Hey everyone and welcome to this new chapter. This chapter is going to be a long one. But, it'll have everything, dialogue, fight, flashbacks, foreshadowing, and a huge turning point for the story. The chapter will be a huge key point to the plot that will affect the main character and his development greatly.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX, and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.

"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

DRAGON SHOT Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.

[Ddraig] Dragon talking.

Two Become One And A New Beginning

—…

It was the middle of the night over at the Gremory family territory in the Underworld. Currently, the members of Rias Gremory's Peerage were spread out throughout the territory to work on their special training schedules in preparation for the upcoming Rating Games. However, one of them—In particular, Shirou had returned to the Gremory family's main household after being summoned by Rias' mother—Venelana.

Right now, the two of them were in a nicely decorated private room with a small-sied round table that had two chairs placed in front of it and both the Pawn and Noblewoman were sitting there across from each other.

To mostly anyone who had been present on any occasion where these two individuals were in the same room as each other, the idea that they were alone in the same room would send a chill down their spines considering both Shirou and Venelana were known to always face each other with dark smiles and oppressive aura that always frightened everyone around them.

Them spending an extended amount of time together could only end with a scary result.….….….….… Or so you'd think.

"Ufufu, I'm pleasantly surprised. You take to these lessons very well. Have you taken dance lessons before?"

"Not really, I'm just a fast learner."

Right now—Contrary to what was expected—There was a pleasant atmosphere between the two of them as they were having a simple conversation while drinking tea from their teacups placed on the table.

They were in the annex that was detached from the Gremory main residence.

The truth is, As soon as Shirou returned to the annex, he was led here by Rias' mother. Then, they started dancing practice just like that. Shirou wasn't exactly happy that he had to put his training on hold because of something like this, but he didn't get too upset considering he was resting before this.

Venelana was wearing her usual dress. While Shirou was having his dance lesson he felt like he was being glued to Venelana's body. He sometimes came into contact with her breasts. Or more like, Venelana was seemingly going out of her way to make her breasts come into contact with him. They felt—How to say it, it had a matured feeling in elasticity and texture. There wasn't really a clear way to describe it, how do you describe the breasts of a woman who is the mother of a girl you're close to? Then again, her appearance was put that into question considering so looked the same age as her daughter.

And because she looked about the same age as her, a person couldn't help being conscious of her. That said, to an outside observer who knew them, it was an odd sight to same them so at peace with each other, not one complaint, argued, not a single iota of dissatisfaction from either of them from being in the other's presence. They got along swimmingly.

At the moment, they were taking a break and having a simple conversation.

"By the way?" Shirou spoke out.

"What is it?" Venelana pleasantly responded.

"Why am I doing this? Learning how to dance I mean?"

"Simple, really. Kiba Yuuto-san has already mastered these sorts of techniques. As expected of a Knight. Gasper-san is a member of a distinguished vampire family. He may behave unreliably, but he at least knows etiquette. The problem is Shirou-san. It can't be helped that you're a commoner from the Human world, but even so, it's troubling if you don't acquire etiquette beyond a certain level. Because you'll also have to make an appearance with Rias in High society eventually. You have to remember customary practices even a little during your stay in the Underworld."

"You make it sound like you're grooming me to be her Fiance." Shirou took notice of.

As expected, Venelana shifted her gaze to the side and covered her mouth with her hand.

"…Oops, I carelessly let something slip out. That kind of thing is still talk of what may happen. Leaving that aside, You should get used to the idea of spending more public time with her. After all, Rias is…Oops, I nearly let something slip again."

As Venelana gave him a wry smile, Shirou merely leaned back on his chair.

"Well, you seem to be having fun."

"I'm just enjoying something new. This is the first time we've been alone together." Venelana reminded him. "Though it is a shame in a way, with no one else around I can't enjoy a little game."

Shirou blinked. "What game is that?"

"Oh, well I guess I can at least tell you. Haven't you have noticed every so often whenever were speaking to each other, everyone also becomes quiet and frightened?" Venelana began to inform him.

"You, now that you mention it."

"Well, the truth is, I actually find that to be a little amusing, so whenever I see an opportunity I say something to you while leaking out some of my Aura to give the others a bit of a scare. Like the first time, we met at the After-party." Venelana confessed, finding the whole thing funny. "When you followed suit and scared them even more it only became better so I kept going to see how long it would last. When it was over, I had a lot of fun doing that, so I decided to do it again the other day at the dinner table, fortunately, you played along again."

"Huh, I was just doing that because I wanted to show I was intimidated, but you're saying you were just acting like you were about to blow a fuss, and just for kicks?" Shirou was completely unaware of this.

"I couldn't help myself, you can't tell me you didn't find it a bit funny seeing the people around sweating bullets and quivering in fear just from us doing something as simple as smiling at each other?" Venelana defended.

Shirou thought about it for a second before gaining a small smile. "Okay, fair enough. It is kinda funny when you look back on it."

"Aside from that, do you have any idea how long it's been since I've spoken to someone who wasn't afraid of me?" Venelana went on. "I know I'm partly to blame considering I intimidate others to keep them in line. But ever since I got married—No, even before then, during my younger days, there were so few people around me who tense up around me due to fear whenever I lost my patience."

"Seriously? You were able to throw your weight around that much, even back then?" Shirou honestly seemed surprised by that.

"Naturally, you know what they call Rias nowadays?" She brought it up. "The Crimson-haired Ruin Princess? That's a title she inherited from me. In the past, they called me the Brown-haired Ruin Princess, and not to toot my own horn, but I'm confident when I say that struck fear in far more hearts than my daughter's."

"No kidding?" Shirou didn't sound surprised or intimidated by this information, if anything he sounded interested. "That's pretty cool. Though, no offense but your name doesn't really have the same ring to it."

"I know, that's why I prefer my current title."

"What's that?"

"The Flaxen-haired Madame of Extinction." Venelana put on an alluring smile.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, that's much better."

"But to the point that I was making earlier. While I didn't really mind being feared, I always did enjoy meeting people who would speak to me without getting intimidated. After meeting you, I felt having a bit of fun for a change."

"Well, it doesn't really bother me. But, you're going to have to come clean at some point." Shirou reminded her. "We can't just keep pretending we hate each other just because you think it's funny."

Venelana let out a relaxed breath. "I know, but let me decide when, that's all I ask."

"That's fine." Shirou drank more of his tea.

Soon, after finishing her tea, Venelana stood up from her seat and held out her hand.

"Now then, we've taken a long enough break. Let us continue the lesson."

And with that, Shirou continued learning how to dance from Venelana.

A little while later, Shirou was walking down a long hallway after having finished his lessons with Venelana. Things were pretty quiet enough, though, considering the size of this manor and the fact that it was the middle of the night, the was normal. That said, the silence didn't last as Shirou was about to turn when he reached a corner in the hallway. But, before he did, someone else walked around the corner and stopped when they saw him.

Now, standing in front of Shirou was the Crimson-haired master of their Peerage.

"Rias?"

"Shirou!"

Having moved to the main residence after the completion of his dancing practice, Shirou ended up running into Rias—And now he was being hugged all of a sudden. Rias was tightly hugging him with a longing expression.

Rias whiffed his torso. "…Shirou's smell."

"Ah, my smell…?"

Shirou wasn't really sure what to say right now, considering this seemed a little out of character for Rias.

"I'm sorry. I just found myself missing your smell, it's still the same—I was lonely, you know?" Rias said this with moist eyes and an expression that would make most men's hearts skip a beat. "I haven't been able to sleep with you since arriving here, and I wasn't able to feel you like this every day either… Since I can no longer imagine a life without you… What a pitiful master I am."

"Pitiful is right." Shirou agreed with her before letting out a good-natured sigh and gently separated from her embrace. "Seriously, Mika, Asia, and now you. What is with all of you always becoming so clingy every time we're apart for longer than a day?"

"I can't help it. However, you're right, a little endurance is needed. First, we have to both be strong. Shirou, do your best in your mountain seclusion with Tannin! Blow away his breath of fire!"

At the mention of his training with Tannin, Shirou suddenly became less enthusiastic. "Uh…Y-yeah, sure thing."

Rias noticed his change in demeanor. "Is everything okay?"

Shirou corrected himself. "Yeah, no problem."

Rias hide it in her expression but her feelings became dismayed. "Right, he wouldn't tell me if something were wrong."

"Who else is training near the mansion, and what progress have they made?"

When Shirou changed the subject, Rias perked up and started to explain.

"Right now, there's me, Asia, Mika, and, Koneko who are all currently here. Some of us are still in the middle of training while others are taking a short break to rest up a bit."

"And what's the status on progress?"

"Asia's starting to get the hang of using her Sacred Gear to heal from further away, but that's all for now. Mika hasn't left the archives even once since she stepped in. And Koneko is—"

"…Senpai! Nya!"

A quiet and yet happy voice called out as Shirou saw Koneko excitedly approaching him from the hallway before she reached him and like Rias, wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest longingly.

"Oh great, another hug."

Shirou sounded sarcastic but wasn't really upset as he petted her head. Right now, Koneko's cat ears and tail were out and she was dressed in only a long white shirt that reached her ankles making it look more like a short dress, along with black slip-shoes.

"As I was about to say, Koneko has been training hard with Ren the whole time." Rias went on. "She's been making steady progress."

"In that case, how come you're here right now?" Shirou decided to ask.

Koneko let go of him and stepped back. "…Ren-san told to rest for a bit."

"Ren-san?" Shirou titled his head a bit.

"…Ren-Senpai told me to call him that while we're training together."

Shirou nodded, now understanding before taking another look at her. "Then, why are you dressed like you're getting ready for bed?"

Koneko had a sulking expression as she became upset and looked down.

"…I was wearing my Gym uniform before but… While training, my clothes got so torn-up and ruined that I couldn't wear them anymore, so I was going to get a change of clothes before we continued."

"Funny how her clothes seem to always take most of the damage…" Shirou thought before taking a closer look at her. "But, then again."

As he could see only any part of her skin that was exposed, mainly her arms and face, she looked liked she had been roughed up and knocked around a lot. No doubt she had been going through intense training.

"…I told Ren-san I wanted him to train with me at the same level he uses when he's training with you."

"And as a result, he kicked your ass the whole time didn't he?" Shirou guessed.

"…Mmm." Koneko didn't deny it but didn't want to admit it.

"Don't let it depress you too much." Shirou petted her head again. "He's been learning and improving Senjutsu for years now, you only started using it recently, it'd be weird if you could keep it with him this early in our training. The fact that you're struggling is a good thing, it means you're pushing yourself hard to overcome a hurdle that is beyond your current self. And when you eventually do overcome it, you'll know for certain that you've become so much stronger."

His words had an effect on her, it was like they lit a small spark in her that wiped away her annoyance and reignited her motivation to grow stronger.

"…Yeah, I'll do my best."

Shirou gave her a satisfied smile as he let her go and she walked off. Rias looked at him with an expression of gratitude and pleasure.

"You did it again." She commented.

"Did what?"

"What you always do. Whenever one of us is feeling down or upset, you always lift our spirits back up. It's like you always know exactly what to say to cheer someone up."

Shirou looked away. "Hmph… It was something I needed to learn, after all, from what I've seen you guys need someone to cheer you up way too often."

Rias placed her hand on his cheek and gave him a warm smile. "You don't have to act like a hardass around me."

Shirou didn't respond as he softly removed her hand and looked her in the eye. "Listen, this'll be the only time, all right? After this, I'm not coming back here until I'm done with the training."

Rias held his hand tighter whilst she still smiled at him.

"I know, it'll be upsetting but I'll endure being away from you for a little while longer. Just promise me that when you get back, we can spend a lot more time together."

"We'll have to see how things go…. But, it's not a problem for me."

Rias was pleased by his answering knowing that he more or less agreed. "I'm glad. Now maybe I can brag to Akeno and the others that I've moved a bit more ahead of them."

"If you've got time to focus on stuff like that then you must be slacking off." Shirou joked.

After that, Shirou let go of Rias' hand and started to walk away, before he could though, Rias wanted to ask one more question that's been on her mind.

"By the way, why did you come back to the mansion anyway?"

"Oh, Azael told me to go back because your Mom wanted to see me about some things."

Rias paled when she just heard that Shirou and her mother were together in the same room for an unspecified amount of time and could only imagine what took place during that period.

"A-And… Did everything turn out okay?"

Shirou shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

With those last words, Shirou continued his departure and made his way down the hallway to head for the nearest exit so that he could return to the mountains and complete his training. As he was leaving, Rias still looked uneased.

"How can I not worry?"

The next day arrived as Shirou was back on the mountain and waiting for Tannin to return so they could resume training. Shirou was impatient and didn't enjoy being kept waiting and thus was occupying his thoughts with image training, picturing how he would overcome Tannin during their net mock battle.

After about an hour had passed, the large form of a Dragon drew closer from the sky and made its way toward the part of the mountain range where Shirou was waiting. Once he arrived and descended down, Tannin addressed.

"I see that you've returned."

Shirou frowned at him. "You've got a lot of nerve to make me wait."

"Forgive me, it wasn't my intention, the truth is that I was discussing something important with Azazel before this." Tannin explained before elaborated. "The fact, we're going to do something different during this training session."

"Different how?" Shirou became somewhat curious.

"Unlike before I was merely using enough power to push you to the brink of death but still held back enough where you'd be able to survive at least." Tannin pointed out. "This time, however, I'm going to be facing you with 100% of my power and with the full intention of killing you."

Shirou's eyes widened. "What? What brought this up all of a sudden?"

"I was told to only explain after we had finished and if you had survived."

"Are you kidding me!? What were you guys talking about last night?!"

"We begin immediately!"

Ignoring his annoyance, the Dragon picked him up with his claws and took off into the air. After they had ascended high enough, Tannin threw him away to establish distance. Shirou struggled as the behind Tannin's throw was so strong and the speed his thrown body traveled so fast that the gale force made it hard to break free.

After a bit of time, Shirou stopped himself and corrected his balance in the air as he spread his wings. The lavender Dragon also spread his wings, preparing himself to attack.

Tannin took a deep breath as Shirou used his Demonic-power to create a several-layered protective barrier to defend himself from whatever was coming. A flash of burning red filled his vision while a thunderous roar echoed throughout the mountains as Tannin unleashed a breath attack that resembled that of a flaming meteor.

Knowing right away that he couldn't possibly hope to block that, Shirou dodged right away, the attack missed him but the residue surrounding it contain enough power to shatter through all of his barriers.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONN!

The attack that had just missed him continued on its power before it came into contact with one of the mountains and caused a great explosion. After the explosion cleared, the damage could be seen. The whole peak had melted apart, and the boiling-hot stream of muddy water began to cause an avalanche. Behind him, no less than two ridges crumbled to pieces.

"That was on a completely different level compared to anything he's done before." Shirou gazed with disbelief, trying to stop the horror from creeping in.

"DON'T GET DISTRACTED!"

Tannin sprang through the air with just his rear legs, accelerating to top speed in the blink of an eye as he charged toward Shirou. The breath attack must have been a feint and this frontal attack was his true assault. The rapidly approaching Dragon's hor bore down on Shirou.

Shirou fired a red blast of Demonic-power at his incoming foe but it vanished almost immediately. Not only did he not feel it, but it looked like the spell didn't even hit him considering it didn't slow him down at all, his scales looked untouched.

Shirou avoided the Dragon's horns by a hair and this time he fired a thunder spell at the back of Tannin's head, but that also didn't seem to have any effect on the former Dragon King. It seemed a though any spells that didn't possess enough power would just be completely nullified by his defense. Still, it wasn't like Shirou had time to prepare strong attacks considering Tannin's relentless and continuous string of attacks.

As Shirou was watching the back of the Dragon's head while thinking about these things, he suddenly felt warning signals from his instincts telling him he was in danger. That danger was behind him, and it was a tail.

The spiky edge at the end of Tannin's tail shot toward him like a javelin. Shirou flew downward to accelerate at a downward slant to narrowly avoid being pierced.

But, if Shirou thought he was safe now then he was sorely mistaken. Behind him, Tannin was currently defying the laws of aerodynamics and twisting his body around in midair. The centrifugal force sent the tail flying toward Shirou like a whip, right into his blind spot.

Judging that he couldn't possibly dodge this one, Shirou quickly crossed his arms in front of his body to block the tail.

BREAK!

"Gugh!"

All of Shirou's defense was rendered worthless as Tannin's tail completely shattered past his guard and drilled sternum. Shirou felt the wind and oxygen get knocked out of him while he heard a cracking noise from his insides before he was sent flying away. Shirou's body was blown away through the air like a cannonball, taking off chunks of the mountainsides as he went before finally crashing into the side of a mountain and breaking through the bedrock before stopping inside of a cave.

A Tannin remained where he was as though he was waiting for Shirou to get back up and return to the battlefield. he saw the top of the mountain Shirou was slammed into started shaking a bit. Soon an emerald-colored glow started eliminating from the inside until the shaking grew into full-on tremors and fully the top of the mountain exploded as a fiery red pillar of aura shot out from it.

[Welsh Dragon — Balance Breaker!]

As the aura dissipated, Shirou revealed himself now in his Balance Breaker as he moved forward to once again confront Tannin. Once he closed the distance so they were as far apart as they were when they started.

"I get it, you really want to kill me right now." Shirou spoke with pure seriousness.

"It's fortunate you can realize that. This is a true fight to the death right now." Tannin confirmed his intentions. "Every one of my attacks will be made with the full intention of killing you. Needless to say, at my full strength, even surviving is too much for you."

Shirou clenched his fists in anger at being belittled.

"Don't be so sure. You're not the only one who's different when fighting TO KILL!"

[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]

"Aaaarrgggghhhhh!"

Shirou let loose a thunderous roar as he powered up so much that the shine from the jewels around his armor lit up the sky around him. This time, Shirou charged at Tannin like a torpedo, a streak of aura was surrounding his body making him look like a living laser beam. Tannin responded by swing his claws at Shirou's incoming body.

Shirou chose to block them instead of dodging them since they had less force behind them than the tail. If it hadn't been for the differences in their sizes, they might have been pretty well-matched in close combat. Tannin pushed his arm further and his claws got through Shirou's block, he was then flung backward in the air.

Shirou tumbled backward—Not too far away this time before he stopped himself and shook off any damages. Shirou then used all of his Boosted power as he clapped his hands together and gathered his power between them. A ball of Dragon energy was formed as it kept growing and growing in size before it was bigger than Shirou's body and he held it above his head.

DRAGON BLAST!

Shirou unleashed his attack and hurled it at the Dragon before him as he cut through the air. Shirou's signature moved was made for one purpose, to blow away any opponent he fired it to pieces. And that's just what he planned to do to Tannin. The Dragon didn't attempt to avoid the coming blast though. Instead, he held out his hands as if he was about to catch a ball.

DON!

When the attack reached him, it didn't blast into him and blow him away, rather Tannin caught the blast in his hands and stopped its forward momentum as the ball of Dragon energy was halted and couldn't move under his grip. Tannin's arms were mildly shaking under the weight of the attack before he gave one strong push spread his arms out on both sides.

With that, Tannin pushed his hands and arms out like he was ripping something in two and the result was Shirou's attack was ripped apart as the energy was scattered and faded to nothing as it disappeared.

Shirou couldn't hide his surprise at how Tannin effortlessly nullified his special attack while Tannin looked at the palms of his hands. There were minors damages to some of his scales, but they were no worse than scratches. He then let out a grunt and looked back at Shirou.

"You'll qualify as a sparring partner."

"Hmm?"

Shirou's attention was captured by Tannin's sudden proclamation as the Ultimate-Class Devil elaborated.

"Those are the words you said to me before we first began our training. It's strange, because right now, in my eyes you don't even seem to qualify as that much."

There was no way Shirou was going to let that one go.

"I'LL KILL YOOOOOOOU!"

[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]

With his power increased to the highest degree rushed at Tannin like a mad beast with his fist pulled back and ready for a killer punch. Not one to be outdone, Tannin rushed in as well and readied his own punch to intercept Shirou's fist.

BIG BANG DRAGON BLOW!

KABOOM!

A sonic boom was created from their collision that shook the sky. With a sound like wooden board cracking, the scales flew off Shirou's fist as the armor around his arm shattered apart, and his flesh and the bones in his fist were damaged. As before, Tannin only felt I sight resistance just before his attack broke through Shirou's defense, like glass cracking.

The Dragon's fist didn't stop and kept flying toward him. Ignoring the damages to his arm, Shirou used the jets on his back to propel himself out of the path of Tannin's fist, when the fist sailed past, Shirou believed he succeeded in evading it. As if to punish his arrogance, the lavender Dragon threw a knee kick at him while he was stopped in place.

Shirou was taken completely by surprise as he never expected Tannin to use a knee kick while he was in his larger form. The kick knocked him in the air and cracked the armor around his chest. Tannin wasn't finished as he fired a fire breath at him, not as big as before but much faster. The flames consumed Shirou's body and carried him away.

BOOOOOM!

The flames crashed into a sturdy ridge before bursting apart. When the fire cleared away, Shirou found himself back on solid ground again but was coughing for air a dazed as he pushed himself to his knees, while the top half of his armor was gone and Ddraig was already working on the repairs.

As Shirou was starting to regain his sense of awareness, Tannin slowly descended before stopping a few feet in the air nearby Shirou with his arms crossed around his chest and a look of contempt on his face.

"I will admit, I surely felt some weight behind that last punch." Tannin confessed before he sneered at him. "But… I felt punches that were much heavier, from much tougher attacks, against much stronger opponents."

Shirou could almost feel something snap inside of him. He was getting closer and closer to reaching his breaking point. Not only was he no match whatever against a serious Tannin, but Tannin was making sure he was brutally aware of that fact every chance he got. Shirou wasn't aware of this, but this whole situation was starting to feel eerily similar to fight with Vali in his Juggernaut Drive.

Shirou shot back up in the air and floated at an altitude slightly higher than Tannin as he glared down at him.

"That doesn't matter! I don't care if you've fought a Devil King, Dragon King, or anything else out that! I am the one who looks down on all other races! You can't beat me! NO ONE CAN!"

Tannin scoffed at his declaration. "Boastful words that you can't prove. There are beings in this world that far transcend you, so much so that you don't even register in their eyes."

"Then I'll crush them and everyone else out there, including you!"

"That'll make you no better than a Tyrant Dragon!"

"I told you, I don't care if I become one as long as I gain power!" Shirou roared wildly as the armor around his head was repairing.

Shirou was too absorbed with the battle to notice but Tannin could see it clearly. Shirou's armor was almost fully repaired, all that was left was his helmet, as the Scale-Mail was about to cover his face, Shirou's eyes changed from blue to glowing gold. Tannin knew what that meant.

"So it's starting…" Tannin thought as he remembered what Azazel had told him.

"What did you say?"

"I meant what I said. I need you to fight him for real this time like you're actually trying to kill him." Azazel told him with seriousness.

After Shirou had left from the other night, Azazel rendezvoused with Tannin in his territory to discuss something important with him. It was the true purpose behind the change in Shirou's training.

"Why all of a sudden, I believe his training is already showing effective results?" Tannin questioned the need for this.

"But there's a problem beyond that. I assume I don't need to tell you about his lineage?"

"He is the descendant of Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada, correct?" Tannin showed he was aware.

Azazel nodded. "That's right, meaning you also know that he's the one possessed by him. being the vessel that holds spirit means that he contains an extremely dark force inside of him, one that threatens to consume him entirely."

"But, I would assume he would be able to suppress that. In the past, despite possessing other vessels, the spirit itself making any appears was a rare occurrence, for some, he never manifested at all."

"But this time it's completely different." Azazel informed him with a frown before he started to explain. "He's already made his appearance, several times in fact, on one occasion he completely took over his body. It was surprising that Shirou was able to regain himself at all. In the latest case, something brand new happened."

"What do you mean?" Tannin sounded both curious and interested.

"I don't even know. It was like he only took over partially, I don't know how else to describe it, I've never seen anything like that before. But it did tell me one thing. Shirōu Amakusa has no intention of staying quiet this time around, he finally intends on taking over the current vessel." Azazel had a somber tone. "And, I think we've already seen signs of it earlier."

"Do you mean the conversation we had with Shirou Tsukiharu before he left?" Tannin guessed.

"The words he was saying and the way he was acting. He's always craved power and I know he hates losing, but that felt different. Like he was becoming a different person." Azazel explained, sounding concerned. "Like there was a strange influence affecting him."

"You believe he is being influenced by Shirōu Amakusa?"

"Shirōu Amakusa is a spirit whose entire being is made up of hatred and resentment and those who hold him can be influenced to carry those same emotions depending on how strong his hold is on them. And with how many times Shirou's drawn power from him, especially the most recent time, I believe the hold he's got on him is so big, he's pretty much only a few steps away from swallowing him whole."

"And so, you believe that he almost obsessive desire for power, to the point where he wishes to chase something like the Juggernaut Drive and the fact that he powerless against the Vanishing Dragon is because his emotions are being influenced by the dark presence of the spirit?"

Azazel nodded at Tannin's dedication.

"It seems too likely to ignore. If this keeps up, there's a good chance he'll end up going down a dark path he can't go back from, or worst-case scenario he'll end up destroying himself in pursuit of power."

"So what can I do to stop that?" Tannin questioned him. "With the way you're talking, it sounds you have something planned."

"That's because I do. In order to stop this before it becomes a problem, we need to stop the hold Shirōu Amakusa has on him from growing any further." Azazel told him before explaining. "The only way to do that is to do away with the spirit entirely, almost like sealing him away."

"But, is such a thing possible?"

"It wasn't before. But after tireless and extensive research, not to mention a few all-nighters, I think I finally found a way."

Azazel then held out his palm and released a bit of magic before sending it to Tannin and Tannin saw a magic circle appear on his hand.

"What is this?" Tannin asked.

"The spell that's necessary for my idea. In order to fully suppress the spirit, Shirou needs to drive him away by himself. To do that, he needs to enter his own mind and confront him, but that can't be done willingly, that's where you come in. You need to be one to send him to face the spirit."

"And I m right in assuming the method is doing that is what you told me before?"

Azazel nodded in confirmation. "The only way for Shirou to meet with Shirōu Amakusa is when he reaches the point where his body is on the verge of being taken over. So we need to recreate the scenario with Vali, he needs to be fighting a losing battle against an opponent he can't possibly defeat where he beliving losing will equal death. Once you see Shirōu Amakusa's influence appear, the next step will be putting him on death's door, after that he'll be in danger of being fully taken over by the spirit. That's when you need to activate the spell."

"You still haven't told me what this spell does." Tannin reminded him.

"It'll create a special barrier field around him that'll interfere with the takeover and allow him to gain control in his mind. From what I know, during the takeover process, he can't fight or use any of his abilities in there and is at the mercy of Shirōu Amakusa, but with this spell, that'll change." Azazel explained. "He'll have as much control in there as he would on the outside and so he'll be able to fight, giving him the chance to fight off and hopefully get rid of him."

"But even if this does work, Shirōu Amakusa is still a powerful force on his own. How do you know if the Red Dragon Emperor will be able to defeat him in direct combat?" Tannin pointed out.

Azazel shook his head. "There's no real way to know. All we can really do is just put our faith in the kid and hope he pulls it off."

After remembering all that, Tannin knew what he had to do next. "It's time to end this."

The fight resumed as Shirou closed in, Tannin countered by firing a barrage of ultrahigh-speed fireballs from his mouth that followed him like bullets. When one of them occasionally came at him with a curved trajectory, Shirou parried them while Boosting his power. This happened because Tannin was manipulating the fireballs with wind magic.

Once Shirou closed the distance, he was right on top of the Dragon's head. He then raised up his fist and coated his arm in the Holy Aura of Ascalon before powering up.

[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]

[TRANSFER!]

Shirou then transferred all of his increased power to the hand that was filled with Ascalon's power, the increase in power output made the golden glow around his arm shine like a star before he brought it down on the Blaze Meteor Dragon's head.

"GROWWWWWWWWR!"

Tannin howled in pain. Not even a Satan-Class Dragon could brush off the damage from the Strongest Dragon-Slaying Holy-Sword landing a blow on him after being super-charged by the Boosted Gear. For the first time, Shirou landed a significant blow on Tannin.

But… His accomplishment was short-lived. After damaging Tannin's head, Shirou inadvertently let his guard down for a moment. That was a careless mistake. Tannin used the speed he had gained from his Evil Piece to move away from Shirou and remove him from his head, as Shirou was left in midair, Tannin used that same speed to reappear in front of him.

Tannin's final attack wasn't magic or his fabled meteor breath attack.

It was a bite.

SCHILLLLKKKKKK!

The fangs of Tannin bit right through Shirou's body. They pierced through his armor was virtually no resistance before they sunk into his flesh like soft tender meat. Tannin's jaws bit into Shirou's torso, one small push, and his fangs would have torn his body in two, but instead of doing that, he opened his jaws and tossed Shirou's body away as it hit the ground with a thud.

The damage was horrible, Shirou was in such a sorry state that his Balance Breaker vanished and he was left bleeding on the ground. There were several massive holes in his body with blood leaking out. Shirou was in an incredible amount of pain but he didn't scream, he didn't have the energy to make a sound.

He could feel it, Shirou could his life spilling on the ground around him, his blood, his life-support, they were forming a puddle around his body. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he could barely keep eyes open. He felt like he was sinking in cold water as everything around him became dark and heavy. This feeling was all too familiar. Yes, he felt this before.

It was death… The cold embrace of death closing in.

.

.

.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Suddenly, it showed itself. Like a volcano erupting, darkness burst out from every corner of Shirou's body before wrapping around him as if to swallow him completely. The darkness filled up the open wounds all over Shirou before closing them up and as if he was a puppet on strings, Shirou rose back up to his feet. His eyes were still gold and the Power of Darkness flared up, exploding around him like a tempest.

Tannin was stupified by what he was witnessing. "It's begun!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Shirou unleashed a crazed bellow of madness that shook the ground around him. Any sanity or control in him was clearly gone and he seemed ready to go berserk. This snapped Tannin out of his stupor as he raised his hand and activated the spell as Azazel instructed him to.

"Summon! Barrier!"

By his command, the magic circle appeared in his hands. Tannin then clasped his palms together as the magic left him and shot up into the sky above Shirou. It then split into four before they spread out and shot downward into the ground. After that, four red pillars of magic burst out from the ground surrounding Shirou and soon they started to connect with each other and red screens of magic were formed around them.

When the process was done, there was a large red, transparent, rectangular, cube barrier field encompassing Shirou. After the barrier enclosed him, the magic it was made from activated and it started affecting Shirou.

"YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The Power of Darkness thickened and raged around Shirou uncontrollably until it started covering Shirou's body as though he was being sucked inside of it. The darkness spread out even further until it resembled a dark cloud that covered the entire barrier. Soon Tannin couldn't see anything through the barrier beside a thick cloud of darkness, there was no way to tell if anyone or anything was even in there now.

"I've done my part." Tannin said quietly as he stared at the barrier. "The rest is in your hands."

There was nothing.

Shirou found himself in an empty found of nothingness. There was nothing but darkness in everything direction. All he had was solid ground to stand on but nothing else. It was impossible to tell distance or direction. Just a dark, silent, empty abyss.

And yet, Shirou didn't fret. His lack of worry stemmed from two reasons; The first being this wasn't the first time he had arrived at this void and that tied into the second reason, being he knew what him being here meant.

He just stood there, as though he was waiting. Yes… Waiting was the right word, waiting for then one he knew he would meet here.

"So we meet again. And so soon at that."

Shirou turned around when he heard a voice that only belonged to one man. Behind him, a massive amount of shadows sprouted from the ground and converged into they started to form something. It started as an outline, then a silhouette, and finally it created the form of a person who was made entirely of darkness. His eyes shined a shinning golden color as he faced Shirou.

It was Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada.

Shirou did not look happy to see him. "Tch, this again."

"You are more accustomed to this compared to previous times. Tell me, are you fully aware of what's about to happen?"

"I know, I know. You're gonna try and fail to take over my body."

Shirōu Amakusa smirked at him. "You're quite confident in yourself considering you were brought to the brink of death. Again, I might add."

Shirou glared at his taunt. "And you're more talkative than usual. I would have thought you've tried to talk over my body the instant you saw me."

"You mean you haven't noticed yet?" Shirōu Amakusa asked before looking around. "The situation is didn't from all the other times. It appears that someone has used magic to purposefully send you here."

"What?" Shirou looked around suspiciously. "When? I don't remember that?"

"Of course not, I was about to take over when it happened." Shirōu Amakusa informed him before explaining. "That Dragon you were fighting is responsible. It seems he was waiting until he put on in a state of near-death, knowing that would make you vulnerable to my possession. At that point, he activated a magic-based barrier field that sent you to me. And so here we are."

"So you're saying, Tannin sent me here on purpose?" Shirou was surprised by this revelation before he thought more deeply about this. "Azazel? He must have step this up." He deduced. "But what's their goal? Why would set all this up?"

"As I said before, you haven't noticed." Shirōu Amakusa repeated. "The last time I attempted to consume you, you possessed no power aside from you're own will and sense of self. This time, however, you have full control of yourself and can access your natural powers and abilities."

Shirou seemed taken aback by this proclamation. He attempted to confirm it and succeeded by summoning Dyrnwyn to his hand.

"I can only assume the ones who sent you here did so with the intention of having you fight me. They believe that if you fight me and supposedly defeat me, you'll banish me to their farthest corners of this dark void as thus make it so I'll no longer be able even to attempt to possess you from then on."

"So I'm here to basically exorcise you?" Shirou summarized before glaring at him. "I really wish they would have told me that. Still, I can't say I'm not on board with that idea. From the beginning, I already decided that if I ever got the chance to get rid of you for good, I'd take it."

"You don't seem to realize the true danger of your situation. Don't you see, should I happen to be the one to defeat you, I'll be able to completely banish your soul and consciousness from existence, and then. I will finally claim your body as my own."

Shirou didn't seem fazed. "I figured that was the case already. So only the winner leaves this place and the loser fades to nothing. Winner takes all, just like always."

Shirōu Amakusa nodded. "Correct, like all things in like, the victor is affirmed absolutely and the defeated is denied absolutely. Time to decide which one of us is which."

Shirou tried to summon his Boosted Gear, but he found himself unable to as it didn't manifest on his command as per usual. "Why can't I bring out my Sacred Gear?"

"I just told you. You can access your natural powers, but only them." Shirōu Amakusa clarified. "Unnatural power, such as the treasures gifted to you by the Primordial God—While it might be bonded to your soul is not something that can be used here. You are limited only to the powers and tools that are solely yours. For example—"

Suddenly, a mysterious pure white light appeared around Shirōu Amakusa's body. It seemed to contrast his body of pure darkness and yet, it appeared this phenomenon was created by his own will. Soon, the light faded and now in his hands was a Sword with a sheath tied to his waist.

The sword has a pure-white hilt with a circular hand-guard. The sheath is painted white and the hardening line is suguha or straight blade.

In descriptive terms, the Sword is a Shinogi Zukuri style Katana that has a traditional yet still stunning pure-white ito wrapped around a gray samegawa covering the hilt, leaving a traditional diamond-shaped pattern. The end has a nice, simplistic kashira of the same color as the crossguard. The crossguard also conveys a harmony of simplicity: It consists of a rounded oval thick tsuba from which the blade goes through, in a nice metallic golden color. To once again convey the beautiful simplicity of this blade, the colors of the edge are divided into perfect equality. The inner bo-hi is a deep black, while the outer edge, is a shining white. The blade curves slightly towards the end, with a stunning sharp tip that cuts through foes. The sheath represents a peaceful harmony, being completely white with a modest kojiri at the end.

Shirou found himself almost captivated by the appearance of the Sword. It was truly a first-rate, beautiful and lovely blade that possess a shine worthy of being called works of art.

"What is that thing?" Shirou breathed out.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He talked as if he was showing it off. "This is my only true weapon. The God-Slaying Sword that only I can wield. Miike Tenta Mitsuyo."

With those words, the blade of the Sword coated itself in a crystal-white aura that only made the Sword look more Divine as well as powerful. Shirou could feel the strength of the Sword in the hands of his deadly adversary.

"I've only seen it just this once and yet, I can already tell how insane that Sword is. Neither of mine can compare to it." Shirou thought, feeling a chill go down his spine. "I think it's as powerful as Durandal."

"Why do you hesitate? Your cowardice makes a mockery of you." Shirōu Amakusa ridiculed him.

Instead of responding, Shirou slowly let out a deep breath and placed his hand on Dyrnwyn's sheath.

"Vali…Tannin…And you…" He slowly started as he started placing his weapon from its sheath. "I'm am getting sick to death of all of you talking down to me like your better than me." Shirou sent the dark spirit a deathly cold glare as he fully drew his blade. "Maybe you'll be quiet after I cut off your tongue."

SHIIIIIINNNNNNE!

Shirou held up Dyrnywn and flared up its aura while bringing out his Touki to coat himself in its aura. On the other hand, Shirōu Amakusa held up his own Sword and brought forth its Divine-white aura while covering his body with the Power of Darkness.

They faced off, one surrounded in a silvery-white aura of life while wielding a Sword covered in a lustrous golden Holy-aura, the other was surrounded by a jet-black aura of darkness while wielding a Sword covered in a luminous white Divine-aura. Now both combatants were ready to begin their first and last duel.

With that Shirou shot forward faster than he'd moved before, almost fast enough to take Shirōu Amakusa by surprise. He barely raised a hand to block his blow, grunting at the force of it and twisting lightly to one side as his other hand brought forth his blade in a quick iai strike.

But Shirou kicked out, his foot catching that hand and pushing his blade back into its scabbard, twirling around into a kick that almost caught Shirōu Amakusa on the side of the face as he hurled himself backward. Shirou didn't follow up, instead of dodging to one side as Shirōu Amakusa finished the iai attack, lashing out with a cutting blast of darkness that threw the air and would have sliced Shirou neatly in half if he hadn't dodged it by a hair. That said, it grazed him and opened a cut on his cheek but, Shirou noticed that oddly enough, his cut wasn't bleeding.

"…There's no blood?" Shirou touched his cheek.

"Of course not." Shirōu Amakusa affirmed it. "You merely an astral body created by your mind. Physical damage is ineffective to either of us." He explained. "But, we are still vulnerable to pain. When your mind can no longer withstand the strain of it all, this battle will be settled."

"So, whoever has the weaker pain threshold loses huh?" Shirou summarized. "Good. Nice and simple."

Instantly, he attacked quickly, trying to get under Shirōu Amakusa's guard, but it failed as he twisted away, bringing his Sword down in a stab that would've caught Shirou in the back before quickly flipping his Sword upwards again and attacking in a series of cuts and jabs. In this manner he pressed Shirou back, forcing him to defend himself again with his own blade attacks.

But Shirou could tell that Shirōu Amakusa was still getting through with more clean hits, and he grimaced. Putting more strength in his hands, Shirou up the intensity of his strikes but his dark opponent merely did the same as kept the advantage. He flipped the blade of his Sword and had Shirōu Amakusa's Sword slash its blade on the blunt side of Dyrnwyn. This stopped his Sword momentarily and gave Shirou an opening as he tried to grab his foes' elbow to push his Sword arm out of the way for a punch, only partially succeeding: His Sword was stopped for a moment. And, instead of letting his push on his elbow have its way, he pushed back against Shirou's hand on his elbow, tossing him backward with a show of strength that was well beyond anything he had seen even both Kiba and Xenovia.

But when he kicked out in turn, Shirou grabbed the foot and flipped him backward and away, leaping up and parrying the accompanying attack from his Sword with his own Sword. A punch was trying to catch Shirōu Amakusa in the face, but he twisted his neck just enough for it to harmlessly slide off of his cheek rather than hitting him in the face. At the same time, his Sword nearly stabbed into Shirou's side, instead it cut a small gash through his shirt.

Shirou twirled away around him and leaped down to the ground beneath him. There he spread his Devil wings and kicked off instantly and came back directly upwards, hoping to hit Shirōu Amakusa in midair. This worked, but he was prepared too, and it was only Shirou's experience of air combat through long trial and error training that allowed him to dodge the downward attack that cut into the ground below him nearly cut into his sternum. The two of them met in midair, exchanging attacks, slashes, cuts, strikes, thrusts, and swings.

Now it was Shirōu Amakusa's turn to realize that he was at a disadvantage as a blade attack broke through his defenses to slice into his shoulder, it wasn't a very big cut but it was clearly bigger than the ones he landed on Shirou. Another took him in the side, and an attack was dodged by of the barest margins as Shirou used his foot to stomp down on the blunt end of Shirōu Amakusa's blade to knock it downwards and throw him off balance before swiping out his Sword hand and came close to landing a slice that would have gutted his opponent if he could bleed. Instead, his blade missed by millimeters and only opened a shallow cut.

Off-balance and in midair, Shirōu Amakusa could barely block two out of three of his attacks, but that didn't mean he was completely helpless. Instead of trying to attack him directly, the dark spirit let his body fall back to the ground knowing Shirou would follow after him, just before landing though, he stabbed his Sword into the ground and grabbed a hold of it like a foothold. With that, he twisted his body around while Shirou closed in so he could land a whipping spin kick on Shirou's head.

Several seconds later, Shirōu Amakusa once more went to strike and he leaped forward and pulled his Sword out of the ground as he slashed three consecutive slashes at Shirou, cut into both his arms and diagonal through his chest.

"Augh!" Shirou gasped in pain.

Shirōu Amakusa's next attack hit him hard, cutting across his stomach in a long gash whose darkness flung him backward as Shirou was sent flying away. Shirou tried using Dyrnwyn to cut through the dark flying slash that was pushing him back. It wasn't easy he succeeded in slicing and destroying the slash. But he wasn't safe yet as once he stopped and planted his feet back on the ground, Shirōu Amakusa sent several more cutting attacks towards him which exploded on impact.

BOOOOOOOM!

After taking the full force of the explosion made of darkness, Shirou struggled to stop himself from collapsing.

He was quietly gasping in pain as one of his arms, which had taken several hits, nearly gave out on him. "Damn he's good! No one's ever gotten the better of me in a Swordfight." He thought with a laugh, pushing himself upright.

"Why do you laugh?" Shirōu Amakusa asked with a frown.

"Heh, don't know." Shirou admitted, holding up his Sword. "Really, I don't know why but, I just felt like laughing. Or rather, I think there's a reason but I just forgot it."

"You don't have to worry about trying to remember. After all, a dead man has no need for laughter."

Shirou smirked at his dark counterpart. "I can't help but notice your pretty good at avoiding hits. You said physical damage means nothing here yet you don't even want to get scratched."

"The way warriors fought during my era is obviously different from yours. Back then, a single clean strike from an enemy's blade was all it took to end it. One strike meant death." Shirōu Amakusa proclaimed. "Thus, we all learned not only how to kill but to survive as well. Blocking, dodging, parrying, the whole point of my style is stopping any fatal blow." He then brandished his Sword. "And making sure all of my attacks are fatal."

"Good to know. But, you're not the only one who knows how to make every shot a kill shot." Shirou smirked, but his eyes were razor-sharp.

KATCHIN!

Shirōu Amakusa chuckled, then his eyes also turned dangerously sharp and he launched himself forward. Shirou did the same, their blades slamming into one another, creating a concussive force with a shockwave that for miles around throughout the void. They grappled there, blade against blade, both of them using two hands for the moment, trying to overpower the other. And it was Shirou who was pushed backward.

But he kicked out, aiming for his adversary's front leg that Shirou Amakusa used to kick him when they were fighting in midair a moment ago, and the momentary pain stopped Shirōu Amakusa from taking advantage of his being off-balance. They twisted away from one another and came in again, their blades now ringing against one another in a series of attacks, each of them lethal had they landed. They seemed to dance as they moved, save for the violence of their attacks. No words were exchanged now, just deadly intent.

KATCHIN! SLASH! CLASH! GAKIN! CLAKK! SLASH! SCHILK! CLANG! GAKIN! CLANK! CLING! KATCHIN! CLASH!

Seconds later Shirou was forced to fall entirely onto the defense as the differences in the quality of their weapons were starting to show themselves. He grunted as he took the attack on his blade, which he could sense was beginning to strain under the pounding despite his Touki and the Holy energy infusing it. But he twisted to one side and sent Shirōu Amakusa's attack into the ground, twisting around and bringing his other hand up and around to catch him on the chest, hurling him backward.

Shirōu Amakusa landed a few feet back, a wicked smirk on his face. With that Shirōu Amakusa charged forward, forcing Shirou back on the defensive.

Shirōu Amakusa closed in on the inside and let loose a swarm of Sword thrusts that came at him like rain. Shirou did everything he could to block and or parry the onslaught of thrusts but some of them kept getting through and opened up more cuts all over Shirou's body. Shirou grunted in pain as his immense durability was put to the test and found wanting as he was then cut deeply in the shoulder. He grunted and went to one knee.

Never one to be outdone, Shirou flared up Dyrnwyn's blade with burning flames which forced Shirōu Amakusa to move back, Shirou followed up by aiming his Sword at his opponent before shooting a fireball at him. The fireball hit and pushed him back but Shirōu Amakusa used his blade to defend himself so his body never touched the fire, he stopped himself by cutting through the fireball.

It was time to go again as the two of them once more exchanged blows. They clashed in the middle Shirōu Amakusa tried pushing him down the ground again but Shirou used his wings to attempt another midair assault. Leaping over one attack, Shirou stopped above Shirōu Amakusa's head for just a heartbeat, stabbing downwards at him, but he wrenched himself backward, bringing his Sword up to block with the side of his blade against the tip of Shirou's, then flung him away through the air. But Shirou went with it, flipping himself up and correcting his form in the air high above, lashing down at him with Flying Sword Slash made from Dyrnwyn's Holy energy.

Shirōu Amakusa matched it with his own one made from darkness, and his dark slash was far sharper and more condensed than the Holy slash. It cut straight through his attack and came on towards him, but Shirou was already gone.

Shirou had risen to a higher altitude and was miles up. Once he was high enough he stopped his ascent and began a high-speed descent like a falling bomber, putting power in Dyrnwyn as he prepared a Sword attack.

Shirōu Amakusa stood his ground and waited for him to close in as gathered the Power of Darkness in the blade of Miike Tenta Mitsuyo and prepared his own Sword attack. Once Shirou closed the distance and was right on top of him, their attacks clashed.

KAMIGUI!

DRAGON FORCE SLICER!

CLAAAAAAASSSHHHH!

It miraculously turned into a clash of similar-looking moves. Though it was between polar opposite attributes of light and darkness. The attacks that the two of them unleashed fought against each other, making grinding sounds.

The result soon came but neither side prevailed and both fighters were blown away from each other by the aftershocks. Right after, they stopped themselves and rushed forth to retake the initiative. The two of them continued to exchange attacks, but Shirou was flagging now. He had to use all that he had to keep up with Shirōu Amakusa, whose speed was above his own, though nowhere near as fast as Vali at his maximum, nor was he as precise, thankfully. But he didn't have a lot of wasted movement for Shirou to be able to take advantage of, and durability didn't seem to matter much here. The number of attacks he had landed on him was small and barely noticeable to his opponent. Shirōu Amakusa had an almost otherworldly ability to avoid any kind of significant damage. Shirou had faced opponents with a strong and stable defense before but hardly ever on this level.

But one thing that Shirou had going for him was the fact that, even though he had taken up a Sword, Shirou continued to use the rest of his body far better than Shirou. He could kick and even punch, and it was just as natural for him as using a Sword which made sense considering how often he trained to master both styles of combat, and that gave him a bit of an edge when added to his abilities as a Devil, which gave him a leg up if again only a very slight one. Not enough to overcome Shirōu Amakusa's unnatural strength and speed advantage, but enough for now.

The two of them pushed off one another again, skidding backward and glaring at one another as Shirou stepped back to land a fair distance away from his dark adversary, stopping to stare at Shirōu Amakusa who was standing before him.

They had been fighting for a while and while the concept of time wasn't the same in here as it was on the outside world, an assessment would be that they had been fighting for a few hours. Shirōu Amakusa still seemed like he had hardly been touched but Shirou didn't waver for a second, not respond to the dozens of cuts littering him from head to toe, though the worst of his wounds was a large gash from his stomach to his shoulder and a slice from his nose to his cheek along with at least one broken rib. He was gasping, having pushed been pushed to the limits of his endurance.

And yet, despite all that, Shirou smirked.

He was bloody, battered, covered in injuries now, and had at least a few broken bones, yet was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Ha…Hahahaha…"

Shirōu Amakusa frowned once more. "Again, why do you laugh? Have lost your sanity?"

"I just remember…" Shirou grinned widely while facing him. "I finally remembered the reason I laughed earlier. It's funny because in hindsight it was so obvious I can't believe I ever forgot it."

"Well, it merely sounds confusing to me. For what possible reason could there be to laugh during a battle to the death?"

Shirou smirked before he answered with his honest emotions.

"Because it's fun."

.

.

.

"…What?"

Shirōu Amakusa was taken aback at first by such a blunt answer but his expression changed into something different. Almost displeasure or maybe even hate.

"This is what I live for." Shirou proudly declared. "Fights like these against an opponent that would push me to my limits and make me break past them, an opponent that would demean everything of me. Not knowing if I can win or not—If I can survive or not. Nothing in this world can compare to this in my eyes. It's just too fun."

Shirōu Amakusa glared at him with venom in his tone. "Do you even realize what you are saying? This battle determines both of our fates and could greatly effort the world around us. There's no time or purpose to be concerned about unnecessary thoughts, not when there are much bigger concerns to be dealt with."

"Yeah, I get that." Shirou let out a sigh. "In fact, lately I've been thinking exactly like that, almost word for word. All I could think about was how to get strong and beat anyone and anything I considered a threat, anything aside from that seemed like a secondary thought that wasn't worth wasting time on."

"Because that is the correct assessment. In battle, unless you claim victory everything else becomes meaningless. If you cannot win then everything will fall apart and that cannot happen so if your current power is significant the only option is to acquire greater power. That is the reason why you must do everything at your disposal and be willing to go to any lengths to overcome any obstacle that stands in front of you."

"For what it's worth, I agree on some level. It's weird, ever since I fought Vali, that exact line of thinking has been all that's on my mind, I just wanted to get more power, no matter what, that's all I could think about….…. But that's not me."

Shirou's tone started off as being solemn but he ended it with a smirk.

"Even if I do want to get stronger, that doesn't mean the only option is to desperately obsess over it like a madman. I've been getting too tunnel-visioned that I started to lose myself to the point where I almost became someone else. There are other things that are important aside from just getting more power."

"Are you believe that having fun is one such thing?"

"Well kinda, I love this feeling… It's been ages. For the first time in a while, there's no Town for me save. No people to rescue. Just me, fully immersed in battle. My happy, just the thing that really gets my blood pumping."

"But that won't be enough when you're defeated." Shirōu Amakusa accused him.

"I won't be defeated, I wasn't, like I said, there are things just as important as power." Shirou continued before he proclaimed. "Conviction."

Shirōu Amakusa's eyes widened a bit. "Conviction?"

"Having standards that you stand by and setting boundaries for yourself." Shirou elaborated. "It's fine to want to be stronger, but if you're willing to sell out your convictions for the sake of getting any kind of power no matter where it came from or caring how you get it, even willing to cross the lines you yourself made, then no matter how much power you gain, no matter what you always be weak. Strength without convictions isn't real strength at all."

Shirou's way of thinking had completely reversed from what it was before he entered this world and started this fight. It was as though the dark cloud looming over his emotions had begun to clear away and he was returning to his old self. He could almost feel a weight that was weighing him doom for some time was finally being lifted.

Shirōu Amakusa should have been unhappy that his influence over Shirou's emotions was fading, but he simply remained where he was, he kept his head low, not saying a word until after a while he looked straight at him and gripped his Sword.

"There may be some truth to that. But, all the more reason why I must defeat you. After all…" He held up his blade. "My convictions are far heavier than yours."

Shirou responded by holding up his own Sword.

The end was coming; both of them knew it.

The two of them stared at one another, ignoring any other thoughts in their minds.

The two of them leaped towards one another. Shirou brought his blade down and across from his side in a slash towards Shirōu Amakusa, who brought his own Sword up in a perfect cut motion.

The two attacks slammed into one another and Shirou's Sword eventually gave way. The blade of Dyrnwyn simply didn't have the strength to hold out now that Shirou's physical abilities lessened from his injuries. Shirōu Amakusa's attack continued on, slicing deeply into his body from shoulder to thigh. Shirou gasped in agony, in more pain than he'd felt since the fight had begun.

But to his intense surprise, Shirou revived himself somehow. Be it hidden reserves, the damage not being as bad as it looked, or simple stubbornness, Shirou refused to go down. Rising his arm up, Shirou brought down a slash upon Shirōu Amakusa who defended by using the blade of Miike Tenta Mitsuyo. This time he was on the defensive, however, this was just something to grab his attention as Shirou used his leg to kick him in the stomach.

To his surprise, Shirou's kick hit its target and he was blown back a few feet. After that, he let out few coughs while placing a hand on his stomach.

Shirōu Amakusa's defensive abilities were indeed incredibly honed but it wasn't impossible to land a hit, after fighting him for so long, Shirou could get a read on his fighting style enough to start landing some hits.

Not to mention, Shirou believed that he had discovered Shirōu Amakusa's weakness.

Shirōu Amakusa shook off the damage from the kick and prepared to go again as Shirou prepared his final strategy to end this fight, it would be an all-or-nothing strike but e still planned on trying it.

Shirōu Amakusa charged in and Shirou held his ground, waiting for him. When he was right in front of him, their Swords clashed as they once again began a series of Sword attacks against each other. This wasn't as fast-paced as previous ones as Shirou was struggling to keep up. It ended when Shirōu Amakusa struck upwards and knocked Shirou's Sword and his arm up, leaving him open.

Ready to end it, Shirōu Amakusa git behind Shirou and stabbed his blade through Shirou's back, causing vital damage. Shirou froze, the only movement was his arm that was holding Dyrnwn slowly lowered itself. They were silent and motionless. It seemed like it was over.

SCHLIRK!

Shirōu Amakusa's eyes went wide as his mind was trying to grasp what had just happened. Trying to comprehend it, he looked down t his boy to see the blae of Dyrnwyn stabbed through his chest, where his lung should be. Pain coursed through his body, a pain he had never felt before, which left him distracted.

Which was just what Shirou wanted.

Shirou's plan was simple, and risk, but effective. He would go in and open himself up to an attack and let himself get stabbed knowing that after striking a seemingly finishing blow his opponent would be at his most unguarded, he'd use that one and only chance to land a lethal attack of his own.

But he wasn't done. Shirou made one final motion as he lifted his free arm up and pointed his hand at Shirōu Amakusa's head.

"ASCALON!"

SCHLIIIIIIIIIRRRRK!

"AUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Upon Shirou's command, even without the Boosted Gear, a golden glow of Holy aura appeared around his hand and the Holy Dragon-Slaying Sword—Ascalon shot out. With the way Shirou was holding out his hand and how close it was to his opponent's head, when Ascalon manifested, it stabbed itself through Shirōu Amakusa's forehead.

Shirōu Amakusa bellowed in pain, it all hit him at once and he was completely unable to bear it.

This was his weakness. Shirou had been in many tough fights and taken enough injuries and pain that could kill several men, but he endured through it all. All those experiences made him someone who would never fall, no matter how much pain he had to endure. He proved that in his fights against Raiser and Vali.

On the other hand, Shirōu Amakusa had always been in fights where he hardly ever got hit, and while that made his defense exceptional it made him unused to dealing with pain. Thus, his pain threshold was his weakness. Shirou's pain was to unload a great amount of pain that was so great it would destroy his mind. And since he couldn't die but could still feel pain, he had to suffer the pain of being stabbed through the lung and then the brain while being conscious of it all. It was an agony that defined imagination.

Shirōu Amakusa let go of his weapon and fell to his knees while screaming in pain as he gripped his hold, trying to hold on to his sanity and not go mad from all the pain. While that was happening, Shirou pulled out the blade that was stabbed through his back. He was hurting as well but it wasn't as bad and he was better at taking it.

Shirou was breathing heavily as he thought to himself. "It worked. I really didn't want to have to try that, but I didn't have any other way of beating this guy, he's way better than I was expecting." He powered down, letting Ascalon disappear and switching off his Touki. "Aw well, at least it's—"

CLASH!

It was only his instincts that saved his neck from being slashed as Shirou's arm reacted on reflex and used Dyrnwyn to block Shirōu Amakusa's Sword from cutting him.

To his surprise, Shirōu Amakusa was now holding his Sword again and painfully rose back up on his feet. He was clearly still in pain, it looked like he would fall if he was so much as pushed, but his eyes still burned with fighting spirit.

Shirou thought the fight was going to continue and prepared himself. But, after blocking the next strike from Shirōu Amakusa, Shirou realized that wasn't the case. Shirōu Amakusa's attack was slow, sluggish, and as sharp as a plastic ball. The damage affected him so much that he could barely swing his Sword and even when he did, his attacks were ones that an amateur could dodge.

Shirou blocked another strike and this time struck back as he opened a cut on Shirōu Amakusa's waist.

"Gah!" Shirōu Amakusa gasped in pain but he just swung again.

This was over. Shirou had also weakened and slowed down compared to before, but the drop in ability and mobility in Shirōu Amakusa was much worse. It was like watching an injured man face a dying man, even if he did nothing, his opponent would die after enough time had passed. He was doing everything he could to fight through the pain but it was just too much.

Shirou almost couldn't believe that he was the same warrior as before. The stoic, enigmatic Swordsman who seemed untouchable, now looked more like a dying animal whose life was about to go. That first strike was just the final gasp of a dying man, this was all that was left of Shirōu Amakusa. It wasn't something Shirou wanted to see.

"Just stop. The fight's over."

"I… Can't…" He breathed out, struggling to speak. "I… Must… Live."

"I don't get it. Why do all this?" Shirou asked while continuously blocking his Sword. Since he had the chance, he could finally ask the question that he wanted to know ever since he became aware of his existence. "Jumping for descendant to descendant, trying to get a new vessel. Why are you trying so hard to live again?"

"There are… People… Who… Still need… My help."

"What?" Shirou certainly wasn't expecting that answer.

On his next attempt to attack, they locked blades and Shirou didn't push back as though he wanted to hear him continue.

"In my previous life… There were… So many who needed me… Who were… Depending on me… But… I failed them… Even so I… I know that there are still… Evils in this world… And people… Who need someone… To save them. I… Will be that someone.… I will bring happiness to everyone in this world."

"Even strangers?"

"I told you." He was able to speak without pausing but still couldn't muster any strength. "I wish to create a world where everyone is saved and happy, all seven billion people in this world and even those who will be born in the future. So I will annihilate all the evil of this world. So I must live."

Shirou didn't know what to say, for so long, he had only ever thought of Shirōu Amakusa as a dark specter of hatred and resentment, but now. His words and the emotions behind them. They were something he never imagined, all of his feelings were laid bare and his true self was being displayed. He seemed so vulnerable, so human.

But he meant every word he said. The fire burning in his eyes, the unbreakable will that was driving him through his pain, the way he made you feel that he would never fall no matter what was done to him until he achieved a goal that meant everything to him. Right now, he was the spitting image of Shirou during his fights with Raiser and Vali. And Shirou was aware of that comparison. It made him feel like he was fighting himself, which only made it harder for him.

Shirou stepped back to break their hold and caused Shirōu Amakusa to lose his balance as Shirou slashed him again, making him to more damage as he cried out in pain.

"I can see how much this means to you. But you lost, so you're going to disappear."

Shirōu Amakusa still stayed on his feet and slowly and painfully limped closer to him.

"I have existed for so long now. I outlived all of my brethren, many of my descendants, and even God. Now, there is, at last, a vessel that is perfect for me. There are so many who I protect and now I will finally be able to. So, I cannot afford to lose to you."

Once he reached him, before he could do anything, Shirou used the tip of his blade to pierce Shirōu Amakusa's chest. This time he used Miike Tenta Mitsuyo as a crutch to hold his body up as he did everything he could to stop himself from falling.

"I also have people I need to protect and reasons why I can't afford to lose." Shirou told him softly. "One of us has to go and I won, so you're going to go now."

"I already told you. I cannot afford to lose. If I end here, there will be no one left to fight for their happiness. If there were someone else who would they would have appeared long ago, I must do it. it does not matter what happens to me, I would do anything to keep them from suffering, I will carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and spread my Darkness over the whole Earth if that is what it takes."

"I know you would, but you don't have to anymore, because I will do it in your place." Shirou vowed to him.

Shirōu Amakusa looked up at him with surprise. "You will… Do so in my place?"

Shirou nodded with conviction in his eyes and a serious tone. "Yeah, and not just the Human World, the Underworld too. I'll change both worlds for the better. And not just that, I'll stand at the center of every Faction in this world and become the one that brings everyone together. Conflict, strife, and disharmony, I'll take all those things and get rid of all of that, and replace it all with happiness… For everyone."

Shirōu Amakusa silently heard him say all this and seemed at a loss for words until he looked back down and let a small smile appear on his face.

"I'm amazed you can… Say all that. You must be a man with an extreme amount of Greed."

"That's right." Shirou didn't deny it. "I'm full of Greed, I want it all. I want everything, and I'll take everything, even the world. And more than that, I want to give them the world, the world they all deserve to live in, if I take the world in my hands then I can make it into a world where they don't have to suffer or feel hurt anymore."

"You really think that you can do that?"

"I'm the only one who can."

Shirou's eyes were straightforward and earnest, clear of any doubt, he believed every word he said, it was something that would be hard to imagine, except for those who knew Shirou. But Shirou didn't stop there.

He held Dyrnwyn again and this time, instead of coating it in either Touki or Holy aura, Shirou brought out Senjutsu. After training with Ren for so long, he still only knew the basics of Senjutsu and couldn't use it reliably in a fight. But one thing he learned was that Senjutsu was a power that could affect one's own feelings or intent.

As such, there was a way to let use it to transfer your feelings to someone else and let them feel what you were feeling and know your intentions, the way to do this was to have your Senjutsu touch their body.

So, once Shirou's blade was covered in his Senjutsu's chakra, he stabbed it through Shirōu Amakusa's stomach. This time, instead of feeling pain, he felt something different, something that shook him as he looked up, and suddenly the miasma of the Power of Darkness that covered his body vanished. He could feel all of Shirou's true feelings and his true intentions floating through him.

"Ga… u, aa…!" Shirōu Amakusa gasped and panted as he tried to collect himself after being overwhelmed. "W-Why…?"

"To let you know that I mean what I say." Shirou told him, almost proudly. "And like I said, I make everyone happy in your place, and you're a part of everyone."

"I am your enemy?"

Shirou shook his head. "Maybe, up until now I thought of you as one, but that's not the case anymore. It might sound weird considering we were just trying to kill each other a moment ago, but I can't think of you as an enemy anymore. It's more like… You're like another me. During our fight and during the aftermath, I could see it. So much of myself in you, the real you. We're the same in so many ways, I know you saw it too."

"….….…"

Shirōu Amakusa stayed quiet for a bit. Like he was trying to find the right way to respond, then he smiled and spoke softly.

"You are correct. In the beginning, I only thought of you as a vessel for me to claim so that I could live again, but now… Your words, your intent, everything about you makes me feel as though I am facing another incarnation of myself."

But then, Shirōu Amakusa's smile faded.

"But, as you said before, only one of us can leave here alive, and I was defeated. So, I must vanish from this world."

"What if you don't?" Shirou suggested.

"What are you saying?" Shirōu Amakusa didn't understand.

"Let's work together from now on, I've always been able to win fights because you were giving me power. Remember how you lent me some of your power when I was fighting Vali, why not just stay inside of me and keep doing that, this time willingly." Shirou explained his idea.

"I'm afraid that won't work." Shirōu Amakusa rejected his idea. "Every time I was offering you power, it was to spread my influence over your mind, consisting repeating that method will have lasting effects on you, the end result will be you losing your sense of self entirely."

"Damnit, then…"

"However, I believe I can offer another method that will work far better."

Shirōu Amakusa brought up his own proposal.

"Seriously? Well, what is it?" Shirou became interested.

"Become one with me."

"….…Uh, what?" Now Shirou didn't understand.

Shirōu Amakusa elaborated what he had in mind. "Right now, you and I are only souls given mass. Instead of ceasing to exist, I can overlay my soul with yours, and thus our two souls will become one. All my knowledge, experiences, abilities, strengths, and even my Sword and the Power of Darkness. They will all be yours."

Shirou became perplexed. "You can do that?"

"Indeed I can."

"But wait, from the way you're talking, you're making it sound like you'll disappear if we do this."

"Not exactly, my consciousness and my individual self will indeed be gone, but rather than disappearing I will be merged into you. But that shouldn't matter, after all, you only require my power, not my very being."

"Yeah, but where is this coming from?" Shirou still couldn't find the reason for his proposal. "I thought you wanted to live more than anything, that's why you've been existing through your descendants until now, why are you suddenly so okay with just fading away?"

"Do my actions surprise you? I suppose I cannot blame you, after all, you know so little of who I am. But, rather than simply explaining myself, I believe you will understand after I show you."

"Show me what?" Shirou asked.

Shirōu Amakusa smiled peacefully.

"Show you how the being known as Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada became what it currently is."

After saying those words, Shirōu Amakusa raised the hand that was holding his Divine Sword and the Divine White Light of the Sword shined brightly before creating a large and wide burst of light that consumed them and everything around them.

SHIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEE!

When the light cleared, the two of them reappeared somewhere new, they were now floating in the sky, not far beneath them on the ground was what happened to be a town. The strange thing was that both Shirou and Shirōu Amakusa's bodies were different, they were see-through like specters.

"What's going on? Where are we?" Shirou asked looking around.

"This is a world made from my memories before my death." Shirōu Amakusa answered.

"Memories?"

"I am going to show you what made me what I am now. Before I died, this is Shimabara, it used to be my home."

Shirōu Amakusa informed him as they slowly descended before they touched the ground. When Shirou got a better look at the place, he noticed what kind of place they were in. The town and its people all looked like the kinds that you would see in books or movies about Edo Japan, meaning they were currently in Japan that existed centuries in the past.

"This was a time known as the Edo Period where Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate, to me, it was an Era of subjugation. Tell me, do you notice the current state f the people you see living here?"

Shirou looked around and could see what he meant, any person he saw either looked poor or homeless, their eyes reflected desire, hopelessness, or even a silent hatred building inside of them.

"What happened to them?"

"An insertion of new power over the land." He answered bitterly. "Originally, the Arima Clan had previously ruled over this land and we were able to live peacefully during those times but the Tokugawa Shogunate turned rule of this land over to the Matsukura Clan and thus begun and lives of ready and despair."

the Matsukura Clan, and because our beliefs conflicted with their own, they began to persecute us."

"What did they do?" Shirou questioned.

Shirōu Amakusa clenched his fist. "In the beginning, the Matsukura Clan decided to build a new castle once they gained rule over Shimabara, to fund that they raised taxes which caused famine and over-taxation on the people. The sight of someone having lost his home and left with nothing was common back then, adults and even children, I witnessed them dying on the streets even when I was a youth."

Shirou could hear the anger in his voice, but he couldn't blame him. In fact, Shirou felt angry himself just hearing about it.

"This all led to the mass despair you see before you, but we still had one source of salvation. That was Christianity. The Arima Clan were a Christian group, during their rule we could practice our religion openly. But, the Matsukura Clan were different, even after taking everything else from us, they still weren't satisfied, and soon, Christianity—Our only salvation was also taken from us."

"They wouldn't let you practice religion anymore?"

"It was worse than that. They persecuted anyone who was a follower of the Christian faith, we couldn't practice our religion or we would have been killed, being left with nothing but despair it was no longer just exploitation but plain murder, if we continued living under these conditions, death would be all that awaited us. Thus, enough was enough and we chose to fight back."

The scene changes and now it was nighttime where many Edo Japanese civilians were gathered together in the slums while having a meeting in preparation for the beginning of their rebellion. It wasn't just civilians, but Ronin were all gathered there and their numbers were in the thousands.

"This was the start of the Shimabara Rebellion."

"Where were you during all this."

"Closer than you think."

Upon his words, they looked at the front of the huge crowd and they saw a small, poorly made, wooden stage. Walking onto the stage was a young man, he appeared to be a teenager close to Shirou's age, wearing samurai clothes, and while his face was different, he had the exact same Silver-hair that both Shirou and his Mother had.

Shirou's eyes widened when he saw him. "Is that…?"

Shirōu Amakusa nodded in confirmation. "Yes, that is me when I was at the age of 16. I was chosen to be the leader of the rebellion."

Shirou could see how much faith everyone had in him, some of them were cheering, others were chanting his name. It was like he was a Saint, or even like Jesus to them. Instead of asking why—Shirou saw someone else walk onto the stage. It looked like a man whose arm was injured. As he kneeled before the young Shirōu Amakusa, the young Saint reached out and placed his hand on the man's injured arm, then after gathering magic in his hand, he did something amazing ad cured the man's injury. He lifted his arm in amazement before gracing bowing to Shirōu Amakusa again while everyone who watched cheered louder, calling it a Divine Miracle.

"That was magic?" Shirou noticed.

"Indeed. Back then, I was capable of using magic for many things, one of them was healing."

"Then, why'd you call it a Divine Miracle?"

Shirōu Amakusa looked down. "Back then, I truly believed that is what it was."

Shirou looked at Shirōu Amakusa as he began to explain.

"From the start, God had blessed me with a great amount of natural potential. Magical-ability came naturally to me and I was able to accomplish a number of feats with them that I and those around me believed to be Miracles. The reason for that being that whenever I used magic back then, I wasn't aware I was using magic. Whenever my power manifested itself, it was through my subconscious, and it was just so natural that I never realized it. The result was this misunderstanding."

"And through that misunderstanding, you believed that you and your followers could successfully pull off a rebellion?" Shirou theorized.

"Actually, that is incorrect." Shirōu Amakusa denied his theory. "My hope was that we would lose the initial battle."

Now Shirou was lost. "What? You wanted to lose?"

"After losing everything, they all needed something in order to carry on, something they could all believe in, and that something was me. A boy who could perform Miracles, I was the shining hope that allowed them to carry on. That is why they chose a boy like me to lead them, peasants, even former vassals of Konishi Yukinaga acknowledged my leadership. But even then, I could see we had no chance of success, simply common people and Masterless Samurai. no matter how high our numbers, there was no way we—A glorified mob could hope to defeat the armed and trained soldiers of the Matsukura Clan."

"But you still agreed to be their leader."

"I had to." Shirōu Amakusa then had a soft look in his eyes. "I was touched by the weight of their beliefs."

Play OST — Re:Zero - Starting Life In Another World — Chain Of Memories

Shirou was quiet, he didn't really know what he meant but he could tell that it was something that had an effect on him. Fortunately, he got his answer as Shirōu Amakusa continued.

"It was the mindset of the people that had an effect on me, they fought to defend their belief and were willing to sacrifice themselves for them, believing their sacrifices would help the world would become reborn. I felt the same way, so I chose to lead them, even if victory was impossible, so with the help of the Ronin, we staged an inspiration to take over Hara Castle." With that, his expression turned into a frown. "But to my horror, we were victorious."

The scene changed again and now they found themselves in Hara Castle, the rebels were successful in conquering and commandeering the castle for themselves and now they were using it as their base. They were celebrating their victory over the Matsukura forces and morale was at an all-time high. Everyone was going wild with their excitement and were praising Shirōu Amakusa as a boy of Miracles or that his presence was the will of God.

"You guys actually won?" Shirou became surprised. "That's crazy, how'd you do it?"

"Even now, I am still not sure how we succeeded, I honestly felt that victory was impossible, and yet, that was the outcome, it can only be thought of as a true Miracle. But it was something that never should have happened."

"Why not?"

"I believed that the act of rebelling itself along with a small number of casualties would send a message to the Shogunate that what they were doing was wrong and even those some of us would die, we would create a better future for those who lived and those who would come after. But, by successfully capturing Hara Castle, the only message that the Shogun would see would be a pointless rebellion that needed to be wiped out."

"The rat is most dangerous when cornered, it would even bite a cat. But after being bitten, the enraged cat would retaliate by slaughtering them." Shirou recited a quote.

"That is exactly right. I knew right away that our victory on that day would only anger the Shogunate and result in terrible consequences. But none of my followers seemed to be aware of that fact. Our Miraculous victory made them cling to me further and they started to believe that as long as I was there, we'd always be victorious."

Shirou could see him in the memory. Shirōu Amakusa looked troubled by all the faith and devotion his followers were giving him but he seemed willing to accept it and he appeared to want to try to live up to their faith. Shirou felt something strange when he saw that, a feeling that he couldn't quite figure out.

"In the end, I was the blame as well. Even after we captured the castle, the Shogunate sent forces to recapture it. Whenever they did, I always faced them and defeated them to defend my followers. I knew it was a mistake and that my actions would only make our fate worse, but I lost sight of the bigger picture, all I could think about was saving everyone behind me. I just… Wanted… To protect them."

He could hear the emotion laced in his voice, he sounded hurt, regretful, and dismayed. He was in a situation where there was no right answer, even if fighting was the wrong choice, he couldn't just not fight and let the others die. But his actions in the name of protecting them only ended up creating the worst outcome.

"What happened next?" Shirou wasn't afraid to ask.

"I was able to repel their attacks multiple times, it was during that time that I awakened the Power of Darkness as well as when I was granted Miike Tenta Mitsuyo. With those gifts bestowed on me by God, I was always victorious. To my brethren, I became known as "The Man Who Was Chosen By God" but to my enemies, I was called "The Shadow That Casts Over Japan". But no matter how much I fought, what ended up causing my undoing was the difference in our resources."

"How do you mean?"

"In the beginning, the Shogunate took our uprising lightly, but then got serious due to all of its punitive forces being defeated. They even sent out an army of their Strongest attackers with Matsudaira Nobutsuna as their commander, but I still defeated them through a series of coordinated defensive surges. However, it was then that they decided to cease attempting to destroy us with direct tactics. Instead, they destroyed us from within without my knowledge, it started with an act of betrayal."

"There was a traitor in the castle?" Shirou became surprised by this information.

Shirōu Amakusa now looked ashamed. As though he was ashamed of himself for allowing what had begun to transpire.

"I am afraid so. Our numbers were at least 37000, but in that vast number, there was but one who became a mole for the Shogunate. In exchange for being allowed to live, he passed valuable information to our enemies. With the information they gained, they were able to corner us without any way for us to stop them. They cut off our food supply so that we would starve, our ammunition so that we would lose our weapons, in the end, all we could do was shut ourselves off in the castle. When we were at our weakest and no longer had a means of defense, the Shogun's forces attacked in full force."

He gulped as the scenery changed once more. This time, Shirou was shaken to his core as he was seeing something that was easily the most horrifying thing he had ever witnessed.

Warning — The Following Contains Scenes That May Not Be Suitable For Those Faint Of Heart — Viewer Discretion Is Advised

It was Hell.

After the rebellion had ultimately failed, Shirōu Amakusa was captured alive but before being taken he had been forced to witness the haunting scene of what became of all of his followers. The castle was burning down as fire lit up the night sky, around that terrible scene, the forces from the Shogunate had subdued and were now laughing like maniac demons as they were having the time of their lives, doing whatever they wanted to the 3700 defeated rebellions.

The Elderly were having their heads chopped off, one by one as though they wanted to take their time.

Adult men were being killed in horrific ways—Death, by Swords, death by stomped on, death by bleeding to death after their limbs were chopped off. Some were even thrown into the fire so that they would burn to death, and others were being slowly butchered like experimental animals.

Women and girls were suffering through unspeakable tortures. The men from the enemy forces would chase down and grabbed whichever one they like, held them down, and forcefully raped them out in the open, regardless of age or how many men were on one woman or girl. They all cried out, begging and pleading for help, for someone, anyone to save them, but salvation never came as right after the enemies felt satisfied, they would draw their weapon and kill the woman they raped before moving onto the next one. This twisted display of lust and savagery never seemed to end as their cries echoed throughout the night.

Even the children weren't spared as many of them tried to run or hide only to be chased down or discovered. The enemy seemed to delight in killing the helpless as they really took their time murdering the young. Some were stabbed in the back while running away, others were held down before being decapitated. Babies were held up before being pierced by spears, others were left on the ground before a horse stomped on their skulls and creaked them open like eggs, spilling out the gory mess of blood, bone, and chunks of brain. Some children weren't found but inhaled too much smoke coming from the fire and died from that.

As this bloody massacre was taking place, the only thing any of them could do was pray. They all prayed for God and for Shirōu Amakusa to save them from this Hell, but all they received was death, yet they never stopped believing and never stopped praying.

Shirou couldn't handle all this as his knees buckled as he dropped to the ground before vomiting out everything in his stomach. He thought he had seen it all and could handle anything, but this was all too much even for him. He'd never be able to unsee any of this.

Shirōu Amakusa was no better, he refused to avert his eyes or look away but having to witness all this again grated at his heart as his body shook and he was unable to keep a straight face.

After what felt like an eternity, the scene finally changed. Now they were in a dark prison cell somewhere while Shirōu Amakusa was chained up with an expression on his face that showed he had no intention to resist and standing in front of him was a man dressed as an executioner.

Shirou pulled himself together enough to be able to watch again and saw what was happening. "Is this…?"

"Yes." Shirōu Amakusa confirmed his suspicions. "This is where my life comes to an end."

The executioner picked up a Katana and raised it above his head before bringing it down and slashing off Shirōu Amakusa's right arm, he followed up by doing the same with his left arm. Both his limbs dropped to the floor beneath him as blood was dripping from the stubs on his shoulders like an open facet.

But surprisingly Shirōu Amakusa didn't make a sound. If he was in any pain after having his arms dismembered, he clearly didn't show it. Rather, without once changing his expression, his eyes showed that he accepted this fate with a will of steel that made it impossible for him to yield and give up that allowed him to overcome the pain of losing his arms.

That didn't change his fate though as the executioner brought down his blade one last time and this time, he cleaved the head of Shirōu Amakusa from its shoulders and let it fall. Thus, the man chosen by God had met his end.

The scene changed yet again and now they were once again in an Edo Japanese town, this time it was a different one as they stood outside a castle.

"Where are we now?" Shirou was confused considering he thought they were done.

"This is my final resting ground." Shirōu Amakusa explained as he looked up.

Shirou looked to see what he was seeing and saw it. As one final act of desecration, they placed his severed head on a pike and displayed it on Nagasaki Castle, it was a display to act as a warning, as if saying this was the fate of anyone else who tried to rebel.

"That's disgusting."

Shirou narrowed his eyes, he wasn't surprised considering he had already seen what these people were capable of but he still couldn't stand it.

"I agree it is disgraceful, but all was not lost."

It's Safe Now

One final time the scene changed and now they found themselves somewhere completely different. They were in a small, rustic, wooden house. It seemed quiet and peaceful, the only sound was the sound of quiet breathing.

They looked to see by a window was a young woman, she appeared to be in her late teen years and was sitting o a chair while she was caring for a baby in her arms. The baby was wrapped in a cloth and sleeping peacefully, but when Shirou got a good look at it he could see a small clump of hair on its head—Silver hair.

"No way… Is that—"

"It is. Before, shortly after we had captured Hara Castle, I had that woman speak to me in private. I could see that my death was only a matter of time when faced with the overwhelming force of our enemies and so I had asked her to carry a child for me and flea. I wanted there to be at least one of us to live on and make sure our faith didn't die with us. Neither my followers nor my enemies o of either of their existences so they were able to live peacefully, far away from all of us."

"But if he's your kid, did you end up possessing him too?" Shirou realized.

"Yes. Shortly after my death, I found myself regaining consciousness with the inner parts of my son's mind. That was when I discovered I could live through him and subsequent descendants, it was even fully to fully remove their souls and take their bodies for myself. That was how I became the existence I am now."

With that, they had reached the end of the memories and another flash of light appeared to consume them.

SHIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEE!

Music Off

When the light cleared, they found themselves back in the void of darkness. Now that the memories were done, a solemn silence filled the air as Shirou tried to process what he just witnessed. A disturbing chronicle of a man's life as it ended in disaster. Shirou could only ask what was on his mind.

"Why did you so me all that?"

"Because I wanted you to understand something. The truth is, I wasn't upset about dying or losing, there was only one thing I regretted. It was the fact that I was unable to save any of them, that despite all my power or abilities, I was powerless at our most important time and was incapable of saving even a single life."

Shirōu Amakusa looked down at his hands with regret, the hands that couldn't carry the burdens of the past and let everything slip away, leaving nothing behind.

"It was my fault that tragedy occurred. I had lost sight of the bigger picture and allowed everything to fall apart, there must have been something I could have done, I was filled with so much hatred that I could not accept it, so many lives lost in vain, and as a result, nothing would have been gained, I could not accept!"

His hatred caused darkness to once again surround his body, but only for a moment this time as he calmed himself.

"I might as well have killed them myself, I was the reason this all happened. But I knew I could have done better if I just had a second chance. I begged God to let me try again and if he did, I swore that I would succeed next time, I would eliminate any obstacle and hardships, I would never fall to an enemy, and I would obtain all the happiness and never let it go, and I spread it to all the good people in the world. But my lingering hatred wanted more, I wanted to wipe out all the evil from this world as well. I believed that by being able to live on through my descendants, God had granted my wish to give me a second chance. But… Now I see that I was wrong."

"Wrong?" Shirou repeated. "How, makes sense to me."

Shirōu Amakusa shook his head. "No, it is different. I now see it. You were my second chance." He smiled peacefully at him.

Shirou's eyes widened. "What?"

"When I look at you, I see another form of my old self. One that all my strengths will not make my mistakes, I was never meant to steal the lives of my own kin but to become a strength that would aid them for the sake of the future. And I believe that with you the world can truly be reborn into a better one. You already have what I lacked."

"What do you mean what you lacked?" Shirou asked.

"I believe I was at fault for our defeat, but at the time, I was the only one of us who was capable of fighting. A whole society that is dependant on one individual has no balance or foundation, it was destined to fall apart. If I had others who I could trust or those I could call my equals, things might have been different." Shirōu Amakusa looked at Shirou. "You have those now, and are continuously gaining more, allies, comrades, confidants, having a circle of those you trust can sometimes do more than even Miracles."

Shirou thought about that. His family and his friends, the people he trusted. Those who were part of the same Peerage, those who weren't. Those who are Devils and those who aren't. Those who live in the supernatural and those who don't. The number of people who truly trusted wasn't necessarily a large one, but while he didn't say it often and almost never to their faces, he did value all of them.

But then he focused back on what was happening now.

"So, because you see me as your second chance, you don't mind vanishing?" Shirou summarized his intentions.

"It is for the best. I have been alive for too long, my time has already passed." Shirōu Amakusa told him before walking up to him. "But, I will never truly disappear, even if my consciousness vanishes, my soul will synchronize with your own, creating a soul that will house the power and essence of both of us. You will still be you, but rather than having two souls in one body, it will be one soul surpassing the other two."

Shirou nodded. "I get it, that's what you meant by becoming one with you."

"Yes. But, I have one last thing to ask you. You have a great many things you wish to protect. But, have you accepted the idea of letting others protect you?"

Shirou didn't even need to think about it.

"No chance. There'll always be people who need my help and I don't mind protecting them when that happens. But the reason I got so strong was to make sure the opposite never happens. I'll make sure I never need someone else's protection."

Shirōu Amakusa looked satisfied, as though he heard the answer he was hoping for.

"I agree. In order to protect others, one must first be capable of protecting oneself. That was the belief I always fought under."

"I guess that's something else we have in common."

Shirōu Amakusa held out his hand and Shirou did the same. Their hands touched and a spiritual aura appeared around their bodies, Shirou's was white and Shirōu Amakusa's was black.

"I see it now. Be it Amakusa or Tsukiharu, in the end, it no longer matters."

"Yeah, the bottom line is we're both—"

[Shirou/Shirōu]

They both said those last words together before their bodies faded away and turned to ether. The black and white ether resembled two spheres of aura and they both shot upwards before spiraling together until they fused into one.

FLAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!

Back in the outside world, Tannin still stood at the mountain range and was still watching the barrier that was filled with darkness with Shirou in the center of it all. For Tannin, less than an hour had passed but he was still anxious to know what the result would be.

"I can only wonder what is happening in there." Tannin muttered to himself.

CRACK!

Fortunately, Tannin didn't have to wait any longer as out of nowhere, a crack appeared on the barrier which immediately caught his attention. Soon, a second and third one appeared and from there, the whole barrier shattered to pieces, and darkness exploded out freely.

A second later that darkness started receding and became more controlled as it gathered around the center until it shrunk into a small point and started to reform into a human shape. Afterward, the darkness faded and revealed a fully healed Shirou who stood tall.

Shirou looked normal at first but he had a dark miasma clouding his body that could only be the Power of Darkness and when he opened his eyes, Tannin saw that they were still gold. Tannin became worried at this.

"Did he fail?"

But the next thing he did only baffled the Dragon. Shirou held out his arm and the Boosted Gear was summoned over it. That shouldn't have been possible, when Shirou is possessed he can't use the Boosted Gear and if he isn't possessed the darkness should be gone.

So what was going on?

"Hmm, this isn't bad." Shirou said to himself in his own voice. "I thought it would take longer to get used to, but I should get the hang of this before long."

Tannin couldn't stay silent and approached him. "You, um…" Tannin got his attention but had trouble figuring out how he should ask. "W-Which one are you?"

"Do you want to know?" Shirou smiled confidently at him before floating up into the sky. "Allow me to show you."

FLAP!

Shirou brought out his Devil wings and Tannin was shocked to see that now, Shirou had eight wings on his back instead of the previous two. But the surprises didn't stop there as he raised up his hand and manifested Miike Tenta Mitsuyo in his hand before powering up its Divine aura.

And still, he wasn't done as before Tannin could even process what he was seeing. Shirou brought out the Power of Darkness in full force. Darkness shot out from every direction of his body before it surrounded him and kept growing and growing until it resembled a pitch-black supernova with him in the center. Shirou finished by letting the darkness shot upwards as a large rising spire of darkness shot into the sky and spread through it until darkness covered the whole sky as far as the eye could see. It was as though day had turned into night and the sky was cloaked in a layer of darkness. All this was Shirou's power.

Somewhere, in a different part of the Underworld, a tall man who was wearing a noble military-looking uniform was alone in an expensive-looking room and resting on a couch.

Suddenly as though he was woken up by something, he opened his eye and slowly sat up before he stared off in a certain direction. It was as though he felt something different and instinctively reacted to it.

At another part of the Underworld, Serafall was in her private office and attending to her Devil King work when all of a sudden she stopped and turned her head.

She could feel it, she didn't know what it was but something had captured her attention.

Somewhere in what appeared to be a laboratory, a young adult male with green hair and dressed in royal attire seemed to be working on something.

All of a sudden he stopped and while his expression was blank, his eyes widened in surprise. Something was different, it was a feeling he had never felt before.

Sirzechs was in his castle at the Royal Capital in the Underworld. He was quietly sitting on his throne as though he was deep in thought when suddenly his expression changed.

The Crimson Satan stood up and tilted his head upwards. He felt it, his instincts were sending him a signal. It was not one he was familiar with but it was one he couldn't ignore. He knew exactly what it meant.

There is no evidence. However, in that moment, they all sensed it.

They were the ones who stood at the pinnacle of the Devil race. The Four Great Devil Kings. No Devil was their equal. Even if one did appear, it would be in the distant future. Or so it seemed.

They all felt it instinctively. The birth of the existence of a Devil who now stood on the realm of power that until now was exclusive to only them. But they weren't the only ones. Among those who were aware of this change, there was one in particular who felt it and knew exactly what it meant.

The Silver-haired White Dragon Emperor stared off into the distance and whispered one name to himself.

"Shirou Tsukiharu."

After demonstrating his full power, Shirou let his darkness fade as he floated closer to Tannin with his Sword in one hand and the other covered in his Boosted Gear as Tannin could only look at him with a wide-eyed jaw-dropping stare.

"Y-You are…?"

"I am both and yet neither." Shirou answered him. "I am the being who came into existence after two distant souls became one. I am Shirou Amakusa Tsukiharu."

And that's the chapter.

First of all, those first parts of the chapter were just a little bit of fun, I wanted to add something lighthearted to start things off. After that, I got to the serious stuff.

From the moment I first introduced Shirōu Amakusa as a part of this story, I always intended for things to end this way. Rather than using him as a constant plot device that would only appear when Shirou needed a power-up, he would be a foil to Shirou and a part of his character development.

Instead of just fighting and killing each other, they both gained a new understanding from each other. That happened because I wanted to show that Shirōu Amakusa wasn't some dark evil force that had no other part of his character, I wanted to show his human side, his motives, and what made him what he is now. And to show the parallels between him and Shirou. Like how, if the times of their births were the other way around, the role could have been easily reversed, and even now, Shirou could have ended up like him.

And it showed they had the same struggles. Some of you may not have noticed this. Despite all of Shirou's ego or his bluster, it's something he does for the others but also himself, a glass smile he wears to hide his insecurity and to reassure those following him that everything is all right. But when you have so many people counting on you and putting all their faith in you, you can't ever show weakness or falter, nor can you ignore the terrifying reality that maybe you just aren't good enough to protect them all the way you are now.

Shirōu Amakusa had to deal with the same thing. No matter how strong he was or how talented, he was just a teenager thrust into the role of leading thousands of people against an entire contrary and yet faced with the burdens of all their faith and expectations all he could do was try to live up to their beliefs no matter how had it was. Yet, he was burdened by the reality of knowing they were never going to succeed and all their deaths were all his hands.

The reason Shirou always tries so hard at everything is to push those feelings away until he can convince himself that he can do it without ever making excuses or accepting anyone's help. At the same time, the stronger he becomes the harder it gets because no of his friends are as strong as him and the gap keeps widening, making it harder to acknowledge the idea that they could protect him or even themselves. That's why he's usually harsh or strict with both the others and himself for wasting any opportunity for training or improvement.

So yeah, they both felt like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. And after coming to an understanding, they were able to clear away their tunnel vision and instead of both of them trying to do everything alone, they chose to do it together.

As for them fusing their souls into one. It's like in Dragon Ball Z when Piccollo fused with Kami and they became a different person but he still had Piccollo's body and personality, just both of their powers and memories. He's still Shirou just a little more mature and while he might approach some things differently now, he'll pretty much be the same guy. Like a Protagonist who came back from a time-skip.

And as for Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada. He's gone now, out for good, never going to see him again.

And for all of you who watched Fate/Apocrypha, yes the Sword Shirōu Amakusa was using was from that series. I actually got the inspiration to use Shirōu Amakusa in my story because of the character from that series because he is one of my favorite characters, and so I also gave him the same weapon, I just changed it from a Noble Phantasm to a God-Class weapon.

And with the powers he gained from fusing with Shirōu Amakusa, Shirou now has the power of a Satan-Class Devil, but like Vali, it's only in terms of his magic and Demonic power. o basically, he and Vali are now full-on equals, and on top of that, he now has a third Sword to go with Dyrnwyn and Ascalon. He'll get a fourth one but that'll be in the far-off future o don't ask.

The next chapter will be the end of training and the plot will be moving on again so look forward to it.

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you want more click the follow/favorite, if you liked the story then leave a review. if you want an early release feel free to become a patron, and as always have an awesome day.