Surprisingly, when he was on the job, Laws was quite the serious man.
I expected him to be more like Paul, especially since they were such close friends. After all, like attracted like, and from what I saw, there were quite a number of similarities between the two. Of course, it wasn't that I thought Paul didn't take matters seriously. On the contrary, I was confident that the man was more than capable of being stern when he wanted to be, his insistence on us not wandering too far out just one of several pieces of evidence, not to mention my brief insight into his personality from tracing his sword.
Still, this austere demeanor was not within my expectations. From our previous interactions and his conversations with Paul, I had pegged him as a lighthearted and playful man. Perhaps not to the extent of Paul, but Laws had thrown around his fair share of jokes.
However, gone was the lax and mirthful attitude. Laws's eyes surveyed the surrounding the area like a machine, constantly scrutinizing and analyzing anything that could be of interest or out of place. His hand was constantly on his bow, the weapon at his side and a hand at the ready to nock and fire an arrow at any given moment. His stride was smooth and controlled, every step he took the exact same as the one before it and the thousands before that.
There was a tense, nonsensical atmosphere about him as well. It made sense considering he would have to be extra vigilant since I was with him. He didn't seem overly worried, but the man was definitely on edge, a fact that was illustrated by the sparsely few words exchanged between us since the start of the patrol.
After leaving Paul at his house, Laws and I had headed off to the forest to begin our patrol. He had reminded me to stay close to him at all times, the dense foliage and slowly descending darkness of twilight not an easy thing to navigate. There was the occasional path marking, signs on trees or rocks created by the previous patrols over the years following the same route. Laws's elven heritage may also had the effect, the man being almost unnaturally adept at traversing the unlit and uneven land.
Our patrol continued for several hours, and by then, the entire forest was bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. The bright white orb was shining brightly in the sky as if it sought to compete against the endless blanket of black all around it.
"It's getting late," Laws said, breaking the silence that had hung over us for the past few hours. "The nighttime shift should be getting ready by now. We…" he paused, then a beat after, "We should be getting back."
"You sound uncertain," I pointed out, a hunch forming in my mind. "Is something wrong?"
His eyes darted to me then flickered back to scanning the surrounding area. There was a certain air of paranoia around the man, one that had not been there at the start. "It's nothing important, don't worry."
As he said that, his brows furrowed in concern, doing nothing to alleviate any possible worries I could have.
Curious on what could cause the elven man to lose his confidence, I focused, trying my best to feel for any magical energy around us. Tohsaka always said I was sensitive to mana, but despite concentrating on our immediate vicinity, I could not find anything that seemed out of place. I channeled some mana through my five senses, feeling the world itself almost come alive as the heightened stimuli flowed through me—the soft rustling of leaves in the evening breeze, the quiet chirping of birds in the treetops, the thick pungent scent of decaying leaves and damp earth intertwined with the clean odor of pine and mountain air, and even the previously obscured details of the foliage around us all assaulted my mind, the sheer amount of information flooding my brain taking a moment for me to process.
However, despite all my efforts, I could not find what Laws could have been so concerned about.
Actually…
"I know Paul said it should be a quiet patrol, but is it normally this quiet?" I started, eyeing the man carefully. Laws immediately tensed, his posture stiffening at my words, and I knew that my suspicions held true.
"Yes… but no," he said hesitantly. "What Paul said is true. We usually never run into any monsters around the village."
"But…?"
Laws frowned, turning untrusting eyes into the darkness around us. "Usually, I can still sense them. I'm part elf, so I have a better sense of the forest than most. Monsters stay away from the village for the most part, but they're definitely present. They just stay away from it, probably since they're scared. It's good that they're more docile than normal around these parts; we would've had to move into one of the cities or merge with some other villages if the monsters showed up frequently enough." He paused, and I could see his ears lightly shaking, the man straining his hearing. "But I don't sense anything. It seemed perfectly fine yesterday, even earlier when we started patrolling."
I hummed, understanding slowly dawning on me. "And now?" I asked, the question more a confirmation than anything else.
Laws's eyes narrowed. "Nothing," he said simply. He started walking again, circling the clearing. I silently followed him, watching as he seemingly wandered around before the man looked like he finally found what he was looking for. Laws knelt down, pointing a finger at a patch of dirt. It looked freshly disturbed, imprints of what looked like paws left on the dirt. "See this? It's probably made today. There's monster activity around here, recent for sure."
"But now there isn't," I finished for him.
The elven man nodded, the gesture laden with displeasure. "It's always better to know where your enemies are," he said.
Saber would have agreed with him, that was for sure. She had a habit of inserting tactical wisdom during our training sessions. Of course, hers was born from experience as a king of a war-torn country. I was surprised Laws had learned similar lessons as well though that might be because I underestimated the conflicts the world had presented to the man.
Laws stood back up, stretching his arms as he groaned in satisfaction at hearing the pop of his joints. "Anyway, it doesn't matter much. We're heading back for now. I'll let the others know to pay attention to anything weird going on."
Laws still seemed reluctant to leave matters at that, but I assumed that his priority was to make sure I got back safely. If he was alone, I was confident that he would have taken the initiative to investigate the issue further.
Frankly, I was also curious about the odd change in behavior of the monsters. From what Laws noted, there was nothing from before that could have alluded to this discrepancy, meaning that the only possible variable was me.
It still begged the question of why my presence on the patrol caused the monsters to instinctively shy away from us. I had a few ideas, namely my status as an alien, someone not originally from this world. It was possible that the monsters could feel the difference between me and everyone else. Assuming that creatures of this world were, in some manner linked to the "planet" or its equivalent of Gaia, then it made sense that they were more sensitive towards the fundamental differences between my body and soul and everyone else's.
Alas, I couldn't explore that theory any further until Laws and I separated ways. As much as I wanted to travel deeper into the forest right now, Laws would not let me, the earlier instructions from Paul stopping any possibility of the man putting me in any risk of danger.
Truthfully, I was more worried about him than myself. Laws was competent, yes, but he did not seem to have any special powers. His abilities, from what I can tell, are mainly above average proficiency with the bow and excellent spatial awareness in the forest. He was no pushover, but if anything truly dangerous came along, I was not confident I could keep him safe while dealing with my hordes of monsters.
"It's best to not wander into a situation unprepared," I agreed, ignoring how the plans being made in my head contradicted the wisdom I preached.
For now, I had to let our patrol come to an uneventful end. Laws would eventually escort me back to Paul, and then afterwards, I would slip away in the middle of the night and return here.
Before, I had no reason to explore the surrounding woods, but now that such a blatant phenomenon occurred due to my presence, it would have been irresponsible of me to ignore it. After all, it could be the prelude to worse things to come, a sign of impending chaos. With that in mind, taking the initiative here was the correct choice.
Laws gave me a small smile. "Good, you're smart. If I was talking to Paul, he would have been dead set on continuing and finding out the cause of the problem," he said. "I'm not your father, so I'll spare you the parental lecture, but I will say this: Paul has some good traits, but he has a few nasty habits as well. It's good to learn a few things from him but be careful you don't pick up anything too distasteful," he warned, though his tone wasn't particularly grave, a sign that his opinion on the man was far from negative.
"I'll keep that in mind," I said with a nod. Laws looked satisfied at my answer, turning around and heading into the darkness of the forest.
"If we go this way, we should encounter the village perimeter eventually," he said. I raised an eyebrow, not out of skepticism but simply impressed. Elf or not, navigating this area was tricky.
We continued our trek back towards the village, my brisk footsteps trying their best to keep up with Laws's relaxed, longer strides. I made sure to stay right behind him, not eager on getting lost in the forest and wasting time trying to find my way back. Even with my enhanced vision, it would not have helped me much with this dense foliage.
A part of me could not help but feel… suspicious. The patrol had gone well, the abnormality aside. Laws did not even question me about Sylphiette or make any attempt to talk at all period, the absolute best-case scenario. I was not looking forward to trying to navigate his overprotective fatherly tendencies. Thankfully, it seemed that I had dealt with most of it from yesterday and earlier today.
Of course, it all meant that fate was saving the troublesome part of the night for later.
There was silence, nothing but the soft sound of rustling leaves and rhythmic crunching of grass.
A gust of cool air wafted through the forest, and I took in an involuntary whiff.
The moon shone brightly above us, hanging in the sky as part of its eternal cycle of waxing and waning.
My footsteps paused, Laws stopping not long after.
"You sense them too?" The question came in out a soft whisper, barely audible in the wind. Whether or not it was because Laws could not trust in his voice or to make sure nothing else overheard his question, I wasn't sure.
I nodded, the gesture visible to the elven man. He had spun on his heels, a grimace spreading across his face. Compared to before, the man was visibly worried, his brows furrowed in anxiousness as his jaw clenched and unclenched rapidly.
"There's a lot of them." I sniffed the air again, smelling an unnatural odor of… wrongness. I frowned, quickly taking in another, deeper intake of air. Unfortunately, my efforts only proved to confirm the traces of doubt in my mind, and I could feel my hairs standing on end as the sinking dread in my stomach only continued to worsen. My breathing grew erratic, my chest rising and falling alongside my shallow breaths. Even my heartbeat, usually even and calm, had quickened, and I felt a singular bead of sweat slowly, almost tauntingly, cut a path down my cheek, the evening wind feeling almost icy against the slick skin.
It was a laughable amount compared to what I had experienced before—nothing could compare to the real thing—but the fact it was present at all was… concerning, to say the least. Even just trace reminders of it like now me were enough to unsettle me, the pangs of distant memories flooding back to me in a gush of emotions.
I shook my head, pretending the gesture did something to alleviate the discomfort before turning reinforced eyes back towards where we had walked from.
There was a large group of them—whatever was coming towards us. From what I could sense, there were easily a few dozen monsters, probably a pack of some kind. Assuming that the monsters of this world bore some resemblance to back on Earth, they were probably canine creatures of some kind.
My arms dropped to my sides, and my hands grasped at the empty air, my fingers twitching at the lack of solid material they expected. The instinct was there, my body simply reacting to the situation at hand. Every fiber of my being screamed at me, the temptation to let loose the flood gates I had held closed for so long dangerously caressing my mind.
I was not Lancer. I did not crave the battlefield. I felt no need to clash blades needlessly. However, a part of me could not help but feel the longing for battle, something far more familiar to me than the years of stagnation I had lived up to now.
"Every hero needs a villain to oppose him."
Once again, the false priest's words came to my mind, and once again, I could not help but begrudgingly accept them.
However, no matter how alluring the call was, there were other things I had to take care of.
"Should we run?" I asked the man next to me. I could probably handle myself, but the same could not be said for Laws. No doubt the man thought similarly towards me, so suggesting we try and escape was the easiest way to get him to safety.
Laws looked in the direction of the incoming horde, the monsters not yet visible but close enough to light the man's senses on fire. He stayed silent for a bit before planting one foot behind him. "Let's go," he agreed, pausing hesitatingly. "We need to get to the village first and raise the alarm. No matter what, we have to gather Paul and the rest." For a moment, his eyes flickered towards me but the idea in his mind was discarded before it could be voiced.
I gave him a silent nod, and only then did the man fully turn around. He took off in a brisk jog, my own slightly reinforced legs letting me follow close behind.
"It's about half an hour walk from here to the village edge. If we're running, we can get there in under half that time," he said. The fact that he was going slower than he could have for my sake was left unsaid.
"Has something like this ever happened?" I asked.
"No," Laws answered. "They're acting strangely. Monster attacks on a village aren't uncommon, but they don't disappear before suddenly coming back."
I hummed thoughtfully, jumping over a tree root that Laws had stepped over. "You think there's something else going on?"
"Maybe, but I wouldn't know." He sighed, "Why now of all times?"
"It might be because of me. I tend to have terrible luck." E-rank luck, to be more specific.
Laws chuckled, the nervous undertones in his voice obvious. "Don't presume yourself to be that important."
If only.
"Will Paul be able to handle this?" He was strong, I knew that for a fact, but his main experience seemed to be within a coordinated party.
"Haha, gods no," Laws laughed. "Your father is good, but he's not that good. Paul's spent the past few years trying to raise a family, not out constantly fighting for his life. He's a bit out of practice. Not to mention that whatever is chasing us is pretty strong. Anything with the kind of aura I'm feeling from the monsters over there can't be anything below B-ranked."
"Then what's the plan?"
"For you? Sit back and relax. You're just a kid. I imagine this is not what Paul had in mind when he said he wanted you to get some practical experience," he said dryly. "Leave this one for the adults. We'll need to assemble our fighting forces. Thankfully, since Paul is both an experienced adventurer and swordsman, we've been trained to handle attacks from monsters like this."
"Have you ever put it into practice?"
A pause. "Well, aside from our excursions out into the forest, can't say we have," Laws admitted. "This will be our very first time putting our training into action. Sleep-deprived and in the middle of the night—can't say these are ideal conditions to test things out."
I opened my mouth to respond but a cacophony of piercing howls cut through the air. Laws flinched, his lips spreading into a grim frown.
The situation wasn't looking good. Howls were a form of communication between animals. I was no expert in animal behavior, but wolves typically howled to gather their pack at a location, meaning they either were anticipating a fight, had found some prey for their dinner, or possibly in our case—both.
"They're getting closer," Laws called out. I could sense more of them now, their previous calls having summoned more pack members to this area.
Laws clicked his tongue in frustration and then reached down to grab my arm. I looked at him questioningly, but no words came out of my mouth as the man swung me around and threw me onto his back. I landed onto his shoulders, and sensing his intentions, hooked my legs underneath his arms and grabbed a clump of his hair in each hand.
The idea was sound; with the increased urgency of the situation, Laws couldn't afford the leisurely pace he was at before and instead opted to carry me on his back.
Laws's strides became longer and faster, and without the worry of leaving me behind, the man was able to run in a full-out sprint through the forest. He expertly navigated the area, smoothly jumping over roots and rocks, his balance and dexterity not hindered with the additional passenger at his back.
However, his maximum speed was ultimately lower by carrying me. It was a simple fact; I added too much weight for Laws to be able to reach his top speed. While our current arrangement was a definite increase in our pace, escape was still not certain.
With the closer distance, I could more accurately analyze the magical energy near us. Just based off pure aura alone, whatever was chasing us was a large group, a few stronger entities surrounded by many weaker units. It was a typical formation of pack animals, the alpha male surrounded by the lesser, more expendable pack members.
Thankfully, just based off the aura they exuded, I could tell that they weren't particularly strong despite the disturbing feeling they exuded. The ominous air I felt from them remained only as a reminder of the past, the traces of the tainted prize I had fought to destroy remaining firmly in my memories where it belonged.
The monsters behind us reminded me of Caster's dragon tooth warriors. Plentiful in numbers and dangerous in a group, but nothing more than a nuisance. Even in the early phases of the war, with only the absolute basics of magecraft under my belt, I had been able to dispatch dozens of them with ease. Someone like a Servant would have had no trouble destroying hundreds of them at a time.
The monsters here seemed to be on a higher level than Caster's minions, but the underlying principle behind their attack strategy remained the same: overwhelm the enemy with numbers. It was a classic tactic, one ingrained into the very instincts of animals and humans alike. With the likelihood that we would be surrounded increasing, retreating back to the village as Laws suggested was essemtial.
"Do you know what could be chasing us?
"Assault Dogs and Terminate Boars," Laws answered with a grim expression. "Multiple packs probably."
I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the implication that boars were leading packs of dogs in this world. Still, it was a slight comfort that Laws was at least familiar with them, even if the creased brows and deep frown on his face didn't abate in the slightest.
Another sharp cry rang through the air, and this time, I could see blurry forms moving through the darkness. They were gaining ground, and in a few minutes, they will no doubt have caught us. Laws was still running as best we could, but it was an awkward situation for him. I was physically weighing him down, and his stamina and speed were hampered as a result. The fact that this situation was caused by my decision to withhold my abilities was not lost on me either.
I was half-tempted to tell him to leave me behind, but I knew Laws would never agree to it. Morality side, he had promised Paul he would keep me safe.
Should I just hop off him and increase my speed, resolving to deal with the questions later? I suppose I could always pawn it off as more fruits of my training with Paul, especially since he already showed me how to increase my speed and strength. However, that particular excuse could only go so far. According to Paul, I barely managed to pull it off, and not even to its full extent. If I suddenly sustain that level of enhancement all the way back to the village, then even Paul would be hard pressed to convince himself that something strange was not occurring.
Or maybe I could attribute it to a sudden spark of genius? As Lilia had so eloquently put it, nothing swung a swordsman's blade faster than death, and the dire circumstances we were in made for an excellent cover.
No, that had already happened once. Lightning doesn't strike the same spot twice, and miraculous breakthroughs don't happen every day.
I felt that nagging in the back of my head again, and the distinct feeling that this level of misdirection was something Archer, rather than Emiya Shirou, would do rose up within me again.
However, I threw such useless trepidation to the side. For now, I had to focus.
My hands were tied; either I reinforce myself and Laws and I escaped, or I commit to the upcoming battle. In any case, my cards would be revealed.
"We're not going to make it to the village in time," I said matter-of-factly to the man below me. By my estimate, we still had several minutes of travel before we reached Buena Village, and by then we would long have been surrounded by enemies.
Laws winced at my words, and his silence and lack of denial was enough to prove my assertion correct.
"Either they catch up to us or we would be bringing a horde of monsters straight to the village. Most people are asleep right now, and the night shift patrol alongside yourself would not be able to handle this group alone. The time it would take to muster an adequate defense would be time the monsters would spend ravaging through the area."
Laws remained silent, but despite the darkness, the conflict in his expression was plain as day.
"The monsters are currently attracted to us, but if we come closer to the village, they might just attack it instead."
"…What are you trying to say?" he said warily, the scowl on his face darkening.
"I'm suggesting we split up," I said. "We should divert the pack away from everyone else. One of us acts as a distraction, and the other runs to get help."
I could sense him processing my words, the merit of my idea working through the arguments he thought of.
"I promised Paul I would make sure nothing would happen to you," he said hesitantly.
"A lot of bad things will happen to me if we stay as we are," I countered.
"… Alice could kill me if I left you alone."
"You know I'm right, Laws."
I understood the man's reluctance, and in no way did I hold it against him. However, now was the time for action.
"You might get attacked if we split up," he pointed out.
"I can fend off a monster or two," I replied. I didn't bother pointing out the results of yesterday's spar, something I knew Laws already kept in mind. "At this rate, we need to take the risk."
Laws remained silent, pensively contemplating my logic. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Alright, fine, you win. We'll do it your way."
I nodded. "Okay, I'll stay behind and lead the monsters away from the village. You should run straight—"
"Wait, what? That's fucking stupid," Laws interrupted. "I'll lead the monsters away. I know the forest here better than anyone. With some luck, these guys are the only things around, so I can stall for time while you get Paul and the other guards," Laws ordered.
It wasn't a bad plan. It was actually fairly sound considering the situation. However, I would've preferred it if I was the one confronting the monsters. Laws was good, but a single mistake would be his last. I was used to such situations, but the elven man was another matter entirely.
The image of a red-clad girl bathed in equally red blood crossed my mind before I squashed it. I didn't need distractions right now, but I would have been lying if the experience hadn't changed me.
Regardless, I couldn't do anything about it. I could tail him and make sure he didn't get hurt, but someone still needed to go to the village for reinforcements. However, going to the village and back here to retrieve Laws was time he had to fend off a large horde of monsters by himself, a gamble I wasn't bent on taking.
I mentally sighed. I knew it would come to this point, but I was hoping to avoid such measures if necessary. Promises would be broken tonight, and the fallout of the situation would be something I need to deal with. However, making sure everyone stayed as safe as possible was my utmost priority.
"That's fine too," I nodded in agreement with Laws's plan.
Laws turned his head towards me, eyes slowly narrowing. "You better not be planning on doing something stupid," he warned. "I haven't forgotten you're Paul's son. I can feel there's something dumb going on in that head of yours."
First Sylphiette and now her father. What was it that made that family so perceptive?
"I won't be in danger," I promised. Regardless of whatever I do, I doubted that I would be in any real risk. Nothing from what I saw indicated anything I couldn't handle.
He looked unconvinced, but the poor man must have realized that he had no other option but to accept my words. Forcing Laws, who has only been helpful and kind towards me, into this position only made the bitterness in my mouth stronger, and I nearly gagged in disgust at myself. Still, this was for his own good, a line of reasoning that was doing a poor job of consoling me.
I felt them before I saw them, the rapid thumps against the ground signaling their approach like a stampede of angry animals. Deep, guttural growls echoed from behind us, far closer than the howls from earlier, and both Laws and I instinctively glanced backwards.
The black, shadowy figures from earlier were no longer hiding in the veil of darkness of the forest, giving me my first look at the creatures that plagued this world.
Wolves, I noted, but far more bestial and menacing than any I had ever seen. They were significantly larger than their counterparts from Earth, more comparable to a lion than anything else. Dark, matted fur gleamed ominously in the night, almost as if it was sucking in the moonlight. Thick bands of muscle covered its long, lean frame, and steel grey claws—stained a dark crimson with the dried blood of countless hunts—angrily jutted out from its large black paws like jagged swords.
Long white snouts were topped with speckled noses, and below it, their lips were curled back in a snarl to reveal rows of razor-sharp ivory teeth shining like polished knives, chunks of flesh and bone from their last meal still wedged between their fangs. Those same fangs opened and closed as spittle flew through the air, the sound of harsh barking loud enough to drown out the sound of anything else.
Their eyes glowed a baleful red, a raging inferno billowing within pairs of ruby orbs that seemed to suck in the very air around them. I couldn't count them all, but there were more than a hundred of them now, a veritable curtain of crimson-dotted darkness surging forward to consume us. The sight of them all sent goosebumps down my arm, and I nearly tripped due to my lack of focus.
The howls from earlier must have been summoning more monsters from the surrounding area the entire time we were running. They were still dozens of meters out, but they would be upon us in a minute or two at this rate. They bound and leapt through the forest, their fervor rising at finally spotting the prey they had been hunting. The countless bushes and roots separating us meant nothing to them, the monsters avoiding them easily as if they never existed in the first place. It was like a wave of darkness, a swarm of malice and evil that threatened to destroy everything.
And we were the only ones standing between it and everyone else.
"Well… shit," Laws cursed. His arm came up and pulled me off his back depositing me at his side as he continued running. I instantly matched his stride, hoping the man didn't notice as he reached into the quiver on his back and pulling out a handful of arrows between his fingers. "Keep running towards the village! Don't you dare do anything else!" he ordered before sharply turning away and run perpendicular from me. The bowstring was then pulled back, the arrow barely notched onto it before the sharp 'twang' rang through the air, the projectile soaring before the steel tip dug into the unruly hide of one of the wolves.
If the monster was hit, it didn't show it, the blow barely hindering its stride as it continued advancing towards us. The arrow was dislodged soon after, never having found any true purchase within the beast.
A breath later and another arrow sailed through the gaps of the foliage, then another one, then another, each arrow hit one of the monsters. They did not do any true damage, the layer of muscle and skin too thick to puncture with ordinary weapons, but Laws never intended to try and stop the swarm of monsters.
Sinister red orbs turned towards the man, and despite the growing distance between us, I saw the corners of his lips quirk up into a smirk. He glanced towards me, and despite the fact that he was throwing himself into the lion's den, his gaze only showed concern towards me.
I felt my eyes scrunch up.
There was just something about that family that I found admirable.
The exchange only lasted fractions of a second, but I felt he said more than a conversation's worth of words within that moment.
And then Laws was gone, the image of his back disappearing in the depths of the darkness of the forest. The sea of black and red, which had been rushing towards me, made to follow him, the fleeing prey that had angered it far more enticing.
The rumbling slowly withered away until I couldn't feel it anymore, and the noise of hoarse snarls and ear-splitting barks faded as well, leaving nothing but ominous silence.
I didn't even realize that I had stopped moving ever since Laws and I's separation, instead blanky staring at the vast expanse of darkness that the elven man had vanished into.
I turned away, looking towards the direction I had been running towards. The village was so close now, only a few more minutes away. However, it was for that exact reason that Laws chose to move when he did, not wanting to endanger anyone else. Not that I blamed him—I was getting ready to do something drastic as well, but Laws beat me to it.
I took a deep breath.
Well, Laws had taken the initiative before I could, but things were not entirely out of hand just yet. The man had displayed incredible valor, and despite having a loving wife and daughter waiting for him back at his home, he had prioritized the safety of the village over himself, risking his life on a gamble and relying on a child he only met one day ago.
The resolve to commit to such a decision… the strength to not falter in the face of adversity… how exemplary.
It was only right that I honor his determination.
Magical energy coursed through me, empowering me far beyond what I had displayed earlier. For a brief moment, the sensation felt almost foreign, the warmth flowing through me not something I had felt ever since the Holy Grail War.
Mere training could never match the intensity of a real situation. As Paul repeatedly emphasized, there was no substitute for the real thing.
The world blurred, trees and grass and bushes and darkness blending together into an indecipherable haze. I ran forward, running away from the village and deeper into the forest, towards the direction that the monsters had come from.
Laws had made his decision.
And it was time I do the same.
They chased him, almost close enough to nip at his heels. Sharp canines and serrated claws constantly swiped and bit at him, threatening to rip and tear him into nothing more than bloody hunks of meat, meat that would soon be filling the bellies of countless Assault Dogs and Terminate Boars.
It would have been an unsightly end, and perhaps that only added to Laws's motivation to continue running. He needed to buy as much as possible for Shirou to get the others, but he was well aware that his own chances of survival were fleeting. Still, he wanted to go out with a bit more dramatic flair, perhaps a noble last stand in front of his family as he slayed countless enemies with each sweep of a sword before he eventually succumbed to his limits. Now that would have been a sufficiently heroic sacrifice; for all the teasing he gave Paul of his overly-masculine fantasies and ideals, Laws himself was no different, and all men dreamt of laying down their lives as they went out in a blaze of glory.
Not that he had much of a choice here. Unfortunately, dying in this backwater forest was the card he had drawn today—possibly his last.
His favored bow had been discarded, thrown aside somewhere so he could focus all his energy into running. His quiver and arrows too, not even the steel arrows providing enough stopping power to hinder the monsters, never mind killing them. All he had done was piss them off, something he had been hoping to accomplish but secretly hoped his abilities amounted to something more than.
And thus, acknowledging that he had succeeded in getting their attention, he had abandoned his primary weapons to give himself the best chance at outrunning the enemy.
Unfortunately, even with the slight edge he had given himself, his chances of survival were looking grim. The ugly truth was that he was reaching his limits first. Assault Dogs were hunters, and their bodies were well-suited for long pursuits. They had overwhelming stamina, and while perhaps their outright speed and strength wasn't the highest, outlasting their prey was a tried-and-true tactic, one that Laws was experiencing firsthand.
However, Laws was determined to make his last breaths as useful as possible. Every second he could buy was critical; giving up was not an option despite the bleak circumstances.
His legs screamed at him, fire lancing through his veins as he ignored his body's protests. Indignation swelled up within him. Had he been lax in his training? Paul had trained him and the others relentlessly, constantly drilling in them the importance of routine and discipline. Laws had trained vigorously, but he had never pushed himself this far. Admittedly, the security of the village had never been called into question, the only threat to the settlement being only hypothetical. While they had prepared for such a possibility, it turned out to be insufficient, and now he was going to suffer the consequences.
Laws was no warrior. He was a hunter. Upfront, large-scale battles did not suit him. He was not like the grizzled soldiers that guarded the cities of the Asura Kingdom, men who had been plucked from their families to face the monstrosities that assaulted their borders. Nor was he part of the Holy Knights, men who rebuked the incoming stem of monsters with nothing more than steel and faith. Hell, even in the village itself, he was nothing compared to Paul, the man a certified monster in his own right.
Unable to find acceptance within a society that scorned his kind. Unable to protect his wife and daughter from a world that rejected them. Unable to make a difference even now when it truly mattered.
He was simply Laws, nothing more.
He leapt over a tree root sticking out of the ground, but he stumbled on the landing. Laws quickly caught himself, but the almost miniscule mistake had given the monsters behind up precious fractions of a second to get closer.
The elven man clicked his tongue.
It was still too soon. The plan had been to stall, praying that Paul would have gathered the militia in the meantime. Then he would have diverted the swarm back towards the village, meeting the fighters on the way there and stopping the stem of monsters then and there.
The strategy was a complete gamble at best, a hasty idea thought of in a panic as they had made their way back to the village. In his hurry to find a good solution, he had immediately agreed with Shirou's plan, but there were too many variables. What if Shirou got attacked on the way back? The boy was talented, sure, but he was not battle tested. What if the monsters decided to attack the village anyway despite him drawing their attention? What if Paul and the others got overwhelmed? They didn't have many capable warriors in the settlement, and Paul was only one man, no matter how skilled.
Then again, they did not have the luxury of time, so this shoddy tactic was all they had.
Time… that's what it all came down to, huh? Something so far beyond out of his control that it felt useless to direct his danger at it, but he could not help but do so regardless.
How could he have had more time? If he ran faster? Laws discarded the thought; his body was his body, and he was pushing it to its utmost limits already.
Laws's thoughts drifted to the red-haired boy that had been at his side just a while ago. The logical part of his brain told him that abandoning the child was the correct action. By leaving Shirou behind, Laws would not have had to hold himself back, and he might have been able to reach the village in time to warn everyone else, and they could have mustered a proper defense.
And despite it all, he could not feel a hint of resentment towards the boy.
The voice in his head was as correct as it was traitorous, and Laws scrunched up his face at the thought of it. He was not nearly as frank as his wife, but he still agreed with her ideals, hence their marriage. The prospect of selfishly forsaking a child elicited a current of ugly emotions in his chest. He would have preferred tossing himself to the very monsters he was trying to escape from instead of going through with the sickening thought that crossed his mind, if only to spare himself from whatever Paul and Alice had in store for him.
If that child had been Sylphiette, and he Paul, would he have gone through with it?
While certain aspects of his character were questionable, when it came to matters such as this, Laws knew the answer for certain—a resounding "no". The man had been one of the few people to accept him and his family, looking past their heritage and bloodlines and treating them as people, giving them their fair shake. In a world that did not welcome them, Paul had accepted Laws and his family with open arms, giving them a home to stay in after their previous one had disappeared in a blazing inferno.
If nothing else, Laws wanted to repay that debt.
His thoughts came to a screeching halt as he heard the bloodthirsty cry of one of the Assault Dogs ring uncomfortably close to his ear. He whirled around, his hand dropping to his side and his fingers quickly unstrapping the small dagger near his hip. The maneuver was just in time, and Laws felt something clamp onto the back of his shirt in an unrelenting vice-grip, and Laws instantly felt an immense weight start to drag him backwards.
Steel flashed, and the sharp blade cut away the cloth. Laws lurched forward as he felt the sudden mass pulling on him disappear before he run even faster, the brush with death pumping him with energy. He impulsively looked back and saw one of the Assault Dogs with running with shreds of cloth in its mouth.
Along with fresh, crimson stains on its teeth.
With a growing numbness spreading through his body, Laws reached a hand back to where he had cut his shirt. He felt something wet on his fingers, and pulling his hand back, he saw the appendage slick with blood.
His blood.
The pit in his stomach widened, and Laws clenched his jaw at frustration at having been caught up to. He couldn't afford such sloppiness, and now his already quickly-dwindling deadline was now even shorter. The wound wasn't fatal, far from it, but with his blood in the air and steadily leaving his body, his fate was sealed. He wasn't going to bleed out any time soon, but the scent of his blood would only quicken his pursuers, and any other monsters nearby would quickly catch wind of him as well. He had been fortunate that the only threats he had to deal with were all behind him, but he wasn't oblivious to the possibility that he could be ambushed from any direction, especially now that he was heading deeper into the forest.
"Focus," Laws told himself. He couldn't afford to think about hypotheticals. He had to concentrate on the problem at hand.
The path he was on wound up the side of a mountain. It was a treacherous route, one that would need his utmost concentration to navigate smoothly and quickly. However, the advantage was that it would be hard for the monsters to easily chase him, giving him much needed breathing room—
A strange sensation hit him, a tingling feeling permeating throughout his body.
"Magic?"
He was familiar with it, having met a few magicians in his life before settling down. Zenith herself was one too. However, whatever he had felt was not like the magic he had witnessed before. It felt… strange, almost foreign. Mana was the energy of life, something all living beings in this world possessed. In some sense, it should have felt fundamentally familiar. However, the energy that had just briefly pulsed was not that. It was far more… alien, dangerous, almost like a million swords pointed at his throat.
And it was with that realization that Laws lost his focus. His footing slipped, and the precarious path he had been navigating finally prevailed. The ground to his side sharply sloped downwards, and the elven man could not regain his balance before he fell, stumbling down the side of the hill he had been on.
His vision blurred. His brain rattled around in his skull, and his feeling for whichever direction was which was thrown astray. He was rolling down the slope, but the disorienting movement caused his mind to blank out.
His hand shot out, trying to grab something—anything—to stop himself. Fingers dug into soil but found no purchase. He grasped at a root but it immediately slipped past his fingers. He managed to get his hand around a rock only for his momentum to dislodge it from the ground. All through it all, the sharp roots and rocks jutting from the ground repeatedly stabbed into his body, and he couldn't even find the air in his lungs to cry out as his breath was continuously driven out of him.
Helplessness overtook him, punctuated as his torture came to a climactic ending as his back hit the flat side of a large boulder with a nauseating crack. Laws slumped against the cold stone, his eyes closed as he felt his strength leaving him.
"—Ah…"
A second passed before an unsteady, wobbling arm propped itself up underneath the man. Its counterpart joined it, and the injured man managed to get himself onto his hands and knees. Another second later and he got a wavering leg underneath him, pushing himself back onto his feet with a groan. He precariously swayed back and forth before leaning up against the front of the boulder.
When Laws opened his eyes, rays of moonlight filtered into his vision, the bright white orb scintillating in the vast blanket of black. It hung vigilantly in the sky, unconcerned by the deadly plight of the man its light shone upon. After all, the affairs of mortals were underneath it, nothing more than a footnote in the passing of time.
Battered and bruised and broken, Laws basked in the moonlight, gazing up silently before a singular chuckle escaped his lips. Then another, then another, and before long, a steady stream of quiet laughter left him.
He felt so utterly… insignificant, and he could not help but feel that all his woes, all his efforts, in the face of the moon, were entirely meaningless.
A hand rose, and he found his fingers, despite the blood dripping down his fingertips, still clenched tightly around the dagger in his hand. He ignored the white-hot pain lancing through his head, the intensely hot scrapes dotting every part of his body, the aching of his bones and muscles, and through it all, his lips curled into a small smirk, and almost defiantly, he brandished the weapon up at the moon, towards the top of the hill he had fallen from.
It had only been a few seconds. At any moment now, the swarm would be upon him.
He stood up straighter, forcing his body into a fighting stance that Paul had taught him. It was shoddy, and if the knight was here, he would have teased Laws for such poor form.
"One of you…" Just one, that's all he needed. A life for a life. Equivalent exchange—one of reality's fundamentals laws. If those beasts wanted to kill him, he would gladly return the favor.
Even if it was meaningless. Even if he gained nothing. He would fight until the bitter end. The flame blazing within him would accept nothing else.
"Are you watching? Finally… I get to be cool for once…" At this point, Laws didn't know who the words were for. Perhaps for the friend and mentor whose footsteps he futilely tried to follow. Perhaps for the wife and daughter he would be leaving behind, the crowning jewels of his miserable life. Or perhaps they were only for himself, the last ramblings of a man who was going to die.
He held that pose, dagger raised high, ready to make one heroic final stand.
A few seconds went by. Then a minute passed. Then another. Then the numbing realization that he couldn't even feel the monsters nearby hit him.
"Ah… well, at least I looked just a bit like a hero," Laws quietly said to himself, chuckling at the ridiculousness of it all. He collapsed against the boulder, the sheer exhaustion hitting him in full force. He felt his eyes grow heavy, and his consciousness started to slip away from him.
"… Perhaps."
An unfamiliar voice cut through the silence, sweet and pleasant, along with the crunching of leaves and grass as footsteps approached him. He knew he should've moved, or called out for help, or anything, but the sweet temptation of sleep overrode any sense of danger he could have felt. The sirens of the dream world sang to him, inviting arms dragging him under the veil of reality towards bliss.
And then finally, his world faded to black.
"… Healing…!"
A/N: So like, this chapter was originally going to be about 15k words long… then I decided on how the story beats were going to match up. Instead of deliberating on where I wanted each scene to be, I just decided to cut it off here as to not waste any more time. Not like it's a bad spot anyway, I have an excellent "mystery" to end things off on, though it's not really much of a surprise in my opinion.
Regarding the chapter itself, nothing too much to talk about. Of course, there's the reveal of the "big bads" I've chosen. I think I've teased the somewhat apocalyptic world enough, and it's time for some actual action. There's a reason they haven't shown up yet, mostly because I never thought of implementing them until I rewrote the prologue, but I've edited chapters 1-5 to include little snippets of background lore to reflect that. Basically, all I did was just make the Mushoku Tensei world a lot more dangerous due to the introduction of external factors. The more dangerous monsters I've talked about are a product of that, so it should turn Mushoku Tensei from a slice-of-life story into something a bit more… meat to it. Don't worry, there's a reason I'm doing this, and I am still remaining true to my promise that this is a Shirou-fic first and foremost, but I just needed a some material to do what I wanted.
How are these chapter lengths by the way? Honestly, splitting up my chapters might be a decent plan going forward. The unfortunate truth is that I'm ridiculously slow at writing, so I tend to get stuck writing certain scenes. This results in a lot of time invested for not actually a lot of writing done. Splitting off the chapters like this seems like a good idea since you guys can read more while I am stuck smashing my head against the wall. In terms of actually pace, there technically wouldn't be any change—just smaller chapters as opposed to bigger ones. It technically keeps the engagement numbers higher so that's a plus.
Lots of people are commenting about how Shirou is only four years old at this point, this point being ~150k words in. Fun fact: that's longer than the first Harry Potter book, so in the same length as that story, my character technically should be still drinking formula and making baby noises. Alas, this issue is an oversight from me—when I first started this story, I just wanted to put some ideas down on paper and follow the Mushoku Tensei formula. I think I've already stressed this before but I actually have no idea what I'm doing. Trust me, I got ideas, but there's no outline or anything of that sort in this story, just pure mental gymnastics and maybe some bullet points.
Truthfully, if I was to do a full rewrite of this story, I would just have Shirou be reincarnated in the same body and age as when he died and have him be dropped off in the MT world that is vastly different in a timeline without Rudeus and a world that has been slowly altered over time by his presence. Alas, that kind of story is not quite possible right now, at least until the end of this arc after which I'll do a timeskip and call it a day.
The good news is that you guys can read about how these character change instead of being randomly introduced to them being different than in the original MT world. Not the worst thing ever, but I have little options at this point.
Oh, and for the people wondering why a four-year-old is doing the stuff Shirou is doing, keep in mind that Rudeus was nonchalantly one of the best mages in the world at four and was almost certainly better than Roxy at that point despite not officially being recognized so until a year later. This is with him just casually fucking around with magic as well, so I'd like to think Shirou would probably be able to get a bit better results. If you want some "canon" explanation, just believe that Shirou is a miko of some sort or his constant reinforcement and fully developed soul is accelerating his growth. At the very least, everyone in the story acknowledges the ridiculousness of it, so it's not like I'm unaware of how stupid it sounds.
Well, that about does it. Thank you for the people that have stuck around for this long. I think by now, people know what kind of story this is going to be, so you guys are going to be in it for the long haul. Unsure if this story will ever be finished, but I'm confident I can at least finish the first arc, which is probably more "conclusive" and lengthier than most other stories anyway.
As always, thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review (anything helps!), my discord is in my profile for any questions, and as always, please have a wonderful day!