"And thus, I have decided to leave my Magic Crest in your care. Whether you wish to destroy it, hand it over or even keep it yourself, that decision is yours.
My only wish is that you put that to good use. Just call it a gut feeling that it might benefit you in the future." Julius let out another weak chuckle. "Man I must be getting soft at my age, I'm actually let a kid decide for me."
...
I pondered on his words while splitting my attention between him, my surroundings and the Magic Crest in my hands. Certainly, this was too dangerous to be given back to the Association. Waver and a few more sensible magus might be able to find good uses for this, but the rest were either too powerful or too greedy to let that thought get in their way. Furthermore, there were some proper usage for some of the spells in the Balsforth family that could be used to aid others, but were they worth the risks?
I sighed while lightly shaking my head. It was times like this that made me wonder what Rin would do. I paused before suppressing a snort. Considering how valuable an intact Magic Crest is worth, even one belonging to a lowly family was worth quite a fair penny, so one like this was worth millions easy. I shook my head again as I thought about it. Logically, she would not do it, she would rather burn it to a crisp to ensure the Association does not get their hands on it, but it was still a funny thought, seeing an imaginary Rin with dollar signs in her eyes.
"Now that you have it, I would suggest you leave this area quickly." My musings got interrupted by Julius who was looking a little serious. "This is not a good place for you to be in for a long time. The dimensional gaps between worlds are highly unstable, and if you stay too long, the currents would eat away your body. Also there is another danger here."
"Another danger?" I echoed as I gestured with my hand to place the flask into one of the mini dimension pockets with me. Seriously, learning this spell was a great asset for me; since I could not handle the extremely complex spells, I was only left with the options of Runic Spells and similar archaic magecrafts, which to both me and Rin's surprise, were areas which I could get excellent results with. Now I don't worry about lugging around heavy luggage and other questionable objects. Rin on the other hand, was grateful for reduced travelling expenses.
"I chose this spot in case any of the other Executors were after me, but you being here has changed the situation significantly." Julius said as his shadows started to writhe uneasily, like they were aware of a danger that was coming. "You need to leave now."
A sound drew my attention to the undead, who were getting restless and scared about something in the distance. I looked in the general direction they were looking and stared for a while before blinking. "A red star?"
"I told you, didn't I? There were only two choices for us Sealing Designations." He wheezed as he grasped his wounds. "I simply chose a third option: 'to go out with a bang' if I may say so myself."
"So your option was to take me to the dark gaps of time and dimensions, and fight to the death in an area with a red star?" I could not help but ask in a flat tone while pointing at the red light in the distance.
"Let me ask you something, Shirou Emiya. Have you ever wondered whether there were others like ORT out in any other universe?" He asked that while I watched the red light getting bigger from a dot to the size of a quarter. "Call it a childish dream, but I had considered it a bit of a quest to seek out other worlds, to see for myself whether or not such creatures were possible. In my years, I have seen many creatures, most do not even come close to it, or even the True Ancestors for that matter."
Well, that is kind of the case. You would be hard-pressed to find any stronger than those two monstrosities. But apparently, Julius thought different.
"At least that used to be the case, until a few days ago when you found me." Julius coughed more blood as he struggled to form more words. "That day, just as I was thinking this journey was futile, I have finally found a theory and more importantly, a new 'Type' that could compete with those two."
"Whoa, wait a minute." I interrupted him with a slightly pale face. "Are you telling me that there is a creature out here that could potentially be stronger than them?!"
Julius laughed weakly as he raised his arm in the general direction of the star. "Shirou Emiya, allow me to introduce to you, quite arguably the strongest of all the Types we have known aside from Type Moon." He paused as he took in one last breath while looking at the star. "Type Great Red." With that, his arm fell to the ground and his eyes closed slowly with a peaceful smile on his face.
I did not think too much about it as I looked at the red star that was still growing bigger. Whatever that was, it was still getting bigger at an increasing speed. That meant that whatever was coming my way could really move fast. Thankfully I did not have to bother with the undead as they were running away from this spot like a bunch of headless chickens. It seems that they really did not want to face the big… red… star…
"Oh you have got to be Root Freaking KIDDING ME?!" I yelled as I finally make out what the thing that was coming here using my Reinforced eyes, and it was making me sweat in my boots.
A dragon. A red dragon. A big, red dragon. A big, red, Root Be Damned PISSED OFF DRAGON WITH SHARP TEETH!
Me and my bloody E-rank luck.
I quickly grabbed the Kaledo-amulet that was hanging from my neck and started to pour all my available Prana into it. It was a really bad situation for me to have almost zero Prana to try and get out of here. And the part that was scary regarding this 'Type Great Red' was the fact it was still getting bigger in the horizon, and considering it hasn't reach this point to begin with, I was getting a rough idea of its true size.
I am actually finding myself thinking that I would rather take on Hercules, Lancer, Archer, Gilgamesh, Caster, Rider and Kotomine Kirei all at once in the Holy Grail War again, rather than me taking on the giant dragon that was looking really pissed and hungry.
Come on you damn amulet, work already!
The jewel in the middle of the amulet started to glow weakly, with strands of electricity arching from it. It was weak, but there is definitely some Prana left inside for one quick travel. Ideally I should not be attempting to travel without fully charging this amulet and having a clear idea of where I am going, but considering my options, I will take my chances with dealing with whatever enemy in the next world than dealing with a big-ass dragon here.
'Here goes nothing!' I thought as I concentrated on the amulet and opened the portal to get me away, just in time from seeing the beast open its mouth with fire spouting out of its nostrils.
At that point, I felt pain of the most excruciating type like I have never felt before. It was not the numbing pain I would normally experience travelling between worlds, rather this felt like my body was being twisted and squashed into a tight container, occasionally getting pulled apart and pieced back together without anaesthesia.
It was getting too painful!
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
...
'Strange.'
That was the first thought that came to mind.
The scents that attracted it to this part of the dimension was almost nauseating that it was sorely tempted to just blast the whole area if only to get rid of them. The only reason it held back from doing so was to investigate the two unusual scents and the bright beam of golden light that originated from that spot.
The first scent was that of underlying death and burned flesh that was rotting. It was unusual, but that was definitely the feeling it got from it; the promise of despair and death was pervading from its source. But the strength of the scent seemed to have weakened and died out quickly, as though something had ended it.
But the second scent was more pleasant, if not more confusing to it. The scent was most certainly human, yet there was a slight hint of 'Steel' that was both welcoming yet chilling, and another hint of something that for whatever reason, made it think there was a kindred in the area.
'No matter.' It thought as it finally reached the spot where the scents originated. On a floating slab of rock that drifted around in the gap, it saw small creatures scattering in fear, dead bodies on the ground that showed signs of a great battle, and a brief flash of light. The second scent had disappeared with that light, suggesting that it was some teleportation spell, but it did not care. These creatures were invading its home, and it did not like pests in its home. They smelled bad too, probably won't taste good as well.
It opened its mouth wide to show rows of sharp teeth and took a deep breath.
It should just burn them all to a crisp.
"RRRRROOOOOAAAARRRR!"
...
"OOFF!" I let out a groan of suffering as I finally came to a stop and slumped ungracefully on the ground, feeling chills in the open air. It was not the most graceful or softest of landings, but at least it helped that I had come out of the wormhole on a grassy hill with a gentle slope, making me roll all the way to the bottom before hitting the ground. Judging from the smell and the texture, I was currently on the roadside. At least that meant I was near civilization.
I grunted as I tried to lift myself off the ground only to slump again. This was a bad situation for me; I could tell that my injuries were substantial, and I barely had enough strength to move. For now, I was not in danger of being attacked by the Dead Apostle or the undead, but I do not want my death to be road-kill. Rin would never let it down.
Even if that was not the case, there was a high possibility that someone would come along and find me there, and that would make answering questions difficult. I had to get out of here before…
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
… That would happen. Oh joy.
"Somebody get Doctor Takashi now! Someone is on the sidewalk here!" A man's voice bellowed close by as footsteps came closer to my side. It seemed that I landed back in Japan, I thought deliriously before letting out an involuntary groan as I was gently rolled over and a light shone on my face.
"Holy shit, how are you still alive with all this blood and wounds on you?!" The same voice was tinged in shock as the light flicker on and off around me. I could briefly see through the blood in my eyes a man who was examining my body for my wounds and blood all over me. A sound of wheels clattered in the distance, then a second man's voice came. "Is he alive?"
"He is breathing very lightly, but he seems to be losing a lot of blood." The man replied back before lightly grabbing my legs, with the second lightly lifting my shoulders and supporting my head. "Okay, on three. One, Two Three!" My body was lifted briefly before being placed on something soft. In my semi-conscious thoughts, I noted that my clothes were unusually loose and heavy on me. Must be because of the blood.
I felt myself being jolted a few times, before squinting my eyes as I was exposed to even more light. I heard the second man shouting out orders and female voices sounding very frantic. After blinking a few more times, I was able to see a white ceiling and a few overhead lights. I twisted my head a little and watch a few woman and men rush around me in a bit of a frenzy. Judging from their clothing and what I had heard, it seemed that I had landed close to a hospital in the area. At least it is in Japan; if it were anywhere else, my language skills are a little rusty, not to mention my lack of passport.
"Hang in there!" The doctor whose voice I recognized as the second man who came, started to push my stretcher forward as other people started to put an oxygen mask on me and other medical pads. "Don't worry kid, we will patch you up good in no time."
Ah I see, thanks doc for the info. Guess I will just relax and…
Wait a minute, 'kid'? Okay granted, I am pretty young at my age, but I'm pretty sure that twenty qualifies me as a young adult. Unless this guy watches a lot of American ER films, which would be just stu…
My thoughts got cut off as my stretcher stopped in front of an elevator and I moved my head to take stock of my situation, only to stare wide-eyed at what I saw. It was me in the reflection of the door, which is the case, yet it cannot be me. I mean, it would be me if my hair were fully red with no hints of white, my skin being very fair and my eyes were back to its golden-brown colour, and my face being not as hardened from my years of battles and…
Oh sweet mother of the Root, Alaya, Gaia and everything in between.
How in the name of Blue's tits did I turn back into a Root be damned teenager?!
...
Hey guys I really need you to throw some power Stones ;)
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can go to my p atreon :
p atreon.com/Aerle