Beta read by Opal and FabledLife
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-Abandonned Ruins-
It had been quite some time since Shirou last fought opponents who were neither attack drones nor human sparring partners. He would never claim his skills had dulled with the passage of time, nor that his blade-hand had lost its edge. His reality marble and the magecraft ensured that his mastery of the sword would remain constant, even if he left it untouched for decades. Yet the same could not be said for his magic circuits. They were far less forgiving. Leave them inactive too long and, much like muscles wasting away after months of disuse, they weaken. The decline was not dramatic in his case… he had been keeping himself occupied enough for that.
Regardless, what mattered now, though, was not the state of his circuits. It was how smoothly he had come to wield his barrier jacket, how naturally the battle suit responded to every motion and thought. His voice was quiet when he summoned the familiar call. "Trace on."
Magical Energy surged through him, a steady pulse, energy running along his limbs and gathering at his hands. The familiar shape of the bow shimmered into being, its weight settling into his grip with him already going through the same motions with it as he always had done. Drawing the string with an arrow forming already locked in place between his fingers and the bow's middle. The pointed end being a serrated edge and loosening in one fluid motion.
Woosh!
With a piercing sound, the projectile flew across the terrain and covered the entire distance within seconds. Holding enough force to not just pierce through the head of one of the creatures, but rather completely obliterate the head. The scene observed by the redhead who kept a calm face, eyes sharpening with the wind momentarily fluttering his hair backwards.
'No signs of flesh degradation despite the appearance, so they are being sustained someway whether it be supernatural or something else. No enhanced defenses, a standard bladed weapon will be more than enough to pierce the skin.' The creatures around the first one that died reacted, their attention now turning to him instantly. 'Immediate recognition of where the arrow came from and who shot it. This only made them more aggressive, so, no possibility to scare them away.'
With that in mind, he felt no hesitation to continue his assault with more arrows knocked and fired. A dozen of the creatures crumpled before they even understood what had hit them, dying mid-run and their fall causing those behind to stumble and making them easier targets. Yet the sense of accomplishment only lasted only seconds. More figures shambled from the broken streets beyond, pale shapes replacing the fallen as if the ruined city itself were spawning them endlessly.
"This looks horrible, those poor people…" Caro gasped, growing pale at the sight of decomposing flesh in front of her. Even from this distance, their appearance remained visible to the young pink haired girl — thus bringing forth a sense of pure unease. "Can we really not save them?"
"I… don't know. I wish I did," was all the answer he could give.
"They used to be regular civilians, weren't they… even their old clothes are still on." Teana murmured as well, looking just as conflicted. Her hands tightened on her weapon as she spoke, voice low, eyes fixed on the distorted bodies ahead. "What could have led to something like this?"
"The only mercy left is to end it quickly," Subaru said as she swept past her teammate. The device on her arm flared, constructing a glowing path spiraling through the air. She sprinted along it without breaking stride, launched herself above the swarm, then dropped with a sharp cry. Her fist struck the cracked pavement and the ground erupted beneath her, scattering the nearest monsters in a blast of force and dust.
"I'm counting on you, Cross Mirage." Teana whispered, The gun in her hand shining a bright orange light with a ball of energy forming in front of it.
[Variable Barrell!]
"Shoot!" Teana shot the gun, several bolts of energy fired in a matter of seconds. With great accuracy, striking several of those ghouls and taking out most of her target as she had aimed for critical areas. Those that had missed, instead struck the ones behind. Her aim had definitely improved since the last time he saw her. Unlike before, the twintailed woman took a few moments to aim her shots with both hands on the device, taking a more careful approach compared to her previous self. "I'll cover you."
Her blue haired partner thanked her before going ahead with Mach Calliber's rollerblades spinning quickly and pushing her form ahead. "Ha!" Beneath her feet, a blue platform construct came into existence, spiralling and going into different directions in the air which Subaru rode with perfection. This allowed her to get in the middle, closer to the horde before letting herself free fall off the platform. Hands raised high with no fear whatsoever with him, her fists clenched before she unleashed a devastating strike causing several of these creatures to get crushed on the spot itself.
'They do not react that quickly as well to close quarter combat, their attacks are slow and cannot get past the barrier jacket's defence.' The more he observed these creatures, the more apparent it became how less of a threat they posed individually. As for Subaru, her skills had also shown signs of improvement, even though her approach was rather bold, she still managed to keep herself safe despite being surrounded. Her attacks powered by her device creating a large area of impact each time, if she were to get even the slightest bit overwhelmed, the girl would just reposition herself using her rollerblades. Teana continued to provide support, killing the creatures that were bundled up in the blue haired girl's blind spot.
"Strada!"
[Spear form!]
Above him, a shadow flew by with Fried having grown into his bigger form with both Caro and Erio on top of it. The young boy brandishing his blue spear, standing at the edge of the dragon and proceeding to plummet downwards. His descent accelerated, with the device accelerating the downfall with small thrusters at the base of the spearhead.
Of course, he could not let these two be burdened all by themselves. Shirou's bow was raised again. More of the creatures fell before they closed within reach, his arrows piercing skulls and hearts until the ground was littered with motionless husks. The count climbed past a hundred, but the horde showed signs of thinning.
"I can help too," Lutecia said. Magic circles bloomed around her like unfolding petals, light spilling across the rubble. From each portal burst chittering insect constructs, a storm of wings and claws, and towering over its summoner came the familiar shape of the humanoid insect he encountered once before.
"Take down as many as you can, Garyu," she ordered.
"▄▅▅-----!"
The creature obeyed without hesitation. Its figure rushed ahead with cicada-like wings pushing him forward as he tore into the ghouls in a frenzy of motion, limbs and heads sent flying as the air filled with the wet sound of rending flesh. Garyu itself smashed through the pack like a living battering ram, carapace unmarked by claws or teeth, its blows pulping anything foolish enough to stand in its way.
The roaring chaos shook the clearing as the remaining ghouls could do nothing but accept their death. Shirou grimaced, drawing his bow with practiced ease while the thought crossed his mind, half exasperated, half amused. What is it with Berserker like entities always having younger girls for Masters? The sight before him brought back memories from the past with Illya standing beside her hulking Berserker during the war. Only this time, Lutecia was the one commanding an intimidating figure. Thankfully, she had shown no inclination toward decapitating him yet. He hoped it stayed that way.
"Teana, bring back Subaru," Shirou called, while he could continue to fire a volley of arrows, it would be pointless to do so for so long and he did not want the others to also waste their mana reserve or stamina for nothing. As he spoke, his free hand tightened on the sword he had already begun to convert into a projectile. The blade shimmered faintly before reshaping itself into a long, sleek arrow, its form trembling with condensed magical energy. The air around it buzzed faintly, with the sound of cracking spreading all around.
"I got her! Erio also is back with Caro!"
By the time the blue-haired girl and the young boy had withdrawn far enough from the last surviving cluster of enemies, the arrow was already complete. Shirou drew it back even further and released it without hesitation. It streaked toward the center of the remaining ghouls before detonating in a sharp, contained blast. Rather than an explosion generating a dome of fire incinerating everything in its path, this one was more tame in comparison, with the blade shattering into hundreds if not thousands of shards of metal that peppered each target and those behind them.
"What?" Teana's voice cracked slightly as she spun back toward him. She had been prepared to offer support, expecting him to thin the herd, not wipe them all out in one shot. Her hands had already been raised, ready to fire, but now she stood frozen, the tension draining from her stance as she realized there was nothing left to aim at.
"Was that… one of Ruben's new abilities?" she asked, clearly confused.
"Not really," Shirou replied casually, lowering his bow as if the whole thing had been routine. "Just my arrow."
Subaru gave him a long, slow whistle before shaking her head. "I've been hit by those irritating homing shots of yours before. The kind that twist mid-flight like they've got a personal grudge against me. But I didn't know you could make them explode like a grenade basically. And it was a sword, wasn't it? Not even an arrow. What in the world was that?"
Shirou blinked, tilting his head slightly. "Wait, did I never show you this before?" He genuinely seemed puzzled, thinking back to past battles and training sessions. He had fought beside them plenty of times, but now that he considered it, he had never actually used a Broken Phantasm in front of them until today.
The tension left his shoulders as he exhaled. At least he had not resorted to using Caladbolg, or something equally flashy. The reaction to that would have been even worse. He had picked something weaker, more ordinary — a D-rank cutlass with little going for it except a sharper edge than most standard weapons. A practical choice, and one that burned less Magical Energy for the group as whole while avoiding unnecessary attention by the noise.
"Still, that was so cool!" Subaru said suddenly, eyes lighting up. "Is that what you used against that crazy scientist on the ship? The one that turned the whole place into scrap?"
Her partner caught her by the arm before she could blurt out anything else. "No. As capable as Shirou is, don't think for a moment that destroying the Saint's Cradle with something like that is possible. That ship was from an era far beyond our own. It was designed to endure attacks much stronger than anything we've thrown at it. If he had that much raw power, he would be on the same level as Instructor Takamachi herself… also he already showed the weapon he used yesterday."
"Did he turn that one into an arrow too?"
The orange-haired girl just shrugged,
"Don't ask me. No, I do find the idea of turning a weapon as big as that into an arrow, it does have the necessary shape but I still don't really understand how something that big can be converted into a sleek shaped projectile capable of being shot."
Both Subaru and Lutecia nodded slightly at that, with Erio and Caro wondering about said topic as well. His Reality Marble did give him a variety of abilities depending on the swords. Caladbolg against the Cradle, it had been the right weapon in the right place, nothing more.
"Which brings me to my question," Teana continued, eyes narrowing slightly. "How did you destroy it, then? I asked Fate, but she told me to speak to you instead. I saw the pictures, the hole is huge enough that it would require an attack similar to Divine Buster."
Five pairs of eyes settled on him now. Even Lutecia looked curious. "It's hard to explain, I didn't shoot an arrow given I did not have the time to charge a Broken Phantasm on the spot. Also they would have noticed my action and attacked much earlier, that weapon you saw yesterday was the perfect choice in that scenario."
"Now that she mentions it," Subaru said slowly, "you can fight with swords, summon endless copies, summon shields, shoot faster than a gun with your bow, and apparently make them explode when you feel like it. Are you hiding something else? I thought your magic was just making weapons and reinforcing yourself. Seems like you can do a lot more than that."
"Not really?" Outside of Unlimited Blade Works, he really did not know any other spells beyond those tied to that reality marble. It was understandable why the others were confused. "Besides what you already know, I can now float and store some energy in case of an emergency." he said with a small note of excitement, still in awe at the gift he had been given, pointing toward his barrier jacket. "I couldn't do that before."
"That's really it? I feel like we always discover something new with you." one of them asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You'll just have to find that out in the future," he replied with a faint grin, watching as the two rolled their eyes but chose not to press the matter further. "In any case," he continued, his voice firming as he looked toward the fading horizon, "it seems clear for now. We should get closer to the city. I have no intention of staying out here until nightfall. Things might get far worse than this before long."
"Shirou is right, outside of the dangerous monsters, the temperature on this planet also plummets in the negative. With no power within the city, it'll be rough to stay warm, even with the barrier jacket, it will cause problems." The girl had a point. The entire landscape, no, the entire place as a whole just felt uneasy for some reason to him. The creatures they had faced so far were not particularly threatening on their own, dying as easily as any ordinary opponent, but their sheer numbers were unsettling. That alone kept everyone on edge.
All five began to move again, boots sinking into the dry sand as they approached the rusted, broken silhouette of the metropolis looming in the distance. With each step, he felt the stench in the air grow more pungent. On top of that, a sense of familiarity gnawed at him, memories creeping in of his first day in this world. He remembered the first time he had opened his eyes in this place, how fire and smoke had swallowed the skyline while screams tore through the chaos. For a moment, he wondered if he had been thrown back into the past, if he was reliving that nightmare all over again. Things were quiet now, at least compared to before, but in his ears, phantom shrieks still lingered, whispering at the edges of his thoughts.
"Don't you find it strange?" Subaru finally asked, breaking the silence. "We had to deal with so many of those creatures when we first arrived. The report said there was barely any left after the inspection, and I know how instructor Takamichi and Fate destroyed half the city."
He had read the same report. It made little sense. By now, the threat should have been minimal, with only scattered remnants still wandering. Instead, they had run into far too many. The thought weighed on him as he replied, "They might not be from this city at all. Didn't the report mention the whole planet was hit by whatever turned people into these things? It's possible they migrated here from surrounding areas."
"That doesn't explain why," another voice said, this belonging to Teana. "They don't seem to have any intelligence left. For them to gather here all at once is… worrying."
"If we go by movie logic, maybe something's drawing them here," Erio suggested lightly. "Or maybe it's just coincidence."
"Or maybe there are actual survivors here," he continued, his tone more thoughtful. "If someone's managed to live here this long, I can't imagine how. But it's worth considering."
"Speaking of which," Subaru added, "why do we keep calling them ghouls? Shouldn't they be called zombies? They fit the description better."
"Maybe because they didn't technically die," her partner answered after a pause. "The reports said people just changed all of a sudden. No bites, no infection through blood. It just happened. And there must be some kind of magic keeping them from rotting away like normal corpses. They probably also retain some intelligence given some even tried to avoid our attacks but were just too slow, zombies wouldn't have such an advanced way of thinking."
"You call that advanced? I'd say it's common survival instincts at that point."
"Survival instincts wouldn't work given they already died and came back. So ghouls definitely is the apt description."
The two girls kept their debate going, each insisting her description was the right one for the strange creatures, the argument flowing back and forth like a well-worn routine. Meanwhile, Shirou's focus shifted to Caro, who had stayed quiet through the entire exchange. She walked with her head slightly lowered, the small dragon perched on her head nuzzling against her cheek as though sensing her unease.
"If you're feeling uneasy, we can have the main team come pick you up," he said finally, his voice even but not without concern. "Our task is only to retrieve the Relic, there is no need for there to be this many of us at the same place to begin with."
The girl looked absolutely shaken. Her face was pale, the kind of pallor that came from more than just fear. The streets around them still bore the signs of slaughter that took place on this planet on his first day here; collapsed walls, charred debris, shattered windows and the sight would have been overwhelming to anyone her age. It raised the uncomfortable question of why the TSAB had ever agreed to recruit someone this young in the first place.
Yet the moment Shirou thought that, his eyes flicked toward Lutecia, who walked several paces ahead, alert as always. He realized he had no right to criticize anyone else's decision. He had allowed the girl to come along as well, and she was barely older than Caro if not the same age.
"It's fine," Caro said at last, voice faint but steady. "I can manage. I was just… shocked by their a-appearance. This is my first time seeing anything like that."
"I agree with her. They looked disturbing," Erio added, glancing toward the younger girl. Despite his words, the boy himself seemed oddly calm, his posture loose, not as tense as the others. "Drones are easier to handle mentally," he continued. "These things? They may be harder to look at for long without feeling the need to empty your guts, but at least they aren't as annoying as drones. The latter with the anti-magic field is far more deadlier."
"You have a point," Shirou admitted.
"Also, I'd still rather fight them or another swarm of drones than deal with the Numbers you fought before," Erio replied, giving the redhead a side glance. "Those things really did a number on you."
"..."
Shirou paused, brow furrowing, before looking down at the brown-haired boy grinning up at him. Erio scratched his nose, the smile on the boy's face growing faintly wider the drier his expression became.
"Pun intended," he said.
Caro actually laughed at that, a short chuckle slipping out before she covered her mouth. The sound seemed to lift a bit of the heavy mood clinging to the group.
"See? Nothing to fear, Caro," Shirou said lightly, nudging Erio with his elbow. "You've got a knight in shining armor right here. The moment you call for him, he'll come charging in. Isn't that right, Erio?"
"Eh? Erio being my knight? I like that idea," Caro said brightly, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she glanced at the boy.
Erio nearly tripped over his own feet at that, his face turning the faintest shade of pink before he quickly looked straight ahead, clearing his throat like nothing had happened. His reaction made Shirou chuckle under his breath. For all his tried to act composed, he was still a boy not much older than Caro herself.
"Anyway," Subaru broke in, tapping the holographic screen hovering before her. It projected a rough map of the city, several red zones marked across different districts. "The area where the relic's signal was detected covers half the city. Yesterday we picked up a reading, then it disappeared, only to resurface somewhere else before vanishing again. It's done this several times, and we've got no clue where it is now."
"This place is massive," she went on, gesturing at the glowing markers. "Bigger than Michilda. The relic could be tiny for all we know. Unless we're standing right on top of it, sensing it will be next to impossible. It'll take us over a day just to cover these sections alone."
"Should we split up then?" Shirou asked.
"That would be ideal," Subaru agreed.
"Let me handle the scouting," Lutecia offered, raising her hand slightly. "My insects can cover more ground than any of us on foot. I'll have them scout the place out first to give us a better idea."
The group fell silent for a heartbeat, only now remembering how versatile her abilities could be outside of combat.
"That's actually a good idea," Subaru said. "But before that, we need a temporary base. Somewhere to regroup once we've got leads."
"Fine by me," Shirou said.
Finding one didn't take long. On the outskirts, abandoned houses stood with doors wide open, left behind in the panic of evacuation. They picked one at random but checked every shadowed corner before stepping inside, weapons ready in case anything was lurking.
The interior was worse than expected. The air was stale, heavy with a faint but persistent stench. Dried stains of blood marred the walls, dark and crusted. Dust filled every corner with cobwebs and some of the local plant life having grown across the walls.
"Not exactly cozy," Shirou muttered, "but it'll do."
Lutecia remained at the entrance. She lifted her arm, summoning a mass of insects that swarmed around her in a chittering cloud, their wings humming like static.
"Scout the entire sector," she commanded softly. "Stay safe. Report back as soon as you find anything."
The living storm scattered in all directions, dozens upon dozens of tiny forms vanishing into the streets until not a single one remained in sight. Where afterwards she went ahead and took a seat next to Shirou while the rest gathered around waiting for her insects to come back with some good news on the Relic's location at the very least. Teana on the other hand had gone to check the rest of the building, only to come back empty handed and with a look of confusion.
"Strange, no traces of those ghouls anywhere. It felt like their numbers were never ending back when we first arrived. Did we actually kill what few actually remained?"
"No," answered Lutecia with a shake of her head. "My insects are telling me there are more of them all over the place, but they are not moving and they're hiding. They are not reacting to my insects as well and some are even moving away from our location."
As he listened, this kind of behaviour certainly was quite strange. Given what Teana said earlier, he was not sure whether or not to treat them as the undead from his world, but with their current behaviour, it proved that they had at least the ability to think. 'Did our earlier display intuitate them to retreat? That would be the best case if it were true, our goal is not to get rid of all of them.'
While he was in the middle of his thoughts, Caro visibly grew more curious about Lutecia's powers. Her head tilted to the side cutely as she observed the young girl who was in the middle of concentrating. "How do you know all this? Can you see through them? That's amazing! Can I also learn that ability with Fried?"
"No, it doesn't work like that. I can communicate with them, and if they find something unusual, they relay the information back to me. But I can't see through their eyes, not even one of them. There are simply too many, and it isn't possible." She answered while keeping her focus on communicating with her summons, all the while Shirou had his gaze fixed on the city outside the window. His eyes moved slowly across the skyline before narrowing slightly.
"This place really hasn't changed since the first time I came here," he murmured after a moment, watching the smoke rising from collapsed buildings in the distance.
"You've been here before?" the girl sitting next to him asked, her brow lifting slightly. Erio and Caro leaned forward, curious, while Subaru and Tiana exchanged a glance. The two of them already knew the story behind his arrival and the condition of the planet he had once stepped into.
"I have," he answered, his tone flat but carrying a weight beneath it. "Back then the place was a nightmare. Burning buildings everywhere, people running through the streets, the air thick with ash and the stench of blood. For a moment, I thought I had walked straight into hell."
He resisted the urge to sigh. That particular memory stirred memories of fire that had consumed a city in Fuyuki years ago. The causes were different, but the sight of death on such a scale didn't care about reasons. It was the same everywhere. Yet here, on this planet, it was far worse. It wasn't just a city lost to chaos and monsters. It was everything. The whole planet had gone under.
"They never even managed to hold the line for a single day. Or find a way to cure these people, if it's even possible at all." he said quietly.
"Doesn't look like it," Subaru remarked, stepping over broken glass as she peered into what had once been a hallway. Her eyes flicked to the mess inside the rooms, the trails of soot on the walls. "The TSAB has to protect thousands of worlds. When this happened, other disasters were breaking out too, some just as bad. This place was too far gone. They did what they could, saved the ones they could reach and made sure whatever caused this didn't spread any further." Her voice carried a note of frustration, and her expression hardened as she turned away from the wreckage.
"My sister told me about this place a while back," she added softly, "but I didn't think it would be this bad. I wish we could have saved more people."
He nodded once. The same thought had crossed his mind before. He knew Nanoha and the others felt it too,
"Hm?" Something felt wrong, though. His thoughts stalled when Lutetia's eyes suddenly snapped open. Worry and disbelief washed over her face, enough to gather everyone's attention in the room.
"Did you find something?" he asked.
"I'm… not sure."
Not sure?
"What do you mean?"
"My insects," she said, her voice low. "Something is destroying them. Fast. I didn't even get a good look at it."
"Ghouls?"
"I… don't think so?" She shook her head, yet her tone sounded just as uncertain. "They've passed near plenty of those creatures before. None of them attacked. They don't even react to my insects. This is something else. And it's happening in different directions. I can't tell if it's one thing… or several."
"It might be connected to the relic," Erio suggested at last. The idea seemed plausible especially when considering none of them actually had the faintest clue which relic it might be, nor any understanding of what its capabilities could include. From what little he knew, relics were artifacts containing frightening levels of energy. What the doctor wanted with so many of them, Shirou could only guess. Perhaps it was to fuel some sort of weapon. Maybe it was to power the Saint Cradle indefinitely. The possibilities went in circles without any firm answer.
One thing was certain, there were only so many relics in existence. For an unidentified one to surface out of nowhere raised more questions than any of them could answer, especially whether others like it existed, hidden and undocumented.
"Then we should investigate," Teana said decisively. Her proposal met no objections. Shirou gave a short nod, and one by one, the others followed suit.
Conveniently, the energy signature readings had come from three different areas close enough that they could divide the investigation evenly. It made sense to split into groups so everything could be covered at once.
"I'll stay with Shirou."
Lutecia didn't hesitate. She moved to his side immediately, fingers tightening on the fabric of his sleeve. Her expression made it clear she had no intention of hearing any argument against it. The silent claim earned quiet amusement from the rest. Tiana even gave a small giggle behind her hand, while Shirou himself managed a faint, awkward smile. Her determination wasn't something he could control, no matter what he said.
"That's unfortunate," Subaru spoke up with a grin. "I was hoping to team up with you this time. Not that I mind working with Tiana, but I was curious to see how we'd do together. With you backing me up from range like before, we might have made a solid pair."
"I wouldn't mind partnering with Lutecia," Tiana added with a teasing smile. "Feels like we'd make a good team too."
Their words had an immediate effect. Off to the side, a purple-haired girl crossed her arms and hugged herself, a small pout forming on her face.
"No. I don't accept this," she said flatly.
The redhead beside her chuckled softly and patted her on the head. "Don't take it seriously. They're just teasing."
"But I'm being serious," the girl muttered, clearly unwilling to drop the matter.
Seeing she wouldn't be persuaded otherwise, the conversation shifted. Plans formed quickly, each group marking the sections they would patrol. Shirou ended up assigned to the central district, still wearing the same faintly puzzled expression as before.
"Alright then," Subaru said, "if you spot anything, use the box intercoms to contact everyone else. Don't take on any of the enemies alone. Even weak ones can be dangerous in numbers. If you find clues about the relic, or the relic itself, call Nanoha and the others right away. We shouldn't risk staying here any longer than necessary, not until we know exactly what happened and what kind of threat we're dealing with."
"Understood!" came the collective response.
.
.
.
After that, the groups split up. Before long, Shirou found himself alone with Lutecia walking quietly at his side. Her brows were slightly furrowed, eyes drifting toward the distant skyline — most likely in the middle of communicating with her remaining summons.
"More of them are getting destroyed," she murmured, her voice carrying a trace of unease. "They keep saying it's something big. But I'm not sure what it is exactly, so I am removing all of them before too many get destroyed. I already have the general location in mind, we can head there and see what's going on ourselves."
"Don't worry," Shirou said, glancing briefly at her before focusing back on the path ahead. "I have a bad feeling about this, but this whole place in general just feels off to me. I doubt it will be anything we can't handle. But still, stay close to me and don't wander too far."
"Got it," she replied softly, falling in step beside him once more.
The two of them walked on. For a while, only the distant sounds of battle reached their ears, mingling with the faint rustle of the wind through the nearby trees. It was Lutecia who eventually broke the silence.
"Are you and Nanoha… in a relationship now?"
The question made Shirou stop for half a step, his breath catching in surprise before he let out a small cough. "Er… Yes, I already said so on the way here, didn't I?"
"You did, so you two kissed." How she said something so casually as if it was a random conversation they had daily was beyond him.
"... Who told you that?"
"No one, you just did."
Now that was just unfair.
"Oh… Well, it is a bit embarrassing to admit it." Shirou muttered under his breath while scratching his head. "Honestly, I don't even know what to expect back then. Nanoha seems fine with it so far, but…"
"Does that mean she's going to sleep in your room?"
Shirou nearly stumbled over his own feet, doubting his own ears on whether or not what he just heard was actually real or not. Of all the awkward questions he had imagined facing today, that one had not been on the list. What threw him off even more was how serious Lutecia looked while asking it. Then again, it was hard to tell when she was joking too as well — so it was anyone's guess.
"That's moving way too fast," he said quickly. "We barely even went on an official date and… other stuff couples do." To which he was just as clueless as the next person, he already enjoyed their dynamic and was not sure what more he could do other than a date every so often. Though Nanoha did say she was already happy with how things were at the moment so that was a relief.
"I remember my mom used to say she missed having my dad around when he was still alive and how they shared the same room before he passed away."
"That's… a different situation entirely," Shirou said carefully. "I only just started a relationship with Nanoha. We're not engaged or married or anything like that. Thinking that far ahead doesn't really make sense right now."
"I prefer Fate more."
Shirou blinked at her, genuinely unsure how to respond. "Sorry, but I don't think Fate sees me that way. And I'm already with Nanoha. Why Fate, though? If you don't mind me asking."
"Because it would make Vivio really happy if you and Fate ended up together," Lutecia said after a pause. "And her cooking tastes nice. I don't hate Nanoha, she is a nice person, but I feel like you and Fate are better together."
He hadn't expected that answer. Choosing Fate simply because she wanted her friend to be happy? That was surprisingly thoughtful. But unfortunately, things did not work like that and he had to tell her that.
"It's not like I'm going to stop spending time with Fate," Shirou said. "We're still good friends. She comes by the house sometimes along with Vivio, so she can still be just as happy as she is now, if not more."
"I guess. Just… don't choose Quattro."
Shirou gave her a baffled look. "Wait, where did Quattro come into this conversation? There is nothing going on between us for me to choose her for whatever reason."
"Nanoha told me everything that happened when she first found you and I managed to overhear your conversation with her during the visit," Lutecia said simply. "I've known Quattro for a while. She never behaves like that. She's always loyal to the Doctor, never anyone else. She's planning something and it most definitely will involve you getting in trouble for her sake in some way."
"Of course she is," Shirou said, rubbing the back of his neck. Not bringing up the part with the woman having a growing life within her belly at the moment. For this information was still sensitive and he believed it would be better to first bring it up to others instead. He was not planning on taking her side even with such a scenario, for doing so meant betraying everyone's trust. "Even I can tell that much."
"Which is why I am worried," she said at last, her voice low but even. "Quattro isn't stupid. She would notice if her actions were drawing my attention and the attention of others. Yet she keeps going. That either means she's planning something much bigger or she's confident enough not to care. Worst case scenario, I believe she will try to kidnap you again after luring you into a false sense of security and trust around her."
Her fingers slipped forward, grasping the corner of his shirt. There was a small, perceivable amount of worry on her face which bloomed into a small smile when he reached out to pat her head with the same faint smile he always gave her, the one that somehow made things feel less heavy than they were.
"Are you worried I'll vanish again?" he asked, watching her closely.
She gave a quick nod, not trusting her voice for a moment.
"Then don't be," he said after a brief pause. "I have never once failed you. I never broke the promise I made to you before, and I'll make another one right now. I won't disappear. I won't leave you. Even if Jail and the Numbers ambush me again, I'll do everything I can not to be taken."
"And I'll be there next time," she said with a half-smile that held no humor. "Garyu will teach them a lesson they won't forget. I'll tell him to break their bones if they keep being stubborn."
The similarities between her and Illya were growing somewhat each day — which he was not sure how to feel. He found himself hoping she wouldn't one day command the beast to slaughter people in that same small, innocent voice while smiling as though it were nothing.
"We're getting close," she said suddenly, bringing him back to reality as they had walked for quite a while. The moment she spoke, he raised his guard higher. With them now being closer to the center of the city, all around them were several sky scrapers with the desert where they landed no longer in sight. The path opened into a wide clearing, sunlight pouring through the gaps in the trees above. The area itself was also strangely quiet and quite open — his hand flexed once on the hilt of Kanshou.
"Are you sure it's here?" If something was destroying her summons, he reckoned they should have already spotted it by now. Yet there was nothing here whatsoever. "Outside the city we ran into countless creatures, yet here we haven't seen a single one. You told us you spotted several before, didn't you?"
"They're hiding," came the quiet reply.
"Either hiding from us… or hiding from something else."
Shirou summoned Bakuya fully into his other hand, the white steel gleaming faintly as he kept his stance tense — ready to move at any moment. His eyes moved carefully across the clearing, the familiar unease in his gut growing worse the longer he looked.
"Wait… this place…" His words trailed off as recognition began to surface. "This is where—!"
He never finished.
The ground beneath them darkened suddenly, a massive shadow swelling outward. Acting on instinct, the redhead grabbed Lutecia and leapt back just as the earth split apart with a deafening crash. Dust and chunks of stone blasted outward, forcing him to raise Kanshou to deflect the larger fragments even though his barrier jacket could have blocked them easily.
"Shirou, behind you!" she shouted sharply, warning him just as a huge hand burst from the ground behind them. Its fingers, each as thick as tree branches, swept toward him. He pivoted, driving Kanshou into the center of its palm and slicing upward, splitting the limb cleanly in two.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-----!"
A guttural roar tore through the clearing, his heart almost coming to a halt when for a brief moment he feared seeing a tall mountain of muscles welding a giant sword that seemed like it was made out of rocks. Even with an upgraded barrier jacket, Shirou held little confidence to take on that creature all by himself while keeping Lutecia safe.
As the dust thinned, he backed off further, pulling Lutecia with him until the open space gave them a clearer view. When the thing stepped fully into sight, both of them froze.
"What is that?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly despite herself.
He had no answer.
Fortunately enough, it was not Berserker, but instead something he had no idea whatsoever on its identity. The creature towered over them, a grotesque mass of bulging red muscle and decaying flesh fused together into something vaguely human in shape. If Berserker had been carved from stone by a master's hand, every line sculpted to embody raw strength, this thing was the opposite — rotting tissue, warped limbs, and a single twisted face rising above it all like a nightmare made real.
"Garyu…" she breathed, barely above a whisper.
Wasting no time, the purple haired girl was the first to react, her voice cutting sharply through the chaos as she summoned her trusted companion. The black carapaced beast burst forth in a blur of muscle and carapace, its charge shaking the ground beneath it. The roar it released blended with the guttural cry of the towering creature ahead, the two forces meeting with violent intent.
"Just kill it as soon as possible, don't try to overpower it!" she shouted, raising her hand where a dark violet sphere formed with the jewel of Asclepius glowing a deep purple colour, and was instantly launched as an attack. On impact, it did little to no damage but managed to break its attention fast enough to distract it.
Garyu heeded instantly. Rather than locking horns with the monster head-on, it slipped into several dashes that evaded all of the attacks. It twisted and coiled through the onslaught of bloodied hands and bone-like limbs, moving with a surprising amount of grace for a creature of its size with every sidestep and leap. Flowing like water through the narrow gaps between strikes until, in a heartbeat, it was directly beneath the creature's exposed torso.
"▂▃▃▄!"
With a loud roar, Garyu's claws lashed upward and sideways several times in a second. The attack itself was merciless and quite bloody to say the least. The upper half of the abomination tore apart from the lower, both halves collapsing in opposite directions with a wet, sickening thud that sent shards of bone scattering across the clearing with Lutecia being slightly out of breath. "That… that was close."
That was… fast. Shirou had to admit, he was prepared to be confronted with a difficult battle with a creature similar to Berserker for a moment. But given it died this swiftly, either Lutecia was far more terrifying than he imagined or it was not actually that powerful.
"That was too close," Lutecia muttered again under her breath, one hand pressed against her chest as if to calm the frantic hammering beneath her ribs.
Shirou, standing a few paces away, ignored her words. His eyes swept the treeline, searching for movement, for the next threat waiting to emerge. "This isn't a regular ghoul," he said flatly.
"It is not."
Shirou could not even make a guess at what it really was. He studied the mangled corpse, trying to make heads and tails of what actually stood before them. "The face resembled the ones we killed earlier; white eyes, rotten flesh… but whatever this is, the similarities stop there. We need to inform Subaru and the others. If these things destroyed your summons before, there could be more waiting. Hm? It's chest… there is something there."
A sharp crack split the air.
Shirou froze, instincts screaming. He yanked Lutecia back just as the supposedly dead creature lashed out, a massive fist slamming down. Garyu reacted too late, its shell crushed under the blow, fragments scattering like shattered stone.
"Garyu!" Lutecia called, panic flashing across her features as she recalled the insect beast, though the damage was done.
"That thing isn't dead," Shirou said in pure disbelief, watching as its torn halves knit together before their eyes. Worse still, more undead ghouls began closing in from every direction.
The creature roared again, larger now, its shadow stretching long across the clearing.
"Stay back! I'll take care of this one," Shirou warned, his stance already shifting forward. He charged in with both arms crossing before him, blades flashing in a tight crisscross pattern as the monster charged ahead. The curved edges tore through its massive palm without resistance, severed fingers scattering across the dirt in grotesque arcs. The undead creature reeled, but he twisted mid-step, pivoting hard to his right, his body moving on instinct. He struck again with his right-hand blade, the cut clean, quick, and then followed with several more slashes in rapid succession. Each blow landed perfectly, carving through the creature's forearm until it was nothing but severed chunks thudding wetly to the ground.
Dismissing Bakuya, he replaced it swiftly with a golden spear which pierced the ghoul's stomach with a sickening squelch. 'Good, no signs of regeneration anymore.'
It wasn't as fast as some of the monsters he had faced before, but Shirou stayed on high alert. This thing's strength was nothing to take lightly, even slowed as it was. He prepared to close the distance again, angling for the legs this time to take away its mobility before it could recover.
Then it happened.
The spear buried in its front should have kept it from moving or healing, yet even as it staggered, the wound began to twist and pulse. The flesh pulled in on itself, tightening, writhing, before it started rebuilding despite the weapon still lodged deep inside. Shirou barely had time to register the sight when the creature's leg snapped upward with shocking speed.
The kick caught him square in the stomach.
The air left his lungs in a harsh gasp as he was launched backward. He skidded across the ground, rolling over dirt and broken stone until his back collided with a cement pillar hard enough to send a cloud of dust spraying into the air. He groaned, feeling the ache spreading through his body in slow, heavy waves. The barrier jacket absorbed most of the impact, keeping him from serious injury, but the pain was still enough to leave his muscles burning.
"Shirou! Are you okay?"
Her voice cut through the haze in his mind, trembling with worry. He couldn't remember the last time she had sounded this afraid. Seeing her expression made something twist sharply in his chest. He hated that look on her face, hated himself for letting things reach this point.
What the hell am I doing? he thought bitterly, clenching his teeth as he forced himself upright. I promised I wouldn't let her feel like this again.
"That thing… it doesn't regenerate," he said suddenly.
The girl blinked at him, confusion flickering across her features until he pointed toward the battlefield. Only then did she understand what he meant.
The chunks of its arm he had cut off earlier still lay scattered across the ground, motionless. They hadn't reattached. Instead, a new arm had formed entirely, sprouting the moment one of the other ghouls had gotten too close. Its body absorbed the lesser creature whole, flesh and bone wriggling together like a living swarm before knitting itself into a new limb.
The wound left by the spear hadn't healed at all. It hadn't needed to. The monster was replacing entire sections of its body with whatever it consumed.
Shirou gritted his teeth. It was the first time he had seen anything like this. The usual advantage of his weapons meant nothing here because the creature wasn't truly healing. It was rebuilding itself piece by piece out of whatever it devoured.
"Stay back. I can handle this. I'll summon Gar—"
"You don't need to do that, silly," Shirou cut in, his voice sounding almost amused as if to show he was not in a bad state at all. The man turned toward her, brushing a hand along her cheek so she had no choice but to meet his eyes with a gentle smile on his face. "You know, it's a bit funny how Zest also tried the same thing before, but this isn't like back then. I just got caught off guard for a second. My fault for letting you worry."
Her expression wavered, hesitation clear, but finally she nodded.
"Then trust me," Shirou said. "Let me show you I can handle this. I've faced worse before and this thing does not come close. I was just taken by surprise on how its healing worked."
"W-We won't be able to kill it if more of these ghouls keep coming here and getting absorbed by it."
To that, he grinned slightly, "Then good thing my magecraft would work perfectly under this scenario. Let me show you."
He stepped past her, patting her on the head one last time, rolling his shoulders, checking for damage. The barrier jacket had held perfectly, no broken bones but definitely some bruises later on. 'Keeping a low profile should be my priority to avoid trouble, but at this point Jail is already after me so revealing more would not change anything. And… it's not worth keeping Lutecia worried every time I get hurt in front of her.'
Across the field, the creature tore the spear from its body at last, its shape swelling as more ghouls threw themselves into its frame. The mass of flesh twisted larger, heavier, until its outline barely resembled anything human but at least the hole had closed up.
"No point cutting you down while you can keep replacing yourself," Shirou muttered, tightening the straps of his gloves with the swords dismissed as he faced it with a blank face. His hands curled into fists, his breathing steady as he focused…
"I am the bone of my sword."
A large portion of his Magical Energy reserves drained in an instant, the strain of manifesting weapons accelerating as more and more of them emerged from his inner world into the open air. At first, a single blade hovered above him. Then ten. Five more followed, then ten again, then twenty, the number growing steadily until nearly a hundred swords glinted in the dull light overhead. The count continued to climb, a silent storm of steel waiting for his command.
Their number blowing up where in the next following minute, a large shadow that blocked out the sun loomed over them with him at the center.
"There's also no point trying to match your strength," Shirou muttered under his breath, observing the grotesque creature lumbering before him. "I'll cut you apart piece by piece if I have to till nothing is left, sorry."
"▂▃▃▄!"
The monster bellowed, its guttural roar shaking dust from the shattered buildings ringing the plaza. Like before, it seized a massive chunk of broken stone in its misshapen arms and hurled it straight at him. A single sword launched from his arsenal met the rock mid-flight, shattering it into harmless fragments that clattered uselessly across the ground.
Woosh!
At his mental command, the hovering blades shot forward as one. The shriek of cleaving steel filled the air as dozens of weapons tore into the creature's body, driving deep and locking into place like a thousand needles into a pin cushion. The beast howled, a noise half-rage, half-pain for a brief moment until its mouth also got pierced by a weapon and so did its neck. Staggering under the barrage of swords as its unnatural body struggled to mend itself. Chunks of its own form sloughed off where the weapons struck, the ghoul discarding damaged flesh and frantically absorbing lesser creatures nearby to rebuild itself.
'So even piercing the brain and throat made no difference. If I just cleave the head off, then either it will grow another one or just make itself an entirely new body.' More Magical Energy drained in a steady stream, his body growing warmer but not at all uncomfortable nor nearing his limit. Most of the weapons called forth barely even counted as D-rank Noble Phantasms and many were simply just mystic codes.
"How long can it keep this up?" Shirou muttered, summoning even more blades into the air above him.
The assault didn't relent. Each time the monster tried to shield itself behind debris or corpses, the swords simply tore through whatever cover it found. Its thick legs were severed soon after, initially with spears driving through the thighs to pin it in place until more swords shredded them apart. Forced to crawl, it swung its remaining arm wildly as more weapons punctured its limbs, tearing them apart faster than it could reform them. Still, there was a flicker of intelligence in the way it tried to shield its core, using dead ghouls like makeshift armor before consuming them to heal.
The weapons as a whole rained down on the entire area itself, unanimously attacking everything in its path whether it be the giant monster or even the ghouls that had surrounded them earlier. With only him and Lutecia remaining completely untouched.
"▂▃▃!"
Finally, with another enraged roar, the ghoul abandoned defense entirely. Launching itself forward with its last functioning arm until it got stuck with a rapier pinned against a building and a giant greatsword cleaving through the shoulder entirely. It lunged at Shirou, mouth gaping wide, jagged teeth aimed straight for his head less than a meter away from him.
At that small moment, cold golden brown eyes stared at lifeless white.
Then a massive iron greatsword materialized above, dropping like a guillotine. The blade slammed straight through its back and out the abdomen, nailing the writhing creature to the broken ground below. The entire time, the redhead not having moved a single step from his position, the entire road around them now having turned into a garden of steel.
'About half of my reserves… not bad, unfortunately I can't replicate a certain King of Heroes fully but against an enemy of this calibre it is more than enough.' His previous tense shoulders relaxed and he looked back to see Lutecia just standing there with her mouth hung open.
The sight making it impossible to hold back his own grin
"See? Told you."
She nodded faintly, almost as if the gesture had been an afterthought, saying nothing in return. Whether it was because she had nothing to say or simply lacked the strength to speak, he could not tell, but it was enough for him to continue forward. His boots scuffed lightly against the ground as he moved closer, eyes narrowing when he glanced down at what remained of the creature. Despite its ruined state, the thing was still alive or clinging to life, rather.
Its torso was gone, its body reduced to little more than a head with fragments of its upper frame clinging together in some grotesque mockery of life. Yet it moved faintly, twitching. He stared down at it, voice carrying a dry edge.
"You're more stubborn than some of the undead I've fought before." If Rin were here, she'd be interested in whatever was keeping this thing going and even try to either sell it to others in the Clocktower for some extra cash he kneeled beside it, "I don't know if you can still understand what I am saying, I don't know what happened to you and everyone on this planet. But there is no need to worry about that any longer, you can finally rest."
His words faded as his gaze shifted lower. The thing's chest, or what was left of it, revealed no trace of a heart. Instead, faint light glimmered within the hollow cavity. Leaning closer, he caught sight of something embedded deep inside the ruined flesh. His eyes widened, the disbelief plain on his face.
"No… that can't be right."
He studied it again, more carefully this time, but the conclusion remained the same. Without wasting another moment, he knelt and drove his hand straight into the partially split cavity. The deeper his arm sank into the mangled tissue, the more his expression darkened. Finally, fingers brushed against something solid. With a sharp pull, he tore it free, the effort escaping his throat in a strained grunt as he ripped it loose with a wet, tearing sound.
Pa!
The creature went still at once. Its body crumbled in real time, fragments collapsing inward before dissolving entirely, leaving only scattered remains of what it had devoured and the odd debris of prior victims.
"It really is…" he muttered under his breath. His shoulder jerked suddenly, then he laughed, the sound raw and abrupt, startling Lutecia . "Hahaha… she's going to kill me for this. No, probably not, it's her fault after all."
In his hand rested a bright blue jewel, large and faintly glowing, the same one Rin had spent months crafting for her experiments before he left his own world. Something she had gotten as a gift from Luvia during her birthday, which in itself was a surprise and an item that cost a fortune. She'd been using it regularly for her studies under the Wizard Marshal. "It probably got dragged along by mistake along with me… I must have missed it back then." Now, however, the gem's light was dim, almost exhausted.
"What is it?" Lutecia asked, curious at his sudden silence.
"It's…. Something that used to belong to someone very dear to me. Most likely it was brought upon this world in the same way and at that time — I most likely had missed its presence."
On queue, their comms came live. Rather than hearing their commander's voice and him reporting to Hayate on a successful mission, all he heard was a voice that did not belong to the woman and instead spoke gruffly at him.
"Agent Emiya Shirou, you are tasked to bring the recovered relic back and hand it over. Also, you are summoned to the main bridge after this mission."
Hand it over? But this… this…
"This is not a relic." He tried to explain to whoever it was on the other side, still wondering what happened with Hayate, "It's already lost its use, so it won't be dangerous."
"That is an order," was the last thing the voice commanded before turning off the communication link between them.
"Damn it…"
He said, his grip on the gem growing stronger. At this point, it had merely a fraction of what it used to, not long till it eventually reverted back to a regular gem. 'I don't know if it holds anything else aside from energy… if so then Rin wouldn't want me to share it with anyone.'
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