FBBH 102

This chapter is the end of the Kyoto Act with the next one being the Epilogue before we move on to the next stage... after we finish a certain tournament. Yes, it is a Jojo reference but also it is relevant.

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

102- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

…..

Whenever tragedy strikes, especially on a high scale, several parties need to be notified; family members, friends, coworkers, allies, anybody in general who could possibly be affected by the chaos directly or indirectly.

However that wasn’t an immediate process since cleaning up and establishing exactly what happened was always a priority. The former was also about saving lives and stabilizing the situation on the ground while the latter was about removing the ‘fog of war’ as some would call it to access the damages.

Because of that, even in modern times, it was possible that messages, warnings and even calls for help could arrive later than intended or fall down in the list of priorities depending on the size of the emergency.

A terrorist attack which left hundreds of victims was that sort of emergency and the Underworld knew well what sort of damage the Khaos Brigade could inflict whenever their plans were set in motion.

The Hero Faction attack threw a wrench on the whole command structure of Kyoto by forcing half of its kings to split up and try to rescue one of their group while the last one was busy in a diplomatic mission.

Those left behind in the city did their best to hold down the fort but a direct assault annihilated much of the reserve and the army’s chain of command. Almost all who didn’t hunt the Hero Faction with Yoruichi and Sesshomaru were decimated with only a few remaining.

Whoever returned from the attacks arrived too late to do anything other than help with the clean up and then warn their allies about what happened to Kyoto which was once again pushed down in the priority list as they tended to their subordinates’ families dealing with grief over their losses.

However a certain nekomata knew at least one person, one devil, needed to be warned as soon as possible and if she wasn’t busy with another thousand different things she would have raced to Fuyuki herself.

Since she couldn’t, the message ended up arriving the morning of the next day and just because she was so busy that the nekomata only remembered she could just send a text after one of the Sitri devils, Reya, suggested she do it.

The Bishop then went to the ‘other side’ of Kyoto, with Waver who was happy to hold the fort and explain abstinences before she wrote a somewhat short and detailed message that explained some stuff and left a lot out.

Summarizing it, the message was: Kyoto attack, lots of dead, Gremory and Sitri fought, Shirou, Ise and Rossweisse hurt. There were more details but a detailed report it wasn’t and if Sona ever knew about how lax her Bishop acted the King would surely reprehend the girl.

Regardless, Reya pressed send, leading to Rias, who had just finished getting ready to school to pick up her phone and scream. “WHAT?!!!!!!!”

If her confused shout wasn’t already enough to get everyone in the house running towards her room then the dark aura dominating their home certainly did the trick. Especially with how it spread around the area and would have taken over the neighborhood if not for their boundary fields.

Regardless, everybody quickly made their way to her room, Akeno arriving first. “Rias?! What is wrong?!”

“Are we under attack?!!” Ravel’s had her flames ready as Kanshou and Bakuya dropped on her hands from her magic circle.

Medusa approached cautiously, Koneko by her side and Gasper behind them, his eyes zig zagging around, trying to find any enemy. “That is just impossible. If anyone had broke the perimeter-”

The deity failed to finish her statement when Rias bolted out of her room and opened her wings. “What the-”

“Rias, wait!!” The redhead took flight before Akeno could finish her own sentence. ‘If people see her…’ The Queen had no idea what took over her friend to have her flying in broad daylight but the hybrid could question later. Opening her own pair of bat-like wings, she was besides the pureblood devil in an instant. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Kyoto was attacked!” Rias replied as they both flew higher trying to avoid the ravenhead and fly to Kyoto at full speed.

Unfortunately Akeno couldn’t just let that happen. “What?! Wait!!” She positioned herself in front of her friend, arms open to block the path.

“Out of my way, Akeno! That is an order!” The redhead didn’t actually wait for her friend to move and began flying forward only for the True Hybrid’s arm to hold her in place. Doing so without any effort, surprising the devil. ‘Since when she is that much stronger than me?’

“Hold on, Rias! You can’t just drop by Kyoto like that! Seekvaira needs to be informed and there is a bunch of other stuff-”

“I don’t have time! They were attacked and I need to make sure everybody is safe!!”

“Did you finish reading the message on your phone?!” That made the Heiress pause. “I am sure they are alright! If Shirou-kun managed to-”

“It wasn’t from Shiro! It was Reya from the Sitri!” They were close enough there was no longer any need to shout but the redhead was still agitated. “It was the Hero Faction and Illyasviel was also there! I need to go!”

Akeno’s eyes grew wide with concern and she nodded. “Fine but I am going-”

“And abandoning your post?! A bit disappointing, my Priestess.” Medusa’s voice had both young women looking down to find Medusa, Koneko and Gasper flying towards them. While the Bishop and Rook were using their wings, the goddess floated up at a slower pace with an unimpressed look. “And we really shouldn't have this conversation where anybody can see us if they look up. Or do you two want to expose the moonlit world?”

“Buchou,” Gasper called gentle, his eyes half closed because of the Sun, “Ravel started making calls but… she wants to know who she should be calling.”

“She called Seekvaira first.” Koneko pointed out. “Need to warn that we are going out.” The white haired nekomata needed to know her friends and adoptive sister were safe.

Her concern was plain to see and was enough to snap Rias out of her own head since her rush had got everyone worried. Besides, Akeno had a point, she barely finished the text and began flying out like a mad woman, disregarding her responsibilities. Yet every cell in her body demanded she went to Kyoto as fast as possible.

“My Champion is safe.” Medusa’s affirmation caught the King and Queen’s attention and she repeated firmly. “My Champion is safe. At least he lives.”

“Medusa-sama…” Akeno immediately lowered herself to her goddess’ level and bowed. “I am glad for the news. Thank you.”

“Are you sure?” Rias asked an instant later.

“Don’t underestimate the connection between a deity and their Champion. I gave the Greatest Fool’s my Blessings and I can tell it still stands.” The redhead began relaxing and Medusa affirmed with conviction. “Shirou lives. Don’t worry. Otherwise I would be the first person to know.”

A little jealous that the goddess had such a strong connection with her lover, Rias, nonetheless calmed down considerably but didn’t really change her plans of going to Kyoto with all due haste.

‘Due’ but not all encompassing, leaving Fuyuki quickly but after settling a few affairs.

Somewhat, at least. “Don’t worry, Koneko. I think the report said Yoruichi was out of town…” They all landed and returned to Rias’ room where she grabbed her phone while Ravel worked on her computer. “Cancel whatever Contracts I have today. If there is any meeting- no, in general, you are in charge, Ravel.”

The Daughter of Phenex curtsied. “Shall I get in contact with our allies after warning the Underworld?” Because the latter was surely happening, everyone knew.

“The desk in my office has a direct line to Onii-sama…” Rias shook her head in annoyance, realizing her head wasn’t in the right place. ‘Ravel knows that already.’ To her friends’ credit, nobody called her out on the gaffe. “Make sure he knows. I think nobody there had time to warn anyone.”

Medusa nodded in agreement. “If it is half as bad as it was in the Underworld then…”

“It isn’t. Kyoto’s yokai population is much smaller.” Akeno informed the goddess. “Either case, the message was in Yoruichi’s name, correct?”

Rias checked her phone again. “Right, Kusaka-san says as much…” The redhead had no problem deciphering the text once she calmed down but it was evident much of the context was missing. ‘Looks like she was exhausted while writing this and skipped some stuff… Another reason to check things up myself.’ Even if Shirou was safe, she had other people there to worry about. The idea any of them was involved in a terrorist attack and she wasn’t there to protect them disturbed the Heiress greatly. “We better get going-”

“You are forgetting the fallen angels and the Church.” Akeno reminded her friend. “Just because we are warning the Underworld…”

“Irina was there as well.” Koneko reminded everyone.

Gasper raised an arm. “I can talk with Azazel right now. I have him on chat.” Both of them played quite a few games together and were even in the same Clan on a MMO. “If it is to talk with Caren-chan… I can do that too.”

Truthfully the white haired nun/nurse made him nervous most days and everyone knew it. “Tell Azazel to talk with Caren- Or whoever is his contact with the Church.” Rias amended with a frown. “He also has one of those special desks so it wouldn’t be surprising if he can call Michael himself to sort this out. The attack in Kyoto… This report is concerning. As the Heiress of Gremory I must sort this out.”

“No need to make excuses for us.” Medusa commented smugly. “We all know you are going there either way. Tell my Champion he better not have lost his fight. And if he lost it better had been against someone really impressive. We have a reputation to maintain.”

“Where is Liz?” Suddenly Ravel asked and everyone looked around for the maid only to hear a loud sound from the garage. “Oh…”

They all ran just as the maid was turning on their fastest car. “Liz!” Koneko’s call didn’t stop the woman.

Even if Leysritt didn’t know exactly what happened she had felt Rias’ fury and heard enough to understand something had gone terribly wrong in Kyoto. Lack of context aside, her priority was to race towards the city as fast as possible and kill whoever was attacking with extreme prejudice.

“Shirou needs help!” She deeply regretted letting him go on the school trip without her. Both as his caretaker and bodyguard, that felt like a huge failure. “We should-”

“You need to go to school to keep appearances.” Rias half ordered, half demanded, earning a glare for her troubles. “Besides, Akeno, Koneko and myself will be going and flying faster than any car”

Everyone could hear the car’s wheel crack under the maid’s fingers as her eyes shifted between cold and warm, the woman struggling against following her programming or trusting the devil.

While Leysritt demanded finding her Master as quickly as possible, Liz knew if there was a person who cared about Shirou as much as she did, probably more because of the Gremory’s Love, it was Rias Gremory.

“Okay but any trouble-”

“We call and Ravel flies you as quickly as she can.” Rias affirmed before turning to Gasper. “Same to you. Medusa can hide in her temple-”

A hiss from the goddess interrupted the devil. “Wait, not hide.” Her Divinity filled the garage so fast they all suddenly forgot she had been a broken deity once. With so many followers, time for recovery and many challenges she faced, including holding back the power of a Heavenly Dragon, the Goddess of Snakes was the strongest person in the room. “I can wait in my temple if required but if anyone comes knocking in Fuyuki, me and my children can dispatch them promptly.”

“Right, right. Apologies, Medusa.” The Heiress waited to be brushed off before focusing on Akeno. “We have to go.”

“Flying in broad daylight is still risky but I think I have a solution.” The Queen created a magic circle in each hand but didn’t bother with her circuits. Devil magic would assure her spell worked and soon her mana was surrounding herself, Rias and Koneko. “There we go. That should help.”

“Did you do something?” Her King asked, not noticing anything different. In her defense, neither did anyone else.

Exactly as Akeno expected and she couldn’t help but sigh. “A minor spell to distort wind and light. Invisibility, or camouflage, if you will. Based on the boundary fields and… other stuff I have been studying.”

Rias’ eyebrow rose. “Why were you researching invisibility spells?” A mischievous grin blossomed in the raven head's face. “Forget I asked. I guess we can still see ourselves?”

“Anyone from the moonlight world can see us easily. This isn’t for them but for the more average person to not spot us and start conspiracy theories or something.” Indeed, to execute a spell to turn someone invisible in all senses was beyond Akeno’s capability.

Since she wasn’t that proficient with the spell it was superficial at best and even someone from more mundane origins could spot them with proper equipment or if they focused. More an assurance to help them not get caught so long they were careful.

One good enough that the King, Queen and Rook of Gremory took off from their home a few minutes later, flying high to make sure nobody from their world would catch them. There was a risk the Khaos Brigade’s spies could be waiting for a chance to strike so they were careful.

As careful as they could be with Rias wishing to rush and get to Kyoto as fast as possible but fortunately Koneko’s presence forced the Heiress to pace herself. The Rook was far slower than either the King or Queen so they flew at her pace, still faster than most trains but not as fast as they could go.

Nevertheless, Kyoto was on sight after a few minutes of travel. “Do we have a plan?” Finally Akeno asked since she saw the contents of the message but didn’t know where to go. “I don’t think we can just call back, right?”

“We can try.” Rias had a couple of ideas but they went for the simplest one first. Landing on the outskirts of the big city, they hypnotised a cab driver to not ask questions and got to the center while the redhead tried to make a call. “Hmm, nobody is picking up.”

“Kyoto is in ‘another dimension’. ‘Signal sucks’ or so Yoruichi said.” Koneko shrugged. “She always calls from a restaurant on this side.” It was why they could only make phone calls at certain hours since the older nekomata had been buried in work since the Kokabiel incident. “Magic?”

Making sure her spell was still affecting the driver, Akeno replied. “They were just attacked so that side must be in lock down. We will need to find an yokai on this side-”

“Aha! Or someone else!” Rias exclaimed with triumph as her call connected. A few seconds later, someone picked up. “Sensei, I heard what happened. Are you alright? Did anyone die?”

... Nobody you know, at least. The Heiress winced but quickly recomposed herself and put the phone on the speaker.

“You know what I mean… Regardless, I am glad you and the others are safe, Velvet-sensei.”

A grunt escaped the man before he replied, I appreciate the sentiment. Should I summarize that you are already in Kyoto?

“Nothing gets passed by you, Velvet-sensei.”

Miss Himejima as well? Please don’t tell me the rest of your Peerage made the trip. In moments like this someone should be holding the fort.

Rias did her best to not get offended by what he was implying. “Ravel and Gasper are warning everybody else while I came to take stock of the situation.”

An unsurprised hum left the line before he said. You need someone to get you inside ‘the other’ Kyoto.

“If one of your students could be so kind and open a gateway it would be nice.” Her words were playful but her tone was as serious as a graveyard. “Also, what will we find once we are there?”

... I told Kusaka to write a proper report… How long until you arrive at the hotel?

“We’re here.” Koneko announced as the car stopped in front of the building.

“You heard her. How long until you are down here?” Rias asked as she and Koneko stepped out of the car. Akeno took an extra second to make sure the man wouldn’t remember anything he heard while also giving him an overly generous tip.

As far as he was concerned he dropped three tourists who paid him in dollars, enough so that he could stop working for a couple of months if he wanted.

Carefully so nobody else from Kuoh would see them, the trio waited for Waver on an alleyway. “No student?” Rias questioned once he arrived.

“I watched them open the ‘gate’ in and out. I can get you three on the other side on my own.”

“Where is Rossweisse?” Akeno asked next. “Is she alright?”

“Healing. Healing and resting.”

Koneko had beaten both older women to the question. “Why didn't Asia fix her?”

“Too many patients and compared to them Rossweisse’s wounds were superficial.” He clicked his tongue. “Mostly because she was a Valkyrie and her armor took most of the brunt… It is going to need repairs once Shirou is more disposed to work with it.”

Rias’ expression shifted and she quickly asked. “How is Shiro doing?”

“... A cloud of guilt, regret and anger over his head so dense you can almost see it… His sister was here, afterall.” All devils’ exchanged glances but they kept following Waver. “He, of course, tried to stop the Hero Faction but he wasn’t strong enough. Didn’t Ms. Kusaka 's report say as much?”

“Unfortunately it wasn’t as precise as we would have liked.” Akeno revealed and the man grunted. Sadness filled her heart as she thought about how much the Mage had suffered. ‘I totally am telling Sona. Some of these things we should know even before leaving the house.’

“Where are we going?” Rias asked, anxiety and rush returning.

“Close to the West Temple. It is being used as the main base for coordination and where you will find most of my students… Albeit I recruited both Ms. Tohsaka and Ms. Edelfelt’s assistance in controlling the more powerful ones.”

Good news meant her friend and Rook were fine which already improved Rias’ day. “Are they concerned about the current state of affairs?”

“Undoubtedly, but I had no time to talk with anyone other than my helpers. I thank you for having such competent subordinates and ask you to extend my appreciation to Heiress Sitri whenever you can.” If not for Rin, Luvia and a few of the devils’ presence, the magus had no clue how he would keep his yokai students under control. “I cannot blame their agitation, despite my grievances. The damage from the attack was extensive which is why we must go West before you go to the other side.”

“What happened to the Central Temple?” Suddenly the man stopped and turned. A haunted look took over his face and he shook his head. “I see… How bad was it, Velvet-sensei?”

Waver took a full minute to think, breaking down the situation in his head.. “Objectively speaking it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.” Akeno and Koneko failed to hide their surprise but Rias remained stoic. “Numbers wise only a couple hundred died in Kyoto with no civilian casualties. The army also lost little since they had two of Kyoto’s Kings in the front line away from their base.”

“Hundreds still died…” The hybrid said weakly, knowing exactly where the magus was coming from.

His logic was sound and compared to the attack in the Underworld, those numbers were insignificant, especially since there were fewer yokais than devils. Yet both hers and Koneko’s hearts ached upon hearing about all those deaths. Sympathy and sadness suffocated logic for most people in those cases.

Unless they had been trained to bury their emotions, like a Heiress who one day would lead armies of her own and studied under the Magus Killer. “How bad could it have been?”

“Once their goal was met, if the Hero Faction wanted, Kyoto would have been reduced to dust in the blink of an eye. Not rubble, not fire, dust. The power of a Heroic Spirit…” Waver shivered. If asked he wouldn’t deny his fear and would call anyone who did insane. “It was too much. I cannot see even the whole Clocktower working together defeating those people. Maybe even the Maous would fall short.”

“Including my brother?” A terrifying thought but Rias’ face remained blank.

“That I don’t know. Sirzechs Lucifer is a singular existence himself and I don’t know his full power… But I wouldn’t bet against some of the Hero Faction now they have the powers of the Original Gilgamesh and Heracles. Their Heroic Spirits, backed by their Legends and Noble Phantasms.”

The girls understood and shivered in fear. Neither of them were foolish enough to underestimate that sort of power. Not when they were two of the most powerful demigods in History.

Waver shrugged before saying. “With that sort of firepower no King of Kyoto could hope for a win in those conditions. Kyoto only stands because, in the end, the Hero Faction didn’t want to destroy it.”

“They were content just stealing from it.” Koneko was upset about everything she heard. Upset and disturbed.

Rias nodded in agreement before adding. “You better not tell this in the earshot of any yokai or else they will be rightfully furious.”

“That was my ‘objective’ take. Subjectively speaking it was a, pardon the language unfitting for a teacher, a cluster fuck of a shit show. And I am being precise.” Waver let out a sigh of exhaustion and sadness. “Unnecessary death, the defeat of a king because even if Yasaka was rescued her power was used against her people. Several of Kyoto’s protectors died in a flash, their sacrifices in vain because the terrorists won. And the worst part? The city only stands because of their mercy.”

“Were they that powerful?” Akeno interrupted with a frown. “Surely after a while Yoruichi would have come back to help. Not to mention-”

“Even if the four Kings of Kyoto, Shirou and you three joined the fight, you all would have been trounced.” The magus spoke calmly but his frown, the sweat in his forehead and shaking hand showed he was nervous. But also sincere in his estimation. “Heroic Spirits are far, far stronger than any of you can imagine. Even the best academics were wrong in their estimation of how powerful those beings would be if they descended on Earth. They low balled it, by a lot.”

Previously he spoke how the Maous and the whole Clocktower would fall without any doubt in his mind. Estimating that the Kings of Kyoto were around that level of strength, weaker than Sirzechs but as strong as minor gods without Divinity, then the three remaining wouldn’t be enough.

Yasaka was already down due to the Hero Faction’s plan so more people arriving to help would just increase the body pile even if the yokais main army returned with every intention of fighting the threat.

“Heracles alone would be enough to kill everyone.” Waver realized while trying to sleep after the mess. Suffice to say he didn’t succeed. “Already the yokais were speaking how he had an aura so powerful, or muscles so strong, they nullified most attacks. And that wasn’t counting the arrows in his pelt that must have had the Licenean Hydra’s blood on them. The most poisonous substance on Earth.”

He didn’t want to talk about how the man was capable of the air as arrows because that would have led him to explain that Shirou was the one who fought against them on his own while he carried Yasaka out of the temple.

If Rias Gremory was going to interrogate someone it wasn’t going to be him and certainly not in the middle of the street from the mundane side. The other side too since morale was low thanks to the attack. People were afraid and rightfully so even if Waver suspected the Hero Faction wouldn’t touch Kyoto again.

Still no reason for him to get any more involved.

No, he was happy to just guide his students close to the temple and let the other devils or Rossweisse handle the rest if just for his sanity’s sake. ‘Here I thought it would be an easy trip. Use familiars to keep an eye on the students and relax a bit. Maybe check a temple for signs of old magic to study if I was in the mood.’

Waver learned a lot from the Central Temple anyway thanks to Illya but nothing he could use. If anything the knowledge was going to give him nightmares for the next few months if he wasn’t careful.

“Rossweisse will answer any questions you might have. Better than keeping talking about this in the open.” He said, hoping to end the conversation.

Rias still had a question. “Are you avoiding telling me something?” His silence was telling. “Did anyone get really hurt?”

“... They are alive. More than most yokais who were there that day could say.” They entered another alleway and he felt a shiver run through his spine.

Akeno placed a hand on her King’s shoulder. “Rias, no. He did his job and now we know more than we did before. Thank you, Waver-sensei.”

“We have to find Shirou and Yoruichi.” Koneko suggested with some urgency.

Tapping the wall with a finger, they all felt mana fill the air as they transitioned from one Kyoto to the other. “Can’t say what Yoruichi is doing right, certainly she is preoccupied with something important. Shirou, however, is probably busy at this moment.”

“He-” Akeno closed Rias’ mouth just before she shouted.

The ravenhead then calmly questioned, “Any particular reason why isn’t he resting after such an ordeal?” while letting Rias go slowly.

Waver sighed again. “The first King of Kyoto to return was the Black Tortoise, the Protector of the North.” With the Title came a strong gust of wind as if Kyoto itself called for its leader. “Lord Oogway decreed that he and Emiya Shirou would talk after he recovered and predicted it would happen,” raising his wrist, he checked his watch, “right about now.”

…

Shirou woke up after his fight with bitterness on his chest and mouth, the sting of failure was made a hundred times worse when he looked around to see dozens of people moaning in pain.

Fortunately they were safe in the temple where he dropped them off but couldn’t help but frown upon remembering he couldn’t save everyone. It was almost a flashback from his birth.

‘Damn it…’ The former redhead thought while Xenovia realized he was conscious and hugged him with all her strength. Some of his friends were also close by and they were about to start talking when Yoruichi approached them with a sad expression.

“Shirou, Oogway wants to talk with you.” His lover informed him, her tone urgent and her expression heavy as she also wished he could rest some more.

After a short exchange of ideas and checking to make sure none of his friends was dead, Rossweisse and Ise the only ones recovering still in their own way as the rest just had small bruises, the Mage followed the nekomata deeper in the temple.

Yoruichi guided him to a room farther from everyone else for a private meeting. She opened the door for him just as he asked her for a favor. Humming a little, she clicked her tongue upon realizing the importance of his request. It would delay her work some more but it wasn’t like she was going to complain while dealing with the Hero Faction’s mess.

So, after a hug and a kiss, the woman departed leaving Shirou to cross a long hallway and find another door. There were two kappa yokais guarding it, offering him some clothes and a bathroom to freshen up before the meeting which made him frown but he took the offer.

Leaving him in a red and white yukata which reminded him of his armor even if half of the colours were wrong. ‘What is this place? Most of the temple is full of mana but here…’ There was nothing but two pillows, a table, a tea set and a painting of a forest with a running river that looked almost tridimensional. ‘It is like magic can’t reach this room but then how did they make this?’

After looking around and finding nobody, the Mage approached the curious painting with every intention of using Structural Analysis on it just to distract himself and forget about his sister’s sins for just a moment.

He almost stumbled when his finger actually entered inside the painting. “What the-”

“My, my. What a curious young man you are.” Shirou jumped in place and quickly turned around to find someone already sitting at the table and preparing tea. A long neck and a bald head that could only belong to a turtle turned to him. “Hmm, yes, yes. Right face but wrong hair.”

“‘Wrong hair’?” Shirou did his best to not sound nervous but he definitely was. ‘I didn’t even notice when he got in. Did he teleport?’ His senses, mostly his nose, told him there was no trace of mana in the room besides his own. ‘Nope. Not buying that. Even if he isn’t putting off any power… He is strong.’

“Oh, I was expecting a redhead. Especially when I saw your face.” His muscle reptilian arms began moving and mixing the beverage. “You remind me of someone I met… Long ago. Just the wrong hair colour.” Tilting his head, he offered the Mage of Swords a small bow. “You may call me Oogway, if you like.”

Shirou offered a bow of his own. “Emiya Shirou…”

“Nice to meet you, Emiya Shirou.” Oogway adjusted the sash, a green piece of sik that covered half of his shell’s back and a streak of his front, and kept preparing the tea. Despite not displaying any power, every motion the turtle made carried a certain weight.

Oogway could easily be described as just a turtle, one capable of standing on two feet and having hands instead of extra feet or flippers. Not normal hands, he didn’t have fingers in the first place or, more precisely, he had four huge talons which moved like rigid fingers, making tea with an enviable precision.

Besides the hands and ‘hooves’ for feet, from what Shirou could see, there was also the huge shell surrounding the turtle’s body, a black piece of armor that carried some marks and was slightly damaged.

A veteran warrior in all accounts, every move was calm and collected as the talons kept making the tea without spilling anything. He then snapped his ‘fingers’ and the tea began heating up like nothing. The Mage felt a shift and mana being used but in the blink of an eye was gone.

A green eye moved in his direction and the turtle kept preparing the tea. “You are still recovering, young man. Why not sit? Rest will help your body as much as medicine does.”

Shirou accepted the proposal and while sitting down he asked, “That painting… is it really a painting?”

“Oh, it was a gift. A small pocket dimension where Yasaka could relax or play with her daughter without being disturbed but… I am afraid that it wasn’t enough to entertain a curious child which led to them going around and to the tragedy which befell our fair town. That place is too artificial; no animals, no people. Just a small forest with a breeze and a river with no fish.”

“Did you really create a pocket dimension on your own? And it exists… without you sustaining it?” Shirou questioned, trying to imagine doing something similar with his Reality Marble.

Oogway chuckled and placed a cup in front of the magus before preparing his own. “It is just a simple space. A gift I offered to every King, made to their specifications. Didn’t Yoruichi show you hers?”

“No, she didn't. But I think she probably doesn’t like it- I mean, I am sure she appreciates-”

“Calm yourself down. Relax. I understand.” Looking at his painting, the turtle allowed himself to hum sadly. “It is a facsimile of the world. Not a real thing. A small space and not proper for a girl to play around or a woman to run wild. But ideal for a father to train and spend time with his daughters.”

“... I see…” Shirou tilted his head to stare again before focusing on the turtle. Lowering his head until it was touching the table, he said. “I am sorry.”

“For what? You made no offense to me or Kyoto itself. From what I heard, you tried to help and saved many lives. Dozens of them.”

“Hundreds still died.” While he didn’t count, the magus was sure of that. “And my sister was the one who-”

Raising a hand, the turtle interrupted. “Aren’t you going to drink the tea?” Oogway asked in a gentle, grandfatherly tone.

“The tea?” Shirou noticed the cup had been moved and was by his head’s right. ‘When did he-’

“Tea is best when served hot. Please, drink.”

“But I-”

“You are not at fault for your sister’s mistakes. You tried to stop her and tried to help. None will hold a grudge against you, much less I.” Oogway mentioned the tea and Shirou took a small sip before his eyes grew wide. It was the best tea he ever had in his life and the turtle knew it. “Instead I should be thankful to you who risked life and limb to help us. Thank you, Emiya Shirou.”

“Please, don’t thank me. Illya, she- my sister did this. All of it.” Sadness and bitterness almost drowned Shirou’s soul. “Her magic, her plan and her allies. I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t stop her and-”

“Please, drink more. Remain calm. Find your center.” Again the turtle gentle’s voice had an effect. Almost feeling chastised, Shirou did as suggested. “Worry not about what you can’t control. It is a waste of energy.”

“But I could-”

“You tried to stop them and you failed.” Oogway reminded Shirou with a gentle smile, the Mage falling silent as his head began shaking a little. “None of these deaths was your fault. Anyone who dares to say you didn’t do your best would be either a liar or mistaken. Anyone.”

“... But Illya is my sister…” He spoke with sorrow and guilt before finishing his tea. Placing the cup on the table with a soft ‘clink’ his shoulders began shaking. “So many dead and it is all because I couldn’t reach her.”

Oogway nodded and sipped his tea. “For what is worth, it wasn’t that your love didn’t reach her, her fears, her ambitions, suffocated it and stopped the young Illyasviel from listening to reason.” The turtle yokai smile was gone and he shook his head with sadness. “Apologies but there is little sympathy for your sister in Kyoto right now. If given the chance every single yokai will tear her to shreds.” He watched the young man’s shoulders drop before smiling kindly. “That shouldn’t stop you from making her see sense.”

“But you just said-”

“She will never be welcomed in Kyoto but I wouldn’t mind if she was alive to be punished. That will be up to you or whoever manages to stop her from spreading more death and misery.”

“... This is far from over… The Hero Faction, with the power of Heroic Spirits… They are going to kill many more.”

“Unfortunately that is more likely inevitable. Once I felt their power descend on Kyoto I tried to return with all haste but, truth be told, I would have been annihilated. In fact, any of the kings would have. I doubt anyone on the planet can stop all that power at the moment. Not even a god nor a devil or yokai.”

“That is…”

“We must face the facts, Emiya Shirou. Death will come for many and your sister will have a hand in all of them.” Oogway watched the Mage bite his lip and close his fist with frustration. He finished his drink and poured more tea for both of them. “Or I could be wrong. Forgive me for making the situation seem so hopeless. Really I am not sure.”

Shirou’s jaw dropped. “What- wait.” He shook his head before asking. “Aren’t you the wise Oldest Yokai? How can’t you-”

Oogway raised a finger. “‘Wise’ doesn’t mean ‘omniscient’.” Flicking the Mage’s nose, he watched the young man retreat with amusement. “I don't know what everybody has at every moment. Maybe a Pantheon has the means to stop the Hero Faction or maybe a certain Mage is already planning something to stop his sister from drowning in blood.” Shirou looked down in embarrassment. Like a child caught with his hand on a cookie jar. The turtle chuckled before commenting. “I knew it. You haven’t given up yet. Hold that feeling. It may be the key to stopping a catastrophe.”

“I don’t get it. You don’t want to kill my sister after all she did? Your people certainly want her head in a spike.” And he couldn’t really blame them. While walking towards the meeting he heard cries of despair for the dead. “After all she did, exile isn’t something your people will just accept. They will want-”

“To pay her back in the same coin. More death spreading around like a virus. Exactly what we are trying to stop.” Oogway shook his head. “It isn’t up to them nor me. It will be up to whoever stops the Hero Faction to act as judge, jury and executor. And they, or you if you manage to do it, will have to make several hard decisions before the end.”

“I have a plan. Or the beginnings of one.” Shirou confessed.

“Good. Because I am too old for this and I am sure they will make turtle soup with me if I try anything.” Oogway laughed at the disbelief in the Mage’s face. “Honest. My power can’t compete with the kinds of Gilgamesh and I am at a point in my life that it can't grow any further. I can only trust the next generation to deal with the problems of the present.”

“I will stop them. I won’t let what happened in Kyoto happen again.” Shirou grabbed his own leg tightly to help control his emotions. With a calm tone he declared that, “This tragedy won’t repeat itself. Not on my watch.”

“It is easy to see your earnestness and sincerity. That sort of empathy is rare. To see people suffering and stand up to do something is what all desire but not many can do.” Oogway smiled again. “However, that doesn’t mean you can help. Whatever their plan, they gathered too much power and hid in the cracks of the World. There is no easy way to stop them. Not even going in ‘guns blazing’ as you youngsters would say.”

“Doesn’t matter. I will figure something out.”

“Oh, I surely don’t doubt that. I already can tell you are planning to take plenty of risks. Not my place to say anything, Yoruichi and your other paramours will take care of that.” The turtle laughed when Shirou blushed before adding. “The best advice I can give is this; focus on what you can control and whatever you can’t just ‘hmph’.” He concluded with a shrug.

“Just ‘hmph’?”

“You forgot the shrug.” The turtle could already see the frustration returning. “You can’t control everything nor can you save everyone. Trying to do so is a path of madness only the maddest of man would dare walk.” His green eyes shone, almost piercing Shirou’s soul. “Either that or someone who has nothing real to live for and you,” he hand was shaking but he tapped the magus’ heart, right beside Medusa’s Gift, “you have people who love you. Do not be like your sister and her allies. Allow love to guide your path so you are never really lost.”

Upon hearing those words Shirou remembered Rias, Akeno, Yoruichi and everyone he fought Gilgamesh for, everyone he wanted to protect. “I will be careful.”

“Then again, that path isn’t necessarily wrong. Helping people is not wrong, so long you are prudent.”

An eyebrow twitched on Shirou’s forehead. “Aren’t you sending mixed signals here, old man?”

“Hmph.” Oogway shrugged casually. “If every good advice was a horse, the world wouldn’t need cars with how many people let go.” Mischief filled the turtle’s gaze as he already predicted the Mage would do as he wished. “Huhuh. Truly you reminded me of that person… Just with the wrong hair and eye colour.”

“Redhead, right? Did you meet my ancestor or something?” Shirou was obviously curious.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Oogway laughed again at the confusion in the younger man’s face. “It was long ago and I was a hatchling. Ah, to be so young, barely a hundred years old.”

There was a pause. “I know you are expecting a reaction but I hang out with Azazel and he is older than you.” For them a hundred years was young.”

“Taking away an old man’s fun in these trying times? Maybe you don’t want to hear the story.”

Shirou snorted. ‘Do people lose their marbles after a century of age or something?’ Yet he couldn’t deny the atmosphere in the room felt lighter. Putting his best shocked expression, he said, “One hundred years is young for you?!”

“Huhu, certainly for most it isn’t but a turtle like I was, especially in those days, it was quite a feat to get that old without being protected by a deity or something like that.” Oogway sipped his tea smugly. “So many monsters roaming around the sea way back when, a common turtle could be eaten if they were careless.”

Confusion appeared in the magus’ face. “Wait, why are you talking like you weren’t a yokai?” The older man sipped his tea again, his eyes shining. “For real?! You weren’t a yokai?! How? I thought yokais were born, well…”

“Ah, you would be mostly correct. But tell me…” Oogway gently rested his cup on the table. “... how do you believe the first yokai was born?”

“... Were they made by a god?” Was his best guess.

Which made the ancient turtle laugh before he coughed, trying to hold it in. “Some. Some were made by gods. Others were born from human emotions. Intense feelings of despair, fear or the great accumulation of violence in a certain area.” Again he chuckled, even as Shirou began looking depressed. “Or lust, devotion, affection bordering on obsession but not quite.” The white haired man grew surprised. “Anything too strong that humans and gods just release in the world. Yokais may be the name we took in Japan but if you walk around you will find all manner of Legends born on battlefields or to protect a forest or… any number of things.”

“So any creature that is just born from intense emotions is a yokai?”

“In Japan, I must repeat myself. Everywhere they have their own names; USA has cryptids, Ireland had an infestation of leprechauns because they were drinking a bit too much, but they do know how to party, I have to say-”

“What about fairies?” Shirou suddenly asked, stopping Oogway from going too deep in his musings.

“No, they aren’t like us. They are as old as the World, as the Planet. Before my time but I heard this and that… Then again, I never had the opportunity of knowing one so I shouldn't speak.” The Oldest Yokai confessed, shocking the Mage. “My younger years after I grew ‘aware’ were spent surviving and looking for more like me and, of course, for my savior.”

“When you say ‘aware’...”

“Once upon a time there was a young turtle who swam against the current and ended up a bit too close to the coast… Alright, it is embarrassing to admit but I may have gotten stuck…”

“Did you fall on your back or something?” A moment of silence passed. “Seriously.”

“I was young.”

“Aham.”

“It was a big wave.”

“I bet it was huge.”

“It was. I was an excellent swimmer.” Oogway grumbled something before brushing everything off. “I didn’t get stuck for long anyway. Two peasants… No, the word hadn’t been invented yet… I think. Can’t recall.”

“Can’t remember a word but you can remember the size of the wave that threw you on the beach?” Shirou questioned sarcastically. “That is convenient.”

To that the yokai could only say, “I barely could understand human speech, rules and hierarchy. Still can’t, stop bothering somewhere when you all had over a hundred kings walking around.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down, not even a bit.”

“See my confusion then?” Both sighed and moved on. “Speaking of kings, the pair that found me decided it was a good idea to take me to their… I think it was the chief, not a king. Regardless, they thought it was a great idea to take the strange creature who washed ashore and see if they could get any reward.”

“Didn’t people know about turtles?”

“I am old. Humanity is older. There was a time you didn’t have a name for the space above your head or the bright dots in it.”

“So you were the first turtle they saw.”

“Haha! Yes. At least they didn’t try to eat me. Well, they did, but my shell discouraged them from trying too hard.” Proudly the old turtle patted his chest. “Broke a few knives with it. Fortunately they didn’t figure out steel by that point and I hid my head while they carried me.”

“You were just a normal turtle?” Oogway nodded and Shirou shook his head. “How did you become a yokai?”

“We are getting there. You see, to get to that beach, those two men arrived by horse and would take me back by horse as well… After they figured out how to tie me up to it.” He chuckled at the disbelief on the magus’ face. “What? Chariots hadn’t been invented yet.”

Just another reminder of how old he actually was. “Something went wrong for them?”

“Oh yes. The rope they made wasn’t that good and I ended up getting loose at the first turn when they sped up a bit too much.” Oogway couldn’t help but feel sad. “A turtle abandoned in the middle of a forest… Maybe I could eat some of the strange leaves around me but would last little with my fins and predators a plenty in the area… I should be dead.” His smile was genuine as he replayed the memory with fondness. “Then he showed up, out of the blue without ceremony.”

He paused, waiting for Shirou to ask a question and the Mage decided to indulge him. “The man who looked like me.”

“To me, you look like him.”

“Semantics.”

“Fair, fair. I barely noticed him.” It was easy for the yokai to think of himself back in his shell, looking around with fear at the strange environment around him. Far from the ocean, in a completely unfamiliar place, the turtle learned fear until a gentle eye peeked in his shell. “Not a sound until I heard him hum. Not a word before he disappeared from view only to return a second later with some leaves and fruits I could eat. How delicious they were will never leave my memory.”

Oogway took a moment to sip his tea as he easily conjured the golden eye of his savior in his mind peeking at his shell with curiosity and amusement before a hand replaced it to offer him food.

“I confess I was rather shy and it took a few minutes for me to finally take a bite… And I bit his hand as well.” Shirou said nothing as the Oldest yokai laughed. “Oh, he laughed at that and said something that I couldn’t quite understand. Small brain, I suppose.”

“He made you a yokai?” The Mage deduced.

“Not on purpose… Or maybe it was. Who can say?” Oogway replied with amusement. “After making sure I was fed, he worked to calm me down. But I was a shy turtle back then. Just a shy, simple turtle.”

Sihrou leaned forward, clearly interested. “And then?”

“Then he did something that changed my life forever…” He motioned the Mage closer with his claw, extended his neck and whispered. “... he started talking.”

The former redhead leaned back in confusion as the turtle waited for his question. “So he just talked? Weren’t you implying he made you a yokai?”

“Remember when I said gods could also make some of us? Well, angels, in certain ways, are also yokai…”

“Huhuhu. I am pretty sure the Church would burn Kyoto for the implication alone.”

“To each their own.” Oogway commented with a smile. “Also, this conversation isn’t relevant enough to leave this chamber. Just an old man indulging in the company of a Mage to deal with his grief.”

“I don’t mind…” Guilt returned but that wasn’t what the Oldest Yokai wanted.

“He was gentle, kind and his tone was like he was talking with a random person at a bar after a long day of work.” He said with levity, still smiling. “Or like he found a friend after so long, just anyone who would hear his tale and it was a long one. Messy, confusing, too much for a young turtle to handle. Seriously, I couldn't make heads or tails of what he was talking about. Something about beginnings, endings and everything in between.” Placing a hand on the table, he added. ”Guy was nuts”

“... Okay…”

Making sure the Mage knew he was serious, the turtle nodded and continued. “Anyway, I understood none of it but still heard and still listened. It was his tone.” He touched his long neck. “Gentle, kind and full of warmth. That was a man with hundreds of thousands of concerns and worries yet saw fit to stop for a small turtle. Eventually I peeked my head out and he looked at me like…”

“Like…” Honestly Oogway didn’t know how to describe it so he didn’t. Which annoyed Shirou a little. “Come on. You can’t leave me hanging like that.”

“Like he suddenly remembered something.” Was the best he could do. “Realization, perhaps. Maybe he knew what he was doing.” Again, the best he could do. “After a pause I remembered a smile, so beautiful and serene, that put me completely at ease. Have you ever felt something like that? Even my many wives' and childrens’ smiles failed to give me the same sense of peace. Like a foreign sensation-”

“That everything is going to be okay. That you are safe.” Shirou concluded with a smile of his own.

Making Oogway pause and look at him for the first time before laughing. “Perhaps you are descended from that man. Even if the years should have changed your face, I look at you and see the same person.”

“Thank you.”

“Hmm, that was when I first grew aware of things, I think. Understand this, Emiya Shirou, intensity can easily give birth to hundreds of yokais. Good and bad.” The turtle declared swiftly. “These days most emotions are directed to gods, to the World or humans since civilization spreaded so much. All feels a bit clustered but you can still find smaller apparitions being born on battlefields across the globe.”

“But that wasn’t your case. Was it an accident?”

“Huhuhu. There was no accident. Things are how they should be.”

“... You do realize that-”

“My name came first but it was a good movie… A good series of movies even if the latest one left a lot to be desired. Yes, I watched with my youngest grandchild.”

“Okay then… Please, continue.”

“My savior was powerful, so powerful it was like a blanket of energy followed him wherever he went. As we walked to the ocean, I felt it at every step-”

“You walked?” Shirou asked in disbelief. “But didn’t you-”

“Had fins, yes.” He raised his hands to show that was no longer the case. “He even asked, ‘want me to take you home’ but I didn’t understand. I just started walking in a random direction. Fufufu, it is embarrassing but my savior had to turn me around and ask again but I didn’t understand him so I dragged myself around looking for the ocean.”

“Through a forest?”

“Yes.”

“With fins?”

“Aham.”

“What species of turtle were you again?”

“A big one.”

“Right.” Shirou drank his tea rather loudly.

While Oogway chuckled. “So there I was, dragging myself around. As you may suspect, slowly. Crawling like a slug if not slower than that.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Another sip later, he asked. “How long did it take?”

“I have no idea.” He waited for Shirou to drink.  “Must have been a couple days.” The spit take was hilarious and the turtle blocked the tea with a hand. A barrier had it floating in place before he made the tea vanish. “Some more?”

After coughing twice, the Mage nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Where was I? Oh, yes. We took days to move just a few meters, I think. Didn’t really know how to count the time but my savior, that redhead, just gave me fruits, leaves and a jar of water after a while… Several times over.” The turtle chuckled again. “And everytime he did, he asked me; do you want me to carry you?”

“Was he an idiot or did he know you were going to become a yokai?”

“Maybe he was expecting it. Or, maybe, he wanted an excuse to keep talking.” Oogway theorized with sadness. “Every centimeter I walked was followed by words and more words, ones that I didn’t understand.” His head shook in place as he hummed. “Maybe he was lonely or just wanted to vent.”

“... The sentence you understood was the phrase ‘can I carry you’?” Shirou deduced and the yokai nodded. “Just a couple of days?”

“Maybe a month. I didn’t get that far but…” Oogway reflected before nodding. “Somewhere along those lines, I suppose.” He chuckled at the disbelief in the Mage’s face. “My savior was patient and kept talking, bringing me food and water. Never I notice him leave and with him around predators didn’t dare to approach. Or couldn’t, can’t say. He was just so powerful… Only later did I come to understand how much.”

Again a pause for a question. “On a scale of 1 to 10…”

“Just 10?”

“Fair enough.”

“Either way time passed and he kept bringing me food and water. I slept whenever I felt like it and walked as much as I could and he waited, from time to time asking…”

“‘Can I carry you’? Always the same question.” The turtle nodded. “Sounds cruel. Clearly you couldn’t understand him but…”

“But if he hadn’t done things like that I wouldn’t have, eventually, understood what he was trying to say…” Oogway chuckled and shook his head. His serene smile was back in full force. “‘Can I carry you’? When I stopped and looked at him, he was smiling again, that same smile offering salvation. Then I finally understood. Then I finally noticed that I had changed.” Raising his arms, he flexed his claw-like fingers. “Didn’t have these quite yet but my fins transformed into feet, my eyes grew sharper and I understood him. All those stories he told me suddenly made sense.”

‘Is that something like the development of a child?’ Shirou wondered. ‘It is imperative to young children to hear their caretakers, it is how they develop language skills and understanding.’ Not exactly a one to one comparison but suddenly that stranger’s ramble had logic behind it. ‘But was all that… just to ask permission? If I saw a turtle in the woods I would just take it to the ocean.’

However if that was the case then Oogway, who eventually would become the Oldest Yokai, wouldn’t have been born. Among his peers the turtle was one of the most powerful and the first one to seek peace in any conflict. A leader who led his people through difficult times and one of the original founders of the ‘other side’ of Kyoto.

Which led the Mage to ask, ‘Was all that planned?’ Only then did he notice the turtle had stopped talking. Feeling self conscious, he took a sip of tea before speaking again. “Hmm, he couldn’t have been my ancestor. You make it sound like he was really powerful… But what exactly? A god?”

“Don’t know.”

“Right. Either way, no Divine blood on me. I was tested.” Several times by both the devils and Azazel because of some of the things he managed to do. “Besides good old Solomon’s circuits,” he lit up his magic circuits for emphasis, “no sign of divine parentage of any-”

“Oh, that was much earlier than Solomon’s time. Few thousand years in fact.” Both fell silent as Oogway’s smile grew larger. “Told you I was old.”

“Older than Solomon? Are you older-”

“Than literally every war in the present, current or cold. I saw everything.” Then he paused to think before adding. “Well, not everything. Several gods are still older than me but~ You get what I mean.”

“I sorta do.” Shirou previously believed the Oldest Yokai was just a few thousand years old. His mistake, he was dealing with a creature in the tens of thousands from when Humanity was young. “But then it is less likely I can be the descendant of someone like your savior. Maybe my appearance is just a coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences. They are just events that people fail to find the right perspective.” Oogway offered kindly. “For now, we can’t see the whole picture; upon understanding my savior I was able to accept his help and he did the kindness of talking me to the ocean. Then the questions started as I, a curious newborn, tried to learn what I could. I was such a child.”

Shirou leaned forward again. “And then what?”

“He indulged me, explained things, told me about the world, about myself and what I was becoming. ‘You are evolving into something new but only you can decide what that means’.”

“Sounds like he really planned this whole thing, don’t you think? Maybe even-”

Raising a hand, Oogway interrupted. “He was surprised to see me and sad for letting me go.” Grabbing the last of his tea, he stared at the beverage as his humor vanished and only sadness remained. “He was lonely, most likely. Perhaps he was the last of his race or one of the few smaller gods who knew they would disappear with time. Regardless he was kind and faking kindness isn’t something simple. Those who do always want something and my savior only gave, gave and gave. Never asking for anything in return.” He finished his drink and added. “There was no hesitation on his part when he saw me missing the ocean, wondering where my family had gone or if they could become like me.”

“... Couldn’t he have gone with you?”

“Maybe he could. I certainly wasn’t wise enough at that point to suggest something like that.” The turtle admitted without hesitation. Clearly he had thought about that several times over the centuries as his understanding of the World grew. “In the end, perhaps, the sea just wasn’t his place. Back then it was more chaotic than it is now, dozens of hundreds of Sea Gods fighting for supremacy. Not that the skies were any better. Nowhere was, really.”

Gods emerging everywhere, people praying to whoever could offer them a shimmer of protection, chaos was the best descriptor for those days where there were no nations, heroes or villains.

Just people trying to survive, humans, gods, monsters and everything in between trying to carve a place in Gaia as the World stabilized. Eventually the rules made themselves known and the more powerful deities carved their own kingdoms. Even then things kept shifting for centuries until reaching a state resembling peace.

Meanwhile the Divine warred, Humanity did the same on a smaller scale or crossed over with the gods to kill each other in their name, something that happened enough to be recorded in History throughout the ages.

Which was the Hero Faction’s argument, Shirou could acknowledge as much. But then he remembered how many times people killed each other for no reason. Had the gods not existed, humans would still fight for land, gold or whatever. Almost like an animal instinct the human race refused to tame.

Oogway saw all that so the Mage felt safe to ask. “You think the Hero Faction has a point? I mean, I know History, I know that gods have abused Humanity more often than not… But Humanity has abused Humanity just as much. Do you understand what I mean?”

“I do.” The yokai answered with a smirk. “But what most forget are the acts of kindness that outlast most if not all the violence.” Shirou grew mute as the turtle moved a hand and he saw a species of dark green cloud form between them. Soon it began to shift and he saw a man walking with a giant turtle. “Helping someone helpless,” the image changed to a woman helping a man walk again, “heal the wounded,” another change and there was a trio waiting to get food from another holding a pot, “feeding the hungry or,” a turtle in two feet, a fox woman and a young man helping a younger girl and her brother, both with cat ears, “raise children who lost their parents. For all violence we are capable of, we are capable of as much good. Including the gods.”

“Are you still loyal to them? Even when they didn’t help?” Shirou wasn’t criticizing. He was legitimately curious.

“They have their reasons to not be present anymore. Doesn’t mean we should forget the kindness they offered us in the past.” Moving his finger, the cloud shape shifted again to show the image of a woman wearing a long and obviously elegant kimono with a halo and a huge circle above her head. The circle could be either the Sun or one of Japan’s Three Great Treasures, indicating the woman could only be one goddess. “Amaterasu-sama was nice enough to take me and my brothers in when things started going badly in the continent. It reached the point that you either belonged to the Heavenly Court of the Jade Emperor or a Sect or you were killed for being different. Even my visits are less vacation and more of a way to prove Amaterasu-sama and the rest of the Shinto abstinence while assuring that there wouldn’t be war between our nations.”

“I see…” Shirou took a deep breath and prepared to get up. “Thank you for talking to me. This conversation… was enlightening.”

“You still are conflicted about how to deal with your sister.” Oogway spoke factually. The Mage didn’t deny him. “We never received her kindness but as her brother, you would know her best side more than most. All I can ask you is that, whatever your choice, don’t hesitate to stop her when the time comes.”

Shirou’s fist shook in anger and frustration, he sighed before saying. “I will stop her. Even if I have to…”

“No. No, no, no. I don’t want you to kill her. I don’t care.” The Mage was surprised but the turtle continued. “So long she doesn’t do any more damage, that is the most I can ask for since nobody here is strong enough to compete with the Hero Faction anymore. After our losses… only a fool would dare to try.”

“But that… isn’t fair.” Shirou knew he was advocating for Illya’s punishment, he knew it could be either death or worse. Yet he couldn’t forget the bodies around Kyoto, the devastation she unleashed. “It just isn’t.”

“Life is seldom fair. If it was…” Oogway’s cloud shifted again, back to the turtle and the man. His saviour carried him on his back. “Then maybe I would have seen my friend, my father, my creator and asked him if I did well. If he is proud of me. If we could exchange stories again. Fufufu. Oh, just now I sounded like a hatchling. A thousand apologies, you saw quite a strange side of me.”

Shaking his head, Shirou offered an honest smile. “No problem. If anything shows how much you care about your friend, even now.”

“Aren’t humans the same? Wondering why you were created? Why do you exist? Why do we all?” Oogway looked at the image with a glint in his eye. “Was I given this wisdom on purpose or was it an accident? Did I do as intended or was I given freedom and made the best of it? I cannot say.”

Both stopped to ponder for a bit but Shirou found an answer first. “Can’t say if it was planned or not but I don’t think it matters.” The turtle blinked slowly, waiting for an explanation. “If he was anything like my mother you could have stumbled on a rock and be proud you were the first to do it.” He chuckled at the disbelief on the yokai’s face. “But you didn’t just stumble on a rock, did you? You are the Legendary Turtle, the Oldest Yokai, Oogway. Be proud of that.”

After a pause the older being chuckled again before laughing softly. “Hahahahaaaaaa… True, you are indeed correct.” He shook his head and looked at the young man. ‘It is never too late to learn new things, isn’t it, old friend? Well, not that it matters. I lived without you for too long to worry anymore.’ After nodding to himself, he said, “Thank you, Emiya Shirou, for reminding me that no matter how much I teach, I am still a student.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Hahahaha. Indeed we are. Such is life. Always full of surprises.” Shaking his head, the turtle revealed that, “He named me, you know? It was his gift before I departed. Boy, I was so excited to get back in the ocean that I just jumped in, coincidently the first jump I ever did in my life, and began swimming around. I barely registered my own name before realizing what it was and emerging only…”

“He was no longer there.” Shirou deduced easily.

Oogway smiled sadly. “Like the wind he came and went, changing my life and very existence yet I never had the pressure of asking his name.”

“Do you have any idea who he could possibly be? Even if he was a god people forgot, maybe Azazel or somebody else who had been around long enough will know something.”

“I asked around but people said he couldn’t be a god, no deity with his description was around at the time and the blanket of power I felt wasn’t much Divine as it was just powerful. After all, I too have not a single spec of Divinity within me.”

For the first time Shirou realized that yes, despite how old the yokai was, his body didn’t hold any special aura of power or anything like that. Obviously the turtle was controlling his energy but even when Medusa, Azazel or Sirzechs were holding back there was something special in them.

Be either Divine or Demonic.

Oogway was different since he held a presence which was ‘less special’ as in not having any distinct marks or telltale signs of his Origin besides the small traces of youki every yokai had and Shirou needed to look for to just feel it.

“Wasn’t he a yokai then? Like you?” Was the conclusion the Mage reached.

And for the first time the turtle looked offended. “You think I wouldn’t recognize the power of a yokai after I met another one? No, he wasn’t a yokai. Indeed, with the raw power he had, and a presence unlike any other, I could only come to one conclusion after all these years even if I am not sure. He may have been a god, he may have been something else.”

Again Oogway paused, waiting for the obvious question. “What do you think he was?”

Stretching his neck as only a turtle could, his stare fixed itself righting in Shirou’s eyes. “A dragon.”

…

“Ise, how is your hand?” Rias, who had just found her friends, asked her Pawn after giving him one of the strongest hugs he had ever gotten in his life.

“It’s fine.” He was lying but nobody could tell. His voice was muffled and he had been given a privilege more than half of the Underworld would kill to have and was on 'cloud nine’.

The Red Dragon Emperor felt his spirit soar as he was granted permission to rest in his King’s breasts, at least for the moment as her hug remained tight and nobody was saying anything.

Yet all good things end and in his case it happened when Rias moved to fret over Asia. “Dear Goetia. Please tell me she is alright.”

“She is fine, just exhausted.” Issei from the Student Council informed while trying to fix his glasses only to notice their abstinence since they were lost in the fight. “Unlike all of us, her healing was due to her sacred gear which is always with her so she kept working until she passed out.”

The Heiress of Gremory pated the former nun’s head, adjusting her hair. “Akeno is already distributing our extra EMs and instructing the yokais how to use them.” Meaning that, once the Bishop woke up there would be no risk of her working herself to exhaustion again. “Things are already normalizing despite the attack. Good work, all of you.” She said both to her peerage as well as her friend’s. “I am glad you are all alive.”

“We still will have plenty of dead.”

“Tsubasa!” Momo hissed at the Rook of Sitri who clicked her tongue and fell on her bed with a ‘tud’.

The devils were mostly isolated in a big spacious room that the yokais shoved them inside to focus on taking care of their own problems. Be it because of political reasons, the rush or to keep an eye on their guests and avoid some sort of backstabbing, that meant almost every devil in Kyoto was there.

Some exceptions were Reya and Tomoe, both were in decent condition so were given the task of helping Waver, Rin and Luvia escort Kuoh’s students back to the hotel. Almost all of them wanted blood and vengeance but an order from Oogway had everyone standing down for the moment.

It would still be foolish not having some eyes on them, meaning that only Issei, Saji, Momo and Tsubasa were recovering from the previous day’s ordeal. “Just telling the truth.”

“In the most callous way.” Kiba pointed out while resting on his bed. He was beside Asia’s, with Ise resting on the other side. Across from them the Sitri Clan’s members each had their own beds and were mostly sitting with the exception of the Rook who needed to look down to see the Knight. “Be glad there isn’t any yokai around or else-”

“It’s because nobody but us is around that I can say that we were almost destroyed and couldn’t do shit.” Tsubasa’s furious and indignant tone exposed her true feelings. In fact she would be screaming were they not inside a temple full of wounded. “What the hell was that supposed to be? Those guys were too strong for no reason.”

“It wasn’t for no reason and you should control yourself a little more.” Kiba reproached with a knowing look. Despite hating what Illya and her allies managed to accomplish he understood the process itself wasn’t simple which was why Kyoto suffered because of it. “Losing is hard but there is no reason-”

“Shut it, Kiba. This isn’t about losing. We did squat against those bastards!” Despite her restraint, a surprising amount in her own opinion, Tsubasa couldn’t help but let out a frustrated snarl before throwing a punch to the wall above her bed.

Which was stopped by a gold magic circle courtesy of a certain Queen. “My, my. That doesn’t give you reason to give our hosts any more work.” Lowering her hand, Akeno returned with Koneko and four people behind her. She expected three but the last one wasn’t unwelcomed. “What would Sona think?”

Tsubasa flinched before saying, “My bad, Senpai.”

“My bad? What do you think Kaichou is gonna do to us if you break something?” Saji asked with a glare, Absorption Line ready to stop the Sitri Rook from trying anything.

“Ten thousand spankings.” Momo murmured and the Reincarnated devils shivered.

“Calm down. Everyone just calm down.” Issei ordered only for his fellow Pawn to glare at him. “I know you are right but this isn’t the time.”

“Tell that to Tsubasa-”

“I already said it was my bad-”

“I appreciate you not damaging the temple, Yura-san, and your consideration, Himejima-san. Yes, I do.” Yushiro interrupted, his step locked with Koneko’s as his eyes shifted between her and the Heiress. Much to the latter amusement as he forced himself to focus on her and bow. “Much gratitude as well. The supplies you brought gave us much reprieve,” just the EMs they had on her, “and Argento-dono saved so many lives we shall always be grateful. That we always shall.”

“Yushiro-dono.” Rias turned to the nekomata and bowed respectfully as well. “Your gratitude is appreciated but unnecessary. It is an honor to meet you, especially after how much your sister sings you praises.”

“Yoruichi-oneesama did?” Mostly for Koneko’s sake as she wanted the little Rook to know more about her family, her new brother. Who would be hugging his newest sister uncontrollably had the occasion be a happier one. “Glad to hear that, I am. Gremory-dono, you have graced me with joy in these dark times. Indeed you did.”

A chuckle escaped the Heiress before she schooled her features. “No need to be so formal, Yushiro-dono. Please, just call me Rias.”

“No can do, Gremory-dono, that I cannot. Not when you come to help us in our time of need and also escort my newest sister to us.” He looked at Koneko whose cheeks were blushing. “I am so glad to meet you, Little Sister. That I am. With time I hope you can see me as a true brother, Little Sister.”

“I thank you for your…” The white haired nekomata took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. Contrary to Yoruichi who was rather lax with formalities, her newest brother was the stereotypical noble, at least when it came to his manners. “... to be welcomed in your family. I hope to be worthy of it, Onii-sama.”

“You already are, yes you are.” His voice jumped a few pitches up and he was barely holding himself back from jumping into a hug. ‘So adorable! Yoruichi-oneesama, thank you for the privilege of also being an older sibling! The greatest gift, it surely is!’

Despite how stiff he was, Yushiro’s joy was written all over his face. “Fufufu, I am happy that you are happy but there is no need to be so formal, Yushiro-dono. You are among friends and Koneko is an important part of our family.”

“Still, decorum must be observed. Especially since you are honorable guests in our territory. You definitely are.” Once more he bowed but more deeply and even more respectfully. “It was already said but I must say it again: thank you for your help against the terrorists. Were it not for all of you the tally of dead would have been larger.”

“No problem.” Xenovia spoke for them all, including the little bite of frustration in her tone. While happy they helped, it was undeniable they all felt the sting of failure since the Hero Faction won, for all intents and purposes. “No need to be a robot or to hold back on our behalf. You want to hug Koneko, don’t you? Go ahead.”

The bluehead, wearing a leotard similar to her former Exorcist uniform, save for the boots which were made of steel, sat down on Kiba’s bed as Yushiro did his best to hold back his embarrassment.

“I cannot. As one of the Kings, even just as a replacement-”

“Your sister wouldn’t be holding back~” Akeno commented and the young man immediately hugged Koneko’s side.

“Then I shall indulge a little… That I shall… To rest my spirit.” Everyone believed him, the older nekomata looked absolutely exhausted and stressed. His newest sister also hugged him and his shoulders lost some of the tension.

Leaving Rias free to ask Shirou's other lover, “Where is your school uniform?” The Heiress could recognize the outfit usually beneath the Peerless Armor.

It was an indication the Noble Gear was partially active if in a low power mode, Durandal once again in the shape of a cross but ready to be drawn if anything happened. Not exactly a new feature but something Xenovia managed to make work to everyone’s surprise.

Truly not even Shirou knew how she managed it. “Irina is wearing it.”

Heads turned to the angel who also looked exhausted. “My clothes got damaged while I fought Heracles.”

Rossweisse couldn’t help but growl. “I can’t forgive Illyasviel for this.” The woman was back in her gray suit and she paced around the room with anger in each step. Surely she didn’t have any aura around her but the more attuned could tell she was holding barely back. “To violate the souls of the departed like that. And Heroes like Sigfried to boot. If Brynhildr ever hears of this… By Odin’s beard, if she hears of this she will go hunting for them even if it is the last thing she does.”

“Considering those spirits' power, it will be the last thing she will ever do.” Tsubasa spoke factually and everybody who fought against the Hero Faction knew she was correct.

Leading a curious Akeno to ask Rossweisse. “Shouldn’t Sigfried’s soul be in Valhalla? Can’t we ask him to take the power back or something?”

The Valkyrie shook her head. “It wasn’t exactly our Siegfried that Illyasviel managed to connect with… Tell me, how much do you all know about the Multiverse Theory?”

“We dabbled a bit.” Rias informed. “Mostly because Azazel used it to explain a couple of things about Gaia and the World… That is it, isn’t it? Did Shiro’s sister somehow manage to get to the Root?”

Rossweisse shook her head. “If that was the case we would already be dust.” Shaking her head again, she huffed before thinking for a minute. Eventually she found an answer. “Heaven’s Feel. The catalysis which would start the Holy Grail War. She managed to do a variation of it.” 

“This again.” Rias was starting to hate that ritual. Even if it was never accomplished.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Irina questioned, eyes jumping between the redhead and the silverhead women.

It was Xenovia’s turn to huf. “It was a ritual my Master’s adoptive family, the Einzbern, tried to execute in Fuyuki.”

“Four times. Never succeeding even once.” Akeno revealed to most of the room. “Their goal was always to activate, or better yet recover, Heaven’s Feel.”

“It is one of the True Magic, that is.” Yushiro spoke, surprising some who didn’t expect him to know that. “One capable of meddling with the soul.”

Rossweisse nodded with apprehension. “The fact that Heracles gained his Ancestor’s power is proof. Heracles has no reason to support people against the Olympians as he is a god. But another version of him, connected to the Root and the World, a Heroic Spirit holding some sort of a grudge, could.” She shivered, closed her eyes and held her face with apprehension. “Heroic Spirits are far more powerful than the Men they once were. They gain power through their Legends and are the ‘source’ of Noble Phantasms. And somehow, Illyasviel managed to enact enough of Heaven’s Feel to make contact with Heroic Spirits from beyond this world, bothering their souls and taking their power.”

Everyone grew concerned upon hearing that information and within reason. None of them had come across a Heroic Spirit and their power was just theoretical. Or it was until Kyoto was attacked and the ritual completed. The only reason the city wasn’t ashes or Japan hadn’t sunk was because the Hero Faction held back.

Their power wasn’t a joking matter either since a whole army, reduced and unprepared but nevertheless fighting on their turf while getting reinforcements from a God Slayer, was easily defeated.

[Good news, not all the Heroic Spirits are cooperating.] Ddraig spoke from Ise’s hand which the devil had been massaging for a while. [Siegfried, the fake one, didn’t get the full power of the Original. In fact, compared to the others, his stats barely rose from his base. Only his swords were a problem.]

His Partner groaned while making sure to stop touching his hand. “That thing hurt like hell.”

“At least you are alive.” Issei commented, a hand landing on his namesake’s shoulder. “Not only you but hundreds of others. Shirou made the right call in getting us out.”

“Yeah, the moment they got that power boost, we were fucked.” Tsubasa couldn’t help but say it, her shoulders and head sagging. “We got lucky we aren’t in any body bags right now.”

“What happened to Kunou-chan’s mother?” Ise suddenly asked, fearing she was one of the dead.

Yushiro smiled a bit forcefully, prompting Koneko to massage his back. “Yasaka-dono survived the ordeal. That she did. But we still don’t know the consequences of the ritual as a whole.” Having been raised by the kitsune and seeing her as an aunt, the nekomata was truly saddened by that outcome. “Her spirit and life force were greatly weakened. For the moment she is resting, Kunou by her side, refusing to leave her mother.”

It wasn’t the best of news but the knowledge that at least the girl hadn’t lost her mother was like an oasis in the desert, helping the whole group find some relief. Yet it wasn’t to last for long because there was more bad news to come.

Rossweisse felt the need to say, “If Illyasviel managed to disturb the souls of those beyond our dimension, beyond our Heavens and Hells, six times, what stops her from doing it again?” People began looking at her with horror and the Valkyrie immediately felt guilty. “Sorry.”

“Maybe the ritual is complete.” Momo tried to be optimistic. “I mean, from what I heard, Gilgamesh alone could challenge the gods, right? That has to be enough for them, right?”

“Are we that lucky?” Tsubasa questioned sarcastically.

“Or is that enough for them?” Kiba asked next, remembering Siegfried’s thirst for vengeance, still unquenched. “They hate this World. At least Siegfried does. If the Hero Faction has more people like him…”

“They will want some of that power as well.” Akeno completed the sentence. “And since we are dealing with Heroic Spirits, not the souls in any Paradise but those connected to the World, if we can’t stop them, they could have an army of God Slayers or worse.”

“What could possibly be worse than a God Slayer army?” Saji asked with horror.

“I don’t want to know.” Xenovia confessed fearfully.

‘An army of Heroic Spirits.’ Because Rossweisse knew, even if not all of them killed gods in their own Legends, they would be more than capable of taking over the world. As a warm up. ‘We can only hope Einzbern’s ritual has some sort of limits or rules. The clue may be in the difference between Siegfried, Heracles and…’ The memory of Jeanne, uninterested or unaware she was on a battlefield, came to her mind. ‘... hope something else goes wrong for them.’

“The situation is worse than I thought. Much worse.” Rias admitted somberly as she tried to wrap her head around the concept of fighting Heroic Spirits. ‘Servants alone would be a problem but, even if in a limited capacity, Illyasviel’s ritual limited several of their weaknesses, especially control.’

While some magi were of the school of thought that Servants, if ever summoned, would only be glorified familiars, it didn’t change the fact several of them had strong egos. If anything it was only logical since, to become a Legend, they would have to at least be determined enough to grow beyond the boundaries of their time and do the impossible.

Be them explorers, researches or bonafide heroes who slayed monsters, courage alone wasn’t enough. Resolve, the will to push forward against the odds, was a prerequisite for any true hero.

Those sorts of people could turn around and kill their Master in a Holy Grail War if that person either got in their way of their wish or did something which went against that Servant’s principles.

However, by giving power to her subordinates, Illyasviel made sure that only those already loyal would Incarnate Heroic Spirits and the word ‘problem’ didn’t even begin to cover how bad that was to any opposition.

‘Even if the Original Siegfried held back, the new one still got a second Balmung.’ Rias processed Kiba’s report while the others kept talking. They traded experiences, spoke about their enemy’s strengths and fed her concern. ‘And there are plenty of Heroic Spirits who would hate our World, at least dislike it, or want to help their descendants by any means.’

Meaning some, like Heracles, would be fighting close if not at full capacity.

‘Problem’ was a poor description for their situation, ‘catastrophe’ was better but still fell short.

‘Apocalyptic’ was a better description in Rias’ opinion and she knew someone had to sound the alarm. “I need to contact my brother immediately. Every member of the alliance- no, everyone must be warned!” She tried to not shout but couldn’t help herself. Deep down she was panicking, much like the rest. “Azazel, Michael, hell, even Odin! Everybody needs to know what is going on as fast as possible!”

Already many in the room were panicking before a man’s voice, direct and sharp, cut the fear like a sword. “You better get your facts in order before becoming a Doomsayer, Rias Gremory.”

It was a tall man, a yokai for his youki surrounded his body like an invisible cloak making him appear even taller than he was. And he was tall, approximately two meters six and four feet despite having a slim, almost fray appearance. It would be a mistake judging him for that because he was easily the Heiress’ superior with no contest.

Long silver hair reached the man’s knees as his sharp gold eyes watched around the room as if in search of prey, his young features doing nothing to hide his animalistic glance even if his elegance could only belong to a noble.

Much like his outfit which carried both Japanese, a white kimono with red cherry blossoms in his collar and sleeves, and Chinese influences, a black armor with spikes above his chest and left shoulder, complemented by a yellow sash that almost reached his ankles, those protected by black boots and his hakama which was inflated like a balloon.

His face also had a canine element to it which reminded Ise of Fenrir albeit at a small degree, one which didn’t concern Ddraig. Yet it was also slightly familiar to anyone from Kuoh which they quickly recognized in the two girls walking with him. Setsuna on his right had a shroud similar to his own, only his was wrapped around his right shoulder.

Following him almost like a tail.

“Sesshomaru-dono.” Rias offered a small bow of acknowledgment while Yushiro took a step away from Koneko, standing straighter than before. Some of the others present could help but replicate his actions, the second oldest King of Kyoto’s presence demanding attention and respect. “It is an honor to meet you in person. Pardon for the lack of formalities in my visit but the urgency of the situation demanded a rapid response.”

“Heiress Rias, your actions are reasonable, especially since some of your subordinates helped our kind in a time of need.” The mark on his forehead, a blue crescent moon, almost shone for a second before it became dull. “But know that inference, even for help, is no excuse to walz inside our territory after strangers dared to pillage our land. This time I shall not raise any complaints and just give you this warning.”

Making her best to not retreat or appear intimidated, Rias did a curtsy. “As you say, Lord Sesshomaru.” Akeno and Koneko mirrored their King’s actions as the fear in the air was replaced by pure tension.

One that didn’t last long as the oldest yokai present motioned to the people behind him. “I also thank you for taking your time and helping my youngest grow acclimated to your territory.” Setsuna nodded in gratitude and appeared to be no worse for wear if a little tired. The man then motioned to the other girl, one that the pureblood didn’t know. “This is my eldest and Heir, Towa.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Rias Gremory-dono. In the name of Dog of the South, Successor of the Vermilion Bird, I extend you a welcome and a hand of friendship.” The short haired girl took a step forward and bowed with a confident tone.

Understanding it was a formal greeting, Rias bowed again. “I accept the welcome and thank you for the hospitality. I hope in the future we can prove ourselves valuable allies.”

“You already prove yourselves. All of you. I, no, we thank you for helping us against the terrorist organization known as the Khaos Brigade.” Looking at Asia, the hanyou bowed deeply. “Once Argento-dono wakes up, proper recompense shall be given.”

“There is no need for that but the feeling is appreciated. Asia will be the first to deny any gifts but if you are to offer please, do so in private so she doesn’ t feel pressured.”

Towa took a moment to ponder what she should say next, pointedly avoiding looking at her father who watched the exchange attentively. “It shall be noted.” She looked at the older man to see if she did a good job.

“A proper greeting and a proper response. Well done, Towa.” Sesshomaru praised his eldest daughter who fidgeted in place, bashful. Regardless, or because of it, the dog yokai focused his attention fully on another person. “Yushiro, are you here to collect any extra report about the incident?”

The nekomata’s eyes shifted to Koneko, just for a millisecond. “Well- no, you see- I was-”

“And where is Yoruichi? After guiding the Mage of Swords to Oogway-dono, she should be leading the Central Temple’s cleanup.”

“She went to collect something important for the Mage of Swords, Sesshomaru-dono.”

“Then you shall take her place.” His tone left no room for debate.

“Yes sir!” Without hesitation Yushiro vanished, leaving everybody but the King of Kyoto concerned or frustrated.

Regardless, none of that was Sesshomaru’s problem. “Setsuna.”

“Yes, Chichiue.” The black haired maiden answered while standing to attention like a soldier.

“You plan on returning to Fuyuki, correct?”

Setsuna didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, Chichiue.”

“... Very well. You shall be in charge of tending to our allies while they are here as well as collecting the reports about all activities they uncover about the Khaos Brigade whilst in our territory.” Sesshomaru’s gaze focused on Rias. “Heiress of Gremory, we shall, of course, part with whatever information we have acquired about our enemies as well.”

Slowly, almost carefully, the redhead nodded. “Of course. While my friends are tired from the battle, we will have no problem compiling a proper report. However, I must suggest that we shouldn’t keep it only to our allies.”

“I heard you before. How this new Hero Faction is a threat to all.” Sesshomaru’s tone was almost dismissive. Almost but not quite. “I confess to not having kept up with the organization after its third incarnation. Humans, while holding the potential to be formidable, rarely reach the heights needed to become a concern for the moonlit world. Their actions here are proof of that.”

“Can I ask what you mean, Sesshomaru-sama?” Akeno dared to interject in the conversation.

Which didn’t bother the yokai who gave her a glance but remained focused on Rias. “Becoming someone great is a hard endeavor and there is nothing wrong about gaining the help of one’s ancestors.” He spoke clearly, his eyes moving around and watching everyone. For an instant he paused on Ise and Saji. “Or other forms of external help. If the power is willingly given.” Both nodded and he moved to Rossweisse. “But what the Hero Faction did was demand from the dead. They raised themselves above their station not by their own merit beside a ritual which will surely be deemed forbidden once the story goes out. Worse,” finally he returned to Rias, “they did so at our expense. ‘Humiliation’ is a feeling I haven’t felt for a long time… And the last person who managed to make me feel it is buried six feet in a shallow grave. I will make sure the Hero Faction suffers the same fate.”

“Lord- I mean, Sesshomaru-sama.” Rossweisse stood up and suddenly felt the weight of the yokai king’s gaze. However she was a Valkyrie and she didn’t flinch even if her next words were spoken with absolute respect. “Heroic Spirits aren’t simple opponents and just having a fraction of their power means those terrorists are extremely dangerous. If you shall hunt them, I suggest due caution.”

The man nodded deliberately slowly. “Of course. While I desire nothing else than to spill the blood of those rats and offer their heads to Yasaka as gifts,” the last line made several skins crawl, “I shall not underestimate those villains. On the contrary, I shall hunt them with all diligence and courtesy afforded to the most annoying pests.”

“Which is why we shall not hesitate to compile the proper data for you and anyone else.” Rias declared firmly, earning the yokai’s attention. “But Rossweisse is right, Sesshomaru-dono. If you cross paths with the Hero Faction I urge you to be careful. They defeat Shiro, the Mage of Swords and a God Slayer. That makes them an enemy that is truly dangerous even to someone like you.”

“I will make sure to remember that.” His tone was even more dismissive than before, as if Shirou’s defeat was nothing to him.

Something which didn’t sit well with Xenovia. ‘Either he is supremely confident or he is underestimating us.’ She glanced at Irina who did the same at her, both understanding the same thing about the yokai’s attitude. ‘Either way, if he is as strong as Yoruichi, or even outright stronger, I can’t see him defeating Gilgamesh. In fact, I can’t see anyone do it.’

His message delivered and losing interest in the guests, Seshomaru looked at his daughters. “I will leave them to you, Setsuna. Towa, we shall…”

Everyone watched him pause and his eyes shift to the side. “Chichiue?”

“... wait here for a moment.” The dog yokai concluded and ‘a moment’ came fast, the room’s door bursting open.

“Shiro isn’t here yet? Damn it. Ah, Koneko, Rias, Akeno! Welcome!” Yoruichi strode inside, doing a fireman carrying a huge bag over her shoulder. In a flash she brought in a table to drop her package before placing the white haired nekomata in a chair. “Really wished you guys had come at a better time but glad to see you three.”

“Yoruichi, can you tell us why you brought a corpse of an enemy inside one of our sacred temples?” Sesshomaru questioned with an impassive expression.

The nekomata stopped to glance at her fellow king annoyingly. “Because it is important. At least I think it is.”

“An enemy’s body, hmm?” Rias asked, noticing what the woman had brought was indeed a proper body bag.

“Yep, don’t underestimate ‘dear’ Sesshomaru’s nose.” Yoruichi stated playfully as everybody focused on the table. Even closed, a body bag was enough to make some of the present shiver. “Thought I had sealed this thing but apparently some of the smell must be leaking.”

“No, your hands smell of dirt and decay. Both very recent.” Sesshomaru informed and the woman rolled her eyes since she had figured that was the reason but the older yokai never liked jokes. “What I want to know is why this corpse is so important that you ran away from work. Wasn’t it enough the time you wasted on Fuyuki?”

“We were attacked and only one of our enemies fell. Don’t you think this body is important by default?”

“Then send a subordinate to collect it.” Several men suddenly appeared in the room, all kneeling and ready for orders. Saji and Momo jumped in place while Ise and Tsubasa almost attacked but Sesshomaru ignored their antics. “Any of them could have done it while fixing the Central Temple. Your designed duty.”

Yoruichi rolled her eyes again. “I would have but this corpse wasn’t in Kyoto.” That made everyone pause.

“From the fortresses you attacked?” Setsuna questioned and it was Towa who shook her head before correcting her sister.

“No. None of them were anything more than humans and Chichiue would have already ordered their retrieval.”

“That is right, Towa-chan.” Yoruichi pointed at the girl before moving to the table and shifting the bag a little until she found a zipper. “This was one of Kyoto’s attackers. The guy who tried to hold Shiro back long enough for his allies to pull off that screwed up ritual of theirs. Asia hasn't woken up yet, right?”

“No, sleeping like a baby.” Xenovia commented while approaching the table. “Why ask? She has seen dead bodies before.”

“Well, you know Shiro,” Yoruichi began opening the bag, “sometimes he has to play rough and our boy knows how to play rough.”

Once it was open everybody saw the body of Connla from the Hero Faction and, more importantly, his head rolling over the table almost falling. “Jesus.” Irina couldn’t help but say because while that wasn’t the first decapitated body she ever saw, the damage was beyond normal.

No devil reacted either, everybody focused on the gruesome sight of the corpse, its neck and part of its upper torso missing, an arm torn apart and barely hanging to its shoulder, making a gruesome sight that had some of their stomachs rolling.

Sesshomaru looked at his daughters before glancing at the terrorist’s dead expression. “Tell your lover he did a good job.” Because he liked the horror on Connla’s face, his last emotion.

“Don’t worry. He is getting properly rewarded later after I forgive him for making this a pain in the ass to find.”

“Where did he hide it?” Rias asked while trying to figure out why Shirou went to the lengths he did to kill that man.

While the Mage had no problems killing an enemy it was clear he had gone above and beyond to make sure Connla was more than dead, she doubted he had gained the full power of a Heroic Spirit but couldn’t be sure.

“Back at our old training ground.” Yoruichi answered, surprising everybody from the Gremory.

“The summer house?” Akeno questioned. “That is quite far. Almost the other side of Japan.”

“Smart.” Issei commented while holding his mouth and trying not to vomit. “Shirou clearly didn’t want the enemy to find their… ally’s corpse. I am surprised he is so fast that he can drop that far away and still have time to come back and save our lives.”

“Hehe. Shirou is the fastest man alive, I think.” Kiba commented proudly.

Only for Tsubasa to grunt. “Not enough to win.”

“Enough to keep you breathing.” Koneko retorted and her fellow Rook sighed.

[We can all say our thanks later but more importantly, is there anything in that body?] Ddraig interrupted the discussion, egging Ise to stand up and approach. His Partner refused once and he stopped insisting since the Pawn was massaging his hand. [From here I can’t get anything.]

“I can’t get anything besides low traces of mana around it.” Towa reported, her nose twitching as she ignored the stench of decay and looked for anything unusual. “Maybe he wouldn’t get a power up- I mean, extra power, like the other terrorists.”

Yoruichi shrugged. “Shiro said it was important so I went to get it but his directions were too vague. Took me an hour to find it without leads.” Then again she couldn’t blame him since the Mage implied he moved full speed towards the training camp, blasted a hole in the ground, buried the corpse and flew back as fast as he could. “Tracking a flier sucks. Hey, you lot.” Her voice filled the room and her subordinates stood up, still ready for orders. “Call Shiro and Oogway-dono. Tell them I am back. Also, call my brother. Time for him to meet our new sister.”

“Yushiro-dono was here but Sesshomaru-sama sent him away.” Akeno was quick to inform and despite the playfulness in her voice, her eyes were still studying the corpse. ‘Besides the traces of sacred gear, I can’t find anything special. But Shiro-kun may know something about his sister's magic that we don’t.’

King and Queen of Gremory traded looks while Yoruichi glared at her fellow king with a twitching eyebrow. “He did, didn’t he?”

“You have work to do and this is no excuse.” Sesshomaru reminded her, also looking for anything strange in the corpse.

“To be fair, I didn’t think I would have taken so long. I thought he would have dropped the body by the house but clearly Shiro was in a rush.”

“Gilgamesh was there with the full power of the Gate of Babylon.” Rossweisse defended the Mage despite him not needing it. Anyone understood he had hurried up for the sake of saving lives. “And I mean its full power. Shirou hasn't confirmed anything but I think everyone knows about the King of Heroes’ most fearsome treasure…”

“Ea.” Rias whispered the name with reverence before shaking her head. “I doubt that is how Shiro was stopped. If it was, Kyoto would be a burning crater right now.”

“It would, at least, be in ruins.” Issei complemented as everyone paused. Ever since Angelo showed up, everybody had either researched or heard about the Original Gilgamesh’s strongest treasure.

Setsuna shook her head. “I think we shouldn’t underestimate the rest of the Gate of Babylon. Or Gilgamesh himself.”

“Yeah. He didn’t need Ea to destroy us.” Xenovia held her side and even if she was healed, she felt the pain when a Noble Phantasm had shoved her into a wall.

“The rest of those guys are also freaks.” Saji commented with a grimace.

Irina shivered, remembering her inability to do anything against the Incarnated Heracles. “Too strong. I threw everything I had against Heracles and he just shrugged everything off.”

“Define everything.” Sesshomaru demanded, his eyes shifting for the corpse towards the angel.

Enough that the brunette shivered again but Ise stood up from his bed and stood by her side before speaking. “Didn't you hear? She said ‘everything’.”

“And what is everything for an angel?” The dog yokai questioned, his tone cold but still making apparent he was regarding the young man as one would a child. “Is she capable of using Ki? Perhaps she has a sacred gear or some special weapon. Or technique only known for the inhabitants of ‘Heaven’.“ Never once his eyes left the brunette whose throat felt dry. “As allies, she has no need to hide. The sooner she, and you all can deliver your reports, the better.”

“Chichiue…” Setsuna was about to say something else but a look from Towa silenced her.

“Oi, oi, Sesshomaru. I get you are pissed but there is no reason to treat our guests like that. Especially after they helped us.” Yoruichi complained with a glare.

“The sooner we know our enemy, the sooner we can kill them. That should be rather obvious even for you.”

“Doesn’t mean you should hurry things and not give them a moment of rest, Dog Breath.”

The dog yokai’s eyes never left Irina who took a pause in their discussion to say. “I use my Holy Light in several forms.” Her shaking stopped, her eyes grew sharper and she stood to attention. No longer the person before them was the highschooler or even the angel but the Exorcist Shidou Irina. “My speciality is swords and before their transformation I was trading blows with the one known as Jeanne, who is the inheritor of Joan D’arc’s soul.”

“I heard that part of the report and also know she became inactive after the ritual was concluded.” Sesshomaru no longer sounded dismissive. If anything he was given her more regard akin to a superior focusing on their subordinate’s report with all their attention. “Focus on Heracles since, besides Gilgamesh, he was deemed the most threatening. We must use them and the one considered less of a threat, Siegfried, as a base to what we will expect.”

Nobody noticed Ise wince. [Compared to the giant, Siegfried is a weakling. Dragon Slayer or not.] Except Ddraig who explained the yokai’s logic.

“Swords, daggers, spears, lances, blasts… with as much intensity as I could, repeatedly. No intervals until I started to run out of power. If you ask the others who fought by my side, they all could agree it was like Heracles’ muscles just repealed everything we threw at him… I am not sure if it was just his brute strength or something else but…”

“But?” Rias asked after a moment, all eyes focused on the angel.

“... On his back he was wearing a lion's cloak and that thing had so much power. Just so much that it was… Stronger than most dragons, on par with Fenrir…”

Anybody a little versatile in Greek Myth knew immediately what she was talking about. “The Nemean Lion’s Pelt, one of Heracles’ trophies.” Yoruichi sighed in frustration before massaging her temples. “Of all things to become a Noble Phantasm, it had to be that.”

“He had other weapons too and he was so strong that… Most of the temple was destroyed by him just swinging his club.” Irina sounded almost desperate during her narration.

“Gilgamesh wasn’t any joke either.” Tsubasa reminded everyone. “Before he was barely holding back our army but after-”

“We are only alive because Shiro was there.” Xenovia affirmed with conviction but then frowned. “And because he was going easy on us.”

“How can you say that?!” Towa demanded. “He killed dozens of our men on his own and you call that going easy?!”

“Then he defeated Shiro.” The former Exorcist reminded everyone somberly. “If he could defeat Shiro, he could stop him. It would be easy for Gilgamesh to finish off everyone.” The bluehead focused on the eldest hanyou before saying, “That is why I say he was going easy on us.”

Nobody could deny their lives were saved because of how fast the Mage of Swords was when using his Ascension, so fast Yoruichi was the only one who could claim to be faster only due to stubbornness.

For him to have been defeated it would have to be either by someone overwhelming stronger or somehow faster than him and after facing Gilgamesh it was easy for everybody who took part in the fight to conclude that it was the former.

More importantly, Kyoto was still standing.

Ea hadn’t been used, as far as everyone was concerned.

“Almost the same thing my subordinates reported.” Sesshomaru commented as he threw his eldest a look, revealing that was what he had been doing since the attack. He and his daughters had collected the testimony of almost all survivors and they painted a very dark picture. “There is still more to be known. Worry not, Heiress of Gremory, once we are finished, you shall receive a proper report. Together with the compilation of them, if you so desire.”

“No need for the latter but I thank you, Sesshomaru-dono.” Rias would have offered a small nod but noticed the yokai head had turned to the doors. Suddenly her heart began skipping as she knew he was approaching.

A second later the doors opened again for the Oldest Yokai and Shirou. “Did Yoruichi- Rias? Akeno? Koneko?”

“My, my. Surprised to see us?” While Akeno greeted, Rias was already jumping in his arms. ‘Well, wish I had thought of that first.’

The redhead soon found comfort in her lover’s arms. “You are alive.”

“Yes, don’t worry. I was lucky that Gilgamesh didn’t want to kill me.”

“And why is that?” Sesshomaru asked and the Mage glared at him for interrupting his reunion with Rias.

Regardless, the question was valid so he answered. “He wants me to deliver a message to everyone. As in, everyone from the moonlit world his organization judges inhuman.”

“Let us hear it-”

“Do you need to hurry so much, Sesshomaru?” Oogway interrupted and the dog yokai paused as the turtle slowly entered the room. Much like his peer the ancient being had a presence all could feel

But it was much warmer and welcoming, carrying a grandfatherly quality that seemed ready to spoil anyone younger than him while imparting a sort of wisdom that could only belong to someone who lived through difficult times while also knowing to appreciate the better ones.

“Must you rush like this?” The turtle questioned the dog.

“Unfortunately time is not on our side, Oogway-dono.”

“Time is on no one’s side, it is the ultimate neutral party. All we can do is cherish what it allows us to.” He used his cane to point at Shirou and Rias. “For the gift of happiness should be appreciated whenever it comes about.”

“Our enemies won’t wait for us. We don’t have time to waste.”

“A minute or two for people to make sure loved ones are safe is never a waste.” Oogway turned his head with an amusing hum. “Or didn’t you check your daughters before anyone else?” Both girls blushed but their father remained stoic. Despite his poker face, the turtle could see he was right. “Moments of love and rest should always be appreciated. I remember teaching you that, didn’t I?”

Yoruichi laughed with eagerness. “Nyahahaha! You bet you did.” She moved around and hugged Koneko from behind. “I sure remember that lesson.” Even if hers came much later.

“The only one you are capable of remembering, it seems.” Sesshomaru commented but otherwise stayed quiet even if his eyes remained focused on Shirou’s.

Either way the message had to be said but he had no interest in doing so verbatim. “Gilgamesh basically wants Earth to humans and will declare war on anyone who stays.” From the crook of his neck, Rias stared at him. A single exchange of glances was enough for her and she stepped back to resume her position as Heiress of Gremory. “The reason why he left me alive… was for me to tell you, the angels, the devils, anyone who will listen, how powerful they are and how hopelessly it is to fight them.”

It was not a bluff when Gilgamesh warned him that if not Shirou then the man would kill everyone until there was only one survivor. He needed, either strategically or egoistically, that his warning was sound of mind and from someone who knew his power. Who understood a Heroic Spirit’s might and that he wasn’t alone.

And the message resonated with his audience as everyone paused and looked at each other in silence. Only Asia’s breathing, her face growing uncomfortable because of the corpse’s smell, could be heard.

Until eventually, “Shit.” Saji said what everyone else was thinking. “Shit. Fuck! They want us to go where? Another planet?”

“Most Factions have their own dimensions.” Akeno deduced and Shirou nodded. “He wants to exile us from Earth.”

“The gall of these terrorists.” Towa gritted her teeth with fury, her fist shaking. “To dare to demand such a thing after attacking us. The gall!”

“... He said that the yokais of Kyoto can stay here if their plans are successful.” Shirou added and the natives from Kyoto blinked with disbelief. “I believe that implies everyone else surrendering-”

“Screw that!” Yoruichi wanted to punch a wall but held herself back. “Like hell we are going to let this go. I will skin them alive!”

“For the first time we agree on something, Cat.” Sesshomaru declared and even if his face hadn't changed, everyone felt the intensity in his words.

Yet Oogway was quick to calm them down. “While I agree those terrorists shall see justice sooner or later, we must not fall for their provocations.” The turtle focused on his fellow kings who grew silent and focused on him. “We must first recover and then join our allies in this fight. And make no mistake, there will be a fight.”

Rias was quick to nod in agreement. “I can’t imagine a single god agreeing with this sort of demand. I guarantee the devils won’t.”

“The angels as well.” Irina declared fearlessly. “We won’t abandon the World the Lord left us to protect just because a bunch of bloody thirsty thugs demanded that. I need to contact Lord Michael immediately to tell him of this development.”

“So it will be war, then.” Oogway lamented but his eyes were sharp and ready. “Very well. Kyoto will join our allies in this endeavour once we have fixed what is broken. As best as we could. Even then, it won’t be at our full power.” Which was news to his guests but the turtle quickly added, “I have diagnosed Yasaka’s condition myself and while her life isn’t in peril she is no longer fit to fulfill her duties as King of Kyoto.”

“What happened?” Ise asked concernedly. “Did her life force get drained?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” The Oldest Yokai revealed. Yoruichi’s head fell as Sesshomaru's expression revealed a seed of regret. “Her Ki is unstable and her power was drained beyond anything that could be called healthy. Connecting to the ley line now will only shorten her lifespan further.”

“Then Kunou-chan…”

“Huhuhu. I thank you for worrying about her, Red Dragon Emperor. But worry not. While Yasaka can no longer fight nor protect our fair city, her life isn’t in any immediate danger.” The turtle chuckled at the relief in his face which only fell short of Setsuna and Towa’s. Yet the good news ended there. “One of the kings has fallen even if she still lives. The next in the line must be trained,” he exchanged looks with Yoruichi and Sesshomaru, “meaning our fighting force has been effectively reduced to one third as only one king can leave our city at a time until the time we are four again.”

“Is that how it is?” Koneko asked her sister.

Who nodded in affirmation. “One to train, one to protect and one to fight. When the four stand we all can exchange responsibilities and count on our family to help deal with any crisis but in this case…”

“The lineages can not be allowed to end. We must be careful until Kunou grows and learns enough to take her rightful place.” Sesshomaru looked at the turtle for permission but Oogway shook his head. “I see. You shall take care of the training yourself.”

“Kunou-chan is too young to master her youki and her body isn’t strong enough to practice Senjutsu.” Yoruichi clicked her teeth but couldn’t disagree. “But I won’t need to help much, just show her the way of Youjutsu since her mother won’t be able to teach her anymore.” His eyes turned to Shirou. “Anything else we should know about those coward’s intentions, Shiro?”

“He wanted me to be the messenger because I understand how dangerous he is, with or without Heroic Spirits.” Shirou admitted as rage grew in his chest. Yet it was a fire easy for him to temper. “Even made a show of his Noble Phantasms for me. Him and his allies. Don’t worry, I will give you a list of everything I saw.” And thanks to Unlimited Blade Works he knew every sword, spear and ax the blond threw his way as well as several of the other terrorists’ weapons. “But, more importantly, he wants me to make you guys afraid.”

“Hah!” Xenovia laughed out loud as Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Setsuna and Issei smiled amusedly.

While the others were confused, Shirou chuckled. “Probably also wants me to say something about my sister calling for more Heroic Spirits. And yes, I know it is possible.” With slow steps, the Mage approached the table with Connla’s corpse. Hiding a grimace, he placed the head close to the body and stared at his eyes. “Fortunately,” unfortunately in his real opinion, “that means this guy has some answers we need.”

“Well… he is dead.” Saji couldn’t help but say even if his face was a little green. Since he wasn’t an idiot and knew the sort of work the moonlit world demanded from its magicians, he could already guess where the situation was going. “Please tell me you aren’t going to do what I think you are about to do.”

“Pussy.” Tsubasa complained as her eyes were locked on Shirou who was staring at the corpse.

With sympathy, Yoruichi offered, “We can have a couple of doctors take a look later.”

“Better if done now.” Sesshomaru almost commanded and the nekomata glared at him.

“They won’t know exactly where to look. Or what to look for.” Shirou commented before taking a deep breath. A corpse’s smell didn’t bother him, not when his birth involved hundreds of them burning. “I would ask for another room but I doubt anywhere else is proper for this… Still, maybe-”

“Just do it, Shiro.” Rias requested softly. “Everyone here needs to know what we are dealing with anyway. Better to see with their own eyes if they want.” Looking around, she made an offer of her own. “If anyone wants to leave, this is the time. Also, Akeno, please place a barrier around Asia to filter the smell. Can’t believe we let her suffer for so long.”

“Yes, Buchou.” The ravenhead did as ordered before once again focusing on the body.

“Shouldn’t we call a specialist?” Issei asked before trying to fix the glasses, which weren’t there, again. “I mean no offense, Shirou. I trust your expertise in magic more than most-”

“You shouldn’t, I am a third rate.”

“Very bad at it.” Rias added with a grin.

“Can only use a couple spells~” Akeno also tried to lighten the mood.

“But use them well.” Kiba commented as well while looking around and noticing one person growing increasingly more uncomfortable.

Issei did too but he wasn’t going to force a teammate to leave if she didn’t want to. “I would still trust him, especially with his sister’s magecraft. But he is not a doctor and I doubt his capabilities of doing an autopsy.”

Before anybody could agree or disagree Shirou Traced a scalpel, a very familiar one but at the same time different. There were no traces of mana on it besides which was used in its creation because it wasn’t an EM. No, its inspiration, the one which served as the bedrock for the revolutionary healing Mystic Code.

When choosing what should be used as a source for healing magic the Emiya Household had opted for a scalpel which had been in the hands of a capable surgeon. A man of skill and grace who had saved several lives with his tool of trade. The Original had been utilized in a few dangerous procedures involving high risk and high reward.

Heart surgeries were an example of that. They were risky endeavours because the heart was the pump which kept the human machine going. Yet the Original scalpel saw no death under its blade. A few close calls and incidents that no doctor could predict did happen but no one died.

Meaning that Shirou, as long as he had it in his hands and focused his Reinforcement, could do a heart surgery and a few other procedures. After all, even as the tool had been cleaned, disinfected and preserved for its next ‘battle’, its History remained until it was eventually retired and stolen by Kiritsugu.

However the Mage of Swords wasn’t going to risk doing a surgery on anyone if he could help it since even if he had the skills he lacked the training and knowledge to guarantee a high chance of success.

A Medicine student he was not, after all.

But messing up with a corpse was something he was willing to do since Connla was dead anyway. “Uff…” After a sigh Shirou began removing the top of his yukata, allowing it to fall to the sides and freeing his arms. Mostly it was just to not stain his sleeves since the clothes were borrowed. “Okay, never did this before but…” Structural Analysis on the scalpel showed him the proper steps even if the doctor of its memories never used it in a corpse before. “... This is going to stink.”

“I think I’m gonna go!” Momo's announcement had Shirou freezing in his tracks. A few eyes moved in her direction but others remained in the Mage who refused to move until she was done. “Well, I mean…” The girl noticed the eyes and felt guilt despite no one really blaming her.

That wasn’t an activity normal people did after all and Hanakai Momo had been a normal girl before becoming a Bishop of Sitri. Sure her family was known by the devils before that, her father was an influential man in a certain company. Regardless she wasn’t a person comfortable with corpses even if she was capable of fighting.

Kiba scratched his neck and stood from his bed. “I think I will be going as well so allow me to escort her.” He said with his usual smile which reassured the girl. “Besides, we can’t have so many prominent figures in our year to not show up at the hotel for long. Rin and the others can only hold on for a while.”

“True and as the Student Council, we should show our faces in any case.” Issei confirmed with a frown, both feeling relief and guilt about not being able to deal with a corpse. “Leaving the Gremory to pick our slack would disappoint our King and displease Agares-sama.”

“I am staying.” Tsubasa declared with a frown. “I want to know how to beat these guys.”

Shirou, scalpel just about to cut Connla’s torso but not quite, said, “It is less about knowing how to beat them but how Illya made them.”

“And you are sure he also would get a Heroic Spirit?” Yoruichi questined, arms crossed.

“He bragged about buying time to kill me. Connla was counting on the ritual and he wouldn’t do it if Illya hadn’t given him something.” Shirou revealed, eyes stuck on his victim’s corpse. While there was no guilt, he was a terrorist who tried to kill him first, he was bothered over the whole thing. “Illya had managed to make him into a ‘Shadow Servant’, yes, that is what I am calling it. That was how he managed to dodge, escape or outright ignore my arrows. Even if she didn’t connect him to the ritual for any reason, she still did something that connected him to a Heroic Spirit anyway.”

Nobody doubted his words so Issei turned to Ise. “The Pervert Trio is rather infamous and your friends are probably looking for you.”

The Red Dragon Emperor’s eyes were fixed on the corpse. “I’m gonna stay.”

A hand landed on the brown haired man’s shoulder. “Me too.” Saji declared as he and his fellow Pawn shared a nod. “‘Sides, two people write a better report than one… Or something.”

“Fufufu. The power of friendship.” Oogway's comment had some heads turning but soon they focused on what needed to be done.

“Very well but please, return to the hotel soon.” Issei requested as he and the others departed.

Shirou still gave them a few more seconds but not everybody was that patient. “Aren’t you going to start?” Towa asked and the Mage nodded.

With a steady grip the scalpel touched Connla’s dead flesh and was pushed downwards for a steady cut. The whole procedure was like that, slow and methodical to the point of being nerve wracking but nobody dared to protest or complain. As far as they knew Illya’s magic was dangerous and he was being cautious.

Very cautious indeed. ‘Steady now.’ Shirou pulled the flesh and muscles open revealing the rib cage. ‘Why couldn't there be a bright light or something… No, I already know where it is… At least, I hope.’

“Do you know what you are looking for?” Setsuna asked, a handkerchief in her nose. Her sister wanted to do the same thing but if her father wouldn’t then neither would she.

“Servants, if properly summoned, would have two main vital points. Two weak spots if you want to call it. If destroyed, even a Servant would die.” Shirou began explaining as he Traced scissors and pincers to hold the corpse open. “One is the brain, rather obvious. The brain is the organ that binds the soul to the body and a Servant’s brain would be a copy, or an approximation, of the Original’s.”

“Do they have every other organ too?” Tsubasa asked, wishing to learn where to hit them.

“Yes and no. Servants could be sustained with just mana. They would have a stomach, probably enjoy food too, just wouldn't need it.”

“Like the gods.” Yoruichi frowned but Shirou shook their head. “More limited?”

“Unless summoned with certain abilities, no mana would mean they would just disappear in a matter of minutes. Perhaps seconds if it was after a fight. Far more limiting.” Placing the scalpel to the side, Shirou Traced a dagger before frowning. There was a risk of damaging whatever his sister used for the ritual so he changed it to a big knife and began to chip the ribs carefully. “On the other hand, after summoning, their power isn’t a matter of belief but knowledge, or acknowledgement of the World.”

“Static but probably stronger than most.” Oogway sighed. “And Heroic Spirits would be less limited, specially Incarnated into someone.”

“But they aren’t incarnated, not really.” Shirou could feel some sweat in his forehead as the procedure and concentration began to take its toll. He was surprised when a cool towel touched his face. “Akeno?”

“Oh, don’t mind me. A good doctor needs a just as capable nurse.” She had Projected the towel and a basin, just to be safe. Rias was pouting for not being able to do the same. “Go ahead, keep going. We can get anything you need.”

Shirou nodded in gratitude, his shoulders relaxing a little as he renewed his focus. “The other organ, one that wouldn’t be summoned as a one to one copy from the Throne, would be the heart.” Continued explaining for everyone’s sake. “Instead of a heart proper they would be getting a Core. A Spiritual Core.”

“So, that one is like the god’s.” Towa commented while trying to distract herself from the smell. “You hit there and they die?”

“What does any of that have to do with this?” Saji asked, fighting his stomach to keep yesterday’s food in even as he waved at the corpse.

“What would Illya use to tie a human with a Heroic Spirit?” Shirou asked rhetorically as that was exactly what he was trying to find out. “Needs to be something material. Something capable of keeping the connection going long after the ritual. More importantly; it needs to be somewhere relevant where the Heroic Spirit can’t influence a terrorist. We saw how Siegfried apparently had some issues.”

“But Heracles hadn’t.” Rossweisse reminded them.

“Different worlds, different Heracles. If a demigod will hold a grudge against the gods, it is him.” Actually Shirou could think of a longer list, especially on the Greek side, but that wasn’t the point. “Point is, most heroes won’t approve of the ‘Hero Faction’.”

“Something away from the brain. In the heart.” Koneko observed the situation coldly as the Mage’s hands grew filthy with blood. ‘He really should have got some gloves.’

However everyone knew Shirou was too focused to care about Connla’s remains. He only wanted to reach the heart as carefully as possible which led him to open the ribcage slowly. It was more of a matter of him slicing the ribs apart and removing them in a way to not touch anything.

Giving him a clear line of sight. “A Spirit Core in a human instead of a Heroic Spirit. That is what I think Illya made. Not really unlike what happened with Tsubasa but more stable.”

“Also she didn’t need Noble Phantasms for the ritual.” Rias scoffed at the thought. “Not that Gilgamesh was lacking any.” Seeing the procedure would last one more minute or so, she quietly approached her Pawn to whisper. “How are you, Ise?”

“I’m fine, Buchou.”

“You have been massaging your wrist for a while.” Immediately he stopped. “If something happened-”

“They cut it off… it feels weird.” Ise confessed, not hesitating to raise his arm and show it was fine. “Asia fixed it but it’s still weird. Probably something in my head.”

As gently as she could, Rias took his hand. “Losing a hand can be traumatic even if you got it back. If you need anything…”

“... I’ll be fine. Ddraig said that there is no Dragon Slayer aura on me or anything like that.”

“That isn’t what I mean.” The Pawn shook his head and Rias decided to let go for the moment since his eyes turned back to Shirou’s work.

Who diligently removed the last rib on the path, making sure he could put an army inside the body without risking himself. ‘Well, this is it.’ He stared at the motionless, dead heart as if it had offended him.

They all fell silent as Shirou brought up the scalpel again and began inserting it on the heart, almost afraid of damaging what was inside it. And there was something inside it, the Mage could almost feel the foreign mana in Connla’s body which nobody else could. His sacred gear had already abandoned him, his soul went to whatever Hell was due to it.

Yet there was still a spark, small but strong, that he recognized as sister’s.

Albeit in a new form that was familiar and strange at the same time.

When Shirou finally began opening the vital organ, everyone felt a powerful presence fill the room as motes of mana began escaping. The blood was pretty much dry, Connla didn’t return to life and yet the power inside him was very much still pulsing.

Rhythmically as if it didn’t know the heart had stopped.

“I need a flask and something to pick it up. Anything to-”

“Here.” Yoruichi left the room and returned on the same second with a container of glass in her right hand and a spoon on her left. “Will it do?”

“Yes. I was already cutting around.” Indeed Shirou’s hand expectedly sliced the sides of the heart until there was enough room for anything the size of a thumb. Big enough to the small spoon which he took from her hand. “Don’t know what that will do if it touches mana so- Thanks Akeno.”

The Queen nodded as she undid her towels and pulled back as everyone took an extra step away from the corpse. Regretting having Traced most of his instruments, the Mage couldn’t just make most of them disappear since they kept the flesh away from his hands. Fortunately they didn’t shake and he managed to successfully pick up his sister’s creation.

It was small, bigger than a pill but still small, pressed in like a disk made of white light that pulsed the colours of the rainbow every few milliseconds. Once away from the body, be it because it was exposed to the air or lacking a connection with a human, its power grew visible to everyone.

“How didn’t we feel such a thing?” Oogway asked in disbelief because if a human or yokai had that power inside them, they would be considered strong.

Not strange because the level of power on that thing, that seed, was the equivalent of a Noble Phantasm.

“That is-” Irina recognized the shape in shock and she wasn’t the only one.

Xenovia gritted her teeth before hissing. “Master, your sister is mean.” Several present frowned, not understanding what the problem was.

Shirou did and couldn’t help himself but chuckle bitterly as he dropped the seed in the glass. “You mean ‘evil’, right? Don’t worry, I bet almost everyone here agrees with you.” He didn’t need to look to see that some of them looked at him bashfully, including Yoruichi and Oogway. It didn’t matter as his eyes kept studying the seed in his hand. “Not that I can blame you. This is a tasteless joke at best.”

“What is that?” Ise finally asked.

“It is a Sacred Host.” Irina informed with a glare because that seed truly offended her both as an angel and as a Christian. Not many knew what she meant so confusion was all her indignation got. “You guys- It is Sacramental Bread!” She shouted while making the sign of the cross.

“I know I called Japan a country of heathens in the past but come on!” Even Xenovia looked annoyed as she couldn’t help but replicate the angel’s motions of the cross.

Shirou placed the flask on the table as he made his instruments vanish into mana. “The body of Christ, a piece of bread meant to represent absolution. Forgiveness.” The Mage stared at it and the others soon did the same. “Illya didn’t just use a ritual based on the Holy Grail. To make a connection to her allies she used the tradition of the Eucharist.”

“Heresy.” Xenovia declared, her hand shaking with desire to smash that flask and its contents. “Pure heresy. The Eucharist should be about forgiveness! About absolution! That is just downright evil!””

“Illya did the exact opposite of its traditional function.” Shirou also glared at the seed. “Instead of forgiveness, she made it into a weapon for killing.” Dread filled his being as his hope was finally shot dead.

If Heaven had anything to say about Illya’s final Fate, her soul would be thrown into the deepest of Hells.

Or worse.

He didn’t want to imagine anything worse.

“Xenovia’s right. Your sister is evil.” Ise couldn’t help himself.

After a deep sigh, Shirou focused on Tsubasa. “Can you call Olga Marie? Actually, we need to get back to Fuyuki as quickly as possible.”

“Why?” Setsuna didn’t like the news.

Yoruichi produced a cork from somewhere and gave it to Shirou who closed the glass. “This thing is pulsing. The ritual is still going. If we are going to take advantage of it, then we need to move fast.” Staring at the seed in his hand, he just knew his sister was still active. “This may be our only chance to get answers and Olga Marie is the only other person on the planet who has managed to make contact with the Throne of Heroes.”

“With a machine and my shield.” Tsubasa realized where the Mage was going.

“Technically not a machine-”

“I call a board, a board, Saji.”

Rias also had a realization and she didn’t like it. “You are about to do something stupid, aren’t you?”

“Honestly? I have no clue.” Shirou answered while staring at the seed and feeling its pulse.

“It is still going to be a stupid idea.” Akeno stated bluntly.

No one disagreed as the white and rainbow light of the seed kept filling the room.

…

In another place, within the Dimensional Gap but separated from any of its main constructs, several seeds pulsed with mana as their creator ascended a short flight of stairs. Just three steps, little in the grand scheme of things but enough to place her above the first batch of volunteers.

Illyasviel smiled as the ritual was still ongoing and a few others had already been graced with Heroic Spirits. The most loyal members of the Hero Faction were turned into warriors capable of reshaping the land and taking over countries on their own. However, while strong, they were still too few.

The Hero Factions plans couldn’t be fulfilled by just twenty Heroic Spirits.

To challenge the gods, to challenge their Pantheons, to challenge the whole moonlit world, they needed more.

Much more.

Despite the hundreds of losses due to the operation, the Hero Faction was still five hundred strong. Of those almost all of them had proven to have the blood of heroes and therefore a possible connection to the Throne. The problem wasn’t empowering them, Illyasviel had the means to do so.

The problem was: who to empower first.

And who not to.

Which led Illyasviel to stand on an elevated platform as several members of the Hero Faction marched inside with eagerness and glee, ready to receive the power of their blood.

Wearing the Dress of Heaven, the Magus Killer’s Daughter smiled amusedly as a man just a head or two shorter than Heracles approached her with a confident smirk. He then kneeled in front of her, both in reverence and to make her work easier. She didn’t remember his name but soon everyone in the room would whose blood flowed in his veins.

Besides her mistress, Sella stood still like a statue. Her presence was not deemed important by anyone other than Illya herself. What was important was the contained in her hands, a golden chalice made by Illyasviel and one of the main pieces of her ritual; a Holy Grail.

Obviously it wasn’t the one made for the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, Illyasviel had no idea where to find that one. Yet the Holy Grail was an important symbol that fit her ritual like a glove; it was the main form to build a contract with a Servant, an object capable of enacting a wish and a ‘symbol’ of Christendom.

The act of drinking was also connected to that religion and the blood of Christ was the Origin of the Holy Grail in the first place. The act of dipping a piece of bread on wine was symbolic tied to its core tenets and the act she twisted for her own designs.

Inside that Holy Grail was mana in a state between liquid and solid.

Mana that Illyasviel took from Kyoto and Yasaka combined with hundreds of ‘units’ she acquired through the Hero Faction’s operations which included the sacrifice of powerful Artifacts to empower a ‘Wish’.

Besides that it had another function and as her fingers touched the mana, soon they left the golden chalice with a new seed. ‘The body of Christ.’ Georg, who was watching from a balcony, smiled with amusement. He had taken in the seed when the ritual was much weaker and the result less immediate. ‘And now, another Heroic Spirit joins our ranks.’

Illyasviel deposited the seed on the bald man’s mouth and soon his body was covered with a golden light which exploded into a pillar. “Roar! Declare your name to the Heavens!!!”

“Darius! For the Third of our Name!!!” When the pillar vanished Darius revealed a body full of golden tattoos matching his golden teeth as the uniform he was wearing was torn apart to expose his bare chest and arms. “For Humanity I stand!! The blood of the Ancient Persian Kings shall lead the Hero Faction to glory!!!”

The first new transformation was met with cheers and Illyasviel smiled proudly as the man produced two axes, two new Noble Phantasms for their arsenal. “I can’t wait to see what you can do, Darius.”

“Lady Illyasviel, I shall crush our enemies on mine- no, on my elephant’s heel!!” A silhouette appeared behind the man, a giant creature surrounded by a thousand different shadows, before it vanished in the next second.

“Come along, Darius.” Cao Cao ordered from the door, his humor improved by the addition of another powerful ally. “This isn't the place to test your Noble Phantasms.”

“Yes sir!” The tall man offered Illyasviel a nod of respect before retreating. Soon the whole line of people started to push each other, eager to gain power.

Georg chuckled before turning to the person watching everything with him. “Shouldn’t you be down there, Heracles?”

“No need. Anyone stupid enough to try anything and I can be there in a flash.” It wasn’t just an empty boast either. Thanks to Alcides’ power, Heracles could cross that distance in less than a blink of an eye. “Why are you worried anyway? Didn’t you and Gilgamesh vet everybody in there?”

“Hmm, we did, didn’t we?” Georg asked as he opened the book in his waist. “But you know, just in case.”

“Hah! Just in case someone managed to trick you two? Easier to miss a shot.” He commented while petting Heracles' Bow. “Maybe someone should try. Sella will probably take their head before I get a chance.”

“Hmm…” Georg started reading his Noble Phantasm again.

Soon an automatic door opened behind them and Siegfried strode his new armor absent because he was in a ‘powered down’ state. Unlike his allies who chose to remain Incarnated since acquiring their new powers, the former member of the Church felt a strange sense of exhaustion.

Wasn’t mana nor it was physical, the process which birthed him made him more powerful than most magicians and athletes. Perhaps it was because unlike the others the Original Siegfried wasn’t giving him any new strength. Regardless it was something Illya predicted and the young man had no problems keeping his armor in a spiritual form.

“Hey, what 's up?” Siegfried questioned his allies before approaching the balcony. “Think this is going to take long?”

“These are just the first few candidates we vetted.” Georg informed him while turning a page.

“‘Few’? I counted fourty.”

“Why the rush?” Heracles asked. “Didn’t Illya already take a look at Jeanne?”

Siegfried frowned. “For all the good it did… Hey, Georg-”

“Don’t bother. That sort of magic is far from my speciality. Even after watching the ritual I only managed to piece together enough to know I will never be able to understand Heaven’s Feel.”

“Yeah but you are a magician too.” Was the clear frustrated retort. “Maybe that book has something Jeanne can use.”

“Is she that bad?” The black haired man asked.

After a pause, Siegfried said, “She is just… out of it. Illya said maybe we can try something later but…”

Heracles clicked his tongue and said, “Well, that sucks. Sorry but if Illya says there is nothing we can do, then there is nothing we can.”

“It is nobody’s fault, really. Jeanne’s soul, better yet, Joan D’arc’s soul far too complex and powerful.” Georg began flipping through his book’s pages, looking for any mention of ‘souls’. Unfortunately there were only means to use them to pay for certain benefits. “What else did Illya say about the subject?”

Siegfried turned and approached the magician. “Just that she would take a look later but to not get my hopes up.” Turning to the giant, he ignored the new pillar of energy as another Heroic Spirit gave their blessing. “Did she tell you something Heracles?”

For a moment the gray haired man didn’t know if he should answer. While he didn’t have bad news, he had frustrating ones. As Illya’s best friend he knew enough about her magecraft to get by. Or at least enough to understand the sort of headache Illyasviel was dealing with in that particular situation.

Regardless, he wasn’t a man who could stay silent. “There is something wrong with Joan, the Original. Or something wrong with her connection with Jeanne.”

“How so?” Heracles grunted in response. “Hey!”

“Keep your voice down.” Georg recommended just as another pillar shot through the sky. He could practically feel the pocket dimension shake within the Dimensional Gap but since it wasn’t created by his sacred gear, it wasn’t his business.

“You can’t say something like that and just not elaborate.” Siegfried was clearly frustrated.

Heracles tried to be understanding. “It's not my fault you didn’t like what you heard. Deal with it.” Failing somewhat miserably. “If we can’t do shit, then we can’t do shit. After everything is said and done we just need to break the ‘contract’ anyway.”

“Why don’t we break it now?” Georg’s gaze left his book for a second. “If we are going all the way, I prefer to have Jeanne with us in the backlines than an unreliable Heroic Spirit on the frontlines. Her status as a Saint can still tear devils to shreds by just singing something off key.”

Both men clicked their tongues before the shorter one answered. “Gilgamesh and Illya said we can’t. Jeanne- Joan’s Noble Phantasm was too good to waste.” Faust’s descendant raised a brow. “Better than just her ‘status’. Apparently it is a perfect defense.”

“Perfect my ass.” Heracles flexed his right arm and kissed his bicep. “If she tried to raise anything like that I would break it with a punch.”

Siegfried rolled his eyes. “That ‘defense’ isn't for you. It is for the monsters.”

“Fair enough.” The giant shrugged as another pillar rose to the sky.

“But will it be reliable?” Georg asked, already planning to interrogate Gilgamesh about the issue since Illya was going to be busy for a month.

Maybe just a few weeks and that if they get lucky.

There were still spies to be flushed even if they managed to get rid of most during the operation. In fact several squads full of them were thrown in the most obvious bases to make sure they were in the frontlines to die. Not that they knew it until the very end and only if realization had time to set in.

“She only needs to use it once.” Heracles affirmed. “Once everything is set up her barrier will push everything but us back. ‘Only God will be able to breach it and he is dead, bwahahahaha’. That is what Gilgamesh said.”

“Huh. That was a pretty good imitation.” Georg complemented.

“Thank you. I’ve been practicing.”

“So that means we can’t break the contract until the Final Ritual. Sorry about that, Siegfried.”

“I think we should drop Jeanne out of the operation entirely if she is going to be bound to that Heroic Spirit.” The Dragon Slayer commented with a frown. “If the connection is screwed up then maybe the Noble Phantasm will fail or the spirit will take her power back or something else will go wrong. We don’t need that sort of risk.”

Heracles turned and landed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry. We will clear the way before dropping Jeanne anywhere dangerous. After that you just need to guard her until the end.”

“And so I won’t get to fight either.” Still Siegfried preferred to protect his friend than fighting since his Incarnation made that instinct stronger because it was the one thing the Original approved of him. “Georg, watcha reading?”

While a sudden question the three knew it was just a way for the white haired man to distract himself. “Cake recipes.”

““Huh?””

“Fufufu. Out of curiosity, what did you hear?”

“‘Cake recipes’.” Answered Siegfried.

“Really? I heard ‘how to draw’.” Was Heracles answer. “Wait a minute-”

“Seems you already realized it, my friend.” Georg closed his book, the grinning devil in the cover looked amused. Either that or it was mocking them as another pillar of energy shot up. “When I tried with Gilgamesh he said ‘a novel’. Apparently everyone hears something different no matter how I try to explain it.”

Instinctively, thanks to the seed in his heart, Georg knew the Noble Phantasm had a form of Presence Concealment tailored to hide its contents from anyone but Faust. As his descendant, and the person Incarnated with his Heroic Spirit, only the magician could access its contents.

At least he believed so, “I wish that I had a sibling to see if it is a matter of blood or if I am the only capable of reading the book.” His parents were long dead so Georg couldn’t really ask them. He opened the book again as another pillar, brighter than the previous ones, exploded in the room. “But so far nobody else has had much luck. Not even Gilgamesh.”

“That so?” Siegfried frowned and leaned on the other man’s shoulder. His frown grew more pronounced and he said, “Looks like gibberish to me.”

“And you Herc?” Georg turned the book around.

After a moment the giant shook his head. “Can’t make heads or tails of it. It ain’t Greek or English.”

“Nor Latim or Italian or French or Portuguese.” Siegfried tried to touch the book but retreated after feeling his fingers burn. “The fuck?”

Georg and Heracles chuckled before the former asking, “Want to try again with your armor? Probably will work.”

“... Only you can touch it, aren’t I right, you bastard?”

“Well you were the second person to try. What do you say, Herc? Wanna give it a go?”

“Not interested. Getting the book doesn’t mean I can read it. That is your Noble Phantasm. I don’t care.”

“I suppose you are right. It is still a bit annoying that I can’t tell you all about my full capacity. You can hear about my skills like Territory Creation-”

“Heh.” Siegfried chuckled and even Heracles smiled at that skill.

“-but I can’t go in details of what this book can do and it is so fascinating-”

““We don’t care.”” Both men said at the same time before Heracles added. “Want to have a debate or something? Get another magician or wait for Illya so she can try to help with your problem. Though, I doubt she can if it is like Jeanne’s.”

Siegfried shook his head. “No, Jeanne’s is a matter of connection. Like if the Heroic Spirit giving her power is crashing with her soul.” At least that was what he understood of the explanation. “Faust’s Noble Phantasm just has some annoying rule that we can’t do anything about.”

“Like your weak spot on your back?” The giant asked before laughing and the shorter man couldn’t help but be envious of the former since he pretty much gained an invincible ‘armor’ without caveats.

Georg returned to his book, working to decipher its higher mysteries. “Whatever the case, are you guys excited?” His grin was reflected on the other two as another pillar exploded in the area. “We are almost there. Our dream is almost reality.”

“Heheh. Can’t we start already?” Heracles asked eagerly. “It isn’t like we need everyone to clean up the trash.”

“Patience.” Georg flipped another page. “Truth be told, we know how powerful our enemy is so we can’t rush. You or me, maybe even Seigfried, can deal with them.” Another blast of mana, another Incarnation. “But not all Heroic Spirits are made equal. Some may not be strong enough while others… We need to test their Noble Phantasms in a combat situation before the main event.”

While the giant didn’t disagree, it didn't mean he wasn’t impatient. “But we could do it with everyone here already.”

Another page was flipped, another Incarnation was finished. “It will still be thousands versus a couple hundred. Not to mention they undoubtedly have monsters capable of fighting against us. We can’t charge around recklessly.”

“He is right.” Siegfried interjected before Heracles responded. “We are the Hero Faction. Winning fights with raw power is nice but our organization didn’t last hundreds of years by being suicidal or stupid. We play smart, like always.”

“That was always Humanity’s greatest advantage and we must never forget that just because we gained power.” Georg closed the book, feeling no close to deciphering its mysteries. For every spell he managed to understand there were a dozen random instructions he couldn’t. “Swinging a sword can kill a man but swinging to his neck makes sure he stays dead.”

Heracles thought about their words for a moment before nodding in agreement. They were right, after all, and the demigod shouldn’t allow his lust for battle get the best of him. Even if he was nigh invincible, the same couldn’t be said about his allies.

On the other hand, his allies could understand his eagerness, the desire to finally see their plans unfold and it wasn’t even their main plan. They were discussing the opening act, the first strike which would start a chain reaction no one would be able to stop.

Not the gods.

Not the devils.

Not even the Hero Faction itself.

Once things get violent, it will blow beyond proportions until they change the World.

Or died in the attempt.

“How long is this going to take?” Siegfried questioned with a sinister smile. His blood singing at the idea of war.

“Hope not too long.” Heracles shared the same feeling.

“I confess I do too.” Almost feeling himself shiver, Georg managed to hide his trembling hands behind his back. “But we must do things properly. Before we end the Age of the Gods for good, we start small. Fortunately, the beginning of something is the end of another.” The other men grinned at his playful banter. “So drink tea, play some games, savour the peace for as long as it lasts.”

“And won’t last long.” Heracles affirmed as his grin grew.

“A month? I bet Gilgamesh and Illya are going to have everything ready in a couple of days.”

“Then in a couple of days the fun begins boys.” Georg laughed as he felt a powerful Heroic Spirit offer their support. “Because we are going to war. First the Khaos Brigade then the World.”

…..