Over the plains and in the night.
Shirou stood atop a hill. They were in the north of what were called the Dragonswrath Plains. Their goal was the Imperial City to the north east of where they now stood. They had faced opposition in getting this far but the Roseblack's rival to the throne, Mnemon, had rallied her army around the city and was now claiming the throne herself.
The two forces were likely to meet somewhere in the Imperial River Basin within the next few days.
He heard footsteps behind him and saw Nereth and Rai approaching him. They hadn't had much time to talk over the last few days but they had made sure to check on each other.
"Not long now until I can fulfill my promise." Nereth commented as she reached him "When this war is over we will surely help you get home."
It was that promise, made over half a year ago at this point, that had pulled Shirou in to this war. Things had changed since then though, he had found Rin and Sakura here too and they had all been changed by their time here. It was possible that getting home might be harder than anyone expected.
The three of them were silent for a few minutes looking to the north east before Rai spoke up.
"Have you heard of the sickness that is sweeping through the camp?"
Shirou nodded "It takes ten people per night right? They have no symptoms when they go to bed but they die in their sleep through some unknown means."
Nereth nodded but added "Actually, we don't think it's disease anymore. It is too regular for that. Exactly ten people every night for the last week. It might be assassination."
Rai looked over and raised an eyebrow "People share tents with those that die, wouldn't they hear something?"
"Not if it's a demon or an enemy Exalt doing it." Nereth responded.
"We can watch out for the assassin right?" Shirou suggested.
Nereth nodded "It was suggested by the higher ups that it could be done. We'll need to keep an eye out tonight."
They all agreed and for then went their separate ways.
Shirou watched the world get darker from his tent. When the sun dropped below the horizon he got ready.
Legally he wasn't allowed to wield artifacts. Practically his reality marble made that rule impossible to enforce so those in charge had got creative when equipping him.
Jade was a metal, while magical it could be alloyed (He had been testing that idea himself in his dreams). His armour then was made of one part steel to one part white jade. This alloy was then made into chain links and fashioned into mail. He wore this "Hybrid Mail" over his normal clothes before placing light armour over the top of it.
This design allowed him to still wield his weapons to their full effect. Things like his stolen Powerbow that he slung on his back.
He took his lamp and clipped it onto his belt to leave his hands free before leaving his tent.
The camp always had a night watch but as it hadn't caught the supposed assassin he would simply be wandering around the camp.
Hours passed and Shirou grew more tired as time wore on. He continued regardless, using tiny amounts of Essence running through his body to keep himself awake.
It was past midnight when he first noticed something was off. His eyes were sharp and he just noticed something move in the darkness to his right. He turned and forced Essence to improve his senses.
It looked like a moving shadow but it was quite bulky. When his eyes fixed on it the figure froze before slowly turning towards him. The figure wore a mask that completely obscured it's face. It drew a dagger and charged towards him on silent feet. Shirou responded by tracing Kanshou and Bakuya and throwing them both. The figure faded into shadow to dodge before suddenly appearing right before Shirou and launching an attack.
Shirou replied with another copy of the twin blades to parry.
The fact he had a second set seemed to suprise the assassin. Shirou took advantage of the distraction with a kick and a pair of slashes from the swords. The two he had thrown began to ark back and caught the assassin in the back. He barely reacted and Shirou realised that he was facing someone with great wells of stamina. Driving him away would likely be the easier option in this fight.
He called forth Rai's red jade Daiklave and spoke it's name.
"Rubestus"
Power flooded the blade and it glowed as if suddenly fire. Shirou knew that in this state the blade's edge would burn whatever it cut through. It could also create flames when swung through the air.
He wasn't done yet, he filled the weapon with yet more power until it had become broken and flung the longsword into the sky. It detonated into a flaming explosion like a firework but stronger, likely waking up everyone around him.
The asssassin realised that too but apparently didn't care if he was discovered right now. He vanished while Shirou was distracted by his own explosion before shifting around to hit him from behind.
Shirou reacted just in time and used another pair of traced swords to catch the dagger that the assassin was wielding before turning and counterattacking.
The two fought as soldiers started coming out of their tents. As their number started to grow the assassin started to flee. Shirou drew his bow and traced a simple sword-arrow he had made. Just as the assassin was about to get away, Shirou fired and caught the man in a shoulder. The man fell but by the time that Shirou ran to where he was standing, the man had already escaped.
He returned to the camp and managed to explain the event to his friends who would pass it up to the leaders to watch out for the assassin.
End of chapter.
Argh, I am really not happy with this chapter.
For context: This happens before Sakura's last chapter. The event she was warned of hasn't happened yet.
Honestly though this chapter feels bad. I might honestly take a break from this story when arc one is done. I have been writing a chapter a week for over two years and I think the chapters (Shirou's at least) are dropping in quality.
