"Damn," Slim Prime said from his chair. He was looking at a tablet. "This story has taken off. We have almost 2,000 followers. That's like… two million in youtube terms. I would never have thought that this story would get this popular. I guess that goes to show how popular Fate is, ah. Anyways we have a nice action-pact chapter for you guys today. I think we can all appreciate a good killing spree on creatures that deserve it. Am I right?"
"Now for the management bits. I noticed a lot of you were asking why Shirou NOPED the heck out of there when he got the chance. The simple answer is Shirou did not know what the fairies would do to him when he traced Avalon. This version of Shirou has lived his life, i.e. he has been an Enforcer for the clocktower as well as participated in a war. He would rather be in a position of strength rather than be at the mercy of someone else. This version of Shirou is more to act like his normal self when out of combat and more like Archer when in combat or dangerous situations."
"Some people are none too keen on the intros and that's fine. While I won't stop doing them I can say that the story will always begin after the first line break. So just jump down to the first line break to start the chapter and skip the Intro. Likewise the chapter will always end with an outro. I will also make it clear that it is the end of the chapter for the outro to make sure you guys know.
"Now let us look at those guest reviews. Oh right, before that! Thank you to all the supportive/statement type reviews. They are always welcome. Now to the guest reviews that may or may not need a reply.
Guest 1(reply by Slim): Ah Artemis hates every guy. Look up the definition of hypocrisy in the Dictionary and among the many pictures you will find (Riordan) Artemis. Yeah if you ever read any one of my other stories you'll find I have no love for (Riordan) Artemis. (Fate) Artemis scares me sometimes, not as bad as the Morrigan, but she is up there.
You'll find out in this chapter.
That is very possible… maybe Poseidon too for good measure.
Indeed…
Madlord23 (reply by Slim): I disagree! Setting aside the fact that I have been playing too much Witcher 3, there is nothing wrong with using a sense from another universe In fanfiction. References are fun! Besides it's not like I went to some Witcher story and copied the scene there. I spend a lot of time putting that cutscene into words! Do you know how long it takes to write actions on a screen to words? Let me tell you it's not as easy as you think! Besides, I had a fun time talking about Gwent memes with my fellow Witcher fans! It also gives other writers ideas for other crossover ideas (nudge nudge wink wink Fate/Witcher crossover make it happen people!).
Some Random Person (reply by Slim): If I did not have my Sith Lord license that might have hurt. Yeah I'm also thinking about letting the Sith Lord license expire and getting a mandalorian license instead.
That's the last one now onto the story!
After walking for some time, Shirou had managed to come across a small village. The good news was he was not too far away from the city. The bad news, he was now in England. In other words, he was now across the ocean with no natural way to tell his father how he got there. He had a feeling his father was worried sick about him. Most likely Shirou's phone was still with the fairies along with his wallet. Meaning no money to get home without clearing something up with the authorities. The only real way to explain his disappearance was to claim that he had been kidnapped. It was easy to say that he did not know who kidnapped him as most kidnapped peoples did not know who took them in the first place. There was also the possibility that they would put him on a plane back to the U.S. For now, his main priority was to get back home and try and think of a way to clear this with his father.
He had ditched the clothing he had on when he was in the fairies' custody before he had reached the village. Having nothing else to wear he was forced to trace a set of normal clothing. While in his old life doing so would drain him now, he could maintain the projections with relative ease. Even so, finding some real clothing to wear would be a good course of action. However, just as Shirou was about to begin the trek to the city, someone called out to him.
"Hey there lad!" A male voice called.
Shirou turned to see an older man in a brown coat waving at him. He looked to be in his sixties. He had a tattered dark green scarf around his neck and a jaxon hat. Gray slacks covered his legs and a pair of sleek black shoes for his feet. He was leaning on a cane yet Shirou could tell that he did not need it.
Shirou, being a little confused, looked around to see if the old man might have been waving to someone else near him. Yet there was no one around him. When Shirou looked back he found the older man waving him over. Despite himself, Shirou walked over to the man. Once Shirou was close enough the older man began speaking.
"Well, I must say I am impressed with your response time." The man stared cheerfully. "I had thought it would have been at least a month before I even got a reply. But here you are, not a few days after I sent that letter."
Shirou raised an eyebrow. "I think you have me confused with someone else."
The man looked surprised for a moment before smiling again. "Ah, forgive me, I'm an old man. Come let's talk in my shop."
He began to talk off, heading deeper into the village. Shirou rolled his eyes. He needed to get home, but something about the old man was off. He did not notice it when he was so far away but as Shirou got closer he noticed that the man did not give off any scent. Everyone had a scent, even normal humans. Shirou had long since gone nose blind to the smell of normal humans. Yet once Shirou focused on it he could almost smell a slight metallic smell.
So Shirou chose to follow him. They did not go far as the old man came to a tea and spice shop like his father ran. Yet from the corner of his eye Shirou spotted a rune semi hidden behind a flowerpot. Before Shirou followed the man inside he readied his projections. As soon as he stepped inside Shirou found his nose swarmed by the smell of spices and other magical ingredients that a normal shop owner would not have.
The man set his staff on a nearby table and stood upright.
"I forget you sgàilich types won't break your aliases unless you're in a warded area." The man began walking over the counter with a cash register on it. He kneeled and began searching for something beneath the counter. "Apologies if I might have been too forward about making contact, I was surprised at all. More times than not you guys just show up. Thanks for not giving me a heart attack by the way."
"Once again you have me mistaken." The man stopped moving. "I'm not this sgàilich person you're assuming I am."
The man's head came up from the counter.
"Could have fooled me." He then stood up and fixed a more serious eye on Shirou. "So tell me then, if you're not from the tribe. Then who are you?"
"Shirou Donovan, I'm a… displaced magus."
"A sorcerer then."
Shirou squinted his eyes as that term had far more weight to him. The term magician and sorcerer were thrown around for anyone who could perform magic in this world. Yet to him the term was only applicable to those who could use one of the true magics.
"I wouldn't describe myself as a sorcerer. I would be considered a third-rate practitioner by my peers."
The man snorted at that. "You say that yet you are using magic to clothe yourself. I know you younger types have a lot more knowledge available to you then us olden people did but you don't have to rub it in."
Apparently, projection was held in higher regard in this world's moonlit world. The man went on.
"I wouldn't have noticed if I was not a master rune mage myself. I have to say that the quality of that rune around your neck is on par with the gods' craft." He paused and narrowed his eyes at Shirou. "Unless you did not make it and either found it or had it given to you by one."
Shirou subconsciously fingered the rune around his neck.
"I've had this as long as I can remember." Shirou replied, trying to get suspension off him.
"Hm, not a rare thing but also not uncommon. If you had that for as long as you could remember then that could mean someone with connections have something to hide. Your surname can put you as Scottish, but where were you raised?"
"The United States."
That seemed to surprise him more than the quality of the rune. "Oh, yeah… someone definitely has something to hide if they sent ya that far away. That's Greek and Biblical territory and they don't make use of runes often. But I suppose that doesn't matter at the moment. Tell me boy, how much do you know about the supernatural world?"
"Arthurian, Greek, Shinto, Biblical, and Roman mythology mostly." Shirou answered.
"And firsthand experience?"
"Enough to know my luck is awful."
The old man burst out laughing.
"If you know that much then you must have experience." An amused smile appeared on his face. "Just how bad are we talking?"
"From a rating of A to E… a hard E."
The man laughed again. "Then let me guess you are wearing those conjured clothes by need rather than choice."
Shirou nodded.
He chuckled. "The names Brian Ó Briain, but just call me Brian, I'm a druid. Follow me upstairs and we will get you some real clothes."
Seeing this as a good chance as any to get some real clothes on Shirou followed Brian up a set of stairs. The upper floor of the shop was used as an apartment with two decently sized rooms in it. Brian opened the door to one room and ushered Shirou in. The room had everything for a single person to live comfortably. A good-sized kitchen, bathroom with shower, bedroom and living room. Brian went into the bedroom and soon returned with a set a black clothing.
"Sorry if black is not your thing. It's the only clothes I have on hand that might fit you. Go ahead and try it on. I'll be outside." Brian explained before handing the set of clothing to Shirou and exiting the apartment room.
Shirou dismissed his projected clothes and began to put on the provided clothes. Black boots. Black pants, black belt, black shirt, and a black leather trench coat. When everything was on Shirou managed to find a mirror to see how he looked. It instantly reminded him of his true father, Kiritsugu Emiya, and the uniform he wore during his time as the Magus Killer. Though Kiritsugu wore a suit and tie instead of a simple shirt. Though something was missing. A tattered and torn scarf appeared around Shirou's neck. His tracing of his Holy shroud.
"Hey kid ya done?" Brian knocked at the door.
"Yeah, I'm dressed." Shirou answered.
Brian entered the room. He looked Shirou up and down and nodded. "Hm, it fits and black looks good on you. The red scarf is a nice touch, and it's holy in nature. Now you're confusing me kid with all these different types of conjurations you got going on." Brian added humorously. "Here I had you pegged as a Celtic sorcerer, now you have me wondering otherwise."
Wanting to get away from the topic of his magecraft. Shirou changed the topic.
"You said you were expecting someone to look into a problem." Shirou inquired.
Brian's voice fell yet he tried to retain his positive tone. "Ah, well kid I don't think this is something for you to deal with. I'm sure I will get a response from them either in the form of an agent or letter. You said you were displaced and that you came from America, how'd you get here?"
"I messed up a teleportation… spell."
"Ha, then you're very lucky not to have teleported yourself half to oblivion. Just how much magic do you put into that spell to teleport yourself over six thousand kilometers without a point of reference?"
Not wanting to out himself just yet Shirou answered. "Like I said, a third-rate practitioner."
Brian shook his head. "Alright lad, keep your secrets. Just don't go doing something like that again. If your luck is as bad as you say it is, you're gonna have to pay the universe back a hefty fee for not killing yah out right." The Druid paused and let out a sigh. "Well do you have anyone back home that will notice you gone?"
Shirou nodded.
"Do they know about our little not so secret world?"
Shirou shook his head, prompting Brian to let out another tired sigh. "Alright boy, I have a merchant friend who travels back and forth to America often. I'll call in a favor and get ya back."
In all honesty Shirou was surprised by Brian's kindness. Magi tended to be territorial and… unkind to other Magi that stumbled into their territory. It was the whole reason Shirou's muscles had yet to relax being used to a Magi's temperament. He supposed that was just some of the things that were different with this world and his. Yet something in the back of his mind told him to press the issue the druid was having.
"Thanks for your kindness but I feel like I should repay you."
"Don't worry about it lad, I'm good friends with this merchant. It's no trouble at all." Brian waved off Shirou's attempt to get more information about this problem.
"Still I want to return the favor. Maybe I can help you with your problem."
Brian let out a weak growl and shook his head in disapproval, as if disciplining an apprentice. "You just want to leave it alone boy. Fine. What do you know about fairies?"
'I met their queen not too long ago and left without approval.' Shirou thought to himself, hoping that they did not already have a bounty on him. "Other than the basics, not much."
"Then you know fairies can be as different as us humans." Brian paused for a moment as if trying to think of a way to convey the next bit of information. "And I'm not talking they look different, with some of them looking human while others look like your stereotypical fairy. I'm talking some are out right vile. You might know about the man eater tribes."
Shirou's attention suddenly forced more so than before. He knew that Artoria's kingdom had long since passed. Yet, in a way it was still her kingdom. To hear some evil creatures were infecting it made his blood boil. Doing his best to hide his true feelings on the matter, the red-haired magus shook his head.
"As the name implies there was a semi-large tribe of fairies, elves, and a few other races that feasted on the flesh of humans. Now while that is not anything new it was a rather closely kept secret in their races to have members of their own race acting like those monsters running around our little world. They did a good job of culling their numbers without the higher power learning about them. However, that changed one day during the 8th century that the Nordic gods caught wind of these tribes."
"Needless to say the All Father was furious. So furious that the elf queen at the time lost her head for it. What followed was a massive assault on the man-eater tribes led by the All Father himself. The ensuing battles wiped out a large majority of the tribes. However, there are always stragglers." Brian adopted a sober look on his face. "A few days ago I began investigating a series of disappearances. It started simple, an old woman living in a remote part of the area not showing up in town. After that it was a group of hikers. This continued and eventually the police got involved. They didn't find anything. It was when a school bus disappeared that I got myself involved. It didn't take me long to find their little… town."
"After that I began to ward the village against future attacks. Yet I fear they are starting to look elsewhere for victims." Brian looked down. "I'm not what I used to be. In my youth I might have been able to do something. Now, all I can do now is put down wards and sell tea with a slightly magical effect to it."
"Then tell me where they are." Shirou insisted on stepping forward.
"Look lad, I'm not going to send you off to die. If you must help me then-"
Seeing as this conversation was going nowhere Shirou opted for a more convincing argument.
"Trace on."
The married blades appeared in Shirou's hands. The words in Brian's mouth died as he looked upon the noble phantasm.
"Lad… where did you get those?" Brian's voice became very serious.
"That doesn't matter." Shirou countered, matching Brian's tone. "What matters is that those creatures must die."
Brian narrowed his eyes.
"Fine, if you want to throw yourselves at those monsters then so be it." Brian finally relented. "They're in a clearing south-west of here, an hour's drive. They have a ward protecting their "town", but it does not keep people out. You know once you're in, the smell is pungent."
Shirou dismissed his projections and went for the exit.
"Lad." Shirou stopped and looked back. "Leave. None. Alive."
The magus nodded before turning and continued towards the exit.
As soon as Shirou was out of sight of any normal human being. Shirou had begun to reinforce his body, greatly increasing his speed. He headed south-west like Brian had instructed. Like the druid as stated it took some time for Shirou to reach the forest where the tribe hid their base. Soon after Shirou entered the forest he felt himself pass through a barrier. Almost instantly the smell of exposed flesh assaulted Shirou's senses. Now being near his target, Shirou exchanged his clothing for his trace armor and shroud.
The magus processed deeper into the forest, his reinforced sense on full alert for any traps or ambushes. As Shirou moved he suddenly got the overwhelming urge to jump. With his reinforced legs Shirou jumped up into a nearby branch. Looking back Shirou saw four roots had sprung up out of the ground in an attempt to catch him. Having failed, the roots slid back into the earth.
Shirou began to search the area around him for any sign of the caster but found none. From the corner of his eye, Shirou noticed the bark on the branch began to creep up his foot. Before it could proceed any further up his foot Shirou jumped off the branch. Landing back on the ground Shirou traced Kanshou and Bakuya in his hands. A thick mist began to set in as Shirou readied himself for the next attack. The sound of moving bark echoing around him.
From the mist a set of pointed roots shot at him. Shirou sidesteps them before cutting the root in two. The first attack was quickly followed by the second, a third, then a fourth. They too were dealt with as they came. As he fought on, Shirou noticed the trees closing in around him as if they were forming a cage around him. Tracing a few more projections of Kanshou and Bakuya, before sending them flying outwards. The noble phantasm projections cut into the trees, easily passing through them as if they were not ever there.
With the opportunity now open to him. Shirou jumped up on one of the cut trees before jumping into the air as far as he could. Now well above the canopy Shirou was able to spot both the opening where his targets lay and a tree which was much bigger than the rest sitting in the middle of the opening. Upon focusing his senses past the smell of flesh he began to pick up the smell of a nature spirit. Narrowing his eyes Shirou dismissed his weapons and projected his nameless black bow.
"I am the bone of my sword."
A sword appeared in Shirou's other hand. A sword whose blade was spiraled like a drill, the sword sparking with red colored energy. The magus then knocked the sword with his bow and drew it back. The red sparks grew in intensity. The sword twisted into a more arrow-like shape as Shirou drew back.
"Caladbolg." Shirou spoke before firing the sword.
The broken phantasm flew out like a bat out of hell, reaching its target in a blink of an eye. Just before the broken phantasm made contact with its target the "arrow" began to emit a blue energy that began to spiral. In the next instant the arrow detonated in a blinding light. The light soon died down just as Shirou reached the height of his jump and gravity once again began to take hold. However, before Shirou fell back below the forest canopy he saw the fruits of his attack. The huge tree was now missing its mid and upper half leaving behind a ruined stump.
As soon as Shirou hit the ground, he took off again. With such an attack unleashed he had very much lost the element of surprise. Now he needed to get to the tribe before they had time to prepare. The trees flew past Shirou as he sprinted for the clearing. It did not take the magus long to reach the clearing edge, with a female humanoid's back turned towards him.
She was an elf from the shape of her ears, being pointed. She wore a dark green jacket and dark blue jeans. Her black hair was well kept and she was in shape. To anyone else she would be considered beautiful. However, to closing magus. She was an unprepared victim. The elf's ears twitched just as Shirou neared her causing her to turn around. Though it was far too late for her. Shirou had already projected Kanshou and Bakuya. The married blades were already coming around in two downward facing strikes. Before she could even cry out the married blades cut through her body, leaving her in three halves.
With Shirou out of the woods and into the clearing he was able to get a look at the area he now found himself in. There were more than a dozen buildings, two of which were fenced off with razor and barbed wires. One looked like a barn while the other looked like a slaughterhouse. Anger filled Shirou as he looked at the buildings. The rest of the buildings were housing of different types or business buildings, even now humanoid creatures were exiting the building to see what created the light moments ago. Only one fourth of the phantasmal creatures were armored with weapons. All of them unaware of the magus in their midst. They had dared to treaded upon her land and turn her people into nothing more than cattle to be slaughtered. Each and everyone one of them would die.
Speaking his activation chant. Dozens of projected swords appeared before shooting out only to find themselves in the bodies of phantasmal creatures moments later. As if sensing the magical energy being used most of the creatures turned to face Shirou. Through the magus already found his next target. A pair of elves, one male the other female holding on to each other. Lovers if Shirou guessed yet that did not matter to him. With one swift strike of his weapons the two elves' heads went flying, their bodies crumbling to the ground like broken puppets.
More blades shot out from Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works, those blades finding themselves in bodies. One of the elven guards ran at Shirou with a sword. One look at the blade had all its memories downloaded into his mind. It was a simple sword with a few eleven enchantments but nothing more than a simple mystic code. However, the blade had killed maybe innocent humans that had tried to escape. Shirou jumped at his attack ducking under the guard's sloppy swing. With a flick of his arm Shirou had disemboweled him, his guts falling out and onto the ground. A slow death to be sure, but one he more than deserved.
Every other guard that attempted to oppose the magus met a similar fate. They were all weaker then Shirou would have expected from a phantasmal race such as elves. In truth any of the guards were a match of any human or component magic user. However, they were no match for a seasoned magus on a rampage.
To any onlooker Shirou was a blur of motion and dismembered limbs. Each swing of Kanshou and Bakuya claimed a life, every weapon shot out from his Unlimited Blade Works found itself impaled in a body. It was as if a god of war had descended upon them to smite them for their wickedness. Those who ran soon found a black arrow in their skull.
Pools of blood began to form as more and more bodies hit the ground. Yet Shirou showed no signs of slowing down. In Fact he never felt better. Ever since his rebirth he had never unleashed so much Mana, it was always in small bursts. It felt like he was finally able to stretch his stiff body after so long. All the while slaughtering creatures who deserved to die.
As Shirou finished clearing out the guards, he went back to work targeting the other elven creatures. Over filling his Mana into his standard arrows, much like he did with his broken phantasm, turn the arrows into deadly bombs. Using these arrows Shirou was able to destroy the housing and other buildings around the area. As clearing them himself would take too much time, allowing some of the creatures to escape. Once the buildings started exploding a few of the occupants of others started to flee. This only served to make themselves easy targets for the magus.
A few appeared to be families as some moved in a group with children, even a few babies. Such a sight might have caused Shirou to pause his assault. Yet his time as an enforcer and later a soldier during a war changed that. He had always liked to see himself as a "hero of justice", to be like his true father Kiritsugu Emiya.
*Flashback*
Shirou sat in a private library with a table full of reports open before him. One such report in his hand, his eyes slowly reading each word. He had been an enforcer for a few years now. He had killed many dead apostles and rouge magi. The phrase "The Magus Killer's son" or "The second Magus Killer" was thrown around often in earshot. He knew they were talking about his father. Yet he did not know how or why his father was referred to as the Magus Killer. Shirou knew that his father was Saber's master during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Besides that, he did not know anything about his father's past.
So, like any Magus faced with the unknown, Shirou began to do some research. Given his position as a clocktower enforcer and the next of kin to the Emiya line he was given access to most of his father's records. There were a few reports deemed too sensitive for Shirou's eyes but the reports he had provided the information he was looking for.
His father was a freelancer who worked for the clocktower on occasion. He was an efficient assassin, using many modern weapons and tactics to accomplish his mission. He would often use these tactics on magi to great success, breaking the formerly believed notion that only a magus could kill another magus. At some point his father was given the title Magus Killer by the clocktower. It was only after the Fourth Holy Grail War had his father dropped off the clocktower's radar.
Shirou remembered one of the last moments he had with his father. The day when the idea of being a "Hero of Justice" was distilled within him. He had tried to live up to his ideals to save everyone. Yet as his goals in life changed, so did his understanding of what it is to be a "Hero of Justice" entitled. It meant being judge, jury, and executioner. It meant choosing who died and who lived. It meant killing one and saving another. It meant believing humanity would eventually get better. That after all the bad people were gone that humanity would achieve enlightenment.
He had seen enough to know such a thing was impossible. Humanity would always have an evil side, there would always be someone who would use others to get what they wanted. All Shirou could do was put a cheap bandaid over a festering wound that he could never heal. If anything, he might be able to hold the wound closed for as long as he could and reach the place where she waited for him. At the very least he could look at his father and say that he tried to be a "Hero of Justice".
Until then, there was evil to hunt down.
*Flashback end*
Shirou took aim with his blow and fired a volley of arrows, ending the evil creatures in a moment. There would be no survivors save for the innocent humans that were kidnapped. A few more volleys of arrows saw to the destruction of the rest of the buildings leaving only the ones fenced in standing. He would check the ruble for servers later. Right now, he had to get the normal humans out of here as soon as possible.
Just as Shirou began to move towards the fenced in buildings the sounds of clapping brought him to a halt.
Turning his head Shirou spotted the being clapping. A woman with a pleased smile plastered across her face. Her hair being an oily back color and her eyes almost glowing blue. Her pinkish skin had absolutely no sign of blemishes as if she were an artist's drawing. She was perfectly portioned, having no sign of muscle and only enough fat to make the envy of just about any woman. Her breasts were by no means small yet were not overly large.
To say she was dressed in armor would have been loosely accurate. Given that the only thing her armor protected was her chastity, even then it was leaving little to the imagination. Her shoulders, upper parts of her breasts, hips, sides of her torso, and thighs were all exposed to the air. The rest being protected by engraved black metal. Then there were her non-human appearances. Bat-like wings protruded from her back along with a pointed tail commonly depicted as belonging to demons. A pair of black horns grew out of the sides of her skull pointing upwards.
A demon for sure, and judging from her "armor" he could only guess this was a succubus. He did not read much into the mythology involving the creature. He knew what they were and what they did and that was more than enough for the magus. He was glad that they did not walk the Earth back in his own universe. Yet it seemed that they were still around on this one.
It was then Shirou made the mistake of glancing at her weapons on her hip. A black whip and an ornate looking sword with a red jewel for the pommel. His reality marble instantly copied down the weapons as soon as he laid eyes on them. If he had the abilities, he would have rejected the weapons instantly as their history soon flashed into his mind.
The whip was by no means powerful compared to most of the weapons Shirou processed. However, it was crafted by a master. It's main ability was its ability to extend and retract at the owner's wish. As well as forcing anyone it wrapped around to become completely subservient to the weapon's wielder.
However, the whip paled in comparison to the sword.
The sword's name was Abhirathi, and it was yet another evil weapon to add to his ever growing pile of evil weapons. It was a demonic longsword with a dark gray blade, that was serrated near the cross guard. However, the truly disturbing thing about the blade was how it was forged. Being forged by some cloaked blacksmith in the underworld using a myriad of dark magics, corrupted metals, and cooled in the blood of powerful monsters. Even with the multiple demonic weapons in Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works, this one made Shirou feel uneasy, disgusted even.
The weapon was indestructible and held a powerful demonic property. One of the minor side effects of being cut by the weapon was that it inflicts great pain or pleasure on its victim and not necessarily one or the other. More than once in the sword's history had it killed a being just from a cut that sent its poor victims into shock due to the pain and pleasure. Another noteworthy trait was its abilities to mark the souls of its victims, allowing its welder to always know the location of the marked subject. With the added effect of allowing the welder to magically effect the marked soul from anywhere in the world. Needed to say, being hit by that weapon was a death sentence. He would have to keep Rule Breaker handy if the two were going to come to blows.
"My my, I've never had someone react to me like that before." The succubus' sweet voice commented, surprised. "Here I was about to compliment you for such a spectator show. Never had I thought I would see a saint dispatch his enemies with such ruthless efficiency." She put on an aroused tone to the last two words.
With the memories of that horrid blade subsiding Shirou let go of his head.
"Who are you?" Shirou growed expecting this demon to attack him any moment.
The succubus smiled then gave a slight bow. "Lady Irinaith of House Kimaris, it's a pleasure to me you saint-"
"I'm no saint." Shirou answered, dodging the attempt to get his name. If her name was anything to go by she was a part of a powerful house. Kimaris being one of the demons Salomon controlled with his rings. If the name was anything to go by she was connected to a well known demon household. Meaning fighting her could land him in hot water with a dangerous group.
On the other hand, he had a feeling his luck was not going to let this encounter end peacefully.
"Oh, how interesting. Then how did you get that shroud then? Did you take it off another saint's body?" She licked her lips. "That's attractive. Might I have your name handsome?"
Shirou narrowed his eyes. "I'll give you this one opportunity to leave."
Her smile grew. "My my, but we just met lover, and my passion is overflowing. To think an ordinary trip to the market would turn out like this."
Like that, the succubus' intentions were made clear to Shirou. She was here to buy the humans the tribe had captured. Shirou knew her kill count was high from the history Abhirathi had shown. Yet those were creatures and beings who could put up a fight against her. Her whip showed Shirou those she fancied and had to be brought under control through force.
Deciding to take the initiative Shirou projected his black bow and fired a dozen arrows at Irinaith in quick succession. The Succubus dodged by leaping into the air, before using her wings to shoot herself at Shirou. Shirou only had enough time to project Kanshou and Bakuya before Irinaith had crashed into him, her clawed fingers clashing with his projected weapons. Shirou pushed back against the clash, forcing the Succubus to use more of her strength.
Shirou quickly learned that in a battle of strength he was not about to win. With one mighty heave Shirou broke the clash for a moment allowing him to jump back to get some range on the succubus. That range was quickly turned against him as the succubus' whip came flying at him. He attempted to deflect the whip but the damned thing seemed to have a mind of its own as it wrapped around Bakuya. With its partner trapped, Shirou chose to throw Bakuya's black counterpart at the succubus. Like he predicted, the succubus deflected Kanshou, the weapon flying up and embedding itself in the ground behind her.
The succubus smiled. "Oh, come now. When has ever throwing a weapon at an opponent such as I ever worked?"
Shirou smirked.
Activating the Married Blade's ability, Kanshou came rocketing out of the ground. Rushing back to meet its partner put Kanshou on a path with the succubus back. As if sensing the danger, the succubus turned and batted the weapon away once more. Doing so caused the whip to go slack allowing Shirou to free Bakuya and charge at the demonic creature. Irinaith turned back around just in time to see Shirou catch Kanshou in his free hand and make a cross arching attack at the demon.
Irinaith abandoned her whip to bring up both her clawed hands to block the attack. Shirou's attack connected with the demon's defense, the force behind the blow causing the succubus to slide back. The attack cut much of her clawed fingers. The black metal falling away cleaving the glove underneath the metal plates. The demon regarded her now ruined clawed gauntlet with interest.
"hm, that's going to be an expensive fix." Irinaith observed out loud to herself before looking up. "You have some sharp swords there Mr. Saint Killer. Perhaps I should stop playing around."
The demon reached for Abhirathi's hilt. The demonic longsword slowly left its sheath. Irinaith smiled seductively at him.
"I hope that Abhirathi here will not kill you." She licked her lips. "It would be a waste. So please bear with it and I will have you in a far more comfortable position soon."
Shirou prepared himself to meet Irinaith's upcoming assault.
As soon as the demonic weapon left its sheath, Irinaith disappeared. Shirou quickly reinforced his senses just in time to block Irinaith's attack. The force behind the blow caused the magus' hands to shutter. The demon broke their clash and set about sending another powerful blow into Shirou's defense. Once more Shirou blocked the blow, then again, again, and again. Seven blows in quick succession one right after the other. However, after the eighth Shirou heard a familiar sound. His projections of Kanshou and Bakuya shattered.
The reborn magus relied on his instincts to dodge the next few attacks before jumping away from the demon. To Shirou's surprise Irinaith did not push her attack, instead choosing to watch as the fragmented piece of his blades faded away. She looked semi shocked and saddened.
"What a waste of such fine looking swords." Irinaith spoke before looking over to Shirou once his projections faded back into his reality marble. "My apologies for breaking them."
"Trace on." Shirou murmured as Kanshou and Bakuya once again appeared in his hands.
Now Irinaith looked completely surprised. "Oh my, their back. Good as new. How did you do that? From what I could sense, conjuring weapons of such power should be impossible."
Once again Irinaith disappeared. However, this time she was moving much faster. Shirou just barely had enough time to bring up his projections to protect himself. Unlike before Shirou was sent flying back rolling back a few dozen feet before he recovered. Irinaith was still standing where she had stuck him, her sword outstretched as if she was posing. She had also shattered his projections again. As it seemed she had been holding back up until now.
"Do it again."
"Trace on." Shirou growled, projecting his favored weapons again.
"Yes, like that!" Irinaith cried out with joy like a child on Christmas day. "What a wonderful ability! Can you summon more weapons?!"
"You talk too much." Shirou stated before sprinting forward.
Throwing both protected weapons at the demon. Irinaith smirked and easily deflected the two swords with her own weapon. However, Shirou had already projected another pair of the Married Blades and was closing in to perform his Triple-Linked Crane Wings maneuver. Yet just as he was about to slash at the succubus' exposed midsection. Shirou found himself smashing into a wall of demonic energy. Moments later he found himself flying backwards, his protected armor torn in multiple places.
Grunting Shirou slowly got back to his feet to see the area around Irinaith looked as through a bomb had just went off. The ground was torn and cracked with loose dust kicked up. The demon looked over to Shirou, her smile still plastered over her face.
"Are we showing each other our skills now? Then let me show you one of mine." Irinaith raised her off hand pointing her middle and pointer finger at him. Demonic energy began to pool in front of her fingers. "But I don't want you to dodge this."
Shirou's eyes widened as Irinaith turned and pointed her attack at the last to standing buildings. The red ball of demonic energy grew in size. It was about to fire. Rushing over got in the attack's way and raised one hand.
"I am the bone of my sword. Rho Aias!" Shirou chanted a pink flower appearing in front of him.
The pink flow opened, projecting six pink irises in front of it. Just as Rho Aias was fully deployed the ball of demonic energy shot out rushing towards Shirou's shield. The massive beam of demonic energy slammed into the first iris causing Shirou to grunt as he poured his Mana into the projection. The first Iris started to crack then shattered. The clothing covering up Shirou's raised arm tore itself apart as the shield shattered. The second iris soon followed the first, causing multiple deep cuts into his arm.
The red beam of demonic energy began to fade as the third Iris began to crack. The shield fell soon after Shirou lowered his arm. The demon was smiling at him. He was beginning to hate that smile.
"You are just a never-ending source of surprise." Irinaith commented walking forward. "I want to see more."
Shirou gave the demon a thousand-yard stare. He began his chant once more.
"I am the bone of my sword."
A powerful aura of bloodlust descended on the area as Shirou projected his next weapon. A red spear took shape in Shirou's hand. The same spear that had stabbed him and would have killed him had it not been for Rin. The spear of Cú Chulainn, Gáe Bolg. Shirou spun the cursed spear in one hand before taking on the same stance Cú used when wielding it. The weapon sparked with red energy as its current master activated its ability. Sensing the power the weapon held, Irinaith got into a defensive stance.
"Gáe-" Shirou started.
The demon's eyes widened. She attempted to summon up more of her demonic powers. Yet it was far too late.
"Bolg!"
A crow cawed in the distance.
Shirou thrusted the cursed spear forward. A red beam shot out from the spearhead racing towards Irinaith's chest. Before she could react, the beam pierced her chest and exited through the other end. The red beam faded leaving a wound where the succubus' heart would have been. She stumbled back as if she had just felt the wound.
"Ah," Irinaith began attempting to draw in a breath. "You caught me off guard. Next time I'll get that sweet ass of yours."
The demon fell backward landing on the ground unmoving. The body of the succubus began to dissolve as if made of shadows. Shirou dismissed the spear and with it the bloodlust faded. The magus crumbled to his knees breathing heavily. If he had his original magic circuit count he might have not come out on top. The sound of shifting rubble drew Shirou's attention.
Brian was looking at him with a modified expression. "Who are you?"
Despite his current state, Shirou managed a smile.
"I'm No Name."
"WOW, that took some time to do. Now important question, how long do you guys want Shirou and Artoria to be apart? Are we talking within ten chapters or is this a past chapter 20 thing? Let me know because I really don't want to rush the reunion scenes. Don't get me wrong I really want to write it too but I don't want to do it too soon. You know?"
"For those of you wondering "Why a succubus?" Well while I was writing this chapter I originally had the man eater's tribe boss come out and fight Shirou but the fight turned out to be rather one sided and kinda boring. So I scrapped the fight and started looking for some other creature that would want to acquire a few humans without attracting the attention of the locals. Succubus just so happened to be the first one I came across while skimming through the local bestiary."
"Also the boiz and I'z were talking about story ideas and the following held the promise. Now what if Percy's Mom, Sally, summoned a servant. Jokingly we started talking about Perseus then gramps, after that we talked about Hercules. But then my mind started thinking about a certain archer. Ah yeah I suggested she summon super chad Orion."
"Now seeing as I have made too many Percy Jackson crossovers and I really want to do something else I am going to open up the idea for anyone to create it themselves. If not then it will remain open for the foreseeable future as I am working on a stargate crossover… maybe an Ubersreik 5 crossover if the last one does not work out."
"Anyways God bless and happy Thanksgiving. Well the chapter might come out after thanksgiving but I finished this before so! You get the point, God bless!"
