A few days have already passed since Shirou investigated the incidents in the city. He had a strong feeling that the assassination attempt and the rampaging mysterious magus were related, but the more he investigated, the more convoluted the mess became. While this brutal point-to-point search led to Shirou being confused and unsure of the relation between the two cases, the illegal operations in the cities were in extreme fear.
The rumours of a Draugr roaming around were everywhere. This was densely packed with morally black and illegal businesses that Shirou referred it as "bootleg Gotham" in his mind. Organ trafficking, human trafficking, forced prostitution, kidnapping, assassination, smuggling of poisons disguised as drugs, animal trafficking and whatnot.
"Now I understand why even with so many strange murders going on in this place, the mission was on such low priority."
"With this level of criminal activity, people can easily rationalise it as actions of some serial killer or gangs."
This began from when he had lost his temper, when he came across the 4th organisation selling children and watched as a pair of men were using the back of a child aged about 9 years as an ashtray while they watched some very questionable Blu-ray discs, something just snapped in his mind and with his eyes red like burning tar he had on a rampage. Most of the members were spared, but the men in the room were slaughtered as their actions were just unacceptable in Shirou`s view.
Kiritsugu had drilled into his mind the importance of life, and that had resulted in his current worldview. Where he wasn't and couldn't be a judge, as he was not impartial like his father. Today, he had learnt what he could be or rather what he was meant to be, he would be an executioner. He can neither be a judge who gives value to life, nor the jury who weighs the actions; rather, he was an executioner who could do his part and clean the world of fifth.
As if responding to his wish, the blade vibrated, and the reddish glow on its edge began fading and wilted into a blackish shade; the slaughter began.
.
.
…..
"Fuck these cheap people and their thoroughness."
Swore rin as she left another antique shop, disappointed and filled with rage against the practices of magi. In fuyuki, she had a habit of travelling across antique and pawn shops to shop for gems of good quality and with a strong history, but here in London, the magi of the lowest strata made it their aim to methodically sweep across every shop that might contain an artefact and buy out anything that was of any use.
For her efforts in the scouring of the street, she was rewarded with about a dozen attempted frauds across various establishments, aiming to sell fake gems or trying to pass off poor-quality gems as some form of unique treasure. One old woman even claimed to possess a necklace retrieved from an Egyptian pharaoh`s tomb by a group of tomb raiders.
Well, that necklace was made of plastic and was coated with gold paint; it was not even metal, and that made Rin finally call the authorities and gift the officer who came with a small boost to his resume.
While stomping her feet, she walked towards the bakery that Rines had introduced to her to. The absence of shirou was deeply felt by her during meal times and when she trained in close-quarter combat. Her resolve to survive alone was shattered on the 3rd day after he left, alongside the jar of the blender that she forgot to turn off. Whose blade then had somehow ricocheted and punctured the gas pipeline and set her kitchen on fire.
By Waver`s humble request, she should have supervision anytime she wants to use the kitchen, as the coincidental presence of trimel alongside rines who had come to drink tea with her had saved the room from being burnt that day. She had been taking cheap takeout or using instant food to fill her stomach nowadays. To save as much money as possible, she had taken up various practices that, according to her, would help her save more.
She was already bad at technology and numbers, so to her, it felt like her inheritance and income money were disappearing rather than being spent, and jewelcraft, being a type of magecraft that puts a hole in its practitioners' pockets, left her in perpetual poverty. Lost in her thoughts while carrying her bag of croissants, she passed by an alley covered in shade. Minutes after her passing, a black minivan slowly rolled out of the dark alley, from its back door, a man and a pair of women with gloves and masks got off.
As it was late in the afternoon, the streets were relatively empty, which meant less haste in silencing the witnesses. Rin walked unaware of these people and continued to bring shame to the model priest who was her teacher. Well, she had already done that when she hadn't touched kids even after the completion of her education. As she took a sharp turn to disappear into an alley and move into the department of modern magecraft`s dorm, she found herself suddenly being engulfed by a bounded field.
As she spread her senses on the structure of the barrier to find its source, the rumbling of tires slowly rolling came from behind her, making her reflexively turn back. She stared at the black minivan that looked like it had been brought straight out of a movie where it was used to kidnap children, her mind ran miles in minutes as she thought who could have sent these people after her.
There was a healthy dose of fear mixed with the cynical detachment of magi filling her mind, as in some corner of her mind, she was already prepared to be either assassinated or even kidnapped. So she didn't flinch when the people dressed in black with covered faces moved in to surround her, and two people jumped behind her with a thud. After encircling her, they let in a man similarly dressed in black but in a suit, along with his face adorned with a gentle smile, stepped forward and did a standard greeting bow and said
"My lady, we cordially invite you to visit our estate. It seems that the lord was not clear with his instructions, making you unable to follow up on his letter expressing his heart."
"We are here to escort you back to ensure your safety."
The butler slid his hands back in his reddish blond hair and looked at Rin with a look that didn't match his previous words. he looked at her as if talking with her was already a great favour and she should be prostrating to him after being given this grace. This scene and the passive-aggressive behaviour of the thugs surrounding her made it clear what kind of situation she was in, letting out a breath, her left hand hidden under her sleeves, glowed under layers of bandages smeared with medicinal pastes.
She spread her legs in a stance and positioned her arm in front of her while the other smoothly slid into her skirt pocket. Looking at this, the butler frowned and said
"My lady, resistance would be a futile endeavour with very real consequences."
Following the bellowing of the fool, a masked thug took a threatening step towards her, and he was greeted by a straight split kick in his shins and fell back with a thud. This scene left them stunned for a second, as in the minds of these people, Rin shouldn't have dared to resist and looking at one of the people trained at great expense by the family being struck dead, screamed the butler
"You uncouth, low-blooded barbarians lack gratitude as expected. Joining the great Helios family and carrying their name is a great honour for the likes of you, but you lack appreciation for a gift."
"Make sure she is alive; anything else is secondary", instructed the blond man, and his gloves began to glow with magic circuits as they emitted a yellow glow as he chanted
"Afíste to fos tou íliou na fotísei tin psychí sas !"( let the light of the sun illuminate your soul.)
The group of grown burly adults charged at the little girl after they pulled out various odd equipment, including knives, bats and iron rods. The child assault was in full swing in the alley, and no miracle happened. Rin was getting steadily overwhelmed as she, due to her training, was subconsciously pulling her punches and trying to incapacitate the people rather than going for fatal blows.
When she was surrounded, she jumped out and threw some rubies into the air and fired them at the people rushing at her as she shouted
"Gandr!"
This knocked out a bunch of people, allowing her room to move.