"I'm sorry," Akame regretfully said, bowing deeply enough her long, lustrous black hair swept the floor. "This is all due to my negligence in covering our tracks once I recovered Tatsumi. I will take any punishment you deem necessary for my failure."
"That's not what's important at the moment, Akame!" Najenda told her subordinate, before thrusting her mechanical arm forward. "Night Raid! We have been discovered by the enemy, so let's show them why we are to be feared by the Empire! Make sure to travel in pairs, and watch each other's backs! Eliminate all hostiles!"
"""Understood!"""
Her subordinates split into two groups, one jumping straight out of the broken window, while Lubbock and Akame opted to clean up any infiltrators inside the building while protecting Najenda as well. Considering the Teigu of the other members, these two's were far more suited to the tight and twisted confines of a hidden assassins base, with Cross Tail's versatility to create traps and Murasame's powerful short-range ability.
I found myself admiring Najenda's calm and quick judgement and Night Raid's speed in taking the initiative to counterattack. Her past as a former general showed through the aura of confidence she radiated around her, even under duress this extreme. She's certainly confident of her group's ability, even with the relatively newer members.
With that in mind, I decided on my own course of action.
I placed one foot on the window sill, surveying the battles happening all over the place.
To my delight and surprise, the group's fighting ability had noticeably improved since the last time I saw them, especially Tatsumi. With Incursio, passed down from Bulat, he's tearing through the revolting mass of mindless bodies like a cannonball through wet paper, their attacks incapable of harming him in the slightest. According to my last information, his maximum usage of Incursion was only several seconds, with one usage severely drained his stamina, not even counting his mediocre blade skills. Now, he's a literal demon on the battlefield, focusing on attacking the enemies' weak point with one powerful strike while enduring their counterattack with his armor's properties.
Usually, I'd frown at such brute tactics, but, hey, it worked for him. As long as it didn't become a bad habit, then it's fine. Mine was also covering him well, her experience helping her in covering Tatsumi's blind spots.
Leone was fighting with a beautiful combination of grace and wild savagery, majestic like the animal her Teigu was based on. Her strikes were fast, precise, powerful, and flexible, dominating the masses surrounding her. I saw her perform a spinning hook kick behind her without looking, removing a mook's head clean off, showcasing her already keen Instincts even more enhanced. My sources stated Lionelle to be able to only increase the user's physical abilities, not their skills, so the elastically breathtaking way her voluptuous body bends and curves around came all from her, not the Teigu.
Ah, she's getting distracted, and distracting me as well. Some poor soul thought he could get the jump on her with his sword, but she dodged it at the last second and caught the piece of steel with her teeth, shattering it. With a rough hit, he became another bloodstain on the ground.
Susanoo... was different, in a way caused by my Japanese influence. Named after a Japanese god of thunder, I expected his abilities to revolve around the same skillset as his namesake, but the reality was both different and suiting at the same time. He's fast, to say the least, but not enough to liken him to 'lightning' or on par with a Lancer-class Servant, though that's not saying much when only Leone could keep up with him in pure speed, possibly Akame as well among the Night Raid members. If he was scaled using my world's system, his Agility would've been only C+-rank at best.
His strength was more impressive. Wielding a large bladed club with such dexterity and lethality deserved praise, and a swing of it was enough to outright dismember or pulverize any enemies standing in its way. There were already several sizeable craters on the ground as collateral damage from his swings. With his... dislike of me, that strength which could rival my own was something I had to be wary of.
My curiosity, though, was focused on the last member of Night Raid currently out in the fray.
I'd always wondered what's the limit for Teigus, especially in combat. In general, they could be divided into two main groups: mechanical and elemental. The former was the most common, while the latter possessed greater potential and variability in its usage, as with Esdeath and Liver. The difficulty in using both types vary among Teigus, but generally, elemental-type Teigus require greater training and thought invested into them to make them work.
What differentiated Mizuko from her predecessor, Liver, in her Teigu's usage was clearly her relative inexperience. Elemental users tended to rely too much on their medium- and long-range ability that they neglected to position their own body compared to melee users, and Mizuko showed traits of this bad habit. It wasn't excessive and could be fixed with practice, but it was still present. However, what she lacked in strategy, she made up in pure creativity and reflexes.
The inherent moisture from the atmosphere was molded into a vast array of weapons I barely recognized even with my considerable experience. Constantly changing its shape, size, hardness, and speed, it shifted effortlessly to handle every situation which fit it best.
Short-range: daggers, water shield, and water limbs. Medium-range: swords, claymores, and whips. Long-range: discs, water needles, water cannon. Support: thick mist and hypothermic frost. She controlled the battlefield with an alarmingly diverse array of abilities, all of which Liver failed to maximize. Her speed and flexibility mid-combat brought a certain Archer-class Servant into mind. The Chaste Huntress was always a sight to behold on the battlefield.
What really showed her talent was her incredible efficiency in using the existing water molecules in the air and from the plants around her. Liver was strong, but he needed a considerable amount of water to be carried on his person, and even then, he couldn't make use of the snow surrounding us when we fought. Plus, according to Tatsumi's stories regarding his and Bulat's battle, even on a ship surrounded by the ocean itself, Bulat defeated him with Incursio and would have lived if not for the poison affecting the large man.
Then it hit me.
Elemental-type Teigus depended heavily on their users' drive and creativity. Liver, a seasoned general, had too many constraints and limitations experienced in life, which reflected on his conservative fighting style. Mizuko, on the other hand, was young and very outgoing. Her young mind was a treasure trove of outlandish ideas, which sent shivers down my spine when I realized what Esdeath could've done with Mizuko's ability to break the conventional rules.
Let's hope the ice user wasn't too creative...
"Are you not going to join in on the action?"
I turned my head, facing Najenda with a casual glance.
"No, not yet. I wanted to watch them a while longer, at least," I said, shaking my head. "Your group is astonishing and fascinating in its growth, especially Tatsumi."
Walking up beside me, she solemnly replied, "The loss of Sheele and Bulat hit him the hardest, even though he's our little newbie. He slaved himself to training, and the results are as you see."
"Give it back!"
The shrill voice was familiar, not the least caused by Mine's violent antics in my mansion after the fight with Seryu.
'Huh... it seems Stylish has developed something else than mere grunts.'
Extase, Sheele's beloved Teigu, was being swung around by some brute against Tatsumi. Mine had already abandoned her sniping post, opting to charge forward in blind anger. It's a stupid decision, but it's not like I didn't understand her feelings. In Japan, a deceased's belongings were considered very precious and a part of the deceased themselves, and seeing it in the hands of an enemy would've riled anger in anyone, even me. In fact, I'd be disappointed if Mine and Tatsumi weren't more... motivated in dealing with Stylish's army now.
As Tatsumi tried to engage in close range, he was forced to dodge as Extase easily cut through his supposedly impenetrable armor like it was butter. Luckily, it wasn't debilitating, his own reflexes saving him from losing a limb. I knew Incursio was strong, but Extase's supreme cutting ability surprised me in this matchup. It's only unfortunate the cost of this information was the wound on Tatsumi.
"Are you not going to assist your subordinates? It seems Extase is a bad matchup for Incursio," I inquired.
A soft chuckle escaped Najenda's lips. "I would, if Mine wasn't with him. There's no way she's going to let someone use Sheele's Teigu like that. Just watch her."
So I did. I didn't know what to expect, to be honest. Mine was a skilled sniper, but now, in the close-range combat which was her weakness, and having to cover the slightly injured Tatsumi, it'd be interesting how she'd cope with the challenge. My eyes glanced over Najenda's confident stare, one which screamed 'hang-on-you-got-to-watch-this', so I stayed put.
The spectacle fallen before my eyes almost made my mouth gape open.
As the man moved in closer, clearly confident in decimating the petite pink-haired sniper in close combat, Mine simply... made him evaporate. Well, alright, it was actually an understatement. The blast she fired from Pumpkin not only disintegrated his body, but also the scenery behind him, leaving a neat burnt trench of former plants and rocks turned into ashes.
Comparing its power to the Magecraft from my original world, it simply wasn't a contest. Granted, modern Magecraft was a shadow of its former glory, and a poor imitation of what I could do with my Noble Phantasm, but it took nothing away from Pumpkin's immense power. That could've at least matched the output of a C-ranked Noble Phantasm! Nothing outrageous for a Servant, but a clean shot would've crippled anyone unprepared, including me. I suspected, to my horror, that Mine's not even using its maximum output. Just how strong could Pumpkin get?
"It's good to see that even someone like you can be surprised."
How annoying. This verbal jab was also a measure of my own self from Najenda.
"I'm not so prideful as to reject my shortcomings in my predictions," I admitted, smiling wryly. "Despite their quirks, your newest members are very impressive. Shame I still haven't seen everything the veterans are fully capable of."
I watched Mine clutching onto Extase on her knees, tears running down her face as Tatsumi gently held her shoulders, comforting her. Ah, was he making a move this early? Kids these days were very sly...
With a proud look on her face, she declared, "You never will. Every single one of them, newbie or not, are constantly growing and growing. Trust me, the moment you believe you've seen all their tricks, they'll learn something new just to prove you wrong."
She brings up a good point.
"Indeed, it's foolish of me to have momentarily forgotten about the never ending potential ingrained within humanity. Humans are the embodiment of unstoppable growth. If there is something they desire, even if it seems out of their reach, they will find a way to grasp it. Whether it is a way to provide a stable source of food, or create the means to cure diseases that were previously thought of as death incarnate... Humans are the one race that can possibly surpass even the Gods themselves..." I gazed at the sky resolutely in the declaring of my own perceptions. "...and that is why I will be their salvation."
My words held a promise to them, something Najenda looked she wanted to ask about. Because it'd be annoying, I didn't give her that chance to try and interrogate the meaning behind my words, and I jumped out of one of the broken windows, intent on getting my own fix of the action.
I've never been one to be overly patient while others are fighting fights which garner my interest. Not even back during the Great Holy Grail War I hid within the safety of The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. When Archer and Rider were fighting the forces of the Black Faction, I myself decided to take on Berserker of Black. When Vlad the Impaler was forced to embrace his vampiric nature by his fool of a Master, it was I that stared down and conquered the Legend of Dracula incarnated. If I was able to evade answering some unnecessary questions in the process, then that's just a bonus.
Black Keys emerged in my hands and flew forth in the very next instant, skewering three members of Stylish's army as they tried to approach me.
A hulking lug believed he could crush me for the fact he's practically double my size. How foolish. I nearly laughed out loud in a similar manner to Esdeath, and I might've let out just a bit of a chuckle as I sent his body buckling and flying into some of his comrades with a swift punch to his solar plexus.
"Damn! How does such a slim man like you hit something that hard?" A voice called out.
"Why don't you say that to him?" I asked Mizuko back, with a thumb jerked towards Susanoo who's pulverizing his opponents. "I don't want to hear that from you, either."
Mizuko lopped off the legs of a stray mook with her water whip as she placed a lone finger on the tip of her chin in an attempt to look cute, a physical tic eerily similar to Chelsea.
"Well, Su-san is more well-built than you, at the very least, and he's a Teigu, for crying out loud! He can crush my head with one palm, so it's much easier to believe." She then gleaned at me, saying, "You, well... you're human like us, so it's surreal watching you doing something like that."
"You should tell that to General Esdeath as well."
My sarcastic reply was returned by a cheeky tongue-out.
The casual way she called me 'human' caused me to pause in my dismemberment of those around me. I haven't had the luxury of seeing myself as human for a very long time. My youth was spent being regarded as a holy saint, someone detached from humanity. Even now, with this human body, I was still the Heroic Spirit Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.
I placed a hand on her head, her blue locks weaving themselves between my fingers as my hand gently glided over them.
"How naive of you. Would your senpai fall for any normal human?" I teased Mizuko with a knowing smile.
Her face morphed from a look of understanding to a feral grin.
"Definitely not."
A stream of highly pressurized water shot forth and bisected some poor sap.
"Show me what made Chelsea-senpai so enamored with you that she even left her poor kōhai all alone."
"Don't pout when I leave you in the dust."
I put some magic energy into my legs, shooting me forth like a rocket. Mizuko, to her credit, did her best in trying to keep up, but she lacked the leg strength to match my bursts in speed. I prided myself as a man of my word, after all.
Being separated like this in a fight against a sea of bodies was becoming a bad idea, so I aimed to regroup with Leone. My Black Keys snaked out, skewering and slicing the flesh of the fools who're in my way. This high-speed movement charge didn't suit Mizuko's fighting style, so I was trying to clear a safe path for her until we regroup. Hopefully, the rest of them would get the gist and followed my lead.
'There!'
Leone entered my field of vision, her feet crushing the skull of one of the many opponents around her. Six blades left my hands and found themselves impaled in the skulls of six soldiers. Despite the Black Keys' usefulness as a close- and mid-range weapon, I couldn't help but miss the Noble Phantasm that Shakespeare enchanted for me; Miike Tenta Mitsuyo was a spectacular blade. Although it had no special ability attached to it, the history within the blade itself allowed it to become a C+ rank Noble Phantasm and could clash against the likes of Berserker of Black without me having to worry about it shattering. Sadly, I've left the weapon with Dorothea for the time being. Her being able to observe the Noble Phantasm was critical for my future endeavors. She did say she made a breakthrough, so hopefully I'd be able to wield an even more impressive blade in the near future.
Focusing back on the matters at hand, my hand extended forth and crushed the windpipe of a soldier to the left of Leone. I expected the buxom blonde to make some sort of quip about my appearance, but it seems as if she was quite focussed on the battle at hand. Having her home invaded was definitely a reason for her to be serious, and the feral grin on her face drove that point home.
Susanoo and sent a stern glance my way, but once he noticed that Leone and I were fighting together and Mizuko was approaching us as well, the Biological Teigu decided to join up with us as well.
With the four of us banded together, it didn't take long at all for there to be a litter of corpses around our feet.
"Shit, you four did a number on everyone here! It's good to see you fighting with us this time, Shirou!" A relieved voice called out.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Tatsumi approaching us, with Mine, Lubbock, and Akame right behind him. If the latter two were here, then the inside of the base must be secure.
"Well, I must admit, it's nice to fight with you all this time. We share the same goal, after all, so I hope we'd conduct this team effort more often," I replied, smiling. "I was impressed how much you all have grown since the last time we met, especially you, boy."
Their growth speed, other than impressing me, alerted me on how much I was lacking in my own group. We're smaller in numbers, and in a one-on-one fight, equipped with each other's preferred weapons, my group was at a disadvantage. I wasn't saying I lacked confidence in my team's strength, but unless I enchanted Yoru's body, he'd never put a scratch on an Incursio-clad Tatsumi, even if my foster brother's skill was a thin layer above.
In terms of pure spearmanship, Tatsumi's ability to use Incursio's inherent weapon was also still below Spear's, but that's exactly the point: if they clashed, Spear's spear would've snapped in one blow. Chelsea couldn't be counted on as a frontline fighter, since she's more suited to cloak-and-dagger-type operations. In actual assassinations, it's said the only one who could match her record was Akame.
This thought resolved me to push my group's level to many, many levels above, starting with their equipment.
My eyes inevitably shifted to Pumpkin, the image of its overpowering blasts still clear in my mind. Just how strong could it be? Or, more precisely, just how strong Mine could be?
Noticing my stare, the petite girl grinned knowingly. "Oh? Impressed, are we?"
Not catching her bait, I flatly admitted, "Yes. To be frank, the last time I saw a similar power output was back where I was from, although those weapons are mostly gone, now."
Mine's smile widened even further. "Well, of course! I'm the one wield-"
Her words were cut off as she fell flat on her face, my eyes widened at the pink-haired girl's sudden collapse. Her fall was soon followed by Leone, Lubbock, Mizuko, and finally even Akame was brought to her knees.
'What's going on?'
Only Tatsumi, Susanoo, and I were left able to stand. I took a quick glance to my left arm and noticed the markings on it were glowing faintly through the sleeve of my garb. If Foundation of Heaven's Blessing had taken effect, then it's combatting some sort of ailment. An airborne toxin? That would explain the sudden collapse of the majority of Night Raid besides Tatsumi and Susanoo. Incursio was filtering out the toxins from invading Tatsumi's lungs and Susanoo is a Teigu, thus it probably just had no negative impact on him.
A sudden sense of foreboding shook my body. I was being warned of something, not anything that could permanently harm me, but…
My eyes lingered on the downed members of Night Raid. They're the ones in danger. I placed both hands onto the ground and sent out a pulse of magical energy, using the very same trick I did to locate the Shingus in the mountains. I scanned everything within a couple kilometers in an instant, and what I discovered did not make my mood any better.
"Susanoo, Tatsumi, the bodies of these soldiers have bombs implanted within them! Help me get these corpses away from us!" I yelled.
Despite the full-body armor covering him, the way he tensed up gave away his shock. Susanoo was significantly calmer and acted immediately, swinging his club around, blowing bodies away in a gust of wind. I planted my feet firmly in the ground, and with a swift punch, sent a mass of flesh away from us. Tatsumi started moving his teammates behind Susanoo and I.
We're out of time. This will have to do.
My arms shot out to the sides of my body.
"Sciath!"
A small distortion in the air appeared around us in the form of a bubble, surrounding us in an almost-transparent film. Just in time too, because the next instant, every dead body around us exploded in a blaze of glory, swathing the hasty barrier I erected in a blanket of flames. The danger passed as fast as it first emerged, and I dropped the barrier formed from my magic energy. I was nervous that I might not have been able to make it strong enough in time to protect everyone. God has truly blessed me with the possession of the Skeleton Key, making my average skill in Magecraft to reach a higher level. Without it, the three of us and the ones immobilized at the back would've been decimated by the blast.
"Is everyone alright?"
I was answered with a couple coughs, but it seemed everyone got out unscathed. That's good.
"Shirou, how did you do that?" A voice I believed to be Leone's asked me.
Lubbock inquired to himself, "Did you create this like the field around your home?"
His question was closer to the truth than I would've liked, even if it's not completely right. He had a bright head, Lubbock, a better one than I thought.
"That's not important right now." I said, my right index finger pointing off into the distance.
When I scanned our surrounding area earlier, I sensed four more individuals farther back on the cliff face, overlooking the base-turned-battleground.
"Our enemy is on that cliff."
My reinforced eyesight spotted what I could only describe as a skinny man in a lab coat with quite the flamboyant haircut. Beside him were three individuals with distinctive figures. One was a man with a disgustingly large nose, another man with eyes that were literally bulging out of their sockets, and a girl with ears reminiscent to those of a bat, just more pointed and much larger.
'Products of human experimentation, just like the rest of his army.'
Absolutely disgusting. Stylish's death will bring me more pleasure than it should.
Oh? Looks like those overly large features aren't just for show. The girl with the large ears was saying something to Stylish, and the man with bulbous eyes looked as if he was going to piss himself as he looked at me. My lips morphed into a savage grin as I made eye contact him. He did not look happy to be on the receiving end of my attention.
"Those of us that can still move, follow me. I'll lead us to that madman. He's going to try and escape, now that his assault has failed. The rest of you can catch up when you're feeling better. We should be done long before then."
Tatsumi nodded his head in acknowledgement, while Susanoo continued to give me a stern stare.
The three of us set off immediately. Susanoo was, unsurprisingly, able to keep up with my speed. I was still faster, but the Teigu was no pushover. Tatsumi was beginning to lag behind, Incursio must have bolstered all of his physical capabilities, because I had no expectations for the village-warrior-turned-assassin to keep up with us.
As we continued to encroach on the doctor's whereabouts, he was falling farther and farther behind. It appeared that the boost to one's parameters was dependant on the already existing physical capabilities of the user. I'd slow down a little to let him catch up, but we were about to get the drop on Stylish, and I would rather not let the psycho prepare something for us in the meantime.
A rumble passed through the forest floor, and about twenty meters through the thicket of greenery, I bore witness to one of the most grotesque monstrosities I've ever seen. Watching Berserker or Red's body knit itself together into larger masses of muscle was quite the sight, but this still takes the cake with just how unnatural it was.
A giant mass of moving flesh.
Random mechanical contraptions mixed with more flesh created its right arm and piping was interwoven and connected on its back. The thing was standing leagues above the trees; this monstrosity was almost half the size of the mountain that Night Raid's base was situated on. On top of it all, partially embedded inside the head of the abomination was Stylish himself.
No time to delay. My legs pushed forward with all the strength they could muster. Craters erupted from where I was previously and Susanoo was left far behind me.
I could hear the mad scientist raving now, ludicrously yelling about how he needed 'more nutrients'. A quick scan of the surrounding area showed that the man with bulging eyes and elongated nose were no longer present, and one of the giant's arms were moving to grab the girl with the large ears.
'So that's what he meant by nutrients... Better not let him have any more!'
My body crashed into the monster's outstretched arm like a rocket.
My right fist connected with its right arm, blowing it back from reaching the bat-eared girl. The shockwave of the hit was enough to send her reeling back, farther away from my battle with Stylish. I didn't particularly care about her well-being earlier since she's an enemy, but the fear in her eyes roused an emotion of pity from my heart, and so I was relieved at her temporary safety
"You! How dare you get in the way of my evolution! I will consume you as well!" The mad doctor yelled into the night sky.
This man was truly revolting. If his mind wasn't so useful, I would eradicate him this very moment, even if it would give away one of my stronger attacks.
However...
My right arm pulsed with mana. There were still things I need from that brain of his.
Susanoo chose that very moment to burst out of the treeline, the delay caused by my sudden speed burst. Rather than being annoyed at the interruption, I was glad he's here to increase my chances of subduing the mad doctor alive and extract the information I needed.
"Stay where you are." I told the girl behind me. She vigorously nodded like a frightened mouse, her legs stiff as concrete due to her shock and fear.
"I know you dislike me for some odd reason, but what do you say about taking down this disgrace of a human being together?" I asked the Biological Teigu.
"Understood."
Good enough of an answer, if you ask me.
"That troublesome Teigu is also here..." Stylish let out an annoying sigh. "No matter, when I consume the two of you, I should have even more power than Esdeath herself!"
Now that made me chuckle.
"What a delusional soul, if you're not already stronger than Esdeath, then you have no chance against me."
"I know who you are, Shirou Kotomine! The General has informed all the Jaegers about you, but unlike her, I won't underestimate you for the sake of my hunger for battle. Your appearance here tonight was unaccounted for in my preparations, but it will make no difference in the end!"
I waved a lone finger in front of my face like I was correcting a misguided child.
"Poor, poor Dr. Stylish..." My stare became as sharp as steel. "You'll need at least half of these Jaegers to truly pose a threat to me."
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE!"
The monstrous form of the doctor reared one hulking fist back, before thrusting it at Susanoo and I.
Perfect.
Tatsumi burst out of the trees behind us, just in time.
"Follow my lead!" I ordered the two Night Raid members.
My feet dug into the ground, further entrenching my center of gravity. Susanoo prepared himself as well, and Tatsumi was running at us, building force and momentum as he did so.
Tatsumi reached us just as Stylish's fist was about a meter from plastering us into the ground.
The massive strength of the giant abomination was stopped by a club, the bare fist of a saint, and the armored hands of a village boy.
Now, if I was alone in this endeavor, I wouldn't even consider this tactic. I possessed a wealth of Magecraft to choose from, not to mention my Church Sacraments. I'd rather not reveal the full extent of my abilities in front of Night Raid, but again, that would have been necessary if I fought alone.
I wasn't alone.
With that hero-like line in my head, the three of us could hold the monster's fist with relative ease.
"Now, push it back!"
The three of us put even more strength into our respective attacks, and with a roar from Tatsumi, a grunt from Susanoo, and a brief exhale from myself, we blew the hulking arm back, sending the scientist-turned-brute of balance, giving me the opening I needed.
I rocketed up into the air and ran along the length of the arm we just forced back.
"Get away from me! Stay back!"
Stylish attempted to knock me off with his other arm, but Tatsumi and Susanoo intercepted it, knocking it off course.
I could see the panic, the fear in Stylish's eyes, and loathe as I was to admit it, bearing witness to how scared he was filled me with a strange sense of glee. Multiple tubular syringes sprouted from his back in one last feeble attempt to stop me from approaching his real body. I prepared to cut them down, Black Keys ready to sprout forth from my hands, but it was unnecessary. A yellow beam of power and a highly pressurized water scythe tore through them like they weren't even there. My right hand pulsed again, and I pulled back my sleeve, bearing the marks that was one of my Noble Phantasms out into the world. A sick black glow accompanied the markings.
With his last act of defiance defeated, I stood before the mad scientist, an arbiter of judgement.
"Dr. Stylish, I hereby stand as your judge in the name of God."
I could see his face shaking in terror.
"No! I have so much more to accomplish, so many more experiments yet to be enacted!" He whimpered, futilely delaying his end.
"And in the name of the Lord, I deem you guilty."
My right hand latched onto his face, squeezing painfully, but not with enough force to pop his disgusting face. That would defeat the purpose of keeping him alive, after all.
"Right Hand - Evil Eater."
The sickly black markings that covered my right arm slithered down and wrapped themselves around Stylish's face.
He screamed.
He screamed as is his very soul was being torn out of his body.
That wasn't entirely true, but not far off the mark, either. Evil Eater has the keen ability of literally devouring the souls and memories of those that I could deem as "evil". An act of purification, but in the most painful and torturous form possible. Truly, it's an ability unbefitting of a saint. The act of forcefully removing another's soul and purging it with my own magic energy was closer to how people would personify a devil stealing someone's soul. The only thing that separated it from that process was that the soul devoured by my right arm wasn't sent to Hell, but into Purgatory.
In essence, I had devoured all of their taint, and with it, I took all of their experiences unto myself, sending just a hollow, clean slate of the person devoured into the lands of grey. Originally, I meant to use this technique on Esdeath during our encounter while she was under the influence of All the World's Evil, because someone like her would fight the effects of this use of my Noble Phantasm to the very end, and I might not have been able to use it to its full effect otherwise.
But with Stylish…
I observed as blood dripped down his nose, how his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and the parts of his body outside of the shell of the monstrous body he constructed started spasming violently. Every so often, the sound of bones breaking could be heard over him screaming his throat raw from how violent his convulsions were. Every action, every experiment this despicable excuse of a human ever committed, was laid bare before my eyes, and it disgusted me. I saw how he lied with glorious promises to his own army that he sent to attack us this night. The pain he put each of them through to become the loyal servants they were tonight, how he discarded their humanity in the name of making them into weapons.
Truly sickening.
Despite how much I hated to experience his actions, this monster needed to face judgement and I needed his memories for my own plans for the Teigu I soon wished to create. My only regret was that Stylish will be sent to Purgatory instead of Hell. Esdeath might have been a murderer and revelled in the act of killing, but that was all she did in a sense: kill. Stylish did so much more.
Little did I know of Esdeath's endeavors out in the field, but everything was regrettable in hindsight.
Finally, it was over. The black markings that clung to Stylish's face retreated back onto my arm, and the man was left dead. I jumped off of the giant mass of flesh and machinery before it fell back onto the forest floor.
The rest of Night Raid soon joined Tatsumi, Susanoo, and I. Najenda brought them to us on a flying manta of all things, which explained how Mizuko and Mine were able to offer their assistance. I tried to join in with their cheers of victory, but I wasn't really feeling it too much after seeing Stylish's memories. It was utterly repulsive, and even though it wasn't common, I too can become victim to negativity. So I stuck to the side, leaning my back against a tree.
I should have known my wish to be left alone wouldn't be respected.
"Oi, Shirou! How come you're being moody over here by yourself? Come join in on the fun!" Leone said as she walked in front of me, arms crossed.
"This is Night Raid's victory, you go join your family," I replied softly, in an attempt to send her off. Of course, it didn't work.
Leone wrapped both her arms around one of mind, intentionally letting her immensely soft breasts to squish and bounce themselves on my skin. However, her eyes had none of her sultry behavior, instead, they were full of care and heart.
"Bullshit! This is as much your victory as it is ours! You deserve to celebrate as well."
"Just not in the mood."
A sharp jab prodded my ribs.
"Stop being a downer! I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to loosen up! And I know just how to do it."
Leone reached into her pants pocket and pulled out two fifths of alcohol, of what kind I had no idea.
I stared at her incredulously. "You're serious?"
"Of course! You look like you need a good drink, and although I would prefer if you were the one treating me, I think this onee-san can provide the drinks this time. Besides, you're the best drinking buddy I've had in a long time, sooooo..." She shoved one of the fifths into my hand. "Drink up, loosen up, and have some fun!" She leaned in close to me ear. "I'll keep it on the down low if you end up trying to take advantage of your dear onee-san too."
"I'm technically older than you, you know, Imouto-chan."
The look of shock on her face made me crack a small smile. Leone really was good at lightening the mood.
"Hey, Leo-nee... you weren't trying to make a move on Shirou while he's away from Chelsea-senpai, are you?" Mizuko interjected.
Leone almost jumped to the air at the blue-haired teen's sudden appearance, but quickly recomposed herself.
"So what if I am?!" Leone snapped back.
A mischievous grin emerged on her face. "Well, I hope you're ready for a little competition!"
Now, it was my turn to be surprised, my eyes shooting towards Mizuko.
"Huh? I thought you were on Chelsea's side?" I asked her, before Leone blew a blood vessel.
"I am, at least when it comes to Leo-nee and Chelsea-senpai, but if I was to throw myself in the mix of things..." Mizuko tilted her chin, and put her hands behind her back in an admittedly cute pose, again, similar to what Chelsea habitually did. "Well... what Chelsea-senpai doesn't know won't hurt her, no? I did say earlier I might take you for myself."
I have never seen such sly look in the pretense of a cute action before in my life.
It was that moment I decided that I was done. My thumb popped off the top of whatever form of alcohol Leone passed into my hands and I put it to my lips, guzzling the liquid down in an attempt to forget the two girls beside me.
"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about Shirou! Tonight we celebrate!" Leone cheered.
"Oh? Does this mean you're fine with a secret relationship?" Mizuko asked.
Curse my Servant body and the Noble Phantasm within my left arm for fighting the effects of alcohol so heavily. I wasn't going to be able to forget anything at this rate!
Edit: Changed Mozart to Shakespeare, I am dumb and thank you to the reviewer who pointed out my mistake.
Edit 2: I made a mistake when I mentioned that Shirou was no longer in possession of the Noble Phantasm Shakespeare granted to him. In a previous chapter close to the beginning of the story I mentioned he did have it. This has been fixed.