Long time no see my friends! I have returned from my military service and now I have some words to speak to you:
I admit that the story has been strayed from its original path. I intended to have Shirou as the only Type-Moon character in this fic, but I thought that adding one or two more characters would make it more interesting. But after that, I experienced a Writer's Block, a huge one. That's why I decide to delete the previous chapter and focus more to Shirou.
Shirou in my story has discarded his dream of becoming a hero long since the climax of the Grail War. He still saves people but not as a hero, he saves them so that he can prove to Saber and Ruler that he has become a 'better' person, not the same nihilistic Shirou back then. He views the concept of hero and villain as the same. It is people's perception that define who is the hero and who is the villain. For example, Robin Hood is the hero to the poor but to the aristocrat, he is a thief, a criminal, a villain.
As this fic, Steel Sword of Fairy Tail, is the spiritual sequel of my scrapped F/SN fic, I will summary what could have been Fate/Absolute Miracle: Shirou survived Fuyuki's flame as usual, but somehow making a contact with Angra Mainyu, having a fragment of All The World's Evils inside him. Kiritsugu implanted Avalon and the ideal of 'hero' into him. But Angra Mainyu's influence devoured that thought and while not showing it, Shirou slowly lost his mind and eventually became Angra Mainyu's host. Kiritsugu taught his Time Alter to Shirou and surprisingly, the boy performed it without the deadly cost. After Kiritsugu died, Shirou still practiced Time Alter and mastered it the point that he could reach 'Octa Accel', 8 times faster than normal.
He defeated Lancer at their first encounter but Cu Chulainn still managed to use his Gae Bolg on him though. He summoned Saber, on purpose. Somehow, Ruler sensed the second coming of the Dark God and arrived at Fuyuki to find the host. Archer EMIYA determined to kill Shirou but this time not because of the usual reason, he was tasked by Alaya to eliminate the soon-to-be host of Angra Mainyu. Shirou killed Archer and absorbed him, learning Projection, Structural Grasp, Reinforcement and Tracing (He only knew Time Alter before engaging with Lancer). Learning Unlimited Blade Works was too much for him at the time and that nearly allowed Angra Mainyu to resurface and attempt to merge with Shirou if not for Ruler's arrival. He came to Fuyuki Church to question Kirei, as Saber explained to him what happened in the last War, and found Gilgamesh instead. They fought for quite a long time until Sakura arrived with Saber Alter, Rider Alter and Kirei, who was killed by her and then resurrected as a moving corpse. Shirou snarled at her, telling her a whore at the façade she put on all the time, which she tearfully denied and explained her situation to him. He took a sword dropped from Gil's Gate of Babylon and lunged at her. Saber Alter promptly moved in to intercept but Shirou traced Rule Breaker (he accessed to Archer's knowledge of Noble Phantasms) to sever her link with Sakura and retained Arturia. Gilgamesh was amused and then formed a contract with Shirou (yeah you heard that, Gilgamesh became Shirou's Servant) for the time being. Due to having Angra Mainyu's essence inside him, Shirou didn't have to worry about the absurd amount of prana for both Saber and Golden Archer. The four, including Ruler, headed to the Einzbern Mansion and saw Illya hopelessly call for Berserker as the giant was consumed and reborn as Berserker Alter. Gil mused about how the mighty Herakles fell into darkness that easily and opened his NP to annihilate the Berserker. Sakura appeared but at that time, she had new Servants. Saber quickly recognized the Servants as they were from the Fourth War. Gilgamesh was angry and said that he didn't care if Sakura resurrected Diarmuid, the Hassans or Blue Beard but not Alexander, the only Servant beside Arturia that had gained Gilgamesh's respect. He went to his serious mode and told Shirou and the others to go, he would handle these insects. Shirou and co pursued Sakura to the Ryoudou Temple when they saw a massive red whirlwind from Einzbern Mansion and Shirou felt that Gilgamesh's presence had disappeared. He and Arturia spent few minutes to mourn for the King of Heroes before resuming their chase.
Heading deeper into Mount Enzou, they encountered Assassin, both True and the previous, and Rider. Saber quickly used Excalibur while Ruler cut down the Hassans with her sword. Shirou reinforced his eyesight so that he wouldn't be turned to stone by looking at Rider's eyes. He was beaten to near death due to his being a human and Rider being a Servant. Angra Mainyu's essence quickly used that opportunity to mess with his mind and accelerate the merging process. Ruler rushed to his side and used her Noble Phantasm to block All The World's Evils from infecting his mind further. Strangely, a fragment of Luminosite Eternelle was absorbed into Shirou and gave him strength to stand up and fight against Rider. He gained a Noble Phantasm of himself, Lost Paradise, and promptly eliminated Rider. After making sure that all the Servants were dead, the trio continued the pursuit until they reached the vast space where Sakura and the corrupted Grail were. They saw Rin as the girl said that she had been following them from the beginning. She had learnt that Sakura was her biological sister after reading her father's journal. Zouken materialized using his worms and said something to Sakura and was quickly killed. After the climax battle like in Heaven's Feel, Shirou had two options: destroying the Grail with the cost of his life since his soul was connected with it from the beginning or letting Illya shut down the Grail permanently without harming Shirou. Shirou said that he lost his original parents, his 'dad' and then he would not lose any of his loved ones. He used his Command Seals to reinforce his body as he traced every Noble Phantasms inside Unlimited Blade Works and destroyed the Grail with them. At his last moments, Shirou said farewell to Saber and Ruler who were disappearing as well. He walked to the crying Illya and said that while they only met each other for a short time, he was glad that he had a sister like her. He channeled his last prana to her, allowing her to have a true body before disappearing into light with a smile. At the bright space, Shirou met Saber and Ruler again. He called out Avalon and handed it back to Arturia, saying that with it, she could return to the Land of Fairies and live peacefully for eternity. She thanked him for that and disappeared. Ruler said that with her last strength, she would create a new body for Shirou as the reward for eliminating the corrupted Grail and preventing the second advent of Angra Mainyu. Shirou protested that if she revived him, he would become Angra Mainyu but Jeanne said that if Angra Mainyu was reborn, he would be a 'good' God of Evil, not the 'bad' one. Shirou laughed at that silly comment and then, he felt that his presence in the space slowly disappeared.
Time slowly passed, he entered the Church and was quickly recognized by many, including Ciel and the Wizard Marshal. He was invited to join the Burial Agency by Ciel and was given the Shroud of Retribution. It was a stronger variant of Shroud of Martin as it could harness whatever bad inside the wearer without the side effects. Time after time, Shirou gained the title 'Apostle Hunter of Burial Agency' and widely recognized as the second coming of 'Magus Killer'.
His Noble Phantasm, Lost Paradise (formerly Dracodeus Magma, that name sounds lame), is the combination of All The World's Evils and Luminosite Eternelle. It's always active in dormant state. When Shirou uses it for combat purpose, he gains a massive boost of strength and nearly infinite amount of prana with the cost of accelerating the assimilating with Angra Mainyu progress.
~Chapter 1~
Shirou was sent to the remote area of South Africa, where the reported Dead Apostle resided. In the recently years, the number of magus becoming Dead Apostles through the combination of magecraft and science had increased in alarming rate. And that was Shirou's job in hunting them. Tracing EMIYA's trademark married swords, Shirou promptly cut down many artificial Dead Apostle until he arrived at an abandoned warehouse. Feeling that the target would be there, Shirou steadily infiltrated the place.
"Shit, so the bastard has been experimented on these people…" Around him were countless corpses that failed to become artificial Dead Apostles. Accidentally stepping on a corpse that hiding the switch for the security system, Shirou jumped back to dodge a laser cutter. Cursing his luck, he made a run forward, passing the traps ahead. As he nearly reached the large door, a bullet from the shadow pierced his leg, causing him to fall.
"Tch tch tch, and I wasted quite a sum of cash on those useless security measures. Oh, what do we have here?" A middle-aged man with red pupils and pointed ears said with a grin. "The infamous Apostle Hunter from Burial Agency. What have I done to earn your visit, Mr. Emiya?"
After making sure that the hole on his leg was healed, Shirou traced his bow and a D-rank broken Noble Phantasm and aimed it at the Dead Apostle. The vampire wasn't flinched as he aimed his gun at Shirou.
"Van Zweirogma, you have committed many atrocities including kidnapping, experimenting on people and converting them in Apostles. The Church has ordered the Burial Agency to eliminate you and I am the one to carry it" Shirou said before firing his arrow. Van replied with a bullet of his own. Seeing the Dead Apostle's bullet easily break his arrow, Shirou de-traced his bow and reinforced his legs before lunging at Van, kicking the gun away and sending him to the wall. Shirou immediately traced six Black Keys, 3 on each hand, as Black Key was the only effective weapon against Apostle. A laugh came from the smoke and debris ahead.
"Splendid! YOU, are the first human to force me to go to my Serious mode!" Van Zweirogma stepped out of the cracked wall, a sickening look on his face. It went from human-like to that of a true Dead Apostle.
"But however, the fun ends here. Now DIE!" He was fast, faster than Shirou could see. A hand grabbed his face and the moment he saw it, he was on the ground, having several bones broken.
"Argh…Shit" Shirou muttered as he tried to reinforce his body and speed up the healing. Van walked slowly to him while clapping, complimenting Shirou for surviving that blow. He ignored it as he stood up, though his legs were a bit shaky due to the side effect of his Reinforcement. He took his Black Keys and prepared in his stance. Calculating the amount of time that his body could withstand with his bones still recovering, Shirou let out a long breath.
"Time Alter…"
"Wha –"
"Double Accel!" With a blink of an eye, Shirou disappeared. Van was panicking, looking around in confusion. The moment he turned right, a pair of Black Keys impaled his left arm. The Dead Apostle jumped back but another pair nailed his leg, forcing him to fall.
"Damn you Church dog! Show yourself so I can kill you!"
"…That line is so cliché that I can't do otherwise, Van Zweirogma." Shirou reappeared, a thin smirk on his face. He dropped the remained Black Keys and traced the Durindana, Hector's sword. He bisected Van's all but right hand, making the Dead Apostle scream in agony.
"Now, spill everything you know about other Dead Apostles that are experimenting on humans like you. Speak, or I will take your last limb" Shirou demanded, his voice cold. Van Zweirogma redundantly said the location of all Dead Apostles he knew but before revealing their names, he pushed a small button hid at his collar. An explosion occurred outside the warehouse, distracting Shirou. Using that opportunity, the vampire took out a knife and stabbed Shirou's leg.
"Argh! You…!" Shirou turned and impaled Durindana at Van's heart. He expected the wound to close quickly since it was just a knife wound but not only it kept bleeding, he also felt like his inside was on fire and coughed up blood. The Dead Apostle still managed to laugh.
"I've researched about you, Emiya. You made contract with the God of Evil and allowed him to plant his essence inside you. That's why I created this special liquid. Normally, it would kill only lowly Dead Apostle but combining with All The World's Evils, it becomes deadlier than everything. Joan of Arc's flag cannot save you! Hahahaha…"
Van Zweirogma's body dissolved completely, leaving his priest clothes behind. Shirou stumbled and crawled to the nearby wall, tracing Rule Breaker and activating Lost Paradise. He stabbed Medea's knife into his guts and let its power do the job. But it was useless.
"Shit…I can't die like this…Not before I fulfill the promise…" His eyesight became hazier and his other senses were shut down. His skin became blacker due to the poison.
"No…I can't…" He muttered before closing his eyes for good. Shirou Emiya was gone.
-Elsewhere-
"Damn you TATARI, providing that bastard with the knowledge" Zelretch cursed as he watched the whole scene through a small dimensional rift. He hadn't seen Shirou Emiya's fullest potential, yet now he was dead.
"No. The show cannot end like this" The Wizard Marshal closed his eyes, pondering for a moment then opening again, a smile grew on his face.
"Ah yes, this should be sufficient." He waved his hand, the minimized galaxies around him gathered into a large space that showed a floating soul of Shirou Emiya. He flicked his hand and then a portal appeared and sucked Shirou's soul into it.
"Be thankful, Emiya. Cause the show is not over yet." The old man smirked lightly as he sat on his chair.
Yep, that's the first chapter, the rewritten Chapter 2 is half way to complete. Stay tune! R&R guys.