Chapter 3
"Alright, last but not least, Sistine, bring your answer up." Shirou said as he looked through the other answers as to why his class wanted to become mages. He could see a faint blush on her face as she brought the paper up. He easily noticed how close she held the paper, realizing that her reason must be personal.
He smiled as she walked up, hoping to ease her nerves a bit. To his surprise, she looked at him when she handed him her paper. He could see that the reason she wanted to be a mage was very near and dear to her heart. He took the paper and gave her a small nod.
"Aright everyone, give me a moment to look through these real quick and we'll move on." He said while lowering his glasses. With the remaining papers he had yet to read through, he simply activated his mystic eye of analysis and flipped through them, digesting the information easily. He then pushed his glasses back up.
"Well, now that I, more or less, understand what all of your reasons are, I have a feeling that everyone here will definitely benefit from what I'll teach you for the remainder of my stay here." Shirou grabbed the papers and quickly placed them into his bag. "In saying that, I will also point out that you all have admirable goals that are worthy of pursuing."
His eyes glanced over towards Sistine, who was listening intently. 'My dream is to become mage stronger and more skilled than my grandfather, so that I can fulfill the promise I made to him to unlock the secrets of Melgalius's Sky Castle.' Shirou smiled to himself, thinking about the words she wrote down for her answer.
"I'll do it, I'll become a hero in your place. Just leave your dream to me." He saw the night when Kiritsugu passed away flash in his mind. 'Unlike me, I feel like you'll accomplish what you promised to do.' He thought to himself. He then cleared his throat, "Now, I saw a few answers here that were very interesting."
"For those of you interested in the field of Magical Archaeology, you're in luck, for yours truly has studied in the field of Magical Archaeology, along with Creation and a bit of Mineralogy." 'Even though those studies were at the Clock Tower in my old world, the general fundamentals are the same.' He thought to himself.
He easily noticed Sistine react when he mentioned his major field of study. He supposed following in the footsteps of his mom was the right choice after all. "Now, I will admit, I'm pretty knowledgeable in most fields, however, I recognize the need for specialists." He began to walk over towards the door as he spoke.
"Which is why I am employing my own assistant to help out with your lessons. With the two of us teaching you, I have no doubt that you'll all be able to reach the point where you can accomplish your goals." He reached his hand out towards the handle, but suddenly jumped back, surprising the students.
However, Shirou wasn't quite fast enough. The door slammed open with immense force, which would have easily caused Shirou to be laid out on the ground, more than likely unconscious. He let out a sigh as the students then saw the cause for the sudden and forceful opening of the door.
What they saw was a beautiful woman who appeared to be the same age as their professor. She had long, blonde hair that was curled into what appeared to drills, along with a blue ribbon on the side. She had golden eyes, and wore a sleeveless, form fitting dress with a blue and white cape around her shoulders.
It was easy to tell that the boys were entranced, and the girls were either envious or admired the blond beauty, despite her nearly destroying the door. Though, some in the class noticed when their professor took off his glasses and placed them on the podium, as they had never seen him actually take them off completely.
They saw the moment that the woman locked on to Shirou, before she began to quickly make her way over towards him. Some of the girls noticed the look on their professor's face, having seen it on the faces of their father's, the look of someone resigned to their fate.
"Sherou, why didn't you wait for me this morning? I had to walk here all by myself." She said while grabbing his arm with a pout on her face. Shirou rubbed the back of his head with his free hand while managing a smile.
"Well, I would have been late if I did, and I've been trying to work on that particular habit. Besides, I made breakfast and told Athena when to wake you." The interaction of the two obviously surprised everyone watching.
"Oh? Then I'll just have to start waking up earlier so I can join you in your walks to school." She said in a proud tone. Sistine and Rumia were both a bit stunned at what they were seeing. Thankfully for them, someone raised their hand and asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Um, Professor?" Shirou turned his head to look at Kash, the student who called out to him. "Who is she?" Shirou then turned towards the class, ignoring the fact that she was still attached to his arm.
"This is the assistant that will be helping me teach you all. Her name is Luviagelita Edelfelt, and she'll be the one showing off some spells, as I have certain handicaps that prevent me from showing you the full capability of our lessons." Shirou said as he attempted to remove Luvia from his arm.
"And what exactly is your relationship with each other?" One of his female students, Wendy, added in. Shirou raised a brow, noticing Sistine and Rumia nodding to signal their approval of the question. He missed the big smile that emerged on Luvia's face upon hearing the question.
"She's my partner/ I'm his fiancée." They said at the same time, causing the entire room to go silent. Shirou only dropped his head down while letting out a sigh, before hearing the classroom erupt into chaos.
He peeked at Luvia out of the corner of his eye, noticing her holding a hand over her mouth. "Oh my, I didn't think they'd take that so drastically." She said before letting out her usual laugh.
"Luvia has been my self-proclaimed fiancée since before Celica adopted us and our brother. However, officially, we are partners who have been working together since learning magic." He explained to the room after it quieted down. "Just, think of her as another professor. You can call her Professor, Luvia, Ms. Edelfelt, or puppet breaker." He finished with a smirk.
No one missed the wince from Luvia upon hearing the last name. "That was one time." She said sheepishly. Rumia and Sistine looked at each other, before nodding and raising their hands. Shirou let out a small chuckle just as he noticed his two students.
"Um, Professor? I don't think you've actually explained anything about your magic, or why you need Ms. Luvia because of its handicaps?" Rumia asked him. He let out a small smile, wondering when someone was going to ask him that. He knew it was probably going to be Sistine or Rumia. Naturally, he guessed they both had the same question.
"You're right, I haven't, which is why today we will be going over the lessons we've been discussing about the power of words and self-suggestion. To do so, both Luvia and I will show off and explain a bit about our spells. Of course, we won't share everything, as you need to learn that mages shouldn't reveal their craft so freely." He explained to the class.
Unknown to Shirou, Luvia was actually keeping a close eye on her beloved. Unlike everyone else in this new world, Luvia had known him for a long time. So, when she noticed him becoming more and more withdrawn after the incident with Sara a year ago, well, she felt she had to do something.
Which led to her coming up with this idea with Celica, hoping it would help him. When she arrived, she hoped her plan had worked, however, she had no idea that it would end up working as well as it did. Her heart fluttered just seeing him legitimately smiling again.
It may seem small to most others, but most others didn't know Shirou like she did. He was beginning to seem more like his old self. He was even taking the job seriously, obviously taking after his mother with his glasses.
It warmed her heart to see him acting like himself again. She knew that she had this classroom to thank for that. She was the Edelfelt heir, so it was easy to see the talented students he had in the room. She could point out multiple now, but her attention was on two in particular.
Sitting in the middle section of the front row were two girls, maybe a few years younger than they were. The blonde was special, Luvia could easily tell that much. However, it was the girl that looked like a cat that caught Luvia's eye. She reminded her of a younger Shirou.
She couldn't quite explain why, but it was there. From the way the two were looking at Shirou, it wasn't hard to see that he interested them. The blonde was more than interested though, she recognized that look in her eyes, as they were the same eyes she had for Shirou when they first met.
No, a more apt comparison would be the eyes she had after the Holy Grail War. She wished she was able to help him more than she was able to. Then again, that's where Shirou and her first became real partners. Just thinking about it made her smile.
She hadn't even planned on participating in the Grail War, stumbling into it simply because she was visiting Shirou at the , Luvia wouldn't ever wish for any of the students to ever have to experience such a thing.
Even for the heir of a mage family, such as her or Rin, the war definitely caught them off guard as the war began to ramp up in intensity. She looked over towards Shirou, who was explaining aspects of the shock bolt spell. 'Perhaps, he wants to prepare them in case of such a scenario?'
"Now, if any of you have been listening to my lectures these past few days, then you'd, at least, understand the importance of a mages chant. For people like Luvia and me, we need a personal chant to truly use our more powerful spells." He explained to the class.
Luvia had a sweet smile on her face as she leaned against Shirou's podium. "The importance of that extends to the runic language and spell casting in general. Shock bolt, for example, is something most people write off as a simple use spell. Luvia, if you will?"
Luvia raised a brow, walking to the front of the class. "Thunder sprites, pay heed, and strike with your electric shock." A bolt of lightning then fired from the magic circle in her hand. Of course, the students all knew that chant.
"That's the standard chant. Of course, you can shorten it to 'Thunder sprites, shock' for a quicker attack. Nothing new, however, splitting the chant from three lines to four will change the spell entirely." Luvia could tell most of the students were skeptical, causing her to let out a smile.
"Most mages would say that it would cause a misfire, right?" Shirou paused, looking at the students who all nodded firmly. Shirou looked at Luvia and nodded. "Wrong, what will happen is the bolt will turn to the right."
Luvia then chanted the, now, four-line spell, causing the bolt to react exactly as Shirou said. The class all reacted with surprise to what they all saw. Luvia let out a small giggle in response. "That's not all that happens either. Add another line, the range will shorten, or remove a line, and the output decreases." She added.
"If you've been paying attention to Darling's lessons, then you'd know your magic is nothing more than auto suggestion, or self-hypnosis. Your runic language is the easiest and most efficient way to reshape the subconscious overall." Luvia continued, making her way over towards Shirou's side.
"Which is why I asked what your goals and dreams were. Your magic is more about what comes from within yourself, rather than the laws of the world outside you. Subtle changes can reshape the subconscious to whatever you want." Luvia watched as Shirou brought hand to his chin to think.
She smiled, realizing what he was about to do. "I am the bone of my sword." A blue magic circle appeared in Shirou's hand, before the same sword he pulled out the first day of teaching appeared. However, everyone could tell that that there was something different about it.
'I still don't get why he fakes the magic circle.' Luvia thought to herself. "See, I was able to pull of the same spell with a completely separate incantation." Though, Luvia knew that he was cheating to get his point across.
"The runic language is nothing more than an association game." Luvia continued for him. "Make an association with something and your mind will recall whatever power you want." It was a pretty neat system that Luvia actually found enjoyable to study.
She knew that such spell casting would be near impossible back home. Considering it allowed someone with a weird origin and element, like Shirou, to cast simple elemental spells, well, it wasn't hard to see the value of such a thing. Of course, that weirdness included Glenn too, since he was similar to Shirou.
"This is why I have been teaching you the way I have been. I don't want you all to just memorize and translate spells without understanding why they work. That isn't what true mages do, and I fully intend on making you all into full-fledged mages. So, prepare yourself, because Luvia doesn't hold back." The class all saw the big smile on Luvia's face and shuddered.
A girl was sitting at the table reading through some letters, when she suddenly stopped. A sweet smile formed on her face. "It's good to see you're doing well Shirou." She said while reading the letter in her hands. "Hey, Glenn, look what Celica sent us."
A man with black hair and ponytail, about the same age as Shirou, walked over and looked over the letter, before he began to let out a loud laugh. "I can't believe Celica talked him into that! I wonder how long he'll last with Luvia there with him."
The girl giggled in reply. "Well, I think he'll be a great teacher. You know, Glenn, I bet you could do well in a position like that too." She said with her sweet smile. Glenn tilted his head with a quirked brow.
"Seriously, Sara? I wouldn't be caught dead being a teacher. Think about all that paperwork, not to mention working with those brats. No thanks." He crossed his arms while shaking his head. "Though, it is good to know Shirou is getting back out there."
Sara's smile saddened a bit, before it quickly brightened back up. "Well, why don't we try and make time to visit them when we have time? I know Celica, Luvia, and Shirou would be more than happy to see you visit." Glenn thought about it for a moment, before shrugging.
"Sure, though, I think we should be careful. Celica did tell me a while ago that some things have been a bit too quiet recently." A serious face then appeared on both of them.
"I see, that's never a good thing." Sara said, taking a drink of her tea. "Well, no matter what happens, we don't need to worry right?" Glenn turned his head, puzzled at Sara's words. "Well, there are two heroes around to take care of all that right?" She beamed, causing Glenn to choke and Sara to laugh.
Though, Sara was only partially joking. While the two of them didn't think highly of themselves, everyone that knew the two of them personally, knew better than to underestimate them. She knew that no matter what, the two of them would always find ways to overcome the odds and be there to save the day.
Celica decided to peek into Shirou's class after hearing about Luvia showing up. The students had been talking about the lessons he had been giving, teaching magic differently than their previous teacher. Other students were even beginning to check in on the lessons, which led her to looking in from the hall.
"Now, Rumia brought up a question before, that being about our magic." He said while pointing towards Luvia. "Which also leads into the topic of original magic and what I want to share with all of you that I've heard talk about it." Celica smiled to herself, knowing how amazing their magic was.
"Original magic is something that many think of as special, or that it's some huge thing that you're afraid to try. But I say try, challenge yourself to make something better than something that already exists, because that's the whole point. That's what I want from all of you. Now." He stepped to the front of the class.
"As promised, before class ends, I'll show you a few things. Maybe Luvia will show you her elegant magecra...magic." He coughed, correcting herself. Celica let out a sigh, knowing how often he called it that. "Trace on. Sword barrel." Multiple swords then formed around Shirou.
"I won't finish the chant, as I don't want to skewer anyone." He joked, though the students seemed a bit preoccupied with the swords to notice. To make so many so easily was impressive. "Athena, here please." Shirou's owl then flew from his desk to his shoulder.
"Athena here is a part of my other magic. She's essentially a puppet, though, with a bit of my magic, she becomes a trusty partner." He explained with a smile. Celica shook her head, knowing how proud he was of that puppet. After watching Luvia use a jewel to freeze on of Shirou's sword, Celica decided she should leave before the students.
Luvia really did have a good idea. She herself was a bit hesitant when she heard it, but she knew that Shirou's natural propensity to help others would make him a great magic teacher. With Luvia there to assist him, she knew that the class would more than likely rise to be one of the best.
Shirou and Luvia were standing on top of the roof watching the students heading home. 'Hmm, seems like these kids have good heads on their shoulders. Maybe it'd nice to see how they progress.' He thought to himself. Luvia then nudged his shoulder.
"Hey, Sherou, are you enjoying yourself here?" She asked him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Shirou took a deep breath, before giving her a small smile.
"You must have been really worried huh." He waited, only feeling her move a little closer. He let out a sigh, "I'm sorry. I promised to work on that since the Grail War, but it seems I ended up making the same all over again."
"Thank you, Luvia. For sticking with me through all of it. I know it couldn't have been easy. But, because of you, I finally feel like I can do some good again. Though, I don't plan on going back into the corps." Luvia then looped her arm around his.
"I'm glad to hear that. Also, I'll always stick with you, no matter what." She wouldn't ever leave Shirou's side, especially after seeing what became of Archer. Knowing what happened to him only made her harden her resolve. She didn't want that to happen to Shirou.
Shirou reached into his pocket with his free hand and grabbed a cigarette, attempting to stick it into his mouth, but was stopped by Luvia. He turned his head, only to see her soft smile. "You don't need that right now. Why don't we just stand here and enjoy the sunset."
Shirou's eyes slightly widened as Luvia once again laid her head on his shoulder, before placing the hand looped around his arm on his hand. Shirou let out a small hum before leaning his head against hers, forgetting about everything, if only for a short while.
The next day, Celica, along with all the other teachers, left for a magic conference. All teachers, except for Shirou and Luvia, as his class was behind on their assignments. Shirou didn't mind, he rather enjoyed the view the school gave him at the end of the day.
However, after yesterday, Shirou didn't feel like leaving Luvia behind today. So, he bit the bullet and decided to wake her up himself. Naturally, he ended up having to cook her a rather big breakfast with plenty of tea. However, Shirou had a strange feeling throughout the morning.
"Well, we'll only be a few minutes late, so it's not really a big deal. Besides, our class will be the only one there today." He said as the two were walking down the road. Luvia was happily walking beside him, arms linked together.
"Speaking of which, did Celica mention what the magic conference would be about? Or is it just another run of the mill gathering?" Shirou only shrugged his shoulders, causing Luvia to pout. "It would have been fun to go. I have so many beautiful dresses I would like to try out. And I could have seen you dressed up again. All you wear now is that coat."
He let out a small chuckle at her words. "We could go to a hundred conferences, and I doubt you'd wear all the dresses you have. Also, I like this coat, it reminds me of my mom. Though, if bothers you that much, maybe I'll take you shopping sometime in the future."
A big smile appeared on Luvia's face as she hummed happily. However, the couple then stopped in their tracks and their faces went cold. Both whispered their activation phrases and imagined their triggers; a jewel heart cracking and shattering and a firework exploding. "Call/Trace on." Luvia then nodded.
"We know your there, so come out, we've got places to be." Shirou said in a monotone voice. A blonde man in black and red stepped out of a shadowy mist in an alley. Shirou immediately noticed the tattoo on his forearm, causing him to clench his teeth.
"It was a quick barrier to ward people off. Still, didn't expect a amateur mage like you, or the girl, to notice. You must have pretty sharp eyes." Luvia then snorted, before she let out a laugh, causing the man to narrow his eyes.
"You call that a barrier? My darling here could make a bounded field with a rune that's far better than what you did in little more than a second or two. Sherou..." She said, pulling on his sleeve. Shirou turned and raised a brow. "he's not worth our time." Shirou only nodded in reply.
The man's face contorted with anger. "Tch, you've got quite the mouth on you woman. Why don't I show you who you're dealing with." He lifted his arm with the tattoo. Shirou took the cigarette that was in his mouth, tapping it, causing it to light. He then raised it before writing runes.
"Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz." He softly spoke the words as the mage was beginning his chant.
"Corruption, Fes..." His eyes then went wide, before he fell to his knees and grabbed at his chest. He then began to let out a scream before a fire then erupted from his chest, burning him then and there.
Shirou only let out a sigh while shaking his head. He tossed the cigarette to the ground, stomping it out before looking towards Luvia, who was currently thinking. She turned to look at Shirou.
"We need to head to the school; they can't be that far ahead of us." Luvia said before beginning to walk towards the academy, "Our class is the only one in session today, but there can't be that many people who know that."
"Which means there must be an inside man. I think I know who the target is. Chances are, they'll be heading to the transporter. Luvia, you secure the classroom and get the students out. If my theory is right, I'll find the leader there." He said, getting a nod from her in return.
"Be careful, we don't know what they may have up their sleeves." She warned, though she knew Shirou would more than likely ignore her warnings. However, Shirou ended up surprising her.
"Don't worry, I won't be holding back." He said with a serious face, his eyes were filled with determination. She smiled, as she hadn't seen his eyes like that in a while.
The couple quickly made their way through the academy, passing the body of the security on the way in. Both noticed the bounded field around the school was taken down, confirming their suspicions of an inside man. They quickly split up upon reaching a fork in the hallways.
Luvia quickly made her way towards the classroom with the students, while Shirou ran through the halls towards the transporter. Athena then flew by, keeping pace with Shirou and communicating with him. Shirou's eyes widened, before he reinforced himself to the max and followed Athena.
Athena quickly slowed to a stop above a door, indicating to Shirou where to go. He stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath before kicking open the door. There he saw one of the mages looming over Sistine. She still had her clothes on and didn't seem to be harmed, causing Shirou to let out a breath of relief.
"It sickens me to know there are mages like you. Psychos who believe a bit of power enables them to do whatever they want. Rewire." Shirou began walking forward, sending mana to his left eye, turning it blue. The mage simply raised his hand and pointed a finger at him. Sistine began to panic.
"Wait, professor, he can use military grade magic!" She exclaimed, though Shirou's face remained cold, and he continued walking. The mage simply smiled, before he used his incantation.
"Bang." However, nothing happened. No magic, no effect, nothing. The mage's eyes widened. "What? Why isn't my spell working?"
"Simple, I rewired your brain with hypnosis to make you unable to cast magic. If your brain can't associate your words with power, then you can't do a thing." He explained, stopping in front of him.
"That's impossible! You never casted a spell!" He yelled in fear, backing up from Shirou, who simply pointed at his left eye.
"Mystic eye of enchantment." He said simply, before dropping a black key into his hand. He activated the blade, stabbing it into the mages shadow while sending a reinforced punch into his gut. "You alright, Sistine?"
She only looked at him with wide eyes, not understanding what happened. His eye changed, then the mage couldn't activate a spell? She couldn't understand it at all. She was only able to nod, before Shirou's cold expression softened into a smile. "Good, I need you to head back to the classroom. Luvia's there now, she should have cleared out any mages still around."
Sistine may have refuted that, but after seeing him easily incapacitate the mage in front of him, she had to believe him. "Tell me, were they after Rumia?" He asked, looking her in her eyes.
"Yes! We have to go get her! Another mage took her, if we don't hurry, something may happen." She attempted to turn to leave, but Shirou grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving.
"Easy now, they won't hurt her. If they came all this way, then they need her for something. We still have time." He said, before wincing. Sistine stepped forward, not knowing what was wrong, until he raised a hand. "It's fine, I'm fine."
"What are we going to do? I don't know what to do to help. I feel so powerless." She then felt a hand on top of her head.
"I know the feeling Sistine. Trust me, I know it better than anyone. But that's why you're a student, to be better." He removed his hand before looking at the door. "And I'm the teacher, which means it's my job to guide and protect all of you. So don't you worry, I'll save Rumia."
Shirou let out a sigh, before realizing that he'll more than likely have to wait to kill the mage he had knocked out until Sistine was gone. He shrugged, 'He won't be going anywhere as long as that Black Key is there.' He thought, looking over at him on the ground.
Athena then flew into the room, hovering in front of Shirou. Sistine tilted her head, looking at the owl puppet. Shirou only nodded his head. "The classroom has been cleared out and Luvia is getting the students out of the academy. I think you should join them. Things will be getting a lot harder from here on."
However, just as he finished saying that a type of portal opened with skeletons beginning to crawl out. "Seriously? My luck can't seriously be that bad." Shirou said to himself, positioning Sistine behind him. He noticed the mage on the ground begin to wake up.
Shirou let out a breath, before throwing a reinforced kick at one of the closest skeletons. The kick made contact, knocking it to the side, but not destroying it. "Tch, dragon bone familiars. Though, not on par with Caster's. Trace on." He summoned Kanshou and Bakuya to his hands while removing his jacket.
"Wait, what's going on? The boss's summons. Wait, no, I'm on your side. Wait!" Shirou looked over in time to see one of the familiars stab the mage, before a scream reminded him of his priority. He easily parried the sword strikes aimed at him, while delivering slashes of his own, easily destroying the familiars.
'They just keep coming. I need to funnel them so I can destroy them all with one shot.' He thought, destroying a few more, before breaking the swords and throwing them into the crowd, causing a small explosion that opened the way. He grabbed Sistine's hand and ran into the hallway.
"Alright, Sistine, I need you to pull yourself together. I need you to stall them with a Gale Blow spell, altered for max duration and range, while keeping the strength firm enough to hold them back." He then traced two more blades and ran forward.
'Why does he think I can do that? That's some high-level stuff, no wait. It's exactly what he's been teaching in his lessons. If I follow those lessons, I think I can do it.' She thought, before shaking her head and steeling herself.
She rose her arms up, 'Alright, how do I do this.' she imagined the circle in her mind, as she began to think, 'It needs the strength of Rumia in the classroom, and the strength of the professor, whose been fighting this entire time. I'm going to help with what little strength I have.' Her eyes opened.
"I got it, professor." Shirou turned and ran over to her, 'She managed it that quick? Impressive.' After standing beside her, "Alright, let them have it."
"Keep them all at bay, Wall of tempest, Grant peace to them below!" A large gale of wind shot out of the green magic circle in front of him. Shirou curiously anaylzed it with his right mystic eye, smiling after he did so.
Sistine noticed that the skeletons were still coming, even if their movements were heavily weakened. She looked over to tell the professor but saw him take a card out of his pocket. She noticed the moon arcana on it, wondering what it is.
Shirou held the card there for a moment, before shaking his head. 'No, too much. I'll just have to slice them all with one swing.' He thought to himself. He searched his reality marble, finding the blade he was searching for and immediately activated his crest upon beginning his tracing.
"I am the bone of my sword." He said, causing Sistine to look at him with wide eyes. "Steel is my body." The sword could now be seen forming. "I have created over a thousand blades." The sword then emerged fully traced, landing in his hands.
Shirou took in a deep breath. "Forged to cut both demons and gods. A cursed blade of imperfection. Now, prepare to receive its slash. Cut through, Myoujingiri Muramasa!" He then delivered a slash from the sheath, towards all the familiars.
The moment he did, the familiars all fell over, cut in half. Even the wall at the end of the hall was blasted open in the shape of a sword swing. Sistine looked on with awe, before turning to look at the professor. Her eyes widened when a similar attack showed on his chest.
Shirou stumbled forward, before coughing. "Geez, that hurts every time I use it. Thankfully I reinforced my body with my aria before doing it. He could feel his crest already kicking in, causing Avalon to stitch the wounds together, albeit slowly.
He then felt a body hit him. He looked down at a teary eyed Sistine. "You idiot, why did you use an attack like that if you knew what it would do to you? Don't you care about your own life?" She said while hitting his chest. He was brought back to seeing Luvia doing something similar when they were younger.
He let out a soft smile, before placing a hand on her head. "Sorry for scaring you. I was trying to conserve mana, but I didn't think it through all the way I guess." He said, rubbing the back of his head. 'Best not to mention that it could have killed me without my crest.'
As he was doing so, his face hardened. "Sistine, get behind me." He said, coralling her there himself. She was puzzled by his actions, until she heard footsteps. She looked at the origin of the sound and saw the other evil mage.
"I heard you were nothing but a low-rent mage, yet you used some kind of sword magic to wipe out my familiars' existence completely. I'm impressed, I admit, I underestimated you." The mage said, with five glowing swords floating behind him.
Shirou ripped off his purple necklace and placed it into Sistine's hands. He then smirked, "It seems I found the one who's been stealing gimmicks. First, dragon bone familiars, now you go after my thing? Though, I see you still haven't gotten it down quite yet."
The man's eyes narrowed at Shirou's words. "Oh? Didn't think I'd find out you're using a sword skill and a magic skill at first glance? Well, don't be too hard on yourself, swords are my thing, even without my eye." He said running a hand through his hair.
"Who are you?" He simply asked, obviously not expecting Shirou to figure the trick to his flying swords. Shirou simply smirked again, before replying.
"Oh, no one special. Just your run of the mill magic teacher. Well, substitute, but you get it." 'Analysis complete, projection on standby.' Shirou then grinned. "Sword Barrel,.." The mage sent his swords forward, "Full open."
Multiple mundane swords shot forth to counter those of the mages. However, Shirou wasn't focused on them. "I am the bone of my sword." He said, with the beautiful sword once again summoned into Shirou's hand.
Sistine was in awe of its beauty once again. She noticed the mage begin to cast a spell, but the professor was already about to launch his own attack. "Sword of Selection." The mage unleashed a flame lion, aimed towards Shirou, only for his swords to intervene and take the hit.
"Grant me power." The mage then made his swords battle through, managing to get one through. "Cleave the wicked!" The sword stabbed Shirou in the shoulder, however, it didn't stop him. From his stance, he thrust the sword forth, yelling out the swords name. "Caliburn!"
The mage, for a moment, realized who he was facing after seeing the blue mana around his opponent. However, a great beam of light shot forth, vaporizing all in its path, including the mage. A hole in the wall was all the evidence of a fight.
Shirou then steadied himself with the sword. He pulled the blade from his chest and let it drop to the floor. He stood there for a moment, before looking down at the sword. 'Been awhile since we've fought together, huh, Saber.'
Rather than dismiss his sword, he just left it embedded into the ground. Sistine then ran up to him, trying to look at his wound. "Sistine, I need to save Rumia, but I don't know what else is waiting for me. So, please, wait here, okay?"
"But, professor, you're injured. You have to be low on mana and I can tell you aren't in the best of conditions." Shirou let out a soft laugh.
"You really do sound like Sara. Though, you also sound like Luvia too. Freeze. If you want to help me, get Luvia." He said, quickly before turning and stopping by his sword. 'You'll have to sit this one out. But, I won't send you back. I'll be back for you.'
"Sistine, hold on to the necklace. If you ever need help, just break it." He said, before quickly darting off. Sistine attempted to follow but found that she couldn't. She then realized that he used his eye on her in the middle of the conversation.
Shirou heard a frustrated cry from behind me, causing him to chuckle a bit before his face returned to its hardened look. He knew the exact place he needed to go. The teleporter room.
Rumia sat on the floor, felt the tower begin to shake. It happened once more, before it stopped altogether. She wondered what caused the tremors but decided to ignore it in favor of what she was seeing.
She then heard footsteps, before the door was kicked down. She saw her professor, Shirou, standing in the doorway. His usual jacket was gone, his button up shirt showed two injuries that were still bleeding slightly, and she could tell he was exhausted and looked to have been tossed around.
"Professor, uh, are you alright?" Shirou looked down at himself before smiling while rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, I've been in more dire straits than this, so it's no problem at the moment. Though, I wouldn't mind a smoke and a nice cup of tea." He managed to joke, though Rumia could tell he was just trying to make her smile.
Shirou's eyes harden as he looked over to the corner, seeing the mage responsible for everything. "And you're the one I have to kill to save Rumia."
"Indeed, I am professor." He answered, though something about the guy's smug appearance caused Shirou to hold back.
"Well, I highly doubt you're a combat type, so why don't you just give up now. Unless you're feeling lucky."
Well, you see professor, in ten minutes, we'll have finished rewriting the circle's destination coordinates. Rumia will be transported directly to our base. Then, the white magic ritual I just finished will activate." Shirou rolled his eyes.
Everytime he dealt with these guys; they had some convoluted plan. Why couldn't they just do things the simple way. "This Sacrifice spell will devour my soul, releasing an incredible amount of mana., enough to blow up the school."
"Please, you don't have to do this, Professor Huey." Rumia begged from inside the circle. However, Shirou knew it would do no good.
"Figures the guy I replace is the inside man." Shirou sighed; he really did have bad luck. Then again, he didn't really have anything to worry about.
"Inside man? No, I prefer to see myself as a human bomb, ticking down for years, and finally ready to explode."
"Man, you Researchers of Divine Wisdom are all psychos, but when did you all start becoming so depressing?" He asked, though he knew he wouldn't get an answer. Sometimes he missed the banter with Archer, but only when dealing with people like the guy in front of him.
"You can still win this game." Shirou turned and raised a brow. "If you can counter the teleportation circle around Rumia, Sacrifice won't activate. It really is your only choice, unless you wish to escape yourself. So, Shirou, will you play the game?" The madman asked.
"Professor, you don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself. Just..." Shirou raised a hand up to Rumia, before looking back at Huey.
"Trace on." By now, Shirou's exhaustion was showing. However, it didn't matter, he had a job to do. His weapon appeared in his hand. Huey looked at him, before continuing on with his smug smile.
"I'm afraid it's no use attacking me with magic or your blades. If I die, all of this activates automatically." Shirou only looked at him with deadpan face, before a smirk appeared.
"You chose the worst opponent to play your game against. You see..." Shirou walked closer to the circle around Rumia. He saw that the magic present was all connected. "I don't play fair. In fact, you could call me a, Rule Breaker!"
He brought the dagger down and stabbed the circle around Rumia. Both Rumia's and Huey's eyes widened as they saw the magic begin to break down completely, before completely disappearing, even Huey's spell.
"Now, why don't you go to sleep for awhile." Shirou said while sending all his mana into his left eye. He looked directly at Huey, who was still speechless. Huey's eyes made contact and he immediately fell to the ground, followed by Shirou a few seconds later.
However, he was quickly caught by Rumia, who laid him on her lap. "Tell Luvia, mission accomplished." He smiled lazily, before closing his eyes. Rumia looked down at him, before smiling to herself. It seemed like Shirou was a lot more powerful than she realized.
She placed her hands on his chest, before closing her eyes. Her mana then began to seep into him. Unknowingly causing Avalon to heal him faster. Rumia leaned down and whispered, "Thanks for coming to my rescue again, Shirou. You are my one and only hero."
Finished with another Akashic Records chapter, yeah! This one was long, but I wanted to get this one out. Wanted to show Shirou and Luvia a bit, but mainly focus on Shirou, since we haven't seen him do much besides teach. This Shirou isn't as impulsive and has been in it before. So, he knows how things work. Dropped a few hints and references, while showcasing Shirou's eyes. He really is a bad match up for most mages, especially this version. Haven't shown his card, despite me hyping it up. Hopefully it won't disappoint when he whips it out. Now, next will probably be RWBY, but depending on certain things, it could be Familiar of Zero. But, count on RWBY for now. Let me know what you think, thanks for reading, and, as always, until next time.