Welcome one and all to the newest chapter of Mahou Senki: Limitless Blades! This chapter has been both a pain and great fun for me to write. It finally allowed my imagination to run a bit wilder than usual but the part where I have to put them into words had been tiring.

I know a few of you had been confused by the whole "E. Shirou and T. Shirou" thing, so I went back and fixed it for all of ya! Now T. Shirou will be referred to as Shirō. Sorry for confusing you readers. Device dialogues will also be changed to bold since I don't want to mix that up with the radio dialogues.

I also got a complain about the adult's screen time. Well, they are there to fill in a few plot holes. I have to have some way of explaining what is happening in the background as well since we have the whole Nasu-verse thing included into this fic. It's not likely that the Mage's Association or the Church wouldn't look into the whole JS issue seeing how powerful they are. There are also the demon clans around Japan.

There's also the rant of comparing Nanoha to the Blue. When I said Nanoha's spells are equal to Aoko in terms of destructibility, I was comparing their prowess as a 'Human Missile Launcher'. Rumors about Aoko blowing up a mountain? *Looks at Nanoha's Starlight Breaker* Starmine and Starbow with High-Speed Aria and Unlimited Rotation? *Looks at Divine Shooter and Divine Buster* I'm not saying Nanoha is the Blue. Nanoha don't have the ability to manipulate time with the Fifth and she can't sling spells like Aoko without Raising Heart, but with a Device, she is definitely equal or at least close to Aoko in terms of fire power. Aoko with a Device of her own though... She would be considered the SSS class in Nanoha-verse right up there with Zelretch.

As for the Lost Logia... well, there was only one in the Nanoha-verse that wasn't world-ending dangerous I think... Other than that though...

Jewel Seeds: Supposedly capable to rip a hole in dimension through sheer power
Book of Darkness: Look at what it created for a Defense Program
Relic: Similar to Jewel Seeds
Saint's Cradle: Massive space battleship with weapons from firearms to nuclear weapons of mass destruction
Bible of Silver Cross: ...well doubt some of you have gotten to the manga story yet so I won't spoil it here.

I've also starting the corruption of Hayate 'Harem Master' Yagami in the last chapter. Be afraid, Shirou, be very afraid! *Cackle*

I might do a 'How Shirō met Momoko' story but not until after I finish this arc.

Well... can't think of much else to say here, so without further adieu...

[Spoiler!]

Okay guys, this is the major turning point for Shirou in terms of power. Unfortunately, it isn't going to be stable until A's arc. I will put a list of what Shirou used at the end of the chapter so you don't have to guess what he traced.

The thing with Kiri... I'm still debating whether I should just kill him off or let him stay as a side character. I kinda feel sorry for the guy for not even having a chance to see Ilya before he died...

If you are wondering about Shirou's real family, I'm basing him on Kirihara Sōma, the main character of Shokugeki no Sōma. Seriously, that guy looks exactly like Shirou if our redheaded sword wielder has a scar through his left eyebrow. Check out that manga, it's awesome!

Don't worry about the empty wasteland either. That will be explained next chapter.

[Spoiler end]

As usual, have fun reading, drop a comment, correct any grammar mistakes I might have, and all flames will be ignored. Sorry, no witty comment about flamers this time. My brain is slightly fried.

Disclaimer: I finally got a Shirou Nendoroid!

"Kyaa!" the frightened cry of a girl reverberated throughout the Emiya's backyard as Nanoha fell down on the ground for the umpteenth time that day. Thankfully, no one noticed them due to the Bounded Field set up around the parameter.

Shirou could only shake his head as he looked down at the girl. While she was great at using long-range attack spells and her barriers took up most of the damage during their spars, the girl had no aptitude for close-range combat. The best he could think of at the moment was teaching the girl how to keep her eyes opened while facing a blade-wielding opponent and possibly disengaging from their range of attack as fast as possible. He had wondered if his best friend had an innate ability to dodge an incoming attack, but after testing the girl for three days, it doesn't seem likely.

However, he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying these one-sided spars with his best friend. 'I think I finally understand why Kyōya-san enjoys those sparring matches so much,' the boy chuckled internally.

It had also worked as a great outlet for his anger after that little verbal disagreement he had with Nanoha. Sure, ranting his problems to Hayate the other day and Nanoha's profuse apology when she had returned had calmed his anger down significantly, but these matches had finally burned out his remaining irritation.

He did wonder why Nanoha keep blushing at him when their eyes meet these days though. All he remembered was Nanoha apologizing to him in tears about losing the first Jewel Seed they had sealed together, him telling her he would rather lose the space rock than losing her, and then cooking the girl a meal to cheer her up. Shaking his thoughts away for the moment, the boy decided to refocus on the training he was subjecting the girl to.

"Come on, Nanoha. One more match before I prepare dinner," Shirou called out as he traced a pair of short swords once more. There was nothing special about the two double-edged swords other than the reinforcement he had put into them so they were sturdier.

As she lied on the ground panting, Nanoha couldn't help but be surprised by Shirou's skill. While he was lacking in sheer destructiveness and quantity of spells, he could still best her in ground combat. His speed, though not as fast as Fate, was still surprisingly fast. Coupled that with his ability to create large swords as he swings his arms around and his experience from all the spars he did with both Kiritsugu and Kyōya, he truly is a force to be reckoned with.

Nanoha took a moment to ponder who would win in a fight between her best friend and her rival in close combat. While the blonde have a longer reach and wider variety of spells, Shirou definitely has more experience when it comes to fighting seeing how little wasted movements his strikes had.

While he waited for his best friend to recover enough to stand and fight again, Shirou was thinking about the best way they could possibly combat their latest foe. At the moment, the only thing he could think of in combating the blond girl, Fate Testarossa, was for him to engage her in close combat and give Nanoha enough time to blow her up with her magical pink laser beams. Unfortunately for him, he still had no way of keeping up with the girl if she took flight or if her familiar, Arf, joins the fight.

He's still amazed that those beams merely stun living organic creatures while completely vaporizing anything else in the process. The technical jargon he got from Raising Heart as an explanation had given him a headache, so he simply chalked it up as trait of 'space magic'.

At least the girl had finally learned a binding and a movement spell. Unfortunately, it took too long for her to prepare the binding and she kept tripping on the ground right as she exits her high speed movement. She was also starting to get grasp the theory behind forming her mana bolts during battle, though she never did have enough time to unleash it before Shirou came down on her with some sort of great sword and breaking her focus.

After a few minutes passed with his best friend showing no sign of moving from her spot, Shirou decided to end the day's training. Dismissing the twin blades he held, he called out to the girl, "Alright, Nanoha, go take a bath. Join me in the dining room after you're done. Dinner should be ready by then."

"Alright… give me… a bit… more… time… to rest…" the girl responded between breaths. Ever since she started training under Shirou, there was never a day she wasn't completely worn out. Her best friend is definitely a harsh taskmaster.

"This is the best," Nanoha sighed in relief as she finished the last piece of her grilled salmon with miso sauce.

Shirou couldn't help but give a wry smile at her. The girl always cheers up when presented with food he cooked. With Kiritsugu away for the night due to some business he had to take care of, the two were left alone in the house for the night.

"It's always good to hear someone praising my cooking skill," the boy answered as he started clearing the table. Seeing the girl sitting at the table, too lazy to move at the moment, he spoke up, "You did great during training today."

Nanoha took a second before the praise reached her coherent mind. "Eh? But I couldn't even fully form a magic bolt against you!"

Her forehead was promptly flicked by Shirou. "You've formed a bolt against me," he corrected as he crossed his arms. "You just didn't have enough time to fire it at me due to my onslaught."

"Doesn't that mean I'm still not strong enough to fight Fate-chan," the girl replied solemnly.

Shirou blinked at the girl's response. "'Chan'? Isn't she our enemy?"

Nanoha frowned at her best friend. "You helped her escape from Emiya-oji-san after she almost killed you with her scythe so I don't want to hear you complaining."

Feeling the unhappy glare Nanoha was shooting at him, Shirou decided to get back to topic. "A-anyway… The point is, due to my shorter weapons and dual-wielding, there shouldn't be a lot of time for you to even ready an attack. Fate, on the other hand, is wielding a long weapon. It takes more time to swing it around than my swords. If you could form a bolt while dealing with my combo attacks, it shouldn't be too hard to charge one up at Fate. One you knock her off-balance with a bolt, you should have enough time for a Divine Buster. Just don't take too long setting up your bombardment spell." Tanking a moment to think about Nanoha's spell repertoire, Shirou decided to add, "You also have Flash Move. You don't have any problem with tripping in midair so you could also use that to dodge and get behind her as well."

Nanoha looked uncertain about what Shirou said but decided to trust the redhead anyway. Even though the boy isn't capable of doing the magic she utilizes, he is definitely more skilled in combat. "If you think that will work, I'll give it a try."

"Just trust me. Even if I can't do much, Yuuno will be there for back up as well," Shirou said with a smile. He had promised to stop joining the jewel Seed hunts Nanoha and Yuuno goes on for now on in order to avoid another injury like the one he had sustained at the hands of Fate that day. He never promised he would not follow them though.

"Is the Bounded Field set?" Kiritsugu asked as he watched the city through the scope fixed on his Accuracy International Arctic Warfare sniper rifle. Currently, he was looking for the escaped agents of the Clock Tower.

They had apparently come out of hiding and started searching for the Jewel Seeds. They even tried to capture a member of Ai's clan for questioning. Unfortunately, they had mistaken Takamachi Shirō for a member of the Tsukimura clan and decided to try and get away by holding a nearby child hostage at the time.

The result was Shirō unleashing one of his hidden short blade on the fool, severing his arm at the shoulder follow by his head. When the rest of the infiltration members saw what happened, they decided to retreat while causing enough commotion to lose their pursuers.

There was a faint static through his radio before an answer came through. [The Bounded Field for warding off anyone without active circuits is done. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to set one up to keep the sound in,] the voice of Alexander stated. [As long as there are no large explosions in the area, we should be able to keep this battle away from prying eyes.]

Without another word, Kiritsugu pulled the trigger of his sniper for the first time that night. He was rewarded with the sight of his target falling to the ground before a pool of red appeared around the agent from his stomach. "One down, six more to go," the Magus Killer intoned as he pulled the bolt on his rifle.

"Damn it! How the hell did we get into this situation!" one of the Clock Tower members cried out in frustration as he continued sprinting from alley to alley. The group of seven had originally been dispatched in order to find out what the massive mana influx in Uminari City was. There was no way they knew they were being sent into a city filled with oriental half-breeds, let alone the resident city of the Magus Killer!

The mission had been easy until about a week ago when their tracker sensed a small mana flux from the hot spring resort within the wooded area. As they were investigating, they encountered the demon clan members. Their first mistake was trying to take a hostage thinking they were inferior in terms of skills.

Another loud bang echoed through the currently empty street as another member of the team dropped, blood seeping through where his heart was.

"Damn it, they got Thomas," the team leader growled in anger. At the moment, there was nothing more they could do but escape and hide. "It is best if we split up. We have to bring this information back to the Clock Tower at all cost."

While the other members in the scouting team didn't like the plan, the mission to warn the higher-ups about the happenings in Uminari took precedence.

"Looks like someone had set up an area-type force field, Fate," Arf reported as she stood on top of a building near the town center. She had been quite interested in the fact that the planet has mages, although their brand of magic was quite different. Another bang rang out and she saw another person clad in black fall to the ground dead.

The familiar was glad her master wasn't here to witness such brutality. She was simply not used to bloodshed. Arf, who used to be a wild animal before she met Fate, had already witnessed her kin fighting and killing others, whether it be for food or territory in the forest. Blood and gore was something she was more used to than her innocent master.

"Leave them be," the soft tone of Fate echoed in the wolf-girl's mind. "As long as their conflict does not interfere with the Jewel Seed, there is no need to engage them."

"If you say so," Arf replied. However, a frown started forming on her face. For some reason, her instinct was telling her to finish off the units retreating from the sniper as soon as possible.

"Shirou-kun, I'm heading out. A Jewel Seed just activated!" Nanoha cried out as she finished getting ready to leave.

After seeing Nanoha off with Yuuno waiting for her at the front door, Shirou decided to follow after the girl. He was glad he had found an old bulletproof vest in his adoptive father's belonging while cleaning earlier when Kiritsugu was out. With the vest fitted over him loosely, the boy decided to chase after the girl stealthily.

'It's better to keep an eye out on her in case something happens,' he thought. For some reason, he had an unsettling feeling in the back of his mind about the hunt.

"Damn it!" the team leader of the Clock Tower's scout team cursed as he brought down a ceramic hammer on Takamachi Shirō. At the moment, he was the last surviving member of the entire team seeing as Kiritsugu had taken out two more while the members from the local demon clan had finished off another two.

One of the members had tried sneaking up on the Magus Killer but he was promptly dispatched by a bullet from Kiritsugu's Walther P99.

Seeing the Japanese man ready to unleash his blade once more, the black clad agent of the Clock Tower quickly cried out "Algiz!" while holding out his hammer. The short sword clashed against the delicate looking weapon before it was pushed off. Seeing the opening, he quickly brought the hammer down on the ground while crying out "Isa".

A pillar of ice suddenly erupted from under ex-bodyguard. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he avoided getting hurt by leaping off to the side. Unfortunately, the man he was going after had made his escape while he was distracted. "I lost him," he reported into the radio he received from Kiritsugu. "It looks like that guy is using a mystic code that can set up a strong shield as well as attack with ice. I don't know if it only works if it comes in contact with a solid object or not, so approach it with caution."

Kiritsugu clicked his tongue in annoyance. The last man alive must've been the leader of the group. He was definitely a lot more experienced than the grunts he had taken care of without leaving his sniping spot. He would've chased the man down himself but his weakened body couldn't move as fast or as long as he wishes. "Any idea which direction he went?"

[Negative,] the ex-bodyguard answered. [We should simply assume he is heading to the docks. It is his best chance of escaping the city at this point.]

"Understo…" Before Kiritsugu could finish his answer, the feeling of a Bounded Field activating washed through his body before an explosion shook the area. Seeing the pillar of blue light, the cursed man let out an annoyed grunt. "Looks like another Jewel Seed just activated."

[Just let Nanoha take care of it,] the Takamachi patriarch suggested over the radio. [We should focus on taking out the scout as soon as possible before he worsens the situation for my daughter.]

"Agreed," Kiritsugu responded before looking through the scope of his rifle once more.

The Clock Tower agent couldn't help but stare at the scene before of him in awe. "What the hell is happening in this city?" he managed to croak out.

After the light pillar shot up into the sky near the center of town, the man had decided to swing by to investigate before he makes his way to the harbor. He figured it was the cause of the disturbance in the ley line the team was sent to investigate.

When he arrived at the scene, he was met with two preadolescent girls shooting at each other with lightning and spheres of pure prana with a few beams added into the mix. The street had been cratered a few times and a handful of buildings around them had been bombarded by the stray spells. This was by no means a low-ranked battle between two magi. The destructive force of the spells was unheard of while the two were throwing them around without any signs of being tired. Seeing a nearby roof being vaporized by a beam of pink by the girl in white, the agent could help but feel a chill run down his spine. That sort of destructive ability was akin to something the Blue could cast, and the girl doesn't even look like she had charged the attack to its full power.

What's more, there were two talking animals clashing against each other nearby as well. The large orange wolf was trying to get a swipe on a small yellow ferret while the critter was shooting chains about, using them as bludgeon weapons.

"If I don't get killed on this mission, I am definitely going to request for a long vacation," the man muttered as he shook his head. Even by magus standard, the scene was quite ridiculous. It is probably what two Aozaki Aoko with flight abilities facing off against each other would've been like, and he doesn't even know what to say about the two animals.

It had been a while since the light died down. Deciding to search for the source, the man shifted his eyes away from the battles and looked around the field. That was when his eyes landed on a small gem floating near the ground off to the side. 'That must be the cause of those mana fluxes,' the man thought. While the man would normally contact the Clock Tower and have a team knowledgeable about gem-based artifacts sent over, he didn't have the means to do so with the natives in Uminari hindering his efforts. Thus, the man decided to take matter into his own hands and try to get the gem himself.

Before he made a move to try and grab the item, a voice interrupted him. "What are you doing here, oji-san?"

Fate couldn't believe what she was facing. Given a week's time, the girl in front of her had somehow gained enough experience to fight her to a standstill ever since they had sealed the Jewel Seed. Sure, Fate didn't wish to use any of her stronger spells with other people without Barrier Jackets around, but her usual close-range tactics should've been more than enough to defeat the girl. Swinging her scythe around once more, she found her Bardiche locked in place against the brown-haired girl's Device.

"Since you left in such a hurry last time, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself. My name is Takamachi Nanoha," Nanoha said as she continued pushing her Device against Fate. "While I still wish to know why you are collecting the Jewel Seeds, I know it is pointless to simply ask."

"And why are you telling me this?" the blond girl retorted monotonously.

"Because instead of asking you, I'm simply going to beat it out of you," Nanoha replied. "I have yet to pay you back for hurting Shirou-kun the other day!"

While the two still had their weapons locked together, Nanoha summoned up one of her magic bolts before shooting it at Fate. Due to the close distance, there was no way for Fate to throw up an additional defense against her attack.

[Divine Shooter]

Without giving Fate any time to recover, Nanoha quickly call upon her next spell before unleashing the four mana bolts down on the blonde. "Shoot!" The impact from the spell sent Fate careening down to the empty street with a loud crash.

As Fate staggered to her feet, she was met with Nanoha charging up a bombardment spell with Raising Heart pointed at her in Cannon Mode. "This is for Shirou-kun!"

[Divine Buster]

Pulling the trigger, the magic cannon unleashed its pent-up power in a power beam of pink. The attack was strong enough to crater the asphalt street and vaporized some of the nearby buildings. It was only thanks to Yuuno's Temporal Force Field that the damage done in the area would simply disappear once the spell collapses.

Once the beam died down, Nanoha gently floated down. She still had Raising Heart clutched tightly in her hands in case Fate had used the same trick to avoid her attack like last time.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the girl lying in the center of the crater Divine Buster had formed. While the blonde looked relatively fine, her Barrier Jacket was in tatters. There were small wisps of steam rising up from her body as if she had recently walked through a burning building. There was also dirt clinging to her porcelain skin.

"Are you ready to give up and talk to us or do we need to continue?" Nanoha asked as she raised her staff at the fallen girl. It was better to be cautious of the enemy than giving them a chance to blindside you.

Off to the side, Arf finally noticed her master falling to Nanoha's attack. Turning her attention to Fate, she was unprepared the Ring Bind Yuuno had set up.

"Isa!" a shout from nearby caught the quartet's attention before the sound of something cracking reached their ears. A wall of ice suddenly erupted around them, barricading them from the Jewel Seed.

Emiya Shirou clicked his tongue in frustration as he backpedaled away from the magus in front of him. After he encountered the man hiding in the alleyway, he was promptly attacked by a ceramic hammer. The cool air generated by the fragile looking weapon gave him a foreboding feeling.

Without another word, Shirou quickly traced his pair of swords and swung at the black-clad man. "What the bloody hell is with you Japanese and swords!" the Clock Tower agent cried out in frustration before another "Algiz" escaped his lips. The sword was fended off but Shirou decided to throw the blade in his other hand at the man, stabbing it into his arm.

The man grunted at the pain but made no sign in backing down. Instead, he asserted his situation. Given the distance between him and the floating gem, he could try and snatch it before making his escape. If he utilizes his mystic code, it should render the sniper useless. Slamming the hammer onto the hard ground, he called out "Isa" before making a run for the gem.

Shirou, seeing what the man was trying to do, leaped over the growing ice wall before dashing after him. "Stop! It's dangerous!"

Unfortunately, the black-clad agent did not heed the boy's warning. Instead, he tried to make a grab for the jewel. Despite the danger of doing so, Shirou decided to stop the man by getting to the jewel first. With a burst of prana sent into his legs, he kicked off the hard street and leaped at dangerous artifact.

Not knowing the boy's talent in Self Reinforcement, the man was unprepared when the boy suddenly sped past him and snatched the gem before he had a chance to. Snapping himself out of his stupor, the black-clad man decided to take the take the artifact from the boy by force. Bringing down the hammer once more with a cry of "Isa", he tried to encase the boy's body in a pillar of ice.

That was when the Jewel Seed started reacting violently. A sudden burst of pure mana erupted from the tiny gem, throwing the man through a nearby building before it pulsed once more.

Shirou was screaming in pain at that point. Due to his contact with the small gem, a surge of mana rushed directly into his body. The nerves he had used in order to create his artificial Circuits began to fill with magical energy, morphing them into high quality Circuits.

One by one, the pain was unbearable. His mind kept altering between the state of wakefulness and unconsciousness as the procedure continued. Every time he blackouts, the pain force him awake. Every time he awakes to the pain, his mind would force his consciousness to fade. His original Circuits began flaring to life as well, adding to the agonizing experience.

Off to the side, the quartet that had finally got out of the icy barricade looked at the redhead in worry. Even though Fate and Arf weren't on good terms with the trio, they wouldn't have wished such torment befall their rivals.

"What's happening to Shirou-kun?" Nanoha asked with a trembling voice. While Yuuno had told her about the dangers these small jewels could cause, it was the first time she witnessed such happening.

"The Jewel Seed is going out of control!" Yuuno shouted in panic.

"But wasn't it already sealed?" Fate questioned. Her voice was filled with worry about the boy.

After their first encounter, the girl had been afraid of seeing the boy. His blood was the first to stain her hands. Even if it was an accident, it still haunted her dreams. Now, on their second meeting, she is once more witnessing him in a pain so powerful most men would've been broken a long time ago.

"It must've been due to both your spells clashing during the sealing," Arf supplied. "What should we do, Fate?"

"We have to help him," was the blond girl's answer. "Maybe if we try another sealing it will stop?"

Before they had a chance to try Fate's idea, the gem sunk into Shirou's hand as if passing through water. The scream suddenly stop but what happened next would forever be engraved into the mind of those present. A wave of fire and light swept throughout the sealed area, changing the scenery into an empty field of red as far as the eyes could see. The sky was dyed in an orange hue with smog tainting the scenery. The loud sound of a hammer striking an anvil echoed throughout the barren landscape.

In the middle of it all was the redhead facing off against a human-shaped shadow with an eerie black glow.

Having endured the pain for what felt like an eternity, Shirou awoken to find himself staring into nothing but darkness.

"Where am I?" the boy asked but he couldn't feel his lips moving. He couldn't feel anything at all. Even though his voice echoed through the darkness, he knew he shouldn't be able to hear anything either. All of his senses shouldn't have worked in such a place. He didn't understand how he knew either.

That was when a sudden rush of images met him; images of him talking to people he had never met; images of places he had never seen before; images of him older than he should be. "Could these be my alternative selves?" the boy questioned. He had remembered his father talking about an old man name Zelretch once; the man known as the Kaleidoscope.

For reasons unknown, the boy felt his instinct telling him to continue viewing his alternative selves. Seeing no way out of his current predicament, he decided to obey.

Shockwaves after shockwaves erupted from the two combatants in the desolated field. While the shadow doesn't have a weapon, relying on its hands and feet to attack, it doesn't seem to be damaged by the sword Shirou wielded.

Nanoha was staring at her best friend in awe along with the three aliens. She had never seen a sword even close to the beautiful silver blade Shirou was swinging around. Every time the boy swung the sword, a silver streak of light was left in its trail. The sword was double edged with its blades curved inward. There was also some kind of word written on the blade, but Nanoha couldn't tell what language it was. The pommel of the sword had a sharp tip to it as well, and it was sturdy enough to be used as a weapon as well, seeing as Shirou tried to stab the shadow with the hilt as well.

From time to time, the blade would flicker as if fading out of existence before solidifying for some reason. There were a few times where the sword would simply pass through the shadow without harming it at all, but the boy was able to keep it solid in order to fend off all of the shadow's attacks.

Even though the sword should've been too big and heavy for the redhead to carry, he was swinging it as if he had done so for years. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as the boy's sudden improvement in his sword skill was helping win the fight. Even with the holy blade in his hand, the shadow doesn't seem to be hurt.

Breaking the blade as it was slashed down by the redhead, the shadow suddenly stabbed forth with its right hand, intending to impale the boy through his head.

Without wavering, a sword suddenly appeared between the outstretched hand and Shirou's face. As the shadow touched the blade, it started burning in fury. It was as if the sword was telling the being touching it was unworthy of laying a hand on it. An unearthly wail escaped the humanoid shadow, giving Shirou enough time to get away.

Finally seeing a chance to approach her friend, Nanoha quickly made her way over to the boy. "Shirou-kun, thank goodness you…" the girl was suddenly cut off by the sight of the redhead. While he was still moving about, his eyes were dimmed. No matter how many times Nanoha tried calling out to him, there was no response.

As the shadow approach once more with a more feral look to it, Shirou sprang into action. This time, it was a different sword. While the blade looked plain, the hilt was pure gold. Unlike the previous blade, those standing near the boy could feel its bloodlust. The sword met the shadow's fist and shattered, but this time, a deep gash appeared on its arm. While the holy blade was sturdier and could hold off the shadow for a longer period, the new blade had managed to hurt it. It couldn't heal its new wound either for some reason.

Two more blades of the same kind soon appeared above Shirou before they were shot forth, piercing the shadow through its chest. Another roar of pain reverberated through the field once more. However, it started melting into a pool of shadow before a human-beast hybrid creature appeared in its place. Though it was still made up of shadow, there were a few more prominent features on it like eyes, a nose, and a mouth full of sharp fangs.

Instead of charging straight at the boy, it sped around in a zigzag pattern. Not giving enough time for the redhead to aim the swords he had created, the shadow slammed into him with the force of a speeding car.

The blow should've broken at least a few ribs, but Shirou's face remained passive. Before the boy had a chance to get up, the werewolf-like shadow charged at Shirou once more, only to be stopped by a yellow cube locking its left arm in place. A pink hoop appeared on its right wrist as well.

[Thunder Smasher]

[Divine Buster]

A pair of pink and yellow beams smashed into the creature, throwing it away from the injured redhead. While it didn't hurt the beast, it gave them enough time to help Shirou up.

"Shirou-kun, are you alright? Please, talk to me," Nanoha fretted. Unfortunately, there was still no response from the redhead. His eyes still appeared dead to the world.

"It's like he's in a trance," Fate said. It was the first time she had seen someone behave this way, but she had read books pertaining to such behaviors before. But she had never even heard of someone fighting so efficiently in such a condition before. The books had said that a person's actions were dulled when the trance puts a person made them near unconscious, not sharpened.

As if seeing its opponent gaining allies in their fight, the beast let loose a rage filled roar before charging the two girls. With its claw stretched out in front, the creature shot toward its targets at a blinding speed.

The two girls quickly grabbed Shirou before taking flight. For the moment, an unspoken truce was agreed on by the two parties. "Any idea how to deal with that thing?" Nanoha asked. The girl merely had a month worth of experience in the mystic arts so other than blowing them up with pink beams of doom, she doesn't know how to combat otherworldly creatures.

Before Fate could answer, a black bow appeared in Shirou's hand. There was also a moment where his hair suddenly flashed white but the girls thought it was merely a trick of the light.

"M… My bones… shall… twist… all in… its… way…" the dead-looking redhead intoned as he drew the bow. Given his limited movement due to the two girls holding him up in midair, he didn't seem perturbed. A drill-like sword appeared as he pulled the bowstring back before it shifted, becoming thinner and thinner until a thin arrow was left. "Calad…bolg…"

The sword-turned-arrow shot down at the creature at a blinding speed. There was a moment where it flickered out of existence before the drill-like sword appeared once more in its unmodified state. While it lost some speed due to its less aerodynamic design, the Fake Spiral Sword didn't lose any of its destructive power. Once the sword collided with the shadow, it erupted in a cloud of black and red, causing the beast to howl out in pain.

Outside of the Reality Marble, which looked like a giant glowing blue hemisphere, Emiya Kiritsugu was crying out in pain as he convulsed on the ground. The three other members in charge of Uminari's safety were panicking over the situation. "What is wrong with Emiya?" Alexander was the first to voice his concern while the two other members gave a wince as another pain-filled scream escaped the Magus Killer.

"He's going to hurt himself if this continues. How long before the medic team arrives?" Shirō asked.

"They will not be here for another three minutes unfortunately," Ai answered. She was currently hiding her paling face behind an ornate battle fan.

The battle-hardened man continued to writhe around on the rough ground before a final ear-piercing howl and arc his back to an inhuman degree before collapsing on the ground. Thick black sludge soon flowed out of the man's facial orifices before crawling its way into the blue hemisphere, dodging a few Black Keys that was aimed at it without slowing.

"What the hell is that?" Alexander asked as he tried to launch another salvo of Black Keys at the thing while Ai tried to shred it with her blades of wind.

With one giant leap, the blob of sludge jumped into the Reality Marble, leaving the trio dumbfounded. "Whatever it is, it's nothing good…" Shirō stated ominously.

Shirou had lost track of the amount of time he had spent viewing images of his alternates. He had seen himself being raised by the twisted priest, Kotomine Kirei; follow in the footstep of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh; accidentally thrown through the timeline and landed in medieval England; a world where he lived in ignorance of the magical community after Kiritsugu adopted him; even fighting off gods trying to rebel against the nature of their own myths; that and much, much more. There was even a world where he lived with his birth parent, Yukihira Jouichirou, and trying to be a renowned chef since the age of three while facing off against other prominent chefs in culinary battles in a special cooking school. For a moment, Shirou wondered if that was the reason why he had such a great aptitude for cooking, but brushed it off as something he would think about later. He did find it strange that no matter which world he viewed, he would always be surrounded by at least three females as his closest acquaintances.

With every world he had seen, even if it was merely a passing glance, at least one new blade was forever burned into his memory, and new lessons were learnt. Be it something as common as a mere kitchen knife to swords of great legends from a bygone era, every blades his eyes came in contact with was added to his arsenal. Knowledge and wisdom from how to prepare a simple meal to fixing a V-Max motorcycle and even the self-created fighting styles of his future selves were forcefully crammed into his head. Unfortunately, there was no information to help him understand women better. Poor guy.

However, the boy could care less about the unique phenomenon. Currently, he was viewing an image of his grown-up version stabbing Kanshou into the back of Tohsaka Rin, one of his closest friends in that world, all for the sake of destroying the Holy Grail. His grownup alternative had chosen to walk the path of an Ally of Justice and killed Matou Sakura, his beloved kōhai, in order to save the lives of many. He shouted at his alternative self, telling him to stop what he was doing, but it was all for naught. He could only endure as the other Shirou finish off Illyasviel, the biological daughter of Kiritsugu, with deadened eyes before leaving Fuyuki.

'You cannot save everyone.' The tired voice of Emiya Kiritsugu filled his thoughts as he continued watching his counterpart killing more and more people in order to save even more lives, until the very end of his life, as he was persecuted by a village that he had saved for causing the calamity in the first place. Standing on the stage set up for his death, he couldn't help but give a sardonic smirk. "I guess these hands truly were never meant to hold anything…" he muttered as one of the villagers tightened a noose around his neck.

Before the scene could finish, it suddenly froze. Shirou was surprised when a loud thud accompanying the ripples suddenly appeared around the image. As the thuds became louder and louder, the ripples became more and more prominent as well until a spider-web crack appeared. With one mighty blow from whatever was on the other side of the image, the world around Shirou shattered before everything was engulfed in a blinding light.

After a short while, Shirou felt himself blinking. It was something he wasn't expecting since he had felt detached from his body ever since he regained consciousness in this weird realm. Before he had a chance to ponder what was happening, a voice interrupted him. "Oho? To think I would find one of my favorite entertainments here of all places."

The person who had spoken had a coarse voice filled with mirth. Blinking his eyes a few more times to get used to the light around him, the boy came face to face with a tall man with gray hair and beard standing before a field of stars. His eyes had an unnatural red glow to them as he looked down at the boy with an amused smirk. He was dressed in a black suit with white patterns embroidered on. A pair of white gloves covered his large hands and a black cloak fitted snugly over his shoulders.

The man suddenly gave an over exaggerated bow before introducing himself. "How are you doing, m'boy? I'm Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. A pleasure to meet you."

Ladies and gentlemen, the Wizard Marshal has arrived.

Swords used by Shirou in order:
1) Arondight2) Dyrnwyn
3-5) Tyrfing
6) Caladbolg