Nighttime in Kuoh is a beautiful sight.
The gentle skyline that consisted mostly of homes and a few multi-storied buildings here and there gave off the vibe of a countryside despite its status as a large-scale town near the heart of Japan.
The low light pollution allows the residents to see the stars clearly, unlike those who live in large cities.
However, not all was peaceful in this town, for it hid secrets that ordinary humans should never know about.
Somewhere inside an old warehouse, strange noises rang out in the darkness.
"Blood. More blood. I need more blood. Want more blood. Give me blood!!"
A strange, humanoid creature with distorted bat-like wings and long fangs feasted on the corpse of a stray dog, drinking its blood as if its life depended on it.
It was originally going to look for other, more preferable, prey in the night. Maybe a school student who stayed out longer than they should, or some office worker caught outside alone.
However, with the way stray devils had been disappearing across the town these days, the beast instinctively decided to hide out from whatever trouble was going on outside. It's built in survival instincts as a Vampire who later on became a Devil, allowing it to hide till now and survive by drinking blood from animals and eating their flesh to control its urges till now.
As the creature continued its feast, it suddenly stopped and looked up at the shattered skylight, its instincts screaming that something was not right.
And sure enough, its instincts were true.
Standing at the edge of the skylight, his face obscured by the darkness and the hood that he wore, a young man stared down coldly at the creature.
The normal reaction would have been to run away, especially when it did not know what kind of enemy it was facing.
But its hunger had been held back for too long, making it really hard for it to concentrate when it caught sight of fresh prey that delivered itself straight to its den.
"Blood! FRESH BLOOD!!"
The beast leapt up, its distorted wings instinctively trying to channel demonic energy and taking flight as it used to before becoming a stray, yet it could only leap an impressive distance now, the power of flight stripped of it after going against its master.
The young man took advantage of the beast's actions and casually dropped down from the skylight, easily avoiding the beast's reach.
The moment he touched down, the ground cracked under his Reinforced body.
Magical energy thrummed in the air as he spoke out softly.
"Trace, on."
A strange weight settled in the air with those words, as if something utterly powerful and alien had been unleashed.
The beast finally realized the danger it was in and tried to flee, only to realize that its escape routes had been blocked off.
Swords. Colossal broadswords the size of a large man were blocking off the Skylight, the windows, the doors, and even the vents, ensuring that it would not escape. The Holy Energy reeking from those blades made the beast flinch every time it tried to approach them.
If the beast still had its reasoning left, it would have broken down the walls and escaped that way, something that it could easily do.
Yet, fear had robbed it of what little remained of its rationality as its instincts screamed at it.
Finally, desperation won out, and the beast lunged forward.
The moment its hand grazed the crimson shroud on the young man's body, however, it felt a burning pain beyond description, forcing it back. Its hand now corroding at a rapid pace, with flesh falling right off the bone.
The Holy Shroud that the teenager wore was not something a mere stray devil like it could withstand, after all.
The black armor he wore under the shroud gleamed in the barely functional lights of the warehouse as he raised his hand.
"Sword Barrel"
Strange shortswords, shaped thin like rapiers, yet with crimson guard and handles too short to be wielded even with one hand, materialized behind the teenager.
The holy aura that the swords radiated was enough to terrify the beast beyond reason, finally allowing it to make the proper decision of breaking through the wall and escaping.
However, the teenager wearing black armor, a crimson holy shroud with a hood, and wielding weapons specifically designed to kill dark creatures like it, would not allow it.
"Full open."
The swords shot forward like missiles, impaling the creature with several of the swords, which are known as Black Keys in another reality.
The creature tried to scream in agony as the holy energy of the Sacrimental weapon burned its very soul. But the young man would not give it that chance.
"Cremation Rites. Activate."
With his command, the technique of the Burial Agency sprang to life within the blades, setting the creature ablaze with holy flames.
Within barely a handful of seconds, all that was left of the creature was ash.
The young man did not even pay it any heed and waved his hand, dismissing his swords, both the Black Keys and the broadswords blocking the warehouse's exits, which turned into motes of light dispersing into the air.
Without another word, he jumped through the skylight and started running across rooftops, heading to the more lavish parts of the city where his home was located.
Finally, after arriving at a modest two-story home that read 'Emiya' on the nameplate, he silently crept into the room with its window open and lights off.
Walking into his room, he waited for a bit, his nose working overtime to sniff out anything out of place while his senses spread across the house, searching for anything that might not belong there.
Only when he was sure that everything was fine, did he release a sigh and stop using his mystic code, making his clothing disappear as a card flew out of his chest, landing in his hand.
Gone was the mysterious teenager whose clothes were similar to a certain Archer. In his place now stood Shirou Emiya, wearing his school uniform, as he collapsed on the bed tiredly.
'That's the fourth one this month. Looks like the frequency of these creatures' manifestation is dropping with time.'
'While it is a good thing, I still don't know what exactly they are since none of them are sane enough to hold a conversation, much less answer any of my questions. All I know so far is that they are weak against holy energy and holy weapons like Sacraments. My first guess would be that they are demons, but I don't think I have ever seen any demon similar to these things in my counterparts' memories.'
'Could they be unique to my world? Another difference between our worlds? Possible.'
'The lack of information is really starting to hurt me in the long run.'
Shirou sighed once again and got up, heading for the bathroom, preparing to clean up and head to bed.
'Whatever they are, it is clear that they are dangerous and, based on what I've seen, will not hesitate to attack civilians. Maybe even my family should they be caught up in it.'
'Their counterparts may have been strong in my memories, capable of easily handling things like this. But I don't know if my Sella, Liz, or even Dad and Mom can handle such things, given how different my world seems to be compared to my counterparts.;
'In the end, the plan remains the same. Exterminate these things whenever I catch their scent so that my family is not in potential danger.'
With those thoughts, Shirou Emiya placed the Class Card below his pillow and went to sleep, once again dreaming of his counterpart's life and learning from them.
All in the name of protecting his family.
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