(The rest of the chapter)
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The redhead just stared at those two with a dry look as the female mages argued,looking ready to throw hands any moment again.
At this rate, the biggest danger in their path was not Sagara, his men, or even Caster for that matter. But rather, he started to fear that these two would begin to fire explosive gems at each other and defeat themselves right here and now.
"You got your hands full with those two, kid. But you know, silver lining, at least your sex life won't be boring." Of course, Lancer just had to appear beside him right now, looking both amused and relaxed as he exited his spirit form, all while Shirou resisted the urge to fire a bullet at him to wipe that face off him. Patting his shoulders in a friendly manner, Lancer proceeded to observe the damage done in the surrounding area and the people that were taken down. "Oh wow, are they all still alive? Oh well, let me finish the rest."
"No need." Shirou quickly said, a moment of panic surging within his mind when the servant of the spear raised his weapon, intending to take their lives swiftly. "They are of no danger to us anymore. With the damage done to them by my bullets and Rider, they won't even be a danger to anyone for the next few months."
"Hoh?"
The gaze he showed him at that answer held plenty of meaning in it, as he looked up at Rider to see if he was being serious—only to get a nod from the woman. "I see now… A bit weird, but I don't see any issue, I guess. If my Master is cool with it, then so will I. Still not very mage-like of you.
"Hah… I know. I don't expect Rin to agree with my methods, but as long as she's willing to put in the effort to, then I can accept it. Either way, we need to catch up with him as soon as possible."
The two finally stopped fighting as soon as they got close to Shirou. Taking a deep breath to recollect herself Luvia was the first to respond.
"Careful, this house is filled to the brim with traps like that one from earlier with the ambush. It makes sense given the kind of profession and magecraft Sagara uses. I'll take point and see what else I can find.
Luvia took the lead, taking out dozens of jewels of all colors, a single look could easily distinguish them as expensive beyond one's imagination.
So beautiful and pristine that one could see through them. Yet they were still treated as mere tools by the blonde, who, with each step, would make them glow as she threw one after another ahead as they activated, releasing a pulse of energy which inadvertently activated some of the traps waiting for them. "I had heard Sagara Hyouma was a proficient mage in establishing defense and protection details, but it seems that his skills are just second-rate. Still I will give him credit for the quantity of traps.
With a wave of her hand, she threw those gems ahead, and a bright flash of light filled the hallway. Shielding his eyes, Shirou barely managed to catch a glimpse of several formations, similar to the one he stepped on, appearing.
All of which detonated at once. The spells emerging from them all varied from poison, knives, and fire before they all slowly fizzled out as they drank the light from the topaz.
"That was…"
"Amazing? Beautiful? Breathtaking? Come on now, Sherou, you know that I am not one for compliments. But if it's from you, I will gladly hear them~!" Luvia said, flicking her blonde hair drills with a look of pure satisfaction across her face.
Before he could get a word in, a twin tailed fury blew past him. "Stop wasting our time. Move it!"
Rin rushed ahead, an action he agreed with as he followed along. Still he decided to first answer the prior question, not forgetting to give Luvia a grateful look. "Thanks Luvia! You also got better since the last time we met."
Luvia blushed at Shirou's sincere compliment.
"O-Of course I did! Ah, wait for me!"
As the group continued to head deeper and deeper forward, both girls took a large lead ahead of him taking care of any more traps ahead at record speed, once more competing with each other, probably for who can catch the most. Shirou voted to keep his distance this time, instead checking their rear for any other enemies.
'Careful, I sense a large amount of magical energy ahead.' Rider warned him telepathically while Lancer did the same with Rin as well given the change in her expression. All of them arrived at a wide, empty courtyard at the center of the villa with the night sky visible for all to see. The two barreled through towards the center just as Shirou entered the courtyard, right when Rin changed course.
"Watch out!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets rained down on them once more, only to be stopped by a new different green jewel shield this time deployed by Rin. However unlike Luvia's shield, Rin's was more like a one sided barricade then the all around forcefield from before. Shirou outside its range jumped behind a nearby hedge and hid himself. He spotted several figures ahead at the end of the courtyard aiming for them. Once more another wave of Hyouma's henchmen fired at them as they tried to slow down the two as much as possible only to be stopped by the same tactic, but this time earning a disdainful look from both girls. "Again with these little schemes? Can't you do nothing else but rely on traps and bullets, Sagara? Here I was expecting better when wanting to work with you." Luvia's disappointment was apparent as she gazed at the blonde playboy at the forefront of his men.
The man in question merely adjusted his dress jacket, and unlike before rather than any nervousness, he instead looked quite confident and self-assured just like that first time he saw him. Placing both hands in his pockets, he walked towards them along with an arrogant smirk on his face.
"Miss Edelfelt, I have been in this line of work for years, just like you. I know full well that this won't be enough. Still do forgive me for being a bit presumptuous, but I like to see myself as quite astute in the personalities of females. I also happen to have a hunch that contrary to your status as a blood-thirsty mercenary mage you are quite soft-hearted. Now, let us test that. Bring them out."
One of the henchmen grabbed a bag from his coat pocket and poured out some strange dust into his hands. He then chanted something before blowing his breath on them. They glowed a bright light and traveled to the right side of the courtyard, where just like before when the hitmen first appeared the wall slowly simmered like an illusion before displaying a projected window. Inside it they saw a group of unconscious children bound and locked somewhere dark.
"A true mage shouldn't fear using human lives, even the innocent ones. I wonder if in this way I am superior to you. Anyway, back to where I was, oppose me, and they die."
He had to act! Mage's put secrecy over justice, and people were bound to notice a bunch of missing kids! Just before he instinctively lashed out, Rin and Luvia beat him to the punch.
"What the hell is this! Hyouma Sagara, if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing, then you better hope the Holy Church doesn't know about this." At those words, the man merely smiled without a care in the world.
"You've truly fallen low Sagara if you've resorted to this. I regret ever having come here for an arrangement. Especially if you think this will stop us…"
"We all have our ways to achieve our goals. Isn't that what it means to be a Magus? What's a few lives in comparison, nothing but a small price to pay." With a snap of his fingers, another magic circle formed beneath their feet. The girls were quick to move and before Shirou could even blink they already dismantled it in time.
'It's no good! The magical energy in the air still hasn't vanished!'
Only for Rider's warning to blare into his ear too late as he realized that this was not the only one Sagara created. A faint glow roared from the left wall.
Rattle! Rattle! Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!
"Luvia!" Rin's cry rang out a second before her mouth was sealed.
Clank!
Unfortunately, his bad sensation came a second too late, for in the next moment, several chains appeared from a magic circle on the wall and flew out, wrapping themselves around their limbs. Pulling them to the wall as the chains dug in pinning their bodies in place and earning a loud laugh from their would-be target.
"Well, would you look at that, my little schemes still managed to work in the end! Falling for such a rookie mistake, I expected better from the Hyena and Second Owner."
Even though the face he made resembled that of someone who believed he had won, neither Rin nor Luvia seemed to have noticed as instead they once again proceeded to glare at each other. Rin spit out the chain from her mouth and glared at Luvia. "What is wrong with you? I warned you, didn't I!"
"That's what I should say! What were you thinking? I had the trap below handled, you should have gone for the one to the left of us, Tohsaka Rin!"
"Who are you to order me around Luvia-gel-ita Edel-felt? And how the hell should I have handled that? I can't read minds!"
"You should be able to read the room at least, and spot its weaknesses!"
"That makes no sense!"
All right, at this point, Shirou made a promise in his mind to never let these two work together. Both were incredibly talented and capable mages, but the constant bickering really made him feel they were a danger to each other. The two continued to bicker and try to hit each other as Sagara just stared at them dumbfounded. Shirou was sure he would have focused on him, next but he and his men made absolutely no effort focusing on those two alone.
'He doesn't know that we are here.'
Rider's sudden mention made him realize that really was the only explanation, given how relaxed the man looked. He must have dove into the hedges before he saw him… Come to think of 'Seems like it, and I don't think Caster is helping him, or she would have appeared long before.'
'You should make a decision quickly, he is preparing a ritual.'
'What?'
On cue, a crimson light formed in the distance, surrounding Sagara with his men, dragging along a woman with green hair. Her hands were cuffed, and any sort of movement was restricted; she was barely able to walk up until she reached his side.
"Damn that Atrum, where the hell is this reinforcement he mentioned?" Sagara mumbled with a sigh, "If nothing happens, I'll have no choice but to go ahead with that plan after all. Shit."
He then proceeded to turn his attention back to the three of them.
"To survive this war, I know full well that I can't achieve it on my own. With a Heroic Spirit on my side, my chances go up tremendously." Approaching the woman, he gently caressed her face, pushing strands of hair behind her ears. "From the beginning, the last thing I expected from you was betrayal. Even if it was not done intentionally, it just proved to me that you can be a liability. But, you still have one last use for me."
With a gun retrieved from his suit, demand proceeded to point it at Reika's head.
At that moment, Shirou did not need to get an explanation from anyone to know what was going on. With there being several methods to conduct a ritual summoning, some requiring several chants and rare materials. Others also use the blood of the sacrificed for a better result.
"Rider!"
Right as he was about to pull the trigger, a chain wrapped around his wrists and pulled him away right in time for the fired bullet to miss the woman entirely. She did not even flinch, watching with lifeless eyes as the projectile flew right past her and struck a wall behind. As for Sagara, the latter watched in horror as Rider's form materialized right beside Shirou.
"S-Servant? Yo-You had a Servant this entire time!?" He was no fool; against first-rate mages, things were already tricky enough, but against Heroic Spirit? Trying to fight against them was no different from suicide. "Stay away! Shoot them!"
He shouted at this man, yet got no response. Only several sounds of something heavy falling to the ground. Those were the bodies of his men who all appeared before his eyes with holes in their chests, with a man sitting on top of the rolls with a spear in hand. "Took you a while to notice me."
"Another one!?"
At this point, nothing but despair could be seen in his eyes.
"Sagara, we are giving you one last chance. Give up or else I'll have Lancer just make a hole through your head." Rin mentioned, with her Servant jumping to her side and easily slashing through the chains with his spear. Setting all three of them free, with Luvia having an annoyed look on her face.
"Don't get any closer!" He shouted at them, trapped in a desperate scenario, the man began behaving erratically. Grabbing an item from his pocket that immediately put Shirou on guard along with everyone else. Yet, they all showed a confused expression as the next second, Sagara threw what appeared to be a palm sized crystal ball to the ground that started to illuminate with a faint trace of magical energy.
"A scrying sphere?" The blonde assassin next to him nutters with confusion. Though that only lasted for a few seconds before their eyes widened when the light began to take shape and suddenly showed a dark room filled with dozens of young children in a state of unconsciousness.
Shirou's heart turned cold, "Those are…"
"If any of you dares to take a step closer, It will only take a single word from me to have my men kill them. Don't even try using your servants to silence me before I can react, for my death or anything that might stop me will lead to the same outcome!" Sagara warned them with a voice filled with both contempt and hatred. "I know full well the kind of person you are, Hyena. And you all know exactly the kind of person I am, so you must know that I am not lying."
Even if he only got to know about this person very recently, the redhead could not help but fear that those words were the truth. Leading him to stand his ground, both unable to take any sort of risky actions without endangering those lives.
"This is a ruse." Luvia said, crossing her arms. "While I agree that you are not above killing them, I also know a rat like you can also create a false illusion and pose it as reality. We already cleared the mansion and found no such room."
"Who said anything about them being here?" The man smirked at her response. "This place has many secrets and this could even be a scene from another place entirely. It doesn't matter if it's fake or not, because if you truly believe that, then just strike me if you dare."
"..."
No one was willing to deny those words, to do so with full convictions was just plain impossible. This showed when neither even dared to advance towards Sagara any longer. "I'm not surprised with the other two. But for a mercenary like yourself, I am surprised you actually care. In either case, Tohsaka, get closer."
"What?" Rin was not so quick to follow his words.
"I said get closer. Do it or you'll have the blood of innocent children on your hands."
Clearly, he was more than aware of his situation, looking back and forth between both Servants. Shirou tried to come up with a solution to cut off communication from Sagara to all his men somehow, but Rin ended up answering first. "Hah… fine."
Shocked by her response, they all watched her take several steps ahead.
Rin eyed Sagara warily, her guard still up. As she took a step forward to question him, Sagara's hand moved with a speed that belied his defeated posture. "Argh!" He slashed his own palm with a hidden blade, and before she could react, a spray of his blood arced through the air and splattered across her arm and chest.
"Rin!" Shirou shouted, lunging forward.
But it was too late. A complex, crimson magic circle flared to life on the ground, its lines glowing with a malevolent light. Rin stumbled back, her face contorting in pain as an unseen force seized control of her limbs. Lancer materialized beside her, his spear already raised to end Sagara, but the man simply held up a bloody finger to his own throat.
"Stop!" Sagara yelled, a wild grin spreading across his face. "Or she dies too!" Rin's body moved against her will, her own hand rising to press against her neck as if she were holding a knife to it. The invisible control was absolute.
Shirou and Luvia could only watch in horrified frustration. Shirou raised his gun, his knuckles white, but Sagara's grin widened. "Go ahead, shoot. If I die, I'll make sure she joins me. We can both walk in hell together! Hahahaha!"
The man began to laugh, a maniacal, unhinged sound that echoed in the ruined courtyard. "Tch, bastard. This magecraft... it's strange," Luvia murmured, her eyes narrowed. "He's exuding far too much magical energy for a third-rate magus like him. Where is he getting this power?"
Shirou's blood ran cold as he suddenly remembered the room he had stumbled upon earlier, the one with the chalk outlines on the floor and the lingering stench of death. All those people who had been sacrificed. He put two and two together, and the realization was sickening. "The sacrifices," he said aloud, his voice tight with disgust. "He's powering himself with all the lives he took."
Meanwhile, Sagara continued his rant, seemingly talking to himself. "Even with this power, I have no doubt I'd lose against a Servant. I was a fool to think I could win." He shook his head, his demeanor shifting. "But I have no plans to kill you all. I've had a change of plans. You see, I've also been vying for the Holy Grail."
Then, he said something that caught everyone completely off guard. "Tohsaka Rin," he said, his voice sharp and commanding. "Use one of your Command Seals. Order your Servant to not interfere."
Rin fought against the control, her body trembling with the effort, but the magecraft was too strong. "Lancer... do not... interfere..." she forced out with a strained voice. On the back of her hand, one of the red sigils flared brightly and then vanished into nothingness.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Lancer roared in fury, his body locking up as the compulsion took hold.
Sagara smirked. "The remaining two Command Seals will be enough for me. I can finally become a true Master."
"That's impossible!" Luvia shot back. "You have no means to steal Command Seals!"
Sagara's smirk turned into a full-blown, triumphant grin. "You're dead wrong. I have my means and have enough people for another ritual." He made a sharp cutting gesture toward his own wrist. Rin's arm mimicked the motion perfectly, her other hand raising a dagger she hadn't been holding a moment before, the blade pressing against the skin of her wrist, right over the location of her remaining seals. He was going to cut them off and take them.
"Damn it!"
For the first time, Shirou knew that he could not hesitate anymore and raised his gun this time aimed right at Sagara's face. While every fiber of his being tried to act against such a decision, he could not allow what was about to happen.
But just as the dagger was about to break her skin, a blur of motion caught everyone's eye. Reika, the lifeless woman in Sagara's grasp, moved. Her arm shot out with impossible speed, grabbing the gun in one fluid motion, twisting the weapon from his grasp and pulling the trigger with the barrel pointed at Sagara's throat.
Bang!
"Argh!?"
The man's eyes went wide with shock, his triumphant grin dissolving into a gurgle of blood. He staggered back, clutching at his throat, his control over Rin instantly severed. The gun stopped halfway to its goal, clattering to the ground as Rin's body finally became her own again. Everyone stared in stunned silence at the woman who, just moments before, had seemed completely catatonic. She hadn't even flinched as she drove the blade into her captor's neck.
Whoosh!
Out of nowhere, an enormous magic circle formed right above the courtyard encompassing half the estate. Spinning in a hypnotic manner with countless ancient symbols, one could tell by just a single look that this was no ordinary spell.
Just the sheer amount of mana it gathered from its surroundings was enough to make the redhead feel goosebumps crawl across his skin.
Several layers of circles stacked one on top of the other, with it condensing in a singular spot.
"Shirou!?"
He did not know what was going through his mind at that moment, only that the spell was specifically aimed at Sagara, who stared blankly at the sky with a pale face with the last embers of his life already dying down. As for the woman, she just remained as lifeless as before, as if she had already accepted her fate. Despite never meeting her before, he recognized that look.
It haunted him in his earlier years whenever he looked in the mirror. A similar one occasionally appeared on his old man's face whenever he spoke about the past.
He hated it.
"Ah…?"
Even Reika, who's left speechless by his actions, finds herself shielded by a young red-headed man who wrapped his arms around her while a beam of white light descended upon them.
In the next moment, the spell detonated in the courtyard. The whole world turned white with an ear-splitting noise traversing across Fuyuki.
{Break}
-Fuyuki outskirts-
Far from the bustling atmosphere of the city, around the same area where a certain green-haired woman tried to stay hidden for several days. A certain individual walked across the street, standing out like a sore thumb from her choice of apparel alone. Every single passerby was solely focused on her and her alone.
Though she did not mind it, instead even reveled in the attention she was getting and hummed an unknown tune while spinning her white umbrella that matched her frilled white dress.
Looking no different than a cosplayer or a doll walking around without a care in the world.
"Oh? Now what do I sense here~?" Stopping by a dark alleyway, her figure paused as she turned her head around with a sly grin slowly making its way on her face. Like a young girl who spotted a fun toy to play with, she skipped within the dark area only for a slithering entity to attack her out of nowhere.
Squish!
The entity revealed itself to be a grotesque, worm-like insect, similar to those around the head of the Matou family. Its presents did not even scare her, with a simple chantless spell, it exploded midair with its innards flying everywhere.
"Don't think you can run away from me now, Zou-kun~!"
From the beginning, her attention was not on the thing that had attacked her, for she knew it was merely trying to divert her attention so that the others could scatter. Not that she would let it, we're just like before, a single spell managed to pin them to the ground. Their screeching reached her ears, no different from a song and a feast for someone who had been on the receiving end of this old man's meddling.
"Don't be sad. Now we can play on even grounds! It was so mean of you to keep me away from all the fun! It's not good to be so selfish in life~! Had you been nicer to me, I wouldn't have sent you that little gift of mine to your house. Did you like it? It was one of my special missiles. I kept preserving it just for you, even wrote your name on it."
The worms continued to squirm, and the pressure around their bodies grew without showing any signs of stomping. Its torture being extended by the easygoing girl spinning her umbrella around, squatting right next to it, proceeding to gently stroke its entire body as if it were a pet. The slimy surface brought no trace of disgust whatsoever in her eyes.
"I should give you credit, though, that bounded field of yours was truly a pain. More so than the ones put by the church and that scary Servant. Not that it matters, they don't interest me. Rather, I heard that a particularly interesting heroic spirit returned to this war once again, aaaah… I can barely contain myself to meet her~!"
Everything about her just felt wrong, her overall presence and even how sensual her words sounded, this, coupled with the lewd expression on her face she made while being surrounded by the worms, added to the disturbing image. "But I won't rush; I should first settle my matters with you. I wonder where you're hiding right now. This game of hide and seek is getting a bit boring. But it doesn't matter, I'll find you."
Raising the worm within her grasp, she looked at it right in the eyes as if looking at its summoner himself through their connection.
"See you soon, Zou-kun~!"
And just like that, the insect died, her dainty fingers crushing it with green liquid squirting everywhere.
With the rest of the insects also killed in a similar manner, the white-haired woman left the alleyway and walked right across the grocery shop, only to stop Midway when she spotted a particularly familiar-looking face working behind the counter.
"Oh? It's just one surprise after another, isn't it? Hehehe… I can use her."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.