Chapter 8 – Zouken's Plot
Luca stood out in the tiny front lawn of his home as he stared absently at the beautiful night sky. The stars carving themselves onto the sky with glimmering light as the moon shone with calming brightness onto the inhabitance of the earth made Luca stand in awe at the grandeur sight. Luca breathed in then exhaled out with a content smile as he quietly listened to the continuous chirping of the cicadas.
Replaying back the events that had happened for the past couple days, Luca couldn't help but reaffirm to himself that the bizarre and absurd occurrences he witnessed did, in fact, actually happened. The lady who called herself by the name, Irisviel, told him right after they got back to the massive castle in the forest that she will be erasing and altering his memories because he did not belong in the magical side of the world. To merely have the knowledge of magic labeled Luca as a target for the Executors of the Church, in other words, people that will be sent out by the Church to kill him. Shirou had clearly warned him of this happening, hence why he was right now by his house with both of his parents sound asleep instead of being with Shirou and helping the entire family out.
Thinking further back in the past to when he first officially met Shirou in his battered state, Luca remembered the unique words the powerful mage uttered when he was combatting Uncle Kariya due to a misunderstanding. Trace On, that was what Shirou had said when the dual blades appeared.
Was it those words alone that granted Shirou power? Luca couldn't help himself but imagine the possibility. Deciding to give it a go, Luca closed his eyes as he controlled his breathing at a steady pace. "Trace –" Luca began, "O—" suddenly, a sound of scurrying footsteps could be heard from his right.
Shooting open his eyes, Luca immediately whirled his head to the right to see the outline of two glowing legs exerting with mana retreating away to another street. Wasn't that a mage? Is the person … an Executor? Luca gave the idea a benefit of a doubt. If this was what Shirou and Irisviel have been warning him about all along, Luca would not stand by idly to let the person kill off his entire family.
Rushing over towards the direction of where the figure once was, Luca then darted left to the direction where the figure ran away. Squinting his eyes, Luca can make out the running figure before him wearing … a school uniform? Luca shook his head a couple of times in denial at what he is seeing, but no matter how much he denied it, it was clear that the running person earlier is definitely the two pig-tailed girl in front of him. Regardless though, Luca would not let a simple attire and body size deter his resolve in catching the culprit, especially since his parents' lives are on the line.
The girl turned her head around to glance behind her to see a charging Luca as she reacted to his chase by doubling her speed. What is this girl, Luca thought to himself, she is ridiculously fast!
Rounding about a corner, Luca skidded onto the ground as his knee lightly scraped the asphalt road. Suddenly, the ground vibrated from underneath him, Luca didn't even think twice before scurring out of the vibrating place as the asphalt road cracked and protruded in a slightly uplift angle. Even if Luca didn't run away from the anomaly, he doubted he would have even been immobilized by that attack directed at him. But after seeing this, Luca confirmed his suspicion, this girl is definitely a mage. Zooming forward with all the speed he could muster, Luca spotted a dark outline to his right and immediately went for the attack as he tackled down the person behind all this trouble.
"Ooph," Luca grunted when an elbow jabbed his ribs painfully as both the girl and Luca tumbled uncontrollably on the rocky ground, making Luca wince a couple times when the stones on the road dug into his skin sharply.
Once the rolling came to a stop, Luca didn't hesitate to pin the girl down onto the ground and secured her arms above her head so she will not be able to do anything.
"Let go of me!" the girl screamed as she thrashed about to try to wiggle her way out.
"W-who are you?!" Luca panted in between breaths but was able to clearly get his message across.
However, the girl was still unwilling to cooperate. "I said LET GO OF ME!" the girl yelled as a surge of mana blasted Luca off of the girl, making him gasp for breath at the unexpected forceful impact.
But Luca was quick to action when he latched onto one of the girl's legs to prevent her from running. The girl's legs glowed green as crisscrossing lines ran across her thigh and calf from under her school stockings. Delivering a kick, Luca was forced to let go of his sturdy grip when the unnaturally powerful blow was directed at him.
Luca landed onto the road in a painful heap as he helplessly nursed his head after bonking his skull on the street. Before Luca was able to stand back again, a leg pushed against his chest forcefully as Luca was pinned down onto the asphalt pavement.
Luca could now see the girl's face, fully laced with anger and fury as she pointed her outstretched palm at him. Luca gave a bittersweet smile at the girl, "At least don't kill my family."
The girl's angered face quickly turned to one of bafflement. "What?"
Luca tried to use the opening by lifting himself up but the leg on top of him wouldn't even budge a single centimeter. What is this girl? Is she made of stone or what?!
"Who are you, why are you chasing me?" the girl asked coolly, her voice laced with annoyance and hatred.
"I'm not going to tell anything to a person that only kills for their own convenience, Executor," Luca shot the girl a disdainful glare.
The girl's face was now positively confused as she leaned forward at Luca's face. "You look familiar," the girl muttered out in thought.
Luca just kept his silence.
"You look like my kindergarten teacher, Saijou Elsa," the girl continued to think aloud. "Are you … Luca?" the girl finally asked in conclusion.
Luca looked at the stranger with disbelief. There was no way she figured that out simply because his mother was her kindergarten teacher, she had to have known firsthand already. But taking another look at the contemplating expression the girl held, Shirou was slowly beginning to doubt that was relating her as an evil Executor really right all along. She was after all a girl around his age. But …
The girl sighed as she lessened the force on her feet. "So you really are him," she declared despite Luca never confirming her claim. "Why did you tackle me?"
What is this girl doing, was all Luca had in mind at this moment. She could have easily killed him and now she is giving him the opportunity to flee from her. But considering that she is a mage, there was honestly no telling what she is capable of doing if he ever does run away.
"Did you not come here to kill me and my family?" Luca asked with an accusing glare.
"What?! You're accusing of a crime like that?! The Tohsaka—" the girl was interrupted when the sound of something spinning and rattling could be heard from the girl's chest.
The girl's face quickly morphed into a frown as she took out from the inside of her shirt a compass like object tied around her neck by a string. Taking a quick glance at it, Luca could see the compass's needle tip had a red glowing light on it as the needle continuously spun around before stopping suddenly to its north.
Once the needle has pointed in a decisive direction, the girl sprinted away, leaving Luca to his own devices.
"Hey, wait up!" Luca cried out, not willing to let the girl out of his sight for a single second.
The girl didn't pay him any heed as she pumped mana into her legs in a steady flow, green glowing lines that turned into aqua blue crisscrossed around her legs before she shot out like a whirlwind, doubling her speed. However, whatever magic that was, Luca had no intentions of losing against it as he exerted even more strength through his legs despite his muscles screaming in protest.
Trying to keep up with the girl who is getting further and further ahead of him, Luca felt a sudden oppressing atmosphere around him as his breathing began to grow ragged. Luca shook his head to dismiss the unexpected nausea as he kept his eyes fixated on the road ahead of him.
The girl then darted to the left as Luca followed suit. Luca's lungs felt like they were about to burst, the feeling of vomiting from overexertion was rapidly beginning to show its symptoms. However, the sound of an explosion and the sight of flying splintering wood snapped him out of his trance when a person came crashing out of nowhere as the man managed to skid across the ground in an upright position, doing all this while holding dual blades of black and white respectively.
The girl in front of Luca also halted her steps in shock at the sudden emergence of the man. The person stared intensively in front of him before slowly turning his head to the right to see both Luca and the girl.
Luca knew this face all too well for the past couple insane days of his life, the red-headed person who looked almost identical to him was none other than Shirou, the powerful sword mage, himself.
Shirou raced through the streets with superhuman speeds when the sound of bullets and the shrilling of blades can be heard in front of him. Shirou quickly traced out the two married swords as the dual blades came into existence and rested firmly in his grip. No matter how much he wanted to help his old man, Shirou knew his father was more than capable of defeating an opponent like Kirei. After all, Shirou had heard from not only Saber herself, but also Kirei has spoken of his father defeating him in a battle back the in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Shirou just hoped that it was by sheer skill instead of pure luck that allowed his old man his final victory.
With all these thoughts in mind, Shirou knew that his objective is to first get to Saber and Irisviel and get them out of the collapsing Matou residence before luring Matou Zouken himself out of the building once Shirou's initial objective is met so he could fight Zouken himself without worries.
Leaping over the gate that separated the building from the road, Shirou was about to charge into the burning house when a blade shot out of nowhere as Shirou was forced to reinforce his arm to its limit to bring his right blade up in time to deflect the projectile. With that split-second reaction, Shirou was able to get a quick glance at the bladed projectile, something which was commonly called as a Black Key. A mystic code that is only used by people of the Church. Something only Kotomine Kirei would use during the Fourth Grail War. Shirou continued to race into the house as two more projectiles tried to deter his resolve as Shirou ducked under one and deflected the other.
Shirou proceeded by forcefully kicking open the heavy wooden door down as he prepared to charge in without reserve. However, right when Shirou was about to rush in, a massive skeletal spider screeched loudly as it smashed into Shirou full force. Shirou was barely able to do a split-second reinforcement as he placed his dual blades protectively in front of him when the blow crashed into him.
The skeletal familiar, when smashing into Shirou, blew off a large segment of the wooden wall beside it as splinters of wood blasted out alongside with Shirou. Shirou quickly leaped into the air as he was pushed back to avoid the gated fence around the residence before landing and continuing skidding backward before coming to a halt. Shirou looked intensively in front of him as he made out the vague outline of the abominated figure before him, no doubt another one of Zouken's familiar.
Readying his blades, Shirou noticed something off from his peripheral vision. Slowly turning his head in a cautious manner, Shirou cursed inwardly at who is now in his line of sight. Shirou often wondered what had he ever did to deserve such a horrible outcome, was it because of his luck or was it simply because Fate decided to play a game with him? Shirou continued to stare at the two individuals before him who are none other than his past counterpart, Luca, and a certain talented twin pig-tailed girl, someone whom Shirou knew was impossible to forget after experiencing so much with her in the "past" Grail War, and that person was none other than Tohsaka Rin.
Shirou wore an incredulous expression as he continued to stare at the two of them inaudibly with his mouth slightly gaping open.
Finally, Shirou broke the tense silence that permeated between all of them. "You … have got to be kidding me, right?" Shirou spoke aloud at the two children to his right before sighing.
Both children stayed silent at the odd comment that came out of Shirou's mouth.
Shirou had no idea why or how in the world did the both of them came to know and meet each other, but that was not the point right now. Shirou can hold off the interrogation session he'll be subjecting the kids to later. Currently, he has bigger troubles to attend to. Where was Waver and Alexander again when he needed them, Shirou sighed inwardly in lament.
"Stay here," Shirou said sternly at both of the children. "We're going to the Einzbern Castle later."
"She's an Executor!" Luca blurted out in accusation while pointing at Rin.
Shirou turned his head back at Luca. "Where did you got that idea? She's not. And, can this wait until—" Shirou was interrupted when three flying spiders leaped into the air and was about to crash into him.
Shirou quickly threw Kanshou and Bakuya as both blades blew up at the impact when Shirou accurately flooded the blades with mana right when it smashed into the creatures.
The skeletal frames of Zouken's familiars screeched so loudly that it caused Shirou's eardrums to ring when the next emerging spiders continued its warpath by racing faster in its suicidal charge.
"Relentless, aren't you," Shirou grimaced when another shrilling screech met his ear.
Tracing out Bakuya, Shirou threw the blade at supersonic speeds as a sonic boom lightly swayed the trees nearby at the stunning display of force. The blade crashed into the familiar's mutated skull as it cleaved the creature in half, rending it completely immobile. The creature twitched a couple times in agony before finally falling apart in silence.
"Rin," Shirou turned his head around to meet the said girl. The girl's mouth opened slightly in surprise at her name being addressed by a complete stranger. If Shirou were any less mentally occupied than he is now, he would have noted to himself inwardly that this is the first time he has ever used his magical mentor's first name. "If any crest worms approach you, use a Grandr shot."
"Grandr shot?" Rin asked with confusion as she tried hard to pronounce the odd foreign word.
"The cursed magic blast," Shirou clarified.
Rin shook her head. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Shirou face fell into what could be resembled as a frown. "You don't know what that is?" Shirou spoke while he mentally screamed, "Isn't that your renown trademark?!"
Rin nodded in slight embarrassment.
Shirou ran his hand through his hair in frustration. If he leaves both kids here, the familiars of Zouken are bound to overtake them some time or another. Shirou could tell them to run back wherever they came from, but with Zouken's all-seeing eyes, Shirou knew it would also be a matter of time before all of Zouken's pests catch up and kidnap, or worse, kill them. Lastly, there was the option of taking both Rin and his past counterpart, Luca, with him, but even that was an extremely dangerous decision. There is honestly no telling what can happen next.
Luca, as if reading Shirou's thoughts, peered his golden brown eyes at Shirou earnestly. "We're coming with you."
Shirou nodded with uncertainty at his younger self's words but could do nothing else about it. Now was not the time to resolve his inner conflict nor was it the time to talk it out with both of the currently immature kids.
"Stay close," Shirou said. "If you see Irisviel or Saber, give me a holler."
Both children nodded their heads in tacit agreement at Shirou's request.
Shirou barely even made one step forward when another spider, this time one that is twice the size of the previous one, came leaping out of nowhere and onto Shirou. Shirou was quick to respond by reinforcing his arms when the sharp legs of the arachnid crashed onto Shirou's forearm roughly as Shirou was sent tumbling to the ground at the impact.
"Ugh," Shirou groaned when his head bonked the asphalt road hard. It appears he had completely forgotten to reinforce his scalp as well. Lifting the arachnid with shaky arms as the spider continued to wrestle against Shirou for dominance, snapping its mandibles in an excited manner, Shirou raised his legs and kicked the creature right through the abdomen, destroying its vertebrae and severing the monster in two before Shirou threw the upper part of the body off of him.
Slapping his red strained hands onto each other to get the dust and debris that had gathered over time off of him, Shirou glanced over at the dual witnesses behind him as both of their faces significantly paled and their mouths closed and opened indecisively.
"Come along," Shirou said. "We don't have all day."
Shirou, waiting for the kids to follow up in slight impatience, lead the group up to the front door of the Matou residence. The thick wooden door that once sealed the entrance of the mage's house was no longer in existence after Zouken's massive familiar snapped the hinges off the entrance along with a chunk of the walls that stood by its side, leaving a gaping hole in its place.
Shirou could hear the clanging of metal and the soft explosions that shook the foundation of the building from underground. Shirou didn't waste his time as he resumed his soft jog while scanning with reinforced vision for any enemies nearby.
Finally, Shirou neared the stairway to the basement as he approached it carefully. Shirou paused his footsteps cautiously before stopping in place. After a couple seconds, Luca broke the silence. "Aren't you going in?"
Shirou looked back at his identical counterpart then shifted his gaze at Rin, a much less haughty one than the one he was used to … a change that Shirou was more than willing to appreciate for the time being. "Well?" Luca voiced again once Shirou met his question with silence.
"Before we go down," Shirou began slowly, " … let me do something."
Luca and Rin gave Shirou another confusing gaze for the umpteenth time as they witness history begin to unfold itself.
Kiritsugu took out his automatic machine gun as he continued to rain bullets at his opponent, Kotomine Kirei. Kirei, as if unfazed by the threat before him, materialized three pairs of black keys in the form of blades as he held them protectively in front of him, the blades serving as a shield at the supersonic speed of the projectiles. Kiritsugu knew this plan was going to fail all along considering that Kirei is an Executor of the Church. Changing his plan of action, Kiritsugu then proceeded to take out an old-fashioned gun from his inner coat pocket that was meant to only shoot his Origin Rounds. But before Kiritsugu was able to pull the gun out, as if in an instant, Kirei appeared before Kiritsugu in the matter of a split second.
Kiritsugu's eyes widened in astonishment at the inhumane speed that is performed. "Time Alter: Double Accel!" Kiritsugu whispered aloud as he leaped to the right and out of the way of the incoming bone-crushing blow.
Lifting the automatic machine gun in hand, Kiritsugu held the trigger with relentless force as he continued to shower Kirei with bullet impassively. Kirei, with an unfazed expression, lifted the three pairs of black keys in front of him as he charged once again.
A click resounded the entire battlefield as Kiritsugu's machine gun cartridge went empty. Throwing the gun to the side, Kiritsugu was once again barely able to react when Kirei shot forward like a comet as he launched a blow at the face of Kiritsugu. Reacting with last moment instincts, Kiritsugu veered his head to the side as he delivered a reinforced kick to Kirei's gut which Kirei blocked expertly by lifting his knee in defense.
Not wasting a single second, Kiritsugu diverted Kirei's incoming blurred blow with the palm of his hand as he tried to jab Kirei at his vulnerable neck. Kirei responded to the offense by twisting his body at unnatural angles and striking Kiritsugu's outstretched arm, causing Kiritsugu's bone to creak in strain before he pulled back his blow.
Jumping in the air and lashing out a series of kicks before leaping forward and using his black keys to cleave Kiritsugu in half, Kiritsugu blocked all the kicks with his hands expertly as he whispered, "Time Alter: Double Accel!" to flip over the diagonal blow delivered by Kirei.
Undeterred by his failed attempt, Kirei charged forward once again as he threw two black keys at impossible speeds at Kiritsugu which he both was barely able to dodge even with his Time Alter aiding him. Kiritsugu held back a grimace as his reservoir of magical energy was constantly strained by the continuous use of magic in one time.
Backing up to regain some distance with Kirei doing the same, both eyed their opponents in close regards. Without hesitation, both unwavering and emotionless gazes met each other as both men kicked off the ground while charging offensively, baring their weapons to kill.
Suddenly an explosion was heard loudly beside them as a rushing gust of wind blew both Kiritsugu and Kirei off course as they lost their momentarily maintained balance while both tried to refrain from stumbling in place at the sudden new phenomenon. A crash can be heard right beside them as the Matou residence came crumbling down with detrimental force. A shrill scream of a girl can be heard from under the rumble before falling silent. Kiritsugu glanced at his sworn opponent as he witnessed the Executor wearing an expression he has never seen before. An expression of confusion and endless contemplation.
Without a word, Kirei rushed in the direction of the disaster while Kiritsugu followed suit. Right now, there were higher priorities – Irisviel and Saber are under the rumble. Saber no doubt had made it alive considering her physiques as a Servant and the connection Kiritsugu still had with Saber. More likely than not, Irisviel is still alive since Avalon is inside her and Saber is also in near proximity to allow its unmatched healing to work effectively. However … a direct and clean blow to the head would spell out a different story. Not even the seemingly omnipotent sacred relic of King Arthur could create a miracle that raises the dead to life.
Kiritsugu was then unconsciously reminded of a boy who appeared out of nowhere in the Einzbern Castle, seeking to strive as a "Hero of Justice". The magus who has witnessed many battles in his life looked at Kiritsugu in a melancholy manner, saying, "Then I'm afraid it will have to take you to witness Hell to find that glimmer of salvation you desperately need."
Kiritsugu gritted his teeth in fury. His own damnation doesn't matter, he will carry the scapegoat of the entire world's scorn if it guaranteed salvation to mankind. Salvation can never be obtained without a sacrifice. Kiritsugu adamantly believed that in heart, and he had no qualms of refusing such a reality.
"Irisviel!" Saber called out when Irisviel took a lethal blow from one of Zouken's abominated creation.
Irisviel shakily stood up once the debris of smoke drifted away from her position as she gave a ragged cough at the unexpected attack. A trail of blood dripping steadily from Irisviel's mouth as she proceeded by wiping the blood away.
"Hehehehe," a senile chuckle resounded the entire dark stone chamber. "That's all a homunculus like you can manage? Your predecessor, Justeaze, is far more superior than you. Don't make me laugh when you carry her face like this."
A wave of crest worms began to approach both Saber and Irisviel as Saber stood by Irisviel's side protectively. No matter how much she tried to kill the crooked old man before her, the man refused to die. This goes beyond mere regeneration. His very soul has been altered into a different vessel.
Saber gripped her sword that is clothed with Invisible Air more tightly as she prepared the onslaught that was soon to follow. Suddenly, the door above the floor burst open as three figures rushed into the opening.
"Oh, more visitors then," Zouken said with a hint of surprise before giving a menacing grin.
"Shirou?" Irisviel uttered out once she was able to make out the shadowed figure.
A glow of green light suddenly invaded the entire gloomy dark room as two pairs of swords manifested in Shirou's arms. Not wasting a single moment of time, Shirou threw both Chinese blades at the incoming wave of worms as it exploded upon contact. The worms screeched loudly in discomfort as their burning and torn up bodies were sent everywhere in the room.
"Ah, so Shirou is your name," Zouken spoke aloud once again. A sinister smile beginning to make its way up his face as he eyed the newly emerged boy from head to toe. "Let's see how you hold off again."
Shirou didn't respond to Zouken's taunt as Shirou leaped into action by tracing Bakuya and Kanshou once again and slashed away at Zouken heart and head. Both blows hitting their intended mark as Shirou relentlessly hacked and slashed away at Sakura's oppressor.
"Hasty, aren't you," Zouken's voice could be heard from everywhere in the room as his voice echoed off the walls. "To think a boy like you will strike an elderly so easily without hesitation."
Zouken's body began to gradually reform once more as Shirou realized the futility of his efforts. No matter which vital area he strikes, regardless of how much he sliced the man into pieces, Zouken would never die. Yet … even after having all this, what closely resembled to immortality, why would this man involve himself in the Grail Wars? Why would he drag Sakura into all this mess? Shirou has heard of the explanation of Zouken wanting to revive the Matou line of magic; however, Shirou doubted the sinister selfish man in front of him would care for what would be a trivial matter to him, like his own family's wellbeing.
"Too much thinking can kill you, magus," a voice resounded from behind Shirou as Shirou immediately leaped back, dodging by a hair-width distance of a sudden suicidal leaping attack from a disfigured mutated creature.
The creature roared in agony at the failed attempt as it proceeded to crash into the stone wall roughly, ending its life. Shirou then glared back at Zouken with eyes that could kill.
"You make me curious, boy," Zouken chuckled as his body finally completed its regeneration. "Did Kariya sent you here to save Sakura?"
Shirou gritted his teeth in anger at the mention of Sakura's name as his grip tightened around the dual blades. "Anybody will save her from a vile person like you," Shirou said, his voice dangerously low.
"Oh, hehehe, is that so," Zouken said slowly, making sure to pronounce his words clearly to get through Shirou's ears. "It's a shame a perfect vessel like her would need to go to waste."
Shirou's pupils shrank at the revelation. Vessel? For what?
"What do you want with her?" Shirou asked as he lifted his head to look straight into his opponent's eyes.
"Something every man desire," Zouken began cryptically. "Immortality."
"Wha—"
"Immortality?" a voice interrupted Shirou from behind. Despite the major difference of the change in her tone of voice, Shirou could easily pinpoint the voice belonging to Irisviel. "You dare drain a child's life to sustain your own?!" Irisviel exclaimed as she yelled out in rage and rebuke. "You shame yourself, Makiri Zolgen," Irisviel ended coolly.
"Tch," Zouken gave a snarl of anger for the first time during the entire battle. "Homunculus, you dare use my past against me?!"
A wave of worms began to grow into a massive pile beside Zouken as he continued to gather his familiars in one location. "Reap your consequences," Zouken snarled.
Before Zouken can launch off an attack, a tiny yet audible whisper can be heard in the midst of the battlefield. "Grandfather Matou," a black-haired twin pig-tailed girl looked in downcast at the bloody floor as she spoke, "why would you want to kill Sakura?"
Zouken halted his attack as he eyed Rin who had tears trailing down her cheek in a rhythmic manner. "Kill Sakura? Oh, no," Zouken chuckled lightly, "it is to sacrifice."
The sniffling of the little girl fell completely silent at the words as wind began to gradually pick up in the gloomy space. "You want to kill my sister … you want to k-kill her …" Rin mumbled out to herself repeatedly before looking up with aqua eyes full with rage. "DIE, ZOUKEN!"
The calming wind began to pick up into a raging storm as the mana compass pointed indecisively around the room before it overloaded and broke down. "DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!" Rin repeatedly yelled in a berserk manner as she flung concentrated bolts of mana in different forms from left to right as the basement's unstable walls shook at the stunning display of force.
Shirou knew this was bad. Despite his lack of knowledge regarding magical theories and whatnot, Shirou knew the emotionally distress girl in front of him is recklessly using too much mana at once. If she keeps up this pace, she will drain herself of magical energy too quickly and may end up severely injuring her body. And if her unleashed torrent of mana doesn't stop soon, Shirou knew for certain that the walls will cave in and the burning building above them will bury them alive. Neither results were what Shirou wanted.
"Rin, calm down!" Shirou called out in the midst of the howling wind. However, Rin's hateful gaze didn't relent from Zouken's manically grinning figure as she continued to unconsciously channel more mana through her body. "Rin!" Shirou called out once again as he shielded his eyes from the debris that were picked up by the wind and flying around the entire room in a frenzied pace. It looked like there was a miniature typhoon inside the basement.
The concrete walls gave a groan as cracks quickly made its way up the entire length of the basement as the powerful force of nature chipped the building's foundation piece by piece. The familiars around the entire room screeched incomprehensibly as they were thrown in all directions, smashing them forcefully onto any nearby object.
Shirou scanned around the state of the room and realized there was no time. Either he gets Rin out of here in time or they all die. Shirou hastily reinforced his legs as he pressed himself down on the floor before shooting out across the room towards Rin. Rin whirled her head to the side to see a charging mid-flight Shirou as she widened her eyes in shock. Closing her eyes in fear, Rin extended her hands forward as a bolt of blue light arced across the room and blasted Shirou right in the chest, sending him flying to the back of the room and hitting the concrete wall roughly, making him split his scalp open at the detrimental force.
"Shirou!" Irisviel and Saber cried out.
There was no use, Shirou came to a grim realization. By catching Rin completely off guard had placed her in a more dangerous state than she was earlier. At this rate, she is going to completely fry her Magic Circuits. Then how … how was he going to save her?
Shirou lifted his rugged body as his head continued to profusely bleed. Raising his head as he eyed the little girl causing all this with hazy eyes, Shirou saw another similar height child making his way towards the girl.
Huh? Shirou couldn't help but voice his confusion at the development but his reinforced hearing picked up the sound as everything became clear to him.
The boy walked up behind Rin and held her tightly from behind as the little girl's body immediately froze at the contact.
"It's okay, it's okay," the little boy which Shirou pinpointed as his younger counterpart kept repeating, seemingly completely unfazed at the raging storm and impending death they were in. "She's safe, Sakura's safe. We've saved her," Luca kept soothing Rin as Rin's breathing grew more ragged as a whimper made its way out her throat.
"Sakura will want to become friends with us," Luca kept saying as he whispered into Rin's ears. "We can see her tomorrow and play in the park by my house."
The wind began to gradually die down as tears began to form once again on Rin's eyes before spilling onto her already tear stained face.
Finally, after a couple more seconds of Luca holding Rin tightly as the girl was able to calm herself, a crack resounded the ceiling.
Shirou quickly looked up at the source of noise and noticed the entire stone ceiling was about to come crashing down right on Luca and Rin.
"You're already dead," Zouken chuckled at the two children before him before adding, "wouldn't want a troublesome Tohsaka coming against me one day."
The worms, acting by Zouken's will, slammed themselves onto the basement walls as the ceiling shook powerfully when it finally gave in from the massive quake as chunks of concrete headed its way down at the two children.
"DANGER!" Shirou yelled out as he pumped his legs with mana, charging forward without any heed of what's happening with his body.
Irisviel immediately acted as she summoned tendrils of mana to catch the mid-air boulders, but however, was only able to do so much due to the huge amount of quantity that is falling down to the ground.
Luca looked up instantly at Shirou's cry when he noticed the impending danger. Luca quickly picked up his legs to run but glanced up to his horror to see a rock heading right at him. At the last split second, Luca pushed Rin away from him as he stumbled in place. Rin fell roughly to the ground as she whirled her head around in fear to see a soft smile forming on Luca's lips before a boulder smashed right through Luca's entire torso violently as Luca choked out blood in extreme pain.
Rin screamed in agony when the same boulder that killed Luca crashed into her right extended leg, giving her bones a sickening crunch.
No, this can't be happening, Shirou thought to himself over and over again at the sight in front of him. Saber was quick to action when she was raced right beside Luca and lifted the stone off of him and Rin. Irisviel covered her hands in front of her mouth in horror at the gruesome sight as innocent blood laid splattered across everywhere.
Saber gripped the pommel of her sword tightly as her teeth gritted with the hatred and the wrath of a king. "You MONSTER!" Saber yelled at the figure of Zouken who was watching the entire scene with amusement.
"Rest well, King Arthur," Zouken grinned with rotten teeth in a mocking manner.
"Not without you," Arturia, the King of Knights, announced as Invisible Air was unsheathed from the holy blade, Excalibur, shining radiantly in all its glory.
The ceiling, finally completely giving out due to its poor durability and the weight of the collapsed house above it, the entire basement caved in at everybody present in the room.
Unleashing a torrent of mana unlike any other seen before, golden light gathered and flocked around the sword of victory as all the hopes and dreams of man sang "Victory unto the King!" unceasingly with joy. "EXXXXXXXXXX—" Saber shouted out as she raised her blade behind her.
Zouken's eyes periodically widened at the amazing sight as the entire building crumbled around him at an increasingly fast pace. "Justeaze," Zouken whispered out as his dreams and hopes manifested before him at the compelling irresistible power of the legendary king's blade.
"CALLLLLLLIBURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" the blade swung down in the name of glory and justice as the golden light obliterated everything before it.
Once Excalibur's light died down, everything collapsed on them as darkness reigned over Shirou's mind. Was this the very end, Shirou thought to himself with a deprecate mental chuckle as he gave a satisfied smile. Even if this was the very end, Shirou was glad he had tried his very best and hardest, even if it was not enough to ensure the salvation of those around him. "Old man," Shirou whispered aloud as he teetered indecisively between the border of consciousness and unconsciousness, "did I become a Hero of Justice?" and Shirou fell into the embrace of blissful sleep.
Thank you for reading!
Think this is a bad ending where everyone dies? Think again when the next update comes out! Please review and tell me your thoughts about this chapter or story in general. I will highly appreciate your thoughtful insight. Thank you very much!
Two new stories are coming out which are the top two voted ones in the last poll. The poll results can be seen under my profile page or below this author's note. As the Fate/Apocrypha fan fiction is significantly easier to write (my opinion), that story will be published earlier than the back in time to Britain fiction. But do note that that does not necessarily mean the Fate/Apocrypha fiction will be updated more often than that of the back in time to Britain one. Update frequencies are dependent upon popularity and my personal interest.
For the Fate/Apocrypha story (specifically Fate/Apocrypha idea 2), I will be adding Saber and Tohsaka in the fiction though their involvement in the story will not become a commonplace early on in the story as Shirou is the only person who first entered into the world of Apocrypha as stated in the idea.
Lastly, if for some reason the majority audience are dissatisfied with the Fate/Apocrypha fiction, I will be writing Fate/Apocrypha Idea 1 instead and see how that works out as both the poll results for F/A Idea 1 and F/A Idea 2 are incredibly close. Of course, that is not to say I will never be writing Fate/Apocrypha Idea 1 just because Idea 2 is a huge success. I may write it out of personal interests … who knows.
Next update for Fate/Blade Zero is coming out in 9 days on Monday. Both the Fate/Apocrypha and the back in time to Britain fiction should come in between that time frame hopefully. But please don't outright expect a 10,000 word chapter for both stories. It is not humanly possible for me to pump out 30,000 words (for three stories) in about 10 days. Thank you very much for your patience! – SteelBlades333
Voting results from the 2nd poll (Which story plot would you like to see written? [Story descriptions can be seen under my profile page]):
1. Fate/Stay Night (back in time to Britain) Idea 2 - 42 votes (26%) ~TO BE IMPLEMENTED~
2. Fate/Stay Night x Fate/Apocrypha Idea 2 - 39 votes (24%) ~TO BE IMPLEMENTED~
3. Fate/Stay Night x Fate/Apocrypha Idea 1 - 38 votes (23%)
4. Fate/Stay Night x Fate/Apocrypha Idea 3 - 25 votes (15%)
5. Fate/Stay Night (back in time to Britain) Idea 1 - 16 votes (10%)
Unique Voters - 86