Early spring breeze blew through the fields, causing grass to sway and dance gently. The earth was silent, save for the sounds of gravel crunching underneath them, and the accompanying sound of soothing wind sweeping through the land.

The plants were slowly returning from their winter hibernation, new sprouts and leaves bursting from the formerly frozen soil. The sky was an azure expanse above them, wisps of cotton-like clouds floating across lazily. The sun wasn't hot, but felt nice and refreshing as it showered them with just the right amount of warmth on that early spring day.

The first hour of travelling was spent in silence as Shirou took in the views. While his reawakened soul had returned him to many memories of similar lands from his travels on his previous world, the underlying atmosphere of exploring a new land still brought excitement that Shirou was enjoying.

It was a foreign concept to the old Shirou, he had never gotten excited in his old life, a result of throwing away his humanity. But in his new life, Shirou had experienced it in abundance, and eagerly grabbed each opportunity to enjoy himself.

Truly a gift he was given for his second life.

This was a new world. A world filled with unknowns, with adventure, with excitement. Learning about everything was going to be a thrilling experience for him. What kind of nations were created, what historical events took place, what legendary landmarks existed. Encapsulating all of it and comparing it to his former world was definitely a fun project to imagine.

Shirou was already categorizing his memories of the previous world in his mind. Separating them into history, science, technology, and many other subcategories that he could remember.

How was he able to keep a good track of that much amount of information? It all came down to how his brain adapted to the constant punishment Shirou had been putting it through. The consequence with the repeated use of his Structural Analysis craft. Simply overloading his brain with lots of information from analyzed objects slowly increased the capacity he was able to take in. The result? Shirou had turned into a sponge, easily absorbing large and complex quantities of information.

General information from the modern era was simple compared to analyzing noble phantasms, and complex study topics were just a degree above general information.

There was a reason the Emiya-Einzbern family research agreement bore impressive results.

Shirou definitely did not slack when it came to magical research, being renowned for his achievements and developments in multiple fields. Which in turn proved beneficial to Rin's status due to her connection to him as his mentor.

Rin also made sure to abuse the literal cheat magician she had on her hands. Many times overexploiting Shirou to trace magical artifacts, ancient resources (sourced from the materials of ancient noble phantasms), and reinforcing her magical jewels to insane levels.

Fortunately, the two worked on keeping it a secret from the Clock Tower magi, considering that if they learned of Shirou's near infinite ability to reproduce any resource used in the crafting of weapons, which was only possible because of his reality marble, Shirou would be stamped with a Sealing Designation and locked underneath the Clock Tower as a research subject and tool for the rest of his life.

Rin simply attributed her nigh impossible collection of resources to her mentor, Zelretch. She explained that he had given her access to his storage of materials sourced from multiple dimensions.

Nobody could see past the sheer amount of bullshittery that reason was.

Zelretch was happy to go along with the bluff, enjoying the chaos it brought. Not to mention that he himself had requested a couple of rather interesting materials from Shirou's world too.

After all, mutually beneficial partnerships certainly were important.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself." Heinrich commented from the side. She had been observing Shirou since the first week of his recovery. Unnoticeable to anyone except her and Eugen, something within Shirou had changed. For one, his maturity had silently taken a leap out of nowhere, surprising the sisters. He also seemed more determined and steadier on his feet compared to before. Almost as if they were looking at someone older.

Which definitely didn't feel right with them. No 10 year old should feel this way. Then again, they had seen his soul. That alone was already enough to tell them leagues about who they were currently dealing with.

Shirou smiled in response. "I can't help but imagine exploring the world." It was the truth. Only a few people would find travelling the world a bad experience. There was nothing like seeing and visiting real places compared to being told stories and seeing pictures of them.

Like Britain, Shirou still had memories of that place. How everything seemed so new and different compared to Japan.

It was an unforgettable feeling.

Seeing Shirou smile resonated something within Heinrich while they walked.

After the collapse of the Great Deutschland Empire, the Kriegsmarine homunculi abandoned their nation. They were weapons of war, with the power to command the oceans to bend to their knees. At their peak, each of them were considered to be comparable to powerful phantasmal beasts. As a group, they were able to match fleets with manpower numbering in the thousands.

Losing the war meant losing their way of life.

It was their flagship Bismarck who ordered everyone to disperse, to travel the world and seek themselves. She believed that they could be more than mere tools used to bring about destruction without direction once their admirals were captured.

Their admirals, who fought alongside them until the end, decided to stay behind and take responsibility for the numerous actions the Kriegsmarine did.

Apparently, their admirals sought to hide from them the horrors of some questionable missions that the Third Reich's leadership demanded. Bismarck knew, but only surrendered the forbidden information to the rest after they demanded it.

They escaped, while their comrades stayed.

To Heinrich and Eugen, it was a shameful memory they shared along with the rest of their kind.

That day, their admirals and dockyard crews that supported them saw the shipgirls off. Hosting a retirement ceremony for the girls in honor of the many missions they underwent for the sake of their homeland.

That was one month before the Great Deutschland Empire fell, when the armies had long since penetrated past the borders the empire kept.

Last they heard, most if not all admirals had been executed for their crimes against other nations.

That was over 30 years ago. The second world war had lasted for a decade, a fourth of their entire lives.

The Kriegsmarine homunculi separated and the rest was history. After that, travelling had been the only thing Eugen and Heinrich had done.

After all these years, the sisters had come to enjoy the experiences which the essence of travelling bestowed. Journeys are filled with wonder, with discovery, and memories. Something that the girls learned.

Seeing Shirou smile excitedly at the prospect of travelling the world was something that Heinrich could understand.

"The world is a very big place, you know." Heinrich wasn't kidding. 30 years of travelling taught her that. She might have reached Nihonn, the land furthest East, also known as The Land of The Rising Sun. But that was no small feat when travelling on foot.

"Nihonn" literally meant "where the sun rises", an identity their people embraced.

Eugen and Heinrich decided that travelling east was in their best interests, going west and north put them in direct contact with the enemies of their nation. South meant visiting dry deserts and generally rocky terrain, none of which seemed good for starting travellers.

So, they trekked East.

And what a trek it was.

Heinrich and Eugen walked the entire distance on foot, keeping a random trajectory to confuse any pursuers from their real destination. They avoided using common transportation routes, often using longer and lesser used paths to decrease the chances of being found. Their stay in each destination varied in length ranging from days to months. Sometimes if they liked the place, Eugen and Heinrich would stay for years. A few cities proved successful in gaining the approval of the sisters.

At the beginning, they didn't have money. As weapons of war, they were not paid to execute the duties required of them. Their only option was to find work during travel. They couldn't apply for normal jobs due to their heavily limited range of abilities. Although their dignity played a larger part in that.

Going from feared warships to waitresses in a bar was definitely not an option.

Which left them two choices: register as adventurers, or work as mercenaries. Becoming adventurers would draw more attention to them due to their incredible beauty combined with S-rank capabilities. If they chose that path, they would be creating a bright red neon sign over the targets painted on their backs. The choice was obvious, mercenaries it was.

Being mercenaries didn't give them the types of jobs they wanted, but it certainly allowed them to hide their identities. At least it gave them lots of leeway in terms of travel and schedule. Their upbringing during the time of war was more than enough preparation for the kinds of depravity they would soon experience. Killing and death were normal as far as the sisters knew. The only limit being the inclusion of innocents. If the target was a civilian with a dirty background? Consider the job finished.

Their mercenary work helped them during their travels. Earning them reputation, which gave them contracts, and a stable source of revenue. More than enough for their very very long journey, considering just how large the world was.

This world was very different compared to Earth. For one, this world was not a "planet" in the sense that it didn't exist as a celestial body orbiting around a star. In this world, the sun, moon, and stars existed as actual magical phenomena, driven by mysteries unknown.

Compared to Earth, the land was as different as can be. Normal physics can still be applied, but many areas are heavily saturated with magic to the point that some of them have already strayed from what was considered possible in Shirou's previous life.

Floating sky archipelagos, literal pieces of land teleporting, areas where gravity has been flipped were some instances.

Heck, one city in particular was known to teleport randomly that establishing trade routes became impossible. That city had to develop its own agriculture and industry to become self-sufficient. On the plus side, the metropolis was sought after for its knowledge in teleportation magic. Their mastery of the creation of teleportation gates and other artifacts specializing in spatial movement became their main source of export. One field that no other can compete against. Their services were highly sought after to the point that they couldn't keep up with demands, in addition to the maintenance of several teleportation gates and other teleportation artifacts. Now, the metropolis had to select limited projects to carry out.

Day and Night was in itself a mystery. Half the world basking in light, the other half in the wake of the darkness, switching just like how normal day and night cycles do.

Those were just some of the magical phenomena. The physical side of things were just as crazy.

The world was easily five times as large as Earth. Its continents were arranged in a rough shape of a compass, stretching towards the four cardinal directions, north, south, east, and west.

The central continent was the largest, flanked by 4 equally massive continents in a vague arrow shape directed to each point of the compass. Slightly behind the 4 corners of the world existed the Grand Line. A sea route of legendary proportions, filled with insane levels of magic, numerous wonders, and many naval powers. The Grand Line surrounded the 4 seas and the 5 major continents, but remained too far to challenge the continental powers.

The continents were humongous, each major continent having equal, or more land space as the total amount of land on Earth.

Unlike the lands, the Grand Line had no major kingdoms; what small nations existed were locked to their islands, incapable of stopping the chaos brought about by external factors. Said factors being freelance pirates, and an emerging "World Navy", 4 Yonkos and their fleets, a Kraken, Moby Dick, Jack Sparrow and his motley crew, Davy Jones and his locker. Just to name a few of the more renowned elements that define the mayhem.

Some other notable elements include the emerging Pseudo-Yonko category of pirates, namely Blackbeard, Buggy The Clown, and Monkey D. Luffy. They were considered nearly on par in terms of strength compared to the 4 Yonkos and their fleets.

Yeah, the Grand Line was beyond saving.

But for now, Shirou knew none of that. To him, the world was a blank sheet, full of undiscovered wonders waiting to be explored. It was a world straight out of his imagination, coming from a magus of the future era with a different history, from a different time, and a different place.

"Can you tell me about this world? I don't know much since our village never gets travellers from the cities." There was nothing to do but talk while walking, Shirou thought. Might as well ask Heinrich about the world. Getting a general picture would be a nice start.

"Well for one, it's bigger than anything you've imagined before." Heinrich started juggling her memory, remembering just how shaken she and Eugen were when they managed to cross to the eastern continent. They had lived their whole lives in the central continent up until that point.

"How big really?" Shirou needed to act surprised. He could picture this world being the same size as Earth, or possibly smaller. Nonetheless, the girls shouldn't learn that he has gained his memories back.

"For one, we've travelled 30 years and we've only reached the far eastern corner. Not even a quarter of the world."

Shirou didn't need to act surprised anymore. His jaw just dropped after learning about how long they have travelled. He may have lived 27 years in his previous life, but he had been able to visit a lot of places in the 6 years he had worked as a mercenary in his previous life.

To think Heinrich and Eugen had travelled for 30 years was already mind boggling to him. Not to mention that it wasn't even enough to explore a quarter of this world.

Heinrich meanwhile came to another conclusion to his shocked expression.

"You weren't about to call us old were you?" It was a common theme when the girls shared how long they've been travelling. People automatically assumed that they were far older than they looked, sticking an additional decade at the minimum for them, since it was assumed nobody started travelling before they were 10 years old.

Shirou's lagging mind registered the comment late. "Old?" He questioned, his mind still shocked by how large the world could possibly be.

Sadly, the response was the incorrect answer to Heinrich's question.

Shirou felt a hand land on his shoulder and grip tightly, turning him in the other direction. The hand could only belong to the only other person in their group.

"I'm sorry. What did you say Shirou?" Eugen was smiling sweetly at him. A stark contrast to the dark atmosphere emanating from her. The girl's grip continued to tighten, giving Shirou an idea of what exactly he just said.

To his dismay, he realized that he might have inadvertently insulted the sisters.

The horror on his face was palpable as Eugen's other hand landed on his remaining shoulder. Her sickly sweet smile was still plastered across her face, making Shirou gulp in terror.

Pissing off women stronger than him was not his intention.

"I think we should teach you some manners…asking a girl's age is not allowed Shirou~"

Shirou started sweating. There was only one way this could end.

Women really were scary. In this life, and the last.


The fire burned in the night. Embers crackling and glowing from the wood as the element consumed the material to continue providing light and warmth.

Dinner was finished and the group was resting. They had travelled the whole day, a feat even for Shirou. He was proud of his endurance, capable of keeping up with the hunting group during their hunts, but those hunts had breaks, unlike the journey he was taking now. The last break they had was lunch, and that was a long time ago.

Shirou was tired, his young body and mind inching closer towards blissful sleep. But before that, he needed to go over one last thing.

"Can I take the last watch? I don't think I can stay awake anymore." Shirou yawned out while shifting Lunea's sleeping form. The small wolf decided that his head was the perfect place to rest on. To avoid waking her, Shirou had moved into a lying position slowly.

"No need. We'll take both shifts." Heinrich replied while stoking the burning wood with a stick. She could've done it with her hand, but reaching closer was a bother. Her homunculus body was more than capable of withstanding enormous damage, and a campfire was practically nothing compared to the magical barrages she endured during the war.

"Don't you need rest too? I'll cover the last one." Shirou argued. Leaving the two girls to take both sentry shifts didn't feel right with him. Powerful as they are, everyone gets tired eventually.

"Leave it to us. We're literally designed for this sort of thing. We could even go for weeks without rest." Eugen answered from the side, drawing Shirou's perplexed gaze. She was lying across a large branch on a nearby tree, staring up at the stars.

Heinrich answered the obvious question in his mind. "We are not exactly humans, but homunculus designed based on ships. Just like ships, we were created for long missions lasting from weeks to months. While we're not able to last as long as ships normally, we require minimal maintenance and resources to operate for the same duration. Sleep is still a requirement, but we only need to take it once a month." Just like how normally ships needed to dock in naval yards for repair and refueling, Heinrich and Eugen still needed some time off to recuperate and recover. Whereas other necessities like eating still played a vital role, since food was the replacement for fuel.

It just goes to show how advanced they were compared to the conventional fleets still used today.

Shirou's eyes darted between both girls. So, they were created just like the Einzbern homunculi from his world. It made sense. His mana analysis on Heinrich during their fight tipped him off that they seemed rather off, even for humans.

"Homunculi based on…ships?" Shirou questioned. It was his first time hearing of such an idea. He had never imagined homunculi could be designed for such a purpose. The Einzbern homunculi acted as servants, but ships? That was a first.

"Shipgirls would be an apt term. We were designed for war." Heinrich's eyes wandered off to the side, still unwilling to meet Shirou's concerned gaze. She was still avoiding the topic of when she decided to shoot him with her cannons. The fact he survived was still an impressive feat, considering they ripped apart war galleons far larger than him.

Shirou took her reaction as a warning that he tripped on an awkward topic. He didn't understand that Heinrich wished to avoid the topic of attempting to eliminate him, but took it as a reaction to her past. A past that seemed quite likely to be traumatic. Nobody left war without a scar, either physically or mentally.

His face softened, remembering his own experiences in seeing war torn battlefields and the suffering that the people experienced. In his eyes, Heinrich and Eugen looked like they were misled by their earlier experiences, convincing them that combat was the only option. Just like many veterans in the army, once you joined, you could never return to the same person you were. It was one problem that veterans found when reacclimating to civilian life.

You could never forget the feeling of being a soldier fighting for your life. You would always find yourself subconsciously on edge, never being able to fully relax. Always prepared for the worst case scenario to happen. Just like how you lived during your time in military service.

"You didn't need to share if you weren't comfortable about it." Shirou quietly said, then turned to his side to rest. Sleeping now would at least cut the conversation short, allowing Heinrich and Eugen to avoid the topic.

Heinrich blinked. She wasn't prepared for Shirou to misinterpret her answer. The way he reacted was similar to how others did when they found about her past as a weapon for war. Most would give them looks of pity similar to how Shirou did. But to Heinrich and Eugen, their past was nothing to be ashamed about. It was something they would simply talk about normally. Of course, without telling about what crimes they inadvertently committed.

Eugen, who reached the same conclusion as Heinrich, silently watched Shirou go to sleep. Her mind brimming with thoughts. Despite the grievances Shirou should've had against them, he still pitied them, as if they hadn't just tried to murder the poor kid. Not to mention the sudden maturity he showed, a slip on Shirou's part, enough for Eugen to have more questions about their new companion.

A few hours later, Shirou awoke. His senses were on edge, alarming him that there was something wrong with the situation.

The fire had burnt out, plunging the makeshift camp into darkness. Shirou could see the slumbering forms of Heinrich and Eugen on the other side of the camp, slumped together against the same tree.

Weren't the sisters supposed to be on guard? What was going on?

Shirou's nerves were grating on him, warning him of an unknown threat. He reinforced his eyes and ears, trying to gather information from his surroundings.

The darkness was pushed away as his enhanced eyes brightened the little moonlight piercing the small enclave of trees they camped in. His reinforced ears heard the telltale signs of movement through foliage far away from the clearing.

This was bad. The footsteps appeared to be approaching slowly and silently, as if they were sneaking closer. Their group had met nobody during the day's journey. Which meant that the people here were strangers, likely to be bandits and robbers.

Shirou tensed, preparing himself to stand and fight the incoming threat.

'Don't move. We'll spring the trap once they are complacent.'

The sudden message speaking in his head had the same voice as Heinrich, which froze Shirou in shock. He glanced at the seemingly slumbering pair of sisters, only to meet their eyes staring at him in the darkness.

Heinrich and Eugen were indeed awake and had kept guard over him and Lunea until now. Shirou would have preferred to tackle the problem before they got close, but the sisters had other ideas in mind.

Shirou would just have to ask how Heinrich had managed to talk to him telepathically later.

So a few minutes of waiting passed, the trio awaiting the arrival of the unknown assailants. The strangers paused at the edge of the camp's perimeter for a long while, before finally deciding to jump on the sisters first, clearly being the larger threat compared to the 10 year old Shirou.

Heinrich and Eugen were pushed to the ground before being tied with ropes around their wrists, disabling them in the eyes of their captors. Shirou itched to spring the trap, but the silent takedown was good, and Heinrich warned him not to act until signalled to do so.

To make the trap more realistic, the sisters tried to act surprised at the attack. Heinrich let out what was considered a gasp, or at least tried to. It looked obvious, but her muffled groan of pain after being forced down made up for the suspicious gasp.

Eugen? Ehhh…probably could work a little bit more on her acting skills. Hers came out more like a moan, attracting the attention of their assailants. Shirou could only stare blankly at her, trying to keep his facade safe while they pushed him into a kneeling position while binding his hands together. One bandit grabbed Lunea and held her forcefully, drawing a few whimpers from the wolf.

"Damn, we caught ourselves some fine beauties! Are you angels or what?" The leader questioned. It became obvious after the other men backed off while he confronted the two sisters.

"That's sweet, but sorry we're not interested." Eugen quipped while smirking at the bandit. Heinrich glared at her sister, warning her to stay quiet.

But Eugen planned to incite a reaction from the bandits, and continued to antagonize them. "I've seen better men try." She remarked sassily, drawing a sneer from the bandit leader.

"You think we won't do it? You're the hottest girls we've ever seen. After I'm done with you, we're taking you back to camp to keep as sex slaves. The others will be happy to be replaced." The leader snarked while unbuckling his belt.

Shirou's eyes widened at the implications. These bandits were worse than what he assumed. Heinrich seemed to agree as well, since she and Eugen suddenly tore their ropes with a single jerk. Taking it as the signal, Shirou also ripped his bindings with reinforced strength.

The familiar sound of a snapping neck, remembered from numerous memories in a past life, caused Shirou to freeze, slowly turning back to look at the girls. To his horror, Eugen held the broken neck of the once living bandit leader.

"You're one of the types I really hate to meet." She blankly stated, dropping the corpse like a sack of potatoes. "Heinrich, you won't stop me from killing them all right?" Eugen asked for Heinrich's approval.

Her sister nodded silently. "I'll take half then." Proceeded by the following sound of cracked bones as Heinrich assaulted another of the panicking bandits.

The death of their leader caused chaos and turmoil, some opting to run, others drawing weapons to fight the sisters.

"W-wait we don't have to kill them!" Shirou reasoned while defending from a pair of bandits stabbing at him with knives. His words had no effect, the two sisters tearing through the rest of the bandits like paper. Snapped necks, cracked bones, broken limbs, and smashed heads echoed throughout the clearing as Heinrich and Eugen mercilessly tore through the attackers.

"S-stop or I'll stab the wolf!" One panicked bandit threatened, holding Lunea hostage. Shirou was forced to throw a rock with reinforced strength at the man's hand, breaking it and releasing the knife. It was followed by a shoulder charge as Shirou disengaged from his attackers to retrieve Lunea from him.

By the time Shirou had confirmed Lunea's status as safe, the bandits had been whittled down to one living member. The last man was on his knees, begging Eugen for mercy. Her face was blank, implying that the murder of people didn't disturb her. Heinrich had a similar expression as she held another dead bandit, his head snapped to an unnatural angle in her hands.

"P-please! H-have mercy! I'll give you everything and I'll never attack anyone ever again!" The man was desperately begging, crawling closer to Eugen, even going as far as kissing her heels. She kicked him back, disgusted at his actions.

"Eugen! Heinrich! All of them didn't need to die!" Shirou angrily snarled. Bandits they may be, but his code of conduct disagreed with outright murder, unless they were beyond saving. A reminder of the large influence his soul is having on his new life.

"Scum like them don't deserve life. We've killed far more people with noble intentions, so what gives them any more reason to live than the rest?" Eugen casually answered, placing her foot on top of the downed bandit.

Shirou growled. "Life is irreplaceable, no matter the circumstance." Lunea in his arms was whimpering, afraid of the angry waves Shirou was emitting. Unknown to him, his connection to the world was reacting as a result of the Beast Tongue mark, reflecting his sharp and dangerous sword-like character on the surroundings.

"Hmph. This man is a rapist, and has kidnapped other women. What makes you think that he could possibly repent for his actions? The moment we let him go, he'll go back to his scummy ways." Eugen replied.

"Whether you like it or not, we'll be killing more people once we start taking on jobs Shirou." Heinrich commented from the side.

Shirou was also shocked at how easy it was for Heinrich to take a life. She looked to be the more reasonable sister, but seeing her casually kill the bandits quickly erased that thought from his mind. Even after all the lives Shirou had taken in his previous life, he had never been at ease when it came to killing people.

Here, the two sisters completely had shown that they were comfortable with such actions.

"Be a good boy and lead us to your camp. Maybe we'll let you go if you don't try to fool us." Eugen grinded her foot on the last bandit.

Shirou could only dread what would happen to the rest of the bandits.

It was horrifying.

Once their group had arrived at the bandit camp, Heinrich and Eugen proceeded to eliminate every single bandit alive. Brutal, merciless, and efficient. That was the only description Shirou could think of as he watched the two expert killers mow down the numbers with ease.

Professionals, they were professionals.

Shirou couldn't stop the distaste he was feeling. These were the people he was stuck with? They were absolute monsters.

He couldn't imagine that these were the same cheerful sisters he was travelling with during the day.

It was as if he was looking at another persona, one that the girls didn't show to anyone else. This was the persona the girls used when taking jobs, and it was horrifying.

Another prisoner sniffed as she tried to cover her eyes, blocking the muffled meaty sounds everyone was hearing. Shirou had collected all the prisoners kept by the bandit camp, several girls of varying ages but all considerably beautiful. Signs of abuse and the obvious depressed and catatonic reactions the others had to seeing him was horrible, telling Shirou that these girls were traumatized for life.

But still, he needed to keep them away from the fighting, to stop them from seeing the massacre.

Lunea was helpful, she was dragging some of the attention from the girls. Shirou requested for her to play with them, so that at least they could cheer up a little.

In the meantime, he would perform some basic first aid to the girls who were wounded. The bandits certainly didn't hold back from beating them if they tried to protect themselves.

Reluctantly, Shirou could agree that many of the bandits were truly deserving of death. Several girls had mentioned the worst rapists and broke down crying after learning they were being freed. But a few others talked about the bandits who tried to help them, sneaking in food and scrounging medicine from supplies whenever they could.

Some of those helpful bandits were likely being killed by Heinrich and Eugen at that very moment.

Shirou grit his teeth. The girls didn't know the names of the kind bandits, so he couldn't go out and ask the sisters to keep the good ones alive. There was only one option, and it needed him to take action.

After patching up the last wound, Shirou readied himself to confront the two girls. He was the only one that could possibly stop the massacre.

Shirou leapt out of the cave that sheltered the prisoners and landed in front of the sisters. Bodies littered the ground and the remaining bandits were all desperately holding ground, the escaping bandits were eliminated first by the girls.

"Heinrich! Eugen! Stop this now!" Shirou growled out, reinforcing his body to show that he was willing to fight if needed. The girls had seen him practicing his magecraft skill numerous times, and could detect if he was using it.

Heinrich was holding a bandit, clearly prepared to snap his neck just like many of the others. The bandit was shaking in fear, already giving up the fight.

Eugen on the other hand was holding two bodies, tossing them aside like crumpled dolls whose strings were cut. Obviously, Shirou was too late to save them. They could have been some of the good men the girls mentioned, but it was impossible to tell once they were dead.

"Hmph. Do you seriously think you can stop us? It will be easy to disable you with our powers." Eugen scoffed while patting her hands on her skirt. They weren't on a job and had discarded their cloaks for the time being.

"No I don't, but killing them senselessly won't do any good." He argued back. It's not a matter of stopping them, but a matter of changing their minds. He had to find out what was the reason behind their actions. It couldn't be as simple as killing people for bad actions. There had to be a belief or thought process behind it.

"What would you suggest then?" Heinrich questioned him. "Leaving them alive would only cause more problems in the future." Cutting the head off for this bandit group wouldn't stop it from building back up again. They would continue harassing, attacking, and kidnapping later on.

"I'm not telling you to let them all go…just leave the ones who did good alive. The girls can tell who helped them." It was too much to ask the sisters to let everyone live. Shirou could tell that much. What he needed to do was to make them listen first. Build rapport and slowly go from there. He wasn't going to change their mindset from the get-go.

Eugen and Heinrich exchanged looks, a silent conversation going between them. Shirou was beginning to see that the sisters decided on actions together, for all their differences and disagreements, they were still siblings, and their bond was strong, possibly unbreakable.

"Fine. Can you call some of the imprisoned girls to point them out? We'll let them go." Heinrich responded with their decision. Shirou nodded, at least he knew that discussing things rationally would be an option with the girls.

He returned after fetching three girls who agreed to defend the bandits who helped them. Luckily, some of the good bandits survived and were allowed to escape. But once they were out of sight and out of mind…

The rest? The girls venomously asked for them to be killed.

As the only person who tried to stand for the bandits earlier, Shirou could only ignore their pleas as Heinrich and Eugen executed them one by one.

The only mercy they had was the instant deaths they received.

Shirou closed his eyes as the sounds of snapping necks reverberated behind him. A reminder of how the sisters saw life behind a distorted screen, a possible result of their upbringing and experiences. He could only try to connect pieces of clues together from what he knew of the girls.

**BGM: [FGO] Artoria Caster (Avalon Le Fae) - A Star is Born OST**

A few footsteps behind him announced the arrival of one sister.

"I know you value life, but you need to understand that there will always be scum worse than them, if you meet them what would you do?" Heinrich asked him. Clearly the more mature between the two sisters, she was still relaxed despite the number of lives she just took a few moments ago.

"Of course, if they were beyond saving, I'd also kill them. But how do you feel to take lives as easily as you have done?" Shirou choked out. It was his nature to protect, to save lives. Holding himself back from fighting the two sisters hurt him. Even he knew that fighting them would only hinder his goal to convince them.

Change would take a long time. The first step would be to understand why the sisters saw the value of life like nothing more than twigs, easily broken and thrown.

"We feel nothing about it. It's how we've grown up. Remember, we were taught to kill our enemies as weapons of war. We're not supposed to see life as anything more than numbers on a sheet of paper, telling us of the number of enemies we have to face."

"What about when you lose your friends, the people fighting alongside you?"

"Of course we would feel hurt, but we would accept that their deaths were our shortcomings. A form of retribution for failing to weaken our enemies before us. We have lost comrades and fellow shipgirls, but we do not let that stop us from doing our work."

Shirou turned around shakily to look at Heinrich. Was this how it felt when others called you distorted? All those times he had been shouted at by Rin and the rest, had this been the feeling they felt?

Confusion, anger, and disgust at just how Shirou saw his life as a tool to protect others.

The same way Heinrich and Eugen saw themselves as weapons created for the purpose of killing their enemies.

They weren't much different were they? If you removed some factors, the similarities boiled down to how Shirou didn't value his life, thinking his death would only help others, but instead, it brought the girls pain and sadness. Heinrich and Eugen just didn't value life unless they were allies. Even then, they still continued, ignoring the loss, forced to continue fighting a war.

In his past life, Shirou lived to protect others, even if it cost him his life.

For Heinrich and Eugen, they lived to eliminate enemies, based on orders from commanding officers.

And now that they were free, they continued that way of life, for it was all they knew.

Killing enemies. In this case, their enemies were bad people. Even if those people were forced to commit crimes for reasons like survival and desperation.

Now that Shirou had experienced a little of what it means to be human, he was the only one who could change them, being formerly distorted as he was.

Shirou resolved himself, a steely gaze met Heinrich's confused eyes, watching the change in the young boy in front of her. Heinrich and Eugen had discussed the possibilities of what Shirou could exactly be. One of those possibilities they agreed on was that he was possibly a reincarnation of some powerful human in the past. His soul certainly proved itself to be older and grander than the young simple life he lived on the outside. But seeing his determined eyes solidified that idea further when Heinrich met them.

For a short moment, his eyes reflected a person who had faced the impossible, he who had faced legends, both heroes and antiheroes alike. The same person who stood against All The World's Evil and came out on top, all for the sake of his friend. He, who embraced death and delayed the impossible for the sake of saving more lives. The old Shirou, who fought against Primate Murder, the future form of Cath Palug, the 4th Beast of Humanity, beasts whose entire existence were meant to manifest calamities that could cripple and destroy human history.

Eyes akin to those of legends.

Heinrich could vaguely see the shadow of an older version of Shirou from his previous life, staring at her.

A reincarnation of a legend? Was that what they had found? The legends summoned today were heroes and monsters who agreed to return and serve in the form of contracts, for the chance to see the world again. But reincarnation of legends were never recorded. The closest would be pseudo-legends, failed projects of summoned spirits who were forced into bodies of infants. Those legendary spirits simply acted as a support to the real soul of the person who was destined to live during that time. Their souls were forced to stay unconscious, due to the discontinuity of the soul's era and the current era of the world. One of the main reasons why legends couldn't stay around once their contract with their master broke.

But the child in front of her was clearly beyond their comprehension.

While Heinrich puzzled over Shirou's true existence, Shirou's mind was running on how to save them.

The least Shirou could do was change how the girls saw the world. There was more than just killing enemies in life, so much more than achieving objectives.

He would change their world, just like how his death changed his. But unlike him, they wouldn't need to die for it.

Not before it was too late.


Author's Note

My first try at making a world map for this fanfiction. Beware, normal map design is not applied because this world is highly magical and has strayed from normal world physics. (Also because I'm just bad at making realistic maps)

file/d/1CWIOq96wkamM26HJpVUqMJJ-RFIwI5GB/view?usp=sharing

I'll try to improve the map as I go along.

A little bit late this time. I needed to work on how to build up Eugen and Heinrich's character depth and show how being created as tools of war really messed up your morals.

I hope everyone enjoyed the longer than usual chapter! Volume 2 officially begins!