The reader enters the archives to see Slim Prime, and two others floating in the air with their eyes shining. They all had a creepy smile on their face as if they were plotting something. The only two non-floating beings in the room. The first was a humanoid being with a purple reptilian tail wearing a black coat, purple shirt, with black pants and shoes.
The other was a little girl with white hair and an oversized yellow shirt. She busied herself with tying bows, of different colors, to the humaniod's tail. Yet he did not seem to mind it.
"Hello Readers, R.O.W. Here to bring you the intro for the next chapter of Lord of swords. Slim is a bit busy playing Witcher so that might bleed into this chapter… a lot. So I took it upon myself to take care of the intro, reviews, and the outro for today. Now I think it's time for me to move onto the Guest reviews.
Ghostly: "Don't worry, She won't be neglected in terms of being able to keep on par with Shirou. Let's just say she will be getting a 'buff' of sorts."
Wasabi: "I'll give you a hint, they are associated with the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil."
"Alright, now that the reviews are done with, it's time to jump right into the story folks so buckle up. Because things are gonna get hectik."
Shirou's eyes slowly opened. The world had stopped spinning, yet he felt like something still wasn't right about him. His body felt wet and light as if he were floating in water, but the water seemed to flow through him as if he were water as well. His body still pulsed with pain every once in a while, but it was a far cry from what he had felt before the pain overwhelmed him. He also noted that he did not feel any wet clothes on his body meaning he was naked.
From where he floated, he could see that the roof above him seemed to be a tree stump. Its roots held up the smoothed dirt looking ceiling. It was as if someone had built a camber directly under some large tree. The only right source he could see was on the edge of his vision. A type of glowing stone attached to the walls with fireflies flying around them. He attempted to move his body but found that it did not respond to his orders. It was like his whole body was numb as if he had been encased in ice all day. He tried to reinforce his body but found his magic circuits were being blocked. He was completely helpless. Shirou hadn't felt that way in a long time. Even during his second childhood in this new world he never felt helpless. It was more than likely that something in the water that paralyzed him, yet at the same time was healing him. At this moment all he could do was wait for whoever brought him here to show themselves.
It turned out to be a long wait as he found himself waiting in the water for more than two hours before the sound of footsteps reached his ears. Shirou's eyes moved to try and spot the person approaching them. From the corner of his vision Shirou could almost see the figure of a humanoid approaching from a connecting chamber. As the figure got closer his appearance became more apparent. From what Shirou could see he looked human, but something was different about him. His hair was black and short, but it was well-kept. His eyes were a dark green that spoke of another worldly intelligence. He wore a type of purple suit with a long hanging black vest with white and dark golden accents. The collar clung to his neck and almost reached his head but stopped just short of his chin. All in all, he looked like some form of royal advisor. When he reached the edge of the water he stopped and looked down at Shirou. His facial expression was neutral, giving Shirou no clue of his current mood.
"You have awakened." He spoke in an elegant yet proper tone. "We have much to do before the… gentlemen is ready to speak with her royal majesty. Once the gentlemen have been properly cleaned, we shall proceed along with the other formalities."
(Unpleasant scene incoming)
Before Shirou could get in a word the man turned away, and he felt the water begin to move on its own. He grunted as the water seemed to become rough and rub against his body. It felt like a million tiny rocks were rubbing against his body. Though Shirou's troubles were not yet over. Suddenly Shirou felt his body pulled under the waters. Water filled his mouth then projected down his throat. At the same time, he felt water shoot up his rectum and further. Excrement was forcefully pulled out of his body, as well as any undigested foods. His hair was pulled roughly as if every strand of hair was being individually pulled at the same time. Water pushed into his nails forcing them up to make way for the water. His kidneys began to fill with water and soon the water found its way out. Shirou attempted to call on his weapons, yet whatever was blocking his mage craft would not budge. This tortured "cleaning" continued for a few moments before Shirou was brought back up to the water's surface.
(Unpleasant scene end)
Soon the youth was deposited on the wood surrounding the water. Shirou coughed up some water that was left behind in his lungs. The taste of some plant was very present in his mouth as he shook his head. A shadow loomed over him, the advisor looking man no doubt. He leaned in to take a quick whiff of Shirou.
"Hmm, it must suffice." He said before taking a step back, turned, then processed to walk over to an ornate carved chair. "If the Gentlemen would take a seat, we may begin further grooming. A towel to cover your modesty if you so wish." He finished gesturing with his head to a wooden desk with a white towel near Shirou.
Shirou attempted to activate his magic circuits now that he was out of the water but found they would still not activate. Meaning it was not the water blocking his circuits but something else. Shirou did notice that his motor functions had been restored. As if someone had flipped a switch. If his feelings about this man were accurate then it was very likely that he was much stronger than a normal human. Without his mage craft to back him Shirou was not about to test that theory. For now, all he could do was follow along. As much as he wanted to gut the bastard for what he had just gone through. Standing Shirou walked over to the desk and wrapped the towel around his waist. He then walked over to the chair the man was standing beside and sat down. "Hmm, the gentleman's corporation is noted."
The man noted stepped away. "Most would retaliate after such cleaning. The gentleman is wiser than he looks." Shirou resigned himself to give the man a negative stare. One of the many things he was taught at the clock tower was how to handle a question when you were being held by an unknown or hostile organization. At the moment, the best course of action was to keep silent and follow reasonable orders. If the opportunity presented itself, he would try and escape. The man did not comment on the glare Shirou was shooting at him and continued to walk away from him. He stopped at a desk across the room and took a quill and paper from it.
"Please shave the gentleman's face and his sideburns to half an inch." The man ordered some unseen person. Suddenly Shirou felt a presence behind him. Before he could turn to see who, it was another man. This one wearing a servant looking outfit. He wore a simple buttoned purple shirt with white sleeves with black braces. His pants were black with slightly darker lines running down the length of the legs. His face had some fat but not to a point one would call truly fat. He walked over to a table nearby and from it a straight razor, while his other hand was surrounded by water. The servant then walked back to Shirou, stopping behind him.
"Please tilt your head back and sit still." The servant said before beginning his work. As the servant began the water surrounding his hand began to move. Obeying a silent command. The water flowed towards Shirou, seemingly taking the role of shaving cream. It did feel like shaving cream just wetter. The razor moved into the water not displacing the shaving cream-like water as the razor shaved off Shirou's short facial hair.
"And prepare to answer some questions." A male voice stated. Shirou's eyes turned to find yet another man entering the chamber. This one dressed more like a noble yet only wore a black robe with a type of unknown jacket that went down to his knees over it. Yet he was lean and walked like someone who was more used to combat movement then normal movement. This man was older looking, around his late forties. Shirou noted the scar under the man's jaw running towards the man's right ear but stopping just short. The man's eyes were an older looking gray and his hair was a faded black that looked far too glossy. A sword was sheathed to his belt but hung in a way so that only the hilt was visible. It was an ornate looking handle with black straps and a dark blue gem for the pommel. The guard looked like a rapier's yet the handle looked a little too big for such a narrow blade. Shirou also noted that his ability to learn the history of a weapon did not activate upon looking at the handle.
"Captain this is hardly the time-" The advisor looking man started but was interrupted.
"I can think of no better time. Surely our guest is looking to answer some of his own questions." The man spoke, sounding somewhat amused.
The advisor offered no further argument and went back to his pen and paper. Smiling to himself the captain approached Shirou, a chair growing from the ground across from him.
"Ginko Moss clover, commander of the royal guard. Before they take you to see her royal majesty, we must confirm some information. I assume you went through the "cleaning"." The now named Ginko spoke, taking the seat that had just grown out of the ground.
Seeing as Shirou did not reply Ginko went on producing a quill and scroll from his robe. "I admit it's not something that I approve of but your find that we have a much stronger sense of smell then normal humans. So let me be the first to apologize for that experience." Shirou once again did not answer. Though he did notice that this Ginko person seem to hint that they were not human. "So, Shirou Donovan." Ginko began writing on the paper. "Place of Birth — Ireland yet no specific location, parents — Mark Donovan and an unknown mother, age — twenty. Any discrepancies?"
Seeing Shirou's lack of a reply to the question as an answer that nothing was wrong, Ginko went on. "You came with your father to North America when you were a baby. You were enrolled in kindergarten when you reached the appropriate age. Passed all subjects with high marks. Proceeded with your education, maintaining high marks as your grade increased. Is the main patent holder of an experimental armor with construction rights to one company, as well as running your own service man enterprise, while helping your father with his own shop. You are a busy man Shirou."
"More recently you were confronted by a goddess, one Hecate-"
Shirou was surprised to hear that these people did not know about his meeting with Hades, his workshop, and his patrol of the city. They must have only got the information that would come up in a government search of him and a very recent supernatural activity. "Which led to an unusual burst of divine energies. Abilities seem to be magical enhancement of physical ability." Ginko's voice became serious. "Appears to admit energy identical to the energies only found in Avalon." It finally dawned on Shirou. These "people" were in fact no humans as Shirou suspected. They were fairies. Shirou had Saber's scabbard Avalon in him for most of his early life, yet he had returned it to her near the end of the Holy Grail War. He had thought that would be the last he saw of the true Avalon after he returned it but as it seems the scabbard had left traces of itself within him.
It made sense as to now he was here. The fairies wanted to know why a seemingly normal human had traces of Avalon on him. A place that a normal human would never have stepped foot in without their knowing. Shirou had a feeling they would not be satisfied with the truth.
"A question that shall be answered during the audience with her royal majesty. We will now choose the gentlemen's attire. A matter that does not concern the captain." The servant had just finished shaving Shirou, causing the advisor to return.
Ginko's friendly tone came back as he stood. The chair in which he once sat returned to the wooden floor. "A shame I might have offered my advice. I look forward to your audience with her royal majesty." Ginko's finished slipping the quill and paper back into his robe. The captain then turned and left the chamber the same way he came.
With Ginko leaving the advisor gestured for Shirou to follow him. The human looking fairy took him to a nearby room connected to the chamber. There in the middle of the room were three suits having the same purple color pattern yet having different suit styles. Most of them were of similar design to the servant's clothes yet these were clearly not made with the purpose of working in mind. All in all these clothes were not something Shirou thought he would find himself wearing. "The gentlemen will choose from these suits."
In the end Shirou chose one at random. After putting on the suit and moving around to see how it fit, he turned back to the advisor. He looked Shirou up and down, taking in his look, but his expression remained the same.
"It will do." He finally said. "Now we must go over a few more formalities. Before the gentleman stands before the ruler of the fairy realms, I must confirm that the gentleman knows how to bow."
Shirou mentally rolled his eyes. One of things he did pick up on in his time at the Mages' Association was how to bow. Rin was quick to point out to him that there was a special way to bow to people soon after they arrived. Especially people of a royal line. He went along with it in his younger years but as he got older it became a pain. Calling upon his muscle memory from before his rebirth, Shirou put his right hand over his heart and bowed his head. The advisor fairy raised an eyebrow.
"Not quite, but it is better than I was expecting. I will demonstrate now." He began his own form of bow. "Leg extended, hand flat, head down, chin to chest. The gentleman will rehearse."
Shirou repeated the bow that he had just seen. He felt like he missed a few gestures, but the fairy did not seem to mind too much.
"It will have to do." He commented before turning and gesturing with his finger for Shirou to follow. He was led out of the chamber and down a few more similarly designed halls. However, the room was empty. Instead, he found himself being led to a short spiral staircase that led to an ornate looking wooden door. The door was guarded by two guards in some form of wooden armor. Their faces were hidden by their helmet, and they stood still enough that one might confuse them for statues. Shirou's escort opened the door and stepped inside. Before he could follow the guards crossed their spears stopping him from entering. His escort continued inside and shut the door. Shirou took a step back and waited, the guards not moving an inch. The magus took a moment to look around the area with his eyes, maybe locate some form of exit. Yet there were no clear signs of an exit. If he had to guess there would be no normal way of leaving this place.
However, just as he began to piece together an escape plan the doors to the room ahead of him opened.
"Let him in." His escort ordered.
The guards lifted their spears and went back to their previous stance. Walking in, Shirou was greeted by a gathering of fairies in a personal study looking room. He noticed that some of the fairs looked like typical human sized fairies, having pointed ears and a more elven look, while others looked human. Ginko was in the room along with a few other royal dressed fairies. However they were quickly shoved to the side of Shirou's mind as he saw, what he assumed to be, the Queen.
She was very beautiful to say the least. Like some of the other fairies her ears were pointed. Light brown hair that flowed down her body like a gently flowing stream. Dark blue eyes met his golden-brown eyes. Her skin was a flawless white as if she never had a blemish on her skin in her life. She wore a dark blue dress loosely hung from her form and covered most of her body side except for her forearms. The only jewelry she wore was around her neck. A type of amulet with the golden metal shape to resemble fairy wings, and a large eye shaped jewel at its center. Rather, reserved for a queen.
Shirou's escort began to speak in a language that he did not understand. The only word Shirou understood was Titania. His escort bowed as he spoke, and the other fairies did the same. Shirou took this as his que to bow, so he did. Once the others began to rise, Shirou followed suit. His escort began again after pausing to bow. Once again, the only two words Shirou understood was his own name. Clearly he was being introduced to the queen. Upon her head was her crown, a simple thin green metal band around her head, with yellow jewels running along the band. Once the fairy had finished the queen spoke. Her voice was like music, a gentle melody that seemed to sing to his soul. The other fairies looked confused for a moment then they each began to leave the room. In a few moments Shirou was left alone in the study with the queen. The Queen, who had been staring at a painting of some young fairy boy, moved to the desk and took a seat in the chair near it.
"Greetings Shirou Donovan. I am Titania the sixth, current ruler of the fairs. I apologize for the process you went through soon after you're awakening. I had asked Fayetta to forgo that part of your processes to meet me, but he is a stickler for protocol."
Shirou wanted to be mad at her but seeing as this Fayetta did it on his own volition he chose to direct his anger elsewhere. "Thank you for your consideration, your highness." Shirou answered neutrally.
The queen smiled. "I assume my captain told you why you're here. You see Avalon is an important part of fairy society." She pushed for a moment and her amulet glowed slightly before returning to normal. "Though you have not stepped foot in Avalon itself, you have been near a… fragment of it for a long time that it has left a mark upon you. How is this possible?"
Shirou debated with himself on what to say. He doubted she would believe the truth of how the scabbard Avalon ended up in his body, the Holy Grail War, summoning Saber. He also had a feeling if he did not give a satisfactory answer, he would be finding himself in a less pleasant situation. So far, he had been treated well, aside from his "cleaning". For now, he needed to see if Titania could discern if he was lying or telling the truth.
"If I said that I had an artifact that belonged to King Arthur, would you believe me?" Shirou asked, making sure not to say Arturia on instinct.
The queen gave Shirou a skeptical look. "I would say that was highly unlikely." Shirou smiled mentally. "All of King Arthur's artifacts and those belonging to the Round Table Knights have either been sealed in a vault or are with their descendants. Unless, you are claiming to be King Author's descendant?"
'Her sheath, if you must know.' Shirou thought to himself.
"I'm not, I just wanted to know if you'd believe me." Shirou answered knowing now that she would not expect the truth without him tracing Avalon. With his magic circuits disabled. A thought popped into his mind. He smiled to himself. "But what if I could prove it to you?"
That caught the queen's attention. "Oh, and pray tell how you will do that?"
"I would have to use my mage craft to show you." Shirou replied hoping that the queen's interest would cause her to free him of whatever was nullifying his circuits.
"Mage craft? I've never heard of magic called mage craft before. Nevertheless, I can't remove the seal on your magic,-"
'So, it's a seal that's blacking my magic circuits.' Shirou thought to himself.
"-For my own safety as much as yours. I wouldn't want something to happen that would cause my subordinates to blame you." The queen finished.
"Then I'm afraid your highness that I have no other way to prove myself to you." He returned respectfully.
The queen turned away and began to think over what Shirou had said. She was quiet for a few minutes before she turned back. She called out in her fairy language and the nobles who had left returned into the room plus the two guards.
"Very well Shirou, if unlocking the seal on your magic will allow us to bring this to a clear end then I will allow it. I'm sure you will not mind using your magic in front of my court."
"I do not your majesty." Shirou answered, making sure to address the queen properly now that the other nobles were in the room.
Titania looked to her royal guard captain and nodded. Ginko hesitated for a moment before approaching Shirou.
"I trust that you will not give me a reason to strike you down." Ginko stated firmly.
He placed his hand on Shirou's shoulder. Almost instantly Shirou felt his magic circuits come alive. He took a deep breath. Instantly he set to searching his reality marble. Searching each Noble Phantasm he had for a way to escape. A slight smile appeared on Shirou's face.
"If it pleases her majesty. I would like to demonstrate my unique abilities before I show her the reason for my connection to Avalon." The queen raised an eyebrow but nodded for him to proceed.
"Trace on."
A sword with a black blade, golden cross guard, and white jewel pommel took shape in Shirou's hands. The Noble Phantasm belonged to Roland of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, Durandal the Peerless Sword. The queen looked on at the Noble Phantasm with interest. She approached and put her hand on the blade. Shirou saw her amulet glow like before.
"A powerful sword." She observed. "Is your magic a form of conjuration?"
"Not exactly, however the sword does have a unique ability."
The queen looked up at him. "And that is?"
Shirou smiled before looking at the sword and poured his magic into the blade. Activating one of the Noble phantasms properties.
"Teleport me home."
Before anyone in the room could react, Randal began to shine. In the next moment Shirou had disappeared from the queen's study. A bright light appeared on a nameless hill. Shirou's eyes opened and took a moment to look around. When he used one of Randal's miracles he expected to appear back in his father's home. Yet now he found himself in the middle of nowhere. He could only guess that the Noble Phantasm got confused on what Shirou considered home. Yet this grassy hill did not seem very homely, nor did he recognize it.
"Damn E rank luck." Shirou murmured to himself before walking off in a seemingly random direction hoping to find some form of human civilization.
Medusa hissed as the demigod cut off one of her snakes. Things were going so well. She had lured two demigods and a satyr. Without them being none the wiser. Medusa was pleased to have tricked the spawn of her arch enemy Athena and that bastard Poseidon She would treasure the statues of her enemies' children. Yet just as she was preparing herself to turn them all into statues another wave of dizziness hit her. In that short moment allowed the female demigod and the satyr to convince the male demigod of her intentions. That caused the demigod to uncap his pen and turn it into a Celestial Bronze sword. Thus began their fight.
The godling was not very skillful with his sword, whatever few hits he landed on her were from dumb luck or instinct. She managed a few hits with her talons, but because of her slew of dizziness left most of the wounds as mere scratches. Her snake were almost useless as most of them were unresponsive to her commands or fell slack. Medusa was not winning this fight. That served to infuriate her to no end. That she was losing to a child not even a fraction of her age. No matter what she did or how she attacked she could not hurt the godling. The other godling and satyr where not helping. The satyr would whack her with a branch every so often allowing the male godling to take another swipe at her while she tried to chase down the satyr. The female godling would throw items around her Emporium. Some would hit her while others would create enough racket to once again draw her attention away from the godling with the sword.
One such item hit her in the head causing her to misstep. A misstep that caused would cost her head as the godling had already mid swing. It was not the first time she had died, when she felt the Celestial Bronze cut through her neck, she had expected to find herself back in Tartarus in the next moment. However, as she felt herself slip away, she began to feel a pull on her soul. Like something was absorbing it.
*POV change*
Thanks to Annabeth's timely throw, Percy had managed to cut Medusa's head off. Both the monster's head and body fell to the floor thankfully her head was face down allowing Percy to look at the monster he had been fighting. He was breathing heavily as he had been swinging around Riptide with all his might. Seeing the monster had died Annabeth and Grover had come over to congratulate him, well more Grover than Annabeth.
However, just as they finished congratulating him, Medusa's body began to shake. Percy had assumed that every monster turned into golden dust when they died yet that did not seem to be the case. Annabeth seemed to be the most shocked at the display. Her body began to shine forcing the three to cover their eyes as the light got brighter and brighter. All of a sudden something knocked the three off the feet causing them to fall back. The light had begun to fade allowing Percy to look back at the body. The young demigod's eyes went wide.
Standing in the wreckage of the unknown blast was a woman the likes Percy had never seen before. Purple ran down her body, all the way down to her feet, with two large strains running down the front of her body. Her skin was flawless and almost seemed to shine in the sunlight. She was slim with almost no sign of muscle and little fat, with curves that any woman would kill to have. Percy felt his cheeks warm up as he stared at the… goddess before him. There was also the fact that she was completely naked. As she was standing up, her womanly features were on full display. Parts that his mother told him he was too young to ask about. Despite this he could not take his eyes off the woman and his body was only getting warmer because of it. Then she opened her eyes. As if sensing that someone was looking at her eyes shot to and locked with Percy's. In an instant he felt like his body became five times heavier like he was moving through muck. However just as quick as the feeling came it faded as she looked away to look around.
"Godlings." The woman said as a matter of fact, almost annoyed. "Athena and Poseidon, with a satyr. It would seem the Age of The Gods has yet to end here if the amount of mana in the air is anything to go by."
"Percy, she smells like a monster." Grover commented, afraid. "A powerful one."
The spawn of Poseidon got to his feet and brandished his sword. Yet the woman did not seem to pay him any attention. As if he were a kid holding a stick. She seemed to be fine with looking around her surroundings. Seeing it as a chance Percy charged forward with the intent to cleave her into two. However just as we got within striking distance the woman's arm shot out hitting Percy dead center in the stomach. The impact caused Percy to double over and cough violently.
"You two take the boy and leave. This is your only warning." The woman said, walking towards the back door. Seeing as they were not about to beat this woman Annabeth and Grover quickly ran to Percy and dragged him out of the Emporium. Percy's vision was already going in and out as his companions dragged him away. Soon enough the demigod's vision faded along with his consciousness.
*POV change*
Rider, or by her true name of Medusa, walked into the back room of the Emporium. Though she did not feel any connection to the Holy Grail, nor any connection to any master. The last thing she remembered was being sent off by Sakura to protect Shirou. After that everything became blurry. With only flashes of memory from another being that claimed to be her. This version of her worked in a type of restraint, which was a fine side for the fact that she would turn normal humans into stone statues just to keep some nice decorations around. When she was still alive, she only used her eyes as self-defense from people who came after her and her sisters. At least before she let her monstrous side take over. Rider could only assume when the godling killed her other self that she was allowed to take control.
She attempted to access some of her other selves' memories to shed some light on the situation. She learned that she was now in the United States instead of Japan. That the Greek gods had attached themselves to the ideas Greece had spawned. Thus, finding themselves in the current center of western ideals. Though this seemed to have the side effect of bringing the rest of Greek mythology with them. Monsters still plagued the lands, yet they chose to pray on godlings and normal humans from time to time. The idea left a bitter taste in Rider's mind, yet it was very like the Greek gods to selfishly cling to life at the detachment of others.
While Rider thought of the new reality she found herself, her thoughts drifted back to Sakura. A girl that was like her. A girl she swore to protect that was now out of reach. She doubted that Sakura was here as well, even if she was it would be nearly impossible to find her now. Things in this reality were more than likely very different. Meaning Rider had no purpose here. If anything, she could only try to live in this world. Perhaps indulge in her reading hobby. After all, if she were to die again, she might return to the Throne of Heroes. Rider suspected that was what Sakura would have wanted for her if the Grail War had ended, and she somehow remained. Yes, that seemed right. She would honor Sakura's wish and live a peaceful life doing what she wanted to do.
Rider looked around the back room looking for anything to wear. Using the memories of her other self she found where she kept her clothes. After being properly dressed Rider managed to find a pair of glasses. Using her magical skills, she turned the glasses into a mystic code that would lower the effect her eyes had on others. Not as good as her blindfold but it was something. Now being properly clothed, Rider set out. She would live a life Sakura would have wanted for her.
"Man, what a chapter. I truly hope everyone enjoyed it and looks forward to the next chapter of Lord of swords. Now if you excuse me, it's time for someone's bedtime, so good night." R.O.W. then picks up the girl and begins to carry back out the door the reader came through.
