"Sizzle..."

This sound was the only thing heard in a deep chamber in an ancient ruin. So deep underground was this chamber that no natural light was able to reach it. However, it was currently not pitch black as a faint light was coming from a giant blue crystal that was placed in the center of the room.

"Crack."

Like a domino effect, cracks began to spider webbed through the giant crystal as the light from it grew. Complicated markings that originated at the base of the crystal and spread throughout the otherwise barren room also began to glow.

Proportionally, as the glowing grew, the cracks increased until finally with a bright flash that would of temporarily blind anyone that stared directly at it, the crystal shattered.

Shards of the previous whole crystal flew like bullets outwards and buried themselves deep into the thick stone walls and ceiling of the room. Scuff marks were also seen across the floor, distorting the now fading markings. This all happened as a man emerged and took a breath for the first time.

"Fuck," the man said as he was unceremoniously dropped from his slight suspended state in the air to the ground.

Luckily for the man, no one was around to see him land hard on his ass. He didn't have enough fingers on both of his hands combined to count the number of people that would never let him live this down if they saw this ungraceful sight.

After some time to get his bearings, the man stood up and finally took note of his surroundings.

Darkness. The glowing that previously illuminated the room had now dimmed so much that the man could only make out rough shadows.

"Trace on," he said under his breath as he traced a sword that passively gave off light and what he observed soon filled him with shock.

No, the sight of a badly damaged room was not that surprising to Counter Guardian EMIYA. He remembered the damage when Rin first summoned him for the fifth Holy Grail War. Something that he would never let her live down. It was just too funny that a perfectionist like her was off by an hour when she tried to summon him, and this caused his entrance to completely destroy her living room.

A small smile unconsciously appeared on his face as he thought about his previous master. However, he quickly squashed those thoughts as he focused on the problem at hand.

It wasn't his surroundings that surprised him. It was what he felt when he used his magecraft to trace the glowing sword in his hand.

"Alaya, what happened?" EMIYA asked the empty room.

As expected, he didn't get a response back as it never talked to him when he was in the middle of a mission. Something he figured out by him not being in his world, Unlimited Blade Works, which is where he rested between missions. More concerning, his od or internal reserves were way lower than what he was anticipating.

Normally, as a Counter Guardian, Alaya was the one who supplied him with magical energy. The amount it supplied usually allowed him to use his magecraft freely and to fight longer and harder than when he was among the living. This was something that he often took advantage of in his many previous missions, but with the quantity flowing to him now, that advantage was now gone.

EMIYA released a sigh at that realization.

By his estimations, he was being supplied with about as much magical energy that he had when he was alive. This will make things more difficult, but he could manage. Afterall, there is a lot of mana in the air.

Age of Gods. That was the answer he quickly came up with to explain the amount of mana he could sense. Unfortunately, that raised more questions than answered. What was his mission that brought him to the Age of Gods again?

The Counter Guardian suddenly raised the hand that was not holding the glowing sword to his forehead as he experienced a fierce headache.

"Ah," he muttered as the memories all came back to him all at once.

His mission was to exterminate the three races of Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels that made up this world which was something he fought to not do. Instead, he choose the more peaceful route of getting them to negotiate with each other to stop a war he knew from Alaya was coming before it started.

Alaya is the collective unconscious will of mankind to avoid extinction. It was this being that EMIYA entered into a contract with when he was alive to serve as a Counter Guardian on the Counter Force for eternity when his life ended. His job as a Counter Guardian is to deal with threats before they can drive towards mankind's extinction.

In this instance, the threat was a war between Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels that would cause the death of many humans who would be caught in the middle of it. To deal with this threat, his job was to kill all parties involved before war broke out which wasn't something new to him. EMIYA has many times had to carry out such tasks and he often cursed himself every time along the process.

Over and over and over he had to kill people. His hands were always filled with blood as he found out that to save one meant having to kill another which went against his ideals. He wanted to be a hero of justice that would save everyone so that no one would suffer.

As his body count piled up over his servitude as a Counter Guardian, EMIYA concluded that he would never be the hero of justice that he originally sent out to be and ended up hating himself for failing. This caused him to regret everything and wanting to erase himself from existence. However, all that changed when he became Rin's servant in the fifth Holy Grail War.

Over the course of that war, he accepted that he was never wrong to have those ideals with a promise to Rin from then on that he would try his best to like himself. His current situation was the result of trying to uphold that promise.

EMIYA's grip tightened on the handle of the glowing sword.

He was sealed away and concluded that the war likely happened. This meant that he failed to protect the many innocent human lives that ended up dying because of his actions. Their spilled blood was not added to his hands.

"What now?" EMIYA soon asked himself.

He failed his mission, yet still he remained in this world. On top of that, his connection with Alaya was now weakened considering the low amount of magical energy he was being supplied. There was also the question on how did he escaped the seal?

EMIYA sighed as he stored away those thoughts for now. He has always been a man of action so he will focus on the task at hand and deal with the rest later.

Waiving his glowing sword around, he was able to locate the entrance of the chamber. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that said entrance seemed to have collapsed and caved in.

"Things are never easy for me, are they?" he said with acceptance as he traced a sword with more destructive power in his free hand. If there was one universal truth, it was that EMIYA had E-rank luck no matter the world.

"This might take some time to get out of here," he said as he began to swing the sword.


In a forest in the middle of nowhere, all was quiet. It was a pleasant day as a warm breeze slowly ruffled the leaves of a tree that had a bird perched on one of its branches.

"Chirp, Chirp," the bird sang before it took flight over a lake where the warm afternoon sun could be seen clearly reflected in the water.

Suddenly, the image of the sun grew distorted as ripples passed over it that originated from the edge of the lake where a deer had its head lowered.

"Rustle, Rustle."

The sudden noise alerted the deer as it quickly lifted its head from the water it was drinking and turned towards the source.

A small squirrel was running around on the green grass looking for food.

With a flick of its tail and a snort, the deer lowered its head back down to continue drinking. The deer obviously saw no danger from the squirrel.

"Rustle, Rustle."

Meanwhile, the squirrel continued its search for food as it neared a pile of rocks.

It was yet again another peaceful day for this forest.

"KKKAAAABBOOOMM!"

Suddenly, a massive explosion came from the pile of rocks that caused all the birds to scatter and for the deer to run away like its life depended on it.

A massive dust cloud could be seen coming from where the pile of rocks used to be.

"Cough... Cough..."

A coughing man with a bicep over his mouth emerged from the cloud.

"Well, that could have gone better," EMIYA noted as he dismissed the two swords in his hands and looked around.

Trees around him were now collapsed and as black as the now dead grass. Also, small flames could be seen in random places. The most eye catching, however, was the bloody remains of what was once an innocent squirrel.

"That could have gone MUCH better," EMIYA corrected himself before scowling and moving towards the one place that was not completely devastated. The lake.

"Ha Ha Haa," he began to laugh in a deranged manner as he saw his reflection in the water.

Red hair, golden-brown eyes, and pale skin.

It's been quite some time since he had those features and it reminded him of his younger self that he just fought against in the fifth Holy Grail War. However, luckily, he still had his adult body and build. He would have spammed Excalibur on himself if he looked exactly like HIM.

Still, he found his appearance so ridiculous that he just had to laugh.

"Haa HHHAAA HHHHHHHHAAAAAAA!"

Some laughs later, EMIYA was finally able to re-compose himself as he wiped away a tear that had gathered in the corner of his eye.

Bending down and scooping some water in his hands, he proceeded to do what he originally intended to do by coming towards the lake.

To clean off the dust from the explosion that currently clung to him.

His pale hands moved on autopilot as he began to think about why he didn't notice his change of skin color sooner.

Not noticing the change of eye and hair color right away was understandable considering he can't see his own eyes or hair without some sort of mirror. However, he should have noticed the change of skin color sooner considering he was an observant person.

EMIYA paused briefly before resuming his movements again as he thought some more about it.

The chamber that he escaped from was pitch black and the glowing sword he traced only gave off so much light. Also, the dust cloud from the explosion he made during his escape did obscure his sight for some time so he guess he could let it go this time.

With one final splash, a cleaner EMIYA stood back up.

It was time that he left this place. Especially considering the explosion he made wasn't exactly subtle.

With that in mind, EMIYA took a step in a random direction and left the destroyed forest and the corpse of an innocent squirrel behind.


"Why do I have to be stuck here guarding this stupid gate?"

"Because that is what the boss told us to do."

The first speaker was a man in his late teens that wore nice black shoes and pants with an untuck white collared shirt. He also had short orange hair, multiple ear piercings, and a single mouth piercing. The most eye catching, however, were the large dragon tattoos on both of his forearms that his rolled-up sleeves exposed.

"But Koroshi," the first speaker spoke up again as he hit one of his first against the palm of his other hand. A big grin was on his face. "I want to crack some skulls."

"Relax Panku-san," the now identified Koroshi said as he took a hit of the cigarette in his hand. "There will be plenty of opportunities to fight in the future."

Koroshi was a man in his 30s that wore a full black suit with black sunglasses. He also had blond hair that was tied in a short ponytail.

"Finnee," Panku relented unwillingly as he accepted his elder's explanation.

As Koroshi observed Panku pace back and forth with impatience from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but think how far the kid has come.

The brat used to be like a rabid dog that would attack without reason and never listened to anyone. All he cared for was when his next fight would happen. The kid was a battle junkie through and through.

Now, while still quick to aggravate, Panku at least was willing to follow orders such as their current ones to guard the gate which was the only opening of the fence that surrounded the building where their boss was.

"Old man."

Koroshi's forehead gained a tik mark. If there was one thing that he wished the brat would grow out of, it was the disrespectful way the boy sometime addressed him by. Dammit, he was only 31!

"What is it?" he answered coolly while taking another hit of his cigarette, not letting his inner thoughts show.

"Give me a cig," Panku bluntly ordered while now standing in front of his partner with his hand outstretched.

At the mention of his addition, Koroshi went to take yet another hit of the stick between his fingers. However, instead of bringing it to his mouth like he had done previously, he stopped when it was inches away and silently observed it while having an internal debate.

Finally, he decided to drop it to the ground and stomp on it to put it out.

"Old man?" Panku asked in confusion, noticing the odd behavior. The guy always smoked when possible.

Instead of answering verbally, the older man reached inside the pocket of his suit and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Expertly, he nudged the pack until one of them was sticking out which he offered to the younger man.

The boy didn't reach for it immediately as he looked back and forth a couple of times from the pack to the face of his elder. An unspoken question was on the tip of his tongue.

Koroshi sighed before grabbing the cig that was sticking out. Then, he nudged the pack again, so another stick appeared.

Smiling now that the world made sense to him again, Panku grabbed the other cigarette.

Promptly, the older fellow replaced the pack of cigs with a lighter and in no time at all they were both enjoying their lit sticks.

"Excuse me."

The unexpected voice snapped them out of their bonding moment, and both turned towards the source to see a giant of a man with a gray cloak and piercing golden-brown eyes now standing in front of them.

"Is this the Dragon Palace?" EMIYA spoke up again to the two guards.

"Who's asking?" Koroshi responded while steeling his nerves. There was something about the tall man that was extremely off putting. Perhaps it was the way confidence was pouring off him in waves or the way his sharp eyes seem to take in every little detail around them?

"I am," EMIYA answered, smirking. "I have business to discuss with the leader that resides in the Dragon Palace."

"With the boss?" Panku said without thinking, causing the smirk on the confident man to widen.

Koroshi mentally facepalmed at his idiotic partner giving away information. "What kind of business?" he quickly asked, trying to take control of the conversation.

EMIYA observed the well-dressed man briefly turning a sharp glare which promised pain and worse of all, a long lecture, to the youngest of the three. Something he only could mentally offer his condolences to as he wasn't a stranger to the torture of long lectures. Rin could talk anyone's ears off and still she would just keep talking.

"Let's just say," he started when the man's eyes were back on him. "That I require the special skills of your organization for a certain task."

"Why should we listen to you?" Panku spoke up again, oblivious to the looks his partner was giving that told him to shut up. "Didn't you mommy every teach you to never get involved with the yakuza?"

EMIYA raised a single eyebrow in response.

"Maybe you should go back to her and continue sucking her breast before you get hurt," the brat continued with a taunting grin. "Her milk was quite tasty when I had some last night."

Well, the Counter Guardian had to admit that this punk had a way with words. However, he was hundreds of years too young if he thought he could one up him.

"My mom is dead," he delivered in a deadpan voice.

EMIYA couldn't remember who his mother was, but his gut was telling him that she died long before his own passing in life. Both his actual and his potential adoptive mother.

"Which means," he continued with a slowly rising smirk. "That you dug up her grave last night and sucked on her remains."

Both Panku and Koroshi's mouth hung wide open, and they unconsciously dropped their cigarettes.

"Unfortunately, what you thought was milk was only bone marrow," EMIYA continued.

He then began to talk slowly as if he was talking to a toddler. "They are both white in color, so it is not your fault that you thought it was milk."

After patting Panku's head a couple of times, he leaned in towards Koroshi and not so subtly whispered, "I would first take him to the police to report his crime of graverobbing, then to the hospital to flush his stomach and to get a quick check up. Who knows what diseases he could have picked up by digesting bone marrow?"

Briefly, the now fully smirking man glanced in the punk's direction whose fists were clenched tightly and shaking before turning back to the man he was "whispering" too.

"Finally, I would get him checked into one of those mental hospitals," he said before pausing for a second to deliver the killer blow. "I fear that he might go after my dead grandma's remains next."

"AAAHHH," Panku gave a battle cry before charging EMIYA. His rage was clearly seen by all in his narrowed eyes.

Slow. That was what EMIYA thought as he calmly moved his head to the right to avoid the fist that was aimed at his face. Then, he did... nothing.

Not giving up, Panku followed up with a right hook to his opponent's face.

The Counter Guardian leaned back just out of reach and watched the hand go by only inches from his face.

A kick to the side was next.

A hop back avoided it.

Sweeping of the legs.

A backflip to create some distance.

"Ha... Ha..."

"You done yet?" EMIYA asked the now panting boy as he leaned his back against the fence and had one eye closed. "I would like to get a move on."

"Unfortunately," a different voice responded. "We can't back down."

The Counter Guardian turned towards the source and saw Koroshi with his coat thrown off and in a boxer stance.

"Nothing personal," the still well-dressed man said while giving a resigned smile that told of his reluctance. "But we have a motto to never back down from a fight, no matter what."

"Ha..." Panku breathed more steadily now as he tensed his body to move again.

EMIYA released a sigh while closing both eyes as both the guards charged him.

"AAAAAHHH!" "..."

Suddenly, the warrior's eyes snapped open and he pushed off the fence.

"Smack!" "Smack!"

In a flash, both Panku and Koroshi laid on the ground defeated. Big red bumps were seen on each of their heads.

"So much for doing this as quietly as possible," EMIYA stated tiredly as he left the two downed men and moved to open the gate.

Causally, like he was taking an afternoon stroll, he entered a yakuza base.

"Click." "Click." "Click."

And immediately he was surrounded by over a dozen men with their pistols drawn and pointed right at him.

"Can't we tal-"

"POW!"

Slowly, everyone turned their gaze from the bullet now lodged in the fence to the guy that was holding a pistol whose barrel was now smoking.

"Really?" EMIYA had to question. "You couldn't even let me finish my sentence before you shot at me?"

"Yeah, not cool man."

"Everyone knows that it is common etiquette to let the other speak at least one sentence before firing."

"Dude!"

The other also started to chime in to reprimand their colleague.

"Sorry bro," the guy who prematurely fired finally apologized after a few more scolding from his co-workers. His free hand was rubbing the back of his head. "Please finish what you were going to say."

EMIYA nodded in satisfaction.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Like I was saying, can't we talk about this?"

"POW!" "POW!" "POW!"

Not surprisingly at this point, everyone opened fired at the Counter Guardian.

EMIYA, remaining calm, used his magecraft to reinforce his limbs just enough to avoid the bullets and charged the group.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!"

A voice from the front entrance screamed some moments later, causing everyone that was battling to pause and turn towards it.

A man dressed in a blue kimono was seen. He had short black hair, long sideburns, and a goatee. More importantly, he looked pissed.

"Boss!"

One of the still conscious yakuza shouted out in recognition.

"PANKU! KOROSHI!"

"Y-Yes!" "Yes!"

Both men answered their boss as they stumbled into the compound. Both still had large bumps on their heads.

"TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED AND MAKE IT QUICK!"

Both straightened their backs out at the very angry tone and stood rigid.

"This man here," Koroshi started before pointing at EMIYA. "Walked up to our home and told us that he had business with us."

"Yeah!" Panku continued. "Then the bastard insisted that I liked drinking bow marrow from dead women! I ONLY LOVE ALIVE TITITIES!"

The boss facepalmed at that ridiculous proclamation.

"Koroshi," he said after a moment while rubbing his forehead in hopes of fending off a growing headache. "Please for fuck's sake, explain."

"P-Panku and that guy traded insults which led to Panku attacking the guy."

Gulping to clear his throat, the well-dressed man continued.

"He retaliated and took both Panku and I out in no time at all before making his way into the compound. I-I think the rest is self-explanatory."

"My leg!"

As if it was timed perfectly, one of the now many down yakuza members groaned out in pain.

"But why did you and everyone else joined in on the fight?" the boss asked after taking a moment to digest the information and finding that he couldn't make sense of that bit of the explanation.

He knew Panku was a hot head, so it didn't surprise him that the brat got into a fight. However, he thought at least Koroshi knew better that to pick a fight with someone that was strong enough to single-handedly take out most of his men!

"BECAUSE OUR MOTTO IS TO NEVER BACK DOWN FROM A FIGHT, NO MATTER WHAT!" Panku answered with passion. A fire was burning in his eyes.

"Right, the motto..." the boss mumbled to himself.

Everyone still conscious noticed the boss began rubbing his goatee while lost in thought.

"Punka," the leader finally said after a moment, making a decision.

"Yes!" the young man responded enthusiastically, hoping he would get praise for upholding their motto.

"Stay here and keep your fucking mouth shut!"

Not waiting for a response, the boss turned to acknowledge EMIYA for the first time.

"You said that you had business with us?"

"Yes."

"Then follow me," the leader said while turning around and walking inside the building on the compound while thinking that he really needed to change their motto.

Shrugging, EMIYA went to follow.

"Excuse me."

Pausing, the Counter Guardian turned his head towards the voice.

"Look, I am really really sorry for interrupting you before so could you please set me down now?"

EMIYA was confused for a moment before realizing that he was gripping a man's shirt with one hand and using said grip to keep the man suspended in the air. He blinked rapidly several times as he processed that this man was the person who first shot at him, and he had been keeping the man in the air ever since the boss first spoke up.

"Oof!" the man cried out as he was dropped on his ass.

EMIYA could relate as he observed the man rubbing his butt. His ass and most importantly, his pride, still had phantom pain from when he fell after being released from his seal.

Shaking his head to banish his embarrassing thoughts, he focused back to the present.

As he made his way towards the building, EMIYA hoped this wouldn't take too much longer. It had already been a long day for the Counter Guardian.

"Thank you!" was the last thing he heard as he disappeared inside.


"Sip." "Sip."

In a room inside the Dragon's Palace, EMIYA could be seen sitting on his knees and drinking a glass of tea.

Across from Counter Guardian was the boss enjoying his own glass and further behind the leader and off to the side was Koroshi. Both yakuza members were sitting on their knees as well.

"So..." the boss began after setting down his cup, looking expectedly at the man in front of him.

"Archer," EMIYA supplied, answering the prompt.

"Hige Momiage," the leader introduced himself while not believing for one second that "Archer" was the guy's real name. "What can we help you with?"

If there was one thing that the Counter Guardian appreciated, it was someone who got straight to the point without beating around the bush. Blunt and direct was how he liked things.

"I would like for you to forge me a fake identity."

"Hmm..."

Hige started to stroke his goatee as he took a couple of seconds to think about the request.

It wasn't the task itself that drew his interest. In fact, he just had some fake identities made last week for some of his men. No, his attention was on figuring out who this person was and why would the guy want a fake identity?

Hitman. That was the logical conclusion he reached. The person some feet in front of him was a trained killer.

The boss moved a little uncomfortably at that deduction.

"Archer" had already demonstrated his fighting prowess earlier. In fact, Hige would even say that the man in front of him was the most skilled fighter he had ever seen. Not anyone can just walk into a yakuza base and defeat most of the people there without even breaking a sweat!

The boss stopped his stroking of his facial hair and looked straight into the eyes of the person across from him.

If he needed any more confirmation, those cold golden-brown eyes said it all. You don't get eyes like that unless you have seen and done some shit.

Flinching away from the person's gaze that seemed to stare straight at his soul, Hige thought about how a fake identity could help such a man. The answer came easy for someone in his line of business.

Having a fake identity meant that any action "Archer" took would not be traced to his real identity. This would allow him to move around and interact more freely since he wouldn't have to worry about repercussions down the line if he was ever discovered. Something that was very useful to a trained killer who needed to gather information before eliminating their target.

"I assume you know that such a service doesn't come cheap," Hige spoke up now that he was certain of his reasoning.

The stoic EMIYA nodded while saying, "I am aware."

Looking the yakuza boss square in the eye, he laid out his terms.

"I will take care of one task in exchange."

A shiver went down the boss's spine at those cold words. It was obvious what the task would be.

"Koroshi," he said while turning his head just enough to see his subordinate behind him. "Go and fetch the information we have on Ichidan Seiji."

Koroshi didn't question his boss's orders as he quickly bowed, stood up, and left the room.

"I take it that we have a deal then?" EMIYA, quick on the uptake, asked.

Smoothly, he stood up and walked over to the only other person in the room and lifted one of his arms out towards the boss.

The leader immediately stood up as well and shook the offered hand. "Yes, deal."

EMIYA, not wasting time, quickly ended the handshake and reached inside his cloak.

"This here will give you the details on what I would like my fake identity to have," he said while withdrawing a piece of paper from the folds of his cloths.

The leader immediately grabbed the paper when it was presented to him. His eyes began to move rapidly back and forth as he examined the content.

Unsurprisingly, it was very detailed, and the back story was well written. If it wasn't obvious to him already, the guy in front of him knew exactly what he was doing and what he wanted.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, snapping the leader out from his examination of the document.

"Boss," Koroshi spoke as he entered the room. "Here is everything on Ichidan Seiji."

EMIYA immediately took the papers that were offered to the boss, surprising the well-dressed man.

"I'll get to work immediately," he said as he quickly walked towards the entrance to exit the room.

Not long after, the Counter Guardian disappeared down the hallway.

"Shouldn't we have at least briefed him before he left?" Koroshi asked the only other person in the room after recovering from his shock of the abrupt exit of the mysterious man.

Hige, ignoring the question, responded "I am sure you noticed it too..."

"Yes," the well-dressed man answered in a loud whisper, fear was staining his voice. "That man is someone we would never want as an enemy."

"Agreed," the boss said while nodding.

Holding out the piece of paper in his hand, he ordered, "Take this and see to it immediately that a fake identity is made that matches exactly what is written here."

Koroshi took the document and bowed in acceptance.

"Good," the boss said. "Now if you will excuse me..."

Hige moved to exit the room.

Soon, there was only one man left.

"Well, I better get to it," the last man said while shifting uneasy on his feet, not knowing if he should be happy or not that his original gut feeling on "Archer" being dangerous was proven to be correct.

He suddenly sighed as he guessed that it didn't matter now.

Taking a deep breath, Koroshi moved to finally exit the room and to start on the job he was given. The following words were the only thing that was heard as he left.

"I need a smoke."


On top of a rooftop, the wind blew the cloak that EMIYA was wearing wildly. It was now evening, and the sun was setting behind him, painting the buildings and his back a beautiful orange. His sharp eyes were focused on a great distance in front of him as he thought back to his trip to this town.


On a nice afternoon with the sun shining down pleasantly, EMIYA was seen walking in parallel with some train tracks he found after many miles of traveling from the ruins in which he was sealed. Luckly, being a Counter Guardian meant that he didn't need to eat or sleep so he could keep moving without stopping.

Suddenly, the wind gently blew, shaking his cloak and the grass on the grasslands that surrounded him as he continued to take one step after another in hopes of finally reaching civilization.

"Choo-Choo!"

The unexpected sound of a horn caught him by surprise as he turned and saw that a train was coming from behind him.

Acting quickly, EMIYA tried to turn into spiritual form so he wouldn't be spotted. However, it seemed his current weakened link with Alaya somehow prevented him from doing so. This realization didn't cause him to panic though as he quickly went through his other options.

His brain worked a mile a second as he went through every item in Unlimited Blade Works in hopes of finding one that could hide him. Finally, after some seconds, he traced a magic cloth that he quickly wrapped around himself, causing him to disappear.

While it wasn't a sword, this cloth was powerful as it had the properties to conceal those wrapped in it, both physically and magically. He was lucky that he was able find such an item in a far corner of his world.

"Ha... Ha..." EMIYA breathed slightly out of breath with hands on his knees and his eyes staring at the ground.

It wasn't the first time he traced a powerful artifact that wasn't a weapon. A prime example was Rho Aias that he often used as a shield. The only problem was that it cost him a lot of magical energy since it wasn't close to a weapon.

Suddenly, the Counter Guardian felt a huge gust of wind as the train caught up to him and began to pass him.

Knowing that he couldn't waste the opportunity, he forced himself to stand up straight again and reinforced his legs.

Skillfully, EMIYA ran to match the speed of the train before jumping on the roof of it.

His next action was to then trace a sword and to stab it down to keep himself from falling off.

Exhausted now, the Counter Guardian rested up there as the train carried him to town.


Snapping back to the present, EMIYA traced his black bow. His eyes sharply followed a car as he thought back to what he confirmed when the train led him to this town.

He was in the 21st century, hundreds of years in the future from when he was originally sealed. EMIYA first had his suspicions that was the case when he observed the modern looking train, and it grew even more when he observed the bustling train station.

Flatscreen TVs displaying the trains' schedule, electronic gates, electric lights, and vending machines. Not to mention how all the people there seemed to have a cell phone they were messing around with as they waited.

However, the most glaring evidence was the skimpy clothes the girls there were causally wearing. Seriously, one girl's skirt was so short that he felt like he would be arrested for sexual harassment if he got caught just looking in her direction. Only 21st century girls would wear such clothing.

EMIYA sighed as he cleared such thoughts from his head. He certainly was no prude and had his fair share of experiences with the opposite sex. However, he was not a pervert that would openly ogle young women.

"Caw!"

A crow suddenly screeched as it landed on the roof that the Counter Guardian was on. Its black eyes observed the man standing there for a second before blinking and moving to preen itself.

The Counter Guardian paid the bird no mind as the car he was tracking in the distance slowly started to come to a stop in front of a hotel.

Silently, he raised the black bow in his hand as he waited for his target to appear from it.

Ichidan Seiji. That was the name of the man he agreed to kill for the yakuza in exchange for the fake identity.

If there was one thing that made the 21st century a difficult time to be in, it was how connected everything was through technology. This made it very difficult to move around freely without some sort of identity in the system.

After all, the police eventually would be involved if he didn't have an ID, but more importantly, it would raise unwanted questions to those whose interest he didn't want to hold when they went to investigate him. Therefore, getting a fake identity was priority one for the Counter Guardian, especially since he would have to be sneakier than usual because of his weakened state.

"Caw!"

The crow screeched again as it took off from the building. Some of its loose black feathers slowly began to fall to the ground as EMIYA traced Hrunting in his free hand and began to modify it.

Hrunting was the magical sword used by the Hero Beowulf when he was alive. It had the ability of sensing and tracking its wielders enemies so that an ordinary swing of it would launch the most optimal slash towards them. While a powerful Noble Phantasm in its own right, the Counter Guardian found its abilities of more use as an arrow.

EMIYA suddenly noticed that Ichidan Seji was now leaving his car as he finished up making Hrunting more aerodynamic.

Not wanting to waste his opening, the Counter Guardian raised his bow while loading the modified magical sword. He then pulled the sting back and took aim at the man.

Suddenly, his mind started to go a mile a second as he thought about the information he was given on his target.

Ichidan was no saint. He was a corrupt politician who was in the pocketbook of a rival gang to the yakuza who EMIYA entered into an agreement with. Because of him, the rival gang have been able to get away with drug trafficking and money laundering. Worse of all, they were able to get away with human trafficking. It was also written on the report that he kept some of the prettier women for his own personal use.

Ichidan Seiji was a man who deserved to die and yet...

EMIYA's hand on the drawn bow string tightened.

Was killing this corrupt politician the right thing to do? Wouldn't it be better if he worked to expose Ichidan's crime instead and get him sent to jail?

"Thump."

EMIYA released the arrow.

Immediately, the Noble Phantasm shot off faster than any bullet as it became a red streak in the sky as it raced towards its target.

Ichidan never saw it coming as the arrow flew through the center of the back of his head like a hot knife through butter and continued until it found its final resting place some meters deep into the concrete below.

"This is the only way," EMIYA whispered to himself as he observed the gush of blood shooting out of the holes in the politician's head as the body collapsed like a puppet whose strings were cut.

He needed the fake identity and the only organizations who offered such services were the criminal ones. Sure, he could have traced a ton of money and paid that way. However, that would only raise questions to the people of such organizations about who he was and how he got the money in the first place. Questions that he didn't want them to try to find the answers to.

No, it was better that he killed someone instead as his business partner would then know what would happen to them if they pried into his history or if they double crossed him. EMIYA wanted the yakuza to be so scared of him that they wanted nothing to do with him.

He wasn't as skilled of a Magus as Rin, who could manipulate memories. He wouldn't have to go through all this trouble if he could just wave his hand and get that fake identity before erasing his very existence from everyone's memories.

EMIYA shockingly noticed that his hand that was still gripping his black bow was shaking.

"Ha Haa," the Counter Guardian giggled at the sight.

He was a man who has taken many lives and who had grown numb to it all. At least that was what he used to think, but it looked like that wasn't the case anymore.

"Fuck," EMIYA cursed as he dematerialized the bow and let his hands fall to his side.

This used to never be a problem before. Was it because he was breaking his promise to Rin?

"I tried already, Rin," the Counter Guardian said while looking at the sky. Memories of his actions when he first came to this world flooded his mind.

"And look where it got me," he said bitterly as he remembered the day he got sealed.

Obviously, the only way was to kill as it had been for all his time serving as a Counter Guardian.

Reaffirming his decision, EMIYA turned his back away from the scene of the dead politician. Hopefully, he will grow numb to it all again.

Moments later, the sun that was painting the buildings a beautiful orange had now set as the darkness slowly encroached on the now empty rooftop.


"Boss, Archer-san has returned."

Hige didn't acknowledge what Koroshi said or even move a muscle from his position of kneeling in front of a shrine located at the far corner of the room. His eyes were shut, and his hands were clasped together in prayer.

"Bring him here," he finally said, still not moving.

"Yes sir," Koroshi immediately answered before bowing. He then backed up and closed the door to the room before disappearing down the hallway.

Soon, the only noise that could be heard in the room was the slowly burning incense that was placed inside the shrine just before a picture of a beautiful women who appeared to be in her 40s.

The boss's clasped hands started to shake as he thought about what he saw on the news just a short while ago.

Ichidan Seiji was now dead which should have brought on feelings of happiness as that man had been a thorn on his side for a long time. However, only dread filled him as "Archer" accomplished what he had been trying to do for years in only a couple of hours. Worse still was how the man accomplished it.

A cold sweat ran down the back of the Hige's neck.

He had seen videos that people already uploaded to the internet of Ichidan's final moments.

A clean shot right through the center of the head. It was a perfect kill.

Suddenly, a knock was heard.

"Enter," the boss immediately answered, doing all he could to keep the fear out of his voice.

The door to the room immediately slid open and EMIYA entered the room.

"It is done."

That cold voice caused a shiver to go down Hige's spine. Somehow, the very dark aura that "Archer" seemed to be emanating was stronger than it was when they met earlier in the day.

"T-The documents are on the table," the leader said, unable to stop himself from stuttering slightly. "P-Please wait a few days for the information to properly process in the system before using them."

The only answer he received was the closing of a door.

Soon, the only noise heard from the room once again was the burning of incense.

Finally, after staying still for some minutes, the boss mustered up the courage to open his eyes and turn towards the entrance of the room.

"Ahhhh" he released the huge breath he didn't even know he was holding when he confirmed that he was truly alone. Absentmindedly, he also noticed that the documents that used to be on the table located in the center of the room were now gone.

Turning back towards the shrine, Hige began praying once again to his late wife. This time, included in his prayer was that he will never have the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with "Archer" ever again.


A few days later, EMIYA stood in the middle of a train platform where he was surrounded by loads of other people. His gray cloak was now gone and instead he wore an unbutton long-sleeved collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Underneath the shirt was a simple white tank top. Also, he had on dark blue pants that were held up by a black belt. White tennis shoes completed the look.

"Please stay back as the train is now approaching."

He absentmindedly heard over the intercom as he thought about what he was going to do next.

Now that he had the fake identity, the next step would be to find out what was happening on the supernatural side of things. This meant that he had to search for someone who was in the know that could answer his many questions such as what exactly happened after he got sealed? Also, more importantly, why were they still in the Age of Gods in the 21st century?

"The train doors are now opening. Please wait until the passengers have exit before boarding."

EMIYA suddenly heard the intercom's voice again as he adjusted the belt of his pants and next thought about how he came to own it.

A few days ago, he ran an experiment of modifying the cloth that he had worn many times now to conceal his physical presence. The cloth was special because it concealed both the physical and magical presence of anything wrapped in it.

This got him thinking if he could use his projection magecraft to modify it to only conceal magical presences. The experiment ended up a success, he even modified it into a belt so it wouldn't look out of place on him, but it left him completely exhausted and drained of magical energy for the next day or so.

The Counter Guardian sighed as he focused back to the present.

The belt should keep his identity as a Magus hidden from most supernatural beings. Also, his appearance of red hair, golden-brown eyes, and pale skin should help keep him from being identified by anyone that he met in this world in the past, if they were still alive.

With that in mind and now noticing that no one else was exiting, EMIYA moved to board the train.

Kyoto seemed like the place to go to search for supernatural beings with its history and a big city like Tokyo would increase the odds of encountering one. However, those places also seemed the likeliest to come across big groups with powerful leaders. Something he didn't want to deal with at this stage as he wanted more information before he started to make any big moves.

Information on others was especially important to him now that his magical energy was lowered so he didn't end up in a fight against someone who he couldn't beat.

Therefore, the Counter Guardian decided that he would search the smaller towns around him first in hopes of encountering a supernatural being that wasn't strong and didn't have any ties to someone powerful.

"The doors are now closing."

EMIYA suddenly heard as he tried to make himself comfortable on a seat on the train. Twisting and turning restlessly, he just couldn't find the right spot

His logic was sound so why did he have this feeling of dread that he was going to the worst possible place to gather information quietly?

A few seconds later the Counter Guardian sighed as he finally stopped moving and settled in.

"Oh well, I guess I will deal with whatever happens."

With those final words spoken by him, the train started moving.

Not long after the train left the station, a TV that had the listings of the train schedule started to update its information.

Next to the word "Kuoh Town" under destinations, the word "Arrived" switched to "Departed".