Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

In a world where all can be real, what does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of humanity? A meeting between a human and a devil will have them discovering the truth while chasing their dreams. My take on the combined worlds of Fate and DxD with characters from other franchises if they can be adapted to it. Harem.

22. Chapter 22

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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22- Once A Paradise.

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Apollon Mathis is an old hoplite and member of one of the biggest guilds of Perseus, old in the sense he fought a lot and lived through plenty since the man is still getting to his late forties. He has blond hair tied in a ponytail that reaches the middle of his back; the rest of his hair is covered by a bronze helmet with white plumes, usual to the commanders of his guild.

Taller than many of his companions with broad shoulders covered by his bronze magical armor made with the best techniques his guild can afford, his white robes and sandals also being made of the best material. On his right arm is a huge bronze shield with a cloud raining thunder painted in it and with a sword sheathed close to his arm as he holds a spear with his right hand.

Appollon has been part of a grand total of Fifty-two Grand Hunts with his guild, his family, The Bastards Of Zeus. Since he was a teenager until his adulthood he has taken the mission of defending the shores of Greece from the serpentine threat from the island and hasn't regretted it since.

Now he is an adult and he is the commander of the forces sent by his guild, their ten strongest warriors, his brothers and sisters all using the same bronze and the same equipment.

Appollon raises a hand and prepares a hidden visor inside his helmet to protect his eyes and every single one of his men take it as a sign to do the same. The special glass is a necessity in their survival; magically enhanced, will protect them from the legendary Gorgon petrifying gaze if she decides to appear.

The Bastards Of Zeus, named after the many children the King of the Greek pantheon had prepared with their spears and shields, positioning themselves in the center of the ship in a circle, many can see that the sailors are also getting ready.

But not the foreigners, those that are not familiar with the Hunt. Instead they are still mingling, talking or looking at each other with suspicion. That would not do for Appollon. "What are you doing? Prepare yourselves!"

Almost everyone turns to look at the man in bronze, a man dressed in long robes and with white hair raises an eyebrow. "Why is that soldier?" Soldier is not an insult, it is a show of respect to the defenders of Perseus and the man spoke with respectful tone as well.

Enough respect that the commander replies in kind. "You all must prepare! Look how the sailors are already getting their weapons! Look how my countrymen are already in position!" He refers both to the Bastards and other warriors from Perseus on board. "The battle is about to begin! Get ready!"

"The island is still far away!" Another man says, dressed in a suit but carrying a staff he spoke with arrogance as his long green hair was free and he looked unconcerned. "We still have time!"

"We don't!" Appollon shouts, hoping that at least some of the foreigners are paying attention to his words. "The first- '' The ship shakes as something hits it to the side and the commander knows time is up, the Hunt has begun.

Jumping from the water with their tridents and spears are the first defenders of the islands, the 'husbands' of the lamias, the naga.

Huge beings with repitale heads, long necks and tails all the while having a torso and arms of a human with yellow fins running on their backs and arms. The naga are monsters not only in appearance but also in strength. They have no need for any armor, their scales already serving that function naturally, they have weapons made with stone from the island, sharp tridents and spears that shouldn't be as strong as they are but the stone itself made them special.

Every citizen of Perseus knows that the reason why the moderate sized ships are the ones that go to the island and not huge cruise vessels that can be easily taken down from the sides if the defenders don't have range to fight, is because of these creatures.

The nagas are omnivorous, those that enter in their territory enter by their own risk with a big chance of never returning if they are unaware or unprepared.

Strong in the land, stronger in the sea, those are the naga. Many times in the past huge ships were destroyed because of their attacks. Not only could they attack from below and sink any vessel that was unprepared but they also could board from any direction if they needed to.

And drag people to die in the sea. Appollon can already see many of those unprepared, the first man who had questioned him politely being one of them, getting dragged by scaled green hands to the ocean as others share the same fate or stabbed in the back by tridents sharp enough to pierce normal armor or any non magically enhanced clothing.

There are some who reacted fast enough to save themselves. Magic and weapons see fast use as everyone defends themselves, the sailors already have their swords drawn and arrows ready to defend their positions but they shall not join the fight immediately, they will only join if the situation grows dire.

Already the Bastards move to support some of the fighters around them, their spears shine bright with magic as they stab the closest nagas with vigor and precision born of hours of training.

"Stay in formation!" Appollon orders. "Those that need medical attention, go to the front of the boat! Anyone else fight in the middle!"

The commander has fought in the Hunt enough to know many of its tricks. Experience taught him that even if they are extremely strong, the nagas are not very intelligent, that is why the open boat managed to attract them and secure a better chance of a fair fight. If they were smarter then they would just keep going in and out of the water until they killed everyone or they try to find a way to breach the ship's magical defenses to stop it from being easily sunk.

That is why the best fighters must hold the middle, to make noise and provoke the enemy to make sure the sailors aren't hurt and the rest of the boat remains undamaged.

In a way Appollon can understand the reluctance of fighting surrounded by their enemy but these are no humans, they don't know how to capitalize strategical advantages and mostly focus on their strength alone to kill their victims.

Unfortunately for all humans present, discipline is something that is lacking at the moment that has already cost them some men. Everyone that had already participated on the Grand Hunt knew what to do but those new to it didn't and it shows as the ship is the stage for many skirmishes with people struggling to survive or retreating to the front for healing for the safety in numbers as more people retreat.

That means the naga are also split but their number is naturally higher and they are stronger than any human present on the ship, fighting smart is their best chance to survive.

But people are panicking all around the boat, gunfire and spells are hitting both monsters and allies.

Red and green blood is already starting to cover the whole surface of the ship as nagas jump out of the water relentlessly in quantities that those with experience know that they noticed the weakness of this particular vessel.

A spear stabs one naga in the eye as Appollon bashes his shield against its trident, the fork is easily repealed and the spear leaves the serpent's body once the man is sure it is dead. Another is already aiming a giant huge spear made of stone towards him which has one of his companions blocking with her own shield and aiming her own spear for the head of the serpent.

Once the new naga was killed both of the Bastards step back to their companions, many bodies surround them as the dead start to pile up.

'This is wrong.' Appollon can't help but think. 'In most of the Hunts there is less panic and more focus. Also most of the foreigners looked uninformed about the enemy. Why are there so many new bloods on this Hunt?' He expected that at least those that stepped on the ships for the Shapeless Isle would be better prepared for what they would face.

Instead everything is going wrong as people die left and right for mistakes that he learned not to do in his younger years. Yet the blond has little time to keep thinking as a lightning bolt flies from a spellcaster to hit a naga as he moves to the wall, a big wound on his shoulder.

A trio of mercenaries, twins that looked exactly alike with long sleeved green shirts and black short hair, fire their guns in despair. They are using all their ammon to take down as many nagas as they can but the three of them know it is just a matter of time before they run out.

*Click* *Click* *Click*

And when it happens they immediately discard their rifles and pull out pistols and knives. 'This shouldn't be happening.' Thinks one of the siblings, fear creeping in his spine. 'This shouldn't be happening!'

The three of them start to step back as more nagas approach but they don't notice one coming from the side until it's trident pierces one of the brothers. "BORREGAARD!" Screams for his sibling, another of the twins falls dead and now they are down to just two out of four.

"KEEP FIRING GARFIELD!" He plunges his army knife into the naga's eye, avenging his brother while keeping his retreat. Taking out his knife and putting it back in a holster on his back, he knees to get his fallen brother's gun. "KEEP FIRING!"

"BEHIND YOU FOOLS!" Another two naga are about to kill the brothers but one of the Bastards jumps to the rescue with his spear piercing the chest of one of the serpents as the shield hits another.

"MALONE!" Another guild members shout, his comrade had broken formation to help the brothers and now there is a gap that is quickly closed.

"I WILL-" Malone, who previously was surrounded by allies watching his back now is isolated with strangers, strangers who are not used to the type of fight happening, don't know the proper tactics and couldn't react as a huge blade pierces Malone in the chest.

The soldier can only turn around to the huge naga with a deep green skin and bigger than all the others and using two weapons, the sword and a trident. The serpent opens his mouth and bites the hoplita's head off.

The brothers react quickly, opening fire with their guns. They were four siblings when everything started, four twins that worked together and loved each other deeply.

An opportunity had come to make money by killing one competitor that had a huge reward on his head and they took, confident that together they would be able to kill the target during the Hunt.

Now there is only one left. "BARRION!" The last remaining sibling screams in sadness and fear as his brother is jumped by another naga, dying almost immediately by the immense weight that crushed him. "YOU BASTARDS!"

Garfield shots everything he has on his gun until he runs out of ammo. Before the last brother can advance with his knife he is stabbed on the back by the giant naga who is pretty much using his trident on his other hand as a fork to bring the human closer to his mouth.

Appollon turns his eyes to the side to not see the gruesome fate of the last brother, the same fate that happened to some of his comrades. He still keeps the giant green monster in his vision, the corner of his eye is not covered by his visor but his enemy is not the Gorgon so he wasn't worried about it.

"Sir! Orders!" Another of the Bastards, a woman he knew since her childhood, called for his attention. She is using the same equipment but her hair is shorter and hidden by the helmet.

"To the front, we must defend the wounded and prepare to disembark!" The order is met with affirmation for those left of his squad.

"Are you kidding me?" Close to them is the same green haired man with the staff and a suit from before. His clothes are ruined at this point with his white shirt covered in blood and a wound on his right arm. "We have to get back to the coast!"

"Turning the boat is going to take too long!" The commander informs the arrogant man that just gives him a sneer before a magic circle appears in front of him and launches a flamethrower to keep the nagas at bay. "This ship is lost! We must get to the island and join with our commaredes in one of theirs for our retreat!" Appollon shouts, making sure everyone could hear his voice.

As the leader of the most seasoned fighters present, The Bastard of Zeus, he knows that information and a plan are important for the morale of all present, many who are already ready to quit but hearing of a plan has them motivated to keep fighting for a little longer.

Plans run on the man's head as his spear kills more of the sea serpents. He tries to think of a way to salvage their situation but it is just getting worse by the minute.

Everyone that has been part of the Hunt for a considerable length of time knows exactly what is happening to their transport, the sailors are already in the fight, using their weapons to buy more time but Appollon, older than most present, has already realized that either way this ship was lost, the only question that remains is if the crew is going to sink with it or save themselves.

A sailor with a club crushes one naga's skull as another sends a spike of ice to kill another of the serpents. The Bastards form a perimeter around the wounded, their shields pushing and blocking the naga menace as much as they can as other attacks with spells and weapons.

And deep down, Appollon knows that everything they are doing is not going to be enough, not while the real threat is just watching the fight with what appears to be a smile on his reptilian face.

The reason why the nagas are called the husbands of the lamia is because of what exactly it sounded, they reproduced together and a normal lamia leaves eggs and gives birth to normal nagas and lamias.

But the same can't be said for the queens, the bigger and stronger of the females could give birth to other queens and monstrous nagas, bigger and stronger than their counterparts. It is just a matter of chance, when the DNA of the queen mixes perfectly with their mate giving birth to an offspring that can be classified as a 'king'.

Giant in size, taller than everyone and everything else on the boat, a skin as green as the weed at the bottom of the sea and stronger than any of its species with orange fins that are as sharp as blades. Appollon has seen many 'kings' during his years of fighting and this one is no different from the ones he survived before. That is why he knows that the fight is just going to get more intense.

What is different in this situation compared to the past is that his allies are not in the best condition. This is the first time that the Bastards of Zeus had to fight in such small numbers because of the lack of foresight of those that were supposed to be hunters like them.

Against the still huge number of enemies, the surviving humans can only struggle for one more minute or as much as they can hold while the captain of the vessel keeps pushing it to go faster, as fast as magic and metal can allow.

The captain of the ship is an experienced man in his later years, his job isn't to fight even if he was a capable fighter in his youth. His duty is to make sure the ship makes it to the island.

At over sixty years of age, Arkanis glares at the island as his ship accelerates. His hair is completely white and his blue eyes stay firmly looking ahead despite the fighting happening around his post, a square cabin that is the only real protection that the ship can afford.

With his immaculate white uniform, the man moves a hand to press a button to cool the engines with magic to make sure accidents didn't happen. Sweat is falling from his forehead as he can hear the constant fighting around him but he refuses to shake or budge from his position.

His magic feeds into the machine and his focus must be on acceleration to reach the island as quickly as he can so all passengers can jump out and go to another ship once they make their way there as well.

But Arkanis can feel his arms trembling and his magic beginning to fall. The number of monsters around the vessel just grows as they can smell the blood in the water.

Many of the mechanical parts below are protected by barriers but they need someone to control them and power the whole thing up. That is the duty of the captain, the safest but also the worst job of the whole ship.

Since the captain has the job of transportation he can do little but watch as more and more people die around him. The glass of his cabin gets more and more covered with blood as more fighters fall to the terrors of the ocean.

The naga are not unlimited, they are also falling little by little. But even if all nagas died in an instant, they already took their pound of flesh.

Even the wounded had to return to the fight and they are already falling again, this time not getting up. Of the Bastards only three remain standing with another ten men still in the fight.

And during all that, the king made no moves. If anything its reptilian face looks like it is smiling from all the carnage going around as it gets ready to kill the invaders of its home.

Appollon is back to back with the rude mage from before, his shield lost somewhere during the fight. Both are bleeding and the magician tries to throw another spell only for his circle to disappear and he loses his balance.

A naga sees the weakness of its prey and jumps to finish him. But the commander is still paying attention and his spear pierces the heart of the naga before the magician feels his trident.

The commander grabs the magician's arm and pulls him back as he abandons the spear and pulls his sword to block another trident coming in his direction. Pushing the naga's weapon to the side, the blond cuts the monster in the throat and keeps swinging his sword to cut another one in the chest before he is covered from one of his surviving comrades.

Steadily the humans retreat, backs against the wall of metal that has the steps to the captain's cabin. "We are going to die, aren't we?" Asks the magician in a suit.

After looking back and seeing that the island is still far away, Appollon responds. "Probably." Others are still fighting around them but at this point both realize it is just a matter of time. "We better make this count." The hoplite sheaths his sword and lowers himself to get a fallen spear and another shield, this one with the painting of a chalice.

"Even if we kill every naga here it makes no difference." The magician says with a frown. "By the way the serpents reproduce placing hundreds of eggs per month it is pointless-"

"No, killing that one isn't pointless." The blond in armor says, spear pointing to the king who is just watching. "It takes months for one of his stocks to be born and grow enough to be a problem. If we kill that one, others will not die because of it."

Instead of doing what he wanted and rolling his eyes, the magician gets on his feet, getting one of the stone tridents from the floor as he stands receiving a side glance from the armored soldier. "My pride refuses to let me just lay down and die."

"Good." That is all the commander has time to say before throwing himself in the fray.

With his spear he rushes to the closest naga, using his shield to deflect a trident and a spear as he kills another serpent, saving one of his last companions.

Shots are fired as the last of the mercenary present uses the last of his gun before throwing it away. The man grabs one of the fallen swords and blocks a trident going for his head but he isn't used to fighting with melee weapons. It doesn't take long for his sword to be pushed away as the naga kills his prey and jumps on the ocean to feast on his flesh.

The magician steps forward for a stab with the trident that a naga easily blocks, following it up with a punch, almost ripping off the magician's face and making a huge wound to the side area. Instead of cowering the man holds the weapon firmly as he uses the last of his mana into it.

A magic circle, as little as a nail, appears in the spear's point before it sends a concentrated beam of mana. The naga feels the heat, something its species can ignore but he chooses not to, confused by the sensation.

The blond spellcaster takes advantage of the distraction to shove his spear on the naga's stomach but the monster doesn't fall, on contrary it looks at the human with something close to anger, upset for the wound.

Quickly the magician lets go of the trident as another blow passes close to hit his face. The naga advances in anger, its reptilian tail pushing around all the corpses to the sides as it advances.

The magician drags himself back until once again he hits the wall as the naga pulls out the trident from his torso, ready to use it to skew the one who hurt it. Looking around, the blond sees a possible salvation and rolls to the side, dodging his former weapon.

A sword of two edges is his salvation as he grabs it and stabs the tail of the naga making it scream in pain as the spellcaster removes it and stabs the serpent in the back, pushing it up to cut his spine and then the naga in half.

In another corner of the ship two of the Bastards charge, the last ones besides their commander, charge with vigor at the king naga. None of the other nagas can stop or even challenge their assault but they are underestimating the king who is going to be a different kind of foe and their leader knows that. "STOP YOU IDIOTS!"

The warning comes too late as the two warriors just attack, the woman gets close first and thrusts her spear at the king who looks amused.

Unlike his inferior naga brethren, the kings have intelligence to a considerable degree. With it the king parrys the attack with his trident and tries to lunge itself on the woman only to retreat back as a spear almost pierces his head coming from the other Bastard.

Their plan had been to use one of them as bait to the surprise attack but they failed. The king dodged and used his tail to hit the man back towards the other naga, dooming him to die and become a meal for the sea serpents.

Once again the attention was on the solitary soldier left but she wouldn't fight alone as Appollon threw his spear to try and catch the king by surprise.

His maneuver worked as the naga's shoulder is hit and it lets out a hiss of fury as the woman notices the opening and moves for a stab on the naga's neck. But the tail of the king reacted, this time hitting the woman with its fin, cutting her as her armor failed to stop the attack. She dies as her torso is cutting open and more blood covers the deck.

His friend's death enrages Appollon but his eyes keep fixed on his target. The hoplite knows that he is on his last legs. From the corner of his eye he sees his last soldier being torn apart by a group of nagas and he realizes that time is running out and he must kill the king quickly.

Ignoring the spear on its shoulder the king charges with rage at the commander who draws his sword and positions his shield. It was a good thing for Appollon he did as the trident slams on the shield, piercing it like paper.

One of the three prongs pierces the Greek's flesh but his focus isn't on that, it is on diverting the weapon to the side and stabbing his word on the open belly of the naga. He manages three quick stabs before the creature gets him in the face with the spear, Appollon manages to dodge but not completely as his helmet flies away and a cut appears on his face.

Yet the man doesn't relent, he swings his sword five more times at the now exposed king's arms. Memories of the past, of helping on his companions' training, of their growth as they all lived through many Hunts give him strength to keep going.

The deaths of his friends, companions, brothers and sisters in this Hunt only makes him feel guilt and anger. More anger and fury that he ever felt in his life as he keeps pushing his body, wishing to kill the naga without caring for the consequences.

Appollon is a commander of the Bastards of Zeus. Even mad he is still a great warrior that trained for many years to earn his post, he won't fall to anger and while his attacks fail to kill the king naga he works on creating an opening for the final blow.

The king receives some damage and drops the spear but as his trident is still stuck in the shield, he moves his now empty hand to grab the soldier's sword arm to stop it from harming him; he fails, the soldier is too quick and the sword doesn't stop moving.

Every time the man had to fight against a king passed by his mind to help him build a strategy against the enemy, how to move, when to retreat and where to hit to make sure every swing of his sword hurt the king even if a little.

Appollon wants to kill the monster but he also has enough of a presence of mind to know that may be impossible and he needs to make preparations to make sure the naga dies.

Abandoning his trident and slamming his hands on the deck, the naga does a turn to hit the commander with his appendage but the man is prepared for it and ducks, the tail smacking and throwing away other nagas as the sword cuts it as it passes over his head.

Glaring at his enemy, the king naga realizes that it needs to change strategies as Appollon takes a couple of steps back and to the side to kill another naga that was about to attack him, quickly decapitating the intruding serpent, his eyes going back to the king as he charges once more.

Once again the serpent shows its intellect as the king realizes that he needs a weapon to get the slippery human. Looking at the spear on its shoulder, he pulls it off with a grunt as lime green blood leaves its body.

The last Bastard of Zeus is not afraid, he refuses to show fear in his last moments. With sword in hand he charges, cutting any naga that appears in his line of sight.

The king is on guard, the human has proven himself dangerous and with his arms and shoulder wounded, the naga resolves to take his opponent seriously. With its shoulder burning with pain the king knows that the weapon in his hands is a good one, even if not really better than his former spear made of stone from the Shapeless Isle.

Both combatants clash, sword stopping the spear immediately with Appollon almost losing his step and falling to the strength of the king at the moment of impact.

Changing his footing somewhat, the commander goes around the spear to aim for the head of the serpent, aiming for the neck of the creature only for it to move out of the way of the sword, the king looking amused by the attempt.

Now the king is focused, no longer he would underestimate the human before him. While he is used to being the strongest where his equals are only his peers the king knows that he isn't invencible.

Fortunately for the creature a spear is a weapon he knows how to use and he capitalized it to use the side to hit the human's sword and redirect it away as the tip of the spear was aimed to the blond's heart.

The man repositions himself slightly, making sure his armor would bounce the spear away from vital organs. Both are made from the same material with the armor obviously being the better one defensively.

A great impact hits his shoulder and Appollon realises he underestimated the strength of his opponent with the spear, the weapon itself breaks as the commander is thrown to the side with his armor broken and only with his sword on hand. The force behind the hit was such that the man feels that attempting to use his arm is futile from that point on.

Biting back the pain, the soldier rolls to the side as the naga attacks with the remains of his spear. The human is afraid, he can already tell that he will probably fail before delivering a killing blow to the monster that now has armed itself once again with a trident made of stone.

"FOR ZEUS!" The man decides to shout. 'If I am to die, then let it be with my god's name in my lips!' He thinks in fury as he charges again, kicking a shield close to his feat at the naga.

It manages to redirect the disk easily and motions to stab Appollon but the man manages to push the trident to the side with the full strength of his arm, keeping it in position to cut the head of the serpent.

Once again it dodges, its neck and whole body moving to the side as the trident's side hits the commander on the chest and sends him flying.

The other nagas part ways as the man hits the steel bars, sliding to the floor. They know not to mess with a king's prey.

The huge naga approaches the man and once again the last Bastard stands, it takes time and he struggles but eventually he is on his feet.

Blood is covering his eye and the man is sure he has a concussion but that doesn't mean he is surrendering, it just reminded him that time is running out faster than he has the luxury of wasting.

Quick and precise, the naga raises his trident, pulling it back with its arm to plunge the weapon on the man's chest. Just as quickly the commander dodged the strike, stabbing the naga on the lower part of its body with his full strength.

This time there is no hiss or amusement anymore, it is clear that the monster is furious at the audacity of the human with a roar of anger that sounds like someone is drowning.

The huge naga is accustomed the the top of the food chain, to have the 'wives' tend to him while his inferior brethren can only watch, that only his equals of the same appearance and power could contest him and even then they don't need to fight against each other since there were plenty of lamias for them all.

But the human is proving to be a pest to the mighty naga. It has survived longer than any challenger that attempted to usurp him and failed. Not his equals how wanted his territory or the inferior naga who thought that could challenge him.

Yet the human persisted longer than the strongest nagas that made an attempt to take his life, not through strength but by being more slippery than those of the species while hurting the king repeatedly to the point that he is also covered in his own blood.

The trident goes up and then goes down once again. "AAAAAAH!" Appollon couldn't stop the scream this time, while he was trained to resist pain he is in no condition to apply his training, exhaustion and the weakness are finally breaking his spirit.

The commander's sword arm is now pinned to the ground, the tallest prong piercing it and the deck as the man can only watch his blood flowing as his bones and muscles are ripped apart.

All the man can do now is glare at the giant naga, who is looking amused again. The king naga takes joy in the suffering of the human who managed to hurt him, the scream of the commander makes him tremble in delight as he pulls out the trident quickly without ceremony.

The thing was so big that the man now has his hand half connected to the rest of his arm with a huge hole that only leaves blood and pain to Appollon as his exposed bone and veins show to him he is at the end of his life.

But the man still glares at the naga with anger, his mind is going haywire and all he wants is to lay down and die but his pride and the memories of his friends keep going even if he can't do anything but just glare at the monster that is about to kill him.

And the naga knows that, knows his victory is assured and raises his trident to kill the human once and for all.

A trident stabs his back. "By the glory of the All Mighty Ra! Feel the brilliance of the Sun!" Fire erupts in the king's body and he can only let out a scream of pain as the flames spread madly.

With a distorted voice sounding like a growl and all the other nagas watching the king let out his final sound. He couldn't speak any human language but anyone could tell what it was trying to transmite in that moment, that he was in great pain and he was going to die.

Golden flames pours through the naga, the king's eyes disappear as fire fights to escape by any orifices that it could find.

Fire pours out of the naga's mouth, from his wounds, from his eye sockets, from the back where the trident had struck and any place it could find to escape. The king finally falls before the commander, his eyes wide in shock as the creature still burns after death.

"Fucking ugly beasts!" It was the green haired man from before, the spellcaster dressed in a suit says irritated and exhausted. His eyes look around angrily as the rest of the naga start to move again. Picking up the trident one more he lets out a sadistic smile. "Come at me you blasted snakes! I will send you all to hell!"

Appollon wishes he could ask that man's name, that he could have talked to him some more, to know him better before the end. But unfortunately he can't, he is in no condition and now that the king is dead the time has come. He already knows how he will die as he closes his eyes and waits for the inevitable.

Arkanis saw the king fall and knew that now was the time. He has been doing his duty as the captain and steering the ship while watching as friends and strangers died in droves without being able to do nothing.

His cabin is getting destroyed by the nagas, they want his life as they took the lives of everyone else in the ship. Even the last magician is on his last legs as he swings the trident covered in flames against the nagas, a last resistance against the creatures that fear the fire and the one who killed a king.

One of the windows of his cabin breaks, the reinforced glass failing against the assault of the nagas and Arkanis knows he can't wait much longer for the other human to die with honor.

"'A captain's duty'." He whispers somberly, hand going to his pocket as he pulls out a wood toy in the shape of an owl.

It is a trinket without any real special properties, made of simple brown wood that one can get in any old forest. But his grandson had made it for him a few months ago while praying to Athena that his grandfather would return from his trips safely. And for months the man had managed to do it, enjoying every time he got to hug his family after his return.

Being a captain of the Great Hunt doesn't just demands that the individual knows navigation, those chosen also must have a considerable knowledge of magic and mana control to use the special functions of their ships and learning both practices takes a considerable amount of time, so much so that it is one of the main reasons why only twelve vessels leave to the Shapeless Isle besides the the need to have some in reserve in case of damage to the ship or death of the main crew.

Closing his fist on the small owl, the man brings it to his lips for a small kiss. He prays not for himself but for his children and grandchildren as his last voyage is about to end.

His other hand goes for the center of the ship's steering wheel, the captain begins to inject mana in the machine as the wheel starts to get hot.

Arkanis can see to his side the controles starting to blare in red alert, a light that blinks constantly besides the controls of speed and register of the fuel tank, one last warning.

The captain ignores it, pushing more mana as a naga is at his side after entering by the now broken side window.

His grip gets tighter on his small charm as he knows what is about to happen. At the end he can't lie to himself as his legs begin to shake in fear but he refuses to let the wheel go. "Do you even know what is happening? Do you know what you do to us? Do you care?" He questions the naga he knows is listening.

He gets no answer other than a trident shoved in his back. Blood fills his mouth as he can feel a lot of pain and breathing gets more difficult. Still he keeps his hand on the wheel for as long as he could as the mana flows in the system of the ship to activate its final resource.

The naga lifts him up and Arkanis can see the clear skies of a new day. He lived in the summer his whole life, born and raised in Perseus. Rarely the captain left his home and even in the winter he never saw much snow until recently when his granddaughter asked him what it was and their whole family took a small tour to the countryside.

But he doesn't regret how he lived, not a single moment. If he has any regret it would be that he won't see his grandchildren grow up or have children of their own.

"For Athena." Arkanis' last whisper is for his goddess. 'I am sorry Ninia. I am not going home tonight.' But his last thoughts are for his wife as the naga is about to devour him only for the mana to finally overcharge the system of the ship.

The magician swings the trident madly in his struggle to survive when he suddenly feels it, a huge gathering of energy, just below his feet. "No! I don't want to-"

…

Shirou can only watch as the distant ship explodes. In his hands Muramasa is covered in green blood and nagas lay dead at his feet. A huge pillar of fire shoots from the water and reaches the skies, parting the clouds of the morning in such a way that the whole city can see what happened even if they were considerably far from the coast.

The redhead and everyone else has been busy killing the nagas that tried to take their boat but found little difficulty in doing things. The sea serpents may be strong but Shirou had faced worse and the other fighters present coordinated enough that the threat was easily repealed.

It wasn't difficult or even a challenge for them, magic and steel won their first skirmish as much as brute force did and for a moment the son of the Emiya family thought that things were going to be easy.

That was until the huge explosion happened and now he can see a fireball going to the sky as one of the ships blows up. Once the fire and smoke dissipates somewhat everyone can see the leftovers of the ship with no bodies in sight.

"What...happened?" Shirou questions and he can see he isn't the only one.

"That vessel failed." It was a woman who spoke, her blue armor and huge shield with a scorpion painting. She is in a circle of warriors with all their spears pointing out and many naga corpses around it. "When the nagas manage to kill the majority of a transport and there is no hope for survival, the captain has to follow a protocol to destroy the ship with a mixture of technology and magic." The woman lets out a bitter chuckle. "Quite a blast wasn't it?"

"But how?" Someone else asked. A man dressed in robes and a sword that was as thin as a toothpick. "These things are a joke! Someone there must have brought some explosives they shouldn't!"

"These ships are not so frail that any maniac can damage them!" One of the sailors who stood close to the cabin of the captain, armed with a scimitar said with considerable anger. "They were made with the best metal, reinforced with spells you can't possibly comprehend and technology that is the perfect combination of the god's wisdom and human ingenuity! If it did blow up it was because everyone on that ship was dead or dying!"

Shirou is about to question more but he feels his father's hand on his shoulder. "Don't attract attention to ourselves." Kiritsugu whispers. The man didn't look bothered or even like he cared about the situation. On his hand there is a minigun that he was using and his finger is still on it as he doesn't lower his guard.

"But-"

"Someone else will ask the questions." And as his father said, someone else did.

"And you just sacrificed everyone there?" It was the woman that Shirou noted before and she looks upset. "Why not call for help or reinforcements? We could have helped!"

"Don't underestimate the nagas, girly!" The sailor says with anger, his red hair and face made him look even madder. "Going and coming back from the island is a risk in itself! If we are not careful then we all will die!"

"When a great number of nagas join to attack one ship and the defenders fail to coordinate, death is the result." A man with green armor and a tree on his shield said in lament. "They reproduce too fast and grow too quickly but they are mostly opportunists, they won't attack a well defended ship."

"And once they manage to kill the defenders of one of the ships, the captain has the last duty to sink the ship." Another of the sailors said, he is sitting on the ground holding a shotgun. "No one wants to die like that so pay attention and get into position. If too many of you die then me and my friends will have to fight too and waste energy that would be better defending the ship on the island."

With that the questions ceased as more nagas tried to jump in the ship only to be killed by the passengers. Shirou remains perplexed about the current situation. "If they can make that kind of explosion how is that island still standing?"

"Fear." Kiritsugu answered his son even if the question wasn't for him. "The island itself is special, the boundary field that covers Perseus actually comes from it and it is tremendously strong. Even throwing a bomb from the sky would fail if not call the attention of mundane authorities that will want to know who dropped it and what was the target since it doesn't show in any map or satellite." The older man made sure to not look at his son so he can tell which people are watching and hearing him with side glances. "But the worst thing everyone fears is the Gorgon. She would survive all kinds of spells and all modern weaponry and if she loses her home, odds are that she will go on a rampage looking for another."

Shirou understood the implications of something like that happening, with her ability to turn people into stone, the fact that the gods fear her and the fact that before Perseus hundreds of wannabe heroes had tried and failed to defeat the Medusa meant that she could do some real damage and maybe not even be stopped.

It is clear to him that while the Gorgon lives, taking out the island is only going to bring out more problems that no one can deal with properly or without great cost.

"Bah! Someone else could deal with her, I'm sure!" A woman who is dressed like a witch shouts in irritation. She also was looking at the remains of the explosion with a frown on her face. "With so many sacred gears around the world, or gods for that matter, there should be someone cleaning this mess!"

"Where are the Greek gods?" Asks a man that looks like an American soldier, he also has a sniper rifle in his hand and uses it to shoot dead a naga that had its hands just on the boat before it is killed. "Shouldn't they be cleaning this kind of mess in their territory?"

"Look how you talk!" Another man dressed in green armor says, getting close to the soldier. "You wouldn't understand the design of the gods!"

"Feh. Design?" The same soldier asks sarcastically. "I would call them cowards if they don't have the guts to solve their own problems.

"Why you-"

"Garan!" Another man in green stops the first one. The plume in his helmet is larger and he appears to be in charge of that group. "It is not worth it! Stay in formation!" The first man obeyed, a frown on his face but not directed to his commander.

Everyone is on high alert and any nagas that manage to reach the ship are easily killed. The sea serpents are repealed without difficulty and so far no one on their ship has died.

But Shirou's eyes are still on the remains of the ship that exploded, he can't stop himself from thinking what exactly had gone wrong there and he wasn't the only one, that is the main reason why everyone else present is still on guard and nervous.

So far the sea serpents hadn't shown themselves as the threats they should be and nobody is having any problems in killing the creatures. Some researchers even collected some of the weapons, singing praises since they were made from stones from the Shapeless Isle and are excellent conductors for magic.

Shirou doesn't care, he is just angry that people died and there was nothing he could do about it. Even he can understand by observing the attack on his own ships that the nagas are dangerous but manageable if people are careful, the ship itself stopped attacks from below and the serpents need to come to surface to fight them which gives the hunters all the advantage.

'The time we go to the island is during the day. Even now I have some visibility of the nagas trying to get close and people know that this whole thing is dangerous. What went wrong on the other ship?' Shirou's mind is still on the subject and Kiritsugu can see that his son is confused and concerned.

Even the Magus Killer is surprised by how fast things had gone wrong on the other ship for them all to die. He knew that some of the people involved were incompetent and arrogant but he didn't expect things just to happen like that in transition to the island. 'I was counting on the chaos starting at the beach, not before.' Looking at Shirou he made some adjustments to the plan in his mind. 'Sleight deviation aside, the plan is still on. Shirou may be disturbed right now but he will recover. Besides, there are still plenty of people around after my head. Even if they don't attack me, Shirou will still have learned some of the harsh realities of the world.'

But the Magus Killer is still counting on more violence happening when they land on the beach. His expectations are that Shirou will react more drastically and be more prepared now that he knows some of the realities of the moonlit world.

"Focus Shirou." The Magus Killer decides to say, it would be remiss of him to let his partner and objective on the job to remain unfocused. "Sacrifices are necessary for survival and you must not let their deaths be in vain." The redhead doesn't reply, his grip in Muramasa is so tight that his knuckles are white. "With their demise everyone realized how dangerous this job really is and it isn't done. In the island itself we shall face not only the nagas but also the lamias."

Both had already talked extensively about how dangerous the lamias could be. Unlike the nagas who can be called brutes and the muscle the lamias can use mana in a myriad of ways, both for offense and defense.

To help in the preparation for the job the Magus Killer collected records from the last Hunts and incursions of monsters around Greece before they departed from Japan. From the moment he knew the kind of job he wanted to take Shirou to, he got to work on all details to guarantee their survival and success.

It was easy to acquire intelligence about the monsters in the area and he had people working around the clock to copilate files that can be of use to him and any member of his security firm in case they come across the monsters in the future.

While Shirou studied magecraft, Kiritsugu studied their future opponents from these files, making observations of his own on them since he was part of the Great Hunt in the past.

It was when he was with Natalia and they needed some money rather quickly. The woman didn't hesitate to join the Hunt that year the two times and Kiritsugu, still a teenager that had all his ribs before some were removed for the creation of a mystic code, had gone with her both as a learning experience and because he didn't want to let her go alone.

In the past when Kiritsugu had passed by Perseus, Natalia had taught him the same things he in turn did to Shirou, that is how he knew that this job would be the best chance to make sure his son gets used to killing.

Of course that also meant that the Magus Killer needed to stack the deck a little and he saw no better and convenient way than to attract opposite factions and have them interact in the middle of a battlefield.

Kiritsugu knows that some old grudges run deep and many will jump at the opportunity to kill their enemies. That is why he got some of his own around, to make sure something is going to happen and he will have plenty of reasons to fight back without his son being able to complain.

But to accomplish his goal the Magus Killer can't fire the first shot, if he does it then any ground he gained with his son would be lost and the redhead won't listen to him anymore and he may die.

Lucky for Kiritsugu his priority is Shirou's life and not his own, he sees no problem in putting himself in peril. That is why even talking with his son, even standing close to him, the Magus Killer makes sure to look as impersonal as possible, like he is training an apprentice or an employee, not his own son.

The nagas are starting to stop their offensive, no other ship looks to be in danger of falling like the first one did but no one celebrates their initial success.

The veterans of the Hunt know that things are not over just yet, that this was just the first part and usually the easiest one since most fighters were prepared.

But everyone knows that there were casualties, even if not on their ship. The fact that with one of the ships now at the bottom of the ocean there is no need to expeculation, it was already explained that such an event only happened because every combatant on the ship was killed and the captain destroyed it to kill as many monsters as possible.

Now everyone is nervous but not panicking, they are ready to fight and to make sure that they don't share the fate of those who already died on this day.

The ships begin to turn as they approach the island, once their back is properly positioned for landfall, defense and retreat.

Those that belong to guilds and are experienced in the Hunt are already stepping forward, shields raised up and spears at the side ready. Once everyone else saw the formation they understood that the break in the fighting was over.

Already on the beach the enemy is in sight of those in the ship. The area for landfall was chosen after many attempts of trial and error and can be considered the most dangerous region as well as the safest.

The reason for that is that the beach is protected and covered inside a ruge ravine which isolated the area for other sea serpents that may want to get close, the extension of it is big enough that all the twelve ships can get in with some care to not hit one another and leave without problems with a competent crew.

At the end of the beach there is a huge mountain, taller than some skyscrapers and full of entrances and tunnels that can be used to reach the other points where there are more serpents spread around the island, living, mating and hunting.

The tunnels also have some of the lamias and nagas living inside them for many reasons and are usually the place where the leg work of the Hunt begins.

However the mountain is extremely dangerous. Its tunnels weren't made by nagas, lamias or men, they were made by the strongest resident of the island, the true Queen.

Many times there were attempts to map those tunnels but they ended by both assaults of the minor serpents and the Gorgon herself. All that was really discovered is that all the tunnels eventually connect to her place of rest and the top of the mountain where someone managed to find a temple in ruins and nothing else.

But while the Gorgon is dangerous she rarely shows herself or attacks anyone outside her tunnels. There is confirmation that she does move around the rest of the island and once she did show up at the beach centuries ago.

No, the focus of the Hunt isn't the Gorgon, but the other serpents that cover most of the island, its surface and its interior, with their great numbers that for some may look uncountable.

Visual contact is already possible and Shirou can already see the enemy, they are all as his father's reports described. Where the nagas have an almost complete serpent appearance the lamias are different. Their upper bodies were like naked beautiful women that if someone doesn't know the danger that they pose to anyone are the perfect bait for the unprepared.

From the waist up the lamias look perfect with various body types to appreciate and enjoy. Some are even posing to the sailors approaching their island, making motions and faces that promise the best of pleasures for the day and the night if someone desires with each looking more beautiful than the last as the eyes look at them with trepidation.

But from the waist down they are more similar to their 'husbands'. They lack the fins that the nagas possess, their tails instead of legs looking like proper snake bodies making them appear bigger when they are coiled or just extended like some of them are, showing the monsters' full length as they are larger than most humans.

Mana begins to accumulate on the hands of one of the snake women, she has short brown hair and red eyes and the mana on her hands is considerably big as a orb of white light flies in the ship's direction.

Many were preparing barriers or taking cover behind other people, Shirou himself was getting ready to make shields for himself and his father, but they didn't need to bother.

"SHIELD!" As one every man and woman using armor raises their huge shields in unisson to block the attack. When their shields are raised in front of the ship, a mechanism is activated inside them, courtesy of the Greek gods.

In front of every shield there is a barrier that grows larger and connects to the others of the same kind. The hoplites using the shields show no sign of exhaustion as the shields are sustained by all of them equally as the mechanisms inside the metal regulates the mana and makes sure everyone is doing their part.

The first shot is easily blocked but soon other lamias prepare themselves. 'There are at least four different guilds here.' The Magus Killer analyses. 'Even in their low numbers individually they are working as one.' He nods in appreciation for the Greeks' teamwork as they care more about the monsters than anyone else in the ship. just as he expected.

Besides the painted scorpion and tree that caught the attention of others before there is also a lion and an eagle. In total the guild has a presence of twelve or so members on the ship, with three from each, but they move like they are all part of the same army.

Shirou smiles at the sight. 'For them there is no division. Maybe in their city they are enemies and rivals but right now they are all allies and companions.' His hands hold Muramasa and its scabbard firmly as more lamias begin to throw mana at them.

All the boats have guild members on them, soldiers of Perseus ready for the invasion and experienced in the fight against the sea serpents. Many realise now that this is by design to make sure that the initial bombardment can't kill too many of the new hunters by just having those that hunted many times among them, at least enough that with their shields can protect everyone without risking something by the lack of awareness.

Little by little the ships approach the beach and more nagas board again to take out as many humans as they can. "COVER THE SHIELDERS!" One of the sailors shouts, catching everyone's attention. "ANYONE THAT CAN ATTACK FROM RANGE AIM FOR THE SEA! THE REST KILL THE NAGAS SO THEY DON'T BREAK OUR DEFENSE!"

Shirou is one of the first to react, sheathing his sword and projecting a bow with an arrow much to the surprise of many magicians around, including his father. 'He didn't tell me that he is practicing archery.' Kiritsugu focuses on his coat and pulls out a rifle with a scope, surprising those with military knowledge with the quality of the weapon.

Soon projectiles begin to fly back or aim close to the water to take out the nagas attempting a counter attack. The serpents are having trouble getting on the ship and the smart ones are staying back with the lamias that are still firing.

Soon the ship is close enough that it is possible to hit the coast, spells are the first able to reach it and start to bombard the monsters in the open.

With fire and lighting falling in their heads the serpents begin to retreat while more are showing up, attracted by the noise and mana running around the place. Between the new arrivals there is one of the lamias his father warned Shirou about, a queen lamia.

She is giant even when compared with the other lamias, at least the size of a big house with short white hair, red skin and her tail is of a charcoal like color. On her arms there are bracelets and on her head there is a tiara that didn't stop her hair from covering her forehead.

Shirou can tell even with the distance that the queen lamia was the biggest adversary he ever had to face. Preparing an arrow and filling it with mana he takes a fast shoot trying to do some damage.

The mighty queen doesn't notice the arrow flying to her eye, it is a small thing and even with mana and being shot with a Reinforced bow it still wasn't detectable as a threat to her as she advances to the coast.

In a few seconds arrows, bullets and magic spells manage to hit the giant serpent and some damage is done as she stops, the two giant nagas at her side look mad but not madder than the queen herself. From what the redhead can see with his sharp eyes, noticing that his arrow hadn't reached the creature's eyes but her stomach because of distance and it wasn't really enough to even garner her attention from what he can consider.

The queen begins to accumulate mana on her two hands. "SHIELDS UP!" One of the commanders of the guilds called out and mana started to surround all of those with shields to create a barrier that started to surround the ship front in its entirety.

"Keep firing!" Someone shouts as the barrier didn't stop their shots from going while it stopped the attacks from going out as it was stopping the lamias mana from getting it.

A couple more seconds later the queen is ready, a huge ball of mana on her hands as she lifts both above her head, taking the ball behind it and then throwing it within an arch. It is them that all can see the size of the mass of mana.

Those that can't properly feel the energy used to make the ball can tell how powerful it is by its size alone. It is big enough that half of the ship can be covered by it and it is a mass of pure mana emanating enough heat to boil an egg in seconds.

Everyone stops firing to watch the mana sphere's flying path with many afraid that the mass of power is going to hit them.

It flies, passing over the heads of every serpent on the islands that stopped attacking and advancing the moment the queen began her preparations. They witness the mana flying towards the invaders and cheer for one of their queens as her attack slams on one of the shields without mercy.

Even as the shield manages to hold and push the attack back the blast that results from the confrontation was enough to create great waves that push the ships around it in all directions, breaking the formation even if only a little.

Some people lose their footing but not the Greek soldiers, the guardians of Perseus are used to such things and manage to maintain the barriers on the ships that weren't hit as all the captains work around the clock to make sure to stabilize their charges.

The same can't be said about the ship that took the main brunt of the attack, their barrier is down as the hoplitas that shielded it are spread around on the floor, exhausted and with most of their shields broken. It is clear that another blast like that and the ship is going to sink.

And the queen lamia knows it, she is smart enough to notice the weakness and the chink in the armor of her hunters.

Shirou also realises what it means. "She is going to shoot again!" He calls, getting up and preparing another arrow before looking at it.

"QUICK! MAKE A BARRIER!" Someone calls on the deck and magicians around haste to build some form of defense while others try to attack the 'queen' again.

"Looks like we drew the short straw." One of the hoplitas says with a chuckle.

"Indeed we did." Another with gray armor says in the same tone. "As expected of the power of a queen lamia. The next attack is probably going to sink us."

"What are you saying?" The woman with short hair asks with a frown. "We still haven't even got to the island yet." She tries to step forward but her bald companion grabs her shoulder. "Let me go, Lab!"

"Calm yourself Ari." Her other companion with black hair says, his eyes never straying from the beach. "Get ready to act. The queen is gathering her mana again."

Shirou also hears those words and looks to the beach to see that he was indeed telling the truth and he can see the mana that the queen is accumulating and how it is the same as before, her eyes fixed on their ship.

"Bad luck for us I guess." Another soldier in green armor comments. "That is what happens when a fully developed queen shows up. They usually can sink one or two ships before we hit the coast." The revelation is met with surprise from many present. "Without our shields there is nothing we can do to help." She, for the voice is of a woman, keeps explaining, mildly depressed. "All the captain now is to keep going forward while hoping there are enough mages here to give us a fighting chance."

"So what? We are just bait?" The now identified Ari says with scorn.

"Ari! Control yourself!" The bald one, Lab, says while hitting the bottom of his silver spear on the deck.

"But we can-" Before the woman can fully respond the new mana sphere is already flying their way.

Everyone that could use any form of magic began an attack or to build a barrier to try to stop it, they hold no illusion that they will survive if the thing hits the ship with the nagas around are already getting in position. The creatures in the water wait for the destruction that they trust it will. They know the majority of those in the ship are going to be easy pickings at that point and plenty of passengers realize that there is nowhere to run and they must stop the orb of mana in order to survive.

Unlike the shield before there is no coordination, everyone is trying to do whatever they could to starve out the inevitable and Shirou realises that there is something he can do.

With just a couple of seconds left he looks at the arrow on his hand and makes it disappear before gathering mana on his hand to make a familiar katana smaller, much smaller.

He is about to modify his bow when he hears his name. "Shirou." Kiritsugu's voice snaps the redhead out of his focus as he looks at his father's face. "I need your assistance with something." His hand goes for his coat and everyone's eyes go wide as an immense rocket launcher, practically a cannon by itself, appears on his hand. "I need you to help me hold this."

Another impact happens as the redhead and others fall to the ground but the Magus Killer remains immovable, like a tower in the middle of the sea, the impacts of the waves make no difference to the man as the cannon remains steady on his hand.

Like the warriors from before the magicians used all their power to hold back the attack, the ship is slightly knocked off course. Some take consolation in the fact that the other ships will avenge them but others rage and get up to prepare another defense or counter attack.

"Shirou." His father calls for him once again, his voice sounds detached from the whole situation.

Getting to his feet quickly, Shirou follows his father's orders and gets behind the man, lifting the tail of the cannon with his shoulder as his father prepares to shoot. "We look like we could be in a sentai series with a weapon this big."

The Magus Killer begins to aim as an electronic target system appears from the cannon over his eye to help with the shoot, showing the trajectory, while calculating the speed of the projectile for him. The man remains silent as those around and behind give the duo some space, nobody wants to be caught by accident in the range or recoil of that weapon.

The queen lamia doesn't care about anything that is being done in the ship, only preparing another sphere of mana to throw it again.

Meanwhile the Magus Killer is finishing his preparations. "Shoot already!" Screams a man dressed as a modern soldier.

"Can that even kill such a monster?" Asks a magician that knows nothing of modern weaponry but in this situation many would forgive him since it is not everyday someone sees a rocket launcher that big.

"She is getting ready again!" The panic began to spread as not enough people were able to muster the power for another shield.

"Shoot your idiot!" Another complaint falls to deaf ears as the Magus Killer concentrates, waiting for the right opportunity to fire.

It isn't just a matter of aim or preparations from his part, it is about getting the timing right to do the most damage possible. One of the advantages of such a giant weapon and its design is that even if there are those that are losing their patience and want just him to shoot they don't dare to try and get in his way since they don't know what that is capable of.

In reality the whole design is not really practical because of its size and because even if taken to a battlefield the thing needs a two man team at minimum to be properly used.

But it is perfect for a man like Kiritsugu that doesn't fight normal battles if he can avoid them.

Usually, if the opponent has a weakness the Magus Killer explores it like a maniac. He chases every detail and gets every lead that he can to make sure there isn't a battle or even a fight, that is the kind of job Emiya Kiritsugu is good at.

With his profession that is not always an alternative. Because Kiritsugu works for Sirzechs Lucifer there was more than one occasion he finds himself in a situation like this; staring down a giant monster that his normal means can't kill or even harm.

Unlike vampires, werewolves or devils, the lamias and nagas have no crippling weakness, fire harms them more than other means but that makes little difference because they live close to water or are strong enough to ignore it for enough time to run towards it.

This is not the first situation that Kiritsugu faced odds like that, a situation where the enemy has no clear weakness and he needs to kill it despite the fact that the target is bigger, stronger, has more magical energy than he has or all the alternatives above at the same time.

Foresight is something that Kiritsugu learned to cultivate since early in his career, it helps to minimize mistakes and to make sure that unpleasant situations happen and is the reason why he has certain customized equipment.

The rocket launcher is not the first special equipment of its kind that Shirou has seen from his father's arsenal. The first one was the car that can be used to traverse a minefield or a boundary field and keep going with minimal damage.

The weapon is all black, it has no marks or any kind or serial number, a complete custom design made by the best weapon manufacturers that money can buy. It is the kind of weapon that governments pay to have made and don't buy it because it is actually very impractical.

Transport of it is a logistical nightmare with its weight, reloading takes too long and in a more mundane setting any damage that it could actually do would could be easily replicated with a bomb or a drone. That is without considering any magical enhancements that were added later by some of Kiritsugu's associates.

Once the queen has the mana behind her head Kiritsugu takes the shot.

Lamias are intelligent beings, that is something confirmed on the many attempts to tame the island during many Great Hunts. One of the reasons for the many failures is because when they notice the situation is not in their favor the female reptiles tend to retreat and hide, usually close to the real danger of the island that remains uncontested.

But without the knowledge of what is coming her intelligence is useless.

She knows something is flying in her direction, she doesn't know what it is. It isn't a bird, it isn't a spell for she felt no mana from it so her mind dismissed it as a non threat. The lamia is confident that her mass of mana will easily destroy it and the ships going her way and she lets it out of her hands.

As the missile and the ball of mana collide only one man knows what is going to happen. He closes his eyes and begins to return his rocket launcher to his pocket dimension as a huge explosion covers the beach in fire, incinerating many serpents and burning others alive.

Everyone watches as the lamias and nagas that survived begin to run away or for the water to escape the flames, all trying to understand what is happening. They are all without words as the fire keeps burning any unlucky creature that didn't escape its touch.

Slowly many turn to the man in black that looks to the carnage he unleashed on the creatures with minimal interest, he can see that the queen lamia is still alive and is retreating with deep burns, using her mana to accelerate her natural healing to get back and fight.

Experient warriors, magicians and sailors look to the man in black, the last group because of their oaths struggle to try and make an account of how many creatures he actually killed. They were trained for it and were paying attention to the conflict even when the ship was in great peril, ready to deliver a report if asked about all of those that got monster kills since the day began.

Now they can't even began to calculate how many were killed in less than a second, the mana and the missile explosion took down and even decimate over fifty serpents by itself from what some can guess and nobody can necessary tell how many Kiritsugu had killed in that one maneuver some of them are already debating about it.

With the radio on the ships the captains try to make the approximation of how much damage the man did with a single shot but all they can agree to at the moment is that he will be generously rewarded.

But the Hunt is not over, a couple hundred kills is not going to protect Greece from serpents that can easily replenish these numbers and more in half an year, they just reproduce too fast for it to be easy.

With that in mind the ship captains all agreed to continue the advance, now that the 'queen' is hurt she will need some time to recover and that meant the surviving ships have nothing to worry about besides the odd naga trying to jump in, something easily dealt with at this point.

In the deck the majority is still staring at Kiritsugu in admiration and fear while the man himself just wanted to let out a sigh. 'That wasn't part of the plan. Or at least not the best hypotheses.' The mercenary thinks to himself, wishing that he hadn't quit smoking at the moment.

He wants someone to attack him, he needs someone to attack him so Shirou can break out from any reserve he may have from killing if it is for his or his family's survival. The whole point of this trip is to help his son find his resolve and he can't do it if people are afraid of him.

If Kiritsugu was a more expressive person he would be massaging his temples as even those he knew hold a grudge against him are now avoiding looking in his direction. 'Probably thinking something along the lines of: I have no chance against that kind of fire power.' Which they didn't as he already knew they were there and already had planned his counter measures but that didn't change the fact he is annoyed that his plan hit such a hard set back.

But he didn't have a choice, he wasn't going to risk Shirou's life on the ocean with nagas. His weapons and his son's fighting style aren't fit for it, that is why he had to take out the queen lamia when she started to attack their ship.

'At least Shirou isn't afraid.' That is one of the few positives he can take out of the situation, the redhead is seeing the nagas and lamias as monsters and the fact that Kiritsugu took out so many and saved lives in the process made his son look at him with real respect beyond what a father usually gets. "Shirou, focus."

"Yes!" The youngest Emiya says with a smile as he draws Muramasa once again.

"You didn't tell me you practice archery." It wasn't an accusation, just an observation from the parent.

It still got Shirou to scratch the back of his head a little. "It is just something that I am practicing to compensate for my lack of range. I didn't expect to need that here."

The parent nods in understanding. "It is good to have such options but it didn't look like a good option at this range." Faster than one could blink, Kiritsugu pulls out a gun, a Desert Eagle, from his coat and offers it to Shirou. "If you need the option then this one has a good enough kick that can even kill a middle class devil without the proper ammunition."

Shirou shakes his head. "No, thank you. Guns are complicated and with a bow and I have as much ammunition as my mana can allow me."

"But you should have a side arm, just as a guarantee." Kiritsugu still suggests.

"I doubt that kind of gun would take care of anything that I can't just shoot with an arrow." Kiritsugu nods at his son's point. "Besides, I have an idea to make better arrows. I was about to test it but it was taking a little too long to gather mana."

"Something for you to work on." The man decides to say as he made the gun disappear.

"Yeah, the bow itself was breaking apart too." Shirou honestly had no idea if the weapon would have survived the shot either without the proper changes.

"Man, that was impressive!" The two members of the Emiya family turn to the short haired girl in blue uniform, Ari. She is approaching with her two companions and a huge smile on her face. "I didn't know humanity was at the point to make a gun like that! Can I see it?"

Shirou looks at the back of his father's head, not knowing how to react. "No." And felt he shouldn't be surprised by Kiritsugu's reply.

"Ah, c'mon. Show it to me again." Ari approaches more but Kiritsugu takes a step back, hand ready to draw something from his coat. "Whoa, whoa whoa. Calm down." She steps back, shaking her hands rapidly. "I don't mean any harm- I mean, I don't wanna fight."

"Ari, that is enough." Lab places a hand on her shoulder and steps forward, his spear on his own shoulder as the girl steps back with a pout. "I apologize for her. She doesn't get out much." He sticks his hand out for a shake but Kiritsugu just looks at him.

Deciding that being rude with people that are working with them was a bad idea, Shirou steps forward. "Sorry for him. He is...moody on the job."

"Ha! It is fine. I am sure plenty here are nervous as well." Lab says with a smile. "Allow me to introduce us; my name is Lab Marricio and I am the babysitter for this girl." He says with his hand on Ari's head.

"I'm older than you." She slaps his hand away but smiles at Shirou, shaking his hand as well. "Call me Ari." She looks to the side to her last teammate but he makes no move to introduce himself.

With a roll of her eyes Ari slaps him on the shoulder almost enough to have him falling down which earned her his own eye roll. "David Rotinari." He says and nothing else, his arms crossed and his whole posture on guard as he doesn't take his eyes from Kiritsugu.

"He is a bit of a problem child." Ari says with a smile. "But for real, you have to let me take a look at that weapon again."

"No." Kiritsugu replies immediately.

"Come on, do it." She leans a little with her hands in prayer. "Pretty pleeeeeease!" From behind her, Lab grabs her by the collar. "Uff."

"Again I must apologize, she really doesn't get out much." He is raising Ari above the floor with little difficulty.

"Everything is fine Marricio-san." Shirou blinks for a second, noticing that he was able to add a Japanese suffix without trouble despite the pill he took earlier in the week.

"'San'?" Lab asks confused.

"It's Japanese." Ari says excitedly. "He is showing you respect, even using your family name and everything."

"Ah, I see." Lab looks a little surprised but still offers Shirou a smile. "Just call me Lab. No need to be formal since we are about to fight together."

"Okay, since that is fine with you." Shirou smiles back and Kiritsugu gets ready to move. "My name is-"

"Shirou and he is my apprentice." Kiritsugu says quickly, not allowing his son to reveal their familial relationship. "And you all should get in position and prepare. Our respite is not going to last much once we reach the island."

"He is right." David says before his companions could retort, the girl looks upset and is about to say something. "Remember why you wanted to come here, Ari." And with those words the young woman now has a serious face and nodded. "I apologise for getting in your way."

With that done the three turn around and begin to walk to the front of the ship while Shirou looks confused. "You shouldn't reveal your full name."

Kiritsugu words snapped Shirou out of his thoughts. "Why not?" The redhead asks with suspicion.

"I am very well known and there is a chance someone here may have a grudge against me." If Shirou decides to use Truthbearer he would find that Kiritsugu is only speaking the truth.

'I know that. Your name is dangerous enough to send assassins after it.' Knowing that his father was in charge of the security of Fuyuki doesn't change the fact that some passed by that protection and he probably knew that already. "Fine, I am just Shirou for today."

Noticing that his son's eyes are still looking at the group made Kiritsugu pause. "We are in the middle of a job. Now is not the time to be distracted." The Magus Killer wouldn't allow it, they still are in a dangerous situation regardless of how much people are looking at him in fear.

"I know." Shirou says but his eyes aren't leaving the back of Ari's head.

"Then what is wrong?" The older man keeps one hand on his coat as he asks.

"That woman, I can smell an energy from her that is different from the others." Shirou reveals to his father. "All three of them have auras that I can tell are familiar but hers...it is familiar but it isn't at the same time."

"What does 'smell' like?" Even after all these years Kiritsugu still finds it hard to believe the method his son and daughter developed to detect mana.

"Lab is like metal, David I can't say just yet but Ari…" Shirou didn't know how to explain because her presence was really similar to another person, he just couldn't find out who.

"She is the most suspicious of that bunch." Such a line got the son to look at his father with more confusion. "Her attitude and posture are too relaxed for this place. Either she is naive or has the power to back it up."

He is referring to how she approached him without fear regardless of his gratuitous demonstration of destruction. Everyone else's reaction was the expected; fear and caution. Ari's was different; wonder and curiosity.

"Also the fact that, like me, she didn't give a family name?" Shirou said with a chuckle but the comment was taken seriously.

"Yes." The simple answer was expected at this point even if Shirou wished his father would elaborate further on his suspicion.

Instead all the man did was to step forward and draw a rifle from his coat. The Magus Killer is counting the targets around him but it is clear none on this particular ship is going to try anything without incentive.

A good thing the other ships still will have conflict with him or each other. The only possibility that things won't happen as he intended at this point was if everyone with unsolved problems was on the destroyed transport and he was sure the odds of it were impossible since at least ten to twenty people there are always members of the guilds ready to instruct new blood of the Hunt on how to fight against nagas and stop any queen lamias attacks.

Still it was a possibility that the job of just exterminating lamias would help anyway to get Shirou used to killing humanoid beings. In that possibility his mission won't be complete but it would have to be enough in that case.

Now the island is closer and everyone can see more than just the serpents but the terrain as well. Most of it is stone; gray and and in many shapes and sizes, the beach has almost no sand from what previous Hunts indicate, the stone of the island being truly made of a property that can't be found anywhere else in the planet.

Behind the green army of monstrous snakes are small mountains with dozens of openings, a system of caves where the entrances are big enough that a truck of the biggest variety could easily enter and navigate with little difficulty. It is also from there that the biggest threat can show up, many are going to be tempted to go in to kill more monsters for many and discover

treasures, either from monsters or from those that attempted the same thing in other times.

All the ships start to get in formation once again, there is still a few meters between each other but it is to both assure a shift retreat as well that everyone can cooperate. It is the best solution for both offensive and defense in this situation.

Already nagas and lamias can be seen regrouping, the bulky nagas in front of lamias while the female creatures start to try and bombard the ships with mana in similar ways from before.

Unfortunately for them all remaining ships and barriers are ready for the assault while the vessels approach in sync to make sure everyone will be able to land approximately at the same time.

Now the protectors of the ship show their mettle unabated. Without the queen to brute force their shield into oblivion, the hoplitas have an easy time holding the spheres of mana back while everyone else counter attacks behind the shields safely.

Soon the ships start to hit his land with the ramps slamming down as the hoplites are the first step forward, marching in sync. As they move together the barriers they made move with them, the shimmer visible to everyone paying attention as the mana balls keep slamming on the shields repeatedly.

The nagas notice the danger coming closer, their numbers in the thousands as the male serpents outnumber both the humans and their female counterparts, prepare for battle Tridents and spears made of stone are thrown and the barriers can't stop those, the soldiers are protected by their shields but those behind don't have the same luck for the most part.

Barely the fight begins and there are already new dead on the beach, once again those unprepared or overconfident by the fact that they were facing 'just monsters'.

But it isn't only the humans who learned how to fight in the Hunt. Not every lamia or naga dies in the conflicts or attempts to go to the mainland, there are some old creatures that stay back to protect the young or the eggs as the fight grows brutal to both sides.

Considering the presence and fear of the Medusa, if the serpents haven't attempted to leave the island more than once, killing people that had nothing to do with the moonlit world in those, everyone would be more happy to let them stay put with the odd researcher or greedy person trying to collect materials for themselves if they wanted to take the risk.

The serpents don't have the same level of knowledge as their human counterparts and lacked the support of anything other than the Gorgon, even if only indirectly, so they couldn't really progress in their development the same way that humans with the support of gods can.

So while some fell to the nagas weapons others started to counter with magic and their own weapons once again. It doesn't take long for the humans to start to push back the serpents, now in dry land everyone can move much more freely and don't have to worry about hitting each other.

Grenades, big fireballs and explosions start to go around in the beach as the nagas slam in the advancing shield wall.

The Greek warriors take the blunt part of the assault as a phalanx. The conflict starts to spread out since their lines are not big enough to cover everyone.

Shirou is one of the first to supplement the sides as Muramasa easily cuts down a naga and he moves to the next. Memories from swordsmen of the past flow to him throughout the sword, telling him how to move optimally against the chaos that begins to take root on the Shapeless Isle.

A quick cut followed by a kick takes Shirou to the next naga that is easily dispatched by first getting rid of an arm and then his head. Another tries to stab the redhead from behind but Shirou is already ready for it, his hand grabbing just below the head of the trident to redirect the weapon and stab the creature close to the neck and then decapitating it quickly.

With a swift kick, Shirou catches the falling trident with his other hand and throws it to the side, dispaching another naga that was about to kill someone else that was fighting with a mace.

The distraction is enough that mid-motion there is an opening where another naga tries to take and kill the redhead only for it to be shot in the head, right between the eyes.

The Magus Killer's sniper rifle doesn't stop moving as every second he is taking down a monster while trying to keep an eye on Shirou and everyone else around him or risk being assassinated during the initial chaos. A part of him is also slightly annoyed that his son didn't hesitate to break the 30 steps rule and just jumped into the fray.

At least Kiritsugu can take solace in a fact; he has a good position to keep an eye out, being one of many shooters that stayed on the ship for a slight but still relevant height advantage. He doesn't have vision of the whole battlefield but he has enough to notice if anyone separates to attack him specifically and with just five people close to him with the sailors at the back with weapons ready as some nagas tried to attack from the sides and were easily killed.

In his position the Magus Killer keeps shooting any nagas that risk his son's life while keeping an eye on anyone of interest. Counting the bullets of his gun he knows that he is getting close to out of ammo but with a sleight of hand and more ammo pops out of his sleeves, also summoned with a circle and minimum amount of mana.

After exactly the last shot the Magus Killer quickly reloads and begins to shoot again, two seconds for the gun to kick out the empty canister and be replaced by the new one, magic and training making the whole process flawless and faster than anyone else that needs to reload.

A lamia is gathering mana close to Sihrou but is quickly taken out by a shot on her left eye as the Magus Killer doesn't relent and looks to more threats close to his son. His eyes take a glimpse at Ari and notice her position. His suspicion of her increased by what he was seeing.

Like Shirou, the short haired girl is also on the front lines but she is completely unarmed and not using any magic from what anyone can perceive. Her fists are enough as she keeps punching or kicking any naga or lamia that gets in her way as she keeps advancing, her two allies not far behind and trying to keep up.

Lab is fighting more conventionally by using his spear on the monsters. The silver spear is practically a blur, moving with such precision that is clear the man is a master with the weapon.

Every attack has a purpose with Lab as he thrust and pierces a huge normal naga, takes the spear of the heart to hit another one from behind and spins to decapitate two of the monsters at once with ease.

Using the silver spear to help him in a jump, Lab stomps one naga before cutting another five down in quick succession to get close to Ari who is ripping the head of a lamia from her neck and crushing another with a side kick.

Closer to them but getting farther away as he lags behind is David, unlike the others he doesn't look to be in a rush. On his right hand there is now a clove that looks made of steel but with huge claws on each finger and when he swings his arm he cuts a trident in half before stabbing a naga in the stomach and pushing his arm up to cut the serpent in half as well.

David then points a finger and shoots a projectile towards a lamia close to him that was trying to run. He looks annoyed as he notices his companions still advancing and surrounding themselves with more creatures.

A scowl makes way to David's face once he realizes he should be moving much faster, as his allies had advanced too much ahead of everyone else. 'Idiots!' He screams on his mind as with his claw he kills more nagas in a rush to get closer. 'Could they charge ahead like that?! Just once?!' The black haired man thinks in frustration.

Ari kicks a naga's trident to the side as her other foot hits it in the chest, throwing it back. Her smile is an unmistakable one of happiness as she feels good about the situation.

'This is so fun!' The teal haired girl thinks in joy as she punches another naga and flies close to two lamias to rip their heads off with her inhuman strength. 'This! This is what I was born to do!'

The excitement of the fight is starting to get to her but the young girl doesn't care, she just keeps going and advancing more. Some part of Ari knows that Lab is right behind her and she is making sure to not throw anything on his way to avoid accidents but the rest of her is just chasing and killing more serpents.

For her it is all easy as she finds no challengers between the serpents. Ari is moving so fast that she ignores most of the spears and tridents that go her way, the closest weapons are always Ari's first priority. Dodging another trident she grabs it with both hands and pulls the attacking naga towards her, crushing his head with both her hands before advancing another couple of steps to rip another lamia's head off with an uppercut.

"ARI! SLOW DOWN!" Lab calls for her, his spear fending off another adversary before he kills it with three strikes in sucesion. Ari turns her head with a smile, her hair and face are covered in green blood.

"But we have to keep going!" She says excitedly. "The queen lamia is still close and we have a job to do!" With that said Ari does a spinning jump kick to crush a naga's ribs and throw him at other nagas. "Come on! Let 's go! We have a mission and I will finish it!"

"But Ari we are getting surrounded!" Lab says as his spear blocks another and he pushes the naga back.

"Wait…we are?" Ari questions as a lamia manages to throw a ball of mana right behind her head, generating a small explosion. However Lab isn't worried as he can see that his companion is fine after the smoke has disappeared. "Oh no!" She says after a little while and sounding truly ashamed of her actions. A second after her shock wears off, Air starts to work to kill the creatures around them, their advance halting as they are now officially completely surrounded.

Lab wanted to let out a sigh with how tired he was. "This is harder than I thought it would be and we didn't even get to the main part." He says with a huff as the chase for his technical superior left him moderately tired. "Ah damn." Lab finally realises the situation now that he can take a breath just before he is attacked once again, his defense being his best quality and it is going at full force as he tries to get closer to Ari.

Truly the duo is completely surrounded on all sides by nagas and lamias but while the bald man is concerned about their situation, Ari is more worried about her own mistakes and how she can clean her mess to join back with David now that she notices that their last ally is not with them.

Another naga tries to hit her with his trident but it is not difficult for Ari to dodge it and break his arms with a punch before delivering another at his skull. She frowns as immediately she has to use the same arm to break another naga's arm and then her leg to redirect a spear since explaining how she can survive a blast of mana is easier than if she survived a spear to the gut.

Lab is still moving as well, spinning his spear above his head at great speeds to his side in an intimidating tactic that also confuses the nagas and blocks spells from the lamias. He clenches his teeth before stopping his spear suddenly to kill one jumping naga who had lost its patience and that gave the others an opening to the others as they attack as the spear is stuck in the naga's chest.

But the bald man isn't surprised or scared, using the huge creature body as cover he blocks a couple of tridents and spears while removing his own and jumping back with a kick against a naga close to him.

Using the silver spear as support then as a leaver he spins into another kick as Ari joins him in elbow drop to exterminate a lamia and a few naga with her whole body. "Lab! Behind you!"

"Roger that!" The silver spear is already spinning again to cut the naga of a huge naga, a king of his species who easily blocks with his trident and pushes the thinner weapon to the ground. "Damn!"

Lab can see the giant lime green hand moving to try to crush him and prepares himself to drop the spear and go in with his fists.

Suddenly the king naga loses his head as it is cut clean by a sword, the first thing that Lab sees which takes the idea that it was David who saved his life from his head immediately.

Shirou didn't focus on the person he just saved, they are still in danger and there are still monsters around them. 'Going to have to hunt lamias later.' It is all the redhead thinks before his sword starts to move again to cut another naga's arm as the spear user uses the silver weapon to rip the neck of the sea serpent apart.

The two men nod to each other, one in appreciation and the other in respect as they move back to back of each other as more nagas start to attack. "ARI GET THE LAMIAS!" Is all Lab has to say and the girl changes her focus from the closest enemy to her and moves to the ranged enemies around in general.

Meanwhile the Magus Killer is debating what to do together with the pros and the cons of the recent events. 'Shirou is too far forward now, even if someone is watching his back, if they are to be trusted or not to do it is not clear. Situation is still stable, the Hunters are easily pushing the serpents back with minimal losses of life after the landfall…'

Scenarios run in the older Emiya's mind as his aim shifts and he shoots a lamia that was about to throw her energy on the ship. He still focuses his attention on Shirou's position first and foremost but decides that taking out all the smaller lamias is a better idea than just waiting for the queen to show herself again.

Back in the circle of nagas, Muramasa takes another three lives with ease as Shirou is having no troubles with his opponents. The creatures lack armor and while their weapons are strong it is clear that they can't keep up with his speed and he can dispatch anyone that gets into his range.

Getting tracing another sword on his left hand the redhead uses it to parry a trident attack to the side and open the naga to a stab from the silver spear, Lab smiling in appreciation as the two work together to fend off the nagas.

Words are unnecessary between them as once they got back to back they knew exactly what to do, guard their ally's back until reinforcements arrive. Making the other sword disappear, Shirou returns to hold Muramasa with both hands as Lab shifly kills one naga to his side and he does the same on the other.

The improvised duo doesn't know each other or has any real reason to trust one another except by the fact that they are stuck in the same situation, surrounded by enemies that want their lives and while the other one is alive they have one less direction that the serpents can attack from.

Both realized it, Shirou realized it even before he jumped in to help as he knew that leaving wouldn't be easy with the huge number of nagas. Even tracing a rain of swords is dangerous for the life of his newly acquired partner..

The two have no choice but work together now as Muramasa and the silver spear dance together with an unnamed blade or another that Shirou would pull off when needed to help supplement their defense.

Around them there are already hundreds of nagas dead and the serpents are starting to find the ground difficult to move and some are already giving up on the two people more advanced on the battlefield, turning around to push back the others that are still trying to advance.

Once he saw his his allies had stopped their advance for the most part, Aria hunting lamias while Lab is being supported by a redhead, David retreated back to the wall of shields that is still advancing, the smells of death and smoke covering the beach constantly as many have been killed, the majority from the serpents' side, he feels more confident in fighting in his prefered way at a distance.

The humans advance steadily, the shield barriers becoming unnecessary as magic and bullets take down the lamias and every step is a brutal advance towards their enemies. The hoplites leading the charge, excited that they have the numbers they had on this fight since the losses were small compared to other Hunts of previous years.

But the nagas fight ferociously back, an animal instinct shouting on their heads that they shouldn't be losing, that their side was superior in might and numbers, that the humans should be cowering in fear instead of winning.

Those are not the first nagas to have that instinct on this island, it is one of the reasons why the death toll is always considerable. Even with all the preparations that the Hunters can do, even with all the help and reinforcements, the nagas aren't human, they don't quit or retreat.

They fight and they die. And for that many usually die on both sides.

Lamias are the main targets of anyone with range options, the quicker they are all killed the lesser is the risk of someone being taken down by a shot from nowhere. Since the creatures have no formal training or practice the best that they can do is try to intercept anything that is thrown at them with raw mana.

Regardless of how much power the lamias can accumulate or their numbers it is not enough to stop most spells now that they are in range and with a fighting girl jumping around to kill them all with her bare hands.

Ari hasn't stopped moving since she began to aim for all the lamias, the plan to take them out being a good one for her and with the help of some magicians and snipers the lamias are easily being culled.

Except one, the queen that showed up before and now she has returned.

She reappears from inside one of the caves, more nagas and lamias coming with her to reinforce the numbers at the beach as she lets out a mighty roar of anger, her voice similar to a banshee's. These new serpents are smaller and younger than those already in battle but with a command of their matriarch, the mother of this brood, they move for her revenge.

The invaders dared to thread on their territory and this queen is angry enough to risk even more in this fight, her young and the whole of her colony that rules this side of the island. If she could speak any human tongue she would be cursing everyone on the beach with the worst curses, especially those who managed to wound her.

Instead she gathers mana in one hand and sends it to the line of humans that is advancing, not caring about her brethren close to them. The mana sphere is the size of a car and slams onto the battlefield with a loud noise that catches everyone's attention, announcing that a queen is present.

Immediately the hoplites try to reform their lines and prepare their shields for more blasts but the other lamias and nagas have no intention of allowing that to happen and start to attack with even more strength than before, not caring for their own lives.

All the serpents want now is the flesh and blood of their enemies and they don't care how they are going to get it.

Kiritsugu is reloading again, noticing how others with modern day equipment are running out of ammunition. If the man was more expressive he would be rolling his eyes and calling them amateurs. Even if they are out of ammo, which in his opinion they shouldn't be considering the job in question and that they should have been more prepared, there is plenty around with the dead that anyone could scavenge.

But he isn't expressive and his focus does not divert from his son. 'Get back, please get back.' Kiritsugu doesn't pray, never bothered before in his life but he is coming close to start with how his son is risking his life.

Either way his prayers wouldn't be answered as Shirou doesn't hesitate to run at the queen lamia with Muramasa in hand followed by Lab as the man throws his spear at one naga and uses a trident to kill another and recovering his spear in the middle of his run.

Ari is already half the way to the queen, her hand drenched with the blood of hundreds of lamias and she is ready to add one more to the pile.

Except that the queen is aware of the insects advancing towards her and with a wave she commands her main force, six huge kings, to kill the humans approaching. Now she is in familiar terrain as she can recognize the threat and even as the males advance she prepares more spheres of mana, one in each hand, to deal with the threats herself.

Ari is the first to reach the new wave and she crushes two nagas easily with one kick on each chest area. She then grabs one of the stone spears and uses it like a javelin aiming for the queen before she could unleash her attack.

But the lamia is on guard and a wave of a hand one of the spheres annihilates the trident before she launches the other directly to Ari. The girl quickly dodges to the side but the blast throws her further than she expected and she ends rolling a few times while trying to stop herself and recover her balance.

She fails and falls on her back as one of the kings tries to spear her head. Ari grabs it just before it touches nose but she is pinned as the naga proves to be too strong for her to simply push him back and with his size her legs are unable to reach him for a kick.

With a little anger in her heart Ari begins to tight her hands on the spear, hoping to break it however, she underestimates the stone of the Shapeless Isle as the weapon refuses to break and the naga just keeps pushing until a familiar silver spear pierces his head, killing the serpent.

"I swear to God, if you keep going like that you are going to give me a heart attack!" Complains Lab, his eyes glaring at the girl a little as she jumps to her feet with a palm strike into a naga, breaking its ribs.

"I'm sorry! I promise I will do better!" She says with her hands together but a jet of green blood slams to her side getting hers and Lab's attention.

"Can you have this discussion later?" Shirou asked while pushing back another king with Muramasa, blocking his path but noticing that more nagas were approaching. "Whatever you two do, don't move." He gave the brief warning before Reinforcing his legs as much as he could for a jump, getting above his new allies. "Trace on!"

Now in a better position he traces swords that fall down from the sky killing even more nagas as they are cut down without difficulty by the white swords made of bone.

To make sure his allies wouldn't get hurt Shirou had traced the swords mid air when he was exactly above them and when he began his landing he had to undo the swords quickly to avoid getting hurt himself.

The queen glares at Shirou after seeing many of her children dying for nothing as the young man drops down to the ground a little out of breath while Ari and Lab are looking at him impressed.

"Sacred gear?" Lab questions but Ari replies.

"No. That was just pure magic in some way. I am sure of it." Her voice is a little more serious before her eyes grow wide and she steps forward. "LOOK OUT!" She manages to get herself in front of Shirou and Lab just before a huge mana sphere hits them.

An explosion bigger than the previous ones made by the queen is unleashed as the giant lamia tries to take out Shirou quickly after seeing the rain of swords.

The redhead and the bald man are both thrown back and look in Ari's direction, Shirou with concern while Lab looks a little annoyed as the dust and smoke clears and the young woman looks a little worse for wear but otherwise she was fine with just a couple of burns on her hands and face.

"Are you alright?" Shirou questions quickly as he moves closer to the girl as she falls to her knees for a moment.

"It is alright…" The teal haired woman says with a smile. "I just need some rest." But she knows this isn't the time. Another orb of mana is already being prepared by the queen as more nagas and lamias attack them. "We have a job to do."

Shirou nods, offering a hand to help her get up. Ari accepts and once she is on her feet she dusts her pants off and gets in a fighting position as Lab steps to their side. "We need to take down the queen quickly while she is focusing on us." He informs while preparing his spear.

"I agree." Shirou gets ready to advance. "Do any of you have anything that can get her from a distance?"

"I-"

"No. We don't." Lab interrupts Ari with a glare which Shirou notices but chooses to not comment. "We will have to pass by the others and get to her." As he said that more lamias join the queen to attack them with multiple spheres of mana.

The three of them split and charge at the serpents, the main target is now the queen lamia and they rush at the small army on a three pronged attack.

Shirou manages to get to the serpents first, Muramasa taking down more of them without problems unless they can manage to stop it with their own weapons but even then Shirou is fast enough and skilled enough to deflect the weapons and keep attacking.

Ari was the second to reach the creatures and her fists easily break most of the bones of their upper bodies. Attacks from the nagas are mostly dodged but she manages to defeat any on her way without getting a single wound.

Lab is the last to hit the last wave but he kills the most on his initial hit, swinging his spear like a giant sword he cuts down many before pulling it back and pushing forward in a fast sequence of strikes in multiple stabs horizontally to practically make a tunnel of bodies for his advance as he dodges some attacks from the sides with considerable difficulty.

The taller of the three fighters is not in his element, his fighting style is not suited for this and his body is screaming to get away and recuperate but he doesn't want to leave Ari alone in this mess. As his advance stalls and he has to focus more in defending himself he notices she is not alone.

Ari is still advancing, ignoring any mana going in her direction and bashing away the stone weapons every time any of them get too close. With a fast jab she knocks down a naga before another king grabs her with his arms, the monster trying to crush her.

The teal haired woman isn't used to this happening, weapons and projectiles going at her she can deal with but being locked by an opponent with equal strength is a new experience to Ari who can only try to use brute force while other naga go for the kill.

With only her legs free the young woman can only kick the spear from another naga that is trying to go for her stomach. She attempts a headbutt but the king naga's neck is distant, the creature being intelligent enough to understand that his prey is not weak and that if his arms are not killing her then he needs to be careful or else she is going to escape.

While the king doesn't care that his brethren are attacking his prisoner and his priority is to crush her, his attempt fails because Ari is able to push back but can't focus on anything else against the king since her legs need to block and dodge the other nagas.

Defending herself while stuck is a new and unpleasant experience for the woman but she is trying to make due. A kick on a trident redirects it against another of the creatures and one of them tries to grab her legs; she rips his head off with both of her feet and kicks the dead body against the another approaching naga.

Ari is about to do something drastic before she feels the king's arms go slack. She thought that the giant naga grew tired and breaks free from his grip and turns for a punch only to stop as she can see her new acquaintance, Shirou, passing by with his sword leaving the king naga's body as he keeps going in the queen's direction.

Realizing that the redhead killed the king for her and then proceeded back to neutralizing the queen she smiles a little. 'He doesn't even know me but is trusting that I won't attack him to get the bigger reward for myself.' In such an environment it is a rule that the bigger the kill the better are the rewards. The fact that Shirou still stopped to save Ari makes her happy. 'Those are the times that I know humanity is still worth protecting.' Ari, still with a smile on her face, chases the man dressed in white and blue.

Shirou isn't enterally focusing on the girl anymore, after he helped her his eyes turned back to the queen lamia who was already gathering mana on her hands for another huge attack. If he wasn't surrounded by naga he would try his bow and arrow again but unfortunately he is lacking in practice to make anything capable of doing real damage fast enough to not be killed.

He can't stop moving, Shirou needs to move to dodge one of the naga's weapons or the mana spheres that try to rip him apart from time to time. If he stops moving he is dead, if he stops Reinforcing his body he is dead.

In the redhead's mind he is sure that his armor can protect him from the weapons and even some of the mana but he doesn't have enough of it, making small segments of the black material was just too hard to have more of it protecting his body without getting in the way of his movements and since his parents returned he didn't even got to work on it after fixing his armor.

But Muramasa is still with him and the sword finds little challenge against the nagas. Their weapons can temporarily stop the sword but the stone and the quality in which their weapons are made is the worst and most inefficient possible.

Unlike a proper weapon that is forged and refined, most of the stone weapons are made by the huge beasts breaking the stone around them underwater until they have a shape that can be used as a weapon.

There are no blades or segments on the weapons, they are crude and if the stone itself wasn't strong they would be extremely frail. In the end they are just stone weapons and only the fact they are from this island and from the bottom of the sea from it is what makes them special.

Structural Analysis helps Shirou to understand more of these being better than anyone else with years of observation, the redhead knows they have no technique or skill, that for them is all about power and they use the weapons to compensate for their lack of mana and to show strength to woo the females while defeating their competition.

Some of it Kiritsugu had explained to him in their lessons before the job but even the man couldn't explain the 'how' things happen between the nagas and lamias.

Now Shirou knows and understands and with his understanding he can kill the nagas protecting the queen faster.

Cutting another naga down, Shirou frees one of his hands to trace familiar kitchen knives before throwing them. The fireballs are a surprise to the serpents since they were simple knives previously but they barely have time to react as when they catch fire and start to burn the nagas.

Shirou makes more knives and throws them again and again, no more allies around means that he can go more aggressive in his approach.

Knowing that the nagas didn't like fire, Shirou is tempted to make another Muramasa and turn it into a fire weapon but hesitates. The weight of the katana isn't really right to dual wield, especially two of them. With both of his hands in a single sword he has an easier time blocking and counter attacking and none of the naga is strong enough or skilled enough to stop Muramasa for more than a second before Shirou finishes them.

So Shirou advances with Muramasa as his main weapon, the Noble Phantasm carving its way inside a close lamia that tries to stop him personally only to fail and die and the magus to let her fall as he advances.

Once again the queen is ready for her attack and once again she throws to spheres of mana, both in Shirou direction. The giant is tired and annoyed by the redhead's presence and wants him gone.

Shirou isn't ready for the attacks, they are bigger than him and can't think of anything to help him survive. Lucky for him he doesn't need to do much, Ari is there to throw herself in the spheres to undo them with a scream that releases a bright energy, an energy that once again Shirou can tell it is familiar but different.

"Are you alright?" The redhead questions and receives a thumbs up from the woman.

"This level of mana is too low for me! We need to keep pushing!" Shirou can't disagree with her as the queen lamia raises her arms above her head and starts to gather the same quantity of mana that she used against the ship previously.

"Let's go!" Shirou shouts as both temporary allies charge at full speed, this time working together.

They know not what the other is capable of but the enemies are clear and Ari makes the first move by launching herself to the closest naga and ripping his chest apart. Shirou throws a single knife with precision and carves out the eye of another as the flames start to consume the head.

Not wasting time, Ari grabs the dead naga by the shoulders and throws it at the others in front as Shirou uses Muramasa when some try to get the two from behind, cutting one by the shoulder until the waist and the other by the side.

Ari punches another on the arm to force him to let go of its trident and then grabs it. "Get down! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She screams with all the power of her lungs as she begins to spin with a single foot, her arms holding firmly to the naga's arm.

Shirou throws himself to the floor just in time to see a naga being used as a giant club or whip that spins faster and faster, hitting all the others around them until the woman stops and throws the mangled corpse in the queen's direction, bringing down another couple of serpents.

The redhead now sees the open way and capitalizes the opportunity, accelerating at his full speed to finish the queen before she can do anymore damage. He can hear the woman shouting her support from behind to keep him going as other nagas and lamias try to stop him only for her to get on their way.

With her red eyes the queen lamia can see Shirou approaching and stops gathering mana, she is strong enough to make some of the weapons with the stone of the island and plans to use her strength to crush the human under her weight.

As the monster lets her hand fall in his direction Shirou is already aware of the attempt and stops himself to jump back and let the arm hit the ground. Some of the stone around is displaced but that isn't a problem for the magus who quickly steps back with a swing of his sword and slashs the offending hand.

Muramasa wins uncontested, the skin and bones of the lamai's are unable to even resist as the Noble Phantasm cuts the hand off and the queen lets out a scream of pain that catches everyone's attention. Both the humans and the serpents look to the giant monster as she is holding her bleeding arm and moving erratically, her tail knocking out stones and hitting the mountain close to her in a panic as the creature never felt so much pain in her life.

Shirou doesn't let the screams bother him, the pain of his enemy only gives him an advantage as she is distracted. If anything, the fact that the queen felt pain just means that he will act faster, the redhead believes that there is no need to be cruel against any creature.

Unfortunately Shirou has no way to finish it quickly, the snake woman is too erratic now and keeps moving too much while she destroys everything around her in a frenzy. He tries to cut the queen in her midsection only for her to jump back and move her tail even more frenetically, hitting Shirou on his chest and throwing him back.

Hitting a rock with his back Shirou shakes his head, needing a moment to recover. A moment that has Ari advancing against the queen even faster than before, the woman is practically flying just above the ground to reach the lamia.

Once they were just a few meters apart Shirou felt a spike from the woman's aura as it got more pronounced and for a moment he could swear that the teal haired girl was surrounded by some sort of white light as she jumped at the queen lamia with a look of determination.

In an instant the girl was off the ground and then she was in the face of the queen, pulling her arm back for a haymaker. Ari lets out another shout as she punches the queen with as much strength she can muster and the giant lamia slams on the ground with her skull broken apart with only blood visible from the latter's head.

Without missing a beat the woman does a flip mid air and begins to descend at a high speed, one of her legs up above her head for a hammer kick straight in the queen's chest.

She had no chance, the bones and the organs that the lamia couldn't survive the brute force, everything either broke or was utterly destroyed and with a last scream of absolute pain the queen lamia died.

Many would question how a small woman could bring out so much strength but there is no time to do it at the moment as the conflict is not over. Ari did all the hunters a favor and they need to capitalise on it.

With the queen out of the picture the hunters gain more morale and start to push harder, formations are discarded as there is no longer fear of the queen taking them all out from a sudden blast of mana.

What the humans gained in courage the serpents lost in motivation. The death of the leader of the area was already a bad enough blow but it got worse since there was nothing they could do against the superior armaments, magic and tactics.

It doesn't take long without the queen around for the beach to be secured, some nagas still try to hold resistance in some places but it is in vain. Even if in total the population of serpents of the island doesn't hit even half present on the beach they are too divided to work together even if the creatures are smart enough to know the notion of teamwork.

After a little over an hour the beach is secured and the point of invasion is conquered. Now the real Great Hunt can begin for those who wish to go deeper and explore the Shapeless Isle.

"You did an excellent job." Lab says while patting Shirou in the back. "I would like to thank you for helping Ari with her recklessness."

"I wasn't that reckless!" The girl protests with puffed cheeks and then turns to Shirou. "But Lab is right. Thank you for watching my back."

"It was no trouble." Shirou says with a smile.

"Are you three done with this?" David asked with a frown as he approached the trio. "We still have a job to do."

Shirou looks around and sees that for the moment people are resting or collecting treasures. Looking towards the sun the redhead can tell it is not even noon and the man is right. "David, there is no need to be rude." Ari says with her hands on her hips. "Shirou here helped us and you should show some respect towards him."

And the blackhaired man nods instead of disagreeing. "Yes, he did. Doesn't mean that we are done here."

"David is right." Lab agrees with his other partner with a smile. "Ari, remember that you were the one that wanted this mission and we need to be careful until we finish it."

"Are you guys going to explore the island?" Shirou couldn't help but ask. He looks to the direction of the mountain. "Maybe I should go with you." While he got some looks he didn't confirm anything since he hadn't thought about that until this very moment. "I also have something that I must do, I have to kill at least 100 lamias."

"That is an impressive number." Lab says with a whistle and both of the others are looking at Shirou with curiosity. "But you have to be careful if you are going to go looking for more, other queens may show up at any time."

"Yes, even after all this I don't think other queens are going to be any easier." David says with a shrug. "Your master had managed to weaken that one considerable from what I could gather and if you go after lamias odds are that you will find others."

The reference to a master reminds Shirou of something that he was forgetting completely. "Oh no." The redhead said with dread.

"Shirou." The voice came from the direction of the ships and the four turned to see Kiritsugu marching towards them with an angry glare.

"He looks mad." Ari points and Shirou knows that she is right, impressed that she was able to notice considering how his father's eyes look more annoyed than angry but from how inexpressive he really is the redhead can tell that his father wants more than a word with him.

Lab, realizing the situation, begins to pull Ari with him to the side with a forced smile. "Why don't we let them talk in private." The bald man says with some sympathy.

"Yes...that is for the best." Shirou decides to say, ready to face the music.

"If you need any help, come talk with us." Lab tells the redhead. "I need some rest before we leave but if you need something from lamias, either treasures or scales, we can help without a problem."

"You shouldn't offer that." It is all David has to say as he makes his way to the ship, passing by Kiritsugu who gives him a side glance but keeps marching towards his son.

"See you later Shirou." Ari says with a smile, her and Lab are also going to join the others for a rest.

While Kiritsugu approaches, his eyes are now stuck in Shirou's own eyes as the redhead knows his father is upset. "You disobeyed orders."

"I am sorry." The son can't disagree with the statement. "I just-"

"No." Kiritsugu cuts Shirou off immediately. "You disobeyed. No excuses. In a combat scenario you must not disobey orders, especially not when the enemy is close and ready to kill you." The man keeps looking at his son while Shirou lowers his head like a chastised child. "You are lucky that those two decided to keep supporting you. As far as you know they could have retreated the moment the girl was saved."

"But they didn't." Shirou is quick to say.

"Doesn't matter." Kiritsugu replies. "They could have and you had no way of knowing. Instead of considering your own security or the possibilities around it you just threw yourself in the middle of an army." And the man is definitively annoyed by these actions. Even if he is in control of his emotions it doesn't change the fact that he is talking about the problem in the first place. "You risked your life when you had no reason."

"But I had a reason; they were in danger." Shirou doesn't step back from his father, his eyes carrying his conviction. "There was no reason to not help."

"Except for your own safety." Kiritsugu can see that his son is not convinced and decides to change tactics. "What you think your mother and sister would say if anything had happened to you."

"But it didn't." Shirou can see his father's point even if it was a low blow. "I am fine da-"

"You obviously aren't." Kiritsugu interrupts, looking around to see if anyone was listening. "I know you can fight and watch over yourself but that wasn't just your mistake, it was also theirs." When he said it he motioned for the trio leaving with his head.

"It was?" Curiosity and surprise color Shirou's tone.

"There were other ways to approach this situation. Instead of working together with the others and working slowly but steadily towards defeating the serpents on the beach, they and you," once again the man glares towards his son, "didn't consider that advancing too fast put your lives at risk together with others that attempted the same."

"But we didn't call anyone-"

"Doesn't matter." Kiritsugu once again cuts Shirou before he could finish his statement. "If the group sees someone advancing it is normal for others to try and seize the opportunity." The Magus Killer says with finality.

But even if Shirou can understand the situation he is sure that wasn't the problem. "But it isn't better to finish things quickly than letting the fight last longer?"

"Yes, but it isn't safe." Kiritsugu admits, the Magus Killer in him was far away from his tone of voice. "Shirou, do you have any idea of how many shots I had to use because you were in the middle of that chaos? Just to stop lamias and nagas from going in your direction?" After a shake from his son's head the man continued. "More than 100. I lost count while you were going more and more into the belly of the beast and risking yourself even more without necessity."

"But this is how I fight." Shirou says feeling annoyed. "That is why I made my armor. So I can get in the thick of things and walk away alive."

"Then why instead you just aren't a little more patient and walk with the group?" Even Kiritsugu is feeling the difficulty of remaining apathetic with his son at the moment.

"So no one else needed to die."

"And you have to risk your own life?" The Magus Killer returns, his tone as cold as winter. "'Always return alive'. You know that."

"I am alive." The redhead recognized the words, Natalia's motto.

"Not if you keep pulling these stunts. You had no real way of dealing with the army and the queen. You had no plan, no strategy and in the end you weren't strong enough." The Magus Killer observed and Shirou can't disagree.

"I did what I had to do." Shaking his head the redhead retorted.

"No. You did what you wanted to do." Kiritsugu said with sadness in his eyes. "Usually I wouldn't have a problem with you making your own decision but I do have one when you are risking your life."

The change in his father was jarring for Shirou. Most of the time since they arrived in Perseus he only has seen the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu nowhere to be seen. Now it is different, now the person before him expressing his concern was his father.

"Don't risk yourself for nothing Shirou. It isn't worth it." Kiritsugu places a hand on his son's shoulder and his voice recovers some of the warmth he reserves for when they are at home. "You can't go around and jump in dangerous situations like that my son. You have to think ahead, see every angle possible and find the best way to settle everything without risking your own life."

"But it wasn't for nothing." Shirou recovered some of the steel on his gaze, surprising Kiritsugu. "They were going to die, people were dying. The sooner the fight ended the better." The redhead places a hand on his father's and takes it off his shoulder. "It wasn't for nothing."

Taking a deep breath Kiritsugu knew this is not the time to be discussing such things. He also knows that his son is stubborn and that any debate is probably going to last for the whole night if they start now.

"Can you just be a little more careful?" The parent tries for a compromise.

"Will try." His son offers a smile to reassure the man but he isn't fallinging for it. "So...should we go deeper into the island? I still need to get more than 50 lamias at least."

"64." Kiritsugu replies, turning around where some people are making camp close to the ships. "For now we shall rest by joining with the others at the ships."

"But wouldn't it be smarter to keep pushing while everyone else is back?" Kiritsugu stops moving and looks back to Shirou.

He knows that his son is correct and that while more dangerou to advance by themselves, with the queen's defeat after her last attempt of pushing them out of the beach there are less serpents around.

But that isn't the real mission. "Are you 100%?" The Magus Killer question surprises Shirou. "And don't try to dodge the question."

Both of them knew he was about to try that but instead he acquiesced. "I am fine but not 100%. While using Muramasa saved me a lot of energy I still needed to keep myself Reinforced and my eyes peeled for any attack."

"As expected." Kiritsugu starts walking again and Shirou follows without complaint. "We shall rest for an hour and eat lunch." The man waited a couple of seconds and since Shirou said nothing he continued. "We still have a long day to go and you need something to keep yourself strong." Then he threw a glare at Shirou that made the redhead stop in his tracks. "Also, don't disobey anymore orders. They are for your safety."

Shirou looks back at him while saying nothing and Kiritsugu lets out a sigh at that. The older man knows he is going to have to pay more attention to his son, he is after all the boy that even after hearing plenty of warnings about magecraft still wanted to learn if his sister was going to. Irisviel even warned her husband that if they didn't have Shirou teached properly then he would try to learn everything by himself and end up doing something stupid.

"Shirou…" The man says in a non negotiable tone.

"I won't disobey orders anymore." Shirou says with conviction, getting his father's nod of approval. "But I won't just let things happen. I just will be more careful and think before I act."

Realizing he wouldn't get a better deal than this and that until the night arrives they won't be leaving the island anyway Kiritsugu decides to say nothing and keep walking towards the newly made camp. 'With Illya this was easier.' He laments the fact.

With his daughter the man didn't have to do much because she hadn't been in a combat situation before he presented her with one. She also is more cautious, it is the reason why he didn't press much about her position in the Hero Faction. It was her decision and she didn't just jump towards it.

That doesn't mean that the Magus Killer approves of her company or actions but there is little to do in that department until Shirou's 'training' is finished. After that he will see what will happen, for good or for ill.

...

The newly made camp is already bursting with activity, those with medical skills and training are already working with the wounded while the dead are being counted. The sailors have half of their number in the ships and the other half at the camp tending to many jobs, including mediation of conflicts. As the impartial observers of the Great Hunt, loyal only to the city and the gods themselves, it is up to them to make sure that things go as smoothly as possible.

Kiritsugu keeps Shirou at his side the whole time, forbidding his son from showing EM or to even cook for others. They stay together close to the camp while others get ready to depart more deeply into the island.

The older Emiya's eyes are still on the situation around, he knows for a fact that things are escalating little by little and that it is just a matter of time before the barrel blows up. In his mind there are already plans to light said spark once he finishes eating but such plans are interrupted by the trio that approaches him and Shirou.

'Again.' The Magus Killer notices them first as his eyes never left the camp but he can see their uniforms and is able to easily tell that they are improvised. 'They don't belong to any known organization and there is no distinct mark that they belong to a faction in particular.' He observes as Shirou notices them and receives a wave from the girl which the redhead reciprocates. One the three get close Shirou begins to talk with them, receiving some congratulations trading conversation. The older man only gave half his attention to what was being said. 'The way the girl fought indicates inhuman ancestry or sacred gear while the other with a spear showed prowess with martial arts and skill with his weapon even if he is slow. Best way to take both of them out is with high level explosives or poison if possible.' Looking to David while his son is talking with the other two he notices that the other black haired man is looking back, his eyes also analysing Kiritsugu. 'Not enough intel on this one but he is clearly the weaker of the three. Or has something to hide. Not enough data to come to a decision.'

"So I was wondering something..." Ari says in the middle of the previous discussion. "Maybe the two of you can help in our mission."

"Ari…" Lab says with a warning while Kiritsugu changes focus completely towards her.

"We are mercenaries." Finally the Magus Killer gives his own input since his son took care of the trivialities. "We will only accept the job after hearing the parameters and payment."

"Emiya-sensei…" Now it is Shirou who is giving a warning tone but Kiritsugu feels some form of relief that his son took the warning given and is trying to act like they were truly master and apprentice.

"We are here to kill the Gorgon." Ari says without fear and Kiritsugu can say that he is surprised, the man couldn't stop one of his eyebrows from raising.

"What?" Shirou is more expressive. "You three are here to kill Medusa?" The girl nods enthusiastically. "That-"

"We reject." Was the only response that the Magus Killer is willing to give. "What you plan on doing is a suicide mission."

"Not for us." The playfulness leaves the girl as she gives Kiritsugu a hard stare that is compared to his own. "I have every intention to see that monster dead, to make sure that she won't attract anymore victims to this place to die either by her or her creatures."

For a moment the Magus Killer stops to analyse the girl, reevaluating everything that he had on Ari previously. Once he joined all the pieces on his mental profile he concluded something. "You shouldn't be here." Before she can give him a response he continues. "Medusa is a being that can be compared to the gods themselves," he pays attention to the reactions they were going to give at his words and when Ari flinched he was sure of his conclusions, "like them she has a crushing power that can rip armies to shreds, like this one." He motions with his arm to all resting and getting prepared to advance on the island. "And like gods she has a considerable degree of immortality. Unless you have a proper weapon able to hurt her then this can only be called suicidal, regardless of what you are."

David steps forward, pulling Ari back so she can stand between her and Kiritsugu. His glare has only hatred for the other black haired man. "We should leave. It is clear that this mercenary has no intentions to help us in our noble crusade."

"There is no need to be brash. The 'adventure' we are about to embark on is not something simple." Lab tries to calm down the situation, separating David and Kiritsugu as much as possible. "He has no reason to believe us when we say that the slaying of the Gorgon is possible."

"Possible? Yes, it has been done before." The Magus Killer says uninterestedly, the man appears to be bored with the discussion. "But not easily. Do you have the boons of many gods to help you out? A way to survive the Gorgon monstrous strength?"

"We have the blessing of the only God we need." Ari steps up with confidence.

"Then you don't need us, do you?" The observation deflated the woman's spirit. "If you truly believe you can kill the Gorgon, go ahead and try. But there is no money in the world that is going to make me or my apprendice to go into a suicide mission like that."

The trio looks at each other and realise they can't blame him since for all intents and purposes it is supposed to be an impossible mission. The legend of Perseus made people think it was an easy fight but even with many weapons and blessing from the gods it took a lot of skill, strategy and Harpe, the Immortal Slayer Scythe to finish the deed.

"And if she isn't immortal anymore?" Shirou posed the question. "Nobody knows how she came back. Maybe she lost her immortality too." It was an optimistic thought.

"It doesn't matter." David brushes off Shirou's comments, his glare still in Kiritsugu. "We have other ways to kill her even if she recovered her immortality."

"Do you believe that something could counter the effects of the Harpe?" Shirou tries to recall everything his father crammed on his brain for the last few days. "That Noble Phantasm neutralized regeneration and made that the only possible healing would be those that followed the natural laws of the world."

"You are well informed." Lab says with a nod. "But there are ways to trick and break the rules, especially of those of the more...divine kind?"

"You think there was some divine interference? That is certainly possible. Though not that directly." If that was indeed the case Kiritsugu already has a likely suspect.

"We don't know but we must kill the Gorgon." Ari says with conviction. "Look at how many died today! This Hunt must be stopped!" She proclaims while hitting her fist with her palm.

"People are just being thrown at this meat grinder without any help from proper gods." David glaces at the man, there appears to be a discussion on the camp that was escalating. "Once the Gorgon is killed, the serpents will lose their main protection. It will be easy to clean this place after."

"If you kill her, that is." Kiritsugu felt the need to remind them. "Either way, no deal. It is too risky. Even if she isn't immortal anymore, she is still one of the most powerful monsters to ever exist in Greece." The man gets up. "Come along, Shirou. We must make sure that the time table of the ships wasn't changed with the loss of one of the boats."

"I think we should join them." Shirou says before even taking a single step and his father takes a clear deep breath.

"They have not shown any indication that they can face the Gorgon, much less kill her." Kiritsugu told his son calmly and began to walk again. "Until they do this; conversation is over."

Shirou looks at the trio giving them a chance to show him something, anything that may be used to convince his father.

Ari smiles and prepares to say something only for David to place a hand on her shoulder while shaking his head. "We don't need them. We can do this on our own."

"But-"

"It is better this way." Lab tells them with a smile. "The Gorgon is not an easy opponent and her nest is probably the place most filled with serpents. Your teacher is right to hesitate."

Understanding that the conversation is over Shirou rushes to catch up with his father. "We should help them."

The man is not surprised by what his son said. "Shirou, if the Gorgon has her immortality back then she is nothing short of a goddess herself and you don't have a weapon that can kill her, maybe not even harm her." Kiritsugu points out with a frown. "Beings like them, like her, have a certain degree of immortality that gives them resistance against anything below a certain threshold of power, usually the gods have Divinity and that is what protects them." Kiritsugu explains while reminding himself why challenging gods without being one is extremely hard. "To be able to kill, or even defeat a god, you must bring down their Divinity. It's their Divinity that takes most of the damage they receive before their lives are ever truly threatened."

"Don't you have something to deal with that kind of defense? Something that can bypass Divinity?" Kiritsugu stops for a moment because of the question, chuckling a little.

"Maybe. But the conditions to use them are extremely specific and I never tested it against a god." He can't help but rub his chin in amusement.

"What exactly?" Shirou is just getting more curious about what his father is talking about.

"Let's just say that my Origin has some...possibilities to do damage on the right conditions." The Magus Killer returns as the man starts walking again. "But such conditions are hard to attain and a god needs to not bother with them. They would consider it a waste of power."

Shirou places a hand on Muramasa 's handle. "But they are right, aren't they? All we have to do is cut her head right?" The implication is clear even if the black haired man didn't turn back.

"With a Noble Phantasm? Who knows?" Kiritsugu admits with a shrug. "That doesn't mean that I will risk your life." And with that they arrive at the camp and there are a lot of discussions happening. 'Almost. Just a little more.'

He can already feel the eyes on his back, eyes full of recognition and hatred. Just his presence is enough to make some people lose their patience.

Kiritsugu knows the reputation he has, to the moonlit world he is a reckless heretic that doesn't hesitate to break convention and cares not about the position or status of his target, taking them out in any way necessary.

All of that is the absolute truth and while the man himself sees it as pragmatism many see it as an insult and the idea that many of their peers died in the hands of someone like him is enough to have some wishing to kill him in the most painful ways possible regardless of the consequences.

That is what Kiritsugu is counting on to start the confusion and he is paying close attention to everything around him, his body rigid and on guard even as he doesn't miss a step and keeps walking towards the captain of the ship that brought them to the island.

People's patience is wearing thin as many were hurt while around people they despise. Pride is starting to show its head for some while others are getting annoyed by those letting their pride show which just makes things worse.

Kiritsugu can see the captain he was looking for and the man looks nervous. An old man of the sea has enough experience to tell that things are escalating in the middle of enemy territory in a way that only happened a few times in his experience, none pleasant.

It doesn't take long for someone to finally crack. "What you said, your bastard?" The sound of a punch hitting someone's face is heard and with that the Magus Killer knew the spark started to lit the gunpowder.

A domino effect begins as those that know the offended party or the attacked party also enter in the discussion, more people turn around to pay attention as others that are only on the sidelines for the moment start to get caught in the middle of the mess.

As quickly as he could the Magus Killer's arm moves to catch his son's shoulder, giving the redhead a glare and a shake of the head for good measure as the young man wants to rush to the confusion before it could escalate.

But the more experienced Emiya can tell that it is already too late and once things escalate he will need to keep Shirou close to keep him alive.

And things escalating quickly wasn't a concern, once it began it was like a boulder falling downhill. There is just no stopping it without something big getting on the way.

First was a punch but in a few seconds it starts to go into a brawl, that isn't actually strange and is a way to let out stress that in normal circumstances it would have some wounded or humiliated but nobody would really die since there are usually plenty of people around to stop things from getting too far.

That wasn't the case when old hatreds and grudges start to set in, when people notice that the person on the other side is someone that they perceive as the real enemy. As someone they need to eliminate at any cost.

What began as a punch, turned into a brawl now has weapons in the middle of it and magic is soon to follow after. There isn't a precise way of knowing who threw the first spell unless they were at that person's side but Kiritsugu saw a shift on the rocks around the center and he knew that things were about to get worse. "Shirou, get ready."

The warning incentivated his son to Reinforce his body immediately while his hands went to draw his sword while the Magus Killer already had a pistol ready.

Spikes jump from the rocks as they are easily malleable by mana and pierce one of the fighters back. Panic begins to set in as the allies of the victim begin to move to assist or to hunt down the responsable.

Paranoia comes after with random accusations right behind. There are those that try to calm down the hot tempers around but it is just too late.

After some blood was spilled, those with grudges started to try and settle their scores. The chance of doing it in a remote corner of Greece in the middle of hundreds of people with little chance of identification is just too good for some to pass up.

Another spell is cast, this time a wind spell that takes the form of a blade. It travels quickly and almost no one sees it leaving the magician's hands. One of the hoplites did and he jumps in front of a mercenary without hesitation, trusting that his armor will protect him.

Bronze, enchanted one at that, is a excellent material for armors and it manages to absorb most of the impact of the spell. It still isn't enough to stop the man from being launched out of his feet and hitting another three people.

Accusations begin to be thrown around and more spells begin to fly as those that are armed start to defend themselves.

Most people around only know three or four people, all the others are strangers and they are not afraid of taking the lives of strangers.

The Magus Killer knows he is also someone's target and he is not disappointed as a magic circle throws spikes of ice in his direction. The woman using the spell has a hateful glare on her face but the man isn't bothered, he pushes Shirou to the side and both narrowly dodge the spell that flies until it hits another person. "Move!" The older Emiya orders his son as he points a newly summoned pistol towards the woman who attacked them.

Shots are fired and not just from the Magus Killer as a new fight begins between the hunters against themselves. Be it pride, greed, hate or other grievances, the people on the beach start to attack each other.

Some are still trying to stop the chaos, to hold it back and Shirou wants to help them. The redhead is not given a chance as his father grabs him around behind a rock for cover only for them to be intercepted by a man with a trident on hand with a lot of mana around it.

"You have a Noble Phantasm don't you boy?" That was another thing that Shirou feared would happen. "Give it to me."

The Magus Killer doesn't waste time or hesitate, raising a machine gun instead of the pistol that was previously in his hand and unloads it on the magus who used the trident to make a shield of water.

Looking towards Muramasa, Shirou clenches his teeth. Even if the sword is a Noble Phantasm it is one of the more subtle ones and for it to be detected that meant that the magician before him was skilled.

And he proves it by drawing water from the ocean without any difficulty and shooting it back at the Emiya men. Both jump for different sides and before the Magus Killer can get back to Shirou he finds himself being attacked by another man he never met but his eyes and posture spoke of a professional who starts to open fire towards Kiritsugu with a shotgun.

"Shirou! Deal with the magician!" Ducking for cover, Kiritsugu draws a rifle himself and fires back at the man who also found a rock to hide behind.

"GIVE ME THAT SWORD!" Amidst the chaos Shirou sees a wave coming not from the ocean but from the magician, a magus from what he can gather from the lack of magic circles.

"Trace on!" Shirou creates a wall of swords but goes pale as he sees his barrier pushing the water towards other people, the situation getting messier by the minute. "Damnit!" Muramasa is freed from its sheath as the redhead goes on the offensive.

The magus sees the Noble Phantasm and his eyes glow with greed and power as more water from the ocean jumps at his call, going in Shirou's direction. The man has every intention to break the redhead's bones and then claim the sword for himself, not caring about those in the way of his attack as Shirou is not the only one in the line of fire.

Shirou jumps over the initial wave and it keeps going, knocking people around before finally smashing in the rocks, cracking them in the area close to the beach. It was barely noticed beside those that were hit and wounded by it, people are all fighting everywhere as the chaos takes control of the camp. The redhead keeps moving forward as the magus prepares a second wave, bigger than the last.

But Shirou doesn't falter and instead accelerates, mana running through his circuits as he speed surpasses the human limits and he reaches the enemy magus without issue, surprising the man.

Before his opponent could react Muramasa had already cut the trident in half and in another swift move had cut the man down.

Shirou watches as he has cut a person down easily, someone he doesn't know the name of and besides self defense he can't even claim to know why. When the greedy magus tries to get up the redhead doesn't think twice and delivers a kick to the man's face, knocking him out instead of just killing him.

Immediately after that problem is solved Shirou begins to look for his father. There is so much conflict and smells going around that he can only trust his eyes to find the man and even with Reinforcement he is having difficulties.

There is just too much happening at the same time now, too much information going around. The redhead blinks, shaking his head before turning to the area he saw his father previously before having to raise his sword to block a bloodied mace going for his head.

Another person he doesn't know or ever heard about and yet the man is looking at Muramasa with a familiar greed at this point. 'Damned it to hell!' Shirou lets himself fall to break the mace user balance before kicking him on the leg for a distraction and then he cuts the mace's handle in two to follow up in a punch to knock the man out.

He looks around the chaos and destruction, the piles of bodies that are starting to grow and feels frustration and anger. Shirou's eyes search feneticaly for a familiar mope of black hair and it's only after dodging another man with a shotgun that was being fired at someone else that he finds his father.

The Magus Killer is working with a machine gun on his right hand and a knife on his left, the gun pumping someone dressed in robes full of lead while the knife is swiftly used to block a spear while the black haired man retreated to get some distance.

Refusing to let his father fight alone, Shirou moves to intercept another swing of the spear of stone only to feel electricity running from it. Even with his arms growing numb the redhead refuses to let go of his blade as his father shoots the aggressor on the knee but before he could go for the face Shirou goes for an elbow blow to knock him out.

"Behind you!" The redhead warns his father as the man quickly turns and unloads everything that was left on his machine gun on another man.

"Get down!" The Magus Killer orders as he discards the knife and machine gun to pull out another pair of guns and shoot to the sides without really aiming. Because of his reckless barrage only Shirou is left intact as he hits many other people in his direction, some of whom were about to attack the pair while others just were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Dad, stop it!" Shirou calls for the man but he is still shooting, focusing on neutralizing as many threats as possible. "You're hitting the sailors too!" The citizens of Perseus were trying to stop the violence and were being caught in the crossfire not only by the Magus Killer but many others who were just as reckless.

"We don't have time to hesitate!" The older man still grabs his son by the arm as a fireball flies in their direction. Both roll to the side as he pulls out a rocket launcher, of a more reasonable size this time, and starts to aim.

"No!" Shirou lowers the weapon before the man can shoot. "We have to stop this before everyone dies! Not make sure they are all dead!"

"This is the only way!" The Magus Killer shouts, the loud battle making that the two can barely hear each other. "This is just going to get worse!" His weapons disappear as the man draws another one, an assault rifle.

"Then you know how to drive one of these ships?" That made Kiritsugu pause. "Because I don't think any amount of Structural Analysis is going to help me do that!" Shirou says with more than a bit of anger as he steps in front of his father to block some bullets that flew in their direction. "We will need help to leave!" He says while covering his head with his arms while being thankful that the armor is holding the bullets without bothering him even as his jacket is being damaged, Reinforcement on it and his arms weaken the shots but he still feels like he is being attacked by dozens of wasps.

Kiritsugu doesn't waste time and returns fire for a few seconds to diminish the danger to his son before pulling him behind a few tents. "We have to get one of the captains and a crew! This Hunt is a bust!" The Magus Killer returns and he looks firmly in Shirou's eyes. "It is your choice; what do you want to do?" He waits for his son's decision.

Stay and fight, run and survive, now that the chaos is loose, his son has to accept the cruelties of life. One way or another, Kiritsugu estimates that they will have to kill a few people but if the decision is to stay then the body count will rise even more if they want to control the situation.

Leaving means that they will kill much less, maybe even no one else if they are careful.

Regardless, his son is the one who is going to decide their course of action.

Before Shirou can say anything else the tent starts to fall apart as the fight is escalating more. No one is holding back their spells and weapons and people are starting to die in droves.

The guilds of Perseus are attempting to control the situation but no one is listening to them. To protect the sailors they find themselves with no choice but to start retaliating against anyone that comes too close to avoid more death but some of the foreigners saw them attacking and those that did started to attack them as well.

Before the beach was green with the serpents blood but it is starting to grow red as more people die by the minute.

Father and son run around trying to find some semblance of order when Shirou sees four guys attacking someone already down. "Stop! Don't you dare!" His father tried to call but it was pointless. The is already redhead rushing and with Muramasa he disarms two of the aggressors before kicking their legs while Kiritsugu shoots them to make sure they are down as his son knocks out the other two. The older Emiya pulls his son back before he could properly help the bleeding victim on the ground. "We have no time for this! We need to go!" Things are escalating faster than even he predicted and Shirou needed to make a decision.

"It would be better if we could stop this fight!" Obeying his father's orders Shirou doesn't leave his side but he made two blunt swords and threw them, managing to knock out two other people that were fighting.

"We can't! They are not listening to reason anymore!" Kiritsugu said, focused on getting his son away from danger but his rifle was still ready and shooting every time he saw someone he recognized as a threat. "Keep going!"

"We have to do something!" Both move to cover against as a spell caster tries to use the waves like others did before, another trident on her hands. She is gunned down before she ever completes the magic circle. Shirou wants to jump towards her and try to help but Kiritsugu catches him by his jacket and slams him against a crate.

"You can't help them Shirou! Focus on surviving!" To the Magus Killer, everyone there is beyond help.

"That isn't enough!" At Shirou's protest Kiritsugu just shakes his head.

"You can't help everyone Shirou! Look around you!" The older man makes sure that his son has a complete vision of everything that is going on, of the people fighting, looting corpses, killing each other. Of the general chaos that befell on the camp. "This is reality and we can't help them!"

"Doesn't mean we can't just do nothing!" Shirou screams back as even with the fighting around it is clear that the two are shouting to each other.

"You can't save everyone Shirou! They choose their path! You have to choose yours" Kiritsugu responds.

"Not all of them!" Shirou retorts as a light starts to cover the battlefield and both of them can feel an aura of power covering everything.

It is a warm aura with a veil of tranquility and calm that managed to make people stop fighting and look to the white star that appeared above the beach. Almost everyone is looking with either wonder or admiration.

Shirou recognizes the smell, it is the same one he has been feeling most of the day. "Please, stop fighting!" The star says with a woman's voice, also familiar to Shirou. "You all didn't come to this island to kill one another! You all didn't come here to harm one another! You came here to stop the evil that threatens humanity!" People start to look around in confusion while others are even nervous or embarrassed.

Looking back to the white star it finally clicked to Shirou what he was seeing and why it was familiar. 'It has almost the same smell as Akeno's energy...but it is more pure and refined. Is that difference that gives it such intensity?' In the back of his mind he is sure that Akeno is more powerful in terms of raw power and yet he can't deny the intensity of the star's energy. Once the realization settled and the reason for the familiarity clicked in his head he understood what he was looking at and couldn't help but whisper. "Angel."

The star begins to diminish its glow and a familiar face and familiar uniform are revealed. Now her teal hair is longer than before going all the way to her lower back and her body is a little more feminine with better curves than before, like a growing girl that finally has reached adulthood and the clothes she is dressed in get more filled without appearing vulgar but elegant and not hiding her beauty.

Behind the woman's back are two wings, white as the energy she is emitting and carrying some of the majestic glow from spread apart promising to envelope all in the beach on their embrace as she begins to descend.

All eyes are still on her as her deep blue eyes look to all present with kindness and sadness but that doesn't last long as the negative emotions are replaced with a determination stronger than the aura she is emitting.

Once the woman had landed besides a nervous Lab and a growling David she spoke once again, the same excited smile from before shining to all. "Let us all work together to defeat the monster of this island! Let us all work together to slay the Gorgon!"

The declaration was met with cheers but both Shirou and Kiritsugu just looked at each other, their conversation not entirely over even if the chaos had stopped.

…

She begins to stir as something wakes her up from a short rest.

In whatever is left of her conscious mind she hates to wake up, she hates being awake unless she is distracted by memories of the past, nothing good has come from it for a long time now and detests being aware of things.

While her past is the most painful thing for her, it still carries sweet memories that give her the sweetest dreams. She doesn't want to stay away from them but she can't return, not yet.

As her eyes open, she can feel herself getting more aware of the presence that disturbed her slumber. She hates it, it was too familiar, too painful and she hates it. It was something that hurt her in the past, but different. Not different enough that she likes it for she still hates it..

Purple eyes open with a furious snarl. Her huge body begins to move and the serpents in the proximity start to run and hide. They don't want to become the food of the mighty Queen, the only real Queen of the island.

Her nest is huge, big enough that two stadiums could be easily fitted inside and she still needs to take care of how she moves for it is her nest and it has her only treasure. The reason for her attitude is because regardless of how lost her mind actually is there is an object she treasures above anything else.

It is a mirror. A single polish mirror is the only thing she cares about in the whole island, she looks at it and in the depths of her insanity she still wants to stay there with it and nothing else. She doesn't care about the remains of former food and prey, she doesn't care about the treasures the serpents leave for her to try and earn her favor, she can't care.

But she cares about the mirror, barely tall enough to fit in one of her hands but still taller than most humans. And carrying memories than she could count if her mind was able to still do it.

She can't stay with her mirror, she can't stay in her nest. Not now as something that she hates is on her island. It is not welcomed and her insane mind beacons her to get rid of it too, to get rid of the reason for her hatred.

Her long tail moves, pushing aside pones and trinkets as she begins to move. The huge tunnels on the islands were not made by the nagas or lamias, they were made by her, for her.

With one arm she pulls herself in the direction of the source of her hatred. She wants to destroy it, to tear it apart with her teeth and drink its blood.

'Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood blood blood bloodblood blood blood bloodbloodblood blood bloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodblood…' It is all she can think, the only thought that she can have ever since she failed.

She can already feel the taste, it will be better than the serpents' blood, of that she has no doubt even if she doesn't know why.

From her nest she begins to move out with purpose and hatred, hatred that she can't understand why or where it came from.

But she knows she is thirsty and the thirst is for blood.

…

Few people are willing to fight with an angel present. It wasn't a matter of power but the presence of the celestial being itself that made most men's impulses of violence look shameful beyond reason and people start to hesitate, their resolve failing before an insurmountable guilt that passes their hearts.

Doubly so when said angel is moving around to help with the recovery and care of the wounded by the chaos that forced her to reveal herself. The dead are already being separated and many will be buried on the island while others shall return with their living companions.

Others are planning to follow the angel to hunt down the Gorgon.

Helping in one of the tents is Shirou with Kiritsugu standing guard behind his son. Both Emiya's family members are silent as the youngest uses EM to treat the wounded that pass his way.

The two men are tense, Shirou has Muramasa at his side, stabbed to the ground for easy access and he is pretty much sure his father is going to say something he isn't going to like.

After the ninth person that Shirou took care of Kiritsugu says. "We are leaving." The redhead just throws the older man a look before he gets back to work, EM stabbing the arm of another person as the man grows quiet.

"We can't leave just yet." Shirou has no reservations in talking back to his father.

"You heard what they want to do." The man that Shirou is treating says nothing as the magus finished and he could move his shoulder again. He gave the redhead a nod of respect and a glare to Kiritsugu as he left the tent. "That is still suicide."

"She is an angel. She must have a way to fight the Gorgon." Shirou theories but his father just shakes his head as another patient gets in, a hoplite with shield and spear on his back.

"If it was that simple then the Gorgon would already be dead." Kiritsugu is still holding a pistol in one hand and his senses are focused on everyone around the tent.

"You should listen to your teacher." The patient said as sitted still waiting for his many wounds to heal. "Considering the situation, this Hunt is a disaster. The screening process this time…" The man shakes his head in frustration as both Emiya men say nothing. "There is no shame in retreating when there is no victory."

"But how are we supposed to know if we don't even try?" Shirou argues and the hoplite lets out a sigh in response.

"I don't know, kid. I never saw the Gorgon before." The man said with a shrug but that only opened the wound that Shirou was trying to close prompting the redhead to give him a deadpan stare. "Sorry."

"It doesn't matter. We are leaving." Kiritsugu says with finality. "Many are already getting ready to leave and we are going to be welcomed in one of the ships."

"This is a disaster of a Hunt. I don't blame most captains for wanting to leave." The man says while the wound on his arm healed and now there is just a big wound left on one of his legs that Shirou maintains a steady flow of mana to heal. "And the thought of hunting the Gorgon. Just saying it makes me shiver."

"You said you never saw her but you act like you did. Do you know someone that did?" Shirou asks curiously and he receives a nod of the head.

"Yes, my grandfather did see her when he was a hoplite himself." The old man shivers at a memory. "He described to us in detail the kind of being she is and the power she has. When he wanted to scare me and my brothers he would tell us about the Gorgon with a reminder; 'don't fight her, you will die'. "

With that ominous warning the man gets up and begins to leave. With the two Emiya men alone again Shirou turns to Kiritsugu. "Anything you want to tell me?" The redhead's tone is accusatory.

"No, at least not here." The father still answered honestly. "We have to leave. With the numbers reduced there is no point and too many risks on staying."

"From what we gathered a lot of people are going to stay." Shirou points out.

"But not the locals." Kiritsugu says coldly. "They are the ones that know more about this place and almost every single one of them is leaving, and so are we. There is nothing else to be gained here."

"What? Wasn't the experience itself good enough?" Looking at his son, Kiritsugu wonders where the sarcasm is coming from since it has been there the last few times he got mad. "Either way, it would be wrong to just leave. We will be abandoning them, everyone that is mustering the courage to stay and fight."

"Then say your goodbyes if you want. I won't allow you to risk your life against a mythological being that even gods are afraid of." And Shirou can't really disagree with that argument even if it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. "We have barely any information about her outside of legends and if you think that the petrifying gaze is the only thing that she can do then you are terribly wrong."

"Because a god wouldn't need to fear it right?" Shirou deduced. "Anything strong enough to affect one of them wouldn't be stopped by just glasses, no matter how magical."

"We lack intel and resources to take down something like the Gorgon. Even if Perseus wasn't the strongest of the children of Zeus he was still stronger than most humans could ever dream of being and he had help. Armies tried to defeat the Gorgon before and after him and none ever succeeded." Kiritsugu explains his logic retreating.

In his mind they have no reason to fight, his objective while not fully accomplished is already compromised. If anything remaining on the Shapeless Isle is a risk far beyond than it should be since there are people now planning to challenge the Gorgon and if she is provoked Kiritsugu doesn't want to be around to see the kind of destruction that she can unleash, especially with Shirou around and surrounded by unknown people.

Besides, the man did the math and he knows that what is happening is partially his fault. Athena's control of the entrances and exits has been damaged by his meddling and an angel entered in the Great Hunt, something the goddess never allowed before.

Sure he isn't completely sure about it since they could have infiltrated much earlier but the potential is still there for Kiritsugu being the one responsible and her presence brings a completely new variable to the table.

Just thinking about it gave the black haired man a headache. 'And speaking of the angel…' Kiritsugu looks to the entrance of the tent as both he and Shirou can feel the pure and clean energy approaching. "We got-"

"Company. I noticed." Shirou allows EM to disappear as he gets up just as Ari and her companions enter the tent.

"Shirou, I'm so glad you decided to help!" Ari may not have her wings at the moment but the rest of her appearance remains in what the Emiya men can only call her true form.

"It is the least I felt I should do after that mess." The angel nods excitedly while Lab offers him a small smile and David remains impassive. After a few seconds of silence Shirou decides to talk. "An angel huh? Is that the reason for your super strength?"

Ari looks shocked by the question. "Ah right! I haven't introduced myself properly yet!" Once again an white aura covers the woman and now that Shirou is closer he can also see a golden halo over her head even if the wings are not manifesting themselves again. "My true name is Ariel, an angel from the 2nd Heaven and subordinate of the Seraph Sariel." Her tone changed from an excitable young woman to one of a high class lady. "My friends and I have come here because of the opportunity to take down the monstrous Gorgon."

If Kiritsugu was more expressive he would have facepalmed. 'Athena was stopping other supernatural beings from coming and I let one pass. Maybe even more than one but she is the only one relevant in this conjecture.' Still his face remains blank, refusing to give off his thoughts.

The mention of hierarchy and who the angel was directly subordinated to signified that she is there for business in a sense and Shirou decided to answer in kind. "My name is Shirou Emiya, just a high school student and magus." He points to Kiritsugu. "And this is my father."

Neither the angel and her two followers reacted to the information. "Well, we already introduced ourselves but our job description would be executors from the church." Lab said with his casual smile. "We are also bodyguards of lady Ariel."

"I ended up dragging them on this mission but they didn't complain." The angel smiles towards her companions and even David smiles slightly at her attitude. "They are real friends that accepted to help me in my quest to slay the Gorgon."

"And how exactly are you pretending to do that again?" Kiritsugu questions, earning the glare of almost everyone in the tent. "Let me make something clear to you; if you think that just because you are an angel it will make a difference then you are wrong."

"Careful there mercenary." David warns but Lab places a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Ariel isn't going to be fighting alone. We are going to help." The man says with pride and a flourish of his spear. "It may not look like it but we have our own tricks."

"Sacred gears." Shirou surprises the members of the church. "You two have them. I didn't recognize you in the beginning and because Ariel's smell was disguising your own but now I am sure you two have sacred gears."

"'Smell'?" Ariel raises her arm to check her armpit.

"Are you insinuating something?" David steps forward towards Shirou who raises his hands to try and calm him down.

"It is nothing like that! That is how I detect mana! I can smell the fluctuations of energy!" Kiritsugu wants to stop his son from talking but with an angel this close and with others around with unidentified sacred gears the man holds himself back.

"Are you part werewolf or something?" Lab asked with a frown but once Shirou shook his head it disappeared. "I wonder what kind of training you had to develop like that."

"Dodgeball." Kiritsugu intervenes and Shirou can't disagree since it was technically the truth. "It doesn't matter anyway, we should be going."

"That is what I wanted to talk to you two about." Ariel smiles and joins her hands. "I want to ask you both if you are willing to help us-"

"No." Swiftly Kiritsugu didn't dare to let the angel finish. "You want to fight the Gorgon? Go ahead but don't ask us to join you on this suicidal mission."

"Father!" Shirou glares at the older man but he remains impassive.

"I won't repeat myself again." The Magus Killer looks to the angel with apathy. "You are one of the angels of the 2nd Heaven, not even the 5th or the 7th where the warriors and strongest reside and you still believe you can face a being that the gods fear?"

"That is because the Greeks don't allow other pantheons to take the Great Hunt." David clenches his fist with anger and looks about to punch Kiritsugu if the man was anywhere closer. "No one else ever had the chance to try because Athena is afraid to lose a valuable resource in the serpents."

"The theory of our faction is that this place is used as a recruitment center and training ground." Lab elaborates and Kiritsugu almost snorted. "It is a good reason to keep these monsters around, a 100 veteran warriors are going to be better than a 1000 of greenhorns."

"Even if that is the case, and I am not saying it is, that doesn't change anything." The Magus Killer ignores David's glare in his direction.

"But of course it does!" Ariel is quick to reply. "Just the Gorgon's existence is a threat to the world itself! Hundreds or thousands die every year just because of her and the serpents that she protects! It is not fair!"

The passion in the angel's voice doesn't move the mercenary. "Life is hardly fair. You should know that better than most, being part of an endangered species." That makes the woman flinch but the Magus Killer continues, not bothering to mention his own life. "This is their territory and as far as I can tell the Greek gods are doing everything they can short of risking their own lives against the Gorgon. There is no reason to suspect foul play."

"But they should do more!" Ariel comments. "And if they aren't then I shall. With God's light, I shall purge that monster!" The conviction of the woman is carried by her voice but once again Kiritsugu's heart stays unbothered.

"God or not, that doesn't improve your chances." Is all the mercenary has to say.

"Even if you don't want to go, your son is the one we want." David, annoyed with Kiritsugu's attitude towards Ariel, tells the man before turning to the redhead. "We heard that you have a Noble Phantasm."

All eyes on the tent turn to Muramasa and Shirou blinks in confusion. "How many people are able to feel that?" He says with a shake of his head. "Either way, Muramasa is not the monster slaying kind. It is a King slaying weapon with an extremely sharp edge."

"And that may make all the difference." Lab cheerfully tells Shirou. "Even if we can't truly slay the Gorgon," he gives Kiritsugu a side glance before looking back at the redhead, "a sword like that is sure to be able to cut her neck. Even with her Divinity protecting her, a Noble Phantasm may be strong enough to cut through it."

Shirou looks to Muramasa and he can't help but agree at least when it is about that sword expecifically. From what he learned studying it and other Noble Phantasms from Gilgamesh he understood that Muramasa's function is to cut everything.

"That depends mostly on who uses it." Shirou informs everyone with a frown. "Besides, the sword is incomplete, even as a Noble Phantasm." That is also part of its legend but unlike the Muramasa he can project the original one is stubborn and is always trying to go into a single direction for completion; to cut something.

And Shirou has no idea what is that the sword is meant to cut but he knows it 'wants' to for the sake of its creator and to finally be complete.

"It still can help." Lab says with a smile. "If you don't want to stay, that is fine but allow us to borrow the sword or even buy it if you are willing to part with it."

The idea of selling a Noble Phantasm isn't common and it never passed by Shirou's mind. He pulls up the sword and looks at it, the same admiration he had at the time he acquired it after the fight in the Rearguard Company is still present.

In reality it is even more intense. Shirou studied this sword more than any other weapon and he can say for certain that he admires the man that was Muramasa.

'To be so stubborn that his creation still wants to be completed long after his death.' Shirou thinks with some admiration for both the sword and the man. The blade is still a masterpiece and the redhead can admit that letting it go is hard. "I-"

An earthquake starts before Shirou can give a proper answer and everyone exits the tent to see exactly what is going on. New panic is hitting the camp and there isn't a single person that isn't on guard or trying to find what is happening.

There has never been an earthquake on the Shapeless Isle since the Hunts began and the timing just made people more afraid.

Below the feets of one of the groups getting ready to venture in the cave starts to emerge a shape that throws around those that were standing in the area. It keeps going out of the hole that it made until it shows itself to be at least twice as large as the queen lamia from before.

Many thought it was some kind of dragon at first with a body covered with dark scales and a long tail that still had some of it on the ground. When those present tried to look at the face they thought of a lamia and that she wouldn't be much bigger than the previous queen.

Like a lamia most of the body is a tail until it reaches the torso but the scales continue to cover the human part of the body, including the arms and distinct breasts. And with that the idea of a dragon or lamia started to die.

It is then, when some managed to pass by the shapely huge scale covered breasts and managed to look to the head of the creature that they knew that what they all are seeing is not a dragon or a lamia for in her head there are dozens if not hundreds giant snakes instead of hair. Some even cover her face with their large bodies even as the dark purple eyes look at them all with hatred and bloodlust.

Wings reveal themselves from the giant's back as they extend to their full length and cover all on the beach from the sun.

The hair snakes are purple, a lighter shade of purple that almost reflects the sun as they move without prompt from the giant as her eyes look around for the source of her anger, they forked tongues revealing themselves from time to time as they all show hunger in their eyes.

From those standing around camp to those that were already on ships, everyone is afraid but no one is mustering the courage to act as the size of the monster before them and the power that she is letting out is enough that they realized their arrogance from before. Even those with minimal knowledge about the newly arrived monster knew that she is just too big, bigger than any legend ever said she was.

Finally the snakes that covered the Gorgon's head part to reveal a face that is also covered in an even lighter tone of purple and with sharp fangs that are revealed as she lets out a roar of anger. She can't feel what was infuriating her at the moment but seeing so many humans around, in her island, made her mad with fury even in the depths of her insanity.

All hear the roar of fury and even the angel couldn't help but take a step back as before everyone is now the great Gorgon Medusa herself and Kiritsugu couldn't help but think out loud. "We really should have left earlier."

And deep down his son wanted to agree with him.

…..