Chapter I

I come to you with another new story! ... Sort of. This is Crimson Sword King, a soft remake of Devilish God Slayer. The basic premise and idea are the same, but some details are changed, such as the main character being Shirou Emiya rather than Issei Hyoudou. It is still a harem story, still features mainly High School DxD, Fate, and Campione, and Bakuto Masaki is still along for the ride, though. With that said, on to the main event!


A teen with short, messy, orange-red hair laid asleep in bed, while standing next to his bed was a young girl with long, waist-length, silver-blonde hair, dark red eyes, and a plain brown and white school uniform. She stared at the sleeping teen in silence before smirking. "WAKE UP BIG BROTHER SHIROU!"

"Gah!" he grunted before sitting up suddenly. Groaning, he looked up at the smiling girl. "I – Illya…?"

"Good morning!" she cheered.

Shirou frowned in confusion at her. "… What are you doing here?"

"Mommy told me to come wake you."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Eh? Why would she… ah crap!" he cursed before trying to spring out of bed, catching on the blanket and falling to the floor.

A girl with long, similarly colored hair and matching eyes, a petite figure dressed in a plain blouse and jeans walked into the room, irritated. "Illya? Have woken Shiro – KYA!" she screamed as she saw Shirou on top of Illya.

Shirou's face went flat. 'Why is my luck so bad…?'

"Wh – What are you doing to Illya?!" she stammered, pointing a long kitchen knife at him.

Shirou stood up, fearfully. "N – Nothing, Sella! I just fell!"

Sella narrowed her eyes and then turned to Illya as she sat up, blushing. "H – He did!"

Sella narrowed her eyes further before sighing, lowering the knife. "Right… well get dressed. Your plane leaves in two hours."

"Right!"


Shortly later, Shirou rushed into the home's kitchen where two others sat at the table.

The first was a slightly younger girl than Sella, her expression fully placid and her hair short and messy, her physique more voluptuous.

The second was a mature woman with the same, silky, silver hair, ruby red eyes, and white skin along with a curvy figure wearing a simple white dress, sitting at the table.

"Good morning, Shirou," the woman greeted with a smile.

Shirou nodded in return, hurriedly. "Mornin', Mom!"

"Morning," greeted the almost sleepy looking girl.

Shirou smiled and patted the girl's head, eliciting a small smile from her. "Good morning, Leysritt."

"You should have sent me to wake him instead of Illya, Miss Iri," Sella grumbled as she and Illya walked in.

"Oh?" Iri asked, curious.

"N – Nothing!" Shirou stammered as he sat at the table.

Iri just smiled as the group began eating breakfast.


Sometime later, Shirou began to leave with several suitcases, Iri and the rest following close behind him.

"Now, do you have enough outfits?" Iri asked.

"Yeah, I've got about a week's worth," he answered.

"Do you have your passport?"

"Yes, Mom, I do," he answered with a calm smile.

"Do you have –?"

"Yes, I have everything I need, Mom," Shirou interrupted as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. And I know what to do in case of emergencies."

"Okay, okay, I just worry," she explained before hugging him tightly.

Shirou's face turned bright red as she did. "M – Mom…"

Pulling away with a smile, she added, "Just consider it a good luck hug." With a regretful frown, she noted, "I'm sorry I'm dumping this on you, but unfortunately, I've got too much to do here."

Shirou shook his head with a smile. "Don't worry, it's fine. I wouldn't mind seeing Italy anyway."

"It's not fair!" Illya pouted as she jumped and hung off Shirou's shoulders.

"Illya, get off your brother!" Sella demanded.

"But I wanna go to Italy too!"

Pulling her off the teen, Iri chided, "You have school, so you can't."

Illya puffed her cheeks cutely as Iri set her down. "Doesn't Big Brother have school too?"

"The answer's no, Illya," Iri answered with a smile, though a smile that sent shivers down the girl's back.

Shirou chuckled and patted Illya on the head. "Don't worry. I'll get you a souvenir." He then noticed Leysritt staring silently at him and nodded with a smile. "And I'll get you some Italian chocolate, Liz."

She nodded wordlessly.

"Now I've got to get going."

Illya pouted before giving him one last hug. "Okay… come back quick!"

"I will," he answered before Iri looked at the table as he left and ran a small, rectangular package out to him.

"Oh! Don't forget the package! Remember, it's Lucretia Zola."

"I'll remember mom. Don't worry so much," he answered before taking it and leaving.


Several hours later, Shirou sighed and stretched as he walked out of an airport in Italy. "Man that was long… twelve hours on a plane is way too long… Right… now what?" After a moment of looking around, he nodded to himself. "I should've brought a map." Hanging his head in frustration, he sighed. "Guess I'll have to stick with asking for directions."

"You, stop!" a voice suddenly shouted, getting Shirou's attention.

Blinking, he turned to the source and saw a tall blonde woman with deep blue eyes wearing a fancy red dress with black accents that exposed much of her abundant chest, a sword sheathed at her side. 'Whoa… she's cute…' "Yes, Ms.?"

"Give me that Grimoire," she demanded bluntly.

"Name?" he retorted just as bluntly.

"Hah?"

"Your name. What is it?"

"Irrelevant. Give me the Grimoire."

"I don't know who you are or what you're talking about, but I just showed up here and then you pop up and try to rob me? Not happening."

"Have it your way," she grumbled before drawing her sword, causing Shirou to put some distance between them.

"Great, I'm dealing with an idiot of a mage."

"Oh? So you have some knowledge of the supernatural? Then I take it you know how dangerous Grimoires are. So hand it over."

"I do, and I also know not to hand them over to random strangers, even if I had one. So unless you can explain why I should even entertain the idea of handing one over to you, don't bug me. Also, drawing a weapon on a complete stranger in the middle of a city isn't going to do anything good for mages. You might even expose us to the wider public."

"I am a knight of the Copper Black Cross, I am permitted to do as I see fit to achieve our goals."

"… Look, just tell me who you are and why you want this thing and maybe we can come to an agreement."

"The less you know about it, the better."

"Then I'm not handing it over to you under any circumstances."

"Have it your way," she rebuffed before thrusting her sword at Shirou, who barely managed to dodge it.

"Hey! You're crazy! Are you trying to cause an incident?!"

"Then hand it over!" she shouted, swinging again.

"No, because you're not the owner!" he growled, turning and sprinting.

"Get back here!"

"Not a chance, you crazy thief!"

"Dammit, stop!"

Their altercation was halted by a powerful explosion.

Shirou turned to the source and saw an enormous, glowing boar rampaging through the center of the Italian city. '… Is my luck really this bad!?' "How did that pig even get here!?"

"You can see it?" she asked with surprise.

"Of course I can! I already explained I know about magic! So of course I'd see a Divine Beast!"

The ground shook violently as the behemoth tore through the city, crashing through numerous buildings.

The blonde narrowed her eyes before hissing. "I'll deal with you later, but I need to stop this thing."

"Are you nuts?! Well… you are, but seriously?! You'll get yourself killed!"

"In the defense of the people, it is a necessary sacrifice," she retorted before leaping up to a nearby rooftop and rushing to the monster.

'She… is she like me…?' Shirou narrowed his eyes before growling. "Dah… screw it." Adjusting his pack, he ran down a nearby alleyway, stopping when he nearly hit someone, a boy with blue hair dressed in unusual clothes. "Huh? Hey kid get out of here!"

The boy blinked in surprise before turning to him. "You can see me?"

"Um… yes?"

After a moment he smirked. "Tell me, are you Shirou Emiya?"

"I… wait… you're not human. Are you?"

Pointing to the wrapped package, the boy asked, "That Grimoire there, what do you plan on doing with it?"

Shirou tilted his head in mild confusion. "This brick? It's just something my mother told me to take to an old friend of my father's."

The boy smirked in amusement. "I see. Well, good luck to you." Snapping his fingers, the boy then vanished.

Shirou blinked and then sighed heavily. "Ah fuck… that was the god behind this Divine Beast, wasn't it…?"

As if to confirm his question, the gigantic boar roared loudly before vanishing in a burst of light.

The blonde atop the roof frowned in confusion at the sight before seeing Shirou down below, jumping down to where he was. "You call me crazy, and yet here you are, apparently about to do the same thing."

"I can't do much, but if I can do anything, I can't just stand around and do nothing."

Narrowing her eyes, she sheathed her sword and folded her arms. "Erica Blandelli of the Copper Black Cross."

"Huh?"

"You asked for my name earlier, that's it. Erica."

He narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Shirou Emiya. Can you just tell me why you want this thing?"

"It's a Grimoire, an extremely powerful artifact capable of great destruction, and within the Copper Black Cross, it is our duty to ensure such artifacts are collected and destroyed, and if that is not possible, then they are to be stored somewhere safe."

"I've never heard of this Copper Black Cross. So why should I even consider handing it over?"

"We are a division of the church, primarily one of the two arms that handles incidents of great supernatural interest."

"Then this doesn't concern you. That boar and that kid does."

Erica blinked in surprise. "Kid?"

"Yeah, I ran into the god commanding that boar in this alley. Looked like a real weirdo. Now, my mother expects me to get this tablet to an old friend of my father's, Lucretia Zola. If you agree to not try and kill me or rob me, you're welcome to join me and then talk to her about it. Once it's in her possession she has the right to hand it over, but I don't. Do we have an agreement?"

Erica folded her arms suspiciously. "Can you guarantee she'll hand it over?"

"No. But I can guarantee I'll get you into a situation to talk with her about it."

She sighed heavily before shrugging. "Alright, fine."

Shirou nodded with a smile. "Good to hear. Now, do you know the way to Sardinia?"

"Yes."

"Right. Lead me there to Lucretia, and then I'll let you talk with her about the tablet."

Erica nodded firmly. "Of course!"


Sometime later, the two sat at a small train station, waiting.

Erica sighed in annoyance. "Why did you insist on the train again?"

Shirou, slightly confused, answered, "It's the quickest way I know that's cheaper than another plane. Not to mention the aisles and windows give a clear view of anything approaching."

"Right…" she muttered, unconvinced.

"What?"

"That only works if it ever gets here." Tapping her foot impatiently, she finally stood, fed up. "Alright, that's enough time wasted. My maid will get us there faster."

Shirou looked at her in surprise. "Eh? I thought you were part of the church."

"What of it?"

"You have a maid," he stated plainly.

The blonde tilted her head in confusion. "And? Is there a problem with that?"

He just stared silently for several moments. "… Are you really part of the church?"

"Yes!"

"Right…" he muttered as she pulled out a cellphone.


Shortly after that, Erica and Shirou sat in a red car with the driver, a young woman with short, likely elbow-length, dark blue hair, tied up in a ponytail, her bangs framing her bright blue eyes, wearing a maid's uniform of a knee-length black dress, a white apron, black stockings, and dark blue shoes, driving erratically, swerving too hard, driving too fast, and in general being poor at it.

Erica, in the front passenger seat, held onto the handle above the door with all her might, though she gaped when she looked in the back and saw Shirou sitting as calm as a pond.

"Nice ride so far," he remarked, causing the blonde's jaw to almost hit the floor as the car screeched to a high-speed stop in front of a large mansion with a gate around it.

Erica sighed and stretched as she and Shirou got out of the car along with the maid.

"We're here," the maid answered cheerfully.

"Thanks for the ride, Arianna," Shirou offered, causing the maid to smile.

Erica laughed weakly as she walked up to him. "She's a great maid in many ways, but driving is her one weakness."

Shirou just shrugged. "She's definitely not the worst driver I've met."

Erica gave him a deadpan look. "… I find that highly unlikely."

With an almost dead expression, he warned, "Be grateful for the driver you have Erica. Be grateful."

"Right…" she trailed off, turning away from him, slightly disturbed, and motioned to the large mansion. "Well, here it is. Lucretia Zola's mansion."

As Erica went up to knock on the gate, Shirou noticed a cat sitting on the building's roof.

After hearing Erica's knock, the cat looked down at them. "We're here to see Lucretia Zola."

Nodding, it leapt down and walked up to the gate.

"A Familiar?" Shirou wondered, before furrowing his brow as it approached. 'No… it's a bit too strong to just be that.' His suspicion grew further when he watched it unlatch and open the gate with its tail. 'Definitely not just a Familiar…'

"What?" asked the cat, confused at his expression.

"Nothing. Is she here?"

"Right inside," it answered, pointing to the door with its tail.

"Thanks," Shirou nodded as the three walked to the door, the cat following behind. His eyes went wide when he saw a beautiful woman with long, flowing, bright auburn hair that reached her knees, her bangs framed around her dark violet eyes, wearing a sleeveless, dark lavender one-piece outfit that hugged her form tightly and was very low-cut, showing a large portion of her bulging breasts.

The woman, sprawled out on a long sofa at the back of the room, her bosom almost falling from her clothes, craned her neck up to look at the trio. "Hm? Ah, so many visitors. If I had known any were coming, I'd have gotten dressed."

Shirou just stood silently with his face a bright, vibrant red.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I – I'm here to –" Shirou interrupted himself to fix his cracking voice. "Oh. I'm here to deliver something to you. You… are Lucretia Zola, aren't you?"

"In the flesh," she remarked as she sat up, her large orbs shifting with her movement.

"Good," he answered, hurriedly setting the wrapped object on the table before swiftly stepping back.

Lucretia just chuckled in amusement. "You don't need to be so nervous."

"You're… you're not covered at all…" he commented bashfully, not sure where to look.

Lucretia's lips widened further with sly amusement. "You're just like your father was when I first met him."

Shirou looked at her in shock before frowning slightly. "… I'm pretty sure you're thinking of someone else."

She shook her head as she leaned back. "No, no. I assure you that the cold, calculating exterior Kiritsugu had later in life is nothing like how he used to be. Back when Natalia was still teaching him."

Shirou furrowed his brow in thought. "Natalia?"

"Oh? Did he not tell you anything?"

"Tell me what?"

"About himself."

"… Not much, no."

Erica suddenly interrupted, "While this is all fine reminiscing, I'm on a tight schedule."

Lucretia frowned in annoyance at the blonde. "And you are… who?"

"Erica Blandelli, an Enforcer of the Copper Black Cross organization of the Templars. I accompanied Shirou with the sole intention of obtaining that Grimoire so the Copper Black Cross can safely store it away, deep from the reach of anyone."

"So a thief."

"Hardly," she retorted with a huff.

Lucretia folded her arms under her bust with a smirk. "What do you call taking something that doesn't belong to you?"

Pointing to the object, Erica argued, "This Grimoire is a unique situation."

"And yet it still doesn't belong to you. There's no reason it's any less safe in my possession than with your Templars."

Erica hissed in frustration, Shirou sighing in exasperation.

Lucretia unwrapped it before smirking as she looked it over. "I'd forgotten about this one, a Grimoire based on the tale of Perseus."

"Huh?" Shirou muttered.

"Nothing important." After a moment of thought she set the tablet down and redirected her attention to Shirou with a sly grin. "Tell me something, have you ever experienced what it's like to be with a woman?"

Shirou stiffened as he felt the hairs on his neck stand up. "N – No…"

Lucretia then sat up straight, her orbs swaying as she did, Shirou catching a quick glimpse of the pink peak of one. "Then want me to show you what it's like?"

"I – I'm good!" he stammered. 'Think of Sakura, think of Sa – not in that lingerie!' he shouted in his mind.

Lucretia smirked at his response. "Do you already have someone in your life?"

"… K – Kind of…"

"Want more?"

Shirou gulped deeply as his face tinged red, trying to keep his composure.

Lucretia's smirk just widened.

Erica sighed and stepped between them.

"Hm?" the woman hummed in thought.

"I'm not leaving without that Grimoire."

"I guess you're never leaving then," the cat commented.

"Quiet, you," Erica snipped.

"And why should I?"

"Why do you think I should hand the Grimoire to you?" Lucretia challenged. "Solely because the higher ups in your group told you to?"

Shirou scratched his head in confusion. "I'd like to know how she knew about it…"

Lucretia merely shrugged. "It's a Grimoire. Anyone with a decent knowledge of magic would've been able to detect one so powerful."

Shirou twitched an eyebrow at that. "… Why didn't Mom do something to hide it…?"

The beautiful brunette giggled in amusement. "Irisviel has always been one for little pranks."

The teen sighed heavily. "… Well having our Templar friend over here following me everywhere demanding something that isn't hers isn't what I'd call a prank."

Erica, finally having enough, shouted, "Do neither of you realize the threat a Grimoire like this poses?!"

Shirou huffed, "Do you not know much about magical defenses?"

"What?"

"I'll take that as a no."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Bounded Fields are very good security."

"The Twelve-Layer Magical Barrier of Copper Black Cross' vault is much better than any manmade Bounded Field."

Lucretia merely snorted in derision. "Yes, because the church's security has never failed."

Erica winced before sighing. "… For now I'll leave it be, but I'll be back to get that Grimoire."

Lucretia rebutted her suggestion. "If you leave now it'll be dark before you get back to the city. Stay the night. I promise I won't put any curses on you."

"Right…"

"After all, there'd be no fun in it."

Shirou retorted, "It's either that or Arianna drives us back. Though I'm not worried about it."

Erica twitched an eyebrow. "… Fine. We'll stay. One night."

Shirou looked at her in disbelief. "… We? I'm going home."

Lucretia interjected, "I'm afraid that's not happening. There won't be any more taxis until tomorrow."

Shirou twitched an eyebrow before sighing. "Damn… Geez. Meeting a god for the first time wasn't what I expected. Mom's going to kill me if she finds out… Best not to tell her…"

"Oh? I don't think Irisviel would be too upset you ran into a god."

Shirou just stared at her.

"Fufu, she'd probably be more upset it wasn't a goddess."

Shirou twitched an eyebrow whilst his face turned bright red, Erica sighing heavily. Turning to her, he asked, "Something wrong?"

"I think she's jealous," Lucretia teased.

Sniggering, the cat added, "Oh big time."

"Though to my understanding it's pretty rare for gods to just show up nowadays. They usually keep to themselves"

"It is. On a similar topic, can you tell me what you remember of the god you ran into?"

"Well he summoned a giant boar, looked like a boy with blue hair, and wore really weird clothes like something from an old movie."

The witch put a hand on her chin in thought. "Based on everything I've heard you report, that was likely the war god Verethragna."

"… I am not even going to try and pronounce that. At all. Any idea why Vere is here?"

"Have you heard the term Rogue God before?"

Shirou just stared silently.

"Right… Verethragna is a Rogue God. That's a god who comes down from whichever metaphysical realm he normally inhabits and comes to our world. Normally they do it to cause mischief or, in some cases, disasters. Most Rogue Gods do little more than cause strange occurrences in the lives of humans that interest them. But some gods cause problems on a much larger scale. For example, if a war god becomes a Rogue God, then it's possible he could cause violence and war to occur or even escalate in a location he goes to."

"I see… Then how do we stop him?"

Erica argued, "Stop him? I'm afraid it's not that simple. Gods are immortal. Not only that, human weapons, even things such as missiles and bombs, would only damage a god's physical body. If you wanted to drive a god away you would need to damage his soul, and there's only a single group of people capable of doing that."

"Right…"

"Do you at least have enough magical knowledge to know who that group is?"

Shirou nodded. "Yes. The Campione. They're humans who, through some means or another, killed a god and absorbed their power, and are given way too much authority because of it."

The two just stared at him with disbelief and a hint of unease.

"What?"

Sighing, Lucretia explained, "It's very unwise to speak ill of the Campione, regardless of your opinion of them."

Shirou just folded his arms. "Then name a single good one."

"Lady Aisha."

"Eh?"

"Lady Aisha, also known as the Eternal Beauty or the Queen of Caves. She stays to herself most of the time, but she is known within the magic community to heal all. She can heal any injury, physical, spiritual, or otherwise, and she rarely refuses to heal anyone."

"I see…"

"So while most of them aren't pleasant, they aren't strictly evil."

"Voban."

"I said most."

"Right…"

Erica added, "So if we're going to stop Verethragna, we need to find a Campione and get its help."

Shirou frowned in thought before looking at the Grimoire. "… Hey… what does this Grimoire do?"

Lucretia offered a wide, mischievous smirk. "The Tale of Perseus allows the user to steal a single ability of a god when it is aimed at them."

"What are Vere – wait, how is his tale related to theft?"

"The legend says Perseus decapitated Medusa and used her severed head as a weapon against Cetus to save Andromeda."

"Yeah, I know that, but how is that stealing anything? He had to fight and kill the Gorgon to get that power."

"First, her name is Medusa. Second, that's not the true legend. He snuck up on Medusa while she was sleeping, using a mirror-shield to avoid her snake-hair's gaze, and cut one of her snake-heads off, since he feared getting close enough to take her whole head was too dangerous."

"Oh. That makes sense. So then, what are Verethraga's powers?"

"Verethragna has a sword that allows him to slay another god so long as he knows as much as he can about it."

"Then we take it and use it on him."

"It's not that simple. You still need to know everything you can about him."

"If I can get his sword I should be able to use Structural Analysis to get his history."

Erica folded her arms defiantly. "Structural Analysis doesn't work like that."

Lucretia argued, "You're only looking at the surface. Those inexperienced with Structural Analysis would only see its ability to analyze the physical world. Those that have a deep understanding of it can tell the exact history of an object. Including who made it, how, and when."

Erica frowned incredulously. "… And I'm supposed to believe he has that?"

Motioning to the slightly perplexed Shirou, Lucretia urged, "Show him your best weapon and we will see."

Erica narrowed her eyes before a rapier appeared in her grasp that she handed to the teen.

Shirou took a breath as he focused on the weapon. "… Cuore di Leone. Mystic sword imbued with the magic of steel from the center of Damascus, wielded by the Saint Raffaello. It is completely indestructible, able to heal itself of any wounds, and has a sister sword named Il Maestro. Made from Mithril and cooled in the blood of an angel willingly given."

Erica just stared in disbelief as Lucretia smirked and remarked, "Told you."

The blonde just grumbled before dismissing the weapon.

Shirou frowned in thought.

'Something wrong?' a voice in his head asked.

Shirou raised an eyebrow in surprise. 'You're finally awake, Brunhilde.'

'Indeed. Had a nice long sleep. I see you've copied a new weapon to your arsenal.'

'It wasn't for that purpose, it was just a display of my abilities, but it's nice to have it.'

'True. Every little bit helps. Especially a Mystic Code of this quality.'

After a moment, Erica, somewhat perturbed, asked, "Why are you just standing there?"

"Thinking of battle plans."

"Right…" she answered, incredulous.

"So what now?"

"We find Verethragna," Lucretia replied.

"Sounds like fun…"

"Oh it will be," the cat interjected yet again.

"That said, since you'll need this to take down Verethragna, I'll be giving the Grimoire back to you for the time being." Smirking, Lucretia sat up straighter. "Now, let's move the conversation to something less boring."

Shirou twitched an eyebrow and swiftly turned away from her.

"What if I told you I was old enough to be your grandmother?"

Shirou winced before turning to her in disbelief. "I'd call you a cougar."

Lucretia merely shrugged, still smirking. "Well, you wouldn't be wrong. I try very hard to keep myself looking this young. How about I let you see what this body can really do?"

Shirou winced and gulped deeply before Brunhilde commented, 'She is trying extremely hard to get in your pants…'

'Y – Yeah…' he stammered before noticing the cat looking at him with what he swore was a grin. '… I know it's not a normal cat, but seeing a cat grinning is unnerving.'

'Especially when it's a Youkai.'

'… Damn. That explains a lot.'

'Oh?'

'I thought this cat was Lucretia's Familiar at first, but she's way too strong for that.'

Brunhilde hummed in thought. 'True. If I had to guess, I'd say her power is close to that of low-grade Ultimate Class.'

'Right… then what's she doing hiding here in some random mage's house?'

'How would I know.'

Shirou just sighed in annoyance.

'Ask the cat if you're curious. Curiousity only kills them after all.'

"Ooh!" Arianna cheered as she saw a wine cabinet nearby. "This looks like really good wine!"

Shirou furrowed his brow. "… This can't be good…"


Shirou sighed heavily as he sat in one of the sofas.

"Oy! Pour me some more wine!" Erica, her face deeply red with drunkenness, shouted.

"I keep telling you…"

"Come on, don't keep that same expression on your face and do something!"

"Listen to me, dammit…!"

Erica grumbled as she scowled at a metal mask hanging in front of a mirror.

"That's not me…! Arianna, can't you do something!?"

Arianna, completely plastered, merely laughed stupidly as she flung her arm over a railing.

"… Great…" He just sighed before sipping from the glass. "… This stuff tastes horrible."

Lapping from Lucretia's glass, the cat commented, "People don't drink it for the taste."

Shirou just huffed. "How old is this? A year? Two?"

"Try a hundred," Lucretia retorted.

He just stared at her. "You've got shit wine."

"That's up to interpretation."

"Then either that or this isn't a hundred years old."

"Well, not everyone can handle Moonlight."

Shirou just looked at her in disbelief before sighing as he heard Erica still shouting at the mask.

"Shirou, why don't you get her to bed?"

"Me? Why can't her maid do it?" he asked before the cat pointed her tail to Arianna, passed out on the stairs. "… I'll get her to a bed too."


Shirou dragged the two staggering women to a bedroom in the back of the mansion and shoved them at the large bed, Erica grabbing his hand as she stumbled back. "Wh – Whoa! H – Hey!"

Erica giggled lightly as she held his face. "Fufu, up close like this… you're pretty handsome…" she mumbled weakly as Arianna snored loudly nearby.

Shirou, smelling her perfume, gulped and barely managed to spring himself from her grasp. "J – Just… get some rest…" He hurried to the room's door but stopped with terror as the door refused to open.


Outside the room, Lucretia chuckled as her cat walked up to her carrying a large golden key in its mouth before dropping it in the mage's hand. "Oh this is going to be fun. Right, Kuroka?"

The cat leaned back before glowing and engulfed in a burst of smoke. When the smoke died down, a young woman stood with a voluptuous figure, and noticeably large breasts, long black hair with split bangs, and amber eyes with slit pupils, however what was most noticeable was the fact that she had two cat tails at the base of her spine just above her shapely ass and a pair of fluffy cat ears atop her head, wearing a black kimono with a red interior that she kept hung off her shoulders, exposing most of her breasts, as well as a yellow obi, a set of large, golden beads, and an ornate headdress that kept most of her hair tied up.

The cat-eared woman, Kuroka, nodded with a sly smirk. "I can't wait to see how it turns out, nya."

Lucretia chuckled in agreement as she set the key down. "You and me both, Kuroka. We might get lucky and have just helped with the creation of a new Campione."

Kuroka retorted, "If he survives, nya… The kid has some terrible luck after all, nya."

"Didn't you sense it?"

"Sense what, nya?"

Grinning, Lucretia replied, "That boy will be very hard to kill, even for a deity."

"Hoh?" Kuroka mumbled as she licked her plump lips with excitement. "Hope you're right, nya. He nearly died as a kid, nya."

Lucretia raised an eyebrow in response. "Oh? Do you know him?"

"Yeah, but I doubt he remembers me, nya."

"Interesting. If he doesn't, don't push it."

Kuroka nodded in return. "I won't even ask, nya."

"Good. Now, let's see what he does tonight."

"Right, nya."


The next morning, Shirou groaned heavily as he awoke. "What… happened…?" he grumbled as he tried to sit up and then looked around to see Erica and Arianna passed out on the bed, flanking him, holding onto his arms. 'How'd I get in bed?! Gotta get free…! How drunk was I?!'

Brunhilde spoke up and eased, 'Don't worry, you just passed out. As for how you got on the bed from the floor… no idea.'

'Right… I've got to get myself free of these two before they wake up…'


"Sleep well?" Lucretia asked as the others gathered in her lounge.

"I did until my luck kicked in…" Shirou groaned.

"Oh? Care to explain?"

"Fell asleep on the floor. Woke up not on the floor."

As the two spoke, Erica stared curiously out of the window as Kuroka, now back in her cat form, sat on Lucretia's lap.

Lucretia merely smirked in amusement.

Shirou frowned suspiciously. "What…?"

"Oh, nothing," the sly woman answered with amusement.

"Right… So… What are we doing today?"

Lucretia hummed as she put a hand on her chin in thought before Erica questioned, "Does it normally rain this hard?"

Look outside, the woman furrowed her brow somewhat. "No, it doesn't. Not this time of year. It is rather odd for it to be hitting so rough."

Shirou slumped his shoulders heavily. "… Curse my E-Rank Luck…"

Kuroka sat up and commented, "Guess we've got another Rogue God on the way."

Lucretia nodded in agreement as she looked outside in thought. "Explains the weather. And considering our location… Melqart was likely unsealed."

Shirou twitched an eyebrow at that. "… Mom is so going to kill me…"

"You seem rather convinced Irisviel is going to kill you over something you can't control."

"I promised her everything will be alright and there's no need to worry!"

"That was stupid."

"Eh?"

"When dealing with the world of magic, especially when you're already aware you have such bad luck, making any promises on how things will go is setting yourself up for the Fates to have some fun."

The conversation was interrupted as the entire building shook harshly.

"Oh boy…" Shirou muttered.

"Looks like Melqart is here," Lucretia remarked before Erica ran out one of the building's back doors and gasped as she looked into the sky.

Shirou immediately chased after her, seeing the area surrounded with thick mist and rain, only to then see a massive figure, resembling a tall, bearded man with dark grey skin and old-fashioned armor who stood nearly twenty meters in height. 'HOLY SHIT!'

Erica frowned in thought as she stared.

'Is he a god or a Titan?!'

'I'd say he's a bit of both,' Brunhilde answered.

'I see…'

'Do you have the tablet?'

Shirou raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Yeah…? I thought we were saving it for Verethragna.'

'He'll more than likely show up.'

Erica tightened her fists and gulped nervously.

Shirou stared silently in thought. 'I have a dumb idea…'

'What is i –?'

She immediately got her answer when Shirou stepped out onto the balcony and shouted, "Lord Melqart!"

Brunhilde gaped in disbelief for several moments. '… Well that's certainly dumb.'

Melqart stopped and turned to her with a scowl of irritation. "How arrogant must you be, child of man, to stop a god's advance?"

Shirou narrowed his eyes as he responded, "I am not being arrogant Lord Melqart, merely proposing an Alliance. You're off to fight Verethragna, are you not?" 'Info on Melqart, fast!' "After all, you are the king of the gods of the Phoenicians, Lord Melqart."

"So there are still praiseworthy individuals who know the names of the ancient kings." Melqart then straightened his stance and stood tall. "I am Melqart! The king once known throughout this land! No, throughout these entire waters!"

Kuroka huffed, "Well he's certainly full of himself."

"I offer an alliance against Verethragna!" Shirou declared loudly.

Melqart huffed with disgust. "Do you think me so weak as to need the aid of mortals to kill that boy?"

Shirou shook his head in response. "No, but if you fought him with all of your might, you could possibly kill future worshippers, leaving you with less of a kingdom."

The titanic god narrowed his eyes in thought. "And what have you to help?"

"A Grimoire that will steal his power," Shirou answered as he raised the Tale of Perseus high.

"Hmph, you amuse me, mortal. You stand before a god, yet show no hint of fear." With a boisterous laugh, Melqart added, "Very well, I will allow you to bask in the glory of my victory!"

Shirou smirked victoriously as Melqart walked away. 'Great. It worked. Okay… now what?'

Brunhilde answered, 'Now we need to get in position.'

'Where?'

'A spot where we got a perfect view of the fight from high up.'

"Hm… Lucretia, are there any high spots here?"

Lucretia put a hand on her chin in consideration. "There's a cliff edge overlooking the beach south of here."

Shirou nodded in return as he began to leave. "Right. This is where we part ways then."

Before he could, though, Lucretia grabbed him by the collar. "Not happening, kiddo."

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

"You think we're letting you take this on yourself?"

"You should. Only one of us needs to be up there. You all would just be getting yourselves killed needlessly."

"It's going to take time to arm that Grimoire," Erica argued.

Shirou nodded in understanding. "That's what the alliance with Melqart is for, so he can keep Verethragna busy and force him to summon that sword so I can steal it."

Kuroka hopped on his shoulder and poked him with a single claw. "They're coming, so give up stopping them."

"But –"

"No buts, Shirou," she interrupted.

"… Fine."

"Good," she purred as she rubbed her face against his cheek.

"Lead the way…" he noted in resignation to Lucretia.


Soon, Lucretia led the group to a cliff with a view over the nearby ocean and beach below.

"This is it?" Shirou asked, Lucretia nodding.

"This is a heck of a view," Erica commented in awe.

Shirou nodded in agreement as he looked over the ocean. "Yeah… good for a final sight… You all can still go back, you know."

'They're getting close,' Brunhilde warned.

"Last chance for you to run," Shirou offered, Lucretia hugging his arm into her cleavage.

Suddenly, the rain and wind picked up violently.

"That light…" Erica muttered as she looked at the clouds. "Verethragna is coming."

Holding up the Grimoire, Shirou nodded to himself. "Then I'd best get ready."

At that moment, Erica summoned her rapier as Lucretia's hands filled with bright blue energy.

Shirou frowned somewhat, though, as he clenched his fingers around the tablet. "I guess you really do plan to fight."

"If we must," Erica remarked.

At that same moment, Melqart smashed through a nearby rock wall onto the beach below.

"There's our ally," Shirou remarked. "Now where's the target?"

As Melqart advanced, a powerful bolt of lightning shot down and hit his arm.

"Found him."

"It's been a while, Melqart," Verethragna remarked as he floated above the titanic god.

"Brat," Melqart hissed.

"It seems my wound from when we last fought has yet to heal."

Melqart huffed in derision. "You revived me out of your own conceited desire to fight, to see who is strongest. I will not allow your injury to have me overlook this."

Verethragna grinned with excitement. "I look forward to it."

"We shall, boy," Melqart snarled in irritation and sent a blast of lightning at the blue-haired boy, only for Verethragna to counter it with his own blast of electricity which was countered by a gust of wind. Melqart then slammed his gigantic fists down, Verethragna easily dodging before appearing behind him, punching the giant in the back of the head, making him tumble forward.

Melqart growled and sent a tornado of wind and water flying at Verethragna.

The boy chuckled before raising a hand. "Come now, be more original," he taunted before sending it back at the huge god.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "Lucretia, hit Verethragna now while he's distracted."

Lucretia smirked and raised a hand. "Hell Lance!" she shouted before a massive spear made of fire appeared from a magic circle and shot towards the boy, hitting him in the back and sending him fly away.

Verethragna snarled as the injury healed and turned to them.

Melqart summoned a giant club which he then swung at Verethragna, missing, the shock wave causing a huge chunk of the nearby island to explode.

Erica frowned in worry. "This is bad. If their fighting gets any worse, it could destroy all of Sardinia."

"Oy, Melqart! Careful! You're destroying your lands!"

The massive deity just snarled, before Verethragna smirked and taunted, "Ho? Have you become so frail you're relying on a mortal's aid?"

Melqart snarled at him. "No, I simply don't want to destroy my kingdom killing an insect."

As the group watched the battle, Lucretia turned to Shirou. "I hope you're prepared for this, Shirou."

"What do you mean?"

"To the vast majority of humans, simply activating a Grimoire of that power would cost them a life."

Shirou winced before tightening his grip and looking to the dueling gods. "Well if it stops these two from killing hundreds or thousands of people, it's worth it. Besides…" Shirou trailed off before sporting a somber smile. "I kind of felt that no matter what happens here, I was going to die soon. So can you both do me one last request?"

Erica looked at him in shock as Lucretia nodded. "Name it."

"Tell my sister I'm sorry for not getting her a souvenir."

Lucretia nodded with a smile. "Of course."

"You aren't afraid of dying?" Erica asked in mild confusion.

Shirou laughed weakly and shook his head. "No, it's more like I see it this way: I can either die when their battle blows the island to hell, or I can drag at least one of those bastards down with me." After a moment of thought he turned to Lucretia curious. "Um… what's so special about the sword anyway?"

"It severs a god's connection to his Divinity, making him just as weak as a mortal," she explained.

"Oh. Right, and using Structural Analysis will give me everything I need to make it work on him."

"It will, but you'll need time to take in that much info."

"Which is something we don't really have…" Shirou remarked as he stared at the tablet.

Verethragna dodged a blast of lightning from Melqart and grinned before slapping his hands together.

Shirou nodded and raised the Grimoire into the air as Verethragna spread his hands, a long, curved, golden sword appearing in his grasp.

Verethragna grinned and swung his blade at the giant god. "Disappear, Melqart!" However, right as he swung the blade, it vanished. "Huh?"

Melqart laughed in amusement. "Hm? Lose your gusto? That's okay. Just means I can kill you!"

After a moment the tablet glowed and the same sword appeared in his hands, he held it firmly as his mind raced.

Verethragna grinned in amusement as he observed. "So it seems I was right."

Shirou took a deep breath before sliding down the cliff towards the beach near where the two gods were fighting.

Erica gaped in disbelief. "… He is going to die…"

Shirou then stabbed the golden sword into the ground, causing a bright, gold light to spread throughout the entire area.

"Hm?" Melqart muttered curiously as he watched a large number of swords emerge from the ground and float into the air.

The boy found the act amusing before he noticed all the swords. "Huh? Wait, this is –!" he shouted before all the swords pointed directly at him.

Verethragna's face went white in disbelief. "No! That's impossible! I can't be killed by my own –!" he began, stopping when one of the blades shot forward, impaling his abdomen. "… Huh?" He looked down at the sword just before dozens more speared him.

Shirou grinned confidently as blood began to drip from his mouth. "You lose, Verebaka…"

Verethragna slumped forward before trembling.

"Finally realize it?"

The boy then threw his head back, laughing wildly.

"Eh?"

Verethragna then looked down at Shirou, grinning. "I must admit, I haven't encountered a situation like this in a long time! You are a god-slayer who has taken the God of Victory's Authority! In my name you must never fail!" Verethragna's body was consumed by flames before vaporizing.

Shirou groaned as blood dripped from his mouth before collapsing to the ground.


After a moment, he awoke to find himself in an unknown, endless white space. "Ugh… where… am I…?"

A mysterious voice commented with amusement, "So another child enters my care."

"Child?" He looked up and saw a girl with a slender frame and fair skin, her hair being bright pink and held in two long ponytails that reached her knees, her bangs framing her face which was accentuated by her bright green eyes, wearing a low-cut, white, sleeveless dress with detached, wrist-length sleeves, white stockings, and white, high-heeled shoes. "Wow… Is this… heaven?"

"Not quite," she remarked. The girl smiled as she looked him over. "It's been several centuries since the last time a Campione was born."

Shirou's eyes went wide before he sighed heavily. "… Just my luck…"

"Guess this means you're not a human anymore," a new voice commented.

He and the pink-haired girl turned to see a young woman with long, calf-length, light blue hair that flared out in wing-like shapes near the ends, her straight-cut bangs ending just above her dark purple eyes, wearing a short, sleeveless, black dress that clung tightly to her moderate bosom, with a pleated skirt, and blue and purple armored corset over her dress, matching, shoulder-length gauntlets, and equally matching, thigh-high armored, high-heeled boots.

"Benny?" the two asked in unison.

The blue-haired woman twitched an eyebrow. "Brunhilde! It's Brunhilde! I'd think you would know better, Pandora!"

Pandora pouted in response. "But Benny's cuter! And it's your nickname!"

Shirou looked at the twin-tailed girl in thought. "Wait, so you're Pandora?"

Turning to him with a twirl, Pandora nodded. "Yep! Your mother!"

Shirou's eyes went wide in shock. "… Y – You're my mother…? Really?"

Brunhilde smacked the girl on the head, hard. "Figuratively. Pandora is the one who decides if a mortal that kills a god will become a Campione or not, thus she is referred to as the Mother of Campione."

"Oh… So… I'm a Campione…? Curse my E-Rank Luck…"

Brunhilde sighed before shrugging. "I'd say it could be worse, but that's probably just egging Norn to prove me right."

"Agreed… Great, now I have two moms to deal with and make Mother's Day chocolates for."

Brunhilde waved a hand dismissively. "No, you can safely ignore Pandora."

"Why…?"

"Hey! I'm standing right here!"

"I know," Brunhilde retorted, folding her arms under her chest. "You're just not worth considering."

Shirou responded by whacking her on the head, eliciting a cute shout from the woman. "Don't be rude to my new mother."

Brunhilde just stared at him. "… Do you have a mother complex or something?"

Shirou just stared blankly for several moments. "… I have no idea…"

Pandora and Brunhilde stared in disbelief before Pandora coughed nervously. "… Right… on that note you should head back."

"Right…"


Shirou's consciousness moved from the white expanse where Pandora and Brunhilde were back to reality, where he felt his head resting on something warm on soft. He groaned as he came to and realized his head was resting on Erica's soft, warm thighs. "… Erica…?"

Her blue eyes went wide in shock. "Shirou…? You're alive!"

"Y – Yeah… something like that…" he trailed off with a nervous laugh. "G – Guess I had enough mana to survive, and my Luck thought it'd be worse that I did to suffer Mom's wrath." 'Please buy it!' he shouted in his mind.

Lucretia chuckled lightly as she sat on a rock nearby. "See? Told you he was fine. He's a Campione now after all."

Shirou looked at her somewhat annoyed. "… Tell no one."

Lucretia just shrugged. "Any mage worth their salt will be able to tell with a single look. So Irisviel will know the moment she lays eyes on you."

"Not what I meant. Don't let any mage groups know. I do not need to bring this kind of stuff onto my family."

Lucretia nodded in return. "I'll do my best to keep it a secret."

"Thanks… I don't this to bother my mom or drag my sister into our world."

Erica, meanwhile, stared in silence at him.

"What?" he questioned, slightly concerned.

After a moment, she simply shook her head. "Nothing."

"Right…" Blinking in thought, he looked around in confusion. "Hey… where's Melqart?"

Erica looked down at him in surprise. "Huh? Did you forget? You killed him."

"I did? All I remember was killing Verewhatever and waking up in some weird place."

Lucretia shrugged in response. "Well after killing Verethragna you took out Melqart as well. Whether you remember it or not isn't particularly relevant."

Shirou frowned in response. "So I murdered an ally…"

Lucretia shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "No, he turned on you first, he was planning on being the one to kill Verethragna and was enraged you did."

"Huh… you'd think Pandora or Brunhilde would have said something… Great… not even a day and she's already like my mother…"

The girls merely gazed at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"You met Pandora?" Lucretia asked with shock.

"Yeah, I met my new mother. Why?"

"That's… impressive."

"And who's Brunhilde?" Erica questioned.

"A goddess I know," he answered simply.

Lucretia responded with a wide smirk. "You are a very interesting young man."

"… Let's just get going… I'm hungry."

"Right, let's get off this dirty beach and get back to my house."


After night had fallen, the group approached Lucretia's home, a letter rather brazenly nailed to the door.

Lucretia grabbed it with an annoyed smirk. "Those old fools certainly move fast."

"Huh?"

Lucretia turned to him and showed him the letter. "It seems you've been summoned to Rome. The heads of the Mage's Society of Italy wish to meet with you. I suppose they want to see what you can do. I'm amazed they learned you became a Campione so fast."

"No," he retorted bluntly. "I refuse. I'm not going and dragging my family back into the eyes of the Magic Community."

Lucretia shrugged before answering. "Well if we don't go there on our own they'll just teleport us there."

Shirou scowled deeply at that.

"What I'd like to know is how they found out so fast."

Shirou turned his ire to Erica, who quickly responded, "I have no desire to help the Mage's Association with anything."

"… Then who did it…?"

After a moment of silent thought, Brunhilde urged, 'We should go.'

'Why…?'

'Doing so will let you put down what you want them to do or not to do. Meaning you can order them to not let anyone know of your family and threaten to wipe them out if someone comes after them. I know you don't like the whole Campione throwing their weight around thing, but don't compromise your family for your pride.'

'… Right…' Sighing, Shirou turned to Lucretia and nodded. "Let's go meet them."

Lucretia nodded with a smile. "Right."


As the group made their way down the road towards the end of Lucretia's driveway, Brunhilde suddenly spoke bluntly to Shirou. 'I'm somewhat surprised.'

'By what?'

'That you haven't tried to dissect the girls with all that weird info your father filled your head with.'

'I generally try to resist analyzing people, it usually doesn't end well. Remember?'

'Right, right,' Brunhilde commented with mild amusement. 'I still think Shinji deserved it.'


And cut! Thus ends the first chapter of CSK! Hopefully you all enjoyed it, so be sure to let me know with a review if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or have questions on anything let me know with a review and I will do what I can to address your concerns in the next chapter's reviewer responses. Though if your questions are spoiler-related you will have better luck with PMs, as I try to be as vague as possible when it comes to spoilers, since not everyone likes them. As for if you did not like it, review if you must, but do try to be civil about it, and legible, or better yet find something else you actually enjoy and do that instead! Anyway, until next time, bye-bye!