a guardian after all. Still, sometimes I feel like there is more going on between you two.”

“Of course there is more going on,” he replied without hesitation. “Kyoko matters to me, and I have done what I could to show that. Are you really bothered by the attention I give her right now?”

Rei clicked her tongue and looked away, her arms tightening across her chest. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You are just embarrassing yourself with those assumptions.”

He did not buy it, this stepping closer, closing the distance until she had no room to retreat. Reaching out and catching her by the waist, pulling her a step nearer till her body pressed against his. She stiffened at first, then stopped resisting altogether before bringing her lips against his hungrily.

“—!”

“Ouch!”

Rather than experiencing a beautiful moment, the next thing he felt was his lower lips getting bitten by the little minx who glared back at him. “Was it Saeko who kissed you?”

Damn it, he should have known about this!

But before he could explain himself, Rei leaned in again, her eyes narrowing with that mix of jealousy and desire. Nipping at his lower lip once more, then slowly parted her own, teasing his mouth open with the tip of her tongue.

He hesitated for a split second, realising the noise would wake up Kyouko. But she didn't wait, sliding her tongue deeper, swirling it against his in a wet, insistent rhythm that made saliva trickle down their chins.

Her hands fisted in his shirt, yanking him closer as she sucked greedily on his tongue, the kiss turning messy. He responded in kind, his fingers digging into her ass and sunk into her flesh, pulling her body flush against him with the girl wrapping her legs around his waist while he walked to his room. Their breaths came in hot, uneven pants, lips smacking sloppily as tongues battled and explored, leaving a slick trail of heat between them.

He guided her out into the hallway and closed the door behind them, careful not to make a sound. At the opposite end, he pressed her gently back against the wall, holding her wrists above her head. Rei allowed it, her breathing uneven as she looked up at him, anticipation clear in her eyes and a faint smirk forming on her lips.

“There, that's better. No more traces of that bitch.”

This lass…

“Let's see how long you can keep that energy of yours going.” He said, having long since gotten inside his room. Both of their clothes were thrown to the ground. I like their first time, she was much more energetic and forward with her actions, already sitting on top of him with lust exuding from her very being.

Alas, going any further proved to be impossible. For in the next second, the door leading inside the room was barged open with a naked figure rushing in hastily, panic filled eyes widening with pure shock as she gazed at their rather intimate position.

Of course, the first one to get angry was…

“Can’t we get ten minutes of fucking privacy in this place!” Rei shouted loudly while the lass who he remembered was called Yuki fell to the floor.

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(A few minutes later)

“So this is what it feels to be blue-balled.” Cu said putting back on his shirt, safe to say, the prior atmosphere was completely ruined for them to continue. Rei looked like someone contemplating on how to secretly kill and bury the one responsible for this.

Yuki has been bound by roads and thrown to the corner of the room with the bed’s sheet wrapped around her. Fearfully looking at him and a few people who were chasing her earlier on like Yoshito — who he ended up dismissing. It was not worth their time to worry about this one, they had more important things to handle.

“P-Please don't kill me.” Yuki said fearfully, that exclamation earned a raised eyebrow from him.

Squatting in front so that they were on eye to eye level, he asked with a slight tilt of his head. “Why would I want to kill you, lass?”

“...”

She said nothing, keeping her silence and I'll continue to tremble like a leaf in the middle of a hurricane. “Quite funny, don't you think so? Even though I was not there for the entirety, I heard plenty about you from the others. Arrogant and filled with confidence that nothing bad would happen to you. Shido’s little personal bed warmer who practically treated herself as the queen.”

“P-Please… I-I didn't do a-anything…”

“I believe ya,” he said casually, an answer which she was not expecting clearly given how her eyes widened ever so slightly. “I know people like you, you rarely do anything with your own hands or take action. You're more like a succubus who whispers sweet words to the ears of your partner and has them do everything for you. What I am trying to figure out is what part of Shido’s actions were actually influenced by you.”

The dread in her eyes really tenfold, “I did not do such a thing! It was all his plan from the beginning! I-I… I just stood by his side because h-he he… forced me to follow his words! Yes, he raped me! I'm the victim in all of this as well! I had no choice!”

Scratching his own ears, this girl screamed louder then a fucking banshee. Even putting Rei to shame with that sheer volume.

“I don't believe ya.” This time, he gave her a completely different answer with his smile slowly fading away. “Like I said, I am quite familiar with your kind. I experienced a couple people like you in the past myself, so no point in acting like you were a victim. But, just find your actions, I don't think you would have been someone who would try to kill others, right?”

“Y-Yes! I would never do such a thing! I swear!”

His smile returned and she visibly relaxed slightly. “And if you look at it my way, we also kind of owe you an apology. Or rather, Yoshito owes you one for nearly killing you. Speakin’ of killin’, it makes no sense that I would do such a thing to you given it is quite an effort to keep you breathin’!

“E-Eh?” Yuki was momentarily lost, a few seconds passed and then she raised her arm to point a finger at him with disbelief. “That light from back then… I-It was you?”

“Light?” It did not take long for him to connect the dots and figure that in her previous state, she must have seen and remembered the effects of his runes. Not that he had any issues with it, there being absolutely no chance anyone would take a word seriously even if she tried to spread the word.”If you mean by me and Shizuka saving you, then yes.”

“... Where is Shido?”

“Dead.” Rei answered instantly, her voice coming from the other side of the room as he heard the girl go through several clothes given to them. “So don't even try to worm your way out of this. Or else you will follow the same path as him.”

“Heh!” Amused by her answer, the Irishman chuckled while Yuki went completely pale with horror. “Don't mind her. She still has some bloodlust when it comes to that man. And yeah, I'm afraid your lover got eaten by a horde of zombies as he tried to escape from the crashed bus. Shame really. Nothing I could have done to save him. Care to tell me why you're looking for him?”

“Why even bother asking that question?” Rei mumbled dryly, irritation filling her tone. “She was obviously eager to return by his side and play the role as his personal fuck toy. This bitch knows that without him she can do nothing.”

“Oh? Is there some history between you two?” He couldn't help but ask.

“No, she just has a very well-known reputation at school amongst the student population. Especially the boys, She probably slept with half of them and I and not even trying to insult her. It's not even a secret that she used her body to sleep with teachers in order to get a better grade.”

“Woah, quite the history!” Was he disturbed, disgusted, or even disappointed? Not at all. Given he also had plenty of physical relationships in his youth, it would not be fair for him to judge her. It was just entertained by the open hostility showcased by Rei towards Yuki.

“..ay—”

“Hm?” At some point, she gave an answer but spoke so silently that he barely heard what she said. “Care to repeat that?”

“I… I wanted to make him pay.” Yuki repeated, strands of her hair blocking her eyes. “I gave him everything, I made him experience heaven again and again. He promised me everything and at the end that fucking bastard ended up using me as a shield!”

“...”

Her sudden outburst grew louder.

“He didn't even hesitate! Did not even use some other bitch next to him and just had to pull me in front! And when I got struck, it did not even bother to act concerned! Running away and leaving me to die with you idiots! I wanted to find him and make him experience the same thing! Fucking fill his mouth with nails and force another one through his dick until he begs me to stop and then and him with a hammer up his ass! So what if I slept around with other men and boys to get what I want!? It's my body, my choice! It's not evil and why would I care if a bunch of jealous bitches do not want to do the same or can't even control their own boyfriends to think with their lower part!? None of those things should have me treated like that! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!”

After the long seconds of shouting to the point her voice even started to crack, Yuki finally came to a stop, breathing harshly with tears and saliva streaming down her face.

“Hahahaha!” Hearing all of that, for the first time Cu laughed loudly. It was not even done mockingly. “Good one, lass! This is definitely the first time you spoke with your heart! Not an ounce of lies anywhere! I like that!”

Finally standing up once again, he turned to look at Rei. “So, what do you think?”

She huffed, “Up to you. I honestly couldn't care less.”

“Better than nothing.” With that, extended his hand towards Yuki, much to the latter's confusion. “Listen, I have no problems with you. I honestly don't care about your past and in a way I can even understand why you would choose to do so. But, you'll need to pull your weight this time without shaking your butt and having others do it for you. If you want to get food, water and even be trusted, then you'll need to start somewhere. So, what do you say we put all of this behind and start fresh? I know someone who will definitely need help from a gal like you.”

She looked at his hand for a few seconds, hesitating. He was patient with her, knowing that people could not change with just a snap of the finger. But as long as they were willing to show even the tiny bit of willingness to try, he could see himself giving her a second chance. Thankfully, he did not need to wait long before Yuki extended her own arm and placed her hand on top of his.

“By the way, my name is Cu, I doubt you remembered it. You can call me Seth though… or Cu, whatever works for you.”

{Break}

-Tokonosu Power Plant-

“Raise the barricades! Make sure No fly gets in or gets out! I see you getting sidetracked and it will be your ass on the line!”

On the other side of Tokonosu, a similar atmosphere filled the power plant with a handful of people running around keeping the place functional for as long as they could while pushing back against the occasional number of undead groups that wandered too close.

“The oil reserve looks good, Captain! If nothing goes wrong this place can easily keep on going for the next few weeks without needing to be refilled.”

“You need the cleanup crew over here to get rid of the blood! Or else this place will start rusting all over!”

“Someone call Hideyoshi over here, that idiot still hasn't finished replacing the busted cables from last time!”

Several voices sounded from all across the place, due to their small number, Each one of them were burdened with more work than a usual worker. Thankfully, not all of them were soldiers, several of the original power plant workers had managed to escape the outbreak by staying locked up inside until help arrived. Continuing to do their duties while hoping for aid to arrive quickly and take them away from the city.

Bang!

At the entrance, several armed men kept the same formation as the group at the Takagi estate. Gunning down any limping figure that's so much has got close to the power plant in general. This went on for long enough that a small hell of rotting bodies started circling the entire place.

“Urgh, Don't we have a flamethrower or something to clear this up?” One of the armed men complained, a sentiment shared by everyone for the stench was getting more and more unbearable by the day. “I've seen some messed up things in my life, but no amount of war and training will get me used to standing near a rotting pile of corpses for hours on end without a horrible migraine.”

“Just power through it, Akira.” The second person next to him said, having a similar uniform on but the symbol on his chest showcasing him being the leader of the group. “We already sent a message to the Takagi estate, our request was approved and we should be getting a team to clean up this mess soon enough.”

“Humph, soon enough… I know It hasn't been that long actually but this entire stench and rot makes it feel like we've been standing here for weeks rather than days. Hold on, another group of these monsters are getting close.” Looking ahead, the captain spotted a handful of undead, a former salaryman and even one or two cops amongst them who had gotten infected. Half of their face rotten and the thirst for blood in their eyes evident. He let his subordinate handle them, wasting bullets was not a good idea and a single person with a gun was more than capable of taking out dozens of these things if needed.

Confident enough in his men, the captain checked his phone to see if he had received any messages from his other team.

Bang!

Bang!

“Aim for the head, those things won't stop even if you should do them in the heart.”

Bang!

Bang!

“What th—”

“Hm?” The noise of gunshots stopped, followed by a distinct sound of something heavy cluttering to the ground and wet gurgles. A chilling sensation spread across his skin, immediately he brought his attention back to his subordinate, about to ask him what was going on only to see horrifying sight.

“A-Akira?”

Someone who had worked under him for nearly a decade, a capable man who was no slouch himself and could even take out a group of people unarmed. That same individual now looked back at him with lifeless eyes, his arms going limp to the side while his throat was bitten and ripped apart with an entire chunk coming out by one of those zombies.

“—!”

He did not even have time to wonder how this even happened, how they got close enough. Instead, the captain immediately aimed his gun at the target intending to blow its head. But his moment of stupor robbed him of too much time and at that moment… His vision was filled with a row of teeth coming from the other side — intending to rip him apart as well.

‘Did that thing just… run?’

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Ever since the outbreak, the town itself was unrecognisable, the once beautiful metropolis turned into ruins in the span of a single day. Smokes billowing in the sky and the stench of rot and decay expanding to its neighbouring regions.

But within this hellhole, less than a handful of places remained untouched, one of these places just happened to be an old Somin Shorai dedicated shrine that had started to decay not from the chaos but from time itself. Left unattended for an unknown amount of years with the wood losing its prior lustre and breaking apart bit by bit. Plants overgrowing on the shrine itself, vines covering the walls and nature slowly engulfing the place and having it soon become a forgotten point in time.

But within this space, on the small altar, a small wooden idol remained untouched by dust, cobwebs or any other foreign substance. Hanging all by itself with nothing to disturb it anymore… except for the faint split that started from the top and reached a third way down.

Crack!

Except this time, the small splinter continued making its way downwards, happening so suddenly that the echo bounced off the walls faintly. Some of the cracks spread around like spider webs, but stopped halfway through.

The last raise of sunshine illuminating the idol till the sun eventually set and the room was thrown into pure darkness once more.

Steel Eyed Faker Chapter 26: Save The Lord Part 1

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

Lyrical Sword Chapter 24: You Again

Beta read by Opal and FabledLife

Next update is SeF or Hound

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-Midchilda-

"Well, that went smoothly," at the top of the Time Space Administrative Bureau’s office, murmured Fate to herself as she stepped out of her shared office and onto the balcony where the wind rustled her hair and the sound of birds chirping filled the air.

The space sat several stories above the ground, high enough that Midchilda spread out below her in a wide and orderly view of streets, buildings, and distant towers. From up here, the city looked calmer than it ever felt during work hours. The air carried a mild breeze, cool against her face, and for a moment, she simply rested her hands against the railing and took it all in.

The office itself was not exactly private. It was shared with several others, filled with desks, terminals, and the low background noise of constant activity. Still, it was more than enough for her, and she honestly liked working around people she trusted. The familiar presence of coworkers made long days such as this less… boring.

"He was cute," she said quietly, almost without thinking.

As the woman stood there, her thoughts drifted back to recent events concerning a certain red-headed mage. Calling the whole situation chaotic would not have done it justice — at least for Shirou. Yet instead of feeling betrayed, disappointed, or angry, Hayate, Nanoha, and even herself had come away from it strangely lighthearted. It did help that some payback was achieved from a lot of teasing.

Honestly, she never would have expected him, of all people, to go along with a plan that involved dating two women at the same time, especially through Lutecia’s summoning. Creative was one word for it, reckless was another, but it had still worked in its own strange way for a bit. Had Hayate not noticed it or even ignored it, then things could have gone smoothly.

A small chuckle slipped past her lips as she remembered the moment they had found him sitting by the road, head buried in his hands, shoulders slumped. The look on his face had been one of pure despair, the kind that came from being completely overwhelmed and not knowing how to fix it.

And even a bit of dread from seeing them.

"That face was something else," she muttered.

Her amusement slowly gave way to a quieter thought, one that lingered longer than she expected.

"Would he have accepted me if I asked him for something like a date, too?"

The question settled in her mind and refused to leave, with her leaning a little more against the railing, staring out at the distant skyline as she considered it seriously. To the blonde's own surprise, the idea did not feel ridiculous at all.

"Knowing him, he probably would have agreed if I had asked that time before he even ran away," she said under her breath.

Some might have called that a flaw, but to Fate, it was one of the many things she found endearing about him. He could be clumsy, awkward, and uncertain, but he always tried his best to help others, no matter his own situation or what kind of trouble they had gotten into. He rarely stopped to think about himself first, which in itself could lead to trouble.

If he really had accepted an invitation from her, Fate found herself wondering where they would even go. Her thoughts drifted through simple possibilities.

"Maybe the beach," she considered. "Or maybe not. Would that be too forward? There is the spa or the onsen… no, that last one is definitely a bit too forward."

She shook her head slightly.

"Not a restaurant either. I already brought him to one before," she added. "And movies too."

In the end, these were just ideas. Nothing more than passing thoughts, she had no clear intention of acting on. Even though Nanoha had technically given them permission to spend time with Shirou however they wanted, Fate still was not entirely sure what that meant. Was it trust that they would not cross a certain line, or was it something deeper, something unspoken?

‘Nanoha can be complicated at times and say the most ridiculous of things with confidence. Even though her words say otherwise, I am really not sure if she meant that kind of interest we had towards him.’ Unfortunately, that held little weight since Nanoha was also wise enough to know the difference.

So maybe she really…

"Do I even have feelings for him?" Unexpectedly, Fate asked herself quietly. Before going any further, it would be best to figure out if there was even something there.

She closed her eyes for a moment and went through every memory she had with him. Missions where Fate saw him fight side by side with other members of the Riot Force. Training sessions are filled with mistakes and gradual improvement. Ordinary days spent at his house, sitting around and talking about nothing important at all. Each moment returned clearly, one after another.

When she finished, she realized she still did not have an answer. Instead, only further questions came forward, with the most prominent one being. "What does it even mean to be in love with someone?"

It felt like something she should already understand, yet the concept slipped away every time she tried to define it for herself. Maybe she truly did not know. Or maybe she already felt something and simply did not recognize it as more than friendship.

"Hah…" she let out a quiet breath.

"It’s rare to see you looking like that. Too much going on lately?"

The voice came from behind her. Fate turned, surprised, and found herself looking at someone she had not expected to see up here.

"Chrono?" she said, blinking once as she recognized him. Seeing the blue-haired man standing there caught her off guard, considering how long they had known each other.

"How are you doing?" she greeted back. "What brings you here?"

He shrugged, his shoulders lifting in a casual motion that matched his relaxed tone. "Just a small meeting I had with one of my colleagues up here. I saw you hanging around and decided to join in for a short conversation. Coffee?" He gestured toward the two cups resting nearby, both filled to the brim with dark liquid. Thin trails of steam still rose from them, and the familiar scent of roasted beans drifted through the air, reaching her nose and lingering there with persistence.

"Absolutely."

Accepting his offer, Fate reached out and wrapped her fingers around the warm cup. The heat seeped gently into her palms as he moved to stand beside her. He leaned back against the metal railing, while his gaze drifted toward the city spread out below them. The lights of Midshilda shimmered softly in the distance, streets and buildings laid out in calm order as if nothing unusual had happened at all.

"Hard to imagine that this place was in the middle of what was basically an invasion," he said. "Just looking at how peaceful it is now, and knowing this is still Midchilda. I never thought I would witness something like that with my own eyes."

"It was a pretty hectic day, I agree," she replied, bringing the cup closer and taking a careful sip. The bitterness was familiar, grounding. "At least no one was seriously wounded, and everyone made it out alive. That alone is something to be thankful for."

"All thanks to the Riot Force Six."

She let out a small chuckle. "Do not forget to praise the others too, and yourself. I read the reports. You were helping Officer Nakajima on her side of the field."

"She had it handled even if I was not there," he said with a faint shake of his head. "At best, I probably saved her for ten or fifteen minutes of combat."

"Sometimes seconds can be the difference between life and death," Fate replied. "So do not sell yourself short, Chrono."

He nodded in agreement, acknowledging the point, then turned his head slightly to look at her more directly. "I take it your current mood has something to do with that incident, if you do not mind me asking?"

"Oh? No, that is not it," she said, laughing lightly. "I am just thinking about something else entirely." She hesitated, her eyes lowering to the surface of the coffee for a moment. She wondered if this was the kind of topic that should be kept private. Still, he was not a stranger. He had helped Nanoha more than once and had proven himself reliable in situations where lives were on the line. Sharing a personal question with him did not feel unreasonable. "Actually, I have something I want to ask you."

"I'm all ears."

"Do you know what it is like to be… well, when you have an interest in someone?" The moment the words left her mouth, she realized how difficult it was to phrase what she really meant. Her thoughts tangled almost immediately. She had nearly asked how someone could tell if they were in love, or how she herself would even recognize it if it involved someone like Shirou. That alone made her pause. He had never even met him, now that she thought about it, so expecting a clear answer felt unrealistic. Changing direction seemed safer. She settled for a vaguer approach, though it still earned a raised eyebrow from him.

"An interest?" he repeated. "That depends. If I find myself enjoying talking with them, or if they are a particularly skilled mage, then I suppose I would be interested in getting to know them better. Hopefully, we can become friends."

Her expression shifted, the corners of her smile tightening as she realized he had misunderstood her meaning. With little choice left, she clarified. "No, that is not the kind of interest I mean. I am talking about the other kind. Falling in love and all that."

He froze for a brief second, eyes widening as a mix of surprise and confusion crossed his face. The reaction passed quickly, but not fast enough to hide it entirely. "Oh. That kind. Why are you curious about that?"

"Nothing more than plain curiosity," she replied smoothly.

Chrono studied her for several seconds. Whether he believed her or not was unclear, but Fate maintained her calm smile. "Hold on," he began, leaning in just slightly. "Are you…"

Plain astonishment settled across his face. It was difficult to tell whether he was struggling to believe what he had just been asked or whether he thought the woman was joking, but the pause that followed left no room for misunderstandings. He cleared his throat, straightened slightly in his seat, and actually gave the matter proper consideration.

"I'm not really much of an expert, not the way you seem to think I am, so I'm definitely not the best person to ask about this."

"You don't have to be an expert to know what it feels like to be in love," Fate replied calmly.

"I suppose that's true," he admitted. "It's just that I've been so focused on matters related to the TSAB for most of my life that I never really stopped to think about something like that. I can't really give you a clear explanation of how it feels."

"Wouldn't that be more about taking action rather than knowing the feeling itself?" she asked. "I'm asking how you would know if you were in love with someone, not what it's like to date them."

"I suppose you're right," he said after a moment. He hummed quietly, rubbing his chin with his fingers before glancing to the side. "I guess you feel happy when you're around them."

"Well, that's a given," Fate answered without hesitation, chuckling at the end. “If that were the only explanation, it would mean that I am in love with half of the people here.”

"If I had to think about it a bit more," he continued, choosing his words carefully, "I'd say you start noticing what makes that person different from everyone else. Maybe you feel nervous around them, like you don't want to show any flaws you may have. Maybe you start caring more about how you look, or you keep thinking about what to say and end up not knowing the right words. You get flustered, and your heart keeps beating faster whenever they're close."

Each of those points sounded reasonable. Fate listened without interrupting, letting the words settle as she turned them over in her mind. When she thought about it honestly, most of it matched her own experiences. She did feel happy around Shirou. She made more effort with her appearance, even if the blonde told herself it was just a habit. There were moments where she felt awkward or flustered without fully understanding why or because of a particular action… recalling the feeling of nervousness that sprouted when he first took a bite of her cooking. All of that made sense to her.

But there was one problem she could not ignore.

Those feelings were not exclusive to him.

She felt the same warmth around her close friends as well, especially Nanoha. The sense of comfort, the desire to do her best, the ease that came from shared time, all of that existed there too. That realization made her frown slightly, her expression growing tired as the thought refused to leave her alone. If those signs applied to more than one person, then they did not really narrow anything down.

"I guess I should have changed my question," he said after watching her think for a moment. "Maybe it should have been, trouble in paradise?"

Fate shook her head slowly. "I think it's more like searching for answers than trouble."

She did enjoy her time with Shirou. That much was certain. They had plenty in common, and she often found herself interested in the sides of him that he did not show easily. There was something gentle about the way he spoke with Lutecia and Vivio, something cute in how he listened to them. Seeing that side of him was both fascinating and entertaining… like an inexplicable curiosity to see how he'd handle the situation. She liked how he always tried his best, even when the situation was difficult, and how he made an effort to help others in his own way. He cared deeply about not leaving anyone feeling hurt or abandoned.

Even if it came at his own expense.

When she looked at him from that angle, she could not help but notice how he reminded her of Nanoha, not in appearance, but in presence. Both had a way of putting others at ease without trying. It was only after realizing that similarity that she noticed how quickly she had grown comfortable around him. It had only taken a few days after his arrival for that sense of ease to settle in.

Could that be called love?

Or was it simply the enjoyment of his company, nothing more than that?

The uncertainty bothered her. It was not confusing in a dramatic way, but it lingered for longer than she was comfortable with, refusing to give her a clear answer. The more she thought about it, the more tangled it became. Maybe she should just ask Nanoha directly. Or Hayate. Maybe one of them had already figured this out in a way she had not. Was Hayate dealing with the same doubts, or was she already certain of her own feelings? Or did she simply see Shirou as a close friend and enjoy teasing him without attaching deeper meaning to it?

The thoughts kept piling up, one after another.

"Why did I even start thinking about this so deeply?" Fate muttered. "I was doing just fine before all of this and now I have one more stressful thing to worry about."

Emotions tended to be complicated, often tangled in ways that did not follow logic. Fate had always known that much. Still, she had never expected to feel so lost over something that should have been simple, especially compared to everything she had already endured in the past.

"Truthfully, I hold the same opinion," Chrono replied after listening to her for a while.

"I always thought I would be able to handle matters like this easily, especially when compared to past events. But it turns out things are far more confusing than I expected."

He listened quietly, while her gaze drifted toward the floor as if the answer might be written there. Chrono gave a small nod, his expression thoughtful rather than confident.

"Trust me," he continued, "I want to give you advice, but I cannot. I am just as much in the dark as you are. If I had to suggest anything at all, I suppose I would say that you should be around this person more frequently and truly stop thinking about it so carefully."

Being around Shirou more often. The suggestion sounded reasonable on the surface. Fate almost nodded along with it before the thought fully settled in her mind. She could not help wondering how Chrono would react if he knew that she had already been to Shirou’s house several times, and that she had even slept there. Despite all of that, she still found herself stuck in this strange state of uncertainty.

The realization made her roll her eyes at herself. So many doubts had appeared so suddenly, as if they had been waiting for the smallest excuse to surface. She had faced battles, commands, and decisions with consequences far heavier than this. Yet now, she felt strangely hesitant. Only after that train of thought slowed did another possibility strike her.

"Am I actually afraid of his answer?"

The idea lingered longer than she expected. Before she could examine it any further, her phone buzzed in her hand. The vibration pulled her attention away immediately. She looked down at the screen and saw the caller ID glowing back at her.

"Nanoha?"

Curious and slightly concerned about why her friend would call at such a time, Fate answered without delay. She did not even have the chance to greet her properly before an urgent stream of words spilled through the phone.

Fate froze for a split second. Her pupils widened, and her eyes opened more than she realized as the meaning sank in.

"Hold on," Fate said quickly. "I am coming as fast as I can."

She ended the call without another word, her thoughts already shifting into motion.

{Break}

"Hey, wake up."

The voice reached him through layers of sleep, distant and persistent. Shirou turned slightly, trying to ignore it while clinging to the warmth and heaviness that kept his eyes shut.

"Hey, stop ignoring me. Wake up. It is your turn to make breakfast today. Were you not looking forward to this after bringing that ingredient yesterday?"

The words made little sense at first. His mind struggled to catch up. His turn? That did not sound right. Shirou cooked almost every day. The only exception he could remember was that one time when Fate had taken over his kitchen. Even then, it had been temporary. He had never asked Lutecia to do something like that in his place.

"Seriously," the voice continued, clearly growing irritated. "If you do not open those eyes, I will do it myself. Trust me, it will hurt. Or would you prefer I bring a bucket of water and dump it on your face?"

The threat sounded unusually harsh and alone was enough to make Shirou pause. The tone… that was… no, it couldn't be… but more than that, it did not match what he had become familiar with recently. It did not sound like Fate. It was not Nanoha, Subaru, or Teana either. He knew this voice. He just had not heard it in a long time.

"What?"

With considerable effort, he forced his eyes open. Eyelids heavy, as if they had weight to them. The first thing that came into view was a ceiling that was both familiar and strange. It was old, marked by faint stains that refused to disappear no matter how much effort had been put into cleaning them. He remembered noticing those marks when they first moved in. The place was not cheap, but it was far from well-maintained.

He had tried to scrub the stains away back then, spending time and energy he barely had. Some traces remained regardless, leaving repainting as the only real solution. With everything else happening in their lives, that plan had been pushed aside. Cooking, cleaning, and simply keeping up had taken priority over renovations.

"What?" he repeated, his voice still hoarse and drowsy with sleep.

"What do you mean, what?" she snapped. "It is nine in the morning, you dummy! If you do not hurry up and eat your breakfast, I will be late for my class. The last thing I want is for Luvia to have another reason to gloat over me and start mumbling about how I am always late and do not take this class seriously!"

She took a breath, clearly working herself up.

"I swear, one more condescending comment from her mouth and I will seriously consider murdering her right then and there," she continued. "And you too, you should stay away from her. I do not like how she keeps hounding you with those sweet offers to become her butler. Do not take them seriously. She is just trying to get herself a new toy. I know her well enough to be sure of that."

The old English style architecture of the building stood out the moment his eyes adjusted, the narrow windows and aged stonework giving the place a quiet, lived-in feeling. The familiar scent of coffee hung in the air, fresh and strong, the kind she had refused to give up lately, no matter how many times he suggested tea as a substitute. She had gone as far as making it a rule, written down and taped near the counter, and he had learned not to argue with it. Along one wall, faint cracks and scorched marks told the story of a few failed spell experiments, despite his repeated reminders that such things belonged in her workshop and not the apartment. A handful of framed photographs lined the shelves, people from his past frozen in time, friends and acquaintances he had not seen in years but still tried to contact when he could. One frame, slightly dustier than the rest, held the image of someone who had vanished from his life almost completely.

His gaze lingered on the woman with violet hair… someone he had last seen during his graduation. An individual who practically vanished from the face of the Earth, leaving no trace behind whatsoever. But he could not hold the thought for long before a wave of memories pressed in, each one tugging at his focus in a way he could not easily ignore.

“All right, breakfast is served~! Hehe, I must say, I am quite proud of this one, I don't even think you can make better mapo tofu than this.” Mapo tofu for breakfast? That was just asking for trouble later in the day. “Now get out of bed, brush your teeth, and get over here quickly. We need to be out in ten minutes.”

The voice cut through his thoughts. He finally turned toward it, staring at the young woman standing near the kitchen sink, sleeves rolled up as she washed a few plates. She hummed a tune she had been listening to often lately. The sight of her made his chest tighten.

“Toh…saka?”

The name slipped out before he could stop himself. He sat up abruptly, fingers gripping the bedsheets as if grounding himself might make the moment clearer. His voice sounded distant to his own ears.

“Huh? What is up with the way you are calling me?” she asked, turning around with a puzzled look. “Do I look different from behind? Hm, these pants have been feeling a bit tight lately… I never realized it was that obvious.”

It had been years since they left for Fuyuki, and time had changed her in small but noticeable ways. She was taller now, her features more defined, and the twin tails she once favored were gone. Her hair fell freely down her back instead. Dark circles sat beneath her eyes, a clear sign she had pulled another all-nighter. Her shirt was slightly wrinkled and only half buttoned, as if she had thrown it on without much thought.

“Did you get hit on the head a bit too hard during your mission with those Enforcers?” she continued, shaking her head as she reached into her pocket. “I told you it was dangerous. Dealing with one sealing designation is risky enough. Trying to capture two is basically asking for trouble.”

She sighed, then pulled out a familiar gem, its surface faintly glowing. “By the way, I am almost done with this. I still need a day or two to fill it completely, but you can handle the rest yourself with what I taught you. Don't worry, it won't blow up like the last three.”

She tossed it toward him without looking. He caught it on reflex, fingers closing around the smooth surface as he stared at it.

“This…”

“Just keep it close to you,” she said. “It is better than the other one you are wearing. At least this one can be used in an emergency if something goes wrong. It also lets me track you down if you get trapped or taken prisoner. I would rather you have more options during your missions than risk revealing your Reality Marble and getting yourself slapped with a sealing designation as well.”

Warmth settled in his chest at her words. Even now, she worried about him, going out of her way to prepare safeguards he had never asked for. She was difficult, stubborn, and careful with her feelings, but the concern was always there beneath the surface. He held the gem a little tighter, letting the sensation linger for just a moment.

Then a single question pushed its way forward, breaking the calm.

“Where are… the others?”

“The others?” Rin repeated, blinking. “What do you mean by that?”

The confusion on her face did nothing to ease the growing tension in his chest.

“The others,” he said again, louder this time. “Th-Thee ones who helped me when I got thrown into another world because of that field experiment of yours… Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Lutecia, and… and more! When you found me, Lutecia should have been there too. S-She looks like Rider! S-She must have been around.”

The words started spilling out faster than he could control them. He swung his legs off the bed, standing up as he checked his pockets and scanned the room. His movements were hurried, unfocused.

“Wait, where is Ruben?” he muttered. “It should be on me. It might help contact them.”

The expression on Rin’s face shifted from mild curiosity to genuine worry as she stood up from the chair and moved toward him. Closing the distance in an instant, one hand settling on his shoulder while the other gently cupped his cheek, her palm warm and steady against his skin. Her voice softened as she spoke, careful and grounded, as if trying to anchor him where he stood.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. Calm down, Emiya-kun. Take a deep breath for me, please. You must have had a really intense dream or a nightmare to react like this. There was nothing like that. I have never heard of those people, and there was no explosion. We only got back home yesterday after those long meetings with Lord El Melloi, remember? You were even talking with his assistant for a while."

Her words washed over him, but they did nothing to slow the storm building inside his chest. His heartbeat continued to rise, pounding hard enough that he could feel it in his throat. His breathing turned uneven as panic crept in, tightening its grip with every passing second.

"It was not a dream," he said, his voice strained. "I am telling the truth! There were others. I met them. I helped them, and they helped me too. It was... it was..."

The words refused to come together. As relieved as he was to see her face again, to wake up in a familiar room that he had not seen for what felt like far too long, the situation itself felt wrong. He had not expected this to happen, not like this, and certainly not so suddenly.

‘I did not even have time to say goodbye,’ he thought desperately. ‘How did this even happen? Did Rin find me and bring me back while I was sleeping? Or did I slip through another portal again? Then why is she acting as if none of it happened? Why is she not acknowledging any of it at all? What is going on?’

Nothing made sense. The more he tried to piece it together, the worse his thoughts became, spiraling into something erratic and unstable. A wave of nausea rolled through him, forcing him to swallow hard.

"I cannot be back yet," he said, his voice rising despite himself. "We still have not found Jail! I-I… I need to go back. I have to protect Lutecia. I cannot be back yet. You need to send me back, please, Tohsaka! J-Just for a bit longer, until I finish dealing with those issues! Please!"

He reached out without thinking, gripping her shoulders tightly and pulling her closer until there was barely any space between them. His hands trembled, fingers digging in as if she might disappear if he let go. Rin’s face flushed a deep red, surprise flashing across her features before discomfort followed close behind. She pushed against him, forcing him back just enough to breathe.

"Hey, stop that," she said with a light stutter, looking away from him. "C-Calm down. You are not making any sense, Emiya-kun. Ah, loosen your grip a bit. That actually hurts."

Those words cut through the haze. Reality came rushing back all at once as he realized what he was doing. Guilt settled heavily in his chest, and he released her at once, stumbling back several steps as if burned. His hands dropped to his sides, fingers curling in on themselves.

"I am sorry," he muttered. "I just... it makes no sense. You would not lie to me. So why am I back? How am I back?"

His thoughts raced again, all of it flooded back. The people he had met. The time he had spent with Nanoha. The promise he had made to Lutecia. The moments shared with Subaru and Teana, and even Fate. Their shared determination to stop Jail so that he could not hurt anyone else. His own resolve to see it through and protect them. None of that could have been a dream. It felt too real, far too real to be dismissed as just another dream.

He refused to accept it!

"This is not right," he whispered. Then louder. "This is not right. This is not right."

Without realizing it, his hand clenched around the edge of the nearby table with all his strength. The hard surface pressed into his palm, the pressure grounding him even as his knuckles turned pale. It only lasted a few seconds before he froze, startled by the sudden warmth against him.

Rin stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close before he could react. She guided his head down until it rested against her chest, one hand coming up to gently run through his hair in slow, steady motions. The gesture was simple, familiar, and calming in a way words had failed to be.

"It is okay," she said quietly. "Everything is going to be fine."

"Tohsaka," he murmured. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to explain, but none of it would come out right now.

"It is rare to see you like this," she continued, her tone thoughtful but kind. "Honestly, I cannot remember the last time you looked this shaken. But do not worry. Everything will work out. Whoever these people are, I am sure you will help them, just like you always do. Even if you end up far away again, or stuck somewhere strange, I will come get you. No matter where you end up."

He stayed silent, listening.

"There have only been a handful of times I have said this," Rin went on, her voice softer now, her fingers softly going through his red strands. "But I made a promise to someone that I would take care of you and watch over you. So just try not to get yourself into too much trouble, at least not until I am there. Put yourself first a little more. Do not rush headlong into danger. Just wait for me, okay?"

Her words continued to echo in his ears long after they were spoken. At some point, without him even noticing when it happened, his arms had returned the embrace. The sheer amount of stress that had been lodged in his shoulders slowly eased, replaced by a sense of calm that settled into his chest. She was right. No matter how he had ended up here, no matter how twisted the path had been, he would find his way back. He would finish what he had started. He would keep the promises he had made and make sure not to disappoint them, and Rin as well.

"Promise me, please?"

"I promise."

"Promise me what exactly?"

"That I will make sure to keep myself safe."

She smiled. It was an expression so gentle that he could feel it even without looking at her directly.

"That’s all I ask. Just don't die out there or else I'll drag your soul back into a puppet one way or another and keep you locked up." A scary threat, but one he believed could actually happen if she tried hard enough.

It was Rin after all.

Her words echoed through his ears once more as he remained where he was, allowing his nerves to cool down properly.

The room around him gradually began to darken, the edges of the space losing their shape as shadows crept inward. A pulling sensation suddenly took hold of his body, firm and almost painful. In the next moment, he was dragged by an incomprehensible force, pulled through a vast void that felt endless and empty. In the distance, the last thing he saw was the young woman waving at him, a beautiful smile on her face as she faded from view.

.

.

.

"..."

His eyes soon opened with neither the feeling of drowsiness nor tiredness within them. This time, he was once again gazing back at a ceiling that was not the one from his apartment in London, but the one in Midchilda. Another notable thing was the gem he held tightly in his sleep, keeping it on his being at all times.

“Was that… even a dream?”

It was hard to tell if he felt relief or disappointment. Seeing Rin again… or rather, dreaming about her made him realize just how long it had been since he last saw her. Making him remember every other person at the Clocktower, whether they be full or friend.

‘I miss them…’

As much as he wanted to stay and help everyone here, to not let go of all the relationships he had built over this world, it still remained hard for him to forget and let go of his past. Even there he had friends that he wanted to help. It was at Such moments that he wished his talents with Magecraft were a bit better, that even though it was highly unlikely, perhaps he could have been able to learn the same thing Rin was currently practicing and managed to keep his presence active in both worlds.

An overall melancholic beginning of the day.

“Hm?” Though he did not dwell on such emotions for too long, since his device sent a notification with Hayate calling for him to go over to the headquarters for some kind of meeting.

“All right then, time to wake up, Lutecia.”

With the start of a new day, Shirou figured things would go back to something close to normal. That was the thought he held onto as he prepared himself in the morning, moving through familiar routines that helped ground him. After getting ready, he headed toward the main headquarters with Lutecia walking just behind him.

"It’s quite odd to wake up with just the two of us living there now," he said quietly.

With how regularly everyone used to come over, the absence felt noticeable. Subaru and Teana had practically made it a habit to show up for dinner, eating until they could barely move before collapsing into a food coma and sleeping over. Now, with only him and Lutecia around, the house felt emptier than usual. The silence lingered longer in the halls, and small sounds carried further than before.

"Even with Fate living with you normally," Shirou added, speaking mostly to himself as he glanced back at the purple-haired girl behind him.

Lutecia did not show it on her face, but he knew well enough that she was missing her little friend, too. The way she walked, the way her gaze lingered forward without focus, made that clear enough.

"Do you think we’ll be sent to another planet again?" she asked.

"Hm?" Shirou did not quite catch her words at first. He slowed slightly and looked back at her, waiting for her to repeat herself or elaborate.

"Given how the last mission went rather smoothly, there is a possibility they will send us outside again," she continued.

"Well, it makes sense," he replied. "That is our job, and the Bureau is responsible for protecting other worlds, too."

"I guess so," Lutecia said after a moment. "But I feel like the biggest threat is still living somewhere on this planet."

It was an argument he could not disagree with. Shirou knew exactly what she meant and shared the same concern. There was a very real possibility that Jail Scaglietti had gone into hiding somewhere on Midchilda itself. Considering how the man had managed to keep something as massive as the Saint’s Cradle hidden from the public eye for so long, doing the same with himself and his group would be far from difficult.

"We can’t really do much until we get more information on his possible location," Shirou said.

"That’s the problem," Lutecia replied. "If he doesn’t want us to find him, we won’t. The doctor’s methods are close to perfect. The only mistakes he makes are because of his own arrogance."

Shirou fell silent for a moment. He did not know much about that man beyond their handful of encounters, and none of those meetings had gone well. Still, the unease lingered.

"I’m just worried he might start another attack on Midchilda again," he admitted.

"He will if we don’t get to him in time," Lutecia said calmly. "It’s only a matter of time. The doctor is not someone who lets go of anything easily, especially not after you cost him so much."

A wry smile slowly formed on his face as he let out a quiet breath. “To be fair, it is not my fault,” Shirou said, his tone casual but measured. “He kidnapped me and sealed me inside that vessel. Anyone should have known there were risks involved with imprisoning someone in a place like that. If it had been someone else, like Fate or Nanoha, the damage would have been far worse. I was actually holding back.”

Rather than agreeing, the girl beside him simply raised an eyebrow and gave him a sideways look. “Yeah, but none of them would have kept their Devices on them,” Lutecia replied. “They would have been powerless. People are not like you, Shirou. They cannot just summon weapons out of thin air without a tool.”

He had to admit that was a fair point. Even with monocores and enormous magical reserves, most people in this world lacked the same flexibility when it came to spellcasting. The systems here demanded preparation and proper equipment. Compared to that, his own abilities were an exception rather than the norm. It was a tradeoff between raw potential and convenience, and he understood both sides of it.

“Well, let us hope he does not try to recreate something like me,” he began, only for his sentence to be cut short by a sharp tug at his collar.

“Ugh!”

Shirou was suddenly yanked backward as they walked down the hallway of the Riot Force Six building. The abrupt movement threw him off balance and caused Lutecia to stumble. She instinctively took a step forward to chase after him, then froze when she realized who had grabbed him. Without a word, she turned around and calmly continued down the hallway as if nothing had happened.

“You are on your own for this,” she said flatly, her footsteps echoing away.

It took Shirou a moment to steady himself and adjust to the dim lighting. When his vision cleared, pink hair filled his view, followed by an unwavering stare from the woman he had seen several nights ago with the others. His expression stiffened, dread creeping in as he realized exactly who had dragged him aside.

“Hey there, Signum,” he said, forcing a weak smile that did nothing to hide his nerves.

“That is all you have to say?” Signum replied, her voice calm but firm. She released his collar but did not step back. Her posture was rigid, arms crossed as she studied him.

Shirou laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. The situation was uncomfortable in a way he had expected, yet still failed to prepare for. After what happened yesterday, he knew this confrontation was inevitable. He had hoped for more time, or at least a chance to explain himself properly to the people who effectively acted as Hayate’s guardians.

“Are you angry?” he asked.

“I stopped Vita from coming over here and smacking your head with her hammer,” Signum said evenly. “Does that answer your question?”

“Not really,” Shirou replied. “If anything, that just makes me worry you stopped her because you wanted to do it yourself.”

“If you do not explain yourself,” Signum said, “I might.”

That was about as clear a warning as he could get. Despite preparing himself mentally for this moment, standing in front of her made him more uneasy than he expected. He straightened his posture and took a breath. “What did Hayate say so far about the other day?”

“Let us assume she said nothing.”

That only made things more complicated. If Hayate had not spoken, then the responsibility to explain everything fell squarely on him. Realizing he had no real choice, Shirou began recounting his side of the story in full. He did not skip details or soften the truth. Every few minutes, he glanced toward the window at the moon outside, then back to Signum, who listened in silence with her arms still crossed, her expression unreadable as she waited for him to finish.

“Seconds felt like ours after he finished talking, seeing her digest everything he said while waiting patiently. Then again, it wasn't like he had any choice and could just walk away. So stuck between a rock and a hard place, he waited with a sense of dread. Hoping that, at the very least, she would not hit him with too much strength behind her punches.

“—!”

He flinched the moment the woman raised her hand, waiting for the punishment and accepting it no matter how painful it might be, without trying to dodge or block it. Yet instead, rather than suffering from my painfully swollen face, he found her scratching her own head with a look of frustration. “What are you even thinking… Hayate…”

“Eh?’

Was this going to happen a second time? It made sense for him to get punched or scolded at least once by someone! He avoided that outcome with the other three — but surely it would not be the same with her?

“I can't blame you alone for this.”

‘What? Yes, you can!’ What was going on around here? Why were these people so forgiving? Shirou could even see him hitting himself for his action!

“Oh, don't give me that look, you're not completely off the hook, Shirou,” Signum said while crossing her arms. “But Hayate is a grown-up who can make decisions and judge herself. She is no longer the small child we needed to protect in the past, and there are many things she does in her life where we have no say whatsoever. I am just confused why Hayate is so accepting of… this.”

“Accepting what?” He asked with the head tilt, his reaction getting a suspicious look from Signum that lasted a few seconds until it changed into surprise.

“You don't know… she didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Aside from just listening to some of his moments from the past, Hayate never told him anything that would cause the person in front of him to act in such a way. His curiosity grew along with Signum’s disbelief as she now proceeded to smack around forehead. “From your reaction, I take it it's something important? I wouldn't mind if you filled me in on the details.”

“Thats—um, actually… hah, I can't. Damn it! Seriously, Hayate, why did this have to fall on me of all people? I should have just let Vita come over to crush your head.”

Seeing her genuinely disconflicted just served to further deepen his curiosity. Signum had always given him the impression of being someone quite composed and straight to the point. So for her to act like this, it couldn't just be any regular old unimportant subject.

Furthermore, she proceeded to grab him by the collar and stare right into his eyes. “Listen, Shirou, I want you to listen to me clearly. Because this is massive and I don't know how to solve it without potentially hurting two parties. So, you'll have to figure this out on your own since I do not want to be the one responsible for indirectly causing any kind of sadness to inflict Hayate.”

“What's with the vague wording?” He mentioned, exasperated. “I won't know how to handle the matter if I don't even know what it is. Can't you at least just give me a clue?”

She shook her head, “Sorry, Shirou. I really want to but I can't. But before I leave, let me ask you one question. Currently in your heart, who do you love without a hint of doubt? Who would you never betray?”

Taken aback by the sudden deep question, the redhead still answered the next second without any hesitation. “Nanoha, since I accepted being in a relationship with her. There is absolutely no way I would betray her and I will try my best to not repeat them saying mistakes I have done recently ever again. I have learned my lesson.”

Rather than getting an odd of approval or even a smile from her, instead he saw her face getting more sour. “That's what I'm afraid about. This is… tricky.”

“Eh?” Now he was genuinely lost, was she not satisfied with his answer? Perhaps she did not believe him to be capable of following through? If that was the case, then he was more than willing to prove her otherwise and redeem himself.

“In any case, you should be going to meet Hayate now, she's waiting for you.”

“Wait, hold on! I-I still…” Unfortunately for him, Signum turned on her heel and walked away without giving him an opportunity to finish this question. Does leaving him all by himself and dark room with nothing but his own thoughts and keeping him company. “Did I… do I just need to ask Hayate directly? Or maybe I should do so with Fate; she should be free later on.”

Motivated to get an answer and properly deal with this matter once and for all, he intended to get an answer out of her one way or another but then stopped in his tracks the next second when Signum turned around and walked away. “Don't be late, everyone else is already gathered in the main room and are waiting for you. We'll talk more later.”

Later… as much as you wanted to get an answer, she was right on how he could not keep the others waiting. So keeping her words in mind, Shirou went ahead and made his way to the main room where just like Signum mentioned, everyone else was already there waiting for him. Lutecia especially approached him and proceeded to check him out, walking around several times with an observant face.

“You're still alive.”

His eyes twitched at that comment. ‘This little brat.’

“Eeeeu,” still feeling a bit vengeful for that earlier betrayal, he figured her punishment would come in the form of grabbing both sides of her face with a light pinch and pulling them to make her do a silly expression. “Isht hursh, Shfirou.”

“So did my heart when you walked away like that. The least you can do for the guy who feeds you is to have his back.”

“You brought that disaster on yourself.”

No it was his time to flinch, she was right after all. Regardless, he turned his attention towards the others, Subaru and Teana already gathered with Caro and Erio nearby. The orange haired girl smiled at him and gave a small nod. Then he gazed at the person at the forefront, the latter immersed on a stack of papers She continued to read for several minutes until finally putting them down with a sigh.

“Damn you, Regius.”

Well that sounded ominous enough already.

“Sorry for the lateness, everyone. I was just checking the details of our latest mission and I will tell you right now, some of you may not like it.” Hayate mentioned soon after, especially looking towards him at that last part. Everyone in the room went a bit tense, yet kept their silence while waiting for her to continue. “Alright then, here are the details.”

The numerous screens around them changed image, now showcasing several pictures of drones and of the remains of the Saint's Cradle. The Giant structure, still lying in the middle of the forest, the front part of it destroyed with a giant hole visible from afar. ‘They still haven't cleared up much of it.’

“As you can see, the clearing of the Saint's Cradle is still very much in its early stages. For such a giant structure, it might take around a month to get rid of it completely. Even if Midchilda dispatches every single available mages to help out, at best we could shorten that time to a week.”

That made sense, if floating above the city itself, its sheer size encompassed a large section of Midchilda alone. No different to a floating city, trying to clear it off was no different to trying to erase an entire city of the face of the earth.

“While this was happening, we continued to track down the culprit who stole this in the first place. Jail’s whereabouts still remain unknown but we have a suspicion that he is still somewhere on this planet, hiding. Ever since that incident, the entire airspace had been put into a lockdown with no ship capable of flying in and flying out without our notice and approval.

“That bastard is annoying, like a needle stuck inside your skin.” Subaru commented with a huff. “He sure likes to talk big for someone who spends most of his time hiding like a coward.”

Hayate hummed, “Can't say I disagree with you, but he is still someone we cannot underestimate for his intelligence alone has already done so much damage.”

“Since we are talking about him, I take it you all found some kind of lead to his location?” The dream from earlier resurfacing, Shirou genuinely felt a sense of urgency on finding this person. For what would he do it the next time he woke up and actually found himself no longer present in this world?

The emotions he felt back then, even if they were all a dream come up still felt real. He would never be able to live down the aftermath.

“Kind of,” Hayate replied with an uncertain tone. “We got confirmation that a… reliable source will be able to help us in finding his hideout. So, your task will be to protect this person at all cost given there is a possibility that Jail might try to eliminate them. Another issue, aside from finding Jail, is related to clearing of the Saint's Cradle.”

After tapping a few keys on the keyboard, the images on the screen changed, showcasing several remains of drones scattered across the forest. Some footage even displayed them appearing out of nowhere and attacking anyone close to the wreckage. “It seems like you may have underestimated just how many of these things that man created. As it turned out, during the destruction of the airship, an army of these drones managed to escape before our forces could get there in time. Now they're causing trouble for anyone close by and if we take our eyes off of them for even a second, casualties numbers start to rise. So while you are there, make sure to reduce their numbers as much as possible.”

Simple enough mission, Shirou figured that with everyone here they would be more than capable of eliminating such a threat. “Zwei and I will be keeping an eye on all of you. If something were to go south, then you are all ordered to retreat rather than confront it head on. Let's not take unnecessary risks, we have him cornered so it's best to take our time.”

“Yes!”

Everyone replied in unison and thus wasted no time heading outside where an aircraft awaited them. From the pilot seat, a brown-haired man greeted them with a large grin on his face. “Hey there! Vice Granscenic at your service, I'll be responsible for taking you to the designated area and to be on standby in case anyone needs to be flown back for an emergency.”

Vice, Shirou felt like he heard that name before but could not remember from where. “All right then, on board everyone!”

Every single member rushed inside the aircraft, with the rotors spinning loudly, they soon flew away and headed straight to the land across the large body of water. All the while within, most of the team remained in complete silence, half of them tense while the other almost excited. “When I see that man's ugly face, I'll make sure to break a couple of bones before capturing him.”

“Don't try to go too far, Subaru.”

“Tch, I can tell you are looking forward to doing that as well, Shirou.” She rebutted, while Teana on the other side kept her silence and stared outside the window. “And I doubt he is in any form facing us again. Given all the setbacks he has experienced lately, his force must be crippled to a severe degree. That attack you did and your battle against them must have reduced their numbers by at least half.”

“They were quite resilient, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them managed to survive fatal wounds.” She did not deny his words, the numbers from his understanding were like Androids, artificially created by the doctor. There was nothing to say that he couldn't just make more of them to replace the old ones just like he did with the drones. As morbid as it sounded, part of him felt like that demand did not even treat them as people, their name alone gave him that impression.

“We're here!” Vice’s voice sounded from the intercoms After several minutes passed and the body of water beneath had changed into a lush forest expanding for as far as the eyes could see. But on a small clearing Where they were headed, Shirou noticed there was already a group there waiting for them. And upon landing, he realized it was another then Fate and Nanoha, Both women standing side by side next to a large metal box with a small window sealed off with bars.

The first thing he noticed was Nanoha’s face.

“She looks pissed, it's scary.” Teana perfectly worded out his inner thoughts. He could not remember the last time he even saw her make such a face, the same could also be said with Fate who looked visibly uncomfortable.

The latter took a deep breath and walked forward, “I am sure Hayate already debriefed you on your mission. Unfortunately, we quickly found out that locating a doctor is nearly impossible. Radars, surveillance systems and every other form of technology are useless against a man who had a hand in building them and creating counters against all of them. So, you were left with a single option.”

She looked back at Nanoha, the brunette clenching her fist even further and then giving him a look that conveyed a lot of emotions he could not properly decipher. Going ahead, she tapped several buttons on the I know next to her, the sound of latches dislodging reached their ears as the door to what appeared to be a mobile jail cell slowly opened.

It did not take long for Shirou to realize why both of the women in front of him and even Hayate looked so awkward and satisfied this entire time. For he felt the same surge of emotion rise within him as an individual came walking out of the darkness and finally had the sunlight reveal her entire being.

This time, no longer wearing her initial combat gear or the prisoner outfit, this current outfit was more similar to a straight jacket that kept her limbs bound to the side. Despite those restrictions, she had a beaming smile on her face, even having the audacity to chuckle upon noticing their reaction.

“Aw~! What's with those faces? You all look like you're not happy to see me. How disappointing, here I was preparing myself to surprise all of you and see the wonderful smiles on your faces. You should be doing that regardless, after all, how else will I feel motivated to find the doctor?” Quattro answered with an exaggerated disappointed tone.

All the while Shirou already felt this mission’s chances of going south rising by the second.

What the hell was going on here!?

The Legendary Saiyan In a Fairy's World Chapter 58

Not beta read yet.

Next update is Nanoha in a few seconds. Followed by SEF or Hound.

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“He looks like he's in a rough shape.”

Fairy Tail had plenty of powerful majors, whether it be Erza, the elusive Mystogan Who really showed his face at the guild itself, the eccentric Gildarts and even herself — there were less than a handful of other guilds who could boast a similar roster. All of this without even taking into account newcomers like Broly himself who, in her opinion, was like the unofficial s-class mage.

Just a handful of instances where he showcased his magic and strength were more than enough to prove that he stood on a different level compared to others in the guilds.

Regardless, it was because of these individuals that Fairy Tail attained this level of popularity and notoriety amongst the dark guilds. Very few people, aside from the wizard saints themselves and other s-class wizards, posed a natural threat to each individual. Mirajane recalled how Erza herself had the capabilities to take on more than one as classmates at the same time as well, even if it was during a friendly sparring session. Laxus himself was no slouch, easily amongst the top three within the guild itself, though he liked to see himself as the second strongest below gildarts.

But for him to be put in such a state along with his teammate, it really stunned the white haired woman who had never seen him come back from a quest with similar wounds and much less unconscious. ‘Was it Phantom Lord? They have been lingering around these parts more often lately, even that blue-haired girl occasionally comes by to visit the guild but never stays long enough for me to ask any questions.’

Unfortunately, even that idea did not make sense. Other than the Master himself, Jose, no one in that guild was powerful enough to put Laxus into a state like this, and Master Makarov himself commented on how he did not recognize the lingering magic on the Thunder God Tribe team. On that note, she looked on the other side of the infirmary room, where sleeping on a chair was none other than the old man himself, having stayed here for several hours waiting for his grandson to wake up. She felt bad for him, for even if their relationship was quite rocky these past few months, he was still his grandson and Makarov still cared about his few remaining family.

“It's best if you have some rest, Mirajane. I'll take over from here.” The old man said, opening his eyes and letting out a long yawn before stretching his limbs. “Don't worry about this, I may be old but I'm still capable enough of taking care of you brats, I've learned a thing or two from Porlyusica.”

“It's fine, she said while shaking her head, “I have someone else take over for me at the bar. I don't mind staying here for another hour, in fact, it's better if I stay here.”

“...”

He did not say anything, not even trying to argue back unlike his usual self. Just from that alone it became clear just how worried he was. “Any clues on what or who could have caused this?”

Makarov stocked his beard with a contemplative stare. “From what I recall, their last quest was something to do with a nearby town who kept having trouble dealing with thunder strikes descending upon their town regularly. I received word from Freed before they left that this was due to the mayor secretly powering a lightning lacrima, of what sort exactly I am not sure, but most likely he was trying to either use it for himself or sell it off for a pretty jewel at the black market. But that is unlikely to be the cause of this, the injuries themselves are not the kind you would get from a lightning strike and such an attack would have no effect on him. There are burns, but it's not from fire either, something more concentrated and from what I could gather on the other three members — The fight must have been very short.”

“That does not really help with shortening the list of suspects.”

Makarov grumbled while scratching his eye, “No, no it doesn't. We just don't have enough clues to paint a reliable and valid picture. All of this is just guesswork at best. Our only option is to ask him to bring himself when he eventually wakes up. He is too stubborn and too big of an idiot to go into a long coma from just this much.”

It was hard to keep herself from laughing at that, especially in this scenario having such a reaction felt wrong so she had to contain it to the best of her abilities. But as the world itself had agreed with Makarov, both of them heard faint grounds come from the blonde haired wizard and the Master immediately jumped out of his chair.

“Urgh,” the sound of discomfort came from Laxus, with him squinting at the sunlight and using his arm to cover his eyes for a bit. “Where… where… am—”

“You're back at the guild, you idiot!”

“What? Old geezer, you…” He seemed completely confused with his surroundings and took a moment to adjust and figure out basically everything. All the while his grandfather continued to shout at him, Laxus kept his silence without even glancing at him a second time. This went on for several seconds until he eventually had enough. “Oh for the love of—SHUT THE HELL UP! Your yammering is going to make my head explode at this rate! Shut your trap before I shut it for you!”

“Is that how you talk to your elderly!? You should be ashamed! And what will you even do in that state of yours? I can pick a random nobody from the street and they'll be able to beat your snot out in a matter of seconds!”

“What did you fucking say to me!?”

Well, just looking at the back and forth between them, it was clear that Laxus was going to make a full recovery soon enough and that his mind had not been that affected by whatever happened. Despite the young man's troublesome behavior during these recent times, he was still a member of the guild and she worried about him just like she did for everyone else.

“Hey, where do you think you're going!?”

While she was preparing the medicines prepared for the ground in case they woke up and to replace the bandages; The two behind her started to get even more rowdier than usual. Mirajane turned her head to see Laxus getting out of his bed with Makarov trying to get him back on it only for the former to ignore him.

“Brat, You still need to heal up! Your injuries were bad enough that even that old witch was stunned by how you were still alive and breathing for goodness sake! You shouldn't even be getting out of bed let alone going outside!”

“Shut the hell up, you old timer! I ain't sleeping until I find that bastard again and turn them into ashes after breaking every single bone in his body! There is no way I will accept losing to someone like that, who the hell does he take me for!?” At this point, it was practically futile to stop the raging force that had woken up. Regardless of the pain he was suffering through, Mirajane could immediately tell that he was not going to take a note for an answer and much less listen to his grandfather.

“Don't force my hand, I will knock you unconscious if I have to keep you here and even tie you to the bed!”

Unfortunately, the Masters threat was no different to adding fuel to the fire, Sparks started to coat Laxus’ arm, pointing his fist at the old man with the sneer on his face. “Don't think for a second your empty words will have an effect on me like these other weaklings. If you want to stop me, then you better dig up an early gray for me because I won't be going down so easily. And I won't be holding back even against you.”

“Laxus!” Appalled by those very words and how he could even say such a thing to his own grandfather, Mirajane tried to intervene only for an arc of lightning to shoot past her and strike the wall behind. Eyes widened and her hair completely disarray, she could not even believe what he had nearly done.

“Stay out of this, Mira. This is not a place for you to get involved, listen or the next thing I will be aiming for is not the wall behind you.”

Immediately, any sense of compassion and empathy she felt for him earlier on was washed away, leaving very little of it present. Her eyes narrowed, “You have gotten quite cocky in these lost few years haven't you?” She knew where her train of thoughts were heading, a flame of anger that ignited and threatened to grow if left unchecked.

A reminder was what this person needed at the moment.

She was not a stranger to uncontrolled anger and irrational thinking like the man in front of her, but if he continued to act this way, then she was more than willing to loosen up the belt around her emotions. Watching him scoff at her reaction and have the nerve to turn his back on her and continue to make his way outside.

Eternano started to swirl aro— “Don't.” Right at the end, Makarov came forth and grabbed her hand, immediately pulling her out of her prior state. “You shouldn't be the one to handle my mistake. Don't worry, I'll just use more force for means if I have to. He's always been a stubborn kid.”

“You are too lenient with him…”

“Am I?” He said with a chuckle, then proceeded to shake his head tiredly. “I suppose I am… but I can't help myself.”

It irked her how she could not even reprimand him, for she knew well why the master was like this towards Laxus. With how things went with his son, when he kicked him out of the guild, it all started to go downhill from there. Such an action not only affected his grandson but also the grandfather himself, though he did not show it, she could tell even till this day it kept swirling within his mind.

“—!”

Soon, a commotion erupted from the other side, coming from the main hall of the guild. Both Mirajane and Makarov already figured out what was going on and that uncooperative leader of the Thunder God Tribe most likely started trouble with the others. This just further made the old man groan with frustration. “Damn it, it's one thing after another with him. Natsu must have found him.”

Without wasting a second, both rushed towards the entrance, wanting to Not only put an end to an unnecessary fight between guild members during such time and to bring Laxus back to rest. While she was curious as to who could have been capable of injuring his team to such an extent, she doubted the man could change the outcome if he went back for a second round and possibly risk coming back even more injured than before. “Wait, Laxus! You can't leave like this! Eh?” Yet as her hand pushed the door open, expecting to come across a chaotic scene between Natsu and Laxus arguing with one another and it soon escalating to a fight between those two, instead she stumbled upon an unnaturally quiet guild hall.

With every single person's attention being glued to the two individuals standing near the counter. One being none other than Laxus and the other one…

“Hey, get the hell out of my way.” Laxus growled, standing right in front of a certain Saiyan who was holding on to a quest form in his hand. Even when Laxus was one of the tallest members of the guild, in front of Broly, he was forced to twist his neck upwards just to look him in the eyes.

“...”

Despite the threats thrown at him, no movement was made whatsoever with him just staring down at Laxus with a hint of curiosity. Not even angered by the hostile tone or even the murderous glare sent his way. Just from this alone, Mirajane had a bad feeling about what was about to happen next.

“Oi, are you deaf!? I said get the fuck out of my way before I turn into a spasming mess on the ground.”

Again, he got no answer whatsoever. Murmurs started to spread across the guild with several people even placing bets on what was going to happen. From the corner of her eyes, she already saw Erza already up with her hand turned into fists. Ready to intervene at any moment. As for Gildarts, the man was literally flat out drunk and sleeping on the counter, snoring loudly without a care in the world.

Seeing the lack of reaction, the already incensed Laxus was at his wit's end. Lightning coating his arm and traveling across his body, sparks covering every inch with the atmosphere getting increasingly tense and hostile. “The old man should really step down, what's the point of allowing weaklings in this guild who can't even follow a simple order and think they can't be destroyed by anyone.”

This… was bad.

“Hey, Mira.” While contemplating intervening between the two of them and to stop Laxus from pushing things out of hand, instead she heard Broly call her out with his eyes now focused on her. “Is he supposed to be out of bed?” He asked while pointing a finger at Laxus.

“Um… no?” Still caught off guard by the overall atmosphere, she answered without thinking which made him nod his head.

“I see. You should listen to her and go back to bed. Your Ki is weak and needs some time to recover, also you shouldn't be worrying the master like that, since you are his grandson.” Broly said calmly, those words coming out as sincere rather than sarcastic or even as a mockery. But while everyone understood his genuine intentions, Laxus on the other hand misunderstood the entire thing completely and his face went full red from pure anger.

Bzt!

Lightning crackled, dozens of pure yellow arcs of electricity came to life and concentrated around his fists as he raised it with intention to harm. “Who the fuck do you think you are to call me weak!?”

“Laxus!”

“Shit, are you out of your mind!?”

“Broly!”

The sudden attack shocked many people who could not believe he would just straight up attack Broly like that. Even though people brawling and hitting each other was quite common in the guild, none did so with any intensity of causing permanent harm and we're mostly doing and out of fun. But the intent behind Laxus' attack was clear, he was not holding back at all and such an attack could even potentially be fatal if thrown at any other member of the guild.

Several people were already on the move, herself, the master whose hands had enlarged ten times its prior size and rushed ahead intending to stop his grandson from doing something stupid, Erza rushing forward with her sword drawn with even Gray already in position to summon his ice constructs. The only one completely unbothered by this was Gildarts, the latter having just opened his eyes for a tiny bit to observe the situation before closing them once more and letting out an audible huff. “Idiot.”

The one who wielded the power of thunder turned out to be much faster than many anticipated, his fist already halfway across — only to immediately halt in place when Broly's palm caught it mid-air.

Bam!

The following aftermath came in the form of a shockwave and an ear splitting noise spreading all across the building. The support beams trembling by the force alone and a flash of light coming from the lightning nearly blinding those who were closest with Mirajane having barely managed to shield her eyes at the last second and opening them back to see Laxus frozen in place.

Not by being encased in Gray's ice construct, but rather in pure shock upon seeing the person before him just straight up grabbed his fist as if it were nothing. The lightning still coating his arm doing little to no damage and the fact that he could not even move an inch after being grabbed like that. This only served to anger him further, even Mirajane could see that she knew better than anyone else on just how short tempered and stubborn Laxus could be.

“YOU FUCKI—URGH!” Whatever words that were about to come out of his mouth ended shortly as Broly’s other hand grabbed his head and immediately pushed Laxus to the ground at lightning speed. Where one second the latter was still standing, the next, half of his body now became buried under destroyed wooden planks, cement and dirt. Only the white of his eyes visible, no sign of consciousness and with blood streaming down his forehead.

“...”

It ended in less than a second.

Those who were prepared to see a fight remain glued to their spot with their mouth hung open, unable to believe the outcome. While the rest who were more familiar with Broly just sighed in relief, good thing Lucy and Cana were not present at the moment.

Meanwhile Mirajane just stood there, not sure whether to feel relieved or find this entire thing funny. She knew Broly was quite powerful, but for him to just shrug off one of Laxus’ attacks that casually… It further cemented her previous statement of him being no different to an unofficial S-Class mage.

“Hah,” Makarov too was Not surprised by the outcome, going over there and grabbing his grandson by the leg and pulling him out without any attempts of making it gentle. “Thank you, and sorry about his behavior. He is usually not this angry, I guess he must have taken the loss more seriously than I thought.”

Broly just shrugged, “It's fine, I can understand him having anger issues. I'm sure he'll be more calm after waking up. I can help him with that, given I went through something similar recently.” He said it so casually that Mirajane couldn't help but chuckle at how all of this turned out in the end. Walking over to the counter, she couldn't help but smile when seeing him so focused on a particular quest he must have found from the quest board. Reading the details with so much concentration that it was clear that whatever happened earlier did not even register in his mind as something worth remembering.

“Ah, Mira, I… uh, I have a weird question.”

“Hm?” It was strange to see him make such a face like that. It only enabled the curiosity within the girl to grow along with a hint of mischief. “If it's something personal about me then perhaps we should find a more private setting. Or perhaps are you looking forward to redoing the modeling session we had before?”

“Oh, sure, I don't mind doing that again. But now, rather I was hoping if you could help me with some questions I have with this.” He said well placing the quest on the table which called her attention immediately as she recognized what it was.

“Demons?” She did not expect him to take on such a quest, Well it was not necessarily dangerous enough to be classified as s-class… still… “Demons are very tricky beings. It's hard to gouge just how dangerous they can be without an expert mage who has already dealt with them. It could be a homeless one or a deadly one who managed to disguise itself as something harmless. Are you sure you, Lucy and Cana want to take this one?”

“Actually, I'm thinking about doing this alone. As you said, it can be dangerous and… uh, I just want to make some quick money to buy Lucy a present.”

“...”

Did he just… lie to her? The white haired mage became speechless, this being the first she found someone else who was just as bad as Natsu at lying and the fact that it was Broly of all people.

“Back to my question, I wanted to ask if there is a way I could track down demons in an area. Do you know of any tools or spells that could help out?”

“Well, there are plenty of ways,” she answered while still trying to wonder what was going on here. “But the most accurate one would be to have someone who has a demon within them. Like Takeover, it’s the most reliable way by far.”

She saw several different kinds of emotions across his face. Which made her curious as to why he wanted to track down demons of all things. “Is something going on?”

Broly shook his head, “It's nothing serious. Just a question I asked out of curiosity. I'll be taking this one, so please note it down for me. If Lucy or Cana arrive, tell them that I'll be back late!”

“Hey wait!”

Unfortunately for her, the Saiyan had already flown out of the building at high speed, grabbing the quest paper with him and leaving her standing there with her hand stretched out to where he was earlier on. Having gotten the idea of luring him with a solution to his problem and presenting herself as the one who could help him out giving her magic, she did not get the opportunity to do so with how quickly he flew away. “Damn it.”

“I'd advise you to not play these kinds of games with him.” Gildarts mentioned, having finally woken up from his drunken state. “The guy is pretty straightforward, he won't be able to understand or even spot the kind of signs you're sending him. It's no different to talking to a brick wall, you need to really give it to him straight for it to get through his head.”

The girl pouted, “Broly is not that dense. He was probably to preoccupy it with whatever was going on to notice. But I'm sure next time he'll spot it.” She did not even make any attempts at denying her prior actions.

“Next time? Ha! Good luck with that. Since you're playing the slow waiting game, then I'll give you advice as a fellow guild member, that guy has already slept with a woman.”

“What!?”

That revelation came so out of left field that the glass she was cleaning slipped out of her hand and smashed against the floor, shattering in thousands of pieces. Her reaction only made the middle-aged man crackle out loud. “Hahaha! You didn't know? Of course he did! Unfortunately, I can't say with whom specifically, but I can tell with certainty that he did! I have been around for long enough to spot the difference, my instincts have never been wrong about this.”

“You're just basing this off of feelings!” Mirajane shouted back, her mind going crazy with several possibilities. Could it have been Lucy? She was not blind to the enormous crush the girl had towards him, but it also could have been that celestial spirit who was practically glued to him and made no efforts to put any space between them.

“Regardless if you believe me or not, I can tell for certain that he is surrounded by beautiful women. One of them just so happened to be someone I also met recently. She's a scary person, very different from the people in this guild and perhaps the closest one to his level. But then again, she did not give me the impression of being someone who would sleep with him… though they do say that it's those kinds of women that tend to work in mysterious ways. I'm pretty certain he must have gone to whatever this quest was with her tagging along, can't blame him — she's beautiful. Many things can happen between a man and a woman during such times.”

No she had more questions than answers, first being about this person and why was he bringing her along to this quest rather than his team. It was so strange that something felt terribly off at this moment. Looking back at the quest of which she had a copy, Mirajane did not see anything strange stand out about it. A demon subjugation at a rural village was common, so why would Broly be interested in this?

‘I have a bad feeling about this. Should I…’ looking back at the rules, there was nothing prohibiting several different teams for taking on a quest unless there was a restriction put in place by the one who made the quest specifically. An idea popped in her mind but she did not know if it was wise to follow it.

‘Maybe I should talk with someone about this first… where is Erza?’

{Break}

-???-

Ishgar was an expensive land with plenty of regions devoid of life, ideal places for several groups to hide from the eyes of the council and the royal family. Whether it be because of their past sins, preference or any other reason, the wastelands were the perfect place for one to just disappear. And it was within this space that a large floating cuboid fortress hovered mid-air, traveling from different lands and now stationed in this region.

Within its many rooms, a bedroom could be found, a large and quiet one with high ceilings, dark wooden beams, and heavy crimson curtains that blocked any sunlight from peeking through. Polished stone walls and at its center sat a wide bed dressed in black and wine-colored sheets, its carved frame subtly suggestive without being overtly threatening, while a faint mix of incense and something sweet lingered in the air.

From within the sheets, one could see several slow movements, to figures entangled with one another, their figures half covered with the other half barely illuminated by a nearby candlelight.

Sensual moans filled the air, filled with ecstasy and pleasure.

The person on the top, the light of the fire barely illuminating her long brown hair and some aviary physical traits, curvaceous hourglass body that rested against an equally gifted one. Beneath the sheets come up both naked bodies pushing against one another, enjoying the others embrace, legs and tangled and tongues fighting for dominance. With the one at the top going ahead and playing with her partner's breasts which were even larger than hers. Going down and biting on to them, making a loud scream of pleasure echo within the cobblestone walls.

Kyouka

“Not so hard, you leave marks on my skin, Kyouka-sama.” The one at the bottom spoke first come on long raven hair and to distinct black marks on her shoulders. Are most noticeable trait being two large golden horns protruding off of her head. Neither of the women were humans come out at most possessing The appearance of one to a certain extent, but everything about them, just exuded a demonic presence.

Seilah

Both being Etherious.

“Oh? I am pretty sure you like when I do that~! Or maybe I should start with the main course? Your body has been craving my tongue more than I recall. How adorable, Seilah.”

The black haired woman did not deny the claim, instead just returning the favor with the hand going below the sheets and forcing to let out a equally loud moan. Her body shaking as she moved back and forth for a bit, gasping for air while Seilah brought back her fingers now coated in a sticky liquid and licking them right in front of her partners lust filled eyes. “I could be saying the same to you. You're more sensitive than last time, did you use your curse on yourself?”

Kyouka smirked, leaning down to plant a deep kiss on Seilah’s lips. Their tongue exploring each other's mouths until they separated with a string of saliva connecting the both of them. “With someone like you, do I even need to do so?”

“It would be an insult to my skills if you did. And it is an honor to hear that I am still able to make you feel this way.”

“That I know.” Answered Kyouka, leaning forward once more to continue where they left off only to be stopped at the last moment as Seilah placed her finger between both of their lips. This action catching her by surprise as she looked at her partner with an inquisitive look.

“I'm afraid that we will need to end this here today. I was in the middle of handling something important when you dragged me away from the library in order to have some fun just because you were bored.”

The avian Etherious frowned, “What duties do you even have? Spending all day reading those meaningless books will do you know good as to spending time with me. We can keep each other company for all eternity, not something that those binded pieces of papers can accomplish.”

“Oh? Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your tone?” Seilah said, chuckling mirthfully. “I am not just reading those books to pass time. Have you forgotten our meeting earlier with Mard Geer? There is a pretty big anomaly that made itself known during this past few years and another one that showed up because of a certain dragon god. While we know the location of the first one, the second one as practically vanished. So it is in our best interest to handle these two before they become a problem.”

So she said, even though her words sounded logical, they only serve to irritate her partner. “Who cares about a bunch of humans with a somewhat unique power? After we've accomplished our goal, they will end up being just as useless as the rest of them.”

“Are we sure if either of them or even human? You haven't even seen the face of the second one let alone the first.” Seilah continued patiently, pushing Kyouka to decide gently and getting up from the bed, her full body on display, curves that outshined Kyouka herself. Oozing sex appeal and a level of beauty high enough it could be seen as unnatural, demonic and even capable of affecting others of her own kind. Even while putting on a loose kimono wrapped around her torso and showcasing an enormous amount of cleavage, it did little to hide her overall figure.

“If they were capable of creating trouble for us then they would have done so beforehand. The first one took down the other two dark guilds only because those idiots were too weak. Even that human who try to spy on us could not do do much against you. Fufufu~! I wonder if he enjoyed the gift I left for him, it's only a matter of time before he comes back begging to have it be removed.”

“I trust your judgement, Kyouka-sama. But you must admit, it is troublesome that we are down to guilds who have been of great used to us these past few years. Without them, it's become much more troublesome at gathering intel and recruiting fresh meat to join our roster. And of course, those responsibilities now fall onto my shoulders.” At the same time, Kyouka wrapped her arms around Seilah, one hand groping her breast while she also licked her earlobe before gently biting them.

“Leave that to me, I'll make sure we find some nice compliant slave who will be more than happy on taking on these tasks. In fact, I do hope more like that fool from last time show up at our doorstep, it will be easier to subjugate them than to hunt more of them down.”

“Mmm~! W-What if the magic council sends their more powerful mages? I got word that Gildarts has returned to Fairy Tail.”

To that Kyouka laughed.

“Doesn't matter if it's Gildarts or the four gods themselves, whoever shows up next, I promise I'll turn them into compliance slaves to you as a gift, my dear.”

“That… I look forward to, Kyouka-sama.” letting herself be pulled back onto the bed, the kimono she had just put on where immediately discarded once more with the sensual sounds of their moans once again filling the room.

Wrought Iron Taimanin Chapter 2: Hell Knight

Beta read by GamerCrusher55 and Paragon of Awes

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 42: Ball Part 2

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and GamerCr

To Love a Sword Chapter 43: Heavy Snow Part 1

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and FabledL

An Archer's Promise Chapter 80: Trap

Beta read by Gamercrusher55

So, a

My Teenage High-school Romance Comedy Can't Be This Perverted!

Not beta read yet

Next update is An Archer's Promise

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-Kuoh-

I had plenty of moments of pure disbelief and shock throughout my life. Some came during moments where death was close enough to feel, others during my regular high school days when things should have been simple. In a world filled with supernatural beings, ancient creatures that still wandered certain regions, and even weird gods who just couldn't act normally, I had learned not to be surprised easily. I understood that strange revelations came with the territory, and I had long accepted that as part of daily life.

But this time, the disbelief did not come from any of those things. It came from what I had just heard directly from Asia’s mouth. Raynare of all people had saved her from being kidnapped, only to end up being kidnapped herself. The words did not settle properly in my mind. I actually pinched my arm, half expecting to wake up or hear someone laugh and tell me this was some tasteful joke.

Raynare getting kidnapped? Ha! But unfortunately, nothing happened expect me feeling some pain from pinching myself.

Asia’s earlier sobbing had already told me everything I needed to know. She was not exaggerating or telling a lie. Like Gabrielle, she was someone who could not lie even if she tried. That alone erased any doubt I might have had. I abandoned any thought of continuing my training and returned straight to the clubroom with her.

When we arrived, the atmosphere was heavy as expected. The blonde former nun sat in the center of the room, surrounded by everyone else. Koneko and Kiba were nearby, both trying in their own ways to ease her worry. Gabrielle stood close as well, keeping a careful eye on her. Asia looked smaller somehow, her shoulders drawn in as if she were bracing herself.

I broke the silence. "What happened?"

She flinched at the sound of my voice. "I-It was Ray-Raynare. She she…" Her voice faltered, and the words refused to come out. I stepped closer and gently took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I know," I said. "Somehow she ended up getting herself into trouble while protecting you. Do not worry, nothing will happen to her, she's a surprisingly hard person to kill, even a Demigod couldn't manage to do it. This can be handled, but I need the details. Does anyone know exactly what happened?"

"It happened while she and Raynare were at the mall shopping," Kiba said.

That answer alone threw me off balance. That bitch willingly going shopping with Asia was not something I ever expected to hear. The image did not fit what I knew of her, and that made the situation feel even stranger.

"We do not know much beyond what Asia told us when she came here," Rias' Knight continued. "Someone approached her out of the blue and tried to capture her using a binding spell, then followed it up with teleportation. Raynare sensed the hostility and pushed Asia away at the last second. The spells missed their intended target, but they caught Raynare instead."

A pretty straight story which did not leave me much to work with… hold on. The method sounded familiar, far too familiar given I went through the same thing not even a week ago. A specific face came to mind immediately. Had I not been talking about him just minutes earlier? The more I thought about it, the more my irritation turned into anger. Of course he would do something this reckless, At this point the world was against me and ginseng my words. At this point I might as well stop talking and learn sign languages just to avoid that.

"Does that mean you captured the one who tried to kidnap her?" I asked. "I do not see anyone here, and no one mentioned it, so I am guessing the answer is no."

"We went back to check the area," Koneko said calmly. "There was no trace left behind. I can try to track them, but there is no guarantee if they teleported away."

"We might still figure out who did it," I said. "A scent should tell us if it was a devil or something else." Even as I spoke, I realized the flaw in my own idea. "Damn it. It is almost guaranteed that it was a devil, we all already know who it might be."

"I am afraid so," Rias said with a quiet sigh. She rubbed her temples, clearly trying to think. "Since they captured the wrong target, we do not know what Diodo—cough, this person will do next. We also do not know why they wanted Asia in the first place."

"Do you really need to ask why?" I replied. "Did I not remind you about a certain someone who came here trying to buy her in exchange for a few chess pieces?"

The room fell silent again, and no one argued with that.

She did not disagree with my point. Instead, she wore a complicated expression. "I know what you're trying to say, but there is also a possibility that it could be someone else trying to frame him. Or someone else who got to Asia in order to get to you instead."

"They literally kidnapped someone who is practically considered a member of my non-existent peerage. If they wanted to get my attention, then they certainly did. Your face alone tells me that you're not believing your own words.”

Rias nodded, “We will need to contact Ajuka as soon as possible.”

“There is no point, he also does not know where Diodora is or even if he did, why didn't he share this information earlier on? Asking him is a waste of time.” I could already tell this conversation was going nowhere. Worse than that, I was genuinely feeling angry, and on top of that, stressed. Out of everyone, Raynare was the one who got kidnapped. That alone annoyed me more than it probably should have.

Why was I even worrying about someone like her? Instead of worrying, I should have been praising the idiot who managed to kidnap her and take such an unbearable person off my hands. That would have been the logical reaction. The normal one. Unfortunately, logic had a habit of abandoning me at the worst times… hah, that was also a lie.

I could not ignore the obvious changes, the obvious facts, or my own thoughts. I did not have the luxury of playing the dense protagonist or pretending to be some detached character who did not care. The truth was irritatingly simple. I was worried about her because I genuinely cared, just like I would have with everyone else in this room. At one point in the past, I had wanted to make her suffer. I had even thought about killing her for what she had done when we first met. Now, whether I liked it or not, she was more than that. She mattered to both me and Kalawarna.

Damn it. If I ever told her that to her face, she would probably insult me, slap me, or both. The thought alone was enough to make me tired. I said that to myself fully aware that she hated anything resembling sincerity directed at her.

I forced my thoughts back into order. The decision was clear and stalling any longer would be pointless. Worse, I was worried that the Fallen Angel would start taunting her captors. Knowing her, she would do it just to pass the time or because she got bored. That could easily push them into doing something lethal like killing her in the most horrific way possible. Instead of returning her alive, they might decide to decapitate her or cut her apart and send what was left back as a message.

"I want you all to stay with Asia. There is a possibility that Diodora might try again and come back for her. We cannot risk that."

"Wait, where are you going?" Rias tried to stop me as I began preparing the teleportation circle.

I gave her an apologetic smile. "Trying to get that bitch out of trouble. Do not worry. I will be back before dinner."

"What are you thinking? You cannot use your powers anymo—" Both she and Akeno did not even get the chance to finish her sentence.

The world shifted.

In the next instant, I was back at the Himejima shrine. It should have been a calm place. Quiet. Peaceful. Instead, it was filled with memories that made my skin crawl. I blamed Sairaorg for giving me a mild form of PTSD. He had a talent for ruining locations that should have been left alone.

I walked up the stone stairs leading to the clearing once again. Halfway up, I stopped. Sitting at the top was the same Devil man looking down at me while casually drinking what was most likely a protein shake. Of all things.

"From the look on your face," he said, "I take it it is not all bad news."

"Asia is safe. Whoever tried to take her failed to do their job properly and ended up kidnapping someone far more troublesome instead."

"That is kind of ballsy of them," he replied. "I do not see the point though. Are they trying to have the entire angel faction come down on them? Or are they aiming to start another war between all three factions?"

"Can't say. I honestly doubt they even thought that far themselves. Most likely they did it on the spur of the moment, or out of sheer desperation. Your guess is as good as mine."

He smirked as he said it, the kind of expression that suggested he already had a conclusion in mind and found it mildly amusing.

"My guess is that we'll end up going after this guy and teaching him a valuable lesson, one that may or may not result in death."

"Well, as long as you don't have any issues killing your own kin," I replied, taking a seat beside him and letting out a slow, tired sigh. "Not even a week into my ‘vacation’, training arc or whatever you want to call it and I already have to deal with people like this. I honestly expected things to be much more peaceful, especially after getting back slapped by you during the rating game."

Sairaorg shrugged, "People generally tend to become more aggressive when their enemy shows signs of weakness," he said calmly, as if reciting a basic rule of nature.

"Can't argue against that." I rubbed my face with one hand, staring ahead. The logic was irritatingly sound, and it annoyed me that I had not arrived at the same conclusion on my own. It made sense when I thought about it properly. As much as I disliked admitting it, my reputation beforehand had been domineering, to put it lightly. To have that same individual taken down with a single hit would definitely raise eyebrows. Suspicion followed weakness like flies to sugar.

"You have a name?"

"Ninety percent chance that it's Diodora. Nine percent that it's someone from the Old Satan faction trying to get one of their members back. That makes even less sense, given they should have tried capturing another devil rather than someone tied to the angel faction. One percent chance that it's a random nobody yandere who wanted to capture an angel. One hundred percent chance that it's an idiot."

He let out a short laugh and so did I before being able to stop myself. "Yeah, there really is no end to them. But do you really think it will be as easy as going to the Underworld, storming the Astaroth estate, and getting that friend of yours back?"

"His whereabouts are unknown. I got the news from Rias earlier. So it's very unlikely that he will be anywhere there and not somewhere completely off the map."

"That makes things difficult," he said without much thought. The unknown was always the worst part. You could plan around danger, but not around empty information.

"No, it actually doesn't."

A third voice caught both of us off guard. We turned our attention downward at the same time, looking past the edge to see a blond-haired man walking out into the open as if he had not been lurking moments ago. Azazel stood there with his arms crossed, striking a pose so exaggerated it looped around into being ridiculous. The confidence was almost impressive, if not for how forced it looked.

"I heard about your situation and came with a solution," he announced proudly. "Now you can go ahead and praise me as much as you want."

I stared at him for a moment longer than necessary. "Have you been hiding behind that tree this entire time, waiting for a cue to come out and make yourself known?" I asked, genuinely baffled. I had not noticed him at all when I first arrived. That realization alone was unsettling. Just how absurd were his concealment abilities if he could hide like an assassin without triggering my awareness? The thought made my skin itch.

"Yes," he answered without even a hint of shame. Nodding once, as if that settled everything. "But that's not what's important. I know you two are planning on finding Raynare. The problem is that without knowing where Diodora is, you're basically stuck here going back and forth."

“That's about it.”

"The Underworld is a big place. It could take days, maybe a week, or even months just to find a single clue, let alone their actual location. Running around blindly is a waste of time, and time is something you don't have."

The man went on and on, saying things that I already knew. I was aware he was doing so just to build up for the upcoming revelation and make his solution sound more grander. He had a bad habit of doing so, and I had just gotten used to it. Still, I stayed quiet. Interrupting now would only encourage him.

And that, unfortunately, felt like the smartest option available.

"I can ask Sirzechs and Ajuka for their help," I said, laying out the only workable option I could see. "They can lend whatever people they have available and cover as much ground as possible."

That was my best solution, and I knew it. There was no realistic way for me to accurately track down Raynare in particular. The Underworld was large enough to swallow entire the earth several yimes, and that was assuming she was even there in the first place. The possibility that she had slipped somewhere outside the Underworld entirely was still on the table, which meant dumping time and manpower into a search could very easily end in nothing.

"Hah," I replied, sounding almost amused. "And what solution do you have after that?"

If he bothered to make an entrance like that and even show up here in person, then he clearly had something prepared. People like him did not walk empty handed. That alone was enough for me to keep my mouth shut and hear him out instead of arguing in circles.

"This," he said, calmly pulling a scroll from inside his jacket. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it toward me. I caught it out of reflex, the material heavier than it looked. As I slowly opened it, my eyebrow rose on its own when I saw what was written inside.

"An ownership contract?" I said. A certain memory surfaced immediately concerning this little thing in particular. I had used something like this on Raynare long ago, or rather he did and passed the ownership onto me before at some point I just forgot its existence. This one, however, was blank. No names. No bindings already filled in. I did not see why he would be handing this to me now of all times.

"Well, I see you did not do much research on this particular type of contract," he replied without missing a beat. "Whether it remains active or gets annulled by the owner does not entirely erase every trace of it. Especially in the one I gave you. There were several clauses embedded within it that are still active even today."

"What?"

"Back then, I had to keep an eye on her," he continued. "A single contract of ownership was not enough. We were not dealing with someone reasonable and I wanted to remain as careful as possible — especially when you two were heading in a foreign territory ruled by another faction. She could go fully suicidal and kill you while being perfectly willing to forfeit her own life in the process. Of course, that was the worst case scenario and I genuinely did not think she was that desperate. But let's say if that had happened, I needed a way to recover both of your remains. So a tracking spell was inscribed within her through the contract."

My mouth stayed open longer than I would have liked. This was a pretty big fucking revelation!

"You had done this with you the entire time and you never bothered to tell me?"

"No. I thought you already knew. Did you not read the fine print?"

I did read it back then! Every line. At least I thought I did. It had been so long that most of it blurred together, leaving only the parts that mattered to me at the time. Everything else had faded, especially anything that was not directly related to the ownership of a fragment of her soul.

"Do not get too excited," he added. "This is not foolproof. It does not guarantee that whoever it is inscribed in is alive. It only gives the general location of the body. Nothing more. So if I were in your shoes, I would move as soon as possible."

"You do not have to tell me that."

There was no need to say anything else. I could already feel the air shift as he prepared a teleportation spell. Judging by the direction and density of the magic, the destination was most likely the Underworld. With someone on his level, preparation time was a luxury. This kind of spell could be completed almost instantly. I stood beside him, the scroll still in my hand.

Just as the light was about to swallow us, a third figure jumped in front of us without warning. “Hey, I also want to join in on the fun!” Sairaorg said, I only had time to glance back and catch the grin on his face before everything turned white.

When the world snapped back into place, we were somewhere else entirely. A luxurious office greeted us, polished surfaces and oppressive authority baked into every corner. I recognized it immediately as Azazel’s office in the Underworld. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I already shared the information I told you to the other members of your group.”

He said just in time for me to notice Xenovia, Kalawarna, Kuroka and… “You are not part of my group, I thought Akeno hired you.” I pointed by finger at Rossweiss, the white silver haired woman standing awkwardly behind the sofa.

“U-Umm… I-I don't know… I got dragged here…”

I was not sure how it was possible to feel this sorry for this person.

{Break}

-Underworld-

Everything was falling apart.

That was the conclusion Diodora had been forced to accept over the past few days. In hindsight, he should have known from the beginning that this particular human would become a thorn buried deep at his side. From the moment he blocked Asia from becoming his, the writing had been there.

Back then, he chose patience. He decided to wait instead of rushing in blindly. He played the long game and shifted to another plan, exchanging her for Rias. Of course, reality had other ideas. From what his sources reported, that option was becoming less viable by the day. Forced escalation became inevitable.

Even that attempt was ruined, foiled by that cursed Phenex heir and that dragon whose mere memory made his skin crawl. After that, he had no choice but to retreat and fall back on his second plan. Fate, however, seemed determined to mock him as obstacle after obstacle appeared, especially after he learned that Asia had become property of the angel faction. That revelation was the final blow.

It was now, he was genuinely beginning be wondering if he was cursed or not, for even that did not turn out well as soon as he heard a single phrase of his hideout’s guest… “Get your fucking slimy fingers off of me you cunts! Any closer enough fucking pierce my spear into your guts and give you all a second pussy you can go fuck yourselves with!”

Diodora was genuinely stunned, for rather than hearing the pleading voices of Asia, delivering the same line of how he should show mercy, back to be released, ask for him to search for the goodness in his heart to let them go or straight up just start praying out of panic — he instead heard these kind of words that not even a single one of his conquests ever so much as uttered.

“What the hell is going on here?” This hideout was perfect, in the middle of practically nowhere, a place not even known to the old Satan faction or any one of the curren Satans. It should have been impossible for any kind of intruder to stumble upon this plate without pure dumb luck and a miracle. “You two, come with me!”

Pointing his fingers at two of the latest batches of pure maidency received from Rizevim as am award for his role at making sure that Hikigaya Hachiman would get teleported to a specific location in time. While he knew that this would inevitably lead him to have a falling off with the current powers of the underworld, at least he had a powerful backer who was more than willing to compensate him for any period member he lost.

This on top of granting him two snakes that's slithered under his coat granting him a near endless amount of power.

Walking away from his private room, he soon came upon a large clearing outside where at that exact moment, something flew right past him.

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind rattling his clothes and the shoveling his hair, pure made of pure light immediately missing him by just a hairbreath before destroying the entrance behind. “Ah!” One of his replacement maiden was not so lucky for her arm had gotten completely erased by that attack.

“Shit!” Panic gripped his heart, for his eyes finally went to gaze at the perpetrator of this chaos and right where Asia should have been present after his pieces managed to fulfill their task and bring her in — instead there stood another person. Several dark wings as cure as the night sky in the human realm, latex clothing that barely covered any thing, giving her an overall dominatrix style which immediately repulsed Diodora more than anything.

She dressed just like every other one of those disgusting Fallen Angels. “Who are you and what are you doing here!? This is the territory of the Astoroth clan, are you looking to die?”

There was a high likelihood that the news of his disappearance had not spread to the other factions and remained contained in a small circle. Having an heir betray the current powers could easily cause a lot of mayhem, so he did not fear that the other side knew of his betrayal and used the clans name without any fear.

“What the… So you're the dick face we're trying to kidnap Asia? Send me back right now before my carve that snake face off of your body and glue it to your ass given how much shit is coming out of your mouth.”

The sheer amount of hostility that came off of her body stunned him, even more was her words. She was with Asia? Wasn't the latter associated with the angel faction? What was she doing with a Fallen Angel!?

“Get rid of her now! She's off waste of space and my time!” He shouted, not wanting to deal with this intruder anymore and then necessary and instead to wish to go back to his office and come up with another plan.

“The fuck you say to me, bitch!? I'll show you who is a waste of space and time!” Several of her wings on the foiled at once, a large amount of light energy pouring out of her being like an avalanche, this time wielding to light spears she sent them flying towards him.

“Damn it!” Did these useless pieces actually kidnapped a cadre!?

Having barely any time to react, and drawing upon the power granted to him, the man raised his hand where a neon green magic circle formed with the symbol of his clan prominently shown at the center. Expanding until it covered himself only. The spears struck the shield with a thunderous bang, breaking into shards of light but releasing a shockwave powerful enough to send anyone around him flying backwards. The one who had her arm destroyed, crashed through several walls until her entire body ended up getting entombed by a mountain of debris.

Losing his original pieces was already a heartache for him, these ones who also fit his taste just added further few to his already sour mood. “You idiot! I'll make you pay for this! What are you idiots waiting for? Take her down now!”

Is palms slap the ground beneath come out several chains bursting forth and entangling themselves around her limbs. Only for Raynare to snap them off by summing more of her spears and sending them raining down around her in a circular pattern.

Her prior look of anger morphing into pure arrogance and mockery. “Is that it? A bunch of flimsy chains? Ha! Even that other bastard with the dead fish eyes has a stronger way to restrain me with just his pinky finger than you, limp dick!”

“Just shut up!”

Thankfully, several dozens of shadows emerged with mages clad in loose dark robe, each one of them casting high tier spells at her. Though she could defend herself perfectly against one of them, doing so against so many at the same time instantly pushed her to limit. Struggling to keep up with all of them while conserving enough energy and stamina. Unfortunately for her, Diodora was confident in his ability to win, for he had been granted powers beyond her imagination. Just to showcase that, one of the snakes slithered around his wrist before the appearing within his body, the green aura around him amplifying by several folds.

“Hahahaha! This is it, this is true power!” It was almost intoxicating feeling, and he wasted no time in testing his new abilities. With a flick of his fingers, a powerful shot of pure condensed demonic energy flew towards Raynare. “Ah!” Even though she managed to intercept it in time, the sheer power behind it made that irrelevant, both of her spears shattering upon impact with the remaining energy slamming into a guts. Saliva and blood flying out of her mouth with her body crashing against a giant boulder, “now!”

The majors who worked for him did as ordered, shooting several powerful spells at their target at once. With Raynare forced to simply tank them all at once, using her wings as a shield. Though her efforts were in vain come out from his point of view, Diodora Saw how bit by bit wounds started to spread across her body. Small parts of her wings getting torn off and eventually her strength starting to wane even further.

At the end, when the firing stopped, all that remained was a weekend woman struggling to breathe with several of her wings broken and in a miserable state. It even then, the harshness in her eyes towards him did not go down even a bit, in fact, she continued to smirk.

“And last words?”

“You hit like a three-year-old kid, can't even protect yourself without being surrounded by so many mages. What a pathetic excuse of a Devil, even Hachiman’s sneezes Make more damage than your attacks combined.” Even now she spat out distasteful words and that hateful man's name! That human, ever since he met him that day things just kept getting worse and worse!

He should have just allowed that rating game to happen so that he could showcase the world just how weak a human he was! Even if Sairaorg did that for him, doing so with his own hands would have been far more satisfying.

“Hold on,” while his mind went through the events of the rating game come on It soon dawned upon him that this woman looked suspiciously familiar. “Aren't you part of that human's Peerage?”

“Peerage? Fuck no!” She answered immediately with a look of disgust before spitting on the floor. “The only reason I'm around him is because of how pathetic he is and how much he needs my help! Bastard can go on a month without finding himself in some life or death scenario where he will cry out my name at the last second just to save his life! He is my toy, not the other way around!”

Veins thrompt on his forehead come up just talking to her for a couple of seconds already made him this irritable. Doing so for another minute was no different to pure torture. But now rather than killing her, a different plan emerged in his mind. One that would solve his lingering anger towards that human.

“Sounds the same to me. Since you're part of his group, what a great opportunity drive him finally feel pain after everything he has put me through and making my Asia from me. I will make you suffer, I will break you and use you against him.”

Raynare rolled her eyes at those words, “Can you be any more lame? You sound just like Kalawarna whenever we have some villain and hero foreplay before sex, and she sucks at acting as anything else but the villain. Also, my Asia? Hahahaha! This is funnier than I thought, you're a fucking creepy loser! What? Can't get your dick hard anymore and now you've developed a fetish around playing with innocent maidens? Fuck off. Those tactics won't work on me, I would rather fuck a rusted and mold filled piece of pipe I can find inside a landfill rather than you, bitch. Or better yet, I'll strap you into a chair and ask Asia to sleep with Hachiman and have you watch, hahahaha—urgh!”

That was it, he could not bear to listen to this… thing anymore. Blasting her away with another powerful attack. Completely rendering her unconscious and shutting up her mouth finally. “Throw her inside a random cell! Make her suffer! I don't care how but just do it!”

Just looking at her maid his urge to kill her grow by the second. But he could not do so for his surprise for that human would be completely ruined then.

“I'll get you, Asia… one way or another.”

Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 45: Your Home Too

Co-written and fully beta read by Gamercrusher55 and Shigiya

Next update is Snafu in a few seconds followed by An Archer's Promise.

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-Fuyuki, Homurahara Academy-

Twang!

Swoosh!

Thunk!

Shirou savored the familiar tension of the bowstring against his fingers before releasing, watching the arrow's perfect arc toward the bullseye. The satisfying thunk as it struck the center reminded him why he'd always loved archery before it became just another weapon in his arsenal. Here in practice, without enemies to defeat or lives at stake, he could rediscover the pure joy of the discipline itself; something he hadn't realized how deeply he'd missed.

Just enjoying the moment, the stillness and quiet, while he became one with the bow.

Tsurune!

Another target center hit, this being his fifth in a row. Following the eight steps of Kuydo, he finally felt some measure of calmness come back to his mind.

“No matter how many times I see it, I still keep thinking that it’s a dream. I can't believe this skill is actually real.” A familiar voice, not his own, spoke, coming from next to him. Ayako was vested in a similar Kyudo uniform, also holding her bow, as she performed her own Archery shots. Though on her side she had fired twice as many as he did, more than half of them having hit the target dead center, but the other half having missed it by several degrees.

“Magic is so unfair.”

“Like I said, I am not using magic. I’m enjoying just firing it as is.” He answered after sending another arrow flying, it wooshing through the air and striking near the same spot once more. ”It's just practice.”

“Just practice he says,” the girl muttered under her breath, “I would like to hear the opinion of those South Korean Olympic athletes like Kim Soo-Nyung or Yun Mi-Jen if you tell them that. Most archers won’t be able to land these kinds of bullseyes one after the other for. At one point, doesn’t it just become unnatural? You've literally split dozens of arrows in the middle in this session alone!”

Rather than just dismissing her answer, he hummed, tapping his chin, thinking about it. “If I were to wear a blindfold… maybe that would be going too far, I mean, what's the point then? I won't improve my aim if I can't see anything.” There was absolutely no way he’d have any sort of accuracy under those circumstances. He trusted his other senses, but not to such a ridiculous degree. I mean, anyone who can snipe accurately while sacrificing their limited senses would have to be an unbelievable monster.

“I'm not sure if you’re answering genuinely or if you're just making fun teasing me. If you are, that makes me want to just punch you in the face repeatedly, till I’m done being pissed.”

“A bit harsh, don’t you think?” said Shirou, rolling his shoulders as he put the bow down, signaling today's practice coming to an end. He was reaching a point where it was just becoming second nature — kinda made him feel that practicing here would no longer help him much, maybe just to give him a breather every now and then. “I said it once, and I’ll say it again, I’m not using my magecraft to get such accuracy or improve it in any way. I’m telling you, you can do it yourself with enough practice.”

“And you promise you aren't using any weird spells on your eyes or something? Anything, even small?”

“No… I mean, at least not intentionally, there’s this one spell I’ve been trying out, but haven’t really put it into practice.” His voice came softer than intended, making it feel like he was not being completely genuine. Reinforcement or otherwise strengthening to the eyes was a risky idea that he tried several times in the past, but still lacked practice, given the ridiculous amount of concentration he had to invest in such an action.

Maybe not as much focus as he needed when projecting a bullet that wouldn't just shatter upon being shot. If he could practice strengthening his eyes more often, he may one day manage to pull it off.

Seemingly accepting his answer, Ayako moved on to something else. “Hah, okay, one more time, I’m extending the same offer to you again. Why don't you participate with us in Japan’s National Archery Competition? You're just so good at it, whether you use magic or not. Come on, I can tell you wouldn’t mind enjoying the competition.”

“It’s not something as simple as that.”

“Does it have something to do with the reason you want to keep your identity a secret…cuz of the magic stuff? Are you like one of those people in movies who have enemies everywhere, so you are living your life while hiding your identity?”

“That actually kind of is accurate even if it’s not really the case,” Shirou admitted after a brief pause, catching Ayako’s attention. “I don’t really have enemies per se. Even if I did, they wouldn’t know my face at this point; maybe one or two are the exception. I usually keep my identity hidden whenever I go out on patrol, and I do that for a good reason. So I don’t end up gaining any new targets on my back. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the ones I inherited from my father.”

“Your father? So he was a mage too.” Ayako repeated. Her eyes widened at his answer, the surprise clear on her face. It did not take him long to realize that she had likely never even considered the idea that Kiritsugu had also been a mage. Most of her attention shifted fully to him alone when he revealed to her his identity as a mage. “Wow. Is your family some kind of ancient wizarding family or something?” she asked, curiosity slipping into her tone almost immediately.

It was strangely endearing how quickly she latched onto the detail. She leaned forward slightly, her amber eyes bright and filled with interest, like a kid being promised candy or a long-awaited trip to their favorite amusement park. Shirou could not help but notice it, nor could he ignore the question forming himself. Was it really wise to tell her this much? Probably not. Still, the name Emiya was not exactly a secret, and he had never gone out of his way to hide it. Enough years had passed that most younger mages no longer even connected it to the Magus Killer.

“Not really,” replied the redhead, rubbing the back of his neck. “Or rather, maybe a little. My dad’s family did come from a line of mages, but he never really talked about it. Actually, come to think of it, when it came to stuff like that, he was pretty insistent on not telling me. I don’t even remember him mentioning anything about his own parents at all. As for my father himself, that was a different story; he told me he mainly worked more like a freelancer. He did not belong to any magical organization per se. He took on magical or mundane things that were requested by specific clients and then chose what he would accept and do.”

“Wooow,” Ayako said, her voice lifting with excitement. “So like a mercenary? A detective? Or maybe one of those cool assassin spies from the movies?”

A faint sense of unease managed to crawl inside his mind at how close she came to the truth. Women’s intuition really could be frightening at times, though he had already given her quite a bit to work with. It was not surprising she reached that conclusion. “I suppose you could see it like that, at least the mage version of one,” he answered honestly.

Ayako folded her arms, tapping one finger against her sleeve as she studied him. “That’s so rad. So where does that leave you? Are you going to continue his legacy?”

“...” That question was far harder to answer. Shirou fell silent, his thoughts drifting back to memories he rarely allowed himself to dwell on. The legacy his father left behind, and the path he wished to walk were not one and the same. Kiritsugu had tried to become a hero and ended up an executioner instead, killing again and again for a future he believed would be better as he weighed the world over the few. That future he dreamed of never came to fruition with the brutal methods he tried. In the end, his conviction was shattered, discarded in the final moments of his life. What remained was a tired man who found more peace spending time with his son and speaking of childish, idealistic dreams, along with softly talking about his daughter, Illya.

Kiritsugu Emiya had been deeply flawed, burdened by regret and sorrow, no matter how carefully he tried to hide it. Shirou only truly understood that years later, when old memories resurfaced with new meaning. Looking back now, he could see details he had missed as a child, small signs that spoke volumes in hindsight.

“I don’t know if I’ll follow the same path as him. Still, I made a promise to him,” he said at last. “I intend to keep it. But this time, I want to avoid making the same mistakes he did. At least, I hope I can.”

“Does that have anything to do with that hero stuff you mentioned before?” Ayako asked.

“You remembered?” Shirou exclaimed, genuinely surprised. He turned toward her, only to find her giving him a flat look as she crossed her arms.

“Of course I remembered!” she replied. “Why? Thought that I would forget?”

“No, nothing like that…” answered the boy, almost stuttering on the spot. “I just thought you might see it as weird.”

“I think it is a noble goal, Shirou. To be honest, you remind me of one of those wandering Samurai or Ronin crossing the lands and fighting for justice. Pretty awesome considering you don’t see guys like that around lately.”

Quite sincere on her part… sometimes it really caught him off guard about just how accepting she tended to be with everything he mentioned so far.

Ayako paused, then shook her head lightly. “Wait. I think I’m getting distracted, back to your dad. He was like some freelance mage, and because of the way you're talking about him, I’m guessing some of the stuff he did in the past may have ticked off someone? Is that why you don’t want to make a name for yourself?”

“Yep,” he answered with a small shrug.

Ayako puffed up her cheeks, miffed. “Pfft, well that’s stupid. You can’t hold something against someone just because someone was their dad. You shouldn’t let something like that get to you. If I were you, I’d tell them to come and get me. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.” Mimicking Kaede, she entered into a boxer’s stance and started her own shadow boxing.

“To be honest, mages can be quite vindictive and out of touch with common sense like that. Still, I’ll take that into consideration; it’s not such a bad thing from time to time to take a stance like that.”

Ayako’s eyes narrowed slightly, a familiar spark of mischief appearing as another idea formed in her mind as she smiled. “Wait a second. Since you are kind of following in his footsteps, does that mean I can hire you?”

“Uhhh…” Startled, the sound left Shirou before he had time to think. The question caught him completely by surprise — genuinely rendering him speechless. His father had worked as a hired mage, or an assassin, depending on how one looked at it, always choosing clients whose requests aligned with his own goals. Shirou had never seriously considered doing the same. Still, what was really stopping him right now? Ayako was not the type to ask him to kill someone or commit a crime. At least, he sincerely hoped not. He trusted her, perhaps more than he realized, especially since she had already saved him once.

“I guess I might end up doing that at some point. Do you have something in mind?” he said it slowly, not even sounding so certain himself. Would that make him a competition for Luvia? The thought unsettled him. He did not want to be seen that way, and he hoped that if it ever came up, they could talk it out like reasonable people.

“Great,” Ayako said immediately, her grin widening. Leaning towards him, both her hands cupping his face. “So what is your rate? Hope you don't mind giving a discount to a lovely lady like me~? I can even tell you how satisfied I was at the end of the service, which will come in handy for constructive criticism. It actually makes me kinda happy as your first~!”

‘You're not yet exactly on the level you can be called a ‘high-class’ lady though..’ Such thoughts crossed his mind, but he was aware enough not to utter those words aloud in fear of getting punched. The way she worded it, with her every gesture and tone that carried barely contained excitement, made it feel less like he was offering a simple service and more like he had walked into a scenario that he’d encounter at a red light district.

"I promise I won’t take it too far," she said cheerfully. "We can start slow, since it is your first time. I promise I will be gentle." She was still holding his face close to her so that when she said it, he could feel the heat coming off her breath. He was so close that he could practically memorize her face at this point. Their Kyudo garbs were roomy, but he could feel her body heat as she got closer and closer to him.

"All right, I get it, stop messing with me already. I don’t want someone to misunderstand this and spread rumors," he snapped back, heat rising straight to his cheeks, as he removed her hands from his face. “I'm not a gigolo!”

"What?" she replied, putting on an innocent look that lasted all of two seconds, before her eyes closed and her smile widened. "I was just asking to buy your services." Her finger tapped lightly against his chest as she spoke, while her other hand hovered near her mouth to hide a grin as her eyes opened slightly. The look she was giving him sent a shiver down his spine. "My my, Shirou, were you thinking I was insinuating something else? Naughty boy. However, I am quite curious if you would be willing to do that. Maybe as a boyfriend for hire at least. I bet that kind of profession is not just something done by a gigolo."

‘You’d have a lot of success if you actually tried, Master.’ Rider’s cheeky comments came and went through his ears.

‘What part of me makes you even say that?’ He asked exasperatedly.

‘From what you did yesterday, and with Sakura? Everything.’

‘...Get your head out of the gutter, Shirou.’

"Just tell me what you want already." He cut her off immediately. His face burned red as his thoughts betrayed him, unhelpful images flashing through his mind before he forcefully shut them down. "Since you saved my life way back, I’ll do it for free this time, so you don’t have to pay."

She tilted her head, studying him with an expression that looked far more serious than before. "You say that, but I honestly feel like you probably don’t even know what kind of price you should be putting on yourself in the first place. It does not even have to be money. From my extensive knowledge after watching hundreds of movies, I bet you can ask for all sorts of things, like strange magic materials or info instead. If you are unsure, that is usually how these things go. You know, like a barter system."

‘A trade then huh…” Shirou opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. The words caught in his throat as he realized she was not entirely wrong. He had no real need for money right now. The funds Kiritsugu had left behind were more than enough to keep him comfortable, and his part-time job covered anything extra. As for magical materials, he had to admit that it was harder to dismiss. There were countless components and catalysts he had only read about, things that could help him test other branches of magecraft, refine what he already knew, or even allow him to tinker to find the best materials to use during battles. Many of those items were rare enough to cost a fortune.

"I will think about it," he said after a moment. "But seriously, why do you want my help? If you are trying to join me on patrol again, it’s still a no."

"Tch, party pooper," she said with a click of her tongue. "But no, I am not asking you to let me join your secret magic battles. Clearly, you are just afraid I might end up being a much more capable mage who can keep up with you and steal your job."

"We do not even know if you have magic circuits, Ayako," he replied flatly. "This is not one of those magical girl stories where you suddenly get powers because you found a shiny wand on the street."

"Yeah, yeah, stop nagging me, Mom," she groaned, rolling her eyes dramatically. She took a step back, giving him just enough space to breathe. "Actually, I have been thinking about doing a bit of detective work. Or something similar. More like researching the supernatural around this town."

"What?" The word slipped out before he could stop it. To him, that sounded dangerously close to her wanting to get involved in the supernatural again, just through a different excuse.

Before he could continue, she suddenly grabbed his face with both hands again, but with more force, squeezing his cheeks together and pinching them painfully, thus making it nearly impossible for him to speak properly.

"Let me finish, dummy," she said firmly. "I am talking about rumors. You know, creepy horror stories and mysterious rumors. The kind you hear from friends or classmates about ghosts, cursed buildings, or weird events that supposedly happen late at night. I am pretty sure you have heard a fair share of them yourself."

She didn’t speak up on how that was still dangerous, if not more so, before she kept going. "I just want to know if any of those stories are actually genuine. And since you are already patrolling the city, it is obvious you want to keep things safe. For all we know, one of those rumors could turn out to be a dangerous ghost hiding in plain sight. Maybe it is planning something ridiculous like world domination, or maybe it is just waiting for the right moment to attack some innocent passing school girls on the street."

“My face hurts…”

Her smile returned. "So if I start investigating them and use you as my personal summoning familiar to deal with anything dangerous, we save the city. It is a win-win scenario. It’s the least you can do to look into it. "

That explanation felt like a stretch, to put it mildly. He stared at her, unsure whether to laugh, argue, or shut the idea down entirely.

"Just the way you are looking at me tells me you think I am crazy," she added, folding her arms as she watched his reaction closely.

"I'm not thinking that.”

"Yes, you are," she replied dryly, as if the matter had already been decided. There was no doubt in her expression at all. For a brief moment, he wondered if she could somehow read his thoughts. "I'm being serious here. I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to just forget all of this after you shared so much with me in the past. You know it yourself. It's impossible to ignore things like this now that I understand there's a whole other side to the world that I never even knew existed for most of my life. I can't just pretend it isn't real. I really can't."

She took a small breath before going on, her tone softening but losing none of its previous firmness. "So instead of risking me going out on my own at night, wandering around by myself without any protection, just come with me. You and me. Maybe some other people, too. We just hang out, keep an eye out. Kind of like a date, if you want to call it that, though I'm sure you won't go so far as to take advantage of my weak and defenseless self."

A faint smile tugged at her lips as she added, almost teasingly, "Having a defenseless girl by your side that you're defending is a good way to earn some bonus points, you know."

‘Bonus points in what?’

Her hands were warm and soft, and the way she spoke did far more to convince him than any argument ever could. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Sticking together was safer. It would let him keep an eye on her and make sure she was not deliberately putting herself in danger under the excuse of curiosity.

Besides, it looked like she was determined to do this whether he told her otherwise, so at least he could look after her. Fuyuki is especially a place you shouldn’t walk alone at night right now.

"Fine," he finally said, letting out a slow breath.

She tilted her head slightly. "Say it differently. Like a cool phrase someone would use to acknowledge they're officially at their employer's service."

He frowned. "You're really taking that part seriously? Shouldn't that be my job?"

She rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Knowing you, the moment you hear that someone needs help, you'll rush off without listening to the details, finish everything on your own, and come back later, realizing you never even asked for payment. You'll end up getting scammed and still think it was worth it."

"I'm more level-headed than that, Ayako," he replied, crossing his arms.

"Then you'll just have to prove it to me.”

It was difficult not to feel overwhelmed when she looked at him like that. Even though he interacted with Rider regularly and had recently grown closer to Sakura as well, the closeness between the two of them now made it harder to focus. His thoughts began drifting in directions he would rather avoid. "Maybe in the future, I can become your personal secretary. How does that sound?"

That actually made him laugh. "Maybe. I don't mind that ide—"

"Ehem."

"—!" The sudden interruption made them both freeze. They slowly turned their heads toward the club room entrance, where Rin stood with her arms crossed. She wore a pleasant smile, though to him, it was very clearly not a genuine one.

"Hey there, you two," Rin said casually. "You've gotten quite close lately. I had no idea you were in this kind of relationship."

…Why did it suddenly feel like his life was in immediate danger?

"Rin! You finally visited our club again!" Ayako, on the other hand, looked far more delighted than nervous. She released him and moved forward to embrace her friend, much to Rin's visible dismay at the sudden display of affection. "Hehehe. Don't worry, it's nothing like that. I was just buying some of his personal services. Shirou really has a lot of talents, and I wanted to explore some of those on my own. You should try some too. I'm sure he won't disappoint."

She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice with a mischievous grin. "I promise I won't steal your little crush. So you might win that bet of ours if you try hard enough."

‘She's getting better,’ Rider finally commented. Having been quiet for most of the exchange, her observation was one he could not deny. Compared to before, Ayako had become noticeably more confident. Bolder, even. He was not entirely sure how to put it into words without sounding strange.

Also, what did she just whisper? He couldn’t hear all of it; something about a bet?

"He's not my crush!" Rin snapped immediately. “I'm not in a hurry for that last part, don't try to behave as if you're a step ahead of me, I'm more than aware of the kind of guy he is.”

Rider’s voice returned again, ‘Clearly she does not.’

‘What did she mean by that?’

‘She thinks her precious crush is still innocent.’

Innocent?

‘... She’s definitely not that off the mark at least.’

"Yes, yes, he's not your crush. Sorry, I misspoke," Ayako replied lightly. "Anyway, I'll give you two some alone time, so enjoy yourselves. I'll be leaving you together and going to get changed. I need to handle something with the student council president. Bye, you two."

With that, she waved cheerfully and stepped away, leaving an awkward silence.

Rin tried to grab her back, fingers brushing empty air as the girl slipped free with practiced ease. In the next instant, she was already moving away, her steps light and quick as if she had decided that staying any longer would only complicate things. She did not look back. Within seconds, she was gone, leaving only the echo of hurried footsteps and an awkward stillness behind.

Rin’s head snapped toward him, twin tails swinging with the motion. Her glare intensified, focused enough to make the air feel tighter between them. He reacted on instinct, raising both hands in surrender, shaking them before she could even speak.

“I-I can explain. We are definitely not dating.”

“You really are the complete opposite of the kind of person I thought you would be, Emiya-kun,” Rin muttered under her breath. “Are you trying to make your own personal harem or something?”

‘Who did Rin think he was, Shinji?’

“I-It’s not like that,” he shot back immediately. “She’s just being friendly!”

‘Yes, friendly. That has to be it,’ Rider’s voice chimed in dryly from the side.

‘Not now, Rider!’

The interruption did little to help his case. Rin did not look convinced in the slightest. She let out a short huff, crossing her arms as if drawing a firm line between them. After a moment, her expression shifted, irritation giving way to worry.

“Let’s move on. I came here for important matters. Sakura didn’t show up again.”

The change was instant. His face hardened, the casual tension draining away and leaving only concern behind.

“I know.”

Of course, he knew. The thought had been gnawing at him since morning. There was no way he could have focused on anything else throughout the day when all he could think about was whether Sakura was safe. Every passing hour without words felt more suffocating than the last.

It got so bad, he had to come to the Archery Club to clear his head.

“Standing around doing nothing and hoping she suddenly shows up will not help us find her or figure out how she’s doing,” Rin continued. “We need to start planning and actually do something.”

“We still don’t even know where to start looking,” he replied. The attack had occurred without warning, without any trace to follow aside from something that came from the seas. It felt like trying to find a single needle buried somewhere in an endless field of hay. “There was no clue at all.”

“I know,” Rin said. “That is exactly why I came up with a plan.”

“A plan?”

If it meant finding Sakura as soon as possible, he was more than willing to hear it. Whatever doubts he had could wait.

“I have your attention, I see,” Rin said. “Good. Then let’s not waste time. My plan is to go after the other Master's.”

“What?”

That was the last answer he had expected. From what he knew of her, Rin was cautious by nature. She weighed risks, avoided reckless moves, and always had some form of backup in mind. Hearing her suggest something this direct caught him completely off guard.

“What’s with that look?” she asked.

“Nothing. I just thought you would want to avoid that kind of approach.”

“I do in these circumstances,” Rin replied calmly. “But tell me this. Aside from objecting, what would you suggest instead?”

Ideas crossed his mind almost immediately. Asking Luvia for help. Trying to get in touch with Bazett. None of that was impossible, and nothing was stopping him from doing it regardless. Still, the question lingered whether they could do anything or if it would really help.

But he knew that Sakura at least had a Servant. She was connected to the war. So if they followed the other Masters, they may find her as well.

“Where do you think we should start searching for the other Masters?” he asked. “We barely know anything about them. Aside from Saber and Berserker, we are working with almost nothing.”

“The way you said that makes it sound like you do not think Berserker’s Master is responsible,” Rin said. “Why?”

“Well…”

“She saw Sakura before,” she continued. “If this was done out of revenge, she could have done it when she had the chance.”

The girl was not wrong.

The possibility existed. Still, something about it did not sit right with him. He had a hard time believing that kind of attack fit those two. If Berserker’s Master wanted destruction, sending her Servant straight into the mansion would have been far more direct. Attacking from afar felt unnecessary, almost out of character. Plus, there would be traces linking to the Einzbern Forest, not the sea. The pieces did not line up.

“I guess it’s just my gut feeling,” he admitted.

“Gut feeling is not the kind of answer I want to hear right now,” Rin said flatly. “We need more certainty than that. Still, it does not matter. We will find out eventually. I already have some clues on Caster’s Master. But I strongly advise you not to dismiss the possibility that this was Berserker.”

“…”

"Are you hesitating because she is your sister?" Rin asked flatly. "I would like to remind you that said sister tried to kill you and the rest of us. She even threatened to have her Servant torture us. There was not much of a sibling bond present there from my point of view."

"But she did not," Shirou replied. "She let me walk away."

"Out of pure dumb luck, or because she wants to play with her food," Rin shot back without missing a beat. "Stop thinking you will walk out of situations like this every time just because you have been lucky so far. It will take more than pointing a gun in their faces to solve this problem."

"I know," he said with a quiet sigh. Things only seemed to grow more complicated the deeper he stepped in. The tension weighed on his shoulders more than he wanted to admit.

"Good. We start today. I do not want to waste any more time than necessary. Meet me by Fuyuki Memorial Park," Rin said. She turned on her heel and began walking toward the entrance. Yet just as she was about to leave, she stopped mid-step and slowly turned her head to look at him again. "Did you two sleep together?"

"E-Eh? Sleep? Um… well… That came out of nowhere," Shirou answered, caught completely off guard.

"Just answer this question, Shirou," Rin inquired. "The way you two have been acting together. Did you and Ayako have any physical relationship?"

"Of course we haven’t," he replied quickly. "As I said, we’re just good friends. Why are you even asking something like that? It is not like she would just sleep with anyone, much less me."

The only response he received was a raised eyebrow from the girl in front of him.

"Whoa… so you haven’t noticed it, huh. I admit she’s got an outgoing and joking personality, but if you really hadn’t noticed the way she was treating you, then you don’t know her that well after all." Rin muttered. "Hmph. I should have known. She is practically dragging you around by the nose. Don’t fall for her tricks, you hear, or she will have you tied around her finger before you even realize it, like a dog tied to a leash."

With that, she walked out of the Kyudo club, leaving him all alone with that warning. Shirou remained where he was, staring in the direction she had left. The way she phrased that made him uneasy, as if there was more happening beneath the surface than he had expected. Why would Rin even be interested if he were dating Ayako? It felt strange and almost out of place. He shook his head slightly to clear up any lingering thoughts.

"Best to go home and prepare for tonight," he thought. He was growing more desperate by the hour to find any kind of information about Sakura, and standing around here would not help with that.

{Break}

(An hour later)

Today had been calmer than expected.

Most of his day at school passed without incident, the routine almost comforting in its normalcy. Aside from spending time with Issei to help him with a few tasks, he had been approached by Ayako once again. She wanted to confirm that he was still going to help her with whatever plan she had, involving her so-called mystery hunting story.

Were those stories genuine? It was hard to tell. There were simply too many rumors in this city, and most of them were little more than gossip passed from one student to another. Still, if indulging Ayako helped keep her away from the real danger, away from the Holy Grail War itself, then it was worth playing along. Let her chase harmless mysteries rather than stumble into something that could get her killed or worse.

"Sometimes rumors and stories are born from real supernatural events that people fail to understand.”

He did not flinch as the blindfolded woman rematerialized next to him. Rider stood at his side as if she had always been there.

"You can trace many legends and supernatural tales back to actual events," she continued. "Even the most mundane stories often have a real origin. Even in a world that has long passed the age of gods, you should remain careful, Shirou."

"Of course I will," he replied. "You know me."

"It is because I know you so well that I cannot help but worry about what you might do," Rider answered, her tone steady but not unkind.

"If it's another Chimera attack or some experiment that someone’s been conducting in secret around Fuyuki, then thankfully, you will be by my side to keep us safe, Rider. As soon as it seems fishy will send them away," he said with a faint smile, trying to sound lighter than he felt.

The only response he received was a tired sigh from the woman beside him. Just as Rider seemed about to speak, her entire body went rigid. “Shirou!” She raised her arm in front of him, palm open, stopping him from taking even a single step forward. The sudden movement was immediately followed by a low, warning tone that carried none of her earlier calm.

"Careful. There is a Servant ahead."

“—!?”

He froze as the realization settled in. They were standing directly in front of his house. Rider’s gaze was fixed straight ahead, as if she could already see through the walls and into the space beyond.

"An ambush?" he asked quietly.

His body reacted before his mind could fully process it. Instinct kicked in, muscles tensing as his thoughts reached for the familiar mental trigger to trace a weapon. His guns were not on him. They were inside the house, locked away where he had left them earlier. That left him with very few options, something short and simple, likely a blade if things turned ugly.

"It does not seem like it," Rider replied after a brief pause. "They are not hiding their presence. If they intended to attack, they would have done so already."

That answer only deepened his unease.

"It cannot be Rin," he said. He had seen her earlier that day, and there was no reason for her to return unannounced, let alone enter his house without saying a word. She had already told him where and when they would meet later that night. Rin was many things, but careless was not one of them.

He took another breath, then stopped short as another thought struck him.

"Wait."

At this hour, there was usually only one person who came barging into his house without warning and demanded food. His heart skipped a beat as dread crept in, "Fuji-nee..."

Pushing every other concern aside, he broke into a run. He rushed forward, heading straight toward where Rider sensed the presence. The living room. His feet pounded against the wooden floor as he shoved the door to his house open, the sound echoing far too loudly in his ears as he moved as fast as he could. His mind betrayed him, conjuring images he did not want to see. Blood. Shattered furniture. The kind of scene that made his stomach twist and his blood run cold.

With a sharp intake of breath, he yanked the sliding door open with enough force that it nearly tore free from its track. Preparing the hammer in the gun, he—

"Fuji-nee! Where are—Eh?"

The words died in his throat.

There was no blood. No signs of a struggle. No hostage situation or hidden Servant waiting to strike. Instead, he was met with a scene so strange that his mind stalled as it tried to make sense of it.

Taiga was sitting at the table, perfectly relaxed, with another person seated right beside her. Both of them were facing a plate that had once been filled with sweets. Sweets, he remembered clearly. After all, he had baked them yesterday as a way to calm his nerves, and some of them were remnants of snacks he gave to Gray when she came over. The plate was now completely empty.

Both figures froze the moment their eyes met his. Crumbs dotted their faces, clinging to cheeks and lips, their expressions caught somewhere between surprise and guilt. Their cheeks were puffed out, mouths clearly still full, as if they had been caught in the middle of stealing snacks.

As if that was not strange enough, his laptop sat open on the table. The familiar music of one of his favorite games filled the room, the same one Shinji had once insisted he try. He had not touched it in a long time, yet there it was, running as if this were a normal evening.

And sitting there, surrounded by all of it, was Illya.

Just as Rin had warned him. The same girl who had tried to kill him. The same one who had tortured Rider without hesitation. The same one who had threatened to have Berserker rape Sakura. The same presence that had run away the moment he approached her last time, promising that their meeting was far from over.

"..."

"..."

He and Illya stared at each other in silence. No words came, but an entire conversation passed between them at that moment. His confusion, his disbelief, his unspoken demand to know why she was here and how any of this had happened.

The answer came from the side before he could even open his mouth.

"Shirou, I made a new friend! Isn't she pretty? She’s just like an adorable doll?" Taiga went over and immediately started to rub her face against hers, most likely having done so several times, given the kind of face the girl was making. One of pure abandon and exhaustion. She’d already let go of any attempts to stop the said tiger woman. “I promised her some sweet treats. Sorry, I had to raid your fridge for a bit.”

“Ce… Cease your touching at once! You shouldn't be grabbing people’s faces like that, let alone mine! I told you a hundred times by now!” As one might have suspected, Illya was not a fan of that. It genuinely made him tense up on the spot, for there was a big, almost guaranteed possibility that Berserker was somewhere around and could appear at any moment to cause as much damage to the entire area, much less his house.

In fact, he was probably the Servant presence Rider detected.

“Don't say that, you're only making me want to do it more!”

“You're annoying!” The white haired girl tried to push the brunette's face away with all the strength she could muster in that petite body. It did seem kind of worth it, given she was managing to force Taiga back for just a single moment before being glomped by her once again.

“So you literally took someone off the streets and brought them to my house just because she was cute? You know that's textbook kidnapping, right?” He said while taking a seat, having already accepted the strange outcome and decided to just roll with it. “Also, why did you bring out my computer?”

“It's because she was getting bored, and I wanted to keep her entertained. You should really get more games on it, shouldn't boys your age be really into such things?”

“I like games as much as the next guy, but I’ve got a lot of stuff to do, so I don’t really have a lot around. You could have just brought her to the arcade…” of all people, Illya, it was hard to even believe she encountered her. He was curious how things went down, given that Taiga was clearly not shaken or intimidated.

“Huh… I forgot about that. Oooh, next time I'll bring you there! It's really a fun place, so we can all go together when we have the time! Oh, Shirou, you have to check out her hair. Look at how soft it is, it's like strands of snowy silk! What shampoo do you use? Which conditioner? I'm so envious! Now I wanna hug you like a teddy bear, come here~!” She was starting to throw questions at the poor girl like a Gatling gun, her energy constantly growing so much that it clearly started to make Illya more and more overwhelmed till the latter’s face went completely red and she snapped.

“Aaaah! I had had enough of you! Go to sleep!” With a wave of her hand, Taiga’s eyes went blank, with she finally fell backwards unconscious. Shirou already moved on reflex, being by her side in an instant to catch her in time as he gently put her down. The outcome was not a surprise at all; he was just thankful it ended this way rather than taking a much more violent outcome.

“Honestly, what kind of entourage do you have!? Never in my life have I had to deal with such an invasive person!” She shouted, slapping her hand on the table while visibly trying to regain control of her face. Though, completely failing at keeping the neutral expression that she had planned before meeting Shirou.

“Well, I'm kind of surprised you didn't use at least this much earlier. Couldn't you have just hypnotized her and walked away?” He asked out of genuine curiosity, even though he himself was not capable of using such a spell that was considered basic; this girl in front of him was anything but a third-rate mage, so for her this should have been an easy task. But he soon got his answer upon seeing her face morph from surprise to embarrassment before she once again tried and failed to hide it by putting on a cold face.

“H-Humph, I was just entertaining this person. And it was part of my plan! Now I have to infiltrate your house, where you would have stayed hidden during the entire Grail War. Now there is nowhere for you to hide anymore.”

“My house, huh?” Going to the kitchen for a bit and bringing back some water for the girl, he placed it near her and sat right in front while giving her a gentle smile. “You know this is your house as much as it is mine, Nee-chan.”

“Eh…” having not expected such an answer, he observed with amusement as her expression continued to change. Seeing her doing so many faces in such a short amount of time compared to her previous cold and aloof expression was a treat in itself. Regardless, he meant every single one of those words, and he hoped she would see that. “You-! You-! Y-You’re sprouting nonsense...”

“You were always welcome here from the beginning. In a way, I feel like Dad and I finally got our wish granted.”

Her hands on the cup tightened, “Berserker must have hit you a bit too hard last time. Clearly, he gave you some brain damage, and now you're even more stupid than before. Who says such things to their enemies?”

“I never saw you as an enemy, not even once.”

“Tch… If that's the case, then you are really a foolish idiot. You’re willing to press the end of a gun on someone's head even if you don't see them as your enemy.”

“Ah,” now that was a bit embarrassing. He did feel a bit guilty about his action back then, but at the time, he had to do what he needed to do to get things under control. “Sorry about that, Nee-chan.”

“Stop calling me that!” Reaching the end of her patience, Berserker appeared behind her just as a Rider appeared next to him. The Giant servants frame crowding the space within the living room, his head nearly touching the ceiling itself, “Try playing these mind games with me, and the next thing you'll experience is having your head decapitated while I turn you into a decorati—”

“Want some?” Her speech immediately came to a halt when, rather than taking a defensive stance, the boy in front of her grabbed the plate of snacks and extended it towards her Servant. “Sorry, I don't know what you might like, so hopefully this will be enough. Rider likes them, especially these olives and these figs.”

It was a bit daunting to present anything to the hulking figure ahead. Everything about him just screamed danger, including the glossy eyes of one red and the other gold that both held not a trace of rationality. Like a chained-up up enraged monster that could break out of his restraints at any moment. He could feel himself sweating as he pushed himself to offer the peace offering. He already saw the reaction from Berserker's master, once again catching her off guard by his actions. He paid no attention to the reaction and instead waited patiently.

Nothing but silence followed after his offer, the figure just standing behind Illya, unmoving like a statue. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind, or if he could even form any sort of thoughts, given his attribute as a Berserker Servant.

Seeing that nothing was going to happen, he chuckled awkwardly and placed the plate in front of him before going back to his seat. “Um, you're welcome to take them anytime you want. No pressure.”

Illya remained slack-jawed, turning her attention to Rider and pointing her finger at him. “Hey, you, what the hell is wrong with your Master? Does he have a death wish?”

The purple-haired woman just shrugged.

“I'm just showing hospitality. I offered something to eat to every Servant that came here and their Masters. Why should I treat you any differently?”

“Because I am going to kill you?”

“Fair point, but you haven’t yet, and I don’t intend to die by your hands. So that’s that.”

Her eyes twitched, “You're only just making that decision easier.”

Once again, he smiled at her answer. Just looking at her as she continued to ramble on several more threats, including ways she would torture him if he continued to act this way. Shirou couldn't help but imagine what the old man would say if he were here to see this scene. The daughter he had been trying his whole life to save, pushing his body beyond his limit to the point of killing himself, that same person was now sitting inside the living room, ranting threats after threat to her stepbrother. Though not exactly under the most ideal circumstances but hey, it was still progress.

“...Want to have a tour of the house?”

“—then I'll bring your soiled remains to the Tohsaka girl and—eh?” She was cut off in the middle of her rambling by the sudden offer. Her mind took a few moments to process his words as she looked at him with both irritation and suspicion. “Don't get so cocky because I'm in your territory. No matter what kind of trap you set up, Berserker can easily destroy them.”

“Since you've already seen the living room and the kitchen, are there any rooms you haven't seen yet? We’ve got a beautiful courtyard in the back, a big bathroom, and the shed, which serves as my workshop, kind of. Oh, we even have a dojo, it's Fuji-nee’s second favorite place below the living room.”

“Are you even listening!? I already made my answer quite clear. Today's meeting was not supposed to happen, so don't bother trying to suck up to me just so I won't kill you.”

“And the last place to visit would be the spare rooms. We should probably start with Dad's room.”

That immediately brought a reaction from her, her eyes widening for a brief moment until she tried to hide it. She failed. Unlike before, she did not deny his offer immediately and instead started pondering with her gaze, looking at the table.

Best to take the lead, “Come on, I'll show you around.” He got up from his seat and casually walked past her, moving awkwardly around Berserker with the latter not even taking his eyes off him once. As for Illya’s brief visible moment of hesitation, she eventually took action, as she slowly got up and followed him silently. Her hands clenched with frustration, but still she didn't say anything.

Just like he promised, Shirou brought the girl around every piece in the house. Showcasing his room, empty storage rooms, bathrooms, the dojo, the courtyard, and so on. She never said anything while he continued to talk, keeping her silence, and he did not mind that. Feeling happy that at least she was not going for his neck and was willing to look around. “You can take any room here; the old man was not much of a decorator, so most of them are quite Spartan. But we can go shopping together and pick out what you like the best. There’s even at least one western-style room, so you shouldn’t feel too out of place.”

“I never said I would live here.” She whispered quietly, and he continued to smile without giving her an answer.

Eventually, they came to the last part of the house, slowly sliding open the door, he brought her inside a room that had remained untouched for years. Filled with the belongings of the former Magus Killer.

Illya was the first one to walk in, gazing around at the traditional-style Japanese room filled with books, old kimonos, dozens of different suits, a tea set in the middle, and a single picture near the bed. One that showcased him standing next to another woman who shared a face practically identical to Illya's.

The young girl looked at it for a long while until she shook her head and silently started looking around, curiously inspecting and touching several items inside. Shirou was not worried about her finding any kind of weapon, for the old man had already moved them all to his shed a long while ago… well, he had at least hoped the old man hadn’t left any tucked away in secret. But those were just the weapons; everything else remained here, and the girls soon came upon them the moment she grabbed a particular book worn out with the passage of time, with several pictures falling to the ground soon after.

All of them were of the old Einzbern castle. The continent of the book was several notes he himself used in the past that added some details on the castle's perimeters and security. Most of which had been updated by him recently when Luvia sent him a few details.

Seeing her go through the contents, he continued, “He never stopped trying to reunite with you. Every single day, he tried his best to break through these barriers just to reach you. He tried several times. He’d always go on trips every other month while I stayed behind to take care of the house with Fuji-nee. Coming back after a week at least or three months at most, each time less hopeful than before. His body just could not keep up in the end. Had it not been for the injuries he sustained during the war, then perhaps he could have gotten to you, but he was no longer the same man from before. Still, that never stopped him. He tried till his last remaining month.”

“...”

“He never told me much about the details, but near the end, he always told me stories about you. About Irisviel and his regrets. I don't know what you were told, but that’s what he told me. I guess what you heard really was way different from me, since you came after me with the intent to kill. I can't imagine what you must have felt all those times when Dad wasn't there with you; it must have been difficult… but I want you to know that he never stopped loving you. Never. You were always his daughter that he cherished.”

Seconds went by in silence; he gave her time to digest the information and did not push her any further.

After what felt like an eternity, she turned around and walked past him — this time holding onto the picture of both Kiritsugu and Irisviel. Going back to the living room where Rider and Berserker stayed, “Let's go back, Berserker.”

He didn't try to stop her; instead just stood behind and watched her go as she slowly took some snacks and walked to the entrance. Though not before asking her one last question, “Will you come back home again, Nee-chan?”

She stopped, her shoulders trembling ever so slightly.

“I'll make sure to prepare something better next time. I didn't really have much time to make something to your liking. The old man was not someone who took a lot of pictures, but we still have a few more lying around that you can take a look at.”

“...” Taking a deep breath, Illya looked behind with a cold glare. “I know you are searching for that Matou woman. Had it been me, we would have finished the task without making such a messy job. There are other parties that are trying to stir trouble, keep acting this naive, and they will kill you before I do. At least try not to die a pathetic death by some other fool, or else you will be just like him.”

She said her piece while continuing to walk away. Still, her harsh response was enough of an answer for him. “I'll make sure to tidy up a spare room for you next time.”

“Humph!” Illya turned her nose up at him.

When she left, Berserker had picked her up in his arms, and the two leapt into the air, leaving a shockwave in their wake. Shirou figured it would not be so easy. A single encounter or even two would not be enough to completely change her mind. The betrayal she felt, the lies fed to her, was not something that could be erased within a single conversation.

Still… he was happy with how things turned out.

As he turned his attention to the table, the boy noticed the empty plate he had given to Berserker.

“He appreciated the offer,” Rider said calmly.

Well, at least Berserker was not as mindless as he feared.

“We should start making preparations. Rin will be waiting for us.”

Hound of the Dead Chapter 20: Panic

Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331

Next update is Fate Coiling Sword and Snafu.

So, I've been playing the Taimanin Action game a bit. Damn is Asagi strong, if I take the cut scenes literally, that girl has enough strength to kick a car away like Toji did from jjk (Though he kicked a truck but you get my meaning)... Of course, still need to look into this matter more.

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-Tokonosu City-

Safe to say, this had always been an inevitable outcome. Seated atop a jagged mound of burnt cars, twisted metal, and scattered debris, Cu rested with his one leg resting ontop of his knee, spear leaning lazy over his shoulder while the sound of flesh being torn by ravenous corpses could be heard from behind him.

Eyes looking up at the cloudy skies, and an overall depressing weather to say the least. Between his fingers, he lit a cheap, crinkled cigarette that had been handed to him earlier by one of the Takagi estate soldiers. With a flick of his finger, a flame flickered briefly before settling, and he took a slow drag, glancing down and watching in silence as the undead continued to swarm the remains of the late Shido below.

“Ha… What a way to go,” he muttered quietly, puffing a thin cloud of smoke that drifted lazily into the air, mixing with the stench of blood and rotting corpses.

There were not many thoughts crossing his mind when it came to that teacher. From the very beginning, the man had carried himself like a slimy snake that told you that it wasn’t going to bite, and if he wasn’t trying not to come off like that, he was doing piss poor job about it. Cu had always believed in not judging a book by its cover, but that guy was your textbook manipulative bastard.

His smile had been too practiced, too fake, the kind that never quite reached the eyes. It reminded him of that fake priest, but at least that bastard would lie by just omitting the truth and saying misleading things.

“I probably should have killed him from the beginning, that snake,” he said under his breath, more annoyed than regretful. His goal had been achieved; that little stunt of escaping had changed the perception of a majority of the student body back there. “That should make it easier to keep ‘em quiet for a while.”

For a moment, he entertained the idea of what the white-haired man would have done in his place. Archer was not easy to read, but he liked to believe he had a decent grasp of the kind of person he was. No nonsense, frustratingly vague, blunt to a fault, and yet somehow always managing to complicate things for himself in the end. Maybe Archer would have simply kicked Shido out of the school and left him to fend for himself, avoiding the risk of keeping someone like that around for too long.

That option certainly sounded safer and easier in hindsight.

Regardless, Cu was glad he did not have to deal with a second wannabe fake priest. “No, that priest was worse than him,” he said flatly, shaking his head. “There is no comparison. This one was just an annoying fly who wanted his own little paradise of women and ass kissers.”

He snorted softly at that, knowing full well that flies had a habit of getting themselves killed once they became too persistent. Shido had been no different in the end.

Fiddling with a few rune-etched stones between his fingers, the Irishman finally moved. With a casual flick of his wrist, he threw them into the air toward the writhing mass of bodies clustered around what remained of the late teacher. As the undead shifted, the man's corpse actually moved, starting to make a similar sound to the rest of them.

Pushing itself back up, half of his face was gone, torn away by jagged bite marks that exposed bone beneath shredded flesh. Bite marks covered the rest of his body as well, leaving him a ruined, blood-soaked mess. And yet, despite that, the thing still stood on its own two feet.

Its hollow eyes locked onto Cu, empty of anything resembling thought. There was no hatred there, no recognition, no trace of the man he had once been… only hunger remained, a crude instinct driving what little motion it had left. Watching that confirmed something for Cu — these creatures did not retain any part of their former selves once they changed. He was just another number added to the growing mass of infected.

The horde began to limp toward him, drawn by movement and sound. Some tried to climb over the piled debris and wrecked cars, arms scraping uselessly against metal. Shido moved at the front, almost looking like he was leading them on like a leader.

That made Cu smirk.

“Maybe I am wrong, and maybe there are still some brain cells left in that half-dead brains of your’s ,” he said dryly. “And look at the bright side, you finally became the leader of a massive group once they got a taste of ya. Heh.”

He chuckled quietly at the irony of his own words. Below him, stones clattered against the ground, vanishing beneath shuffling feet as the zombies pressed forward. With one last glance, Cu rose to his feet, kicking the spear as it spun around his neck, then ending back at hand. Without another word, he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving the noise and the dead behind him.

Woosh!

There was no explosion, no grand display of power. Instead, a sea of flames spread quietly across the designated zone, rolling outward and consuming everything it touched. Rotten limbs and bloodied flesh were consumed where they stood, the flames burning over them, while the bodies showed no reaction at all to their bodies quickly being consumed in flames. They no longer felt pain, no longer screamed or struggled. Muscles tightened and locked as they were cooked alive, joints stiffening until balance failed. One by one, they collapsed to the ground as the muscles and tendons shrank.

The last one to fall had been the most recent to turn, no longer the son of the politician from just a few minutes ago. His… Its eyes stayed fixed on Cu as the flames closed in, empty and glassy, reflecting the fire without understanding it. Even as its legs buckled and its torso burned away, that stare did not waver. Eventually, there was nothing left but ash scattered across the ground.

A cigarette butt dropped from his fingers and landed on the remains.

“I’m not takin’ any chances with you comin’ back in any way, shape, or form. Shishou would rip through reality and get here just to shove my spear up my ass for leaving things half-done. And I’m smart enough not to take the chance of her finding a way,” he said calmly.

After that, silence soon followed, broken only by the soft crackle of dying flames and the wind moving through the ruined street. Surprisingly, there were no other undead nearby, not even a single one anymore. The few that had been drawn by earlier noise had already been dealt with along the route Cu had taken while chasing after the bus.

The student who had been thrown at him earlier had been thrown on the roof of a nearby building. Up there, the boy would not be able to get down on his own, but nothing would be able to reach him either.

Best to make a mental note and not forget about him.

Even so, Cu did not want to relax yet.

The crash and the commotion that followed had made a lot of noise. These things were sensitive to sound, far more than people were when alive, even if they were slow to respond. He judged that there was a good chance another wave would arrive within minutes, or if luck favored them, within the hour. Either way, staying put was a bad idea. Best to leave while the area was still quiet.

He turned and walked back, retracing his steps toward the bus. The vehicle lay crumpled against a wall like a crushed tin can. The damage was severe, the metal bent inward, and the glass shattered across the road. Using his strength and spear to reduce the momentum before impact had helped more than it had any right to. It was the only reason everyone inside was still alive. Injuries were unavoidable, of course.

Broken bones, deep cuts, and shock were common enough. Cu viewed it as a well-deserved punishment for their idiotic decision to follow that snake, while taking most of the supplies with them.

He caught himself drifting and shook the thought from his head.

“Ouch! F-Fuck… my leg!”

From just outside the bus door, Teshima tried to run. His limbs were wounded from the crash, nothing more than scraped. None of the injuries looked immediately life-threatening, but they were ugly to see, blood soaking into torn fabric as he dragged himself forward. His breath came out in rough gasps along with several wet coughs, with blood seeping from his mouth.

“Hah… hah-argh… Gurk…” The haggard breathing could be heard, mixing with the sounds of crackling flames.

“Hn!” Teshima cried out as pain caught up with him.

Cu continued to walk forward, actually letting out a yawn. The middle-aged meat head was just as responsible as Shido for things getting to this point—that fact had settled firmly in his mind. “Urgh!” One swift kick landed squarely, and the man was lifted off the ground. His body slammed hard against the side of the bus with a dull, metallic thud. He slid down onto his ass, coughing harder and groaning.

Grasping his chest with a pained expression, that kick had most definitely added another injury to the list of growing wounds. Though he made sure to pull back on it not to shatter any ribs.

He didn’t want to waste resources on this trash.

“Yo, Teshima-sensei~!” Cu said as he approached, squatting down till both of their eye leveled. He made a face that showed confusion and worry, but both knew that he was putting up an act. “Looks like the bus is out of commission, hope you didn't get too injured~! Would be a waste of manpower. Kinda need you to take these kids to the Takagi estate. I suppose we can squeeze everyone inside the bus, but it’s going to be crowded. But you disappointed me, man. Didn’t even bother to check on the other students were okay. Tsk, tsk, I expected better from such an upstanding and caring teacher like yourself.”

Teshima looked up at him, horror written across his face as he realized his situation.

“S-Seth… Seth, please, be rea-reasonable,” he pleaded, trying to back away from what could only be described as a man facing a monster, and found his back already hitting the bus. “I di-didn’t mean for any of this to ha-happen! It was Shido. The bastard threatened me. No, wait! He blackmailed me! I swear! He told me to do what he said or else. I didn’t have a choice! Please believe me! Now that you’re here, come on, I’ll be-beat him to a pulp and have him tell the truth and c-confess his cr-crimes! I’ll help you find him, and you’ll see how I was forced to follow his bullshit!”

The words kept spilling out in a jumbled rush. Saying anything he could to prove his innocence while fighting through the pain from the kick in his ribs, his body shaking as he spoke.

Cu watched him in silence, not even listening to his excuses.

‘Should I just kill him here?’ he wondered, the question coming out like asking what to get for dinner. ‘Wouldn’ take much. A simple chop to the neck and he's out of my hair.’

It was a real dilemma.

He knew very little about this man beyond a brief interaction back at school during physical education class and the pathetic wretch he was seeing now. The feeling Teshima gave him was not the same as Shido. ‘Well, he's a pervert who wanted to get some action with some of the girls, and Shido most likely promised him something like that, along with those who joined them. It is not exactly hard to figure out that they were thinking more with their dicks than their brains. And given that he already has a reputation for checking out girls' asses, or so Momo said, it’s not surprising that all it took was offering one of the girls to him. Is there any drawback to killing those one too?’

He genuinely contemplated the thought instead of dismissing it outright. Nothing of importance would truly be lost, not in the grand scheme of things, but unfortunately, he still had to think about how to deal with this bunch for long enough until they arrived at the estate. After that, they would no longer be his problem. That alone was enough reason to stay his hand for the moment.

"Sorry to say this, sensei, but there is no point in trying to get him. The guy has already turned into ashes by now. But if you wanna check, go ahead. No skin off my back," he said languidly, crouching down so he was at the same eye level as Teshima.

“Eh?”

Confusion flickered in the man's eyes as he processed what he said. His brow furrowed, lips parting slightly as the meaning struggled to sink in. It took a few seconds, but realization eventually settled, and when it did, it only served to amplify the horror spreading across his expression. His face drained of color, breath hitching as his thoughts raced ahead of his courage.

"Y-You… you did you..." Teshima stammered, his voice cracking before the question could even be completed.

"Well, I didn’t kill him, at least not per se," Cu replied calmly. "I just stabbed him a bit, but he was still alive. To bad he wasn’t quiet. He got a bunch of those walking corpses after him. So I had to put him down after that." He lifted his spear slightly as he spoke, inspecting it to see if there was any blood still stuck to it. "Darn shame about that. We’ll never know if he really blackmailed to help him or not. Should have told me so earlier rather than driving away like that and making a mess."

“N–N-No No no! Wait! Please wait! I telling you the truth! Don’t hurt me!”

The desperate pleas came in waves after that. Teshima cried and begged, promised, swore he would cooperate, his words mixing over one another in a messy rush of tears and snot. Cu ignored all of it as he merely rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by such a patheic display, before twirling his spear once in his hand. The motion ended with the spearhead angled downward.

“A-aaah!”

The weapon came down without hesitation, drawing a loud cry from those close enough to hear. The tip pierced Teshima's chest deep enough to draw blood, but not deep enough to hit anything vital. Even so, the effect was immediate. His body stiffened, eyes rolling back as if his soul had been knocked loose from his body. He collapsed, unconscious from sheer terror or shock; the distinction hardly mattered. And from the smell of it, pissed himself in the process.

"That’s just sad. You and that boy would have been two peas in a pod," Cu said casually, thinking about a certain boy from Fuyuki with seaweed-like hair that pretended to be a mage.

He grabbed the man's body by the collar and tossed him back into the bus casually. The impact sent a dull thud through the vehicle, though the earlier screaming and begging had already stirred some of the students, while others were jolted awake by their friends and by the sound of their physical education teacher being thrown back inside like a sack of garbage. Groans and confused murmurs started to rise within the cramped space.

He watched their eyes dart around in confusion, most of them still failing to grasp their situation. The few who managed to piece things together reacted much as Teshima had. Panic set in fast. A handful of students even tried to run, scrambling toward the bus door, only to be stopped when a small pebble struck one of their legs with enough force to send them tumbling to the floor.

"If you idiots get out of this bus and try to run on your own, then death will be upon you in a matter of minutes," Cu said flatly. "You cannot wield a weapon properly, you do not have the stamina to outrun me, and you sure as shit ain’t smart enough to hide well enough from the undead. If you really think there is a chance for you out there, then go ahead and try. I won't be holding back my punches."

He took a seat on the dashboard of the bus, metal creaking softly, and finally, everyone's attention was now fully on him. A few girls clutched one another, trembling as if they were waiting for an execution. Some of the boys stepped in front of them, trying to look brave, positioning themselves like knights standing against a monster. The irony of it all was not lost on him.

"D-Don’t kill us, please," one of the girls said, her voice shaking as she held tightly onto her friend.

Cu stared at her for a long moment. Instead of answering right away, he smiled as he scratched his chin thoughtfully, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Remind me again," he said, his voice relaxed, sounding no different to having a conversation with his classmates, "who were the ones who emptied the school storage of every ration they could carry, locked up an innocent young lad without any food or water, drove straight through the main gate, breaking it beyond any quick repair and left the rest of the campus wide open for the undead to waltz right in?"

His smile never faded as his gaze moved across the gathered students, one face after another.

"Seriously, you all can't be that dumb," he continued calmly, his smile gone, “Your actions were no different from condemning hundreds of students to death. So tell me, plainly and honestly, why should I give a rat's ass about you lot and just let you all die as you did with the others?"

A murmur rose through the crowd, quickly growing louder as several students stepped forward, their voices overlapping in irritation and denial.

"That is not what happened at all," one of them snapped. "You are twisting everything to make us look bad!"

"We did what anyone would have done," another added, folding their arms defensively. "It was chaos after Miku got shot! You cannot blame us for trying to survive!"

"Nobody at school would have died," a third insisted loudly. "You are just assuming the worst; they would have managed to find a way out!"

"The area was safe," someone else chimed in. "We checked. The undead were nowhere near us."

Cu wondered if that last guy was awake to see the several zombies he had been skiving through when chasing them. Nowhere near… What a load of bullshit.

"A-And we were going to come back," a girl said desperately. "We were going to bring help by reaching the army! You cannot just decide that people would have died because of us! Shido-sensei just wanted to help!"

“How do you expect us to stay after you let that criminal in!? He shot Miku!”

"You would not have died!" another shouted, pointing accusingly. "Stop acting like you are some kind of judge."

He listened to every word without interruption. He did not argue, raise his voice, or cut anyone off. He simply watched them, already getting tired of this gaggle of idiots, as the noise slowly turned into a spectacle of excuses. Soon, one group began shifting their story, claiming they were victims dragged into the plan, powerless to stop it. The other clung stubbornly to the idea that everything had been under control, that the situation outside was safe, and that no real danger existed.

It was almost impressive in a way. The performance reminded him of one of those overblown television dramas Kyouko liked to watch, the kind filled with loud arguments and forced outrage. He could almost imagine her sitting nearby with a bucket of popcorn, commenting on how predictable it all was. The thought made him miss people from his own time. Even among them, there had been plenty of idiots, himself included, but he could not picture them standing around throwing accusations in every direction while pretending innocence.

The noise dragged on longer than necessary, and eventually he decided he had seen enough.

He brought the butt of his spear down hard against the floor. Immediately, the loud snap spread through the space, pushing through the arguments instantly. Every voice died, and all eyes snapped back to him.

"All right," he said evenly, "there is no point in draggin’ this out any longer, so I will keep it simple."

He straightened slightly while still smiling.

"You are messed up through and through," he continued. "For whatever reason, you chose to follow Shido and join him while he was perfectly willing to sacrifice a large number of your classmates and schoolmates. Don't try to use excuses that you tried to save them or would have come back with help. Following him without hesitation, without stopping to think about the consequences, is just pure stupidity."

Several students flinched at that, some lowering their gaze, others tightening their jaws. He could not tell whether the reaction came from genuine guilt or from people hoping to appear remorseful enough to earn pity.

"There is a second option," he said. "You can keep being stubborn and continue down this path."

He paused just long enough for the words to sink in.

"If that is your choice, then fine. You will no longer be considered part of my group and will be seen as jackals who are here to cause trouble. So I'll either kill ya right here and now or just let a bunch of those zombies eat you. Your pick.” Using the traditional method of convincing them gently was a waste of time.

Best to just use his method; he was getting tired of them. Everything said at that moment was the complete truth.

A wave of color drained from several faces as the meaning became clear. The idea of being alone outside the gates, surrounded by the dead, or being chased by him was enough to shatter their confidence.

"How does that sound?" he asked cheerfully.

“...”

For the first time since the confrontation began, his smile widened. Thus, he proceeded to pick up his weapon and point it at them, his action making them all flinch. “Of course, I will consider anyone who is outside the school as someone who decided to leave the group. So if under an hour your asses are not back there…”

He did not even need to finish his sentence when all of them unanimously rushed outside the bus. Whether they were injured or still lethargic, his earlier words were more than enough to give them a kick in the ass to get in line.

“Alright then, can't forget about the other one on the roof.”

{Break}

(An hour later)

This was a disaster.

There was no other way to describe it. Saya stood near the front gates of the school, feeling her entire body had gone stiff, watching several students struggle with the twisted metal barrier. They had dragged the gate back into place with a lot of effort, hands scraping and clothes dirty, but even now it leaned at an awkward angle. The metal frame was warped outwards, bent so badly that parts of it no longer lined up. Some students tried to brace it with their shoulders while others pushed from behind, but every attempt only made the weakness more obvious.

That thing could not even be held up by hopes and prayers.

She saw Rei watching the scene alongside her, her eyes tracing the gaps where the bars were warped too far apart, with a troubled expression. Exhaling slowly, she spoke up. "It’s not going to work. Even if you force it into place, the shape is too bent to be useful to keep them out. Those things will pass straight through the gaps in the middle. Unless we come up with something else to cover those gaps, it would just be a waste of time."

On the other hand, Igou tried to sound hopeful as he looked around the courtyard. "But it does not seem like there are any of those things around. Maybe that means things have gone quieter for now." He gestured toward the empty roads and silent surroundings as if that alone proved his point.

Unfortunately, no one believes that it will last for long.

While true, there was not a single undead in sight, and that alone made things unsettling. Those creatures had a habit of appearing without warning, spilling out from corners and streetcorners like they had been waiting just out of view. They moved slowly, barely making a sound, yet they overwhelmed people in seconds. It was frustrating how something that only shuffled forward could still be so quiet and dangerous.

The pink-haired girl turned toward the others. "Have them keep working on the gate. Use chairs and tables from our classroom if we have to, but just get it done. I will be back soon." She spoke quickly, turning just in time to see Rei reaching for her gear and sling a backpack over her shoulder. Heading toward the exit, but before she could take another step, Saya grabbed her hand and yanked her back. "What are you doing?" she demanded, her grip tightening around Spear wielder's wrist.

Rei frowned, clearly annoyed at being stopped. "Obviously, I am going to find Cu and stick my spear into Shido." She said after some moments of silence. “That bastard went too far this time. I am not letting him get away again. He's gone too far, and I’m not letting him get the chance to screw us over again!"

Saya stepped in front. "I agree with how you feel, and I also want to knock his teeth in and lock him up somewhere, if possible. But they left in a bus. If you think you can catch up to that by running, then it is not just him who needs to get his brain checked. Both of you are being stupid right now."

Running after a vehicle on foot, was he an idiot? It was foolish, no matter what angle she looked at it.

Rei looked around and pointed toward the parking area. "The car we used to come back is there. I'll be taking that, catching up to Cu, and making him tell us where the bus went. We can still reach them that way."

Saya had to agree that at least this plan sounded more feasible, but still… "But our main priority is securing the grounds. We are leaving soon, yes, but preparations still matter. That takes hours. We probably have less than thirty minutes or an hour before another wave shows up. Focus on the others first before you let revenge blind you. Cu can keep himself safe from what I heard, but we can't protect everyone here at once."

“You can't be serious.”

“I am! We can't risk everyone's lives here for a single person! We might even need to move the cars to act as a barricade if we can't set up something else soon!”

“We won't have to worry about any of that if I bring Cu back here!”

Neither of them looked willing to give in. The argument hung there, growing more and more chaotic until Saya turned in frustration toward Saeko. Unlike the rest, the latter did not seem concerned about the broken gate or about their friend chasing after a bus on foot. She sat calmly on a bench, legs crossed, reading through a book as if the world around her wasn’t falling apart.

"I would appreciate some help," Saya shouted. "Explain to her why her idea is stupid."

Saeko glanced sideways, her expression unreadable. "If she wants to leave and go after him, let her."

Saya stared at her. "You too!?"

Saeko closed the book with a soft snap and stood up unhurriedly. "I do not think anything I say will convince her otherwise. She made up her mind long before this moment. You just did not realize it, or you refused to acknowledge it." She looked between them. "And she is not the only one."

Saya looked at her in disbelief as Saeko continued. "If he catches up to them and deals with that man, Cu will bring back the ones that ran away. You will stay with them and make sure they are safe."

These people…

Saya gritted her teeth, wanting to shout, wanting to lash out at the sheer recklessness of it all, but she could not. As much as it infuriated her, the other party’s logic was sound, and that only made it worse. What little she knew about that man told her this outcome had been inevitable from the start, given how reckless he proved himself to be with that first stunt of his to save Yoshito. He just had to choose the worst possible timing to play the hero.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” she muttered under her breath, her fingers rising to her mouth as she bit down on a nail. “The best time to be selfish is during moments like this, and he chooses to be a damn hero. At this rate, we’re all going to die.”

Her mind raced, dozens of half-formed plans colliding with one another before breaking apart just as quickly. Securing the gates was still their main priority. There was no point charging out there to try and save him if there was nowhere left to return to afterward. If this place were overrun, they would lose access to the buses as well. Everything depended on that evacuation route remaining intact. Even if they moved everyone out right now and tried to pick them up along the road later, the risks stacked far too high for her liking.

It was hasty, far too hasty. And she hated it.

The best-case scenario, the one she had carefully outlined in her head, had been leaving tomorrow. They would have stocked up on every usable resource the estate could provide and possibly even stripped the nearby stores clean if conditions allowed it. That plan had been put together late last night, a backup in case her parents’ estate lacked anything essential. It was not perfect, but it was thorough, and thorough plans were what kept people alive.

There was also the student who had been shot earlier. She still had not woken up and was currently being treated by Shizuka. Saya wanted confirmation that he was stable, whatever that word even meant in a situation like this. Moving an injured person too early could turn a survivable wound into a death sentence, and she refused to ignore that problem just because time was pressing down on them.

And then there was Cu.

Even though she had known him for only a short time, he had proven himself reliable and capable of leading a group under pressure. He was not reckless, despite his temperament, and he did not panic when things went wrong. Losing him would be disastrous, both in the short term and in the long term, for morale. Far worse than missing out on a few extra supplies for the road ahead.

With a low groan, Saya rubbed her temples, forcing her thoughts into order. Her eyes shifted toward the students clustered near the gates, struggling to push them back into place. They helped one another with shaking hands, fear and desperation written plainly across their faces, and despite their effort, they were making very little progress.

“All right,” she said sharply, straightening up. “All of you, stop. New plan. We are leaving this place now. Take only the important things. Water and any remaining rations that were not stolen, and see if you can fit them into your pockets or backpacks. Leave everything else behind. Kyoko-sensei, can you lead everyone to the buses?”

The woman, who had been staring out the streets with the same worried expression as Rei, flinched at being addressed. She was visibly shaking, but she nodded quickly. “Yes, of course. Everyone, follow me. Stay together!”

Movement finally broke the paralysis gripping the area as students began to gather what little they could carry. Saya turned away and headed into the gymnasium, grabbing her own belongings. It was not much. A bottle of water, a few compact rations, and several items she had borrowed from Shizuka’s first aid kit earlier, just in case they were needed again. She packed quickly, with practiced efficiency.

“You’re not going along with them?” Takashi asked, watching her as she slung the bag over her shoulder.

“Of course not,” she replied without hesitation. “The last thing I want is to be stuck in one vehicle with those idiots. I’ve already done enough here. The rest I’ll leave in the capable hands of Kyoko-sensei, along with Fumiko and Momo. I’m joining you guys. There’s enough space in that car of yours, and you know it.”

She turned toward the doors and raised her voice. “Kohta, keep an eye on those idiots and shoot anyone who tries to move out of line!”

The bespectacled boy stiffened, flinching as several heads turned toward him. He looked around awkwardly, clearly unsure how to respond to that order.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Takashi said carefully. “After what just happened earlier, making him say something like that might cause another wave of panic.”

“Relax,” Saya shot back. “I’m not telling him to actually shoot anyone. I’m saying it out loud so the others hear it and behave for once. Do you have any idea what kind of disaster would happen if one of the buses decided to mutiny on the road and veer off course? I’m not risking that just cause a bunch of idiots can’t think straight.”

With a loud huff, she pushed past Takashi and headed toward the exit near the gates. Her pace was brisk, her jaw set.

“Let’s do this quickly,” she said. “Knowing that idiot, I bet he’s doing something completely stupid right now, or fending off another wave of zombies by himself. He just had to go alone.”

"Well, he could have just used some magic and burned down any undead that got close to him," a voice said from behind her. “I heard he's good with the spear.”

In her current, overworked state, the girl barely paid attention to it, automatically assuming it belonged to Takashi. Her focus was still locked on the possible chaotic rescue mission ahead.

"Stop saying that, you idiot. So far, he only survived because he’s too damn lucky for his own good," she snapped back without turning.

"I cannot argue against that," the voice replied casually from behind them. "Which is kind of surprising, since my luck has always been in the shitter. Still, you have to give me some credit here. I can kick ass better than the rest of them."

"It does not matter if you know how to fight," she shot back, almost by instinct. "There is no way you will survive facing so many of those...?"

The words died in her throat.

Goosebumps raced across her skin. The girl jumped away with a startled yelp, nearly tripping over herself as instinct took over.

"Kya!"

Behind her stood not only her childhood friend, but next to him the very person they had been risking their lives to save. Cu was there, grinning and upright, carrying an unconscious student slung over one shoulder and Teshima draped over the other. Both bodies hung limp, their condition obvious even at a glance.

Without ceremony, he dropped them onto the ground. He rolled his shoulders afterward, his face tightening slightly as if working out a stubborn ache.

"Gym teacher, my ass," he muttered to himself. "Carrying his fat ass while smelling of piss isn’t something I would recommend."

The surrounding group froze.

The group froze in place, their expressions locked in a tableau of disbelief. Saya's finger rose shakily toward Cu, accusatory yet uncertain. Her mouth worked silently, thoughts scrambling to reconcile the impossible sight before her. While the others stared at him beside her, as if expecting Cu to vanish if they looked away even for a second.

"You... You..." she tried, but the words refused to come.

Part of her wondered if she had imagined everything earlier. Maybe Cu had never left to chase the bus. Maybe he had somehow returned without anyone noticing, slipping back into place like nothing had happened.

“While you figure out how to speak like a normal person, be sure to watch out for this guy. Might not be worth keeping him alive in my opinion, but it’s your call.”

“What?” Saya remained frozen where she stood, her thoughts completely derailed.

Igou stepped closer and tapped Cu on the shoulder, eyes drifting toward the unconscious Teshima. The man’s overall condition looked bad, with visible wounds and limbs bent at angles that made everyone uncomfortable to look at for too long.

"That was fast," he said. "Did you use one of your magic things to catch up? Also, where are the other students?"

"No magic needed," Cu replied. "I just ran after it and used my spear to stop the bus."

"You do realize that makes zero sense, right?" the boy said flatly.

"Get used to it," Cu answered. "I am telling the truth."

"You and your magic, man," the brown haired boy muttered. "I still cannot wrap my head around what it can and cannot do."

"I will show you more when we are somewhere safer," Cu said. Then he glanced toward Saya and added, "By the way, did you tell her that I can use magic?"

"Eh, no?" came the hesitant reply. "I thought she already knew."

"Why would she know? You are the only one who knows that secret."

"Oh. Oops?"

"What the hell is going on here!?" Saya finally shouted, reaching her breaking point as she resisted the urge to grab her own hair and scream.

.

.

.

He had expected several kinds of reactions upon making his way back to the school. Joy and relief were the obvious ones, the kind that would show clearly on the faces of people like Rei and Kyoko the moment they spotted him. He had also braced himself for confusion, maybe a few awkward looks from those who assumed he had failed to catch up or had been forced to turn back. What he had not expected, and what genuinely caught him off guard, was the fact that several people had already been preparing to head out after him the moment enough time had passed.

It amused him more than anything. The idea that they were willing to risk leaving the relative safety of the school just to make sure he was not dead somewhere along the road felt strangely warm. He appreciated the concern, even if he would never openly admit it. What surprised him the most was how quickly Saya had agreed with the plan. Knowing her, he had assumed she would insist on keeping all available manpower focused on defending the school first. That alone told him she was far more emotionally driven than he had initially given her credit for.

Her voice cut through his thoughts, being as loud as a banshee, of course, loud enough to draw everyone’s attention.

"How are you here!?"

He tilted his head slightly, a lazy grin forming as he shrugged one shoulder.

“It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it?” he replied, putting on a thinking pose, “Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, little lass, but it keeps me up at night.”

A loud ‘pat’ echoed through the courtyard.

Without so much as a flinch, he raised one hand and caught a baseball just inches from his face — doing so casually. He rolled the ball between his fingers while meeting the furious glare of the pink-haired girl standing across from him.

"Take this seriously," Saya snapped. "When did you come back? Where did you find these two? Did Shido abandon them?"

"He did, for this guy," he answered calmly, tapping the butt of his spear against the side of the unconscious student, Morita, if she recalled his name, slung over his shoulder. "The old guy, on the other hand, got scared halfway through and tapped out. And before you ask about the rest of the students, the idiots are over there."

“What?”

Saya clearly had more questions, her lips parting as if she wanted to push further, but she stopped herself. With a deep exhale, she turned and walked toward the entrance. He and a few others followed her in at a distance.

“—!”

The moment she stepped outside, the scene unfolded in full view. Dozens of students were slumped against the outer walls of the school grounds. Some were unconscious, others barely awake, all of them gasping for air as if their lungs were still trying to catch up. A few leaned on their friends just to stay upright, while others had collapsed completely, sliding down the wall the instant they realized they had made it back.

When they noticed Saya, relief washed over their faces. Several of them broke down on the spot.

"Finally," someone whispered. "Finally, it’s over."

A few began to cry openly, exhaustion and fear spilling out now that the danger had passed. Their reaction made Saya glance back at Cu with a look that said ‘You better explain or else.’

"The bus was done for," he said, his tone relaxed despite the state of the group. "Crushed engine. No chance it was starting again. I am not going to play horse and drag that thing all the way back here. And I was not about to trust each of them with one of the barely functioning cars lying around."

He gestured vaguely toward the group.

"So I chose the next best option. I squeezed out whatever adrenaline they had left and… um, guided them back to the school."

"Like a Shepherd?" Saya said flatly. "You basically treated them like sheep."

"Well," Cu shrugged, unfazed, "with how blindly they followed the other guy, it’s not to far off of a comparioson."

"This guy chased us with a spear from several blocks away," one of the students suddenly shouted, gathering just enough courage to speak up and seeming to try and plead for safety with the other group. “He threatened to kill us if we didn't get here in time!”

The moment Cu’s gaze shifted toward him, that courage vanished. The look alone was enough to make the student flinch and retreat behind the others, muttering apologies under his breath.

Saya continued to stare at Cu, her expression dry and unimpressed.

"Not like a Shepherd… but rather a Border Collie," she said.

"Do not call me a dog! Stay with the shepherd part!"

“You're not helping your case with that reaction.” The way he glared at her made the girl feel like she was staring at a growling hound.

Saya shook her head, completely ignoring his complaint. Stepping forward until she stood directly in front of the returned group, crossing her arms as her expression hardened.

"Let me be absolutely clear," she said. "We have no reason to take you back after what you pulled. You had all of us nearly killed just to save your own skins."

The murmurs died instantly.

"You tried to create discord," she continued. "You hoarded limited rations instead of sharing them equally. I have already heard from several students that some of you tried to pressure others into sleeping with you in exchange for food. I am seriously tempted to throw you all out and let those walking corpses deal with you."

Shock and fear spread across their faces. It was clear many of them had expected forgiveness, maybe even sympathy. Their eyes turned toward Cu, searching for support.

He did not even look at them.

"Do not stare at me," he said. "I brought you back so you would not get devoured. I never promised you would be accepted. That part is not up to me."

He tilted his head toward Saya, a grin spreading across his face.

"She is the boss, lads and lassies."

He leaned against her shoulder without asking, clearly enjoying himself. “What she says goes.”

Igou joined in on the fun and leaned against her on the left side. Kohta even appeared and placed himself in front, squatting with an actual gun in hand… where the hell did he get that?

“Just say the word, boss.”

Takashi just chuckled awkwardly from the side, though not missing the opportunity to take a picture.

The exaggerated way they were painting her as a Yakuza boss did not amuse her whatsoever. Saya’s eye twitched, irritation flashing across her face. She did not say a word. Instead, she drove her elbow back into both sides, forcing them to step away with a sharp grunt and kicking Kohta on the head with her foot.

“Just get on the bus before I lose my temper and kick you asses.”

She really wasn’t helping her image.

{Break}

(???)

Everything hurt.

That was the first clear sensation Miku Yuuki’s mind managed to register as a thin thread of consciousness pulled her up from the dark. The pain was dull and spread out; it sat in her bones and muscles.

She did not like it.

She wanted it gone. Groaing, she tried to sink back into sleep, clinging to the soft pressure beneath her body. There was a bed under her, a real one, not those bundles of clothes or that stinky crash mat from school. With a pillow supporting her head and a blanket draped over her shoulders. The warmth felt wrong only because it felt too comfortable.

‘Eh? A bed?’

The thought surfaced slowly, sluggish and confused. Even in her haze, something felt deeply off. This definitely did not feel like her own room, where posters covered the walls, glossy and carefully arranged. Luxury brand purses lined up neatly, each one expensive, each one a reminder of favors and gifts from boys and men who wanted her attention. Makeup cases filled every shelf, brands she recognized instantly. Just remembering those moments made her miss home, and she doubted this was her house.

The image began to break apart. The colors dulled. The walls faded. The room dissolved piece by piece into a creeping darkness. As it vanished, her thoughts became less foggy just enough to remember what happened.

The zombie outbreak. The screams. The school was locked down, surrounded with no clear way out. The panic that spread through the halls. The fear that pressed in on her chest every time the sounds of screams of terror, flesh being torn apart and the ghastly moans of the undead outside got closer. Through it all, there had been only one person she believed had control over the situation. Shido. The only man who seemed competent enough to survive, to make decisions, to keep her alive. She had given him everything she could, every part of herself, convinced it was the smartest move. As one of the most popular girls in school, she knew how attention worked and how irresistible her body was. She knew how to make herself useful, how to stay valuable. It had been a solid plan.

And then it all collapsed.

The last clear image burned into her mind. With Shido pulling her in front of him. The nerdy boy losing his gun, the delinquent taking it… the sound of the trigger. No. It had to be wrong. He would not do that. He would not sacrifice her. Not her. He would not, he would not, he would not.

“Ah!”

Miku jolted upright with a gasp, her eyes snapping open as sweat soaked her skin. Her heart hammered violently in her chest, each beat loud enough to feel in her ears. Nausea rolled through her stomach, leaving her dizzy and unsteady. Before she could process any of it, a sudden, intense pain flared across her shoulders and chest. A strained groan escaped her lips as her strength gave out and she collapsed back against the bed.

The pain burned for a few seconds, deep and heavy, like something hot pressing into her flesh. Then, just as suddenly, it faded. Breathing hard, Yuki forced herself to look down. Her vision blurred, but she could make out the faint outline of… “eh, nothing?” The bloody hole was not there. But there was some sort of strange outline, a skin discoloration on her shoulders. Not a scar tissue… had she really been shot with a nail?

“Oh god… Was it all real?”

Her voice came out barely above a whisper. For a brief moment, she wanted to believe it had all been a nightmare. That she would wake up in the gym storage room, tangled up naked with Shido by her side or another boy who she did not even remember the name of.

Reality started to settle in. Just as panic threatened to take over, a bright, energetic voice cut through the room.

“Oh great! You’re finally awake! I was worried you might fall into a coma because of a possible infection I missed.”

Miku turned her head toward the sound. Her vision filled with the sight of an absurdly large chest before she could even focus on a face. The figure looming over her belonged to a woman who never failed to make her jealous of just how big of a bust she had and how effortlessly she managed to make every patient in her infirmary swoon. Clumsy. Loud… an airhead.

“Sh-Shizuka sensei?” Yuki managed to whisper her name.

Her own voice sounded wrong. Hoarse and dry, scraping painfully in her throat as if she had gone days without water. The realization hit her all at once, her mouth feeling like sandpaper.

“W-Water,” she said weakly.

Shizuka moved quickly, "Here, I made sure to prepare everything in case you woke up soon. Something to drink, and even something to eat, like this chicken porridge Yuriko made for you. Try it, it is really good. Um… I may or may not have taken a few spoonfuls from your bowl to, b-but I will make sure to ask for more later! Please do not tell anyone. I was just hungry! And bored. Oh right, I should be checking your temperature."

The blonde nurse then came closer as she spoke, hands already busy as she leaned over the bed. Checked Miku’s temperature with the back of her hand of all things, feeling along her wrist for her pulse, then pressing lightly near her neck. For a brief moment, the clumsy nurse from just seconds ago seemed to disappear, replaced by a completely different woman.

"Your heart rate is a bit high, but your temperature is normal," Shizuka said, her voice calmer now. "Still, just in case, since you were shot by a nail earlier, it would be best if you stop by for regular checkups. If you start experiencing muscle spasms, difficulty swallowing, or even a fever, you need to tell me right away. I cannot believe this place does not have a tetanus shot."

Those words reached Miku as little more than noise that went completely above her head. Her head felt heavy, thoughts slow and uncooperative as she tried to remember what had happened exactly. She turned her head slightly, eyes scanning the unfamiliar room. This was not the school infirmary. The walls, the bed, even the smell of the air felt wrong. That realization only deepened the confusion clawing at her mind.

"W-where… where is Shido-sensei?" She asked, the question escaping her lips before she could stop herself.

Her hands clenched into the sheets, teeth grinding as an image flashed through her thoughts. The moment replayed itself of how the nail pierced her chest, even if it may have been a dream.

But the faint outline on her unblemished skin made it hard to believe that!

She needed to know if he had done it on purpose, if he had used her as a shield without hesitation. If it had been intentional, then she would use that truth however she had to. She would squeeze every ounce of leverage from it, even if it meant screaming rape accusations in front of everyone. She knew exactly how much damage words could do to someone like him. A man like that would never want his image stained — a true politician.

Those thoughts came to a sudden halt when she noticed the strange look on Shizuka’s face.

"What?" Miku demanded. "Where is he? Wait, did he tell you to keep me locked up here too? I will scream for help. You cannot hold me here."

Her voice rose with each sentence, threats tumbling out one after another. The intensity in her glare was enough to make Shizuka step back a few paces, hands lifting slightly in reflex.

"Calm down, Yuki," Shizuka said quickly. "I was not told to keep you locked up here. I am just keeping an eye on you so you do not catch anything bad from your wound. As for Shido… um, it's best if you just stay here and let me explain. You may not like what you hear."

This fucking airhead. To Miku, it sounded exactly like confirmation. That bastard really had done it!

But he wouldn’t do that to her of all people!

"What wound?" She shouted. "Look at me. There is nothing wrong with it. Stop lying! Where is Shido? I bet he is off with some other slut that had been trying to take him away from me. Did he get tired of me because I passed out? I will show him."

“Wait! Let me explain first!”

"Stay away," Yuki yelled when she saw Shizuka step forward again.

Panic took over. The girl ended up grabbing the closest thing within reach. The bowl of porridge before she hurled it forward with all her strength.

"Kya!" Shizuka cried out, throwing her arms up to shield her face.

The porridge splashed across her hands and clothes, broth and rice scattering across the floor. But strangely enough, rather than letting out a cry of pain from getting splashed by hot liquid, the blonde just wiped some of the food from her face and proceeded to taste it, not seeming to care that her top was completely transparent now and showing off her scantily black bra. “Oh dear… such a waste. Oh no! I forgot to heat it up!”

This woman was crazy or a complete air head!

Without any more hesitation, Miku sprang up from the bed and rushed straight toward the door, her bare feet slapping against the cold floor.

Thankfully, it was not locked.

She flung it open and stepped out, only to freeze when her eyes landed on the space beyond. A grand hall stretched out before her, vast and polished, lined with tall pillars and expensive decorations that reflected the soft lighting overhead. For a moment, she simply stood there, stunned by how large and lavish it all was.

"This must be that minister’s house," she thought. "Rich people and politicians always live in places like this." At least the man had kept his promise. He really had brought them somewhere safe, somewhere where they could live like royalty without chains, without fear, without having to look over their shoulders every second of the day. A place where they could indulge their desires and pretend the world outside was not collapsing. For just a brief instant, that thought made her chest loosen.

"Eh? You’re awake?"

This time, another voice snapped her out of it. Her moment of relief lasted only seconds before she noticed someone walking down the hallway toward her. The moment he looked up and saw her, his face drained of color. Her own blood ran cold just as fast. It was him.

The delinquent whose name she did not remember. Yoshi… something.

The same man who had aimed a nail gun at her before. The former stared down at her with a twisted snarl, the bandana tied around his forehead making him look even more unhinged. The sheer difference in their size made her heart hammer harder. He could finish what he started.

"Noooo!"

Her body moved before her thoughts could catch up. Panic took control, and she turned and ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could.

"Wait! Don’t run!" the man shouted behind her.

He moved fast, for his hand caught her clothes, fingers digging into the fabric. “Let go of me!” She refused to be captured that easily. Twisting her body and yanking forward, slipping right out of the shirt. It fell from her shoulders and stayed in his grip while she kept moving, now completely topless. She did not care. Shame had no place here, not when fear was driving her legs.

The sudden sight of her bare body made the man freeze for just a second, his eyes wide and his mind clearly stalling. That second was all she needed. She sprinted down another corridor, turned sharply, then took another turn, diving deeper into the maze-like building.

"She went this way!"

Voices echoed behind her. More than one. They were searching now.

‘Why the hell did he even let that criminal join our group?’ she thought bitterly. "You’ve got to be kidding me." She needed to find him, to grab him, to knock some sense into his thick skull.

He had always been easy to control, never said no to her. She knew exactly how to pull his strings, how to make him follow her every demand like a puppet. The moment he saw her naked body, he would drop whoever he was entertaining without a second thought. Men were always like that. She had lost count of how many times boys with girlfriends had been more than willing to spend an hour with her at a hotel the moment she hinted at fucking them.

"Haah, haah, haah."

Her breathing grew rough and uneven as she kept running, choosing directions at random. She went up a staircase, nearly slipping as she took the steps two at a time, not even sure where she was going anymore. Several times, she had to turn back after hearing footsteps approaching from the opposite side. The building felt endless, corridors blending together, every turn looking the same.

Eventually, she reached a dead end.

Her heart slammed against her ribs as the sound of footsteps grew louder behind her. The image of that delinquent holding the nail gun flashed through her mind again, making her stomach twist.

"I have to hide," she thought desperately.

She finally noticed the doors lining the hallway. Several of them. Why keep running when she could hide and wait until things calmed down? She could slip out once she spotted someone she recognized from their group. Anything was better than collapsing here from exhaustion and facing that psycho!

She rushed to the nearest door and twisted the handle. Locked.

"Come on," she muttered under her breath as she moved to the next one.

Locked.

Another door. Locked again.

"Come on, come on, come on."

Her hands shook as she tried one door after another, panic clawing at her chest

.

One after the other, each door refused her.

The sound of approaching footsteps growing close with each second that she could picture them rounding the corner at any moment. Her breathing turned shallow as she reached the final door, a quiet, desperate hope forming as her fingers closed around the handle. She pushed it down, and the door gave way with a low creak. Relief crossed her face at once, a brief and fragile joy, before instinct forced her forward and inside.

“Final—ah!”

She barely had time to register the room before she stopped short. It was a large bedroom, far too refined for a place like this, with an expensive bed positioned neatly at the center, sheets disturbed and sunlight spilling in through wide open windows. The light revealed there were two others inside, naked figures, already there, their skin slick with sweat, bodies close enough that it was impossible to misconstrude what they were doing. With her even having caught a glimpse of the frantic movement between them earlier.

A cascade of orange brown hair, nearly the same shade as her own, fell over the shoulders of a blue haired foreign boy. The girl was Rei, someone she recognized instantly, her posture frozen mid motion as if time itself had stalled, half way from slamming her hips down to the base. The woman's hands were still on the man’s chest and tangled in blue hair, from her swollen lips, sweat slicked skin and the obvious connection of their neathers, it’s obvious what they had been doing moments before she barged in. Both of them stared at the intruder, eyes wide, shock mirrored perfectly between all three.

Any thought of backing away vanished. Her feet felt rooted to the floor, her mind struggling to process the scene in front of her.

"I have to say, Rei, I am impressed. Is this the second part of the surprise you mentioned earlier? Gotta admit, didn’t expect you to be that kinky… But shouldn’t we at least let the lass get some rest first?” Cu said, his words snapping Rei out of her trance and turning her face full crimson.

“Oof!”

Grabbing a pillow, Miku’s face got struck by it followed by Rei’s enraged roar.

“Can’t we get ten minutes of fucking privacy in this place!”

“Ten minutes? Pretty sure we would need more than—”

“Shut it, idiot!”

Steel Eyed Faker: Chapter 25: New Teigu

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

Next update hound

Sorry for the late update, had to do an MRI scan of my knee due to some pain that REALLY flared up yesterday.

Good news, no ligament tear and it's just something minor that requires me to stop walking for a short period of time, rest and taking some medicine. (I walk a lot, several hours, when doing vtt cause it helps imagining the scenes, so it might have been because of that.)

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-Night Raid Base-

If there was one constant across all realities, it was the fact that the entity known as Emiya Shirou was not a talented mage by standard views.

Rin often called that foolish boy a third rate Magus, with very little chance of ever advancing beyond that unless he truly pushed himself beyond his limits — much less earning a title. The fact that his sole talent also involved a taboo form of Magecraft that would instantly lead him to getting slapped with a Sealing Designation did not help.

Despite possessing a slightly above average number of Magic Circuits, the boy had always been limited to a single spell due to his overspecialization. No Magus worth their salt would ever proudly show their face or declare themselves gifted if their entire repertoire amounted to only one technique. Such a person would be regarded as little more than a trainee, an apprentice who had barely set foot on the path. Trying to learn anything beyond that spell was pointless for all those who bore the name of Emiya Shirou. Hundreds if not thousands of hours poured into additional training would barely move the needle.

That had been a reality Emiya accepted long before his first death. It was one he never truly resented and the main reason why he never even bothered to experiment with other forms of Magecraft.

It was simply who he was. The single spell that represented his entire existence, his truest identity and everything his life embodied. A Magecraft that hovered on the edge of True Magic, close in concept yet separated by an enormous gulf. A Magecraft intertwined with the theory of the world egg; a Reality Marble.

Something that imposed his inner world upon the outer one. It created a space where he was strongest, where the world reflected how he saw himself, revealing his authentic form for all to witness.

That was Unlimited Blade Works.

It was a spell he relied on for both offense and defense. Whether he called forth swords from the barren wasteland within his soul into the physical world or manifested shields, pieces of armor, or projectiles, everything originated from that inner domain.

Every technique and ability he possessed branched from that one spell, each thread leading back to it. One of those abilities happened to be something he disliked using and avoided whenever he could. It leaned toward defensive application, yet it frequently harmed the user, oftentimes even more than whatever they were trying to defend against.

The same concept of calling forth swords from his inner world was applied within his own body. It was brutal, efficient, and barbaric, sprouting blades like a human-shaped porcupine to deter attackers while holding his body together. Muscle fibres twisted around manifested blades that pierced through damaged tissue, stitching torn areas together like a sewing machine until his body merely resembled something close to its original state. It was not healing in any proper sense, merely a crude method of taping himself back into one piece before dealing with the consequences later.

"I can't remember the last time I had to use this in such a way," Emiya said as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, examining the condition of his body.

Horrific was the only fitting word.

His limbs had been reattached, his bones and ligaments set back into their proper places, but the damage to his skin and flesh remained far from healed. Lines of fresh scars crossed old ones, several cuts still leaked thin trails of blood, and tiny metallic blades protruded visibly beneath the surface. His fingers traced slowly across the lines that ran over his chest, feeling the hard metal beneath the skin where the swords had briefly acted as armor during the explosion.

“I was lucky that my head did not get too damaged… Though dying from one of my own swords being lodged in my brain would be rather funny, all things considered.”

He had not dismissed them entirely. He knew that the moment he dispelled those blades, every wound they held together would rip open again.

"I should wait a day or two, then I can sew them back up normally," he muttered, groaning as he rolled his shoulders and shifted his arms. Everything felt stiff and uncooperative. The metallic parts embedded in his body were never meant to bend, and he could sense that any abrupt movement would make the tiny blades dig deeper, tearing fresh damage along the way.

When he’d been a Servant, he’d relied on the enhanced recovery from a Master's energy that could even allow entire limb regeneration. Same thing as a Counter Guardian but better.

Here, that was not the case.

"Can't believe I survived that," he breathed out quietly, staring at the reflection of a man held together by steel rather than luck.

He had truly been ready to die back then, bracing himself for an end he had met far too many times in the past. Between numerous battles against other Servants who could burn down the entirety of Fuyuki, facing volatile bursts of power exploding right in front of his face had, over the years, settled into something close to routine for the Servant of the Bow. He took a slow breath, feeling the dull throb under his skin, when a voice came from right outside the room.

"You barely look human anymore. Sometimes I wonder if I am the sister or if you and Esdeath are related by blood."

He turned toward the corridor and saw Najenda, leaning against the frame with crossed arms. Her hair, still wet and clung to her face, and a towel hung loosely around her neck while she stood otherwise bare, wholly unconcerned with her state. She watched him with an expression that hovered somewhere between boredom and something faintly troubled.

“I would find the idea of her and me being related very… disturbing,” he said, not even bothering to make any comments about her lack of clothes, for he has gotten used to her behaviour years ago.

"All four of us had to carry you very carefully. You were so fragile. Like a vase freshly glued back together, where a single careless move would cause it to fall apart again. Having all the swords sticking out was troublesome, some spears mixed in so we could grab the hafts if needed would have been helpful."

The man smirked. "I’ll keep that in mind. Also, yeah, I can imagine that. Must not have been a great sight," he said with a tired hint of amusement. He focused briefly and dismissed a few of the manifested blades stitched into the skin around his shoulders. The moment he dismissed one though, a sharp sting ran across his upper arm.

"Tch."

Of course, he had been a bit too quick. A thin ribbon of blood began to slide down his side, though the injury itself was shallow enough that a few more proper stitches would fix it. Before he could comment, the silver-haired woman beside him stepped forward.

"Idiot, why are you in such a hurry?" she scolded. Grabbing a towel, wiped away the trail of blood, then reached for fresh stitching materials. While working to close the wound in silence, Najenda fully focused on her task. Only for frustration to cross her expression when the needle met resistance by hitting a metallic surface when going right under the upper layer of skin.

“Are you fucking made of swords now? This is ridiculous!”

The irony of those particular choice of words was not lost on the white-haired man, for she was technically not wrong. “I might as well be right now.”

“Somehow I am still not shocked.”

“You rarely get shocked about anything regarding me.”

“Thanks to you,” she hissed silently. "Besides… we should be focusing on something more pressing. You are surprisingly calm," Najenda noted without a hint of emotions betraying her true feelings — keeping a stoic face.

"Me being too calm? I should be telling you that. You are disturbingly calm compared to Leone and the others," he replied. The blonde assassin had practically been vibrating with nerves earlier, eyeing him as if he were a breath away from collapsing again. "They had enough time to let out their frustration while I was unconscious. I guess that helped them. Things worked out in the end."

The woman's eyes twitched.

"You have a terrible habit of dismissing any topics when it's related to you, I've noticed,” she said dryly before shaking her head when all he gave her was a casual shrug, neither denying or agreeing with her statement. “And I suppose you think I did not have the opportunity to vent mine." Najenda stepped closer, tilting her head at him

"Do not circle around it. It is not like you. Speak clearly. Just say what you have in mind."

"Silly boy," she continued before he could answer. "I practically raised you. I know you well enough to expect vague answers and half truths. Do not try to fool your big sister, you idiot. It will not work on me. It might work on the others and it even has on Esdeath, but not me." She tapped his shoulder lightly, and he winced at the brief shock of pain. The expression that crossed his face was caught immediately.

He could not deny her words, for she was right. Somehow, this woman had gained the ability to somehow just know whenever he was lying or telling a half truth. How? He was uncertain himself.

Such an ability had only been replicated less than a handful of times with some of his Masters — including a certain twintailed Magus.

"I knew you were an odd one the moment Father brought you back from whichever village at the edge of the northern regions he found you," she said. "I never believed you were a normal boy. From the beginning you refused to act like one… what kind of normal person becomes friends with Esdeath even?"

"I could say the same to you," he answered with a small laugh. Both of them had grown in ways far different from ordinary children in the eyes of any outsiders. He for obvious reasons could never tell her openly, and Najenda due to the harshness of her upbringing and the expectations placed on her long before she had been ready by being the heiress to a military family with generations of Imperial generals.

"Are you going to do that again?" she asked. Her voice dropped to a low whisper, her hands slowing as she leaned in, letting her forehead rest gently against his shoulder. Hair hid her face from him, giving him no clue about the look she wore at that moment.

It did not take a mind reader to know what she was trying to say.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. It would have been easy to lie, but it would have been wrong. "I would certainly prefer not to, but it is part of my Magecraft. I don't use it because I want to get hurt, I can't exactly not make it that horrific, and I only used it because I didn’t want to die. The outcome you saw was not pretty, sure. Though I'd argue that without it I would not be standing here right now."

He exhaled quietly, taking a moment to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "Sorry I scared you. It must have been an ugly sight."

When was the last time he wrapped his arm around her like this? The man tried to sift through memories from their past, yet none of them placed a clear moment in front of him. Perhaps it had been that evening when he dragged her out of that chaotic celebration before everything spiraled. Najenda had never been fond of gestures that looked tender. She always claimed they weakened her image, that they softened the discipline she tried to maintain. Still, he had long known that she appreciated these small moments even if she refused to admit it aloud. Beneath all the stubborn layers she carried like armor, she simply refused to show how easily warmth could reach her.

It was cute, and he made sure to always let her know, knowing exactly the kind of reaction he would get.

“Hm?”

While he remained deep in these thoughts, something soft brushed the side of his face. Her lips touched his cheek with the faint fragrance of lavender reaching his nose, close enough that the faint warmth of her skin stayed on his skin as her chest leaned and pressed against his shoulders.

“I’m just glad that you’re here. I’ll make sure there won’t be a next time.”

He let out a small chuckle. “Careful there. Don’t tempt fate. Also it’s not as bad as you think. It hurts at first, but the adrenaline makes the worst of it fade before you even notice.”

Najenda finished making the stitch and bit through the string with her teeth, tightening the last knot before checking her work with a look of satisfaction. “Don’t forget to clean this area and everywhere else every day. No, forget that. I’ll just handle it myself. You can’t risk anything right now, for all I know you'll just end up covered in swords once more if I let you.”

“There’s no need for that,” he said, though he already knew she would ignore him.

“Why? Are you getting shy now? I’ve seen you naked plenty of times. It’s not like I don’t already know what’s down there.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew that arguing would only give her another reason to tease him, so he shifted the conversation instead. The question had been lingering in his mind since she mentioned it earlier.

“If Leone is sleeping, Mine is recovering, and the others are working around the base to keep it secured, but I haven't seen Tatsumi yet. You said he was in the dungeon? He’s been down there for a while. Who exactly is he looking after?”

A difficult expression settled over Najenda’s face, tightening her jaw and dimming her usual confidence. She hesitated and finally spoke with a quiet sigh. “Well… hah, well it's complicated.”

{Break}

-Night Raid Dungeon-

The sound of water dripping echoed through the underground chamber, each drop striking the surface of a shallow puddle that reflected the faint glow of lantern light. The room had no sunlight, not even the slightest trace of it. The air carried a heavy scent of damp stone, mould and long-settled decay. Tatsumi pushed his way deeper into the narrow path without reacting to the discomforting sensation of the environment and his aching limbs. After these last days of constant exposure to wounds, exhaustion, and the dismal state of the temporary base, his tolerance for unpleasant environments had grown significantly.

“Ouch,” he muttered as one wrong step caused him to bump a wall and put pressure on one of the many bruises he had a hard time forgetting about, staggering briefly before steadying himself. He was wrapped in bandages from the top of his head to the bottom of his legs, and his right side relied heavily on the crutch he’d been given. A plaster secured the side of his left arm, completing the mismatched set of injuries he carried like a second uniform.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t cook anything today. I overestimated how well my body was holding up. Even being near heat makes everything sting like hell.” His tone tried to sound, light but half of it came out tired.

“…”

As expected, there was no answer from the person behind the metal bars. Tatsumi could not tell if the silence came from stubbornness or simple refusal. He had stopped trying to guess. “My friends have been getting stricter with me lately. Sayo especially. She’s basically been acting like she adopted me. Making sure I eat enough, yelling at me if I stand up too fast and checking every bandage even though she’s still recovering herself. But I’ve gotten used to that side of her. Iyasu has too.”

He lowered the tray to the ground and pushed it gently through the narrow opening of the cell door for meals. “It’s not much, but it should help.” A soft groan slipped past his lips as he lowered himself to the floor and leaned against the cold stone behind him. The chill helped steady the jumble of thoughts running through his head.

“Everyone got beaten up in that last attack. Even Emiya has been in a coma for days. You wouldn’t believe the state he was in. Trying to explain it sounds ridiculous so I won’t bother. Mine almost lost her leg from what the doctor said. It’ll take her a long time to recover and she needs to rest for the next few months.”

The figure inside the cell shifted the moment he mentioned one of those names.

“We found something else on the field. Completely unresponsive. No movement, no reaction, nothing at all. And he still hasn’t changed since then.”

Once again nothing but silence greeted him, making the boy release a long sigh once more while his gaze drifted across the dim cell. “I didn't come here to try to change your mind. It is clear enough that I’d be walking straight into a fool’s errand if I tried… again. You have shown yourself to be stubborn, reckless, and a danger to everyone around you, yet I still chose this option. Not to build anything new or to hold onto some flimsy hope that you would suddenly understand what I have been trying to show you, but as a final gesture from me. A goodbye from someone who has done everything he could. I feel like I have repaid my debt and there is nothing left tying me to the past.” His voice softened for a brief moment as he offered a small, saddened smile before the expression faded into something colder.

“I cannot afford to put them in danger again. What kind of fool would I be if I did? Not only them, but my childhood friends as well. Iyeasu and Sayo survived today because luck decided to side with us for once, and I am not planning on relying on a second miracle to clean up after my past mistakes, or the mistakes I might make in the future. So I am saying this clearly. If you try something, if I see even a hint of betrayal on your face, if you glare at someone the wrong way, if you throw a pebble at anyone out of spite or revenge, then understand that I will be the one to end you before you can draw your next breath.”

The hold on his Teigu tightened, several glowing marks spreading across the user’s body and filling the cell with faint light that pulsed like a heartbeat. Tatsumi kept his eyes forward, showing no regret for anything he said. “If this choice ends up being a mistake, then no matter where you run in this world, no matter where you try to hide or what outcome you think you are ready to accept, I will find you, and I will not hesitate next time.” The markings slowly dimmed as the light receded and the cell sank back into its quiet gloom.

He meant every word down to the last breath.

“I asked Miss Najenda again today if what I did was a mistake. Do you know what she told me?” Tatsumi paused for a moment, remembering how difficult approaching the woman had been. Especially when he felt like he had wasted an opportunity her brother gave him.

“She told me that trying to save someone is not always a mistake. And that sometimes you save a person from themselves, from what they might eventually turn into.”

As for asking this question to Emiya… the truth was that the boy had been both frightened and ashamed to face him. For someone who had been pushed to the edge of death more times than any of them, someone who barely held onto life after everything that happened, coming back only to hear the full extent of what Tatsumi had done could easily have been taken as an insult.

But it was almost as if Najenda read his thoughts back then and said something she believed her brother would tell him. “You cannot save everyone. But it is still worth trying.”

He closed his eyes, letting those words settle as memories drifted back to the moment from a few days earlier, the instant before the explosions, right as he drove the blade forward.

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(A few days before)

The heat pulsed like a steady drum against Tatsumi’s skin, grounding him in the middle of the wrecked clearing while his face held a mixture of regret, anger, sadness and reluctance.

He stood with his weight pressed against the hilt of his sword, the blade already buried through the right shoulder of the brunette beneath him. The strike had split flesh and shattered the strange mechanical pieces grafted beneath her skin. Blood mixed with sparks as each broken part gave way. A disgusting sound followed when, with one quick movement, he sliced through the last tendons, remaining muscle fibers, weakened bone and the metallic threads that held everything together. The ground under them darkened quickly into a thick crimson sheet. His breathing echoed inside his head, joined by the heavy sensation of his heartbeat that made the scene feel even more overwhelming than it already was.

She did not scream.

She did not resist the blow itself.

Her eyes stared upward with an empty, distant look, almost as if the girl had accepted the moment her fate had been sealed — then her lips parted.

“…Tatsumi?”

Her voice sounded uncertain, as though she could not understand how the situation had reached this point. Most likely trying to make sense of the entire thing but unable to believe that the person holding the sword had not used it to pierce her skull and end her life once and for all.

“I will not give up. You will not get anything out of me,” she said, her tone strained with stubborn anger that refused to fade even while injured. Tatsumi’s grip tightened around the sword Emiya had given him. So much so that his knuckles turned white from the pressure. The frustration inside him had been rising long before this moment, and whatever limit he once had was already gone.

“You idiot, look around you for once and open your eyes!? What part of any of this looks normal to you?” he demanded. He swept his arm out at the battlefield around them. A few bodies from her group lay still and lifeless on the cracked earth. Those same people had been changed into something monstrous, twisted by experiments carried out by the very one she chose to follow. They had died at the hands of the target they were meant to eliminate.

“All of these people were turned into monsters. Experimented on by the one you sided with. Look at yourself. How much of this is even human anymore? Does any of this still have anything to do with justice anymore? You are not fighting for justice. You are doing this out of revenge, and the longer I'm dealing with you, the more I'm starting to understand that you did not believe in justice in the first place.”

Her eyes widened, fury filling her entire expression.

“I'll fucking kill you for say—”

“—Where was my justice, huh!?” he shouted back, cutting her off. “Where were the people who were supposed to keep my friends safe when they were captured by those nobles and tortured for their entertainment? How are people like them allowed to hold power and act like nothing wrong was done after everything they did? Where was my justice when I was accused of things I never did? Where were you when it actually mattered, when evidence should have been found instead of taking Ogre’s word for it when he slapped a title on me and called me a criminal without looking into anything? You just accepted whatever was brought to your feet blindly!”

His voice trembled with a lot of anger that remained pushed within his mind for days.

“You talk about justice. You talk about helping the weak. You talk about maintaining order and to make the Capital a better place. But you failed! It is because of incompetence like yours that the Empire ended up like this! It is because of people who were tasked with upholding justice only to look the other way that Night Raid even had to form! If justice existed anywhere in this Empire, none of us would be here right now!”

One after another, each word came out without pause. He had never realized how much resentment he’d been holding inside himself, and perhaps… he at least hoped that she could feel every accusation. He grabbed her collar with his free hand, arm drawn back with a fist he barely kept from striking her again. Rage burned through him, not just at her but at everything that had brought them to this point.

He hated how his friends had been mutilated and reduced to test subjects on their first day in the Capital. He hated how powerless he had been to protect them. He hated how he had been foolish enough to cling to optimism despite the warnings from the elders back home and from the travelers he’d met along the road. More than that, he hated himself for failing so many times. If it were not for Night Raid, he knew he would have been standing here as an entirely different person, someone driven only by revenge rather than hope. If he’d even lived long enough to make it this far without them.

Worst of all, he hated that the girl he once admired, the one he had believed was good at heart, now stood before him as nothing more than a tool sent to kill them. The kind soul she used to be was now lost, replaced by a hollow version of herself shaped by the Empire’s cruelty.

“You killed Ogre,” she whispered, her voice catching between breaths. Tears streamed quietly down her cheeks. “You all killed my family,” she muttered with whatever sliver of strength still clung to her battered body, her voice trembling like a leaf caught in the wind.

“…”

Even after he pulled her arm free, no more blood seemed to spill from the wound. The absence of further bleeding made him question how much she had been altered and how much of her was still human rather than machine. He steadied his breath as he spoke. “I did not kill Ogre. I will say it as many times as I have to, and what makes this even more frustrating is that I know somewhere deep inside you also understand that I did not kill him.”

For a brief moment her eyes flickered. Memories of their training drifted through his mind, of countless bouts where they clashed and tested each other’s limits. She had seen his strength and weaknesses firsthand, and he knew she understood exactly where he stood. “You trained me. You sparred with me more times than I can count. You assessed my skill again and again. You would have known better than anyone that I was never strong enough to kill Ogre even if I had wanted to kill him. Even before that, when I was in the cell, you accused me of other crimes I never committed… You didn't even try to hear my side.”

Her breathing grew uneven as she forced out her reply. “It does not matter. At the end of the day you joined Night Raid.” She pushed back with words that no longer tried to argue his earlier points. Whether it was acceptance settling into her or simply the idea that she saw no reason to change his mind, she kept going. “You became part of the problem.”

“I did. I joined what you see as a group of criminals who kill people associated with the Empire for a price. But looking at the things your own side has done lately, I would say you have become no better, you just kill people because those in power find them inconvenient rather than for money.” His voice earned a brief spark of outrage from her, a flicker of the old fire she once carried proudly. “One chance. One chance is all I asked. I remember the lessons you drilled into me, how gathering evidence matters before you strike, how justice means understanding the truth before you judge anyone. I am asking for that same thing now, yet you refuse to give it to me.”

“It does not matter anymore,” she whispered, her voice growing thinner by the moment. Whether she was about to lose consciousness from blood loss or something else entirely, he could not tell. “I'm going to… I… am going to correct my mistakes.”

“Hm?”

But even in her weakened state his senses erupted when he felt a bone chilling shift in the air, a creeping pressure that made every instinct in him go completely haywire. Tatsumi focused on the girl pinned beneath him and saw a faint smirk form on her lips, a strange glint flashing behind her left eye. The glow looked unnatural, like light trying to force itself through her skull.

“E-Even if… cough! I-I wanted to survive, even if I… I wanted to live and accept your apology, it is already too late. Yo-you… and every single Night Raid fucker here is coming with me. Justice has finally been served.” Her weak grin widened as the glow behind her eye grew brighter, a yellow light shining through the very flesh of the brunette and outlining the edges of her skull with a sickening radiance.

‘What’s that?’

His eyes widened as the world slowed to a crawl around him. Without asking anyone or needing confirmation, he already understood what was happening; or rather had a faint idea. Though that alone proved to be more than enough to make him move immediately. There was a real chance that he was looking at the final moment of his life. Shambhala sat within reach. It should have been simple. Grab it. Activate it. Escape whatever nightmare she was about to unleash.

Yet instead of fear or regret, another emotion ignited in his mind. Anger.

‘There are others around… Sheele!’

A rising fury that burned hotter than the panic tightening around his ribs. “No you are not,” he growled, refusing to let history repeat itself and have someone else being put in danger because of his choices.

He had no idea what she had activated, how wide its range was, or what destruction it promised. At that moment, Tatsumi only knew one thing; that he had to remove it. Whatever she carried inside her posed a danger not only to him but to everyone else that was anywhere near it. His grip tightened around his sword, his jaw clenched and he made his choice.

Feelings be damned.

He raised his blade and drove it straight into her glowing eye.

“A-Aaaaaaaah—!!!!”

Her face twisted in shock, disbelief freezing her features before the pain followed close behind. A guttural scream was ripped from her throat, but he no longer cared. He pulled the weapon free in a swift and brutal motion. The brief withdrawal let him see the source of the glow. A metallic sphere pulsed with energy inside the socket, its surface shining with a strange pattern that made his skin crawl.

‘Even some parts of her brain had been modified? Just… just how far was she willing to go? Has this always been like this?’

Not wasting a second, he pushed two fingers into the ruined eye, feeling the warm mix of eye fluid and blood coating his knuckles. His fingertips reached the sphere, and the moment he brushed it, a burning sensation seared across his skin. His other hand moved without hesitation. Activating the Teigu required no complex requirements, a single mental command and Shambhala activated, focusing on the first location that came to mind. Everything around him blurred as the world snapped away in a rush of distorted light.

Woosh!

The sound of rushing water filled the air, a deep and steady roar that rolled along the wide river ahead of him. He had stood by this river countless times in the past during Lubbock's attempts to peek on the girls as they were bathing, usually ending with him getting nearly killed or corporal punishment and harsh scoldings. Now the same river reflected an image of the moon, looking very beautiful despite the current environment, as he released the sphere that had burned his palm so severely that patches of skin had charred black. The device shone with a brightness that rivaled the sun itself before plunging into the depths, the surface bubbling and hissed as if recoiling from its presence. For a single heartbeat everything held still, then the world lurched forward with a savage blast.

Boom!

“Argh!” The explosion struck him full in the face, a wave of water, vapor and scorching heat slamming into him so violently that it tore his Teigu clean out of his grasp. He raised his arms in a desperate attempt to shield his face, but the force overwhelmed every effort. Pain flared across his skin in sharp bursts while he tried to keep his head from smashing into something even worse. His battered body flew backward until he collided with a thick wooden tree, the impact splintering the bark. Tatsumi was sent rolling across the ground without control, tumbling downwards until he dropped straight into a ravine below.

His ears rang with a piercing shrill that drowned out almost everything else. His vision flickered, blurred and then vanished entirely for a moment as if someone had blown out a candle inside his skull. The pain in his body had not even fully caught up to his mind yet, leaving him stunned in a haze where only partial sensations reached him.

“—!” A sound tried to leave his throat but barely formed.

The destruction did not end with the blast. Even if he could not see, he could feel the earth beneath him shudder in waves. The ground trembled again and again, each shock powerful enough to mimic a mild earthquake. Some tremors were distant, muted like thunder on the horizon. Others hit with the certainty of something detonating dangerously close. The pattern repeated long enough for him to understand one fact with chilling clarity.

There were several of them.

Any assumption he had about the explosion being tied solely to just the device inside Seryu vanished immediately. Whatever had been unleashed was far beyond one single source. He tried to move, tried to command his body to crawl or grab onto something, but every attempt failed. His muscles had already reached their limit and his strength slipped away like sand leaking through open fingers. Not even the intensity of his injuries could keep him awake.

He could not see. He could barely hear. His Imperial Arm was somewhere out of reach. All of that together finally forced him to accept that there was nothing left he could do. Darkness pried at the edges of his fading thoughts until only one final line settled in his mind before he blacked out.

‘I won’t let you take the easy way out of this, Seryu.’

{Break}

(Present)

“You sure you should be walking right now?”

The sunlight warmed Emiya's skin as he stepped outside, its gentle heat washing away the lingering chill of the past days. To him it felt as though he had been trapped indoors for ages. Forced to stay in bed, and more than once did Najenda and Leone had nearly tied him down because they believed he was being too stubborn for his own good. This moment marked the first time he was able to move without several sets of eyes watching him like he was some fragile vase one careless touch away from shattering.

“The bones in my legs have already mended. The wounds I had are starting to heal and the scars will eventually fade with time. I don’t even need to keep some of my stitches on anymore.”

“You mean those mini-magic Emiya swords?” Leone asked, raising a brow.

“Yes, stitches,” he replied with a slight emphasis in his tone on that last word. “I’m far from dying, so you don’t have to worry about me. Rather, I’d prefer you look after yourself. Taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body.”

The blonde assassin gave a small scoff. “You’re the last person I want to hear that from. And I’ve slept enough.”

“Barely for two hours until you suddenly heard me coming back into the room and woke right back up. Give it a rest. At this rate I’ll be the one taking care of you eventually.” He tapped her back lightly a couple of times, showing that he appreciated the care she had given him while also trying to make her understand that he was genuinely fine.

“…” She stared down at the ground, weighing his words before she finally nodded. “Fine. I’ll get some shut-eye, but only on one condition. Just don’t move.”

He obliged, deciding that if giving in for a moment meant she would finally listen, then he might as well accept it. He expected her to check his body again the way she had done several times before, but she closed the distance between them with abrupt confidence and dragged her tongue along the side of his face. The strange warmth of her tongue gliding across his skin caught him off guard, enough for him to take a quick step back and stare at her with a puzzled look.

“I am genuinely starting to question if you are becoming an actual animal because of your Imperial Arm.” It was not even the first time he had dealt with something like this. At this point he was starting to think she was not doing it just to annoy him but because something inside her pushed her toward these odd impulses.

The blonde only grinned at him. “It’s just my way of making sure you will be okay and that no one will come to bother you.”

“I still do not follow how that makes sense to you.”

“It doesn’t have to make sense. The intention behind my actions is the only thing that matters, and you should understand that.”

“That is the problem. I do not,” he muttered with a dry tone. “Anyway, just go back inside. Shoo. Do not make me bring a water bottle and spray your face.”

“I will spray my fist right into your face before you even try that.”

“You really cannot stop saying things that somehow sound even stranger every time. Although I admit it is amusing how quickly you react whenever the idea of getting sprayed comes up. Maybe I should consider it. Would help to keep you under control.”

She let out a noise very close to a cat’s hiss and turned around sharply before heading back into the temporary base. He stood there smirking, more than aware of the new weapon he could use against her if she got too bold again.

“Now then, where were we,” he said to himself as he looked around the hideout they had taken over. It was smaller than the old base but still an impressive structure carved into the side of a mountain, tucked neatly into the landscape as if it wanted to disappear into the rock. The place had clearly been abandoned for a long time. Cobwebs clung to corners, dust layered the floors so heavily that one could press a finger through several layers, and many of the doors looked like they would fall apart if someone closed them too hard. Only the living area and the bathrooms had seen any real cleaning so far.

“It is going to take a while to set everything right,” he thought. In his current condition even basic cleaning had turned into more effort than he wanted to admit, but he intended to deal with the mess later that evening. Before he could return to his tasks he felt another presence step up beside him, followed by a heavy arm wrapping itself around his shoulder. Instinct rushed through him, and when he turned his head he found himself staring at a metal mask that looked like it had crawled straight out of a nightmare. The eyes were covered with crossed metal plates and the place where the mouth should have been held a round device bolted into the mask.

The mask was a Teigu.

“What the…” he started, struggling to break free from the strong grip. The arm held him firmly enough that even pulling away required far more force than expected. Just as he prepared to take more serious measures, the voice behind the mask finally spoke up.

“Boo! Did I scare you? Looks like I did.”

Emiya froze for a moment and slowly blinked at the man, who finally released him. He stepped back, taking a closer look at the slender device strapped to the man’s waist, something shaped like a wand or a tool. Information flickered in his mind about it, but he pushed it aside when he recognized something more surprising than the weapon.

“Bulat?”

Najenda had told him the man had returned, but seeing him like this was another matter entirely. His hairstyle was no longer neatly combed back the way it had been. Instead it fell loosely to his neck without any gel, giving him a strange and unsettling presence almost that reminded him of an Assassin-class Servant he had once crossed paths with in the past.

Or rather, he just looked closer to the image in his wanted poster.

“You look better,” he said simply.

“More than that,” Bulat said, his voice carrying clearly through the green tint of his mask. “I have never felt stronger. Never thought I would ever say that after the last mission, especially considering I lost an arm.” He gave a firm pat to the metallic construct that had replaced the missing limb, the heavy clang echoing with a solid weight that suited his build. The prosthesis was large and reinforced to match his frame, an impressively advanced piece of craftsmanship considering how this world often felt like it was caught somewhere in the middle ages, weapons technology notwithstanding.

“There was this particular Imperial Arm I wanted to try out. It would have more than compensated for me lacking an arm. But something about it felt wrong to me. It did not sit well, did not match my style and nearly gave me another stroke, hahaha! It would have been ironic if I had died there and not at the hands of an Imperial general! But this one? Hahaha, this one fits me like a glove.” He tapped the mask on his face as if to emphasize the point.

Emiya raised an eyebrow, not disagreeing with the idea that compatibility mattered. Every Teigu picked its wielder as much as the wielder picked the Teigu, and those who forced a bond often ended up in pieces or at minimum a hospital. What confused him was why Bulat, someone who once carried Incursio, would choose this particular replacement.

“Want to test it out?”

Emiya shook his head. “As much as I would enjoy that, I am not exactly in the best condition myself right now. If Najenda even sees me jump or hold a sword, she will drag me off in chains and one of her patented iron grips and lock me inside a basement for another month. I would rather avoid discovering how serious she is about that.”

“Ah.” Bulat let out a disappointed sigh that vibrated through his mask. “That explains why she was mumbling darkly earlier this morning. I was wondering why she asked me to fetch her some chains.”

A chill travelled down Emiya’s spine. He had said it as a joke earlier, never intending for it to be taken literally. The idea that Najenda might be entirely serious unsettled him more than he wanted to admit. “You are joining the group again, then?”

Bulat shrugged. “Wasn’t my spot taken by the newcomer? I spoke with her for a bit. Nice girl. Fits the image of an assassin perfectly with the Teigu she carries. Perfect for spywork too, which I have to admit was sorely needed as we already have plenty of heavy hitters.”

“Somehow I doubt anyone here will try to stop you from returning. Our group is not exactly built on fixed numbers. If there is space, we make space. If we need more, we adjust.”

“Yes, but not yet,” Bulat replied. “I am still nowhere near a level I am satisfied with before I can return to field work. I know I can push myself further. I know I have to push further before I can stand anywhere close to where I used to be.”

Reaching the same level as when he wielded Incursio was… safe to say a monumental task. Not impossible, but the amount of dedication required for such a climb would break most people long before they even reached the halfway point. But Bulat carried a particular kind of stubbornness, and with this particular Teigu, the possibility no longer sounded unreasonable.

“I know it’s a bit selfish for me to ask you something like this right after you’ve barely recovered from your own injuries,” Bulat continued, rubbing the back of his head in a slightly sheepish way that clashed with his imposing frame. “But when you have the time, I want to request something. Could you lend me one of your weapons?”

“Let me guess, a spear?”

“Yup.”

“Humph,” Emiya’s smile came without hesitation. “Of course. But I should warn you that it might not be as durable as the one you used before.”

“I don’t mind, and I highly doubt that given what I heard from the others. Besides, it will only be for a short while. The Revolutionary Army promised to send me a prototype they have been working on; in the meanwhile I just need something that won't break easily. Nothing fancy.”

That caught his attention. He doubted it was another Teigu since not even the Revolutionary Army could recreate them, not to mention that wielding two Teigus simultaneously was a death sentence, but Bulat’s confidence made him curious.

“In any case, I am about to go have a small sparring session with Akame. Come, join me and have a look at how things will go. I wouldn't mind advice on how I can improve.”

After that, both men walked toward a broad clearing where several members of the group were already gathered, most likely waiting for Bulat and Akame to begin. At the center stood Akame, her posture relaxed for today, bandages were wrapped around her body much like the others, though she seemed far less injured compared to everyone aside from Leone, whose Teigu included a healing factor. Most of her bandages had probably been applied for wounds that occurred before the bombs had gone off. Sheele was somehow dozing upright as if sleep could cling to her even in the middle of a crowd. Chelsea lingered nearby with a casual expression, and Lubbock appeared to be in decent condition despite everything that had happened.

"Alright then people! Sorry to keep you waiting! Let's get this started!" Bulat called out, stepping forward while Akame met his gaze. The black-haired woman had already unsheathed her sword, her eyes steady as she took her stance. Emiya moved to sit beside a figure whose face remained completely concealed beneath the hood of his cloak.

One of the other man’s hands was wrapped in plaster, and his other hand rested on a walking stick. A few strands of brown hair slipped out from under the hood, enough for Emiya to identify him. He was watching the clearing intently before giving Emiya a brief, almost shy greeting.

"Hey…" Tatsumi muttered awkwardly, his tone nearly guilty as he looked away. The reaction earned an eye roll from Emiya as he settled beside him. The brown-haired former soldier hesitated a moment, then tried again. "About what happened back then with Seryu… I… well I—"

"I don't care," Emiya said, cutting him off as the sparring match began. The fight opened without theatrics, both Akame and Bulat taking their time, testing each other with simple exchanges. The man used a basic spear and handled it with just one hand; making it clear he was still not used to fighting with his prosthetic. It should have been awkward, yet he moved it with surprising ease that the weapon seemed weightless. He met Akame’s attacks several times, managing to hold his ground despite his disadvantages.

Whether it be by parrying or dodging.

Even so, the moments where his single-arm grip failed to keep up started to add up little by little, and Emiya could see exactly how each small misstep grew on him.

"I already told you back then," he continued, his eyes following Akame’s footwork. "That was your decision to make, and I would go along with whatever you chose. Honestly, I can't say I would have made the same choice, but that’s besides the point. I’m not even sure I could have kept her alive, even if I felt the same way you did back then."

He remembered a similar mistake he had made once, and in Tatsumi’s position he would not have repeated it. Even so, the girl was not Esdeath. She was crippled, not only from the wounds from the battle but also from all the modifications forced onto her body. For reasons they still did not fully understand, the modifications had stopped functioning. The doctor had probably disabled them after triggering the deadman’s switch connected to all his subordinates. Even with her Teigu, she no longer posed much danger since that dog had also become unresponsive. Emiya watched the clash ahead as Akame adjusted her stance, her blade catching the sunlight.

"What happens now?"

"I plan to focus more on my friends, on keeping them safe, and on giving them a better future," Tatsumi said with clear conviction. "After thinking about everything that happened, this world will never be peaceful as long as people like the Prime Minister and his cronies are still in power. So one way or another, I want to see each one of them fall. I want that brat of an Emperor off his throne for good, and I want Honest buried six feet underground where he can do no more harm to anyone ever again. I want proper justice… not whatever version Seryu kept believing in."

"You're sounding very similar to a certain someone right now," he said, though he kept his attention on Bulat’s spear as it narrowly avoided a clean counter.

"She’s been too blinded by their lies," Tatsumi replied. "I don’t see the point in trying to change her mind any more than I already have. I won’t risk another attempt only to fail. I’ve done everything I could, and I’m ready to take my hands out of this matter completely."

“It does not look like that to me. You spared her life, after all, despite all she’s done”

The brown-haired assassin took a deep breath. “When trying to use words to convince her of the truth fails, then I will take her dreams and ideals on what the Empire could become and turn them into something she can witness for herself. I will help the others build a peaceful world where innocent people are not dragged off the streets and treated as playthings by the corrupt higher-ups, where they are not tortured or killed without reason and random soldiers are forced to pay the price as a scapegoat. I will make sure that those who commit evil face the consequences of their actions.”

“Our side has also done plenty of evil,” Emiya said. He knew the boy was not walking the same doomed path as a certain fool from the past, yet the direction was still one that rarely led to anything good. “Even if it’s to strike down a greater evil, that does not make us heroes.”

“I know. I have done horrible things and I will do even more things in the future that are far from good. But if that is the price for the world I want, then I will pay it without complaint. I am not aiming to be a hero. I am an assassin now, through and through.”

“…Interesting,” was all Emiya said.

His attention returned to the clash in front of him, the rhythm of steel and force slowly rising in intensity. The fight had grown more intense, but still a strange balance that those two managed to be maintained. Akame wielded her real blade, and even though a single shallow cut could kill her opponent, there was a clear amount of trust between them. Neither intended to cross that final line. And to his credit, Bulat managed to keep up, matching her pace with steady footwork and careful strikes. He was not trying to overpower her, but seemed to be fighting a slow battle of endurance, waiting for exhaustion to reach her first.

“He is going to lose,” Emiya said. He shifted the subject easily, watching Tatsumi return his focus to the arena just like the rest of the gathered group.

“You think so? I still don’t know what Teigu he uses now, but for him to fight this well against Akame after everything he went through, his recovery must have gone well.”

“No. It is the opposite,” Emiya answered with a tone that carried none of its usual steadiness. “He has not recovered. His body is barely staying upright.”

“Really?” the boy said. The confusion was clear in his expression. From where he stood, the fight seemed almost even. Both sides appeared matched in speed and force, neither giving unnecessary openings.

“Akame is holding back,” Emiya said. “And Bulat has been pushing his body and Teigu far beyond what he should in his condition. He ran out of energy a long time ago. The only reason his body is still fighting is because he refuses to fall.”

Just as he finished speaking, the battle shifted. The exchange that had gone on for what felt like a long stretch suddenly changed direction. Akame moved with a sharp burst of motion, closing the distance in a blink. Her blade came down and pinned Bulat’s spear against the ground while her left hand shot forward. She grabbed the edge of the mask and tore it away, revealing his face to everyone for the first time since the fight began. A clear look of defeat washed over him the moment the mask left his skin.

Akame stepped back and delivered a single punch to his stomach. It did not seem powerful, yet the result was immediate. His entire frame trembled as though every muscle had reached its limit at once. Blood streamed down his face and he crumpled to the ground with a loud thud, folding like a collapsing stack of cards.

“Bulat!” Tatsumi called out and rushed to his side.

The former Servant of the Bow followed calmly, his eyes shifting from the fallen man to the mask lying at his feet. Proceeding to then pick it up and giving it a closer look.

“Are you okay? What happened? Did one of your wounds open back up?” Tatsumi asked, trying to lift Bulat slightly to see if he was still conscious.

"Hahaha, n-no… cough! Ugh, nothing like that," he said with a large grin spread across his face. "I just overestimated myself for a bit. That was a good fight, Akame. Sorry I couldn't make you go all out like I used to before."

"It's okay, I had fun," the woman answered while kneeling beside him, her hand settling on his forehead and giving the man several head pats. “You were surprisingly dangerous… I couldn't read your movements like before.”

"I tried. You really get a huge rush from the enhancement."

"Enhancement?" Tatsumi blinked at that word, the confusion obvious enough that he turned instinctively toward the one person who always seemed to have the clearest explanations.

Emiya stood a short distance away, studying the mask in his hands. When he noticed the glance aimed at him from across the group, he raised an eyebrow. "All of you already know what this is. Why look at me?"

"Well you're the explanation guy, our personal dictionary and walking history book, so it's better if you tell him rather than us," Lubbock said with a shrug. Sheele tilted her head a little, eyes narrowing in mild puzzlement.

"I don't know what it is."

"I just literally told you three times in the past hour!" Lubbock exclaimed.

"Oh. I forgot."

Seeing how the back-and-forth was turning in circles, Emiya simply decided to take control of the situation and turned his full attention toward Tatsumi. "What you see here is Bulat's usual physical state. He did not collapse because Akame inflicted any significant damage. His body simply cannot maintain the same movement it normally could after being pushed to that level, even with all the resting he has done."

"Eh? But he was just fighting against her so ferociously that he didn't even look weakened!" Tatsumi said, his voice rising in disbelief. Emiya lifted the mask he held, its surface catching the light.

"It is because of this mask. Balzac. It is quite an interesting Imperial Arm because it offers no offensive or defensive abilities. Instead, it acts as a support tool that affects only its host. When worn, it forces the user to reach their current physical and mental peak. That was what he meant by the enhancement."

It was much like some forms of enhancement Magecraft, the sort that did not carry the danger of overloading a limb with magical energy and causing it to explode if performed incorrectly. In this world, the term covered many methods, but this particular one surpassed the usual approach because it strengthened not just the body but the mind as well. With both sharpened, Bulat had been able to read Akame's movements rather easily, deflecting and parrying with instincts almost too quick to follow.

But that did not mean he would be able to keep up since the difference in skills and stamina, along with the fact that he had yet to fully adapt to his new prosthetic arm. He had even thrown out believable feints, something his previous self in his prime would have done only after considerable focus. In the right hands, Balzac would be a frightening tool.

It fully unlocked one's physical and mental capabilities at their present limit.

"I still have a long way to go then," Bulat said as Emiya handed him back the mask. The familiar weight settled into his hands before he placed it over his face again. The effect was immediate. A thrum of strength pulsed through him and he rose to his feet effortlessly, bouncing lightly to test the renewed power running through his limbs. "I'll keep playing with this for a while. Tatsumi, I hope you're ready to join me again for our regular exercises and training routine. This time I will be much stricter with you and with myself."

"Yes, Aniki!" Tatsumi replied cheerfully. He then turned toward Emiya with a bright grin. "Want to join as well?"

He gave that offer some thought. Right now, he felt his body would definitely benefit from some very light exercise rather than staying glued to a bed.

"Sure."

Lyrical Sword Chapter 23: New Plan

Beta read by FabledLife and Opal

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-Midchilda-

With a now, mostly, calmed and steady mind, no longer dulled by the grogginess of waking up too early or the jittery rush of cheap coffee… and the almost overwhelming amount of stress that threatened to bury him under an avalanche of stress, Shirou finally understood how completely ridiculous his entire plan had been.

All of it was just doomed to fail. Destined for a disastrous failure that would have hurt more people than protect them from just a small moment of disappointment.

Even arranging a proper outing with a single person was already demanding enough on its own, without any real thought, to handle plans with two at once was something else entirely. With Hayate it was not a date, just an outing with a friend, but the problem remained the same. Managing two commitments on the same day was only possible if he somehow learned a spell that produced a perfect duplicate of himself, or if he possessed absurdly good fortune, or if a genuine miracle decided to drop itself directly onto his head.

Unfortunately, he was not Rin who was studying the Second Magic and thus had to rely on the most basic of methods… planning.

This was not even the first time he had done something this foolish. Old memories drifted back from his days in London, when he found himself caught in nearly the same kind of mess. Rin had asked him to accompany her through half the city to gather supplies for one of her experiments and to inspect items for her apartment renovations. At the exact same time he had obligations with Luvia, since the blonde had won a wager and demanded that he serve as her butler for a full day.

Wanting to honor both promises, he went down a similar path.

Predictably, nothing ended in a peaceful or sensible way. Both girls ended up arguing, shouting, then escalating into a full struggle that involved concrete pillars being swung around like oversized clubs and rocks twice their size being hurled across the sparring room. He remembered keeping as much distance as he could, nursing two sharp slap marks on his face, feeling like he had been dropped into a waking nightmare with no sensible way to intervene. All he could do was watch the disaster unravel while silently questioning every decision that had brought him to that point.

Yet he had somehow managed to repeat the exact same mistake. This time, the situation involved girls fully capable of erasing entire districts from the map if they felt like it. What was he thinking? Shirou genuinely wished he could go back in the past and smack some sense into his slightly younger self, into that naive, idiotic and overly optimistic version of himself who somehow believed in the impossible and that this kind of arrangement could ever end cleanly. He wanted to berate that past version for his foolishness and demand to know why he kept walking into problems that a normal, well-functioning mind would avoid on instinct.

“Hah… hold on… this feels like…”

He stopped for a moment and caught himself.

Was he actually starting to think the same way that man would? The realization annoyed him so much that he shoved the thought to the very back of his mind. There was no chance he would ever acknowledge such a comparison, not even in private. To make matters worse, he could already imagine the man himself offering some smug remark about how it had only been a matter of time.

Still, things could have turned out far worse. They probably should have turned out far worse. Yet somehow they had not, and that alone puzzled him…

“He came in wearing a full set of covered clothing, a hoodie, baggy pants, everything. I was stunned because he never wears anything like that, and the fact that he had to dress up that much just to watch a movie made it even stranger. Anyone else would have thought he was a celebrity trying to hide his identity. I figured he would just be uncomfortable with the cold inside the movie theater.”

Well… those clothes were bought hastily, getting Garyu’s measurements was a last-minute thing since both he and Lutecia spent several hours coming up with a plausible plan.

One of them actually had either Subaru or Teana help out and dress up as him with a red wig to hide their identity for a bit. But height-wise, it would have been too obvious, and Lutecia even made an off-mark remark that both girls had smaller busts than him — making it even more obvious.

Leaving Garyu as the only thing closest to his size.

He did not know how to even reply to such an observation.

“That was not even the strangest part. Picture my reaction when I later saw him sprinting across the street while wearing a suit. I had to look twice because I thought it might have been someone completely different. I honestly could not believe it and, for a moment, wondered if there was a film shooting nearby. It looked exactly like one of those scenes from a romantic film where the bride realizes she does not love the groom and decides to run off to find the man she actually likes, but with the roles reversed and him being the one doing the running.”

Shirou’s eyes twitched; these observations and comparisons were getting more and more embarrassing.

"Stop right there, go back a bit, does that make me the groom who was not loved in this scenario?" Nanoha asked with a deliberately exaggerated expression that made her look as if she had taken personal offense to the comparison. Her look was so theatrical that it seemed more like a performance than a genuine complaint. Yet instead of offering sympathy or even denying her accusation, her friends simply burst into laughter. Hayate in particular leaned forward with a mischievous look that showed she had no intention of helping.

"I'm so sorry, and I know it must be difficult to accept that it turned out this way. Clearly, I am the one Shirou would much rather prefer, with him even making all these preparations just so he could spend time with me. Do not blame yourself. This is simply how things were meant to unfold, isn't that right, Shirou?”

“Uh…” something told the man that answering any one of these questions was just asking for trouble. Best to keep his mouth shut and wait.

Thankfully, the silence did not last that long since Nanoha spoke aloud while pointing an accusatory finger at Hayate. "Says you. He put you together with a walking cockroach. Who is the favorite then? I bet you enjoyed it when that creature turned to look at you with those beady black eyes staring straight into your soul, overflowing with love. A great gift he left for you, obviously, since he likes you so much." Her sarcasm was so thick that the air almost felt heavy with it, as if someone could slice the sharp tone with a kitchen knife.

"Urgh." For a moment, a look of genuine disgust appeared on Hayate's face as she remembered the moment being described. It was the sort of expression that showed she wished she could scrub the memory from her mind entirely.

Smiling at both of their reactions, Fate interjected with a soft voice. "By the way, how did you not notice it was not him? I have seen Lutecia summon that particular creature before, and that one is definitely bigger and taller than Shirou."

Hayate had an expression of embarrassment fill her face, looking away with both eyes now staring at the ceiling until a soft sigh escaped her lips. "I was too drawn in by the whole atmosphere to even notice. How do you expect me to catch something like that in the first place? And Luticia kept handing me drinks every time I tried to turn around. Instead of suspecting that Shirou was not there, I was more afraid of vomiting after drinking seven cups in a row."

"It is kind of your fault for accepting one drink after the other. You could have just said no."

"I did not want to make her sad," Hayate replied quietly to Fate’s question. It was a meek answer, almost swallowed by her own embarrassment.

Yes, this had been the result of the entire situation. Not an all-out fight between three S Class mages who could wipe a city from the map if they wanted to, not even a direct confrontation where they blasted him into dust. Instead, it became a relaxed conversation between all three of them where they calmly discussed embarrassing details about the date in front of him, which only made him feel worse with every passing second.

"That is a lie." A voice whispered near him.

He was not the only one in the room, though, because his accomplice was still seated beside him, along with her summon who had aided them, quiet the entire time and frowning slightly. "Garyu is not ugly. He is cute." The purple-haired girl said it with a tone that made it clear she believed every word, and the creature beside her reacted to the reassurance.

It was present for reasons he could not understand, and it genuinely looked a little depressed after Hayate’s reaction. Its body seemed to shrink down as it lowered its head until Lutecia gently patted its shell several times.

"There, there. You are cute. They have no idea what they are talking about." Her calm voice seemed to lift the creature’s mood a little as it blinked its dark eyes and moved closer to her hand.

Even after all this, he did not feel safe at all — in truth, he felt even worse.

The atmosphere around him seemed… to put it in words; suffocating, tightening around his chest with every laugh coming from the other side of the table. He thought to himself that he would much prefer being punched repeatedly over listening to them discuss things so casually. He simply could not understand what was happening or what would come after. There was no world where all three of them would accept what he had done with a simple smile and an easy pardon.

He kept wondering where the anger was hiding between these three women. Where was the frustration that he had prepared himself to face? He could have handled shouting or spells being thrown at him or anything direct. But watching all three women chat cheerfully like nothing was wrong made his mind race with worst-case outcomes until he felt close to shutting down from the pressure.

"Hey, Lutecia." With no other option, he turned to the only person next to him who might have more experience dealing with women. Since she was one herself, her opinion was the only one he could trust at this point. "Am I in trouble?"

"I cannot tell," she said while staring at the three women talking and laughing ahead of them. A confused look settled on her face as she tried to make sense of the scene.

"Can you at least see if they are angry or not?"

"If their anger is shown by them cheerfully talking to one another and making jokes around the table for the past hour, then they are the best actors in the world."

Shirou couldn't help but agree; perhaps that was indeed the case. “Let’s try another way then, how mad would you have been in their position?” He asked, trying to get a better understanding and a frame of reference to come to a conclusion. But all he got in return was a dry sideways glance from the girl.

“If someone were to do that to me in the future, then I would have to punch them repeatedly to the ground until the hole is big enough to fill it back for a grave.”

“Urgh!” Okay, that was terrifying to imagine and fitted his expectation more than what was going on in reality. Were they actually speaking in codes? That was the only explanation that made sense to the redhead.

“All right, girls, I think we can just move on from this. Shirou looks like he will be having an aneurysm if you continue.”

Perhaps finally taking notice of his distraught state, all three finally stopped talking and looked at him with various expressions on each of their faces.

“Before you say anything, I want you to know again that I am very sorry for what I did.” He added once more, only getting Nanoha to shake her head.

“Shirou, I think you're really misreading the room here. None of us are angry at you. In fact, like I said before, had you just said so, then I would have let Hayate join in as well and Fate too.”

“Really?”

“Really?”

Both he and Lutecia answered simultaneously, disbelief clearly visible on both of them. Seeing that, all three giggled with Fate getting up from her seat and heading over to them and patting both of their heads. “There there, it's just a funny situation more than anything else. Your reaction makes it seem like we were planning your execution, Shirou.”

An uneasy chuckle escaped his throat, “It wouldn't be far off from what I was fearing, to be honest.”

“Nanoha and Hayate, all three of us have been through plenty of challenges in the past to trust both our lives and livelihoods in each other's hands. We know full well that neither of us will do anything to one another that will cause any form of harm.” The blonde explained calmly, which made him nod with understanding, but that did not really explain why they were not angry at him.

Most likely guessing what was going on in his mind, Nanoha cleared her throat to get his attention. “Even though we've known you for a much shorter time, you have on more than one occasion already showcased that you wouldn't harm others too.”

“Also we know you're not a play boy,” Hayate added with a small smile. “You suck at lying for that.”

“Exactly,” Fate nodded. “As long as everyone is happy, where's the harm in hanging around with each other? Don't feel shy, you can be bolder. If Nanoha does not mind then it's really up to you; it could be like a group thing where we can just have fun.”

“...”

Strange, Shirou did not know why but the man felt like something really off was going on here. With narrowed eyes, he observed the blonde before him, smiling just like her friends behind, without any hint of deception. Still, the sensation lingered, like he was missing something and these girls were just not telling him. ‘Am I being far too paranoid? Why am I even getting suspicious of them when they are actually forgiving me? Damn it, all of this overthinking will just pull me back into trouble aslike it has done earlier! Let's just go along with it.’

“I guess I'm not surprised to deal with such a… calm reaction compared to what I experienced before.”

The hand that had been gently ruffling his hair momentarily froze, and at that point did he felt the air turn slightly cold. A hard-to-explain chill crawled up his spine the very next moment for some odd, inexplicable reason.

“Before?” Fate repeated with her smile stretching even further, but the same emotion did not reach her eyes. “Mind explaining what you meant by that? I thought that other than Nanoha, you did not have any prior relationships.”

“Yes, I would like to hear more of it too.”

“Ah!”

He almost leaped out of the seat upon finding Nanoha now right next to him.

For some reason, their situation felt far more dangerous than their finding that he was meeting people at the same time.

{Break}

(A few hours later)

Shirou finally exhaled the tension that had knotted itself through his shoulders as he climbed the stairs leading to the rooftop of their apartment building. He wanted to stretch his limbs a bit and to take in some of the fresh air after the encounter with the three other girls earlier.

Having to explain that he was just helping both Rin and Luvia in the past, and in fact was not in a relationship with either of them.

‘I can understand Nanoha being curious or worried, but was it necessary for both Fate and Hayate to also be present?’

A strange day indeed.

Now that he thought about it, this was actually the first time he had bothered heading up here. The apartment complex was large enough that even after living in it for a good while, he still had not explored half of it, let alone the whole thing. There were plenty of reasons for that lack of exploration, ranging from his limited free time to the pile of responsibilities that made wandering around feel like a luxury he could never fit into his regular schedule.

Another big reason is just the lack of need to explore everything; the city itself could feel overwhelming at times, so that just relaxing in places he was familiar with felt great. Right now, though, quiet felt necessary if he wanted to sort out his thoughts.

“Hm?”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Instead of getting the quiet atmosphere he expected, the sound of metal cans getting struck and scattered greeted him as he stepped out onto the rooftop. Shirou leaned forward slightly, arriving just in time to see an orange-haired woman standing with her feet planted firmly, her gun raised as she fired low-powered shots at a row of empty drink cans lined along the far edge. Each shot landed with a remarkable show of precision, as one would see from someone of her level.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Judging from the rhythm, she was firing in quick bursts from her hip without pausing to focus on pinpoint accuracy. Six shots left her barrel, and four struck the cans, sending them spinning across the concrete. It was an impressive display for casual practice, but her expression made it clear this was still far from the result she wanted.

“Hah, damn it.” She said, tapping her head with the weapon. Turning her head around just enough to throw a side glance at him. "There is no need for you to hide over there. You can come over. Oh and before you ask, no, you are not bothering me if that is what you are worried about."

She noticed him immediately and spoke after releasing a tired sigh, stretching her arms behind her head, grabbed a fresh carton of cans, and walked to the far side to place a new line on the edge. “I think this is the first time I've seen you up here.”

"Just decided to explore the place further. Not in the mood to practise at the actual training field?" Shirou asked, knowing the official practice shooting range was less than a few minutes away and had everything a mage or anyone could possibly need — even a massage parlour. Whether someone preferred a sword, a magical staff, or a gun, the place was equipped for it.

"I guess I was feeling lazy," Teana replied after a brief pause. "Practising here with some fresh air makes me feel better, honestly. The other place can just feel a bit suffocating at times too, so I preferred a more personal setting, if that makes sense." She glanced his way with a slow smile forming. "How did the double date go?"

Shirou immediately cringed on the inside, "Y-You… you knew about it? How?"

"Earlier, Subaru and I were coming over to check on you and ended up hearing the conversation inside. Unintentionally, of course. Oh my, Shirou, I definitely did not think you had that sort of courage."

"This is going to keep being brought up for the rest of my life, isn't it?"

"Yep," she said without hesitation, grinning widely. "It is not every day someone decides to go after some of the most popular girls in the TSAB at the same time and somehow avoids getting completely destroyed by them. You're either super lucky or… never mind, you're just super lucky."

“First time anyone said that I was lucky given my track record. Trust me, I am grateful it worked out the way it did." He accepted that the story would linger for a long time and probably spread far beyond this building. He could almost imagine the rest of the bureau catching wind of it. "Aside from that, is something bothering you?"

Teana hummed, getting in position once more and focused on the targets ahead. "What makes you say that?"

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Another burst of shots rang across the rooftop. This time, only three of the six bullets managed to hit their targets, leaving the remaining cans standing untouched. Teana clicked her tongue loudly and looked ready to slam her device into the ground, only stopping herself after forcing her breathing to slow.

"That makes me say it," Shirou commented, pointing lightly at her reaction. "I am getting a sense of déjà vu."

"Humph, get used to seeing it tomorrow, too. It is just your regular Teana trying and failing to push past her limits on something basic because she cannot control her emotions properly. Nothing new." She puffed her cheeks in irritation for a moment. "Sorry. I did not mean to take it out on you."

Shirou waved his hand dismissively, having not taken any offence whatsoever. "Do not worry about it. If I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with our mission, right?"

"Kind of? It went well enough, all things considered. Both Subaru and I took out several of those creatures without much effort, enough to dwarf any of our previous missions where we had to kill other kinds of monsters.”

“Sounds like you should be celebrating rather than pushing yourself like this.” He added, taking a seat by the chair behind the woman and grabbing one of the drinks nearby. “It went well because most of them were completely focused on the target instead of us. Had things been different like them actually focusing on the two of us, then I doubt things would have gone so smoothly. I was hoping to use that opportunity to push myself a bit, to see how far I had actually come, but you know exactly how it ended. Just like always, you solved everything before we even got the chance to really matter."

"Hold on. That is not the case at all. If it were not for all of you, I would have been overwhelmed by the first ghoul wave back when we landed." Shirou spoke with a straightforward and honest tone, only to get a dismissive scoff from the girl who had returned from the opposite side with another storage box. She placed a new set of targets with quick, practiced motions. "There is no need to sell yourself short like that. I saw what you were doing with those sword spells of yours and that bow. Facing an entire swarm suits you and Lutecia better than dealing with a single specialised threat. Your spells are practically perfect for large-scale suppression and crowd control."

"Are you talking about an… aoe?"

Teana gave him a surprised look, “I didn't know you were familiar with that term.”

The redhead shrugged, “I barely remember what it meant. I had a… former friend who used to play games at the arcade constantly and dragged me there from time to time. He would scream that word along with a few others several times when he got angry.”

A bittersweet memory by now of a time long past. He had not talked, seen, or even heard about that boy since leaving Fuyuki. Perhaps that was for the better;, he would not have been able to hold himself back from hurting him for what he had done. So, pushing those disturbing thoughts from the past to the side, he just continued the current conversation with a smile on his face. "I should be the one surprised that you know it and much less used it.”

“Just something I picked up after spending too much time around Subaru. But the point stands. You are in your element when you deal with multiple targets. The result would have been the same even without our help."

He scratched the back of his head at that. While it was true that his tracing worked best against a larger number than a singular target, it was by no means a perfect ability. He had a few ideas prepared in case anyone failed to keep up; none of them were reliable enough to be called a real plan. They were desperate measures that he only kept around for the moments when he had no other choice. "My magic has limits. Just like yours. I cannot endlessly fire off projections without my circuits feeling like they are being cooked."

"Yet that is exactly what you did against that monster at the end." She shot back immediately. He looked off to the side, guilt creeping over his expression.

"I was doing it to make a point to Lutecia. I wanted her to stop fearing for my life every time I took the lead. I wanted her to know that I could handle myself and that I was capable of more than she assumed. That she could lean against me and let me keep her safe against whatever danger we might end up facing in the future."

"I'm glad that you did so, I really am. The girl deserves to have someone by her side whom she knows she can rely on in every way. But as for your goal, that makes two of us then. Except I did not get a chance to prove anything. And this display also does not help in the least, I'm just making it worse." The girl resumed firing, unleashing another burst of shots. This time, six rounds left her device in quick succession. Only one was missed, yet she still frowned at the result.

Shirou considered responding but shifted his approach to something that might actually encourage her. "You have improved."

"Better?" She looked back at him with disbelief before shaking her head again. "Do you not see how many I missed?"

"You are firing a burst shot without using the spells that have them track the target. Five out of six is already impressive."

"Thanks, Shirou. But it is hard to accept that after watching what you did."

Her tone carried frustration that she tried but failed to hide. It made him pause, and after thinking it over for a moment, he decided to ask the question that had been resting in the back of his mind. "Why are you pushing yourself this harshly?"

Her next shot faltered. She looked back at him with a startled expression, her composure slipping. "To become better?"

“That's obvious, I mean, why are you trying to improve yourself? You are not the only one pursuing such a goal; practically everyone in the Riot Force is doing the same. Yours feels different.”

“...”

"Ever since I met you, you have worked yourself harder than almost anyone I have seen here. Is there a reason behind that kind of drive? If you do not mind me asking." It was something he had noticed early on, but after today, the thought refused to leave him alone.

She lowered her device slightly, hesitation flickering across her eyes. "I am not sure if I should say it. It will sound silly."

He rolled his eyes and let out a small breath, "My dream, ever since I was a kid, was to become a hero. Someone who could save everyone and build a future where no one would cry or suffer."

She gave him a sideways look, waiting to see if he would laugh or dismiss it. Instead, he continued without missing a beat. "To reach that kind of goal, I did plenty of reckless things. Things that no one in their right mind would call training, and rather more akin to suicide. I nearly destroyed myself more times than I care to count just for the sake of squeezing out a little more reinforcement or getting one more projection to work. I trained in ways that felt like someone pressed a burning iron rod into my spine day after day. All of that effort only let me reinforce and project a handful of objects I kept hidden in my shed. Most of which would break upon contact against even one of your weakest spell bullets."

“Seriously?” She exclaimed with disbelief. “Hard to imagine you only being capable of using spells to such an extent.”

“It wasn't even that long ago. I was 17 the last time I used that method.” He scratched lightly at his cheek as another memory surfaced. "And once, I even charged at someone who… um, how can I describe her? Well, one could say she was equal to an S-class mage in terms of danger. I had a reinforced metal pipe and thought it was enough. She could have snapped me in half with a single kick if she felt like it."

“...”

Even though she did not say it aloud, the expression on her face told him everything he needed to understand about what she thought of his past deeds. He lifted his hands in a half-hearted gesture of surrender and said, "If you think those stories were not silly enough then I still have plenty of others I can tell you, and some of those might actually make you believe there is something wrong with me and my brain to the point where you would want to put me in a mental hospital."

"I already kind of had that thought today after you went on a date with two girls," she replied, her tone dry yet not entirely without amusement.

"Then can we move past that please!" Shirou said, rolling his eyes as he picked up a small empty can lying next to him and flicked it toward Teana’s head. She dodged it with an easy twist of her shoulders and let out a brief giggle before grabbing the object and placing it back into its carton. She reached for the box of cans and walked to the other side of the rooftop, sorting each item.

While arranging the next round of targets, she opened her mouth and said, "I had a brother named Tiida. He’s the one who taught me practically everything I know about gun shooting. Because of him I decided to become a gunslinger instead of using any other kind of weapon."

"A brother?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, taking note of the way she used the past tense. He understood the implications behind it and chose not to interrupt her with needless questions, letting her continue at her own pace.

"He was someone with a lot of promise in both my parents' eyes and the administration, I believe. From a young age, he performed so well among his peers that he would regularly rank near the top in different categories. My family was proud of him, and I was proud to have a brother like him. In my eyes, I saw him as no different from a hero who could do anything and everything."

"I see," he said quietly, letting the simple words show that he was listening.

"He became a member of the Time-Space Administrative Bureau not long after that, with recruits holding such potential being scouted. He still started from the bottom and worked his way up through a long list of missions, capturing criminals, solving problems, and dealing with everything that comes with serving here. Eventually, he reached the position of first-class Air Force officer." She paused long enough for him to recall what little he knew about the ranking system. Although Shirou had never been particularly interested in titles, prestige, or fame, he had learned the basics. Rising to that rank was not a small accomplishment. It demanded skill, discipline, and a level of dedication many never reached.

"He sounds like a formidable person," he said. “I can see why you looked up to him.”

"Yeah… like I said, I was proud of him from the very beginning," she answered. "A hero who could accomplish everything and anything. So when he kept rising through the ranks, it felt like something that was bound to happen sooner or later. His next goal would have been executive officer and then beyond that. Everyone was certain he would achieve those milestones. But then…" Her voice trailed off.

From his angle, he noticed how her fingers tightened around an empty can until the thin metal began to crumple and fold under the pressure of her grip.

"He ended up dying in the line of duty," she said. The words came out slowly, a slight tremor being audible from those words alone.

"I-It happened so abruptly. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it back then. I refused to test it as anything but a sick joke. And even now I still struggle to understand how something like that could have happened to someone like him," she said, her voice steady but definitely strained, the crushed can still trapped between her fingers as her thoughts drifted back to a moment she clearly wished she could change.

"You joined TSAB to inherit and take over legacy." He spoke calmly, stating it rather than asking, because the conclusion felt almost inevitable. She gave a small nod that confirmed it, her shoulders tightening with the admission.

"The last mission my brother took part in did not go well. Word spread faster than any official report could correct it and people began talking in all the usual ways. False rumours, twisted facts, careless speculation and outright lies. Our family ended up in the middle of it all too, which added even more scrutiny, and with such a tragedy hanging over all of us, we had to face the aftermath of those ridiculous stories. I could not sit still and watch them continue without doing something. So I came here to reach the point where my brother stopped and continued forward from there. I wanted to prove to the others that our family should not be underestimated."

She managed to regain some of her composure and said those last few words more calmly than before.

"It is a noble cause. If your brother were still here he would be proud to see how far you have come."

Her expression did not shift. No smile and no sign of acceptance followed his words. Silence stretched between them for a few slow seconds before she finally answered.

"I would not know about that. He was born with every talent that mattered and carried the makings of a genius without needing to try. I did not inherit those traits from him."

A prodigious older brother whom she admired, a brother who died in the line of duty, a death that had sparked more gossip and suspicion than any grieving sibling deserved, and the countless times he had seen Teana push herself far beyond reason in training. It did not take a mind reader to recognise the kind burden she carried, and he found himself both sympathising with her and pitying her in equal measure. Yet one part of her belief was something he could not accept.

"I do not agree with you about the talent part. That should not be the reason pushing you to believe you cannot reach the same level he did later on." He said firmly, not wanting to back out of this particular subject.

"But it is a cruel reality." She replied immediately, sounding more composed and accepting. "Talent is still something that exists and no one can simply ignore it. Just like you are skilled with long-range shooting and did not need anything more than a brief moment of handling a firearm before reaching such accuracy."

"But that was not purely talent." He answered back immediately. "I already had the basic knowledge from shooting a bow and arrow for years. Using that experience to handle a gun made it easier to adapt. If I had never learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, the results would have been very different."

Getting up from his seat and walking right next to Teana, the girl looked at him with confusion only for him to trace a bow and present it to her. “Am I supposed to do something with it?” She asked, gingerly grabbing the weapon. This one was not the black bow he used regularly, just a normal one that did not require reinforcement just to draw the string.

“I figured rather than butting your head against a wall and shooting all night trying to improve your aim without much result because you're not in the right headspace would not help. So why not just change things a bit and take on a different approach?”

The girl looked back and forth between him and the ranged weapon, occasionally sneaking glances at her own gun. “I'm not sure it works that way…”

“Pretty sure it does. I am living proof, aren't I?”

“Can’t argue against that.” She said dryly, though a moment of expectation could be seen on her expression and movement as she played around with the weapon for a bit. “This is the first time I'm using a bow. How do I…”

“Like this.”

Not leaving her completely clueless, he guided her step by step on how to use the bow. From adjusting her grasp on the weapon with her left hand and different ways to pull an arrow. “There are different ways for you to hold an arrow and different finger releases you can use. I'll just have you use what I was taught instead, here.” He passed her a leather glove, a standard equipment he used to have in the archery club back in school. The boy in the past had rarely ever used it after trying them out.

After that, several simple blunt arrows appeared in his hand, and he passed one of them to the girl. “Grab the end like this, we don't need to use too much force, just enough to pull it back.” Guiding her along, he made sure to showcase everything by adjusting her form at every given opportunity. Moving her fingers, her arms and her overall posture.

To Teana who had been unfamiliar with all of it, she could not help but notice each touch and their close proximity. The closeness made her thoughts momentarily go in a completely different direction and a blush slowly started forming on her face. But just looking at how seriously the man in front of her was trying to explain and help, she said nothing and tried to focus.

“There we go, that should do it.” After a few more minutes of working around with her, Shirou backed off with a smile on his face. “That's perfect. Now all you have to do is focus on your target, and release the arrow. Just do it the same way you would do if you were holding a gun and we're about to shoot.”

“U-Um… okay, phew… alright then. This feels a bit nerve-wracking, I admit.” Teana said, feeling the palms of her hands start sweating. But she followed his instructions and loosened her hold on the arrow, with the sharp snap, the projectile went flying. “Ah!”

The sensation itself was different from pulling the trigger of a gun; both watched as the arrow flew in a rather straight arc and passed right next to the only can left at the edge, making it wobble a bit but ultimately missing it. The arrow itself, breaking down into motes of light soon after.

“That was close, next one!” Shirou enthusiastically handed another one to the girl who accepted it with some hesitation. Pulling the string and releasing the projector. Yet the same result repeated.

“Again.”

Somehow, she did not feel frustrated like earlier; rather each time the arrow missed its mark, doing so by such a short margin that it irked her. Rather than sadness or frustration, anger rose and a fire within swearing to shoot that damn item down.

Each time he guided her, a voice by her side would point out the slightest mistake in her posture and have her correct it. Doing so again and again until the point she had practically lost count of how many hours she had spent.

Not even turning her head around, she extended her hand with the redhead already placing another projectile within her hold.

“Start from the beginning. Separate the whole action of shooting the arrow into eight different stages.” She nodded, letting her body follow his advice. “First footing, your feet need to be planted on the ground like the root of a tree planting you in place.”

“...”

“Second, take notice of your posture and correct all the imperfections. Align your legs, straighten your back, don't bring your hands too close to your chest.”

For such a simple weapon, it was hard to believe just how meticulous one needed to be.

“Third step: ready your bow. Understand its length, its weight, the firmness of the material, its flexibility and its limits. Examine if it can be fired, if it will be enough to make the shot you want.”

She did, granted, the weapon was not the same as the one she had seen him use. But the quality certainly felt exceptional, light and flexible while still being firm enough to provide some resistance when drawing. Not making a single noise when bending and she did not even fear that it would snap on her.

Her grip tightened.

“Fourth step and Fifth step: raise the bow and draw the string slowly.”

The strength for that action still required some muscles, not anything beyond her capabilities but something she could not ignore regardless.

“The sixth and seventh steps are pretty simple. But they take the most amount of effort and will be what decides whether you hit your target or not. Focus, after completing your drawing, erase your surroundings until nothing is left in this world except for yourself, the arrow, and the can in the distance. And when you are confident, when you have reached that stage of certainty, hold your breath and release the arrow.”

It truly felt like the world had come to a complete crawl. The moment her fingers loosened on the projector, the arrow flew, carrying with it a small gust of wind that pulled strands of her hair ahead.

There was no sound at first, her eyes fully focused on the arrow that wobbled in the air ever so slightly as it flew closer and closer until…

Pa!

“It hit!” excitement searched within Teana like never before, having barely even completed the eighth stage which was to lower her weapon. If you jumped in place with joy, with Shirou joining along and celebrating with her. “Did you see that? It hit straight in the middle! Did you see!?”

It was hard to explain this sensation of joy, for someone who had fired tens of thousands of shots in the past at targets quite far away and hitting them accurately thanks to her spells guiding the bullet — this felt completely different.

Having completely forgotten about her previous mood, she soon sensed a hand making its way to her head. Ruffling her head with the person on the other end looking down at her with a proud smile on his face.

“You’re amazing, Teana.”

It had been years since she stood in a similar position. For a brief moment where everything changed, Teana saw herself once more standing in the courtyard of her family's home. A young child barely tall enough to get up on a chair on her own, holding onto a gun a bit too big for her size, but still wieldable. A clean mark in the distance with a bullet hole in the center and a similar figure crouching down next to her.

The sun in the background lighting both his dark orange hair and smile, his fingers going through her hair too while he said those exact same words.

‘You’re amazing, Tea.’

And just for that instant alone, she saw Tiida in his place and a sense of longing to feel a sensation she had not felt for more than a decade.

She missed him.

“Teana?” Shirou called out her name after she went quiet for several seconds, “Ah!”

Only for her to move forward and gently wrap her arms around him, giving the redhead a short embrace that lasted several seconds. A gesture he returned as well, patting her back a couple of times which made her chuckle and whisper, “Thanks, Shirou… for everything.”

“No problem. It's my duty to look after other members of my team as well. Feel better?” He asked, and rather than giving him a straight answer, the girl instead placed the bow on the table and retrieved her gun. Looking at the box which only had a handful of empty cans left, she handed them to Shirou.

“Throw them. All at once and as high as you can.” A simple request that he went along with, with a swift movement, several cans found their way flying upwards in the sky and within her field of vision.

“Hah…” Teana took a deep breath, Shirou's prior words replaying in her head crystal clear.

Adjusting one's footing.

Correcting all errors in her posture.

Readying her weapon.

Aligning all targets.

Raising her weapon.

Erasing her surroundings till time came to a crawl.

Then finally, pulling the trigger.

Several consecutive bangs sounded, and an equal number of distinct sounds of impact reached both of their ears. A clean hole in the middle of each can now be seen before they even fell back to the ground. All seven targets were struck cleanly.

As they fell to the ground one by one, the girl put the weapon back in its holster with a giant smile beaming on her face. “Yup, I do feel much better.” She said while walking past him, “I'll be going to sleep now. It's already late.”

There was more she wanted to say and convey, but figured it would be best to save it for later.

.

.

.

Shirou, on the other hand, continued to stare at the nine different cans that landed back on the ground, each with a hole in it.

“Lacking any talent, my ass… did she genuinely make so much progress by just firing a single arrow?”

He was just trying to improve her mood and hopefully distract her a bit with archery. It helped him relax in the past, so why not her? Maybe it worked a bit too well… which was good, he supposed. Even Ayako never made such a big leap in progress. Then again, he never saw her fire a gun, which in itself was a horrifying image.

Teana was by no means talentless, that was for certain.

“Ah,” it did not take him long to realize that from her last display, there were several empty cans now littering the rooftop that Teana forgot to pick up. Rolling up his sleeves, Shirou figured this was the ideal moment for him to finally relax a bit. “Time to clean this place up.”

{Break}

Deep underground, inside a reinforced cell hidden beneath the city, a woman sat in absolute stillness. Her posture remained unchanged, her face holding the same faintly bored expression as she lazily turned the page of a book. The silence was constant until the metallic groan of the door opening broke through the air. Her eyes flickered with interest for a moment before the expression faded back into its previous boredom.

A short brown-haired woman stepped through the doorway and approached the cell, stopping directly in front of her. She stared at the prisoner with a steady, cold look that did not waver.

"Finally decided to pay your dear little sister a visit, I see," Quattro remarked in a smooth, sarcastic tone, already certain she knew who stood before her even though the appearance did not match the one she remembered. Regardless of the outward form, those eyes were impossible to mistake. “Should I call you Auris or by your original name?”

"Auris. You failed your mission to protect the doctor."

"Failed? That feels like a stretch, does it not?" Quattro replied with narrowed eyes.

"He was injured and bedridden. We lost the Cradle along with the reserve of drones we prepared. What else is this other than a failure?"

Quattro snapped the book shut with a sharp clap of sound. Irritation flashed briefly across her eyes before she forced it down. "Sette lost her life."

"And it is unfortunate."

"Deed and Otto received wounds that threatened their lives."

The woman nodded and said, "If the doctor wants them to recuperate then he will."

This conversation was not going anywhere, so Quattro adjusted her posture with a quiet sigh and added, "You have quite a lot of audacity saying that we failed while you stay here doing your little spy work, while most of us are the ones doing the heavy lifting."

The one with Auris’ face gave her a dry look. "Are you trying to elicit a reaction from me, Quattro? You know that will not work on me, unlike the others."

The orange-haired girl rubbed her cheek with a small shrug. "It was worth a try." Their exchange went smoother than she had expected, even if it was going nowhere, which encouraged her to finally ask the question that had been weighing on her thoughts from the moment she entered. "So, how is our little friend doing?"

"He was sent on a mission to a different planet to suppress the spread of a particular pathogen. It had contaminated the local population and turned them into ghouls," the woman explained. "The mission was a complete success and we believe he even discovered the source of the outbreak, a core of energy similar to a relic. It enhanced the effects of the pathogen, which was originally created by the doctor’s former associate."

Quattro leaned back and replied with confidence, "Let me guess. Regius and the other commanders tried to get their hands on it, but he destroyed it before they could."

Instead of agreement, she was met with Auris rubbing her forehead. "No. He kept it and refused to give it to anyone except Commander Hayate."

"What?" Quattro blinked at the unexpected answer. Keeping such a dangerous object for himself meant there was either a connection between him and the relic or there was information they had yet to uncover. "Well, that is your matter to deal with, not mine. As you can see, I have my hands and legs tied in a pickle." She gestured to her immobilizing restraints and then toward the side of her bed. "Could you be a dear and have them give me at least a TV? I like reading books, but it gets boring after a while. I already finished everything they gave me in a single day."

Next to her sat a neatly organized shelf stacked with nearly fifty books, each arranged with the exact precision she favored. The woman looked at them before responding, "The doctor still wants to understand the power used by Emiya Shirou. It is not from this world and it does not rely on the devices we are familiar with."

Quattro already expected as much. Even during his initial capture, the doctor had shown interest in replicating that power, possibly to integrate it into another Number. But things had not unfolded the way he planned. The boy escaped, and the spectacle of abilities he displayed only strengthened the doctor’s determination. Emiya’s techniques were not the most destructive compared to mages like Nanoha, but the assortment of weapons he summoned and the way he used them captured everyone’s attention.

For her, the value of his abilities was not in the blades that pierced the hull of the Cradle or in the ones he used when fighting the Numbers. Her mind drifted further in the past, replaying the memory of the moment she had been ordered to eliminate him. The sound of the Lazer blaster echoed faintly in her thoughts, followed by the formation of a crystalline shield shaped from layered blue petals. Seven overlapping rings of shimmering petals rose and protected him, each layer delicate yet firm, like a crafted sculpture brought to life. It had been beautiful, almost artistic, and the memory lingered. A small part of her wanted to see that shield again, if only to admire it.

She exhaled slowly and shifted her gaze back to the woman in front of her. "Well, what is the plan then? If you want my opinion, let me tell you that trying to kidnap him again will not end well this time. We are already down several Numbers, and he is far more familiar with our tactics. He would counter them even if we managed a full surprise attack."

Quattro let her tone settle before continuing, "Not to mention the other mages are keeping a close watch on him. They are probably observing him like hawks by now. The chances of success are not even in the double digits."

She settled back against the pillows with a faint smirk, her irritation fading into a more subdued expression. "So unless you want to lose even more people, it would be wise to rethink whatever plan you are forming. I may be stuck here, but I still know a bad idea when I see one."

"We know." Auris on the other side spoke with a visible frown tightening her features, the kind that suggested a long stretch of irritation she had not bothered to hide.

"Do not even try to use someone else to lure him in. I would rather avoid dealing with one of those spiralling swords made out of rainbows being fired toward my face again."

"I do not think he can shoot that."

"I am fairly sure he can fire whatever version of that sword he has available. The footage of his first contact with the TSAB showed a smaller blade with a similar appearance, a swirl pattern that twisted the space around it. Even though there was no rainbow coloured light that time, I assumed he had several abilities he had not shown yet."

Underestimating the boy had been a mistake she had committed twice already, and she had always taken pride in her intelligence. Being fooled on two separate occasions had bruised her pride more than she wanted to admit. She had no intention of repeating the same error.

"But even with all of that said, the doctor has likely taken those possibilities into account too, has he not?" She received a firm nod from the woman, which made the twin-tailed Number’s restrained smile shift into a smirk. "All right then, I am curious to see what he intends. You want me to acquire a sample of his DNA? How do you expect me to do that? I do not have much experience with seduction, but cutting through a few layers of his skin to take a drop of blood would be far easier for both of us. Or maybe you disguise yourself as his girlfriend and sneak into his bed to get all the materials for a clone? That is a foolproof plan!”

Auris, across from her, sighed. "You have been reading far too many books lately."

"Blame them for giving me nothing but romance novels and spy stories with ridiculous scenarios." Quattro retorted angrily.

"Enough. We have already made all the required preparations, and none of them were easy to secure. Do not squander this opportunity."

Her eyes twitched. This person truly had quite the mouth for someone who always remained on the safe side while she and the others had nearly died several times because of that boy, that man, whatever he truly was. A part of her genuinely wanted to see the other woman’s reaction if she ever faced the same level of danger.

"The plan is simple. You no longer work for the doctor."

"Eh?" For a brief moment, confusion overtook her expression completely. "Repeat that. I am sure I must have misheard whatever absurd thing you just said."

"You heard correctly. The doctor has abandoned you, and you have no place beside him anymore. Any secrets you carry, whether the information regarding the other Numbers, the locations of the operations, or the doctor’s goals, no longer hold any weight. They pose no threat even if revealed — so feel free to share. Regius and other higher-ups will come back soon with another evaluation; make sure to impress them."

That was all she said before turning away, her high heels echoing along the hallway in a slow, steady rhythm that reached Quattro’s ears as she remained frozen in place. She stared ahead at nothing in particular, her mind struggling to process the sudden shift while her irritation tried to resurface with double its strength. A book was snatched from the table and hurled forward with enough force to break bones, but it only collided with the invisible barrier surrounding her instead of the woman who had already left.

"Tch, damn it. I hate when Due does that."

The Legendary Saiyan in a Fairy's World Chapter 57: Curse Part 1

Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331

Next update is Nanoha in a few minutes.

Followed by Steel Eyed Faker or Hound

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-Magnolia-

"It's been a while, Broly."

His voice sounded different, and his appearance had matured, marked by several rough scars that had not been there before. His overall presence carried a quieter weight than the energetic boy Broly remembered from the tower, the one who spoke of a better future and charged ahead with stubborn hope. Even so, his ki felt the same. Without a moment of doubt, Broly whispered with certainty, "Jellal."

"Surprised to see me? You've been doing well yourself. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself—Gurk!"

Whatever he was about to say never reached Broly. The Saiyan stepped forward and seized the young man by the shoulders, pulling him into a crushing embrace with far too much strength. Jellal wheezed in his arms, the air pushed clean out of his lungs as he struggled to breathe.

"I thought you were dead. Erza said she searched for you more than once, but she could never find anything."

There was so much he wanted to say. Apologies he had carried for years, stories he wanted to share, questions about what had happened after the tower, and how Jellal had endured all that time without anyone knowing. Before he could try to say any of it, Jellal tried to speak through a strained breath.

"Gl-Glad to see… ugh, someone this h-happy to see me. Certainly beats what I was going through before," he joked weakly. "Can you put me down now, please? My bo-bones are about to give out."

"Oh, sorry."

Broly immediately set him back on his feet and brushed off the front of his clothes, a large smile spreading across his face. "You should have told me earlier. Why are you standing out here alone then? Come on, let's go inside. Erza and the others will be thrilled to see you again!"

He tried to pull Jellal along, only for the latter to resist, much to his confusion. Jellal forced a small smile while keeping his feet planted, then shook his head.

"Sorry. I don't think I can be doing that yet."

Broly opened his mouth to ask why, but his attention drifted toward the strange markings that filled one side of Jellal's face. They did not seem to be causing him immediate pain, yet he could sense something was about them.

"You probably guessed why," Jellal said quietly.

"Let me check." Broly tried to get a closer look.

"No!"

The Saiyan had barely reached out before the blue-haired mage stepped back sharply, creating space between them with clear urgency. His guarded expression left no room for argument.

"Under no circumstances must you touch this. I didn't come all this way just to have you get cursed."

"Cursed?" Broly's confusion was clear, though he remained silent and waited for Jellal to continue.

"It's a long story, but this isn't why I came. I'm here to warn you. This place is no longer safe."

His eyes narrowed as he studied him more closely. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you're familiar with the dark guilds under the Balaam Alliance."

"Yes. I already met two guilds."

His tone was casual, as meeting two of the most infamous guilds in Fiore was just another day. The memory of his encounter with the last one still lingered unpleasantly in his mind — especially the words left behind by Presht.

"So I've heard. I couldn't believe it at first, but considering it's you, I suppose it's not surprising things didn't end in disaster. But this case won't be the same. The third guild in the alliance, now the only one left, Tartaros. Have you encountered them?"

Tartaros… yes, he had, but not much. "I have an idea, but nothing detailed. One of the three dark guards in the Balaam Alliance."

“Good. They are not the same kind of threat you have been dealing with, I swear. They are not your typical mages who can use dark magic or forbidden magic lost from ancient times. They are much worse and have been quietly spreading their influence across the continent for the last few years, maybe even centuries.” Jellal spoke while taking a seat on a flattened rock, his fingers brushing over the shifting markings that crawled across his cheek. “This is a gift from them, too, one of the heads of the Nine Demon Gates. I have had my fair share of encounters with them in the past, and I have been trying to fight back in my own way. But I guess I was overestimating my abilities far too much. And just recently, I ended up meeting one of the twelve heads.” His fists tightened, and a tremor moved through his frame. “I have never dealt with such strange magic before. The moment I got these markings, it was already too late, and only later did I find out what they really were. Curses. Another branch from the One Magic, but one whose power is rooted in negative emotions rather than ethernano. It's foul by its very nature.”

The more Broly listened, the worse this ability sounded. He tried to sense Jellal’s ki once more. Everything felt stable on the surface, yet the more he focused on his energy, there was a distinct presence of something unpleasant. Just like Jellal had said, the corruption worked differently from magic and hid itself behind a layer that he could not easily interpret. “Unfortunately, because of what you did to the other two dark guilds, their eyes are now set on you. Whether it's curiosity about your powers or just taking out a future danger. Sooner or later, someone will come to this town to find you and end you.”

“Then I will deal with them,” Broly answered with confidence. “This is not the first time something like this has happened. Grimoire Heart did the same thing.”

“I know you can handle yourself, but these are demons. They are far more ruthless than the other dark guilds, and it is not you alone who will be in danger. Everyone else could be dragged into this.”

“To tell you the truth, I can only give you information involving two individuals of the Nine Demon Gates. Jackal and Kyouka, both Etherious, are amongst the most dangerous beings I have faced so far. Jackal has an ability that lets him force a powerful explosive force on anything he touches, and Kyoka… I… could figure out to some extent, but it has something to do with manipulating all of her targets' senses. Hm!”

Broly listened to each name with care, setting them into his memory together with the handful of abilities Jellal managed to uncover during his investigations. But as he focused on the words, he slowly noticed the man before him swaying. His voice weakened, and his body leaned from left to right as if his own weight became too much.

“Jellal!”

“Ha-ah… I went t-too far back then. I used up too much energy in the last fight,” the man muttered as his legs gave out. He nearly collapsed before Broly caught him by the shoulders, then tried to lift his head, but it drooped forward, his breath turning shallow.

“Listen. Do not talk, just listen. No matter what you do, if you meet the leader of the guild, the man who carries a book with him at all times, do not underestimate him. Do not hesitate. Attack with everything you can, the moment you engage. He is carrying something that could bring an end to everything we know. And please, do not take me to anyone from the guild. No one should touch those curses. It will drain away their energy until they cannot use their magic anymore. B-But… you… You don't use… magic, right? W-What was it… Ki?”

Broly nodded, remembering how he had given the boy and many others a brief understanding of life energy. Unable to talk any longer, the blue-haired man's voice faded until it turned dull and nearly silent. Broly called his name again and again, but Jellal did not answer. His eyes finally shut.

The Ki within him suddenly started to plummet, growing so faint that it horrified Broly.

“No!”

Throwing away all caution, he pressed his hand against Jellal’s face and pushed his life energy into him. Just as Jellal warned, the markings reacted instantly. They stirred and crept across his skin like living ink. He ignored it and continued to infuse more ki into the man. Some color returned to Jellal’s pale expression, though it was so faint that Broly could not tell if it was real progress or wishful thinking.

“Hmm?”

The curse that crawled up his hand began to bite into his strength, leeching more energy as if it were drinking from a river. Broly responded by forcing even more ki through his body, flooding every point where the markings tried to anchor themselves. He kept increasing the flow until the drain made no difference, the sheer volume of his life force pushing against it like a storm. Even so, the curse refused to burn away. It clung to him stubbornly, refusing to vanish.

“I cannot let others touch him.”

Now he fully understood why Jellal insisted on keeping a distance and avoiding the others. Broly did not know whether Fairy Tail had someone who could cure such a condition, and even if they did, he could not take the chance. He would not risk one of them falling into the same fate because of a careless touch or an attempt to help.

Which meant he had to rely on the only person who could resist a curse that devoured life force without restraint.

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(A few minutes later)

Bam!

The door to the underground base slammed open the instant he arrived, revealing an interior that had grown far larger and far more refined than the last time he had stepped inside. The chamber that once felt like a cramped hideout now stretched into a wide workspace filled with shelves of labeled ingredients, stacks of tomes, and a long row of crystalline lamps that brightened every corner. Yet none of that was what caught his attention first. The first thing he saw was the red-haired woman standing stiffly at the main table, her hands full of metallic tools, while several glowing spells hovered above the unmoving body lying before her.

A young man with blonde hair and a black mark on his chest.

"Learn to knock!" the woman shouted, her irritation visible on her face as she flicked a spell in his direction. The burst of magic hit his face without leaving so much as a mark, and he barely reacted. He simply stepped forward at once, his voice strained and uneven.

"Something's going on with him! He's been cursed and needs your help! Please!"

He could not remember the last time he had been this tense.

Even forming basic sentences felt difficult when his mind insisted on spinning through worst-case thoughts that only fed his worry. The last time he had sounded this frantic had been during their mission against Oración Seis, but even then, he had known he was the main danger and only needed to keep himself under control. This situation felt different. Someone else was at risk, and he had no idea how to handle a threat he could not simply overpower.

"Curse?" the woman repeated, her tone shifting as he lowered Jellal's hood enough to reveal the dark markings sliding across his skin like restless serpents. Realisation flashed through her expression almost instantly. "Fascinating. You really do attract the most interesting things in the world. Alright then, put him over here."

She reached toward the unconscious blond man already occupying the table, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and flicked her wrist. His limp body flew across the room and crashed against a wall with all the care one would use when tossing away rubbish.

"I already learned what I needed from this fool anyway."

Broly glanced at the discarded man for a moment, wondering who he was and why she had been working on him. The curiosity vanished quickly once he noticed the emblem of Grimoire Heart burned into the stranger’s chest. Whoever he was, he clearly was not part of Fairy Tail, and nothing about him seemed worth Broly’s attention when compared to Jellal’s condition. The man became nothing more than a background detail as he refocused on helping his injured friend.

The red-haired woman moved around Jalal with practiced ease. A series of pale green rings drifted from her fingertips, each one settling onto his skin while her tools clicked softly with every adjustment she made. Her magic pressed against the curse, reacting in ways that even she did not fully expect. She paused only once, pricking her own finger just enough to draw a small bead of blood before letting the droplet fall onto the markings.

Right before their eyes, the tiny red drop that had initially glowed shifted as the crawling patterns surrounded it. The blood darkened, losing its shine, then morphed rapidly into a normal shade, with its luster completely gone.

"I see. A nasty curse. I did not know they had advanced their abilities to this extent or managed to produce something this dangerous," she said, her tone carrying a hint of interest rather than alarm. With a snap of her fingers, she burned the tainted blood away, taking part of the curse with it. Broly watched every movement with a tight expression, hands clenched at his sides.

"Can you cure him? Can you make him better?" he asked.

"I'm surprised you brought him to me. I am not a healer, which confuses me on why you brought him here of all places," she replied. "Fairy Tail has that incompetent mage called Porlyusica. I even ran into the woman yesterday while she was searching for materials inside the forest. We had quite a pleasant conversation. She may lack the talent to use magic properly, but she's knowledgeable when it comes to medicine."

"He told me not to bring him anywhere near other humans. He said the curse could be dangerous to them," Broly answered.

"Hm. That makes sense. This is a nasty piece of work — I am even impressed by its design. It is far too complex for someone of his level to be targeted with, which makes the situation even stranger."

"You did not answer my question. Can you fix him?" Broly asked again.

"I can do two things to get rid of the curse," she said while raising two fingers. Her calm tone contrasted with the pressure settling over the Saiyan’s shoulders. He listened closely, his focus fixed on every word that left her mouth. "The first is that I burn this man until not even ash remains. By then, the curse will also be gone, and it will pose no threat to anyone whatsoever. And before you start yelling, let me finish with the second option."

She paused only long enough to flick her eyes toward a small crystal device at her side that pulsed like a living heartbeat. "We simply wait and see how it goes. It does not seem like whoever inflicted this curse wanted to kill him. Most likely, they only wanted to torture him until his mind broke or he became incapable of using magic ever again. He must have overused his magic before coming here, and that endangered his life. In fact, I believe the moment he loses his ability to use magic, the curse will vanish on its own."

"Lose his magic?" Broly’s eyes widened at the implication. He had lived long enough in this world to understand how precious magic was to mages. It would be like asking him to surrender his ability to use ki. His own powers had caused trouble more times than he could count, yet they were tools he relied on to protect others.

He did not even know the full range of Jellal’s abilities, only that the man clearly possessed enough strength and experience to challenge the dark guild responsible for this. He wanted to help him, but saving someone only to strip away everything that made them whole barely felt like saving at all.

"Isn't there a second way? A third? Can't you pull the curse off him and put it on something else?" he asked. He knew he was grasping at ideas that sounded ridiculous even to him, but desperation pushed the words out.

Irene remained silent. Her eyes drifted down to his hand, where the curse continued running beneath his skin in twisting lines. Without asking permission, she stepped closer and took his hand. Her fingers were unexpectedly soft as they traced the markings spreading across his palm, but for some reason did not infect her. The touch was gentle enough to make him twitch before he could stop himself.

"Hrm!" The sudden sting broke the moment. A thin dagger shimmered in Irene’s hand, its blade glowing with concentrated magic potent enough to slice a fresh cut across the back of his skin. Before Broly could react, she caught the sliver of skin with a precise motion and let a few drops of a pale liquid fall over the wound. It knitted itself back together instantly.

"Surprised?" she asked. "You have no idea how many of my valuable resources are spent just to make this little dagger. At least it still works as intended."

As predicted, the curse immediately crawled back over the newly healed skin, reclaiming the area as if nothing had changed.

"I am afraid that method would not work either," she said, lifting her gaze.

"Were you actually planning on skinning Jellal?" Broly asked. His face twisted in disbelief and something close to horror.

"What? I could have grown it back later with a different potion. Hair would have taken some time to return, but that is hardly a serious inconvenience."

Broly stared at her, unable to hide the look forming on his face. This woman was powerful and brilliant, but moments like this reminded him how unsettling her logic could be. Even imagining the result made him queasy.

"I am afraid this leaves us with only one option," Irene continued.

"I am listening."

"There is no guarantee that it will work," she warned. "I am basing all of this on a possibility rather than anything certain. The only one who truly understands the inner workings of this curse is the one who created it. So the only way to free him without causing permanent damage would be to find the caster and force them, peacefully or otherwise, to erase it. I believe you know exactly where this path leads."

"I have to start another battle against another dark guild."

The woman stepped into the room with a scoff, rolling her eyes while flipping her long hair behind her back in a smooth, almost dismissive motion. "Starting a fight? What fight? You can just blast them away from a distance and be done with it."

"That is, if I can even find their base. I have absolutely no idea where to locate them." He answered with a tired shrug, earning a surprised look from Irene.

"You're actually considering it?"

He nodded. "Jellal mentioned they are interested in me and are actively searching for me now. Rather than sit around and wait for another situation like the Grimoire Heart incident to unfold again, I would rather move first and deal with everything directly."

"That's an efficient way of looking at things. Honestly, I expected you to say something about trusting your guild mates and taking on the challenge with them by your side and all that familiar heroic talk you usually hear."

"I do trust them, but..." He tried to think of a proper excuse, a believable reason that explained why he did not need to bring them along. He no longer feared losing control of himself, and he trusted his friends to be strong enough to protect themselves. But whenever he thought about Jellal’s condition, the idea of anyone else ending up like that made his skin crawl. If these enemies could twist curses so precisely, there was no guarantee they did not have other dangerous methods to seize control of whoever became infected.

"I'll go with you."

He froze mid-thought. As he debated whether to bring the others or trust the process, Irene suddenly spoke up. Her calm voice cut through his focus so abruptly that he was not even sure he had heard her correctly. She tilted her head slightly before continuing. "Curious as to why I would suggest such a thing? The answer is obvious, don't you think? You're about to fight an Etherious. I already mentioned how I have been observing you, cataloguing the details of your powers, studying every little aspect of how they manifest and how far they can be pushed. Watching how you handle curses would add another layer to that observation. And as for the demons themselves, I never really interacted with them before because I never had a reason. It would be dishonest to say I am not at least curious about how Zeref’s creations are functioning in the current age."

It actually sounded like a reasonable idea. He tried to think of any real downside, but nothing came to mind. Irene was an incredibly powerful wizard and technically not even human, either, so the curse may not affect her at all. And even if it did, he was certain she had more than a few ways to handle it. When it came to raw power, she was easily the second strongest in all of Magnolia. He doubted even someone like Gildarts could inflict serious damage on her. That still left him with the problem of finding the base of the Tartaros guild. He could fly across the continent all he wanted, but the landmass was enormous. It would take weeks or even months to pinpoint their exact location. It simply was not worth the time. Jellal would likely have lost the ability to use magic long before then.

"I think I may have some ideas on how we can locate them." Irene’s voice cut through his spiraling thoughts, pulling him back as he turned to her with a hopeful look.

"Well, since they are demons, their subordinates are usually demons as well. If we can find the areas with the largest concentrations of demonic signatures, then the dark guild should be somewhere close by. But that is still like throwing a dart at a map while blindfolded. It relies too much on luck. Trying to reverse engineer the curse and track its creator through its energy trail could work, but the person responsible would know we are approaching. Or maybe not... If this idiot were still conscious, we could have asked him where it was located. Give me some time. I will try to come up with something."

"Is it okay to leave Jellal like this for long?" he asked quietly.

"It's fine. He is in a mostly stable condition after I applied some enchantments. And I am fairly certain you did something before bringing him here. His entire body is brimming with energy, which is delaying the effects of the curse. We have more than enough time without needing to rush."

"Alright, I trust you."

"And that is why you are a fool."

{Break}

-Fairy Tail Guild-

After leaving that place, he made his way back to Magnolia with the intention of helping however he could. Broly was not sure where to start, yet he still felt that doing nothing would be worse than trying and failing. The afternoon streets were warm and familiar, and for a brief moment, he believed the guild would welcome him with the usual noise and energy. Instead, when he walked through the doors, he found Lucy and Cana slumped over the counter with an atmosphere so gloomy it almost seemed to sink into the wooden floorboards. Erza, Natsu, and most of the members were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" he asked, genuinely confused, only to hear a soft giggle at his side. Mirajane approached with a bright expression, wearing a ribbon wrapped neatly around her body that read number one, and she held a small medal that she twirled playfully between her fingers.

"They are just tired after the swimsuit event. Things got out of control once everyone started using magic. Someone decided it would be a great idea to summon Aquarius, and she flooded the whole area. I was lucky enough to avoid being washed away, so I automatically won first place. If you are wondering where the rest of the guild members are, they went to the Asia parade to join the march as usual. Natsu has been excited to show off the new firework tricks he came up with. Erza went as well because a lot of people look forward to seeing her there," she explained casually, while Lucy and Cana groaned from the counter and shot her a mixture of envy and frustration.

"Speaking of which, where did you go? You were there at the start, but near the end, you vanished. Was it boring for someone like you to watch us competing in swimsuits?" Mirajane asked as she crossed her arms, putting on a playful pout that she clearly exaggerated on purpose.

Broly shook his head. "I had a meeting with someone I have not seen in a long time. It was important, so I had to leave. Sorry that I could not stay until the end."

Mirajane waved her hand lightly. "It is fine. At least you were there at the beginning. So tell me, which one did you like the most?" She leaned in with a teasing smile, and Broly paused to choose his words. The question instantly froze Lucy and Cana, who stared at him without blinking, hoping for an answer that might restore their pride.

"You all looked good." said Broly nonchantly, missing the real meaning behind the question.

"Such a safe answer. You cannot say that and expect me to let it go. I need the truth. You can whisper it if you want. I pinkie promise to keep it between us," she said as she stepped closer, tilting her head so he could speak directly into her ear. Her innocent smile earned her a pair of sharp glares from the two defeated women at the counter, yet she only responded with a soft laugh.

Broly considered her question more seriously this time. He genuinely did not think much about judging them, but he understood they wanted something more than a vague reply.

"If I had to choose, Erza looked the cutest in the bunny outfit. I am already used to seeing Cana in swimsuits, and the same goes for Lucy, so her outfit ended up being the most memorable. There was also another girl who stood out. I forgot her name, but I think she was from Phantom Lord."

"Urgh!" Lucy and Cana collapsed into despair, their hopes completely crushed. Cana reached for the nearest barrel of beer and began drinking directly from it without hesitation, while Lucy grabbed one of her own and followed her example.

"I told you we should have gone with the V string!" Cana said, her voice muffled by the rim of the barrel.

The suggestion caused a deep red blush to spread across Lucy's entire face. She paused for several seconds, clearly imagining the idea before shaking her head vigorously. "Absolutely not. I refuse to wear that in public. It hid practically nothing! It would’ve been like walking in public naked!"

"It was just a small sacrifice to win the entire competition. How can you explain that someone who can transform into a huge muscular man with everything barely hidden behind a tiny Speedo won a swimsuit competition meant for women!?" Cana complained, waving her free hand while still drinking.

Mirajane laughed softly at the sight of the two drowning their misery.

Even Broly could not believe how Mirajane had actually won, given the reactions he had seen from the crowd. Most of them looked permanently scarred by the entire display, and he honestly could not blame them. Either her luck was unbelievable, or every other contestant had been terribly unlucky.

Or better yet, the judges were too biased towards Mirajane.

"You did not like my transformation? I tried my best to represent you as well as I could," Mirajane said, her voice carrying a small hint of disappointment.

"Don’t know. Never wore those kinds of clothes, and it felt uncomfortable with how tight it can be. Also, would it not be a bit selfish for me to pick myself?" he replied while rubbing the back of his neck, a bit out of depth in this situation.

"Not at all. There is nothing wrong with liking yourself," she insisted with an encouraging smile, patting him on his chest.

"By the way, Mirajane, do you know where I can find the library?" he asked. The moment the words left his mouth, the woman froze in place and slowly turned her head as if she needed to confirm she heard correctly.

"You want to go to the library? You?"

Why did she look so shocked? If he wanted to find any leads on Tartaros, then the library was the only logical place to start. If records existed about their sightings or activities, then maybe Irene could use that information.

"It is for something important that I’m trying to find out about," he said, deciding not to reveal the full reason.

She hesitated for a moment but still gestured for him to follow. She led him to the library, which turned out to be smaller than he expected while still containing thousands of books arranged in long rows.

"Thanks," he said once she left him to explore.

The man wandered between shelves for a few minutes, scanning titles and flipping through several books in search of anything remotely useful.

"Balam Alliance… Balam… ah, here."

He found a cluster of books focused on dark guilds. Most were bounty lists created by the Magic Council. Familiar faces stared back at him from the pages, people he had already fought. Each one carried an impressive reward beneath their name.

"Maybe I can claim the rewards since I captured them. Lucy would like that," he muttered.

Unfortunately, the book he was reading was an old edition. Only Oracion Seis members were included. Guilds like Grimoire Heart had little to no information listed. Even the blonde man he had seen in Irene’s house appeared only under the simple name Zancrow. Every other member remained a mystery, including their master, which confirmed just how outdated the book truly was.

It was worse for Tartaros. Practically nothing had been recorded about them. Not their base, not their leaders, not even clear descriptions of their purpose. Only one consistent detail existed; they commanded an army of demons.

"Damn it," he murmured under his breath while pulling another stack of books from a shelf.

His head already felt heavy from reading so many pages. Doing this kind of research was not one of his strengths, and he knew Lucy would have done far better with the help of those weird glasses that allowed her to read faster. Still, he refused to give up and continued searching.

"What you are about to do is a bad idea."

He froze mid-read. The unfamiliar yet oddly gentle voice came from above him. Turning his head above, he spotted a young girl perched on top of a high shelf. Her long, wavy platinum blond hair spilled over her shoulders as she kicked her legs back and forth. She wore a frilly dress, and her deep green eyes watched him patiently.

"A demon is not something you should chase after, especially an Etherious created from the Book of Zeref. They endanger everyone, even you," she said.

Her warning barely registered, for his attention was fixed entirely on her face. His mouth hung open slightly as the realization hit him. She was the same girl he had encountered before, the one he was never sure was real or imagined.

"You are…" He failed to finish the sentence, unsure how to react or what to say.

"You can call me Mavis. Hello!" She greeted him warmly.

Mavis. The name tickled at his memory, familiar enough to stir recognition yet distant enough to remain unclear. It did not matter. There was only one thing occupying his thoughts.

"You are real," he whispered.

"Of course I am real! Why would you think I was not? We met several times before," she answered with a bright expression, as though the idea of her being imaginary made no sense at all.

“We did?” Aside from that dream he had the day he met Irene, Broly could not remember another instance where they met.

“Oh, I meant I met you several times before. Most of those times, you were unconscious or sleeping.” She gave an awkward little smile before hopping down from the shelf and drifting gently to the floor beside him. She glanced at the books he had gathered and let out a quiet, curious hum. “You know, one of the main reasons why Tartaros has never been located is similar to Grimoire Heart… they have a mobile base. Even if you find anything here, there is no point treating it as reliable information because they are no longer in that place.”

The realisation had not crossed his mind before, and as he thought over it now, he felt the logic settle clearly. “Is there no other way I can search for them?”

“We are really going to risk your life so you can face all of them just to save that blue haired boy?” she asked instead of answering his question, and he responded with a confident nod.

“Yes. He is my friend. I have to protect him and save him somehow. Also, I will make sure I stay careful.”

“The demons are not the ones that worry me the most, truth be told. I am more concerned about that woman you decided to bring along with you.” She folded her arms, a frown gracing her features.

‘Oh, so she was also worried about Irene,’ he thought. ‘Wait, when did she see Irene? I was alone back there, too.’

She continued, “Listen, child. I know you have a good heart, and I find that quite admirable, but you should be careful about trusting others too easily. She will betray you the moment she gets a chance. That is the kind of impression she gives me.”

“You should talk to her. She has her quirks, but she is an overall nice person.” He tried to sound convincing, though the dry stare she gave him showed she did not agree. “Maybe you can just talk to her and see that she is not as bad as you think. As long as you do not offend her or make her angry.”

“An interesting suggestion, but since she is not a member of Fairy Tail, I doubt we will meet anytime soon. In any case, are you seriously trying to go after Tartaros?”

“Yes.”

“Even if I say no?”

“Yes.”

“Even if I say it sternly?”

“Yes.”

“Do not go. It is dangerous!”

“Sorry.”

Mavis pressed her fingertips against her forehead as if he had given her a new kind of headache. “What a stubborn child. You may be big, but that does not make you invulnerable.”

“Well, I am not trying to take on the entire guild. As long as I can find the person responsible for putting Jellal in that condition, I can focus on them. Worst case scenario, I track them down, kidnap them, bring them back here, and force them to cooperate.”

Mavis gave his idea some thought, her expression wavering with uncertainty until she released a long sigh. “I hate how you are doing all of this for someone else. I cannot in good conscience tell you to abandon your effort to save your friend.”

He let out a short and weary chuckle. “Unfortunately for that, I need to locate their base of operations. Without knowing where they are, there is no point in trying to save him. Hopefully, I can come up with something to track them.”

“Oh, that is an easy fix.” Mavis brightened, her cheerful tone catching him completely off guard. He stared at her with questionably as she continued, “You did not check the quest board recently, did you? There might be something on it that will interest you. Also, did you forget Gildarts is here? He is not just a wandering meathead who travels the world to destroy threats or help people. He gathers information everywhere he goes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the last place where that base was spotted.”

It felt like someone had dropped a hammer on his thoughts. He nearly wanted to slap himself for forgetting about Gildarts and how much he could have helped them in the first place. As for the quest board, he wasted no time and rushed toward it, weaving past the guild members as he scanned the rows of papers pinned across the wide board.

There were hundreds of quests, each one shouting for attention. He dragged his eyes across them one by one until a particular sheet made him stop. It read,

“Dark guild presence spotted near the forest, causing an increase in demon-related incidents within the area. Assistance from mages is required to handle these people.”

He remembered Irene mentioning that Tartaros relied on demons as its subordinates, so if there was any region overflowing with demonic traces, he had a strong chance of finding something useful there.

Bam!

He had barely stepped toward the request board when a loud commotion echoed from the guild entrance. The noise rolled through the hall like a sudden wave, and when he turned, he saw a group forcing their way inside with Natsu, Gray, and even Erza at the front, all three moving with a sense of urgency that caught his attention more than any celebration ever could.

Instead of looking toward him as they usually did after returning from some parade or loud brawl, they looked tense and worried. The Master pushed through the crowd and raised his voice. “Make way! Make way! Someone arrange the beds for the four of them! I will go call Porlyusica!” He hurried outside without another word, leaving Broly standing in the middle of the hall with a rising sense of confusion.

He spotted Levy weaving through the guild and stepped in front of her. “What is going on? Who are those people?” He pointed toward the injured group being carried in. One of them, a tall blue-haired man with a cracked helmet barely hanging together, caught his eye. Another one is a brown haired woman and a green-haired woman.

“That is Laxus and his teammates. We found them at the entrance of Magnolia. They were barely conscious by the time we got to them. Something serious must have happened to them to put them in this state,” she said, worry evident in her eyes.

Broly watched quietly, studying for the first time the face of the boy who was the master’s grandson. He looked very different from what Broly expected, blonde hair and the lightning mark matching what he heard about him from others.

“So that is Laxus.”

Poll for the next oneshot-ish story to update.

Reminder, this is only a poll for stories that are not part of the main update schedule. Those will continue to be updated as usual.

Hope ya liked the Taimanin story. If ya want more of that or the bleach one or another one amongst these then ya can vote here.

Any other ideas let me know in the comment. I feel like I'm forgetting another option...

A Fake Familiar Reborn Chapter 41: Ball Part 1

Fully beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness

Wrought Iron Taimanin Chapter 1: Once More

Beta read and Co-written by Paragon of Awesomen

To Love a Sword Chapter 42: Mistake

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and FabledLife

Also, Happy Thanksgiving!

Next update is A Fake Familiar Reborn

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-Sainan-

“He definitely is a unique case.”

These were the first lines that crossed Nemesis' mind upon her first actual meeting with her estranged… ‘brother’. A bio-engineered weapon that should have ended up just like her, living as a human of all things. But no, he was more than just that; the man ended up proving himself to be beyond what her initial expectations of him had been. The first time she arrived on Earth and first found the other members of the Yuuki family, including Rito and Mikan, she’d kind of expected him to be similar to the brown-haired boy.

The only difference she’d been able to discern had to do with their physical builds, but how wrong she turned out to be!

There was nothing similar about them, and he had an acute mastery over his ability already, showing no significant hesitation in using them.

He was everything she’d hoped for… if only he were willing to join her.

Nemesis did not know which project he was from specifically; at one point, Solgam had been working on hundreds of different entities at once, according to certain records she’d been able to dig up, Darkness and Mea being the few that succeeded, while it was initially also considered a failure. A success rate in the decimals, no wonder they were so desperate to find Lunatique and Mikado. Regardless, all other records had long since been reduced to ashes, and what little she could gather from the ruins did little to mention anything about another project where the entity could create dozens, if not hundreds, of swords using dark matter or another form of energy.

He did not seem to possess shapeshifting abilities, but she was not certain if it was only due to his not having explored his overall abilities or if he was a failure who miraculously survived.

Even though she could not find anything, the more the woman looked at him, the more certain she became that there was an extremely high likelihood that he was one of Solgam's creations. Such powers just could not be explained otherwise; his abilities were completely unique to him, rather than being a magic spell as he claimed to others. And she remained suspicious of the mastery he possessed over his powers despite never being put into an environment that necessitated reaching such a level… Just how she’d already mastered her own powers from the get-go.

‘Those weapons are also not made of actual metal; they are all energy constructs like mine.’

The more she thought about it, the more certain she became that perhaps there was a fourth weapon, one many had missed. Perhaps the fourth had emerged from his tank as a baby rather than being grown to at least physical adolescence before being allowed to taste air for the first time.

As for the timing… that also remained an ambiguous matter she still remained uncertain about. Why abandon such a creation as a baby on this backwater planet? Was there another scientist like Tearju who took pity on the boy and fostered him away in secret?

“All in all, these are just mere speculations and guesswork,” Nemesis said as her feet swung back and forth while she sat on top of a tree branch and sipped some juice, waiting for her redhead companion to give her the signal to bring her back. All of these speculations would eventually be put to rest after Mea got all the necessary information.

“I can create hypotheses all I want, but without concrete evidence to back them up, I can't treat them as anything more. Hopefully, Mea can get the answers I seek.”

The young one had a unique ability, very useful when it came to gathering information. Rather than forcing it out of someone's mouth through several different kinds of torture and without even needing to guess if that person was telling the truth, Mea had an ability that could read people’s minds and memories from just a mere touch of her hair. With it, she could go through years of memories in a mere second without the target even noticing, and if necessary, even manipulate their dreams.

Nemesis was not blind to the way Mea had been behaving when it came to Emiya; the girl was conflicted, confused, and just did not know how to behave when dealing with information that had to do with her only brother. Even more so upon finding out that Yuuki Emiya Shirou had been raised in a family, and that the man himself knew nothing about them. It would be wrong to say that she was angry. Rather, the closest emotion she could associate her behavior with would be jealousy.

Just looking at it from the side amused Nemesis, and she never saw fit to try and change that mindset. Mea was jealous of the humans whom her brother had called his siblings, who had received his trust and affection. To whom he had given kindness and love. A treatment that, in the redhead's mind, should have been hers to begin with, not some random human — all of this despite her having no notion what love even was.

Even so, to Mea’s mind, it was akin to having a gift she had desired for her entire life stolen right when it was at her fingertips, and now here she was watching the thief enjoy what was rightfully hers.

As for Nemesis herself, she did not particularly care. In fact, all she was curious about was how his powers worked. Clearly, they followed a similar pattern to her own: energy manipulation of some sort, which created those bladed weapons.

“Is she not done yet?” she said aloud, realizing that quite some time had passed since Mea had been sent to his residence in order to peruse through his memories. She had sent her with a portal and expected an extraction request in about five minutes, but time continued to tick by, and not so much as a peep came. Soon enough, a full hour had elapsed, with dawn soon being on the horizon.

“She can't be messing around with his dreams, right?” The tanned dark-haired woman wouldn't put it past Mea to do something like that — to indulge in her mischievous side and have the boy dream of various things involving her. But the girl was also not someone who would ignore her orders and make her wait for so long.

Yet Nemesis only grew less confident in this as the time continued to tick by, and by now another ten minutes had passed. She began to grow seriously worried, and decided she could no longer sit by and do nothing, and would just check up on Mea herself.

As a black portal formed in front of her, she walked through it and stepped into a dark room belonging to none other than Emiya. Quite spartan to say the least, mostly empty with no decorations whatsoever aside from a bed, a desk, and a single lamp.

“Eh?”

But what she expected to find was completely out from what she actually met with. It was not the sight of Mea using her powers to mess with his mind by making him see various dreams, but instead the young girl was on the floor unconscious, while the man himself was sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

“What the hell happened here?”

The sudden shock of expectations meeting reality had been such a surprise that she wondered if this was a trap, that he had sensed her arrival and knocked the young one out. But with how he still kept sleeping and there being no signs of any physical bruises on the girl or any altercation, it became evident that that was very unlikely.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath, moving to grab Mea and teleport her somewhere safe where she could wake up and tell her what the hell happened. The redhead's body disappeared through the portal, after which Nemesis let out a mild hum of curiosity as she turned her attention to the boy. “What did she see in you?”

Yet just as she was about to go through the portal herself, a shadow at the corner of her vision moved quickly, and before she knew it, a hand had immediately latched onto her arm with great strength to the point she could not easily break free. Her head snapped to the side, only for yellow-golden eyes to stare back at golden-brown with a hint of silver.

Well, that certainly was a scary face he made. Even then, it was strangely cute — reminding her of Mea during her killing spree.

“Hello~ Did I wake you up from your pleasant dream?” she whispered quietly, a grin stretching on her face, having not expected to face the boy this early on after their first meeting, given it hadn't even been twenty-four hours. But oh well, things happen, and best to just adapt to the situation. “Sorry, I can't talk with you muc—!”

Her words came to an abrupt halt when a flash of silver streaked across her vision, the cold sensation of steel meeting her skin and forcing her instincts to take over entirely and render her body into pure dark matter. Nemesis watched in almost slow motion as the once sleeping Emiya now stood before her, holding a black blade that had already been swung halfway from her right shoulder to her waist.

‘Fast, and directly aimed at disabling the main arm before slicing the heart.’

Rather than blood spewing into the air, dark smoke filled the gaps between her open flesh, which knit itself back together before his attack had even ended. Something her assailant noticed and continued by piercing a white blade right in the middle of her throat, but this attack was even less effective, as she’d already made herself intangible.

Her hair moved with blades forming at the end of them, slicing through the air. She aimed for his waist, which he swiftly blocked using the white sword. She knew he would, having seen his reaction speed before, but wounding him was not her goal.

Crash!

The windows of the room shattered as his body was sent flying outside. This created enough distance between them for her to attempt to teleport away before more guests were drawn in by the commotion. While she did not fear the Devilukean princesses, even the eldest, who was said to have inherited her father's strength… she did not want to get the attention of the figure standing behind them yet.

“Hm?”

Strange.

Her movements came to a halt, and only after glancing around did it come to her attention that several swords were piercing the ground around her, which for some reason had rendered her immobilized. ‘Dark matter manipulation as well? No, that can't be. I would have known dark matter itself would have no effect on me, even if he possessed a similar power. First swords possess extreme cutting properties; these ones… restraints of some kind. How does that even work? They aren't even touching me…’

Her attention went back to Emiya, who had crashed through the wooden fence in the courtyard, though he’d already gotten back up and was rushing back to engage her again. Despite this little reconnaissance mission having gone completely awry, she couldn't help but smirk eagerly.

“Hehehe, playing around a bit wouldn't hurt!”

Dark matter propagated the area, filling the room entirely and the outside in an instant. This momentarily caused the redhead to pause in his tracks and raise his blades defensively.

“Cute.”

With a single mental command, a giant slab of iron shaped like a sword took form from the matter around him, piercing straight towards his stomach.

“Hoh~?”

She watched with slight amazement as he used both swords as a shield, crisscrossing them to take in the brunt of the force, but this pushed him back to where he’d landed before. She sent several more attacks his way, this time with not just a single weapon forming but several, just like he did against her.

All the while, she observed each movement with a raised eyebrow.

‘He is able to dodge and block all of them, interesting. Doesn't seem like it's just an enhanced perception of his surroundings; he is somehow capable of sensing when the next attack is about to form… A form of future sight? It could also be him just being highly sensitive to dark matter; he sensed me, but not Mea… ah, I am getting too excited. I want to fight him for real.’

Shaking her head, strands of black hair coalesced into several hands, picking up the blades around her and giving her back the freedom of movement. Looking at one of them closely, the girl just tilted her head in confusion. “It's not made of dark matter after all, huh… But it's not true steel either.”

With some effort, one of the swords snapped and broke into shards. Each of the pieces soon turned into some kind of mote of blue light floating in the air in front of her eyes. Her fingers, coated in dark matter, were casually trying to grab some of it, and just like a snowflake, the light slowly died out as if dispersing back into the air around her.

‘So it is some kind of energy after all, but not dark matter.’

Woosh!

This was just getting more and more interesting.

“Unfortunately, my dear brother, as much as I would like to continue to have this conversation, given this is our first time meeting face to face… I should be leaving to check up on Mea,” she said, watching him being forced to dodge, black and even counter her by firing several swords of his own — all of which ended up getting caught by several small dark portals around her and reopened while aiming at him. However, that tactic also ended up failing as the weapons would just end up dispersing when not even halfway there.

‘So he can also control his constructs through mental command. He also noticed my regeneration and fired those weapons to keep me in place rather than hurting me.’ She wanted to keep some of them as a souvenir, but did not bother knowing he would just dismiss them. ‘If I remember correctly, his constructs can also alter their shapes, the black and white ones have an attraction effect, and finally, another one has the restraining effect. He most definitely possesses other kinds of weapons since I haven't seen him use the arrow he used to destroy Lacospo. Is that his power? To create weapons with different effects? If that is the case, then no wonder Golden Darkness lost, he can create the perfect counter with enough time.’

Just like she was observing him and analysing his ability, the same was also happening on the other end; she knew that. Most likely trying to understand what the dark fog was, how to counter it, and render her greatest advantage useless.

Nemesis had to admit, she was curious to see what he would come up with to counter dark matter. But granting him the opportunity on a silver platter felt boring, not to mention this was not the ideal scenario she had in mind for their second meeting.

“Now, shoo.” With a flick of her hand, a wall several times the thickness of a human formed in between them before being hurled straight toward the redhead. Even if his swords could cut her constructs, she did not care, for it served its purpose by buying her time and distracting the boy long enough for her to pass through the portal at last.

This once rather chaotic scenery had now changed to the rooftop of a hotel in the middle of Sainan, where the Yuuki household was several miles away to the east. A great distance away for anyone to be capable of even tracking her down… eh?

The sound of chains ringing reached her ears, and Nemesis looked down to find a spike attached to a long chain encircling her heel, and it had come from the other side of the portal that was just about to close.

Only for a strong force to pull on it, and nearly make her trip on the spot. From the portal, a bare foot flew out and kicked the girl right in the face. Emiya showed his face with the chain wrapped around his forearm and gave her a frustrated frown.

“Can you please stop calling yourself my sister?”

This attack actually made her fly against a wall with enough force to make cracks appear on the surface from the impact.

That… sucked. When was the last time she got attacked in such a way? Even Mea wore boots…

“Shame, I was about to say, how could you strike your big sister in such a shameful way?”

Landing on the rooftop and surveying his surroundings a bit, he looked back at her and had the audacity to scoff. “You can still say that without needing to act the sister part. Also, you're the one who came into my room in the middle of the night.”

“I don't see how that even equated to me getting bisected on the spot like that. I could have died, you know?”

“Pretty sure you survived getting impaled by several swords just yesterday morning, that last attack wouldn't have been nearly as dangerous for you.”

“I can still feel pain.”

“Too bad you don't feel any sense of shame by just wearing a night gown and nothing else during a fight…”

“Hey, this is comfortable~!” she said while playfully lifting up the black fabric, briefly showcasing her nude body underneath with an ounce of embarrassment. How and why their rather intense confrontation ended up in this back-and-forth was anyone's guess. But it was in the middle of all that she remembered something rather important. “Hold on, did I ever introduce myself to you, or did Mea tell you about me? Never mind, I'll just say it myself, my name is Nemesis~!”

She expected some kind of dismissal on his end and then a series of boring questions. This was always the case with every other target where she and Mea had a small game going on between them, where they guessed each of their targets' speech.

She won every time, of course.

“Emiya Shirou or Yuuki Emiya Shirou. Pick your favourite.” But surprisingly, he answered back calmly, neither shouting nor threatening her. She laughed at the outcome, finding herself finding the boy more and more adorable.

“Emi… I like the sound of that.”

He crossed his arms, “Kind of weird to choose that as a nickname, makes it sound like a girl's name.”

“Well, the princess and Yuuki Mikan call you Shirou, the nurse calls you Emiya, and another human with the sword calls you Yuuki Emiya Shirou. All of the interesting ones are already taken, so I might as well come up with something more… unique.” Nemesis explained, the sound of the wind was more intense at such a height, along with the noise of cars honking down on the busy street. “Emi or Shirou. Depending on my mood, I'll call you one of those. You can call me Nee-chan, Onee-sama, Master, or Teacher.”

He shook his head, “I'll stick with Nemesis, since, again, we are not related.”

She shrugged, “Maybe not by blood, but we do have a lot in common. I doubt you will believe anything I will say, but you have to admit that there is at least something. The way you used your powers tonight certainly gave me a lot to think about.”

“I feel like I said this several times before, but that is only my Magecraft. It's something I've been born… with… it since…” his voice trailed down after noticing the dry look she was giving him.

Smiling awkwardly, he coughed slightly, “Okay, maybe not the best way to explain it. Given that it does not help clarify the misunderstanding. But I am pretty sure I was not bio-engineered inside a lab, nor do I have hair or flesh that can transform into weapons. Not to mention how I am human physically." The irony over the last part about his flesh not transforming into weapons was not lost to Emiya, but he was rarely ever forced in a scenario where he needed to use that, and best not to give this person more ammunition.

“So you say, but so far, there has not been another human like you anywhere on this planet. Even the details of your birth are vague at best.”

Scratching the back of his head, the redhead did not even bother to counter her words and instead went with something else entirely. “Who are you really? Another assassin like Yami sent here by another fiancée candidate? …No, your nature is similar to hers, but something tells me that is not the reason you are here.”

The tanned girl found herself smiling even further as if the answer she carried had been waiting on her tongue from the very beginning. “You already know the answer to that. Why bother even asking the obvious, little brother?” She looked at him for a brief moment before breaking her gaze, though the unamused look he gave her made it clear he did not intend to accept anything vague. That simple expression placed her in a spot where she had to keep going, so she let her voice take on a mirthful tone that softened the tension between them.

“I just find it funny how you are trying to make Golden Darkness live out a boring, peaceful life.”

“Is she not allowed? You are in no position to decide that for her.”

How curious, never would have Nemesis so much as imagined someone else actually being protective of Golden Darkness of all people in such a way. But then again, for it to be this person in particular, maybe that actually made sense in a very particular way.

“That was not my point; I am merely stating that what you are seeking is impossible. Golden Darkness, by her very nature, cannot achieve a peaceful life; she was not made with that purpose in mind. She is a weapon. She knows her true nature better than anyone, yet here she is, trying to run away from a fate she knows cannot be changed. Sooner or later, her true purpose will resurface, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.”

He did not provide her with an immediate answer, merely looking back with a peculiar expression she could not put into words. “…I'll take my chances.”

“You are far too stubborn for your own good, Emi.”

The grip on his weapon tightened. "If you've been observing me for as long as you implied, then you would already know that I made that aspect of myself very apparent a long time ago.”

“Hmph, that you have.” With a scoff similar to his earlier one, Nemesis practically saw the next movement that came in the form of him throwing his weapon at her. The black blade was spinning in the air, creating an arc heading straight for her head, which she did not even bother to dodge or evade, knowing its properties. She opened another of her portals that were intended to throw the weapon right back at him.

But at that moment, that weapon simply broke apart by itself and disappeared into shards of light. “Oh?” Rather than just go for the same tactic as earlier, his figure blurred for a short moment, with great speed closing the distance from them from a different angle. Dodging and jumping back to evade her own dark matter weapons, his movements were suddenly more fluid than before, and so was his prediction of her attacks.

‘He already memorized my pattern, huh? That was quick.’

The distance between them was less than a handful of meters, and both stared at each other with one grinning while the other one remained focused. His raised left hand holding the white sword was coming slashing horizontally, a mistake since it would just pass through like before.

Yet that outcome never happened, for just like the other weapon, it vanished right as it was about to cut across her body.

‘Huh?’ Looking at his now empty hand that still remained closed from the place where the handle would have been, Nemesis grew confused about his tactics…

“Ah!?”

Only for the woman failing to spot his other hand quietly shining a faint light where a golden spear had appeared. Hidden by his form and only visible at the very last moment when she spotted a strange glint headed straight for her chest.

The moment the spear pierced her heart, something immediately felt wrong, and Nemesis acted swiftly, her appearance changing right before his eyes and taking a new shape with long brown hair, with much of it tied on top, making it look like a pineapple. Her skin changed to a lighter tone, her eye turning golden-brown — becoming a face that caused Emiya to freeze in place, growing pale with a moment of pure horror flashing across his face.

His irises, shrinking to a pinpoint. Trembling and unsteady.

The world felt like it had come to a complete standstill.

“—!”

And at that moment, that sensation of something going terribly awry grew tenfold for a split second in a way she could not make sense of; goosebumps spreading across Nemesis’ skin.

‘Not good, I went too far. Something's off.’

Trusting her instincts, she acted quickly, her body morphing again and taking the same form as her original self. But with a few key differences, specifically her black hair turning pure white, a hint of silver now present in those golden brown orbs, and her body matured into that of a woman in her early-twenties or late teens — just a little older than the man in front of her. Admittedly, with very toned muscles and some shapely hips and breasts.

Nemesis now looked exactly the same as he did during the incident involving the gender-changing ray gun, though a bit older.

“Just kidding~!” she said, feeling the strange dread from earlier disperse greatly, though not entirely. “Now I look more like a big sister, don't I? We'll talk more later, my dear little brother.” Grabbing onto Emiya directly with a dark fog engulfing him and forcefully chucking the latter into the portal, leading him back to his house.

He did not even resist.

The second exchange had lasted merely seconds, yet turned out to be the most impactful one to date. She looked downwards and pulled the weapon out of her body. Just like before, no blood was present, yet her eyebrows furrowed when the gaping hole took longer to close than it should have. Persisting bit by bit, it stitched itself back up.

As much as she wanted to keep the conversation going, to draw more out of him and learn what kind of person was behind that stern expression, she had a more urgent priority. Mea’s condition weighed far heavier than her curiosity ever could.

On the other side of another portal she opened a few seconds later, Nemesis arrived inside the luxurious room she had borrowed for the night. It had been chosen on a whim, simply because she felt like staying somewhere comfortable after a long day. The sight waiting for her was that of Mea still lying crumpled on the bed where she had been tossed earlier, still unconscious. Her skin had turned ghostly pale, and her hands shook in small but uncontrollable tremors, a type of reaction she had never shown before, even in the worst situations involving life and death missions.

“Strange.”

Several minutes passed before Mea’s eyes slowly opened. Her first response was not to speak, greet her, or even acknowledge the change in scenery. Instead, she rolled to the edge of the bed and vomited onto the soft carpet, which made Nemesis frown.

“I really like that carpet,” she muttered while placing a lollipop between her lips, her eyes never leaving the redhead. Mea continued to retch, hyperventilate, and sway weakly back and forth, her mind still caught somewhere between shock and disorientation. She remained that way until several minutes passed and the chaos inside her settled enough for her to sit upright.

Her breathing stayed unsteady for a while, and all the while, Nemesis only waited, observing her with calm and sharp curiosity.

When she judged that the redhead was stable enough, she finally spoke.

“What did you see?” Her tone shifted from curious to strict. Not many things were capable of rattling someone like Mea. She had witnessed blood and violence across more worlds than most people could imagine, read the memories of tyrants, murderers, soldiers, and other people whose minds were darker than any nightmare. Nothing had ever made her react like this, which only deepened her curiosity.

“…S-Swords.” That was all Mea said at first, the word leaving her mouth after several silent seconds. The answer surprised Nemesis, mostly because it did not match anything she had expected.

“Swords? Is that seriously all?”

“T-There was fire and… and… this little boy walking through some ruins. And… a-and then… then… too much…” Her words barely made sense except for the boy part.

“Too much?”

Mea nodded with a pained grimace, “Too much. My head felt like it was about to explode…”

The more the girl tried to describe whatever she had seen in their brother’s mind, the more confused and uncertain Nemesis became.

‘You really are a curious case, Emi.’

{Break}

(Next morning)

The sun rose not long after, and the usual routine began for the Yuuki siblings and the alien sisters. It would soon be time to depart for school, though Emiya did not want Mikan to go alone after everything that happened yesterday… having not been able to even close his eyes for a brief moment, where he genuinely felt a moment of pure dread. He even considered making her stay home for a day or two, just to make sure she remained safe.

Yet she refused his every suggestion. Mikan insisted that she would be better off surrounded by students her age rather than remaining stuck at home alone or inside Sainan High, and she stood firm on that point without wavering.

As for his confrontation against Nemesis, it turned out no one even heard the sound of the window shattering except for Celine, who actually tried to intervene during the fight when he was thrown outside. Thankfully, he managed to keep her from getting involved, with Nemesis not noticing the Plantas child.

“You can't seriously expect me to stay home forever or always have someone constantly monitoring me. I agree that what happened yesterday was unexpected, but I doubt it would occur again, so best you let this matter drop and go about your day as usual,” his sister advised him that morning while he stood in the hallway trying to piece together what to do next.

Emiya could not understand why Nemesis’s companion had gone after her if he and Yami were their goal. What did they hope to gain? Or were their actions driven by malice or something else entirely? Even without clear answers, he felt uneasy leaving things unresolved and believed it would be safer if Yami stayed close to her.

He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out, Mikan swung her bag over her shoulder and stepped past him. “Did you know she was actually looking forward to becoming a student like you and everyone else in this house? Fine, I'll accept having her accompany me on my walk to school, but that's all. You're the one who pushed her toward having a normal life instead of being an assassin. Don't tell me you're backing out now and trying to turn her job into a permanent bodyguard. That would be very contradictory of you. Right, Shirou?”

The front door clicked shut behind her. Emiya let out a slow breath, his expression tightening with guilt he could not quite hide.

“…Damn it.’

“She got you there,” Rito commented casually, still chewing his breakfast as though nothing unusual had just occurred.

“What would you have done in my place then?” Emiya asked, genuinely wanting an answer. Rito paused, thought about it, then shrugged.

“Hm? Me? Uh… I would have given her every option and let her pick. Besides, she kind of had a point. If whoever showed up yesterday really had hostile intentions, they would have acted already. They could have grabbed her or attacked the moment she was alone, but they didn't. And now that same girl suddenly appeared in your room and fainted for no reason? Something about all this is off.”

As much as he wanted to deny that, he could not; the boy had a point.

“You don't have to tell me. Everything about this situation is messy.” The more he thought about their last conversation, the more it seemed like she had only been taunting him through Mikan. Neither of them had shown a genuine desire to harm anyone.

Aside from the prince, Nemesis killed, of course.

‘Why bother to even approach my family if their target is Yami? But if that was the case, the timing made no sense. She left too many questions and not one solid clue.’

“I already gave Zastin her description. He promised he would contact you as soon as they find even a trace of her,” Momo said from the far end of the table, watching him with a worried expression. “Are you sure you don't want to go to Ryouko for a check-up? They could have done something to you without you noticing.”

“Doesn't seem like it. I already examined myself and found nothing strange. She just fainted.” He rubbed the side of his head, replaying the event again before the brief confrontation. He remembered drifting into a dream that felt like pieces of his past quietly resurfacing the way they often did. Then the dream dissolved when a faint, unfamiliar sound reached his ears. When he opened his eyes, Nemesis had already been there.

“Don't worry, Shirou. Tonight I'll install all kinds of security gadgets in your room! From now on, I'll sleep with you every night so nothing gets to you again!” Lala declared with bright enthusiasm. She had been at the top of the list of people shocked by the unexpected intrusion and immediately began designing new methods to strengthen the house’s protection. “Maybe I should leave Peke with you…”

“W-What are you saying, Lala-sama!? I can't protect this person! I'm the one who will need to be saved from danger!”

“It's alright, you'll just be like those emergency secret gadgets from those detective movies, where, upon activation, you send me an alert signal! It'll be cool!”

“Lala-sama…”

“It would be best for Peke to remain with you, Lala,” he replied, pitying the robot and also not wanting to hear it ramble all night long. “Regardless, I doubt this was the last we’ll see of them. Still, you should all stay cautious. There is no telling when something else will happen.”

Breakfast wrapped up soon after, and everyone began gathering their things to leave for school. He moved more slowly than the rest, his thoughts caught between questions that refused to settle.

Despite everything he had seen over the conclusion of yesterday's events, he could not fully predict how the students would behave after what they learned about Lala's identity. He expected panic or even fear. He’d be surprised if at least a few students didn’t want to keep their distance.

Yet… when he’d returned to the school yesterday to check on Rito after confirming Mikan’s condition, he’d found an entirely different reaction. Most of the students had brushed off the entire incident. Their attention had gone straight to making outrageous bets about who would win in a competition between Saki and Lala in a beauty contest, as though potential danger mattered far less than their everyday teenage chaos.

If today played out the same way, then maybe he had less to worry about than he thought. Maybe this strange, unpredictable mindset people had in this world worked in his favor. It was bizarre to be sure, but perhaps it was one of the few advantages he could rely on for now.

He adjusted his bag, stepped out of the doorway, and followed the others down the path in silence.

"Speaking of which, Mom sent a message early this morning. She said she'll be a bit late making it home for Christmas," Rito said on their way to school, his words earning a long and tired sigh from the redhead walking beside him with some strands turning white.

Oh, right, those two… he completely forgot about that. "Hah, I even made sure to inform her several weeks in advance, and she still does this."

Rito panicked and quickly waved his hand while stuttering. "I-It's alright! She mentioned that one of the biggest models in the world recently accepted a job offer from her, and it was not an opportunity she could ignore!"

"I guess she is looking forward to that more than spending time with her children," he said in a dry tone. The offhand thought he had earlier about dragging both parents here himself unexpectedly felt more reasonable with every step they took. Especially with Lala by his side, asking for a teleportation device could actually come in handy, provided it did not malfunction, of course.

"She did not say she was going to be late for certain. She only said it was a possibility. Who knows, she might arrive in time after all," Rito continued.

"At least you are optimistic. I will do my best to be the same, so long as she doesn’t disappoint," Emiya replied without much conviction. "At least Saibai will certainly be present. He already finished everything before his deadline for once. Though I notice he’s still living at the studio."

“Yeah, Dad’s decided to take advantage of the extra time and is getting started on the next volume ahead of schedule.”

“…”

Whether Christmas would be celebrated with or without both Yuuki family parents, he had no intention of changing anything about their holiday preparation. He had never put much faith in either of them showing up for any events in the first place, so nothing had truly shifted in his plans. The only real difference this year was the number of additional people who would be present, which made the entire situation much livelier than usual. In a quiet way, that was enough to count as a victory.

The group eventually reached the school grounds as more students gathered in the courtyard. Emiya noticed how nearly every curious eye drifted toward Lala and her sisters. He did not fault anyone for staring, since the trio stood out naturally with their unusual hair colors and bright expressions, and now, with their identity as alien royalty exposed, it just made it worse.

Virtually no attention was paid to him, which made sense from a distance. When someone was standing next to three beautiful alien princesses, he would never be the one to stand out.

"Lala! Momo! Nana!" The cheerful shout came from none other than Risa, the brunette waving both arms as she jogged toward them, her steps light and energetic.

"Risa! How's it going!" Lala returned the greeting with the same cheerful exuberance, her voice carrying across the courtyard. The twins followed with their own greetings, quieter but still warm enough to match the energy.

"Hey, hey, did you know that after the renovation, Saki made the school pool way bigger and added a proper diving board! The gates are open, and a bunch of students are trying it out before the teachers notice!"

"Really!? I want to try that!"

"Then come on! What are you waiting for? We still have almost a full hour left before class starts!" Risa grabbed all three of them without hesitation, pulling Lala and the twins with the same bold confidence she always carried. Before she fully disappeared from sight with the trio, she glanced back over her shoulder. Her eyes met his, and she gave him a quick wink.

“…”

He blinked, caught off guard by the silent gesture, but a small smile found its way onto his face. He knew exactly what she intended. By pulling the alien sisters into something fun and casual, she removed any chance of a tense atmosphere spreading among the other students. If the core friend group acted normally, the rest of the school might just follow their lead. Already, many of the earlier stares had faded. The courtyard felt like it had returned to its usual atmosphere.

Unfortunately for him, this return to normal only lasted a few steps before someone else moved directly into his path and blocked his way.

Looking down, he greeted the interloper.

"Rin."

"Yuuki Emiya Shirou."

He rolled his eyes, having given up any hope of her addressing him like a normal person. "Now, what do I owe this pleasant meeting for? The start of classes may be some time off, but I do have things to do and ways in which I’d like to spend my time."

"Saki-sama wants to speak to you."

Of course she did…

“Not exactly the best time right now.” He tried to walk past, only to have his path blocked by the girl who raised her hand in a halting gesture while holding her sword.

“You conveniently forgot to mention matters concerning your… engagement with Lala.”

What a scary smile. Rin was not one to smile so widely, almost making her look like she wanted to murder him — which, judging from the killing intent, might well be the case.

“Did I not? Pretty sure I did.”

“You told me of your magic,” she corrected almost immediately, without missing a beat with the driest tone imaginable. “But not your engagement. Were you hiding it from me?”

“Pretty sure I was more preoccupied with the thought of keeping you safe from Gid at the time rather than wanting to go into detail about this fiancé candidate business. Which, might I add, in my defence, was mostly to keep Lala and the planet safe and to avoid more aliens like the one from yesterday from swarming Earth,” he explained quickly, not sure why he even needed to feel guilty about this in the first place. “Her father has made it abundantly clear that if I fail to maintain my status as Lala’s fiancé, he’ll blow up Earth.”

“…So you did not ask Lala's hand in marriage because you love her, but because you were unjustly forced into this affair by a tyrannical emperor without even taking your thoughts and feelings into consideration. Purposefully pushing you into a life of danger where you need to constantly protect yourself, Lala, and your very world from external alien threats while also keeping your powers a secret from the general public because you fear having such knowledge bring more misfortune upon everyone in Sainan and further ruin the peaceful life you sought to create? All in all this means you are tied to Lala but only on paper, that you do not love her and if you were to find someone you do love and wish to be with for the rest of your life, you will be more than willing to part ways with her and start a romantic life together with a minimum of three children, preferably far more. This, on top of taking on the responsibility of managing a large fortune and estate spanning across the entire world, and also taking control of a business empire without running it to the ground, while also staying completely loyal to your wife until death do you part, assuming the technology to achieve immortality has… Next card, please. —not been created yet, but may be possible if aliens have such a thing?”

“…”

He barely caught half of what she said at a rapid tone without any change in her emotions. He’d decided to tune her out mid-speech and just stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to finish. Not missing the fact that her eyes were moving in a way that clearly indicated that she was, in fact, reading from a prompt card, most likely held by a certain bespectacled girl hiding behind him, with a blonde heiress also fidgeting nervously in place.

Saying yes or no, neither felt like a safe answer. Also, he was pretty sure she mentioned something about inheriting some fortune and something about immorality. Whatever it was, best to just smile and take several slow steps away from the swordswoman.

“Walking away?” she said, turning on her phone and showing him a particular image of a woman whose appearance greatly resembled his. One that had been taken while that person was distracted, talking to Ryouko… it was his picture. “I might not delete this if you insist on fleeing.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

“No, I won't share it. It's my secret to keep,” she answered with pride, of all things. “But knowing you, having this deleted even if it were to remain private would mean a great deal.”

“It doesn't, I can just walk away.”

She narrowed her eyes in a challenge. “Then do it.”

“…”

He couldn't. All evidence of that cursed period of his life needed to be burned, leaving no trace behind.

“Alright, yes, I am Lala's fiancé, mostly to keep her and by extension the very planet safe, as I said earlier. I did not propose to Lala out of love; in fact, I never intended to propose in the first place. And if in the future I do end up finding someone that I like romantically that is not Lala, then yes, I would prefer to go with whoever that person may be.” He said it loud enough for the two people behind him to hear.

And as he hoped, someone finally came out of the foliage.

“Ha! I knew it! That idiot hussy was lying to me!” Saki shouted, her hair covered in leaves, while she screamed confidently. “Hohohoho! Rejoice, dearest Emiya, I have heard your plea and have taken upon myself to save you from this predicament and finally repay this years-long debt of mine towards you!”

“I wasn't exactly pleading but… yeah, sure, go for it.” Best to just go along with the conversation. Knowing Saki, she would be far too stubborn to even register his words if he gave a negative response. Or she might try another, more extreme tactic that would land her in trouble.

“Then that settles it. Emiya, I have the perfect solution for your predicament!” Saki declared boldly, making him smirk slightly in amusement, curious to know just what this girl had come up with that he hadn't. And he immediately got an idea upon seeing how red her face started to become with Aya starting to encourage her again and again. Massaging her shoulders as if she was stepping into a boxing ring to take on the world champion, even pumping her up like some hype woman.

All the while, he crossed his arms and waited patiently next to Rin, who watched on with eyes that conveyed her support to the young heiress.

“I take it you're the one who suggested this idea to her, right?”

Rin flinched and swiftly looked away, “I-I have no idea what you're talking about!”

“Hm, you really are a bad liar,” he said before approaching Saki while she was holding onto a letter with a heart sticker on it. Saki didn't notice, as she was busy arguing with Aya about whether this was the right moment or not, so stressed that the letter was getting crumpled.

Upon seeing him walking toward her, she froze, especially when he stepped right into her personal space. His thumb and forefinger gently grabbed onto her chin and lifted her face up just enough for their eyes to meet, while her face looked like it wanted to cry and scream, and cheer all at once.

“Easy now, Saki… if you’re going to hand me a confession letter, at least look me in the eyes while you do it.” His thumb brushed her lower lip lightly, his voice dropping just enough to make her breathing hitch. “After all, it’d be a shame if I accepted such a thing without seeing the face of the lovely young lady who’s been thinking about me this much.” He leaned in, close enough that she could feel his warmth. “Though… if you get any redder, I just might mistake it for a very ripe apple, and want a taste.”

“…”

A low thud sounded near the entrance of the school.

Huh, it worked.

“Saki-sama!”

The proud Tenjoin heiress' heartbeat had ascended to a level it had never before, with so much blood rushing to her face that eventually her body could not take it anymore, and she fainted. Fortunately, she was smoothly caught by Aya while Emiya, with the letter in hand, turned to look at Rin staring back at him with her jaw hanging open.

“W-what the hell was that?” she asked while her hands shook so hard she couldn’t even grab her sword.

“Oh, just something I figured would work on her after watching some of Nana’s favourite romance movies. You wouldn’t believe how cheesy some of those lines are. I swear, whoever wrote those scripts has never been on a date with someone who was interested in anything besides his bank account, and she was willing to put up with whatever spewed from his mouth to get it. As for a relationship, tell her when she wakes that I'm grateful for her help, but don't need it right now. I’ve got this handled,” he said while walking past Rin, tapping the letter on her head lightly. “It's best she does not get too involved, for her own safety. I can't protect everyone. So I'm leaving her protection to you as usual; the last thing you'd want is for her to get involved with aliens. Trust me when I say they are willing to kill to get what they want, or they might even want her as a prize.”

With that matter dealt with and there still being some time left until class started, Emiya decided to go somewhere quiet.

.

.

.

(A few minutes later)

“Yes, please rest assured, we have gotten the details from Momo and have taken it upon ourselves to scour the entirety of the globe to find these people! You can count on us, Emiya-sama!”

While walking up the stairs, Zastin’s voice echoed loudly from the other end of the phone call he was on, as the clumsy bodyguard had been given the task of finding both Nemesis and Mea.

“Just inform me the moment you find them. Don't try to do anything funny like engaging them in combat. I trust your combat skills, but they are not easy opponents in their own right,” he warned while pushing open the door leading to the rooftop.

The first thing that came to his attention was another student who was there before him. But more than that was her long red hair stretching all the way from her head to the floor, tied up in a braid. His expression froze while Zastin continued to speak rather loudly over the phone.

“You do not need to worry about anything! We made sure to investigate every single patch of soil at the school and the neighbourhood in general, and found not a trace of the enemy. They must have gotten scared and retreated back to their base, somewhere outside of town, most definitely! My instincts have never failed me! You can trust me!” He said, but Emiya was no longer paying any attention, closing his phone and the door behind him.

Both parties stood there quietly. Time continued to pass by, and seconds turned into minutes, yet the person in front of him did not move or say a thing, but instead continued to stare blankly ahead. He was starting to question if she even realised he was there, and decided to take the risk and walk over.

“Quite bold of you to come to this place, knowing that I would find you after pulling that stunt last night. Anything to say for yourself? Especially as to why you decided to approach my little sister?” he asked calmly, not wanting this to end up in another battle if possible. But once more, he got no answer whatsoever from the girl who just kept staring ahead with a blank expression. This went on for long enough that he was actually starting to wonder if there was something wrong with her.

“Hey, you ok?” he asked while waving his hand in front of her face.

“Ah!”

Thankfully, that finally got a reaction out of her, one that surprised her so much that she actually lost her balance and fell back onto her butt. Her eyes refocused on the here and now, and she stared up at him as she raised her finger and pointed at him.

“E-Emiya…? Counter… Counter? What? Um… Shirou… t-that… There was this grail… uh? Then this sword… Sakura? Eh? Who's Sakura?” She started mumbling without making any sense, saying words and names that only he would have any context for, while also looking like she herself did not know what they meant or who they referred to.

This went on for quite a while, long enough that his previous caution and slight hostility ended up fizzling away and were now replaced with genuine concern. He recalled meeting this girl somewhere else before, back when he didn’t know who she truly was, and he figured it would be best to get her mind off of whatever she was thinking about. So with a can of cold sweet tea purchased from the nearest vending machine, he brought it close to her face and gently tapped her forehead with it.

“Ah!”

The cold sensation of the metal against her skin ended up being a shock big enough to bring the girl back to the real world, and for clarity to find me return to her eyes. Looking back at him as he held out the beverage towards her with a visibly confused and concerned expression on his face.

“Hope my guess is wrong, but you appear to have learned about things that you shouldn't have, somehow. Now that's a mess.”

{Break}

-Sainan High Infirmary-

Standing in the middle of the infirmary, Yami stood with a steady posture and gave a quiet nod at Mikado Ryouko’s question after dropping Mikan off. She had made a brief stop to check on Celine before making her way here, wanting to be certain she was arriving in time for her first day at school. The nurse already understood Yami’s intentions without any need for explanation and welcomed her with a calm, professional smile that softened the atmosphere of the room.

“I think that is a good step forward. It would have gotten boring if you spent the whole day wandering the city while everyone else stayed on school grounds. Plus, it gives you a chance to make more friends and to get used to your life on Earth.”

“It is fine. I did not choose to be here just to make friends.”

“Well, even if you say that, I would still recommend you try and socialize more with some of the students. Sure, they may be quite an eccentric bunch, but overall, they are good people. Both Lala and her sisters have already made plenty of connections, and not a day goes by that I do not see all the girls Emiya is close to talking quite amicably with others.”

“I’m not like them.” She said it without hesitation. The princesses and these humans were individuals who stood on the opposite end of her world. They had never spent a single day the way she had lived, and their experiences all moved in a completely different direction. Expecting herself to match their ease and warmth after everything she endured felt impossible. Their paths were too different, their upbringing too distant for her to mimic their effortless way of interacting with others.

“Doctor, about Tearju…” Even without finishing the sentence, the brunette already knew where her thoughts were heading and offered a small, gentle smile.

“Were you looking to meet her?”

“I don’t know. I was just curious.”

“Well, I can tell you that she has been looking forward to seeing you ever since she arrived. But you know how she can be. That woman is awkward at the best of times and tends to overthink every detail. Even after her last conversation with Emiya, she is still hesitating to show her face around you. If she continues to be stubborn, then I will drag her here myself. Not to mention that the woman has been lounging around my place all day without doing any kind of work. Before she turns into a complete slob, I would rather give her a job here. You might get more chances to see her then.”

“Understood.” She did not have a strong opinion on the matter. While a part of her felt a faint pull toward meeting someone from her past whom she had once believed to be dead, the feeling was muted. There was no burning desire or heavy emotion pushing her toward that meeting. She was content with things as they were and did not intend to force a change through any outside circumstance.

“Alright, before you go and get changed into a uniform and get introduced to your class, I just need you to fill out these forms and choose what name you want to go with. Do not worry about the formalities. Knowing the principal, I only need to flash him a smile, and he will accept having you join the school in a matter of seconds, if that. So we might as well get started.” She pushed the form gently across the desk toward the blonde former assassin, who nodded and began filling in the blank spaces with careful strokes.

She hesitated for a moment before writing her details. The room fell into a quiet rhythm of a pen scratching paper, periodically broken by papers rustling lightly and the faint hum of the ventilation filled the space. A few minutes passed in silence until Yami’s hand stopped upon reaching the section that asked whether she had any siblings. A wave of uncertainty wrapped around her as she stared at the empty space.

In the past, she would have simply left it blank or crossed it out without giving it a second thought. But now, two faces drifted into her mind, both appearing with a clarity she could not dismiss. One was the familiar redhead who had grown close to her, and the other was… him.

There was no real proof connecting her to him. They did not share any physical resemblance, and nothing about their backgrounds matched. Someone could stare hard enough and claim their abilities were vaguely similar, but even that comparison felt paper-thin. Yet the events of the last few days had planted something in her mind that she could not bring herself to dismiss. After confronting Mea and facing the truth she had run from, the seeds of doubt had taken root deep within her thoughts. Those doubts had only grown stronger, lingering no matter how she tried to brush them aside.

She eventually finished the form and handed it back to Ryouko. The brunette scanned the paper, but then her eyes widened with an immediate flash of surprise before lifting her gaze to the girl seated in front of her.

“Are you sure this is what you want to go with?”

“I asked him this morning. He told me he did not see any issues with it and that it would be easier to fill out the official forms and get me registered. Also, I thought about it too; the name Golden Darkness is bound to attract trouble if I'm not careful. I'm already dealing with one of them lately. I don't want more of them to appear.”

The woman started massaging her temples. “Hah, that boy… he is overthinking things again for no reason. Or maybe he is doing it intentionally? It is always hard to figure out what goes on in that head of his. In any case, sure, we will go with this. If this is what you want.”

Ryouko set the papers aside with a small nod, while Yami remained still, her expression composed.

“Alright, that should be all. You can go to class and just tell the teacher that you were assigned there as a new student. It should be class 1-B. You may see some familiar faces there, and the teacher is pretty nice.”

“Okay.” Wasting no time, Yami got up from the chair and walked outside the infirmary, only to find an enormous group of students leaving the room right next door. All of them, weirdly enough, were wearing shirts that were not the standard uniform, holding banners that all had the same drawings that depicted Emiya, but with a large cross over his face, and wearing headbands with the kanji for ‘brothers in arms’ stitched onto them.

“Alright then, don't forget that the next meeting is in four days. Be sure that you all bring enough money for the club room renovation as well!” The last one to leave the room also happened to be the only girl amongst the group of boys. She had dark hair styled into twintails and wore a pair of glasses.

“Oh? A newcomer?” the girl asked upon noticing Yami, immediately grabbing the armband that had ‘leader’ written on it before tossing it into the room and shutting the door.

“I'm looking for class 1-B.”

Not interested in whatever was going on with this group, Yami just ignored whatever they were up to and asked for directions, which the young girl happily gave. But for some reason, on their way there, she kept trying to get behind her, and Yami would get a bad feeling before changing her pace or trying to stand right beside the strange woman.

Arriving in class, she definitely saw some familiar faces, namely one of the twin alien princesses, being called for attendance. She grabbed a chalk before the teacher even asked her about her name. Scribbling on the whiteboard so that everyone could see it.

She heard some gasps, but ignored them.

Finally, after she had finished writing across the whole whiteboard, she turned around and introduced herself for all in the classroom to hear.

“Hello, my name is Yuuki Emi-... Yuuki Eve… but you can just call me Yami. I will be attending this class from now on. Please take care of me.”

An Archer's Promise Chapter 79: An Assistant?

Beta read by Gamercrusher55 and Shigiya

My Teenage Romance Highschool Comedy Can't be This Perverted! Chapter 108

Beta read by Shigiya

Next update is An Archer's Promise

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-Kuoh Outskirts, near Himejima Shrine-

What was pain?

I used to think I understood that word, shaped by the usual combination of physical hits and the silent mental punches that came with everything I had lived through. There had been enough messed-up events and questionable people to fill an entire anthology of bad decisions, each one more than willing to act as an enthusiastic instructor. Some tried to kill me, some nearly succeeded, and some made me wish they had just finished the job. Yet none of them ended up claiming the title of the worst, though my encounter with Setanta really came close to being that.

Regardless, it was the ones who genuinely wanted to keep me alive who managed to deliver the kind of agony that dragged itself out for hours, twisting every breath I took into a reminder that they could keep this going for as long as they wanted. Nothing I said or did could compensate for the moments when my sanity slid dangerously close to the edge. Or maybe that edge had already been crossed a long time ago, and had been in constant free fall, still waiting to hit the ground, which was something even Vritra and I had reluctantly agreed on during one of our shared internal debates.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Running.

Exercise. The natural nemesis for logical thinkers that prefer to send their troops to the fighting instead of themselves. Even without Akeno floating somewhere directly above me, ready to drop a lightning bolt whenever I slowed down, I still hated every part of it. The burning in my lungs, the stiffness in my legs, the constant reminder that I was not built for endurance. “Keep running! You are doing a good job! At this rate, we can double your weight by tomorrow!” The training-obsessed devil who had decided to remake my life in the image of a torture manual shouted cheerfully beside me. His voice carried across the field while he ran alongside me as if this were nothing more than a light morning jog. Except I was dragging two car tires behind me, and he was dragging an actual car. A full car. With doors. And seats. And probably a working radio.

“Hah.. I… hah… *gasp* I’ve re-reached my limits. Ju-Just leave me here to-to die..” The words came out strained and muffled as my legs continued their honest attempt at escape from my body.

“Nonsense! I can still see the fire within you burning for more!” he shouted, completely sincere. Fire? Maybe. More specifically, how my lungs felt like they were on fire at the moment and a fire that wanted vengeance for ever agreeing to this torture. My tiny spark of rebellion faded the moment I remembered I had willingly asked him to help me train and therefore had no right to strangle anyone but my past self for this predicament.

“Why couldn’t I be the main character who becomes ten times stronger after using one technique? At least it’ll make all of the cons that comes with worth it,” I muttered under my breath. I thought about Issei and his Boosted Gear, silently cursing the universe for lacking such convenient shortcuts.

“You are in this situation because of those shortcuts with your gear; actually consistent strength that will never be taken away from you does not work like that.”

As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. “You know, I was expecting our sessions to be more than just running, dodging things, and lifting things. Because so far, I don't feel any difference in my touki usage.” At least with Kuroka, that woman kept forcing her energy into my body, making me feel like an inflated balloon before each run, and eventually that energy fizzled away. Even if it involved the horny cat siscon smothering me in her tits, while giving a bullshit excuse that she needed to be ‘as close as possible nya~’. Koneko, on the other hand, was having a true anime training arc; given the last time I saw her, she was sitting beneath a waterfall and meditating with a cute expression of concentration on her face.

From afar, it seemed like a zen-like scene. Still, the moment I tried for just a brief moment, it nearly led to the sheer weight of the water crashing onto my weak, fleshly body., How that girl could just sit there so peacefully under so much pressure, or something that even I could not imagine.

“To bring improvements, our goal is to break down your body and rebuild it from the ground up,” Sairaorg answered cheerfully. “You have endurance, lots of it, and can walk away after several meetings without giving up. But this is not a competition to see who can stay conscious the longest. There needs to be a proper progression, and with Touki, that means needing to refine your basics till they are perfect.”

“Well, I am rather curious about what exactly you mean by breakdown of my body. Because I sure as hell feel like I've been broken down enough since these past few days.” I replied dryly while huffing. Literally hundreds of my bones had been broken and healed back up to the point that I discovered places that could hurt that I never even knew about.

“Hahaha! There's no need to worry, this is just the beginning!”

I was gonna die.

“All right, I'm joking. You have made progress, but you just don't realize it yourself. It will all become clear in our next sparring session. Let's have a ten-minute break, then we can continue where we left off,” he said, tapping my back with enough force that it felt like I was about to be flung ahead.

“Make it an hour.”

“Fifteen minutes.” His response was immediate and smug, and I refused to let that be the final offer.

“Thirty minutes. I have no energy left. I can’t teleport to the washroom, so I’ll need to walk back.”

“If it's for number one, then you can do it many places, and if it's number two, then just dig a hole.” I nearly stumbled on the ground after hearing that part, my reaction only drawing a louder laughter from the man until he just waved his hands dismissively. “Again, just messing with you. Let’s have a forty-minute break.”

“You’re an angel.”

“Far from it, actually,” he replied with a lopsided grin before continuing his run. The car scraped long grooves into the ground behind him while he moved effortlessly, as if gravity itself refused to argue with him. My legs finally gave out, and I collapsed onto the dirt with a thud that felt louder than it should have been. I stared up at the branches above me while sunlight filtered through the leaves in scattered lines, warming my face just enough to give me a tiny moment of peace. Bit by bit, my eyes drifted closed as the exhaustion I had been ignoring finally caught me, dragging me into a brief and strangely quiet rest.

“—?”

When I felt myself being lightly nudged, I opened my eyes to find a slim hand next to my face, brushing gently against my cheek. The ground that had been pressing uncomfortably against the back of my head moments before had somehow turned into something warm and cushion-soft. It took me a second to realize that I was lying on someone. But rather at some point, a certain Seraph managed to gently have my head rest on her thighs with the soft fabric doing very little to mask the warmth exuding from her body. She sat serenely above me, twelve wings spreading behind her with a soft glow that made the clearing look far more peaceful than it actually was.

“Had a nice dream?” she asked, her voice carrying that caring tone she always had. Now this was an angel… literally.

I let out a low chuckle that came out rougher than expected. “The best kind. The kind that is nothing but darkness to rest my eyes, where I barely get enough time to enjoy it before real life drags me back awake again. But… this is not so bad.”

Then again, the first thing I ended up seeing was the face of an angel, so waking up was not such a terrible outcome after all. I found myself muttering that under my breath while the woman in front of me let out a soft chuckle. Truthfully, I was too drained to feel awkward about whatever was unfolding between us after that kiss. My thoughts drifted constantly, so I simply let it go and relaxed into the softest thigh pillows in existence. For many people, something like this would probably count as a holy grail moment, and I could not exactly disagree.

"Is this uncomfortable for you?" I asked after several seconds of quiet, trying not to shift too much. "I am covered in dirt, my hair is probably sweaty by now, and you are sitting on the ground. It cannot be good for your knees."

Even as I continued enjoying the moment, the woman behind me only shook her head without the slightest hesitation.

"I do not mind getting dirty," she said, and for a second I had to steady my thoughts. If I was more of a degenerate, I would've interpreted those words into something more lewd, but refused to sink that low. There was absolutely no way she intended anything other than what she meant. She was honest to a fault, and sometimes that bordered on dangerous.

"Thanks for coming to see me, but honestly, there was no need," I muttered, feeling the warmth of the situation settle over me. It had been a long few days, and comfort like this felt rare.

"I need to cheer you on!" she replied, letting out a motivated huff that contrasted with her gentle expression. Even going so far as to do a cute little huff. "You have been doing so much lately, and I feel bad staying behind without contributing…"

"I am pretty sure you have a class to teach. The students must be missing their favorite teacher."

"It is fine. I can always ask Griselda to substitute for me, and it should work out. She is a much better teacher than I am, and the students will probably learn more under her anyway. Oh! Maybe Michael can help; he used to teach us back when Father first gave us life. We were born with knowledge, but Michael was the one to guide us on how to use them and understand the world along with its rules — he would make an excellent teacher."

That was what she said, aside from the Michael part, I couldn't help but ponder about Griselda. Based on everything I had heard from Xenovia, calling Griselda strict was putting it lightly. I had met her once, even if only briefly, and she left an impression strong enough to last for weeks. She carried an air that made you straighten your spine before you even noticed her doing anything.

"Have you started seeing any kind of progression?" she asked. Her fingers continued to move through my hair, brushing away small pieces of dust and smoothing out the strands.

"If by progression you mean getting better at not dying and avoiding Sairaorg as much as possible, then yes, I have improved my stealth quite a bit. But strength and stamina-wise, nothing much has changed. I already reached my physical peak, and my touki is not going to advance by huge leaps in just a few days."

I could not deny that I had at least two of the top ten teachers when it came to touki. Kuroka carried the recognition of a master senjutsu user, specializing in both senjutsu and touki, and Sairaorg was a monster even when relying only on his own ability and demonic energy. Their talents and species played an undeniable role in the height they had reached, but I knew that those were excuses more than anything. What I truly lacked was time, and there existed no cheat or shortcut that could close that gap in such a short period.

Before I could continue sorting out those thoughts, a quiet sound slipped from my mouth. I had not realized it until it happened, but warmth spread through

"You have your own version of Twilight healing? "

"I wouldn't really call it Twilight healing since it would still need a long while to close wounds. But this rejuvenates the mind and removes any mental fatigue. I never used it much in the past, but now it's as good an opportunity as any to give it a try." Her voice carried a quiet enthusiasm that felt unusual for her, yet I had to admit it was genuinely helpful. All the dread, stress, and heavy exhaustion I had been carrying around, both mentally and physically, began to disappear. The former softened first, slowly washing out of me like warm water running through cold fingers. The longer she continued, the easier it became to breathe, until it felt almost as if I had woken up from a full night’s rest rather than the scattered fragments of sleep I normally managed.

"Thanks, Gabriel."

"This is just the beginning. I brought everything necessary to make sure you feel your best. Now that we've dealt with your mental fatigue, it's time for your physical."

With a snap of her fingers, a soft thud sounded beside me. Curious, I turned and stared at an inflated plastic water bed resting neatly on a carpet that had not been there a moment ago. A box appeared near the blonde woman, and she immediately bent over it, rummaging through the contents as if none of this was even remotely strange.

"Did you actually bring a bed into the middle of a forest just to have a nap? I wouldn't mind that honestly, but this looks too… familiar." The shape and texture of it felt wrong for simple sleep. It reminded him of something far less innocent, though he kept that to himself.

"There it is!" she said brightly, pulling out an entire bottle of fragranced oil. She followed it up with several candles and a small black laced bikini that barely counted as clothing.

"Eh? Where's the rest of it? Is this really all that comes with it? Oh, wait! Found the rest!” That did not reassure me. The so-called panties she lifted were nothing more than a pair of attached strings to a triangle that was the size of a Dorito. "Um, I'm not sure how to wear these. This is actually the first time I ever wore a bra. Don't worry, I'll get the hang of it."

For some reason, the no bra part felt the most normal thing to hear in this conversation. "Despite knowing that I might regret asking this, why do you have these and why do you need them?"

"You don't know?" she asked with pure innocence.

"I'm afraid I have an idea but I'm hoping you’ll prove me wrong." A bad feeling crept through him. Maybe he was overthinking. Maybe paranoia was making me see things that were not there. There was no reason someone like her would know about those sorts of things.

"Then I'll take it upon myself to teach you this marvelous ingenuity of human invention. It's called a soap… uh, Mary? No, not that, Muru… Nuru! It's a nuru Nuru massage, I heard they are very popular in Japan!"

My dear not alive God, it’s exactly what I feared!

"Wait, hold on, Gabriel! I feel like you're missing the context of what it involves!" I blurted out, damned if I would just sit by and let such a blinding innocence be tainted by by Japanese degeneracy! As beautiful and attractive as she was, and as much as many people would trade their own mothers for a moment like this, having an angel do something like that felt deeply wrong, along with a guillotine ready to fall on my neck.

"Muh…"

She pouted for a second, cheeks puffing slightly, before she flicked his forehead with a sharp snap. Except when coming from the second strongest being in Heaven, that little snap nearly caused a concussion to a normal human.

“Ouch!”

"You're still treating me like I am a child. I know what it is. Azazel made sure to give me all the materials I needed to learn about the subject properly. "

I froze. Knowing with conviction at that moment in time that I was absolutely going to kill that man. Slowly. Painfully. Wing by wing.

"By the way, he told me to tell you that you don't need to thank him for anything. And that this oil has some special effect that… helps to excite the body or something like. That sounds helpful! Eh, why are you frowning Hachi-kun?”

Frowning? I was mostly just figuring out life and why the hell would Azazel do such a thing. "It's all right. I'm just contemplating how to kill him slowly. Sorry, Gabriel. You might lose another brother by tomorrow.”

It took a moment for me to realize that perhaps my joke came out as a bit too sensitive for the woman. Yet surprisingly enough, she just chuckled. "I don't see why it's so bad. It's something intimate meant for two lovers. We already kissed, so this shouldn’t be an issue. "

"You are taking a giant leap and shortcutted through several bases, including the home base. Don’t believe everything Azazel tells you when it comes to relationships.” The conversation I had with the Governor General came rushing back, making everything more awkward than it should have been. Who in the world exposes their sister to such content!?

"Did he say anything interesting during your conversation?" She asked, cutting into my rambling with a light smile. She held a few suspicious items in her hands, but I decided it was safer to ignore them. I took a slow breath and answered with a calm tone.

"He mentioned how he first fell. The woman he fell in love with and everything that followed. It helped clear up some confusion I had."

"Did you get your answer?"

"I want to think that I did, but the deeper I look, the more messy this entire thing becomes. It is honestly a miracle that it even works with Akeno and Rias."

I did not say it out loud, but my point was clear enough for Gabriel to understand. "Are you afraid it will not work with me, too?"

"I am afraid that you will end up disappointed. The circumstances between me and the other two are not quite the same. We have known each other for more than a decade, and we are familiar with each other's habits. The whole harem idea was originally Akeno's plan, and the rest of us went along with it because it somehow worked out in the end."

"That is wonderful. I am happy to hear that it was thanks to Akeno's help that the three of you managed so well." There was not even a hint of jealousy in her tone. As unbelievable as it sounded, she did not appear angry or sad or even annoyed. It was strange, almost surreal, how expressive she normally was, yet I could not get a read on her emotions here. "You are worried that it will not work out with me joining the harem," she said. Her confidence surprised me, but she was not wrong.

"I am grateful for everything you have done, Gabriel, truly. But I do not see things going smoothly between you and the other two. At some point, there will be jealousy, far more than anyone can reasonably deal with."

"Indeed. I think so as well." She remained on my side, which caught me off guard. "From what I understand, love does not only apply to one person alone. Akeno loves both of you. The same goes for Rias. She loves you two, and you love both of them. The three of you love each other, and that is why it worked."

"I admit it sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud, but that is how things are," I said while nodding slightly.

"I hold great admiration for the two girls. I am proud of what they managed to achieve in pursuit of what they truly love. Even if they are devils and others think they should be our natural enemies, they still chase a kind of freedom we angels may never have." She shifted from her spot and leaned toward me. Her hair brushed against my face, and one hand rested on my chest. The earlier comfort of her lap pillow faded away as she positioned herself beside me on the ground. "I do not see myself joining your harem because even though I admire them, I do not love them."

“I know which is why—”

She looked directly at me as she settled beside my shoulder, continuing without letting me finish. "—But I do see myself continuing to love you. Maybe Father would not have agreed with the way I am approaching this, but I am following what I believe to be his teachings. My love is not for them. It is for you. It is simple, pure, and, unfortunately for me, I do not think I can let go of that anytime soon. If I were ever to fail and turn into a Fallen Angel, it would not come from lust or jealousy. It would come from my own selfishness. Do you not think so?"

I honestly did not know what to say, so I let my attention drift toward her wings. One of the feathers slipped free and drifted down until it landed against my chest. I lifted it with a slow motion, twirling it between my fingers while watching the faint, almost ethereal glow shimmer along its edge. After a moment, I murmured, “I do like how they currently look.”

“I do too,” she answered before lowering her face. Her hands rose with a gentle certainty as she cupped my cheeks, and our lips met. The first contact was nothing more than a chaste kiss, the kind where neither person rushes anything. We simply rested in each other’s presence. Her scent, her warmth, her softness, all of it settled over me in a way I probably appreciated more than I wanted to admit. Maybe it was the exhaustion from training, or maybe I was just searching for an excuse for why it hit so hard. Either way, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

“Hehehe,” she giggled in a goofy tone once our lips parted. Then she let her head rest on my neck, rubbing her face against me with unfiltered affection while her breasts rubbed against my chest. “That felt better than last time. So this is what people mean when they say that showing love with someone you care about feels amazing.”

The more she talked, the harder it became to suppress the urge to chuckle. She was not wrong, and in a way, I agreed with her far more than expected. “Now I want to stay like this forever.” Her twelve wings stretched outward in a slow, sweeping motion. They began to fold around me until I felt the ground drift away. Before I realized it, they formed something like a cocoon, closing off the outside world and leaving the two of us alone inside.

“Father always warned us to never become slaves to our own desires, but now I finally understand how tempting the other side can be. Do you think so as well?” She asked, those things robes, practically making me feel every curve, every single part of her front body.

So with some difficulty, I managed to whisper, “We are not doing anything sinful. This is as innocent as it can be. Your method is on the edge, I will admit, but still nothing extreme.”

“Does this mean that you will accept me?”

“I have a feeling that even if I said no, it would not stop you.”

“Yes,” she replied cheerfully. “Because I know it would be a lie. You should not lie, Hachiman. That is a bad habit.”

“I know. And it also would not stop you from continuing with whatever this is.”

“Not even Michael will be able to stop me. I can tell that he, just like you, is worrying for some silly reason that I will fall. But I know deep in my heart that what I am doing is not a sin and is what Father would have wanted.” What he would have wanted, huh, I wasn't sure about that… letting your daughter date a guy who already had two girlfriends was a guaranteed several shotguns to the face for any other person. But then again, I knew nothing of the late God and trusted Gabriel's judgment on his character.

“I am still confused as to why it is me,” I said. It felt like the second or third time I had asked. I did not remember phrasing it exactly like that before, but I was certain I had asked something similar.

“Because you are you, and I like you. You are a very kind man who cares about others more than you let on.”

“That is debatable, but I’m too tired prove that statement wrong.”

A soft rustle followed, the unmistakable sound of shifting clothes. My eyes twitched a bit as I glanced down at her. “Are you still trying to wear that thing?” I asked when I noticed her holding the tiny white g-string and matching bra. Even if she managed to put it on, it would not hide much of anything.

“I rarely get gifts from Azazel, so I do not want to waste them.”

“You can ignore it. I will handle it. But before anything goes further, I should talk things out with Akeno first.”

“Sure. I do not mind. She can even join us if you are okay with more such moments. My wings are pretty big. Oh! I can do this with you if we lived together; in fact, that is a good idea! I will also be able to protect you!”

I laughed awkwardly and forced a small smile, fully aware of the kind of trouble the raven-haired girl could cause for the people around her. There was a reason why I called her a succubus at times. Especially someone as incredibly naive as the one wrapped around me now.

But then again, I started to wonder what if the opposite happened and Gabriel started to influence Akeno?

That would be a miracle.

“Um… can you open your wings now?” I asked, realizing that I could not leave, and her arms were still holding onto me.

“Mmmm, ten more minutes, I want to take a nap.”

“...fine”

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(Several hours later)

The walk back to the Shinto shrine was a short one. Ever since I started training here, Akeno kept visiting me every day along with the others, bringing lunch and whatever else I needed. At this point, I had honestly lost count of how many times I had climbed these steps, most of them involving rushed sprints rather than calm walks.

"Akeno, you there?" I called out as I stepped inside. I could sense several presences gathered deeper within the room. I followed it toward the main area before sliding the door open with a slow pull, revealing Akeno waiting inside.

“Oh my, it has been a while, hasn't it, Hachi-kun?”

“Ah,” This was not Akeno; that realization immediately struck me upon paying closer attention to the woman and spotting the small differences between them. “Shuri?” I whispered with surprise as I was not prepared to meet her today. “What are you doing here?” I asked with genuine curiosity, both happy and confused to see her again.

“Oh, nothing dear, I just missed being around the shrine, so I just decided to visit the place and see how it is holding up.” She said while approaching me, and before I knew it, she wrapped me in a hug. “And I had to make sure my future son-in-law was doing well.”

“I'm doing okay.” It was a bit awkward returning the gesture, for even though it had been quite a while since I had that particular dream involving both Venelana, Grayfia, and Shuri… I honestly felt quite ashamed facing them at times, for the memories would resurface. Dreams were supposed to be done and gone, something you could barely remember after waking up, yet for some reason, it was still as vivid since then, and making me wonder if I have mommy issues or just my hormones react to a bunch of class S MILFs that have entered my life.

“I have some matters to discuss with you, but that will wait. Akeno is waiting for you.” She said before, immediately walking away and waving me goodbye. I returned the gesture, at least glad to see that today was not as miserable as I feared. The woman looked healthier, happier, and that was all that mattered.

Without wasting more time, I walked into the living room.

"Rias?" I was not surprised to see her. She had stopped by several times during the past few days to check on me, though each visit never lasted more than a couple of minutes before she slipped back into whatever business demanded her attention in town. Even so, her timing today felt oddly convenient. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, it is good that you are here. We were just talking about you." Akeno approached in her priestess outfit, her steps quiet in that familiar, practiced way of hers. Before I could properly register her expression, her arms slid around me, and her body leaned close enough that I could hear her take in the scent near my neck. "Gabriel came to pay a visit."

She managed to deduce that with the smell alone?

“Yup.”

"Was it about the kiss?"

I didn’t say anything. My reaction must have been obvious because Akeno let out a soft laugh before lowering her voice so only I could hear her. "She visited us yesterday, and told us everything. I already had my suspicions, but I did not expect her to be so direct about it. I imagine that is why you came to talk about this, is it not?"

My silence served as the clearest answer she needed, along with the extended silence. "You really can be quite predictable at times."

"I prefer to call that good communication between us. It is not something I can solve without talking to you and Rias. You both know that."

"I think you may be overthinking it much more than you need to." Akeno squeezed my arm gently. Her chest pressed against my shoulder, warm and distracting in a way she knew exactly how to use. "As long as you do not stop loving me, then I do not mind. Even if Gabriel says she has no intention of joining the harem, which is a shame, she still wants to be with you. I’m just surprised that she hasn’t fallen."

Azazel’s words drifted back to me, followed by Gabriel’s own explanation. There was no reason for her to fall as long as her feelings were genuine and pure. She had made that clear to everyone involved without hiding anything. Acting not out of lustful desire or impulse but out of honest care. A Seraph choosing something so grounded and simple felt almost surreal. "Just what did you even do to make a Seraph act like that?"

Hearing her question, I just shook my head. "Trust me, I have no idea. I’m still trying to figure out why you and Rias pick me of all people."

"I feel like you already know but don’t want to admit it. Your usual habit of overthinking things is stopping you from accepting the simple truth."

Looking at it that way, I supposed she was right. I had spent too much time making a mountain out of a mole hill. Some dramatic turning point. A single scene that would fit neatly into a sequence of choices like some game that wanted me to clear a route. The more I considered it, the more ridiculous I felt. Life did not work through neatly labeled events that decided whether someone cared about you or not — at least in most scenarios. If their feelings could be reduced to one convenient turning point, they would have been shallow at best. It had been a slow build made of countless small things I never bothered to acknowledge properly.

"But I am curious about how she plans on sleep with you without falling. Imagine if she is secretly the kinkiest out of us three, I heard plenty of times how it's the purest ones tend to be the most… creative~! Fufufufufu~."

I swallowed the lump in my throat when my treacherous brain actually tried to picture what she said and remembering the bikini that Gabriel had brought! "Do you even hear what you are saying?" My voice came out flat, and Akeno only smiled as if she had been waiting for that reaction.

"She is a beautiful woman. You cannot blame me for being curious. A small part of me wants to corrupt her in my own way."

"You are trouble," I said while patting her head. She leaned into it without hesitation.

"And you love me for it. But let us set aside the image of you sleeping with Gabriel for now. Something tells me you will be dealing with another situation soon enough. Rias has something important to share."

"So you two finally acknowledge my existence." The redhead sat on the table nearby, legs crossed, arms folded, expression tightened into a perfect picture of jealousy and annoyance she tried and failed to hide for being ignored. Her posture alone revealed more than her tone ever could. I almost let out an amused grin because of how strangely adorable she looked.

"Sorry. We got caught up in the moment."

"I know. And I was this close to doing something about it."

"So, what's up?" I asked. The moment the words left my mouth, the redhead snapped her fingers. A magic circle shimmered on the table, and a small stack of items materialized with a faint crackle. The sight made me blink twice.

"Spell books?" I muttered after picking up the closest one. The cover felt familiar in a way that made something old and dusty in my memory shift. I flipped through the first few pages, recognizing the structure of the texts and the faint echo of nights I had once spent drowning in similar books. "Hold on, these are…"

"They are custom-made," Rias said, confirming what I had already guessed from the first few lines. The writing felt directed at me, almost tailored to how I processed spells. "I asked my brother for a favor, and we reached Mephisto. He has a lot of connections to major magic circles and is a powerful magic user himself. Given you helped him before, he agreed to help and created these to make it easier for you to learn new spells and refine the ones you already know. Adding that everything in here should be something you can perform if you push yourself."

She wasn’t wrong. Most of the spells were variations of ones I already understood. Some only required minor adjustments. Others were entirely new but built on foundations I recognized. A few even looked designed to work alongside my Sacred Gear, almost like hints in the margins from someone who had already predicted my habits before I acted on them.

"I also helped out," Akeno added, sounding a little too proud for someone pretending to be humble. "There are several spells derived from my own lightning, but without the holy attribute. You will need help learning those, so for a while I will be your teacher again." Her tone carried a suspicious amount of enthusiasm, and I could practically see the gleam in her eyes. Whatever ideas she had brewing were clearly something she had been waiting to unleash.

I felt my danger sense setting off alarms.

"You're just waiting for an excuse to electrocute me and enjoy it, aren't you?"

"That is only a small part of it, which is why I am so excited."

She did not even bother to hide her sadism.

Great. Just… great. And this is the woman I fell love with.

Dear not alive God, don’t let me end up like Baraquiel.

"Actually, there is something else you should know," Rias said. A brief hesitation flickered across her expression. "It concerns Diodora."

"Oh?" I hadn’t expected his name. Even when Ajuka said he would look into the matter, I never assumed he would take any drastic action. It was like expecting Sirzechs to punish his sister. Family ties in the underworld were not exactly flexible. But the way Rias looked made me curious enough to listen.

"An investigation was led, and we discovered that several members of Diodora’s peerage were actually former nuns who had been excommunicated. Some are even believed to have been kidnapped and assumed dead for years. Turns out… we now know what actually happened since the patterns felt suspiciously familiar to Asia's."

If my disdain and dislike of that guy previously were not already big enough, somehow now it just continued to grow. "What?"

She nodded slowly. A somber look weighed on her features. "That is only the beginning. Many of them cannot be said to be in a sound state. Their minds have been broken to the point they behave like puppets following every one of his orders, even if it means dying. It is disgusting." Her tone rose with clear anger, and her hands tightened into fists. Someone like her, a Gremory, who cared for her peerage as if they were family, would never accept something so twisted.

"I hope your brother is not planning to be lenient," I said. I expected reassurance, maybe even determination. Instead, I saw nerves return to her eyes, and Akeno’s expression shifted as well. Whatever they were about to say, it wasn’t good. "Don’t tell me nothing happened and he was forgiven."

"No," she said immediately. "I would never allow that. Even Sona would not accept such an outcome and would have asked Serafall to help out."

"Then what is the issue? Has he been apprehended or not?"

She exhaled, met my eyes, and whispered, "His whereabouts are unknown."

A moment of silence passed between us, and I looked at the redhead in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

Looking away in embarrassment, she continued. "Yesterday, a group was sent to apprehend him as ordered by both Sirzechs and even Ajuka. But according to the reports, the moment this operation began, the other one escaped through a dark portal of some sort, using some members of his peerage to distract those who were after him.”

The moment she mentioned a dark portal, the image of a certain dragon god surfaced in my mind, and my fist tightened. Were they once again trying to use her for their own benefit? She was the only person I knew who could create something like that, having used it once to shove me away and pull me out of Rizevim's reach. Unfortunately, the bad news was piling up instead of settling.

"And we are not sure how, but it appears that the news of your inability to use your Sacred Gear has already spread in the Underworld, and it is very likely that he knows about this and will try to come after you."

"Great. Of course he does." It took me a few seconds to catch on. "Wait, is that the reason why Gabriel kept insisting on staying by my side and even living in my house?"

Rias nodded while her expression shifted into a pout. "Most likely. Though I feel it's unnecessary. We are perfectly capable of protecting you until you regain full control of your gear."

There it was, the jealousy I expected from her. Normally, I would have felt some amusement, but I had no room for that. My eyes narrowed as I tried to piece together everything I knew about that boy. Even if our encounter had been brief, and even though I never got the chance to face him during the Rating Game the way he probably wanted, I liked to think I had gained a decent grasp of his personality.

The more I considered it, the less it made sense that he would come after me. I had not done anything severe to him that would merit that level of personal hatred, aside from revealing his true allegiance to Sirzechs and Ajuka. And the boy was not stupid enough to attack someone surrounded by people who can nuke him with a single spell.

As I sorted through my current situation, I felt something faint stir within me, like a muffled voice echoing through a long corridor. It sounded as if someone was trying to reach out, but the sound broke apart before any clear words formed.

"Vitra? Are you trying to say something?"

It was frustrating that we could not communicate properly unless I pulled myself deep into my consciousness, where only impressions and intentions could be shared. For him to reach out so suddenly meant that something was either urgent or something had caught his attention that I had not noticed yet.

"Do you think he will come after me?"

A weak rumble answered, the sensation similar to a dragon shaking its head. It felt like a clear denial.

"I am the target that makes the most sense. Who else would he go after but the person who kind of ruined his life and now forced him into hiding?"

Several more echoes followed. "Are you saying that I'm not the only one he may be going after?"

This time, the response felt firmer, two sharp echoes falling into place like a clear confirmation.

I let the idea sink in. The thought stretched slowly across my mind until it snapped into clarity, widening my eyes.

"Hey, Rias… where is Asia?”

As if the universe itself was playing a joke on me, my phone rang with the name of the color being the person I started to worry about. Wasting no time, I answered it by hearing the former blonde nun's voice on the other side, sounding like she was out of breath and clearly rattled. “H-Hachi—uh, s-somethint h-happene—”

Immediately, I got up from the ground, feeling that my worst fears had indeed come true. “Did something happen? Is someone after you? Tell me where you are! I'll teleport there as fast as I c—”

“It's Raynare!” The girl on the other side shouted, cutting me off. “S-She protected me and n-now… sh-she pushed me away f-from something… n-now she's gone!”

What?

Raynare?

Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 44

Beta read and co written by GamerCrusher55 and

Another nice surprise for An Archer's Promise!

So, it hasn't even been that long since the last time I shared several images of a reader who had NYX make images of certain scenes for An Archer's Promise lemons.

Well good news, he showed me new ones and gave me permission to share with y'all!

I honestly didn't expect that Alicia could actually look this sexy...

Thanks again to Archer Supporter and check out NYX if you want to see his other works.

Of course, nsfw warning... Don't open the folder in public, unless you don't care and are a risk taker in which case, good for ya.

Download link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GctHugY4ztz5jfaPYsER5M6mzVtOEyhN