King of Heroes - Chapter 10/
=10=
Shirou rushed through the forest. His trusted sword of speed cut through the branches that stood in his way. He could see the beam of light in the distance.
For a brief second, the world became white.
His legs failed him as he got caught on a stray root. When he gathered himself, the forest was silent. No animals to scutter around, no wind to rustle leaves, and no humans to shout. As he scanned around, a subtle smell filled the air. It reminded him of a pet store. And made his very blood boil.
=10=
The room was silent. Shirou, Rin, and Sakura sat opposite Lord El-Melloi (the second!) and Gray. While the girl tried to hide under her hood, the man remained stout in his defiance. He sat with his back straight and looked Shirou directly in the eyes.
"So let me get this straight because I still have trouble understanding something." Tohsaka glared. "You figured out some clue about the mess with power drug and instead of discussing it with us so we could make a plan, you decided to go alone? Not only that, but you brought Gray with you and she had a mystic code with power to stall Galahad of all people that you've also failed to mention to us!?" She was panting from yelling all that in one breath.
Waver remained undisturbed by her. Instead, his gaze was entirely on Shirou. "I did not want to reveal anything out of fear of the information getting out."
"Are you accusing us of betraying Emiya!?" Rin screeched, but she remained ignored as Lord El-Melloi remained completely focused on the Campione in the room.
"No. I'm saying that we do not know the capabilities of said magus and tracking a God-slayer movement would be easier than tracking an affiliate. As such, I chose to investigate covertly. I admit, in hindsight, it might've been foolish of me not to get more backup but I stand by my decision." His eyes never left Shirou.
"You are afraid," Sakura spoke up. "You're afraid of senpai. Terrified. Why?"
"I admit, the King leaves me… unnerved." He sat in place, almost perfectly still. His feet were firmly planted on the ground and his hands were flat on his knees. "But I assure you it is only a healthy- GAH!" Whatever he wanted to say was interrupted as he caught a flash of golden light in the corner of his eyes.
Waver was hiding behind the couch in record time.
Sakura was sitting almost perfectly still, with a serene smile on her face, as she adjusted her golden bracelet as a stray beam of the morning sun hit it.
"Very well… I concede your point" Lord El-Melloi got from the ground and dusted off his suit. "I admit, after the last Holy Grail War I…" He stopped himself.
"Teacher doesn't like to speak about it, but he lost someone he valued a lot during the war," Gray said, joining the discussion. "And he barely survived."
"He spared me… but he was also responsible for the death of my king. Any time I witness your power, it reminds me of him."
"Gilgamesh." Shirou realized. "You've met him during the war."
"Indeed. Watching my king throw everything against the man who simply stood in place, not moving an inch until the fight was already over…"
"He's gone now," Sakura said. "You don't have to worry. And Shirou is nothing like him."
Waver chose to remain silent.
"Okay, that doesn't change the fact that a Heretic God is running around free to sow chaos in Fuyuki. Again!"
Memories of the fire flashed before Shirou's eyes. "No. Not again. Never again." This time, the flash of gold originated from him. "I'm going to hunt them down. Do we have any clues to their identity?"
"The Mion River is going to be your greatest enemy." Gray intoned with a grave voice.
"That's completely unhelpful!" Rin screamed. "How are we supposed to track them down if we don't know anything…"
"We should probably get going. We have a meeting with Raiga soon."
"Fine." Tohsaka groaned. "But you'll buy me some ice cream on the way there."
"Huh, Sakura, do we have an ice cream recipe? For Friday dessert maybe?"
"With hot apple pie?" Gray whispered from under her hood before quickly retreating into her seat.
"Oh, of course." The Matou heiress smiled. "I'll make sure that you get an extra large scoop, how about that?"
"I'd like that…" The girl muttered. Shirou watched Sakura giggle a bit while trying to hide it behind her hand as he gathered himself.
After they left, Shirou allowed Tohsaka to drag him to the ice cream shop. She then, obviously, selected the most expensive option available and almost danced in place as they waited.
"Tohsaka?" Shirou spoke up as they stood in front of the parlor. "Do you think I should invite Fuji-nee to stay with us? Ideally, I would have her leave the city but…"
"You would have more luck trying to wrangle a bunch of cats on cocaine?"
"How do you know how cats act on cocaine?" He stared at her.
"Magi around the world had tried a lot of experiments. Some are rather famous for their results, others are rather famous for what the results weren't."
"I'll pretend I understand." Shirou shook his head. "But yeah, there is no way she leaves the city, and telling her why I wanted her to leave would only make her want to stay to protect me."
"As I see it, she is currently a completely random person in the crowd. If you bring her to your home and the Heretic God attacks, she will be a target as soon as they appear. So it's a question of whether you can protect her better than anonymity would." She flipped her hair as she turned to check on the progress of her ice cream dessert.
"I see…" He nodded. "Thanks Tohsaka."
The girl let out a sigh and looked back at Shirou. "Look… Heretic God attacks… they are on the level of natural disasters. I mean it. What Gilgamesh did back then? It wasn't even that bad by the Heretic God standard. Some of the worst Heretic God attacks might cause cities to be leveled, or small islands to vanish into the ocean."
There was a commotion in the distance but Rin kept Shirou's attention on herself.
"For humans, those are the facts of life, even if they don't know it. The Mages Association will usually cover the attack by presenting it as a natural disaster like a tsunami or an earthquake. And in a way, that's what they are since normal magi, people like me and Lord El-Melloi, can't do anything about it. Even sealing a Heretic God doesn't always work and unless you make sure to take constant care, you might end up in a situation like this." She waved her hand vaguely.
The commotion came closer. Shirou heard the sound of an engine nearing them. As he looked over, he saw a black car barreling down the street. People were jumping out of the way. Then, he saw the barrel of a gun sticking out of the window. It was aimed at them.
As golden ripples began forming in the air, the boy tackled Rin just as the gun sprayed the ice cream parlor. Chairs burst and wooden shrapnel rained on them. Shirou just hugged the girl as the bullets impacted his back.
A single sword shot, piercing the car as it was already speeding away. The bullets continued to rain even as the second projectile slammed into the vehicle. This time, the force sent the car flying. The third shot annihilated it. No passenger survived as anything more than a bloody roadmark.
"W-" Rin tried to catch her breath as she shook, curled under Shirou's embrace. "When did you figure out you are bulletproof?"
"Huh?" The teen remained wrapped around her as he scanned the surroundings. He growled when she spotted bodies. "Oh. I… didn't. Just knew I had to protect you."
"You… You didn't?!" She screamed.
Shirou concentrated for a moment and pulled out a staff from his gate. Pink ribbons fluttered in the wind.
"[The Forever-Sealed Utopia: Garden of Avalon]" He whispered the name as pink petals began to spread all across the street.
Rin screeched as he grabbed her in a princess carry and leaped away before anyone could pay them any attention. The couple landed on a rooftop and Shirou put her down, only to then receive several smacks to the head.
"Why" smack "did you" smack "do that" smack "if you" smack "didn't know" smack "you are" smack "bulletproof!?" smack.
He accepted it, mostly because it didn't hurt but also in small part because Rin was clearly still shaken.
"I just knew that I couldn't let them just kill you." He admitted, looking anywhere but at her.
The girl let out a sound between a groan and a scream. Then, she grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but it still left Shirou completely baffled.
"What?"
"We… I… We'll talk about it later. Yeah, later. That was just a thank you. Don't read into it!" She stared at the sky before quickly changing the subject. "We've been shot at. Someone tried to kill us." She began grumbling. "Who would do something so monumentally stupid? Try to kill a Campione with normal bullets. In broad daylight?"
"I don't know. But I think we should hurry to that meeting…"
The dinner where they were supposed to meet was completely ruined. The front windows were all shot up, the tables had tons of holes, and one was deformed beyond all recognition. Rin immediately zeroed in on the one that stood out.
"I recognize this. Someone must've used reinforcement on it. Poorly." She walked over to the deformed table and gave it a second look. "That student of mine is in for extra classes. I can't let him represent me like that. If Edelfelt saw this, I would never live it down."
"Where is the old man? And Touma?" Shirou began to look around as he walked toward the doors leading to the back room.
The kitchen area was relatively small and densely packed with countertops and different appliances. As he scanned the room, he noticed the walk-in fridge in the back was shut tight with doors looking awkwardly tight.
"Tohsaka!? I think I found something!" He approached the doors and put his hand on the surface. "Trace. On." Bluish-golden light spread from his palm all across the doors. Then, in a flash, the whole thing exploded. Shirou was unharmed but the same couldn't be said about the rest of the kitchen.
Inside the fridge revealed Amakasu standing with a gun pointed at the entrance with Raiga smiling beside him.
"I told you I heard my grandson. Now put that thing down before you hurt yourself."
"Of course, sir."
"Glad you're safe, old man." Shirou smiled.
"Yeah, yeah. Touma-kun saved me just in time. He might barely know anything about that mystical mumbo-jumbo, but at least he can make stuff bulletproof. If janky at the same time."
"Don't worry," Tohsaka chimed in from the sideways as she looked into the fridge. "I'll make sure he practices a lot until he masters it."
"Of course, sensei." The man bowed.
"You take all the fun out of torturing students…" Rin complained. "Taiga said it's the best part."
Raiga chuckled. "I'm not sure taking teaching advice from my granddaughter is the best idea. While her dedication to teaching is admirable, she might have inherited some of her mother's approach to things."
"Nonsense." Shirou protested. "Fuji-nee is a great teacher."
"Uh… Shouldn't we worry about the very loud and blatant assassination attempt?" Amakasu pointed out, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. "Or not. I'm sure Miss Fujimura is also a great subject of discussion."
"You're right. Gramps, do you have any idea who that could have been?"
"The Russians." Raiga let out a sigh. "The conflict in Fuyuki attracted the attention of the Russian mob. Supposedly, they have decided that the conflict has left all sides weak for the taking. Though we weren't expecting them for at least another week."
"This is getting out of hand. Why are they doing this in the open?" Rin grumbled. "Shouldn't they fear the police? And what about Kingsblade? I thought they would avoid Fuyuki because of a superhero if nothing else…"
"According to our sources, they believe the rumors about Kingsblade to be a simple cover-up for the Police's inability to act. They planned to eliminate all leadership in one fell swoop and take over. Then, they could portray themselves as the peacemakers who stabilized the city at war, which would get them enough goodwill to integrate themselves into the city." Raiga began talking as they walked through the back door. Shirou kept looking around for any potential ambushes but the old man seemed unbothered.
"That… makes some sense I guess, but I can't imagine the Police would be happy with shooting in broad daylight. They are already planning on going down hard on the crime from just the nighttime conflict."
"I believe some of this was due to cultural differences. And in some part because the Bratva believes Fuyuki Police Department to be crippled. In their minds, they would be accepted because there would be no other choice."
"Sadly, I believe they couldn't have chosen a worse time to act…" Rin shook her head. "We were just coming over to tell you that a Heretic God is somewhere in Fuyuki. The fact that they haven't acted yet means they are either weakened and gathering their strength back or have some other plans. Let's hope that the imprisonment under that giant stone left them weak…"
For a second, Raiga paused at the mention of the stone. He was sure he remembered someone else mentioning it some time ago, but the details eluded him.
"We should call Taiga. If they went after us, she would've also been a target."
"I have called her as soon as we were away from the line of fire. She was with a fellow teacher who helped her deal with the issue. The police already arrived to arrest the perpetrators. All that remains is dealing with the fallout."
"If I may," Amakasu spoke up. "Maybe it would be prudent for us to handle the… undesirable foreigners while Emiya-Sama resolves the issue with the Heretic God."
Shirou gripped his sword tighter. He didn't even realize when it manifested. "They're killing people indiscriminately. They were willing to go after everyone in broad daylight."
"And we will ensure they realize what a terrible idea that is. But you have much more important issues to deal with." Raiga smiled. "Trust this old man to clean up his mess."
Shirou nodded.
=10=
Luvia tossed away yet another sludge, filling the trashcan just a bit more. The entire kitchen top was littered with broken eggs, spilled milk, and flour. At least one glass bowl has been shattered.
"Unacceptable!" She grumbled. "I must succeed."
"Maybe you should first try cleaning up the counter," Waver suggested from his chair as he put down the newspaper. "I believe you are also out of flour now."
"Why are you trying so hard?" Gray asked as she finished her tea.
"It is obvious that the King values culinary ability. If I am to integrate myself into his retinue truly, I must also acquire such skill."
"I don't think that's it. Shirou doesn't care about ability…" Gray caught herself in a moment, blushing pink. Nonetheless, she decided to continue. "From what I've seen, he seems to care about the person more than just what they can give him…"
"Nonsense. He is male and thus values women's homemaking skills and their looks. I cannot improve upon the perfection of my looks anymore, so I must show him that I also possess the abilities desired in a wife."
"You won't get anywhere with it." The smaller girl murmured. "Shirou loves people for who they are, not what they are…" She pulled her hood even more down than she usually wore it. The birdcage that housed her Mystic Code rattled but she shook it before Add could embarrass her even further.
Waver glanced at his student and shook his head.
Luvia scoffed and dismissed the words of her guest. She was about to try and begin again when she felt something slam into the bounded field surrounding the manor. The feedback was enough to trip her.
Gray and Lord El-Melloi dashed to their feet. A scythe formed in the girl's hand as she looked around for any clue about the situation.
The lights in the room flickered as darkness seeped from all sides. "This is… disappointing. I would have believed that a priestess would live in a temple, not… this." A smooth voice echoed through the spacious kitchen.
"What? Who's there?" Luvia created a small orb of light with a simple spell and looked around.
The professor and his student joined her in the center of the room.
"You are right. I can smell that sweet power on you. You are no priestess. You are a princess, both of you." The voice spoke from darkness. A man stepped into the light. He had long black hair, pale skin, and yellow eyes that glowed in the shadows. His white and black robe flowed in the wind that wasn't there a moment ago. "Alas, I can only claim one of you tonight. So which one should it be…"
Luvia fired a series of Finn Shots at the man who merely stood there. All her spells splashed against him without so much as singing him.
"It's you. You're the Heretic God from the stone."
"Heretic? I guess you could call me that." He frowned. "After all, I refuse to acknowledge my defeat; this time, he will not be here to save the princess." With that, the darkness poured in, wrapping around Luvia who desperately tried to fight it away. To no avail. When the inky cloud dispersed, Gray and Lord El-Melloi were alone in the kitchen.
=10=
The city was still peaceful as the man watched the sunset from his window. His white suit was as impeccable as always. Still, he kept checking his phone every few seconds. Any time he put it back into his pocket, he would pull it out to check the screen one more time.
Finally, the smooth sound of classical music filled the previously silent room.
"What is it?" Echoed from the other side. Whoever was speaking was somewhere outside.
"Teacher, there has been a complication. A Heretic God appeared in the city." The man swallowed. "Shielder has been incapacitated in the initial encounter."
"While unfortunate, we should let the Godslayer deal with the issue." The caller answered.
"Should we not worry about him growing stronger? It might interfere with some parts of the plan?"
"The plan will be a success no matter the outcome. In fact, I have a new task for you." A distinctly male voice responded.
"What is it, teacher?" The man asked, already rushing to the nearest table where a notebook rested.
"Ensure that, no matter the outcome, the battle is publicized. Have the local media pay as much attention to the battle as possible without showing your hand."
The student nodded. "Understood."
"Await the next shipment soon. The ritual is almost completed." The man warned before ending the call.