The hallways that the JSDF forward operating base had were utilitarian to the extreme. With the possibility of enemy action, it was a necessity. The entire floor plan was made to funnel everyone outward, allowing for the quick deployment of anyone inside it.

It was intuitive, with how the hallways always pointed to the exit.

It was both a blessing and a curse. The former because it allowed the three of them to navigate the place without Shirou having to guide the other two. The latter because Reines already had a head start.

The scent of mercury filtered through the air as the sounds of commotion could be heard outside. No doubt, the other two had heard it, as even Waver had picked up speed.

Soon enough, they were outside. Shirou was already opening his mouth to speak, ready to defuse whatever situation may have unfolded due to the blonde's machinations.

He needn't have bothered.

Reines was standing off to the side, Trimmau next to her. While the JSDF, Hazma included, were looking at the metallic maid that was certainly not there when they had entered, their main attention was still drawn elsewhere. As was everyone else's, including Shirou himself.

Hard not to, considering that there was something surrounded by the natives.

It stood, at most, at his chest height. Wearing a motif that resembled gothic lolita, all black with red accents, and topped off with a bow on its head. In its hand, it held a halberd, taller than even Shirou himself.

It also wasn't human.

It wasn't human.

His eyes had been drawn to the weapon the moment he had stepped out. He had immediately, instinctually, Traced it. It was a habit that had saved his life more than once. To know what the enemy is capable of in mere seconds was a valuable tool that he had used to his advantage over the years.

He saw Death.

He saw Chaos.

He saw Fire.

Because that was what this thing was.

For over nine hundred years, a creature that had caused untold death and destruction, killed uncountable living beings. A creature that had been chosen to be an avatar of Divinity.

"What is that thing?" It seemed that he wasn't the only one that had noticed it. Waver stood beside him, his earlier panting from the run a thing of the past. He stared at the figure that held the uncanny appearance of a young girl.

Shirou resisted the urge to Trace a weapon - any weapon. With the creature in the middle of the base like this, it could kill just about everyone here before he could even react. He opened his mouth to answer, the words coming out a near whisper.

"An Apostle."

…

Dead Apostles. Bloodsuckers. Vampires. Creatures that had haunted the planet since who knows how long. Creatures that Shirou had hunted down with extreme prejudice in the past.

He knew that the title of Apostle wasn't exactly the same as Dead Apostle, but the sheer amount of coincidence there was too much to ignore. Rapid regeneration. Strength in spades. Speed to rival Servants. Literal immortality.

He saw them all within the history of the halberd that the Apostle held.

Not only that, but he felt disgusted by the sheer euphoria he had seen through it. The euphoria that it experienced at each and every bit of blood the Apostle spilled.

He of all people knew to not judge individuals by what they were called. If he did, then Shirou himself should've been as cold and merciless as any of the other Enforcers. In this case though, as he stared at the Apostle that stood among them, he couldn't help but let this be an exception.

Tens of thousands had been personally killed with that weapon. He saw them all. He saw the way that the Apostle would engage in each and every single one with a smile and a laugh.

Even throughout the years he'd spent hunting down whoever he needed to, he hadn't seen anything like that.

Magi often did the things they did for the sake of their research. The greater good. There were some of them that relished the feeling of murdering their fellow man, but even those individuals were doing it for reasons other than that.

"Lady Mercury," Adrianne, Grand Elder that she was, bowed her head to the Apostle, even as the crowd of people around them continued to talk animatedly, "It's an honor to have a Priestess of Emroy in our midst. While we cannot give thou a proper welcome, know that thou are always welcome."

"Oho? Adrianne, is that you? " The Apostle leaned forward, a curious look on its face, "I haven't seen you since you were a little girl! My, how you've grown!"

"I thank thee, Lady Mercury, for thine compliments."

"Lady Valliere." Shirou cut in, walking through the smiling crowd. None of them looked worried, which was itself worrying to Shirou. Just how ingrained was this Apostle to this society to have its residents glad to have it there?

"May I ask just who this is?" If anyone noticed the tenseness of his words, nobody said anything. Adrianne nodded, a soft smile on her face. She gestured towards the figure, who now eyed him with an inscrutable look.

"To Lord Emiya and his comrades, may I introduce Lady Rory Mercury, Apostle and Priestess of Emroy. And to thee, Lady Mercury, shall I introduce Lord Shirou Emiya, Dragonslayer, Spirit Loved, and Friend to us of Coan Forest."

"Oho? Dragonslayer?" The look in it's - her, he corrected himself. It would be bad optics to slip up in public - changed to one of intense interest, "Might you be the one who slew Rubrasax?"

"I am." There was no denying it. Doing so would only bring the Apostle's ire onto him, and likely everyone behind him.

"And the one responsible for the delectable scent in the battlefield over there?"

"...I am."

"Oh, how delightful!" Rory's voice had a deceptively playful tone, "I do love a man with a taste for battle. It's been quite a while since I've met someone as intriguing as you, Dragonslayer."

Shirou remained stoic, his eyes locked onto the Apostle. Despite the height difference being comical, he still felt that he was staring down at something far beyond him.

For the most part, he was. The Apostle in front of him was closer to a full Heroic Spirit than human. She was every bit as strong as a Servant, with nearly none of the downsides. She didn't need mana, instead being fueled by the fear and death of her enemies.

Where Rubrasax, being a dragon, was capable of wanton destruction, it had still been a truly living creature. Had it gone and tried to destroy the world, it would've gotten tired and rested at some point or the other.

Rory Mercury didn't have that weakness.

Every battlefield that she went through, every slaughter recorded in that damnable halberd of hers, he could only see her getting stronger and stronger during a battle. Indeed, it was jarring to see that she was technically weaker before a battle, having not 'ramped up' as it was.

"Hmmmmm~" The smile on Mercury's face increased, and Shirou could feel the increasing pressure in the air, "I wonder-"

"Emiya, don't be rude." Waver's voice cut the pressure in half, the no-nonsense tone making everyone blink in response. Actually, now that he thought about it, even Shirou had to blink. Waver had spoken in the local language, with barely any hesitation whatsoever.

Giving the older man a look, the Lord shrugged, and replied back in English, "I was given an informational packet earlier. It's fairly easy if you already know a bit of Latin."

Transitioning back into Latin, he spoke once more, "Well? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Coughing slightly, and more than a bit thankful at the interruption for something that could have been violent, Shirou gestured to the four of them, Reines and Trimmau having joined them soon after Waver's somewhat rude words.

"Ah, my apologies. Lady Valliere, this is Lord Waver Velvet, the Lord of Modern Magecraft, Lady Reines El-Melloi Archisorte, head of the El-Melloi family, as well as their assistants, Miss Gray and Miss Trimmau ." He winced slightly at the introduction of Gray. As much as the others didn't care either way, he felt it was somewhat rude to still introduce Gray as nothing more than an 'assistant'.

"They're ambassadors," He ignored the near silent click of Waver's tongue, "for the Clock Tower, the organization for which I work for."

"Ah!" The frown that had formed on Adrianne's features, directed to Waver, was erased as they were introduced, "Lord Velvet, Lady El-Melloi, forgive mine lack of decorum. Lord Emiya has done mine people a great service. Any ally of his is an ally to me and mine."

"The sentiment is much the same." Waver nodded, "If Emiya trusts you, then my trust is with him as well."

Not. The stink eye that Waver had perfected over the years was being directed over to Shirou. Those unfamiliar with them would only assume that the Lord was only giving Shirou a measuring glance. Those that did, knew that, in reality, it was Waver's polite way of telling someone that they had fucked up.

And, if he was being honest, Shirou genuinely did.

Waver had read through the reports, and Shirou knew for a fact that the testimonies of the elves had been taken into account. Some of which contained evidence that Shirou said that he had represented the Clock Tower.

Ordinarily, it would've been smart to nip that in the bud, deny it, and say that Shirou was acting on his own. The situation was anything but.

The Enforcer had killed a dragon.

Had Waver revoked Shirou's representation, their loose claim to any dragon parts was null and void. Had so much a whisper of that tidbit ever made it back to the Clock Tower, Waver and Reines would both be ripped apart by every faction in it.

And now, with the deferential manner in which Shirou introduced them, it was implied that he was the Enforcer's boss.

"Now that we've got the introductions out of the way, why don't we head on inside? Surely that's better than standing around out here?" Reines spoke up, her eyes glistening with glee with the entire situation. He was completely unsurprised to hear her speak Latin, "Oh, and Lady Adrianne, you surely have to tell me where you got that dress, it looks absolutely wonderful!"

Judging by the nervous laugh that Gray let out, and the sharp intake of breath from Waver, he wasn't alone in thinking that Reines talking with the leader of the elves was a good idea.

…

"I must say, I don't think I've ever had a meal quite like this!"

Mercury held up a small plate of curry. Reines had decided, without anyone else's input, to have their little meeting in the cafeteria. With no other choice, and Reines already dragging Adrianne while animatedly talking to her, all of them had followed after her.

Much to the frustration of nearly everyone else.

Speaking of which, he hadn't found time to inform the JSDF of the nature of just what was Rory Mercury. He didn't know how sharp her hearing was, so risking it was a no go. Instead, he had positioned himself directly in between the regular humans and the Apostle, ready to act should she try anything.

Thankfully, both Waver and Gray had an idea of what was going on. Waver had placed himself just a bit to his right, his cigar - his preferred method on casting a Bounded Field - was in his mouth, ready to lit at a moment's notice.

Gray meanwhile was right behind him, her arm inconspicuously gripping the cage that held Add. He knew from Analyzing it that the cage door was already open, and that she was ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

Thankfully, they didn't have to do anything, the Apostle having been too engrossed in looking at whatever it was that peaked her interest. The concrete road, paved for efficiency. The uniforms. And most definitely the food.

It was almost cute, the way she fluttered around. Only almost, as more than one person had to dodge lest her halberd strike them in the head.

"Ah~! Compliments to the chef!" Mercury finished her curry with a smile, "Now, down to business, shall we?" She took a glance at the pair of Reines and Adrianne, the two of them now sharing a pot of tea.

"Shirou Emiya, was it?" Her gaze snapped towards him, and the Enforcer had Reinforced his body immediately, already not liking the tone she had used.

"Lord Emroy has taken a liking to you, it seems."

A pit in his stomach formed. Emroy. God of Death, Destruction and War. He knew that the possibility of Divinity was closer to reality than none, and yet, he hadn't encountered one yet.

For a Priestess, an Apostle, to the God of Death to tell him that he had gotten its attention was surely Fate's way of screwing with him once again.

"Alright, I've had enough." Hazama spoke in Japanese, "What the hell is going on, Emiya?"

The Enforcer was glad for the distraction. He really needed it.

…

A/N: If you like what I do and want to support me, check out my P-atreon at P-atreon•com(slash)Almistyor.

And a special thanks to: Oliver vazquez, brutalcrab and Tassimo.