First things first. To the gracious and gallant reader who sent me entire dialogues about Emiya Shiro:
I KNOW FATE LORE IN ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE. Yes, I know Emiya's backstory, etc.
To clarify yet once more, I really appreciate your help, but you're preaching to the choir. I mentioned 'his body is on auto-pilot' for a reason. Yes, I know he was conscious (had a 'free' will) as he was forced into committing heinous acts. Yes, I know his 'cynical persona' stemmed from bitterness and self-loathing.
Thanks anyway!
Some have been asking if there was no 'Alaya popularity buff' for Shiro (Sengo) since he's in Japan. Well, the problem is...he's not exactly famous. I mean, a lot of warriors used his katanas...but himself? No known legends in history. He shall explain it in more detail in this chap.
About Emiya's abilities? Wait and see! No, Muramasa's parameters would not change. I meant 'data merging' in a more 'spiritual synchronization' kind of way.
Oh, a parallel world also means this world is rather convoluted (Ritsuka, etc).
HERE WE GO!
Chapter 6 Boiling Sea
The moon shone on the two silent warriors facing each other. One with a fiery spear pointed downwards. One, with a pulsing katana set on his shoulder.
The song of waves crashing against the shore was the only thing that could be heard. A salty breeze picked up, whipping the two men's hair back and forth. There was a faint sound of the asphalt grinding and cracking underneath their feet, melting under their extreme pressure.
Bated breaths. One in, one out. In an explosion of earth and debris, the two simultaneously lunged forwards, their eyes filled with the spirit of war.
Lancer brought his lance down in an overhead swing, then followed up with a flurry of stabs that easily tore through the barrier of sound.
Shiro parried the furious assaults with his katana and slid his blade across Karna's spear shaft to redirect its point downwards. This forced Karna's strike to plunge into the ground, a move that granted Shiro the time to nimbly hop away.
The roads shattered as splinters of wood and clouds of rock erupted into the air, momentarily shielding the two from the moonlight. Metallic sparks flashed within the hazy smoke like fireflies, illuminating the dark with flickering shadows.
The ringing sound of blades followed by the sound of metal hitting flesh tore through the smoke. There was a blast of blazing orange as Karna blew away the black cloud with a mere sweep of his spear, revealing the sight within.
Shiro clutched his katana with laborious breaths, his skin partially singed. Karna touched his ribs and inspected his fingers with mild interest. An insignificant, yet unmistakable trace of blood was smeared on his fingers.
Karna's mouth quirked upwards, if ever so slightly. His grip tightened as a hiss of white steam leaking from his thin lips. A flicker-
And a massive lance of inferno spiraled with insane velocity, roaring with raw power as it plunged right into where Shiro stood. The docks shook and the thick concrete pillars which proudly stood above the ocean crumbled like rotten wood.
The hot gales hit the sizzling sea, causing humungous clouds of scorching vapor to rise. Shiro ran with the agility of the legendary ape, skipping through the water as he rode on the foaming waves.
Shoujyou Muramasa screeched in delight at the sheer might of their opponent's fire, relishing in their brief contact which came with the clash of white-hot blades.
Shiro gagged at the ridiculous taste of salt and burnt iron that plagued his lungs, narrowly sliding underneath a right-handed slash from Karna's spearhead.
His skin was half-charred by the heated air and his limbs were threatening to drop dead. 'Not a good condition at all', he thought. 'I need a distraction, an opening, anything!'
'Would you mind if I borrowed your katana?', a voice spoke up. Before Shiro could even ask why, Emiya took over his body control with unexpected ease.
Emiya screeched his body to an abrupt halt and propelled into the sky with bursts of concentrated mana. He shot through the night sky like an azure comet, his katana rattling with excitement as it burnt his palm.
Karna shifted into a counter stance; his body arched back to release his noble phantasm. Shoujyou Muramasa growled in return as mana accumulated within its blade, increasing its fiery glow to the point of self-destruction.
'Hey, Emiya. You're not telling me that you're gonna-'
'Brace yourself, old man. Don't want you fainting over some heart attack.'
Karna inhaled, a storm of hellish fire contorting the very space as he threw his supreme weapon with unmatched grace.
"With this one strike I shall burn my foes- Brahmastra Kundala (O' Brahma, curse my soul)!"
"In Death you shall Burn, O' mighty ape of fire- Shoujyou Muramasa!"
Even before Shoujyou Muramasa contacted Karna's spear, Shiro knew what would happen. Emiya could be a real bitch if he wanted to.
Lo and behold, the art of overloading legendary weapons with arcane of extreme density, the art of destroying one's opponent in exchange for the weapon.
Broken Phantasm, the ultimate suicidal strike in the form of blades.
Emiya had been expecting the ridiculous explosion, as well as the immense wave of destruction that would follow. With one arm he struck out, throwing the katana at Karna, the other arm already tracing up his defense.
"Low Ajax (The Seven Circles that cover the Heavens）!"
Transparent barriers in the form of pink petals expanded in front of his body, shielding him against the deafening roar of flames. Seven layers of magical shields, owned by the mighty protector of the Trojan war.
Karna's spear pierced through the raging havoc and hit the first layer of his shield. The first shattered like glass, and while the second managed to hold longer, it was still no match for the divine spear. The third, fourth, and fifth followed the same fate.
From the corner of his eye, Shiro saw Karna hovering in the distance, an amazed look in his wide eyes. Sadly, he had no time to enjoy his hard-earnt satisfaction when he noticed that Emiya had traced a bow in his empty right hand.
'What the-are you crazy!?', Shiro shouted in his mind.
'It was a gamble from the beginning. Now that I am sure Karna's spear wouldn't reach the seventh layer, I have a little time to prepare for my 'surprise'.', Emiya nonchalantly replied.
'How in hell are you gonna snipe him with our left arm occupied, you idiot!?'
Shiro felt Emiya smirk ominously on his face. The smug chuckle that followed did not ease him at all.
'Say, have you ever tried sniping with a giant great-bow set on one foot?'
'Oh no, you're not seriously going to attempt-'
Emiya cut of Shiro's question with a foot cast in the middle of the gigantic crimson bow, his right arm straining on the iron strings. With a strenuous heave, Emiya pulled the string back with the sole of his foot that pointed towards Karna.
Shiro felt his other leg crack under the enormous strain applied to it, but somehow he kept standing. A faint swirl of mana in his right palm materialized into a coiled sword that reeked of starving bloodlust. Shiro recognized it as one of the katanas he has forged using Emiya's collection.
Hrunting, blade of the beast killer. Shiro had taken great interest in how the cursed sword radiates an immensely murderous aura, similar to one of the blades stained by the Tokugawa's royal blood. Thus, he reforged and incorporated its essence into his very own katana-血狂い(Chigurui: Blood Crazed).
He was starting to regret his impulsive behavior.
Emiya positioned the 'arrow' on top of the bow, his mouth set in a tight line. It seems that Karna hasn't found out their 'surprise' just yet. He seemed content at gazing into his shield in vivid interest as if trying to figure out what it was.
Emiya's lips curled into a cruel grin. The 'arrow' contorted, becoming more coiled and sleeker by every passing second.
'Sorry in advance. Thanks for helping me reforge Arash's bow, by the way.', Emiya quipped. Shiro felt a nauseous feeling build up in his stomach as the haunting realization crept up his spine.
Arash, the great Persian hero. He who tore the continent apart with a single arrow. He who singlehandedly ended the war without bloodshed except his own.
'Wait, that red bow…HOLY SHIT, YOU SUICIDAL LITTLE-'
Shiro didn't get his chance to finish.
"Hound Stella (Bloody Mourning Star)！！"
The heavy twang of bowstring announced its departure as Emiya let go of the crimson streak of devastating destruction. The arrow let forth a devious roar that shook the heavens and earth as it bathed in its freedom, declaring its release with carnivorous power. Simultaneously, Karna's spear glanced off the last layer of Low Ajax with a thunderous groan.
Time seemed to slow as the divine spear soared past their powerless body as it flailed through the air like a drowning man. The spear hit the surface of the churning sea and exploded into a vast column of white steam.
Karna's mouth widened in shock at the sight of an arrow of tremendous power that appeared out of nowhere. He quickly opened his arms and released a blast of volcanic flames that rivaled a small nuke.
The night was surreally lit up by the divine sun that outshone the pale moon, as millions of citizens woke up in shock at the whitening sky. The sea started boiling as billions of dead fish appeared on the surface, burnt alive by the treacherous heat.
'Hey old man, care to take a dip in the salty hot spring to heal our tortured muscles?', Emiya suggested.
'I really can't tell if you're just masochistic or purely sadistic.', Shiro shot back in a tired tone.
'Depends on whether or not you call this body mine, because I think this body is made from your data.', Emiya snickered.
'You sadistic brat.', Shiro muttered.
'You should thank me that everything went according to plan.', Emiya teased.
'Yeah, sure. Right until the point you thought it was a brilliant idea to use a mini Stella to blast us into oblivion.', Shiro snarled.
Back in his mind, Emiya shrugged with a shake of his head.
'Hah. Old, obsolete, and senile men need the help of young guys. Capiche?'
'…'
With those words, they sunk below Fuyuki Harbor with a big splash.
Shiro sighed as they hit the dark ocean floor, or at least he mentally sighed. They were at the bottom of the ocean after all. 'Maybe this was a shit idea.', he thought with a tinge of regret.
He remembered his little talk (or more like an argument) with Artoria from just a few hours ago.
In Pendragon Manor, a few hours before nightfall
"Excuse me?", Artoria asked Shiro, her mouth opened wide in bewilderment.
"I think I might need to fake my death tonight.", Shiro repeated.
"Why?"
"There is a very high possibility that this War is irregular, and the system might be corrupted in some way."
Artoria furrowed her eyebrows with a serious look.
"How can you tell?"
"Because under normal circumstances, a being like Hassan the first could never be summoned. As a matter of fact, I shouldn't be summoned."
"…What do you mean?"
"As a servant, I know a thing or two about Grand-class servants. The Grand class is basically one of the strongest servants in human history, the guardians who would be summoned by Alaya, or even Gaia herself in times of crisis."
"…What about you?"
"Me? I'm the complete opposite. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be summoned because nobody knows who I truly am.
"But-", Artoria began. Shiro raised a finger to her lips, making her stop mid-sentence.
"My katanas are famous enough, yes. The people who used my katana may be famous, yes. However, nobody knew me, as a human. Nobody knew why I pursued the greatest blade. Nobody knew how I lived and died. Nobody knew how I fought, and whom I fought. They only know my 'accomplishments' in the form of katanas. So, tell me, young master of mine-"
Shiro gestured at himself with his thumb, a somewhat sad smile on his usually optimistic face.
"-Tell me, why would anyone be able to summon me, the blacksmith Sengo Muramasa, as a human?"
Artoria opened and closed her mouth, not knowing how to answer. Shiro pulled her head close and ruffled her hair with a hearty laugh.
"Oh, don't worry your little head over old me! To spill the beans, Alaya herself sent me, not some hero who used my katana, but me."
"W-why?", Artoria asked, a blush on her face. 'Strange, she didn't squirm.', Shiro thought, though he quickly pushed his doubts away for some other time.
"Why? Silly, you are the one who asked me how I knew this War is irregular, eh?"
"O-oh. Right. …Wait, that doesn't explain why you're going to play dead!"
"I was getting to that part. The reason is, simply, one; the servants might be too overpowered, and two; I'll need some time to check all of them out. In other words, I need time to prepare my weaponry."
"…Ok. Let's assume what you say is absolutely true. How are you going to fake your death?"
Shiro smirked.
"First, I shall fight them at the docks, where one of them declared his presence. Then, I'll receive a fatal blow that doesn't completely obliterate me, in exchange for a powerful attack of my own."
Artoria looked at Shiro as if he was the dumbest existence in the universe.
"I have a mutated noble phantasm.", he quickly explained before she used a command seal.
"…Continue."
Shiro sighed in relief.
" I have three noble phantasms. The one I'm about to use is-"
Under Fuyuki Harbor, Shiro
"万剣鋳生 (Banken Chuusei: Ten Thousand Life Works)!"
The glowing hammer wielded in his right hand was brought down in a large arc, crashing against his sternum with lethal force.
Where normal men would bleed, their bones crushed, their organs pulverized, his did not. On the contrary, they thrived. White-hot flames burned within the deep sea, creating a blinding storm of incandescent sparks.
From Shiro's exposed flesh and tattered limbs grew iron. The iron heated to the color of blood as they morphed into the shape of swords. More and more grew from Shiro's wounds, covering them until no blood left his body.
Shiro felt his mana levels drop until it was nonexistent. His heart nearly stopped beating as all significant life signals left his body. To anyone nearby, he might've looked like a very ugly sea urchin made of metal.
This was his plan. Even if Servant Caster was nearby, he was positive that he would seem as dead as a doornail. As it implied in his noble phantasm's name, he could heal his injuries with ten thousand blades, one injury per blade.
-Thou art thine Blade, Thine Blade art thou.
In theory, should he become severely injured as right now, he could heal it with about a hundred blades or less. That meant he could revive from the dead, as long as some part of him was intact. ONE. HUNDRED. TIMES.
Nonetheless, it had its downfalls since it was anything but invincible. No, he might as well be a sitting duck. The problem is that the healing process takes A LOT of mana.
That's not taking into account how he's incapable of using mana or moving a finger while healing, so even the weakest of servants would see him as prey. Artoria said something about an HP1 hero resting in the church, an example which he felt was quite accurate.
Anyway, that meant he could only heal in secluded places, one that other servants would not, could not find him. Or rather, places that they wouldn't bother to look in the first place. Such as the bottom of the sea.
To put it simply, this noble phantasm was nothing but a joke in critical situations.
However, this also meant that he could heal himself the same way he forges a sword, so as long as the injuries aren't so serious, he is basically Wolverine on steroids.
'So much for immortality.', Shiro mournfully thought.
'Shiro? Shiro!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?'
Artoria's voice boomed in his ears via their mental link, something they have established with one of Shiro's blessed swords. He was already half-regretting his decision.
'Yes, yes. I can hear you. I'm just taking a dip in some deep-water hot spring.'
'Sure is hot down here.', Shiro added as he eyed a submarine volcano.
'Oh, STOP scaring me like that! I thought, I thought that, that you might've-'
'Hush, my girl. I promised you that I shall stay by your side. A man keeps his promises, no?'
'Thank you.'
'Hmm?'
'Thank you for keeping your promise.'
Shiro grinned in his mind. His master could be really cute sometimes. After a comfortable silence, she spoke up once more.
'Who did you fight?'
'Karna.'
'WUT!?'
'Ah shit.', Shiro cursed himself as his master started babbling about how reckless he was and how lucky he was still alive.
He still had a few hours until he could move. 'SHIT.', he mumbled. It seemed that this would turn out to be a long wait.
Above, In the sky, Karna
Karna clutched his wound on the side of his stomach as he descended.
'Lucky thing that the arrow only managed to graze me.', he thought. He raised his hand and his faithful spear flew out from the ocean and right into his open palm.
'Saber might be dead. I didn't feel him dematerializing when he hit the sea, neither did I feel a command seal being used. With his fatal injuries, I doubt he would survive.'
Karna frowned. Then why? Why did he feel so uncertain? Why did he feel that Saber was not yet dead? A mere intuition, but this intuition had saved him in life and death situations for many times.
'I must report back to my master and warn him.', Karna concluded.
"Lancer, I think it is enough for one night.", a voice said. His master, Karna realized. He turned his back to leave-
And was abruptly batted down like a fly by a giant flaming bastard sword aimed at his back.
"Who are you?", Karna inquired in his usual calm tone.
"Berserker.", the deep voice answered. Karna twirled his spear, eyes lit with caution. It seemed that the night would not end after all.
Nearby, high up in the sky
"FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AH, HAHAHAHA!"
The rich voice embodied the most contagious of laughter as it echoed in the now dark sky.
"That Japanese Saber! To think that he would land a nasty hit on Karna, one of the mightiest in Hindu legends!"
The golden man burst out into uncontrollable fits of laughter once more, unable to contain his mirth at the battle that occurred before his eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHA! To think that Saber of all classes would use a bow for a tactical retreat…no, he couldn't be dead. Unless that is, his master was stupid enough to not use a seal for no reason. HAHAHAHAHA!"
In the City
"My, my. To think that the first night would light up the whole sky…geez, it is ME who ends up cleaning their mess. Do they think that casting a dream over the entire city was an easy thing!? Oh please, of course they wouldn't think about that!"
"Go fuck up and die already."
"Aww, Waver Fraga McRemitz, I love you too!"
On top of a rusty building
A dark shadow stood next to a silver-haired girl, shrouding her from sight with his black cloak.
"My oh my! Saber went down on the first night! Well, I admit he put on a good fight indeed, to think that he would also be proficient with a bow!"
"He is not dead."
"How do you know?"
"I always know."
On another rooftop of a high building
"What do you think about this situation?", a man asked. His earpiece crackled as the sultry voice of a woman answered him.
"Lancer iz veakened avter hiz vight wiz Saber. I suggest zhat we take Lanzer down wiz Berzerker when ve get ze chance, zhen retreat immediately.", she purred with a thick Russian accent.
"A hit and run strategy?"
"Correct."
"Widowmaker, set your mark. I'm sending in Ruler."
"Underztood."
In the sewers
"Do you plan on hiding in the sewers like a rat, or do you send me in?"
A man wobbled as he struggled to stand, his ragged breath coming out in pants. His face was half deformed, though it seemed the skin was somehow regenerating, bit by bit.
"Berserker is fighting with an injured Lancer, Saber is out for now, I think. We could swoop in at the appropriate time to-"
"FOOL! How can you save anyone, let alone a girl, if you cannot muster up the courage to march into a battle!? Have you forgotten who I am?"
The man blinked. Slowly, a smile formed on his face.
"Rider?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
"Hmph. Let us begin the true war, shall we?"
Inside a hidden shelter
"Berserker, I beg of you.", the boy prayed.
"Please win this war. I want them back. Please. Please."
'Order accepted, Fujimaru Ritsuka. I shall eradicate all your foes, and bring you the Holy Grail.'
Somewhere in the night, a mighty hero roared.
The battle has ended, and the War has begun.
What is Ritsuka's true wish?
Where the hell is Kiritsugu's wife and daughter? Who is Widowmaker?
What would happen to Fuyuki Harbor if two naked golden guys meet!?
Feel free to review!
X-kalibuuuur, over and out!