Not mine Chapter 1: 1, a book x-overs fanfic

The site has now migrated to Xenforo 2. If you see any issues with the forum operation, please post them in the feedback thread.

NSFW Creative Writing

[NSFW] Stolen Fate (R34 Economy, FSN)

Thread starter Santo Start date Jun 12, 2023 Tags harem troubles i sold my soul and all i got was this lousy tshirt morally grey protagonist no beta we die like a emiya people die when they are killed plot before "plot" r34 catalog inspired self delusion is an artform waifu catalog

Created at

Jun 12, 2023

Index progress

Complete

Watchers

2,241

Recent readers

Threadmarks

Honestly never thought I'd jump into this bandwagon. But y'all got Leecifer and Cherico to blame...

Threadmarks Index Extras

Statistics (24 threadmarks, 110k words)

Threadmarks

Reader mode RSS

Chapter 1

Words 3.1k

Jun 12, 2023

Chapter 2

Words 2.5k

Jun 12, 2023

New

Chapter 22

Words 3.6k

Apr 12, 2024

New

Chapter 23

Words 4.7k

Jun 8, 2024

New

Epilogue

Words 17k

Jun 17, 2024

Ignore

Watch

Thread Tools

Threadmarks

Index

Extras

View content

Threadmarks Chapter 1

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jun 12, 2023

Add bookmark

Honestly never thought I'd jump into this bandwagon. But y'all got Leecifer and Cherico to blame for that. Their weird little Company Alternate Multiverse did me an inspiration. With over eight stories I started, three of which got to several thousand words. So I figured it was time I started posting at least one of these.

I'll try to post once a week. I've got a buffer to help alleviate pressure. But my job is...difficult on the noggin'. So once that buffer is gone, I cannot promise consistent updates.

This is the first one I started writing, and it kinda shows in my honest opinion. Decided to do my first R34 story on one of my favorite franchises because holy shit everyone on this setting is in severe need of hugs and chocolate cake.

Still. I'd enjoy comments and feedback.

Yes, there is porn planned on this one. It's not the focus of the story however, but it'll happen.

With that said. On with the show. Next chapter will be posted in a few hours. After that expect it weekly.

I glared murderously as the creature sitting on the other side of the desk.

"Truly, one might even call it…miraculous." It said with a mixture of awe and hilarity, it didn't really speak, it burbled and gurgled and wiggled the grey-green tentacles it had for a face, but I understood it nonetheless. "A no-name nobody taking down an Agent! Why, I haven't seen that happen in…eons! And even that one was when the agent was early in their career! Not a bastard with years of experience and demigods in his retinue!"

"Yeah well." I rasped out, my throat rebelling at this, the burns and shrapnel wounds making existence very uncomfortable. "Guess they just don't make assholes like they used to."

The thing made a series of unnerving noises that were incredibly disconcerting. I somehow understood them to be laughter, but the noises, the wriggling, and the way its business suit rippled all combined to engender in me a peculiar disgust.

"They don't make them like they used to!" It said, burbling a gasp, then snorting, and laughing harder. "Oh! The boys at the main branch are going to like that one! They don't make them like they used to, indeed!"

I sighed and tried to cross my arms; my bandaged-up stumps wiggled ineffectually. "Look, the jolly act is fine and all. But can we get to the point? I've got dying to do and while I'd be more than happy to leave you with the mess, I'd rather die comfortable."

The burbling wriggles came back. "Chutzpah! That's what I like to see in you Mortals!" It leaned forward and laced together enough tentacles to make a passable approximation of the Gendo pose. "But as you said! To business.

"The fact is, you've done something rather extraordinary." He gave me a long look, from the top of my bandaged head to the tip of my one remaining foot. "Yes, killing our contractor cost you. Greatly. But it is something that you really should not have been able to accomplish. He was protected from poison, instant death effects, paradoxes, arcane fauna, attacks to his soul." It looked at the papers in front of it. "And yet, he is dead. At your hand."

I laughed; the wheezing, rasping cackle hurt me to produce. "Well, turns out your pet sociopath didn't have protection against explosives."

The Cthulhu wannabe nodded. "But I must ask, what possessed you to…well…hug him as you detonated the explosive?"

I shrugged, it hurt. "After he t-boned my family and killed them all? Well, I didn't exactly have much to live for, and I'd seen the guy manage to do some literally superhuman shit. I wanted to make real sure he'd die. So, I fell back on the old wisdom about explosives, and held it tightly to his neck to make sure his head would go away."

The thing burbled and nodded again. "Why yes, I dare say, most problems one encounters can indeed be solved with the proper application of explosives."

"Yeah well, I wasn't exactly expecting to survive my vengeance. So, if we could get around to the bit where you kill me? I've got a hospital to leave without paying my bills."

Its smile widened. "Kill you? Oh no, no no no. My dear mortal. I want to sponsor you."

I blinked. "Excuse you?"

"Here at the Company, specifically in Acquisitions, we aim for a specific subset of Mortality. The vainglorious, thoughtless and power-hungry. The lazy, the overconfident, the monstrous." The tentacles over its face wiggled in a way that I understood to mean he was giving me a predatory grin. "These are the…backbone of the Company, the Workhorse."

I grit my teeth so hard it hurt. Wishing for nothing more than to put my hands around what passed for the throat of this bastard and squeezing until its head popped.

Unfortunately, I no longer had hands.

"For a multi-universal company of traders and slavers, this works out just fine most of the time. But it does leave some of us with greater aspirations with…difficulties. And yes, I can see that I am starting to lose you, so here is the deal. The one you killed? He won't be missed, not really. His assets have been repossessed and redistributed, his entourage, what survived your suicidal attack at least, has likewise been repossessed and will be redistributed." It coughed out a laugh. "However, the Project Manager in charge of that buffoon was, admittedly, somewhat livid. I understand he'd invested quite a few resources into that one and had not yet seen a return on investment. This has brought me immense amusement, but I digress.

"The short of it is, beings like me; We are merchants, I specialize in the trade of high value product. And, frankly, your dogged determination and ingenuity in achieving your vengeance impressed me. I want you to work for me."

I blinked at him. "Huh?"

It shrugged, or, no, it did a whole lot of wriggling that I understood to be the equivalent of a shrug. "We have a training division, but poaching one of theirs costs quite a bit of political capital. Capital I do not currently possess. That aside, few of them could claim that they defeated an established Agent without any formal training. No, I believe you hold promise. My very own Special Acquisitions Agent." I failed to stop my eyes squinting down into a disbelieving glare. "I do not expect you to like me, not at first. I am tangentially involved with the being that deprived you of your parents and sister, though I will stress that I am a rival of the being that robbed you of what was yours. No, I merely expect you to do your best to fulfill whichever contract we set up." Its ever-present smirk widened. "My good Mortal, I expect to make you mighty, and you will make me, and yourself, very wealthy in return."

I narrowed my eyes at it, looking for the catch. "And if I say no?"

It shrugged. "I will be slightly disappointed, and you can return to that hospital bed, with no hope of getting your limbs back, and awaiting trial for the murder of the Agent using home-made explosives. I understand that you made a number of idiotic but nonetheless important people very anxious with your performance."

I chewed the inside of my lip. But there really wasn't much of a choice. "I want to see the contract before I sign anything."

It had a full body wriggle that I understood to be a mixture of pride and joy. "I would be disappointed if you had simply signed."

It took the better part of a week before I signed. But after a lot of haggling, sign I did. Or, well, I spat on the dotted line, what mattered was the intent behind the action rather than the action itself, and I wasn't any good at writing with my toes.

I'd gotten a clause added to my contract, any clone they made of me would be aware he's a clone, they'd have access to a work contract that upon completion would give them access to Credits or abilities to help them survive, as well as access to food and clean water wherever and whenever they are, they would know that I hoped they'd get to make the best of their new life and that I'd done the best I could to give them an advantage. Thanks to my doing this some of the options available to me would be greyed out or have less features until I did my first few captures, but I was okay with this.

My new boss, whose name was, funnily enough, Frank. Gave me limited access to what he called the 'Catalog'. There were options there for becoming a fuckmothering Dragon God. It made me wonder exactly how this Company was run. Who ran it. And how?

But that wasn't important, what was important was that apparently Frank was not kidding when he said 'multi-universal.'

My first assignment was being isekaied to the fucking Nasuverse. I had to Stamp Gilgamesh.

The Company of multi-universal slavers needed an original to make near countless copies from, to then sell for profit to beings across the multiverse. There were several gods on this list. Gilgamesh was up there, but he was far from the top.

Frank apparently was the type to throw a newly minted Agent into the deep end.

I was given very limited access to what the Company offered; I didn't have access to becoming the aforementioned fuckmothering Dragon God. I couldn't even become part dragon.

The Company used a metaphysical stamp that ensured loyalty, friendship, and romantic interest. Which, all things considered, wasn't too bad. It was limited. It wouldn't override familial attachments without immense outside pressures. The stamp made it so they would most likely obey, but nothing stopped them from obeying maliciously, or doing what they thought was best, rather than what one actually wanted.

What I didn't like was that this was only the basic option. Most of everything else all but erased the person's sense of self and turned them into meat puppets. Or if one was feeling particularly cruel, ways to Pavlov a person into something else, with them fully aware of what they were giving up each step of the way in the name of survival.

I kept the basic stamp and moved on to other abilities. They had a long list of things to lure people into giving themselves up into slavery, such as an ability to make food that is literally more addictive than…I'd never actually done any drugs other than medical grade morphine at the hospital, but being a triple amputee put a dampener on any enjoyment, so I did not know if cocaine was all that addictive or not. But the point remained.

I took the ability to be an addictive cook, if only because everyone's gotta eat, and I could dial that back to merely making amazing food. After reading through the ability to be amazing in bed, I took it too, it was closer to instinctive knowledge of how best to please a partner, suggestions rather than puppetry, I upgraded that sex power to include the ability to secrete an aphrodisiac at will. Lastly, I took the one that would make any women who taught me or were taught by me to think of me in a favorable and romantic light.

Many Talents and Defenses were greyed out, after taking the few that weren't, giving me increased learning speed on all things fighting, scientific, mechanical and magical, I saw that the extradimensional home of the fucker I killed was up for grabs at a discount. I looked at the limited budget Frank had made available and splurged, the thing had an indoor shooting range and a Workshop with all I'd need to make weapons, armor, vehicles, and even mechs. Like hell I was going to let someone else pick it up.

I didn't have the budget to pick up many powers, but I did have the ability to splice in potential in those powers and abilities, potential I could subsequently train myself in. And boy were there a long list, some of which I was familiar with from the media I'd consumed.

Still, potential was all well and good, but I'd need something to give me an edge and keep me alive while I trained myself in said potential, preferably, it should also synergize well with the other abilities I was going to splice in.

And the Company literally dealt in Gods with their wealthiest clients. A cursory check later had me wheezing a laugh.

I could become a knockoff War, Horseman of the Apocalypse. The Company couldn't splice in that monster's full potential, but it could give me the seed of its power and leave it up to me to cultivate that to the near titanic might War had wielded. Even then, the mere seed of War's ability was nearly equal to the full might of plenty of other options.

I took War's power before I could think myself out of it.

War was a Nephilim, and literally fought against heaven and hell. He'd make for a very solid foundation.

There was also something there for a physical tune-up. It could return my current body to full health, unfortunately its cost stacked with the state of the body. On a mostly healthy body the cost was a pittance, on my ruined near-carcass, the loan Frank had given me would fail to cover it. It would be simpler to get myself a new body.

Which, all things considered, was okay, I didn't much mind it. Though for a little extra cost, I could store my current body in a stasis field in my new home. Kind of a backup and/or I could fix it later and use it for something interesting.

For now, I would need a new body, and I knew exactly how I would achieve that. Still, I was going to have to try to capture Gilgamesh, there was only one time where I could be certain where and when the fucker would be, which was Fuyuki during the fifth Holy Grail War. It would provide a good opportunity to make good inroads into paying my loan even if I didn't manage to nab Gil. And there was a hefty bonus in it for me if I won the Grail War.

As such, I would need backup, people I could trust that would help me behind the scenes to do what I needed. I was not exactly comfortable with outright buying people because it was convenient, but I was a near limbless torso and this was my hail Mary, I was okay with doing things I was uncomfortable with in order to claw myself out of the hole I was in.

I made two purchases and then triple checked the circumstances of my arrival, laid back into the pod that would keep my ruined body in a state of suspended animation, and accepted the transfer.

I opened my eyes to the cold, dusty, messy floor of a wooden toolshed.

I pushed off the floor and sat up, the sky that could be glimpsed through the window was dark, I stretched two perfectly intact arms and flexed each finger individually until I formed two fists, I rolled my hips, flexed each leg, and cracked my neck to get rid of the stiffness I felt there.

I looked at the broken, half disassembled heater that was no longer being worked on and shoved it out of the way with a foot that hadn't been there for a while. Feeling a little sick, I allowed new muscle memory to lead me to a bathroom, where I looked into the mirror.

A face that wasn't mine stared back into my eyes. An odd mix of oriental and western features, bright if unkempt red hair, honey brown eyes that glowed gold if the light hit them just right.

Shirou Emiya stared back at me, his face splitting into a rueful grin. I washed the tears of blood off my new face.

I'd chosen a corner of the multiverse where Shirou had messed up while turning his nerves into Magic Circuits, overloading his nervous system and dying in quiet agony. His body would have been found in the morning, and it would have been ruled a genetic defect.

A perfectly good body with perfectly good Magic Circuits just up for grabs. I drew a line in the sand at taking the body of another while it was still in use, but this? This I could stomach.

Remembering what Frank had told me, I brought up the Body Tune-up options on my Company Phone. The purchase had been necessary as without it I'd be coming into a corpse, the damage relatively minor but the specific system damaged being catastrophic. Still, it had a side effect that it would modify my height, and while this was good as Shirou was way too short by my standards, my suddenly becoming a relative giant would cause issues.

I set my height to six foot and an inch, equal to my previous body and set the change to happen in three weeks. By that time, I'd either be moving on, or I'd be dead.

I walked around my new mansion, not recognizing anything. I'd known the boy had lived frugally, most of his money tied up in a trust fund controlled by the local yakuza head, but the place looked honestly abandoned. Were it not for the fact that it was spotless, I could honestly believe the place to be vacant.

I eventually found a calendar, 30th of January 2004. Mere days before the start of the fifth Holy Grail War.

And I was a teenager, so I'd have to go to school. Man, fucking school, I'd sworn to never go back.

Wait, this was Japan, and I faintly recalled them doing something utterly insane, like school on Saturdays.

Crap.

And my evening was only just getting started.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: jandragon15, SCP-682, Cryptum and 668 others

Santo

Jun 12, 2023

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 2

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jun 12, 2023

Add bookmark

As promised, here is Chapter 2.

Do lemme know if you liked it or didn't. What you thought worked or didn't.

Chapter 3 will be posted next weekend.

Or would you lot prefer me to post them one a day till I'm caught up and then wait however long until the next chapter is ready?

Either way, lemme know what you'd prefer by dropping me a comment.

It took me longer than I am comfortable admitting to figure out how to activate the portal to my private dimension home.

Sure, I could have just pulled out the magical smartphone that appeared in my pocket any time I thought of it, but what the hell was the point of getting a magical Heads-Up Display if you didn't ever use it?

Once I figured out how to make the HUD activate, it was child's play to set a door on the wall.

It wasn't a door per se, it was a portal, hidden and inaccessible by anyone who was not in my retinue, or that I pulled through by the hand. It also didn't matter that it was set on one of those Japanese rice paper walls.

With a shrug, I stepped through into a grassy plane, it smelled of fresh grass, lavender, and peaches. The night sky was alight with countless stars, and a huge swathe of the sky looked like someone had spilled a glass of milk on it. In the distance, I could see a big, gothic-as-fuck looking castle. By my estimate, it was a thirty or forty minute walk there.

Yeah no.

I stepped out, mentally gave the command to move the other side of the portal into the goddamn in-built portal room, and stepped trough again. This time I stepped out into a bare room with white walls, it had a singular blast door leading out of it, it was ten foot wide by the same tall, and it had a huge 40k Imperial Aquila shining proudly on it.

Totally worth spending that minute amount of my budget to redesign the castle to fit my sense of aesthetics. I mentally pinged the door, and it opened with the hiss of a well-oiled machine.

I walked around to familiarize myself with the place, the task made easier by the map in my HUD. It had a wing dedicated to bedrooms, a huge bath for soaking in alongside a good number of people in perfect comfort, an outside bath styled after a hotspring, an indoor shooting range, an outdoor obstacle course that also doubled as a shooting range, a warehouse with materials of various grades as well as chemicals, magical reagents, and lesser quality jewels.

The Workshop was 40k as fuck, missing only the cyberzombies. I enjoyed the aesthetic, but there were frankly more efficient ways of accomplishing a task than lobotomized human brains wired to accomplish a single task over and over. I could feel my fingers itching to pick up a length of steel and work it into something, perhaps a blade…

I shook my head, if I allowed myself to start a project, I would likely not emerge until next week, and that would cause issues.

I stopped at the dojo, which was separate from the gym, both had two walls as a single large mirror to work out and monitor my form. Both places would self-repair, so I had no fear as far as going a little crazy. I tried to summon up my War abilities, and it was as easy as breathing, power coursed through my veins, on the mirror, I could see my red tresses swaying in an unfelt breeze, my eyes blazing with bright white fire.

I felt the power build up within me, saw it coursing up my arms, I thrust my hands forward and punched the air in front of me with a shout.

A shockwave shot out from my fist and cracked the mirror I'd taken aim at. Which considering War would have blown a hole through concrete, it wasn't awful but far from what the Template I'd taken would eventually be capable of.

Finding the other magic I'd purchased was a little harder, a Pyromancy flame was not a glove one could put on and take off, it was within oneself, but after thirty minutes of thinking fiery thoughts (and a few false starts thanks to accidentally using War's magic) I had a flame dancing on top of my palm, it was small, it was weak, but it pulsed with the beat of my heart, and it was beautiful.

Once I had that, figuring out how to feed it more oxygen and making big flares of fire from my hand was easy as pie. Trying to make fireballs resulted in burning my hand. I'd have to check the library later, it had a lot of books, and since I had purchased Pyromancy specifically to learn it, maybe the purchase had come with a few tomes on the subject.

Attempting to find my Warcaster Magic was somewhat more difficult. Especially since Pyromancy kept getting in the way. Still, the one thing I was certain of about the Warcaster ability was that it was, to an extent, techomancy, and, well, War was in the name, and that was now an integral part of my very being. Aside from having bought a Talent specifically to make learning magic easier.

As such, I glared at a screen very hard, making sure not to use my HUD. It took the better part of an hour, but eventually my frustration mounted until the screen flickered, turned on, then exploded.

With a reflexive flex of my magic, a barrier of pure force appeared between me and the shrapnel. I looked at my hand, at the fading blue/green energy. As with the Pyromancy Flame, once I had felt it, it was easy to find it again.

This would require quite a bit of effort to master. Or at least train up to a point where it would be useful. At least I should be able to make some Warjacks in the workshop.

Eventually, there was no way to have them ready for my current assignment, and even if I could, I'd first have to practice controlling and fighting beside them.

I sat back and took a few moments to take it all in, the power, the potential. The cost.

I shook my head hard; I had an armory to check out.

The armory was fairly bare-bones. The place was enormous, but mostly empty, one of the costs I paid to get my clones a better deal, giving them access to a work contract that they could leverage for infinite food and water, and the chance to become Agents themselves at the end of the contract, with a bit of good old Nepotism making their test easier or getting them greater rewards.

I could see countless handgun racks with only three filled, further inspection showed that the three weapons were an M1911A1 full sized, a Glock 19, and a nine shot .22 caliber revolver, capable of firing both .22lr and .22 magnum.

On the rifle racks, I could see the M98-30 Mozin-Nagant Dragoon Standard Infantry Rifle I'd used for hunting, and a double barrel side by side break action twelve-gauge shotgun I'd used for skeet shooting.

I picked up the intimately familiar .45, I knew its every scratch and bump, I could see the joy in my sister's face as, after I had forced her to fire a couple of rounds with the intimidating weapon, she'd gotten a slasher smile and gone through a hundred rounds almost without noticing.

My thumbs ached in remembered pain, having refilled her spent magazines in a rush, just barely managing to refill one seconds before she emptied the one in her gun and asked for another.

The Company had rounded up my personal firearms and brought them to my new home.

I choked back sudden tears, pain that had been kept back for months rising like bile. My magic powers roiled, a storm both figurative and literal threatening to sweep me away, to drown me, if I let it out.

The mission.

I had to plan, to get ready, I had the one perfect counter to Gilgamesh, but it was rough and untrained. I'd have access to some muscle memory, but Shirou at this point in time had been far from a Master, he wasn't even truly a novice.

I had to get my teacher, unlock my Magic Circuits, learn the self-hypnosis to make use of them (something that shouldn't be too difficult, my integrated instincts as War consisted of much of the same), and then I had at best two weeks to master them to the point that I could close on fucking Gilgamesh and hold a stamp to his forehead for three whole seconds without getting gutted.

And for that, I needed my teachers, I had purchased the potential for Aura, but would need someone to activate it for me, and I'd purchased someone who was knowledgeable in Magecraft and would be able to coach me in all the steps needed to safely harness the power of the body I inhabited.

I set the weapon down and looked around the armory, and quickly enough found the ammo. I had endless boxes of .22 caliber, both long rifle and magnum, 7.62x54R, 12 gauge bird shot, buck shot, slug and salt shot. As well as boxes upon boxes of .45 ACP and 9x19 mm parabellum.

There were many more magazines for both semi auto pistols than I'd ever owned, and surprisingly, clips for the Mozin.

I chewed on my inside lip, before grabbing the tool for loading magazines and started filling.

A while later at the shooting range, I was happy to learn that my HUD had a combat mode, giving me details on the firearm I was using, how many bullets I had left in the magazine, and how many more magazines were available, something that complement my new instincts for combat very well. With the press of a button targets began moving up and down and side to side.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, I adjusted my fingers on the gun's grip, my hands smaller than the last time I handled the weapon. I willed the world to vanish except for me, the target, and my weapon. I lined up the iron sights with the center of the first moving target and squeezed the trigger.

Switching targets every two shots. I ran through all of the magazines I'd filled, over two hundred shots in all, calling a new magazine out of my Inventory every time the weapon ran empty.

Once I was out of filled magazines for the .45, I switched to the Glock, the grip fitting better on this body's smaller hands, and continued.

Without realizing it, I'd moved on to my rifle, going through clip after clip after clip. And when those ran out, I called my shotgun to me and shot slugs down the range.

I stopped at some point, breathing heavily. Blinking away the tears streaming down my face.

My throat felt sore, thinking back, I may or may not have been screaming for a bit there.

I put the weapons down, vanished them to the Armory, and sat at the nearest bench, concentrating on breathing and enjoying the scent of burnt gunpowder.

I waited for the trembling in my arms to subside and for my breathing to even out before I made my way back to the armory and filled more magazines.

Once I had a decent number ready, I took a deep breath and made my way to the 'arrivals' chamber. There had been options for more natural insertions into the world, but those would have cost credits and I had very few of those to throw around. So, my…associates.

No, no I was not going to pretend this was anything other than it was. My slaves were waiting for me in stasis pods, knowledge of who their Master was pre-uploaded into their brains. I could seek to give them a good life, to make them happy, but the power dynamic would remain firmly slanted in my favor.

I would at the very least not insult their intellect by pretending this was anything other than what it was.

In the arrivals room, I saw the three pods, my slaves waiting peacefully in their respective stasis fields. I was honestly worried by the lot of them. I wouldn't be able to show weakness, not and still have them respect me, I may now be mighty, but all three of them were very powerful in their own way. And I had a feeling at least two of them would constantly push boundaries, always gauging how much I would let them get away with. Always prodding to see where I would draw the line.

But, well, it was something of a hell of my own making. The first because she would make for a good wildcard in my favor. The second may be a good person, but headstrong enough to do what she thought was best if she didn't think me strong enough. Something which might well get her killed.

The third was a jellybean mechanic and would likely be happy with a wrench in her hands and a list of projects to work on.

I huffed out a breath and looked at the clock on my HUD, I'd wasted more than enough time.

I forced myself to walk to the first pod and slapped my hand on the palm reader. It beeped twice before the pod depressurized with a hiss.

It whirred as its servos growled upward, releasing a mist I was almost certain was there purely to dramatically obfuscate the occupant within.

A delicate, slender, pale hand pushed out of the mist and grabbed the edge of the pod. With a heave and a girlish grunt, the occupant pulled herself out of the pod.

A pair of crystal-clear ruby eyes landed on me, a beautiful face splitting into a wide, innocently happy grin showing off pearly white teeth.

She tucked an errant strand of silver hair behind her ear before stepping down off the pod with an adorable little hop. Her white boots clicking on the ground.

Irisviel von Einzbern grinned up at me and tilted her head coquettishly, looking at me through her eyelashes.

"Well, should I call you Master?" She asked, then grinned wider. "Or would you prefer Daddy?"

I sighed.

The night just got even longer.

Last edited: Jun 12, 2023

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: ShadowReader45, Crhono, RevanGM and 652 others

Santo

Jun 12, 2023

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 3 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jun 17, 2023

Add bookmark

#50

I've actually felt really good these last two days of the week. Was able to write a whole two chapters yesterday and today. Words practically flying onto the page.

So here's chapter 3 a bit earlier than I was planning to post it.

As usual. Lemme know what you liked and didn't. So on and so forth. Comments sustain a man.

I resisted the urge to palm my face. "While we're not in this home, you'll call me Shirou." I faltered and scowled, I didn't want to think of my actual name, too many feelings were tied to it, too much too soon, too many things I didn't have time for. Still, I needed a name, and on a whim settled on my online handle. "When we're here you may call me Santo. We have much to do and not enough time to do it."

Irisviel pouted, the expression somehow fit her face perfectly. "You're no fun."

I shook my head and spoke more harshly than I intended. "We don't have time for fun." I turned to the next pod, then halted when I felt her pull my hand.

"I can feel it, you know," she said, her smile full of grief, "your soul screaming with agony."

I felt myself choke up before I pushed it back down. "We don't have the t-!"

She pulled on my arm, and I do not know why, but I found myself allowing it. I found my face pressed firmly between two incredibly soft breasts; I could feel their heat even through her clothes. "Don't hold it in," she whispered, softly rubbing the back of my head, "I, of all people, have seen what grief and rage can do when left holed up, don't bury it where it'll fester, you've already pushed yourself too hard, too far, for too long. Let it out."

Irisviel began to hum a soft lullaby, I took hold of her arms with the intention to push her away, but found my grip tightening and my legs weakening until she was the only thing holding me up.

The flood came back, try as I might to crush it back down, her soft lullaby and even softer touch stirred it, giving the storm buoyancy. I opened my mouth to demand that she stop. What came out was. "I wasn't there, they needed me and I-"

I grit my teeth so hard there was genuine danger I'd crack one, but nothing else could hold the flood of words back. I began sobbing into the woman's breasts, grief too long buried, crushed until it had gone rancid with rage and hatred wracked my frame.

For weeks I had foregone human contact as I readied my vengeance. After, when against all odds I'd not died attaining it, I'd not felt safe enough to show weakness, and nobody had truly cared about the murderous cripple.

For the first time since my family was ripped from me, as I pressed a body that was at once mine and not mine to the slighter, feminine frame that was the only thing holding me up, I felt safe enough to allow myself to grieve.

I do not know how long I knelt there, weeping like a child into Irisviel's chest, but when it all petered out, I felt lighter in a way I hadn't felt in years.

"There," she whispered, her own voice thick with her own tears, "it's much better now, isn't it?"

Rather than speak, I merely nodded, unwilling to relinquish the warmth that enveloped me. Irisviel indulged me and hummed another tune.

My HUD informed me I'd have to get up soon, I knew Shirou started his day early, and I couldn't afford to act too out of character.

But I could take a few minutes more. I settled in more comfortably and enjoyed Irisviel's cherubic voice.

I did my best to pretend my earlier breakdown never happened as I worked in my gothic as fuck kitchen, I'd decided to leave getting my other slaves out of their stasis chambers for later in the evening. I was too drained, both physically and emotionally, to deal with meeting more people.

Which considering I was going to go meet people when I went to school, the day was going to suck.

Cooking was a weird experience, instinct and muscle memory I'd not developed guiding my movements as I prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the woman sitting at the granite island in the huge kitchen.

"So, from when in the timeline are you? For that matter, from which timeline are you?" I asked as I worked.

She hummed, putting a finger to her lip. "I wouldn't know about one timeline or another, but my Kiritsugu and Saber had gotten in a fight about the methods they preferred. As I recall it, he'd just gotten the Lancer of our war killed before my original was stamped."

I nodded. "That war ended inconclusively, leading to the fifth happening fifty years early. I'm sorry to say, your daughter is a participant."

Irisviel sighed. "I'd feared as much."

I hesitated momentarily before getting back into my tempo. "What in all do you know of the current situation?"

She shrugged. "I'm the clone of a clone of a clone, not a big change there in all honesty. I do know we're in an artificial demi-plane currently dimensionally perpendicular to a universe almost identical to the one my original came from. And I know you have a mission to capture a high value target."

I nodded. "That is about the gist of it. I'm relatively certain I'll be able to summon Arturia as Saber, we'll likely have a few issues as my own methods will be closer than not to Kiritsugu's modus operandi, but unlike your former husband, I do not resent her. You'll have to open my Magic Circuits so I can put together a Switch and so I can learn Magecraft, after that we'll concentrate on Structural Grasp, Reinforcement and Gradation Air."

She blinked then furrowed her brows, sacred hell, everything this woman did was one level or another of adorable. It should be a crime to be that beautiful.

"Those seem rather limited, and if you don't mind my saying so, somewhat counter productive. Why would we concentrate our time in fields with such limited use?"

I put the finishing touches on her lunch and started working on dinner. "There are extenuating circumstances that I do not currently have the time to get into, I'll explain my reasoning when I return for the lessons, for now, simply prepare as well as you can. We'll be using knives or other cutting implements for our lessons so see if you can prepare those, if not, I'll see what I can do in the workshop. While I'm gone, I'll need you to familiarize yourself with the demi-plane, take inventory of our assets, summarize them for me, unfortunately we are working on an exceedingly short timetable, so I'll be leaning on you quite a bit."

She nodded, then bit her lower lip. "And… Illya? She may not really be my daughter, but…"

I paused and thought through my answer before speaking. "She is a formidable enemy; she has no desire for victory, only vengeance. She knows that Emiya Shirou was Kiritsugu's adopted son and blames him for her perceived abandonment." I said, making her grimace. "Furthermore, she's suffered greatly, even if she is the victor, she won't have long to live. She is dead-set on killing me, or on cutting off my head and tying my soul to a stuffed animal." Irisviel's shoulders hunched, her face twisting in pain and grief.

I sighed and summoned my Stamp to my hand. "I will attempt to stamp her. Even if it's artificial, the feelings it causes should buy me the time to explain the situation. It'll aid in making her understand that the subject of her revenge is dead and gone. Furthermore, anyone I stamp is brought to full health; it should undo the damage she has suffered. I cannot promise I'll-"

I cut off with a cough as a silver haired missile slammed into me and squeezed for all she was worth. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"I can only promise to try." I wheezed. "The Einzbern summoned Heracles as Berserker. And that fucker will be nigh on impossible to get through to reach your daughter, let alone touch her for three continuous seconds."

Irisviel tightened her hold. "But you promise to try, right? To give it your best shot?"

I nodded. "You have my word."

She remained quiet for a while longer before saying. "Then I'll put my hopes on you." She then raised her head and gave me the grin of a vixen in the henhouse. "I know I can count on you, daddy."

I tramped down on my urge to laugh. "If you keep that up, I'll put you over my knee and spank your bottom red."

Her laugh was as musical as the tinkling of bells.

I was hard at work cooking my fourth meal this day, and the first I would actually consume.

Well…not really hard at work. It was mostly zoning out and letting my cooking power do its thing. Shirou's pantry had mostly had fish and rice, and while I understood that I was currently in Japan, I was used to heftier fare.

So I like my poultry provided protein, sue me.

I stopped talking to myself and kept an ear out as I heard the front door open. The mansion's alarm spell didn't go off, so that person did not have malicious intent. Which likely meant my least favorite person in Nasuverse had arrived.

Sakura Matou (No, I need to force myself to do it right or I'll break character and it'll cause an issue. Matou Sakura) walked into the room in all of her plum haired and eyed glory. The moment she saw my apron-clad behind as I cooked, she smiled softly, "Ah, Senpai, good morning."

Can't act cold, Sakura was one of the few people Shirou was warm to. I smiled at her with a nod. "Hey, morning Sakura, did you sleep well?"

"Yes!" She answered happily and made her way over, and looked surprised at the food I was cooking. "Sausage and eggs? That's rather unusual, Senpai."

Crap, knew I should have choked down the fish. But what kind of sociopath eats fish for breakfast? Madness, I tell you.

"I saw a recipe for it in an article and decided to try it out." I said, turning off the heat and covering the pan. "Thought a change of pace would be good."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked with a coquettish smile. "I can't see any fault in that logic, Senpai."

I nodded sagely and held myself back from making a sarcastic comment. Shirou had had a lot of snark, but the fucker kept it hidden for the most part. "Oh, hey Sakura, would you mind setting the table? I've got a few things to finish up before breakfast is ready."

"Of course, Senpai. Leave it to me!" She said and put action to words.

Good, it'd been enough of a pain in the ass to find what I needed for cooking. I kept an eye for where she was getting plates and other things out of and tossed some cheese in the egg and sausage sandwiches.

I set the plate down on the middle of the table as Sakura finished setting it.

I looked down at her and decided to take the opportunity presented to me. Depending on how the Grail War went, I might not get another.

I furrowed my brow in mock concern and said. "Hey Sakura, wait a moment."

She looked over her shoulder at me, "Yes, Senpai?"

I placed a hand on her neck, the stamp appearing on my palm an instant before my hand made contact. Sakura stiffened, her eyes widening and her body going taut as a bowstring. I could see a faint blush appear on her cheeks, her breathing speeding up.

I kept up my mock concern as I used my other hand and moved her collar a little, murmuring. "Weird."

"Erm, Senpai?" Sakura asked breathlessly. I was forced to admit she really was very pretty; the lizard part of my brain would be very happy to bend her over the table and pound her womb to submission.

But I wasn't about to put on a show for her adopted grandfather, so that was that. Either way, the three seconds had passed. I let go of her, vanishing the Stamp back to wherever it went.

"Sorry." I said, looking down and away. "I thought I saw a mark or a bruise and acted without thinking."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her face pale.

I pulled Sakura up my HUD as I went to get a glass of water. Even if I would be unable to make any significant changes to her until the Stamp filled out fully, I had access to a whole lot of detailed information, and I must admit, the girl had very nice badonkadonks. Her tits were also top notch. Legs with just the right amount of squish. As much as I was prejudiced against her, I'd be an awful liar if I did not admit that, in a number of ways, she was quite the catch.

What wasn't so nice was the network of parasitic worms that had infiltrated and partially taken over her nervous system. I set the parameters so she wouldn't get a heal from that perk of mine, I didn't want Zouken to learn something was wrong. Not until I was ready to deal with the worm, preferably without things exploding on me.

I also moved the core of the stamp tattoo to her lower back. It was supposed to be shielded against notice, but what's the point of taking chances?

I'd have to make sure to stamp Shinji at first opportunity. Wouldn't want him to notice the new tattoo the next time he plowed his favorite sex toy.

I moved back to the table with my glass of water. Sakura murmuring something about. "Nii-san."

Well, looks like my little bluff worked, that's nice.

As soon as I sat down, I heard the front door being slammed open, I twitched, my hand going for a pistol that wasn't at my waist.

"Shirou! Nee-san's here to eat!" Shouted a voice I vaguely recognized.

I sighed and muttered under my breath. "Gonna have to train her not to slam other people's doors."

Sakura giggled and I realized I said that bit out loud. Crap, it's moments like this that caused issues.

Taig-Fujimura Taiga walked into the living room and gave me the biggest, most dazzling smile. "Oi Shirou! G'morning!"

I smiled and nodded. "Good morning Fujim-ahem-Fuji-nee." Whoo, close call. "I made sandwiches."

She looked down. "Well, that's kind of unusual, you normally go for something more complex."

I shook my head. "Try it first."

"I made tea." Sakura said, setting a jar down. Fuck! Another thing I messed up! How the hell was I supposed to remember these people were obsessed with tepid leaf juice!?

We all sat down, and I took a bite of my first sandwich.

I stopped and stared down at the very simple fare.

It was the best thing I'd ever tasted. It had all the usual flavors, it wasn't anything fancy, sausage, egg, salt, olive oil, bread, etc. But it was just more. All things coming together to be more than the sum of their parts.

If this is how the cooking ability worked actively pushed down to 'plebeian' levels, I did not want to try it at full power. I would have to save that for people I actively wanted to break.

I stopped contemplating the warcrime waiting to happen in food form in front of me to look at my two companions. Sakura was staring down at the sandwich in her hands, tears in the corner of her eyes.

Taiga was chewing slowly and mechanically, with absolute focus.

Note to self, tramp that down further.

Eh, fuck it. It's not like I was staying here long.

I took another bite of my sandwich.

Still, never thought the words 'sinfully delicious' would ever apply to anything in my life.

"But Shirou, why would you be so cruel!? How could your heart be so cold!" Taiga wailed.

I sighed. "Fuji-nee, you won't die just because I don't repeat this recipe for a while."

"You don't know!"

"Erm. I'll be heading out early." A slightly shell-shocked Sakura said. Okay good.

I put my arms around the kneeling woman currently stuck to me like a limpet. And made sure the stamp pressed against the base of her neck. "Fuji-nee I'll…" As I feigned hesitation, Taiga looked up at me with wide avaricious eyes. Once my mental count reached four, I vanished the Stamp. "Look, if you go to work and get your things done on time, I'll make this dish again next weekend."

"OkgottagoShiroubye!" The hurricane known as Taiga blabbered as she disappeared.

Man, she is fast when she wants to be.

I brought up Taiga on my HUD and adjusted her to a familiar. The woman was fit, and while I wouldn't mind a night of fun with her if she was amicable, she and Shirou had been as close as blood siblings. It felt a little too much like spitting on the memory of Shirou Emiya to make Taiga thirst for this body of mine. I also moved the mark on Taiga to her upper back.

I regarded Sakura, I wasn't at all interested in her. But as far as I knew, she was utterly dependent on Shirou. He had been the one light in her life, dim as that light had been, to her it had been blinding. I did not want to deal with that.

But her romantic interest in me being strengthened would serve my purpose for the duration of the coming conflict, so I left the parameters on her as they were.

I looked at the sixteen credits those two had just gotten me. I itched to get back to the superpowers for sale available to me. But I held myself back.

I needed to pool together enough credits to make the first month's payment. Still, those sixteen credits I'd gotten would work well enough as an emergency fund.

As I minimized the display in my HUD, I felt an itch on my left forearm, rolling up my sleeve, I saw a blue tattoo of a plate armored knight with a cowl obscuring his features, he held a sword before him in a reverse grip, his head was by my elbow and the tip of the sword close to my wrist, there were nine red notches in the blue blade, five on one side, four on the other.

Right, my other control option. The only one available to me that didn't utterly destroy a personality. I was going to have to be careful about not showing these, pretty sure they'd be poorly received by most.

I stepped out into the morning chill and let muscle memory guide me to Shirou's high school. I felt like procrastinating some more, but I was fairly certain I recalled Shirou going around fixing crap for the Student Council, so off I went to maintain my paper-thin cover.

Fuyuki was a sleepy little town, or, well, I was a city kid through and through so maybe it was a big town and it only looked little to me. Point was, I saw a relatively small number of people making their way around. A number of them teenagers that walked together in their little cliques.

Blegh. At least I could cheat and look up any answers online. Hell, might as well go for broke and spend the whole class time looking at dog videos on YouTube.

Wait, it was 2004. The era of flip phones and a Nokia you could use to replace a structural support in a building!

A quick search using the magically super-fast internet connection in my head showed me that at the very least the Google Search Engine was available, even if YouTube wasn't a thing.

Okay, I was going to have to spend class time finding forums to troll and shitpost in. Not as good as puppy videos, but a close enough second.

I blinked as I saw the school gates. "Homuraha Gakuen." I muttered, I faintly recalled being surprised at how much detail there was in the backgrounds for the school, when so little of the visual novel I'd obsessed with as a teenager had taken place there.

Then again, it was a VN aimed at teenagers, couldn't have that without school, I guess.

Horny little mouth breathers those damn teenagers, they ruin everything.

Fuckin' teenagers.

Wait…I'm now a teenager.

Fuckin' teenagers!

I made my way in, suppressing my shudder at the sickly feeling in the air, waving back to the few people that waved at me, grateful that nobody sought to meaningfully engage with me.

Now, I did not recall much, but I did know that the first thing Shirou did upon reaching school was walking around with Issei fixing broken junk. Now, if I were an Issei, where would I be?

Hmm…a more difficult question than one would first think, what was the essence of an Issei?

Hatred of the Tohsaka? Fear of those cursed cruel creatures who walked around proudly with their dual X chromosomes? Wariness of the beguiling wiles that have historically led many a male to their deaths as they sought to impress those who possess the jiggliest of mammaries?

Speaking of jiggly, man do some of the girls around here have great racks.

And there are the hormones, hello there, I did not miss you. Hmm, now that I bother to notice, some people are looking at me rather weird.

Still, this did not fix my issue. Time to use that most forbidden of techniques, common sense. I vaguely recalled Issei had an office, which if we ran it through the filter of anime tropes, probably meant student council.

I followed the signs and arrived there soon enough.

I stepped inside. "Yo, Issei. How you doing this morning?"

Wait, was Shirou more formal than not with Issei?

Eh, fuck it.

Issei whose last name I couldn't remember at the moment was a short (by my standards), skinny boy with features that were halfway between pretty and patrician, his well-groomed hair was a black that looked dark blue in the right light, he wore oval rimmed glasses and had an immaculate resting bitch face.

Issei looked at me like I'd grown a second head, then attempted to look angry, it wasn't at all intimidating because I lacked the fucks to give, but it was a stellar attempt. "Emiya, are you wearing your outdoor shoes!?" he demanded, sounding scandalized.

I blinked and looked down at my feet, I was indeed wearing shoes. "Yes?"

Issei took a deep breath, and that's when the scolding began.

I was able to cut the scolding short by claiming I wasn't feeling well, informing him I'd slept poorly and spent some time in the early morning barely able to breathe. And I'd noticed I'd been somewhat lethargic and absent minded since I woke up.

None of which was a falsehood. It just wasn't because I was feeling sick. It was because his friend was dead and I was piloting his reanimated corpse, but eh, details.

He'd walked with me to change out my shoes, looked worried when I had to look for my shoe locker to manage this, then we went about fixing broken down heaters.

Which led to my current situation. "Stupid piece of broken-down bullshit." I muttered in English, splaying open the mechanical guts of the heater and fixing the short circuit that had caused it to stop working. "Fuckin' worthless piece of shitty overcomplicated crap."

Sure, I was cheating thanks to my Warcaster ability, using its instinct for mechanics to find and fix the issues with the appliance. But bitching was tradition.

Now that I stopped to think, some of it may well be the Tech Priest knowledge I had data-dumped into my brain…

Also, because he was here, I couldn't just tap the heater and order it to heal itself. Which I really wanted to try. I was fairly certain that was a Warcaster spell.

"Wow, it's truly inspiring to see you work Emiya." Issei said, his eyes wide and intent. "You normally ask me to wait outside, it's truly an honor to be trusted with your secrets."

I paused for a few seconds to take in my fuckup, then continued and ran with it. Switching to Japanese. "Well, I did that because I figured you'd just get bored watching me work."

There, that sounded sufficiently Shirouish.

The real reason, as best I could recall, was that Shirou would turn one of his nerves into a hodgepodge Magic Circuit and use the energy from that to apply Structural Grasp on the appliance, then go directly for the issue that needed to be resolved without wasting time acting like he had to find out what was wrong.

But considering the exact circumstances that led to my inhabiting of this body, that was certainly not something I was going to try without first having my Circuits unlocked by Irisviel.

Issei whose last name I still could not remember continued to blather as I worked, and then I remembered Caster, I needed a reliable spy in her base.

I summoned the Stamp and pondered how best to stamp him.

Would Caster be able to sense he was compromised? She wasn't one to care about human life. She may well kill him immediately and call it a day, which would at best serve to confirm she was at the Temple. Trading Issei's life for a mostly irrelevant confirmation.

Either that, or she might find three of her brain cells to rub together and use him to feed me wrong information.

No, even if I Stamped him, I'd not be able to trust any of his reports.

I made the Stamp vanish and put away the tools. Fun as it was, I would have to see about finding an excuse to stop doing this, I could have used this time to train any of my myriad abilities.

Still, for now I had a part to play.

We stepped out of the room as Issei talked about something wrong with the heater in the AV room. I sensed something to my right, and turning to look, I caught a flash of red turning a corner.

The sensation came from my Warcaster instincts, so that was probably magic, which likely meant that had been Tohsaka Rin.

Hmm, it was a good thing we missed each other, I hadn't yet learned to control my magical signature, her finding out about me at this junction could have been catastrophic.

Then again, maybe Magic Circuits could only easily sense other Magic Circuits? She certainly didn't seem to sense the Warcaster magic waiting at my fingertips, or my nature as a being seemingly intrinsically tied to War.

Oh wait, I'd bought that thing that made it more difficult to detect and find things out about me. Right.

We continued fixing things, at least until the bell rang and I received special permission from the student council president to run in the halls.

I arrived at the room, cool as a cucumber, while Issei panted and gasped. I turned to him and smirked. "You need to put more cardio in your workout regimen."

Issei glared and kept huffing.

I turned to the room and realized I had no idea which was my seat.

I leaned over to Issei. "Hey so, I'm still a bit out of it, and I'm drawing a complete blank on which seat is mine. Mind giving me a hand?"

Issei's eyes turned worried. "Emiya, if you're truly not feeling well..."

I shook my head. "I'm not, but it's not that bad, honest. I'm just drawing a blank."

He didn't look mollified, but he pointed out which was my seat. So that worked out great.

I sat down and tapped into the (by my standards) rudimentary internet of 2004. Ready to find a forum and start shitposting. I shall unleash memetic hell upon these poor bastards.

I suddenly smelled hairspray.

"Must you make so much noise in the morning, Emiya?" Said an amazingly greasy voice. I felt I needed a shower just by having those vibrations bounce off my frame. "I was wondering what you'd been up to since quitting the club, but all you've been doing is helping out Ryudou? It's not my concern, but don't do anything to bring the club into disrepute, okay? You're no longer part of it, after all."

Holy hell, Shinji Matou's hair did actually look like blue seaweed. What the fuck?

No, wait, focus, he was doing a poor attempt at a veiled insult. Respond appropriately!

"I mean, you're in the Archery Club, so I'm fairly certain anything I do won't look too bad in comparison." I said with the most earnest smile I could muster, which was in all honesty, surprisingly guileless.

Shinji's eyebrow twitched. "I'll have you know that the Archery Club is doing much better since a certain attention-hog left. We're set to dominate the next competition!"

I raise my eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh? Ayako must be working hard. Not surprised though, next to," I let my lips twist into the slightest smirk, "a member that left, she is the best in the Club."

Shinji puffed up and hissed. "Don't talk shit, Emiya! The Archery Club will do well because I'm in it!"

I blinked twice at him, trying to decide if I should act innocently confused, or derisive.

I settled for derisive.

I looked away, hid my mouth behind my hand and very obviously tried to make a laugh pass off as a cough and spoke in a tone that made it obvious I was indulging him. "Right, I'm certain you're correct Shinji."

Shinji's eyes blazed, he opened his mouth to shout something, then paused as the bell rang.

He trembled in front of me, his face red, and angrily hissed. "This isn't over!" Then walked to his desk in a huff.

Teenagers. I wondered what crawled up his ass today.

Issei sighed. "What a guy, one would think he'd be a little more conscious of the fact he was the one that ran you out of the club."

I shrugged and didn't bother saying anything.

"Still." Issei said, giving me a side-eyed look. "You handled that better than I expected. Honestly, with how you usually lose your temper, I was afraid he'd get you in detention."

I tilted my head in thought. Shirou had been all about being an Ally of Justice, that probably led him to getting into scraps with kids when he saw someone being bullied. This would likely be misconstrued as losing his temper.

Which had a side effect of making my talking Shinji down a peg rather than punch him, seem out of character.

Goddammit.

I was saved from having to think of a response by the pitter patter of tiny feet and the panicked shout of. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

A green, yellow and black blur tore into the room, tripped, and hit its head against the corner of the teacher's desk.

It was then that I received proof positive that Taiga most definitely was at the very least mildly Superhuman, as I saw a slight crack form in the desk while I was fairly certain her skull remained just fine.

The kids in the class started murmuring, fighting over who would take the risk of waking Taiga up.

I sighed. Well, might as well get started looking for a forum to troll. Maybe some enterprising soul has already uploaded some anime online? What even would be available in 2004? Card Captor Sakura?

I suddenly heard Taiga scream. "DON'T CALL ME TIGER!" Before starting the most haphazard Homeroom I'd ever seen.

This was going to be a long day.

Class had been boring.

Other than first period when my heart climbed to my throat because Souichirou fuckmothering Kuzuki was the teacher for World History.

He affected the walk of a regular civilian, lacking the liquid grace one might expect of a master martial artist. But the details gave him away, he never over or under reached. His walk was precisely imprecise and perfectly balanced at all times.

Him I would have been more than happy enough to risk Stamping in the middle of class, having him as a hostage would have ensured Caster's compliance. But I couldn't do that and remain covert. The power of War subtle was not.

Then again, War included covert action, information warfare…the more obvious applications of the power of War were not subtle, but subtlety definitely should be one of the tools in my toolbox. I set aside the thought and concentrated again on my retired assassin teacher.

I'd have to see about ambushing him at a later date. I'd run across the man twice during the day, and both times he had been very observant. Attempting to fake a stumble to Stamp him may well have ended up with my skull caved in.

The last bell of the day rang and all the students got up.

Fucking finally.

Issei walked right up to me. "Sorry Emiya, do you have the time today to finish the rest of the repairs?"

I shook my head firmly. "No. I've got work today. They'll have to wait."

Issei nodded. "That's a shame, but it's understandable. You've been more than enough help as it is, have a safe trip Emiya, I've other duties I need to attend to."

I nodded and walked in the direction of home.

The Emiya household was large, it was going to be a shame to leave it behind once I moved on.

If I moved on. I still wasn't fully sold on this not being a dying hallucination.

I had a grace period, Taiga and Sakura would not arrive at my place for a while, I had to use that time wisely.

As such, I didn't waste time actually walking home. I waited until eyes were no longer on me, then walked into a portal Home.

My interdimensional arrival room was as I remembered it. I walked out of the room, calling out. "Irisviel! Come, we have work to do!"

When she did not materialize, I walked around, looking for the woman. "Irisviel!"

I eventually found her in the place I probably should have started my search at. In the room that had her name on it. There she slept in a gossamer thin, pure white negligee that displayed her curves very nicely. The sight of her flawless pale skin, barely hidden by the garment, made my mouth water.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

Last edited: Jun 17, 2023

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: Leone, ShadowReader45, Crhono and 538 others

Santo

Jun 17, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 4 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jun 25, 2023

Add bookmark

#75

Good evening. Jeebus today was rough.

In fact, this week was rough.

I'm feeling better about the one a week schedule, because I got very little writing done this week. Just. Ugh.

As usual. Lemme know what y'all think please. And have a wonderful evening.

I did what I cloud to trample down my hormones. Yes, this woman was a snack, yes, those supple sinful curves were made to run my hands over, yes, that negligee would absolutely look better bunched up over her tits while I suckled on them, yes those thighs were made to wrap around my head while I ate her out until she was a puddle of goo, yes, her bell like voice would make for the sweetest music as her cunt wrapped snugly around my cock while I pounded her into the bed.

These were all facts, but I had work to do and not a lot of time to do it.

I shook her gently by the shoulder, and tired to ignore…the rest of her. "Irisviel, wake up."

Her face scrunched up cutely and she tried to burrow deeper into her pillow.

"Irisviel," I said, shaking her a little harder, "wake up."

She mumbled, "Ten more minutes," and rolled over, hugging my arm and trapping it in the valley between her tits. The sudden movement forced me to crawl partly onto the bed, hanging over her. My mouth watered, clothes that had been perfectly comfortable a moment ago immediately turned stifling. I could feel the heat of her body through my shirt.

My heart thundered in my ears, she smelled delicious, her creamy skin begged me to taste it. I could see her nipples pushing at her nightgown, perky little caps to her utterly wonderful tits.

My dick pressed so hard against my pants that it caused me physical pain.

I swallowed the spit pooled in my mouth as I fought the urge to ravish the woman beneath me.

"Irisviel," I murmured directly into her ear, she squirmed, and her skin broke out into gooseflesh, "Irisviel, it's time to wake up."

Thankfully, her eyes finally fluttered open. She blinked herself awake, and I could see when awareness of her surroundings kicked in as I felt her stiffen beneath me.

The atmosphere in the room became charged. Her grip on my arm tightened and I could feel her suddenly racing heartbeat through her chest. She was equally parts afraid and excited as she squirmed, rubbing her thighs together and flinching when her movements caused her legs to brush against my erection.

I concentrated on my breathing, in for four, hold for seven, out for five, hold for six, in for four. I repeated the process three times before I was able to think with the proper head.

"Irisviel." I said, she shuddered as my breath tickled her earlobe. "I will need my arm back."

She blinked in confusion, then looked between her breasts, where she held onto my arm with a death grip. She let go, and I forced myself not to use my newfound freedom to grope her tits.

"Thank you." I said, and, with a titanic application of will, stood straight and took a step back. "Get dressed, I'll need that summary of our assets, then I'll need you to open up my Magic Circuits for our first lessons in Structural Grasp, hopefully we'll be able to cover Reinforcement today as well. I'll wait outside, my apologies for intruding on your privacy."

I turned my back on her and left her still mostly bare room. The scent of her lingering on my nostrils. Once outside her room, I took long, deep, cleansing breaths.

That, had been dangerous.

I fought off the urge to fidget and fanned my face in an attempt to cool off.

It had been dangerous, but that was fine, we were past it, things were still on schedule. Everything was fine.

I heard the door behind me open a moment before Irisviel's chipper declaration of, "Ready!"

Looking over my shoulder, I was glad to see she was wearing blue jeans that were snug enough to show off her toned legs, a maroon form-fitting shirt that left a strip of her belly exposed, and sneakers. She was carrying a spiral notebook and a pen.

"You know, I was half expecting you to wear a Playboy Bunny outfit." I said with mixed relief and disappointment.

I wasn't entirely certain what I would have done if she'd pushed me, but I would certainly have lost a lot of time doing it.

She smirked. "I almost did, but you sounded serious about the timetable."

I nodded. "Alright, give me the tour and explain as we go."

She walked me through the mansion, showing me a few rooms I'd missed before. Apparently we had a walk-in freezer, it had the readied carcass of entire cows, lambs, pigs, etc.

I was going to roast one of those at first opportunity.

The gym was already fixed, and through a door I'd missed, she informed me we had a pool.

At the armory she went to one of the drawers I hadn't opened, in it there were grenades, from fragmentation and flashbangs to krak grenades and meltabombs. As well as chemical grenades with various payloads.

Grabbing one, I considered dismantling it for study, but that might go very badly inside my armory. Or, since it was 40k as fuck like the rest of my mansion, I should call it my Armoratorum.

I put the grenade back. "Anything else of note?"

Irisviel nodded. "Follow me."

She took me to a side room, it had mannequins for armor, one immediately stood out as it wore rugged plates of crudely hammered metal, an enormous sword longer than the mannequin was tall, it rested point first on the ground in front of it, remaining impossibly upright.

I walked to it and admired the blade, it did not have the agonized faces I remembered on the flat of the blade, it was akin more to a huge hunk of crudely hewn raw iron, covered in a patina of rust. It had no artistry, no beauty, yet it was a masterwork nonetheless.

The handle of Chaoseater fit in my palm like I had been born with it there. Ten feet of divinely forged metal, and somehow it was light as a feather in my grip. I went through a few swings with it, the movements at once alien and familiar. With great reluctance, I set the weapon down in front of the armor. I wouldn't be able to make use of it, not yet, I needed to grow into my power before I could afford the attempt to wield the weapon in battle.

There were many more empty mannequins waiting to be burdened. As well as stations I recognized as being for the automated fitting of power armor.

I'd already seen the warehouse, but Irisviel gave me a detailed list of the raw resources available. Doing quick math, I had enough tons of steel that I could make a few Heavy Warjacks. But if I wanted more advanced mechs and power armor, I'd have to secure a large enough sample of exotic or more advanced materials before the Demi-plane began supplying them.

Though it would be wise to expand the Demi-plane and add at least one more warehouse before I did that.

The Workshop she simply admitted to not having expertise with.

The tour ended when we stepped out into the sunny, grassy plane outside my castle.

"And that's that." Irisviel said, an enticing sway to her hips as she walked in front of me.

I continued to look through the list she'd compiled, it was very thorough, down to how many of whichever vegetable we had available.

I nodded and vanished the notebook to my Inventory, which I was relatively certain meant that the pad ended up somewhere around the house.

"Good, let us begin our lesson then." I said.

Irisviel nodded and stopped. I'd noticed the table set up on the grass, it had a lot of knives, from regular steel blades to stainless steel. A few feet from the table, I could see an intricate circle carved into the ground.

"Please sit in the circle." Irisviel requested firmly.

I compiled and concentrated on my breathing. Doing my best to keep my heartbeat from racing.

"Okay, so! Your Magic Circuits!" Irisviel said, sounding excited, then the magic circle I was sitting in lit up. "Hmm, you have twenty-seven of them, they have surprisingly high quality for someone without a lineage. Very well, take a deep breath aaaaaaaaand!"

My entire back lit up with pain.

Fire licked eagerly up my spine, my limbs went numb, the salty coppery taste of blood filled my tongue. I grit my teeth hard and didn't allow more than a grunt to escape my lips.

"This is your Magic Circuits running at full tilt." Irisviel said. "Once your body acclimatizes, you'll need to teach yourself to turn them on and off with, as you mentioned, a Switch. There's no way to do this painlessly I am sorry to say, though that will get better with time."

I forced words through my clenched teeth, coughing each one out with monumental effort. "I. Am. Used. To. Pain."

Irisviel nodded but said nothing. As for me, I was having trouble, thanks to the knowledge download of the Horseman of War, I was well aware of the use of mnemonic devices to direct power.

My problem was I had too many separate powers. Horseman abilities, Warcaster magic, Magecraft, Pyromancy, and soon enough I'll have Aura. Each one with its own switch to activate.

I forced myself to remain calm, to ignore the painful heat running through my body.

I summoned my Pyromancy flame to my hand, activated my Warcaster powers and nearly choked as the magical runoff of the Warcaster ability was eaten up by my Magic Circuits, amplifying the power they had available, what scraps my Magic Circuits did not eat up, the Pyromancy Flame happily consumed.

With grim determination, I called forth the power of War. I could feel a resonance between it and the rest of my magic, but as it stood, they were not fully compatible.

This was too slow. But how to control such a varied arsenal?

And that's when the last thing I'd purchased potential and talent in reared its head.

There were plenty of constructs that made use of versatile and varied weapon systems. And just like that, I was once again a teenager, sitting at a scale-model booth of a King Crab's cockpit, dueling in the lumbering behemoth against a Victor, the nimble giant weaving between my laser shots, seemingly reading what button or trigger I was about to press on the flight stick.

I continued to harass him, herd him, until I was able to turn my entire mech not where he was, but where he was going to be, and gleefully pulled the trigger for my Alpha Strike.

Four Medium lasers, two LB-X10 autocannons, a large laser and two SRM launchers roared, my King Crab overheating and shutting down. But through the glass of my cockpit, I could see the Victor falling with a hole cored entirely through its center.

I mentally recreated that cockpit, then changed it. One of the triggers shone with eldritch red power and was surrounded by swords and spears, another of the buttons flickered merrily, yet another had lines running from it to the rest of the flight stick. One had an entire subscreen for the fine manipulation of minions, with options for offense, defense, and enhancement.

I cemented each 'button' and 'trigger' to each of my active esoteric powers, and made the biggest, meanest, reddest trigger my Alpha Strike, that one would activate all of my powers at once, the cost likely being high.

When I finally opened my eyes, all of my powers were inactive. I 'pressed' different buttons, the different abilities activating and deactivating on command.

I nodded in satisfaction. The entire ordeal would have been far more difficult without the natural aptitude for conflict granted by being a Horseman of the Apocalypse feeding off my Soul Talent.

"Woah, that was a lot quicker than I expected." Irisviel said, she was currently kneeling in front of me and her face was very close. "Honestly, I thought we'd be here a while." She paused, definitely noticing the heat on my cheeks and smirked lasciviously. "See something you like?"

I took a deep breath, grabbed her by the back of the head, flipped her so she was under me and claimed her lips. She squeaked in surprise at the sudden rough handling, her surprise allowing me to capture her arms, force them up over her head, and hold both of her wrists in one of my hands, leaving the rest of her defenseless for me to explore with my hand.

She gasped in surprise as I slipped my hand under her shirt, and I took the opportunity to invade her mouth and taste the mint of her mouthwash. She moaned, putting up cursory resistance as I took what I wanted.

My hand ghosted over her skin before reaching one of her breasts and palmed the pillowy flesh. She moaned when I gently pinched her nipple and arched her back, pressing her breasts harder against my palm and chest.

I ran my tongue over her teeth, then poked, licked, and prodded every corner of her mouth. Seeking the spots that made her shiver and moan, and attacked them mercilessly.

More than once she was forced to swallow our mixed saliva as it pooled in her mouth, and I found myself very happy to give her more.

I grappled her tongue into submission, faintly noting that she was stroking her calves against my legs, gyrating her hips to create friction where the tent in my pants rubbed against her groin.

I broke the kiss and pulled back, Irisviel stretching her neck to maintain contact for as long as possible, a string of saliva connecting our lips for a few moments longer before it parted.

Her pale skin made her flush all the more obvious, her lips red and swollen from kissing. I took one of her wrists in each of my hands, then transitioned my grip to holding her hands, interlacing our fingers together.

Her hands squeezed back hard, her grip strong enough to be near painful.

Her eyes burned with smoldering desire, embarrassment, and a tinge of trepidation.

"To answer your question." I said between deep breaths. I pushed my hips forward, causing greater friction between us as I deliberately pushed against her clothed sex, she shuddered, her legs squeezing harder against me. "Yes, Irisviel, I do indeed see something I like."

Irisviel kept quiet for a few moments, before breaking out into giggles. "I can see that. Well, I'm glad to see you are interested in women. When you didn't do anything earlier…"

I rolled my eyes and forced myself to unlace our fingers. I gave the pinned woman a final, far more chaste kiss on the lips, then got off her.

"Aww," she said from her place on the grass, "you sure? Nice soft grass, a warm breeze, a ritual magic circle, there's worse places for a first-time making love together."

I grabbed her ankles and pulled her to me, causing her to yelp in surprise, I used said grip to put her ankles against my shoulders then bent over her until we were face to face, both of our clothes popping a number of stitches as the position strained them. I growled at her furiously blushing face. "Do not tempt me right now, woman. I've always had issues with impulse control."

"N-Noted." She squeaked.

I stared into her surprised, excited ruby eyes. I growled and ground against her, eliciting a small moan from her. Tearing our clothes off and fucking her like a stallion in a rut felt like the best idea I'd ever had.

I was fairly certain that Irisviel could read the calculus happening behind my eyes, nearly every fiber of my being demanded I filled the delectable woman beneath me with my seed, over and over until she was a pile of goo too insensate to remember her own name.

But I didn't currently have the time. With luck I would have most of Sunday to attempt to gain a basic understanding of my new abilities in Projection. Being a Warcaster and a Horseman with the potential to reach or even surpass War's lofty potency was all well and good, and while in most situations, either of those would be titans fighting ants. My ultimate target was fuckmothering Gilgamesh, he was literally unequaled in this universe and stacked up overwhelmingly in most others.

Unequaled, bar one person. Emiya fucking Shirou, if he had fully realized his potential. His unorthodox set of skills made him a natural counter to Gilgamesh. So long as the golden asshat didn't say 'fuck it' and pulled out his strongest world ending Noble Phantasm.

Unfortunately for all involved. Shirou had not gotten far into mastering his powers before he got himself killed and I took over.

With more effort than I am capable of expressing, I stopped listening to my dick and pulled away from Irisviel, my self-control so threadbare that I did not dare give her so much as a pat on the cheek.

I took several deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down, once I had attained some control over myself, I looked at the woman with undisguised hunger. The blush that had begun abating returned in full.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Later." I grunted. Then opened them again and pushed the firing stud to activate my Magic Circuits, the burning heat flared on my back, I felt them throbbing, aching painfully, like a muscle protesting being overburdened after too long unused.

The fiery pain of my Magic Circuits managed to banish my libido. "Let's begin the lesson in Magecraft."

Irisviel coughed into her hand. "R-Right."

Learning to use Structural Grasp was almost intuitive. Reinforcement proved more difficult, magic would surge out of my Circuits and ruin what I was attempting to do. Some of the knives crumbled into metal dust, others had large cracks form along the length of the blades, two of them exploded, prompting Irisviel to heal my hands.

It took the better part of two hours, but out of the three dozen knives I'd started with, I had two that I had successfully reinforced, and ten that I had barely managed not to destroy.

"Hrm…not the best," Irisviel said, tapping her chin in thought, "but certainly not the worst it could have been."

"No need to mince words," I said, examining one of the successfully reinforced knives, "my performance was quite mediocre."

Irisviel nodded. "Somewhat understandable, this was the first time you used your Magic Circuits. But still…"

"Part of the issue is that this is only tangentially related to the one thing Shirou Emiya's Magecraft was good for." I said and closed my eyes. Allowing something akin to muscle memory guide me.

Even though I had never performed these steps, they were hardwired into the marrow of my body.

I brought to the forefront of my mind one of the many knives I'd worked with today, and let long practice not my own carry me through.

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Magical energy leapt from my Magic Circuits, blue lightning crackled on my palm before compressing into a glowing wireframe in the shape of the knife.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

The wireframe filled in, steel crystals formed, irregularities and flaws in the composition were established, minute particles of rust formed along its spine.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

With a final muted flash, I was holding an entirely ordinary steel knife.

I offered it to Irisviel, who took it without a word and examined it with curiosity. She cast several spells on it, her brows furrowing more prominently the more spells she used.

A few minutes and dozens of spells later, she said. "This is very impressive; I've never seen a Projection this real before. In fact, had I not seen it happen in front of me, were anyone to tell me this is a projected item I'd have called them a liar. However, while impressive, I still do not see how this will work to secure victory."

"By itself it wouldn't," I said, working through the steps to project a second blade. "But I can repeat this process with Noble Phantasms."

Irisviel froze, she remained almost perfectly still for the time it took me to project a third knife, her brain finished rebooting when I was well into my fourth.

"That's impossible." She stated. "The power required alone…"

"Is not an issue for me, even less of an issue if I do this." I squeezed the trigger on my Warcaster ability, the never-ending stream of magic refilling my Magic Circuits from what the training had depleted them.

Once they were replenished, I released the trigger on my Warcaster ability, and got started tracing a fifth knife.

"I don't need to master this power." I said as I finished the fifth in roughly two thirds the time the first had taken and began the sixth. "I need only be good enough to give Saber a chance, a sliver of an opportunity to achieve our victory condition."

"I see." Irisviel said with a frown. "How confident are you that this is achievable?"

"Very little." I said tossing away the sixth copy of the knife and working on the seventh. "Which is why this is only plan A, admittedly, I still haven't come up with plans B through Z. We'll need to put a meeting together so we can spitball. Now, do you see any way I could do this better?"

"Well, while what you are doing is rather revolutionary, you are being somewhat wasteful, there's some Magical Energy that's escaping as light and heat. Walk me through the steps you use…"

Time faded away for a few hours. Then the alarm I'd set woke me from the Zen of projecting the same knife over and over. I was down to seven seconds in a safe, controlled environment. I tossed the projected knife and dispersed the rather impressive pile of sharpened metal.

Irisviel watched the lightshow as the knives disappeared.

I stretched my back and spoke. "Alright, I'll go maintain my cover. I'll be by later. We'll continue practicing at night. Do you need anything from me?"

Irisviel put a finger to her exceedingly kissable lips and tilted her head in thought. "Hmm…not really, breakfast and lunch were great, and dinner is in the fridge." She smirked and gave me an exceedingly sloppy salute. "I'm all good, boss!"

I shook my head. "Thank you, for all of your help. It's been invaluable."

Her smile became more genuine. "Well, guess it's what I'm here for."

I almost went for it. For a few moments, there was nothing I wanted more than to put my arms around the beautiful woman to kiss and lick and fuck her until she couldn't remember her own name.

My fingers itched to touch her skin, my mouth watered from the memory of her taste. I wondered how her cunt would feel, wrapped lovingly and tightly around my cock.

I took a deep breath, which was a mistake as I caught a lungful of her perfume and it was all I could do not to tackle the woman to the ground.

She definitely recognized the war happening within me, as she blushed and fidgeted, incidentally moving in such a way that drew my eye to her assets, the sight making my cock throb.

"Later." I growled and made a portal to the Emiya residence next to me and stepped through. Once on the other side I immediately closed the portal and took long, deep, cleansing breaths, trying to force my racing heart to slow down and my dick to shrink down to something manageable.

I didn't really have the time for a cold shower. So I resolved myself to limp around the mansion until I got my libido under control. Goddamn hormones.

Sure, the angelic looking MILF carried some of the blame, continually poking to see how much she could get away with, but still, I should not allow myself to be so easily manipulated.

I stopped limping eventually as I got to work making Fettuccine Alfredo and some double fried chicken tenders in garlic sauce.

Unusual combination? Maybe, but nobody would give a shit so long as it tasted good. I also dialed the cooking power even farther back. It was going to be some trial and error, but I didn't want poor Taiga to end up addicted to my food, seeing as to when(if) I moved on, she'd never have any ever again unless I decided to visit.

Dinner was rowdy. The food was very good, but not 'I'll despair if I never have this again' good. Taiga and Sakura stuck around until nine in the evening before finally leaving.

Taiga had admonished me about staying home and being safe, there had been incidents of people being attacked at night and she didn't want me running off and Kamen Ridering all over it.

Sorry to not tell you, Taiga, but the ally of Justice is dead. I should look into making a kick-ass suit though, something to tide me over until I could put on War's Panoply.

I shook my head and made a portal Home. I had two slaves to wake up from stasis and a whole lot more training to do.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: ShadowReader45, Crhono, RevanGM and 547 others

Santo

Jun 25, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 5 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jul 2, 2023

Add bookmark

#97

Remember when I said no loods yet?

Well here is lood. That said. I have WAY less experience writing sex than I do two or more people trying to smear each other's entrails across the pavement, so hopefully y'all will like the thing, if you don't...well, sorry, but it's a thing I have little practice in and the only way to get better is through fuckin' it up.

Will probably post ch 6 in a little while, because while I think this chapter is by itself important, I also think it does not do enough to push the plot forward. On the other hand, this last week at work was also just...urgh. Didn't get any writing done at all, and been so exhausted I've just spent all of saturday and most of today recovering.

But enough bitching. I will say, there's stuff going on in the background that I'm interested to see if people will pick up on. That's actually one of the limiting things of first person perspective that I'm starting to notice. Have to stick to what would be picked up by the perspective character, rather than sprinkle in a hint through a semi-omniscient narrator. Anyways. Lemme know what you think, where it could be made better and how.

I found Irisviel in one of the entertainment rooms watching Inuyasha. Which, okay, at least it wasn't Naruto.

Twenty minutes later, as we watched the credits and listened to the outro, I realized that over the course of the episode showing the misadventures of good dogboy, Irisviel had transitioned from sitting beside me to leaning against me, and I had draped an arm around her narrow shoulders. The heat of her body warmed my side and made my cock start to harden.

Goddamn hormones.

I looked down at her large dewy eyes, her blushing cheeks, her pouty lips, and decided to figuratively and literally 'fuck it.'

I leaned down and kissed her, enjoying the way she leaned into the kiss. I licked her lips, then entered her mouth when she obediently parted them. I explored her mouth at a more sedate pace than last time, enjoying myself and doing my best so she'd enjoy the experience rather than the overeager domination of the afternoon. I used my sex power to turn my saliva into a mild aphrodisiac and smiled as her tongue twined around mine.

We shuffled and moved until she was straddling me on the couch, our lips locked together, our tongues intertwined. With a lack of tact as severe as my lack of patience, I took firm hold of the globes of her ass and gave them a squeeze through the fabric of her jeans. Irisviel shuddered and pushed her delectable derriere harder against my palms.

I made out with her for a while before I broke the kiss and turned her around, pressing her back into the couch. I fumbled with the belt to her jeans, trying and failing to unbuckle it and take the garment off, even with Irisviel's help, both our hands were shaking too hard to manage it.

With a frustrated growl, I pressed the firing stud on my Magic Circuits and overfilled her pants with magical energy. They tore like tissue paper after that, Irisviel laughed as I literally tore her pants off and cut through the elastic of her black lacy panties with my teeth.

As soon as I saw her moist lower lips, I descended on them like a man dying of thirst. As I ravenously licked her sex, Irisviel first shuddered, then panted, one of her hands pushed against my head while the other flailed. It wasn't long before she was moaning and screaming.

When she came it was something of a surprise, her breath catching in her throat as her pussy milked the fingers I had three knuckles deep inside her. I continued to lick and move my fingers, extending her orgasm, deliberately pushing until my purchased sex power indicated it would start to hurt her if I continued.

While I let her rest, I put my free hand inside her shirt and took hold of her right tit, learning as I did that she wasn't wearing a bra. I immediately made use of this new information by massaging the wonderfully soft titflesh and playing with her nipple.

Damn homonculus and their impossibility perky tits. Breasts this good required study, I took my fingers out of her quim with an outright pornographic sound, tore her top open and took firm hold of her other breast.

I played with her for a while, studying their weight, mass, elasticity, warmth, softness, and all other things that made amazing tits. I gave her quim the odd lick, enjoying her shudders and squirming, and when I judged she was almost recovered, I took a firmer grip of her breasts, my fingers sinking into the warm flesh, and dove back into her cunt with gusto. It wasn't long before I had her screaming again, her hands making fists in my hair as she vacillated between pushing me away and drawing me closer.

I brought Irisviel to climax two more times. By the time I took my mouth away from her cunt, my jaw ached and my tongue felt heavy in my mouth. The woman in front of me was a sweaty, flushed, nearly insensate mess, her lower lips bright red and gleaming with my saliva and her love juice. Her red eyes were unfocused and she shuddered with the occasional aftershock of her ecstasy.

The sight made my already diamond hard dick twitch.

Judging her to be more than ready, I put her legs apart by the ankles, pressed the head of my cock to the entrance to her cunt and with a firm thrust of my hips, I sheathed my dick inside her.

I felt her channel stretch to accommodate me, Irisviel emitted a half moan half grunt as I penetrated her to her deepest point, the tip of my cock planting a firm kiss at the entrance of her womb, leaving me with a couple inches of dick exposed to the air.

"Fuck!" I growled, my cock already pulsing inside the wonderful wet heat of Irisviel's channel. It had been the better part of three years since I'd been with a woman. Adding to that the fact that I was now in a seventeen-year-old body, I had nowhere near my usual level of control. I pressed my head into the valley between her breasts. I took hold of her firm ass and used it to pull her harder against me.

Irisviel's eyes slowly gained focus as I ground against her deepest point. Her hands came up and stroked my head while I did everything I could not to blow my load. "F-Full." She muttered, wriggling her hips.

To my not insignificant shame, that was enough to set me off. I bit her skin and ground even harder against her as I lost my battle for control and erupted inside her, she gasped and shuddered as I continued to grind against her and came so hard that black spots danced in my vision.

She continued to stroke my hair while I rested against her and my dick softened in her channel, shuddering as my climax ran through me. I did not want to extricate myself from between her tits, for one because it was incredibly soft and warm and comfortable. For the other, because then I'd have to face the world and confront the fact that I'd come right after getting started like a luckless virgin.

Which, taking into consideration that as far as I knew, this was this body's first sexual experience, I technically was.

At this point, the sex power I'd bought proved its worth as I felt mini-me quickly stiffen to full mast inside Irisviel, she made a questioning squeaking sound then yelped when, still buried face first in her cleavage, I began fucking her with fast and shallow thrusts, barely managing to keep the presence of mind not to force the last two inches of my cock through her cervix.

I pulled my face away from her cleavage and sucked one of her nipples into my mouth, enjoying the salt of her sweat as I followed the directions given by my sex power, varying the speed, depth and angles of my thrusts to rub against weak points in her channel. Flooding her with aphrodisiac to increase her sensitivity and arousal.

It wasn't long before she was once again panting and moaning, her hips driving up to meet my thrusts as best she was able, her back arching to bring more of her delectable body into contact with mine.

After all the time I'd spent getting her ready, the woman in my arms wasn't on a hair trigger, but she wasn't far from it, and even after the load I'd already shot, my body was still too green and sensitive, my pleasure building quickly once again.

I slowed the speed of my thrusts, my intent to slowly build her up to the edge and keep her there for a while was currently a pipedream. Even if I had instincts and instructions to give her mind-blowing sex, I still needed to build up resistance and endurance.

I did not let that deter me, swirling my tongue around the pebbled flesh of her nipple, making her hiss and press my face harder against her pliant flesh, her cunt tightening deliciously around my cock as I thrust into her, fighting down the overwhelming urge to jackhammer against her.

"Oh, oh, you are…I…faster! Please faster!" Irisviel implored, her voice breathy and weak.

Following the instincts granted by my purchased powers, I did as the lady begged. I then smirked, lightly bit her nipple, and shifted my hand to press my middle finger still damp with her essence, into her back hole down to the second knuckle.

Irisviel shrieked as she came, her back arching as the sudden stimulation caught her by surprise. She shuddered, her legs tightening around my hips and forcing me half an inch deeper inside her. Her channel milked me from base to tip and set me off a second time, erupting directly against the barrier to her womb.

Irisviel trembled harder, her hands pulling hard on my hair as we ground against each other. Every muscle pulled taut, until suddenly we collapsed, Irisviel huffing as my weight pressed her down onto the couch.

I did not relent my grip on her derriere, though I did let go of her tit so I could rest my face in her cleavage and look up at her flushed face. Her eyes were unfocused, her hands idly stroking my head and back, her legs relaxed but still locked around my hips.

I knew that I could go again, immediately even. Having a body reforged explicitly for sex was a hell of heady feeling.

While I waited for Irisviel to regain control of her mental faculties, I considered amusing myself by suckling on her other breast, but I knew that if I started, I wouldn't stop at just that.

Instead, I extricated myself from inside her and forced myself up on shaky legs to sit next to her on the couch. My softened prick twitching in the seemingly frigid air.

I rested for a bit, waiting as Irisviel slowly came to.

"Let's go take a shower," I said, standing up. "After that, we'll wake the rest of the squad up."

"R-Right." Irisviel answered between pants, then stood up on shaky legs. I helped her walk to my obscenely luxurious shower, where I did the only civilized thing.

I set the setting to 'light rain' so we were swiftly soaked by a pitter-patter of hot water, put the woman in a mating press and went at it some more, Irisviel's wanton, whorish moans music to my ears.

I enjoyed her body until her eyes glazed over, until she wept and begged for rest. Which was when I turned her face down and took her from behind while I played with her clit. I used her body for my pleasure, until pain and ecstasy became one and the same for her and she could do little else than twitch, shudder, and grunt.

I was tempted to keep going. The sight of her face as she came was enthralling, but I forced myself to stop. To wash and dry her delectable body and tuck the nearly unconscious woman into my sinfully soft bed.

I stared at Irisviel; her face still flushed though her tears had been washed away.

I wanted to climb into bed and pound away at her insensate body until morning.

And while it had been wonderful, as much as I'd frankly needed the release after…everything. There was work to be done and I was already very, very late. I had just flushed a lot of training time down the drain.

I shook my head and resolutely made my way to the arrivals room, and realized as I did that, with Irisviel out of commission, I was going to have to take care of giving the tour myself.

Goddamned hormones.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: ShadowReader45, Crhono, Khellendrosiic and 472 others

Santo

Jul 2, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 6 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jul 10, 2023

Add bookmark

#110

Here's chapter 6. This one almost didn't get posted. It's been...a weekend. It's been exhausting, and I gotta go to work tomorrow.

Urgh.

Don't have much energy for author's note. Please let me know what you think. Comments give the author energy. Hope you like.

I could admit, if only to myself in the privacy of my own mind. That fucking Irisviel into an unconscious pile of goo may have been a poor decision.

Yes, I may well have needed that catharsis after everything I'd gone through, up to and past my unlikely and unwanted survival after I unknowingly killed an Agent of the Company for personal grievance.

Yes, I had made sure she thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But now I'd be alone in my confrontation with my two remaining currently-in-stasis Companions/sex slaves. And while I'd paid attention to her while she'd given me the tour of my mansion, I would have preferred to pass this duty off to someone else.

So, I did the only reasonable thing one could do when forced to face something uncomfortable. I put it the fuck off and went to my Mansion's workshop.

My fingers itched to get to work on a project, but actually going through it and running my hands over some of the machines, I ran into a little issue.

I'd bought potential in the creation of Warjacks and the plethora of deadly, stupid and bullshit that belonged in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future. I had manuals, materiel, treatises and blueprints. Everything to build the tools to refine the machines to create so many things.

This didn't mean I had an understanding, and while it was meant for war, and my new nature as a Horseman of War meant it resonated with me, and my purchased scientific and mechanical Talents meant I'd understand it faster and more easily, I still needed time.

Which rather nixed my plan to real quickly put together a Rosarius for protection in the coming Grail War. I probably had the bare bone tools I needed to put one together. But that didn't mean I had the expertise.

Ideally, I'd get someone to handle this for me…perhaps an AI. Under the Binding, said AI would in all likelihood not go Rampant on me. That way I'd just need to provide oversight, if that.

But even then, there was no guarantee that would work.

I stalked out of the manufacturing wing and made my way to the stasis pods. On the way to my last two Slaves/Companions I stopped at one door that was marked for my eyes only. Stepping inside, I saw me.

My old body, held in a stasis field. Looking at myself from an outside perspective, I was struck by how…reduced I had become. My old body was gaunt, its skin sallow and pale, almost waxy. The once muscular arms ended in stumps along with one leg, the other well on its way to its own decline.

My frame, which had always been heavy with muscle and generous padding on top of that, was gaunt, not emaciated, far from it even but I could see the beginnings of malnutrition.

No wonder Frank had been surprised I'd managed to kill an Agent. By the time he'd gotten to me, I wouldn't exactly inspire confidence.

I furrowed my brow at my old body. I could restore it, bring it back to health. In fact, I probably would, if only to see what would happen.

The reminder of why I had 'signed up' served to clear my mind, filling it instead with an ardent desire to stop looking at my former self, I left the room resolutely made my way to the room with the two remaining stasis pods.

I slapped a finger on the release button before I could hesitate again and find some other way to delay this moment, and stepped back as the machine hissed and released the occupant within.

A girl with light blonde hair sat up and looked around the room, golden eyes blinking curiously as she took the featureless space in, equine ears twitching to and fro as she regarded everything. When her eyes found mine, she gave me a shy smile and hopped out, her white armor clinking as she landed, a long flowing tail of the same color as her hair swishing from her lower back.

We were almost of a height, her armored boots not adding much to her stature. She blushed cutely as she spoke. "Hello! My name's Maria Nearl! I'm pretty good in a fight and I like messing about with machinery, nice to meet you!"

I smiled back. "Yo, I lost my birth name and am going by the name Santo. Though if we go out, I'd ask you to use the name 'Shirou' until I tell you otherwise. I throw swords around, can conjure fire, and love messing about with gadgets. Welcome to the team, Maria."

Her blush darkened, but she smiled radiantly.

I turned to the other pod. I'd gotten my three Companions primarily because the Company restricted the number of Command Seals I would have been able to purchase to how many Servants I purchased or Captured. Unless I paid extra to upgrade them and made it so I could use them on any of my Retinue.

And while the idea of giving an unbreakable command was a daunting one, Command Seals were wells of great magical power, having more than three was an immense advantage in any situation, let alone a Grail War.

There was plenty of other 'product' I could have taken, but the problem was that there was too much choice. And with my deadline, I'd not had the time to research more options, and had stuck with what I could be reasonably certain I knew.

This is why, out of the last stasis pod, a woman with eyes red as blood and a waist long, glorious raven mane stepped out. She gave me a cocky smirk and Maria an imperious look.

"So," Raven Branwen said from her perch at the Stasis Pod, elevating her above Maria and I, "what're we doing?"

From what I knew of Raven, she ruled by strength. She had a soft spot for family, but one could not be a ruthless bandit queen and a good person at the same time. She would certainly try to dominate from the bottom and would see kindness as weakness.

So I decided to put on a bit of a production. First, to give her all the rope she'd need to hang herself.

"Get down from there." I said calmly. "I don't want to have to strain my neck talking to you."

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "And if I don't?"

I raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "I'll make you."

She snorted, her eyes flashing with violet fire. "I'd like you see you try."

I concentrated on my Command Seals and spent one as I growled. "For the rest of the night, you will do as you are told. On your knees."

She fell as her legs gave out under her without her input. Most everyone else would have fallen on their face, Raven twisted with near preternatural agility and landed on her hands and knees.

My nature as the Horseman of War stirred. I knew instinctively that the woman in front of me would respect nothing other than a display of overwhelming might. She'd resent the fact that she was being disciplined in front of another, making her look weak. But I'd deal with that later.

"You are not to bite or attempt to harm me in any way." I said, tilting her head up to look me in the eyes and promptly pushing my thumb between her lips and pressing down on her tongue. Her teeth closed around my thumb, holding it gently much to her chagrin. "I understand that you are unused to not being the top bitch, but you need to understand, you are not in charge here, I am. I expect you to respect this fact.

"You will show me and your companions proper respect. If you do not, I'll be forced to make you." I idly played with her tongue, touching the different places in her mouth and running my finger over her teeth. She gagged a few times. That was going to be fun later. Just to confuse her a little, I made my thumb secrete a tasteless aphrodisiac, making it so being forcefully chastised got her motor running appealed to me. "It might be a difficult transition, but we will get through this together. Now, will you behave, or will you force me to make you crawl while I give you the tour of my mansion?"

She grunted something, gagging as I pushed my finger as deep into her mouth as she could take it before drawing it out of her mouth. I pressed the wet finger against her lower lip and raised an expectant eyebrow.

She glared at me, her cheeks bright red and her breathing carefully controlled. She grit her teeth before grunting. "I'll behave."

"Atta girl." I said and kneeled in front of her, taking hold of the back of her head. "Good girls get rewarded."

I kissed her, making her gasp in surprise. I took the opportunity presented by her gasp to push my tongue into her mouth and flooded her with aphrodisiac. I forced her to drink our mixed saliva as I dominated the kiss. Her hands grabbed hold of my shirt, but pointedly she put up little resistance.

I broke the kiss, Raven tried pushing forward to resume, but was held back by my grip on her hair. Her eyes were lidded, her blush went to the roots of her hair, and she growled in frustration.

"You may stand," I said as I came to my feet. Turning around, I saw Maria, her face flushed, her equine ears standing straight up, and her eyes open very wide. I chuckled and walked to her, causing her to freeze like a deer in headlights. I pinched her chin, tilted her head slightly and gave her a peck on the lips, causing her to squeak. I then whispered into her human ear. "Don't worry, I won't treat you that roughly. Unless of course, you want me to." I lightly bit said human ear, thoroughly enjoying her squawk of surprise. I gave her another peck on the lips and stepped back.

"Well, come along now."

"And this is my pride and joy, my workshop." I said, stepping into the mixture of hangar, Manufactorum, and forge. Maria squealed and ran around, her mouth running a mile a minute as she asked about everything and what it did, then moved on to the next without waiting for an answer.

"She's…excitable." Raven said. She stood cocksure and proud, her arms once again folded beneath her breasts and pushing them up. I felt my Scientific and Mechanical learning multipliers spool up as I absorbed knowledge purely by osmosis as Maria nerded out.

I smiled as Maria poked and prodded, she squealed when she found the Heavy Warjack wrench. "Yeah, but that's not a bad thing." We watched Maria run around for a little while longer, before I called out. "Alright, come along now!"

I had already assigned them luxurious rooms, had shown most of the facilities, they'd been equally down at the sad state of my armory, though even Raven had shown some begrudging respect by the ease with which I wielded the War Blade, Chaoseater.

I finished the tour with the dinner I'd prepared for my girls, though Irisviel's portion went into the fridge.

I initiated some minor chit chat, trying to get the girls to open up. Both were hesitant, but for different reasons. Raven was still trying to figure out where exactly in the pecking order she stood. She'd been chastised in front of Maria, which would seemingly set her below the younger girl, especially since I'd shown the equine eared girl seemingly preferential treatment.

Of course, it could be that Maria had done nothing to earn my ire. Raven had directly challenged me, whereas Maria had happily bent the knee.

Raven's mind turned the situation over and over, scheming ways to increase her standing in my eyes, and weighing the benefits of running the risk of trying to lift herself by casting another down.

Maria, in contrast, was shy.

As we finished the meal, I turned things to business. "Very well ladies, here is how things stand. I am participating in something called the Grail War. Where a total of fourteen people fight to the death for possession of a wish granting device. It's called a War because the four times it has happened previously, it has devastated the city."

Maria looked stricken; Raven merely attentive. "The ones we will be fighting are, to put it simply, monsters. Spirits of nearly unimaginable power given physical form, one of them could devastate a country, given enough time. And we have but a few scant days to ready ourselves. Maria," her animal ears stood stiff as she came to attention, "I have a number of blueprints I'll go over with you, you will work mainly in the Workshop to build the weapons I'll need. Any material you need, I'll do my best to acquire. I may call on you for battle, but I'll have a spirit of my own to take the fight to the opponents we'll be facing."

She bit her lower lip, her expression determined, unfortunately she was such a cutie patootie that it made me want to pinch her cheeks and kiss her.

I mentally shook myself. That would come later.

I turned to my more belligerent Companion. "Raven, I will need you to unlock our Auras. After you've rested up, you'll be my recognizance. There's a few people I'll need to keep tabs on, I'll give you a briefing on spotting whether there is a genuine opening or you're walking into a trap. I know you're experienced enough to tell between the two under more general circumstances, but the local magic users are fucky." I stood and made my way over, Raven narrowed her eyes at me, then glared when I lightly pinched her chin and turned her head up. "Now, let's do this; Raven, unlock my Aura."

In truth, this was an experiment. My 'Soul' as it was, had been unlocked and pumped full of other things. It might well reject this procedure.

Raven stood and laid her hand on my pec, right over my heart. She showed her mastery of Aura by merely manipulating it, without the need for a mnemonic chant. My Soul Talent pinged, feeding me understanding. I could tell what she was trying to do, I could see where it would fail, as the channel she sought to create was already taken up by my Magic Circuits.

The answer to this was quite simple, fed to me by the Talent and the Potential I purchased, I flexed my Soul (and isn't that a weird thought) so that the bond she was trying to create was formed in a part of my Soul that was free to form it.

After I'd done it, as the bond Raven tried to create was solidified, I broke down what exactly I'd just done. I may need the knowledge to recreate it in the future, even if, this being my honest to fuck Soul, I didn't want to risk doing it enough to be proficient at it.

The bond formed, my Soul reached back, and the light of my Soul shone out a cobalt blue. Raven stepped back and leaned her weight on the table, breathing deeply.

I went back to my mnemonic, the cockpit of the mech that was me. And I configured one of the buttons to activate my Aura. I pressed that button, activating and deactivating my Aura, Soul Talent feeding me knowledge on how best to circulate it and have it suffuse my being.

"Oooh! That's such a pretty light!" Maria said, her golden eyes shining, her animal ears twitching, and her tail swishing.

I turned to Raven. "Do you think you have another one in you? No need to act though, I need the truth."

Raven had opened her mouth, her face set in a determined scowl, the lie clear on her face. She paused, tried to speak a few times, glared and spat. "No, activating an Aura is always exhausting, more so if the person being unlocked has a lot, and you do. I could crash right now, and I'll likely be out of commission most of tomorrow."

I nodded. "The unlocking of everyone's Aura is not currently a priority. Let's get you to bed, I'll get Maria set up, then go to bed myself. I'll have to spend most of tomorrow off and you lot will need to keep hidden."

"Yes sir." Raven said, we walked together in silence until we reached the junction where we'd have to part ways. I suppressed a smile and said. "Oh right, almost forgot. Raven?"

She turned to look at me. "Yes?'

I grabbed her head by the hair in a tight grip and pulled her to me into a deep kiss. Turning my saliva into aphrodisiac and used my hands to caress her lower back and hip, before giving her well-toned ass an appreciative squeeze. She was putty in my hands, the only reason she didn't moan was her stubborn refusal to show weakness.

I broke the kiss, leaving her a panting, flushed, overheated mess. Her rapid breathing tickled my lips.

"Good girls are rewarded." I said with a smile, gave her another peck on the lips and headed off, leaving her to stew in her arousal.

Maria was flushed and fidgety as she followed me to the workshop.

Whenever I saw her blush start to abate, I made sure to throw a grin her way that hid none of the things I wanted to do to her and with her, setting her blush back to full power.

I got her set up at the Manufactorum. Explained the use of the machines, got her certified and showed her how to reach the numerous blueprints from Warhammer 40k that I'd purchased.

I outlined the things I wanted first and told her that if she had any questions to write them down for me to review later.

By that point she was positively trembling, biting at the bit to get started. I chuckled and gave her ass an affectionate spank. She squealed, jumped a foot in the air and whirled around on me with teary eyes and a face so red it might set her clothes on fire.

She sputtered and grumbled and overall failed to speak. So I stepped into her, pulled her body to mine and pressed the two of us together as I pushed my lips against hers. She stiffened, then melted against me, clumsily caressing me with a lot of enthusiasm and little finesse.

Her ass was more pliant than Raven's, firmer than Iri's. Her tail was a small bundle of muscle with silky hair cascading from it and very fun to play with. Her mouth still tasted of dinner. I put my thigh between her legs, forcing her to grind her groin against it as her knees went weak and failed to fully hold her weight.

I eventually sat with her on my lap, we made out for a while and I made sure to go light on the aphrodisiac power, just enough to add zest.

She pushed against my chest and leaned back, my arms tightened reflexively, pulling her closer as I stuck my tongue deeper into her mouth, twined more tightly around hers.

As she moaned but continued trying to pull away, I got myself under control and allowed her to pull back. Once the kiss broke, our lips were connected by a string of saliva. We remained so close that our lips brushed against each other as we breathed.

Maria swallowed a few times before she managed to speak. "We uhh…I should…" she swallowed a few more times. "We need to stop. I need to…to start. And you need to, umm, sleep?"

I chuckled, the sound making the girl on my lap squirm. At that particular moment, I wanted nothing more than to bend her over the nearest station and breed her like a mare.

I knew she was right. I had been worrying so much about how little time I had to prepare, I could hardly afford to waste a minute let alone the hours I wasted fucking Irisviel into a puddle, or the half hour I'd spent with Maria.

But a large part of me, one long neglected and suppressed, was rearing, bucking off the chains of my self control, not aided by the fact that I currently had an armful of beautiful young woman who was more than willing (if admittedly aided by outside mind influence and currently minor aphrodisiacs) to share her body with me.

I pressed my forehead to hers; she pursed her lips so they pressed momentarily against mine. "You're probably correct." I whispered and kissed the corner of her mouth. "But I don't want to," I squeezed her ass cheeks, making her whimper and squirm. "I want to stay here with you, go further."

She giggled and pecked me on the lips. "Me too, but duty comes first."

I growled and ground her groin against mine, kissing her back more deeply. Then pulled back. "You're right. I don't like it, but you're right."

We dithered and wasted time, enjoying each other for minutes longer before finally parting ways. I left the miniature Manufactorum with a raging boner and a severe need for an ice-cold shower.

I debated taking care of it myself, turning around and following through with bending the Pegasus-girl over a station, going to Raven and taking the opportunity to show another form of dominance over the strength and reputation obsessed woman, or making use of Irisviel's unconscious body.

Frankly, three of those options sounded amazing. But at the moment just about anything did because I was thinking with the wrong head. I stopped and forced myself to think objectively, as clarity was simply not going to happen.

I'd need to have the energy to be ready for an attack. I wasn't yet ready to summon my Servant, that would happen tomorrow at the earliest.

The fact that I was…uncomfortably aroused was an annoyance. One with three very easy fixes that I had to consider as they'd honestly just save time.

I took a deep breath and started over. My state of arousal was an annoyance, but not a serious or fatal one, it would fade.

Irisviel needed the rest, I'd probably pushed her too far, using her as an outlet for…many things. Yes, I'd probably needed that, but I'd specifically had my body reforged for sex so as to satisfy numerous amorous women in one night. Unleashing all of that on a single one? I'd be lucky if I didn't throw her back.

Yes, the squeals she'd made as she came for the umpteenth time had been musical but-

I took a deep breath. Held it. And let it back out slowly.

Yes, I could go again, for a long while even, probably all that remained of the night, along with the whole day after. But I would lose time, which other than Credits, was my singularly most valuable and irreplaceable resource.

No, I needed to sleep, to regain my energy, I couldn't afford the sloppiness that would come from going too long without proper rest. When an adversary was a Servant, a delay of a fraction of a second was unacceptable.

I went to my room, fully intending to go straight to bed and sleep.

I had forgotten about the cleaned, exhausted, sleeping, very naked woman I'd fucked until she passed out currently laying on my bed, she'd shifted in her sleep and the blanket only served to highlight her sinful body.

The million-dollar question was, did I trust myself to get into my bed and not stick my erection into Irisviel's soft, moist, warm, and welcoming quim?

No, no I did not.

I went to the portal room and went to sleep in Shirou's room.

My other room.

Whatever.

Last edited: Jul 10, 2023

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: ShadowReader45, Crhono, RevanGM and 458 others

Santo

Jul 10, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 7 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jul 16, 2023

Add bookmark

#115

Here be chapter 7.

All hail the backlog. Because no writing got done this week. Kinda stuck doing the work of three people at...well...work. Gosh it's exhausting.

Not much of a choice. Training a new guy takes months and the company I work for sure as shit won't shell out the cash to bring someone with experience in. Other people might get uppity and ask for adequate compensation, and the CEO's bonus can't have that!

Blegh. Sorry. Kind of in a bad mood.

Onto happier things. Please tell me what yall think of this chapter, decided to try a thing with Waifu backstories, lemme know if you think it worked out well. The whole reason to post in a forum is interaction and stuff. And conversation helps drive the muse. So feel free to lemme know what you liked and didn't and so on and so forth.

If you catch grammatical mistakes and stuff...it wasn't my fault. It was the grammar goblins!

Gotta watch out for them grammar goblins. They sneaky.

Joking aside, here's the chapter. Please lemme know if you like.

Bleh.

Waking after a few hours spent tossing and turning and unable to sleep was a lot like stepping on a Lego.

There was a time between injury and recovery when one actively wished for death.

That had been in the morning, before I had to put myself through another day of boring as all hell high school. On the bright side, I'd spent the whole day Tracing exceedingly tiny knives in my loosely closed fist, so the day hadn't been a complete waste.

At least now I would go to something more important.

Shirou's job that I had to do to keep my cover. And thank the universe that Taiga had mentioned it during breakfast, because I'd had no idea.

At least I hadn't gotten killed by Lancer. As far as I knew, he was active and trying to find someone to be a nuisance to. I idly wondered if he'd been the one to kill that one family that was found all torn up. It wasn't really his modus operandi, that was left over more to the current berserker, or maybe Rider. She'd need to drink a lot of people with Shinji holding her leash.

Hmm, I'd have to make sure to stamp the little fucker soon. Nothing better than being able to make a mortal enemy disappear with a thought.

I stopped and looked around, my feet had brought me to a very unhealthy park, the grass and trees were grey and sickly, the benches corroded, and the atmosphere had a literal dose of magical radioactive bad juju.

Who the hell thought building a park here was a good idea?

I shook it off and resumed my walk to work. Running plans and counter plans in my head.

How did I want to deal with Saber? In my prior life, she'd been one of my favorite characters of all time, my fictional crush. I had a Thing for blondes, green eyes, and a strong-willed woman who could kick my ass, and Saber was all three.

I wanted to summon her today, to reduce the chances of something going wrong and Rin accidentally stumbling her way to success, locking me out of Arturia Saber.

But she was strait-laced enough not to bend her stiff neck for sexy times without necessity driving her. And with her incredible instincts, she may well sense the Stamp's demonic nature if I tried to Stamp her. And if she chose to fight me before I could use the Stamp? That'd be that. I may now be powerful enough to be able to stand up to her for a limited time. But that's all I'd manage, a short stay of execution.

That said, getting a love confession out of a woman that actively tried to be an inhuman ideal was not exactly the easiest thing on the planet. There were a few ways to get this, but it couldn't be coerced. If she said those words, she'd need to mean them.

Then again, the way to a woman's heart was through her stomach, and I was now a hell of a chef.

I'd have to play it by ear and make do.

As I walked through the streets of the more modern half of Fuyuky, my new instincts for conflict screamed at me that I was being observed with hostile intent. I looked where they pointed and immediately spotted Rin Tohsaka, standing proud as could be on the roof of Fuyuky's tallest building.

The hostility probably came from Archer.

I forced myself to look away and kept walking. It would seem that I'd failed, she'd been absent from school today, I had assumed it was to prepare for summoning her Servant. But no, she'd summoned her Servant and skipped school.

It was only luck and whatever passed for destiny that I wasn't locked out of my own favorite Servant.

At least, I hoped I hadn't been.

What an awful day. I definitely should have relieved my tension last night with any of my three women, at least then I'd have slept.

Work had been ugh.

But at least it had been physical work. If it weren't for my enhancements, it might have even been entertaining, but as it was, I spent the time moving boxes of produce and booze that may as well have been filled with feathers.

At least the boss had let me off early when I finished way earlier than anticipated.

I'd wasted no time, said my goodbyes, and portaled straight Home at first opportunity. I then portaled to Shirou's mansion and had to sneak out so Taiga would hear me arrive.

Apparently, Sakura had made dinner and went home. I'd just missed her.

I wasn't all that broken up about it.

I chatted with Taiga for a bit, we ate, and she headed home. I'd have to see about talking to old man Raiga, get him to take his Yakuza princess and leave town for a while.

I shook my head and portaled Home. I walked around the mansion looking for Irisviel, and thanks to my enhanced senses I was able to find her in conversation with the other two in the kitchen.

What little I heard of their conversation had my face feeling incredibly hot. Did she have no boundaries? Yes, my ego enjoyed the glowing review of my sexual prowess, and Maria's scandalized giggles were utterly adorable, but there was a time and a place!

After a particularly raunchy anecdote had me remembering what exactly I'd gotten up to with the woman (and had me so hard my pants felt like they were a few sizes too small), I moved forward, calling out for Irisviel or anybody who happened to be listening.

They called back and I finished my trek to the kitchen. My boner thankfully retreating by the time I arrived. I beheld Irisviel, who was smiling in a way that proclaimed that butter would refuse to melt in her mouth. Raven was looking upon me with significantly more respect than last night, and Maria was flushed and fidgety in a way that had me doing complex math in an attempt not to pop another stiffy.

Goddamn hormones.

"Glad to see you all getting along." I said, grabbing a bottle of mineral water out of the fridge. "I'd like to say we could take some time chatting, but if I did, I'd be a liar. Raven, have you attempted to unlock their Auras?"

The woman nodded, grimacing. "It didn't work, it was like trying to unlock the Aura of someone who had already had their Aura unlocked, only, not."

I nodded. "Alright, any side effects?"

She shook her head. "A mild headache that went away quickly."

I nodded again. "Try again, I need to see it."

She looked at the other two and shrugged. She reached out to Iri, but stopped when I raised my hand. "I'll need Iri for something important the moment we're done here, if this does not work, I'll still need her at a hundred percent."

Raven shrugged again and took Maria's hand. I put a hand on her shoulder and concentrated on feeling and cleared my mind in a way that felt natural yet foreign. I felt and 'saw' Raven's Aura reaching into Maria's Soul, trying to create a bridge in an occupied 'space,' the place from which she channeled her magic.

With a flex that was as much calculation as hunch, I bumped the probe, redirecting it to an 'empty' spot on the younger girl's Soul. The bond was forged, and Maria's Aura came to life with a brilliant and enthusiastic golden radiance.

Raven sat back, blinking to get her eyesight back. "Why did that work this time?" she asked, breathless.

"Her native magic was causing interference." I said as Maria stared at her hands with open wonder in her eyes. "I nudged things so it could be done successfully. I'll have to rely on you to teach us all how to best use Aura. Once you've recovered."

I turned to Irisviel and wordlessly extended my hand.

She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip before taking my hand. Closing my eyes, I repeated the process Raven had done, using brute force to make up for lack of practice. Sinking a tendril of my Soul into Irisviel's and sending power through to form a bridge.

It was a hefty drain, especially since due to my lack of finesse, a lot of energy was going to waste. When I had nearly emptied my Aura, I flicked my Warcaster powers to active and let the magic they generated bolster my Aura, and tripled the power I was pouring into Irisviel until her Aura ignited with a cold silver-blue glow.

When I came out of the trance, the feeling of success in my chest curdled into confusion. Irisviel looked…mussed. She was panting and was covered in a sheen of sweat, her eyes somewhat unfocused. Maria was holding her and asking if she was alright, but unlike the young woman, I recognized those pants. I'd made her make them a lot when I lost my…composure.

Raven seemed to immediately understand what had happened, and chuckled low in her throat. "Rookie mistake, waste Aura caused some, heh, overstimulation. She's fine."

Apparently, there was much I did not know of the nuances of my powers. I drank my mineral water and waited for Irisviel to come back from her post orgasmic bliss and clarity.

I sighed and scratched the back of my head. Tonight's training was off to a great start.

Irisviel sighed and rubbed her temples. "Normally one would draw from the Greater Source and filter that into magical energy, but you…"

I shrugged. "I'm weird and cannot make use of ambient mana. I can however, at will, generate so much magical energy as to make the whole point mostly moot, so long as I have a few minutes of quiet to cyclically recover."

"To put it rather succinctly, yes."

Magic lessons had not gone very well. Shirou was, to put it plainly, out of context bullshit in his own setting. The version of Projection he had cobbled together was such a level of insanity it looped back around into miraculous. Conversely, he was so specialized in his one version of bullshit magic, he not only had no talent for anything else, he counted as having a severe learning disability for anything that wasn't at least tangentially related to the use of his Reality Marble.

That said, once Iri learned I had a nascent Reality Marble, she freaked. We'd gone back and forth for a while and came to a depressing realization.

My magical abilities were either so specialized as to be incompatible with general Magecraft, or were superficially similar, but utterly incompatible with Magecraft beyond using Magecraft principles to experiment with them and see if something neat happened.

Which would be nice, and I would do, after the Grail War.

If I survived the Grail War.

Iri had taught me the basics of Magecraft, and thanks to my Catalog choices and her own not insignificant skill, I'd rubber banded so hard I'd absorbed a lot of what she had to teach that I could make immediate use of. The rest would be trial and error to see if anything would stick.

She was ecstatic I had a Reality Marble, but those were so personal that there really wasn't a training regimen she could recommend. It would be up to me to realize its potential.

By the fact that I could Trace anything and everything that had an edge with ease, the Unlimited Blade Works had seemingly not been overly affected by the departure of its former host.

Now, did that mean that Reality Marbles were inherently adaptable, or was the reason I could use it thanks to my being a newly minted Agent? That's a very good question, one I did not have a way to answer.

If I wanted an easy path to mastering the Unlimited Blade Works, I'd have to pick a fight with Archer, which, considering that if he stuck to his own field and actually sniped like an Archer for once in his life, he could stand up to Arturia Saber, this would end very poorly for me. Thanks to having the seed of the power of a Horseman of the Apocalypse, I'd be able to put up a little bit of a fight.

But Archer could, at least for a time, match the fully realized War. And if Archer fought smart for once, might actually be able to kill the Horseman.

No, to be safe I'd have to do without.

I shook my head and brought my thoughts back to the present.

"Okay, we'll shelve the magic teaching for now. It's my intention to summon my Servant tomorrow, it'll most likely be Saber. The very same one you summoned in your Grail War. Well, not the same one but," I firmly shook my head, "fuck it, you catch my meaning, point is; try and be vague about the last Grail War, we don't want to get specific details wrong and give ourselves away."

Irisviel's face broke out into a lascivious grin. "She'll make a great addition to the team." Her expression sobered. "But, hmm, surprising her with the Stamp might be difficult, perhaps even dangerous."

I nodded. "My thoughts exactly, my plan is to do my best to get a love confession out of her."

Irisviel's eyebrows shot up. "With all respect, Santo, that'll be difficult at best. While the Saber I knew was a good girl, with utterly lickable legs and a very kissable neck." She swallowed and cleaned a bit of drool off the corner of her mouth. "She took pride in not thinking of herself as a woman. Dare I say it, sometimes she almost came across as inhuman. You would be better off using your Command Seals to force her to remain still, stamp her, and retreat to safety for three days. Or better yet, trick her into applying the Stamp herself."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You are objectively correct, but I feel the need to at least try…" I scowled. "Even if trickery may actually work a lot better than the other options." I shook my head. "On a different topic, you are literally my backup plan for handling your daughter. What kind of backstory would be plausible for your being around?"

Irisviel nibbled on her thumbnail. "Honestly? It sounds like it would be best for you to not show me to her, at least not until she's officially joined our harem."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "There are still things you could show me. Once I summon Saber, I won't be able to so easily break away and see you in my Home. Having you around would increase my tactical possibilities, as well as, like I said, dealing with Illya in a way that would end favorably to both our desires." I steepled my fingers and looked into her eyes over them. "What reason would be compelling enough to negate all of those advantages?"

Irisviel shook her head in turn. "You forget that Arturia is special, perhaps even unique as far as Servants go. With any other Servant I would not be worried, as our meeting would begin from a blank slate." She turned shamefaced away from me and closed her eyes. "But you said Saber will remember. She will remember my late husband's vitriol. He treated her as a tool, not a person. As a security risk, not a partner. As a disposable weapon, not a Servant. Whatever goodwill the version of me she met may have managed to engender, it'll be weighed down by the abuse Kiritsugu heaped on her." She opened her eyes and looked into mine. "And as far as the world knows, you carry my late husband's name with pride. I fear that, in this case, the father's sins will pass to the son. My being there…she might take it as a plot from me, poisoning all of your interactions. And if you truly want her to confess to you, then that's a complication you cannot afford.

"As to my daughter…I doubt she will react well to seeing me. Jubstacheit's likely to have thoroughly poisoned her against Kiritsugu. Seeing me, alive and in the flesh beside the boy who stole her father from her? She might become a relieved blubbery mess, or transfer all the hatred she holds for her father onto me. The only thing my presence will guarantee is a few seconds of stupefaction before the coin lands. And with a Berserker for a Servant…"

I stood up and paced while I pondered her words for a long time before sighing. "I accept your reasoning, get with Maria and have her teach you how to use the Home's computers and messaging app, work with her on making explosives, enchanted ammo, and healing items. And please send Raven in."

She smiled and nodded. She gathered up her things and walked out of the office I'd claimed as mine, a sway to her hips that drew my eyes like iron shavings to a magnet.

Cheeky girl. I restrained myself from calling her over to slap her wonderful derriere.

The back of my left arm burned, looking at it, I saw the Command Seal I'd spent last night proving a point to Raven had returned. It was nice that these performed as advertised, they'd be a great boon once hostilities began.

Several minutes later, Raven sauntered in and sat across from me, seemingly relaxed. "The albino said you wanted to see me?"

I gazed at her, decidedly unimpressed. "The albino has a name; I expect you to use it."

Raven snorted. "She is weak."

"Irisviel comes from a worse place than either of us, and has lost more than most can imagine. Yet she can still smile, she is still kind." She quailed slightly at my glare. "She is many things, weak is not one of them. Her name is Irisviel, you will use it, am I understood?"

She ground her teeth, then looked away. "Yes, sir."

"Good," I said, choosing not to chastise her further. "I've got a good read on what Irisviel wants, Maria doesn't want anything in particular, she traded her life for the cure to a disease in her homeworld and is merely happy to be with a Master who won't mistreat her." I pinned Raven with a stare before she could scoff again. "Tell me, Raven, what is it you want? What can I do to make your existence under me, a happy one? And just to make sure we understand each other, you will answer my questions truthfully." I finished by burning the Command Seal I'd just gotten back.

She opened her mouth angrily, then paused. Closing it and her eyes as she fought the answer to the question. Her hands opened and closed, her face flushing crimson, the battle continued for long seconds until she suddenly slumped and surrendered to the effect. "I…I want my daughter." She mumbled. "My Yang…she died, I was fighting some bitch and…and Yang died in the fighting. It's why I'm here," she said, gesturing around the office. "I got everything I ever wanted. Power, prestige, magical artefacts. I was unassailable, the unquestioned Queen of a Bandit Kingdom." She slumped further. "And it was all ashes in my mouth. None of it was worth it, none of it brought…anything!"

Her ruby gaze bored into mine. "I want my daughter, I want to, to make up for abandoning her, to beg her forgiveness, to make amends. I want to help her achieve her goals, to see her grow, to finally be a mother and aid her in her quest as I should have." She sighed, and the fire behind her eyes died with the susurration. "I want a second chance."

I regarded her for a long time. "What are you willing to give to receive this?"

The fire returned to her gaze. "Anything, everything! Anything you ask for, any mission you need. You want me to be your obedient whore? You'll only need to ask. Give me my daughter and I'll give you my everything."

It would be moot and petty to point out I already had her everything. All the things she had offered were things I could force her to give me.

But that was not the same as actual loyalty. No, with the zeal burning behind her eyes, I could see that, if I granted her this boon, she would willingly give herself to me in totality.

I leaned forward, folding my hands together and resting my face against them in a way that hid my lips from view.

I allowed myself a smile. "I can endeavor to make it so we visit is Remnant at first opportunity." I said slowly. "I cannot promise a specific time for our visit, nor a specific point in the world's timeline for our arrival, but I can make it so that when we do, your essence goes into the local version of Raven Branwen. From there, it'll be up to you to reconnect with your daughter. This I will do, purely because you have asked for it."

Hope shone in her eyes.

"That said, unless the current mission is successful, we will not be able to go to Remnant." I unfolded my hands and pressed them against the table. "Give me your full cooperation. No jostling for position, no bandit queen backstabbing bitchery, no bullshit. We all work together to achieve the goal. Win the Grail War, neutralize the threat. Leave. We either come together and surpass this, or we all die. Do you understand?"

She opened her mouth and choked on her words. She closed her eyes and with a grimace said. "I understand, but jostling for position, pushing others away, and using my strength to force others to do my bidding has been how I've lived my entire life. I do not know how well I'll be able to manage what you ask for."

I sighed, having hoped not to need to make this demonstration.

I raised my hand and activated my Warcaster Ability. I Focused, changing the direction of gravity in the space between us. Yanking the older woman off the chair, her neck impacting against my hand which I tightened enough for her to feel the pressure. Her hands instinctively came up to grasp at my fingers and wrist.

She grit her teeth and glared as her Aura enveloped her, violet fire blazing from her eyes.

I pulled the trigger for my Alpha Strike, and gripped her neck tighter, Reinforcing my body on top of the increase in power from my Aura, the strength of War coming to my aid as this, too, was a form of conflict. I flared my magic until the very air around us quivered with unreleased power, a kaleidoscopic flame enveloping me without burning anything as arithmancy runes encircled my form. "Don't," I growled. "I'd hate to have to rebuild the office just to prove a point."

The violet flames continued to burn from her eyes for long seconds before being extinguished. A few moments after that, I released my own hold on my magic, but I kept the flames shining.

It was a good thing she bought that; she had a lot more experience handling her Maiden magic than I did my disparate abilities.

"I was not asking. You will give me your full cooperation. No jostling for position, no bandit queen backstabbing bitchery, no bullshit. We all work together to achieve the goal. This is not a request, it's the bare minimum requirement. If your need to be the top bitch sabotages this mission, or if your inability to work in a team causes anyone on my retinue to die. I will sell you back to the Company." Her face paled until she was white as a sheet. "I do not want to do this. But I need you to understand that I'm not fucking around. Do we have an understanding?"

Raven swallowed, my grip on her neck allowing me to feel the working of her throat. "Y-Yes sir." She said, surprisingly meekly, her grip on my hand and wrist changing from fighting to supporting her weight as her legs lost strength.

I considered making a further display of where the power in this relationship rested.

But that would be toxic. Any stable relationship was give and take. Even if I was in a position of power over her, for there to be an actual relationship between us, not just as a Master and a Slave, then I had to be careful about my actions.

She espoused a 'might makes right' philosophy, perhaps at some level even believed her own bullshit. But in her life before giving herself to the Company she had chosen to be the big fish in a tiny pond.

Conquest was part of War. And I could feel it, a reflex or an instinct. She needed to know that she was 'conquered,' that there was a top dog and that it wasn't her. The foundation that she had based her entire perspective upon demanded that, were she to serve someone, they be strong, that they pillage, that they take from her without her explicit consent. It was, after all, the only life she'd ever known, her time at Beacon Academy rationalized as something that would never truly work.

Her views were, in a word, unhealthy. If I did as she expected, I'd be validating her view of the world. Showing that the only reason she should give me loyalty was my strength.

It would be simpler. It would grant me her obedience. If I went through and delivered on my promise to reunite her with a version of her daughter, it might morph her view of the world to be a more fanatical one with me at its center.

And while some part of me told me it was fine, that the result would be the same. That I should establish my authority now and figure out the details later. The fact was that I held a lot of power over her, and with that power came responsibilities.

And I'd always loathed to shirk my responsibilities.

I had purchased a whole person. Yes, my situation was extreme and she had skills and abilities I could leverage to help me survive a frankly unenviable situation. But unless I sold her back (which, from what I gathered based on what little context I had for the Company, it might well be kinder to kill her) or abandoned her in some corner of the multiverse, I was stuck with her. She was my responsibility.

I searched her eyes for defiance, but the threat of being sold back to the Company had her meek as a lamb. "It's a good thing we understand each other. But remember, I will endeavor to ensure the punishment fits the crime. You are safe from that level of retaliation so long as you do not directly betray me or those under me. Work hard for me Raven, and I will see you reunited with your daughter."

She worked her jaw a few times before nodding.

I looked into her eyes for several long seconds, her cheeks gaining a dusting of red. I didn't find any intent to betray my orders, so I let go and spoke as I walked around the desk. "Okay, Raven. You have the rest of the evening to yourself. Tomorrow we'll be busy. You'll need to coordinate with Iri as needed. Understood?"

She meekly nodded, not meeting my eyes.

"Atta girl." I said with a grin. "And remember, good girls are rewarded."

I took a gentle hold of her face and kissed her, pulling her into an embrace as I added just a bit of zest to the kiss with a little light aphrodisiac. Some of her competitive fire returned as she kissed me back, pulling me closer as she licked my tongue.

Sooner than I wanted to, I broke the kiss and sent her on her way. She walked carefully, her derriere swinging back and forth enticingly. I watched her until she left and sighed as the door closed behind her. Bloody harem politicking bullshit. I slipped my hands into my pockets as I wondered if this would become a regular occurrence. And froze.

Out of my left pocket, I pulled a very thin, nearly see-through pair of black lacy panties. I had not even noticed her taking them off or slipping them into my pocket.

Not charging out of the room after her to bend her over the nearest surface was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do.

I tightened the chains I kept around my libido and went to train my magic some more.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: ShadowReader45, Crhono, RevanGM and 455 others

Santo

Jul 16, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 8 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jul 23, 2023

Add bookmark

#174

Okay, here's ch 8. All hail the backlog cause work was murder and I'm posting this a bit early cause I'll probably have to go to work tomorrow.

Anyways. Ch 8. This is where things really start to go topsy turvy. Methinks it's the chapter where if I'm to lose anyone reading, it's this one. It gives me that feeling.

I'mma put an updated build of the Catalog at the end of the Chapter. If y'all don't like that, lemme know and from now on I'll double post and put it on its own separate post or something.

Anyways. Thanks for reading, hope you like, lemme know what you think. I'm quite curious as to what people will think about this one.

I threw myself to the floor and felt death miss me by a hair's breadth. My tumble took me through the portal I'd set up, dumping me unceremoniously on my portal room.

I'd disconnected the portal to that location before I'd finished falling. And decided that taking some time for my heart to slow down and my limbs to stop trembling would be a good use of my time. I looked at the cracked, thoroughly ruined blade in my hand, and tossed it aside like so much trash.

I really should have negotiated for a refresher on the story I knew, it would have done me a world of good.

Let's back up a bit.

The day had started great. I'd woken up a tad early, I got a bit of extra training done in the morning with both my Tracing and Warcaster abilities. Raven had blushed and fidgeted as she informed me that she had taken some initiative and had placed a few portals around Miyama. She had blushed even harder when I had praised her and deployed the tactical headpat in reward of her efforts.

Maria had very enthusiastically informed me of all the fun she'd been having in my Workshop. Only five things had broken down or exploded (so far) while she tried to figure out disruption fields.

Irisviel had assured me this was normal and that she was keeping a close eye on things. She had also found an abundance of strap-ons. The fact that Maria hadn't known what they were had been a bonus.

Point being the day started out great.

After making breakfast for my girls, plus Taiga and Sakura. I went to school, having decided not to skip as I'd vaguely recalled something important happening on that day.

I'd ran into Ayako, she turned out to be a tomboyish cutie patootie, and recalling that because Shinji is a dick she'd get attacked and drained nearly to the point of death, I'd decided to Stamp her so she could benefit from the defenses I'd purchased.

I'd also taken the opportunity to lock all of my girls plus Taiga and Sakura so it would require a lengthy process to sell them.

In class I paid just enough attention not to get called on by teachers, and read up on the notes Iris had written about the ritual to summon a Servant.

Later in the day I'd ran into Shinji. I'd debated on trying to Stamp him, it was likely he had Rider near him, and she'd not be squeamish about hurting bystanders, but I ultimately decided to take the risk, gambling that she was busy setting up the magical stomach Noble Phantasm of hers.

Its effect on me and the people I cared about would be severely dampened, and that was all that truly mattered. I'd give saving the rest of the school the good old college try, but I'd get nothing other than complications from Stamping them all.

Being able to do the equivalent of spraying Shinji with a water bottle and telling him no, would make that whole situation much easier. So I'd had Raven stalk him until he was alone, then cornered him, held him against a wall, and held the Stamp to his neck while growling a warning about hitting Sakura.

I don't quite recall what I told the guy, but it was growly and angry enough to pass muster. And that's all that mattered.

Apparently, he'd left in a huff and skipped the rest of the day's classes. Ayako had bemoaned that it was his turn to clean up the archery dojo. She had a previous appointment she'd need to cancel. And feeling a little guilty over my part on that, I'd offered to clean up myself.

Shirou's reputation as an unpaid janitor was well earned, as Ayako did not so much as bat an eye.

Once there, my Shirou Emiya instincts took over, I dropped into something akin to a moving meditation, and when I came out of it, I was significantly relaxed, the dojo was spotless, and it was night.

I was about to make a portal and head home, but the sound of steel striking steel at bullshit speeds had called to me like a Siren's Song. Sneaking over to the location, I found Lancer and the Grail War's worst possible Archer in Red (I mean seriously, you're an Archer, why are you seeking Melee Combat, ya doofus!?) going at it.

If it weren't for my Template of War, I'd have been incapable of following what was happening. Their movements so fast that where my ears heard a single strike, a half-dozen blows had been exchanged. Lancer attacked with the unstoppable might of an avalanche, and Archer found a way to flow through the onslaught by creating the slimmest margins for survival.

It was a weird style, nearly suicidal even, creating big gaping holes in his guard and throwing his own attack at those holes to intercept an attack he might not be able to properly perceive. On paper such a thing would be terrible for duels, yet he seemed to instinctively differentiate an attack from a feint, never once overcommitting to a dodge or parry on the probing feints, denying Lancer the opening they would normally create.

Lancer on his part was an exercise in contradiction. He was fighting with everything he had but was holding back significantly. He exulted in the joy of unfettered combat but raged uselessly against unseen chains.

And the only reason I could tell, was that he fell firmly within my domain as a Horseman of War. Where I to head into battle, Lancer, or rather, Cu Chulainn in all his blue glory, would be one of my strongest allies, or staunchest adversaries. In a way, he was a much purer avatar of War than I'd ever be.

Merely witnessing the battle was causing my Martial and Soul Talents to multiply my understanding of combat, the use of magical energy to enhance my physicality, and the use of the Unlimited Blade Works.

It was a sublime display of martial might, impeccable technique, and magical control.

And, of course, like all good things. It was over far too quickly. Lancer took a predatory stance, an immense amount of magical energy flowing into his spear, the Gáe Bulga, the Spear of Mortal Pain. The potency of its curse stabbed into my brain as I beheld the horrid thing.

If he were to stab with it now, it would prove invariably fatal.

I smothered the impulse to do something, to help. If Archer were to die, it would prove immensely beneficial to me. Out of everyone in this terrifying world, he was the only one who could easily tell I was not Shirou Emiya. Rin being knocked out of the running this early would be a tragedy, as she would have made for a strong ally. But she could just as easily make a ruinous enemy.

I could taste blood in the air, I felt the point of the spear pricking the skin of my throat, pressing almost lovingly against my Adam's Apple with just enough pressure for me to feel it.

I tensed every muscle in my body, trembling with the conflicting needs, to do something and to remain unmoving. To halt this situation and to let it play out. To fight back against the enemy who held me at blade point and to remain still because I wasn't the one under threat.

I wasn't a Hero. I wasn't an Ally of Justice. I was in this for my enlightened self-interest. I had a job to do, and the moment I finished it I'd be gone. I'd go to some other world, a safer world. I'd build up my power, realize the immense potential in my abilities, then I could dabble in being the Hero. When I was certain that my very possible immortality with a group of horny and very beautiful ladies won't be endangered by my flights of goddamn fancy.

The feeling of death in the air crystalized, Lance- no Cu Chulainn's sheer desire to end a life was an almost physical force. While my thinking mind knew I was not the one under threat, the lizard in me whose ancestors had only recently managed to crawl out of the oceans and onto the shores of Pangea, raged. It hissed and bit and spat, rattling the bars of its cage so the predator in front of it would at least suffer the indignity of a bite before I was killed and consumed.

"Gáe!" Lancer intoned, his stance shifting oh so slightly forward, a tensing of his muscles began at the soles of his feet, up his calves, thighs, glutes, back. His shoulders tensed as the prickling at my throat became the painful prelude to that length of carved magical bone tearing through my throat and spilling my life onto the dirt. "Bo-!"

He used his left hand to slap a rusty machete out of the air before it could hit his temple.

I blinked, suddenly aware that my circuits were burning.

I looked at my trembling fists as if they had betrayed me, but my fists did not need to move for me to Trace. Soul Talent even fed me the precise application of Magecraft I'd used to launch the Projected weapon, ensuring I could consciously replicate what I had done instinctively.

I looked up, Lancer, Archer, and Rin were all looking at me like deer caught in the headlights.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I Traced and launched a wave of several dozen kitchen knives at both Lancer and Archer and used that distraction to kick off the ground so hard that I left a crater where I'd stood and ran off into the school building.

FuckFuckFuck!

Okay. Assets!? I could call in Raven. She was a Tier 6. But she was a Tier 6 because of her magic, which worked a lot like projectiles, which Lancer was warded against!

The Panoply of War. The Horseman of War was at least a peer to Cu Chulainn, but I wasn't yet worthy of wearing it. It would be severely weakened by my being a Tier 5, at most protecting me from a direct strike, but seeing as to I would be a relative sitting target when compared to one of the fastest Servants, Lancer would be free to stab me in the joints of the armor with little issue.

Warcaster Magic. There were several spell formulae I'd taken notes on to try during class. They were nowhere near even the testing phase.

Pyromancy. Pretty sure Lancer would not be bothered by any blaze I could create.

Stamp. I wouldn't last the three seconds I need to press it to his skin, let alone the three days for him to become loyal to me.

Magecraft. The Unlimited Blade Works would allow me to utilize Lancer's own Gáe Bolg, up to and including the use of its ultimate ability. But it would be an imitation of Lancer's own Mastery. He would be faster, more precise, and while my body would be forced to imitate his strength to properly wield the weapon, I did not yet have the necessary durability to stand up to Lancer's attack. He'd pick me apart and kill me without a scratch.

In fact, why the shitting hell was I thinking about how to fight!?

Lancer walked out of the corner forty feet in front of me, forcing me into a stumbling halt.

Fuck!

I immediately brought up the interface to set down a portal directly behind me on the floor. "H-Hey." I said with a shaky smile. "Look, sorry about the whole 'throwing sharp pointy bits' thing. It was kind of a reflex, you know?"

He smirked and started to walk slowly toward me. I had to reset the portal because I accidentally put it on the wall to my left in my near panic. I'd never make it that far.

"You know how it goes, you run into a whole lot of killing intent and your body reacts, y'kno? Yeah, you know. So, we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. But if you can find it in your heart to forgive and forget, I bet we can become friends! How 'bout I invite you over to my place for dinner and some beer? Won't be long before we're laughing this whole poor situation o-"

I let my legs collapse and flung myself down so I'd fall back first to the ground hard enough to hit the back of my head against the floor. The blade of Gáe Bolg shaved the ends of my hair as I fell, Lancer's face split open in a big grin. I Traced a copy of Kansho and stabbed it up, he shifted his grip on his spear, blocking the poorly aimed strike, the recoil of my own attack increasing my speed as I fell.

Then I was through the portal, upright and falling, and I shut it down before I hit the floor.

"Fuck!" And the day had been going so well.

Under ideal circumstances, one would not rush the preparations for summoning a being that could wipe out a city in a single instant of glorious barbarism.

Under ideal circumstances, one would not be hunted by a crazy blue asshole with a spear that inflicted wounds that would not heal.

My current circumstances were not ideal.

The fact that I could now use that spear myself, only shittier, was not a balm.

Irisviel had taken all of ten minutes to go over the ritual with me again, this time, due to the circumstances, she triggered my Soul, Science and Engineering Talents. Allowing me to learn the complex ritual in very little time.

I had Raven circling the area, keeping an eye out for anyone approaching and under strict orders not to engage.

I was in Shirou's, my shed, the simple healing circle glowing. One would normally need to use a significantly more intricate magic circle. But the Grail took care of just about everything in the ritual, minus the chant.

And it could compensate for quite a bit in that, too.

"Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Five times for each repetition. Annihilating the enclosed time." I intoned, the ritual less a necessity and more a mnemonic to get me in the right mindset.

I grit my teeth and pulled the trigger on my Alpha Strike. Magical Energy pouring out of me as a corona of heatless flame engulfed my form.

"I announce!" I shouted over the roar of magic around me. "Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword."

The circle began to absorb magic like desert sands drank rain. "Follow the call of the Holy Grail. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."

Magical winds began to circle me and the magic circle, my Circuits strained and burned my body as they were continuously emptied and refilled over long, torturous minutes, my Pyromancy burning my magic as fuel to further empower the ritual. I took a deep breath and forced the last of the incantation out. "Make an oath here. I am the one who shall become the virtue of all afterworld. I am the one who shall lay out the evil of all afterworld. Thou art Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words. Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance!"

The light emanating from the circle became blinding, wind pushed against my face and hair as the spell drank my magic greedily.

And to think the Grail was still footing 99% of the bill.

The light died down, leaving me blind in the flickering light of my pyromancy. I Reinforced my eyes, forcing them to focus, and beheld Majesty.

She had hair of spun gold, eyes that put emeralds to shame, the skin of her face was smooth and unblemished, a button nose and supple pink lips that fit perfectly with her delicate jaw, everything about her, every line of her said she was a beautiful woman.

And yet, even though I was larger, even though I outweighed her by at least fifty pounds in pure muscle, there was no doubt who owned the room.

"I ask of you. Are you my Master?" She demanded, her voice deep for her slight frame, confident, powerful, regal.

My mind was struck utterly motionless.

"I honestly didn't think I would get this far, so I'm kinda drawing a blank." My mouth said without my permission, causing her to arch one eyebrow in derisive confusion. Unfortunately, my mouth wasn't done. "I'm really not good at ceremony. Hi! My name iiiiissss Emiya Shirou, are you pretty? Hungry! I meant are you hungry? Not that you aren't pretty, in fact you're beautiful, but I don't know when exactly in your personal time I interrupted you in, so maybe I interrupted dinner?"

The harder I tried to stop, the more I babbled. Fuck! There goes my goddamn good first impression!

I managed to put together the presence of mind to buy a new set of Command Seals, having them appear in the back of my left hand.

"I see you have the Command Seals." she stated. "From this time forth, my sword shall be with you, and your fate shall rest on my hands. Thus, our Contract is Complete."

Wow, I could hear the capital letters in her diction.

I shook my head and tried to regain some of my composure. "Contract! Right! Master and Servant!" I stuck my right hand out. "Emiya Shirou. It's a pleasure to meet you, I hope we can work well together!"

She looked at my hand, her face may as well have been carved from marble for all the emotion it showed. She took my hand and shook it. "Servant Saber. I too, hope we can work well together. Please, Master, command me."

I grinned. "Well, if that's how it must be, then my first official command as your Master." It was subtle, had I not been looking for it, I would have missed the way she braced herself. "Is to call me Shirou. This 'Master' stuff is way too stuffy for my liking." I remembered to shut off my magic, the light levels dropping, leaving only the Magic Circuits needed to sustain her presence without her losing mana purely by existing, which was most of what I could produce. I once more marveled at the girl's composure. Not many people would see a dumbass on fire and not bat an eye. "We need to discuss strategy, but there's no reason to be uncomfortable while we do it. So! What are you feeling like for a late dinner? Preferably something quick methinks. Now that I stop to think on it, I'm pretty wiped! How're you feeling? Anything feeling weird?"

"No Mas-" she cut off as I turned to look at her, eyebrow arched, "Shiro, I am well, the link between us seems to be well formed and I am receiving more than enough magical energy to sustain myself."

I grinned. "That's good, I was afraid I'd mess something up and make things hard on you. Well, harder, than they need to be I mean. Now, dinner, what are you feeling like?"

She nodded. "Truthfully, I do not have a preference in food. Nor do I require it, if you make a meal, please think only of yourself."

"Hmmm…nah, now, second order as your Master. We'll eat meals together anytime circumstance allows."

"But that would be unnecessary."

"Don't care! Food tastes better with friends and family. And if one of those friends is a pretty girl, that makes it all the better!"

Saber sighed.

"Anyways, I'd ask for your name. But I'd think it's pretty obvious." I said with a nod.

I felt her stiffen behind me through the new bond that my Soul Talent was busy digesting. However, when she spoke, her voice was completely unchanged. "Oh? Pray tell, Shiro, who do you believe me to be?"

"I mean," I said, looking at her with a grin, "as I said, it's pretty obvious. Beautiful girl, obviously very charismatic, wearing armor, probably have a weapon somewhere." I pointed at her faux dramatically. "You're Joan d'Arc!"

She stared at me, her expression unchanged, but through the bond I could feel her chagrin. "Shiro, I am not the Maiden of France."

I blinked, letting my finger drop? "You're…not? Erm…you wouldn't happen to be Irish would you?"

Her annoyance flared, the only sign was a slight narrowing of her eyes. "No."

"Well, that cuts out my only other guess. I don't know of that many beautiful fighting women in mythology, and you aren't dressed like a Greek. Hmm." I pretended to rub my chin. "Wait! You probably pretended to be a man!"

There was a pulse of panic from the bond. "Shiro, I think it best that my identity remains secret."

"Nah, I've gotta figure it out now that I've started."

"But-"

"With armor like that, you're probably a Knight…in fact, you're Dinadan! Honestly, I would have expected you to crack a joke by now."

For the second time that evening, I was treated to the sight of Saber speechless. Her brain working overtime to attempt to divine my 'thought process.'

"Dinadan?" She asked, eventually, her voice uncertain.

Holy shit she was a lot of fun to tease.

"Well, even if he dressed up as a woman a few times, supposedly convincingly, Lancelot had to wear makeup and stuff to look like a girl." There was a pulse of something in the bond, perhaps grief. "You are very clearly a beautiful girl. But you could probably claim to be a pretty boy. And the one story with the guy I read, said that Lancelot stuffed him in a dress and Dinadan looked quite fetching. Hence, Dinadan!"

Saber sighed. "I am not the Jester Knight."

"Well darn, you're not making it easy on me, that's for sure. Okay, next guess…"

Raven's name popped up on my HUD, her call connecting directly. [Hey boss, you've got a man and a girl in red approaching the mansion. Their descriptions match the ones you gave.]

"Thanks Raven." I sent back and cut the connection.

I turned to Saber, my game face on. "Sorry to say, dinner is postponed."

The sensation of her mind I received through the Master/Servant bond sharpened to a razor edge. "What is it?"

"Uninvited guests. I suspect another Master and Servant pair. I know this because of a Familiar I set to watching the area. I believe them to be Archer and his Master. Kill the Servant if you can, but I would appreciate it if you could capture the Master. I am perilously lacking in information, and I have a gut feeling that the Master will be able to explain a number of things for me."

I activated my Warcaster power. Flooding her with magical energy. A visible corona of power pulsed around her before she brought it under control. "I shall do so if it is feasible. Please remain here Master."

"Yeah no," I said, Tracing a warsword and enhancing my body with Magecraft and Warcaster magic, "I'm coming with you. No time to complain any further, let's go!"

I followed up on my words by running to my courtyard. Saber kept up with me effortlessly. As we neared the wall, we both jumped to the top. Taking in the scene before me, I could see both Archer and Rin dumbstruck at the sight of Saber.

I could relate.

We both took ruthless advantage of their momentary distraction.

Saber rushed Archer as I threw myself at Rin. Even though we'd kicked off at the same time, she was there before me, Soul and Martial Talents feeding me the information of what she'd done to be so much faster than me.

As Saber cut the red Archer open from stem to stern, I drove the sword down on Rin's head forcing her to dodge or have her skull cleaved in. Forcing her attention off her Servant, she dodged my backhanded punch that would have landed across her jaw as well as my backswing with the warsword. She threw something small that glittered, my magic surged, creating a panel of pure kinetic energy in front of me even as it hardened my flesh to steel.

A wall of wind, further channeled by the street, slammed into me, straining the shield and nearly bowling me over. I modified the shield into a rising ramp, providing a path of least resistance for the immense force.

The offensive spell ended abruptly when Rin was slammed to the ground and held at an invisible sword point. Looking around, I saw a white-haired head rolling away, it and a red-clad body discorporating into clouds of golden particles fading away into the air.

"A-Archer." Rin slurred, reaching out toward the cloud.

She didn't struggle as I turned her face down on the ground, her arms trembling as I used six zip ties to bind them behind her back, then Reinforced them until they were as strong as steel bands.

Lastly, I took a gamble and summoned my Stamp, keeping it out of sight of my Servant even as I kept an eye on her to see how she would react. I held it to Rin's hand while she continued to tremble weakly. Three seconds later exactly, my HUD informed me I had her and was being given Credits for her Capture in advance, I vanished the Stamp and I got Twenty-Five Credits!?

What the hell? I should have gotten sixteen, and even that only thanks to added compensation I'd bargained for in my Contract.

Putting that firmly out of my mind, I held Rin down by the wrists and the neck. "Be a good girl and don't do anything stupid. We are both rather high strung and on a hair trigger. This is very much a play stupid games, win stupid prizes situation. Try something, and I will act decisively. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes." Rin growled at the floor.

I turned to Saber, searching for any suspicion. She merely kept an impassive stare on Rin.

"Saber, anything to add?" I asked.

"It would be safer to kill her, Master." She answered without preamble. Rin twitched beneath me and started to tremble. "Even if her Servant is vanquished, she is still an enemy Master with seemingly two remaining Command Seals. If another Servant were to lose their Master, she could form a contract with them."

"Well, you're not wrong." I sighed. Rin's trembling got worse. "But wise as your words are, I must disagree with your proposed course of action."

Rin really was very expressive. I could see a mere fraction of her face, but with only that and the shifts in tension on her legs and back, I could see hope rise and fall within her.

Saber took her eyes off Rin for the first time, spearing me with her intense emerald gaze. "May I ask why?"

"You may question me at any time." I said with a smile. "There is no greater master than your own conscience, Saber. If ever I order you to do something you find repugnant, I fully expect you to tell me to go fuck myself." She blinked, her eyebrows rising slightly at my crass language. "But to answer your question. I believe in minimizing cruelty whenever possible." I said as I gently helped Rin to her feet, patting away the worst of grit and dust on her.

Realizing I didn't have the keys to the house, I inclined my head at the wall around my mansion, I picked Rin up and jumped to the top of the wall, then down to the courtyard. After I set Rin down on her feet and gave her a slight push to get her started walking, I continued. "Yes, she is beaten, which very well might mean she's not defeated. Yes, she is a potential threat. But there exists the very real chance to instead turn her into an asset."

I motioned for Rin to sit at the table. She did, looking uncomfortable in her miniskirt and big poofy red jacket. Her face was red, and she was showing little of the stark raving terror she was probably feeling.

I sat across from her, Saber standing behind me and to my left.

"So, Rin." I said, smiling to the girl. "Let's talk and figure out our differences."

She regarded me warily, her bright sapphire eyes flicking to Saber every now and then."Emiya-san." She said, her voice flat. "I had not realized you were a Magus."

I kept my smile gentle. "In truth, I'm not much of one. I had next to no talent for the art, and my old man didn't want to teach me. It wasn't until I pestered him for months that he showed me how to use my circuits, and even then he refused to show me anything other than the basics."

Something flashed in her eyes, somewhere between indignation and envy. "I see. Why did you never approach me on my capacity as this land's Second Owner?"

I blinked in faux innocence. "What's a second owner?"

Rin closed her eyes and her head hung slightly. "I see…so earlier at the school?"

I shrugged. "I cleaned up the Archery dojo as a favor for Ayako. On my way out I saw a Superhero fight. With the amount of magical energy being thrown around, I had to assume they were Servants. Only reason I knew of them was from reading my old man's journal last year." I stood up and continued speaking as I went to the fridge and got three sodas. Shirou had hated them, but Taiga kept a few on my fridge. "When I sensed the blue guy's killing intent I panicked and attacked." I put a soda in front of Rin with a straw and gave one to Saber who accepted it with open curiosity. I sat down and took a gulp. "Then I ran away, evaded the blue guy until I managed to get home, and decided to try the summoning ritual that was on my dad's journal. The war wasn't supposed to happen for another fifty years, so I wasn't certain how well it would work out. But here is Saber and I guess I am now a contender for the Holy Grail, or whatever you call it."

Rin sighed and slumped further. "Yes, that about sums the situation up."

"So, what were you doing coming to my house so soon after I was attacked?" I asked.

She glared at me sullenly, her cheeks darkening. "I was coming to confront you on my capacity as the Second Owner. You were clearly a Magus and have been living on this land for years, yet never approached me for your dues."

I blinked. "Wait, you're my…what, my magical landlord?"

She sighed again. "That's one way of putting it."

"Well, umm, sorry for squatting in your property? Not going to lie, I'm kind of in the middle of something and might not be able to pay rent until it's resolved."

Her glare came back.

I leaned back and raised my hands. "Look, I thought it was an attack, okay? Getting away from the blue guy was harrowing. And last I saw you; you were doing battle against that guy by proxy. And do please correct me if I'm wrong, but the Magus Standard Operating Procedure is 'vivisect first, think of the subject as human never.' What was I supposed to think?"

She glared but didn't deny my point.

"Now, the important question. What to do with you?" Fear ghosted through her eyes, but as Shirou had liked to say; 'to be a Magus is to walk with death,' Rin was at least smart enough to have understood, in a logical level, that it was quite possible she would die.

She certainly wouldn't have believed that on an emotional level. I myself had never experienced the 'I am immortal' phase I was told teenagers went through, but I had been unlucky enough to see how fragile human bodies were, in the grand scheme of things, back when I was a child. It had done wonders in curbing any potential idiotic behavior when I was a teen.

Present circumstances notwithstanding.

Rin had probably accepted the possibility of her death. But likely hadn't truly believed in it. And now here she was, Servantless, captured, and quite likely to be killed. And the Grail War was, officially, not even an hour old.

I leaned forward, interlocked my fingers, and rested my face against them, hiding my mouth. "You have heard Saber's opinion on the matter. You're a threat and should be permanently removed." Her face paled, but her eyes remained steely. "I'm of a different opinion. That you could be an ally. The problem being, I'd have no idea if, or more likely when, you would betray my trust and stab me in the back for a chance at victory." I narrowed my eyes. "So, tell me, Tohsaka Rin. What reason have I to let you remain alive, in the middle of a Grail War in which you are objectively my enemy, where you have two Command Seals and more than likely a well-nursed grudge against me?"

She chewed on her inner lip for a few seconds before slumping. "I could sign a magical contract. Agreeing not to attack you for the duration of the Grail War."

I snorted. "I'd be willing to agree to something along those lines. But it'll have to be much more thoroughly worded. The contract as stated would give you far too much wriggle room." I took a sip of my soda. "Is there something you could do? Like surrender or bow out of the competition?"

"I refuse."

"Well okay then. How do we go about the magical contract?"

She explained the process, my Soul and funnily enough, Communication Talents retracing the knowledge to make it permanently available to me.

The contract was lengthy but boiled down to a few key points. For the duration of the Grail War, she could not knowingly act to bring me or my Servant harm. She could not, through inaction, allow me to come to harm without at least warning me of the possibility of harm. She could not attempt to magically control me or influence my actions. Finally, she could not lie to me, or lie by omission on any subject that she believed might lead me or my Servant to come to harm. In return, I would not kill her, and I would at the very least provide her safe harbor in my home.

It most certainly wasn't an equal trade. But her options literally boiled down to 'accept or be executed by the pragmatic and beautiful Warrior King.' On the other hand, most magi would demand a hell of a lot more in my current position, so as far as a choice of evils went, I was by far the lesser.

And due to not being able to knowingly allow me to come to harm. If she discovered anything that might cause me harm, she'd need to warn me of it. Effectively taking her out of the Grail War unless I fucked up badly enough to die in a way unrelated to her.

The penalty for knowingly breaking this contract was the destruction of our magic circuits. Which, to her, was a fate worse than death. In short, I'd done a fairly great job of trapping her.

Speaking of trapping, I used my HUD to move the tattoo from her hand to her mons.

After having gotten to see it on Irisviel as I reduced her to a blissed out puddle, the pubic tattoo had rather grown on me. I was looking forward to seeing it on Rin as she screamed my name in ecstasy.

And now I was horny, down boy.

"You should also speak to the coordinator." Rin said tiredly, rubbing her arms where the magically reinforced zip ties had dug into her skin. "It's technically not a requirement, but it would be appreciated as he officiates the Grail War."

I grunted. "Do we know for a fact the coordinator isn't part of the Grail War?"

Rin frowned. "They have a policy of strict neutrality."

Oh, you sweet summer child.

"Well, we can take care of it tomorrow. Would you like to spend the night? It's rather late. I can probably find a change of clothes for you around here somewhere."

Her expression became thunderous, but she forced it back to neutrality, her right arm squeezing down hard on her left. "Perhaps later. For now, I will head home."

I raised an eyebrow. "Rin, it might be dangerous. You are rather vulnerable now."

She grit her teeth, her grip on her arm turning white-knuckled. She closed her eyes and visibly forced herself to calm down. "I appreciate the concern. But I'll be fine."

I considered my options before sighing. "No, you won't. I won't let you get yourself killed for your pride, Rin. Not after all the work I had to put in to find a way around killing you. You'll stay the night in my guest room, it's through that hallway. We'll take the day off school tomorrow. During the day we'll go get whatever you'll need for an extended stay here."

She looked mulish again but deflated under my steady gaze. "Very well."

I watched her go, sending Raven an order via text to keep an eye on Rin and stop her if she did something stupid. While I was at that, I sent Iri a text to prepare a change of clothes for Saber and be ready to hand them to me through the portal room.

I turned to Saber with a smile. "Please, take a seat. Our conversation got cut short earlier."

She took a seat across from me, her face impassive.

I sighed and nodded in the direction Rin had gone. "What a hot mess, huh?"

Her eyes flickered in the direction Rin had walked before they settled on me again. "You, are not as you portray yourself, Master."

I scoffed and waved a hand at her. "I thought we were past this 'Master' business. Call me Shirou, please. And I am exactly as I portrayed myself, it's just that, like any good onion, I have layers."

Unfortunately, she did not crack a smile. But that's fine. She may tsun now, but the dere will come. "I still believe it would have been best to kill her."

"We will need to learn to agree to disagree on that one." I said with a smile. "Now! I'mma go find you some more comfortable clothes. Going around all day in armor can't possibly be good for you."

She stood up to follow me as I stepped out of the living room. I grinned at her over my shoulder. "Sticking close in case of assassins?"

"Yes."

"Well, for the record, there are a lot of double entendres I could be spewing out right now. But I'm not, in an attempt to make a good impression." I widened my grin. "Is it working?"

"I am certain it is." She answered in a perfect deadpan.

I barked a laugh. "I'll get a laugh out of you yet!"

I was almost certain I detected a slight sigh. That only made me wanna make her laugh harder.

This was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Spoiler: Build as of ch 8

Last edited: Jul 25, 2023

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Khellendrosiic, Condescension_ and 472 others

Santo

Jul 23, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 9 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jul 31, 2023

Add bookmark

#205

Awright. Ch 9.

I was able to write a whole chapter this week! In-between exhaustion and bullshit at work.

I'd say...I've gotten about half the story written...maybe two thirds?

If I finish the story in the backlog to what I feel is a good ending. I'll probably speed up how often I post...or something.

Dunno. Either way. Here's ch 9. Please lemme know your thoughts and whatnot. Conversation is fuel for the muse as often as not.

I sat cross-legged on the dojo, Saber sat on a cushion in front of me. She was currently wearing a sturdy, white, one-piece button-front dress with black trims provided by Maria, who was close enough to her build that it was only slightly baggy.

The excuse for why I had clothes fit for a young woman was that they belonged to Taiga. I had no idea if she believed me.

"So, this may seem a little forward." I said, choosing to rip off the proverbial band-aid. "But if we win this thing, according to my dad's notes, we each get a wish." She nodded, stone-faced. "So, what's yours?"

She looked away from me, her eyes half lidded. "I want it…to fulfill an old duty."

Ah yes, her non-answer, still I had a feeling that it would be a mistake to push at the moment. I hummed. "Just to make sure, but by that you don't mean you want to use that wish to take over the world or some such, right?"

She turned back to me, her eyes wide. "Huh?"

"Cut me some slack!" I said, my lips trembling in an attempt to hide my grin. "An old duty? That's pretty vague! Could mean a whole bunch of things! Like taking over the world! And while you seem pretty upstanding and all, I think I'm contractually obligated to like, not help someone take over the world?"

She still didn't smile, but her face softened from the granite statue it had been all night. "No, no I do not wish to take over the world. It is something far smaller and more personal than that."

I shrugged. "Well, okay then, that's that. Any preferences for breakfast tomorrow?"

She furrowed her brow at the change in topic. "But Shiro, if I may ask. What is your own wish on the Grail?"

I shrugged, knowing the script on this one, and the fact that the Grail was corrupted. "Don't have one."

Her eyes widened. "You don't…have one?"

I shook my head no.

She furrowed her brows, somehow managing to make the expression look elegant. "If that is indeed the case, why participate at all?"

I crossed my arms behind my head and leaned back. "Well, for one, you want it. I already owe you pretty big, after all, you took out that Servant that was with Rin who was coming to…well maybe not kill me, but…erm…forcefully collect on ten years of rent? Anyways, you could say that circumstances forced my hand, what with running into a Servant battle in the night, if I hadn't summoned you then I'd not be long for this world." I suppressed a smile at that, then leaned forward and looked her dead in the eye. "But honestly? You helped me and want it, that's enough reason if you ask me."

Saber stared for several long seconds before her face softened and the smallest of smiles tugged at her lips. "That's a very unique view."

"Is that a circumspect way of calling me crazy or dumb?" I asked in a quick deadpan.

"None at all." She answered, keeping her serene almost-smile.

"It is, it totally is!"

I sent a text off via my HUD and continued my one-sided bickering for a minute before I forced myself back to business, though I couldn't suppress the big smile on my face. "Okay, final bit of the night before we turn in." I said as a bird zoomed into the dojo on a flutter of wings. Saber made herself ready to intervene but took her cue from me as I held out an arm for the big bird to land. "This is my Familiar, Raven. She is how I knew we had uninvited company coming. If that were all, it would be great, but she has one very neat trick!"

I moved my arm and made the bird hop off with an offended squawk. She landed and glared at me.

I gave her an unimpressed stare. "Well? Come on, don't keep the lady waiting." The bird remained in place, glaring at me, I waved a finger at her warningly and dodged her attempt to bite me. "Don't make me spank you."

She ruffled her feathers at the threat, then between one moment and the next, Raven Branwen stood where the bird had been. Saber stiffened for a moment before visibly relaxing when all Raven did was act unimpressed with me.

I gestured at Raven. "This is Raven, she can turn into a raven. She's a superb fighter and has her own sizeable ability for magic, though hers is almost purely offensive focused and can, with effort, affect the weather. She'll act as my scout and, if the need and opportunity presents itself, she can take down a Master while you and I keep their Servant busy."

The two women sized each other up before nodding at each other. Raven turned her back on me and made her way to the door. "I'll continue surveillance on that mage girl." She scoffed. "Honestly, you'd be better off killing her. She's only acting cowed."

"I'll take your words under advisement. Now get." I said, waving a hand at her to leave.

I looked at Saber. I burned to get her love confession, but even if I did, she was a very dutiful person. She'd want to see her own story to its end, and I didn't exactly have a way of getting her off Avalon. Nor was it likely I'd be able to make my own way to it.

While that was not a bad end for the woman before me. I wanted more for her. I wanted better for her, even if she would choose otherwise. Not to mention, this war was exceedingly deadly, one of us might die before she got over her hangups about the suicidal task she's set for herself.

And lastly, I'd read up on the particulars of the Stamp itself. It was made to subvert the very abilities that would detect it. Only a spiritual being that specialized in detection or someone who was particularly sensitive to demonic energy would detect its faint traces of literally demonic power. And Saber had failed to react at all when I'd used the Stamp on Rin, it was a safe bet that she wouldn't be able to sense it.

So I resolved myself to swallow my dumbass pride, and took the less dangerous option.

"There's…one last, last thing." I said, bringing her eyes back to me. I looked around furtively before bringing my hand up and putting together the spell formula to create a zone of null sound, then went over what I was going to say in my head. She was good at noticing deceptions, or at least had good instincts in general, so just to be safe, I wanted everything I said to be true, from a certain point of view. "I…used to not be much of a Magus." I said, scratching the back of my head. One of her eyebrows rose slightly, but otherwise she said nothing. "A few weeks ago, all I could do was Reinforce a pipe, and at that badly. And I couldn't do it a lot without becoming quickly exhausted."

"But I saw you create a construct of pure force. Not to mention this field." She said. "This is not something an amateur could achieve after mere weeks of study."

"That's because I came into possession of an artefact, something of an inheritance. I don't know when he got it." I 'pulled' the Stamp out of my pocket, then in a slight panic, I created a Spell Formula to put together the symbol for my Stamp over my heart, Soul Talent pinged and walked me through layering the illusion on my skin using my Warcaster powers. I raised my shirt and showed it to her. "It created a magical tattoo that made me stronger, it helped me learn faster, and regenerates my magic far faster than normal. Raven did not have access to nearly as much power as before she had this tattoo. Honestly, if it weren't for this, I probably wouldn't even have been able to summon you."

Saber studied the image before her, eyes like two chips of green ice bored into mine. "Has it had any side effects?"

"Other than those I've mentioned? None that I've noticed." After all, loyalty and romantic and sexual interests were perks, not side effects.

She stared at the mark for a long while, nibbling at the bait, but unwilling to commit yet. "This is something most Magi would keep secret. Why do you share it with me?"

I shrugged, letting go of my shirt. "Well, for one, my old man didn't want me to be a Magus. Hell, I don't want to be a Magus, the Akashic Records can stay in their own dimension for all I care. We're in this fight together, it'd frankly be stupid not to offer you every tool at my disposal for the achievement of our goals."

She stared at the Stamp, the most minute traces of longing on her face, when her eyes locked in on mine with the intensity of targeting lasers. "And what are your goals, Master?"

I returned her stare with one of my own. "Honestly? I want to live a long, happy, fulfilling life. I want the people around me who I love to smile and know just enough hardship that they grow as people." I grit my teeth hard, knowing I'd have to work with the ashes of my goal. "I want to prevent unnecessary cruelties; I won't allow the fire of ten years ago to happen once again. I will work my hands to the marrow for these goals. I make this offer freely; the choice is yours. It's an artefact of power, and it will empower you. If you do not trust it, so be it. We will work together toward our goals regardless."

She stared hard into my eyes, and I held her stare. It was like looking into the sun, but I concentrated on my own goals. I wanted her happy, and loved, and fulfilled. And for that, I was willing to be a right bastard.

She nodded, reached out a hand, plucked the Stamp from my hand and used it to stamp the back of her neck. I saw a notification and Credits pop up on my HUD. I felt a weight fall from my shoulders, as another settled on top of them. I quickly stopped the body tune-up from affecting her, banking that for when she was mortally wounded and needed the heal. It would be difficult to explain away her suddenly physically aging to maturity, her growth no longer stunted by the magic of Avalon.

She held the Stamp back out to me, and I took it back reverently. "It should be a few days before things settle. We'll have to see how it empowers you. For now, honestly, I'm pretty pooped, I should go to bed."

Saber nodded. "Yes, tiredness is the enemy."

I stood up with a grin as she rose fluidly to her feet. "Tiredness is the enemy, huh? Are there any other enemies I need to watch out for?"

She nodded as we made our way to the door of the dojo. "Indeed, our enemies are a horde only kept at bay by strict discipline."

"Sounds exhausting."

"Exhaustion is the enemy."

"We are surrounded and besieged, whatever shall we do?"

"Worry not Shirou, I shall be the sword that cleaves your enemies."

"Well, I feel safer already."

"Complacency is the enemy."

"When will it all end!? Oh, the humanity!"

"Despair is the enemy."

"Gah!"

Breakfast had been fun. Watching Saber's face break out into a genuine smile, her eyes sparkling at the taste of the food, had been a real treat. Watching Rin's face fall as she realized that this avenue too was closed for her to get a 'win' over me had brought me indescribable pleasure.

I'd mentioned that I considered Chinese cuisine something of a weakness in my cookbook, igniting the spark of hope in her eyes. Hope I would take great pleasure in thoroughly crushing in the literally most delicious way possible.

These thoughts buoyed my mood as I looked at the face of the Tohsaka estate, it was opulent in a 'faded glory' chic aesthetic. Or, considering that Kirei had likely mismanaged the Tohsaka finances for the funsies, it was less an aesthetic and more a fact.

I'd declined to inform Sakura and Taiga of my house guests. I'd made myself scarce and would be arriving home late enough that Taiga will have locked up and gone home, I was planning to call her later at night to tell her there was something important we needed to discuss, this would serve as the seed for the excuse for both Saber and Rin staying at my house. The story would be that Saber was a past acquaintance of Kiritsugu who had come into town for her work, calling in a past debt. Not knowing Kiritsugu was five years dead. I, as the dutiful son, would be dead-set on honoring that debt.

While taking care of that, I ran into Rin, who had been in the search of a hotel, as something had been found in her home which required extensive renovations, and in order to save her money, I had agreed to let her stay at my house.

This was as close as I could remember for the story Shirou fed Taiga in his own…run through? Playthrough?

Experience?

Timeline, in his own timeline when he didn't accidentally commit suicide via fucking up turning his nerves into kludged together Magic Circuits.

Speaking of Magic Circuits, Shirou's biggest limiting factor was his slightly higher than average number of Magic Circuits of entirely average quality.

Yes, I was literally more than Shirou, being part Horseman of the Apocalypse and a Warcaster besides. The affinities of all my abilities allowed me to refill my Magic Circuits significantly slower than I could spend them. But even if I had relatively crazy regeneration thanks to my abilities, my biggest limiting factor to using the Unlimited Blade Works, currently my most powerful ability to deal with my target, was that capacity.

Well, that and the lack of knowledge of how to use it, but that had been growing by leaps and bounds through my training whenever I had a free moment, even without access to Irisviel for teaching, but with Rin picking up her materials, my learning speed would hopefully get even faster.

But that limiting factor would remain, my output was greater than my replenishment, at least for Magecraft. And even that was relatively severely truncated by the need to provide power for Saber.

I needed more Magic Circuits, and I was in a unique situation to get me more Circuits. For relatively cheap.

These were the thoughts that filled my mind as I waited in silence for Rin to attune the numerous wards protecting her home to count Saber and I as intimate allies. The only way to ensure they wouldn't attack us accidentally and thoroughly ruin her magical ability.

On impulse, I used the Catalog to look about purchasing an instance of Added Potential for myself, granting me more and better Magic Circuits. It had a lot of fairly crazy customization sliders, I could change my Element and Origin to whatever I wanted, modify elemental affinity, talent in particular fields, and more. But the movement of any one slider affected all of the others, so I did the only smart thing and eschewed all but two options, putting the quantity at an aesthetically pleasing one thousand and put them at the highest quality I could, which wasn't the highest quality available, but if I went with the absolute highest quality, it'd be a few hundred rather than the even one thousand.

It wasn't until I had made the purchase and set the change to happen that I remembered Magic Circuits were literally actively harmful to their host body. And the highest possible quality at the quantity I'd purchased would likely cook me alive if I wasn't tough enough to withstand it.

I also noticed that my Magic Circuits weren't an even one thousand, they merely added one thousand, making my total one thousand twenty-seven. And lastly, Saber's drain on my Magic Circuits, which moments ago had been debilitating, became negligible. To the point that I barely felt it on one of my annoyingly just-over-a-thousand Magic Circuits.

Bright side, I'd have all the energy I could ever want for the Unlimited Blade Works, now I just needed to figure out how to use it so I could spam exploding magic swords.

I also needed a glimpse at Gilgamesh's armory, preferably from a safe distance.

I felt one of my Defenses ping, my HUD informing me that Information Defense was now obfuscating passive detection of…my obscenely powerful magical signature.

Why do I do things? Just to suffer?

Still, while Rin continued, I looked through the Catalog Defenses I could purchase. And saw that there was a cheap one that protected against extremes of environmental troubles, and an expensive one that protected against degenerative mutations. Which Magic Circuits counted as.

I bit the bullet and bought both. Still not worrying about the loan I had not paid a single Credit into, because by the time it mattered, I'd be able to pay it off fully, or I'd be dead.

This would hopefully make certain I didn't self-combust the moment I activated all of my Circuits.

Rin finally finished modifying her wards, opened the door and quietly said. "Come in."

I allowed Saber to march in first, not because ladies first, but because if there was a magical claymore at the entrance, she would laugh at it, bend Rin over a table, an-

Oookay, mind out of the gutter.

The Tohsaka home was well maintained, I could see the signs of recent repairs, there was a bit on the ceiling that, while very well repaired, the wood in a semi-circular patch did not match the wood of the rest of the roof. My memory niggled at that, but whatever memory was trying to surface, didn't. With a shrug, I followed after Rin.

I helped her bag up a chemistry set while she put a load of clothes on a duffle bag. It wasn't very long before we were done. There were two bags that weren't all that full or heavy. Rin still looked rather dour, probably beating herself up over losing her Servant on the first day of the War.

"Well, carrying these would be a bit of a pain." I said, Rin threw a venomous look at me, then her eyes widened comically when I reached down and, with a touch, tossed both bags into my pocket dimension. "There, now we don't have to bother."

"W-Wait what!? How'd you do that!? There wasn't even a flare of magic!" Rin shouted, a glimpse of her usual fire finally peeking through.

"Magically, I'm only good at a very few things." I lied blatantly with a smile. "But at those very few things, I'm pretty good. Unfortunately, carrying a certain amount of equipment is about as far as this one goes. It's pretty much just good for quality of life." I stretched, feeling my shoulders pop. "Honestly, it's pretty nice being able to talk about magic with people."

"But, but you said you weren't good at magecraft!" Rin pushed, getting into my personal space. It's a good thing I wasn't squeamish about that.

"And I'm not!" I answered cheerfully as I made my way to the door.

"But teleportation is at best highly advanced magecraft, if not the specialization of a dynasty!" Rin pressed, not noticing Saber keeping a very close eye on her.

"Huh, really? I never knew." I said glibly as I stepped out the door. "Man, this whole 'getting your stuff' outing didn't take nearly as long as I thought it was going to take. Maybe we should-"

"Oi!" A blue hared man in a blue and silver one-piece suit said amiably.

My Aura enveloped me before conscious thought could form, my M1911A1 was in my hand, pointed at his face, Reinforced with Magecraft, Focus, the Essence of War, a spell formula to make it silent and strike with greater accuracy and increased power, and the bullets sheathed in fire from my Pyromancy Flame. By the time I was aware of what I was doing, Lancer had batted five rounds out of the air and I had pulled Rin roughly behind me.

Martial Talent drank deep of Lancer's proficiency at turning aside projectiles, the deflected bullets tore craters out of the ground and walls they slammed into. He dodged the final four bullets in the magazine as he glided forward, a screeching sound clawed at my ears as Gáe Bolg's point came for my heart. With the sound of steel striking stone, the spear was batted aside, the shockwave of the impact pushing me back a few steps.

In the time it took me to eject the magazine, Saber, now wearing her armor and Lancer had traded several dozen blows. The spear, gleaming wetly red as if it were soaked in blood from tip to tip, repulsed again and again by something invisible in Saber's dainty hands.

Saber brought down her weapon in a big two-handed strike, the invisible blade sinking deep into the ground as Lancer dodged it, the power behind the blow cratering the concrete of the path to Rin's front door. Lancer had sprung back, then surged forward, assuming the weapon was trapped. Ducking beneath the Lancer's stab, Saber pushed forward, her weapon gliding through the ground as if it were warm butter and ripped her weapon out of the ground in a rising slash.

Impossible as it should have been, mid-air, overextended, and with nothing to provide leverage, Lancer twisted his body like a snake, dodging by the slimmest margin and slamming the butt of his weapon into the ground to spring away.

The two fighters came to a stop, Lancer in his predatory stance, Saber straight backed, knees bent, and the invisible weapon held before her.

I finished smoothly reloading the pistol, the breach slamming shut with a loud and aggressive 'clack!' From emptying the magazine well to sliding a new one home, nearly two seconds had passed.

The two faced off, Saber stomped her lead foot, causing Lancer to spring back slightly. "What is wrong, Lancer? It would not do your name credit for you to simply stand there. If you will not come, I shall sally forth." She taunted.

Lancer glared for a few seconds before his features relaxed. "If you want to come and die, be my guest. But before you do, answer me this. That weapon of yours, it's a sword, isn't it?"

When Saber spoke, I could hear her smirk. "Who knows? It might be a battle ax or it might be a spear. It might even be a bow, Lancer."

"Be careful!" I barged in, keeping Lancer in the sights of my pistol, for all the good that would do me. "He is Cu Chulainn, he wields Gáe Bolg! If he activates the Noble Phantasm, it'll reverse causality so it successfully strikes you in the heart! It cannot be dodged or parried!"

Lancer smirked and spat. "What a good Master you have, Saber. For him to risk a Servant's ire to give you a warning."

I Traced and shot three copies of the warsword I used against Rin. Lancer didn't even bother parrying, hopping three times to dodge them, his posture not even changing. Judging by the fact that Saber didn't attack, my attempt to create an opening for her failed completely.

Lancer's smile became bleak. "And he helps you fight! Honestly, I'm rather jealous. My Master hides away like a coward."

"I do agree that I have a good Master." Saber said, keeping her body between Lancer and I. I could faintly hear Rin chanting, preparing a big spell just in case. "But that doesn't change the fact that you will die today."

Lancer lowered the spear into a more defensive grip, his body language indicating that he didn't want to go into the offensive. "Since this is our first meeting, how about we call it quits?"

"That's the stance he used to activate his Noble Phantasm!" I shouted, pushing my left hand forward in the form of a claw, runes of magical mathematics appearing around my wrist and setting an ironskin spell over Saber, Rin, and I.

Lancer clicked his tongue. "Your Master is truly good. Mine calling me back, especially now that my trumpcard is revealed." He looked at me and Rin. "Too bad, I would have enjoyed our meeting at any other time. Saber, pursue me or don't, but I am recalled!"

With that he kicked off the ground and was off. Saber tensed her legs to jump after him, but with a glance to Rin and I, thought better of it and relaxed her stance to a parade rest. "It is a shame that we are not in a more secure location, I would have liked to follow after him. Still, I would have expected more from Ireland's Son of Light."

I shook my head. "He was…he was fighting as hard as he could, but under a handicap. If I were to guess, his Master may have used a Command Seal so he could not fight at his full potential."

Saber turned to look at me, eyebrow raised. "That seems foolish, why would a Master purposefully restrict their Servant such?"

"There is logic behind that action," I said, scratching my chin and affecting confusion, "it is merely logic we cannot yet grasp. But I get the feeling that it has to do with why he wanted you to follow him. It may be that he'll be unrestricted the second time he faces you."

"How?" Rin said, reminding me that she existed, I looked over at her, her face was white as a sheet, her pupils dilated, and she was trembling from head to foot with stale adrenaline, her breathing carefully controlled. "How are you so calm? He nearly killed you."

I shrugged, life and death situations hit different after one resolved himself to die in pursuit of vengeance. "Freaking out won't be of any help. What I'm more worried about is that he attacked during the day. I had thought that the fights would be happening at night to avoid detection by the public."

"That is the intention." Rin said, clearly working to get herself under control. "But, Emiya-san, take a look around, do we look like we are in public?"

I blinked in confusion even as I obliged her. "What? Of course we-" and that's when my surroundings registered in my mind. We were in the expansive Tohsaka estate, her courtyard was, by Japanese standards, titanic. It was encased in numerous bounded fields to filter the perceptions of regular mortals. We were effectively isolated. "We are not." I finished lamely.

"Correct." Rin said. "If Lancer's Master was as much of a coward as he said, then it is likely the only reason Lancer attacked so brazenly was because we are currently quite isolated." She crossed her arms and gnawed at her thumbnail. "I'd be angry that he bypassed my Bounded Fields, but Cu Chulainn was taught magic by Scahthach. If any non-Caster Servant could, it would be him."

I whistled. "You know a lot about mythology." Rin's contemptuously raised eyebrow hurt my soul. "Honestly I was rather hoping that magically enhanced bullets would have had a bit more of an effect."

"Lancers, as a rule, have protection against projectiles, Shiro." Saber said. "Your initial attack did give him an instant pause, granting me the opportunity to change to my armor before the first exchange." After a moment's concentration, her armor disappeared into motes of magic, leaving her in the white button-down dress.

I sighed and kicked one of the craters my bullets had made. "An instant of pause," I muttered glumly. The best effort I was able to make under the circumstances, good enough to put big craters in concrete, and it didn't even buy a full second, and even that was because Lancer indulged me. "Saber, I say this with all of the love in my heart so please do not take it badly, Servants are bullshit."

I saw her lips pull up into the slightest grin full of smugness. It only lasted an instant before she was all business again. "Should we return to your home?"

I shook my head. "No, we set a number of goals and I want to see them through. Retreating now would serve no purpose beyond letting ourselves be cowed. We're going to start patrolling at night anyway."

Saber nodded solemnly, another of her small secret smiles ghosting over her face, I had the feeling I'd just passed a test I hadn't seen coming.

"And what mystic code was that?" Rin butted in. "How can you make a mystic code that potent and not call yourself a Magus?"

I blinked. "Okay, one, what's a Mystic Code? And two, this is an entirely common pistol. I was just Reinforcing it as I shot it."

Rin's eye twitched. "Emiya-san, one does not 'merely Reinforce' a mundane weapon until it can crater the ground with big balls of fire."

"Not with that attitude!" I said with a grin as I vanished my gun back to my Armory (Armoratorum?) and began walking toward our next appointment of the day.

"Magecraft doesn't work like that!" Rin snapped.

She continued to berate me all through the long walk to the other side of Fuyuky.

I'll say this much. Kotomine's church was magnificent. A towering gothic edifice that stood with quiet solemnity.

Honestly, it wasn't that big, its tallest spire would barely reach three stories. But the building exuded a quiet dignity and menace that made it seem to tower, even in the middle of the day.

Saber chose to stay outside, I don't blame her. I didn't like churches before I sold my soul to a multiversal slaving conglomerate created by literal Devils and doomed countless copies of myself to the same serfdom I was now stuck with.

Honestly first chance I got, I was going to buy that limited immortality that the Company sold, seeing as to the Company bartered in Gods, I didn't wanna know where my soul would end up if I ever left my mortal body.

Bodies?

Semantics.

The inside of the church was fairly standard. White walls, pews, windows, a humble altar, a piano. Honestly it was somewhat disappointing. Then again, if you're an evil maybe-not-entirely-fake priest it's best to keep up the truth/lie.

Thankfully, the place was empty. It still made me shiver. "Oi, Rin, what kind of priest runs this place? You never did say, and I'll freely admit I'm getting the hibbie jibbies."

She sighed in annoyance, my teasing on the way here having done a lot to melt the glacier between us. "It's kind of hard to explain. I've known him for ten years, but I still can't grasp his character."

"You know, I don't know if that says more about you than it does about him." I said as we made our way to the altar.

"Shut up. His name is Kotomine Kirei. He was a student of my father, he took me as an apprentice after my father died in the last Grail War…Honestly, I wish I'd never met him."

"Likewise." Said a deep, resonant voice that oozed confidence. "Poor indeed is the Mentor who is haunted by an apprentice who does not respect her teacher."

I turned to face the voice and standing there in his way-too-tall glory, mullet, tanned skin, severe face, dead-fish eyes and priestly vestments, was Kotomine Kirei, in the flesh.

An intense desire to punch that almost smirk off his stupid face rose up within me. The Stamp felt heavy and warm in my pocket, but I vanished it immediately. As powerful a weapon as the Stamp made, chances were he had Lancer watching us at this very instant, and as twisted as he was, Kirei was the real deal. If anyone would be able to sense the core of demonic energy in the Stamp, it would be this asshole.

No, if I ever Stamped him, it would have to be done after I'd beaten him into unconsciousness.

Now, the important question. Can I kill him? Yes, yes I can, I have numerous options for just such a thing and currently the element of surprise. But Lancer might be about, and I had no guarantee that killing him wouldn't set Gil off like a poorly timed golden IED. And while I had the beginnings of the whisper of an idea on how to deal with Gil, I did not have the idea studied, tested, engineered, drafted, implemented, troubleshot, upgraded, tested again, upgraded a second time, reengineered, redrafted, reimplemented, troubleshot, and tested a third time.

Kirei scoffed at Rin, unaware of exactly how close he'd just come to becoming a modern art display, the barest edge of smug derision in his slight smirk. "You didn't answer my repeated calls, and now you bring a strange guest. I take it he is the seventh Master, Rin?"

Rin harrumphed and tossed one of her twin tails over her shoulder. "Right. He's a magus, but there are some surprising gaps in his magical education. Still, he is one of the Seven, and you did make that rule to report here when one becomes a Master. So here he is."

Kirei smirked. "Very well, I feel I must thank you, young man. Were it not for you, I feel my wayward apprentice would have continued to ignore me for the duration of this conflict." He turned his gaze to me, and I felt the hairs on my arms and back of my neck stand on end. His control over his body language was superb, but my numerous purchased powers all agreed on one thing.

The man in front of me was dangerous.

He continued as if he hadn't noticed the effect he'd had on me. "I am Kotomine Kirei, the one entrusted with this church. What is your name, seventh Master of the Grail War?"

"My name." I stated, making my voice as strong and defiant as I could make it. "Is Emiya Shirou."

If I hadn't been looking for it, I would have missed the minute flicker of unbridled joy and anger that sparkled in his eyes. The full weight of his stare crashed down upon my shoulders.

I forced myself to take a step forward. "And I will say this. I know about the Grail War, I know how it's supposed to go, I know what one is supposed to do. So, I will make my intent clear for you to understand. I have no use for a 'wish,' no need for such a shortcut to power. I have one goal, and one goal only in this conflict that I had no choice in joining." I stopped in front of him, nearly nose-to-chest with Kirei as I glared into his eyes. "I am the son of Emiya Kiritsugu, Champion of the Fourth Holy Grail War. And I will ensure that the tragedy of ten years ago is not repeated. I do not care what the machinations of the Church are. What the magus association wants with the artefact. Hell, I don't care what anyone wants out of this overly complicated form of mass suicide. I will not allow the fire to happen again. If I have to destroy the Grail to make sure such a tragedy does not come to pass, then so be it. If you have a problem with that, some argument you could use to convince me that my choice is erroneous, speak now, I will do you the courtesy of listening to you."

This was a gamble. If I was lucky, this speech would convince him to push Gilgamesh to 'save me for last.' Giving me, hopefully, all the time I needed to come up with a few plans to contain the golden fucker long enough for the binding to take hold.

Judging by the near rapturous smile that formed on his face, I was certain I was at least partially successful.

There is no way whatsoever this could backfire on me. No siree.

Spoiler: Build as of ch 9

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: Leone, RevanGM, Khellendrosiic and 447 others

Santo

Jul 31, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 10 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Aug 5, 2023

Add bookmark

#225

Gon' have something of a full weekend. So I'm stealing some time to get this posted.

Very little writing happened over the week. All hail the backlog. XD

Conversation and engagement help a lot in keeping a guy's spirit's up. So if you like it, do please gimme a post, chat about it a wee bit. It really does help keep motivation up.

Anyways. 'Here ya go. Hope you enjoy.

As usual. If you see a mistake? It was the Grammar Goblins. Automatically not my fault! 8D

That said, if you catch something lemme know.

Irisviel tapped away at her elbow while she stared at the information on the screen before her. The rest of the screens in the Control Room showed the various rooms and hallways of the Master's mansion, lists of expected deliveries for raw materials, and leyline fluctuations that may cause issues with their dimensional anchoring.

When her Master had ordered Irisviel to become acquainted with the computers and systems that ran his compound, He hadn't specified that she shouldn't appoint herself as His Head Wife. Giving her a lot of freedom in what she could do.

Any Catalog purchases (and He had access to the good Catalog, a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one) would still have to go through the Master. But she could queue up tasks for the other girls, mark goals and objectives, create spreadsheets and inventories. Make suggestions for the acquisition of more personnel, hire third party help, liaise with Contractors…

Or, in this case, use the Master's permissions to look into personal information and run background checks. Something of rather vital importance to any Waifu produced by the Company. She had been pleasantly surprised to learn that her two sister-waifus had spoken the truth, both of them were the more expensive to produce, but near identical in Essence, clones of a Prime, both came from a divergent reality that, according to Company records, matched what each of them had described. Irisviel had been the only one to have been raised in a Company Orphanage with a Personality Matrix and inloaded Core Memories, meaning Irisviel was the only one with Company-Specific training, giving her greater soft value.

The data download when she had been brought out of stasis for processing before being placed back into stasis while the Master Himself was put through the Essence Transfer procedure, had not included information on what Class her Master was in, beyond the fact that He was an Agent.

This could mean any number of things, few of them good.

Irisviel had prayed that she wouldn't end up with a typical Class A Agent. She couldn't remember the exact wording of her prayer. But she was almost certain the words 'anything but' had been included.

Her Master was a Prime. A Template. A First Time Hire.

A Cherry.

Of all the rolls in the Great Company Gacha. Irisviel had rolled the most unlikely and, impossible as it should be, least safe option of all. A freshly recruited Agent, one who would serve as a Template for Clones that would be put through Basic and whose Sacrifices in the various Rituals that were the 'Final Tests' would power the next batch of Stamps.

The issue being. Cherries were set loose upon the multiverse with zero training. Yes, they were granted powers and other abilities. But, statistically, most First Time Hires went on to not read the manual, pay no attention to the details, bite off more than they could chew, die, and whoever they had purchased or Captured who didn't have a child in her was repossessed and resold as Used Goods.

The chances of getting on with one of those few Primes that didn't require Common Sense beaten into them by a military instructor were…not good.

To top things off, the Company file on her Master was woefully lacking.

'Recruited from parallel of Standard Recruiting World. Demonstrated proclivity toward goal-oriented planning. Observed use of guerilla tactics. Detail oriented. Successfully decommissioned experienced Agent. Possible suicidal tendencies. Possible sociopathic tendencies. Believed to be prime candidate for Class A recruitment.'

Not a lot to go on, most of it was positive, but the final two notes were rather worrisome.

A test batch of five hundred clones of the Master had already been produced and were already in service. Every single one of them had taken the fifteen-year work contract that the Master had negotiated for His Clones rather than attempt to become an Agent immediately.

With most clones having a ninety-seven to a ninety-nine point nine nine nine seven percent match to the Prime's Mind and Soul, Irisviel could at least feel assured that her Master was cautious, or at the very least carefully calculated what risks He took while planning for the long term. A trait that was often missing among those who were on the higher end of the sociopathic spectrum.

Maria's grease-stained face appeared on the screen, her pearly whites in full display as her eyes shone with triumph. "Iri, Iri! I did it! Look, look!" Before Irisviel could so much as greet the young woman, she had run off, picked up a sword of some kind or another and pressed a button that caused a crackling field to surround the blade, and used it to slice through a solid metal rod as if it were paper. Maria turned back to whatever she was using as a camera. "See!? I got the Disruption Field to stabilize! The problem was the magnetic containment! It was failing, causing the Field to eat into the metal, which in turn caused a cascading effect th-" The crackling field on the sword in her hand changed color. Without a word, Maria threw it and jumped behind a console, an instant later there was a flash and the viewscreen turned to static.

Irisviel sent in the maintenance robots, the ones Maria hadn't fiddled with and tied with pink ribbons. Why she put googly eyes on those, Irisviel would never know.

The trashcan looking robots would have looked much better with mustaches and round little tuxedos.

Still, that was the third explosion of the day. Perhaps she should restrict Maria's access to caffeine?

Irisviel made a note to limit the girl's caffeine ration and set an alarm to remind herself to force Maria to take a nap. Yes, she'd only had the initial breakthrough on the disruption field after not sleeping for a few days, but still…

Now, where was she before that interruption?

Oh right, the Master's possible sociopathy.

Ultimately, Irisviel put that under false read due to trauma and emotional strain. The way He had clung to her the instant she offered the merest comfort…It would take a master actor to successfully imitate that level of raw hurt.

No, if she were a betting woman, she'd put her money on the Master being similar to her Prime's late husband. Traumatized, and only able to move forward by crushing the emotions that threatened to drown Him under the weight of a goal. Before His recruitment, that goal had been vengeance.

What goal He had now, Irisviel did not know. She feared He had none. It was entirely possible the Master was merely going through the motions. Seeking to do the job His Patron had foisted onto Him without much of a care on if He lived or died.

That fear had, in part, been the reason why she had pushed herself so hard to seduce Him. Experience encoded into the Prime's personality matrix Iri had been implanted with, had shown her that few things took a man's mind off his troubles better than a woman bouncing happily on his lap.

That and the fact that, if He was fond of her, He would hopefully hesitate on throwing her away or selling her back to the Company if ever He needed a few Credits.

She wished she'd never done the research on the statistics of what happened to Irisviels across the Company.

Even if it had been more difficult than initially expected (seriously, what red-blooded male is faced with the 'sleeping and defenseless nearly naked woman' set-up and doesn't go for it? Her Master, that's who, because He liked playing hard to get. There was also the issue that she fell asleep for real, that had not been intended and led to her being too startled for proper seduction, but eh, details) she had succeeded in her goal to take Him to bed, unfortunately, she had most certainly failed to make Him infatuated with her as had been her hope. Yes, the fact that He'd been willing to eat her out without prompting on her part was a welcome surprise. The fact that He'd adorably burst His load as soon as He got all the way in her had filled her with pride.

But it had been a trap.

Behind the façade of a boy popping his cherry, lay an insatiable beast who instinctively knew all her weak points! She had expected to drain him dry and still be good to go for more. Einzbern Homunculi were, entirely unironically, built different to normal Magi.

That the Master was virile enough to exhaust her and still had the energy to get His other girls out of storage, give a tour, hold a strategy meeting, and put an upstart in her place? It was unconscionable.

Irisviel's pride would not let this most horrid situation stand!

"You look like you're scheming something again." Raven's voice made Irisviel jump and squeak, drawing her away from her plans of most enjoyable revenge setting things back to their natural order. "Didn't learn your lesson with the blue guy fuckup?"

Irisviel pouted at her current only real competition for the position of Harem Head. "There was at least a solid chance of that plan working!"

Raven snorted and sauntered over, letting herself fall on the seat next to Irisviel's, activating the seat's heating function and sinking into the cushions with a satisfied sigh. "You weren't the one who almost got her head cut off, should have thought about him being Mind Controlled to run home and tattle the moment he heard an offer to serve a different Master, that could have ended badly."

Irisviel suppressed a grimace. She was very thankful that, when He had learned of the failed plan, the Master had congratulated both her and Raven for their initiative. Irisviel knew plenty of Agents would not have reacted nearly so well to either the show of independence or their failure to provide results.

"The Master?" She asked.

Rather than answer, Raven pulled out the Master's Company Phone and tapped away at it, one of the screens changing to a first-person view transmitted from the Master's own eyes.

He was currently battling against Saber, both of them attacking and reposting with superhuman speed. Irisviel could tell that while the (delectable) blonde Servant was holding back significantly, she was doing so less and less the longer the sparring match went.

The fact that Raven was trusted with the Company Phone was worrisome to Irisviel. Yes, she was Head Wife, but she held the position through trickery. Her authority had a very real chance of collapsing the moment it was challenged. Raven, in turn, was trusted with the powerful device as she was the Master's scout, His eyes and ears on the field.

Ever since the Master had put her in her place disciplined her, Raven had thrown herself fully into her work for the Master, perhaps elevating the woman enough to make up for her earlier challenges to the Master's authority.

One of the pitfalls of having a kind and understanding Master, as theirs was thankfully proving to be.

"Any enemy activity?" Irisviel asked as she went back to administering the Master's estate.

"None that I've noticed." Raven said, a server robot skull floated in, carrying a tray with a mug of steaming hot chocolate. Raven took it and took a long sip, she crossed one of her toned legs over the other and absently kicked her foot. "The days since they went to that church have been quiet, the nights too. It has Santo on edge. He tries not to show it, but the fact that your daughter hasn't shown up to ruin his day is driving him up a wall."

Irisviel hummed noncommittally. She wasn't certain if she wanted the inevitable conflict to happen already, or if she'd rather it remain a nebulous possibility.

She also feared that her own desire to not be seen by her daughter, logical as her reasons were, would lower her in the Master's eyes enough for Him not to accept her bid for Harem Head.

"His talking down of his Legal Guardian was fun, or, well, the way she challenged the Servant and expected to win was funny." Raven suddenly snorted while grimacing slightly. "That one looked like it hurt."

Irisviel blinked and looked at the screen that showed the blonde Servant, from the low angle of the image, the tiny woman looked titanic, the training weapon in her hand disappearing into the bottom of the screen.

Raven snorted again and finished her hot chocolate. "At least this training is entertaining. Anytime he's sitting with that prissy witch girl it's boring as all hell." She stood and stretched, her back popping. "Yap yap yap, magic, yap yap yap Mage Association, yap yap yap secret. Makes me wanna sit on her face, put her tongue to better use."

That was a nice thought, the Tohsaka girl looked positively delectable. Still, it wouldn't do to agree too easily with her rival.

Or…maybe it would.

"Maybe, though she has the air of a closet bisexual." Irisviel grinned lasciviously at Raven. "It might be more fun to tie her next to the bed and force her to watch two ladies having a good time."

Raven stilled for a moment before grinning back, her own smile tinged with bloodlust. "Is that a challenge?"

Urk, not the way Irisviel thought the woman would take that. Still, the die was cast and she couldn't afford to back down. She leaned back, making sure her shirt caught on her seat and exposed her midriff, her position making her breasts strain the fabric. "Do you want it to be?"

A dangerous light lit in Raven's eyes, the air in the control room feeling heavier, Irisviel felt her cheeks grow hot as the other woman undressed her with her gaze, her clothes growing quickly stifling. Her fingers itched to feel Raven's flat belly, the pulse point on the woman's neck begging to be bit and licked and sucked.

Raven had Aura and she was exceedingly fit, she had elemental magic, but other than that she was a normal human. But while Irisviel was a novice in the active effects of Aura, its restorative power worked automatically.

The question would come down to who could outlast the other, and Irisviel was willing to take that bet.

With Raven's mentality, if Irisviel were to prove the greater, she may well quietly acquiesce to be under her, at least until the woman's next challenge. Conversely, if Irisviel lost, she would still have a week's proof of efficiently managing the Master's estate without supervision. Meaning her bid to be officially named the Harem Head would not suffer in the slightest.

As Raven growled and took a step toward her, an alert from the console drew their attention.

They turned just in time to see Saber disappear in a burst of light, the Master sprinting out of the dojo of his local mansion and jumping over the wall to the compound, then running across the rooftops.

His voice blared out of the speakers. [Raven, support Saber, one of the locals is under attack! Keep her safe while Saber fights off the threat, I'll catch up!]

Raven sprinted out of the Control Room, the various screens showing her in sequence as she ran to the Portal Room.

Irisviel took the liberty to have the various robots prepare the medical wing.

She had a feeling that, one way or another, it was going to be needed.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Khellendrosiic, Condescension_ and 413 others

Santo

Aug 5, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 11 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Aug 13, 2023

Add bookmark

#250

Yo. Got a whole two paragraphs of writing done this week. Work has been ugh...it's getting ugher.

Just...blegh.

All hail the backlog. Lemme know what yall think about the chapter. Conversation helps a lot with motivation and all that.

Thanks for readin' and all that.

Thank all that is fuck that I set my HUD to give me an alert if any of the girls' vitals suffered. I could have sworn that Rider attacking Ayako didn't happen until later.

I monitored Saber in my HUD, her mana dipping minutely every second and refilled back to full from my overcharged Circuits. It was a good thing she was quick on the uptake. There had been no time to explain what was happening.

I did not look forward to explaining how I'd known Ayako needed rescuing.

"Iri, give me an update! Has Raven reached them yet!?" I growled needlessly out loud.

[She'll arrive in two minutes.] Irisviel said, her voice tight. That was good, much better than the twelve it would take me if I could maintain my current pace and direction. Which I wouldn't, the river splitting Fuyuki was too wide and exposed. I'd need to cross the bridge, which would slow me further, adding at least ten more minutes.

Stupid and careless, that's what I was. I'd made Raven set down a good number of portals on the Miyama town side of Fuyuki, I had a nice network of portals for fast redeployment, I could be nearly anywhere in Miyama in minutes.

But my dumb ass only had one portal set up in Shinto. Near Neko's bar. Because I went there once.

Not putting one down in the church made sense, after all, Gil might get his head out of his ass for a whole two seconds and notice it. No, the Church was far too dangerous a location.

But the rest of fucking Shinto sure as fuck wasn't, and yet, it was a complete deadzone. Because I'd been a goddamn idiot and didn't think to ask the shape-shifting superhuman with my magic phone to fucking fly there and drop a few portals!

I revised the spell formula I was using, lowering my personal gravity even further. Allowing me to make even longer leaps through the air. I considered using my pyromancy to propel myself, but that would be far too noticeable.

A figure in dark clothes could easily be missed in the evening sky. But a fucking rocketman?

Stupid. Careless. Conceited. That was me. I'd put the Stamp on Ayako as a backup plan. A just-in-case I never thought would be needed. Why would it be needed when I was planning to deal with Shinji and the entire Matou problem before the week was over?

Who would have thought that Shinji would move on his own fucking schedule? Anyone! Anyone with two neurons to rub together would have been smart enough to realize that the rabid retarded rapist fuck moved at his own schedule, not at my goddamn convenience.

I stopped myself demanding another update. Saber was still fighting; Ayako was hurt but stable. Saber was able to handle Rider even when she was wholly starved of magical energy, I literally had supercharged her. She could handle Rider.

But could she protect an unmoving hostage from that slippery bitch?

Probably, hopefully.

Ayako had my Stamp. Her well-being was my responsibility. Raven would tilt things even further in Saber's favor. All that needed t-wait, was that a bird?

The glowing bird slammed into my stomach, knocking the air out of me as it dive-bombed to the ground. I barely managed to maintain the presence of mind to change my upkeep spell to Iron Flesh and throw down a pyromancy jet behind me to mitigate the impact. Crashing into the ground still made icy pain slam up my spine.

Note to self, hot ground hurts.

I rolled out of the hot spot and threw myself to my feet. If there was one thing I'd learned after the last couple of days sparring against Saber, it was that those who stayed down died.

The sight that greeted me as I settled into a fighting stance chilled me to the bone.

[Oh no.] Irisviel said mournfully, as her daughter smiled like the cat that got the canary. If looks could kill, I'd immediately be vaporized. Four glowing wireframe birds flapped around her small body.

"Glad to see you finally leave your house, onii-chan." She said in a sing-song voice. "I knew you were a coward. I mean, a Magus whose main power is running away?" She clicked her tongue.

What? Yes, it was early evening, but Illya would not attack unless we were isola–

Looking around, we were in a field, likely belonging to one of the wealthier residents in Fuyuki as it was at least a few acres and currently empty but for the grass and a far-off pond. I had been keeping to the less populated areas so I could let loose on the magic to reach Saber faster.

And I had been focused on getting to where I was going. Maybe, just maybe, focused enough to miss a giant running beneath me.

Wellp, Illya did mention my habit of running away. I set a portal at my feet just in-

All her magic birds spat bolts of magic at me, forcing me to dodge back or get skewered by bolts that made three-inch craters in the dry ground.

"I was nice enough to wait for you to summon your Servant, and you don't even have them with you." Illyasviel said. "And the first thing you do when we finally meet is try to run away?"

"Well, I think I sense some hostility." I said and her eyes blazed, oookay, set off a landmine there. "And I don't like hitting pretty girls, so I figured I might retreat and let cooler heads prevail."

Okay, first question, can I kill her?

Yes, yes I can. Berserker would not be able to protect her from the overpressure caused by a meltabomb exploding. I can probably fire enough sharp pointy things to slip at least one past the Heroic Spirit. A large enough wave of fire might also do the trick. The spell formula for an explosion was available. And worse comes to worst, I could probably try and bounce a bullet off something with the right application of my Warcaster abilities.

A large enough Blade Geyser might even do the trick. My abilities as a Horseman simultaneously my least practiced and the ones I had the most experience with.

But I'd given Iri my word that I would do my best to Stamp her daughter. Healing her of the worst of the Einzbern's modifications and saving her life.

And that…that would likely be a lot more difficult.

I continued to dodge the birds' attacks, steadily retreating. Saber was still using mana so that fight was still ongoing. If I could stretch this enough for her to finish over there and get here, then I–

"Mou! Berserker, kill him!"

Well shit.

A granite skinned titan appeared behind her, the mystically enhanced jagged piece of a granite column in its crushing grip forced itself into my mind. I began frantically Tracing as it roared and rushed forward, my eyes barely able to track it, its crude unsubtle weapon descending. Only to be rebuffed by its twin in my hand, the uncontrolled swing throwing me off balance and the recoil of the collision that had the force of an explosion breaking my forearm and popping my shoulder out of its socket.

It also sent me flying, this being the only reason Berserker's back swing didn't tear me in two. If Illya said something I didn't hear it, my ears were ringing too hard and I was too busy Tracing a second copy of the ax-blade. The one in my hand had cracks running through its entire length.

Martial and Soul Talents both gorged themselves on Berserker's every action. I felt magical energy flow back into me from my bond with Saber, setting and fusing my radius and ulna, and forcing my shoulder back into its socket. My feet carved trenches on the ground as I landed, I felt something squelch inside me and I was able to draw a quick breath as the giant bore down on me.

Berserker swung down at me with the unrelenting force of an avalanche, I withstood the first strike, the shockwave of displaced air beating me back even as the weapon in my hand gave me whiplash to strike out at its master a second time. The third titanic blow sent me tumbling, the only reason anything below my hips remained connected to me being the Iron Flesh spell.

When the magic that must be Avalon reconnected my spinal cord, I Traced a third copy and was attacking before I finished rising to my feet. That was the only reason I lived. The combined forces of our attacks sinking my feet into the hard-packed ground, I felt something in my knees crack and give way as what little breath I had in me was crushed out of me. The impact of Berserker's weapon shearing the blade in my hand.

I didn't Trace the fourth blade in time.

I was surprised when I awoke, my body ragdolling through the air, the sky taking the place of the ground, before they switched places, the process repeating too many times for me to bother counting. I felt a number of impacts as the ground and sky continued their sickening dance, grateful that I did not feel pain, some part of my brain that was coldly analytical informed me that this was likely very bad.

As I came to a merciful stop, I was finally able to open my eyes without the land and sky trading places. Where I expected to see blood and tattered clothing, I saw roughly forged plates of thick metal, my arms and legs encased in armor so thick it could withstand cannon fire. The Panoply of War had come to me to protect me. And judging by the fact I could feel its jagged edges biting into my chest, it had paid the price for that.

At that moment, the ability to notice pain unfortunately returned to my heavily leaden body. I coughed and vomited two lungfuls of blood and took my first deep breath that I could remember.

"Berserker! Stop playing with him! Kill him, kill him already!" Illya's shrill voice scratched at my ears.

Most of me wanted to lay down and die. I told those parts of me to shut up as I pushed myself to my feet. I Traced the ax-blade and twenty copies of Kansho and Bakuya, sending them at the granite monster and pumping them full of far too much magical energy.

The monster batted them all aside without so much as slowing its charge, the impact setting the fragile weapons off. Shards of the exploding Noble Phantasms peppering its pristine skin with scratches and their combined shockwave serving to cause it to stumble a step. The storm of conjured metal and the dust of the explosions buying me just enough time to heave my whole body into a throw, the enormous granite weapon sailing through the air toward its master as I overfilled my legs with magical energy and shot myself toward my enemy.

Something gave way on my legs, but the adrenaline, the exhilaration of battle, the power of War, and Avalon all worked together to keep my body whole as Berserker batted the thrown weapon aside as if it weighed nothing.

His back swing moved soundlessly towards me, a barrier of condensed vapor trailing it as I drank deep of the power of War and summoned a Blade Geyser. A dozen copies of Chaoseater shot sequentially out of the ground, striking the back of Berserker's hand, scraping the skin there and pushing the limb up millimeters at a time.

It wasn't much, but it was just enough for the strike to swing over me, tearing a strip out of the backplate of my armor.

Just before I reached him, Chaoseater, the red blade of War settled into my hands with a muted flash and sunk into the monster's stomach, a strike which would have cleaved concrete like butter was barely enough to sink half the length of the divine weapon into the Servant's guts.

My elation did not even have time to properly form before Berserker's enormous fist closed around my entire upper body, his grip tightened, crumpling my armor and crushing my neck into paste. He then flung me aside like so much trash, my utterly unresisting and unresponsive body failing to mitigate any of the impact.

I stopped moving at some point. Kept alive by the powers I stole and bargained for, kept awake only by my stubborn refusal to let the monster win.

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't feel anything below my neck, and I couldn't move anything under my jaw. A jaw held tightly shut by the warped metal of my gorget. The only reason I was relatively certain I was alive was the pounding of blood in my head and my ears.

Oh wait, there's the pain.

This was very familiar. I recalled being in almost this exact situation before, even. When I killed the Agent of a multi-universal slaving conglomerate.

If I had a dime for every time I've ended up a broken ragdoll on the ground after throwing my all into an attack to damage a monster that was seemingly impregnable…well, I'd have twenty cents. Which has not been a lot since like, the nineteen hundreds.

I couldn't breathe. The part of my brain that continued to coldly analyze the situation informed me I should do something about that. But I couldn't move, so how was I supposed to…oh right.

I sent the gorget back to my inventory. The avadoohickey reconnected my esophagus and I drew a single, shuddering breath, that I then wasted by coughing.

"How is he still alive Berserker!?" Came a little girl's high-pitched screech. Oh right, I was supposed to Stamp her and run away.

Why wasn't I doing that?

On second thought. I was going to skip the Stamping and jump to step two of the plan. I tried to make a doorway directly beneath me but got an error message. Apparently, I was on unstable ground. When had that happened?

There was a crack in the back of my neck, sensation returned, but motor control didn't. I tried kicking my legs, but they had more bends than they should.

I felt water.

Ah. I was mostly in mud. Yeah, mud is not very stable, that tracks.

I told the doorway to form as close to me as possible. To my eyes, it formed a foot away on dry ground.

Attempting to pull myself toward it resulted in my arm, itself having three elbows, digging a messy furrow in the mud without any actual locomotion.

A shadow fell on top of me.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to see." Said the girl, what was her name again? "You, on the ground, writhing."

I raised my head enough to look up, a white-haired girl was several feet away, a giant was a lot closer. It had a hole all the way through its stomach. How'd that happen?

Oh right, I did that.

She did not smile, she bared her teeth. "You surprised me, onii-chan. You actually made Berserker chase you around. You even managed to wound him! If you had struck a little higher and to the side, you might even have killed him." She leaned forward and tilted her head, her purple coat had little spatters of mud and dirt. "Then again, you probably aren't strong enough to get that big sword through his ribs."

I took my first unobstructed breath.

Her not-smile widened. "I was planning to keep you, you know? I thought about maybe picking up your head and making it into a stuffed animal. But you're just too dangerous. I mean, you survived Berserker for almost a whole minute!"

I coughed. That had been way longer than a minute.

My HUD betrayed me by informing me that from the beginning of hostilities with the giant to my ending up in the pond, fifty-seven point two seconds had passed.

Thanks HUD, I appreciate the emasculation.

"I can see why he chose you over me." She continued, her voice losing the faux warmth. "He did always like to talk about Heroes. Mighty Allies of Justice. You even come with a transformation. Not that it helped you against Berserker."

Strength returned to my core, the fog around my mind cleared slightly. Overworked adrenal glands spooled up and gave me a dose of the Good Shit, clearing my mind further. My arms crunched and straightened, back to having only a single elbow each, rather than the combined total of seven.

"Oh-oh, looks like I better cut this short. It was nice meeting you, onii-chan. Wherever you end up, I hope it hurts a lot. Berserker!"

I tried to prepare the spell formula for an explosion. But I couldn't figure out the basic math for a big boom.

The power of War was overtaxed merely keeping me alive. Pyromancy wouldn't help. My Aura was long shattered. I could try Tracing something but I had nothing that would give the monster pause.

The granite giant did not do me the courtesy of pausing. His ax came up, then descended. Something moved to my left.

"STOP!"

A gale-force wind pushed me a little farther into the pond. A slight frame stood in front of me, her arms thrown open wide. My heart went from languidly beating, to up in my throat in the span of an instant.

Irisviel stood before the giant, its ax-blade having halted an instant before it would turn the woman to paste.

"N-No," I gurgled, reaching a hand uselessly out toward her. I was responsible for her safety, I had to pull her to safety, to protect her from Berserker. "Behind m-me."

"Ma…Mama?" Illya asked, her voice trembling and thick with emotion.

"Yes! Yes Illya. It's me, it's really me." Irisviel wept, her tone ecstatic. "My, look how big you've grown!"

Illyasviel stood stock still, then her cherubic face clouded into a rictus of pain, betrayal and hate. "You. Him."

"N-No, Illya, please."

"Everyone. You too. They all. All of you."

"Illya, you don't understand. He, he helped, he healed me. Please Illya, just listen."

Illya's entire body glowed red, the intricate patterns of her Magic Circuits lighting up with her rage. The giant beside her grew even more grotesque, its skin vibrating, incapable of withstanding its own monstrous power. Illyasviel snarled as she pointed her dainty finger at us. "Berserker, kill them! Kill them both!"

The ax-blade rose and descended in an instant and was shoved aside by a blue and silver wind, its impact against the ground carving a yards long furrow. My minute Servant proceeded to shoulder-check the giant, a titanic burst of magical energy augmenting her strength to monstrous proportions as she caused the maddened demigod to stumble several steps.

Then they became a whirlwind. The maddened Servant forgetting all about its orders in its quest to annihilate the petite woman who could cleave mountains. As the two fought, Saber steadily retreated, leading the insane monster away.

"You don't get to live just because you got lucky!" Illyasviel snarled, her four birds swooped, glowing a sickening pulsating red.

Irisviel summoned a wireframe hawk and sent it forward, it intercepted one of Illyasviel's birds and the two constructs fell away to their duel as the other three dove, sharp talons leading. I summoned my .45, empowered it as best as I could and emptied the magazine, expending nine bullets to just barely destroy one of the constructs.

I tried to throw myself to my feet, but something cracked in my legs when I tried to place my weight on them. I reached for Iri as I switched to my Glock, the best I'd manage would be to cover her with my body, but it'd be better than nothing.

Maria charged out of the portal and came to a skidding halt in front of Iri, interposing a shield stylized after a wing between us and the diving constructs. The two projectiles impacted with a painful clang, their talons punching divots into the steel plate.

She flicked the shield to the side and slashed twice, both constructs shattering, the strands that made them fluttered to the ground. "I'm sorry." She said, for the first time since I'd meet the girl, her voice held neither cheer nor warmth. "But I will not allow you to harm them."

Illya emitted an inarticulate scream full of betrayed rage, conjuring three more birds. In the two seconds it had taken her to do that, Maria had closed the distance between them, between one step and the next, six luminescent wings with golden feathers sprouted from her back. The edges of her sword shining the red-gold of a sunset.

Her sword swung three times, six strikes fell upon the magical constructs.

Illya backtracked hard, creating more of her familiars. Maria matched her, each step a strike and each strike a step, her movements elegant, almost dainty when compared to Illyasviel's frantic retreat. The taller girl destroying the constructs before Illya could finish making them, withstanding or shrugging aside any of Illyasviel's direct retaliatory attacks.

With every construct of Illya's that fell, I felt myself rejuvenated. My wounds knitting just a little faster, my stamina replenished, my Aura more easily reformed.

I'd bought the three women because the Company gated the purchase of Command Seals behind Tier 6 Companions. The main reason behind my purchases was greater access to a resource.

I'd bought Irisviel in the hopes of using her to attain her daughter's loyalty without the need to fight her. The woman's words about the damaged state of her daughter's mind had proven prophetic. Even so, she was a Tier 6 due to the utility of her abilities. She was a healer, and her knowledge of rituals opened a great many avenues for indirect attack and control.

Raven was a Tier 6 thanks to her Maiden magic. Without it she was a Tier 5 due more to her technique and experience in battle and assassination. I could match her thanks to my double stack of War's Template and thanks to my other abilities, even overpower her in a purely physical confrontation.

Maria Nearl was a Tier 6 based purely on her fighting prowess. She had some relatively minor tricks to control a skirmish, or use her talents to heal her compatriots. But in a purely physical altercation, she'd easily handle even Raven.

Not counting Saber, Maria was the one member of my Retinue that, even empowered as I was, could certainly kick my ass.

It was a good thing that I was wearing armor, because my still half-addled mind found the fact that my chirpiest Companion could most certainly put me in the ground and keep my there to be incredibly arousing.

Illya tripped and fell on her back and found the point of Maria's sword pressing lightly against her sternum. From the distance came a howl of incandescent fury, but the granite skinned giant failed to materialize.

At any time, the demi-human girl could have claimed Illyasviel's head. Instead of finishing the homonculus, she demanded. "Surrender."

Illya stared pure murder at equine girl. She took a deep breath and screamed. "BERSERKER!"

The maddened demigod howled. Drawing every eye but Maria's toward it.

Now that I was no longer the target, I could appreciate the sheer juxtaposition of Herakles the Berserker. Each of his attacks were made with sublime technique yet were wild and inelegant. His every movement held immense destructive power, yet most of that power wasted itself against the ground or air as Saber dodged or redirected it.

The louder Illya called, the more frantic Berserker's movements became. When I had fought it, it had cared not one whit for defense, its might too overwhelming for it to bother.

Now that it was fighting Saber, its unrelenting assault was its defense. My Servant using a not insignificant percentage of my obscenely augmented magical capacity merely keeping the larger Servant at bay. Making it struggle for every inch of ground it claimed.

Each of its swings gouged the ground or made the air itself scream, Saber's only hope of defense being an overwhelming attack of her own to just barely redirect the maddened giant.

"Berserker!" Illya called again, her call demanding, frantic. Utterly uncaring of the fact she was at the mercy of another, her body glowing brighter as sweat began to pour down her face in rivulets. "Kill them! Kill them already, BERSERKER!"

The granite skinned giant roared. Each of its attacks now pushing Saber back a step rather than an inch. She poured more and more mana into her strikes, doubling, then tripling her output. Each time their weapons clashed a shockwave cracked the ground they battled on.

I forced myself out of the stupor that the display of savagery versus technique had drawn me into.

All that Saber needed was an opening. She was able to win the Grail War essentially without a Master. She could take the smallest opening to grip victory with both hands.

It was my duty as her Master to provide that opening. I called upon my Warcaster magic, mentally pushing Soul Talent to help me in crafting the Spell Formula.

A Warcaster was a force multiplier. Not because of their immense magical might, not due to the metal behemoths they mentally commanded. Not even because the least of them, when properly armored, could shrug off a direct strike from an artillery gun. All these things helped, but the main reason Warcasters were venerated was their effortless control of the battlefield.

Under their ministrations, a smooth paved road would entangle those they considered an enemy as if it were barbed wire, they could make their own forces glide through a minefield without setting a single mine off.

I was truly a failure, as a Master, a Warcaster, and as a Horseman. It was in the name. I could have called upon my magical flying horse and escaped, the thought only coming to me in this instant of concussed clarity.

In moments, the spell was crafted, the runes appeared around my wrist. My magic pulsed into the ground in a rolling wave. The dirt beneath Saber's feet became her ally, aiding her in keeping her balance, only giving way to aid her in absorbing an impact.

The ground beneath Berserker became as liquid. His feet sinking through it without resistance all the way to his upper thigh, his swing going wide and losing nearly all power as he did not have the ground to push against for that one instant. Even this would not slow Berserker for long, his stumble caused more by his surprise than any actual impediment.

Impossible as it should have been, that minute distraction was all that Saber needed. She ducked under the wild swing, getting inside the monster's nonexistent guard and sunk her invisible weapon into the faint scar in its stomach left behind by Chaoseater.

With a triumphant shout, she tore the sword up, cleaving through rock-hard skin, steely muscle, and adamantine bone. The invisible edge of her blade exiting the giant's clavicle in a geyser of blood and viscera. The two halves of Berserker's torso flapping down in opposite directions.

She swung her blade to the side to rid it of blood and raised it before her in respectful salute to her fallen foe.

"By this Command Seal I order you, Saber; strike Berserker with your Noble Phantasm at full power!" I Commanded.

Her body stiffened, the invisible illusion dispelling around her sword in a violent pulse of air. A blade of pure golden radiance was revealed as she raised it over her head, its shine quickly growing to an incandescence that would have put the sun itself to shame.

The grass shuddered, the pond rippled, the air stilled. The world itself held its breath in suspenseful anticipation.

"Ex—!" The sword blazed, becoming a pillar of golden light that reached to the heavens and cleaved them in twain as it descended. "—CALIBUR!"

The sound was monstrous. Overwhelming. And yet it was beautiful. The world itself seemed to sigh in awe as the clouds in the heavens drifted apart after being parted.

As the light faded, not a single speck was left of the monstrous body of Berserker.

Saber stood to her full height, she turned and gave me a gimlet stare, then looked at Irisviel as she ran to her daughter, the latter howling at the loss of her Servant.

Saber turned from Iri, to take in the form of Maria as she helped me to my knees and supported me to keep me upright. Then turned to me, her eyes demanding answers.

I did the only thing that I felt was reasonable under the circumstances and passed out.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Urahlehi, Khellendrosiic and 420 others

Santo

Aug 13, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 12 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Aug 17, 2023

Add bookmark

#274

Bit of a shorter chapter this time. But that's just how it turned out.

For people that were hoping for a big meltdown...Well. You'll see. I did my best to write the character as I honestly think they'd react to the circumstances she was presented with.

Also posting it in the middle of the week because I'mma be busy as heck tomorrow and I'll be going out of town this weekend. Won't even get to turn on my PC on Friday.

Behold Ch 12. The Backlog shrinks ever more. ;_;

Ch 14 is at best half written. And man, that one is fighting me pretty hard.

Trynn'a do a bit of a weird thing here. Wondering how it's going to come across and if people will like it.

I have the feeling some of y'all will like it. And some of y'all will hate it.

Probably most of y'all won't really care much one way or the other? Who knows. Hoping you'll like it.

As usual. Lemme know what you think. Conversation helps more than you'd think to help motivation along. Which helps a lot at the end of the day after work. Blugh.

Here's the chapter. Lemme know what you think.

I awoke without pain, that was surprising. I'd also had the weirdest dream. Whatever was in the morphine was good stuff.

I opened my eyes to a different hospital room than the one I'd grown used to. Huh, was I supposed to be moved? Did they not have to inform the murderous cripple?

"It is good that you are awake, Shiro."

I turned in the direction of the voice and saw the most beautiful blonde woman I'd ever seen, wearing a suit of weird plate armor without a helmet.

The last five days crashed into the forefront of my mind, an intense relief welling up inside me at the realization that it hadn't been some drug-haze induced dream.

I hoped.

I dropped my head back onto the surprisingly comfy pillow and started talking. "Are you hurt? How did your rescue go? Was Illyasviel captured without further bloodshed? How long was I out?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her be taken aback when my first question was to ask for her well-being.

Well, she shouldn't be, her well-being was my responsibility.

"In order, I am unharmed, I was able to rescue the young woman you sent me to. Your Familiar arrived as I vanquished the enemy Servant and told me to go to you while she kept the young woman safe." She hesitated before continuing. "You have been unconscious for five hours." She stood with a clatter of armor and leaned over the bed so she could properly glare at me. "Master, I believe I am owed an explanation."

I smiled, more than a bit strained. By my count, there were still some hours left before she was as loyal to me as Irisviel, she could still kill me if she disliked the answers she received.

Well, I'd never been much of a fan of lying to people I like anyways. "Let me up, there's something I need to show you that will help explain things."

Walking through the infirmary, I saw Ayako lying on one of the other beds, an IV drip connected to her arm, the screen at the foot of the bed said Rider had snacked on her soul to a dangerous degree, my Defenses kept her from being killed but she'd need a few days to recover.

Outside the infirmary, I gave Raven a call and asked for an update. She informed me that she had been keeping an eye on the Emiya estate, so far everything seemed normal, Maria had collapsed from exhaustion after the battle and was currently sleeping off a worrying amount of post-caffeine exhaustion (apparently, the idiot girl had forgotten to sleep for the last three days, I was going to have to do something about that, keep it from becoming a habit), and Irisviel was currently dealing with Illyasviel. Keeping her contained while the Stamp she'd applied took hold.

We'd probably be better off keeping her in a medically induced coma for three days.

I thanked Raven and told her to keep doing what she was doing.

[There's something for you in the holding cells.] She said cryptically with a bloodthirsty smirk, then hung up.

I spared a moment to use my HUD to connect to the cameras in the holding cells, and had to fight to keep my face passive.

I would have to think of a way to reward Raven, that was a very nice bit of initiative she showed.

I shut off my view of the mansion's cameras and thought over what I would say as I led Saber through the hallways.

I felt the weight of her stare increase the longer I remained silent, but she did not demand I start talking. Honestly, I do not know if I appreciated or resented her for that.

I hesitated at the door marked for my eyes only, then resolutely pressed the button to open the door and led her through.

I strode through the mostly empty room until I stood in front of the stasis pod that held my broken body.

Saber stood next to me, her eyes turning from me to, heh, 'me.'

The silence stretched, I went through many iterations of what I might say but settled on gesturing at the pod and saying. "King Arthur Pendragon. Allow me to introduce…well…me."

Her eyes did one last circuit before she said. "I do not understand. Explain."

I huffed a pathetic attempt at a laugh. "Are you aware of Multidimensional Refraction Phenomena?" I asked, at her nod I continued. "I am not from 'here,' in my home dimension I ran afoul of." My hands curled into fists, my teeth grit so hard I was in danger of cracking one, my voice became a low rumble, alien even to my ears. "Something bad." I took a deep breath and forced myself to sound more calm than I felt. "It took from me my whole family. I killed it in return, but the effort cost me." I gestured to my ruined carcass. "My success impressed…" I paused, trying to find a way to describe Frank. "A higher dimensional being. It is potent, but by its very power, it is limited in what it can do. It was…moved by my situation and offered me a deal. I could become its Agent, enact its will. In return, it would grant me new flesh and give me power."

I turned to look her in the eye. "In my…time." I gestured vaguely in no particular direction. "Over there. I got a comprehensive glimpse of the many things that could have happened throughout this Grail War. In many, Shirou Emiya died, often in extreme agony. In all, he was an untrained, idealistic, moronic fool whose lack of magical potential and refusal to accept reality crippled him and you in the persecution of the Grail War." I turned back to my body. "In this refraction of reality, he suffered an accident while training his magic, all but fried his nervous system. His body reminded alive, if only barely, but he was no longer in it."

Saber continued when I was silent for a while. "So you took his place."

I nodded. "This Mansion? Belonged to the one who wronged me. Irisviel, Raven and Maria? Their situations are somewhat similar to mine. She is not the same Irisviel that you knew, what happened in her Grail War similar to your own experiences, but with different details."

"So, what is this being's will?" Saber asked, her face not showing even a glimpse of her thoughts.

I smiled. "I am to neutralize the Archer of the fourth Grail War. He is still around."

"That is impossible." Saber stated. "His mana would have long ago vanished without an anchor, or the Grail supplying him after the War ended."

I nodded. "Normally you'd be correct, but there are extenuating circumstances. I told you I would not let the tragedy of ten years ago happen again, the Archer of the Fourth is tied to that. He is here, that is a fact, but I have a way to hopefully neutralize him."

I stepped forward and pressed the button to open the stasis chamber.

"And now, it's time I returned something that belongs to you. But I'll ask your understanding in letting me use it for a final whim."

She watched impassively as the Stasis Chamber opened, my old body breathed, it lived, but just like Shirou before I came in, there was nothing there. I pressed a hand to my chest, grasped, and pulled, using my Circuits to give form to my intent.

Just as with Shirou. This was the one thing I'd never have trouble Tracing, at least in this body.

Saber gasped as I pulled Avalon out of my flesh. Her face for once utterly unguarded as naked longing painted itself over her features. "That's…"

"Yes." I said as she trailed off. I then pressed the sheath against my ruined body and fed Saber my magical energy. "Please, before you take it back, help me restore my old body."

Almost in a trance, she reached out for Sheath, her hand hesitating for an instant, almost afraid the mirage would disappear the moment it was tested.

After a few moments of hesitation, she laid her hand on it, and the Noble Phantasm began to glow. Before my eyes, my body changed. It regained a healthy color, the skin tightened up, the stumps of my arms and leg bubbled and expanded, the limbs not only being regrown, but regaining their musculature.

Within seconds, I was restored.

I turned to Saber as she stepped back, holding Avalon to her chest. "Thank you, Saber." I grinned ruefully. "And I apologize. I've been wanting to return it for a few days, but never could find a way to bring it up without sounding crazy or…well." I gestured around us.

As Saber continued to marvel at Avalon, I got a ping on my HUD, as well as eighty Credits. I blinked and looked at it, and saw that apparently there was an option to 'upgrade my Waifu' with Avalon, and was now being given a bonus for providing a seed the Company could clone for more of those upgrades for other Agents.

Ugh, that just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Still, this provided an opportunity. I delved into the Catalog, searching different powers and abilities for what I wanted. It took me a little while but found what I wanted, then delved into the specifics of how the Template would be implemented.

I grinned viciously and spent forty Credits on a second Template, I felt my mind stretch, feeling bloated in the strangest way as the new ability was hammered into my Soul.

I reached out to my body, and felt myself pour into it, liquid filling an empty container.

I felt the moment when 'I' became 'we,' an instant after that, 'we' synchronized and once again became 'I.'

I opened my eyes, and through my other set of eyes, saw my first body change in front of me, the padding over my musculature evaporating away until only what was aesthetically pleasing remained. I was not an Adonis, but as far as barrel chested brutes went, I was a very fit one.

My long black hair gained more luster, scars faded and disappeared. I did not become younger, but nonetheless decades seemed to fade from my face and form, the damage that months of neglect had wrought on me as I plotted my vengeance evaporated away.

I felt my left arms burn, and turned to see that each body now held half of the Command Seals. Likewise, both bodies could use the same abilities, but both drew from the same well. My magic Circuits splitting, five-hundred and fourteen on my Shirou body, five-hundred and thirteen on my original body.

The fact that one number was not even was going to drive me up a wall.

Funnily enough, as far as my Warcaster powers were concerned, both bodies were separate individuals. Nonetheless the 'close bond' between both individuals caused a resonance that amplified that magic. I'd have to research that, when I had the time. I stood up and stepped off the stasis pod.

"I am Alpharius." My older body said with a shit-eating grin.

My younger body's face gained a similar expression. "This is a lie."

I felt Saber stiffen and jump back. "Shiro?"

I turned and smiled with both bodies. "Hey Saber," I said with my first body, its deep baritone a contrast to the lighter, slightly nasal voice of Shirou. "I asked you to heal this body to see if I could do this." I said, opening and closing my fists, even my calluses were back. "I'm still just me, I just have two bodies now."

She still looked a little freaked out, so I quashed the infantile impulse to speak in 'eerie synchronicity' or to change which body spoke mid-sentence. "If it helps in your head, call this body Santo. While the one you were first acquainted with can be Shirou. Just, try to keep in mind that, when you speak to either body, you are speaking to the same person."

She relaxed minutely, her gaze flicking back and forth between 'us.' "What…why did you…how…"

I shrugged both sets of shoulders. "Like I told you, I was empowered. And this is only possible thanks to you." I grinned. Forgetting in my giddiness to not do the whole 'speak at the same time' thing. This would take some getting used to. "Come, there is one last thing we must do, a sledgehammer blow to wipe out our enemies before we muster our strength to bring the Grail War to a close. Once our victory is in hand, I'm going to cook up a feast and you'll be the guest of honor."

The speed with which she stopped being freaked out the moment fighting and feasting were brought up was hilarious.

Spoiler: Build as of Ch 12

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Urahlehi, Khellendrosiic and 353 others

Santo

Aug 17, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 13 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Aug 26, 2023

Add bookmark

#305

Posting this now cause I'mma be elsewhere for the weekend without access to my PC.

Warning: The views of the character in question are not the views of the author. Don't come pokin' at me about what I wrote for it to sound in-character. It's like being warned a chapter is written from the perspective of a Nazi and then complaining there's racial slurs in the narrative.

Like. What else would you expect brah?

Anyways. Here is chapter. Lemme know what ya think. Hope you lot like it. And if not...well, it's the one chapter. You won't have to wait long for Ch 14.

Ch 15? That one I'm not so sure of. Once 14 hits I'm out of backlog. ;_;

Comments are great for the muse and all that. Hope you lot like.

Shinji panted.

There was nothing else he could do in the tiny room, strapped as he was to the big chair.

He'd woken up there after that black haired bitch in the mask punched him. Speaking of which, his teeth hurt.

It had been hours already, Sakura's worthless Servant got killed by a much better-looking foreign bitch in armor who had handed Sakura's useless Servant her ass in a platter.

Shinji had done the only logical thing and ran, and now here he was. Hopefully they'd let him leave once they realized he wasn't a Master.

The door to his cell opened, Shinji cringed back from his captor, who would surely—wait. "Emiya!?"

Emiya gave him one of those thoroughly annoying apologetic looks. "Shinji. I don't have much time."

"What the hell Emiya!? Why am I here? Let me go, I'm not a—"

"Shinji!" Emiya hissed, looking fearfully out the door. "I don't have much time! I'm a Master in the war too, my old man was a Master in the last one. He made arrangements, sent for a friend of his to come and help me with the War. Shinji, this guy is bad news, I've barely been able to stop him going on a rampage." Emiya swallowed. "Shinji, please, for your sake if for no other reason, answer his questions truthfully. He'll know if you lie."

Before Shinji could demand more, a huge figure stepped through the door, the giant had to be at least a hundred eighty-five centimeters tall, his shoulders wide enough for three of Shiji's set side to side, his arms bulging with muscles. He was a foreigner, probably American, he had a full well-trimmed beard and long hair in a ponytail, both black.

His smile was all teeth, his voice a low rumble as he spoke in perfect Japanese. "My my, Shirou-kun, you couldn't wait to get started? So much like your old man, enough to make an honorary uncle cry."

Shirou stepped back, looking scared, as the huge foreigner, who Shinji now saw was carrying a chair, a folding table, and a toolbox, stepped into the room.

"Now, pay close attention Shirou, it's not often one finds an acceptable target for these lessons."

"Wh-What are you doing? What's going on? Let me g—!"

Shinji's head was ringing, there was a tingly feeling on his cheek. He blinked a few times and realized he was staring at the floor. He looked up, his cheek hurting more, and saw that at some point the foreigner had set down his chair and set up the folding table. On it there were three hammers.

"Wh-Whah?" Shinji slurred.

"Oh, you're awake, good." The man said, smiling again. "We can begin!"

Shinji wanted to ask what he meant but was afraid of getting hit again.

"Now, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm a big, tough guy." His smile got wider, but his eyes were dead. "I thought I was the biggest and the toughest. But the man that taught me what I'm about to do? He showed me otherwise." He chuckled as he drew a dirty rag out of the toolbox and wiped his hands on it. "Boy let me tell you, I was crying like a child. It was a good thing I didn't know anything, because I would have told him anything he wanted if he'd only stop. He didn't, because he didn't have my knack for telling truth from lies. But that's beside the point."

He sat down, looking no smaller. He leaned forward and ran his hands gently over the inside of Shinji's thighs. Shinji squirmed in revulsion but was too afraid to make a noise. "And he did all of that, with three simple tools, a rubber mallet, a ball-peen hammer, and a claw hammer." He smiled again as he raised his huge, scarred fists. "And, of course, can't forget about these.

"Now! How this is going to work! I will ask you questions. If you answer truthfully, promptly and politely, you get this." He said, brandishing his fist. "If you lie, take too long to answer, or are impolite, you get one of these." He caressed the hammers. "If you get these, I'll give you two options of where they'll be used, but if you take too long to answer. Well," he licked his lips. "I'll just have to get creative."

"P-Please, I'm not a Master! I'm not even a Magus!"

The big man blinked. "Well, golly geez, we have us a soothsayer! He answered my first two questions truthfully! Since you gave me a two for one deal, I'll return the favor."

"Wait n—!" The big American buried his fist in Shinji's stomach, he felt all the air leave his lungs in a whoosh. He didn't register the pain, not at first, what hit him first was the feeling of weakness, had he been on his feet, his legs would have failed him.

Next was the nausea, the world starting to spin as his stomach convulsed. Next thing he knew, he'd vomited all over his front, the smell making him gag and retch again.

"Next question!" The monster gleefully said while Shinji was trying and failing to draw a breath. "Where is Sakura now that you got her Servant killed?"

Shinji blanched. He had no idea. Even if he did, he couldn't breathe, he tried to speak but could only produce a croak.

The big foreigner smiled wider. "Oh, a brave man! I knew you had it in you, familial love is just so beautiful! I commend you, really, I do." His face became somber, as devoid of emotion as his eyes. "There's nothing I would not do for family."

He brightened as he picked up the ball-peen hammer. "Now, teeth, or shoulder?"

Shinji managed to draw in a breath, fetid with his vomit, it made him gag and retch.

"Wow, a brave man indeed." He said, stepping around behind Shinji.

Shinji stiffened; he could feel the large American behind him. He wanted to look over his shoulder but was afraid of what would happen. His head was yanked violently back by his hair. The American clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Brave, but not smart, you lost the chance to choose!"

The hammer looked a lot bigger than before as it descended.

"Wait!" A voice cried out, a hand intervening and catching the descending wrist.

Shinji felt a surge of hope.

"Shirou-kun, we talked about this." The monster said in the tone of voice one used to chastise a child. "This takes time we may not have."

"Please, just…just let me try? Okay?" Shirou pressed.

Shinji trembled, he was breathing hard, but couldn't catch his breath, the world was spinning as he tried to look for a way out, any way out.

"Okay." The giant said glibly and released Shinji's hair. He went back to his table and set down the hammer, picking the mallet up and inspecting it with a smile.

Shinji couldn't take his eyes off the monster, fearing to let him out of sight for even an instant. The bindings around his wrists were biting into his skin.

He blinked when he felt repeated soft slaps against his cheek. He turned and saw Emiya giving him a worried look. "Shinji," he said, "Shinji we don't have much time. Do you know where Sakura is? Please Shinji, if you don't tell me, he'll start again, and I don't think he'll listen to me a second time."

"She's at the house, she must be at the house! I don't know but she didn't have anything useful to do and Grandfather said that she should stay home to make sure she wasn't attacked during the Grail War!" Shinji babbled through chattering teeth. "Please, please Emiya, I really don't know, that's the best I can do! Please!"

"He's not lying!" The monster called out.

Shirou grimaced. "Okay, what about the Matou home? Do you know anything about the bounded fields? The defenses? Anything you could tell us?"

For what felt like hours, Shinji talked. He told them everything, too afraid to contemplate lying. He told them about the 'training room,' about the bugs that always crawled in the walls, about the way Grandfather always seemed to know where everything was and when someone approached. He held back nothing.

"Alright boy!" The monster said with a big smile after they'd run out of things to ask him. "Look at this little metal ball."

Shinji did, it looked like a completely ordinary ball bearing.

"Okay, good." The giant tossed it, it bounced off the floor and rolled to a stop. "And when I press this button…" There was a muted 'pop!' as it exploded, it was kind of underwhelming. "Pretty neat huh?"

"Y-Yes?" Shinji asked.

"You know, it's a good thing the questioning ended." He said with a smile. "Because if not, I'd have to hit you for lying."

He actually could tell truth from lies!?

"But anyways!" He said, twirling a small knife Shinji hadn't seen him draw. "Hold still, wouldn't want the implantation to go wrong."

"Implantation!?" Shinji demanded, then yelped when his head was held down with inexorable strength. He felt a cold pinprick at the back of his neck, then pain as something pushed and wriggled into the wound, the back of his shirt quickly becoming slick with warm liquid.

"Okay good!" The monster said and stepped around in front of Shinji. "So! Here's what's happening. You now have a bomb in your head." Shinji gulped. " It's not a very big bomb, but much more than enough to kill you without making too much of a mess. You are going to take this here device," he held up a large but thin rectangle with a screen, "run home, and see this interface? You're going to use it to set that rectangle behind Sakura and press this button. If you don't do this, pop goes the bomb! If you try to warn anyone? Pop! If you chicken out?" He gestured at Shinji.

"P-Pop?" Shinji asked through chittering teeth.

"Atta boy!" His face turned hard. "If you back out of that app? You'll beg me to use the explosive by the time I'm done with you. Do you understand?"

Shinji nodded very hard.

He brightened instantly. "Okay good!" He said, then turned to look at Shirou who had retreated to the wall. "Set him loose. I'll go finish up prep."

"R-Right." Shirou said, then cut Shinji loose, then slipped a black cloth bag over Shinji's head. "Sorry about this. But it's almost over."

"Where are you taking me?" Shinji asked tremulously as he was dragged, his questions ignored, he was far too afraid to make any demands.

He yelped when he was thrown and fell face down on what felt like asphalt.

Shinji tore the bag off his head. He was on the streets of Miyama town, ten minutes from his house.

He felt the bomb in his neck tremble and thought no more, he ran and was home in two minutes flat, running through the door and calling for Sakura, his panic growing with every room he ran through that she wasn't in.

"Nii-san?" Sakura asked, thank whatever god there was, she was finally about to be useful for something other than taking his frustrations out on her.

He turned to his useless 'sister.' For a moment, he considered dragging her to her room and letting off some steam, then his neck throbbed, reminding him of what he needed to do.

"Don't move!" He growled. Brought the device up like the giant had said and pressed the button on the screen as he had indicated.

Nothing happened. Shinji gulped and waited; had he been betrayed? Was he about to die?

An arm tore through Sakura's chest with a wet, squelching, crunching sound. It held something red the size of a fist, pulsating and covered in stretched, red, stringy muscle.

Sakura gurgled.

Emiya stepped out of nowhere, with that black haired bitch and the foreigner bitch that killed Shinji's Servant. "Quickly now." He said, holding tight to what Shinji realized was Sakura's heart. Something red wriggling in it. The black haired woman came forward, drove her fingers into the organ, and pulled a wriggling worm out of it, shredding the heart completely. She held a stamp to it as Shirou took his arm out of Sakura and lowered her gently to the ground. The black-haired bitch dropped the worm in a glass jar and closed it tightly.

Sakura looked at Shirou with big, teary, betrayed eyes.

"Okay good." Shirou said, then waved his hand. "Be healed."

Sakura shimmered, then sat up with a huge, violent gasp. She coughed as she began to hyperventilate, pawing at her chest, revealing flawless skin beneath the blood.

"Why are you still here?" Shirou asked, and Shinji belatedly realized he was being spoken to.

But when he turned to look at him. It wasn't Emiya kneeling there. His face was wrong. Cold, uncaring, almost bored. As if he were looking at particularly rancid filth that wasn't worth the effort of cleaning.

"E-Emiya?" Shinji begged. Surprisingly hurt by the look in his former best friend's eye.

"If you don't get out of my sight in the next three seconds, you'll die." Not-Emiya stated. "One."

Shinji was out the front door before he heard a 'two.' The building was a pyre before he had made it to the bottom of the hill.

He did not recall getting to the playground, or for that matter, sitting on the swing. All he knew was that he'd been there so long that night had brightened into day, and life as he knew it was over. He was homeless, he no longer had his stress relief, a hope to attain his birthright, and his clothes were covered in his blood and vomit.

He thought he'd be angrier. Emiya was a Master, and he didn't require a weakling to give up her spot on the Grail War, that meant he was a Magus, that bastard nobody not only had Shinji's birthright, he had international assassins on his corner.

The things Shinji would have been able to do with but a fraction of that idiot Emiya's advantages!

But no…beyond short-lived flares of anger, Shinji only felt cold. Cold and tired.

And hungry.

And his jaw and stomach hurt where that gorilla had punched him.

His eyes stung, but no tears fell.

"Maybe…maybe I deserve this?" Shinji wondered, then shook his head. No. This was that bastard Emiya's fault! It was Emiya that took Shinji's birthright! It was Emiya who killed Shinji's Servant! It was Emiya who humiliated Shinji!

It was Emiya that cucked Shinji's personal slut!

Shinji stood up. He had a feeling the Church that Grandfather had mentioned would be very interested to know that one Master in particular was getting help from a foreign assassin. From multiple foreign assassins if the black-haired bitch was any indication.

He stood up and walked in the direction of the Church. "You thought you were all that, Emiya?" he whispered to himself. "You think you can just get away with humiliating me? I'll have my revenge. Oh yes, yes I will."

He giggled to himself as he walked, shivering occasionally as the day was barely warmer than the night had been.

And between one step and the next he was somewhere else, the feeling of sudden motion making him heave some stomach acid.

"Whoop, we got another one." Said a voice, Shinji looked up to see a very attractive blonde American woman. "Ooooh! A Shinji! Those are relatively rare."

"Why?" Asked a raspy voice, deep, for a girl. The voice belonged to a grey skinned bombshell of a girl with dark purple hair and dark blue eyes, a red gem glittering in the middle of her forehead.

"Cause very few people bother Stamping him." The American woman said as she put gloves on. She squinted, then grimaced. "Ugh, one of those, he'll take a long time in the psycho-conditioning pod. And he's filthy, Raven, be a dear and fetch the hose."

"Who are you!?" Shinji demanded, finally able to speak as his stomach settled. "Where am I!? What's going on?"

"Aww," the grey woman, Raven, said as she looked up from a device like the one the foreigner had given him, "look how cute, he thinks he's people."

"Listen here y—!" Shinji choked as she waved a hand and he felt something constrict around his throat.

"Don't treat the merchandise too roughly." The blonde chastised.

"Don't bust my balls, Barbie! He's rapist scum who rarely sees justice, he deserves the rough handling!" The grey woman said as Shinji fell to the floor, his lungs convulsing.

"Oh! Well in that case, wanna put him through the Feminizer?"

"That'll be up to Frank." Raven said with a shrug as the waved a hand and Shinji was able to breathe again. "But I think he'll say yes. I know a few people in Class A that love to train Feminized villains…"

"Please," Shinji begged, "what's happening?"

Raven grinned. It was not a nice smile. It had far too many teeth. "Welcome to the Company. You won't enjoy your time here."

Before Shinji could ask anything else, a huge hose levitated over her shoulder and blasted him with a stream of water so strong, it sent him skidding across the floor.

When it finally ended, he sputtered and coughed out what felt like liters of water out of his lungs.

He looked up and saw both the beautiful women fawning over a man with a cuttlefish for a face. "Ah," it burbled, "an original! What a rare treat! Precognitive reports gave very low odds for that Agent selling his Captures to the Company."

Shinji didn't know why he understood the creature, for that matter, he wasn't sure why he understood the two women, as he belatedly realized they hadn't been speaking Japanese. Still, the two had said some things that sounded very, very bad. So he did the only thing he could, he stretched a hand out to the thing in charge and shouted. "Please! I beg you, help me!"

The cuttlefish man leaned down and burbled in a barely audible hiss. "No."

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Urahlehi, Khellendrosiic and 376 others

Santo

Aug 26, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 14 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Sep 1, 2023

Add bookmark

#345

Posting this today cause I won't have a chance tomorrow and leaving town again on the weekend without access to my PC or reliable internet.

Honestly doing that has been a lot of good for my headspace.

That said. This is it. I'm out of backlog. No more cushion and work continues to get ever busier. The work load gets heavier and heavier and my wage remains the same.

I wasn't able to write more than a couple sentences for this fic this week. So I legitimately have no ETA on when the next chapter will drop. Hopefully the wait won't be overly long. But again, I can promise nothing because I get home braindead more often than not.

Anyways. Enough with the depressing stuff.

Here's ch 14. Hope you lot enjoy it. A bit shorter than others. But it is as long as it needs to be in my opinion.

Also. Started posting a colab I worked on with a buddy of mine. It's a Worm fic. If you think you'd enjoy that, click here to give Refractions a read. And drop us a comment or three! 8D

What the living shit is wrong with me?

How could I have been this bad? This stupid?

When had I become so callus?

I knew what had been happening all along, it was true that I needed to get my ducks in a row, it was true that I was only mobilizing because Shinji had forced my hand, my preparations had been proceeding at pace, the current situation somewhat less than ideal.

But, truth be told, I could have done this two days ago, with the added caveat of having to withstand an ambush by Rider, something easily enough accomplished so long as I stayed close to Saber.

I had strolled through the mansion with little issue. Hordes of magical bugs came at me, but I had Aura and Pyromancy, the few insects that could withstand the flames long enough to attempt to sting and bite me did not last nearly long enough in the concentration needed to tear through my Aura.

If anything, I decided I was over-prepared as I had tossed vial after vial of magically enhanced accelerant and magical chaff provided by the efforts of Maria and Iri, burning the place faster and disrupting the worm's synaptic control over the swarm. Unfortunately for me, only a few ate the insects around them, and those were quickly overwhelmed.

Saber wasn't even bothering to fight, she just kept close to me, the heat I was putting out failing to make her sweat. Raven had complained about the smell and gone home, ostensibly to help Sakura settle in.

I had been rather bored by the time I got to the basement, the source of my mounting ire.

I knew what had been down here all along. There was nothing here that was a surprise. No, that's not entirely honest. The medical equipment and surgery tools, ranging from the archaic to cutting edge, all of them with profane runes carved into them, were rather interesting. My Soul and Science Talents spooling up in preparation to study the tools in detail to learn their secrets.

A stream of fire so hot it burned white wiped the tools from existence and my sufferance.

I tried to deepen my breaths to calm myself, but the fetid air in the basement only fueled my fury. My pyromancy reacted to my emotions, flaring hotter, brighter, climbing higher as the blaze began to burn blue.

They were the only sign of the roiling emotion twisting my gut as I stared into the pit. At the wriggling, chittering, squirming pit.

The smell was the worst thing. It should have been a putrid, awful odor. It should be cloying and stick to the nostrils and skin, oily and overbearing, causing instinctive revulsion at the sickly-sweet stench of corrupted, dead flesh harming healthy tissue.

No, the pit's bouquet was an earthy aroma, somewhat sweet, with floral hints. The musk of the pit, I was quite disgusted to realize, was far from unpleasant.

The numberless phallic, wriggling shapes exuded more of their musk, my HUD pinged, informing me of the pheromones that Body Defense was blocking. They were not resistant to fire, merely they were creating such a concentration that some of it was making it through to my nostrils.

Looking over my shoulder, Saber was so disgusted that her stern mask had fully slipped away, showing naked fury in the curl of her lip, the furrow of her brow, and the intensity in her eyes. And somehow she managed to look regal even now.

"Saber," I said, drawing her stare to me, "I'm about to head down there and sterilize this entire location. I probably cannot cause you harm, but if you want, you can head back to base."

Saber looked around the room then shook her head. "No, Shiro. I'll remain and see this through to the end. It is my duty as your Servant."

I nodded, used the Ironskin spell and hopped down, unmentionable things squished under my boots as I landed, the…creatures popping as the heat of my Pyromancy caused the liquid in their body to flash-boil, their remnants crisping and hissing.

Hundreds of the phallic creatures died to my mere proximity as I made my way to the center of the pit, the nearly floral musk becoming overbearing. Thousands more wriggled away, some making doomed attacks upon my person.

I couldn't help but study the things, they were, on average, four and a half inches long, with something of a narrow girth.

Probably to make for a more efficient insertion, there was no way any monster that created…this would have any reason for design that was not mechanical.

Breathing was becoming more difficult, the pungent odor of the pit making me dizzy. Body Defense pinging me with increasing urgency the longer I waded through the disgusting, popping carpet.

Fuck it, centerish was good enough.

I fed my Pyromancy more magic, forcing the merrily burning flame within me to roar out, two balls of roiling plasma forming around my fists as the flame sought to dance out of my grasp. To leap and spread and roar and consume. I wrangled it to remain quiescent, and fed it even more power. The flaming spheres on my hands causing the stone beneath my boots to start to soften, until I slammed my hands down with a wordless shout, a cascade of blue flame erupting from my form with a nearly animalistic roar. The pit becoming sterilized instantly before the overpressure exploded out, destroying every delicate tool in the basement.

As the flames I exuded fell away, I had expected to feel something as the fire cleansed this insult to existence and left behind glass and ash. Perhaps satisfaction at making the world oh so slightly better. But the only thing on my mind was that I had forced someone to endure this disgusting place for days longer than strictly necessary.

Two seconds were too long, and the only reason the time I forced someone to stay here was only a few days, was that my hand had been forced.

With a snarl, I took the glass jar out of my jacket pocket. A long, slim worm slithered to and fro inside. I could see a miniaturized tattoo of the sigil my Stamp had taken when it was given to me. A stylized "R" with a rattlesnake coiled around and through it.

The glass shattered, the insect squirmed as I ground jagged shards and glass powder into its soft guts. It tired to bite my hand to escape, but its teeth shattered as it failed to bite through my Aura.

I then let my Pyromancy begin to burn my hand. But only just. The worm's thrashing became frantic as the heat began to irritate its delicate epidermis.

"This is much less than you deserve, monster." I growled as I suppressed the urge to crush it fully into paste, that was too swift an end for this creature. "I know for a fact that hell exists, and if there truly is anything resembling justice in the multiverse, that's where you're headed. Die in pain, knowing I'll undo everything you've ever managed to accomplish."

I let the heat build up on my hand over the next several minutes, watching as the worm's thrashing grew weaker and weaker, until its struggles eventually ceased, and Zouken Makiri died without even a whimper. It wasn't until the worm was ashes on my hand and I jumped out of the burning pit that I realized I was breathing in smoke. It felt like breathing in air with near one hundred percent humidity, not exactly comfortable but nothing to make a fuss about.

I chalked it up to being part Primarch and, with a shrug, I opened a portal home and waved Saber through before stepping through it myself. Through a different portal, I saw Raven holding Sakura up as the latter wept quietly. Staring mesmerized at the burning Matou mansion. I could faintly hear her repeatedly ask Raven the same question over and over.

"It's real, you are saved." Raven said, surprisingly kindly.

"Please." Sakura blubbered, her hands holding onto the woman's jacket with a death grip. "Please say it's real this time." She demanded again with quiet intensity. "Please say I won't wake up tomorrow back there."

"It's real." Raven repeated, her tone unchanged. "It's really ended. You're safe."

"Please!"

With a grimace, I left the portal room.

I didn't feel worthy of barging into their conversation.

What followed was a thorough shower and an incineration of the clothes I wore during the assault of the Matou estate. I still felt dirty, and the pheromones I'd inhaled still troubled me even past my Nerfed Primarch Physiology and Body Defense.

It took a couple of hours before my other body walked through a portal and the two of us synchronized, once again becoming 'us' before we both settled into 'I.'

As my memories amalgamated, I 'reviewed' what I'd done at the Matou home, as well as 'my' assault on the Einzbern estate. Something very easy to do with Iri to manipulate the bounded fields and other wards. The short fight that was over before it truly began, Leysritt was strong, but I was a Nephilim-Primarch-Warcaster who was coming into his power, and I'd had the element of surprise. After the very short fight, I Stamped Leysritt, the mark piggybacking off the bond with her twin to Stamp them both.

I accepted their conditional surrender and, after informing them that I had Illya, agreed to let one of them see the young woman once a day for a period of thirty minutes until they all chose to swear their allegiance to me.

I wondered how long my bodies would need to be separated before I couldn't come together again. But a short search through the Template's memories showed that wouldn't be an issue. The Primarch twins had been separated by a galaxy and the better part of a century, and they'd never had trouble amalgamating once they met up. In fact, the simulacrum of Alpharius that came with the Template showed me how to flex mentally to become two separate people, as we had been when separated by distance.

Something that could be quite useful in the right circumstances.

My older body joined my younger on the couch to stare at the unpowered television.

Iri had run back to the room we were keeping Illya in, Maria was still sleeping, and Saber was in the kitchen, steadily emptying the fridge of any leftovers.

Raven plopped down on the seat between my bodies. "The new girl is in one of the spare bedrooms, sleeping…all of that, off, after such a thorough shower that she nearly scrubbed her skin off."

"Good." I accidentally said twice at the same time, then continued with my older body. "I'm calling this mission accomplished. I'll probably have to go to the Emiya estate soon, calm Taiga down what with the Matou household burning down."

"What are we going to do about the weasel that ran away?" She asked, slouching down on the sinfully soft couch in a most unladylike manner.

"Ah, right, thanks for the reminder," I said, seemingly absently placing a hand on her inner thigh, ignoring the way she tensed, and followed the instincts from Sticky Fingers as I caressed her skin and pushed up her skirt, making her break out into gooseflesh as my fingers got close to but never quite reached her groin. With the body that wasn't currently busy molesting her, I brought up Shinji in my HUD and almost swore when I couldn't immediately sell him.

It would net me nothing, but he wasn't worth the effort of hunting down. So I locked Saber and the Einzbern ladies so they couldn't be sold without a lengthy multi-step authorization process, and set up a macro to sell Shinji automatically at first opportunity. Because fuck that guy in particular.

With that done, I turned the TV on to whatever Anime was airing at this time of night, and joined the fun of making Raven squirm with both bodies. I had to admit, she may be a pretty shit person (that being something I was resolved to change, it was a long-term project) but the woman had an absolutely killer body, literally and figuratively. Her toned legs had a wonderfully slight amount of squish, her skin soft, and her resolve to show no reaction to the effect my teasing was having beyond her bright red cheeks was rather adorable.

I traced a finger over her labia, her panties in the way and already damp. Her breath catching in her throat at the slight contact. Her back going ramrod straight as I shifted the cloth to the side and caressed them directly while my younger body continued to caress her leg, a hissing breath escaping her lips as the blush in her cheeks spread to her whole face.

Still, I could not go much farther than this with Saber having a direct line of sight. I had no doubt she'd eventually be open to naughty fun, but I'd need to ease her into it. Seeing me make Raven come her brains out in the living room would be a little much for her, inexperienced as she currently was.

I stood up with my older body, the job of teasing Raven's slit falling to my younger self. I licked her love juice off my fingers, enjoying the taste of her while making her choke back a moan as, I sunk a finger into her while caressing her clit.

Still, it would not do to show up in front of Saber with a raging boner. I moved my awareness to the place in my mind where my bodies were connected by a single consciousness, and willed my mind to become 'our' minds.

I locked eyes with me in Shirou's body, suppressing a shudder. It was one thing to have it happen naturally due to distance, but to willingly separate my mind into two separate entities with the intent to merge later was rather disconcerting.

Still, it had the positive effect of helping me calm the hell down, I refused to look at what the other me was getting up to with Raven and made my way to Saber.

There was a nearly comical number of empty plates before her. She ate at a steady, dignified pace, never rushing, and often resulting in realization of how much she'd eaten coming as a surprise.

I couldn't help but wonder where exactly she put it all.

I grabbed a bottle of mineral water out of the fridge, and, judging by the amusement I felt coming from Shirou, it was for the best that I sat next to Saber so as to block her view, just in case. "Hey, how're you feeling? The outing wasn't exactly difficult but…"

She eyed me with suspicion for a few moments. "Santo…are you truly the same as Shiro?"

I smiled. "Good on you to be cautious. Okay, how about this. You've been present for just about my entire interaction with Shirou. Ask me something only he would know."

Her eyes narrowed. "What was the first thing Shiro said to me?"

I barked a laugh and took a gulp of my mineral water. Thanking the increased cognitive speed and recall that came with being a Primarch, even one who was far from as powerful as he should be. "As I recall, I was being stupid because I had been struck literally dumb by your beauty." A faint blush dusted her cheeks at the praise. "But I'd say the first almost coherent thing I said to you was…asking if you were pretty."

Saber nodded and relaxed minutely.

I gestured at the plates. "I do think we're out of leftovers, want me to whip something else up?"

She shook her head. "No, I am merely feeling…restless."

I nodded. "Honestly, me too. Wanna spar? It would do me well to practice more with this body. It's been…a while since I've been in good health, I find myself with the itch to move and fight."

Saber thought for a few moments, then nodded. "Yes, perhaps that will help with my restlessness."

As we made our way deeper into the mansion, I glanced in Shirou's and Raven's direction, and saw the woman hunched forward, biting her finger hard enough to draw blood in her effort to be quiet, a faint taste I last experienced minutes ago ghosting across my tongue.

I smiled and dimmed my connection to Other Me further, trusting him to show our woman a good time.

I cracked my neck and popped my knuckles. I was looking forward to getting sweaty with my diminutive blonde Servant.

I blinked as the thought flitted through my mind. Hmm, guess that shit from the pit is bothering me even in this body, which meant it affected more than just the physical. Much as I hated to give the worm any credit, I had to admit it is quite a strong aphrodisiac to affect the body that wasn't even exposed to it through my spiritual connection, while I was protected by Nephilim and Primarch Physiology (downgraded as they were, they were still potent) with Body Defense on top of that?

That was a masterfully made chemical…and I set it on fire.

I could only hope it didn't aerosolize under high temperatures, Fuyuki would never be the same again.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Khellendrosiic, Condescension_ and 332 others

Santo

Sep 1, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 15 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Sep 27, 2023

Add bookmark

#374

This chapter was written two to three words at a time.

Work has been...very very hard.

Feel like I'm drowning...on a good day. Not been leaving a whole lot of time, ability, or energy to write.

But gosh darnit. I've got a storyboard and I'mma get through it! So help me!

Comments and conversation help keep motivation up. So drop me a comment letting me know what you think!

Also, if you like Worm, check out 'Refractions' on my sig! It's a Worm Self Insert co-written with a buddy of mine. Drop us a comment there too.

Uhh...Oh right, lood warning. There is lood ahead. Now you know, and if you need to be somewhere not where you are right now to read it...well, now you know.

Lemme know if you like the chapter.

I dimmed the connection to other me further. I didn't want to get over excited and make things awkward for Saber.

The walk to the dojo was brisk but long, Saber seemed a bit fidgety on the way there, guess she was as excited for the spar as I was!

Once at the dojo, we picked up practice swords and squared off against each other.

Ever too aggressive for my own good, I rushed her, swinging the sword with fast, precise strokes meant to misdirect and confuse. Seeking to trick her into making an opening to her guard for a finishing blow.

I was surprised by how slow she was. Before my fight with Berserker, she had moved like greased lightning, then modulated her speed to something just above what I could comfortably keep up with. She still did it now, having little trouble outclassing me. But I found myself being able to follow her movement even if my body couldn't keep up with her.

The further surprise came in how hesitant she was once the spar began in earnest. She'd never been shy about showing me the error of my ways in trying to be aggressive against a Servant. Fully willing to tackle me and send me skidding along the floor. Now she was keeping her distance, far enough that even with a lunge I'd have trouble reaching her, putting herself entirely out of her own range.

I had expected to be a bit cheeky before being beaten down by the inexorable skill and power of my diminutive Servant, not…whatever this was as she danced gracefully just out of my range.

This was so uninvolved that Combat Talent was getting nothing from this exchange.

So I decided to be even cheekier and used the Spell Formula that I'd created by instinct during my fight with Berserker, and that Soul Talent refined and let me memorize for future use.

The runes for the Boundless Charge spell flashed around my wrists and I shot forward, Saber's eyes widened at my sudden increase in speed, she made to dodge but as she shifted her stance, she flinched hard and curled up.

I aborted my swing, but there was nothing I could do about my momentum as I crashed bodily into her. Thanks to my Templates' enhanced reflexes, I was able to react in time to embrace her and turn so that I was the one to take the brunt of the impact against the floor.

She released a startled, gasping, utterly pornographic moan, her body writhing in my grip, flinching and huddling further into herself every time her body pressed against mine, her face quickly turning red from the roots of her hair to her neck. Her breathing coming in quick, shallow gasps.

"What? Saber, what's happening?" I asked, separating our bodies and leaving her to writhe on the floor.

"Don't. Know." She coughed each word through clenched teeth. "It got. Worse. When you. Tackled me."

Now that our bodies were separated, she seemed able to regain her composure to an extent, though the rustling of the fabric of her clothes still seemed to bother her.

I struggled to think of what could be causing this, before I realized I was an idiot and looked at her status on my HUD.

The cause of her distress was the goddamn worm pheromones. It was spiritually active, powerful enough to affect me, through my body defense and two separate Templates that were immune to nearly all pathogens, venom, and poisons.

She had received a dose equal to, or more likely greater than mine, as she'd not been on goddamn fire to burn away the lion's share. And to put the cherry on this ever-growing pile of my failures as a Master, the drug was tooled to women on a conceptual level, meaning that it affected her far more strongly. My purchased Resistance to toxins combined with her frankly inhuman willpower was the only reason she was still able to even speak.

Fuck in all hell, I was a goddamn idiot. Well, it was my duty to fix this, thankfully I had the Credits to burn. Time to get Body Defense up to immunity.

Except, navigating to that tab of the Catalog on my HUD. I couldn't purchase immunities. I blinked in stupefaction at it before mentally clicking on the [more information] link, taking me to the specific part of my Contract that dealt with Defenses.

My ability to upgrade Defenses past the Resistance level was locked away as part of the price paid so my Clones could have the Work Contract I secured for them. In order to be able to purchase immunities, I'd have to pay a rather exorbitant sum of Credits. Something quite outside my means until the successful completion of my current mission.

Well…shit.

Fuck.

Dammit all.

Okay, time to do things the hard way.

"Saber, can you walk?" I asked gently.

She visibly debated with herself before taking a deep breath and carefully answering. "I don't think I can."

I nodded. "I'll take you to the infirmary, dismiss your armor."

She did, her white dress taking its place. I put an arm under the crook of her knees, and the other under her lower back, and stood.

Her moan did things to me. She hissed every few steps, and her dress soon became damp with her arousal. I used Structural Grasp to get an idea of her biology and how it was being affected, relying on Soul and Science Talent to kick my dumbass brain into better understanding the information I was receiving. And I did not like what I saw, where she not a Servant, she'd likely be convulsing.

We made it to the infirmary in little time, I considered one of the beds, but decided against it. Any stimulation was too much at the moment, and this infirmary was thankfully not 40k as fuck.

I went to the long-term care area and opened the door to the Kolto tanks.

Laying her gently down on the floor of one of the tanks, I said. "Saber, Avalon will purge the poison. It's just a matter of time. Until then, any stimulation will be overstimulation. The poison is insidious and potent, so it will take a little while. This tank should provide some relief while we wait for this to run its course."

"But." She began, trying to push herself to her feet, only to moan, shudder, and for the scent of her arousal to get stronger as she soaked her dress. She was, nonetheless, undaunted, and forced herself to speak through her panting. "But I must be close to you. To protect you, Master."

I sighed and resisted the urge to pat her head, that would only make things worse. "I'll be fine," I said, preparing the oxygen mask for her, "I'm no weakling. And in your condition you're liable to get killed, and I will not have that. I'll play things defensively, it'll be nothing more than a slight delay on our time table."

I fit the mask on her, ignoring her weak protests, then undid her hair and sent her outfit to my Inventory, leaving her quite deliciously naked. The scent of her arousal going straight to my nethers and making my pants far too tight.

"Rest well." I said, suppressing the urge to join her in nakedness, stood back, and activated the tank. Kolto pumped into it, causing her to shudder more as the 36.11 degree Centigrade liquid must have felt freezing on her heated skin.

Within a couple of minutes she was floating serenely in the tank, her face finally relaxing into exhausted relief. The slightly cool Kolto helping bring down her body temperature and the relative lack of stimulation serving to allow her to calm down.

The Kolto tank gave me a reading of her vitals, but it could not so much as read Zouken's perverse venom, so the only thing it could tell me was that her heartbeat was elevated, and her hormones were all over the place.

Nonetheless, she had Avalon, it was all just a matter of time.

Too bad I didn't really have that much time. My plans were to attack Caster in the next two days. If she was not better by then, then I'd simply need to be a liar.

I made my way out of the Kolto room and saw a pretty brunette sitting up on her bed and looking around blearily. When her eyes settled on me, she blinked twice before saying. "Eto…I…was I attacked? I don't remember what happened too well."

I sighed and walked over to Ayako, who took in my frame and realized I outmassed her by more than twice in pure muscle. She shrunk back slightly but judging by the way her eyes remained glued to me and the dusting of red on her cheeks, she very much liked what she saw.

I pulled on the collar of my shirt, feeling a little hot, probably side effects from the venom.

"Well, little lady." I said, taking a seat next to her bed so she wouldn't need to crane her neck up. I grabbed the biometrics monitor and looked over her vitals. "The good news is that you're in fairly good health, barring a little artificially induced anemia." Soul depletion and anemia, as it turned out, had very similar symptoms.

It didn't help that Rider literally sucked out a significant chunk of her blood.

"And what's the bad news?" Ayako asked wearily.

I took a deep breath, and with a somewhat strained smile said. "Wanna see a magic trick?"

She blinked at the non sequitur. "What?"

I covered myself in kaleidoscopic, heatless flames.

The look on her face was priceless.

I used my grip on the back of Raven's head to press her face harder against her pillow, pulling her hips back so I could grind the head of my cock against her cervix just that little bit more tightly, her tunnel milked me from base to tip as she climaxed, sending me over the edge as I spilled my seed into her again.

Our bodies remained taut for many long seconds as our orgasms thundered through us, then relaxed, and I allowed myself to collapse on top of Raven, who huffed as my weight settled on top of her, my still hard dick taking up the entirety of her channel.

I held her face against the pillow until she started to writhe, but while her hands balled up and pulled at her bedding, she didn't struggle.

Atta girl, already learning. I pulled her head, turning it sideways, and she gulped down a labored breath, groaning as I slowly ground against her deepest spot.

I lightly nibbled on her earlobe, which made her shudder and tighten deliciously around my dick. I thrust lightly against her, causing her to groan again. She opened and closed her mouth several times before her blush deepened and she spoke in a tremulous voice. "Please, I can't take anymore." She pleaded again. "Please stop."

I murmured into her ear. "Tell me, Raven, how many times have you heard those exact words…and didn't stop?" I asked and gave her a particularly firm thrust, pressing all the more tightly against her. Making her moan and sob. When she didn't answer, I thrust harder against her. "I asked you a question."

"I don't know!" She answered, tears forming and falling from her eyes. "I don't know! I'm sorry! Please stop, I can't anymore!"

I felt a little bad, I had been going at it for…a while, fucking her a lot more intensely than I'd handled Irisviel, using Sticky Fingers and aphrodisiac quite liberally to maximize her pleasure. To the point that it had evidently become rather painful.

Still, being on the receiving end of someone not giving a damn about what she wanted was probably a vital lesson. Or something.

I continued grinding against her, causing her to gasp and shudder. "It's not nice when someone ignores your wishes and does what they want with you, you understand that now."

"Yes! I won't do it again, ple-EASE!" She yelped the last of her sentence after another thrust, her pussy twitching as I enjoyed myself.

I hummed, shifting my hips left and right as I deliberated, making Raven, the tough bandit queen and wannabe top bitch of my harem, whimper.

I wanted more. I wanted to fuck her until she was unconscious. Her stamina and athleticism working against her on this occasion. But going by the knowledge of my Templates, it would be counterproductive.

"Hmm. Very well, but I'm not done, so I'll leave the choice up to you." I turned her head so I could look into her tear-streaked face. "I either take you anally, or you fellate me until I get off a few times."

She gulped, once again tightening wonderfully around my length. "I'll…I'll use my mouth to, to please you, sir."

I grinned and extricated my still stiff cock out of her cunt, making her whimper. The lips of her pussy dripping with our combined fluids.

It made for quite the sight.

I lay on my back next to her, crossing my arms behind my head. As Raven laboriously levered herself to her hands and knees, I tried to connect to Other-Me, but Santo kept the door to his mind firmly closed, denying the link anything deeper than a sense of doing something important that he couldn't afford to be distracted from.

As warm wetness enveloped the head of my cock, I couldn't help but feel he was missing out. There was a difference between experiencing the moment and reviewing the memories once the link was reestablished.

I looked down and enjoyed the show of Raven bobbing her head up and down, each time getting a little bit further down my shaft, her face in a cute little scowl as she lapped up our fluids coating my member. I put a hand on her head and held her as she continued to move her head up and down. She gagged a bit as my tip brushed the back of her throat.

Raven surprised me when she pulled back, took several deep breaths, then went down steadily and swallowed me straight into her throat, not stopping until she had buried her nose in my pubes.

Huh, kind of a weird moment to notice the fact, but Shirou really was a natural redhead.

I lost the ability to notice that particular detail as Raven began to swallow, an obscene "Gluck! Gluck! Gluck!" Sound filling the room, the sensation driving me to take hold of the back of her head and pull her harder against me. Grinding her nose against my pubes.

I was tempted to hold myself back, to lengthen the time I could enjoy this service. But I didn't, I held nothing back as my pleasure quickly mounted, and groaned as I erupted directly down her throat.

She continued to swallow as I came, making me shudder at the sensation, then pulled herself slowly off me, my shaft emerging slowly from her lips. Once I was out of her throat, she sucked so hard it felt like she was trying to suck my soul out of my body, getting the last drops of come out of me, then let me collapse back onto the bed as she panted to get her breath back.

She had a little self-satisfied smirk, it vanished as I reacted to the expression, quickly growing back to full mast.

"That was incredible." I panted honestly. "You have amazing talent at giving head."

Of all the reasons she'd blush, I never imagined my praising of her skill at literal cock sucking would be one of them. "Thank you, sir." Her voice was a bit scratchy, and may I be damned by any god that existed, that made me harder.

I grinned. "Take your time, but when you're ready…" I flexed the muscles in my groin, making my dick seem to jump.

She gulped, nodded, and a couple minutes later, swallowed the head of my cock without another word.

I lay back and let Raven take things at her own pace.

Taking one evening to myself to celebrate my survival and triumphs should be fine.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Khellendrosiic, Picklic and 320 others

Santo

Sep 27, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 16 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Nov 1, 2023

Add bookmark

#383

Oooof.

Bit of a short chapter. But lemme say. The last month has been brutal.

It has been a struggle to do anything at all after a brain frying day at work. This was written a half sentence at a time. In stolen moments of my brain mush not running out of my ears at the end of the day in an exhausted haze.

As I said, bit of a short chapter. But it reached what I felt was a good stopping point, and it serves to set up other things.

Again, I apologize for the exceedingly long wait. But blugh. I am not exaggerating when I say that this past month was hellish.

Enough about me bitching. Here is chapter 16. Hope you enjoy it, and do please chat with me about it. It does help a lot with motivation. More than most can know.

If you didn't like it...normally I have pretty thick skin, but after the month I had, could I at least ask ya to be gentle with the scathing though nonetheless deserved criticism?

Pretty please? With a cherry on top?

No?

Buu. ;_;

Classes had been cancelled on account of the house that burnt down. Which was good, because calming Taiga down was a full-time effort.

She had stress ate through my fridge. Taiga ate and ate with solemn focus, making her way through plate after plate. The only reason I was able to cook more food was that I was supplementing from the rather insane amount of food in my mansion.

The one in the parallel dimension, what with Shirou living in a mansion…before I took over his corpse.

Man, the whole thing is screwy.

I checked my HUD for an update on Saber's condition. The Kolto tank's sensors showed me that her vitals were significantly more stable, her heart rate and temperature only somewhat elevated, which meant that Avalon was burning through the pheromones faster than I'd dared hope.

Which was good, attacking Caster would be much safer with Saber there. I'd just need to keep an eye out for the sneaky bitch's knife of bullshit.

Santo was still hard at work on whatever it was he was working on. We'd decided to remain separate for the duration of the Grail War in the hopes that if one of us got hit with a mind-whammy the other would be fine, he'd work on our plan to tackle Gilgamesh while I handled the rest of the Servants.

Hopefully.

We didn't know what all Gil had in his Vault of Bullshit, but there was a distinct possibility he'd have some way to mind read or divine what I was doing. I didn't have all of the Defenses needed to be even remotely certain I'd be safe if he pulled his head out of his ass. And even then, the surprise that I couldn't bump them up to outright immunities was…unwelcome.

I set a bowl of beef stew in front of Taiga. "This is the last, Taiga. My fridge is empty."

"It's not just Sakura and Shinji." She said without looking up from the table, her voice flat. "Ayako is missing. Her parents called me, asking if she maybe was with me, doing things for the club."

Well…shit, yeah, that was a thing. I really wanted to tell her they were safe. But the less she knew, the less she could hurt me if she was compromised. "That…is unfortunate."

"What is going on Shirou?" She asked around a mouthful of stew.

A to-the-death battle royale between people who are just so much bullshit.

"I don't know." I lied.

She ate quietly, the room feeling oppressive, the ticking of the clock on the wall driving spikes of pain into my ears.

I fled the room, Taiga's grief, worry, and the mechanical way she ate through what I'd served driving me away.

I walked around the mansion to clear my head, and as I did, I realized I hadn't seen Rin all day. Taiga showing up had kinda pushed most things from my mind.

That was most unlike her, Rin would usually zombie out of her room by now to drink milk straight from the carton.

Like a barbarian!

I made my way over to her room, where I heard her frantically doing something in the room several feet down the hallway that led to the 'western' guestrooms that Kiritsugu had built when he remodeled the mansion.

Blinking at that bit of information my mind had dredged up out of the brain I inhabited, I made my way to Rin's door silently and focused my hearing on the door.

I heard rather weepy cursing, followed by a long incantation in accented German. According to my few classes with Iri, and what Soul Talent had managed to copy from Rin, it was an Augury spell, and by the faint scent of blood wafting from the bottom of the door, she was using her own blood as a search catalyst, as she hadn't spilled enough to make her blood the primary power provider for the spell.

Why would she use her blood in such an inefficien—

Fuck I'm stupid.

I waited for her spell to end (and judging by the surprising tirade that followed in German, failed) and knocked on the door.

I heard a strangled gasp and a muffled. "One moment please!" from the other side of the door. Then the unmistakable sounds of someone hastily cleaning up a mess.

"Yes, Emiya-kun?" Rin said as she opened the door, her face as cold and expressionless as a granite statue.

I couldn't help but be impressed, not everyone can act that perfectly composed after very clearly having been crying mere moments prior. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were flushed, but her face was clean except for a few spots of salt she'd missed.

"May I come in?" I asked, and rushed to cut her off before she could tell me no. "It has to do with what happened last night."

If I hadn't been looking for it, I would have missed the flicker in her expression. She nodded woodenly and motioned me inside.

The room I was lending her was mostly in good order, there was some controlled chaos in the table where she'd set up her magical reagents, and the bed sheets were rumpled.

That and the magical array drawn into the floor in chalk.

I turned to look at the cold, stony façade that was her expression. "Let me preface this by saying that Sakura is safe."

Her face crumpled, her legs giving out the moment the tension that had been keeping her standing disappeared. She sat heavily on the bed, took two deep breaths, then she was on her feet again, her face once more carved from cold marble. "Does this have to do with why you left in a hurry yesterday evening?"

I nodded and gave her a doctored version of the events of last night.

"After Shinji's…interrogation, I decided that the Matou were too much of a threat to be allowed to remain. Without a Servant, they were easy to take down. I've put Sakura in a safehouse I have in town. It's heavily warded against augury, which is why you couldn't find her. She'll be safe so long as she stays put. She has enough food to last one person a few years, and enough books of various genres to entertain herself for a good while."

Rin nodded, having taken a seat at the chair she usually lectured me from. "Any reason why you didn't bring her here?"

I gave her a bloodthirsty smile. "Quite unlike you, Rin, I don't consider her a threat. If I left you in a safehouse, alone and unsupervised, I am almost certain you'd snatch the Grail War out from under me. So, for my peace of mind I'm keeping you within reach. As the saying goes, keep your friends close."

"And your enemies closer." She finished while glaring at me, but nonetheless she blushed. Her pride soothed by my words.

I wasn't even lying. If I hadn't been able to Stamp and subsequently contain her, I would have been forced to kill her purely for my peace of mind.

"Now come on, I'll see if there's anything left on the fridge." I said, motioning for her to follow. "I wouldn't hold my breath though. Taiga's emptied me out."

Rin laughed and followed me. Then bumped into my back when I stopped at the door to the living room/kitchenette.

Caster stood there, holding Taiga's superhuman but comparatively delicate neck in her dainty fingers.

I knew then and there, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that slivers of Shirou remained somewhere inside me, as the rage that flared up from deep within me was immediate and blindingly incandescent.

"It's a good thing I laid a far-hearing spell on her." Caster said, her stupid smug punchable face getting on my nerves. "Your wards against augury are outstanding, you have my sincere congratulations. You should have worked harder on your detection wards, however."

Other me felt the sheer scope of my anger, our minds interfaced just enough for him to get an idea of the situation. I just needed to buy a little time.

I took a deep breath and resolved myself not to be confrontational and attempt to deescalate the situation.

"If you've hurt a single hair on her head, I will take whatever it is you hold dear and rape it to death in front of you!" Is what came out of my mouth as I set up a portal on the wall behind her as large as a pinprick and gave it the highest priority.

Caster clicked her tongue and twisted Taiga's head almost to the point of snapping her neck. "You will keep a civil tongue, boy."

I ground my teeth in frustration, willing Santo to hurry.

"I examined the aftermath of your skirmishes last night. That your Servant hasn't come here to give battle means that, as I had surmised, they are heavily wounded after battling not one, but two Servants." The only answer I gave was to grind my teeth harder as I glared at her fingers. I swore to myself then and there, I was going to pulverize her venomous hands. She took my plotting to mean whatever she wanted. "I will make this simple so you can understand. You will give me your Servant and your Command Seals, boy. In return, I will let this lovely woman live."

I felt Santo's near readiness and implored him to hurry.

It was thanks to that feeling of impending action that I was the only one in the room who was not surprised by what happened next, as the events happened in extremely close proximity to each other.

Taiga vanished from Caster's grip, whisked away to safety by a Command Seal.

Santo exploded out of the portal the instant it expanded. He wore the scaled power armored suit of Alpharius, modified to fit his frame.

Caster reacted, turning around to drive the point of a jagged dagger into Santo's chest, said dagger forced itself into my mind as its physical form skittered off his chest plate with a shower of sparks, leaving behind a deep scar on the ceramite.

The crackling blade of a nameless Power Sword that Alpharius had wielded, enhanced by Magecraft, Warcaster Magic, and engulfed in Pyromancy Flame, entered her stomach and exited Caster's back instants before the blade of Gae Bolg entered her back and came out her front.

She shrieked, a wave of magical power rippling out of her and throwing me and other Me away from her, I was unable to keep my grip on my projection of Gae Bolg, leaving it imbedded in Caster's back.

Incidentally, her omnidirectional attack ruined the living room.

Caster tore the spear out of herself and turned to me with murder in her eyes, only to be blasted in the side by an incandescent bar of liquid flame, the attack from Rin singed Caster's robe and staggered her just long enough for Santo to barrel into her side, lifting her bodily up off the floor.

They crashed through five walls until they reached the courtyard, where other Me slammed shoulder first into the perimeter wall, crushing Caster against it and causing a spiderweb of cracks to run across the entirety of the structure.

Caster screamed, sending Santo skidding back, carving two furrows in the dirt several meters long. With the breathing room she'd created, Caster turned into a huge falcon and flew away. Only to stagger as the coughing roar of a bolt pistol preceded three Warcaster Enhanced .75 caliber rockets slamming against her and detonating.

She turned back into a human and roared in incoherent rage, a huge magic circle appearing behind her. Other Me opened a portal and retreated, I opened another behind Rin and tackled her through it, closing it behind us mere moments before a bar of pure destructive mana met the ground.

Santo, Rin and I all lay on the ground and tried to get our breath back.

[Well.] Santo said, his voice distorted into a mechanical growl by his helmet's vox system. [That just happened.]

I sighed. That fight would have gone much differently if Saber had been there. If only I had some way of healing her then I-

I groaned and palmed my face.

[What?]

"We are so goddamn stupid."

[I agree on general principle.] Santo said as he pushed himself up to his feet with a groan. [But why specifically?]

"Body Tune-Up. We've been saving it for emergencies." I said and tried to contain the sheer amount of self loathing coursing through me.

Santo's helmet glared at me for long seconds, then his weapons vanished back to our armory and he palmed his faceplate; his groan of self-recrimination made all the more poignant by the vox distortion.

"Shirou!" Taiga screamed, running into the portal room and tackling me full in the chest. "A pretty lady in cosplay did some mumbo jumbo! I didn't want to! I swear I tried to tell you, but I couldn't!"

I patted Taiga's lower back trying to comfort her as she wept into my chest. Santo pulled Rin to her feet, her sapphire blue eyes taking in every detail of the room and what she could see of my mansion besides. Then she turned her baleful glare upon me.

Oh man, this was not going to be a fun conversation.

Fuck it. The whole point of having a second me is the ability to delegate.

"Santo, I'll deal with Taiga. Catch Rin up, would you?"

His helmet glared at me for several seconds before he shrugged. Gently took Rin's hand, and murmuring something I didn't catch, led her out of the portal room.

Okay, that's one problem dealt with.

Taiga's grip tightened, and it was a good thing I had a mostly empty stomach as she made my multiple-times superhuman spine pop.

"There there." I murmured. "That evil monster will never hurt you again."

I examined Mind Defense carefully, it had allowed Taiga to resist, but vaguely superhuman or not, she had no training in overcoming hypnosis or direct mind control. This was my fault, I should not have tried to rely on anonymity to protect her.

I tried to scratch the vague itch in the back of my head and got a notification on my HUD. It wasn't my head that itched, it was Mind Defense, and what caused it gave me an idea that threatened to curl my lip into a bloodthirsty smirk.

"There there." I repeated to my crying legal guardian. "I will make sure she can never hurt anyone again."

I felt that somewhat foreign, but entirely familiar rage well up within me. Caster had hurt Fuji-nee, I would make her pay. I'd even do her the favor of killing her quickly. Which was greater consideration than she deserved.

Nobody hurt my family and lived to tell of it.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: Condescension, RevanGM, Khellendrosiic and 319 others

Santo

Nov 1, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 17 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Dec 21, 2023

Add bookmark

#406

Heyo. Sorry this chapter took so long, but holy shit work has been murder.

It's only recently that it has slowed enough to allow me to write much at all.

This chapter could have been longer. But I felt it was a good stopping point. Hope people will like it. As usual, comments and stuff help a lot with motivation. So plz lemme know whatcha thought.

Just...try and be nice? Pretty please. Work has been murder. T-T

I'm not entirely certain what to call the face Rin was making, but boy was it funny.

"And this is the drawer where I keep miscellaneous jewelry for any esoteric needs." I said, my voice no longer made into a mechanical growl as I had divested myself of the armor I'd used to fight Caster. I opened the drawer, showing it was full of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds. All of them beautifully cut and collectively worth a King's ransom.

Rin made a sound halfway between choking and growling.

"Yeah I know, they're so situational they may as well be useless." I said, shutting the drawer and drawing a pained whine from the girl. "But it's better to have it and not need it. Now here is the workshop, where I had been busy with an important project before the emergency."

The Workshop remained its eclectic mix of futuristic machinist shop and cathedral. With a new guest busy fiddling around with the CNC machine.

"Ayako!?" Rin asked, running toward the girl.

Ayako for her part, jumped and turned around. "Tohsaka!? Were you attacked by a Servant too!?"

"You know what a Servant is!?" Rin demanded, then glared at me.

Oh right, secrets and crap. Whoops.

"Oh right, Santo did mention that magic was supposed to be secret." Ayako said, then grinned. "But don't worry! Santo gave me magic, look!"

Furrowing her brows, the young woman cupped her hands and caused a burst of flame to spring from her palms. "Still can't control it too well, but Santo says I'm making good progress!"

The admonition that one could not simply 'give magic' had clearly died stillborn on Rin's lips. Her mouth flapped like a fish out of water for a few moments, then she began to rationalize.

"Yeah before you get too far into that." I said, interrupting her thought process with a soft 'whap' to the top of her head. "I'm extra-dimensional, some aspects of my magic are fundamentally different from the magic you're familiar with."

Rin stared at me in flabbergasted stupefaction.

This was way too much fun.

I left Ayako to fill in the poor girl as best she could, and went back to check on the machines cutting the armor panels for the Warjack I was going to build. The fact that I wouldn't need to put a bloody steam engine on it gave me a hell of a lot more options for sneaky shit. Especially since laser etching the runes and formulas for the arcantrik turbine meant I could make that thing without having to etch them by hand.

I programmed the laser etching machine to engrave hexagramatic protective runes on the inside of what would be the Jack's armor panels.

Yes, I'd love to put together a pair of walking tanks that could demolish a building purely by taking an enthusiastic walk, but that was simply not feasible in the timeframe I had to hold to in order to attack Caster, and prep for Gilgamesh.

Once I took out Caster, the only remaining Servant would be Lancer, who was firmly under the thumb of Kirei, who was himself puppeting Gil. To the extent the golden vainglorious dumbass could be puppeted anyways

That meant I had at best one day to prepare for Caster, and hopefully three to take my counter to Gilgamesh from concept sketches to reality.

I foresaw much caffeine in my near future.

Speaking of Gil countermeasures.

I finished programming the laser etcher and looked over to Ayako and Rin. The two were seated at a nearby console and had their heads together, furiously whispering as a flame danced merrily between Ayako's palms, the two bonding like never before as they pushed the boundaries of Ayako's Pyromancy, Rin allowing the barrier and distance she normally kept from her arguably best friend to disappear, now that she too had magic.

I walked over and softly bopped the top of Ayako's head. She squeaked in surprise and let the flame sputter out.

"I told you, no magic practice in the workshop, we have a gun range for that." I chastised. "If you wanna play with fire, go to the range and have the Kolto patches ready."

"Y-Yes, Santo-sensei." Ayako said with a bow.

I considered giving her another bop, but decided against it. "And for the hundredth time, it's just 'Santo.' And stop bowing at me, it's way too stiff and formal."

As it often did, it seemed to short-circuit the girl's brain, her cheeks turning bright red. "B-But, but Sensei, that would not…"

I sighed. "I'll make allowance for being from a different culture so an adjustment period will be required, but if you'll be learning magic and general badassery from me, you'll have to learn to drop the stiff formalities. Now, off to the gun range with you two. Ayako, don't let Rin near anything important, I'll be holding you personally responsible for anything she breaks."

"Yes Sensei!" Ayako said, bowing stiffly, again.

Rin looked annoyed at me. "I wouldn't just break something."

"You're new and haven't taken the safety courses." I shot back and made vague 'shooing' motions. "Now go have fun setting shit on fire."

Ayako took Rin's hand and all but dragged her fellow brunette away.

I took a deep breath, double checked the laser etching progress, and went to the infirmary.

Saber was still floating serenely in the Kolto tank, sleeping. I interfaced with the tank so it would play a soft chime and wake her up gently. While it did that, I went over her vitals.

Her blood pressure was still slightly elevated. Even so, it was a far cry from what it had been when I put her into the tank…fuck it was only last night? I haven't even slept with either body, my circadian rhythm was going to be thrown so out of whack.

Man, the moment the Grail War was over, I was going to sleep for a solid week.

Still, it seemed that Avalon had purged the vast majority of Zouken's aphrodisiac. The Kolto tank had managed to acquire a sample, it had then quarantined it, and when it had almost breached containment, incinerated it. It had set off just about every hexagramtic ward etched into the machine, according to the readouts, it had not only been a biohazard, but a potent mutagenic cognitohazard and may even have had memetic properties.

It may have even worked to attack women specifically at a conceptual level. Part of me could not help but find it morbidly fascinating.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Saber's eyes fluttered open, and I played my voice through the speakers around her ears. 'Good afternoon, sunshine. According to everything I can see, you should be feeling better, but whatever this thing was, it was…potent. Now, I have devised a way to purge it from your system entirely, but it has side effects.' I made the Kolto tank display a yes and no button in front of her. 'If I administer the treatment, it'll purge whatever this is, but it acts at a conceptual level. Your growth that was halted by Avalon? That will be reversed, you'll grow to the point where you would have stopped developing as a full physical adult, then the sheath's immortality will reassert itself and prevent further aging. It should have no other side effects. Would you like me to administer the treatment?'

She immediately and resolutely pressed the 'yes' button.

'Very well then, you might feel a slight tingle. Or a shocking sensation.'

She glowed slightly, and for lack of a better word, flourished in front of me. In the span of a few seconds, she grew from just under five feet to five and a half, her waist remained narrow as her hips widened, her breasts filled in until they were a perfect teardrop handful.

She went from a coltish youth who, with the right clothes and attitude could have passed herself off as a slightly effeminate, androgynous boy, to a woman in her prime.

'Okay, starting the decanting procedure.'

I slowly drained the kolto out of the tank, leaving Saber standing in the center, her skin glistening with health and the liquid running down her curves and long legs, her muscle tone serving to accentuate rather than detract from her womanly softness. Her pert pink nipples standing erect in the cold air. The slit of her pussy drawing my eyes like a magnet. She took off the headset and shook out her hair, the movement doing distracting things to her newfound assets.

It was most auspicious I was wearing stiff pants.

"Master, you are hurt." She accused.

That was sharp of her, Caster stabbing Rule Breaker into my plastron had failed to penetrate the armor, but the impact had given me a deep bruise. Were it not for my enhancements, it would have shattered my sternum. And she had picked up on that purely due to the slight stiffness in my posture.

Servants are bullshit.

I opened my mouth to complement her astuteness. What came out was. "Good gods woman you are beautiful."

She blinked, looked down at herself, and realized she was naked as the day she was born. Her whole body turned pink as she blushed, she covered up her mouthwatering nipples with her left arm, and her enchanting slit with her right hand. For all her physical reaction, when she spoke, her voice was mostly composed. "Ahem, excuse my lack of dress, Master."

"R-Right." I extended a hand, and with a small effort of will and magic, plucked a towel from a nearby rack and held it out to her.

Saber took it and carefully wrapped it around her body, hiding her delicious curves.

I cleared my throat. "I'll uhh, your clothes have been cleaned, they're over there. I'll meet you in the living room when you're ready."

"Y-Yes, Master."

I forced myself to leave before I did something unwise.

"Okay! To summarize." Santo said, looking around at our gathered forces in the War Room, before us floated a green three dimensional hologram of the Ryuudo Temple. "Taiga has been successfully mind-whammied. Good job on that, Rin. Shirou has been inflicted with a mind control spell set to go off when next he sleeps. And we should be set to make an attack on Caster's base of operations in two days. Shirou will use the mind control spell to infiltrate Ryuudo Temple and create a portal for Saber and Raven, you three will be Alpha Team. Beta Team, composed of Rin, Maria and I, will attack the front door and tie up Assassin so Caster cannot call on backup. The first team to neutralize the threat they're up against will provide backup for the other team. Any questions?"

Saber immediately stood up, the motion drawing the eyes of Rin, Ayako, Maria, Raven, me, and other me. "I do not see why we should take the risk of infiltration. We have more than enough strength to batter through the front gate without risking Shirou."

"Because a castle wall bypassed will help us turn it into a prison for Caster. She will be reeling and paranoid. In her place I would absolutely beef up my wards. And lastly, she has a whole temple of hostages." I said. "I may not care overmuch as to the fate of the buildings, but the people in it are not 'acceptable collateral damage.' Having me infiltrate poses the least risk for the highest potential reward."

"Not to mention." Santo pressed, leaning on the table. "While you tie up Caster, Raven and Shirou can tag team and hopefully overwhelm her Master. She'll have empowered him somehow, but not enough to survive the two of them. And I've already put something into production that will take care of the asshole guarding the gate, so both teams should hopefully meet up in a few minutes tops and murder the bitch."

Santo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then continued. "Shirou, you know I love you like the fucked up brother/clone I never had or particularly wanted."

"That's uncalled for." I shot back with a huff.

"Wait what?" Rin and Ayako said and were promptly ignored.

"But could you please put a lid on the boiling rage? I think it best at least one of us can go into this with a clear head."

I sighed and tried to push the lid closed on my emotions. "I'm trying, okay? But you know…it's difficult."

"Yeah." He muttered, scowling as our minds went to the time not so long ago that was a haze of red and lunacy as I plotted my vengeance, I pressed the lid tighter closed on my emotions, again. "Yeah, I know. Just try and keep it in mind."

"Erm…anything I can do?" Ayako asked after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Santo took the query for the lifeline it was. "Yes, you'll be on standby at the portal room. If anyone requires evacuation, it'll be your job to sprint onto the field and drag them to safety. I know it's dangerous, so you have the next two days to master the energy shield aspect of your Aura. Kind of a tall ask when it's only been unlocked for a few hours, so work with Raven, she'll teach you that aspect of your powers."

"And Irisviel?" Saber asked.

Maria piped up, scratching her cheek. "She's with her, erm, daughter. We kind of have Illyasviel on suicide watch. She didn't take the loss of her Servant too well and uhh…there's been a lot of screaming coming from that room."

Santo scowled and said what we were both thinking. "Worse comes to worst, we'll put Illya in a medically induced coma for the duration of the operation. Iri's abilities in first aid will be too valuable to remain sidelined."

"Ano…Isn't that kind of, extreme?" Ayako asked, raising her hand like she was in school.

Santo pointed at her. "Yes Ayako, it absolutely is, but so is our situation. Can you come up with a better alternative?"

She couldn't, and the meeting was adjourned soon after. Rin and Maria left with other me, while Ayako left with Raven for some emergency high intensity Aura training. Saber said she would make sure the Emiya estate was safe and ran ahead as I made my way to the portal room to start the laborious process of cleaning up. Rin would drop by eventually to keep up the façade, but I needed to be seen picking up the pieces and to inform Kirei that I was alive and that I'd need him to cover up the fight that happened at my place.

Unfortunately, I ran into a familiar face on the way.

"Senpai." Sakura said, smiling. "I'm…glad to see you are well."

Weird, her eyes held hints of blue and the roots of her hair looked darker than I remembered.

I sighed and scratched the back of my head awkwardly. I really didn't want to have this conversation. "Look, Sakura. I know you must be feeling…a lot of things. There are way too many things happening at the moment. I'm glad you seem to be doing better, but uhh…I'll just…how to put this."

She waited patiently, her body language telling me she was very happy and rather infatuated with me.

Considering she was no longer anything close to a threat, I used my HUD to update her status from a Companion to a Familiar. That would hopefully make things easier.

I sighed, my lack of social graces striking again. Most of me wanted to make this someone else's problem.

On the one hand, she was owed the pudding straight from the horse's mouth.

…

Man did that metaphor slip out of my control.

But on the other hand, I really didn't want to deal with this right now.

I sighed a third time and looked Sakura dead in the eye. "Sakura, I… The Grail War, real busy, don't have the time to talk right now." I chickened out and resumed my walk to the portal room. "Don't leave the mansion, it's dangerous."

I fled, not waiting for her response.

I'd wait until after I dealt with everything Grail War related. I'd have the time to deal with the fallout, or I will be dead and it will no longer be my problem.

Stepping through into the Emiya residence, I took in the devastation. Most of the main building was rubble. The grass was scorched, the perimeter wall still stood, but there was a Caster shaped indentation and the cracks had gotten worse. The western style guest rooms were still relatively intact, though all the windows had become shrapnel, and the shed's paint had been sandblasted away.

I didn't feel any magical traps or spells, but that didn't mean they weren't present. Saber was poking around the area, her armor having changed to fit her updated frame.

I found the home's phone (holy shit this house has a home phone. Fuck I really am in the past…and now I feel old, which is weird, as I was objectively a teenager). It was in significantly more pieces than would allow for use.

I grabbed the chord and, as a test, pushed it against my Company Smartphone. The manual had not lied to me as the phone reconfigured to have the female end the cable went to. It slotted in with a quiet 'click.'

I called the church, and the bastard priest made me wait until the seventh ring to pick up.

"This is Kotomine Kirei." The bastard priest said in his stupid sexy baritone. Seriously, whose a man gotta kill to have that velvet smooth voice?

"Kirei, this is Emiya Shirou. I will need you to interfere with local authorities. Caster attacked my home and made quite the mess. Someone needs to inform them there was a gas leak or whatever your lie of the day is."

"Oh? An inconclusive battle?" The bastard sneered. I could all but see him salivating at the prospect of good schadenfreude.

Bastard. Like fuck I'll give you what you want.

"We clashed, but I dare say I came out of it better than she did. Still, I do not have the expertise or time to deal with the cleanup. I doubt we want the local authorities asking questions about the suspiciously woman-shaped indentations on the walls and whatnot." I picked up a burnt piece of wood, it fell apart into ash. "So I'll leave that in your capable hands. I need to go make a plan to find and kill Lancer's Master."

"Oh? Do you believe yourself to be under threat?"

"This is the Grail War, of course I'm under threat. Anyways, my bounded field seems to have suppressed at least some of the normal public response. But who knows how much longer that'll last. Thanks for your help, but I really do need to get going."

I hung up and tossed the phone aside, it discorporated and caused the cable to fall to the ground.

I really didn't want to have to clean all this shit up.

I heard the sound of earth moving, then a lot of things hitting the ground. Turning to look, I saw Saber standing calmly over a pile of bones.

Huh…would that mean…

I crouched down and pulsed my magic into the ground. And, indeed, I felt a few dozen weak magical signatures buried in the ground.

I just…when did Caster have the time to pull this shit!?

I studied the semi-dormant golems as Saber found another one and beat it like it owed her money. The enchantment animating them was complex and robust in places, but simple to disrupt. These were cheap throwaway troops, distractions.

I called upon my Warcaster Magic and flooded the ground with an overwhelming amount of pure mana. The enchantment that powered the golems was unable to handle the sudden influx and was burnt out. Leaving the skeletons to…become a nuisance for future me.

Man, fuck cleaning all this shit today.

"Oi, Saber! Wanna go get ramen!?"

[Bait One is hooked and being reeled in, I repeat, Bait One is being reeled in, over.] I said into my vox, the helmet of my power armor interfacing seamlessly with my personal HUD.

[Sticky Sock ready for triage duty! Over!] Iri's voice said excitedly.

[The code name Sticky Sock was never approved, stick to your code name. Over.] I admonished.

[Okay fiiiiine. Moonlit Pale ready for triage duty. Over.] Iri said petulantly.

[Why are you using weird names?] Rin asked.

[You didn't say over.] I said. [Over.]

While she grumbled back and managed to cause a feedback screech in our communications network, I kept an 'eye' on Other Me's red mop, the bird's eye view allowing me to keep greater distance between us without risking getting caught.

The Warjack flying silently through the air marveled quietly at the sheer height he'd reached, enjoying and learning from my direct control of its body and systems.

I also had to continually suppress its instincts to ram into every bird that happened to fly close to it.

The Jack hadn't yet developed enough of a personality for me to feel comfortable naming it, but I'd decided to call the class of Warjack he was, a Vulture. He had very good eyesight, but by necessity, his armaments were light. He had two direct fire melta-warhead air-to-surface missiles and a thirty caliber machine gun with enough ammo for two minutes of sustained fire.

His role was that of recon, armed just heavily enough to deal with a lightly armored threat or finishing off a straggler. With two dumb-fire rockets for use as an opening salvo or to take out a heavy threat before retreating and rearming.

At least, that was the theory.

I suppressed the Jack's intent to dive bomb a pigeon that happened to be flying by. It seemed to believe it was a savant at close quarters combat. No arms or legs? No problem, it has a metal head styled after a crusader's bucket helm, that was good enough for it.

Dumbass Jack.

Other Me crossed the gate to the temple, using the Jack's vision, I set down a portal at the base of the stairs, and charged out of my cover and down the street in full Alpharius regalia.

I rumbled my way up the stairs, and a third of the way up I caught a glimpse of moonlight off steel out of the corner of my eye, and barely managed to interpose the Storm Shield between the sword blade and my neck. The power behind the attack brought me up short, and pushed me back a few steps.

A man in a traditional kimono, wielding a very long blade stood above me. He was regal, elegant, and all but exuded deadly competence.

Through the Jack's eyes, I chose my target, channeling my magic through its mechanikal capacitors. Using pure power to achieve what I lacked the experience to do efficiently.

I felt two shudders through the Jack's senses, the payloads full to bursting with my magic roaring off on their terminal descent.

"So," Sasaki Kojiro said with a confident smile, "you must be Saber."

"About that," I said, right as the two missiles slammed into the torii gate, vanishing it behind twin spheres of plasma. The wood it had been constructed out of sublimating, the heat setting fire to the woods around it as the shockwave of the death of twin miniature suns rocked the ground.

Assassin staggered, clutching at his heart. I dropped a mechanikal contraption and channeled my Warcaster magic into it. A translucent bubble expanded around me, the magically reinforced void shield firming one twentieth of a second before Assassin's blade sparked off of it with a kaleidoscopic splash of energy.

He glared at me through the shield for long seconds before saying. "Well played." And vanishing.

Odd, I had expected a cloud of golden motes.

No matter, I had Other Me to reinforce. I stepped out of the bubble shield, there was a glint of metal to my side, I brought my neck down, overlapping the bottom of my helmet with the top of my armor's gorget. A mighty impact rocked me back, sending me stumbling behind the bubble shield again.

I silenced my helmet's numerous warnings about the armor's integrity being compromised. If I somehow ended up in space during this fight, I'd have much more to worry about than tiny hole in my armor.

[Blemishine, deploy, and make sure to bring your new helmet.] I said into the vox, setting a portal next to me.

I considered retreating, but at the moment, the only thing likely to keep False Assassin occupied was the possibility of killing me. If I vanished, chances were he'd just charge for Other Me, Caster's orders be damned.

Maria appeared next to me, her head thankfully covered by the new helmet I'd put together for her. She looked like the quintessential knight in armor.

[We go at the same time, watch each other's backs, one locks him down the other kills him, fight him only on short steps, if we get to a step where he can take more than a single step, back off. Ready?]

"Yes!"

I cast the spell that had come about from my preparations to meet with the true threat I was facing, the humm of the shield emitter turning into a bass rumble.

[Go!] I roared and charged out of the force field, between one step and the next, he was between us, Maria and I changing our footing to attack him. The edge of my shield seeking his ribs as her sword swung out to cut his arm off.

He wove through our attacks like water, thanks to my heightened speed, I barely had the time to twitch my head and save one of my helmet's lenses, he whirled and Maria's helmet gained a scar from the frontal plate to her gorget.

He batted away my counter attack, my chest plate gaining a new groove before he cut a line over Maria's shin, chest, and compromising the seals around her neck.

He dodged my tackle, sending me into Maria and carving a line down my power pack. This was fine, as disengaging was the point.

I picked my girl up and retreated behind the bubble shield once again. Kojiro disappearing once more.

[Fuck.]

I set Maria down and brought out the materials for a quick patch up for our armor. Using Reinforcement and Warcaster magic to speed up the curing of the ceramite concrete paste.

"That man, is difficult." Maria panted, her head on a swivel looking for the ghost that haunted us.

[All we need to do is outlast him. He won't last long.]

"What about Shirou?"

[And that's why we will continue to try and kill the fucker. Ready for round two?]

"Yes!" She yelled, luminous wings unfolding from her back.

[Go!] I roared, and we sallied out of the shield once again.

Last edited: Dec 21, 2023

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Khellendrosiic, Picklic and 284 others

Santo

Dec 21, 2023

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 18 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jan 5, 2024

Add bookmark

#428

Aight. Merry Christmas, happy new year. The whole shebang.

Was trying to have this one ready a couple of days ago. But that, unfortunately, did not work out.

Alas.

Here is the next chapter, I thought about going a bit further, but it felt like a good point to stop even if it's a bit short.

Please comment and whatnot. Lemme know if you like it.

Walking while not in full control of my faculties was a strange experience.

Between my Company Defenses, enhanced Magic Circuits, Template of War, and the (admittedly severely nerfed) memories, physiology, and training of Alpharius, I was fairly certain I could snap out of it when needed.

Pretty certain.

Like, eighty percent certain.

Ish.

Time was a little fucky. It felt like minutes since I had laid down to sleep. I had vague recollections of walking out the door of the work-in-progress Emiya Estate. And now I was stepping through the Ryuudo Temple's torii gate, with everything in between being a fuzzy and unclear mess.

I ignored the droning buzz, I couldn't let it distract me, I had to be ready for when Caste—

"—will pay for the pain and humiliation." Caster said scathingly, her mouth turned down in a frown.

Oh…when did that happen?

I pulled the trigger on my Alpha Strike, my Aura came on in a cobalt flash at the same time that kaleidoscopic flame wreathed my body, blue-green runes exploded into being around me as my magic circuits thundered on into white hot incandescence. The Raiment of War settled around me as the handle of Chaoseater filled my palm. The sudden cascade of energy flowing through my body and soul burning away the cobwebs that had infected my mind and soul.

The portal I tried to form behind Caster failed to materialize.

A small thought stream noted away this fact as I stomped forward, my foot causing a spiderweb of cracks on the stone floor. Five separate spells from as many universes empowered my body as I twisted my hips, the edge of Chaoseater making the air scream briefly in seeming agony before breaking through the invisible barrier of sound as it traveled for Caster's neck.

She finished flinching back, gesturing to her side and forming a shimmering shield that Chaoseater bounced rebounded from with a thunderous roar, the impact of the weapon traveling up my arms and bringing stinging pain to my spine.

I formed Kansho and Bakuya between us and overfilled them with magical energy, detonating them like cheap grenades. The force of the blast sending me flying back and peppering my chest plate with dissipating metal fragments.

"By the power of this Command Spell." I intoned as my enemy Spoke.

Soul Talent feasted, the sheer weight of information gleaned from Caster's small utterance would have stunned me before my battle against Berserker. She did not cast a spell, she used a sliver of Divinity to demand of the world that I be engulfed in the heat of the sun.

I summoned three mechanikal engines from my pocket space and filled them to bursting with magic. Their capacitors glowed white as a bubble of energy formed around me, the spell feeding cubically into itself and creating a near physical manifestation of a Concept.

The barest fraction of a second after the shield was formed, the area around the thin bubble encasing me became as obscenely incandescent as the surface of a star.

"I Summon you across Time and Space." I continued, the back of my left hand glowing red.

The sphere of power spent itself, two out of the three shields burning out as they protected me from the nascent star's demise, the third failing as the torii gate sublimated, two magically enhanced melta-warheads spending their fury against it.

The explosion that deprived me off my defense also served to knock Caster momentarily off-balance, granting me the fractions of a second I required to recover.

I abandoned the perfect circle of untouched stone in a field of molten rock, my sabatons splashing in the dense, magically created lava.

I slammed Chaoseater into the ground. Spending my Wrath to send a blade geyser in a line toward Caster, forcing her to dash aside or be impaled.

"Come to me! SABER!" I roared.

Caster snarled and pointed her finger imperiously at me, a line of pure power cascading out of the dainty digit. The cold analytical part of my being that had been greatly bolstered when I became part Primarch, made use of Soul Talent to inform me that what would claim my life was not a spell.

It was pure, distilled Annihilation.

And in a flash of golden light, she was in front of me.

It objectively made for an utterly emasculating sight. My own form made hulking by the Raiment of War, cowering behind the 1.68 meters tall, svelte young woman. One whose features were the quintessential ideal of a stern princess, soon to be queen.

As the beam that would have unmade me at a molecular level met her palm, it broke like the stream from a common water hose slamming into a meters thick steel plate, with equally pitiful results.

I found myself utterly uncaring of how emasculated I was supposed to feel.

Caster's demeanor changed. Gone was the annoyance and swagger, she had to visibly stop herself from swallowing in fear. "Impossible, two Sabers?"

Saber did not waste time speaking. She had been directly in front of me one second, the next she was fifty feet away and Caster was missing her left arm from the elbow down, a crimson line traveling from her left hip to her right shoulder, a last instant evasion being the only reason she was not cleaved in twain.

She took to the air. But I'd learned my lesson from my last fight. I reached within my power and drew on the very Essence of War.

I leapt forward, a beast of fire and brimstone only paying lip service to the equine form tore out of the still molten ground and caught me, its whinny the creaking of chariots, the roar of jet turbines, and the silent screams of interstellar engines.

Ruin, the Red Horse of War answered my call, the motions to ride him at once the most natural thing ever and utterly alien.

Even though I had only mentioned this ability to her in passing, something that only in hindsight did I see was a terrible mistake on my part, Saber leapt onto the horse as I rode past her with the grace one would normally expect of hours of practice.

Not only that, but her composure did not break even when I pulled up on the reins, and Ruin leapt into the sky, his hooves leaving burning hoofprints in the very air.

Caster was not nearly as sanguine, the surprise costing her an eye from Saber's slash as I made my first pass at her. Saber leapt to her feet on Ruin's back, one hand on my shoulder to keep herself steady and batted away three of the twenty magical attacks that composed Caster's retaliation, evaporating away the ones that had posed a direct threat to us.

Still, Caster was wise enough not to allow me to close the distance again. I was significantly faster than her in a straight line, but her greater maneuverability made a straight charge unfeasible. Not only that, but she had the leftover cognizance to counterspell my every attempt to use Warcaster magic to create an opening, knocking away the copies of Kansho, Bakuya, and Gae Bolg that I threw at her, and to use her own magic to try to knock me out of the sky.

The only reason she had yet to succeed being Saber swatting away the attacks that came too close.

I smirked and reached out with my Focus. A simple mind chuffing in frustrated boredom at its orders to remain on standby leapt eagerly into my control.

Rather than restrain its instincts, I encouraged it and only aided in course correction. Filling its Cortex with magic for it to use as it saw fit.

The Vulture class Warjack gleefully used the barest fraction of the magic to enhance its targeting array. The rest it gleefully dumped into its motive systems.

Caster threw out a spell that went wide. The next moment a shrieking, great helm headed, surface-to-air equipped flying attack Warjack slammed into her just a couple dozen meters short of going hypersonic.

The Warjack's plating crumpled, but its adamantium skeleton held firm as it snapped her spine like a twig.

This happening at the same time that Saber screamed my name, a moment after that, Ruin roared in anger and pain, the shot that Caster 'missed' having curved beneath us and slammed into his belly.

The horse discorporated, our ascent slowing as Caster punted the Warjack straight down at the ground, my connection to its ecstatic mind cutting off abruptly.

As gravity firmed its jealous hold on Saber and I, I did quick math; even if she remained still, we would not reach Caster. And as great as Saber was, even she needed something to push off of.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, forming my Pyromancy Flame into a jet behind my back.

"Saber!" I called out, she took in what I was doing at a glance and did not hesitate to step onto my forearms. I poured everything into the flame, rocketing us in a straight line at Caster.

Then Saber kicked off, and I was half a meter deep in the ground.

I blinked in confusion, and did not realize the breath had been kicked out of me until I took a painful, shuddering gasp.

Two halves of a woman, cut vertically down from the top of her head to her groin, landed with a splat some distance away, and disappeared into golden motes. And to that, there really was only one thing I could think to say.

"Ow."

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Khellendrosiic, Picklic and 261 others

Santo

Jan 5, 2024

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 19 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Feb 8, 2024

Add bookmark

#442

I've agonized over this chapter enough. Time to throw it out there and see how it goes.

Honestly. I was intending to write something completely different. But then the characters got away from me.

I think it is interesting. That said. Not the whole situation will be revealed on this chapter. I would keep going, but I got to a good stopping point.

Let me know what y'all think! Also. Conversation helps a lot peeps. Can't stress that enough.

Especially with work. Ugh. We're not even on the busy season and I'm already pulling a good chunk of overtime.

Anyways, yer not here to read about me bitching. Here is chapter. Hope y'all enjoy.

I dragged myself and my Warjack through the portal to my mansion, Saber a step behind me and looking far too smug for someone that put me in a half-meter deep crater.

I mean, sure, it worked. But it's the principle of the thing!

I let go of the Warjack and stared at Other Me. The power armor from the waist up disassembled and scattered as Iri and Rin pressed their hands to his chest, the glow of active magecraft escaping from around their digits as Ayako and Raven hurried back and forth, bringing Kolto, Type-O bioslurry, and mana potions. Maria was sitting a small distance away, her armor torn to shreds, but according to my HUD, she was unharmed. So Other Me at least managed to do one thing right.

"The fuck happened to your dumbass?" I asked Other Me.

"Did you know we have two hearts?" He asked in lieu of answering.

"We have two hearts?"

"Yup."

"You left an opening so Assassin would overcommit?"

Santo grunted as Rin and Iri did something that smarted. "Yeah, surprised me when he didn't go for the opening I left, and instead tore a hole in my guard and stabbed me in the chest."

"And then what happened?"

"I grabbed hold of the sword so he couldn't take it back and Blemishine cut his head off." He looked at the wrecked war machine. "What did you do to my 'Jack? Shit like this is why we can't have nice things."

As I was about to rebuff this baseless accusation, Iri stabbed a pair of large needles full of Kolto and Type-O bioslurry into his chest.

I decided to fill him in later. "We'll uhh, meet up later at the War Room for debrief."

I continued to drag the Warjack with me as I began my tactical withdrawal.

Note to self, use the auto-doc in the infirmary, that should be enough. No need for me, with my tiny little bruises to brave the awful bedside manners of my—

"Hey Shirou," Raven said in such a sickly saccharine tone that I couldn't suppress my shudder of fear, "I can't help but notice that pronounced limp."

I felt every pair of female eyes zero in on me like targeting lasers.

"Uuuh…"

"Okay." I said, doing my best to remember to only take shallow breaths, my regenerated heart, lung tissues, bits of ribs and spine still 'tender.' "The operation was a success, but it was a bit of a clusterfuck."

"We should have thought about the possibility of Caster being able to create a ward against our portals." The only other male and current Kolto soaked mummy in the War Room said.

As it turned out, Newton's Third Law was a bitch.

Saber sighed and spoke. "And while I would like to chastise Santo for fighting a Servant, even an orphaned one…Assassin coming in to reinforce Caster could have been catastrophic."

Raven scoffed. "Dumbass managed to get himself stabbed in the heart, you should have traded places with Maria, give your Aura time to regenerate then traded places with her again so she could do the same."

"I mean, we tried." Maria said, scratching her cheek and smiling awkwardly. "But Assassin just would not cooperate."

We went over the videos of the two fights, pointing out flaws as well as writing down suggestions for training in how to do better.

Once we had a list of things to do that could be refined into an actual training program, we moved on to the most important thing we had to discuss.

"The Grail War." Shirou said, the gravitas on his tone nearly ruined by the fact he was currently a mummy.

"There is only Lancer left." Saber said, her eyes were chips of green ice.

"If only it were that simple." I sighed. "There is indeed Lancer. But there's also the Archer from the last war, Gilgamesh, King of Uruk."

Rin scowled. "How would he still be around? It's been ten years."

Saber remained quiet, but clearly wondered the very same thing, even as the light of understanding shone from her eyes, her mind putting together puzzle pieces she had lacked the context to before.

"Perhaps I should answer that question." Said a new voice, one that sent icy fear crawling up my spine, as the last time I heard it, I'd nearly died at her whim.

Illyasviel strode through the door, head held high in all of her 1.33 meter glory. Leysritt walked in behind her, wearing her white and black maid outfit, sans the headpiece.

The bodyguard's presence here was purely ceremonial, as I'd been unarmed when I subdued her.

"Illya!" Iri said, her voice trapped at the halfway point between hope and rejection.

Illya froze momentarily before resuming her walk. "M-Mama. I have had…time to think, on what you said."

Irisviel abandoned any semblance of decorum and ran to embrace her pseudo-daughter.

Her quantum daughter?

Biologically it didn't really matter, but chronologically they'd actually not be all that far apart due to temporal diff—

I shut down that line of thinking, it wasn't important. Other Me shook his head and likely did the same.

I let Illya have the floor, and took a seat.

Iri had one of the server robots (I made a note to ask her why the trashcan looking robot was wearing a tuxedo with a pink bowtie) bring Illya a stepping stool so she could present her points with a measure of dignity.

She took a deep breath. "I am Illyasviel von Einzbern, Master from the Third Founding Family." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "And vessel for the Grail. As the one who defeated me, Shiro Emiya and his entourage are recognized as the ones to hold the vessel. And as the ones responsible for five Servant kills as well as the destruction of one of the Founding Families. I, as the vessel, officially recognize you as the one most likely to be the victor of the Grail War."

She stopped, her expression morphing into rictus of pain and disgust. "After the particulars of the situation were made clear to me by…" She glanced at her mother, who was doing everything in her power to hide her fierce pride in the smaller girl, and falling, she took a deep breath and continued. "Someone dear to me. I can no longer in good conscience remain quiet about my suspicions. Both of the Archer of the last war, and the goal of the Grail War overall."

She steadied herself before stating. "The Greater Grail is tainted, it has been since the third War. Any wish made on it will take whichever form is the most destructive way it could be granted. Say you wish to be the smartest man in the world? It will kill everyone who is more intelligent than you are. You want world peace? It will be quite peaceful when you're the only living being in the planet."

"Wait," Rin said, standing up, "then that means…"

"Yes, Miss Tohsaka." Illya said grimly. "Any wish to reach the Akashic records would result in widespread destruction. Perhaps even worldwide annihilation."

Ayako raised her hand as if she were in class. "Eto…What does that have to do with, erm, that Archer guy?"

"The tragedy ten years ago." I said as other me shuddered violently. "The corruption inside the Grail overflowed and set everything on fire. The half-living park is the faded scar of the curses within the Grail. That said, if a spiritual being were to be immersed in that gunk and have a strong enough ego not be overwhelmed, it will grant them new flesh."

"Giving them a new anchor." Rin muttered, pressing her knuckles against her teeth in thought. "It would drastically reduce the amount of magical energy required for them to exist, but it would still be high, a good many of their abilities as a Servant would be crippled without a powerful magus to provide them with Magical Energy."

"Or a large enough sacrifice." Shirou spat, crossing his arms.

"The point being." I said, standing up, drawing every eye to me. "We now know, things are not as they seemed. Saber…I know this is not something you would have wanted to hear, are you still willing to work with us? Purely to stop a repeat of the fire?"

Other Me shuddered again as she thought. Ultimately, Saber nodded. "Indeed, I would like to confirm for myself as to the contents of the Grail. But either way, the innocents of this city do not deserve to die for the pride of a select few."

"Good." I said, happy that she had met my expectations.

"All this talk is good and all," Raven said crossing her legs and leaning back, her breasts straining the fabric of her shirt, "but do we even have a plan to deal with this dickhead? That spear guy is already going to be a bitch to put down, and you make it sound like this guy from the last war is a pretty big deal."

Saber nodded. "The Archer of the last war was formidable indeed. I battled against him after the fires broke out and barring a few instances, I could not close the distance. The few strikes I was able to land did not penetrate his armor."

"Yeah he's going to be a pain in the ass." I said, scratching my head. "Even his most offhanded attack is a Noble Phantasm. As the King of Uruk, his treasury holds many Noble Phantasms, plenty that were 'inherited' by other heroes down the line. But! We have a couple secret weapons against the fucker!"

Saber raised an eyebrow. "And what would those be?"

"Us." Other Me and I said at the same time. "We have a Reality Marble."

"What!?" Rin shouted, rude.

"It's how we can keep throwing Noble Phantasms around." I said, Tracing Gae Bolg while Shirou projected Kansho and Bakuya. "With a bit of effort, training, chutzpah, and this trap I'm working on, we should be able to neutralize Gilgamesh."

"No no no! Go back to the Reality Marble!" Rin demanded.

I continued without acknowledging the attempted interruption. "That said, for my plan to work, we will need to contain him for three days. If that is successful, then the conceptual attack will ensure he goes away without a chance to ever return or fight against the effect."

Before Rin could blow a gasket, Ayako pulled her back to her seat. Quietly vowing she would get an explanation if it's the last thing she did.

"Containing a Servant for three days is a tall order, especially one of Gilgamesh's caliber." Saber said.

I pointed at Other Me, who raised his hands in defeat. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Raven, Maria, you're with me."

"Wait, why is he leaving?" Ayako asked.

"Precaution." I said. "Those that will be involved in the plan can't leave the pocket dimension, just in case. They are the ones who we can spare, everyone else will be needed." I sighed. "Yes Rin, you'll get your explanation about the Reality Marble. But first we need to discuss this magical array, I think I've put together a solid foundation, but it needs a lot of work to smooth out the kinks, the whole concept is to channel and amplify a specific dimensional energy and create a bubble of—"

I stepped through the portal to the partially rebuilt Emiya residence, and absently reinforced the projected scaffolding holding the work in progress walls together.

I could feel Other Me really getting into the swing of whatever he was talking about, and thickened the mental walls between us.

We weren't entirely sure how Gil's abilities worked, beyond a vague remembrance of the asshole being able to have a limited form of omniscience…or something.

Either way, if he got a magic doodad which would scan every brain in the city, then it was best I didn't know the plan.

I limped my way to the kitchen, the first thing I'd rebuilt, only to be intercepted on the way by Raven. "Yeah no, you look pathetic, just sit down, Maria and I will take care of making food."

I scoffed. "I'll have you know I'm perfectly fine. More than well enough t—"

I cut off with a hiss as she punched my shoulder, and my extremely tender everything protested the rough treatment.

"Like I said, pathetic." Raven said with a smirk and sashayed toward the kitchen. Jumping with a squeak when I slapped her bottom.

Still, I went to the table, the only bit of furniture to have survived the late Caster's rampage, and settled down to let myself be pampered.

Maria sat across from me with a sigh.

"Long night?" I asked with a sardonic grin.

She giggled. "Yeah, you could say that. That Assassin guy was pretty tough."

I nodded. "Cheers on getting the killing blow."

She furrowed her brows, and pouted at me. "Santo nearly gave me a heart attack. Where does he get off getting mortally wounded to create an opening?"

I shrugged. "It is what it is. Better we get hurt than one of you lot."

Her pout became poutier. "Literally not how this works."

I chuckled and suppressed the hiss that wanted to come out. Wishing my sputtering Aura would hurry the hell up.

I jumped to my feet at the sound wind chimes, the bounded field that warned of hostile intent crossing the threshold.

Gae Bolg was in my hand as I headed to the location of the only unfamiliar heartbeat in my immediate vicinity. And came to the presence of Souichirou Kuzuki, who was walking calmly in my blasted and cratered backyard.

"What. And I cannot stress this enough. The fuck!?" I said by way of greeting.

"Emiya-san. I would like to have a word." He said with a nod and his usual monotonous inflection. Were it not for the bounded field, I'd never have imagined the fucker was here to kill me.

I was seriously done with this shit. "Caster is dead." I said bluntly as I dismissed the projection. "You were not part of the fight. You are out. Take the loss and politely fuck off back to your life."

"I am afraid I cannot do that." He said, unbuttoning his dark green suit and rolling up the sleeves. "I gave my word that I would fight beside her. I should have suspected something when she insisted I guard the inner sanctum. When I tried to exit, the door had been sealed."

"You can't win." I growled, meaning to step forward but held back by both Raven and Maria. "This is literally an empty gesture. All you're doing is throwing your life away!"

"Perhaps." He said in the same monotone. Finishing with his second sleeve. He began striding forward at an even pace, not hurrying, but not slow either.

"This is stupid, so what is your master plan here, suicide? No, you are not going to make me kill you, you are going to turn around, and you are going to hippity hoppity get the fuck off my property!" I said. Maria's arms encircled my chest as Raven strode forward. "No, Raven, Raven get back here, Raven don't you dare!"

I tried to rush forward, and felt a foot strike the inside of my knee from behind. I fell to a knee and an arm wrapped around my throat.

I tried to surge to my feet, but as much as I'd played it off, Saber had left me with a not insignificant number of fractures, bruised muscle, and torn ligaments. Thanks to Rin's and Iri's ministrations as well as my slowly regenerating Aura and other enhancements, I would finish healing in a couple of days, and be fighting fit overnight, but as it stood, at the moment, all I managed was to give myself blinding pain as tenderized muscles and broken bones protested the rough treatment.

I growled, the back of my hand starting to glow, only for Maria to put her hand over my mouth.

"Don't," she said gently, "just wait."

I struggled. Activating my Aura didn't help much as Maria had her own, and hers was fresher than mine. In order to get her off me, I'd need to escalate things, I'd need to hurt her.

And her safety was my responsibility.

Neither Raven nor Souichirou exchanged words. The Talents granted to me by the Company as well as my Templates letting me read the unemotive man. He knew he was going to die. He knew this gesture was foolish. That it would accomplish nothing more than inconveniencing me with disposing of his body.

He had seen, or at least strongly suspected, what I was capable of. He knew he couldn't stand up to that.

But nonetheless, he couldn't let things stand.

Even if it cost him his life, he would do this purely to spite me. The one who had taken from him.

The one who left him with nothing.

The main difference between us, was that I was better at chemistry.

As they closed to within a few paces of each other, a surge of adrenaline gave me the strength to climb to my feet. Maria wrenched me to the side, forcing me back down. Runes of magic circled my wrists, only for Maria to flare her Arts, dispersing my gathered power.

Just short of striking range, Souichirou raised his arms, his hands closing into loose fists, his eyes losing what little light there had been in them as he prepared to take a life. Omen clicked as Raven prepared a Dust blade.

I made one final attempt to stand, Maria forcing the two of us to the ground to maintain control. But that was fine, from this position I could gain the small amount of leverage I required to get free without harming her. All I needed was time.

It was over in an instant.

Souchirou swayed from side to side, the movement obfuscating the footwork he used to slither closer. His fists lashed out, their movements serpentine, almost liquid. The left fist a feint, creating an opening to sneak his right around Raven's guard as he contorted his body to bring the back of her skull into his striking range.

A white blade flashed, and Souichirou's arms, severed halfway down the biceps, tumbled away, carried in a sudden gust of cutting wind.

He whirled around, his leg chambering and firing out into a brutal kick at her neck.

The white blade flashed in a downstroke, severing the leg just above the knee.

As he jumped and attempted one final attack with his remaining leg, Raven pirouetted effortlessly around it, and a third, rising strike severed his head from his body.

The various parts of Souichirou hit the ground independently of one another, the stump of his neck spilling arterial spurts onto the ground of my backyard. His damnable expression not changing at all even as his head rolled ignobly on the grass.

Even then, once he stopped, he met my gaze and glared accusingly for the eternity it took for life to drain away from his eyes.

I felt something snap in my head.

There was a moment of lost time between Souichirou's life leaving him, and my holding Raven and Maria against the wall of the perimeter, my hand pressed against their chest, close to the neck. My body wreathed in black flames as the air around me quivered with barely restrained, apocalyptic violence.

"Why." I demanded. My voice filled with the false calm that could only be reached through overwhelming rage. "He didn't need to die."

"You aren't thinking straight." Raven grunted out, her hands clawing at my forearm. Maria held my limb and trembled, but did not fight back, her sputtering Aura the only reason her arms did not end in blackened stumps.

I fought the urge to squeeze their necks until they fucking answered me.

"Raven." I said, feeling drool leaking out of the corner of my twitching lips. My voice still filled with false serenity. "You will answer my question to my satisfaction. Why."

Raven licked her lips nervously. She and Maria traded glances before speaking. "Maria, Irisviel and I discussed things an—"

She cut off, the two of them grunting as my magic flared with my rage. Raw kinetic force pushing them against the stone and pressing into their chests, making it difficult for them to breathe, let alone speak.

I reached out to Other Me, the power of my rage catching him by surprise, tearing through the barrier he'd erected between us, I forced us to synchronize into 'Me.'

My rage fed upon itself, spiraling in a positive feedback loop, amplifying until it nearly bucked out of my control.

Everyone in the War Room had become concerned when I stopped talking. They became much more worried when I was engulfed in black flames, the ground, screens, and walls around me spider webbing with cracks as I failed to hold my magic at bay.

I turned my eyes to Irisviel, her already pale features paling further as she forced herself not to look away.

"Explain yourself." I demanded, the tone of my voice causing Saber to summon her armor.

Irisviel visibly worked moisture back into her mouth. "Perhaps we should have this conversation privately?"

I turned to the other women in the room, nearly all of them flinching back. Their fear putting pause to the runaway reaction of my anger.

I whirled around and marched to one of the adjoining operations rooms. I waited until the door closed, when I turned, Irisviel and Saber were in the room.

"Saber." I growled.

"I am staying." She stated resolutely.

My left hands began to glow, I could very well force this issue. Overwhelm even her with enough orders she would have to fight tooth and nail to refuse.

But doing so would shatter what trust I've managed to forge between us.

I growled and began pacing. "Souichirou Kuzuki is dead. Despite my direct orders to the contrary. Both Raven and Maria claim equal responsibility in this, while mentioning that they schemed with you."

I stopped to turn the full power of my stare upon Irisviel, who shuddered, but spoke in an even tone with nary a tremble. "After I read Souichirou Kuzuki's and Caster's character profiles. I could not help but find some…parallels, in the case of the scenario of our battle against Caster playing out as it did."

My magic lashed out, and I was able to direct it to the ground, a patch in the corner of the room shattering and turning liquid, making her flinch.

When I did not speak, she continued. Her face pale as a corpse. "I foresaw that he may react in a way you found…sympathetic. Something that might lead you to handling a trained assassin with a vendetta against you, with a softer touch than the situation would normally warra—"

My self-control faltered and one of the tables nearby detonated seemingly of its own volition. Irisviel flinched and curled slightly into herself. Guilt gnawed at my guts, making me angrier.

"I spoke to you of what happened to me in confidence, and this is how you repay my trust? You force me to become the very thing that took everything from me!?"

I began to pace again, unwilling to look at her face lest I do something unwise. "To perpetuate the cycle that started all of this!? Only more successfully since he's dead!?"

I heard her swallow nervously, her fear finally broke through her control, her body quivering and words stuttering as if she were naked in a blizzard. "N-N-No. he w-w-wa…h-he wasn't... h-he was a c-combatant."

I felt my anger mount higher, I wanted her to admit having been wrong, to tell me she made a mistake. To beg my forgiveness for her transgression.

To her credit, she probably knew exactly what I wanted, but continued to speak the truth as she saw it, even terrified nearly out of her wits, her tone turning more into pleading with every word she spoke. "I-I w-was af-afraid. Afraid that you might…m-might let him off, w-with a warning. Leave him an opening t-to come back, at a critical moment. W-Wiser and better prepared. B-But please understand! Any parallels between you are superficial at best! He w-!"

She fell silent as my magic raged with my heightened emotions, the air around us quivering with nearly incandescent wrath.

I wanted to scream and rage, to tell her she was wrong, for her to tell me she was wrong. But she wasn't, I knew it, the part of me that was a Primarch, a being literally handcrafted to be logical and to parse battlefield information, knew it. The part of me that was a Horseman of War knew she was right.

I was throwing a very dangerous tantrum. Hurting people whose happiness and well-being were my responsibility. Purely because, due to circumstance, I empathized with an enemy.

One from whom I took everything, who chose to commit suicide and make a Hail Mary attack, made with no expectation or hope for success.

I was punishing the women who took it upon themselves to protect me from the consequences of my actions. Even having strongly suspected how I would react.

Vertigo and nausea assaulted me. I could not stand to be in my own presence.

With one body I stormed out of the War Room, with the other I released Raven and Maria and stalked away. Trying to bottle everything back up, and utterly failing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Irisviel's legs give out from under her, Maria curled up into a ball as Raven climbed unsteadily to her feet. Saber kept pace with me, interposing herself between me and the rest of the women in the War Room.

I wanted to be indignant, but she was, if anything, right to worry.

I ignored the fearful glances and stormed off into my mansions, offhandedly putting Souichirou's various body parts and the bloody ground that had been on into my Inventory for later disposal.

I wanted to hit things, to break something, to vent my emotions into something that deserved it. But thankfully, the minute thread that was my restraint held.

No matter how angry I was, I could not afford the delay caused by breaking something important.

I went to the corner in both mansions that would allow me to be the most isolated from everyone.

Kiritsugu's room in the Emiya estate, and gardens outside my mansion in my pocket dimension.

A bumblebee bounced off my forehead as it bumbled around in search of pollen. I was not aware I had bees.

I was going to have to buy a book on beekeeping.

I followed the bee to a row of blackberry bushes, there were so many bees that the orderly rows of plants were nearly vibrating, a server robot with googly eyes stuck to it floated around, watering the plants.

Watching the swarm of bees at work helped me calm down. I'd always liked bees.

Fuck wasps, I'd happily take on a wasp nest with a stick and some fire. But bees were cool.

It didn't take me long to realize I wasn't alone.

"You know, you'd think that after what happened two nights ago. I'd find the sound of buzzing insects off-putting. But…bees." I said, waving vaguely at the hard working girls, gently blowing some air at one of them that flew too close to me in search of…whatever that bee in particular was searching for. "There's something clean about bees."

Saber stopped next to me, still in her armor. "I had several hives in the castle." She said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Most thought them a nuisance, and the beekeeper was a little unhinged, but I found their work ethic commendable."

I grunted. "If you think about it, it's a hellish existence. Living only for the health of the supra-organism. From the moment you awaken to the time you fall asleep. From the instant you leave the cocoon, until you die, a used up husk that never once got to live a day for itself. Forgotten and unmourned."

Saber grunted.

We stood in companionable silence, watching the bees go about their work, the occasional robot coming along and spraying some bees with water.

"He was me." I said, igniting my Pyromancy flame in my hand and staring at the dancing fire. "As Raven walked up to him…that was me, Saber." The flame in my hand merrily consumed the anger surging within me, seeking to spread.

I worked to keep it quiescent, and continued speaking. "There I was, having lost everything that gave my life meaning. Throwing myself at something I knew would kill me, purely out of spite." My hand closed into a fist, the flame growing hotter, condensing. "My only remaining hope being that I might live long enough to see him gurgle his last, to see him drown on my blood and viscera."

I turned to her as I banished my Pyromancy Flame and dispersed my gathered power. "What do you do, Saber, when someone forces you to stare into a mirror, and the monster that stares back is no different from the one who took everything from you?"

"You put your helmet back on, strap your sword to your waist, and get back to work." She said mercilessly. "You may hate yourself, you may be hated, but he was an enemy. One who attacked you first."

I felt my shoulders shake as I did what I could to hold in a deranged laugh. A laugh that was halted when I felt a small, callused hand gently gripping my shoulder.

"That said, what Irisviel said holds true. He was no innocent. He gave you no choice. And from what I hear, you offered him mercy, and he refused. I will not insult you by claiming your situation and his were nothing alike. But you cannot claim to be a monster, not until you callously kill a family of innocents." Her grip tightened. "And I will not let that happen, not now, not ever."

A far less deranged chuckle escaped my lips along with a few tears. Stupid as I had been for not seeing it, she was right.

I took everything from another man. But it had been in retaliation to a direct attack on me and mine.

I was a monster, I had traded away large chunks of my humanity and what little morality I could have lain claim to.

But I had a choice in the kind of monster I was.

I had gleefully stained my hands red, but they were clean of innocent blood.

The relief I felt as I acknowledged something that should have been obvious, left me giddy and weak at the knees.

"Saber?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to start kissing you now, I don't know when I'll stop."

"Wait wha-hmph!?"

Last edited: Feb 8, 2024

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: Leone, RevanGM, Andy_ARBS and 239 others

Santo

Feb 8, 2024

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 20 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Mar 8, 2024

Add bookmark

#476

Behold the next chapter.

Something of a transition chapter. Hope ya'll find it enjoyable nonetheless.

Author's Notes in a spoiler at the bottom.

Maria Nearl turned off the CNC laser etcher, then used the cargo Servitors to move the slab of metal she'd been working on to the inspection table. There, she went over the freshly carved runes with a magnifying headset, using the finest file available in the workshop to smooth out edges, curve corners, and remove the minute bumps of slag that had spattered onto some of the runes.

She worked diligently, taking her time so each would be perfect. She took longer than she wanted, but less than she'd expected.

Her work done, she brushed the metal dust off the array with gentle strokes from a soft brush, then used the cargo Servitor and led the machine to where the array was being built. On the way she passed the mystic workshop where Iri, Illya, Sella and Rin were hard at work. The four of them looking a bit frazzled, Iri especially pushing herself harder than the others.

Maria hurried along, trying not to feel resentment toward Irisviel.

When Iri had approached her and Raven, and told them her fears, it had seemed so logical.

By the time she was done laying out her arguments, they all feared that if Souichirou Kuzuki, was allowed to live, Santo and Shirou might die.

Maria paused at an intersection as numerous server robots zoomed by in a procession. Carrying jewels, precious metals, and what she recognized as alchemical reagents.

The three of them had hoped that he'd be present during the battle itself, Raven and Maria would prioritize his demise, and the problem would be handled.

Barring that, Iri predicted the man would attempt to ambush either of their Men in an attempt at revenge. The plan being that, as soon as Santo and Shirou were occupied or sleeping, Raven would find and kill the assassin. Removing the danger and bypassing the possibility that their Men might react badly due to superficial parallels in their situation.

They had not expected the man to literally make a suicidal beeline to his inevitable demise.

The procession of server robots ended, Maria signaled to the Servitor robot to follow her again.

In hindsight, the three of them saw that they could have handled things better. Yes, Souichirou Kuzuki remaining alive was unacceptable. But, as Raven had since pointed out in the middle of a nervous ramble, they could have staged an escape attempt and killed him then.

Perhaps they should have tried to hypnotize the assassin after all, though Irisviel did say that a mind that had been torn down and rebuilt, like Souichirou's, was more likely to throw off the spell than most others. And that was before being fortified by the suicidal hatred brought about by killing the woman he'd fallen in love with.

Anything other than killing the assassin right in front of their Men.

They all had known He would not react well. The hurt He had ran deep. But even Irisviel, the one who He had confided in, had been surprised by the scale of His rage.

Maria shuddered as she remembered how He had reacted. A single blow that felt like it should have sheared her arms off. An arm stronger than steel pushing her against the wall, an aurora of power so thick she could taste it as it suffocated her.

As He stood in front of her, wreathed in black flames. He'd reminded Maria of her uncle Mlynar, the one time she'd seen him fight seriously, when she was five. The normally gentle gold of his Arts stifling and overbearing.

She'd been a good girl and closed her eyes and did her best to plug her ears. But the screams of those bandits would stay with her until the day she died.

Standing before Him, Saber between them with her back to the three of them, Maria knew what those bandits must have felt. Her Master's normally gentle brown eyes were cold as ice. The large frame that she admired when He wasn't looking, driving home exactly how much bigger than her He was.

Even His beard, black with the occasional hairs of red and gold, the soft bristles normally lending Him a jolly air, like a young, well-groomed Santa. It instead made Him look standoffish and intimidating.

His voice, always full of happiness and love, calmly and coldly stated two words. "Explain yourselves."

And, stuttering and tripping over each other, they had.

The thing that turned the tide in their favor, was when Irisviel explained that she had used the Company to subcontract the services of an Oracle.

The seer informed her that, had Souichirou Kuzuki lived, Santo and Shirou might very well die. And if He had been informed of the prediction, the chances of His death before the end of the next week, went from a likelihood to a near certainty.

A fact Irisviel had kept to herself out of fear that it might cause others to panic.

He had closed His eyes and breathed deeply for a long while. Maria, Irisviel and Raven barely dared to breathe, trying not to fidget, and failing.

When finally, He'd opened His eyes, they were not warm as Maria had hoped. He merely looked tired…no, sad, he looked sad and exhausted. At that moment, she'd wanted nothing more than to go to Him and hold Him close.

"The three of you, leave." He'd said. "A list of tasks will be ready before too long. Irisviel, soon, we will have words."

In the two days since then, they'd all been scrambling to put together the trap that He had devised for Gilgamesh. And He'd directed nary a word to Maria in that time.

She reached the courtyard, the large, excavated area swarming with server robots, gardening-equipped Servitors, and the recently completed Juggernaut Warjack, all overseen by Ayako and Leysritt.

Moreso the former than the latter. The white-haired woman was dressed in shorts and a tube top she looked to be in danger of spilling out of at any moment. She was covered in dust, and currently seemed to be trying to out-dig the eleven-foot tall, eight ton 'Jack.

What Maria found mildly concerning was that Leysritt appeared to be succeeding, even considering that the 'Jack appeared mostly unaware that it was currently in a competition, it was still quite the impressive feat.

After the…incident, Shirou and Santo (who, at the time, had a bright red palm-print on the side of His face) disappeared into the Workshop for a whole day. When They'd come out, the huge warmachine had followed Them out.

As Maria made her way forward, she waved back to Ayako, weaving between the server robots and dodging the occasional bit of flying debris from the digging 'competition.' And hesitated as she reached Him, His head currently down, face hidden by a welder's mask as He used His magic to work on the previous array she'd delivered.

She wondered if it would be better to leave the array on the ground without speaking.

But…but it had been days since she last heard His voice.

Maria didn't know what would hurt worse, to not hear His voice for yet another day, or for His voice to not have the warmth she'd grown so accustomed to in just a week's time.

Unfortunately, the Servitor failed to correctly read her hesitation. It trudged forward and presented the array, interrupting Him by kicking dust into the weld.

Dust that stopped short of where He worked, levitating in place.

Maria held her breath as He stood and removed the welder's mask. The hard panes of His face were lightly covered in sweat, His long hair done up in a tight ponytail. He lifted the few hundred-kilogram slab of metal up with one hand and studied it. Maria clenched her hands together and tried not to fidget.

Was He pleased? Was her work good? Was He still angry?

No, that's a stupid question. Of course He was angry. She'd done something very hurtful. He had a right to be angry at her. It was selfish of her to want to be praised.

She swallowed the sniffles that tried to break out as she turned around to head back to the workshop.

"Maria." His voice made her stop and turn to look at Him with hope.

Santo stood there, He was looking in her general direction, the muscles of His neck and temples tensing and relaxing as if He were chewing on something. The pattern continued for a while before He finally spoke. "You did…this is good work."

With that, He set the array on the ground, flipped His welding mask down, and continued His work.

Maria skipped down to the workshop, wearing a smile so wide it hurt her face.

"We never discussed my compensation." Rin said, planting her feet, straightening her back, and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Pardon?" rumbled the wonderfully muscled foreigner who owned his own demi-plane. Sitting in his office, pouring over an eclectic mix of grimoires, papers, and very thin computers.

"My compensation." Rin repeated, her eyes betraying her as they tried to follow the line of his collar bone, his wide shoulders, his biceps, and those big, steel-hard forearms, or his—

Rin mentally shook herself and added 'unnatural appeal' to his list of abilities. "I am doing significant work for you, and I do not work pro-bono. My input and labor have been crucial for your project. If you want the continuation of this status quo, we must discuss my remuneration."

He turned to look at her, and Rin forced herself not to react as a shiver ran up and down her spine.

"What are your demands?" he asked, his voice carefully neutral and seemingly filled with curiosity.

Rin was not fooled. The being before her was as nothing as she'd ever seen or read about. In some ways, he was closer to a Phantasmal Creature than a human.

As far as her subtlest auguries had been able to inform her, before he seemingly evolved a resistance to that kind of spell. This 'Santo' was part Nephilim, part Human, and part something else that she couldn't parse. Something related to a human the same way a human was related to a Homo Habilis.

He had a ridiculous number of Magic Circuits, at least four hundred, maybe more. And he had granted Ayako, a girl entirely lacking in Magic Circuits, two forms of Magecraft that Rin had barely begun to understand.

Rin had a unique opportunity, one that Magi across the world would cheat, murder, beg, steal, and sell their souls and their firstborn for. The opportunity to, in a single generation, catapult the power of her Family Line immensely.

Nonetheless, she'd thought long and hard over what to ask for in her negotiations.

"You have no lack of jewels; I require a permanent stipend for my own projects. And I want monetary compensation." She quoted him an outrageous sum, enough to get back several of the properties that had belonged to her family before her father died and her mother…declined. "And lastly."

She hesitated, nearly choking on her words. But it was her duty as the Tohsaka Heir. He had said he was interdimensional, whenever he finished his business, he might well leave, taking the unique opportunity with him.

He raised an eyebrow as she hesitated for a moment too long. "Yes?"

Rin gulped and forced herself to speak, ignoring the sudden intense heat on her cheeks. "And you will impregnate me!"

He blinked.

Twice.

"Pardon?"

Rin swallowed and continued. "You are a unique being; your magic is potent and your physiology nearly Phantasmal. Any child of yours that inherits even a fraction of your gifts would make for a powerful heir. Therefore, you will give me one."

Rin was willing to let go of the jewels and the money, but she refused to budge on something so monumental as—

"Very well, I'll arrange for your payment, though the money will take a little while to put together." There was a sudden hunger in his gaze, Rin swallowed reflexively and pressed her thighs together tightly as he all but undressed her with his gaze. "And as flattered as I am, Miss Tohsaka, coitus will have to wait until after our current crisis is dealt with. Now please, we have a pressing deadline to meet, and your work is extremely important for that."

With that clear dismissal, he turned back to his work.

Rin stood there for several seconds before turning around and mechanically leaving the office, feeling like she'd low-balled herself, and ignoring the fact that she would absolutely have to change out her underwear.

Still, her duty as heir was fulfilled. The jewels she used for her magecraft would be covered forevermore, and she would be able to rebuild the Tohsaka estate to its former glory much earlier than her original estimate. That being around her sixties.

Plus, there was the…other benefit.

She felt her face heating up, imagined those arms wrapping around her waist, the strong, callused palms on her skin. The glimpse she caught of Saber, the beautiful and severe Servant, melting against that body as she was literally swept off her feet and kissed, molding herself against him as best as she could.

It was a good thing Ayako wasn't around, her friend would never let her hear the end of it if she learned that, apparently, Rin was into older men.

As she walked through the corridors of the mansion, Matou Sakura considered that, contrary to what Grandfather and Shinji had insisted for years, she was not a dim girl.

Even days after her rescue, after having been shown video evidence of the monster burning to ash along with that awful pit. Even with all of that, she couldn't stop referring to him as Grandfather, even in the safety of her own mind.

She shuddered, self-hatred was an old companion. But never before had she been able to allow herself to indulge her hatred of that repulsive creature without severe repercussions.

She, frankly, should not be able to indulge herself like this. The ability to do so had been, quite literally, raped out of her.

After her breakdown(s), she had come to a number of realizations.

The one who had saved her had done something to her. Healed her not only in body, but to some extent in mind as well.

She was able to recognize the damage done to her for what it was. She was able to see that Grandfather was a word that would forever be tainted for her.

She was able to see that her savior did not act like Emiya Shirou.

Senpai walked with grace, grace he worked to hide. But he was rarely off balance, he rarely ever stumbled, and he would smoothly walk around other people so as to not get in their way.

The older gentleman who was hard at work on some big project, he did not walk, he strode. His gait was heavy and strong. He moved with the quiet confidence that, if a wall were in his way, the wall would move aside if it knew what was good for it.

The way he strode sat in contrast with his actions, as he would hold the doors for the women Sakura had seen around the mansion. He'd insist on carrying anything even mildly strenuous. And when walking through the corridors, his gait and its implied challenge would not change, but he did shift partly out of the way to make it easier for others not to run into his large, muscular frame.

And in the few times she had seen him since her rescue, Emiya Shirou moved the exact same.

Really, she had noticed it the day the change happened. But she had told herself nothing had changed, that her little heaven remained. Things would not get better, but at least she had her small slice of happiness.

Her heaven was gone. And her childhood fantasies had come true. A magical knight in shining armor had arrived, rescued her from her horrid bondage, murdered the monsters, and cleansed her of the terrible corruption that had been forced upon her, to the point that her eyes were slowly returning to the vibrant blue she hadn't seen since she was a child, her hair once again becoming her mother's raven black.

And the only thing it cost, was the life of the only persons who had ever shown her any kindness.

Emiya Shirou, the boy who saw a quiet, lonely girl, and all but adopted her.

And Rider, killed when she was forced by Shinji to attack Mitsuzuri-senpai.

Shunji's excesses and Rider's death serving as the clarion call for Sakura's rescue.

Yes, her rescue had been…painful. But the experience was ranked far below the worst things that Grandfather had inflicted upon her.

It was then that clarity came. When her body and mind were cleansed of Grandfather's influence.

The boy she dreamt of when Shinji had his way with her…had not been the one who tore out her heart in order to vanquish her vile Grandfather.

Emiya Shirou had not been the one to save her, to cure her.

He spoke too coldly to Shinji. Was far too willing to risk harm to others by destroying the Matou home. Not once did he offer redemption. And rather than secure her safety with his own two hands, he left her to be taken care of by another while he concentrated on avenging the many people that Grandfather had hurt.

Sakura's magical education was, at best, stunted, but if there was one thing she had learned, it was scrying. It paid to keep abreast of Shinji's mercurial moods.

That was how she learned the truth that at once shattered her whole world and changed nothing.

With the danger removed, the many wrongs done to her at least partially avenged, and her mind and body healed, Sakura had gained perspective.

The boy she had loved with all of her heart…had treated her nicely.

That was it.

At times, he'd inadvertently made things worse for her, with Shinji taking out his frustrations on her. Emiya Shirou had been nice to her, and in a place drowning in darkness, that had been the thing that had kept her going, the one ray of light that Grandfather could not take from her.

He had kept her some approximation of sane, giving her a small share of happiness.

He had not found out the truth of her situation. He had not found a way to cure and liberate her.

Emiya Shirou had not saved her. He'd died in quiet agony while practicing magecraft so basic even Sakura could do it.

And as much as that had hurt, as much as it had felt like she'd had her heart torn out anew. The point remained.

Emiya Shirou had not saved her.

The stranger who clumsily played the part of Emiya Shirou, had.

The stranger with two bodies had, in less than an hour, vanquished the monsters that had plagued Sakura for a decade. Cured her as she had fantasized in the early years. Taken her to his home where she was treated with kindness. Where she could rest and heal.

And then clumsily set her aside without an idea of what to do with her.

Sakura could not truly blame him. Her knowledge of Formalcraft was non-existent, so she could not aid in the preparation of whatever grand ritual was being readied. She did not know how to use the machining tools, and unlike Mitsuzuri-senpai, Sakura had been too busy wallowing in her idiotic misery, losing the small window of opportunity where she could have been taught how to use said machines in order to help.

Mitsuzuri-senpai was learning as she went, someone more experienced looking over her work even as they themselves pushed at a nearly frantic pace to ready whatever it was they were working on. But the initial instruction had, according to Mitsuzuri-senpai, taken the better part of a day.

Time which could no longer be spared to orientate a complete beginner.

When they'd spoken, Mitsuzuri-senpai had happily complained about the stern talking to she got after the older gentleman had seen her lackadaisical approach to using the machinery. She'd told Sakura that the older gentleman had threatened to spank her bottom red if she ever again disregarded the safety standards he demanded.

Judging by the blush on her cheeks when she'd recounted that, Sakura did not think spanking would be much of a punishment.

She heard a low, hissed conversation, and walked to the corner to take a look.

The older gentleman and the blonde Servant, the one who killed Rider, were there. He'd all but pressed the petite woman against the wall, looming over her, his arm against the wall in a casual display of dominant physicality.

Taking into consideration that Rider had been able to bend a steel pipe with the strength of her fingers alone, and this Servant had killed Rider, Sakura felt safe in her deduction that the Servant was 'pushed' against the wall, purely because she wanted to be.

The way she reacted when the older gentleman tilted her head back and kissed her, cemented Sakura's conclusion.

She 'fought' back, pushing against his chest, 'pulling away' as his hand roamed gently but firmly over her body, 'accidentally' bringing more of her body into contact with his. 'Fighting' as he captured both of her wrists held them against the wall over her head with one hand. 'Reluctantly' kissing him back as he deepened the kiss.

Seeing as to she could, at any moment, push him so hard he'd travel through at least a couple walls, and Sakura could not sense the magic of a Command Spell at use (Shinji had been so disgustingly wasteful in every way that mattered) Sakura felt safe in her assessment that the powerful woman was enjoying the 'thrill' of helplessness.

It wasn't her fault that she was not standing tall and strong and imposing, her Master forced her to submit. Just look at the size of him! No wonder her best attempts to stop him were ignored. She 'fought back' as best she could, she wasn't indulging in pleasure, it was being forced upon her, honest!

A part of Sakura could, academically, see the appeal of such play. She figured that it was the same thing that drew people to rollercoasters or haunted houses. The thrill of 'danger' endured while completely safe. She supposed it could, in many ways, be exhilarating.

Personally, she didn't see the appeal.

Yet another thing Grandfather had taken from her.

She slowly turned her back on the two, they were so lost on each other that they failed to hear the slight squelching noise that Sakura's undergarments made as she moved.

Sakura sighed to herself. Even cured of Grandfather, her body still reacted…overwhelmingly and depressingly predictably to certain stimuli.

Apparently, you could take the aphrodisiac worms out of Matou Sakura, but she would still be a worthless wanton slut.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on controlling her breathing. Forcing herself to recall Irisviel's words.

These were learned reactions, even if much of what was done to her was fixed, she still had a decade of conditioned responses beaten into her body. They would take time to unlearn. She wasn't healed, merely fixed to the point where she could begin to walk down the path of healing.

Her body's reactions were natural. It was natural to grow…excited when seeing a passionate moment between other people. Humans were empathetic creatures; she was merely reacting as any normal human would. The magnitude of her reaction was due to her previous…experiences.

It was normal, and natural, merely a result of evolution mixing with Grandfather's poor treatment of her.

She knew what caused it, and as such it held no power over her. The actions of others could not make her a wanton slut, the only thing that could make her that would be her own actions, her own choices. And she chose to be better than what that worthless worm tried unsuccessfully to turn her into.

Tohsaka Sakura walked with her head held high. Yes, she was untrained, yes, she might get in the way at first, but even if it was as just another pair of hands, she would prove that she could be useful. She just needed to find Irisviel and see about doing what she could to help.

Ayako turned off the machine, stepped back, looked around to see that none of the other useful but dangerous machinery was active, then stretched her back and arms, her spine popping in an utterly satisfying manner after spending a lot of time hunched in front of a screen.

Man, the last few days had been exhausting, but she felt a sense of accomplishment. She was doing her own part of whatever big magical…thing was being planned, and she could not wait to see how it would work when all was said and done.

She looked around again, made sure that Santo-sensei or Raven-sensei were not around. Thinking about it, she also made sure that Iri-senpai or Maria-senpai weren't around either.

Raven-sensei and Iri-senpai rarely came to the workshop. But Santo-sensei and Maria-senpai came in and out to work on stuff more advanced than what Ayako was allowed to work on.

Certain that she was alone, she cupped her hands together and, biting her lower lip in concentration, she created a tiny, flickering, dancing flame in her hands.

After ten seconds, she was able to make it into a semi-sphere, tongues of flame licking at the air from the miniature star in her hands.

Magic was so cool!

Spoiler: author's note

Aight. That's all for now. Please lemme know what ya'll think

Next time...eh, you'll find out.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Andy_ARBS, Khellendrosiic and 218 others

Santo

Mar 8, 2024

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 21 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Mar 20, 2024

Add bookmark

#492

Awwwright! Next chapter!

We finally arrive at the plot bunny that resulted in this entire fic! The scene idea that pushed me to come up with the rest of this thing!

Not gonna lie. Kinda nervous about this one. Hope ya'll like it.

Also, do please comment. Seeing all them likes is awesome. But seeing people chatter about the fic helps a lot with motivation.

If ya'll catch any issues or mistakes...it was the grammar goblins. They sabotage my every endeavor.

Anyways!

Hope ya'll enjoy. And please lemme know what ya think of it.

"Shiro, I do not understand why this is necessary." Saber huffed as she tried a pair of glasses without prescription and ended up looking like the most beautiful librarian in the history of the world.

"I swear there is method to the madness, Saber." I answered easily, and mentally used my magical HUD to capture an image of Saber without her knowledge. "Also, we are definitely getting those glasses for you."

She blinked and turned to look at me, one eyebrow raised. "Why?"

I did what I could to push away the mental image of her kneeling in front of me, flushed, sweaty, wearing a rumpled fetish librarian outfit and giving me bedroom eyes through those blue-rimmed glasses. I also incidentally Reinforced my pants so they'd suppress the sudden demand of attention from mini-me.

"No reason." I answered with a smile.

I exited that shop arm in arm with Saber, the envy of every man and some of the women around me was almost palpable.

I did not overtly show my sense of smug superiority at the fact that I had the attention and companionship of the blonde goddess beside me.

But everyone could taste the satisfied superiority coming off me in waves.

Was my date with Saber an attempt to lure Gilgamesh out of hiding?

Yes, yes it was.

It worked for the original Shirou; it would probably work for me.

I changed my hold on Saber's hand so I could interlace my fingers with hers, and while her expression did not change, I took another picture of her bright red cheeks.

That this was bait for a trap…didn't mean I couldn't enjoy myself.

Every action should accomplish multiple goals.

I took Saber to the batting cage, handily won the first two games due to her lack of familiarity with the game, and then she trounced me five times in a row. Her physical capabilities rivaled my own, and while I was part Primarch, she was significantly more gifted than me athletically.

Her satisfied little smirk was the most adorable thing on the planet and made me want to kiss her.

I took her to a few other places and finished the day by buying her a stuffed toy lion. Then walked home over the bridge connecting the city and residential districts and took a break in the small park next to the bridge. The city looked cozy and intimate as the sun set and the streetlights came on.

Overall, nice date, six out of ten, which I'd bump up to eight when we got home, and I made dinner.

"You have something that does not belong to you, mongrel." Said a voice utterly dripping with contempt and self-righteous indignation. The sound of that voice made Saber stiffen in indignation.

I turned to look at the Golden Asshat himself, dressed in black slacks, a black shirt, and a poofier-than-thou white fur-trimmed jacket. All highlighted in gold.

"Saber." He said with a grin so lascivious it made me want to punch him as I set two invisible portals to his left and right. "I see you've prepared yourself for m—"

Whatever else he might have said was lost as Other Me crashed out of the portal to Gilgamesh's left. Alpharius' armor, enhanced by four separate magic systems, had no trouble lifting the surprised Servant and steamrolling the fucker through the other portal.

I opened a third and rushed through it with Saber on my heels, arriving just in time to see Other Me drive Gilgamesh down into the center of the enormous sextuple-layered magic circle. He jumped off as the Plasma-core powered Juggernaut Warjack stepped forward, planted its foot on Gilgamesh, and backhanded Other Me so hard he cleared the edge of the surface layer of the magic circle a quarter of a second before Irisviel, Sella, Rin, Illya, Saber, and I all slammed our hands down on one of the six activation runes.

Magical energy flowed out of us, through the complex array, into Avalon in its place of honor in the ritual. A spherical force field flickered into being, the array around Avalon flashed, and we all got to see the Juggernaut be punched off its feet.

Other Me made a grasping motion as Gilgamesh climbed to his feet, his face mask of unthinking rage. The Juggernaut flickered and disappeared in a flash, appearing next to Other Me and crashing loudly to the ground, before beginning the ponderous process of climbing back to its feet.

"For this insult, I will rape each of these mongrel whores in front of you, until they forget you ever existed!" Gilgamesh snarled, raising his right hand, before the array's main effect activated, and we all got to watch the Gate of Babylon activate at one third speed.

Other Me and I Projected four copies of every Noble Phantasm Gilgamesh was producing, and launched them in, knocking Gil's projectiles out of the air before they'd even cleared the portal they were exiting from.

Squinting a bit, I was able to see the stamp in the middle of Gil's forehead.

The next wave we knocked out using three copies for each of the things Gil threw.

The next two.

Making sure to knock anything that wasn't a weapon out of his hand and stabbing it into oblivion with an expanding arsenal of Noble Phantasms. Using our ever growing arsenal of Noble Phantasms to counter any esoteric effect that Gil tried to pull out.

"Okay!" Other Me called out. "Second phase is a success! We will now begin the first shift. Illya, Sella, Rin, leave your posts. Leysritt, Maria, Raven, step in. Ayako, you are now Saber's errand girl, anything she wants, you provide. Let's go, I'll make dinner and then it's nap time for your next shift. Hop to it ladies!"

I left Other Me to corral the girls as I concentrated on keeping the array stable and knocking Noble Phantasms out of the Gate. The girls would change shifts every six hours, Other Me and I would switch every twelve. We had planned this one for the long haul, and while at the end we'd all be run pretty ragged, it should, in theory, let us contain Gilgamesh for three of his subjective days without risk of injury.

The one who would have it the hardest was Saber, as she would not be able to step out of the magic circle she was in for the next nine days. She was already sitting cross-legged and meditating.

The girls who were not mystically inclined were already looking to entertain themselves, Irisviel maintaining careful watch over the array and the plethora of mystic energies running through it.

I shot another set of Noble Phantasms at Gilgamesh as he raged, ranted and raved in slow motion. Then sent a pulse of magical energy to cancel out a surge that would have burnt out an array acting as a fuse.

Then it was back to projecting Noble Phantasms. Then Irisviel took care of another surge.

Then back to Noble Phantasms. Funnily enough, there had not yet been a repeat out of the Gate yet.

Oh, would you look at that, another surge.

And…yep, more Noble Phantasms.

This was going to be a long twelve hours.

It was a very long nine days.

Nine days of monotonous shifts occasionally punctuated by butt-puckering anxiety. Some of the shifts were spent in double duty as Younger Me or I filled in for one or another of the girls as we'd failed to predict the speed at which they'd recover magical energy.

Iri, Illya, Rin, and funnily enough, Sakura, were all instrumental for this endeavor, as they each were high-capacity batteries for Magical Energy. Sakura almost matching the magically bio-engineered homonculi, even lacking the Tohsaka family crest.

Gil had gone through thousands of Noble Phantasms, and more than once Younger Me or I, or both of us, had to provide emergency repairs to the array. But the task had largely turned out as we'd hoped. Tense, but largely monotonous.

And now we were scant minutes away from selling Gilgamesh and making him, officially, no longer my fucking problem.

After that, we could take a day to recover, assassinate the Judas Priest, then have a mandatory life-affirming orgy while I danced in all the Company Credits I was going to make when I completed my job and the mission I found while faffing about with my HUD.

Which was, of course, when everything went wrong.

It should have been a mundane thing. Yet another non-weapon Gil was throwing out. Younger Me and I had Noble Phantasms flying at it before it had even cleared the Gate.

It was only idle curiosity that had me scan the thing with Structural Grasp.

Which was why I dispelled my own projectiles mid-flight. Younger Me interfacing with me through our bond to find out my reasoning even as he dispelled his own attack.

This, of course, did not stop Gil throwing the urn of divinely infused Greek Fire to the ground. The urn had held one of the sparks Prometheus had stolen for mankind, the magical conflagration that followed resisted all attempts to put it out, burning even in a vacuum. Slowly but surely consuming its way through all six layers of a small section of the magic circle.

It wasn't much, but it was enough.

The field popped like a soap bubble. I was suddenly clad in the armor of Alpharius even as Younger Me wore the Raiment of War. Saber was already fighting Gilgamesh, able to close in on him thanks to Younger Me and I suppressing Gil's Noble Phantasms.

Gil was wearing his orichalcum plate, and as much as I liked to shit on the guy, it would seem like this Gil was not a slouch in a fight, as in an exchange of blows that had Martial Talent force feed me experience, Gil walked away with scratches on his armor, and Saber with a punch to the liver.

"I'm doing the thing, cover me!" Younger Me said. I nodded and took over his half of the counter barrage of Noble Phantasms.

"I am the bone of my sword." He intoned. "Steel is my body, fire my hear—" We both seized as our Reality Marble rebelled, my counter barrage dispelling as the world around me became a sickening swirl of colors.

Unfortunately, the counter barrage had been pretty damn important.

Five Noble Phantasms pinned Younger Me to the ground where he stood. Another four bounced off my armor's Conversion Field, overloading the mechanism and popping the shield like a soap bubble.

The fifth one slammed into the center of my plastron, failing to skewer me, but nonetheless, it punched me off my feet hard enough to crack my spine like a twig as I was flung back. The armor screaming at me about numerous punctures and damaged systems.

What the fuck?

No seriously, what the fuck!?

I was just weaboo enough to know the chant by heart. I had the Unlimited Blade Works, not only that, but we both agreed that the one who should activate it should be the body it originated from, to minimize the chances of something exactly like this happening.

Next to me, the Juggernaut charged forward, emitting an earth-shaking roar from its warhorn. Raven juked and jived in the air, avoiding Noble Phantasms by a hair's breadth even as her own elemental attacks went largely ignored.

Maria was next to me, trying to pull me to safety, while Iri, Sella and Leysritt tried to unimpale Younger Me.

Maybe we should have used Archer's chant?

And that's when it hit me.

The poem to actualize the Unlimited Blade Works was a personal poem. A rendition of the speaker's thoughts, achievements, and outlook in life at that moment in time.

The pre-existing chants would not work for us, we'd need to come up with a poem of our own.

A task that would take far too long with Gilgamesh on a rampage.

Raven was knocked out of the sky by Harpe, her Aura barely managing to turn aside the lethal blow. With the minor distraction she provided neutralized, Saber began to lose ground.

I had to isolate Gilgamesh. My win condition was the same, I just needed to buy time.

I looked through the macros I'd programmed into my HUD and activated the heal I'd banked from body defense.

The moment my spine was reconnected, I was up and running, batting aside Maria's desperately grasping hand, Younger Me met my eye as I ran past him, the set of his jaw telling me he knew what I was doing, and was ashamed he was too wounded to do it himself.

My magic circuits felt like someone had poured molten lead into them, but I forced them to work, making shoddy copies of Gilgamesh's weapons as I charged in a straight line at the fucker.

My substandard copies no longer knocked his Noble Phantasms off the sky, but they did divert them just enough so I could close the distance.

So long as he didn't pay the lion's share of his attention to me.

I ducked behind the wrecked frame of the Juggernaut, fallen heartbreakingly close to the object of its ire, its shattered body providing me with one crucial instant of protection, allowing me the time to cast Boundless Charge on myself. The spell empowering me to run through and over the wreck of the warjack with magically enhanced, supernatural ability. A dozen Noble Phantasms skewering the air around the sides of the Jack, Gilgamesh's prediction would have killed me if he'd had working knowledge of my abilities.

His tactical mistake granted me a straight shot at him.

Saber, bless her heart, probably thought I had an actual plan.

Or maybe she intuited exactly what I was doing and pressed her attack anyways to provide me with the opening I needed.

Either way, the first time Gilgamesh paid me any serious attention was when I barreled into him, wrapping my arms around his hips, and lifted him bodily off the ground, just as I did nine days ago.

We barreled through the portal I set behind him, and in an instant, we were on the field where Illya had ambushed me.

As I threw him to the ground, sat on him, and began slipping bolt shells into the crevices of his armor, I closed the portal behind me, erased it from the world's metaphysical surface, and triggered the explosive charge I'd set on the portal machine in the mansion.

All my portals went dormant as the machine was sabotaged. The damage easily fixable. It would take Maria or me at most an hour to do it, twenty minutes if we hurried.

More than long enough.

I mentally triggered the shells, the magically charged explosives deflagrating the straps holding up Gilgamesh's armor. Ignoring his outraged "Mongrel!" I tore the plates away, exposing his (surprisingly chiseled and tattooed) chest.

I brought my Reinforced, Warcaster Enhanced, Wrath Infused and Pyromancy Engulfed fist down over his heart, the impact causing a shockwave and a burst of fire. As did my second punch, and my third, and my eighth. Only my first strike landing cleanly as he brought his guard up.

"You dare lay your filthy hands on your King!?" He shouted and punched me back.

Gilgamesh was prone on the ground, with the weight of my body and armor pinning him. I held every advantage.

His single, poorly executed, barely wound back strike rocked my world and nearly threw me off him.

The second one did the trick.

I was up on all fours before I finished skidding on the ground and drove back into him shoulder first before he'd climbed back to his feet.

"You'd try to wrestle me!? The one who subdued the Bull of Heaven!?" Gilgamesh thundered, and almost contemptuously flipped me to the ground.

As Martial Talent spooled up, I grabbed his ankle and all but wrapped my body around his leg, flexing with every fiber of my body and burning some of the servos of my armor, I managed to drive him back to the ground, where we dueled for an advantageous position.

Martial Talent began to feed Gil's own techniques into me. Ancient Sumerian martial arts fully incorporated superhuman strength into them as, when Gilgamesh had been alive, that was the average level of strength. This meant that while Gilgamesh had more experience than I did fighting at this level, I was quickly catching up.

But he was still the better fighter.

After several punches, holds, failed locks, and three broken fingers, he ended up on top of me, my legs wrapped tightly around his hips in my guard. He punched down at me while I did my best to block or deflect his attacks.

From this position, the mostly finished mark on his forehead taunted me as he began to peel my armor off me, one ceramite chunk at a time.

I didn't make it easy on him. For every piece of armor he broke, I gave him a bruise, a burn, or a cut. His flesh too tough for me to seriously wound barehanded.

I could escalate, but that would make him begin seriously using his Noble Phantasms, that was not counting the fact that he could very well take control of any weapon I projected and might react fast enough to stab me with it before I had the time to dispell it.

"Let's see what lies beneath this tin can pretending to be armor!" Gil said with a manic grin and tore the last piece of my chest plate off.

I responded by taking off my helmet and smashing it into his nose.

"Mongrel whoreson!" He growled, grabbed me by the neck, and began to squeeze.

Three punches into his elbow failed to break it, my partially Primarch physiology let me remain awake far longer than I otherwise would have been able to. But those changes were not yet finished, meaning I still needed to breathe at least once every seven minutes while under moderate activity.

A battle to the death was anything but moderate.

I clapped my hands around his head and called on my Warcaster magic to create the most damaging electrical current I could. The sudden addition of a lightning bolt's worth of energy would have burnt anyone with an ounce of common decency to charcoal.

"Lowborn Mongrel bastard!" Gil growled, smashed his elbow into the inside of my knee, shattering the armor and making my leg go numb even as agony stabbed up my spine, breaking my guard through sheer impact. And threw me away like an empty sack.

I activated the quick release function of the armor, reduced as it was it would only slow me down.

By the time I had jumped to my feet, Gil had four dozen Noble Phantasms floating behind him.

He still hadn't repeated one.

It was as impressive as it was infuriating.

They shot forward, I kicked off the ground in a straight-line dodge to the side.

I combined my Wrath and Warcaster Magic to create a simplified Runic Array, a prototype of the trap.

My personal time sped up, allowing me to see the world at half speed. Giving me just enough time to Project copies of the next volley of Noble Phantasms Gil had thrown at me.

After intersecting his third volley, I clapped and used my Warcaster Magic to swap the volume of space I was in with the one directly behind Gilgamesh. I was forced to drop the time dilation spell so I could empower my body as I delivered a flurry of blows, getting three clean hits in before he compensated.

I repeated the teleporting trick two more times, clapping each time, appearing behind him and getting a few hits in.

The fourth time I clapped, he turned and delivered a vicious kick to the empty air behind him, the violence of the attack causing a shockwave.

I drove forward, put him in a chokehold, and threw us down to the ground where I wrapped my body around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides.

I crushed his neck hard enough to decapitate an Olympic strongman. Squeezed his upper body hard enough to collapse the ribs of a silverback gorilla.

But try as I might, he slowly but steadily forced my legs open. Then escaped my hold altogether.

I used one of the Summerian wrestling moves he'd used on me, replicating it exactly, and combining it with Alpha Legion CQC to transition into the perfect triangle choke at the same time that I tried my best to dislocate his elbow, his other arm trapped between our combined weight.

"I see," he growled, his eyes lighting up with recognition, his voice dripping with effort and contempt. "You're one of those."

Unfortunately for me, he didn't actually need his arms to use the Gate of Babylon, he only did that for the drama. A portal opened above us, and I was forced to choose between keeping the lock and ending up various levels of skewered. The point-blank shot not granting me the time I required to Project a counter.

I still blasted Gilgamesh with a Pyromancy infused Blade Geyser as a parting gift, the explosion throwing us apart.

I was back up and running before I stopped skidding. I couldn't allow him the time to rally.

A portal appeared above him, a red staff shooting to the ground next to Gilgamesh. I analyzed it on reflex as I prepared a response.

The staff was made of red colored stone. It was three meters long and stretched beyond the sky. It was slender and so wide it would take weeks to traverse its circumference. It weighed as much as an equivalent length of bamboo and it made mountains as light as a feather in comparison.

And then all of my granted powers, protections, and abilities…vanished. I felt a wrenching in my gut as I felt my soul try to leave my body.

Only the fact that my body and soul were tied together at a conceptual level, a bond over thirty years in the making, allowed me to remain standing.

Nonetheless, the shock nearly sent me to my knees. It was all I could do to come to a stumbling halt.

One never quite realizes how much a second heart helps until it's suddenly gone.

"Whah?" I asked as, yep, my beer gut was back. My limbs remained, thankfully, but my strongman musculature faded away, leaving me the same muscular-but-well-padded I'd been before the Asswipe took everything from me.

"It's not the first time I've dealt with your ilk, parasite." Gilgamesh growled. "I am surprised, however; you are even more pathetic than your predecessors."

I looked up at the monster that was walking calmly toward me, then looked at the staff. My comparatively sluggish mind churning through the situation. "A reality anchor." I said hoarsely.

"One of the five fingers of the Buddha." Gilgamesh said as he stopped just short of arm's reach. "A most useful tool to deal with bloodsucking leeches like you, high on power not your own, taking things that do not belong to you. Now, worm, fall to your knees, beg for your life like the others, and I will let you live long enough to see me conquer your women in front of you." He grinned cruelly. "It shouldn't take long to break the spell you have upon them. The others did once they got a taste of a real man's cock."

He looked entirely too surprised when I punched his nose hard enough to break my primary knuckles.

His half-assed backhand sent me to the ground, spots filling my vision.

I pushed myself to my knees, spat a mouthful of blood and teeth. Then charged him, tackling his midsection in an attempt to lift him off his feet and drive him to the ground as I did twice before.

I would have had better luck trying to lift a stone column.

A sharp impact on my upper back sent me to the ground and knocked the air out of my lungs.

I forced myself up again. Putting my all into a rising uppercut that shattered my left fist when it made contact with his jaw.

I dodged the lightning-fast slap he retaliated with, stepped to the side, and bruised my elbow driving it into his liver.

Then I was dangling off the ground, choking as he held me up with one hand.

"You dare strike your King?" Gilgamesh said, his voice low and full of cold rage. "You dare think a leech like you can stand up to the sun?"

I pulled out my pocketknife, nearly fumbled it due to my fingers not working as I wanted them to. And stabbed it into his forearm, failing to break his skin.

I tried stabbing it into the same spot, but I kept missing.

After the fifth attempt, I fumbled the knife and it fell from my limp fingers.

My follow-up to that was a palm strike to his nose.

I woke up on the ground, not quite able to remember how I got there.

Unfortunately for me, adrenaline wasn't working as good anymore, as all the warnings from my body that I had been ignoring blared up all at once.

Ow.

I tried to keep from breathing, because that would hurt too much. Unfortunately, I failed, and the following coughing fit was pure agony.

Gilgamesh was a real pal, helping me stop coughing by stepping on my chest and physically removing all the air I had in my lungs.

That hurts a lot too.

"Beg, parasite." He demanded. "Weep. Promise me anything for the smallest share of mercy."

Looking around, I had fallen near a rock, just a little smaller than my hand.

I grabbed that rock and smashed it as hard as I could into his greaves.

It made a faint 'tink' sound.

Gilgamesh stared.

'Tink.'

He stomped on my arm; I felt a pair of sharp 'snaps!' on the inside. I grit my teeth so hard I felt a few of the ones I still had crack. But rather than the agonized scream that wanted to claw its way out, all I emitted was a loud, pained grunt.

He bunched a hand on my power armor's under-suit and lifted me up. Holding up my head was a bit hard, but I managed, barely. He brought me nose to nose with him,

"I order you to speak, wretch." Gilgamesh demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

I leaned forward and bit his neck as hard as I could. What few teeth I hadn't broken, shattered against his skin.

He pulled me away; I felt a few teeth wrench loose at the violence of the movement. He then slapped me so hard I made a furrow on the ground.

At some point in the future, he picked me up again.

"You mongrel tick. I'll grant you the honor of hearing your last words, I tire of this game." Gilgamesh said, his voice flat, almost bored.

A wet, gurgling sound rumbled out of my chest and throat. I didn't recognize it at first. It suddenly hit me that I was laughing.

Maybe that's why I finally decided to answer. Having to pause for breath every few words.

"You are arguing. With a dead man. Who wasn't lucky enough. To stop moving. For months. After he died." There was another rasping, gurgling, mirthful laugh, my breathing running shorter and more ragged. "There is nothing. More. You can. Take from me. I'll die. Knowing. I didn't win. But I go to hell. Smiling because. You lost."

Gilgamesh held me up for a long time, a vein throbbing grotesquely on his temple, his face bright red from anger.

"I'll give you this much, you mangy mongrel. You had more grit than the others of your despicable kind." Gilgamesh said, his voice still monotonous. "I'll take some pleasure in breaking your women."

He pulled a wicked looking obsidian blade out of the Gate of Babylon. "I think I'll keep your heart as a souvenir, perhaps I'll let my new harem keep it, as a reminder of what happens to those who think they can take that which belongs to me."

With a loud 'pop!' Gilgamesh disappeared, and I fell to the ground in a heap. A moment after that, I felt my numerous powers return. My stunted Primarch physiology spooling up and starting to deal with my numerous injuries.

My HUD flickered on and began to list my numerous fractures and punctured organs. Frankly it would be easier to list the things in me that weren't broken.

Nonetheless, it appeared I would survive this very foolish endeavor.

More's the pity.

I felt Younger Me pushing at my mind as our bond was reestablished. We melded into 'I' so I could update my girls about what had transpired.

"Yo!" Said a voice with an exhausting amount of smug and camaraderie.

I glanced over to see Lancer, who gave me a wickedly satisfied grin.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to speak. "Well…Shit."

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Andy_ARBS, Khellendrosiic and 238 others

Santo

Mar 20, 2024

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 22 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Apr 12, 2024

Add bookmark

#551

Sorry for the delay. Been super duper busy lately. Here is next chapter.

Once this story is over, I can start posting all the other stuff that's been piling up on the shadow of this one.

As usual. Lemme know what ya'll think. And if you find any mistakes...it was the grammar goblins.

"Did you know you're really weird?" Lancer asked jovially as he grabbed one of my ankles and began dragging me away.

I used my younger body to hurry up the repairs of the portal machine.

"I agree on general principle. But why specifically?" I spat out through the gaps in my broken teeth. I could feel my gums itching, looking up the reason in my HUD, it informed me that new teeth were being generated in my maxilla and mandible. I was going to have to get a chew toy to help with the itchiness.

My younger body flinched and fumbled some wires as my original body got dragged over something sharp that dug into something tender.

"Well, magically you read much the same as Saber's Master." Lancer continued, making me remember he was actually a bonafide druid or something along those lines. "But at the same time not. Not to mention, your magic doesn't act like it should. Why is that?"

"Ow." I said as he dragged me over a rock, then answered his question with a grunted out. "Reasons."

Lancer snorted. "The fake priest didn't like that answer."

"Technically he's a genuine priest." I said, separating from Younger Me so he'd stop having sympathetic reactions, allowing me to sarcastically ramble away as my brain floated in a cocktail of esoteric chemicals. Primarch physiology was a hoot. "As I understand it, he wa-ow-was legitimately ordained by a recognized religious institution. Making him a genui-ow-nuine priest. What he is, however, is an awful pastor and even worse le-ow-legal guardian."

Lancer twitched and chuckled. "Oh, the really didn't like that."

Lancer went out of his way to drag me over some rocks. "Ow. Can you please go around those?"

"Sorry, Command Spell." Lancer said.

"Well, he really won't like it when I mention that he's also an utter failure as a husband, a father, and a man, aside from being a shit priest. Ow. Seriously, he could have taken one glance at his condition and realized that he was meant to be God's suicidal murderous maniac, keeping the Flock safe by running pell-mell at all things that go bump in the night and torturing them to death, being the one exorcist who would never flinch, never tire, and never break due to the horrors he'd be forced to inflict upon others, ow, rather than have a decade-long emo phase then throwing a bitch-fi-"

I grunted as I felt the head of Gae Bolg stab into my gut, missing my liver by exactly three centimeters.

"I take it he didn't take kindly to that." I wheezed.

"Nope!" Lancer said happily, Gae Bolg squelching as he ripped it out of my stomach, I got a warning about a cursed wound, blood would be redirected to staunch the bleeding. "He wasted one whole Command Spell for that stab. He's also no longer directly monitoring me, so! As I am not allowed to directly warn you, plug your ear holes while I have a quick conversation with my spear."

He then hefted Gae Bolg and deadass explained to it in a deadly serious tone. "You know, Gae Bolg, it sure would be great if I could explain to this weird guy that I am under the effect of a lot of Command Spells, but the most important and pertinent being: if I know of a danger to my Master, I must make sure to defend against that danger. If I am offered the chance to change Masters, I must attack the one who made the offer and inform my Master about it at first opportunity. And if someone attacks my Master, I must defend him, then after assuring his safety, neutralize the threat. There are others, but those are the important ones, really. Sure would be just terrible if someone were to kill my Master in one attack without physical tells so I could not hope to react to in time to defend him and retaliate. So, we'll just have to hope no one does."

He then lowered the spear. "Okay, good talk, you can unplug your ear holes."

"Do you think you could-ow-go over less rocks?"

"Sorry, Command Spell." Lancer said with a smile, then frowned. "And now he wants you there immediately. Damn, was hoping to buy you a little more time."

He changed his grip to something that would not kill me and changed to a rapid pace.

I began frantically working on a spell formula.

Younger Me and I cursed our thoroughness in sabotage. Yeah, removing the ability to provide backup against the Golden Asshat had made sure none of the girls could commit suicide with one of us while running down the clock. But at the moment, that particular decision was biting us in the ass.

I began to nurse a charge of fire, deep in my gut. My tender and broken everything would not let me use any somatic gestures, but a gutful of Wrath Infused, Warcaster Enhanced Pyromancy would do wonders.

My Aura chose that moment to sputter back on, it promptly wasted itself trying to combat Gae-Bolg's curse.

Boy I had no buyer's remorse about that.

As I stoked the fire inside me quietly, I considered using a Command Spell to teleport Saber to me, but that would most likely get me involuntarily stabbed before I got past 'come here.'

Okay, plan to deal with Lancer in case I fail to kill Kirei in one hit?

…

I could feed him dog meat?

Killing a dog to eat it would haunt me but…fuckmothering Cu Chulainn. I'd take any advantage I could.

Wait, I don't have a cooking fire going, my plan is thwarted in its very inception.

Not to mention, where was I going to get dog meat at this hour?

Oh hey, it's the church…when did we get here?

I blinked and looked at my vitals. Going by what I saw, I was ready to crash, and crash hard. Which was not good because mortal peril.

There would be some dramatic irony there. Defeat the literal Demigod, the strongest Servant, in a fist fight (details on how that victory was achieved are not important) and die to the second worst priest in the Catholic church.

Say what you will about Kotomine Kirei, he wasn't a pedophile…probably.

As Lancer dragged me through the doors of the church, I did my best to bring my mind into focus. The church's oppressive atmosphere helped a lot with that.

Kirei stood at the altar, I didn't bother sitting up.

"Prop him up." Kirei said, and I was roughly manhandled into a sitting position.

"You." I wheezed and coughed out a few tooth chips, glaring at Lancer. "You have terrible bedside manner."

Lancer smiled at me.

It was a friendly smile, utterly lacking in guile.

He was making it really hard to dislike him.

"What happened to Gilgamesh?" Kirei demanded.

I grinned. "He picked his nose too hard, got a nosebleed, and went home."

"Lancer, strike him." Kirei ordered.

"Nah." Lancer said with a shrug.

"Lancer." Kirei repeated, holding up his arm, his sleeve glowing red. "Strike him."

Lancer's backhand knocked out one of my few remaining teeth and sent me to the floor.

When I stopped seeing spots, I turned to Lancer. "Buy me a drink before we get rough in bed."

Lancer laughed.

"What happened to Gilgamesh?" Kirei asked again.

I felt Younger Me's arm burn. Lancer noticed something was up but said nothing, his body went into a perfect balance of tense and slack, ready for explosive movement. On my HUD, Raven appeared outside the church. She immediately turned into a bird and infiltrated the building.

Oh right, I'm not in this alone.

All I had to do was be a distraction.

I could do that.

I looked at Kirei and grinned. "He went home so he could fuck your father in the ass!"

"Lancer."

"Nope."

"Strike him."

The following kick broke my recently fused ribs.

Raven was in the rafters, right over Kirei. She flapped her wings in bird form, pantomiming down to the priest.

I chose to take that as a signal that she was ready.

"It brings me no joy to do this to you." Kirei lied as he took a step closer, too far away for me to kill him without being stopped by Lancer. "Merely answer my questions, rogue mage, and it will stop. Where is Gilgamesh?"

I coughed and lumbered myself up to my hands and knees. "Okay, here's what you need to do." I said, my voice starting as a wheeze, but gaining strength by the word. "First, you drive down to the pharmacy. Find this thing called Viagra. And it'll help you go fuck yourself!"

As I finished, I spat out a stream of kaleidoscopic flame out of my mouth.

Kirei, the bastard, didn't even flinch. With good reason, Lancer intercepted the stream without issue, batting aside flames that set the wooden pews alight from a good distance, melting the stone floor where they splashed against the ground.

He was still looking entirely too smug when a black bird dove behind him, transitioned to one of my women, and with a lightning-fast slash, separated his head and neck from his shoulders before her feet had even touched the ground.

When his head was a third of the way to the floor, she attacked three more times, splitting his head and brain into six pieces.

Gae Bolg stopped, pricking the skin of my neck, just short of drawing blood.

We all froze.

Lancer guffawed and removed the spear from my neck. "I honestly didn't think you had it in you!"

Without looking, he blocked Raven's slash from behind him, dodged her kick, caught her wrist as she went for a slice at his hip, and flipped her like an empty sack at the ground in front of me so hard the pavement cracked. He dodged her rising slash by a hair's breadth and kicked her in the stomach with enough force to cause a shockwave that ruffled my beard, sending her rolling back and crashing through eight rows of pews. The ninth row stopped her, her Aura flashed red and broke into particles of mana. Turning her from superhuman, to a physically very fit woman.

Through that entire three second exchange, Lancer never once took his eyes off me.

"I like girls with fire in them, but stay down and stay quiet, the menfolk are talking." Lancer said carelessly as he walked over to me.

"You stay away from him!" Raven snarled, disobeying him, she ran on top of the shattered pews on a display of agility that surprised me due to the lack of her Aura, and threw herself at Lancer, her beheading strike flawless and elegantly executed.

An attack that was slow, even to my exhausted eyes.

Gae Bolg disappeared as Lancer ducked under the attack, catching her wrist with one hand and her neck with the other. Leaving her feet to kick uselessly at his stomach and legs as she choked, her left fist striking weakly at his elbow.

"Let go of her!" I roared, and immediately got my wish as Lancer threw Raven at me when I was halfway to my feet, throwing me back to the ground.

Lancer clapped, a rune flashed, and the fires that were burning in the church all went out. After that, I had the tip of Gae Bolg pressed to my neck. Raven and I stilled.

"Okay, I finally have your attention." Lancer said, still sounding jovial and friendly. "I would have enjoyed fighting you before you got hurt. And judging by how easy she was to put down, I'm guessing she also got hurt fighting goldy locks, eh?"

"Erm…y-yeah." I said, extremely aware of the unnatural sharpness of the bone spear as it pressed against my throat. "Pretty much."

Lancer clicked his tongue. "Too bad. Anyways. Woman, off him. You, you are connected to Saber's Master, yes?"

"Y-Yeah." I said as Raven very slowly got off me.

Lancer grinned. "Okay good. Woman. You are going to go fetch Saber's Master, as well as Saber, I'll keep this one here as a hostage."

Raven opened her mouth to say something, the prickling at my neck became a faint pinch, and my HUD gave me a warning about a second cursed wound and that the blood vessels leading to it would be repressed. Thankfully, it was a very minor cut.

Lancer's smile did not so much as twitch. "I didn't ask for your opinion. Go get Saber's Master, or your man here dies."

Without a further word, Raven sprinted out of the church.

The spear, thankfully, left my neck. "Hey, how long you think before they get here?"

I checked in with Younger Me, repairs should be done in roughly fifteen minutes. "Eeeh…thirty to forty minutes? The place where we contained Gil is uhh…difficult to get to. And I sort of burned the bridge getting him out of there."

Lancer sat cross-legged next to me. "Well, we better pass the time, eh? How good is your woman in the sack? She seems like a feisty one."

I blinked. Nonplussed by the non sequitur.

"She is, but by the third time I make her squirt, she becomes pretty submissive." My mouth answered without asking my brain for permission.

"Hah!" Lancer said, slapping his thigh. "Just like my dear Master's sister! So, she bear you a son yet?"

"Nah. The relationship is still pretty new."

Lancer nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Ah, no wonder she was so anxious to get to ya. Ya haven't yet secured a legacy. Still, she is quite the strong woman, she's sure to bear ya strong sons."

"That would be the hope, yeah." I said distractedly. "Though I think I took one of the Grail War's Masters as a war-bride by accident, and judging by what Raven says when she thinks I'm not listening, she might enjoy watching the war-bride be impregnated first."

Lancer threw back his head and laughed.

That's when it hit me. I was talking about relationships and literal conquests with an incarnation of Celtic Hercules.

What the fuck had my life become?

He raided the church's communal wine, and drank as we spoke about women, our favorite beer, food, weapons, and I spoke of various video games that weren't out yet. Eventually, I decided to take my shot.

"You know…we don't have to fight." I said, sitting up. "I'm not from this universe. You can make a contract with me, come with me to another world, and fight shit there. Whatever can be said of my life from now on, conflict will be a part of it."

Lancer leaned back and thought about it for a few seconds before answering. "Nah."

I sighed. "Why not?"

Lancer grinned. "The only reason I answered the call of the Holy Grail War…was for the War. As far as I can reckon, Saber has been the one to kill every Servant in this war, barring goldy locks." His grin widened, gaining a tinge of bloodlust. "If I join you, I won't get my rematch. My first actual fight in this damn War where I get to go all out! And it'll be against the strongest possible Servant! I wouldn't miss it for the world."

I sighed. "Can't blame me for trying."

"None at all!" Lancer said, and slapped my shoulder lightly enough that it didn't aggravate any of my injuries. "If circumstances were different, I might have taken ya up on it. Still, no hard feelings, no matter the outcome, eh?"

"Oh, if you win I will be murderously upset." I said glibly. "I have been courting that woman for days, and I think I'm pretty close to getting her panties to drop."

Lancer blinked, then guffawed. "She a good kisser?"

"No. But what she lacks in experience, she makes up for in enthusiasm."

"I'll drink to that!" He shouted and emptied the bottle he'd been drinking.

I sighed, grabbed one of the bottles, and chugged it. It made the holes where most of my teeth had been burn.

I also quadruple checked that I had purchased both Paradox Defense and Fatality Defense.

As much as I enjoyed drinking with the guy, I was not about to risk Saber's wellbeing on a fair fight.

"Lancer, I'm glad to see you did not hurt him. He is a dear friend." Saber said, her voice calm. Her tone held no threat.

It held a promise.

"Not more than needed to get him and the black haired one to stop fighting." Lancer said, holding the tip of his spear to the neck of Other Me.

"Hey," the dumbass that got himself taken hostage said, waving weakly, his voice came out weird due to the gaps in his dentures.

"I get why your Master's here, as well as the black haired woman." Lancer said, tilting his head at me and at Raven. "But why is the Master of Berserker here?"

Illya stepped forward. "As the vessel for the Holy Grail, I must be present for the completion of the war. The winner of this battle wi—"

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Lancer interrupted, stepping forward into his predatory stance.

I stepped back, keeping my body between Raven, Illya, and Lancer.

The courtyard behind the church was spacious. With few obstructions. A neutral enough ground that slightly favored Lancer's greater reach.

Saber and Lancer regarded each other, barely moving, making minute adjustments to their stance, to their grip on their weapons, to their footing.

Then they were clashing, moving so quickly that they were barely perceptible blurs, even after the trials of the Grail War had forced me to synchronize with my Templates to the point that I could unironically call myself a super-human.

The ground they battled over spider webbed with cracks, the overpressure of their weapons clashing rattled the windows of the church. Lancer had the advantage of reach, Saber staying just inside his range, too wary of his Noble Phantasm to push closer.

Lancer's every movement was greased lightning and liquid death. I could not actively perceive his weapon, to me it looked like a deadly red blur, for every thrust I saw, my ears heard three attacks.

It made the Lancer of my last encounter with him seem like a geriatric drunkard.

Saber kept on the defensive, giving ground in an expanding circle as Lancer advanced relentlessly.

Until on his latest thrust, she swung her sword in a rising arc, and when her blade met Lancer's spear her weapon exploded with gale-force wind, revealing Excalibur in all its golden glory. The explosion of air only just ripping Gae Bolg from Lancer's fingers and sending it tumbling over their heads.

Saber rushed in for the kill.

Lancer smirked.

He jumped back and up, contorting his body into a bicycle kick, catching the butt of Gae Bolg with his foot as he drove it down, instantly filling it with so much magical energy that its miasma of reeking death filled the courtyard.

"Gae Bolg!" He shouted with victory as his weapon twisted like a crimson snake, driving its barbed point down at Saber's chest.

And failed to connect as she ducked under it.

To his credit, Lancer almost managed to land a reactionary kick on Saber, the metal of his boot scratching her cheek an instant before she buried Excalibur to the hilt in Lancer's heart.

He coughed as the impact drove the breath from his lungs, his hands reaching for Saber's neck.

The sword of promised victory blazed.

"Ex-CALIBUR!"

A blast of golden light, small compared to the one that annihilated Berserker, cut a line into the mountains behind the church. Saber landed in a ready crouch.

One third of Lancer's upper body landed with a splat a few feet away from her.

Other Me and I released a breath neither of us had realized we were holding.

"How…how did you evade my Gae Bolg?" Lancer wheezed.

Saber stood, turned to face him, and saluted him with her sword. "I can feel it, I should not have come away from that exchange nearly so well. But Lancer…I have an exceptional Master. Days ago, he cast a spell to protect me against Gae Bolg."

Huh, guess she did notice when I bought those Defenses after all.

Lancer coughed a laugh. "I really am envious of you, Saber. You win this round."

In a move that surprised me, Other Me lumbered his way painfully over to Lancer's body, fell to his knees next to it, and clutched the dying Servant's remaining hand.

"You should have accepted my offer, dumbass." He said with a teary smile.

Lancer wheezed. "Not on your life…that fight…was great fun." Then he discorporated into golden motes.

And with that bang and whimper, the Fifth Holy Grail was over.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Andy_ARBS, Khellendrosiic and 259 others

Santo

Apr 12, 2024

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Chapter 23 New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jun 8, 2024

Add bookmark

#575

I had been hoping to post this at the same time as the Epilogue, but this has been done for weeks, and the Epilogue still needs a bit of work to reach a point where I am satisfied with it. So here is the last chapter of the fic (not counting the epilogue).

I'll admit, I agonized over it for quite a bit. Tried to do more mindless smut. But my lack of experience made me reticent, so a lot of it went away and I kept only what you see here.

Perhaps I'll write like...smut vignettes. At a later date. For this fic. Once I'm more comfortable writing that.

We shall see. For now, lemme know what you think. Hopefully ya'll will like it.

Expect the Epilogue...man, I'm hoping tomorrow, but probably next weekend.

I thought the itching of my teeth regenerating was bad.

As it turns out, burning caused by accelerated regeneration was much worse.

Gae Bolg's curse fell quickly to Avalon's magical onslaught. My many internal injuries, already partially closed thanks to my nature as a Horseman and a Primarch, all healed rapidly and perfectly.

"Thanks, Saber." I said with a grimace as I pushed myself tiredly to my feet.

She nodded stoically.

Younger Me was seeing to Illya, who had been joined by Iri, Sella and Leysritt. Maria, Rin and Ayako were securing the perimeter and throwing what they thought were furtive glanced my way.

Sakura, whose hair had nearly turned all black and whose eyes were now a vibrant blue, took one look at the proceedings and went to 'investigate' the church.

Raven fidgeted nearby, wringing her hands and doing her best not to look at me.

I clenched my new teeth and pushed down my anger. Now that all of my enemies were dealt with, it was a lot more difficult to drown out those emotions with more important work.

The three guilty ladies definitely felt the shift in mood in Younger Me and I, as they ducked their heads and tried to look busy.

I opened and closed my hands, took a deep breath, and forced those feelings down.

I could recognize that they had done what they thought was best, even if I was not happy about it.

Not to mention, they were literally my women, my slaves, the buck stopped with me. Their safety and happiness were my responsibility. I couldn't just be rid of them.

It would do me no good to hang on to that resentment with my usual death grip.

It would remain, but I had to purchase literal immortality to safeguard Saber against Gae Bolg. I was planning to spend quite a long time with these ladies, so I'd have to make a concerted effort to move past my hang-ups with their choices.

"Raven." I said, making her twitch, her stance shifting slightly to facilitate running away. "Come here."

She swallowed thickly and made her way over, eyes locked to the ground. Her body trembling like a newborn foal's as she crossed her arms, the posture serving to highlight her lack of confidence rather than her intent at projecting bravado.

She had been devoted enough to charge Lancer with her Aura broken, knowing full well it was a fight she could not win.

It would be a disservice to her not to recognize that.

I considered giving her a 'reward.' But I was too angry, the hurt too raw. It would be a while before I could push past that.

"You did good." I said slowly, and gently squeezed her shoulder. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it. You did good."

She stiffened and nodded. Not trusting herself to speak.

I released her shoulder and made my way over to the Einzbern contingent and Younger Me. Illya finished an incantation, and reached into her stomach.

Literally, a small dimensional portal opened just past her grasping fingers, spilling a red light as she grasped something. When she pulled her hand out, she held a gold chalice vibrating with magical energy. She seemed to sag, as if something that she'd been relying on to keep standing was suddenly gone.

Illyasviel pulled herself up to her full unimpressive height, and presented the chalice to Younger Me. "Emiya Shirou, Master of Saber. I, Illyasviel Von Einzbern hereby present you with the Grail."

Younger Me reverently took the chalice. And my HUD pinged me with a pop-up.

[Mission Accomplished. You have won the Holy Grail War.

No bonus objectives achieved.

Reward: One Thousand (1000) Credits]

Along with the pop-up, our balance went up significantly.

I set that aside for later consideration as I stepped up next to Saber, who was looking at the contents of the Grail with disgust and disappointment.

The black mud churned, it looked like a mixture of tar and blood, and reeked of burning, putrefied flesh.

I laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. After several long seconds, she placed her own hand on mine and squeezed back.

"You were right." She said, closing her eyes. "It must be destroyed."

Younger Me showed Rin the state of the Grail before Stamping it, and immediately sending it away. Causing it to vanish without a trace. Younger Me and I both deactivated our Magic Circuits.

We got another pop-up about selling the Grail and were given the option not to complete the mission yet in case we wanted to complete the bonus objective of selling the Greater Grail.

I minimized that notice and looked at Illya, who looked morose.

Younger Me knelt in front of her. "And now for the surprise I promised you." He pressed a finger to Illya's forehead. "Be healed."

Illyasviel glowed, and in the span of a few seconds, went from a prepubescent girl to a young woman nearing her prime. Her legs lengthened, her figure filled in, her face lost most of its baby fat.

She became a near younger clone of Irisviel. With hints of someone else's face in the corner of her eyes and the curve of her nose.

Her clothes did not change with her, meaning she all but burst out of them, leaving her rather poorly dressed for the chilly day.

"W-Whah?" She asked in utter astonishment.

"My baby grew up to be such a beautiful lady!" Irisviel screeched and all but tackled Illya off her feet while Sella and Leysritt looked on, their mouths hanging open.

Yeah, I did not want to deal with that.

While I had been distracted Saber had walked a ways off, my girls let out big sighs, while the local girls complained about how anti-climactic dealing with the Grail had been and watched Irisviel have a meltdown over her daughter.

Clone daughter?

Quantum daughter?

Whatever.

I made my way over to Saber as she gazed at the city, at some point she had dismissed her armor. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Saber sighed. "I'm…disappointed that I won yet gained nothing. Now the War is over and I'll just…return to where I was."

"Eh, come on!" I said and gently pushed her shoulder. "Something something, the true treasure were the friends you made along the way."

She chuckled low in her throat. "Well…I guess this will be goodbye."

I hummed. "Any regrets?"

She tilted her head back and grinned coquettishly at me. "If I had to name one…it would be not taking you up on any of your offers to join you in bed. I must admit to being rather curious."

I snorted. "So…next time we're in the mansion, you'll finally say yes?"

Saber chuckled again and gave me a smile. "The next time I set foot in your mansion…I'll let you do whatever you want with me."

I grinned. "You promise?"

"Yeah…it's a promise." She said wistfully.

I reactivated my Circuits, refilling her steadily depleting reserves with little issue. Causing her to stiffen in surprise.

She wouldn't have discorporated even if she'd run out of mana. If everything was working as it should, she now had a perfectly viable physical body. She'd merely be stuck with the parameters of a baseline human woman until she refilled her magical reserves.

But she hadn't known that.

She turned woodenly to look at me and beheld the shit-eating grin that split my face, her eyes widening. She began stepping frantically backwards as I stalked toward her. "W-Wait! You tricked me!"

My grin, impossible as it should have been widened. "Oh? Is the King of Knights going to go back on her word?"

She froze, a mistake as it allowed me to catch up to her, where I proceeded to claim two handfuls of her wonderful derriere, and pull her toward me, pressing her groin against my thigh. She shivered as she placed her hands against my chest.

"E-Erm…be gentle?" She asked, her face tomato red and her voice trembling.

I leaned down and nibbled on her neck, making her squirm. I squeezed her ass a little harder and muttered. "I don't think I will."

Then I paused as I smelled something burning.

My entire Retinue, Younger Me, and I turned to look at the church, suddenly a large chunk of the roof caved in, great tongues of flame licking eagerly at the sky as they spat acrid black smoke.

The curvy figure of Sakura walked demurely out of that dread inferno with a serene smile on her face.

"Uhh…" I said intelligently. Then gave Saber a peck on the lips. "I'mma go uhh…deal with that, you…you just uhh…yeah."

I gave her ass one last appreciative squeeze, then released her and ran in the direction of the church to frantically do away with anything that could incriminate Younger Me or I.

Younger Me and I had come loaded for bear, clad in the armors we had come to prefer. Me in the armor of Alpharius, him in the Raiments of War.

It had taken some convincing, but we'd managed to get Saber to let only us come deal with the Greater Grail. With the caveat that we summon her with a Command Spell the instant we needed her.

A risk, yes, but if the Greater Grail were to take her over, we would all be doomed. Yes, all the Defenses I'd purchased assured me such would not happen.

But I'd already seen that those were not as infallible as advertised.

Still, the cave was oppressive. It was humid and hot, with the sickly-sweet stench of rotting meat penetrating through the environmental seal of my armor. Something pressed into our Stress and Mind Defenses, something that hated us as much as it needed us.

I allowed the smallest opening through my mental barrier and had to choke back my rising bile at the sheer flood of all the unkindness that humanity was capable of that tried to drown me. I shut that door firmly and pushed onward.

We eventually emerged into a vast cavern with a tower of rotting stone in the center.

When I looked at the tower from the corner of my eye, I could glimpse a gangly, malnourished form curled up in a perverse imitation of a child in a womb.

Younger Me grunted in disgust and spat. "I ain't getting any closer to that."

[Probably for the best.] I said, my helmet turning my words into a mechanical growl. I hefted my boltgun, extended the stock I'd welded onto it, pulled the warheadless bolt from one of the pouches at my belt, inserted the Stamp into the warhead well I'd machined for it, and loaded it into the weapon.

"There's no way that'll work." Younger Me said, tightening his grip on Chaos Eater.

[We both did the math, it'll work.] I shot back, took aim, and fired.

The miniature rocket shot out, slammed against the side of the Greater Grail, and the propellant, gyro systems, and molecular binding legs built into the bolt kept it in place for the prerequisite three seconds.

The moment I got the notice of ownership, I sold the Greater Grail. It disappeared with a loud implosion of air, the stench and psychic noise vanishing with it.

We got another pop-up about the bonus objective being completed. And this time we completed the mission and got our reward.

We stood there, waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the cavern to fall in. For Frank to announce his sudden but inevitable betrayal. For Porky Goddamned Pig to show up and tell us that, "Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th... That's all, folks!"

But nothing happened.

Things going according to plan, as a rule, didn't happen to me.

That something had not yet gone catastrophically wrong unnerved me to my core.

We beat a hasty retreat, our steps getting faster by the second until we were sprinting back the way we came. We kept the frantic pace until we were out, then continued running until we reached what we hoped was the minimum safe distance before we made a portal and dove through it to get home.

Where we proceeded to stand guard, me crouched and ready, enhancing my boltgun with my numerous magics. Younger Me standing to the side of the portal, ready to slam edge of Chaos Eater into anything that came through. The both of us conjuring a floating arsenal of Noble Phantasms that put Gil's displays to shame.

[Are…we expecting an attack?] Irisviel asked over the comms. [It looked pretty smooth from our end.]

"That just means the resulting blowback will be all the harsher." Younger Me wisely stated.

[That's retarded.] Raven spat.

[It's not paranoia.] I stated. [It's pattern recognition.]

They did eventually convince us to relax.

Then, the final step of our mission over and done with. We took off our armor, went to our lounge, sat down, and relaxed.

Tomorrow would be another day, I'd have to follow up on that patent for a fusion generator I'd applied for, there were still things to take care of, and we'd need to rebuild the Emiya mansion. But for the first time in what felt like a long time, I didn't have vengeance or an impending catastrophe pushing me forward.

We sat there, in front of the huge TV, not bothering to turn it on. In a silence quickly growing uncomfortable.

"Hey?" Younger Me asked.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Now what?"

"The fuck you asking me? I'm you."

He grunted. "Seemed like a pertinent question."

We sat there for a while longer.

But didn't find an answer.

Thoughts of those I'd lost began creeping in.

I bounced my leg, my hands opening and closing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Younger Me grinding his teeth, likely going through the same process I was.

There was a whole lot of grief and despair that, now that the situation was far calmer, I no longer had the pressure to help me keep the lid down on the whole mess I had been trying hard not to deal with.

"That's it." Younger Me said and threw himself up to his feet. "Get your fat ass up, we're going to the sparring room and beating the daylights out of each other."

I blinked. Leaned back and thought about it.

The only problem being, thinking was the problem.

"Fuck it, I'm down."

Ayako flinched as the literal shockwave ruffled her hair.

In the padded arena below, Santo and Shirou continued to trade punches.

When she'd gotten there, dragged in by Iri-senpai, the boy and the man had been in the middle of a supernatural display of athleticism and martial prowess, the dance of attack and repost, move and counter move, was far too uncoordinated to be scripted, yet she knew in her heart that it had utterly ruined action scenes in movies for her for the rest of her life.

Now that she saw the real thing, she recognized that something had always been missing from those. A visceral desire to cause harm.

Santo had greater reach and strength, Shirou was slightly faster, and the two fought dirty. The only thing they hadn't done yet was bite each other.

But to her embarrassment, the time that Shirou had dislocated Santo's arm, only for the older man to kick the teenager across the room, then wordlessly shove his shoulder back into its socket with a grunt, followed by using that same arm to punch Shirou into a wall?

That had kindled a heat in her loins that had built up the longer the fight went, leading to Ayako trying not to shift so the others, in particular Raven-sensei and Rin, wouldn't notice her thoroughly soaked underwear.

Judging by the occasional squirming of all the women who were watching? Ayako wasn't alone in needing to change her underwear.

The duel continued for a long while before Santo-sensei threw Emiya across the floor and shouted. "This isn't working!"

Emiya got back up and pushed on his jaw, there was a loud 'crack!' as he seemingly reset a dislocated jaw without even a grunt. "I noticed. But what else can we do?"

Santo-sensei growled low on his throat. "At this point, I'd be down for literally anything to get my mind off it!"

Maria-senpai cleared her throat, then wilted as everyone turned to look at her.

She fiddled with her hands for a few moments. "Erm…I uhh, I might have an idea?"

I thrust into Saber's warm, velvety cunt with frantic need, her grunts, moans, and sighs music to my ears over the slap of flesh slapping against flesh. I saw the by now familiar signs of her coming climax and leaned over her to capture her lips.

Her tongue dueled against mine valiantly, but lacking in skill and coordination, it could not stop me battling it to submission, her stalwart defense losing all cohesion as I pushed three fingers into her ass, the sudden intrusion surprising her as she came, her mouth going dry as her body convulsed, at once trying to hold me closer and push me away, her tunnel milking my cock as best it could.

Her wanton moan turned into a near animal yowl as I continued my pistoning motions, her nails drew lines of fire on my back as she nearly drew blood, her action and her screams pushing me to go faster, fucking her through her orgasm straight into the next one where I buried myself in her cunt to the hilt and with a grunt that was nearly a growl, and came so hard I saw spots in my vision, crushing her trim, pliant body against mine until my climax ended.

I barely had the cognition to roll over to my back before my body collapsed, so Saber rested on top of me rather than I crush her into the bed with my weight. I could feel every aftershock that wracked her, our bodies still connected at the hip even as I went soft inside her. Our breathing synchronized as we tried to catch our breaths. Her hair, free of its usual intricate bun, fell over me in a messy tangle.

To our side, the sound of wet flesh slapping wet flesh continued as Younger Me pounded into the bustier of the Einzbern maids. Sella, Irisviel, and the properly aged form of Illya, were all passed out with sweaty skin, flushed faces, and leaking cunts.

Elsewhere on my massive bed, Rin and Ayako rested in each other's arms. Raven had tried to retreat to a corner to nurse her wounded pride but had found herself with an emotional support pegasus girl before the two drifted off to an exhausted sleep.

I wasn't entirely certain how the whole event came about. One moment, I was having something of an existential crisis. The next Maria had said something, and Iri had all but thrown her maids and her daughter at us, and at some point after that, everyone else joined in.

After that, my memory descended to a haze of sweet moans, warm female flesh, and wet folds.

Younger Me hilted himself in Leysritt, holding the physically older woman face down and ass up on the bed and held her still as she came, were it not for our enhanced strength, he'd not have managed such a feat.

They shuddered through their shared climax before he allowed the pale woman to collapse among her sister and mistresses.

Younger Me and I met each other's eye and shared a brainwave. I rolled over Saber and gently extricated myself from her, she moaned, her cunt twitching fitfully as if chastising me for leaving it empty.

I kissed her and told her to wait a bit, and made my way over to Rin and Ayako. The two girls too tired to react to our advance until it was too late.

"W-Wait, no way!" Rin gasped and tried to crawl away, it was no effort at all to catch her ankle and drag her back.

Ayako for her part, accepted what was coming with what dignity she could, and levered herself up to all fours, shaking her ass tiredly at Younger Me.

He ran the head of his dick over her entrance, incidentally giving the lips of Ayako's teen pussy a generous covering of our aphrodisiac power, then began to slowly sink into Ayako, one agonizingly slow inch at a time.

While that was happening, I dragged Rin back kicking and mewling. The young woman dead set on making things difficult.

Still, it was the work of but a moment to capture her legs, and lift her bodily up, bending her over into a suspended Nelson. Then, with some finagling and cheating with magic, line the head of my cock with her entrance.

Ignoring her frantic pleas to wait, I brought her down and hilted myself inside her in one firm, smooth stroke that left her breathless, the top of my cock pressing into her cervix at the same time that Younger Me bottomed out on Ayako and ground against the entrance to her womb.

Younger Me pulled Ayako's head up by the hair, then we began to fuck them with firm, synchronized strokes, the eyes of both girls drinking in the image of their best friend being fucked silly in front of them, their pussies tightening deliciously as we didn't allow them to hide their faces or look away, increasing the force of our thrusts until we sent their breasts bouncing with every stroke.

We didn't play with their clits, but with how many times we'd already done it and the amount of fooling around that happened in the orgy? They were sensitive enough that, with the aphrodisiac we were exuding, we didn't need to.

"A-Ayako, don't look!" Rin said, tears falling from her eyes as she struggled futilely to break my hold. "Didn't look! I'm! I'm…!"

Ayako moaned. "Me too! Me too! Together!"

Rin tried to shake her head as Younger Me and I increased our pace yet again, using our Talents to synchronize everything so the four of us came together. Hilting ourselves in our girls and filling them up, holding them as they screamed.

Then they promptly passed out.

We extricated ourselves and lay them down next to each other so they could cuddle.

And then, the only ones awake were Saber and us, the Servant having recovered enough to sit up and little else.

She looked entirely too surprised when I folded her into a mating press, hilted myself inside her, and picked her up. Gravity making sure I got in deep.

Painfully so for her, but I'd quickly learned that Saber enjoyed a bit of pain.

"I'm not…going to lose." She muttered, wrapping her arms around me and taking hold of my shoulders, her tunnel squeezing me deliciously as I lifted her up until only the head of my dick remained in her.

She stiffened when she felt Younger Me pressing the tip of his cock against her ass.

"W-Wai-!" I didn't let her finish as I brought her back down, her breath leaving her in a huff as she found both holes stretched to their limit, gravity forcing her to take us to the hilt. An animal yowl leaving her lips as my aphrodisiac, turned up to its highest setting, forced her to enjoy the unnatural intrusion.

And then we started moving, and she was too busy screaming in ecstasy and begging inarticulately to put together a rational protest.

Younger Me and I could feel each other through Saber, it was a bit of a weird experience, not entirely certain how enjoyable we found it, at least until Saber bit my shoulder and squirted as she came. That made it quite enjoyable.

Younger Me and I synchronized into 'me' so I could better time my thrusts. One body nibbled at her neck while the other pulled her head back and claimed her lips. I attempted several different tempos, alternating which body thrust, varying the angle and depth.

But the one she responded the best to was the simple path. Both bodies thrusting in and out simultaneously, nearly emptying her before making her take me to the hilt twice over.

I didn't bother counting how many times I forced her to come after the third, the position I had her in not giving her much of a choice in the matter. A familiar pressure built up in both my bodies, and timing myself to erupt with her next climax, I thrust roughly into both her holes and shuddered as I filled her up yet again.

I extricated my younger body, my older falling onto its back and manipulating Saber's body into a position she'd find more comfortable.

Still…being enveloped in her wet heat was very nice, and the air felt so cold…

I used magic to clean my cock, crawled over to Leysritt who was resting face up between Irisviel and Sella, hilted myself in her warm, inviting cunt, making the unconscious homunculus gasp and shudder, and laid down on top of her, my face resting luxuriously on her voluminous cleavage.

Out of all the girls, she'd find the weight the least uncomfortable.

I then took a handful of titflesh from Iri and Sella, and sighed in contentment.

I lied there, my mind empty, bodies sore in a good way, and spent some time simply enjoying the softness and warmth of my lovers' bodies and staring at Saber's sweaty, sleeping, goofily smiling face.

I split back into 'us' because I wanted someone to talk to, and I wasn't about to wake the girls after doing everything I could to make them all pass out in a sweaty pile.

"Dude." I said.

"Yeah?" Younger Me answered.

"We need to decide on a name for you."

There was a lengthy silence before Younger Me said. "Fuck it, Keep It Simple Stupid, we'll go with Shirou."

I grunted my agreement, then spoke slowly, tasting each word for its individual truthfulness. "I'm…done. Fucked out. Satiated."

"Dude…same."

"That's like…never happened before."

Shirou snorted. "Yup."

There was another lengthy silence before I finally asked. "Now what?"

I heard Shirou's breath hitch before he said. "I…I don't know."

I felt the same dread of…before, rear its ugly head, a cold grip settling around my heart as the world started to tilt. I reached out to Shirou, but found him crushed by the very same thing that sought to smother me. My breaths quickening and my hearts speeding up as the world darkened.

And then Saber woke up, looked into my eyes, and smiled sleepily. She gave me a peck on the lips before settling herself more comfortably on my half-mast cock, and promptly fell back asleep.

Leysritt likewise woke up, she instinctively wrapped her legs around my hips and her arms around my head. She patted my head and sleepily hummed a lullaby off-tune, pressing my face more tightly into her breasts.

I choked back tears and for the first time in what felt like a long time, truly relaxed, and let myself be lulled to a fitful sleep.

Tomorrow would be another day, and I'd do as I've always done, and trudge forward.

Only this time, I had a feeling there just might be a better tomorrow for me to discover.

Like Reply Report

Like Reactions: RevanGM, Andy_ARBS, Khellendrosiic and 171 others

Santo

Jun 8, 2024

New

Add bookmark

View discussion

Threadmarks Epilogue New

View content

Santo

I want to enter your Temple

Jun 17, 2024

Add bookmark

#593

And here we are...I'll just post the chapter. And make a post later explaining my logic and other stuff. Hope you like and leave me a comment!

Also, the start of this Epilogue contains an excerpt from The Well of Eternity by Richard A. Knaak.

Don't worry, it goes off the rails pretty much immediately.

The Ritual of the High Moon had been completed and now Tyrande had time for herself. Elune expected dedication from her priestesses, but she did not demand that they give to her every waking moment. The Mother Moon was a kind, loving mistress, which had been what first drew the young night elf to her temple. In joining, Tyrande found some peace to her apprehension, to her inner conflicts. But one conflict would not leave her heart. Times had altered matters between her, Malfurion, and Illidan. They were no longer youthful companions. The simplicities of their childhoods had given way to the complexities of adult relationships.

Her feelings for both of them had changed and she knew that they, too, felt differently about her. The competition between the brothers had always been a friendly one, but of late it had intensified in a manner Tyrande did not appreciate.

Now it seemed that they battled each other, as if vying for some prize. Tyrande understood—even if they did not—that she was the prize.

While the novice priestess felt flattered, she did not want either of them hurt.

Yet, Tyrande would be the one who would hurt at least one brother, for she knew in her heart that when it came time to choose her life mate, it would be either Illidan or Malfurion.

Dressed in the silver, hooded gown of a novice priestess, Tyrande hurried silently through the high, marble halls of the temple. Above her, a magical fresco illustrated the heavens. A casual visitor might have even thought that no roof stood here, so perfect was the illusion. But only the grand chamber, where the rituals took place, was truly open to the sky. There, Elune visited in the form of moonbeams, gloriously touching her faithful as a mother did her beloved children.

Past the looming, sculpted images of the goddes's earthly incarnations—those who had served in the past as high priestess—Tyrande finally strode across the vast marble floor of the foyer. Here, in intricate mosaic work, the formation of the world by Elune and the other gods was depicted, the Mother Moon of course illustrated most dominantly.

With few exceptions, the gods were vague forms with shadowed faces, no mere flesh creature worthy of envisioning their true images. Only the demigods, children and assistants to their superiors, had definite visages. One of those, of course, was Cenarius, said by many to be perhaps the child of the Moon and the Sun. Cenarius, of course, said nothing one way or another, but Tyrande liked to think that story the truth.

Outside, the cool night air soothed her some. Tyrande descended the white alabaster steps and joined the throngs. Many bowed their heads in deference to her position while others politely made a path for her. There were advantages to being even an initiate of Elune, but at the moment Tyrande wished that she could have simply been herself to the world.

Suramar was not so glorious as Zin-Azshari, but it had a presence all its own. Bright, flashy colors filled her gaze as she entered the main square, where merchants of all status plied their wares on the population. Dignitaries in rich, diamond-sequined robes of sun red and fiery orange, their noses upward and their eyes only on the path ahead, walked alongside low-caste elves in more plain garments of green, yellow, blue, or some mix of the colors.

In the market, everyone made an appearance in order to show themselves off as best they could. Even the buildings acted as displays for their inhabitants, every color of the rainbow represented in the view Tyrande had. Some businesses had been painted in as many as seven shades and most had dramatic images splashed across every side. Torchlight illuminated most, the dancing flames considered a lively accent.

The few non-night elves whom the novice priestess had met during her short life seemed to find her people garish, even daring to say that Tyrande's race must be color-blind. While her own tastes tended to be more conservative, albeit not so much as Malfurion's, Tyrande felt that night elves simply appreciated better the variety of patterns and shades that existed in the world.

Near the center of the square, she noted a crowd gathered. Most gestured and pointed, some making comments of disgust or mockery, others of awe and worry. Curious, Tyrande went to see what could be of such interest.

At first, the onlookers did not even notice her presence, certainly a sign that whatever they watched must be a rare marvel. She politely touched the nearest figure, who upon recognition immediately stepped aside for her. By this method, she managed to wend her way deep into the throng. A pair of cages just slightly shorter than her stood in the midst of it all. Made of good strong iron bars, one evidently held a beast of some strength, for it rattled harshly and now and then an animalistic growl set the audience to renewed murmurs, the other, in contrast, remained still and quiet.

Those directly in front of her would not move, not even when they discovered who had tapped them on the shoulder. Frustrated and curious, the slim night elf shifted position, attempting to see between one pair. What she beheld made her gasp.

"What is it?" Tyrande blurted.

"No one knows, sister," replied what turned out to be a sentry standing duty. He wore the breast plate and robes of one of Suramar's Watch. "The Moon Guard had to spellcast these two things at least three times to bring them down."

Tyrande instinctively glanced around for one of the hooded, green-robed wizards, but saw none. Likely they had ensorcelled the cages, then left the secured creatures in the hands of the Watch while they went to discuss what to do with them.

But what had they left?

One was no dwarf, although in some ways its build reminded her of one. Had it stood straight, it would have been about a foot shorter than a night elf, but at least twice as broad. Clearly the beast was a creature of brute strength, for never had she seen such musculature. It amazed Tyrande that even with spells cast upon the cage the prisoner had not simply bent the bars aside and escaped.

The other looked akin more to a statue, a statue of some ancient warrior king brought to life. The metal panels of its armor looked to be made of blue-green scales. Its helmet fully enclosed its head, a snarling reptilian creature made up the crest of the helmet. It was as tall as a night elf, but like the beast beside it, it was twice as broad. Though it was impossible to tell how much of its bulk was its armor.

Only its occasional small movement, far too organic to be a golem, and the flutter of its maroon half-cape, gave away the fact that it was not, in fact, a statue.

A high-caste onlooker suddenly prodded the stooped beast with his golden staff which caused renewed fury within. The night elf barely pulled his stick out of reach of the thick, meaty paws. The creature's squat, round-jawed face contorted as it snarled its anger. It likely would have managed to snag the staff if not for the thick chains around its wrists, ankles, and neck. The heavy chains were not only the reason it stayed stooped, but also why it could never deal with the bars, even supposing it had the strength and resolve.

From horror and disgust, Tyrande's emotions shifted to pity. Both the temple and Cenarius had taught her respect for life, even that which seemed at first only monstrous. The green-hided creature wore primitive garments, which meant that it—or he, in most probability—had some semblance of intelligence. It was not right, then, that he be set up for show like some animal.

Two empty brown bowls indicated that the prisoner had at least been given some sustenance, but from his massive frame, the novice priestess suspected it was not nearly enough. She turned to the sentry. "He needs more food and water."

"I've been given no orders for such, sister," the sentry respectfully replied, his eyes ever on the crowd.

"That shouldn't require orders."

Tyrande was rewarded with a slight shrug. "The elders haven't decided what to do with it yet. Maybe they don't think it'll need any more food or drink, sister."

His suggestion repulsed her. Night elf justice could be very draconian. "If I bring some sustenance for him, will you attempt to stop me?"

Now the soldier looked uncomfortable. "You really shouldn't, sister. That beast's just as liable to tear your arm off and gnaw on that instead of whatever fare you bring. You would be wise to leave it alone."

"I shall take my chances."

"Sister—" But before he could try to talk her out of it, Tyrande had already turned away.

She headed directly for the nearest food merchant, seeking a jug of water and a bowl of soup. The creature in the cage looked fairly carnivorous, so she also decided upon a bit of fresh meat. The proprietor refused to charge her, a benefit of her calling, so she gave him the blessing she knew he wanted, then thanked him and returned to the square.

Apparently already bored, much of the crowd had dissipated by the time Tyrande reached the center. That, at least, made it easier for her to confront the prisoner. He glanced up as the novice priestess approached, at first clearly marking her as just one more jaded gawker. Only when he saw what Tyrande held did he take more interest. He sat up as best he could considering his chains, deep-set eyes warily watching her under the thick, bushy brow.

Tyrande judged him to be toward the latter half of his life, for his hair had grayed and his brutish visage bore the many marks and scars of a harsh existence. Just beyond what she calculated to be his reach, the young night elf hesitated. Out of the corner of her eye, Tyrande noted the sentry taking cautious interest in her actions. She understood that he would use his spear to gut the creature if it made any attempt to harm her.

Tyrande hoped it would not come to that. It would be the most terrible of ironies if her intent to aid a suffering being led to its death. With grace and care, she knelt before the bars. "Do you understand me?" He grunted, then finally nodded. "I've brought you something." She held out the bowl of soup first. The wary eyes, so different from her own, fixed upon the bowl. She could read the calculation in them.

Once they flickered ever so briefly in the direction of the nearest guard. The right hand closed, then opened again. Slowly, ever so slowly, he stretched forth the hand. As it neared her own, Tyrande saw how huge and thick it really was, massive enough to envelop both of hers without difficulty. She pictured the strength inherent in it and almost pulled the offering back. Then with a gentleness that surprised her, the prisoner took the bowl from her grasp, placing it securely in front of him and eyeing her expectantly.

His acceptance made her smile, but he did not respond in kind. Slightly more at ease, Tyrande handed him next the meat, then, lastly, the jug of water. When he had all three safely tucked near, the green-skinned behemoth began to eat. He swallowed the contents of the bowl in one huge gulp, some of the brownish liquid spilling over his jaw.

The piece of meat followed, thick, jagged, yellow teeth ripping away at the raw flesh without hesitation. Tyrande swallowed, but did not otherwise show her discomfort at the prisoner's monstrous manners. Under such conditions, she might have acted little better than he. A few onlookers watched this activity as they might have a minstrel act, but Tyrande ignored them. She waited patiently as he continued to devour his meal.

Away went every bit of meat on the bone, which the creature then broke in two and sucked on the marrow with such gusto that the remainder of the crowd—their fine sensibilities disturbed by the animalistic sight—finally left. As the last of them departed, he suddenly dropped the bone fragments and, with a startling deep chuckle, reached for the jug. Not once had his eyes strayed from the novice priestess for more than a second. When the water was gone, he wiped his wide mouth with his arm and grunted, "Good."

To hear an actual word startled Tyrande even though she had assumed earlier that if he understood, then he could also speak. It made her smile again and even risk leaning against the bars, an act that at first brought anxiety to the sentries.

"Sister!" cried one of the guards. "You shouldn't be so near! He'll tear—"

"He'll do nothing," she quickly assured them. Glancing at the creature, she added, "Will you?"

He shook his head and drew his hands close to his chest as a sign. The sentries backed away, but remained watchful. Ignoring them once more, Tyrande asked, "Do you want anything else? More food?"

"No."

She paused, then said, "My name is Tyrande. I am a priestess of Elune, the Mother Moon."

The figure in the cage seemed disinclined to continue the conversation, but when he saw that she was determined to wait him out, he finally responded, "Brox…Broxigar. Sworn servant to the Warchief Thrall, ruler of the orcs."

Tyrande tried to make sense of what he had said. That he was a warrior was obvious by his appearance. He served some leader, this Thrall. A name in some ways more curious than his own, for she understood its meaning and therefore understood the contrary nature of a ruler so titled. And this Thrall was lord of the orcs, which Tyrande assumed must be what Brox was. The teachings of the temple were thorough, but never had she heard there or anywhere else of a race called the orcs. Certainly, if they were all like Brox, they would have been well remembered by the night elves. She decided to delve deeper. "Where are you from, Brox? How did you get here?"

Immediately Tyrande realized that she had erred. The orc's eyes narrowed and he clamped his mouth shut. How foolish of her not to think that the Moon Guard had already questioned him…and without the courtesy that she had shown so far. Now he must have thought that she had been sent to learn by kindness what they had failed to gain by force and magic. Clearly desiring an end to their meeting, Brox picked up the bowl and held it toward her, his expression dark and un-trusting.

Tyrande held her sigh, disappointed at herself for her misstep. She smiled at Broxigar. "I'll try to come by later."

The orc grunted.

As she stood to leave. A grating, growling, unnatural sound froze her in her tracks, the unnatural rumble making a spike of ice-cold fear travel up and down her spine.

[Priest-tess. I would have a word.] Said the huge statue, making her jump and the guards' hands tighten on their spears.

"It can talk!?" one of them whispered.

Tyrande found her voice, it had been standing so placidly she'd all but forgotten it was there. "Pardon?"

[Priest-tess.] It repeated, its voice oddly tilted and accented. [I would have a word with you.]

Tyrande approached the cage.

"Take care sister!" one of the guards said. "It broke a nightsaber's jaw bare handed."

That bit of news gave Tyrande pause, but something in its voice compelled her to approach. The moment she was close, it spoke.

[Go to your leaders, priest-tess, gather your women, your children, and your infirm. You must flee to the south.] It said without preamble. [It is the only chance you have to mitigate the coming slaughter.]

Tyrande blinked. She wasn't certain what she'd expected, but such a dire warning was definitely not it. "Why? What is going to cause this slaughter?"

The guards whispered angrily among themselves.

[Your leaders are as infants playing with explosives. They send a flare through the void and invite the attention of monstrous beings they scarce comprehend.] It said, its hands balling up into fists. [The way is not only open, it is now self-sustaining. The tragedy can no longer be prevented, only endured. Tell all you can. When they come, I will hold this square.

[I do not offer safety, for that is no longer viable. But I vow not a single monster will get past me. They'll be forced to use the non-arterial routes out of this place, unless the people flee immediately, that'll have to be enough. If they flee south, they'll soon encounter my brother, and our brides, any who reach them will be granted a modicum of safety.]

Tyrande tried to make sense of all she'd been told. "But, you haven't said what is coming."

It, or, considering it had kin and, apparently, wives, he shook his head. [I lack the words in your tongue, Priest-tess, I cannot explain, but I can show you. But to do so, you must allow me to place my hands upon your brow.]

Tyrande considered, its warning sounded dire, but also comical, like those night elves who had something wrong with their minds and prophesied doom.

But none of them were giants in otherworldly armor fit for a king.

"Don't sister! It's likely a trick!" The guard's shouted warning was the first inkling Tyrande had that she'd stepped forward, within the reach of the armored man.

He raised his arms and pushed them forward, but the bars of his cage were fitted more tightly together, his wrists unable to get through them.

"Oh." Tyrande said in a mixture of relief and dismay.

[A minor inconvenience, Priest-tess.] arcane runes surrounded the figure, there were five simultaneous shouts as the guards were all flung away. They immediately rushed back, their swords, spears, and fists slamming against an invisible barrier. A great ball fire splashing harmlessly across the transparent surface of the spell.

The armored man took hold of the bars, the metal squealing as he firmed his grip. Then, with sudden violence, the bars of the entire side of the cage bent as if they were made of wet clay.

Tyrande realized, late as the realization came, that this being had never once been trapped. He had merely indulged the Night Elves like a grown man letting a child win at wrestling.

She did not realize she'd backed away until she felt her back strike something smooth.

She looked fearfully at the armored man, and realized he hadn't exited the cage, merely extended his arms, his palms open in a perversely innocent invitation.

[Hurry, Priest-tess, every second is precious.] He said.

Tyrande swallowed.

But the Mother Moon would not sent her here without reason.

Tyrande ignored the muffled entreaties of the guards and, she belatedly realized, Illidan. And stepped forward into the armored man's arms.

His hands settled around her head in a surprisingly gentle hold.

[Relax, Priest-tess, try not to fight me as I share that which you must see. Feel my presence, my will. My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts.] There was a mechanical 'thunk!' as the rubies that were the helmet's eyes retreated into the helm, and Tyrande found herself staring at a pair of eyes, so much like her own yet not. One glowed a protective cerulean blue, the other an aggressive vermilion green. [Look into my eyes.]

Tyrande was no longer in the Suramar square. She was in the streets of her people's magnificent capital, Zin Ashari.

But its splendor was tarnished.

Everywhere she looked, she beheld devastation. The streets ran red with blood, entrails were strewn across windows and roofs in a sick parody of decorations. She saw bodies of Night Elves ignored where they'd fallen.

Men, women, the elderly.

Children.

None had been spared.

Everywhere she looked there were corpses, men who had been cut down as they protected their families. Women stabbed through the back as they fled. Children made to die by hanging, the entrails of their parents used as a sick imitation of a rope.

There was a scream. Tyrande ran, and saw a hulking creature made of stone, green flame, and sickly sinew holding a young woman in the air by her hair, it had pushed a dagger between her legs and was dragging it up a torturous inch at a time, it twisted the implement as it tortured the helpless Night Elf.

"Stop it!" She screamed, rushing forward even as every fiber of her being told her to run.

The monster turned malevolently glowing red eyes upon her.

And she stumbled back and fell to her knees, the streets of Suramar slamming into being around her. She leaned to the side with just enough time to empty her stomach without ruining her dress.

As she did, the magical lights that illuminated Suramar flickered and died.

[It has begun.] The being said, the scream of tortured metal resounding again as it contemptuously fixed the iron bars of the cage that 'held' him. [Go, priest-tess, save who you can. I will hold this square, for as long as I can.]

Tyrande knew not what to do, but she only wasted a few seconds before she was up and running toward the temple.

"These demons will destroy all life, from the macro to the microbial. They'll salt every field and pollute every body of water so life can never again take hold. Then they'll move on."

Cenarius rumbled deep in his throat as the so called 'Human' girl finished her explanation and fell quiet.

He had felt the rumblings, the magic in the air roiling, Azeroth itself heaving in seeming dread as something came.

He finally had a surprisingly thorough explanation as to what that something was.

"And you are certain of this?" He asked, rubbing his chin and narrowing his eyes at the minute mortal before him.

The 'human' was taller than a Gnome, far too svelte and fleshy to be one of the Earthen, but much too short to be a Night Elf. She was a creature he had never seen before, her kind had never walked on the face of Kalimdor, of that he was certain.

But Azeroth welcomed her presence, and as such, so did he. Her gift of knowledge, too, was welcome.

"As certain as we can be." She answered, the blue of her eyes as cold as the ice they so resembled. "My companions make more direct preparations to battle the demonic legions. I was sent to warn the local powers."

She bowed at the waist, her waist-length hair, black as a raven's wing forming a veil that hid her face. "Thus, I implore you, Lord of the Forest. Please grant me a meeting with the dragoness, Ye-zera. The dragon flights must be informed, and I have been entrusted with the task of answering any question they might have regarding the terrible threat this world faces."

He rumbled once again, not bothering to correct the mortal's pronunciation, for a mortal who had not spoken a word of his tongue at the start of their conversation, she was doing quite well. He sank to his knees, getting as close to level with the tiny mortal as he could. "Tell me, little emissary. Why do you work so fervently in the defense of this realm? As you said, it is not your world. What stake do you and yours have on the outcome of this terrible situation?"

The child stood to her full, unimpressive height, and for the first time, Cenarius took in her eyes, the true depth of them.

Eyes that spoke of loss, of pain, of the desire for mercy callously denied.

"Because, Lord of the Forest." The mortal woman said, her face as severe as the cliffs and her voice cold as the ice her eyes resembled. "I was hurt, hurt very badly by a repulsive creature that was worse than these demons. It hurt me very deeply, for a very long time. Until someone rescued me and cleansed that monster from the world." Her hands balled up into fists. "I swore, to myself, for no longer do I believe in a benevolent higher power. That so long as I breathe, I would not allow another to be hurt the way I was."

Her eyes flashed. The air around her quivering with power. "I will meet the dragons one way or another. I will thwart the demons and save the lives of as many as I can. Your aid would be welcome, as for every second I take, more lives will be lost."

Cenarius rocked back, a small part of him offended at the lack of respect this mortal had shown him.

The rest was disappointed their paths had not crossed early enough for him to teach her in the ways of druidism. She would have made an outstanding defender.

"My aid you shall receive, little Mortal. Fret not. But a meeting is all I can assure."

Kur'talos Ravencrest took note of the retreating young priestess and her plainly dressed companion, and did what he could to bury his anger at the useless Moon Guard sorcerer. "What do you mean you can't move the cages?"

Whether due to bravery or obliviousness, the sorcerer seemingly failed to recognize Ravencrest's rising ire. "They are simply immovable, we suspect it is a spell cast by the one in armor."

"Then dig the cages out from below if you have to!" Ravencrest demanded, barely holding onto the last thread of his patience.

"We already tried." The sorcerer said, putting a damper on Ravencrest's ire. "Parts of the cages are now levitating, and are solid as a rock. Whatever effect is sealing off the access to the Well is certainly not aiding things."

Ravencrest decided to stop beating around the bush and walked to the source of his frustrations. Ignoring the cries of his men to be careful.

He stopped before the cage of the armored being, the beast in the other cage, while concerning, would not have the ability to cast so complex a sorcery as to stump the Moon Guard. "You, I know the cage cannot contain you, I also know you have suborned its enchantments. You remain in that cage by choice, why is that?"

The armored being turned its crimson gaze upon him. [When the demons come, I shall hold this square. When those who can evacuate have, I shall drive my spear toward the heart of the infestation, and cut it out at the source.] It repeated the same statement, though this time, it added one last entreaty. [If you wish to protect your people. Make your way south, find my brother, War. He, and our brides, will aid you in safeguarding your people.]

Ravencrest narrowed his eyes. "A fanciful tale. What you describe is impossible. A portal such as that would not go unnoticed by the Queen!"

The eyes of the being's helmet flashed in seeming annoyance. [Believe what you will, Night Elf. The facts are what they are. The sooner you act, the more of your people will survive the coming holocaust.]

Ravencrest scoffed. He considered what to do with the two intruders into the domain of the Night Elves.

That was when a blood stained Night Elf, dressed in the tattered remnants of the Zin Ashari city guard stumbled into the square.

He fell, and crawled the rest of the way to Ravencrest on hands and knees. "Milord Ravencrest! Zin Ashari, it has fallen to monsters!"

Ravencrest stood stunned for three whole seconds before snapping. "And what of the palace, man!"

The exhausted Night Elf's face crumpled. "My Lord. They came from the palace. The Palace guards looked from the walls as the city was razed around them, never once answering our calls for aid."

Ravencrest took in that information, and turned to his men. "Declare an evacuation of the city under my authority. Form a minimal guard for the civilians, the rest of the city's warriors will come with me."

"Sir?" His men asked, perplexed.

"You have your orders!" He snapped, sending his men scurrying. He turned back to the armored intruder. "I have given the order to evacuate the city, will you offer aid in assaulting the capital instead of waiting here?"

[I shall.] It said, both cages falling apart as if they'd been held together by string. It walked to the creature. [Orc, what is your name?]

"Brox…Broxigar."

The armored sorcerer/warrior pulled a massive half-moon axe out of nowhere, it was plain, with a wicked spike on the side opposite the blade. Masterfully made, and it had numerous effigies with tubes running throughout the haft. It held the weapon out to the beast.

[Use this. In exchange for your freedom and this weapon, I wish you to guard the Priest-tess and her friend that were here earlier. I foresee that they will be of immense importance to put a stop to the Legion.]

The beast took the proffered weapon with a look of reverence on its atavistic face. As it settled its grip upon the weapon, its head burst into crackling lightning along its blade. The beast looked into the eyes of the armored warrior. "As you command, Lord of War. They shall suffer no harm so long as blood yet flows in my veins."

[Good.] It held something else out at the beast. [If you require any assistance, press upon that. Aid will arrive.] It turned to Ravencrest. [I will follow along with you, Night Elf Lord. We shall battle this infestation together.]

Ravencrest huffed. At least this creature would be useful, as it seemed largely unaffected by the lack of the Well of Eternity.

Illidan Stormrage watched in amazement as the mighty Sorcerer, Alpharius, unleashed a tornado of flame that left the ground, grass, and trees untouched, yet reduced dozens of demons to ash and smoke.

He strode undaunted, matching the speed of the Elven Nightsabers while on foot. Marching night after night without seeming to tire. His power such that it seemed unaffected by being unable to draw from the Well.

Illidan was the only other spellcaster in Lord Ravencrest's growing host who could consistently cast useful spells. The Moon Guard Sorcerers were crippled by their inability to draw from the Well. But his efforts paled in comparison to the elder spellcaster. He fell upon the demons with spell and spear, and a weapon unlike any he'd ever seen roaring death at the demons, tearing them apart from within.

A group of huge demons armored in bronze and wielding swords taller than most Night Elves fell upon the left flank of the host. Alpharius turned and held his hand out, a torrent of lightning poured out of his fingers, weaving between the Night Elven host without touching a single one, and fell upon the demons, making them scream in agony as their armor turned molten and their fiery skin blackened into charcoal.

The Elven host cheered, their spirits soaring at the overwhelming display of magical might. Only Ravencrest and a few of his advisors did not cheer. The Lord had coincidentally ran into Illidan as he'd been walking through Suramar two nights before and recruited him for the push toward Zin Ashari.

As it was, Illidan struggled to be of any use, Alpharius' displays of magical might were simply awe inspiring, and more than enough to push back the demonic hordes.

A pack of monstrous canines, their form an obscene mixture of wolf and reptile, jumped out of the woodwork and fell upon Alpharius, a pair of unnatural tentacles on the back of each of the monstrosities latching onto him and sucking away at his magic.

Illidan had seen what those could do, a number of the Moon Guard left behind as desiccated corpses, sucked dry of their magic. Illidan prepared a spell to aid the foreigner, but out of the corner of his eye, Illidan saw a demonic warlock preparing a spell while glaring balefully at Alpharius.

Illidan spoke words of vile power, the warlock's own shadow turned against him, reaching up with inky tentacles that wrapped around his neck, strangling his spell in its infancy. The warlock fought them as best he could, but could do nothing against their inexorable pressure as they tore skin, muscle, and bone.

Paying no more heed to the headless corpse of the Warlock, Illidan turned to aid Alpharius, only to see the foreigner surrounded by a field of butchered hellhounds. His monstrous weapon with which he smote from afar held in his hand, aimed at where the Warlock used to be.

His aim shifted, there was a ball of flame from the weapon and a booming report, and a demon died.

Alpharius turned to Illidan. The lenses of his helmet seemingly glaring into Illidan's golden, fate-marked orbs. Illidan wondered for an instant if they concealed disdain at his attempt of aid.

Alpharius nodded, and lifted his weapon at Illidan in a casual salute, then turned back the skirmish.

Illidan felt his chest swell with pride, and threw himself harder against the demons. The host halted as day broke, the Night Elves made camp, but Alpharius, integral as he was to their effort, remained an outsider.

Where he set himself to rest, a wide berth was given by the Night Elves around him.

Illidan made his way to the void and the superior Sorcerer, there he sat on a large rock, staring into a hearty, dancing bonfire.

The fire burned several inches above the ground, seemingly without a fuel source, and gave off little heat.

Illidan waited to be acknowledged. The wait was interminable, but eventually, Alpharius' eye lenses turned to regard him.

Illidan could feel a need to explain himself, he squashed the urge to grovel and said. "Please, Master Alpharius, teach me!"

Alpharius remained inscrutably silent for a long moment, making Illidan feel the sting of rejection.

[Sit.] Alpharius said, gesturing at the ground opposite him.

Illidan sat, not daring to hope.

[I know not where in your education you are.] Alpharius said, once again staring at the flames. [Nor do we have the time for me to be as thorough as I would prefer. You are strong, resourceful, capable. Unlike the Moon Guard, you have cultivated your own power, rather than allow it to atrophy by over reliance on the crutch of the Well.]

Illidan felt his chest swell further with pride. He chose not to divulge that his practice at not using the Well, came from his aborted study under Cenarius, his brother's Shan'do. Were it not for that, while he doubted he'd be quite as useless as the Moon Guard, he'd still not be quite as able as he was now.

[Yet you are also arrogant, brash, and wasteful.]

Illidan deflated and bit his tongue to keep from lashing out at the foreigner.

[Tell me Illidan. What is best. To kill an enemy with a precisely applied pinprick. Or with the blow of a sledgehammer?]

Illidan blinked at the change of topic. His own answer would be the sledgehammer, for that showed off his might. But considering he'd just been called brash and wasteful… "The pinprick? To conserve as much strength as possible."

[Trick question.] Alpharius said. [The answer is whichever way best suits your needs at the time. Take for example, the Eredar Warlock you slew. His death was horrific, excruciating, and magically costly. Were we fighting a normal foe, such an attack would have demoralized the other fighters, making them more likely to route, and would have made fear intrude upon the concentration of other casters. Were that the case, your attack would have been a worthwhile trade, fully worth the expense.

[But we are not fighting a conventional foe. Demons have no fear of death, no camaraderie, no morale worth speaking of. They will fight until they die and will only retreat to lure you into an ambush. Under our current circumstances, because you spent yourself on that one spell, there were five other Warlocks you could have taken down that were left to rampage until someone else took them down.]

Illidan frowned but could not refute that claim. And now that he thought of it, his action had been foolish. The renown he had claimed for himself with Lord Ravencrest would be much greater had he killed six Warlocks, instead of spectacularly killing one.

The rank and file would hold him in awe, but his patron cared only for results.

[Now, study this flame, what can you tell me about it?]

Illidan focused, it was fire, clearly magical in nature. It wasn't very hot, but it could probably be used for cooking. There really was nothing special to the flame, to his senses it didn't even register as…magical.

"How is this possible?" He hissed. "It's…it's clearly a result of sorcery, yet to all of my senses, it is entirely mundane fire!"

[Control.] Alpharius said. [I feed it just enough power for it to exist, not an iota more. What you are searching for is the waste residue that is left unburnt. Nonexistent here. You will practice until you can imitate this feat. Not in full, as that will take years. But once you are satisfied with your progress, you may return. I shall impart your next lesson then.]

Illidan stared, stood, and bowed. "I thank you for your instruction."

He retreated three steps before turning and leaving to find a quiet spot to practice.

Neltharion The Earth Warder flew into the Chamber of the Aspects, the enormous circular edifice where they held their most important gatherings.

'They know, they know and will kill you!' Hissed one of his voices.

'They know naught. They're all fooled.' Growled another.

'They come to speak of the Threat. We can use this for our designs.' Sibilated a third.

There were more, each so familiar he no longer thought of them as anything but his own.

'What is that small creature next to Yzera?' He wondered.

It was mortal, clearly, but not a mortal like he'd ever seen. It lacked reptilian features, making it more difficult to figure out. He would guess it was mammalian, judging by its curved frame and, as far as he could determine due to the lack of external reproductive organs, it was likely female. This hypothesis was further aided by the signs of external secondary sexual characteristics that seemed to be largely universal among the mortal races.

Then again, for all he knew, this particular branch of Mortality had managed to evolve the very basic advantage of keeping their reproductive organs inside where they'd be best protected, only extruding them when ready to mate.

"I am here!" He rumbled with false joviality.

"Fashionably late as always!" Malygos said with an easy grin.

"Then it is best we get started." Yzera said, pushing the tiny mortal (a stretched-out gnome, perhaps?) forward.

Alextrasza shook her head. "I would prefer it if we could give Nozdormu more time."

Malygos barked a laugh. "Give the Timeless One more time! I'll be sure to tell him that jest!"

Neltharion feigned a laugh. "And you'll be sure to torment him with it time and time again."

"HAH!"

"Nozdormu is not coming." The little mortal said with grim finality, causing a ringing silence to envelop the Aspects. "I'm afraid to say, that according to my group's readings, he is the only thing holding the local space-time from unraveling into Primordial Chaos due to the Night Elves' reckless and suicidal ritual. They've made a vortex that connects to what is known as The Burning Legion."

'She knows! She must die!'

'The Great Calamity Comes! We must ensure our survival!'

'Kill! Kill! Kill!'

'Slurp her up! Slurp her up and learn her secrets!'

'Accelerate all plans! We must be ready!'

The beldam in Neltharion's head was such that it took nearly everything he had to keep signs of his internal strife from showing. It was all he could do to look attentive, he had nothing left to pay actual attention as the tiny mortal expounded on her statements and answered questions.

The more information she gave, the more Neltharion's thoughts calmed.

This was fine, he could make use of this to further his ends.

"The Night Elves mount a counterattack. But according to my leader, it won't be enough. He is with them now but feels that the Demons merely marshal their strength. Leading the army on to whichever killing field will best suit them." The little mortal said. "The dragons must become involved. Otherwise, all life on the planet will be extinguished. Down to the smallest germ."

"A most terrible thing indeed." Malygos said. "To think such a terrible working got past me, I am ashamed."

"It would have blindsided any of us." Neltharion said reflexively. "Do not blame yourself, Malygos."

There was another protracted silence, broken by the little mortal. "May I request a boon from you, in payment for bringing you this information?"

The dragons blinked and turned to the little mortal. The sheer temerity of this one.

Malygos laughed, his good humor returning. "Ask, little mortal. If it is within my power, I will grant it!"

"In my homeland, we had tales of dragons. Great Leviathans of might and magic who could soar through the skies like birds." She said, gazing at each in turn before her eyes settled on Neltharion. "I was not ready for how magnificent you'd be in truth. I would ask to be allowed to touch you, to remember this day."

As Malygos laughed more, Neltharion met the little mortal's eye. And was stunned.

He could recognize the fevered, hidden fire in her eyes, the same he saw on his own whenever he stared at his own reflection.

This was no ordinary mortal; this was a kindred spirit! One who knew what it was like not to have a moment of peace in one's own mind!

He reached out for the little mortal; no other would be worthy of providing her this boon.

She smiled and gently placed her hand upon the claw that out massed her whole body.

"Magnificent." She whispered.

He felt a pinprick of heat from where she touched him, but his senses picked up nothing untoward.

"Thank you," she said. Retrieving her hand and putting away a ring he hadn't seen before.

He snorted. "A minor cost in exchange for the warning you have given."

She smiled and bowed. "As My Lord says."

Brox waited, standing next to the two shamans. The male having entered a Spirit Dream in an attempt to undo whatever shield stopped the other Night Elves from casting magic. The female caring for her unconscious friend for three days and nights straight.

Brox felt it was safe to say that whatever effort the male shaman had done, had ended in failure.

He wondered if it would be best to end his suffering. One swing of his axe would do it. A quick mercy-kill preferable over a long, lingering decline.

But…there was something he hadn't tried. He pulled out the device the Lord of War had given him. Recalling his instructions, and judging this situation to be the exactly what he'd been given this for, he pressed the button.

Nothing seemed to happen.

"Oh my, that's not good at all." Said a soft voice behind him.

He whirled around, axe held defensively. And saw the smallest human he'd ever seen, she was a slip of a thing, dressed in a purple one-piece dress, her hair white as snow and skin pale as milk, her eyes were crimson, but looked natural rather than demonic.

He wasn't the best at guessing human ages, but he'd bet his axe she was just into her womanhood, not far from a child.

She smiled at him without concern of the weapon in his hand, she did not see him as a threat, and he had a sudden premonition that she had good reason for that.

"Hey, I'm Illya, one of the brides of War and Alpharius." She leaned to the side just enough to peek past him. "And that must be the reason you called for backup."

"Erm…yes," what does one call the mate of the Warchief of another tribe, who is also barely more than a child? "Bride of the Lords of War."

She blinked at him; her girlish giggle was like the tinkling of a bell. "Oh, they'd like that a little too much."

"Broxigar? Who is that?" Asked the girl shaman, having stepped away from her mate.

He looked helplessly back and forth between them, trying to think of a way to explain, then gave up. "She's here to help."

The human girl smiled. "Oh wow, she wasn't kidding when she said your skin color was pretty."

The girl shaman halted. "Erm…thank you?"

The human girl's smile had a hint of the predatory before she flitted past him to the man shaman. "Well let's see here…yup, his mind and soul are not in his body. Gonna have to do something about that…"

As the girl/child began issuing instructions, Broxigar did as he was told.

He'd leave the mysteries of Shamans to the Shamans. One tended to live longer that way.

"Hold! You will hold!" Lord Ravencrest shouted, he turned to one of his generals. "Shore up the right flank! Send in the reserves, if the flank collapses now it'll turn into a route! Sorcerer! Support the left flank!"

"Aye, my Lord!" Illidan said, he threw his hand to the side, made a spark, and forced air into it, creating a large conflagration that engulfed the demons behind the front in that flank, relieving the Night Elves defenders.

He would never again make the mistake of hurting one of his own. For Alpharius' wrath was mighty indeed, and Illidan felt no desire to be its recipient ever again.

His tutelage under Shan'do Alpharius had seen him thrive as a Sorcerer. He'd never realized how wasteful he'd been until it was pointed out to him. Learning to cast a flame without wasted magical energy had made him the mockery of the Moon Guard, but he'd persevered, unwilling to believe Alpharius would make him waste his time.

His faith in his Shan'do had been richly rewarded.

His reserves had grown a little since his tutelage began a few nights ago, but the strict and demanding lessons Alpharius imparted, as well as the grueling pace of the daily and nightly skirmishes against the demons, had catapulted Illidan's skills. Where before he'd exhaust himself after a score of spells, now he could cast for the duration of a battle.

He was nowhere near his Shan'do, of course, he seemed to be arcane power given flesh.

The assaults by the demons only ever grew in intensity. The warriors of the Night Elves relieving stricken refugees, and absorbing whatever warriors accompanied the fleeing civilians.

With the Moon Guard being largely useless, Lord Ravencrest had been quick to notice Illidan's skill and might and appointed him as Ravencrest's personal sorcerer. A position nearly equal in privilege to the Moon Guard, as he answered only to his Patron, and Queen Ashara.

That Alpharius believed the Queen had betrayed her people to the demons, he wisely kept to himself. While he suspected his Shan'do was correct, the idea that Queen Ashara, Light of Lights, had betrayed them, would shatter the host's morale.

It certainly didn't help that something seemed to have changed in the Demonic ranks, their latest assault seemed almost desperate in its intensity, as if they were doing all they could to break the back of the host before they could interrupt some important work.

Alpharius himself was in the thick of the fighting. In the front. It was safe to say that his Shan'do was the only reason the front hadn't collapsed yet. With every step he took, a score of demons died to his spear, with every breath, dozens of demons died to his unending magical attacks. And yet it was only a matter of time before the Night Elves were overrun behind him.

But as the right flank buckled further. Illidan despaired that his Shan'do could only be in one place at a time. Without waiting to be ordered, Illidan sent a flurry of ice spears at the demons in the right flank, impaling dozens and turning the ground they trod treacherous. But it would not be enough.

[Fear Naught!] His Shan'do's voice, full of exaltation, thundered through the battlefield and his mind, granting him strength and buoying his spirit. [War has arrived!]

From the skies came a sound unlike any Illidan had ever heard. It was a base rumble akin to the creaking of a chariot. It was the whinny of a wild and wrathful stallion. It was the roar of a dragon.

From the skies descended a fiery equine form, a rider covered in metal plate and wearing a tattered red cloak holding onto the beast of brimstone and rage that at any other time, Illidan would have assumed to be a demon, an enormous red blade in the rider's hand.

Riding behind him was a slight form in blue, a golden light in its own hand. The blue form fell from the creature. Illidan wondered if it had been struck from the back of the animal, but where it landed, a shockwave of magical energy turned dozens of demons to caustic pulp, a war cry that surprised him as it could only come from a woman, rang out across the battlefield as she joined his Shan'do and fought back-to-back with him.

To Illidan's astonishment, she outpaced him in the murder of their foes.

The rider fell upon the demons of the right flank, even the largest Felguard falling trampled under the beast's merciless hooves, each swing of the enormous red blade cleaving through a score of demons, from the least to the greatest.

The rider, who could only be his Shan'do's brother, War, stretched out a hand, a terrible miasma fell from it, and for lack of a better word, liquefied large swathes of the enemy.

The battle teetered on the precipice. The demons pushed back, yet unbroken. It seemed that not even the addition of two beings who could match the titanic might of Alpharius was enough to truly turn the tide.

And then Illidan felt the might of the Well of Eternity restored to him.

With an exultant cry, he conjured a field of dark energy, caustic tentacles reaching out of the demons' own shadows and strangling them until their heads popped off their shoulders, at the same time, the Moon Guard found themselves no longer impotent and rained fire and ice upon their enemies.

The morale of the demons shattered, as victory was snatched from them on the very cusp of their success. Nonetheless, they fought to the last.

Cheers went up along the Night Elven lines, as his Shan'do's brother met up with Alpharius and he could only assume, the mate of one of them.

Illidan made his way forward, along with Lord Ravencrest and the gaggle of nobles that often hung around him.

Alpharius turned and acknowledged Illidan, Ravencrest, and Ravencrest's advisors with a nod. [Illidan, Ravencrest. You've heard of my brother, War. This is Saber, one of our brides.]

The small woman who looked like and unlike a very small, unhealthily pale Night Elf stood to her full unimpressive height, and began to berate his Shan'do. "You were supposed to call for backup before things got dire!"

[Sorry, dear, it won't happen again.] Alpharius said meekly.

"Comeon Saber, he said he's sorry." War said.

The woman narrowed her emerald green eyes at him, her expression hard as marble and her eyes cold as ice. War gulped and turned away, not meeting her eyes.

Illidan blinked. Did…were the two of them mated to the same woman?

No…he said brides, plural.

His Shan'do and his brother had multiple Mates they shared with each other.

He'd always assumed it was something lost in translation, as Kaldorei was not his Shan'do's native tongue.

"Barbaric." One of Ravencrest's advisors muttered, earning him a withering glare from the noble.

War snorted, his voice a smooth baritone. "You have your ways, Night Elf. We have ours." He strode to his brother, and the two clasped forearms before he spoke. "The Legion has spread into Tauren, Troll, and Dwarven territory. The girls and I are doing what we can to hinder them and weld the disparate factions into an alliance, but it's slow going."

[I will continue my efforts here. If I can make it into the city, into the place where they're casting the spell. I can put an end to this.]

The woman, Saber, sighed. "I still do not like this gamble you are dead set on taking."

Illidan's Shan'do made a grating sound that Illidan realized was laughter, then reached up to remove his helmet. It lifted from his head with an unearthly hiss, as if it were a serpent angry at being disturbed.

The face of Alpharius was like that of his mate. Like and unlike a Night Elf's. His features were patrician, his hair and beard black, rather than the more usual greens or blues, and his eyes were brown. He smiled disarmingly down at his mate, her cheeks turning rosy at his expression. "You worry too much." He said and stole a quick kiss.

Her cheeks went from rosy to red, though War's hood cast his face into shadow, Illidan could make out a fond smile on his lips. He truly was not bothered that his brother had kissed his mate.

No…their mate.

Illidan felt the seed of an idea take root in his mind; he buried it for later study.

Lord Ravencrest cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt, but thank you for your aid, and further aid will be welcome."

War shook his head. "We cannot linger long, Ravencrest. We are acting as a rapid reaction force, yours is not the only front being attacked by the Daemons. Were we to linger here, the death toll among the other races of your continent will be catastrophic."

Before Ravencrest could object, War and Saber were once again sitting astride his monstrous mount. To Illidan's surprise, War turned to look at him. "Brother, I see you've picked up another stray."

His glib tone made Illidan's hackles rise.

Alpharius, now wearing his helmet, nodded. [He has proven an adequate student.]

War laughed. "You hear that, mage boy? You are adequate." Illidan forced himself to remain calm, it would not do to attack his Shan'do's kin. "Don't let his sour mood fool you. Coming from him, that's high praise. He considers his own abilities 'merely satisfactory.' So, keep that in mind, eh?"

With that, he dug his heels into the brimstone beast's sides, and it took off into the air in hoofprints of fire.

[Always talking too much.] Alpharius said, then turned to Illidan. [And don't you go getting a big head. Don't think I didn't notice you drawing from the Well. Remember, it remains but a tool in your workings. If you slack on your training, I will be very disappointed.]

"I won't , Shan'do!" Illidan responded immediately.

Alpharius nodded and made his way to Lord Ravencrest. [We need to discuss forming an alliance with the other races of your world. It'll make for a worthwhile backup plan in case our assault on your capital stalls or fails.]

Ravencrest scowled. "And let those beasts into Night Elven lands? Utterly unconscionable!"

The air seemed to become thick, Illidan had difficulty breathing, several of Ravencrest's advisors gasped, one even fell to his knees.

Only Lord Ravencrest seemed unaffected, but the set of his jaw and the twitch of his hand toward the grip of his sword, gave away the truth of it.

Illidan momentarily feared a demon warlock had remained behind to spring upon them an ambush, but no, there was nothing magical to this pressure. Illidan could only be glad he was not the target of this all-too-familiar pressure.

What he felt, was his Shan'do's anger, always tightly leashed, rattling the bars of its cage.

Alpharius made no threatening movement, he did not use his bulk to intimidate, he did not curse or scream or make promises of dire retribution, as would the average Night Elf high born.

He did not need to.

[Very well, I shall not push the matter.] Alpharius stated, surprising Illidan at his easy acquiescence, that is, until he continued. [Pray, Ravencrest, that your hubris is not the cause for the failure of our effort. Make no mistake, if we fail, the Burning Legion will unleash their omnicidal wrath upon your world.] Alpharius turned and walked away, his voice somehow remaining clear, as if he were facing them. [I will ensure you live to regret your decision. You will be the last, not only of your race, but of your entire planet. The weight of every, single, life, all on your conscience. You will beg for death, Lord Ravencrest, and I shall not grant it. You will live, forevermore, with the weight of your decision and its consequences. This I vow.]

Ravencrest's hands shook in rage, but he did not dare antagonize the great warrior-sorcerer any further. The Night Elves could not afford for him to choose to go his own way.

Besides, if he did, Illidan might well follow. There were none among the Night Elves with the power and skill to match, let alone surpass his Shan'do, and it would not do for Illidan's education to be cut short.

Ravencrest seethed as his scouts reported a group of a couple hundred refugees being chased by a small band of demons. It was the perfect opportunity to raise the morale of his men with a swift and thorough victory, as well as the glory of saving civilians.

[It's bait.] Alpharius stated, stepping out of the air as he was wont to. [The daemons the scout saw could catch up to them literally at any time. The commander of the daemons has changed, we need to start thinking tactically and strategically. They'll no longer just throw bodies at us, now they're using terror tactics.]

"Nonsense." Ravencrest scoffed. "They've acted as little more than beasts so far. I will not allow my people to die needlessly."

Alpharius shook his head. [The civilians are already dead, they just haven't realized that fact, we need to set up to receive an attack, the Moon Guard can fire bombardment spells to curve the daemons' numbers. With luck, some civilians will make it to your lines, but this way we'll be ready to receive the daemonic ambush.]

"Absolutely not." Ravencrest stated. "I refuse to allow such a cowardly act!"

[If you do not do as I said, you'll be lucky if your army is only decimated.]

"We are engaging, and that's final." Ravencrest growled.

[Pray that I am wrong then.] Alpharius said and walked away in the direction of the front lines.

Ravencrest ground his teeth, then scoffed. The foreigner was a fool. The conditions were nearly perfect for his host. The night had just fallen, his men were rested and eager to fight. The only thing that might make it better, would be if the clouds parted and gave his men a more direct view of the Mother Moon.

He would not allow the words of a paranoid fool to sway him. Even if said fool happened to be powerful.

He ordered the assault, his host falling upon the demons with righteous anger, sending scores of them screaming into death, the civilians they rescued giving an exhausted cheer as many fell to their knees.

Still, Ravencrest did not allow his success to get to his head, he made sure his lines did not separate due to pushing too hard against the demons.

Then the clouds vanished, demonic warlocks riding on monstrous mounts brought down a firestorm upon his forces, rain that made armor and flesh alike run like wax, or miasmic clouds that made warriors engulfed by them vomit blood until they expired.

And that was before the scores of fiery green comets fell, and unfolded into towering earthen constructs, each of which killed multiple warriors with each swing of their boulder-like arms.

In less than twenty seconds, Ravencrest's host was cut down to nearly half its strength.

He tried to retake control of his army, but the Warlocks had targeted the Lieutenants and Sergeants specifically, disarray began, there would be no retreat, it was a matter of time before it became a route.

[IN THE NAME OF YOUR WIVES AND CHILDREN, YOU WILL HOLD!] Roared a voice he had come to severely dislike, moments before a torrent of lightning shot up into the flying Warlocks, the fury of the attack such that it turned the majority of them into foul vapor, the foreigner, shining like a star, stabbed deep into the ranks of the demons, slaughtering dozens. [IF YOU RUN, IT WILL BE YOUR CHILDREN WHO WILL FACE THEM NEXT! YOU WILL HOLD!]

Valorous warcries went up in the Night Elven lines, his host surged forward, trampling over the dead in their zeal to get to grips with the enemy. What was to be a route became a triumphant counterattack that crushed hundreds of the monsters that now only outnumbered them four to one.

That is, until a demon like no other appeared. A hulking four-legged creature, towering over all in the battle, it was a mixture of man, monster, and reptile, its skin rippled with each of its movements, on the verge of splitting, incapable of containing the might of the monster, it reared back and roared, its head covered in a mane of foul green flames, two obscenely large tusks jutting out of its skull.

It twirled an enormous two-headed spear, like and unlike the one favored by Alpharius. "The mighty Sargeras has demanded your presence, mortal. Surrender, and you'll be spared."

In response, Alpharius lifted the weapon that had so far claimed the life of even the toughest demons with a single shot and fired. For an instant, a streak of light connected the warrior-sorcerer and the demon. The explosion threw the demon's head back and made it take several steps back.

Ravencrest could scarcely believe his eyes as its head rolled forward, foul green blood falling in rivulets down its face. "Just for that, I will take your legs and eat them!"

[Fall back! Retreat!] Alpharius roared and threw himself forward. [I will hold them back!]

The demon laughed, bringing its weapon down in a mighty swing that, impossibly, Alpharius parried, bringing the other end of his spear to open a gash across the huge demon's belly, making it roar in pain.

[Retreat!] Alpharius repeated. [If you want to save your world, retreat and gather your strength!]

The demonic ranks closed around the Warrior-Sorcerer; he killed the lesser demons even as he fended off the great demon.

Ravencrest cursed and sounded the retreat, he'd made the mistake of not heeding the foreigner's advice once, it was not a mistake he would make again.

The men were reluctant, but the gap between them and their champion only widened as more demons joined the fray. The retreat began in earnest. The last Ravencrest saw of the brave foreigner, he yet battled the towering monster, now nearly matching it in height, due to fighting atop a mountain of demonic corpses.

Then he crested a hill and saw him no more.

Tyrande rode atop her Night Saber, her armor chafing, she drew back her bow and released an arrow that sunk into a demon's throat.

Broxigar rode next to her, occasionally cleaving that strange axe into demonic flesh.

The retreat had been going on for several days and nights. Not everyone had cleared out of Suramar, but thanks to Ravencrest's orders, many more had been able to evacuate, and with more and better supplies.

The news the soldiers brought were dire indeed. The foreigner in armor, a champion without compare, had sacrificed his life to buy the routed army time to retreat in good order.

Accounts of what had happened were many and confused. But the only things they all agreed on where that they'd been ambushed by an army of demons that came from nowhere, and the foreigner, a Warrior-Sorcerer of immense power, had fallen so they could live to fight another night.

The Sisterhood of Elune was now part of the army, which continued to retreat, now coming close to Black Rock Hold, Ravencrest's seat of power.

To the noble Night Elf's credit, he did not try to enter the storied fortress. It had not been built to house such a large army, let alone the civilians they protected and shepherded before them.

The current attack abated, and Tyrande automatically made her way to the triage stations, where she prayed for Elune to heal those who had been wounded during the fighting.

The ailments were horrific, more often than not coated in poisons or acids that complicated and slowed down the healing.

She lost herself to her task, forcing herself to heal just one more before taking her promised rest. She jumped when she felt herself lifted to her feet. "Whah?"

"Shaman, you are needed." Broxigar said.

"Needed?" She asked, confused.

"Indeed," said a Night Elf she did not recognize. "Some foreign…diplomats, have asked for your presence."

Now that she was not praying to the Mother Moon, Tyrande truly felt her fatigue. But she forced herself to nod and make her way to the place where the officer's quarters had been set up.

There she saw the human sorceress, Illya, along with a slightly older looking woman who shared many of her features, her older sister, perhaps.

Tyrande wondered at how tiny they all were. The tallest of them five and a half feet at most. A far cry from the seven foot average of the Night Elves.

The two humans stood together and conversed softly, clearly familiar with each other.

Once she looked away from the foreigners, Tyrande saw she was not the only one present who was not among the elite of those following Lord Ravencrest.

She made her way to Malfurion, calling out to him gratefully.

He was surprised to see her, his face flushing when he saw her in armor. "Tyrande? I was not aware the Sisterhood had joined the fighting."

Tyrande grinned. "You would do well not to forget the Mother Moon's aspect as the Night Warrior."

Malfurion nodded and cleared his throat, still not looking at her.

"Ah, Tyrande, it is good to see you."

Tyrande blinked as she turned to see one of Lord Ravencrest's officers had made his way to her and Malfurion. Then she saw his glowing amber eyes and his face, so much like Malfurion's own. "Illidan?"

"In the flesh." He said with a roguish grin. "Tyrande, I barely recognized you; I thought I was looking at the manifestation of the Night Warrior herself!"

As exaggerated as his praise was, Tyrande felt her cheeks warm.

Before she could think of how to respond, a great fiery steed descended from the skies. A great armored warrior jumping off its back, the steed disappearing moments before it would have impacted the ground.

"Good, you are here." He said in a gravely voice, his red cowl casting his features in shadow.

A great red circle appeared next to him, and figures stepped through, a mighty Tauren, led by a human girl with equine ears and a tail. An earthen, led by a woman with dark red hair and what looked to be formal attire for men. Furbogs led by a woman whose hair was chestnut and her eyes dark brown, she was wearing armor the like of which Tyrande had never seen and held an ornate polearm with a long blade.

Centaurs, who trailed after two women with the same hair, skin, and eye color as Illya, but their features different enough not to be directly related.

And lastly. A large group of trolls, following a woman with a long mane of black hair and red eyes.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Ravencrest hissed.

The only human male present turned to look at him. "You denied my brother Alpharius when he said to make an alliance with the other mortal races. And see where that got you."

Ravencrest flinched at the mention of Alpharius but surged forward. "This is an insult to the sovereignty of the Night Elves!"

The human man's fist shot out, wrapped around Lord Ravencrest's neck, and pulled him down to his knees. And only then Tyrande realized that the human was only a little above six feet tall. His sheer presence had made him seem to tower.

The soldiers around them shouted and stepped forward, but one glance from the foreigner halted them in their tracks.

He turned his attention back to Lord Ravencrest. "My brother was the ideologue. He was the one who advocated to give you the benefit of the doubt. To give you an opportunity to show you were better than I thought you were. As usual, he was wrong. Your hubris has already cost us a warrior on par with me, I will not let this world burn to assuage your pride.

"You were given the option to join an alliance. This is no longer the case. It is now a demand. You will join the alliance I am forging; you will follow the plans I set forth. If you do not, I will kill you, and set someone else in charge, and if they don't, I'll kill them, and continue down the list until I find someone willing to do as they are told." He tossed Ravencrest aside, the soldiers all fell back with gasps. So perhaps he had held them captive with more than just his gaze. "Rejoice Ravencrest, your world and people will be saved. I will make sure of it."

Turning away from the Night Elves, he looked at the woman leading the trolls. "Raven, why do you have so many trolls? I told you to bring one who would act as their leader."

The woman looked away from him, her shoulders hunching. "So, about that, umm. So, the tribes just refused to work together. So uh, I uh."

One of the Trolls stepped forward. "Boss Lady kill all tha chieftains mon! By herself! The chiefs and they bodyguards! She now chief of chiefs of tha' Troll Nation!" The troll…spokesman? Scratched his long beaked nose. "But it seems boss lady follow you, that make you uhh…"

One of the other trolls, this one a woman, stepped forward, her eyes sparkling. "If boss lady follow boss. That make him Big Boss!"

There was a chorused, "Big Boss." As the trolls looked at the foreign man in awe.

He stared at them for several long seconds. "Raven?"

"Yes sir?" she asked meekly.

"Try to make sure this doesn't turn into a cult. Beyond that, good job."

"Thank you, sir."

He turned and addressed all of those gathered. "I am War. The demons have captured my brother, Alpharius. They seek to end all life on this world, I aim to stop them. With your help, this will be possible.

"I understand you all hold grievances with one another. Until this crisis is resolved, you will set those grievances aside, and do your best to act as one, or you will all perish to the demons. Now, we will plan our counterattack." His eyes burned with wrathful energy. "Make no mistake. You will cooperate, those who are belligerent toward their fellows in the alliance? Who jeopardize the persecution of this war to satisfy their grudges? Those I will personally deal with, and you will beg for death before I am done with you. Now, we plan."

It was not a very inspiring speech, but as the Centaurs glared at all around them, and the dwarf smoked his pipe with an air of condescension. Tyrande couldn't help but feel it had, perhaps, been necessary.

Illidan seethed. "What do you mean you refuse to teach me?"

War, his Shan'do's brother, stared up at him impassively. "Exactly what I said. I do not have the time to teach you, and make sure this alliance does not fall apart before we fight off the demons. Irisviel will teach you in my stead."

The pale as a corpse human woman smiled and nodded.

"But you are clearly the greater sorcerer, Master Alpharius himself saw my potential, why can't you!?" Illidan shouted, drawing the eyes of those around them.

War's eyes flashed, and Illidan felt his Shan'do's familiar fury, the aura he unleashed only when Illidan did something that greatly displeased him.

It was something War did a lot more often than Illidan's lost teacher.

"You assume much, whelp." War rumbled. "And think little. You have power, talent, and skill. But you are impetuous, thoughtless, and lack wisdom. Any of these reasons are enough for me to deny you, but these are not why I refuse you."

Even as he fought the physical need to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness, Illidan steeled his spine and forced himself to grind out. "Then why?"

The pressure relented, Illidan did his best to hide his relief, but by the amused glint in War's eye, he likely failed. "Who exactly do you think taught us the use of Sorcery?"

Illidan blinked and turned to look at the slight, pale woman. "You mean…"

"Put him through his paces." War said, turning away. "See if you can polish the gem my brother claimed his student to be."

"Okie dokie!" The woman said happily, making Illidan question if such a person truly was the one who forged Illidan's Master into such mighty Sorcerer.

Then, she turned to him, and the glint in her blood red eyes made him take an involuntary step back. "Now, let's see how well my dear husband managed to teach you the fundamentals."

That was all the warning he received before he felt his link to the Well of Eternity once again vanish.

Her smile became predatory as her eyes began to glow. "And no cheating."

Illidan began to fear for his safety.

Archemonde's finger twitched. Mannoroth howled as a gash opened on its cheek, spilling putrid green ichor across the floor. He turned to the brutish buffoon. "You were told to bring it alive and unharmed."

"It's alive!" The demon growled, but in a show of intelligence, he made no move to retaliate.

For this near unprecedented show of wisdom, rather than crush his head like a grape, Archemonde only opened another gash across its other cheek.

"It's in a healing coma so deep, even Sargeras will not be able to revive it. We will be lucky if it ever wakes again, and the wards on its mind are too strong, breaking through them would destroy the information we search for." Archemonde reached over and took hold of one of the clown's enormous tusks and used it to twist its head painfully. "How am I to explain this failure to Lord Sargeras?"

"I had to! He wouldn't stop fighting!" Whined Mannoroth.

Archemonde turned to the severely damaged possible immortal. A true treat for his Lord.

Its armor was rent and shattered, it had lost both its legs and one arm, and the remaining limb had severe damage. He could see why his Lord desired this immortal brought to him, he alone, surrounded on all fronts and under overwhelming attack, had accounted for an entire Legion's worth of demons being sent screaming back to the aether while holding off a Greater Demon of Mannoroth's caliber. Even managing to claim one of Mannoroth's legs and one of its arms while causing a score of lesser and moderate injuries.

If this one could be turned, it would make for a fine warrior indeed. It would be good to replace Mannoroth with an equally powerful, though far more precise instrument.

He could feel its magic, slumbering within the near carcass. Flickering, dormant, gaining slowly in strength.

Hopefully this creature would prove resilient enough to awaken soon, if not, Archemonde would have to see about ensuring blame landed where it should.

He pulled on Mannoroth's tusk again. "Get the Night Elves to treat this thing with one of their healers. Their best healer. Now leave my sight."

As soon as he released the failure's tusk, it slunk away, dragging his tail through the ground dejectedly.

Why was it so immensely difficult to find worthwhile help?

After nights of swift advances, the Alliance offensive had slowed to a crawl.

Even so, the fragile and fractious alliance had pushed the demons onto the hills of Urae. From there, it was a straight march to the walls of Zin Ashari.

Even so, Malfurion could not help but feel something was wrong. The demons fought tooth and nail, retreating only reluctantly and ensuring that every inch of ground had to be bought with blood. Pockets of them that became trapped or were backed into a corner fought with greater ferocity until they were all cut down.

On the side of the Alliance, a stream of warriors left for the back of the Night Elven lines, their wounds varied, but all horrific. An equally large stream of all races of Kalimdor came from that same location to bolster the line. The system of healing that War had set up and brutally enforced, being far more efficient than any the various peoples had created on their own.

War was at the front, always in the thickest fighting, while simultaneously doing a masterful job of wielding a disparate army of various races, most of whom distrusted and disliked both him and each other.

His brides were almost all far more personable than their shared Mate (boy had that been a surprise to learn). They were healers, sorcerers, warriors, and strategists. Each of them contributing more than a battalion of the denizens of Kalimdor.

By all accounts, the assault went well.

Then why did he feel a pall of doom hanging over not just him, but the whole of the endeavor?

It was as they were near to cresting the hill that disaster struck. A tide of demons surged forth, falling upon the front line in such numbers that the alliance forces were physically pushed back. Fire, wind, ice, noxious fog and spikes of earth all were slung back and forth as Alliance sorcerers and shamans battled against demonic warlocks. A veritable flood of demonic creatures coming out seemingly from the ground itself to assault the alliance forces on nearly all sides.

War himself was swallowed under the demonic tide, but the geyser of putrid ichor fountaining into the air put to rest any fears of the mighty warrior having fallen.

Malfurion's heart soared as the retreat slowed, halted, then slowly reversed, the demons pushed back toward the crest of the hill yet again.

And yet the feeling of something being wrong would not leave him!

He contributed as best he could. The grass the armies trampled reached up to tangle the demons, whereas it instead supported the footing of any warrior of the alliance. The dirt and rock became as water and swallowed the heaviest monsters. Flowers swayed and threw their seeds at the demonic horde, those seeds stabbed their roots deep and bloomed, their forms putrid and malformed, sacrificing their potential for health and beauty to aid in the end of just one more demon.

As the alliance crested the Hill again, he saw that they merely battled the vanguard, the entire valley beyond the hill writhed, the demons infesting it acting much like ants as they surged forth to defend their tunnels.

The alliance forces paused, despair threatening to overwhelm them as they saw themselves outnumbered hundreds to one.

"Forward!" War roared, and dove into the demons blade first. "For your world! For your children! Kill them all, let none survive!"

His blade flashed, and demons died screaming.

A guttural yowl came from the Tauren, and they surged forth after him, caving in demonic skulls with their totems. The trolls howled, barked, and laughed as they rushed forward.

First in a trickle, then in a flood, the alliance forces surged down the hill into the teeth of the enemy, the magical duel resumed as blood and ichor stained the ground.

In the distance, he saw his brother, one of the pale Mates of War standing next to him, under her watchful gaze he wielded his magic, and entire swaths of demons fell dead, seemingly without having been harmed.

For the briefest second, Malfurion wondered where Cenarius was, his beloved Shan'do's strength would be a welcome addition to their efforts. Malfurion shook his head and grit his teeth, every life snuffed out a thorn stabbing into his soul. He did not have the time to waste fantasizing.

He gathered his power, and asked the wind for aid as he threw pebbles, seeds, and leaves into the sky. The wind laughing as it picked them all up and drove the seemingly innocuous projectiles into the flesh of the demons as if they were thorns.

'It's not meant to be like this!'

'Nonononononononono!'

'Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill'

'The time is come! Use the Dragon's Soul! Show them who is the true ruler of Kalimdor!'

Neltharion sighed as he flew.

The other Aspects had been surprised when, as their flights finally set out to join the battle, having waited this long at his request, Neltharion had insisted Yzera's tiny mortal ride on his back.

'She knows! She betrayed us!'

'Kill it! Kill it and suckle on its marrow to learn its secrets!'

How could he allow anything else? It was thanks to her that he could think clearly for the first time in millennia.

The moment still throbbed like a fresh wound in his psyche. When the Dragon's Soul was completed, the demonic implement simultaneously a (to him) fragile golden disk, and the key to apocalyptic power. Every dragon except himself had given a not insignificant amount of their Essence to it.

As the completed artefact landed on his paw, it was as if a terrible fever had broken. His thoughts his own for the first time that he could truly remember. A paralyzing shame and disgust had nearly overwhelmed him.

He still heard the whispers of the Others, but they were muted, clearly alien, bereft of the power they'd previously held.

'She'll betray you like she betrayed me! She deserves to burn! Splatter her against the ground! I will see her destroyed!'

And the source of his shame was now separate from him, her gift of forced sanity ensured he'd never be able to forget or gain respite from his shame.

As it should be.

'There they are! By the Creator, there's so many!' Dearest Alextrasza said, speaking to the other Aspects telepathically.

'Then it's a good thing we've forged the perfect weapon to deal with them, eh Neltharion?' His brother in truth if not in blood, Malygos, said happily.

Neltharion remembered what he had planned to do to his brother. The only one who would be a threat to his supremacy, Malygos' knowledge of magic such that he may well find a way to undo the Dragon's Soul.

Wordlessly, Neltharion brandished the disk. He fought the nausea it brought forth, not due to any fault in its masterful construction, but because the thought of what it represented, his betrayal of not only his duty, but of everything and everyone he held dear, sickened him so.

A torrent of power spilled out of the unobtrusive bauble. A beam of light so incandescent it turned the demons it touched to shadows on the ground.

Hundreds of demons died the moment he fired, thousands followed mere seconds later. The mortals of Kalimdor surged forward, mere moments ago they'd been willing to die to leave the demons with a black eye, now they outnumbered the demonic host.

The demons broke, their advance turning into a route.

'Now Neltharion! Destroy the Dragon's Soul so we may scatter and hunt them down!'

'NO! IT'S MINE! IT'S MINE! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT! YOU WERE AGAINST ME FROM THE START!'

Neltharion let his insane former self rant. He couldn't be happier to be rid of this abomination.

To his ever-growing shame, he hesitated. Even if it had come from evil, the Dragon's Soul could be used for such monumental good.

'MIIIIIINE!'

But his savior proved their wisdom by leaving him with a reminder of how far he'd fallen.

He crushed the disk, the fractions of power it had taken from all dragons rushed back to their respective owners. Hidden among that torrent of power, the essence of the demon warlock that had served as the mortar for the spell's foundation, vanished into the aether.

The dragons roared and surged forth, spreading out and hunting demonic stragglers as the mortals marched on to the Night Elven capital.

Rather than join his brethren, Neltharion set down and trembled.

"There there, the worst is over. You can begin to heal." His passenger said, soothingly scratching his scales. "You have shown you are better than your worst moment."

Neltharion looked up. His flight, connected to him magically and metaphysically, all roared and fanatically fell upon the demons.

Like him, they'd been driven mad by his weakness. Now that the madness was lifted from him, so too did they regain their sanity.

The nightmare he had not even realized he had been living, was over.

The Earthwarder lay down and quietly wept.

Dath'Remar Sunstrider hung by his chains.

On further review, perhaps it had been ill-advised to question the Queen's increasingly erratic commands.

She had been quite content until news came that the demons were being overwhelmed.

The thing he thought was most unfair was that he'd merely been asking for clarification. The Queen had then accused him of treason.

The following investigation had uncovered his actual treason. But that's neither here nor there.

He was currently only clad in his own blood and sweat, and sharing the cell with what looked to be a mostly destroyed golem of some kind or another.

He hoped those he'd gathered into a resistance of sorts had managed to escape safely.

The stench of sulfur filled his nose, the Queen's Felguard bodyguards stepped into the cell. A moment after that, Vashj's comely form stepped inside, her exotic cat-like eyes glancing at him with contempt.

She surveyed the cell before turning to the door and curtseying deeply. "It is safe, Light of Lights."

Queen Ashara Stepped inside, her normally immaculate makeup was smeared over her features, her perfect hair was in disarray, and the silk of her dress was dirty and torn in places.

And yet, she was sill the most beautiful creature in Kalimdor.

Queen Ashara froze when she stepped inside, whispering. "Mark three power armour?" her beautiful and placid face twisted in rage, a vein pulsing visibly on her forehead. "Slutlife, it's always Slutlife."

"Light of the Moon?" Asked Vashj, only for the Queen to backhand her.

"Be silent." The Queen demanded, then stepped up to the golem. She reached for its head, and with a hiss, the head came away. Revealing a face.

It was so pale Dath'Remar assumed it a corpse. But then he noticed the differences in its form. Its ears were round and far too short, its hair an exotic brown, and it had a bushy, well-cared-for full beard akin to a dwarf.

Extremely peculiar.

Almost as peculiar as the Queen's reaction. She stared in open mouthed stupefaction, before throwing her head back and laughing.

When her laughter subsided, she knelt in front of the corpse (or, well, it was chained up, so maybe he was just insensate) and took hold of the sides of its head.

"I knew they'd come for me eventually, but to think they'd send an Alex. Which one are you? Let's look at your barcode." She asked, her golden eyes glowing.

Vashj recovered, picking herself up from the floor. "Most Honored One?"

"Zero zero zero, zero zero zero, zero zero zero, zero zero zero, zero zero one." Ashara's beautiful face split into a smile so malevolent, in anyone else, he'd call it insane. "They sent the Prime! The Prime!"

"Most Beautiful One?" Vashj asked, and flinched as the Queen whirled around and slapped her.

"Do you not understand!? I can use this!" She turned back around and knelt in front of the man. "The Prime. I can use a ritual to use its resonance and kill every Alex across the Multiverse! Including the one who got me exiled to this backwater hellhole!"

She grabbed the unmoving body by the hair. "Hear that, Alex. Stacy Woo will be the one to undo not only your Work Line. But every bloodline that your wretched seed has spawned across the whole of the multiverse! What do you say to that!? Who really gets the last laugh!?"

A red spear stabbed out of Queen Ashara's perfect left breast.

Following the shaft, it protruded out of nowhere in the air.

"W-What?" The Queen gurgled.

She then exploded, as a statue made of crimson thorns took her place, bathing the cell in gore.

The undamaged form of the corpse stepped out of the air, a pair of beautiful blades materializing in the air around it and shooting themselves at the Queen's bodyguards, seemingly slaying them instantly as they slumped, the flames of their bodies snuffing out.

The warrior looked down at the thorn statue. [I have no idea who you are.]

Dath'Remar stared from the body to the strange warrior, back to the body, and back to the warrior. "H-How?"

He looked at Dath'Remar, and shrugged, the motion made massive by his armor. [Puppet body.] He flicked his hand, and the elf's bonds fell away. He tossed the body at the nothing in the air, where it vanished. [I'm assuming you're locked up because you're a decent enough person, despite being part of the group that brought all of this about. So I'll give you the opportunity to leave. I'mma go fuck with a god.]

With that, he left. Dath'Remar blinked a few times, trying to wrap his mind about what had just happened.

Vashj began screaming.

Sargeras fumed, after so long, the portal was nearly ready. He could force His way through, but such would collapse the portal behind Him, and that was an inconvenience He did not need to endure.

The swift and consecutive deaths of Sciallax, Tak'theritrix, Undravius, Azzinoth, Hakkar, Xavius, Mannoroth and Archimonde. Convinced Him otherwise.

He stood from His throne and made His way to the portal, where He felt more of His demons dying.

He set a minor partition of His mind to reviving the chaff. But his commanders? They would learn the price of failure. Archimonde in particular, he had never failed before. His punishment would need to be more severe than would otherwise have been the case, Sargeras would not allow failure to become a habit of his.

When He arrived at the location of the portal, He paused, intrigued.

One of those who were reported to be the greatest impediment to His host was present, on this side of the Portal. The gnat was surrounded by machines of war, not unlike the Fel Reavers, not only that, but Sargeras could feel the faintest spark of Divinity from it.

It and the machines fought as one, amplifying their power and potential.

Sargeras was reluctantly impressed when a Fel Reaver rushed one of the machines, and the smaller machine proceeded to systematically destroy the creation of His war forges.

Sargeras wanted that for His host.

As galling as it was, He would have to capture the distraction Himself.

"Tremble Mortal, for you stand before Sargeras!" He bellowed, the force of his shout pulping thousands of demons and reducing one of the machines to scrap.

The interloper stopped. [Lord Sargeras. I had been hoping to speak with you.]

Sargeras felt amusement rise up. He could feel the greed on this one. "Oh? I shall grant you the honor of an audience, Mortal. Speak."

The gnat spoke, his voice reverberating with magic. [I swear by my power. If Lord Sargeras is able to withstand four of my attacks without any defending on his part, without injury. I shall enter His Service and follow his every command without question.]

Sargeras was taken aback by the magical contract. He could deny it, the creature should suffer for deigning to offer Him terms.

But that could wait. For now, He would play this game, and set His newest pawn to destroying that which it had been seeking so fervently to defend up until now.

It was the fastest way to get what He wanted. So He'd allow it.

He chuckled and opened his arms wide. "Do your best, little mortal, but do it swiftly."

It lifted a weapon of a design unfamiliar, but of a function that was well known to Him. It fired with a pitiful roar, and an impact He did not even feel against his arm. The projectile was self-propelled, and though it tried mightily to pierce His flesh. It failed.

Without waiting for Sargeras to speak, the creature lifted an arm. A ball of fire formed on its hand and was thrown forward. It splashed onto the same spot as the round.

The fireball tasted of Temporal magic. And He felt his amusement grow. Likely, this creature had attempted to use Time to age Sargeras into senility, not knowing such an effort was futile.

The creature lifted its hand. [Okay then, attack number three!]

It snapped its fingers.

Sargeras found Himself in a pit. He was surrounded by Mortals, all of them working and conversing.

Then He saw one who was a Creature of the Parasites, and He lashed out in rage.

His might reached the edge of the pit and dissipated.

"What trickery is this!?" He roared.

The Tainted One burbled in amusement. "Best investment I ever made. He doesn't sell many, but always of high quality. Alright girls, you know the drill! Render it down for parts. Make use of all the proper safety equipment."

"How dare you ignore your betters!?" Sargeras raged, bringing more of His might to bear, to no avail.

"And for crying outloud. Someone mute the damned thing."

Chromie could not wait for this final duty to be done. After this, she'd finally retire.

From here on, life would be an adventure. Sure, she wasn't getting a nice and dashing dragon to be her Mate.

But she was getting something better! And only some of that was the mark on her mons fiddling with her brain!

She stepped out of the tear in space-time, the sight of the Kalimdor Alliance greeted her. In the center, her sister-wives and her two beautiful, strong, beautiful, dashing, beautiful, sexy, beautiful, dashing and had she mentioned beautiful mates.

She shook her head. Damn hormones.

Right on time (hah!) Nozdormu appeared.

The dragoness stretched her wings, then transformed into her preferred mortal form. That of a friendly blonde gnome.

If her breasts were bigger than usual, and she was wearing tighter, more revealing clothes…shut up, that was just how she was feeling.

With a step, a hop, and a jump through Space Time, she was next to her current boss. Who had been in the middle of explaining things to her Mates while the alliance devolved into revelry around them. A younger Chromie fidgeting nervously on the other side of her boss.

"-lad of your service. The outcome…not what I would have chosen. But you've done the job, and your payment shall be as discussed. May I please have your Stamp?"

Her Mates seemed reluctant. But they acquiesced, handing the wonderful implement over to Nozdormu. Who handed it over to younger Chromie, who sighed and, with a grimace, pressed the stamp upon her flesh.

Chromie felt her mark heat up as it was applied to younger her. Younger Chromie returned the Stamp to her boss, then with a pained grimace at older Chromie, opened a portal and walked through.

Oh, how naïve she'd been. To be so young again.

If she'd had the time (Haha!), Chromie would have explained to younger Chromie that the Stamp was not slavery. It was liberation! She'd never been happier or more carefree than right now!

Not to mention. This level of sheer passion she felt for her Mates. Their tall forms, and their muscles, and their magic power, and their coc—

"Yes. I put in that request with Slutlife." Nozdormu said, grimacing. "When Korialstrasz and Rhonin failed to appear, I knew we had officially become one of the branches that would be pruned. It was the only way to save my own reality. I asked only that they send one who would be kind toward those who were taken as payment."

Big, dark, handsome and older shook his helmeted head, then removed his helmet, showing his captivatingly beautiful face. "They can stay if—"

Chromie stopped admiring her mate's beauty and launched herself forward and grabbed onto the sides of his head so she could properly glare at his beautiful brown eyes.

"You better not be thinking about not taking me and those I Stamped with you." She growled, her mouth salivating at the prospect of being punished for being so brash. "I went through the trouble of Stamping them when we can remove them from the timestream without causing too many ripples. If you don't take them, they'll just die as they should have, instead of the boss burying some fakes. Capiche!?"

"Uhh…If I may ask, why are you uhh."

Chromie pressed her forehead against his. "I have subjectively waited for centuries for the day you pick me up, take me with you to your next adventure, and fuck me until I'm cross-eyed and I lay down enough eggs to start an offshoot of the Bronze Dragonflight. And you will do the exact same to Alextraza and Yzera if you know what's good for you!" She kissed his lips, enjoying the tickling of his beard on her skin. "Also, I caught a space goat. A sexy, sexy space goat."

Her husband looked down at her, then back up to Nozdormu.

"What."

Nozdormu merely sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand, while with the other he waved at Chromie. "Please, I implore you, at least treat my daughter well."

Her Mate blinked several times. "What!?"

Chromie forced herself into his field of view again. "And by treating me well, he means forcefully put several clutches of babies in me!"

"…What!?"

I stepped into my mansion, holding the draconic horny gremlin away from me at arm's length.

The payment had not been what I expected. Nor the fact that my interference was sanctioned.

A heads up would have been nice.

I turned the corner, and saw the mortal forms of two of the five Aspects, as well as a very intimidated looking Draenei as there was an impromptu girl meeting in one of my living rooms.

With a sigh. I tossed the big titty dragon gnome at Leysritt. Then having the wisdom not to be involved in my girls 'girl talk' I went to make dinner, while Shirou went off to the Workshop to fix the damaged Warjacks and replace our destroyed puppet body.

Hopefully my next job won't be as involved. The materials needed to fix those were expensive to source.

My HUD pinged me that I had received a message from Frank. It had the usual empty congratulations for a job well done, but also a suggestion of missions I might want to take. I read through them and settled for the mission to kill or capture Edwin Black. His constant overturning of reality in his neck of the multiverse was annoying a middle manager that was friends with Frank. And the payment was good enough.

I sighed and went to make a late brunch for my girls. After this last kerfuffle, they deserved some R , mimosas, and pancakes.

Cause my ladies loved pancakes.