Steel Eyed Faker Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Partially beta read

Next update is To Love a Sword.

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-The Imperial Palace-


“How boring,” holding a goblet of wine in her hand, a bored Esdeath sat upon her chair with a view overlooking the entirety of the Capital muttered in a hushed tone. “I guess I shouldn't complain much, the candidates turned out to be better than what I expected… a step above the average foot soldier with enough rough potential to be interesting.” 


The short match-up against, or examination of the potential candidates for her next chosen Beast had gone quite smoothly. Many showed plenty of talent in their specific area of expertise; bladework, martial arts, strategy, reflexes, and so on. 


"Kurome has a knack for stealth and assassination-type missions. Her speed and precision with that sword of hers are very high. Wave on the other hand, has shown a surprising level of endurance… hm, most likely a byproduct from training with that Teigu of his in a naval setting. Though he’s far too indecisive for his own good, I'll have to change that" she noted down for the profiles of each member she’d personally created, each page of her notebook detailing all information she’d deemed relevant from their files along with her own observations for each of the members. 


Bols and Run were two individuals she already had an extensive knowledge of, one being a competent soldier who didn't shy away from carrying out any orders regardless of if they went against his personal morals, and the other was in possession of a simple but useful Teigu powered by a finely honed body with a sharp mind.


“Sergeant Ubiquitous is a perfect weapon in the making.” A simple-natured girl with an over attachment to the desire of ensuring order; naive but easy to control. Though it seemed clear that someone else got to her as soon as she began her career, and even made some few changes to her body. 


“Then there is our dear Dr. Stylish… hah, I'll have to keep an eye on him.” 


She intentionally mentioned the details of Emiya's ability in front of that man, knowing full well the kind of reaction it would cause. Useful in the fact it only served as fuel to motivate the man to pinpoint that bastard's location and end this mouse and cat chase. But the chances of him going rogue were high… “Nevermind, if he bites more than he can chew then he'll die by his hands anyways.” 


She leaned back against her chair, sighing and grabbing a stack of papers before filing through the handful of documents one by one. Reports given to her by some of her troops in the field, spies, and scouts spread across the Empire all relayed plenty of information about anything she desired.


"Just how are you planning to draw him out, Stylish?" Esdeath said, curious to see to what extent he would go to get what he wanted. “These so-called secrets to replicating a Teigu or Shinkus are too tantalizing for him to ignore.”


But then again, she didn't have much of a confidence that man would find him in the first place now that she thought about it again.


“A waste of time. If Emiya doesn't want to be found, not even the entirety of the Empire's network of spies will be able to draw him out. Best thing Stylish could do would be to go specifically for Najenda and put that woman in danger, though that would present its own challenges for him." She shook her head in frustration at the weakness the redhead had since as long as she could remember, the reason why she believes that will lead to his downfall sooner rather than later.


As she continued to mull over her thoughts, the young woman's senses suddenly went haywire as she sensed the slightest of tremors on the tips of her fingertips along with the sight of ripples upon the surface of her drink. 


“Hm?” 


Intrigued, she focused upon the view of the Capital. 


"What?" Though distant, she managed to catch the sight of black smoke rising in the air. "It can't be an attack from Night Raid now of all times…" There was a small chance, but so small that it didn't make sense for him to appear at such a time."


Whatever was going seemed to be happening at the edge of the slums, from the looks of it near the guard post previously occupied by Ogre and currently handled by Seryu. The wind stirred, the curtains billowing right as Esdeath vanished from her spot, a small trail of ice left on the table with cracks spreading along the wine glass that had been frozen so quickly it cracked. 


{Break}


-The Capital-


(A few minutes earlier)


"You… have an annoying way of speaking," 


Emiya said while throwing the girl a glare, Tatsumi standing next to him, visibly in a dilemma on what course to take afterwards. The brunette in question, the very reason why he accompanied him all the way here, was not in the correct state of mind to listen to them and full of hostile intent and ready to use force to capture them.


‘The dog hasn't moved yet, she must have other means during combat.’ The entire time, his eyes would occasionally glide over to Hekatonkheires, the Magical Beast having the same blank glance as it looked back at him, making it that much harder to read it… unlike its owner.


With a mental command, two weights were added to his grasp, one being a white sword, Bakuya and the other a black blade, Kanshou. The presence of the two Noble Phantasms momentarily attracted the attention of Koro and Tatsumi. As soon as the latter saw the two weapons in question, he panicked and immediately jumped in between him and the girl. "Wait! Seryu is not someone we should treat like Captain Ogre or Zanku, she genuinely wants to help people!"


To that response, he got an eyebrow raise from the former redhead, "While I don't doubt your statement, at this very moment helping people is pretty much nonexistent in her mind and she's clearly out for blood. The dog is most likely to act at any moment and maul us." Emiya remarked. The amount of bloodlust and rage shown on her face made that point apparent enough that he truly believed that the boy was wasting his time trying to convince the woman.


"I can do it! Trust me." 


For some reason, the boy shared a much more optimistic belief and turned his attention to Seryu, putting his hands up, showing no presence of any kind of weapons, and approaching her with a determined face. A move that Emiya honestly found it to be foolish and even suicidal at worst, why be so stubborn about a person he interacted for a few days at most?


"I’m not here to fight you, Sergeant. I come back reporting to you as Private Tatsumi, the one you helped get off the streets when I was at my lowest point," he said, observing every small change on her face and expression. "Sergeant, I swear on the name of every single person back in my home village that I did not commit any of those crimes pinned on me… nor did I kill Ogre for that matter!" he huffed, finding hope that Seryu hadn't instantly gunned him down the moment she got her attention on him.


Yet his hopes simmered down as soon as she retrieved a pair of tonfas from her belt.


"Then you will put down your weapons and accept being detained by me," she said in a commanding tone, causing an uncomfortable reaction from Tatsumi. "If you truly are innocent, then getting captured and being put on trial shouldn't be such an issue if you're not lying."


On the other hand, Emiya noticed her voice wavered, a clear sign that she was right on the edge of losing control of her emotions. He did not say a word, letting the boy handle the situation on his own while he surveyed both their surroundings and Koro once more. 


"We can't do that, they'll just…" Tatsumi whispered, the gravity of the situation weighing heavy in his voice. "They just won't let us live," he continued with a complicated expression, wanting to use this method more than anything else but knowing just where this would lead them. "I was framed for something I never did. Going back behind bars is no different than a death sentence."


"If you are not guilty, then you shouldn't be afraid!" Seryu Insisted, the grasp on her tonfas tightening. Her eyes turned dark, teeths grinding against one another along a dark face emerging. "You are lying, aren't you? All of this is just a ruse to trick me once again and betray my trust… I was right, the best solution is to just kill all of you. Then finally we'll have peace and I can avenge Captain Ogre's death!"


"It's not like that!" Tatsu interjected, “these people were the ones who kidnapped my friends! They were… they were tortured and subjected to ungodly horrors, along with plenty of others. Where was your justice then?” 


While these two continued to bicker and argue against one another, Emiya was starting to plan their escape. 


The outcome of this little attempt was pretty clear. ‘Leone and Najenda are most likely done with their tasks. I doubt the latter will risk staying in the capital longer than necessary,’ he mused to himself. 


The woman who wouldn't stop trying to take on the big sister role, though erratic and headstrong at times, wasn't a fool who would risk having her presence be known by some of the higher-ups while in the capital — much less if he was around. He honestly was astounded at first about how she didn't fight back as much about his decision to tag along.


“Liar!” Seryu shouted, pointing his finger at him this time. “All of you are liars! You’ve been trying to deceive me from the beginning!”


Deceive her from the beginning? Oh, most likely she was thinking about their first meeting. At that, he just shrugged, "I was not a member of Night Raid when I first met you, and even now I wouldn't truly consider myself as a member of that group. I do not care about this capital that much, nor its people or anything of that sort to put my life on the line and attempt at getting rid of its filth," he explained calmly, though unlike the boy in front of him, not having any plans on convincing her about anything. 


“Enough!” 


Koro finally made a move, not attacking them like he expected, merely walking closer to Its owner. Now he was truly cautious of the duo, while he was certain that he alone had more than enough capabilities to escape this place or even take down the source of trouble if pushed to a degree, he truly could not underestimate the Teigu of hers. “I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, even when you were finally caught I didn't want to believe that it was you at first, now that you are associated with Night Raid, that is all the proof I need.”


Even though he stood right in between them, those words were said to Tatsumi more than to him. It became rather apparent that her main target this entire time would be the boy and her belief that he killed this Captain Ogre. Emiya carefully went through his memories, sifting through every little piece of information he had gathered about this person in the past and some information provided to him by Akame and Najenda.


"Sorry to burst your little bubble, but this guy over here had no hand in killing that Captain of yours," he stated firmly.


As soon as those words left his mouth, the pair of maddened eyes immediately locked in on him, somehow widening further in shock. He was also certain that Tatsumi was having a somewhat similar reaction behind his back.


"You!" Seryu trailed off, now fully focusing on him rather than Tatsumi. 


The man put his hands up lazily before showing a small smirk. "What do you expect? It was bound to happen sooner or later. Human trafficking, forcing women from outside the capital and bringing captured prisoners of war into brothels, and other matters regarding smuggling — someone was going to pay for his head. It just so happens that I went after him the same day Tatsumi was captured. In your words, justice was served that day, so you should be happy, right?"


It happened in an instant, the last bit of rationality within her eyes breaking and snapping apart before she launched at him with her weapon swinging towards his neck, aiming to break his bones and incapacitate him in a couple of moves.


He commended her skills as it was clear she had rigorous training with those tonfas. But unfortunately, "Argh!" The two metallic t-batons got struck to the side with his blade, using the flat side of Kanshou to parry the attack. 


Slow enough to give him ample time to react and counter. 


His body moved the following instant, pivoting on his heels and extending his leg, his armored boot slamming right into her stomach where the breastplate didn't protect.


The force, added with the momentum, was enough to push all traces of air out of her lungs along with a trail of spit before she ended up crashing against the wall with a loud thud. Her back bounced off the cement and she fell to the ground, releasing a fit of coughing and wheezing noises.


"Emiya!?" Tatsumi shouted, not surprised by his sudden action but rather shocked that he would hurt Seryu so fast that he couldn't even properly see what happened. 


"You've seen it with your own eyes, she's not going to listen to you anytime soon," he stated firmly. “Let's just get going, it's only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive.” 


Without giving the boy any chance to respond, he grabbed him by the collar of his cloak before applying some reinforcement to his body and harshly threw him upwards and through the window. 


"Waaah!" Tatsumi's scream echoed in the room echoing by the sound of a broken window and vanished as soon as he was out. The Counter Guardian wasn't going to wait and see the kind of response Tatsumi was going to give and risk the chance of the latter arguing against his decision and trying to stay behind in the naive hope of convincing Seryu.


“After him!” Seeing his attempt to allow Tatsumi to escape, the girl couldn't allow such an outcome to occur. Shouting out an order which the living Teigu heeded and tried to run after the boy — only to have its path blocked by Emiya once more.


"Woof!” Hearing the magical beast's growls and bark, he immediately leaned to the side, dodging the animal that lunged towards him, nearly biting his head off. Its face has changed from the prior blank slate to an abomination with nearly a hundred of sharpened fangs placed in every corner within its mouth, which was now half the size of its body.


"You truly are an ugly creature," Emiya noted as soon as the creature landed before him, then turned his attention back to it. "Hekantonkheires," he whispered its true name, a bio weapon basically, made within the flesh of a living being, having taken a form oh so innocent-looking but capable of changing into a killing machine at will. 


"Hm?" The man noticed something odd while keeping his guard up against the creature. ‘Is it hesitating to attack me?’ After the first attempt, it did not lunge towards him instantly, but rather… hesitated. This alongside the fact the dog hadn't changed into its genuine battle form. 


"Koro!" Seryu, having regained her breath, stood back up and called her companion back. The creature in question swiftly returned to its owner while also keeping its eye fixed on him. “What's going on with you?” Evidently, Emiya was not the only one who’d noticed the animal's abnormal reaction. 


Despite being in the middle of battle, the young girl spoke to her companion with worry clear in her tone, to which the creature rubbed its head against her legs to reassure its master.


Koro then looked back at him with hesitation evident in its previously blank eyes. A trace of confusion and something else… 


"Watch out!" Her voice rang throughout the room, jumping away along with Koro a second before a black blade came slashing downwards with enough force to cleave through the ground, having been aiming for her companion instead of herself. 


Yet he did not stop, already in the midst of going through a second slash faster than what her eyes could track right as they witnessed a thin line forming across Koro’s stomach and cleaving it into two before she even landed back on the ground. “Koro!” 


Upon her command, multiple strands of flesh grew from its flesh like little tendrils that reconnected both halves together once more. The sword's cut mending together till nothing was left but soft fur and a more hostile stare from the creature. 


Holding onto Kanshou, Emiya frowned at the scene but managed to gather more information as well. ‘It didn't make any sound indicating it’s experiencing pain, it does possess blood and internal organs… capable of regenerating near instantaneously. Its skin offered little to no resistance against the swords, even if I used regular swords rather than Noble Phantasms they would have cut through easi—!’


The observation ended there, replaced by wariness at Koro’s body suddenly going rigid. “Raaaaaaargh!” The loud roar reminiscent of a Danger Beast coming out of its mouth, the stub-like paws turning semi translucent and expanding with its body and ending up twice his size. Packed with muscles and a more ferocious growl.


‘Well would you look at that, it managed to get even uglier.’ 


It moved just as fast if not faster, Koro's shadow looming over him with its giant fists winded back. Alarmed, Emiya brought his blade in an x-shaped grip to take the punch. “Hm!” 


Unsurprisingly, both swords held together without so much as a crack, but the generated force pushed his feet off the ground and across the room till it crashed into the door and threw him outside. With the sun’s light beating on his face, he quickly recovered midair and landed on his feet. 


"Emiya!” 


Turns out, the boy was still present outside rather than having run away like he hoped he'd do.


“What are you still doing here? I threw you outside for a reason, idiot!” 


“What the hell is that thing!?” Rather than heeding his words, Tatsumi’s attention was caught by the monstrosity walking out of the building, its gigantic humanoid arms touching the ground with veins bulging upon those muscles the size of a human body. 


"It's the little dog from before, just bigger and more dangerous.” 


The punch was powerful, perhaps comparable in strength to an average Earth Dragon. Capable of shattering the ribs of a regular human with a single hit. ‘The increase in size didn't slow down its speed in the least. Strength-wise, I can't overlook the possibility it could become stronger and bigger. Increased aggression but still able to follow orders and stay next to Seryu… what a troublesome Teigu.’


“That thing is Koro, the cute dog from before? Holy shit! That's not a dog at all!”


“It's a biological weapon shaped similarly to a dog-like creature, a Teigu capable of killing us both if we're not careful. It was never a dog from the beginning, just a shape used to blend in."


"A Teigu… I thought all of them were either weapons or equipment like swords, bows, belts, or that weird eye thing you got from before."


Emiya nodded, “Teigus and Shinkus come in many different origins and usages, most being your standard weapon with increased durability and added elements embedded within the material — like Murasame. While others are more complex and… alive.” It was neither a Divine Construct nor an entity originating from an alien planet composed of elements from beyond Earth’s understanding. 


He'd even compare it to a homunculus or a flesh golem, both of which were fairly common in his own world with various Magi. 


But from his understanding, and everything he managed to observe, the dog possessed an ability similar to polymorphism and mass alteration, given how there was a slight tremor with each step it took. 


"A complex Teigu," he murmured, considering it one of the most intricate creations he had witnessed so far in this world, next to Pumpkin. "Never mind that, we'll talk about the details later; for now, we have more pressing matters to attend to," he said, just as Seryu shouted out a command. 


"Koro, Number 1!" 


To both of their surprise, the giant animal chomped onto Seryu’s hand, trails of saliva dripping from its mouth before opening it back up and showing her now holding a rather large black flail without any trace of injuries on her skin. 


“Spatial storage… Just how many abilities does this thing have?” Emiya hummed, ‘It had to bite her arms to have her hold the weapon rather than vomiting it out. It can't be simple spatial storage, if I keep those two separate then there won't be any more nasty surprises like this.’


“What should we do?” Tatsumi asked.


"So, she's really going on the offensive even before reinforcements arrive. Or, the girl could be planning on merely stalling us for a certain amount of time," he mused, but the second idea was immediately discarded as she gave him the same look as before. “Also, what do you mean by we? I'll be the one to take care of these two.” 


“You'll kill her?” 


He gave the boy a side glance, “You know, I don't just go around killing anyone who just stands in my way without thought — I only do so if I deem it necessary.” 


There was no way someone with so much madness and anger in her eyes would be reacting like this in the first place. Emiya narrowed his eyes, a split decision presenting itself to his attention: whether he should focus on leaving this place first and foremost or take down his opponent once and for all? Seryu was basically a nobody to him, someone who he just met once in the past and just so happened to be the same person who helped Tatsumi. 


Whatever kind of skewed ideals she held was of no importance to him. These factors were not enough to warrant him killing her so easily without any thoughts, it just seemed unnecessary and potentially wasted more time than anything else.


There were plenty of monsters out there that he was more than willing to end without hesitation, even though he did not really enjoy killing. Unlike many of them, she was not one of those people; but in the end, she owned a Teigu that posed a threat to Night Raid if she continued being an obstacle. 


The battle was far from over; seeing them attempting to flee rather than face her, Seryu did not want to allow that. "Don't think you'll be able to leave!" At her command, her tone was sounding more commanding and crazed, changing the demeanor of the dog, which now also became more serious and aggressive. 


“Heh, thinking about escaping already like cowards? I don't think so!” A sadistic smirk showed on her face, holding up her tonfas and firing a hail of bullets.


Putting aside the fact those batons were in fact guns of all things, he tensed his muscles and firmly grasped his blades, Emiya's arms blurred with a shower of sparks covering his view. Each shot getting either cut apart or flattened by the married blades, not a single projectile going past them. 


Seryu was momentarily stunned, giving Emiya enough time to further retreat with Tatsumi right behind him. A dejected expression coupled with frustration occupying his thoughts. “I couldn't change her mind after all.”


“She's insane.” 


“Eh?” 


“I didn't mean it as an insult,” answered Emiya as soon as he got a bewildered look from Tatsumi. “Her psyche does not seem stable to me.” 


His words were instantly followed by a large shadow dropping from the sky, crushing the many houses in its way, showing Koro with a grinning Seryu sitting on top. Already knowing what was going through Tatsumi's mind, Emiya glared at him. 


"You will not fight it. That is not our objective today. The more chaos we cause, the more likely special reinforcements will arrive sooner. And trust me, I won't be able to do much to help all of you at the same time when that happens. Just keep running, don't look back. I'll keep it occupied until then!"


"You can't be serious!" the boy exclaimed in frustration. "I was the one who wanted to talk to Seryu. It's my fault that we are in this situation, so the very least I can do is help!"


"You can help by getting away from here as fast as possible, you idiot!" Emiya shouted, seeing Koro charge towards him like a raging juggernaut.


The air around him rippled with blue motes of light as four massive greatswords appeared in the air before being fired straight towards their target. The first chunk of steel was barely deflected by the creature's right arm, right before the second one managed to pierce it right in the middle. The third sword went right through its left knee, pinning itself against the ground, immobilizing it for a moment, and finally, the fourth and final one cleaved its head in two pieces.


“Wow, you actually did it!"


"I only bought us time," he answered dryly. 


At first, Tatsumi wondered what he was saying but soon became rendered speechless as he saw the motionless body of the creature start to twitch, with green and red sparks of electricity spreading across its body. "You've got to be kidding me…" he mumbled in disbelief.


"This Teigu, like I mentioned, is very much unique to anything you have seen so far. Not only can it transform into this monstrous form, but it can also regenerate. That is why I told you that you will be of no help. Your sword may cut through its skin and flesh, but it won't kill it, and you'll only put yourself in harm's way."


"Damn it! If only I had a Teigu!" He regretted not being compatible with the all-seeing eye artifact that was presented to him last time, able to see right through objects and even read opponents' minds according to Emiya.


"Don't bother. Having a Teigu does not mean you would be able to defeat it or change your chances of winning if you’ve no idea how to properly use it. Just listen to me and run as fast as you can. Take the same path we discussed prior in case of a retreat and find Najenda and Leone. If the former tries to come after me, then tell her I forbid her to do so, and she'll only put me in more danger. Can I trust you with this?"


Emiya saw some hesitation in the boy's eyes at first before the latter reluctantly agreed, clenching his fist with all his strength. Tatsumi managed to turn around right after looking at Seryu one last time.


"Sergeant, even though you are not listening to me, I swear to you that I never had any plans of betraying the Empire. I came into this place with little means to look after myself and lost my friends before I even arrived. You were the first person who made me feel some hope that everything will turn out alright. This place is not for you; they are not the kind of people you think they are. They are just using you… I hope one day you'll be able to open your eyes."


With those parting words, he finally made haste in the opposite direction without looking back. The roads having gotten cleared from any civilians and making it easier for him to run as fast as he could.


"Come back here, traitor!" Seryu's tone turned further distorted, rushing towards the retreating boy with the flail in her hand, only to have her path blocked once more by Emiya. He stopped her advancement and forced her to jump back, the still lingering pain from his last kick making her more nervous around him than usual.


"You won't be going after him so soon, I'm afraid. You have to deal with me." 


“Why did you kill him…” she whispered, her tone barely holding it together. “…Why did you people have to kill Captain Ogre!? He was the most honest and hard-working person I knew, who kept the people in the capital safe against injustice. Why does every time something good is happening and our country is improving, you people have to come out of nowhere and ruin everything? You can't keep escaping, and you'll face justice sooner or later!”


Emiya's eyebrows twitched, releasing a deep sigh while massaging his temples. "Justice this, justice that. Is that the only thing you can say? I'm honestly getting tired of you throwing that word around without knowing what the concept itself truly means."


Her answer came in the form of another charge, aiming straight for his neck, only to get pushed back once more.


"Unlike Tatsumi, I don't need to try to convince you about who truly Ogre was. Everything he said was the truth, and you do not truly care about justice. You're only doing this out of pure selfishness and nothing else." At first he drew parallels between her and a certain redhead, both were annoying in their own way. But this one was more pitiful than anything else, a different kind of ignorance and delusion — just a fool with extremist ideology.


"Shut up!" she shouted, letting go of the flail and bringing the gun-tonfa hybrids and shooting at him using the magical beast as cover. How those things didn't run out of bullets despite their size was an enigma, they didn't seem like any sort of Teigu or Shinku he was familiar with. 


"You people always find excuses to justify your actions without realizing how much harm they are doing to innocent people!"


Emiya didn't listen to her, completely focused on cutting through the projectiles one by one. Either cutting them into shards of metal or changing their courses with a tilt of his blade. ‘I’ll get hit at this rate, can't keep this up forever.’


Even if he doubted either of these would be able to pierce through his armor, there was no need to take any chances. ‘Could it be another aspect of Hekatonkheires? Last I checked, there were no mentions of that thing capable of creating modern weaponry.’ 


Another gathering of light formed in front of him, taking the shape of a great shield, taking the brunt of the barrage with little issue. Chipping away slightly from the side but giving him a window of opportunity to counter attack.


“Hehe, getting cornered aren't you? Die you fucking rebel! Number 3!” 


Growing curious at what kind of tricks she still had under her sleeves, he watched the dog bite her arm once more as she kept shooting with the other. Soon spitting out a weapon that made him more bemused than anything else. “A sword huh…” 


A wave of information entered his mind the moment he laid eyes on it, a similar weapon piercing the sword-filled wasteland, ready to be used at his desire. ‘So these weapons are foreign components not related to her Teigu. She just stores them inside it, an alloy made from Danger Beasts bones and high carbon steel and another material… Orichalcum.’ 


It wasn't a Teigu, nor a Shinku. Someone tried to make it one but failed, passing it on to Seryu instead — interesting. 


But he had no use for it.


Calling it a slab of steel was more appropriate, a comically large blade taller than Seryu attached to a handle so small in comparison that he wondered how that thing wasn't broken yet. Yet the girl showed possessing what he believed to be superhuman strength the moment she brandished the weapon with little effort. 


Forgoing the tonfas and wielding the sword with both hands, she lunged for an overhead slash. 


“Sword of Justice!”


She certainly was skilled and fast, showing a lot of prowess despite her unstable state. But it still wasn't enough to push him to the edge; she was just too predictable and slow swinging that giant sword with Koro ganging up on him. 


"Humph!" he scoffed, side-stepping the attack at the last second, the weapon crushing the soil and sinking within. A multiple of blades traced behind his back, raining down upon Koro and pinning him to the ground. Calling forth a multitude of great swords and piercing its skull like a pincushion. 


A swift upper slash using Bakuya that easily cut through the material, separating the chuck of steel from the handle much to Seryu's shock. “Wha— gah!” and using the butt of his Kanshou to strike Seryu’s neck. The attack was supposed to be strong enough to render her unconscious, though she managed to hold on. 


“Armor?” Emiya noticed how hard her skin felt upon impact, as if he'd hit a layer of metal mesh. “It’s one thing after another with you.” 


In response, she showed a feeble grin on her face, “I… got you, murderer.”  She grabbed hold of his legs, holding onto them tightly. “K-Koro, go berserk now!” 


“RAAAAAAARGH!” 


If the prior mountain of muscles made him resemble Berserker, then the next transformation made that resemblance even more striking. Growing twice its previous size, darkened skin, red eyes and weight as the ground underneath it caved. Having turned into a bonafide high class Danger Beast entity rather than a Teigu. ‘That must be its Trump Card. Not good, just how powerful can this thing get…’ 


Tracing a couple of nameless blades, he fired them in unison with great speed. The weapons pierced through its flesh and left multiple gaping holes that regenerated right before his eyes. ‘Rate of regeneration increased drastically, I can't keep using nameless weapons if I want to put it down from the looks of it or maybe… I can keep shooting more till it eventually runs out of energy, but I don't exactly have an infinite well of energy as well. Hm… I can use that weapon, it's worth a shot.’ 


But first, he needed to make sure the girl wouldn't interfere.


“I'm done with you.” Grabbing onto Seryu's head, he harshly struck it onto the ground using twice his prior strength. Instantly putting her out of commission, a small trail of blood leaked from the girl's forehead. 


The shadow of the beast looming over him, in its berserk state, its jaws opened and coming down to chomp him in half. Emiya stayed calm upon the face of this monstrosity, terrifying as it may look the Teigu couldn't compare to the likes of Berserker. 


Dismissing the married blades, he now held a golden spear wrapped in a purple cloth, removing the seal he commanded loudly, “Hekatonkheires!” 


“—!” 


For a moment, the red berserker's eyes returned to normal, flickering in between with both states with great confusion. Parts of its body spasming, refusing to move for a brief moment. Seizing for a second a too long before the uncovered golden spear pierced right through its chest. 


“...” 


Koro slowly looked below at the spear within its body and back at Emiya. The latter was already in the air with another spear thrusted right into the left side of its chest, then more in both knees pinning it in place, and a last one used to cut through both arms in one move. 


Koro whimpered, looking at Emiya differently than he did prior, large black eyes filled with questions and curiosity one would see from an animal. 


“Why did it have to work…” dismissing the spear in his hand, he sighed at the outcome. Though his plan worked, it brought him mixed emotions, unsure whether he should be happy or not that his suspicion turned out to be true. Teigus worked based on compatibility, strength and first impressions, it was impossible for two people to wield the same one and that was how it was supposed to be. 


“You can't be serious,” while musing with his thoughts, he noticed Koro's flesh twitching ever so slightly. Faint enough that he even doubted himself for a bit till looked closer. “Best to finish it once and for all. Tatsumi and the others should already be out of the capital by now, best I join them befor—uh?” 


He heard a chuckle, the sound of footsteps walking closer till an individual vested in a lab coat and a tan suit, though he looked to be alone Emiya did not buy it for a second. 


Clap!


Clap!


Clap!


“Wonderful, WONDERFUL! That was the best display of dominance I have seen in a while, against Hekatonkheires no less!” He spoke jovially, studying the Koro and the spears sticking from its body. “It's a shame, the Judgment of the Ten Heavenly King was an incomplete experiment, silly girl couldn't even be bothered to wait for my arrival.” 


Showing little regard for Seryu, he grabbed her arm and meticulously cut through the upper layer of her arms with a scalpel, peeling the skin away to show a device connected to her bones and muscles tissues. Emiya frowned seeing the individual tinker with some of his tools, unbothered by his presence before stitching the layer back. 


“At least it's not broken, I can salvage it later on. Now time for the main dish!” He made a beeline for Koro, marveling at the spear's appearance. “Now this is what I call stylish! So simple yet intricate, these etched markings on the other hand are a bit… unnecessary in my opinion.” 


Looking at the gauntlets around his forearm, it didn't take much for Emiya to guess who this person might be. So while he was busy with something else other than him, it was best for him to leave. 


“Tch, tch, leaving so early? We can't have that, you have something I want, so let's chat and get to know each other~!” Stylish pulled one of the spears, looking at it with hunger and even some envy. “So simple yet intricate, capable of slowing down the regeneration by such a degree and yet you use it like some cheap toy. Willing to discard it without any care, how devious.” 


Recalling the words of some of the people around the empire when talking about their experience with this man — he certainly was far weirder in person. “...No.”


He dismissed Gae Buidhe, making every copy disappear the following second, even the one held dearly by Stylish. The doctor stumped at the sight of the Noble Phantasm breaking apart within his grasp, trying to grasp onto the floating pieces but unable to do anything. 


“Oh my, is this some sort of storage ability that can be activated at a distance? A bit rude of you to do that, I was hoping to get a better look~!” The man retrieved a viol from his coat, filling it with some of Koro's blood on the ground. “I don't believe I need any introduction, Danger Beast hunter.” 


“...” 


“I heard plenty of things about you, at first they sounded no different to baseless rumors spoken from mouth to mouth by the common folks, yet here I find myself surprised to find you truly exist. But on top of all that, hold with you quite an extensive armory of weapons I've never before. Is it my birthday today? I honestly never imagined you'd walk right in the lion's den.”


“...”


“If I also include the destruction to the Kalren's mansion, that makes a couple of interesting toys in your possession.” 


The entire time he spoke, Emiya paid little to no attention to his words. This person wasn't the first one to be interested in his Noble Phantasms and misunderstand them as newly made Shinkus or Teigus, nor would he be the past. Rather, his attention was completely focused on the palace in the distance. 


A strange feeling occupied his senses for the past few seconds, his reinforced eyes watching for any changes… or rather for any signs that warranted such a feeling to build up in his guts. 


‘How is it possible that she hasn't showed up yet even after all this commotion?’ In a worst case scenario he believed that Esdeath would have shown up as soon as Seryu started to shoot and blow the place up with Koro's actions. The chaos was just too noticeable to be ignored and with their recent attack against Ogre and Zanku the place should have been on high alert.


Dr. Stylish noticed “Oya? Getting distracted by something else are we? Perhaps I should get things moving, and have you accompany me for a bit.” With a snap of his fingers, multiple figures descended from the rooftops, surrounding Emiya. 


All of them wore strange clothing that belonged in a strip club, “Great, I have to deal with a circus now.” he said quietly, not having faced such a situation in the past if he were to be honest. From a person with a duck head, a girl having large mouse ears and plenty of other strange looking people. 


“What do you think? Don't they look quite stylish? I can change up your style and make you more beautiful and graceful than the current rags you have on.” 


“You plan to experiment on me.” 


The scientist smirked, “Have you heard of The Lord in the east of the Empire? Leader of a small religious group you can say; The Path of Peace. Plenty of rumors surrounded him, but the most pertinent one being his ancestry.”


The name was indeed familiar to him though he never met that person before, as for the rumors, it didn't take long for him to piece the points together and understand why Stylish was bringing this up. “I'm not a descendant of Danger Beasts.” It was an laughable notion, he wondered just why this person would suspect that when he showed no traits of one. 


Stylish chuckled, pushing back his glasses.


“That is for me to find out, along with the understanding where you could have uncovered the secrets to creating such weapons.” 


“Uncovered, huh…” an odd choice of words.


“Humph, a country bumpkin who was lucky enough to be adopted by a general. Only a fool would believe that you even remotely possess the necessary intelligence for such an accomplishment.” A frown appeared on the middle aged man's face. “To hear even the general praise you so ignorantly in my presence is intolerable. You are just standing on the hard work of others and claiming it for yourself and we can't have that can we?” 


“If you say so.” Emiya shrugged withouts much of a care at those words.


Weird how this man wasn't that far off his remark, his magecraft worked by creating copies of pre-existing weapons and shields that were made into Noble Phantasms through the efforts of their respective own achievements turned into legend forever recorded into the annals of history. 


But he was not here to discuss such things. “Get out of my way, I'll ask this only once.” Kanshou and Bakuya returned within his grasp, which made Stylish momentarily taken aback by the new additions.


“Hoh, there are more of them. Not going to use those spears?” He asked.


“No, these are more than enough against you all.” It wasn't even him boasting or intentionally trying to rile up these people, having only used Gae Buidhe to counter the regeneration. Kanshou and Bakuya were still Noble Phantasms capable of dealing with most obstacles.


And he wanted to conserve his energy after using more than he would have liked against the living Teigu. Especially now that he felt something new in the air.


Unfortunately, that was not what Stylish understood from his intentions, his previous jovial expression turning into displeasure in an instant. “It's always the same with people like you, lacking the intelligence to understand your current situation. Get him.” 


Passing on his orders to his team, the doctor awaited with viable glee to see what else Emiya had in store and eager to see him bring out more weapons and devices foreign to the masses. Yet seconds passed and no one so far even made an attempt to fight him. “Hm? Are you all deaf, I said get h—”


His words died in his throat, the moment he turned his around upwards. 


The silence made it possible to hear the slight crackling sound coming from all around him, a thin layer of frost creeping from every corner creating a snowflake pattern upon the windows and freezing the puddles of water solid. 


The temperature instantly dropping by several dozens of degrees, along with his face slighty going pale. Not only from just the cold, but at the sight of his entire small army he brought for this occasion now encased in a layer of ice. No change in their expression, having not even gotten the time to react to what happened — except for Mimi for had a terrified frozen face in her last moment. 


The click-clack noise of high heels walking drew closer til he felt a hand pressed on his shoulders, his body temperature dropping as well with his exhales now a white fog. His shoulders stinging as if tiny needles stabbed into his flesh, slowly growing till his entire arm grew numb and left with no sensation. 


‘H-How is she here already… it should have delayed her!’ 


The bone-deep cold clamped a vise around his lungs, squeezing the air from his chest. He tried to yank in a breath, but it came out as a pathetic wheeze. Fury sparked in his gut, hot and desperate against the all-consuming freeze. He wanted to scream, to curse the heavens for this misery, but his jaw wouldn't cooperate. His teeth hammered against each other, a frantic drumbeat lost in the icy silence a second before she showed her face. 


“—!” 


Chilling blue eyes locking eyes with his, though they seemed calm, to Stylish it was no different to a true Danger Beast arrogantly looking down at him like some sort of insect. 


“He. Is. Mine.” She whispered, sounding no different to a demon. 


She let go, walking past him and relieving the Doctor of the mountain sized pressure. This being a clear signal and warning to leave without a protest, so he complied with indignation, a part of him not willing to bow his head so easily to anyone coming in between true progress. But his body refused to listen, pathetically stumbling away while noticing Emiya not even giving him any attention from the beginning. 


Humiliating, so frustrating that it couldn’t be called stylish in the slightest.


‘This… this isn't the end!’ 


.


.


.


Both individuals stood facing one another in silence for a few seconds. Little to no emotions visibly showing on their faces yet the growing tension could still be felt easily.


“How long has it been since we last saw each other face to face, Emiya.” Esdeath spoke first with a slight head tilt. “You've changed quite a bit, I will admit the red hair suited you better than white.” 


“Two years from what I remember, and you on the other hand haven't changed a bit.” He removed the remnants of his tattered cloak, finding no reason to keep it on anymore. 


“How is Najenda doing?”


“The same as always, you know how stubborn she can be.” 


“I guess so, which is why I cannot understand how she could have let you come to the Capital all alone… no, she wouldn't. That woman is probably somewhere close, she won't leave you alone.” Her smile grew, her intentions made apparent by the sadistic light flashing within her gaze. “I still have some unfinished debt to repay to you both.” 


Esdeath watched Seryu in the distance, though faint, her chest still rose with each breath she took. 


“You've grown soft.” 


Emiya's figure blurred, already in front of Esdeath the following instant with Kanshou and Bakuya held with a reverse grip and piercing her chest. Dragging both blades downwards and cutting through her entire torso in a swift move.


Rather than showing any shock or pain, the woman’s smirk grew till it stretched to her ears. Leaning in further with nothing but a small space separating their faces. Esdeath's hand gently pushing his hair back with a satisfied look on her face.


“Now there's the annoying brat I remember.” 


She chuckled, cracks spreading from the 'wound' then all over her body. 


"Should have known..." He cursed his luck, she was just as crazy and cunning as before, if not more. He'd rather deal with the group for perverted strippers and that delusional Sergeant with her monstrous pet at the same time than this monster.