Chapter 21: The Hero of the Axe
"So that's how it was, wasn't it…?"
The Shadow kneeling in front of the throne bowed his head in confirmation. "Yes, Your Excellency. It was impossible to secure the target after that. The Sword Hero didn't kill the dragon, but after that, for some reason, the target was seen together with him. There's no way to secure it without alerting the Sword Hero now."
Silence filled the chamber for about a minute. Then…
"Very well. You can leave."
The Shadow looked up. "Do you need us to do anything else, Your Excellency?"
"Not for now. I will call if I need anything."
After the Shadow left the room, the glass of wine on the Pope's hand exploded into millions of tiny bits.
"So you want to challenge the will of God, hmm…?"
"Finally, you are here, my Lord! We're just wondering if there were anything happening to you!"
Greeting them enthusiastically at the inn of the city was Ulfric, the bear demi-human of the bodyguard team. He looked much more cheerful than before. Maybe because he's happy about serving a new master, or maybe because of the big mug of beer he was drinking from.
"I already told you not to call me that in public, didn't I?" EMIYA shook his head while entering the inn. "Where are the others?"
"Master Berthold, Wotan and Wendel are going out to buy some supplies for our return trip," answered the bear demi-human. "He told us yesterday that we're not going to stay here for too long, as he still needs to bring supplies back to the village to make up for the time they were locked in. And Warin… well, who knows where that fox would go…" he rolled his eyes. "Maybe he's sleeping in some hole in the market a few blocks away from here…"
"Oi, I'm not that lazy, you bastard!" From behind him, the annoyed voice of the fox demi-human rose. He walked out from behind Ulfric and bowed. "Lord Sword Hero. Glad to see you unharmed. Does it mean you guys slew that dragon?"
EMIYA grimaced at the question of Warin. He glanced at Wyndia, whose face was turning murderous at the question of the fox demi-human. "We defeated him, yes, but not in the way you are thinking," he said with a serious face. "Look, this is not the time to talk about this. Let's wait until the others come back. So where have you been?" he changed the topic.
Warin grinned. "You're asking the right thing, my Lord! I've asked around after we arrived here, and I've found out about something you might be interested in. You're looking to meet the Seven Star Axe Hero, aren't you? Lucky for you! I've heard that his ship has just arrived at the port last night!"
EMIYA blinked. "Ship?"
But before Warin could answer him, a cheerful voice had risen from the entrance of the inn. "You see!? I told you he's not going to be defeated that easily!"
The team turned toward the door, and saw Berthold as well as the two other members of the bodyguard team standing there. And Wotan was holding his hand out toward Wendel with an excited smile on his face. The dog man grumbled unhappily and put a bronze piece on the hand sticking out at him.
EMIYA stared at them. "Wait. Are you guys betting on whether I would still be alive after fighting that dragon?"
The two demi-humans could only scratch their heads awkwardly.
"Wow. That's… that's just messed up."
The four bodyguards and their new master grimaced when EMIYA finished retelling the story of his battle after dinner. Wotan shook his head.
"I know that humans could be bastards, but to that point… that's not how people are supposed to treat each other. Trying to kill another sentient being, just for that petty reason…"
Wendel patted the shoulder of Wyndia, who was sitting next to him. "I'm sorry about that, little girl. No one deserves a life like what you had…"
The aforementioned girl scowled, but said nothing. For some reason, she felt more relaxed sitting next to that guy than to the others. Maybe because he was of the same race as hers.
EMIYA let out a dry chuckle. No matter which world he was in, there would always be someone who benefits from the misery of others. They don't care about whether a war would break out or someone would need to die or not; the only thing they look forward to is the money or the power they would be able to gain. The worst thing was, most of the time those people were the ones who had already held great power in their hands. They take what they want, without anyone being able to do anything to stop them. It was those people who were the reason why the world could never have peace, because if the world was on the verge of achieving peace, those people would make up excuses to ignite another war just for their own benefits.
He decided to change the topic. "So, about that Axe Hero…" he looked at Warin. The fox demi-human grinned.
"The Seven Star Axe Hero, Captain Fargus, is the captain of the pirate ship Ark. That's why his ship doesn't usually stay in one place for too long; even though he still affiliates himself with Zeltoble, each year he only returns to this place a few times. Although… saying that he's a pirate captain is kinda a really big stretch, because his crew doesn't do things that pirates usually do, like pillaging villages, robbing ships on the sea, or anything like that. If anything, I would say that the Ark's crew is kinda like a mercenary force rather than a pirate ship."
He stopped for a few seconds, then continued. "From what people say about him, he's an incredibly strong fighter. He has never lost a battle during his life, and that might be the reason he was chosen by the Seven Star Axe. He's always looking for someone who can give him the best fight of his life, and because of that, he takes part in tournaments after tournaments every year, but so far no one is a match for him. And this year's Zeltoble Grand Tournament is not an exception; it's going to be held here the day after tomorrow, and guess what, since the founding of the tournament ten years ago, no one has ever been able to snatch the championship from that man."
"Sounds like an incredible guy, that man," Welt whistled.
EMIYA pondered. This Captain Fargus must be someone who is really proud of his power, and if what Warin had just said was true, he had more than enough reason to be. And people like that are usually not easy to approach, and definitely not someone who is going to be unnerved just by showing off his title or flexing his muscles. It's highly possible that unless he could somehow beat the man in a fight, meeting the Axe Hero was going to be a big pain in the ass.
"No matter how strong he is, there's no way he can compare to Shirou-sensei!" Tersia cheered enthusiastically, and naturally, that earned her a bop to the back of her head, just as usual.
Farrie looked at EMIYA. "So now we're…"
The former Counter Guardian nodded. He stood up from his seat. "Yeah. Let's pay that Captain Fargus a visit."
"Scram! Our Captain doesn't have the time for commoners like you!"
Team EMIYA was taken aback by the rude words of the sailors at the plank leading up the ship. Welt started angrily.
"Do you know who you're speaking to, bastards? The one you're talking to is…"
"Welt!" EMIYA raised his voice to stop his student before he could finish his sentence. He walked up and said in a polite tone.
"Sorry for his behavior. If you don't mind, please tell Captain Fargus that the Sword Hero is here and wants an audience with him."
What he couldn't expect was that the sailors looked at each other, and howled with derisive laughter.
"AHAHAHAHA! You, the Sword Hero? Do you think we're stupid? If you want to impersonate someone, at least find one who's a little bit more believable, idiot!"
Then they retracted the plank and walked away, leaving Team EMIYA standing there, baffled and annoyed.
Tersia growled. "Sensei, permission to destroy, please. My hands are itching."
"So that you would create a messy international conflict between us and the whole world? No thanks." EMIYA rolled his eyes. He turned around and started walking away. "We need to think of another way."
"What happened out there?"
"Nah, it's nothing, Capt'. Just some idiot who claimed to be the Sword Hero of legend. We already shooed him away."
From the table, the face of the man now known as Captain Fargus broke out a bloodthirsty grin.
"Sword Hero… interesting…"
That night, EMIYA only slept lightly.
As a Counter Guardian, he was used to not letting himself fall into a deep sleep. Even around people who he thought as close to him, he still slept with an eye open, and never allowed himself to relax completely. Just a tiny noise was enough to wake him from his sleep, every time.
And another reason was the little ball of white which was curling up against his body next to him.
For some reason, Yuki insisted on sleeping together with him that night instead of with her two big sisters as usual. When the two girls looked hurt and asked for the reason, the little kitsune just shook her tiny head vigorously, not giving any answer. That's the reason why she was lying next to him right now.
She was in a deep sleep, but sometimes, he could see her face scrunching up, maybe from what she was dreaming. Even in her dream, the little kitsune was just so adorable. He reached out his hand to pat her head, and she moaned lightly. Looking at her, EMIYA couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
Absently, he opened his status window and rechecked his stats, just like what he usually did whenever he didn't have anything else to do.
[STATUS MENU]
Class: Hero of the Sword
True Name: Emiya Shirou
Sex: Male
Height/Weight: 187cm/78kg
Alignment: True Neutral
[Parameters]
Strength: B++
Endurance: B+
Agility: B+
MP: C++ (520/520)
Luck: E+
His stats had grown quite a bit thanks to the natural growth he gained from levelling up, as well as from the swords he managed to unlock with those levels and their upgrade forms. The swords he unlocked through absorbing tools, materials and other similar things gave him permanent points straight to the basic parameters, but there were just enough of those for him to grow that much. And his luck was still as abysmal as ever. That was the only stat that just didn't seem to want to grow for him, no matter how hard he tried.
He grimaced. More than anyone, he knew for a fact that no matter how experienced, how powerful he might be, he's just not undefeatable. No matter how strong someone was, there would always be someone else who was stronger. If he didn't continue improving himself, there would be one day when someone would kill him in his sleep. Even though one plus in a parameter made a big difference in his world, he wasn't actually sure it would be the case in this world. And if 55 levels and a whole bunch of swords he had obtained and upgraded could only help him advance that much...
He turned to the other section of his stat screen. When he first tried adding Level Point to his stats, it opened up a menu for him called Alteration of the Soul.
[Alteration of the Soul]
Strength: 123
Endurance: 10
Agility: 42
MP: 40
Luck: 60
He had gained 275 Level Points with his 55 levels, and so far, he had spent most of them on Strength, Agility, MP and Luck. Strangely, though, he noticed that even though they did indeed give him stronger combat abilities, those stat points didn't affect his body directly. Could it be that they were the strengthening method of the Sword itself, not his?
If that's the case, he would have another problem to worry about. If someday, for some reason, he lost access to the Legendary Sword, his combat abilities would suffer a drastic drop which he was not sure he could compensate for. Sure, skills were important, but strength in combat was necessary as well.
He wondered if there were any other methods he could use to increase his power...
"Mm… Pa… pa…"
He blinked. Yuki was mumbling something in her mouth. The little girl was sleep-talking, it seemed. He reached out and rubbed her head again with a smile.
And suddenly…
"Mrgh… no… No! Papa… Farrie-nee-…chan… Tersia-nee-chan… No…! No!"
Immediately, EMIYA realized that something was going wrong. The peaceful expression on the kitsune's face had disappeared, replaced by a terrified one full of pain, regret and despair. Tears were running down her cheek, wetting the pillow she was resting her head on. And that hoarse scream coming out of her mouth obviously showed that the nightmare she was having wasn't anything pleasurable.
"Yuki! Yuki! Wake up! Snap out of it!" Knowing he needed to do something immediately, EMIYA rolled the girl over and started slapping her cheeks lightly while shaking her small body. The young kitsune's eyes groggily opened; EMIYA could see absolute terror inside those two bright blue orbs. She started trembling like crazy, her irises darted left and right in obvious panic and fear. Gently, the former Counter Guardian lifted her up and pulled her into a hug while patting her back like a mother would do when her child got a nightmare.
"Now, now… easy there, easy there… I'm here, I'm here…"
The kitsune looked at him with trembling eyes. Then, she buried her face in his chest and started bawling her eyes out.
"Papa… Papa… please… please don't leave Yuki… Yuki is sorry…!"
"There, there… I'm not going to leave you for anything…" he patted the back of her head. "Why would I ever leave you?"
"B-but…" said Yuki between hiccups. "You were there… and Farrie-nee-chan… and Tersia-nee-chan… Everyone was lying on the ground… there was so much blood… Yuki's paws were full of blood… Yuki tried to wake Papa up, but Papa didn't answer… Yuki is scared...! Yuki doesn't want Papa to go…!"
EMIYA immediately understood what was going on. It was obvious that the poor kitsune was dreaming about that horrible incident this morning. Even in that berserk state, she still remembered what she was doing, but she couldn't control herself. The fear of that happening again was so great it haunted her even in her dreams, and she was afraid that it would happen again, that she would someday hurt the people she loved with it…
Right now, saying anything to console her was useless. He just sat there, letting the little girl release all her agony and fear while petting her head in an attempt to soothe her mind. Finally, after bawling her heart out for ten whole minutes, Yuki finally managed to somewhat calm herself down, even though she was still letting out hiccups after hiccups.
Parent and child just sat there for a while in silence. Then, EMIYA heard a noise outside. That noise was small but sharp and firm, a noise which he had been too familiar with. The noise of an arrow hitting a target.
He looked at Yuki and smiled. "Let's go out for a walk to have some fresh air, shall we?"
Welt raised his bow, nocked an arrow onto it, and his eyes opened again, focusing on the center of the target fifty meters away from him. Even in the middle of the night, his skill Hawkeye allowed him to realize the target easily as if the sun were still high.
He projected his mind at the target. Right now, he was the bull's eye itself. The bowstring was pulled to the limit, ready to be released.
Time stopped at that very moment. In a single split second, the past, the present and the future became one. He didn't have to aim anymore, because he knew that the arrow would hit.
He loosened his grip on the bowstring, and the arrow hit the bull's eye.
"Excellent shot. You need to be faster than that, though."
The archer's head snapped back when he heard the voice of his sensei right behind him.
"Sensei! Yuki-chan! Aren't you two sleeping?"
EMIYA and Yuki walked into the backyard of the inn, where Welt was practicing his archery at. "That should be my question, actually," asked the Sword Hero. "Why are you practicing archery in the middle of the night like this?"
The boy scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Ah, well… I couldn't sleep, so I guess a little bit of practice would make it easier for me to fall asleep… besides, I think it would be helpful to get familiar with shooting in the dark, you know. Just in case we have to fight at night in the future…"
He sat down on a rock nearby, and readily accepted Yuki's attempt on sitting on top of his lap.
"Welt-nii-chan…" the kitsune suddenly asked in a trembling voice. "Do you hate Yuki?"
The archer stared at her with surprised eyes. "What?! Why are you asking that, Yuki-chan?"
"Because… because of Yuki, everyone was hurt!" wailed Yuki. "If that happens again…!"
"Then we're going to stop it," said Welt simply. "Before we weren't strong enough to do anything, but I promise you, we're going to become stronger. And if your power goes out of control like before, we're going to stop it from hurting others. I promise you, Yuki-chan. And right now I'm still doing my best to prepare myself for that. See?" he lifted his bow and flexed his arm with a smile.
"But-!"
EMIYA looked into her eyes. He said in a calm, but gentle voice.
"Listen, Yuki. I know that it's impossible for you to forget about what happened. But you must not let it torture your mind. Everything that happened was just an accident, which happened to lead to something dangerous. What we need to do is not let it happen again. Papa will not let it happen again."
The little girl looked back at him with teary eyes. "C-can you do it, Papa?"
The ex-Guardian smiled and rubbed her hair. "I promise. And I guess even if I alone can't, we can all do it together, don't we, you all?"
Yuki nearly jumped when Farrie's gentle arms wrapped around her from behind. No one knew when the two other girls of Team EMIYA arrived in the backyard. The priestess whispered into her ears affectionately.
"Of course we are going to, Yuki-chan. We're going to do everything we can to ensure things like that would never happen again. That's what siblings are for, isn't it?"
Tersia and Welt didn't say anything, but both of them looked at the kitsune with eyes full of love. And before Yuki herself knew it, she had started crying her heart out, once again.
From the window of her room, Wyndia looked at the scene which was unfolding before her eyes in silence.
In the past, the only emotion she felt when thinking about humans was hatred and disgust. Her childhood was full of misery because of them, and even when she thought she had finally escaped from her terrible fate, those humans actually had the gall to send someone after her, to rob her of the last happiness she might have in this life. To her, humans are nothing but embodiments of evil.
But now, looking at what was happening in front of her…
Something like that was completely unfathomable to her. Even though it was happening right in front of her eyes, she still couldn't believe it. How could these people, beings who were completely humans, show sympathy to a monster?
She couldn't believe it, yet everything was still in front of her eyes, crystal clear.
Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe choosing to go with him was not a stupid choice she had made on a whim.
Maybe he's not that bad, after all…
Okay, she takes those words back. He is even worse than she thought. He's actually the fucking DEVIL.
"Why… do I… have… to do… this…?" she choked out while lying face-down on the ground; her whole body was screaming in excruciating pain from the brutal training the Sword Hero had just put her through.
"You are now a member of the team, so you need to learn how to defend yourself," EMIYA answered her with a cold voice. "As I told everyone in my team, I can't always be there to protect them if they happen to be in danger. You need to learn how to fight in case something happens and I'm not close enough in range to assist."
"But why do I need to do this?" she exploded in irritation, even though her body was still throbbing with pain. "I already knew the most powerful magic! Why do I need to do this kind of street brute training?"
Farrie facepalmed. "Oh boy… here we go…"
EMIYA slowly walked towards Wyndia. When he was about five meters away from her, he suddenly said.
"Fire your strongest magic at me."
The dog girl blinked. "What?"
"I said, feel free to unleash your "most powerful magic" at me. You wouldn't be able to hit me, I'm sure of it."
Wyndia's blood boiled in her head. "If you want… Dragon Vein! As the source of your power, I—Ack!"
She couldn't even finish half of the incantation before EMIYA's Torashinai struck her right cheek. She stumbled backward; her hand instinctively held the struck cheek in pain.
"Wha-?"
"What's wrong?" the Sword Hero looked at her with a mocking smile. "I thought you were going to blast me with your most powerful magic?"
"You…! Don't you dare mock me!" snarled Wyndia. "As the source of—Ack!?"
Now it's her poor chin that suffered from the wrath of EMIYA's shinai. She fell to the ground and screamed in pain.
"Will you… stop… doing… that?!" she gritted her teeth while pushing herself up from the ground.
Torashinai hit her again.
"Okay, this-" crawling up, "-is getting stupid! As the source of—Ack!"
Torashinai hit her again.
"You… jerk! Let me… finish my incantation, damn you!"
EMIYA towered menacingly over the dog girl. "And why should I do that, pray tell?" he asked coldly. Wyndia flinched at the menacing gesture.
"But… you told me to…"
"To hit me with your most powerful magic, yes. I never said that I would let you do it without interruption," he didn't let her finish her sentence. "Do you really think that the enemy would let you finish chanting your pretty incantation before impaling you with their sword? If you keep thinking like that, then it's better for all of us to go our separate ways, because you're just going to be a burden for us if we have to focus on protecting you whenever we go to the battlefield," he finished with a cold sneer.
"Sensei, that's just cruel," Tersia shook her head. "She's fourteen, for fuck's sake. That's just straight-up bullying, you know."
"I didn't force her to go with us in the first place," still with his cold voice, EMIYA answered her. "She was the one who insisted on going with us, and I sure as hell am not going to throw a girl into the grasp of death without at least getting her ready for it. If she doesn't want to… I'm going to call her father here and send her back immediately."
He had expected the girl to throw a tantrum and demand to be sent back to her father immediately. However, to his surprise, Wyndia just stood up from the ground and walked back into the inn, not saying anything else.
"Is she going to be all right?" Welt asked worriedly while staring at the girl's retreating back.
"You know, sensei, I still think that's too much," Farrie sighed. "No matter how you look at it, Wyndia-chan is just a child. Not to mention, she hasn't been in human society since she was a little kid. She's too innocent to understand things you said about wars and battles, you know."
EMIYA pondered. Maybe he was indeed too harsh with the dog girl. "I guess I'll go see how she is…"
Suddenly an ear-piercing scream made their hearts stop. A high, petrified scream, coming from the second floor of the inn… where Wyndia's room was.
Shit!
The gears in the Sword Hero's mind started spinning furiously. "You three!" he barked at his disciples, "quickly move to the front of the inn and stop anyone from going outside!"
Not needing another command, the three young adventurers immediately moved without any question. Quickly applying Reinforcement on his legs and feet, EMIYA did something no one could have expected. He leaped to the second-floor window in a single bound.
And he saw it. Three men were standing in Wyndia's room, one of whom was carrying the unconscious dog girl on his shoulder. They obviously didn't expect that the Sword Hero could arrive at the room so quickly and in such an unconventional way. Immediately, two of them decided to bolt with the target secured, while one stayed back to hinder the footsteps of their chaser.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" EMIYA let out a roar of pure anger. The Legendary Sword on his hand changed into the newest form it had received recently, the pair of short swords named Gaelion's Wrath, containing within themselves the power to defeat human beings. With another roar, he launched himself forward and stabbed both of the blades into the kidnapper's chest. Right now, there's no reason for him to hold back, and the stupid man, no matter how strong he might be, couldn't even hope to stand a chance against the wrath of both the mighty dragon and the Sword Hero. The force coming from the strike was so intense it tore apart the body of the kidnapper, as well as sending a shockwave across the room and blasting a big chunk of the opposite wall open.
Not even taking a glance back at the corpse of the enemy he had just mercilessly slain, the former Counter Guardian dashed out of the room from the hole he had just made on the wall. The two other kidnappers had jumped down from the window at the end of the corridor, just like he had expected. However, when he arrived at the window to look down, he saw Welt, yelling in pain, hit the ground. The one carrying Wyndia, even with one arm, managed to close in and knock him down while his partner was fending off Tersia's relentless assault on the other side, using a pair of knives which EMIYA could realize to be some kind of kunai he remembered ninja usually used.
Could it be… they were Shadows?
Suddenly a knife flew through the air at a blinding speed and missed the kidnapper carrying Wyndia in just a hair's breadth. Startled, he glanced in the direction the knife arrived from and saw Akari, who was dashing towards them. He glanced back at his partner, and the other man immediately tossed something from his sleeve at Tersia, drowning her in a thick cloud of smoke. Being taken aback by the sudden action, the sword maiden couldn't do anything but backtrack while coughing like crazy. Taking advantage of that moment, the two kidnappers turned tail and started running away.
Not wasting a second, EMIYA immediately took off, jumping down the window to the ground with a single leap and launching himself after the escaping kidnappers. He glanced at Akari, who was running next to him, also following the two enemies. "Are they…?"
"No doubt," the Shadow girl nodded. "They are the Church's Shadows."
That was enough for EMIYA to understand everything. Not asking anything else, his legs started moving faster.
But the two enemy Shadows weren't pushovers, either. They were obviously trained thoroughly in the art of escaping, which was proven by the way they were running away from EMIYA and Akari right now. Even running at full speed, the pair could barely keep up with the two kidnappers, and that was while they were running in open space. Throwing ranged skills at them was out of the question, because Wyndia was in the way.
Ahead of them, the Shadow not carrying Wyndia started chanting while still running at full speed. Both of them started glowing in a white light, and EMIYA grimaced when he realized the spell the Shadow was casting; it was the Boost spell Farrie usually cast to increase their speed. The Shadows were a little bit slower than them before, but now the boost spell had increased their speed exponentially, and they started to break away from the two chasers.
Akari was the one who saved the day at that moment. It seemed she also realized what the enemy Shadow was doing, and when he started casting his spell, she also chanted her own.
"All Dritte Boost," she whispered, and immediately, EMIYA felt the familiar feeling of his body becoming lighter and faster. Even though it was the same spell, the power of the magic wasn't as powerful as when Farrie used it on him, probably because the Shadow wasn't as professional a spellcaster as the priestess. However, that was more than enough for them to keep up, and the distance between the kidnappers and the chasers was even starting to reduce.
Seeing that their attempt to escape didn't work, the Shadows decided to try something else. He stuck his hand into the pouch he carried on his belt, and pulled out something round. Both EMIYA and Akari could realize that it was a smoke bomb, but unlike before, this one had a red shell rather than gray.
"Zweite Razor Gale!" Realizing what was coming, Akari cast her spell before the smoke bomb left the enemy Shadow's hand. A gust of wind burst out from her hand at the same time the bomb exploded and swept away the smokescreen, which EMIYA noted to contain something like tear gas. It's so lucky for them that their Shadow girl was a professional in this job; otherwise this would cause a very big problem for them.
EMIYA's mind suddenly went numb with fear. The chase was moving to the crowded market area of the city; if they managed to reach the market and mingle with the people there, there was no way he could follow them anymore…
He had to make the decision. The Legendary Sword in his hand switched into the form of the black Dirk used by Hassan-i-Sabbah of the Cursed Arm.
[Name: Dirk – Quality: Common – Base Power: 15]
[Speed +20. Accuracy +30. Sword Throwing (MASTERED).]
[Unique Ability: Precise Aiming.]
[Proficiency: 86%]
[Unlocked at Level 15 - UNLOCKED]
This weapon was more of a knife than a sword, but somehow, the Legendary Sword accepted it as a copy-able weapon. It wasn't a Noble Phantasm or anything, and its base power was even lower than that of some common swords he possessed, but it allowed him to use the skill Sword Throwing to attack enemies from afar. His precision with this specific kind of throwing weapon obviously could not compare to people like the aforementioned Hassan-i-Sabbah, or even the Shadow girl running next to him right now; he was more used to throwing larger swords designed for throwing such as Kanshou and Bakuya. But he had been practicing with this knife for quite a while, and the weapon's ability increased the precision of his throws quite a bit. This wasn't the time to hesitate.
Taking a deep breath, and gripping the hilt of the knife with his thumb and index finger, he swung his arm forward and released his hand. The weapon flew a brilliant line in the air, and landed not on the back of the escaping assassin as he intended, but rather… on his left butt cheek. The Shadow let out a screech of pain and surprise and stumbled to the ground, dropping the dog girl in the process. Taking that opportunity, EMIYA and Akari immediately closed their distance. Just a few more steps…
However, there's no way it could be that easy for them. The other Shadow who hadn't taken EMIYA's knife to the butt immediately jumped into their way and made some strange movements with his hands. A wall of fire erupted in front of him, surrounding EMIYA and Akari. The Sword Hero cursed; he didn't know any water magic strong enough to put out this fire, and even if he could, the two Shadows would get away before he could do anything…
Is he going to fail… just like that…?
"Kidnapping children on my turf? You must have had a death wish, bastards."
Wha…? Who?
All of a sudden, the fire screen was split apart by two figures being tossed violently through it. The two bodies flew over EMIYA and Akari's heads and crashed through the fire on the other side, smashing their heads on the ground painfully with two loud "thud"s. It took EMIYA a second to realize that the ones who had just been thrown like ragdolls were the two enemy Shadows.
The person who had just assisted them walked through the fire, with Wyndia lying on his left arm, still unconscious. EMIYA was pretty tall himself, but this burly man towered even over him. The unkempt black hair on his head matched well with the impressive beard his face sported, and he was wearing a tank top which showed off the powerful muscles on his body. His right hand was holding a huge axe decorated with a big gem at the center of the blade. And EMIYA recognized it immediately; that axe was the same as his Legendary Sword.
Then this man must be…
"Now then," the newcomer said casually, dropping Wyndia unceremoniously onto EMIYA's arms while walking towards the two enemy Shadows on the ground, "let's bring you to the torture room to see who you actually work for, shall we? Can't let kidnappers like you bastards walk around freely like that, hmm?"
The two Shadows glanced at each other. One of them started reaching into his weapon pocket…
…only for his head to separate from his neck. The man with the axe grinned menacingly with his right arm stretched out; the Seven Star Axe had flown out of the man's hand and decapitated the Shadow before his hand could even move an inch.
"To get information, one is more than enough," the Hero said in an utterly cold and ruthless voice.
Having nowhere to run, no way to fight back against two Heroes and a Shadow of the Queen, the Church's Shadow's pupils dilated in terror. He opened his mouth slightly, and EMIYA's eyes widened when he realized what was going to happen.
"Sto…"
He leaped forward, but the Shadow had already bitten down on the poison pill hidden in his teeth. The poison acted immediately, and the assassin started foaming in his mouth, and fell over, dead.
The axe wielder clicked his tongue. "Tch. So much for leaving one alive to get information…"
"You're Captain Fargus," EMIYA said, quietly. "The Seven Star Axe Hero."
"Indeed I am," the now revealed Hero of the Axe nodded. "What about it?"
"Thanks for assisting us in rescuing our teammate," the Sword Hero walked up and offered a hand. "I've heard a lot about you. My name is Emiya Shirou, and I'm known as the Sword Hero. I hope we can help each other in the future."
Captain Fargus looked EMIYA from head to toe. "So you're the one who claimed to be the Sword Hero that my boys talked about yesterday, huh."
"That should be me, yes," EMIYA nodded. "So…"
"Nah, no can do."
The former Counter Guardian was taken aback by the answer of the Axe Hero. "Why?"
"Because I don't want to, that's why," the burly man answered nonchalantly. He let out a big yawn and turned around, starting to walk away. "I only helped you because I really hate bastards who want to harm children, that's all. I don't see any reason I need to do anything else for you."
The other members of Team EMIYA had also arrived during the conversation. Tersia started angrily.
"Hey, bastard! If you don't want to help, you still don't need to be so rude!"
Then she unconsciously took a step backward when the face of Captain Fargus suddenly appeared in front of her. He had moved so quickly that she couldn't even see him moving.
"Wha…?"
"Big mouth, little girl," the man's mouth twisted into a menacing grin. "Guess I need to teach you a lesson…"
His hand came down at Tersia's face at a blinding speed. The poor sword maiden couldn't even do anything to resist; her mind was blank, and her hands were pointing uselessly at the ground.
But the hand stopped in midair right before it could hit the girl. More correctly, it was stopped. EMIYA had moved and grabbed the Axe Hero's wrist before he could land his slap on Tersia's cheek.
"You can say whatever you want, but I suggest you not lay your hand on my disciple," the Sword Hero said in a deathly cold voice. "It's not going to end well for anyone here, I swear."
The two pairs of eyes met for a few seconds. Then, the Axe Hero scoffed and snatched his hand off the iron grip of the Sword Hero. He turned around and walked away from the group.
"What you're looking for is a fight that can satisfy you, isn't it?" EMIYA suddenly said. "Then let's make a bet."
Captain Fargus glanced back across his shoulder. "A bet, huh? Interesting. What can you offer me?"
"The Zeltoble Grand Tournament is going to start tomorrow, and I know that you're going to take part in it," said the Sword Hero. "If I join the tournament and defeat you, you're going to sit down and listen to what we need to say."
Those words actually made the Axe Hero stop dead on his way. He turned around once again, but this time, his eyes fixed on the Sword Hero with a curious look full of amusement.
"Interesting," he said. "But what if you lose?"
"Then I'm going to serve under you for all my life," EMIYA met the bigger man's stare with his own without flinching. He answered casually, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. Everyone, especially the members of Team EMIYA, stared at him in horror. "Sensei…!" Farrie started, but the howl of laughter coming from Captain Fargus drowned her words.
"Nice! Very nice! You better remember your words, Emiya Shirou! I'll wait for you, tomorrow at the Grand Stadium!"
Then this time, he walked away for real, but not before sticking his hand into his pocket and throwing something at EMIYA. The Sword Hero caught the object in midair; it was a medal with the symbol of a crown on it.
"Bring this to the registration booth. Even if they already closed registration, they're going to accept you. Tomorrow."
When the back of the Axe Hero disappeared at the end of the road, Tersia shrieked. "What the hell were you thinking, sensei!? Why did you offer such a ridiculous condition to that… that jerk?!"
"Don't worry," EMIYA answered her. "I know that kind of guy. He's no different from some people I knew back in my world. He was just trying to goad me into giving him a good fight. And if that's the case, I'm going to give him what he wants."
Farrie asked worriedly. "But are you sure that you can defeat him, sensei?"
The ex-Guardian just answered her with a shrug. "Well, we'll see, shan't we?"
The registration clerk of the 11th Zeltoble Grand Tournament sighed and closed the big file she was working on.
She had been working in this position for ten years, but never before had she seen a tournament with as many participants as this one. Since the tournament started opening for registration a month ago, there had been over four hundred fighters who turned up. It's going to be a very busy season for them later for sure…
She sighed. Those people… is there anything good about fighting, anyway? Just a bunch of muscular dudes punching, slashing, smashing each other to death. She disliked it, and yet she's here, registering for those very same people to do exactly that.
She rolled her eyes. At least this was the last day to register; if no one else turns up, she might as well call it a day now…
She looked up, and blinked upon seeing her front view filled with red and black.
"Registration for one for the Grand Tournament, please," the person wearing those black and red colors placed a certain familiar medal on her table and said, calmly and without a smile.
Wyndia's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she realized was that she was lying in the bed in her room at the inn.
She tried to push herself up, but immediately groaned and slumped back into her pillow. The sedative that the kidnappers had injected into her still had some lingering effect, and her head was now in excruciating pain.
Something moved next to her. Only then did she realize that she wasn't alone in the room.
EMIYA was sitting next to her bed, looking at her quietly.
She immediately bolted upright and shrieked. "What the hell, you perv! How dare you sit here and watch me sleep!?"
Said perv only glared at her with annoyance clear in his face. "Is that the way to talk to someone who has just saved your ass from being hauled back to the place that has been your nightmare for years?"
Oh.
So he had been the one who rescued her from those kidnappers. And it meant he stayed here to take care of her while she was still unconscious.
Her face started heating up when she thought about that. It's not like she would ever admit it, though.
EMIYA stood up from the chair he was sitting on. He glanced at the girl sitting on the bed. "Well, if you're already awake, get ready to go down to have dinner. Everyone was worried about you, you know. At least you have to go down there to calm them down. Farrie and Tersia have been freaking out for a while."
Then he started walking out of the room, before realizing his sleeve was being held back. He glanced back at the dog girl who was grabbing his sleeve. "What do you need?"
"Train me."
The ex-Guardian raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"You said that I needed to prepare myself for any enemies who might come after me, didn't you? So, train me. I'm not going to complain. I don't want to be a burden for everyone anymore."
She stopped for a few seconds, and finished with a single word. "…Please."
EMIYA closed his eyes. He turned away and said in a light voice.
"We'll talk about it later. Now, are you hungry yet? Let's go down there to eat first."
Anyone who looked at him right now could see a small smile appearing on his face.
"I guess it's time to say goodbye for now. Thank you for all the help you gave us, Lord Sword Hero."
EMIYA took the hand Berthold was offering him with a nod. "You're welcome. After all, you also gave us a lot of help, too."
Berthold grinned. "Oh, we're more than welcome to help you with anything, my Lord. Too bad we can't stay to watch you fight in the Grand Tournament… But oh well, good luck on your fights, my Lord."
Wotan walked up and bowed deeply before EMIYA. "Thank you very much for giving us a second chance, Lord Sword Hero. We will never forget what you did for us. If in the future there's a time you need help, just go find us in Lafan Village. We swear solemnly that we will do anything within our power to assist you."
EMIYA smiled, and reached out his hand. "You'd better remember those words."
When the caravan disappeared at the horizon, the Sword Hero looked at his companions. "It's time for work."