When the Rhodes Island team arrived at the park, it was already occupied.
Dobermann observed the regrouping brigade and shared her analysis.
"They're unsettled. The soldiers are scared and are barely keeping it together."
"Can't blame them. I would be too if that was my first time seeing a cluster bomb of that kind." Ace rumbled. "That one is leagues beyond any I've seen before."
"Leagues…?" Amiya whispered.
"Cluster bombs are small. They have to be, because they are carried in a larger container until they are deployed. But for a cluster bomb to cover that large an area and have that much power…" Ace grunted.
"Insanity. It's insanity." One of the operators cried.
"How did Chernobog even get their hands on such a weapon? They're a small city." Dobermann couldn't believe such firepower was even sold to them. Chernobog wasn't a rich city by any means. In fact, they relied on supplying minerals and resources. Chernobog wasn't a major commercial hub like Lungmen.
"Who knows." Ace grumbled.
"Look, they're now moving." Dobermann pointed out.
True enough, the brigades in the park started heading east, further away from the devastated city blocks.
"Doctor, what do we do next?" Amiya turned to their strategist.
"We wait for half an hour. We make our move once we're sure they're far away." The Doctor commanded.
…
Half an hour later, the Rhodes Island detachment moved.
As they crossed through the street, Reunion spies left in the area caught them in their sights.
"Inform Commander Faust that unknown paramilitary forces have been spotted in the area." One soldier reported to his superior. They were supposed to be looking for a suspicious lone archer present in the area, but information like this would be appreciated.
.
.
.
"Commander Faust, an unknown paramilitary group has been spotted in the area." The radio buzzed.
Faust grabbed the device and replied back.
"What do they look like?"
"Dressed in blue and black sir. They were spotted in the park you just left."
Mephisto exchanged looks with Faust.
"Eh? Rhodes Island?" His friend asked.
Faust wanted to avoid trouble.
"Leave them. They are not our priority."
"That won't do! We have to go meet them!" Mephisto reprimanded Faust.
"Mephisto. The unknown archer is still in the area. We must play it safe." He urged.
"Fine then. Let's inform Talulah before we capture those backstabbing scum." Mephisto smiled.
"Mephi-"
"Talulah, Rhodes Island has been spotted in the north. We are moving in." His friend radioed on the officer's channel.
"Good. Don't let them escape." Came their leader's response.
Mephisto frowned. What was the point? They weren't even part of the conflict.
"...fine."
He didn't agree with this, but he couldn't let his friend go alone.
.
.
.
Shirou followed the group of Rhodes Island operators from a distance.
He saw them earlier that morning but didn't expect them to still be in the city. After a quick scan, Shirou discerned the odd member out of the entire team.
A flash of movement crossed his vision.
Reunion soldiers.
The small platoon was relocating to another position behind the Rhodes team.
They weren't the only ones.
Shirou spotted several others also moving in to surround the oblivious group.
He sighed.
Shirou was going to have to step in and help. Unless his tracing was wrong, then they weren't bad people. His bow snapped out and dozens of Reunion fighters found themselves taken out of the fight. Whole groups were knocked out in seconds with each barrage, Shirou taking care to modify the lightning output from the mystic code to disable the comms devices with each shot.
Soon, the Reunion picked up on the network of blackouts.
.
.
.
"Commander, we're losing a lot of men." One team leader notified while his group huddled in an abandoned shop.
"We've noticed." Faust gritted his teeth. Whole teams had failed to report back and the leaders were not answering.
"Well, it's definitely that archer isn't it?" Mephisto instantly connected the dots.
"We have to pull back our men."
"Why? They're keeping him distracted."
What?
Faust turned to Mephisto with disapproval.
"They could be dying at this very moment!"
"And? The longer they keep him busy, the more time we buy for Talulah." Faust switched to another channel. "We need reinforcements to the northeast. I want more teams on the ground."
"You-"
"The faster we deal with this archer, the better for us! Wouldn't you agree?" Mephisto grinned at him.
Faust's gut told him the opposite.
.
.
.
Skilled as Shirou was, not all Reunion teams could be dealt with.
Rhodes Island only had so much vision to cover all angles.
Unfortunately for them, time was up.
Nearl and the grunt froze when they spotted each other around the corner.
"Enemi-"
She smashed his face with her shield. As for the Reunion, they heard the cry of their comrade before he went down.
"Contact!" Nearl hissed while bringing her shield to bear. A Reunion member's sword crashed into her shield while another flanked her. The flanker immediately retreated when another operator came to her aid.
The fight broke out quickly. With the Doctor's help, the team routed the opposing faction and disabled them.
"Y-you bastards! You can't get away! We'll catch you!" One of the rebels shouted.
"Move!" Ace shoved two operators out of the way when arrows peppered their position.
"Go between the buildings!" The Doctor shouted while he ran for cover. The rest of the group followed as best they could. Using the drones, The Doctor determined the path through the streets and led the team. Reunion platoons chased after them, appearing from the sides and their rear as the enemies closed in around them.
"Stop."
The paramilitary group paused in confusion.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes while watching the feed.
"Someone is taking them out."
In the cover of darkness, the Rhodes Island drones flew without being spotted by the Reunion. It had a bird's eye view on their surroundings.
Invisible to nearly everyone…except for a certain magus.
Shirou spotted the drones long ago. They kept pace with the paramilitary group without changing their flight operations even after Shirou knocked out several groups around it. Judging from how their flight operations remained the same, it was easy to infer that they weren't Reunion drones.
He wanted to show that he was on their side, so Shirou allowed the drones to keep flying as he took out the opposition. If they were aware, then they should've noticed the drop in Reunion platoons surrounding them.
If they weren't, then his next move definitely would.
Shirou switched to high gear, firing numerous arrows and taking out several groups in a minute. By now, they should've identified that a third party had joined. To deal with the dozens of rebels slowly surrounding the group, Shirou had to relocate across numerous roofs several times.
Lo, and behold, one of the drones stopped patrolling the perimeter and hovered some distance off the next roof he aimed for.
Smart.
Whoever the pilot of the drone was, he was able to eliminate positions the third party had used recently. After filtering that data, all they had to do was look at the remaining positions and which ones would cover the angles the Reunion was coming from.
Shirou allowed himself to be seen as he leapt on the rooftop under the drone.
He twisted his bow around him and casually fired on a rebel team with blunt arrows. The fighters wouldn't be standing for some time after receiving such bruises.
They might be stronger than the average human, but even Terrans couldn't shrug off a massive steel bolt hitting them at insane speeds.
Shirou faced the drone above him and mimed some hand movements.
On the other end, the Rhodes Island team watched the Doctor's feed as the unknown archer suddenly communicated to them.
"Wait…he saw the drones?" Dobermann asked.
Late afternoon had come and gone. It was now evening and the sky reflected the darkness after the sun's disappearance. The drones shouldn't be spotted so easily.
"He's…asking us to meet him?" Amiya blinked while the figure made a funny act of shaking his own hand.
"It would be rude not to. He's been taking care of our stalkers for quite a while." Nearl figured out. "Judging from how many we saw and how we haven't been swarmed yet."
The group of operators stayed quiet while their superiors discussed their next moves.
"What do you think, Ace?" Amiya turned to the more experienced member of their team.
"We're slowly being trapped. This is a risk we'll have to take." He shouldered his hammer.
"Everyone, prepare for combat!" Dobermann ordered. "We're moving out now!"
The Doctor quickly shared the plan he made. Nothing too crazy, just a solid route through the urban battlefield to reach the archer. As long as nothing outlandish intercepts them, then they would be safe.
Rhodes Island immediately executed the plan. Ace tossed smoke grenades in the opposite direction to create confusion while the operators snuck through the side. The darkness allowed them to make their way slowly in the direction of the allied sniper's house.
For his part, Shirou started creating distractions in multiple directions. The additional diversions worked to slow down the Reunion's advance. Once they were within distance to spot him, Shirou jumped off the roof and into the street.
The red figure picked up the street manhole and waved for Rhodes to enter. One by one, the retreating operators all dropped in with him entering after the last one.
10 minutes later, Reunion swarmed the block.
.
.
.
Under the street, Rhodes aimed their flashlights at the man.
Nobody raised their weapons, but still kept their guard up.
Shirou could see that they were tense, so he raised his arms up placatingly.
"Relax, it seemed like you needed the help."
Bad choice of words. Shirou smacked himself internally.
"...sorry, let me rephrase that. I saw that the Reunion was chasing you and I decided to help."
"Who are you?" The woman with smooth black hair went straight for the questions.
"Just a passing archer."
The answer only got him narrowed glares.
"I was on my way to help the hospitals, but you guys came along and…" Shirou trailed off.
"Hospitals?" The blonde asked.
"The Reunion is holding them hostage."
A few of their number grimaced.
"They were captured just before lunch. The police guarding them were overwhelmed."
"What are they being held hostage for? The Reunion could just force them to treat their wounded." The dark-haired canine asked.
"I don't know." Shirou lied.
"You never told us why you helped us." The same canine narrowed her eyes at him.
"Would you believe me if I was also doing this for my own benefit? The more attention you bring, the more I can help the hospitals. That simple." Shirou gave his answer. A logical one, enough to indulge their scrutiny.
The bearded veteran took stock of their surroundings while everyone conversed.
"The sewers huh…"
"It was the only choice. They were surrounding you already." Shirou waved his hand. "We better get moving if you want to stay ahead of them. They'll figure out that we escaped down here."
"Do you know where to go?"
"Yes." Shirou could simply trace the surroundings and collect a map of the area.
"Let's make a deal. You help us reach our exit, and we'll buy you the distraction you need."
"Ace! What are you doing?!" The black-haired canine hissed at him. "We can't bait the Reunion! It's too dangerous!"
"And the longer we stay here, the more dangerous our escape becomes. We have to negotiate a plan." The veteran named Ace turned to the woman. "I'm doing this in consideration of our current situation. We're still surrounded above ground and he's our only way out of here."
"H-he's right." The blonde operator grimaced. "Whether we like it or not, only he knows the sewers."
Shirou didn't really intend to use them as a distraction. He just wanted to help them on their way.
"Follow me."
He walked ahead. The group of Rhodes Island operators followed behind at a distance. For a quarter of an hour, the two parties didn't interact until Shirou stopped.
"Do you have a destination in mind? We should be a block or two away from the Reunion entrapment now." He turned to face the paramilitary group.
"The northern dockyard. Our transport is there." The dark-haired canine answered.
It was a lie. The Rhodes Island team had a VTOL hidden northeast. The northern dockyard was only a decoy to fool strangers into thinking they relied on land transportation.
Amiya's ears twitched.
"Wait. Does anyone else hear that?" She turned her head around to pinpoint the sound.
The low chatter from the other operators stopped as the canine motioned for them to stop talking.
Shirou frowned as he silently reinforced his ears to hear better.
The sound was distorted because of the echoes bouncing off the underground tunnels, but Shirou was able to deduce what it was.
Someone was crying for help.
"Amiya, no." The canine spoke.
"But Dobermann!" The young rabbit grimaced.
"Amiya, we're supposed to be escaping." The identified operator reminded with a sigh.
"We're just helping others along the way…we won't delay for long." The smaller girl pleaded.
The group stopped moving while their leaders argued.
"Ace, explain to her how dangerous this is." Dobermann turned to the other experienced veteran on the squad.
He stayed quiet.
"Ace?"
"I think we should see the situation first. I'm not against helping others if they need it. That's what Rhodes Island is for." Ace responded after being pushed.
Dobermann gaped at him.
"I agree with Ace. If they need help, then we can provide some." The blonde girl sided with Amiya and the veteran.
"Nearl? Not you too…" Dobermann grumbled at the blonde. "Fine, but make it quick!"
"Everyone, let's follow Amiya." Ace commanded the group.
Shirou was of the same mind. The detour was a welcome one. He would've taken it if he was alone too.
"What do you mean we're lost them?"
Faust blinked at Mephisto's response.
"They're gone? You've scoured the entire block?"
More chatter.
"Tsk- useless idiots." He groaned while putting down the radio. "How do you lose an entire group when you surrounded them just half an hour ago?"
Faust inwardly sighed in relief. They weren't enemies so he really didn't want to hunt them down.
The sound of approaching footsteps caught the pair's attention.
"Having trouble chasing down a few rats? Didn't know you were so incapable~" A cheeky voice said.
Mephisto held back the retort on the tip of his tongue.
"And what would you suggest then? We've already secured the entire area and they just disappeared."
The mercenary tossed a bunch of blueprints on the table.
"One word. Underground."
Faust paused as the realization set in. He quickly scrambled forwards and opened the blueprints. On them were the layouts of the underground waterways and service areas for the entire district.
"They can't have gotten far. The sewers are small and disconnected. They should be still near us."
While Mephisto started pouring over the sheets, Faust shifted his attention back to the mercenary.
"You're…very invested in this. Why?"
Faust could understand if the Reunion wanted to hunt down Rhodes Island. In their eyes, they were infected pandering to the governments that sought to punish them. But why was someone like her putting this much effort into it?
Nobody would go so far as to collect blueprints to chase down Rhodes Island after they suddenly appeared.
What was W really after?
The female Sarkaz grinned.
"I thought you needed help? I'm just here to see the show."
"You're after something."
"Oh? You could tell?"
W's grin sharpened.
"Let's just say I want to meet them. Don't tell Talulah though, I'm supposed to be helping with the hunt for the archer instead."
The crazy mercenary on to something. Faust didn't like it one bit.
While the group searched for the source of the cries, Shirou used the opportunity to work on his growing problem.
Oripathy.
Shirou slowly lagged behind while he studied the status of his magical system. Prolonged use of magic over an entire day had flooded his system with volatile Originium particles. As a result, his insides were burnt and sore from all the spells he used. The traced copy of Avalon he stored inside his body constantly healed the damage, but it didn't stop the pain.
Shirou grimaced as another stab of pain raced up his arm. Purging out Originium proved to be just as painful as taking it in. At least the more energy he cycled through his system, the more Originium was pushed out. The brief respite was welcome until the next battle. Then, his body would drown in the toxic energy of Terra once again.
It didn't help that he bombed a few city blocks one hour prior.
When Rhodes Island found the cries, it was already too late.
Shirou frowned at the mutilated corpse. Numerous gashes riddled the body. Judging from the wounds, the man had been tortured and left to die. Most importantly, everyone had an idea who did it. The man had no visible marks of Oripathy- which meant only one group was responsible for the murder.
"Those bastards!" Dobermann growled at the scene.
"We can't do much for him." The grey-haired medic sighed. A brief examination showed that the body had stopped breathing minutes ago. Even if they performed CPR, they didn't have the means to sustain his health with the kind of injuries inflicted on him.
"We should keep moving." Shirou stepped forwards. "If the Reunion is down here, then they must've caught on that we escaped underground."
The operators followed his increased pace and the group jogged down a series of tunnels before they heard more cries. This time, it was a mix of both panic and anger. It seemed like one side was forcing the other to follow orders.
Shirou inwardly cursed. He wanted to leap into action and help, but that meant leaving the team behind him to fend for themselves. It was between helping unknowns, or committing to stay with the group he originally chose. They could fight, but they were also the higher priority. On the other hand, there were children.
But he didn't have to choose.
"We need to save them!" Amiya slowed to a stop.
Judging from how quickly most of them stopped with her, it was clear that the others were also of the same mind. Only a few looked conflicted, one of them being Dobermann.
"We're supposed to be escaping…ah screw it." She gave up when a large portion of the group began moving to the source of the chaos.
"You just learn to roll with us." Ace grinned while chuckling at the former Columbian drill sergeant's reaction.
The Rhodes Island group and the rogue archer quickly reached the scene and saw the situation. A large group of children were being herded by a platoon of Reunion fighters through the sewers. They didn't try to hide their attack, it was much less an ambush and more of a hastily put together plan as the paramilitary group slammed head on with the Reunion platoon.
Nearl smashed straight through a group of fighters closest to the children, tossing them about the place. Ace and a few operators body slammed a few down while others quickly jumped in and disabled the rebels. Dobermann and Amiya cleaned up the remaining force easily by engaging them from range.
In a matter of moments, the Reunion fighters were rounded up.
Seeing the operators work together efficiently, Shirou inwardly nodded in approval. This was the second team of Rhodes Island operatives he met and they continued to show professionalism.
Ace knelt over one of the rebels and dragged him away from the rest.
"Why? What are you doing with the children?" He demanded while waving his hammer threateningly. Ace didn't intend to use it, but it was enough to scare the rebel.
"I-It wasn't us! M-Mephisto is ordering all children to be captured!"
"Who is Mephisto?"
"He's one of the leaders! We don't know what he plans to do with them!"
Ace exchanged glances with Dobermann.
"Tsk. Disgusting…" The Rhodes Island drill sergeant spat on the ground. "You capture children of all people…"
"What do we do with them now?" Nearl asks the rest.
"We leave them here. We've already destroyed their communication equipment. Staying here any longer is dangerous once the Reunion picks up on their disappearance." Dobermann answered.
"The children! We can't just leave them here!" Amiya gasped while looking at the large group of kids gathered in one place.
Most of them had light cuts and bruises, but a fair few had worse. The two Rhodes Island medics were already busy healing the little ones. Unfortunately for them, they could only deal with the small injuries.
Now that they were out of combat, the rest of the operators could properly absorb the situation in front of them.
Behind the mask and calm composure Shirou exuded, he was livid. He hid it well, but his focus had changed- narrowed to the sharpness of a blade's edge.
The children in front of him were in various states of injury. Gashes, bruises, many swollen and infesting. One thing was sure though, all of them could move.
So what happened to the rest?
Left behind. The Reunion couldn't care less about those who weren't on their side.
Shirou approached one of the adolescents.
"Do you know where the others are? I'm going to find them." He whispered softly to the young child.
The girl hiccupped silently as she cried. Despite her condition, she still answered his question by pointing down one of the sewer branches. There, Shirou spotted the trail of blood that their group left. He patted the girl's head comfortingly before disappearing off into the darkness.
"Where is he going?" Dobermann frowned while Rhodes secured the area.
"I'll follow him. If we're not back shortly then send reinforcements after me. He might be ditching us." Nearl frowned before chasing after the strange archer.
When she rounded the corner, a red blur disappeared off the end of the branch corridor.
Nearl's eyes widened in surprise. She quickly kicked into high gear, using her extraordinary physique to keep up. The operator reached the corner and turned, only to see more darkness. Nearl activated her arts, an aura of golden yellow shimmering in the sea of darkness. It pushed back the dim environment, lighting up the corridor before her.
Just how fast was he?!
Shirou kept his ears reinforced, easily tracking the sound of the chasing operator behind him. Whoever it was, they were quick. He cleared the next sewer branch in a few leaps, angling his body to hit the wall opposite the next turn. When he reached the last section, he jumped for the wall, bouncing off the vertical platform and shooting into the next corner. This way, he maximized his speed while retaining momentum around corners.
Shirou wasn't actively keeping his footsteps silent, but his years of experience muffled them to the point even Nearl's impressive auditory senses struggled to hear them. Not only that, but it sounded like he was actually increasing the gap between them.
How?
Nearl dashed down the corridor and into the next sewer branch. It dawned on her that what she was hearing wasn't a hallucination. The unknown archer was actually faster than her.
Her bloodline, House Nearl of Kazimierz, was a legendary family of old. Their lineage and history screamed nobility and honor. Their species, the race of pegasi, were the old monarchs who ruled the Kingdom of Kazimierz.
Yes, they were a mythological race. An elite genus of the equine species.
Essentially, horses with wings.
The equine species were fast. Powerhouses in both marathon and sprint competitions. Only few could match or outpace them.
Just who was this archer?!
Nearl was about to lose her target's trail when she noticed the trail of blood at her feet. The archer's movements weren't random. They were following a path! Nearl switched from tracking by sound to tracking the bloody marks on the floor. As she followed the tracks, the dark pungent smell of blood slowly permeated through the air. It filled the air the longer she followed the trail until she reached the end.
Nearl choked on the scene.
Unmoving bodies stacked in a pile on the side of the sewer branch. The scent of blood was fresh, probably killed only an hour prior. Dead, some with expressions frozen in terror, others in crucial pain.
"They executed those too injured to keep up with them."
Nearl blinked once she noticed her target on one knee near the pile of bodies.
"I was hoping they were still alive." Shirou continued. He had just finished offering a quick prayer to whatever gods Terra had.
"So that's why you were talking to that girl…" Nearl realized as her eyes darted between him and the dead.
"I asked if there were others." Shirou turned towards her. "I cannot do much else for them now. Maybe return for them later." If Chernobog survived this crisis.
He wasn't about to leave us. He returned for the others.
"Let's go. There's no point staying here any longer." Shirou gestured back in the direction they came from.
Shirou waited at the entrance while Nearl offered her a short prayer for the victims. Once she was done, the two ran back.
Nearl couldn't help but play the scenes in her mind as they ran. How the children were captured, how they were culled, how they were tossed in a pile. Two years she had been out in the world, two years after her exile. Yet she had not seen such a scene as dark as the one from earlier.
Shirou noticed the gloomy expression on her and decided to distract the Rhodes Island agent.
"So why did you follow me?"
She was pulled out of her thoughts when the archer beside her spoke.
"We…we were making sure you weren't ditching us." Nearl's mind slowly rebooted.
Shirou kept track of the operator when she chased him. Nearl's speed surprised him, but was limited by her inexperience. The operator slowed down at each corner and accelerated after clearing the turn. Unlike his method of bouncing off walls.
"You can rest assured that I have no plans to abandon children. But if the situation arises, know that I will prioritize protecting them over Rhodes Island."
"How do you know about us? We never introduced ourselves." Nearl narrowed her eyes at the sudden realization.
"I…may have met your people once already."
That wasn't a lie. Shirou recognized Ace when he spotted the man during Kalt'sit's secret reconnaissance operation for the Fuyuki Clinic. That was the main reason he took note of Rhodes Island's presence earlier that morning.
"Hmmm…" Nearl remained suspicious. A stranger he may be, but she managed to glimpse a good side of his. The fact he was the first one to consider the fates of the children who were left behind cemented that.
It took them a couple minutes, but soon they were reunited with the rest of the group. Upon their return, they were faced with a dilemma.
"This will be dangerous. We can't protect all of them if the Reunion catches us." Dobermann warned.
Shirou and Nearl arrived just in time to overhear the argument.
"We can at least bring them somewhere safer!" Amiya argued.
"There is nowhere safer. The Reunion is swarming the entire city." Ace pointed out.
The situation looked bad. It was clear that the medics couldn't deal with some of the injuries judging from how they were still knelt over some of the other children. Healing arts could only do so much without the right instruments. That was the entire reason hospitals still existed in Terra.
Shirou inwardly frowned. If Rhodes Island couldn't guarantee the safety of the children. Then he'd have to take drastic measures.
Measures that could expose his magic.
"We can…we can…" Amiya grasped at straws.
Shirou stepped in.
"Will a distraction be enough? Can you guarantee safety if I distract the Reunion?" He suggested.
The Rhodes Island group glanced at each other.
"Even if you can somehow distract them alone-" Dobermann stressed the word. "We still wouldn't have the ability to carry them all safely. There's thrice as many children here as there are operators and a third of them have injuries our medics can't deal with."
"What if they were healed then?"
Shirou would have to use his copy of Avalon then. Good thing he already had one traced in his body.
"We're still protecting a group three times our size. Allocating half of our forces to guard them would leave the rest to pick up the slack."
"Good enough. I'll handle the rest then."
"Huh?" Amiya blinked.
Time to play doctor again.
"I can heal them. I'll also join the vanguard to make sure you can reach the dockyards safely."
"What?" Nearl blanked out. She had assumed that Shirou's arts were tied to combat. The only way he could possibly heal the children were if his arts were tied to healing.
Magus. Swordsman. Archer. Chef. Shirou was all of them. But a doctor? That one was a new one.
"Nevermind. Just protect them ok?" Shirou shook his head lightly. He tapped into Avalon inside him, pulling out the sheath of King Arthur.
He'd have to make this quick.
Avalon had healing properties that outscaled most mysteries. Nothing short of a beheading or a heart ripped out would render the noble phantasm's healing pointless.
Shirou didn't know if Avalon could cure Oripathy, but its presence could easily heal even critical injuries.
When Avalon was crafted by the fairies, they crafted the sheath from Divine Mysteries that were beyond human understanding. The sheath was an extension of the true Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia which King Arthur seeks, capable of overriding any plane the custodian occupied. When held, the person in contact with the sheath exists within the bounds of Avalon's domain.
When held, Avalon extends its domain over the person-
Because Avalon is the Everdistant Utopia unreachable to all, no damage may remain on the user for the concept of damage and destruction does not exist in utopia.
In other words, anyone who carries Avalon achieves near invincibility.
Shirou frowned. Time was of the essence. He'd have to make this quick. The less time Avalon was exposed, the safer it was for him and everyone. Once he pulled out the fairy artifact from his body, its presence would become a bright beacon that would attract unsavory attention.
Hopefully, the Reunion wouldn't notice. Even if the Reunion didn't, it was possible that higher entities within Terra would.
Discretion was his preferred choice, but speed was more important if they wanted to escape.
Shirou would have to heal everyone at the same time. The only way for that to happen- was to extend Avalon's blessing to everyone.
For that, he would have to use a special aria.
"I ask upon thee, The Great Land Beyond."
Shirou could trace Avalon, but that wasn't enough. He'd have to plead on the land itself to answer his request.
Nearl blinked as golden motes of light started to appear in the air. With them, an indescribable feeling came. It was light and pleasant, like a burden was being released from her shoulders.
She wasn't the only one.
The operators, the children, everyone felt it.
"Bless this unworthy soul's request, in service of his great lord's dream."
Shirou intoned the aria he created. The aria that allowed him to manifest Avalon. Not the sheath, but the land itself. Using the sheath as a link, his idea was to manifest a tiny fraction of the paradise which his master sought.
The truth was that he couldn't call upon the land alone. He had to act within harmony with his former legend's intentions.
Justice.
Protection.
Health.
Some of the qualities Arturia sought for the sake of her people.
Shirou would have to sustain the same for them.
"Land of Paradise, The Everdistant Utopia unreachable to man."
The truth was, Avalon was too pure. Too perfect. And in its perfection, power was inevitable. Too powerful for humans to even lay sight on. Simply being in Avalon would destroy beings as weak and imperfect as humanity.
"All I ask is but a wisp of your glory."
To help. To heal. To save.
He only asked for scraps. The barest of the minimum. It was more than enough to heal.
Shirou's circumstances impeded him from truly ever branching out to other magics. Healing magecraft was forever locked away from him. A few noble phantasms could be summoned, but they were just as difficult to be used. The sheath that saved his life was his best choice.
His hand touched the ground below him, passing the copy of Avalon from his body into it, imbuing the land with its opulence.
The Land of Paradise answered his plea.
From his hand, greenery spread. Grass and flowers grew on the ground as a barest fraction of utopia filled the area. Faded motes of light turned into floating orbs of gold. An ethereal breeze suddenly swept the group out of nowhere, blowing away all insecurities, basking the people with feelings of eternal peace.
Exhilarating.
Refreshing.
Tranquil.
It wasn't the same as Excalibur. Excalibur was the crystallization of mankind's wishes. In that sense, it drove humanity forward.
Avalon wasn't like that.
Avalon was the Everdistant Utopia. The paradise of dreams. The peaceful ending after the story.
For the people of Terra, who's lives are drowned in suffering and pain, living in a world of torment.
It was…
Bliss.
Nearl's mind blanked. She didn't even know it. This incomprehensible feeling. Unexplainable. Unforgettable. Unattainable.
Just as fast as it came was it whisked away.
Suddenly, everyone was jolted back to real life, the unfathomable sensation gone.
The golden glow of utopia faded. The plants and flowers on the ground broke into motes of rainbow. The sweet breeze of wonderland lost to the world.
Nobody could utter a word, still too wrapped around what they had experienced.
"Sorry, any more and your minds would have been broken." Shirou lied. What little amount of the Great Land Beyond he could summon was all he could do. He could not push it any further for the Everdistant Utopia understood that any more would break the weakling race that is humanity.
The truth was that he only summoned Avalon for the barest fraction of a second.
A thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth. Yet in such extreme circumstances, the unfathomable presence of Avalon was more than enough to last like a moment of eternity.
Shirou withdrew the traced sheath within him. It was nearly broken after a short moment of opening The Great Paradise On The Other Side. In reality, Shirou had been relying on its passive ability to heal himself. He could've done the same for the children, but pulling out the noble phantasm multiple times would've been more dangerous.
A good comparison would be small accurate pings on the map versus an earthquake. From one perspective, an earthquake happened everywhere at once. While small pings on a map could be identified and located.
Shirou basically summoned the equivalent of a good version of the Terran Catastrophe.
No doubt entities with the ability to feel magic would zero in on the Empire of Ursus after today.
"W-what…w-was…" Amiya stuttered as she recovered from the experience. Her mind was completely overwhelmed, too busy readjusting back to normal.
"That was my arts." Shirou answered.
A part of the noble phantasm his magecraft could summon anyhow. Technically it was the truth.
"What the fuck." One of the operators cursed, forgetting about the children momentarily.
"Yeah…it's not safe to use it at all. Turns people into vegetables." Shirou withdrew to a safe distance. "That's why I'd prefer not to use it at all. It's too dangerous."
More lies. But Shirou could easily work with this. After one experience, all of them would understand just how dangerous it was if they lost themselves to eternal bliss.
Everyone, including Nearl, had been grasping at straws to remember the vivid sensation. It was still there, a bare memory of what they thought was heaven. Then suddenly she froze as his words registered.
"W-what?"
"I said it's too dangerous. I can see from everyone's expressions that you are all trying to recall the sensation. Imagine if I exposed you to it for an extended period of time? You'd all go raving mad just to feel it again." Shirou continued to pile more lies while they were visibly overwhelmed. Reinforcing the fake information while their minds were at their weakest.
He needed them to believe that it was dangerous. To avoid having to use it in the future.
It was drugs. But without all the negatives. Only the positives.
The Everdistant Utopia was not a place for humans after all.
"Rest for a while. We should move once you're all recovered." Shirou crossed his arms.
This was going to take a few minutes.
In the distant wilderness somewhere to the north of Yan, a dragon froze.
The fragment turned and stared in a certain direction, peering at something hundreds of miles away. The playful and carefree attitude she carried was gone. Replaced by one of surprise and wonder.
"How…interesting."
She turned back to the movie script she was writing.
"Dammit…I've lost the motivation to continue."
The girl groaned and tore the piece of paper to shreds.
"Guess I'll just have to do this another time. There's more important things to do."
She leapt off the treetop she was enjoying the morning sunrise at and landed on the ground with a crash, and without skipping a beat, began walking towards the south.
Her movie would have to wait.
Author's Notes
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To HolyEmperorGilgamesh, errr no plans for Hoederer and Ines because I don't have a big grasp on them or their stories. So I won't be including them much similar to how I wrote in Hellagur. You can tell which characters I put more effort into are the ones that are popular and have their backgrounds fleshed out so it's easy to build off those.
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To narwastu13 and MrSpore, thank you for the lore update!
I'm starting to think I jumped off the deep end by writing this fanfic before I learned more lore. I am NOT gonna bloody write arcs focusing on those threats when the playerbase themselves know so little about it. Instead, we're just going to enjoy the main plot and side stories! Let's toss Shirou into the Kazimierz Major instead shall we?
Also, a blackhole hitting Terra in centuries is considered an "immediate threat" by Earth standards. Our recorded history is barely a few thousand years old. Arknights Endfield is confirmed by the CN community to be after Arknights. So maybe we'll get more info on release?
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To Zet4, you just gave me a horribly horribly amazing idea for Patriot. His dynamic with adopting FrostNova and influencing her to become like him is a mirror of Kiritsugu and Shirou.
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To memoryofvirtual, Arknights "arts" is already a mystery with how they can reproduce nearly any magic so anything goes I think. I'm seriously hoping no future canon will ruin the setting I'm building up.