Chapter 1: The Moonlit World.
Kuoh Town is nothing extraordinary.
On the surface, it was just a regular town with a population above what it should be. But somehow people still found it alluring in a hypnotical sense. Was it because this town houses Kuoh Academy which is perhaps one of the most prestigious academies in Japan? Maybe. But that was the only thing that made this place stand out from the crowd of countless more notable and buzzing cities.
The rest are painfully ordinary.
Average people.
Average infrastructure excluding Kuoh Academy.
Average minimum wage for hard-working people.
Kuoh was average to ordinary, to the people that is.
Because at night unexplained phenomena happen. Occurrences that would make a regular, unseasoned human quake in their boots happen every night and with no end. Countless paranormal activities which include the supposed disappearance of people, be it adults or be it children, only to be then found brutalized and barely recognizable.
Many people proposed that this was the work of a Serial Killer, a rather sadistic one; a proposal that ignored one single fact: there were no recorded murders this brutal.
But even with such outrageous claims, they were still mistaken.
It was not the work of a sadistic man. It was rather the work of hideous creatures that lurked about during the night: Beasts that regular humans are unaware of, things that originated from the other side or simply: The Moon-lit world; a world filled with mysteries, power and abilities.
A world where these creatures are commonplace.
A world where people, or rather, Devils that resided on it, regarded these beasts as nothing but an inconvenience, as if they were mere insects and rightfully so. Even an infant was capable of facing one with a high chance of victory.
It was an inconvenience for them, yes, but it certainly was not for the human masses. And since Kuoh is their territory, the higher echelons of power assigned rightful people to protect these poor humans from further harm. These people carried out orders from the higher ups to eliminate any threats that were looming over the town.
As such, the sudden and abrupt appearance and vice versa of these beasts for the last few months was rather troublesome. These people were irritated, angered even, in their belief they are the only ones who have the right to fix The problem at hand and such belief took them to the belief that there was a second culprit, which brought them another problem to fix yet again much to their dismay.
But
Even after countless days of searching for these culprits, it bore no fruit, it bore no leads, and they certainly did not have a clear suspect.
It was only a suspicion; a suspicion that one of the culprits was from Kuoh.
And they were right to some extent.
One of the deemed culprits was a boy who had messy brown hair with red strands flowing through it. He had brown-amber eyes nearing the color of gold. This boy was known as the former leader of the perverted trio: Hyoudou Issei or simply, if the soul was included in the equation: Emiya Shirou.
The last few months that he has been here have been rather tiring.
He eliminated these creatures under the radar, while simultaneously trying to find the very answer to the predicament he was in. But unfortunately, the trek for a clear answer only caused him to suffer from a lack of sleep and severe stress; brought on by the pressure weighing on his shoulders. Such effort held no notable value, excluding the fact that he discovered that the "Moon-lit World" existed in this world as well.
Everyday, within the compounds of the academy, their suspicious glares bore a hole in his soul.
At first he could not determine, exactly, who they were. But gradually, he started to see through the facade of clubs such as the Occult Research Club and the Student Council, feeling that from those clubs, where some of the observers came from.
Rias Gremory, her presence is that of a sickly sweet, yet bloodlusting 'Devil' that seeks to take advantage when the prey is vulnerable. Shitori Sona, whose presence is that of vast expanses of water like an ocean, yet it is still and tranquil - like that of still yet deadly water.
Those two's presence felt distinctly like that of the 72 pillars, yet it was far inferior.
But even though he could take them on with relative ease, he simply could not take the risk.
After all, how could he go against legions upon legions of those creatures without anyone's aid?
Of course, in Archer's simple words: It would be suicidal for a mere faker like him.
But even outside the compound, there were still presences that observed him; beings that did not reside in the academy. Their presence felt similar yet different, as it was far more concentrated, and far more malevolent than the ones that resided within the Academy. Apart from that, these beings' sight was not only limited to the expanses of the Academy, but rather, they were spread everywhere.
He could feel them everywhere he went and whenever.
He ignored them, wanting to prioritize his goal first which worked, at first. But when he was able to project a noble phantasm after months of trying, it only served to awaken their sight set upon him and intensify it.
"Yawn…"
Their soul-drilling glares only made it harder for Shirou to find a way to achieve his goal: To go back to his loved ones and restore this body's real soul: the soul of Hyoudou Issei. Fortunately, he does know that the only answer to his problem is: The so-called Wizard Marshal, the wielder of the famous jeweled sword; a gateway to infinite universes.
The Wizard Marshal was the only one Shirou could think of that knew how Heaven's ritual works and the only one who had the ability to transport him from this world to his old one. He could be his lifesaver, his solution. But even then, he had no way of finding where he was, even if that man had access to all parallel universes.
To summarize, it felt as if he was aiming for nothing.
He was still as lost as he was before.
The bell rang, subjecting Shirou out of his train of thought.
His expression depicts tiredness to the highest degree, his eyes depict a myriad of kaleidoscopic emotions.
He grabbed his Bento and then made his way through a crowd of people that were presumably making their way to the cafeteria, with a different destination in mind. He found it irritating to eat in the cafeteria as it would be too disruptive to his thoughts and it would be harder to detect threats that way.
The Academy's rooftop was the perfect spot for him; its tranquil nature made him think clearly.
As he arrived, he opened the door.
Wind blew to his face like a whistle, therefore refreshing him.
A heavy smile crept up his face, appreciating the weather's usual welcome. He approached a corner then sat slowly, settling himself gracefully. He closed his tired eyes and clasped his hands together, as if relaxing his thoughts. He opened his eyes. A different radiance leaked as he then uttered a quick prayer.
"Itadakimasu"
He opened the bento, wanting to savor the taste of his homemade meal as if it was his last.
But to his dismay, the door creaked, revealing a petite girl who had short white hair with the pin of a small cat, monotone hazelnut eyes and an emotionless face. She was dressed in the female and petite version of his uniform. Overall, she presented herself as if she was a petite girl and yet, she seemed to be quite menacing even in his eyes.
He furrowed his brows as he saw the girl settle herself not far from him. He felt a faint demonic presence surrounding her, which felt identical to those he had hunted, albeit the only difference is that theirs was darker, more corrupt than the girl was emitting.
But that does not change the fact that the girl screamed of danger.
He knew that at that moment, she posed a greater threat compared to those beasts. Even so, he maintained his straight expression as he visualized a pair of noble phantasms within his mind, ready to trace them if need be.
He never would have thought that they would make a move on him, but he was mistaken. No matter the effort he spent trying to hide himself in the shadows, it would be all for naught because in this very moment, the chances of who he deemed 'stalkers' attacking were the highest it could ever be.
To his surprise however, the majority of the lunch break has already passed, and yet, she does not show any signs of aggression. She was just sitting there, nibbling on her sweets ever so slightly. But even though she presented a facade of an innocent girl, his guard did not drop.
It could be that she was stalling him.
The girl glanced in his direction from time to time, as if observing him. The last glance however, was longer than the previous ones. This led him to avert his gaze from her, feeling her eyes observing him. To play along, he grasped a pair of chopsticks then started to feed himself, at least until her gaze was averted away from him.
But despite that, the feeling still remained.
He was confused as to why she was still observing him with no regards of decency. And then he realized that this could be a chance to confront one of them without raising that much suspicion, as this could count as a case of attempted 'stalking'.
"He-" The words that he was supposed to utter were caught in his throat as he glanced at the girl's expression. It brought him emotions and feelings he thought that he threw away. Nostalgia, he felt it at that moment. A smile slowly crept up his face as she stared at the girl, whose expression was of curiosity and excitement - an expression that reminded him of someone he once cared for.
"Hey…"
The girl then averted her gaze from the Bento, her head robotically craning upwards. Her gaze then focused on his face with an expression of surprise.
"Do you want some? I can share," he asked with a nostalgic smile. He stared at the girl that brought him, albeit temporarily, happiness.
To his surprise, she nodded quickly as she drooled at the thought of devouring what's inside.
Upon seeing that reaction, he could not help but chuckle lightly. Despite potentially being one of his enemies, she was acting rashly. She subjected herself with no effort to protect herself. Such behavior was something unique even to Archer's eyes that he too has.
"Here" he exclaimed as he slowly made his way toward the girl, handing it and a pair of chopsticks with it.
When the girl received the Bento, she quaked in excitement. She was taken aback, as the one who she should observe closely gave her his meal without any hesitation.
The meal itself looked appetizing than it already was. She grasped the chopsticks then swiftly devoured the meal, burping afterwards with no regards to decency.
"U-uh-" he uttered. The girl then handed him the Bento back, not a single grain of rice nor a sliver of sauce left. He was taken back by the appetite of the girl, thinking that it was impossible for someone to devour a full course meal in just a second, and yet here he was, marveling at the feat done in front of him.
"Thank you, Kind Senpai," the girl thanked. She slowly stood up from her place, wiping away the last trace of rice from her face, a small yet grateful smile on her face.
"Welcome…" The thought of an attack dissipated in his mind, but he was still cautious.
The bell's ring then echoed throughout campus, signifying that the break was now over.
Upon hearing the sound, she approached the door at a fast pace, which made it obvious that she was hurrying for something.
"Wait!" he exclaimed which made the girl halt
"I'll bring extra next time around, er-"
Her name came to his mind, though a bit hazy.
"Koneko!" he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
The girl turned her attention back to him as a microscopic smile crept up her face.
"Thank you" the girl uttered as she made her way out of the academy's rooftop.
Sighing, he stood up, wrapping his empty Bento, staring at where the girl once was.
"Sooner or later…"
His eyes bathed in the masterfully mixed hue of red and yellow in front of him; its kaleidoscopic glory he appreciates.
Classes had already ended, seeing as his classmates had left. But instead of going with them, he stayed, wanting to help the teacher carry his files and folders that were used for this day.
Despite refusing at first, the teacher ended up abiding, seeing that Shirou was insistent on doing so. Reluctantly, the man handed him the stack of files. "Hyoudou, just remember not to drop the files since they'll be used tomorrow. Understand?" The teacher warned with a firm tone.
"Noted" Shirou held the stack of folders in his arms. He carried them to the faculty room - a room long empty at this point. "Uhm, where do I put this, sir?" he asked.
The man pointed at the desk "There…"
Shirou nodded. He approached the desk then set the stack of folders, which he did with the utmost care to not scatter at the ground. "There…"
A smile crept up the man's face, appreciating Shirou's kind gesture.
"No problem, sir," Shirou responded, bowing as he did so.
"You really have changed! From a shameless pervert to a helpful and kind man!" The man exclaimed in happiness. "At first, that abrupt change in character made me wonder if someone accidentally possessed your body!" He teased with a wide smile.
A joke that the man thought would be nothing for his student in the long run hit Shirou hard; his guilt resurfacing within. But he made it seem like it was nothing as he shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"But I know! I know! I am just joking! Of course possession is impossible!" Only if this man knew "You've changed as a person, Hyoudou Issei! I hope you keep that going!"
Shirou forced a smile to form, a forceful but cheerful persona emerging from within.
"Farewell, sir! Keep safe as always!" Shirou bid farewell, bowing respectfully.
"Farewell as well, Hyoudou Issei! Be careful where you go! There are a lot of missing teens these days!" the man exclaimed, waving his student good-bye.
Shirou returned the gesture, smiling heavily as he did so. After that, he made his way out of the faculty room with as much respect as he could muster.
He passed by halls where students grew increasingly rare to be seen. He headed to the widely open gate where the road was bustling with cars and lights.
Exiting the premises, he ran up the bridge that lay before him, passing on the other side of the street as he continued his trek towards his home.
The city was a light show, different infrastructures of varying heights littered his view; a normal sight.
But, alas he finally arrived at his destination.
It was a residence with two floors; a house average in all aspects. But despite being painfully ordinary, he appreciated it as it was the place that he now calls home, and perhaps it would be for the foreseeable future.
He approached the door then turned its knob slowly, careful not to shock the people who resided within.
As the door creaked in welcome, he was greeted by a familiar sight: A man in his fifties, comfortably settling himself on a couch on which he was immersing himself with a newspaper, which covered the entirety of the man's peripheral.
A heavy smile crept up his face, seeing the sight before him. And yet despite that persona, his heart was heavy.
Hyoudou Gorou, Hyoudou's father, was average in all aspects. The man has an average job, salary and an average life, living oblivious to the existence of the Moon-lit world. It was the same for his spouse, Hyoudou Miki.
They were an unsuspecting couple unaware of the beasts and creatures that lurked about in the shadows. But that fact did not stop them from being suspicious of his alleged change of personality, hobby and the change occurring in his brown hair over time.
Though fortunately, he was able to convince them otherwise that he wanted to change his appearance and become another person altogether; a lie that he based on Hyoudou Issei's dream.
They had doubts, yes, but they still believed him by innocently correlating his lie to Hyoudou's dream.
That made his heart sink even more.
"Yo son!" But when he saw his son's expression, his mood turned sour. "Hey, what's wrong?" But then as if he realized something, the man smiled cheekily "Did girls reject you again?"
"Of course not!"
Once again, he imitated Hyoudou's personality. Within him, guilt once again arose. But he would rather keep it within him.
He set his sling bag on the opposite side of the couch; heading to the kitchen solemnly to immerse himself in the only thing keeping him sane.
It was now time.
After being lost in a sea of thoughts, he stood up from the comfort of his bed.
"Trace"
It was a body suit belonging to Archer; a suit made of unknown metal. Alongside it was a crimson shroud and a red cloth, both having been made by a certain agency. Both began to be visualized and processed by his machine-like mind, forming as if they were made out of jigsaw puzzles.
…On…
The circuits connected to his soul flared to life, thus materializing in a flash of light.
The suit fell out of his grasp, which he quickly caught. Gently, he set the battle suit on his bed, neatly fixing it. He took off his clothes which revealed an impossibly lean and athletic body; a figure that he earned through the battles he has withstood up to this point, as well as the training he imposed on himself and this vessel.
Wasting no time, he donned his suit and the shroud in a flash. Upon doing so, he took a quick glance in the mirror; seeing the body's poor state of hair, he styled it upwards in the style of Archer's hair. He covered half of his face with a red cloth, thus sealing away his identity as a normal human.
After such a tedious routine, he carried the soles of his feet swiftly; ghostly quiet like that of an assassin to the bedroom of whom he deemed to be his new parents.
When faced with the doorway keeping him and the couple, he hesitated; frozen still in time.
They showed him what it could have been like if Emiya Kiritsugu, his father, had not passed on.
He wants to protect them, their smiles and their innocence.
He does not want them to know just yet.
Composing himself, he opened the door quietly. It reveals his parents sleeping in peace.
"Don't scold me…" He smiled bitterly.
It came out as a gentle whisper from his lips as he took off into the night.
The blood within him flowed with raging power. His movements were as explosive as a bomb and as fast as a bullet as Archer's experience guided his every move. He passed by countless infrastructures; perceived as a blur as his feet carried him through the streets of Kuoh.
He narrowed his eyes as he picked up a cluster of scents that he had grown to hate. His feet halted the built momentum of his body, arriving at where the scent supposedly came from.
It was a desolate and tranquil place.
There were no people and seemingly no living things and most infrastructures were abandoned and gloomy.
He saw not a single light source; it was all darkness.
This is where he heard that people had their freedom and lives taken away from them; supposedly by a sadistic killer. They were, however, mistaken as the things that claimed the lives of many were not men but ravenous and rageful beasts.
He took a step.
Even with such darkness, it was not that much of a problem as he was able to reinforce his eyes. It made him see through the darkness and what it hides. His face scrunched up, seeing the monstrosity in front of his eyes.
It then stared at him; a feeling comparable to that of a predator hunting its prey washed over him.
Immediately, he grasped the yet to exist hilt of Kanshou and Bakuya just as the creature started convulsing in an indescribable fit of emotions.
Extending its claws, it rushed to him; slithering like a snake.
He furrowed my brows.
He waved Kanshou and Bakuya to where he predicted it would strike; a face of a killer overtaking his usual persona.
The creature's arm flew out of its sockets.
Blood spurted uncontrollably, ultimately painting the entire alley blood red.
It widened its eyes as it tried to understand what happened. But he did not give it a chance to comprehend what it was up against as he pierced its throat. With a thud, it fell to the ground, dissipating into motes of dark light.
A screech then rang in his ears; his blades reflecting the upcoming hordes, all of whom were slithering.
He tightened the grip that he had on his blades and then lept onto one of the structure's roofs. Reinforcing his legs, he catapulted himself; running at speeds faster than before, his blades on the ready.
He could feel the roofs shaking; they were now chasing him like a cat chasing a mouse.
He was then intercepted by one while snarling in anger. But it proved no use as he was to cleave through it like a hot knife to butter. Another then tried to split him in half, but such an attack was avoided swiftly. Like water, he responded with Kanshou through its chest. He forced the blade down, the beast's structure served no obstacle as it was cleaved in half, blood spewing the alley.
The beast fell limp before him, disappearing to the darkness of the ally below.
He paid no mind as he leaped from roof to roof, the hordes still hot on his tracks; moving in such a way that they were like slithering snakes.
But such an attempt served no purpose, his Mind's eye predicting their movements.
He hurled Kanshou towards his left then he hurled Bakuya on his right without a second thought.
Sickening screeches of pain erupted from both sides.
He took a moment to glance all around him. It seems like many perished by the hands of Kanshou and more perished by the hands of Bakuya.
As if angered by such an attack, a multitude of screeches reverberated throughout the gloomy walls; done with the intent to shake his spirits.
But it served no purpose.
One came speeding to intercept him, but was eliminated with a single cleave. It left him open momentarily; a beast tried to take advantage of this. But it was not even able to react as the stump where its head once was spewed blood. As the diseased beast fell to the ground, another tried to attack, but he was able to evade and counter quickly.
Cleaving the beast in half, he realized that he was now intercepting a horde; his amber eyes seeing through the fountain of crimson blood.
He furrowed his brows and then dashed to the impending horde, his blades crossed together.
The horde tried their best to confuse him by slithering in a pattern they thought that would be unpredictable. And yet as one extended its claws towards him, he evaded at the last second and then countered swiftly.
He was purposely lowering his guard to take advantage of the enemy's weaknesses the moment they showed it. If used with Mind's eye, he would prove to be a tough adversary to fight against.
It was Emiya Shirou's favored style of sword play.
Another set of claws aimed for his head, but he was able to catch a glimpse of it. He used his reinforced feet to ax-kick the beast to the ground and then pierced its head. A blur sped towards him, but such an attack was once again parried with ease.
He had already eliminated many, and yet there were still more.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance, forced to momentarily retreat.
He backpedaled as he let his blades dissipate into motes of light. He visualized a bow and the phantasms that would serve as its arrow; both forming as if it was a jigsaw puzzle.
Trace on!
Both took form as an elongated green light, which gradually revealed its structure.
He took aim.
The phantasms then altered their form to that of the sleek dynamic of an arrow.
He leapt backwards, with his feet reinforced.
When he was at the right altitude, he let his experience of Archery guide him as he let go of the strings gracefully. As expected, it bombarded the beasts with blades which then forced painful screeches to reverberate throughout the walls.
But nevertheless, they recovered quickly much to his dismay.
He clicked his tongue, piercing a speeding beast with the sharp ends of his bow. One then tried to once again take advantage of momentary weakness, only to find its pair of eyes and brain pierced by the bow's end. An arm then swung at him with fierceful ferocity, but was able to evade to the side as he countered by piercing its throat.
Sweat trickled down his face as he was once again forced to retreat, which gave him the time to project Kanshou and Bakuya.
Fluent like water, he avoided a strike like a flowing river, then countered fiercely in a stinging motion thus cleaving the attacker's head off. As it fell, he was forced to parry an attack that came from his left. The attackers snarled as they aimed their claws at his head, only to find their heads fall to the ground.
Most of the beasts in his peripheral leaped into the air to evade his onslaught of slashes.
"Trace on! Barrel Shot, Continuous fire!"
He waved his hand. The blades heeded his whims as if they had minds of their own. In a fierce onslaught they pierced and killed the beasts attacking from above, implanting their heads on the roofs which caused dust and soot to rise, covering the surroundings.
Many pierced the dust and soot that is still yet to settle with malevolent intention.
He tightened his grip on his Kanshou and Bakuya upon the beasts' resilience.
Gritting his teeth, he catapulted himself towards the hordes of those said creatures while simultaneously tracing multitudes of nameless phantasms to use as projectiles.
His blades waved in all directions, his teeth grit. He planted his feet on the ground fiercely like an enraged volcano.
Slash after slash, cleave after cleave, drop of blood to the other.
He had already projected what he could presume to be hundreds of nameless phantasms.
And yet there were still more.
For so long, he hunted these beasts to the point of apparently discerning their features from the other, lonesome variant which he had barely even encountered.
He had already determined their average quantity of attacking and yet, this was the only day they had skyrocketed in frequency. Sure he had experienced some minor problems in the past because of their unusually high numbers. But now, the previous ones do not compare in the slightest.
Could it be that they wanted to eliminate him because of the threat he posed?
If that's the case, then why now?
His teeth grinded in frustration.
His eyes were nearly bloodshot.
Exhaustion was slowly catching up to him; the discomfort he now experiences by tracing was slowly becoming unbearable. His moves degraded into a sloppy form which caused him to suffer multitude of cuts all over his body which were immediately sewn by the artifact within him, Avalon.
Every minute, every second, frustration grows.
They keep on coming.
It was not like earlier, the creatures were not letting him catch his breath.
He let out a loud battle cry, his Od running dry.
Every swing of his arms, every twist of his body, every move of his body, caused pain to erupt in his body. His muscles are screaming at him to stop, and his lungs are deprived of oxygen and yet he fights.
The pain that accumulated in his body and the stress that he let his magic circuits go through slowly killed him. But even if his attack was frantic, even if his speed was mediocre, every cleave he made was somehow stronger than the others that came before.
Letting out a loud battle cry, he eliminated the few that he was aware of.
Raspy breaths came out of his lips; his body was covered with the blood of those he had slain.
His physical body might look scratchless, but his stamina is the one depleted; his reserves were almost dry.
His eyes darted around for more, and yet he saw nothing.
A sigh that could be described as relieved came out of his lips as the blades in his grasp dissipated into motes of light.
But when he tried to take a step, his limbs throbbed in pain.
Gritting his teeth, he continued to move, dragging his now vulnerable body along the floor. Even if his cut muscle fibers were restored, Avalon does not restore one's energy and strength.
Step by step his frustration grew, knowing that his body was failing him.
But it was still not over.
HYoUdOu IsSeI!
He widened his eyes, turning his gaze towards the source.
The massive abomination was massive, easily encompassing theirs in size. It had crimson red eyes that throbbed with hatred and a body composition that pulsed. The massive, feral beast had a figure that depicted different kinds of organisms that were grotesquely combined.
Was he correct?
Was he really being targeted?
He took a step, frustration brewing within.
The winds of the night died down as the ground shook like an earthquake. Suddenly, saliva started dripping from the monstrous mouth, as if excited at the thought of brutalizing him.
Though fortunately, there is about one-hundred meters distance between them, thus giving him room to breathe.
Therefore the outcome of the battle would be decided on whoever lasts this assault.
He gritted his teeth.
If he tries to project anything, there is a risk that he would be unable to use his magecraft again.
He hissed, forcing his circuits and remaining reserves to work.
In his mind, he visualized a simple European blade; broad and thick. It began to be processed within his metallic mind; its pieces fused together to create its form.
"Trace on!"
In a flash of blinding light, the European sword formed in his grasp, its heaviness foreign and unknown.
The beast's pair of massive and irregular crimson eyes then snapped at him with the intent to kill.