It hadn't been long since Shirou met Rory Mercury, but he already understood she was the kind of person to derive amusement from teasing others. The thinly veiled smile on her lips left little to the imagination, nor did the way she leaned forward with mischief in her eyes.

And Caila and Tuka made it all too easy as they 'coincidently' arrived in time to hear Rory's passing remarks.

Shirou pinched the bridge of his nose, internally putting Rory's danger assessment on hold as she had shown no ill will to him or their group after their initial bout. Besides, there was more to be learned about the organization of the current world's apostles, gods, and political structure from Rory than being too cautious of her.

"Y-You overstep your bounds, Apostle of Emroy!" Caila yelled, frothing in agitation and raising her bow as she landed in front of Shirou.

Her lithe figure trembled from sheer indignation to the point that the leaves that made up her garments were rustling.

"Y-Yeah, how dare you say such words?!" Tuka nervously shouted to support Caila, but hid behind Shirou's back when Rory glanced at her.

A paper lion. That's what she was, granted she was young in Elven years.

Caila not so much. Not only was she a model adult in her mid twenties, by human figures, she was also an experienced Elven hunter.

Green mana hummed over her notched arrow, teeth gritted.

"Oh," Rory clapped, jumping off the Dragon's corpse and landing with her gothic-lolita dress fluttering in the breeze. "The tree huggers have grown a backbone to think of pointing their weapons at an Apostle? I'm sure you know what that means, don't you?"

Caila flinched, glancing at Shirou for support, but he was a peace lover. Fights that could be avoided, should be abvoided.

Caila found Shirou shaking his head at her to dissuade further aggression.

It was conveyed a little differently.

"Count yourself lucky, foul bloodletter!" Caila glared, grudgingly putting her bow away. "Our Apostle shows magnanimity and mercy, or he'll unleash his golden light upon you too!"

"Really?" Rory licked her lips, a little too eager to test her mettle again.

Shirou did not miss the way Rory's eyes glinted in excitement towards him, nor the way her hands were suddenly gripping her ax like an excited school girl.

Covering Caila's mouth before she could say anything else in his honor, Shirou patted Tuka on the head for her effort and said a definite 'No' to a pouting Rory.

"Tch." Rory clicked her tongue. "Long Ears. Vegans all of them. Oh I got a joke."

"I don't want to hear it," Shirou deadpanned, but he couldn't help but blurt out his opinion as a chef. "And I do eat meat. There's so much you can cook with it."

"An elf who eats meat?" Rory raised her brows in surprise, giving Caila and Tuka a suggestive look. "He falls further into the true darkness of Emroy. Oh, but yes, the joke."

Shirou sighed. "You really don't-"

"A vegan and a vegetarian are competing to see who dies first by my ax, who wins?" Rory grinned while Caila glowered and Tuka hid behind her fellow elf.

"I do." Caila grumbled.

"Cute, but no," Rory winked. "The answer's society. That's why the elves died out in pockets of insanity."

"Y-You bitch!" Caila shuddered from anger, mad to the point that her bow was cracking her grip.

In response, Rory showed her back, daring Caila to attack. She hadn't been joking about what it meant to point a weapon at an Apostle who represented a God. Rory was already showing restraint, but an attack would warrant retaliation.

Infuriated or not, it wasn't as if Caila was a fool.

Tuka placed a hand on Caila's shoulders, and the older elf reluctantly put aside her murderous intent.

"What should we do with the corpse?" Rory asked aloud, the question directed at Shirou while she stared at the remains of the Dragon.

"You're asking me?" Shirou said.

"You killed it. The spoils are naturally yours, yes?" Rory's logic was sound in her mind. To the victor go the spoils; it was common practice. "Though you should learn to guard your hunt from thieves, it is a Dragon corpse."

"I'll keep that in mind." Shirou nodded, but Rory wasn't done. In fact, she looked a little embarrassed when she mentioned the topic of thieves.

The shadows writhed under Rory as if consoling her that she did the right thing.

Rory glared, feeling unjust.

"It wasn't my intention, but matters were out of my hands. The shadow grows restless." Rory grumbled before pointing at the Dragon's upper half. "Apologies, but I've taken my share for guarding what's yours."

Now that Shirou looked closer at it, the Dragon was missing an entire wing. The size alone should not have been something humanly possible for Rory to harvest on her own in such a short time. More importantly-

"Where did you store it?" Shirou couldn't wrap his mind around how Rory had done it so seamlessly.

Of course, Shirou had to deal with the Dragon's corpse before other Magi could even think of coveting it.

"Silly, why would I store it?" Rory tilted her head, pointing down at the shadow beneath her. "I offered it as a sacrifice to our Lord and Saviour Emroy."

You could do that?

That was really an option?

Shirou had no choice but to pause and consider things. The Dragon corpse was too big, and even with a Dragon Slaying sword, the hassle of obliterating the pieces for non-use was too jarring a task. Blood would spill everywhere, and it was likely that he'd run out of magic energy before anything else.

This wasn't even considering if another magus turned up.

But if it was a God doing the cleanup, who else could be more proficient?

The missing wing was proof enough, right?

Gathering the facts, Shirou opened his mouth to the most convenient solution.

"...What would you think about sacrificing the whole Dragon to your God?" He asked Rory.

Rory's eyes twinkled as the Shadows whispered eagerly to her. "Emroy is pleased. He extends a hand forward in your favor. He hasn't had Dragon meat in millenia, and is willing to grant you an honorary status in the House of War in gratitude."

From Rory's shadow, a dark hand rose towards Shirou for a handshake.

"NOOOO!" Tuka and Caila's expressions fell as they tackled Shirou away.

Emroy would not steal or further taint their Apostle right in front of them!

/-/

"Easy now."

Back with Itami, he watched Kuribayashi stifle a scream as Kurokawa did a medical check on her.

To help ease the pain, Kurokawa had grabbed the emergency medical kit and administered the highest dose of on hand analgesic she had. It offered little relief for Kuribayashi, forcing Kurokawa to roll up another wad of cloth she instructed Kuribayashi to bite down on.

Pain could abate a bit if Kuribayashi focused on just clenching her teeth.

However, things were far from good.

Mari knit her brows, frowning heavily while leaning over Kuribayashi's left leg. "It's worse than it looks."

She prodded with a gentle finger, but even this elicited a moan.

"Just by the feel of it, the flesh and bone are all mangled. If we remove the boot, we're likely to pull off her entire foot and make her bleed out. I don't even know if reconstructive surgery can even begin to help this."

Kurokawa pulled back, wiping the sweat that matted her brows with an arm. Pointing at Kurata, Mari put an extra cloth in his hands and a fastener strip.

"Secure the tourniquet tighter and an extra. She's still bleeding into the shoe. You need to cut off all blood supply before she goes anemic. It's better to lose a foot than a life," she said.

Kuribayashi's pupils dilated, her hands trembling at the news.

Kurata shuddered with mixed feelings, the weight of the items in his hands seemingly magnifying.

In the growing gloominess, a voice offered a desperate sort of solution.

"Does healing magic exist?" Itami broached tentatively. He had his suspicions, but his comrade's well being mattered more at present than verification.

If science and medicine could not solve the problem, then what about the unexplained.

The inexplicable crater in the distance, coupled with the flying Toyota, voodoo witches, and curses led credibility to the asspull.

Itami looked first at Cato and Lelei, but the two shook their heads.

Naturally, the lady holding the blue lamp then came under fire.

Wincing, Gray gripped tight to the hem of her skirt, but roused her courage.

"May I take a look?" She offered, shoulders hunching at the somber mood.

She still had many questions in her mind regarding the modern nature of this world's inhabitants, but she had no choice but to put it off in favor of the atmosphere. She could read the mood quite well.

It was a skill of hers that she and many other socially awkward individuals honed for years as wallflowers.

Kneeling beside Kuribayashi, Gray did a quick diagnostic before pursing her lips and holding her breath.

Lelei and Cato glanced at Gray with a certain degree of expectation, but were left wanting.

"Sorry," Gray deflated, hands clutching over Add as her cheeks coloured. "I don't specialize in healing crafts."

Kuribayashi and the others felt like their strings were cut, but there was really nothing to be done. However, it wasn't as if Gray's analysis wasn't without merit.

To Lelei and Cato, it meant that a whole system of magic devoted to healing also existed in the knowledge of these strangers. Perhaps even more.

"How about the other mage then?" Cato wondered aloud, the others perking up as they remembered Shirou.

Well…maybe?

Gray couldn't guarantee it as she thought of Shirou, but she didn't have the heart to shoot everyone down either. Another idea to peruse through Shirou's Reality Marble for a suitable item came to her, but she shot that one down when she considered how much control Shirou would have over his own inner world. He was letting others in now through constraints and mechanisms in his Sealing Designation branding, but nothing would always be for certain.

Besides, it wasn't her choice to make.

"Damn," Itami coughed to draw attention back to himself, and had no choice but to damage control. "We have to go back. This level of injury can't be treated or left like this. Kurota, what is the state of the vehicles?"

The only reason Itami must have asked was because of the flying Toyota that had smashed down from the sky. Surprisingly, of the unit's vehicles, it was that very Toyota that was in the best condition while it had been augmented by Aruturia's Riding Skill.

"Running low on fuel, but we have extra canisters in the back," Kurota said.

"Good. I need you to drive Kurota."

"Understood."

"Mari," Itami called, glancing at Kuribayashi. "Help me carry her in."

"Understood, but let me make a splint first," Kurokawa dug into the medical tools and got to work before Itami could even answer. "Her foot is slosh. It won't be able to maintain its shape if we put any pressure on it."

"Do what you must. Everyone get ready. I'm going to radio us in." Itami unlatched the communication device on his combat vest.

Cato raised a hand while Lelei stared at everything with inquisitive eyes.

"What about us?" Cato asked.

Itami hummed and answered as honestly as he could. "I don't know. I'd like us to keep traveling to talk further, but it doesn't seem likely anymore."

"That's unfortunate, right Ms. Gray?" Cato bemoaned.

Gray blinked, shooting an annoyed look of protest at the old man for putting attention back onto her.

"..." She said nothing and pretended as if she didn't hear.

"It is what it is," Itami murmured before turning on his radio. "I'm going to have to contact the main branch by Alnus hill and rendezvous with the other exploration units further south, but you're welcome to join us if you want."

Itami extended an invitation to Cato and Lelei, but soon found himself frowning.

"They aren't responding?" Itami mumbled, looking to the distant horizon on the far south of a dense foliage. "Maybe if they-"

"...Did you say south?"

Shirou arrived. His ears were perked up and his expression was hardening by the second.

He, Tuka, Caila, and Rory had just returned, and for a second Gray breathed a sigh of relief. She'd just about reached the limit of her social anxiety and wanted to retreat as soon as she could.

Itami furrowed his brows at the shift in Shirou's expression.

"Yes," Itami answered. "What about it?"

Although Shirou could see the issue with Kuribayashi, he had no choice but to shift priorities as he'd heard just about enough out of earshot.

The Second Gate was in the south.

Reines stood in front of the Gate with a measured indifference expected from someone of her station, but stark reality was such that she'd rather be biting at her nails in frustration.

Argh! The stupid Sophia-Ri!

Arms crossed, Reines glared at each and every new magus passing through the Gate that was affiliated with the Sophia-Ri Family.

Her gaze pressured many of the lower standing to weakly hang their heads low, but it did little to ease her annoyance.

Expectedly, where head-honcho was not far from his lackeys.

"As crass as always I see."

A man spoke to Reines, matching Reines's demeanor stride for stride as he appeared through the Gate.

Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, successor of the Lord of the Department of Spiritual Evocation and the biggest thorn in Reines' side.

He was a young and handsome man with red hair, and a single stupid glance that did not befit a man of his aggravating nature. Lady's called him charming, refined, and a strong-willed sense of duty in his words that carved him out as elite, but Reines knew the truth!

"Bram, ah, truly your fox-like face still sickens me." Reines glowered with contempt.

Bram smiled slyly, not missing a beat. "Am I the sly one? Or is it Ms. El Melloi who was annoyed she couldn't form a monopoly? Nothing personal."

Reines finally exploded.

She didn't know how long she'd been holding it in, but now there was no reason to hold back. Shirou should have told her of Sophia-Ri's arrival sooner before they had the chance to have their way in her absence.

"You think I wouldn't be annoyed after you destroyed the Bounded Field I had my family create?!" Reines griped. If she could punch a hole through Bram's dignified face without repercussion, then she would have. "We're practically sitting out in the open now!"

"Come now, neither of us are so ignorant?" Bram scoffed, not unaware of Reines's intentions. "No matter how pleasantly you phrase it to the Clock Tower that El-Melloi is creating a staging ground for the arrival of other magi, you're still too young. It's naive to think I or any other family would allow a single family to one-sidedly dictate the domain of a shared Bounded Field."

Reines gnashed her teeth, but she had no room to refute.

"The owner of a Bounded Field often benefits the most in its domain. Do you think Sophia-Ri would yield such an advantage to the family that got my dear younger sister killed?" Bram said stoically.

Ah yes, sour relations.

As if Reines needed to be reminded.

Reines held her tongue, realizing it was unbecoming of her station to bicker in the open, but she remained infuriated. By the time she'd gotten back, the nodes of the Bounded Field had been dug up and desecrated, leaving geocentric patterns on the ground reminiscent of destroyed magic circles.

Ugh, all her hard work, and a contract with the elves and beastmen were what remained.

"A world within a world, it's practically unheard of before." Bram mused aloud with a critical eye. "Especially one where the ambient magic energy denotes that the Age of the Gods has yet to end…It's a gold mine in the truest sense."

Cranky, Reines pretended she didn't even hear the words.

"Come now, where's your guardian?" Bram said, a vein popping over Reines's temple. "At least that man has a good head over his shoulders."

Oh how Reines wished she could pop Bram's head right about now. Trimmau was all but waiting for confirmation.

Be that as it may, the strangest of anomalies soon gave everyone by the Gate pause.

Magi stopped what they were doing and glanced up in a single direction, even Reines and Bram.

Both of them gave pause in bewilderment at a distinct growing rumble.

It was both a familiar noise, and a dumbfounding one.

The sound of several motors echoed in the distance beyond the foliage.

Reines and Bram glanced at each other.

/-/

"Damn you Bram! You even destroyed the Bounded Field's concealment properties! The Gate's out in the open!"

"No need to point fingers, we just have to stop them from getting close. Besides, out in the open? We're in a forest."

"...I hate you."

Thanks for reading! And thanks to my newest patron: Shabby!

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