A/N: Hey peeps, here's the next Chapter. This time I glossed over what Kurotetsu could do, but to give you all an idea of his fighting style, think what Jenson could do with his enhancements for the built in weapons in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, with a few hand-to-hand techniques from Genos from One Punch Man thrown into the mix. Now that that's out of the way, time for a quick Reviewer review:
1.) Shirou may go to the D.C. or Marvel Universe, but that's WAY down the line. I still haven't decided for sure whether he even will or not yet, so that's still up for debate for one of the later interlude books in the series.
2.) From my understanding, the purging of memories that Heroic Spirits undergo when summoned and resummoned is simply to archive their experiences. They are simply copies of the true soul within the Throne, and when the Servant returns to the Throne, either by defeat or fulfilling the Heaven's Feel Ritual, the memories and experiences get catalogued. The only exceptions to this would be Arturia or others of similar circumstances to her own, such as Counter-Guardians like Archer EMIYA. They are basically in a sense still alive, as for EMIYA he's a Counter-Guardian, and their ilk is both 'unknown to death nor known to life', so he simply has his memories scrambled for a while after being summoned as a Servant.
3.) Shirou doesn't take the Class Cards. If anything, he'd destroy them if he sees them and frees the trapped and stolen powers to return to their rightful owners, as in his opinion its an insult to the Heroic Spirits whose legends are being debased in such a blatant manner as what the Ainsworth have done to demean their legends so badly as they had. The only reason he leaves the Archer Card within Kuro is because that would kill her and EMIYA's power basically fused to her spirit origin to allow her to exist as basically a psuedo-Servant. Plus, Kuro's family, and he don't hurt family.
Now that that's out of the way, time for the disclaimer...
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any franchise used in this fic and credit them as used to the best of my abilities, as they are the respective properties of their respective authors, publishers, creators, and owners. This fic is a continuation of my AU of Marcus Galen Sands' own fic 'God Slaying Blade Works' with a meshing of canon lore in a manner that makes sense, references to other fics and franchises credited as used to the best of my abilities, and my own original ideas thrown into the mix every now and then. This is a FREE FANFIC of a FANFIC meaning an UNPAID FAN-MADE FICTION of a FAN-MADE FICTION that I wrote for ABSOLUTELY NUDDIN'. If you paid to read this, then you got ripped off. And if you do not like it, then you do not have to read it. Nobody is making you.
And now...
STORY START:
World Travels of the King of Wrought Iron: Shirou's Parallel World Adventures
Fourth World: Two Swords, An Artificial Soul, and Kaleidoscopic Magical Girls-Part II
Fuyuki City, Japan
Kurotetsu P.O.V.
After getting dragged into the spacial tear by what could only be classified as an act of ignorant recklessness, I found myself being in yet another world, the second since waking up two days ago after being 'born' as my creator referred to my construction and activation as. He was a bit of an odd one. Despite not being human, he still treats me no different from a human being, even going so far as to create a series of mechanisms in my design to mimic human behavior, if for no other reason than to give the same benefits as living things would with the same behavior.
I don't need to sleep, yet doing so would give me a back-up charge of power reserves for emergencies that can be stored and built up over time. I don't need to eat, but encourages me to at least consume the fuel it provides me by converting it into energy. I don't need to drink, yet he says I need to retain a certain amount of water to prevent myself from overheating and potentially break down from the wear and tear on my parts.
Yet for all the quirks of my creator, he also instilled in my design simple prerogatives, something to make it clear they were to act in place of the instincts that a living creature would have. The safety and protection of others, the curiosity to study and understand humans, and most of all, the ability to learn and eventually try to act on my own without orders. It's almost as if he was trying to make me as close to being human as he could get, yet also make me something more at the same time. It is quite the confusing thought the consider, given how he also took to trying to incorporate a desire to tinker into my personality as a way of allowing me to perform basic maintenance repairs upon myself while also trying to find ways to improve my own design as needed if he himself couldn't do so.
As odd as he came off, I can't help but feel a strange sensation every time he does treat me as a person and show concern for me whenever I damage my parts or strain them to the point they wear out and need replacing. I most certainly cannot place this strange sensation. I've tried asking my creator what this feeling was, and he would simply smile and say I'd find out by watching humans interact around me.
So here I stand, right in the middle of a mansion, helping the same young girl who was badly injured fighting against that False Servant, from what the information archives I have access to in my databanks say, and I understood that whatever these people were doing, they were the cause for why this world feels wrong. As my creator's assistant, he created me to be capable of using some of his own spells and magic alongside my built-in weaponry to fight back and defend myself and those around me. And I could sense they did something to this world...something that was never to be done...
After getting her out of the mansion these magus were dwelling within and getting her out of there, the young girl and I ran into another of the young girls who were being attacked that my creator and I tried to help, the reflection of the one I was with, but with dark-tanned skin rather than pale porcelain white, pale lavender locks instead of pure white hair, and a silvery amber-colored eyes instead of red. Next to them was the red-haired Irish-woman from the Fragga family of Magus, from what I knew in my databanks. They looked at me in suspicion as the Fragga approached me in caution.
"And who are you supposed to be? Last I checked, the only magus the Clocktower sent to Fuyuki was me, Tohsaka, and Edelfelt. So who are you and the man who was with you before we got sent here?"
"Bazett, please. He helped me get out of there and escape from the Ainsworths! He's not an enemy."
"That is correct. I simply followed my directive as I was created for the purpose of."
They all looked at me with odd looks, with emotions I could not describe. Before the young dark-skinned girl approached and asked the next series of questions, suspicion in her eyes clear even to me and my inexperienced mind in regards to humans.
"What do you mean 'created'? Who are you? What are you?"
"It is as I said, I simply followed my directives for my creation. My name is Kurotetsu, or Tetsu as my creator calls me for short. I am an A.I.B.C., an artificial intelligent bio-mechanical construct created by one Sixth Sorcerer, the Daemon King of Wrought Iron to serve as the shield who defends those he cannot to his sword that protects others who cannot protect themselves. If I seem off to you, then I apologize. After all, I was only 'born' two days ago, as my creator referred to my activation at the time."
That got the trio to freeze in disbelief at my words. They could not believe my words, despite saying them with full honesty. I honestly find myself puzzled by humans and why my creator wished for me to try to empathize with them so. Perhaps by staying and watching these humans, I can find out the reason why…
Some Time Later
Fuyuki School Grounds
After meeting up with the same being as the False Servant, but in its weakened true form, as it knew more about what was going on here, I felt myself curiously standing before what was clearly a more life-like automaton than myself, yet to my knowledge, I was a unique existence, given that there were no other beings like myself. I used a soulstone as both my power source and my 'brain', of which only half a dozen were ever created, and even then, mine was unique. My body was produced using the advanced mechanical and biologically grown artificial components of a scrapped, repurposed, then remodeled sentient automaton. And to top it off, I was given the watered down traits of my creator's own spells that complimented my combat and support designs.
This truly interesting artificial life-from before me however, had neither mechanical components that could be seen nor a soulstone, yet she still was obviously not human. The fact this 'Tanaka' had an exceedingly above normal body temperature, had even less knowledge of typical human customs and social cues, and even gave off an abnormal level of mana that was obviously similar to my own...suffice to say, I was certainly intrigued, though that didn't explain who or what she really was.
'She' had a bright pink-colored reddish hair, amber-colored eyes, and dressed oddly enough, in a school gym uniform complete with bloomers and a track jacket over her shoulders almost like a cape and with a child-like mentality. I could sense she was similar to myself and my creator, someone with power over the world around us, yet I know for a fact she was not a sorcerer. I wonder...could 'she' be-
"...the goal of the Ainsworths is to save humanity."
"WHAT?!"
"It's the reason why I asked if you were prepared to be the villains in order to stop them?"
I actually felt myself freeze in my thoughts at that. Save humanity? I recalled what my creator once told me about his goals of saving everyone, and what he felt about me when he created me…
'...you are not some lifeless tool, Tetsu. You are a person, a friend, but more than that, you have a SOUL. Never doubt that...'
...recalling the utmost seriousness of his words, and given the context of what he said about his goals, I simply could only say one thing about these 'Ainsworths' and their goal…
"You're wrong."
Gil just looked at me and narrowed his eyes as he asked in a somewhat dangerous tone. "Oh? And how so, automaton?"
"Because my creator's directive is to save everyone, not just humanity. Besides, when he finally gets here, I have no doubt he'll be less than pleased with what the Ainsworth family have done. And even if they were to succeed in their plans to save humanity, they'd still be doomed to fail."
"Why's that?" Gil asked in a curious but no less threatening manner as I responded.
"Because this world is being turned into a Lostbelt."
Everyone looked surprised by my words, but Gil's eyes went wide at that revelation, then suddenly asked his next question frantically. "And how do you know that?!"
"Because, my creator, the Sixth Sorcerer, has direct access to the Records of Akasha, due to his [Sixth True Magic], the [Sword of Akasha]. When he created me, he did so to make me a companion for his travels and a comrade in his pursuits through existence, to serve as the shield who defends to his sword that protects. I have lesser forms of his magic to compliment my built in weapons and armaments, and was created with limited access to the Archives of Existence while he retains full access. The only reason why he did this is due to risk of information overload. I'd explode if I didn't have that restriction put into place for whenever I access the Akashic Records.
"And I can tell you right now, this world is NOT supposed to be a Lostbelt yet. Think of the multiverse as a forest, with each 'tree' being a different origin world, and each 'branch' a deviation of possible paths of said world, and each 'leaf' the ending to the path of a specific world deviation. A Lostbelt is something that occurs whenever a world, or 'branch', needs to be culled, or 'pruned', no different than a gardener or groundskeeper pruning trees and shrubbery to prevent extra growth from causing rot to the tree or shrub and killing it.
"But this world is too close to the 'trunk', meaning it isn't supposed to even be a Lostbelt yet. Meaning this isn't a natural occurrence. If this continues, forget losing just this world, the whole 'tree' will end up dying and destroyed. Humanity can't survive if there's no world for them to reside in, so even if the Ainsworths succeed in they're plans, they'll still fail to save humanity without a world to live in. Someone has prematurely turned this world into a Lostbelt, or to put it in simpler terms you may understand, as I believe the phrase goes, 'someone's been naughty'."
They all stare at me in mild disbelief, save for Tanaka, as she's still sleeping after breaking Illya out of that unknown Noble Phantasm that Darius used half a day ago to try and deal with Illya. That was most certainly the proof that something was wrong here. The fact that Tanaka managed to break out of something that I could not is very telling of what she really is. I rushed in and tried to break the glacial wall, yet couldn't. More and more data keeps proving my growing suspicions about what Tanaka really is.
After a night of rest, we decided to try and go to rescue this 'Miyu' girl once again, and hopefully find my creator to return back home. He made it clear that If anything like this were to happen, we needed to put a stop to it very clearly in the reprogrammed instructions for what to do, what I believe is filed under 'morality parameters' in my databanks.
Scene Change
Ainsworth Castle, Fuyuki
Third-person P.O.V.
Things were not going very well for Miyu's friends. Illya, Kurotetsu, Rin, and Luvia were having a hard time dealing with the large number of corrupted False Servants, along with the Dolls the Ainsworth were using to their full advantage. Julian no longer under the guise of Darius after Illya used [Rulebreaker] on him, was still going on about the 'story' and the ending still being set in stone, and how interloping extras like them have no place meddling in his legend.
Kurotetsu was just barely keeping them back by using [Overclocked Driver] in short bursts, but the accumulated wear was adding up very quickly. He could have held his own against maybe two or three Servant-level opponents, and these Shadows were basically only worth one servant for every five or six, but there were hundreds of them, all coming in waves. He couldn't last forever or take them all on, no matter how many he cut down with his retractable nano-blades, mana bullets, or smashed using his electric punches thrown in a rapid machine-gun fired pace.
It was only getting even more troublesome when Angelica began raining down Noble Phantasms through the stolen powers of Gilgamesh, the Golden King of Heroes, on top of the army of corrupted Shadows of Heroic Spirits created when the Class Cards the Ainsworths used to steal the powers of legends without their consent. They were weaker than a genuine Servant, but still far too powerful for a human, even a magus, to deal with on their own without proper preparations, much less too numerous for them to take out in one attack.
The only reason as to why they weren't so numerous was thanks to a sword launched by Tanaka herself as she lent them her sword, from across town itself at the very academy they used as their base. Illya used it with Ruby's help to slash the muck coming from Pandora's Box, but that only thinned the herd before being forced to let go when it turned into Tanaka's arm. Yet they still were having a hard enough time getting to Julian before he escaped.
But right as they were all about to be overwhelmed by the collective onslaught that was the Ainsworth's forces keeping them at bay...
"[Rho Aias]!"
...a seven-layered barrier of bright pinkish-purple in the form of a shield formed like a seven-petaled flower in bloom suddenly appeared, taking the attack and standing up to it without problem. As they all looked back behind them, they saw two individuals, both with a highly recognizable face for the women there fighting to save Miyu. Rin and Luvia were gasping in disbelief, Bazett was surprised, but used the distraction to thin the herd, while Illya was absolutely shocked when the younger one ran past her to stand by Miyu, causing her heart to sink, as he pat her friend on the head calling her his little sister, while she called him 'onii-sama'.
The other simply walked up to her, pat her head in a similar manner, and smiled the same smile she recognized as her eyes widened in surprise. "Don't worry Illya, my fragment over there is the version of your big brother native to and from this world. He sent Miyu to your world in an attempt to keep her from the Ainsworths. Believe it or not, but by doing so, he actually bought time for this world to counterattack to the Ainsworth's stupidity and for me to find out to dish out their punishment."
As standing right there, finally making their appearance, was none other than the two Emiya Shirous, the future Counter-Guardian EMIYA and the Sixth Sorcerer Emiya Shirou, finally making their way to the battlefield. Kurotetsu was slightly nodding to his creator in relief and gratitude for showing up when he did, as the sentient construct would not have lasted for much longer before his [Overclocked Driver] destroyed his body from the wear on his parts. As it was, he could barely speak without possibly breaking something, so settled with a small gesture of respect.
After he walked up to stand in front of his younger counterpart, the elder Shirou simply looked right at Julian, then said right to his face, looking him dead in the eye the whole while as he said it as his warm and kind aura was replaced with something far more frightening, in the form of an angry Asura…
"So tell me boy, how is prematurely turning this world into a Lostbelt and destroying it supposed to save humanity? Get off you damn high horse, and cut it out with your chuunibyou nonsense. The world is not some stage, you are not some big-name diva, and we are not performers going along with your ignorant stupidity. I say right now, either stop trying to open Pandora's Box, or for the sake of existence, I will erase you, as the Sorcerer and Master of the [Sixth True Magic: Sword of Akasha,] here and now. Whether you chose to stop threatening existence or the Ainsworth family dies out here and now with the death of its last legitimate member killed for your arrogance."
The sheer sharp coldness of his tone just now would have frozen hell itself over into a blizzard ten times over from those words alone. Shirou was just THAT livid with the Ainsworth head at that moment. The entirety of the battlefield froze at his words, before Julian suddenly recovered his wits after his brain finally registered what he just called him and angrily responded.
"...what...did you...JUST CALL ME?! A BOY?! And who are you, to so arrogantly march unannounced so late into this act, and ruin my legend by intruding upon MY stage, INTERLOPER!"
There was no warning for what occurred next, but Angelica suddenly rushed to the side just barely in time for what came next out of pure instinctive response from the Class Card she was using. The sudden surge of intense heat and magical energy pouring off of Shirou was all he gave before he responded with words to Julian's little outburst. The next words he spoke froze him and everyone else who heard them in place as the sheer depth of power that was unleashed made clear just who Julian stupidly insulted just now with his little outburst...
"I am the Bone of my Sword"
...right before a massive blade appeared in his hands and slammed down in a downward chop that ripped existence itself in twine, with Julian, Beatrice, Erika, and practically all the Shadows were destroyed. Only Angelica and Sakura, the two dolls who happened to be just out of the blades path, avoided the destruction. In that moment, the slash which ripped the fabric of existence also started to pour vitality and magical energy back into the world as whatever that slash did reversed the deterioration of the world.
"[Basilleus]: Sword of the World!"
As Angelica and Sakura saw this, they along with everyone else witnessing this could not believe this this was happening, even as it was being done right before their very eyes. Pandora's Box, which Julian had been trying to open was essentially destroyed and erased along with the remains of the Ainsworth head as the artifact they were trying to fight over was dismantled and used to return the stolen energies back into the world that was used to manifest it.
Once that was done, Shirou's sword suddenly resealed itself back into the black leather-bound blade covered in primordial runes of sealing, before being dismissed back to whatever place Shirou pulled it from. They were then caught off guard as Shirou rushed the two of them, dragged them to the others, and stabbed them with a couple of sword that manifested out of nowhere, one in each hand pinning them in place, but rather than die from being impaled by them, something bizarre occurred instead…
"[Third Magic: Heaven's Feel]!"
As the two dolls were restored back into completely normal human bodies, as they were before being turned into dolls by the Ainsworths. The Class Cards they both installed were completely dispelled and removed, with the Heroic Spirits whose power was contained within them freed back to its rightful owner within the Throne of Heroes. Gil snatched his and disappeared, returning to the Throne to avoid angering Shirou by remaining and doing something to set him off. Shirou even went so far as to undo whatever it was that Julian had done to them both, removing the seal on Angelica's emotions and the one on Sakura's mind allowing Julian to manipulate her through her love for her beloved 'senpai'.
"Punishment fulfilled and world restored. Angelica Ainsworth. As the only member of the Ainsworth family of Magus left, I hereby leave you to live the rest of your days with the custody of the Emiya family. You are to work for them from now on; that shall be the penance you will bear for your family's stupidity in nearly destroying existence itself. This I decree, as the Sixth Sorcerer and Guardian of Existence, Emiya Shirou. Do you accept this punishment and means of atonement for your part in your family's crimes against Akasha?"
"...yes..." Angelica was shell-shocked at no longer being a doll and actually the sheer level of power displayed, realizing the severity of her family's sins when a Sorcerer had to intervene and deal punishment for encroaching upon his domain and nearly destroying several worlds in the process. It actually took her a few moments before she could find her voice out of the sheer power unleashed that she barely avoided in time.
Turning to look at Sakura, Shirou's expression softened as he told her more gently. "As for you Sakura, you are now free to do as you wish. Maybe even finally fulfill that dream you always had with your beloved Senpai over there?" He smirked at the beet-red face she made as she couldn't not bring herself to look at the younger Shirou's confused face, much let meet his eyes, but Miyu understood instantly, and simply elbowed her brother and referring to him as an idiot while I smirked. Oh, now I see why Archer liked to rile me up so bad; it's fun to tease others like this.
"Now that this is settled and no longer an issue of whether or not this world can survive anymore, let's go back."
Shirou walk over to Kurotetsu, picking him up and assisting him in walking as he pulls out his [Gem Sword], slashes the air, and opens up a portal back to the world that Illya, Rin, Luvia, and Bazett came from. As he's about to walk through it though, Shirou simply stops, turns to the dumbstruck group of girls, and says right to their faces. "Well you guys coming or what? I can't and won't keep this thing open forever. Move it or lose it, girls."
That got them moving.
Now, how to deal with Zelretch...Oh the suffering he had planned for the trolling old bastard this time was not small by any stretch of the word...
Omake Special: Afterword-Faker, Counterfeiter, and Damaged Goods
Third-person P.O.V.
After Shirou got Miyu, Sakura, and Angelica back to his house, the four settled down for a well-deserved rest. Yet it's what Miyu walked into the morning after when her big brother hadn't gotten up yet that left her red-faced as what she saw caused her to be completely flabbergasted. Her Onii-sama was laying in bed in the nude, with Angelica very strongly clinging to his right arm in her sleep while Sakura was holding his left side the same way.
The trio had a very satisfied look on their faces, and all were very much naked, along with the raw stench of sex in the room, it became fairly obvious to someone as smart as Miyu what happened here. So hocked was she that the young girl could only shout three words that rang throughout the neighborhood right before giving him a wake-up call via a swift strike below the belt in her shock at the sudden development...
"ONII-SAMA YOU PERVERT!"
...right before the chaotic new daily routine of the Emiya household began for the first time that morning.
A/N: Before some of you all complain, keep in mind, by Nasuverse rules, there is an unspoken law to NEVER piss of a sorcerer, which Julian did in his delusional arrogance. Based on what I knew from both what I saw and read on the wiki, Julian suffers from a serious case of chuunibyou. From what I knew about Prisma Illya canon, along with my own liberties I took for the sake of plot, the bringing of Pandora's Box into the world rapidly accelerated the deterioration of magic even further than what should be natural. Hope you guys liked the omake at the end. Suffice to say, there will be women problems for Shirou regardless of what world he's in. There will be a bit more afterwards, and next chapter will be the last one for this Book 1.5, then Book 2 will start. Until next chapter, PEACE OUT!
