Chapter IV

Hello everyone! I am back with the next chapter of Crimson Sword King, in case you could not tell. As usual, sorry for the absence, life has been crazy, blah blah blah. Hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, the reception seems to be overall positive, but that can always change. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter as well. That said, thanks to Bakuto Masaki, who has been helping me along the way, as usual. Anyway, enough rambling, on with the reviewer responses!

Warmach1ne32: Sadly mistakes like that happen when adapting a story plan to a new character. No one's perfect, but thanks for pointing it out.

Have a Little Feith: Because Siegfried is a woman in this story. I think I mentioned it earlier in the story, but take everything you think you know about how the mechanics of the Nasuverse and the Campione universe work and throw them in the garbage, this universe plays by my rules. Athena and Medusa are most certainly separate people in this story. And genderbends are my thing, there's WAY more beyond what you've seen so far.

kamenheroHEISEI: I don't think I understand what you mean there.

I read many light novels, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord, Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon, KonoSuba, Monster Girl Doctor, and more, so what you're complaining about is just my writing style.

aliesterus: I'll be using Kazuma's steal on that bit instantly.

I think whether you wind up in a ditch being fancy or being clumsy, you're still calling a tow truck.

KeyofSolomon.M.E: Well here's more my friend! I assure you Shirou will be playing Duck Hunt soon enough. Two SisCons in one room... oh my.

Raphaim: I see. Well it will stop growing for a little bit. And it's supposed to be a little annoying, it will tone down soon.

snowyassas1n: The introductions will slow down for a bit. The harem is going to keep growing throughout the story though, that I can promise.

Kayen1024: Most of the devils he's talking to are, or presume they will at some point be, in high positions of power, they're trying to keep a poker face, or as much of one as they can, to not lose face. There's no such thing as too many. You're not the only one to say that.

Exanime Draco: That's probably for the best. You can take the story however you please, but having an overly serious view of it will only hamper your enjoyment. Wow. Another reviewer noted how a joke stat sheet for a character elsewhere had the character's Luck just ranked as "fuck you".

Blade1986: Perfect summary as usual. And yeah, I figured that particular bit would be a nice twist but not completely out of left field, if you know anything about Sakura and Chisato. And yes, crappy driving appears to be genetic.

Guest: Sadly faster isn't something I can promise, but I can promise updates. Sort of like Valve, except I can count past two.

Guest: The name is Eustoma, but you were on the right track with SMT.

SentinalSlice: ... No promises.

And yeah, he has more a magus' mind to him.

PanickingNoob94: I'd also like to think I have slightly better material to work with too.

Dragolord09: The Matou family besides Sakura is gone completely. The house isn't even left.

She thought Arachne would be able to weave even better creations creating her own thread. She's a goddess, but that doesn't mean she's perfect.

ultima-owner: Both of those statements are extremely true.

Aesir19: He's not Ichika, so there's hope.

Mana's Cinder: To my knowledge it was always a thing, but I could be wrong, I'm not that well versed on the brilliant batshit that is the Nasuverse.

I know, but it's introductory, so it's going to feel that way a bit. I assure you it won't stay that way.

I am aware of that, but I think it's a waste of word space to itemize the source of each new character, especially when I'm doing so many per chapter. I tried it with one of my other stories and it just slowed everything down even more. And don't worry, Shirou will be getting a backbone surgery soon.

Well here's the thing, despite how she looks and acts, Illya is actually older than Shirou, by almost ten years.

ZenithTempest: I can't promise that, but I can promise you'll get a sequel to it at some point.

EspadaJ18: You hit the nail on the head with one of your positions, though I won't say which. If you know anything about me, however, the answer won't be hard to figure out.

Kuroi Tetsu: I like to get all the pieces on the board before getting them in order.

006Sam: I made it clear High School DxD was part of the story, why wouldn't Sacred Gears come up?

Guest: I think I may have explained it, or I may not have, but there's more to gaining Authorities than just killing a god.

ITalkToSky: Nuclear Gandhi indeed.

unLucker: I don't like using OC girls.

kyuubi092: Yup, it's Eiyu Senki Siegfried.

sondowth: What do you mean?

And phew! THAT was a big one! Keep 'em coming people, I love it. On with the main event.

Shirou laughed quietly as he played a video game with Illya. 'Yup… drives just as bad as Mom…' he muttered in his mind as she slammed her virtual vehicle into an obstacle. "So, how's school going?" he decided to ask, continuing their conversation.

Illya leaned to the side as she attempted to steer her car around a shallow bend, narrowly avoiding the guide rail. "H – Huh? Oh, fine. Gah!" she growled as she hit a shrub.

"Good to hear," he commented casually as he drove. "You've been making friends?"

"O – Of course!" she shouted as she slammed head-on into a building, pouting as she was reset yet again. "Th – There's Nanaki, Tatsuko, and Suzuka…" she listed off her friends as she continued driving.

"Good to hear. Mind the gap there."

Seeing what he was talking about, she tried to avoid the break in the road. "Turn! No, other way! Uwah!" she hollered as she crashed again.

Shirou just laughed weakly to himself.

'She can't drive at all,' Siegfried commented.

'Neither can our mother.'

'Agreed,' Brunhilde remarked with a hint of terror.

'You get lucky then?' Siegfried asked.

'I don't have luck,' Shirou repeated almost robotically.

'Right…' the blue-haired woman groaned.

"Tree," he called out plainly.

"T – Tree?!" Illya exclaimed as her car wrapped itself around the tree, causing her to whine in defeat once more.

Shortly later, as the game displayed the results screen, Illya slumped her shoulders in disappointment.

"I lost…"

'Badly,' Siegfried chided, thankfully for the girl she could not hear the woman's words.

Shirou just smiled and patted her head gently. "It's okay. You'll do better next time."

Illya looked up at him, doubtful. "You really think so…?"

Shirou nodded firmly.

Illya stared silently for a moment before smiling brightly.

Shirou flexed his shoulder as he walked through the halls of the school with the girls. "Time for another new day… Wonder what kind of crazy I'll get today…" At that moment he glanced towards the window and saw a girl with light brown hair racing towards the school. "Who's that?" he wondered aloud.

Irina, looking out at the girl as well, tilted her head in thought. "I don't know. Didn't see her yesterday."

"I see…" he muttered in thought.

"Come on, let's go!" Irina cheered as she grabbed his arm.

"Indeed, let's make haste," Erica added, wrapping around his other arm.

Xenovia just stared quietly.

Mina pouted in disappointment as the two dragged Shirou in a hurry.

Shirou finally managed to free his arms from the bosom brace the girls had on him and made for his seat when he noticed a familiarly unfamiliar face in the class, the girl he had seen running toward the building, a cute, petite brunette with matching chestnut eyes. 'Huh… guess she's a new student.'

Brunhilde corrected him bluntly. 'She's been here for a while, but you're usually in too much of a haze to notice the people around you.'

'Oh… would you happen to know her name?'

Brunhilde felt a pang of annoyance to the teen but answered him all the same. 'Yuri Mariya, and from her mana levels I'd say she is a priestess or shrine maiden with oracle abilities.'

'I see…'

The girl catching his curiosity, Shirou tried to focus on the classes throughout the day, occasionally asking Brunhilde what she knew about the girl. Which ultimately amounted to nothing with a bit of Siegfried's own perverted comments thrown in.

"Shi – ro – u!"

"Huh?" He was pulled from his internal dialogue by Irina rhythmically humming his name as she approached him in the hall. "Is something wrong, Irina?"

"Ah, there you are!" she smiled before running up to him.

Without pause, Siegfried warned, 'Her boobs are going to be in your face.'

Paling at that clear eventuality, he attempted to stop it. "I – Irina, don't run!"

Irina looked at him curious, her foot predictably catching on a loose tile, sending her tumbling forward.

"Crap!" he grumbled, practically diving to catch her, managing to grab her before she hit the floor, her legs in one arm, and her shoulders supported by the other. "You okay?" he asked with a sigh of relief.

Irina, her face flushed brightly, nodded slowly. "Y – Yeah…"

"Good to hear," he responded with a smile.

"Ahem," Erica coughed, interrupting the moment as she stood with the others.

Shirou just looked at her as he stood up, still holding Irina, who had gleefully wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Oh, hi."

Suppressing a twitching eyebrow as she watched, Erica forced a smile as she remarked, "Well then, Shirou-kun shall we have lunch?"

"Um, sure," he replied plainly.

Her twitch getting worse, she pointed at Irina. "You might want to put her down, first."

Irina pouted as she hugged herself closer to Shirou. "I don't mind being in his arms."

Erica's twitching eyebrow gave weigh to a popped vein as she grabbed one of Shirou's arms and pulled him with her, resulting in Irina flopping to the floor. "Let's go."

As they walked, Shirou eventually wrenching his arm free of Erica's grip, he realized Yuri was walking up to him.

'Well ain't she forward,' Siegfried commented.

"Can I help you?" Shirou asked, trying to ignore the second woman in his head.

Yuri, fidgeting somewhat nervously, spoke up after a lengthy pause, "U - Um… I'm sorry, but could I impose on you a bit, later today?"

Shirou waved a hand with a smile. "No problem at all. When and where?"

"Erm, is after school on the roof okay?"

"That works, I'll see you then," he answered as he rejoined the others.

After a short moment, Siegfried accused, 'She's up to something.'

'Obviously. The question is, what,' Shirou shot back bluntly.

'To get in your pants?'

Shirou twitched an eyebrow before pinching his nose as he followed the girls to a tree at the edge of the building, a lunchbox in his hand.

As they sat down, Brunhilde brought up a relevant query. 'That aside, since you're a Campione now, you don't need to eat, so where are you going?'

Shirou stopped almost instantaneously. 'What?'

Siegfried, with an almost verbal shrug, added, 'Campiones are perfectly immortal, they don't need to eat.'

'… Oh.'

'Dummy.'

'I still feel hungry though…' he answered as he opened the fabric-wrapped container.

'Your desire to eat doesn't go away, just your need to.'

'Isn't that technically the same thing though?'

'No, you're not actually hungry, you just want to eat. If you ignored it, it would eventually go away and after enough time it would disappear entirely.'

'Right…' he returned with a confused sigh.

"Ooh!" Irina cooed as she looked at her own lunch. "Aunt Iri still makes the best lunchboxes!" She then noticed that Shirou's looked somewhat different to her own. "Why's yours so different?"

"Because Mina made it, not Mom."

Sakura pouted slightly as she listened before continuing with her meal.

As the day drew to close, Irina prepared to head home with the rest when she noticed Shirou heading in the opposite direction in the hallway. "Huh? Shirou, where are you going?"

Shirou gave a half bow as he apologized. "Sorry, have to meet with someone real quick. Just get going without me, I'll meet you guys at the library."

Irina pouted as he left before joining the others.

Shirou arrived at the roof and looked around curiously. "Hmmm… around here right…?" He frowned somewhat in concern, looking for Yuri. "Let's see… she said the roof… so… ah, Mariya!" he shouted as he ran up to the timid girl. "Sorry it took me a little while to get here."

Yuri's expression stiffened as she bowed in return to him. "No, I apologize as well."

Shirou raised an eyebrow and decided to see how much she was aware of. "For what? Bringing me here for mage business?"

That caught the girl's attention, who began stammering over her own words. "I – I know that asking this is inappropriate… e – especially to one of the Demon Kings…"

Shirou just gave her a pleasant smile as he retorted, "A King is one who must listen to the woes of and aid his people."

Yuri's cheeks heated up slightly before she seemed to ease up with relief. "Y – You really think so?"

"Yes. That is a king's true duty, to me at least. So, what troubles you, miss mage?"

Yuri again bowed deeply, correcting him, "N – No, I am a Shrine Maiden, your majesty."

"Right, right, and you don't have to call me that. Just Emiya is fine."

"U – Understood, your maj – erm, Emiya."

"I don't believe we've met, Shirou Emiya," a new, thoughtful voice commented.

Shirou tensed up as he turned abruptly to the source of the remark and saw a young woman with short, neatly combed brown hair, simple glasses over her brown eyes, and wearing a tight-fitting green coat, showing off her generous bust, and tight stockings underneath.

Siegfried gave out a firm wolf whistle to the woman.

The woman bowed lightly. "My name is Touko Aozaki, with the Committee for the Compilation of True History, and I've been waiting for the chance we may meet."

Shirou narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Before or after I became a Campione?"

Touko smirked with mild amusement. "A little bit of both."

Yuri, timidly and concerned, looked between the two, lost on their discussion.

"Well it's nice to meet you," Shirou returned politely. "Don't really know anything about that group you mentioned, though."

Nodding in understanding, she explained, "Put simply, whenever something involving magic or gods happens in Japan, we're the organization that cleans up the mess and comes up with a cover story."

"Like those fiascos known as the Holy Grail Wars?"

Touko adjusted her glasses with a sigh. "Among other problems, yes."

"Right. Do you get the devils here to help?"

Touko shook her head in denial. "We generally try to solve things without them. They tend to be… problematic."

Shirou found that rather surprising. "Really? Sona and… well Sona seems reasonable."

"That may be true in general, but they are still devils and, after all, many of the old tales have some grain of truth. Legends aren't formed completely from fantasy."

Shirou felt himself growing more and more suspicious of the woman before him as their discussion continued.

"Now, before we begin, I'd like to apologize for having Miss Yuri bring you up here so we could speak. I had a feeling you wouldn't show up if I came to you directly."

"As I told Yuri before. A King is one who listen to the woes of and aid his people. Though if it had been you directly I certainly would have taken a few more precautions."

"Good to know," Touko answered with a nod.

"Now what are you here to ask me? Is it about Doni?" Deciding to take a shot in the dark, he took a big swing. "Or Medusa?"

"A little bit of both, actually."

"Right…"

The conversation was momentarily sidelined by Yuri finally letting her curiosity take over. "U – Um, I don't mean to be rude, but… are you really a Demon King?"

"Yes, I wasn't aware that was still up for debate," he answered, confused and somewhat irritated, though he decided making Yuri aware of that would not do any good. "Why do you ask?"

Fidgeting nervously, she answered slowly, "W – Well, I – I'd always heard that all the Demon Kings are rash, violent, cruel, and destructive…"

"I see…" he mumbled in consternation. "I suppose if the others are anything like Doni, that description is generally accurate. Which is a sad thing to learn."

Nodding, Touko continued the discussion. "So let me get to my next question. Is it true? Did you really kill Lord Salvatore Doni?"

Shirou hissed in mild disgust before answering. "He threatened those that were with me for his own amusement. If I hadn't he would endanger even more just by being alive, just to fight me."

"I… didn't know Campione could die…" Touko remarked in astonishment.

Shirou merely shrugged. "If Gods can then Campiones can too. If they couldn't there would probably be many more wandering the world than there are now."

"I'm really sorry to drag you into this, Emiya," Yuri apologized, again.

Shirou frowned slightly and shook his head. "Hey, stop that already, I don't really consider myself a king or anything like that."

'Yet you're acting like one,' Brunhilde and Siegfried chided.

Shirou responded by smacking his head lightly to silence them.

'Oh like that'll do anything but give you a headache,' Siegfried rebuffed.

Touko folded her arms in thought and glanced at Yuri. "Well then, it seems this King is different than the one you know."

Shirou blinked in surprise. "Wait, you've met one?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. It's a rather sordid tale that, for Yuri's sake, is best left buried."

Shirou frowned deeply with suspicion. "Oh…?"

'Oh boy…' Brunhilde grumbled.

'Oh this isn't going to be good…' Siegfried lamented.

Touko sighed and adjusted her glasses before redirecting the conversation. "At any rate, what I wanted to talk to you about were those girls you returned to Japan with."

Shirou narrowed his eyes with further suspicion. "What about them? They're not a threat."

"They are all allied with the Catholic Church, based in Rome, correct?"

Shirou frowned and retorted, "Lucretia hates the church, Asia was declared a heretic and a witch and so has no association with them, Irina has made it clear her allegiance lies with me first, not them, Xenovia I'm still a bit unsure on but she seems to have Irina's best interests at heart. Not to mention Erica seems more interested in her own future and personal place in the world than blind loyalty to her order."

"I see."

"Okay, so why are you so curious about them? Worried they're a threat to you?"

"It's a possibility. Do you understand how rare it is for a woman of God to turn her back on Him so readily? It's so rare as to never happen."

Shirou huffed in dismissal. "You can't turn your back on someone who's no longer there."

Touko narrowed her eyes heavily.

Yuri, however, froze.

"Something wrong?" Shirou returned.

"Y – You can't be serious…" Yuri mumbled.

"About Him being gone? Of course, otherwise the Great War would still be going on."

Touko pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "You certainly know more than I anticipated…"

Shirou merely shrugged. "The first thing you should always know about dealing with people. Never anticipate anything, otherwise you will always be surprised." After waiting a moment for them to catch up, he added, "Now, as for the girls, Irina's a childhood friend of mine, Xenovia puts her friends first, Lucretia's a mage, Erica's too self-interested to be obsessed with God, and Asia's very nature is to be kind and helpful. Now, if you have any other ideas to convince me to distrust my friends, you can save it. Instead, you can answer a question for me." He looked Touko squarely in the eyes with a firm glare that could melt iron, "Namely, what are your intentions with the Grimoire that the Association in Italy gave me?"

"To avert the prophecy," she replied plainly.

Shirou folded his arms defiantly. "'Prophecies' tend to be nothing more than self-fulfilling tragedies made up by some deity connected to the Root for their own amusement. So what is this prophecy to begin with?"

Nodding, Touko narrated, "When a certain god regains its true form, the Starless Night will cover the heavens, and our world will be drawn into the underworld. Princess Alice made this prophecy. She ascended to the highest ranks of Heaven, and her prophecies have been said to never be wrong. The Gorgoneion is the Snake, the physical manifestation of the Gorgon's divine powers. It will supposedly transform an ancient, powerful goddess into a vengeful being."

'Bullshit,' Siegfried argued with a snarl.

'I agree,' Shirou added before looking back at Yuri. "That sounds fishy to me."

"Oh?" Touko hummed. "Under what pretense?"

Yuri slumped back, an eyebrow twitching. "Emiya… you told me to not think of you as one of the Kings… correct…?"

Shirou gulped in concern. "… Yes…? Why…? Wait, do you think I'd use it? The only reason I ever would is to right a wrong that had been done."

"No, it's because it seems you consider what's happening around you carefully enough. You are one of the few esteemed individuals that managed to become a Demon King! You must understand that each of your actions affects everything around you! I humbly ask you to keep in mind that making a small mistake or doing something that isn't a big deal to you might very well lead to the end of the world!"

Shirou nodded firmly. "Believe me. I am well aware of the possible visitors and enemies Medusa's Seal would bring Japan and me. It is also better in the hands of someone sensible and impartial than in the hands of a bunch of Magi who would do something stupid with it now that they lost their psycho of a King." He then turned to the side, facing a shadowed portion of the roof around a corner. "Wouldn't you agree little Goddess?"

The other two turned in surprised to the area, out of which a beautiful, trim, young-looking woman with long lilac hair tied in twintails wearing an elegant white dress stepped out, a smirk on her almost doll-like face that showed a faint hint of aggravation.

Touko nearly froze at the sight of girl.

"So, which of the twin goddesses are you?"

Sporting a playful smirk, she teased, "Why not figure it out on your own?"

Shirou looked the girl up and down thoughtfully. "Hm… judging by your overall personality, arrangement of your clothing, and the fact you were utilizing stealth, I would guess Stheno, eldest of the Gorgon sisters."

The girl smiled with a light clap. "Bra-vo, you humans aren't all dribbling morons it seems."

Shirou frowned unapprovingly. "Please do not come off so condescending to others, it makes you sound like a god. Like Zeus or Poseidon." Feeling a sudden reflex, he leaned to the side immediately as something whooshed by him. Blinking momentarily to catch up to what happened, he noticed the small cut on his cheek before turning around, seeing the wall behind him had been badly scorched.

Stheno, a cold scowl in her eyes, warned, "Never compare me to that filth."

"Then don't be so condescending towards others. You're a goddess after all, act like it."

"What is a goddess even doing here in the first place…?!" Touko questioned with concerned bewilderment.

"You're a smart woman, aren't you, Touko?" Shirou challenged. "Think about it. I have the key to Medusa's seal, the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. And Stheno here is the oldest."

"Then you intend to release Medusa?"

"Apparently. Though that brings up an important question, why does she care to?"

"Pardon?" the woman asked in visible confusion.

"I know someone who is… a major history buff, you could say. She once told me how Medusa was treated by her sisters."

Stheno folded her arms defiantly. "You know it's rude to talk about someone when they're right here."

"I know," he retorted. "I was just giving Touko here a bit of history. Namely how horribly you treated your youngest sister."

Stheno visibly recoiled at the accusation.

"I mean, why would you want to unseal someone you have no real love for? To torment her? Enslave her?"

Stheno's recoil turned into a scornful glare. "I advise you to stay your tongue, Campione. While I may not have the power to end your existence, I will induce as much suffering as I can unless you silence yourself."

"Maybe if you're honest and tell me why you want to unseal your sister I will stop."

Hissing, Stheno declared, "I will only say this: even goddesses can make mistakes. Decisions based on incomplete information. Now, perhaps you will help me clean up one of the messes left behind by those mistakes. Otherwise, I'll take the Gorgoneion from you by force."

Narrowing his eyes, Shirou argued, "Oh? And how do I know you won't wind up getting her assaulted by the same person?"

Stheno's temper seemed to finally seep through. "Because that worm is dead and can no longer hurt anyone!"

"Dead?"

"Yes. Poseidon is dead."

'Okay… gotta admit I didn't expect that one,' Siegfried gasped.

'Agreed,' Brunhilde added.

"Who and how?" Shirou questioned.

Stheno merely folded her arms with a huff. "And why do you think I'd bother telling you that? After all I made a deal not to disclose the killer's identity because they valued their life of independence and freedom. Now, do you intend to free my sister or not?"

"I do. If you hadn't shown such true, genuine emotion for her when I said I wouldn't have, I would've done it without you."

Stheno hissed in irritation. "If you're done screwing around we need to get moving."

"Right."

"W – Wait, what is going on!?" Yuri exclaimed in exasperation.

"I'm helping her free her sister."

"But the prophecy!"

"What about it?" Stheno argued. "There's so many tales connected to that accursed thing which one are you referring to?"

"The Starless Night," Shirou explained.

Stheno just stared at him. "… You mean Loki's drunken joke?"

Shirou turned to Yuri. "There you have it." He then looked aside and realized Touko was gone. "Wait… where'd Aozaki go?"

'I think she left after you mentioned giving Stheno the key,' Brunhilde remarked.

Shirou clicked his tongue angrily as he tried to figure out where the brunette had gone. 'Shit… she's probably going to report to her superiors.'

'Oh most definitely,' Siegfried remarked.

Turning to Stheno, Shirou urged, "Okay, we just got a fire lit under our asses."

"How come?" the petite girl asked curiously.

"That woman belongs to one of the organizations that oversees supernatural events in the Japanese region. She's likely going to tell her superiors what's going on, putting a lot of minor, but still annoying, roadblocks in our paths if we don't hurry."

Stheno narrowed her eyes in frustration.

"So let's get going in a hurry, fast."

Yuri frowned, conflicted. "You say that… but do we even know where to go?"

Shirou shook his head in denial. "No. We don't." Turning to Stheno, he added, "But I assume you do."

"Of course I know where our home is. Medusa's 'temple' as you call it, though it's actually a prison, is on the very island she remained for so long after Athena gifted her with her Beast form. The Shapeless Isle."

"But… isn't that all the way in Greece?" Shirou asked in suspicion.

"Do you really think each of those myths happened in Greece alone?"

"Well… yeah. So, if it's not in Greece then where is it?"

"Off the coast of Japan."

Yuri and Shirou just stared at her silently.

Sighing, Shirou then looked at the girl in thought. "Right… I have just one more question."

"Which is?" she asked, mildly annoyed.

"You had plenty of time to go to Italy or wherever to find the Gorgoneion and use it to release Medusa. It wasn't until now that you decided to seek it out. Why?"

"Does that really matter?" she retorted.

Shirou could see she was slightly uncomfortable at the questioning, so he persisted. "Yes. From what you said, Poseidon was killed long ago, meaning any time you wanted would have been good to release her. But you're only now in such a hurry to do so, so I want to know what kind of threat has spurred you to this."

Stheno furrowed her brow in thought before sighing. "… Tell me young King, have you ever heard of the Khaos Brigade?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"Then consider yourself lucky they haven't focused on you yet."

"I'm assuming this Brigade has something to do with your haste?"

"That they are. And you killing that moron Doni likely hastened their plans."

"And what plans have you so concerned?"

"Athena," she responded bluntly. "They have her under their sway, and I have a pretty good idea what they plan to do."

"Mind filling me in?"

"Let's get going first, I'll tell you on the way."

Elsewhere, a girl with silver hair wearing a beanie and plane clothing hissed as she stood in front of a blonde-haired man with extravagant armor.

The man snickered in amusement. "Come now, no need to be so rude, Athena."

The girl scowled at him venomously. "There is plenty of reason to be, Perseus."

Perseus merely chuckled as he reached out to stroke the main of a white, winged horse next to him, though it lurched away. "Aw, you too, Pegasus?"

The horse narrowed its eyes and snorted fiercely.

"You know, you could at least show me your better self once in a while. I'm sure if you did Boss would be far more lenient with you."

"You won't get away with this, Perseus."

"Oh? It's been, what, four hundred years and it's been fine so far. Besides, Hades seems perfectly happy."

Athena merely scowled at the man.

Perseus blinked in thought and glanced to the side, nodding several times. "Right. I understand." He then glanced back at Athena with a smirk. "Well, looks like you messed up, Athena. Stheno got to the Gorgoneion first."

Athena's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How?"

"Apparently she found some mortal who had it. To be honest, I'm glad she found it first. I like you better like this. You're more tolerable."

'You'll soon be thinking otherwise, fool,' she thought with a scowl.

Shirou and the rest were on a small ferry headed towards the island Stheno described, Irina frowning curiously at Yuri.

"So, what do you think their plan is?" Shirou asked the lilac-haired goddess.

"Simple," Stheno began. "They plan to force Athena turn my sister into a weapon."

Erica folded her arms before raising an eyebrow, confused. "Why? Sure, her Mystic Eyes are strong, but all they would need is her eyes in that case."

Stheno sighed in exasperation. "Simple-minded humans. It is because in her full Monster form her power is on par with that of the Heavenly Dragons."

"What?!" Yuri gasped in awe.

"Well that's certainly not good," Irina lamented.

Stheno nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I am sure I don't need to tell you all how powerful they are as Sacred Gears. Just imagine what one of that level of power can do not sealed and used as a weapon."

Shirou grit his teeth with anger. 'Well this whole mess just got a lot more serious…'

Siegfried, the playful tone of voice she usually had fully absent, added, 'Indeed. Ddraig and Albion are no joke. There was a reason Fafnir never angered them or tried to steal from them.'

Irina seemed to finally have it with her curiosity. "So… why'd we bring the shrine maiden along?"

"She volunteered, that's why." He then glanced to the side and noticed Asia and Yuri talking together, smiling and laughing as they exchanged stories. "Guess Asia's already made a friend. That's good to know."

"Yep," Irina chirped with a smile as Lucretia looked around cautiously.

"Something wrong?" Shirou asked with mild confusion.

Lucretia replied, "As we near the island I'm sensing a massive amount of mana swirling through the area."

Stheno added, "And it isn't my sister's. Which is very bad."

"Why?" Xenovia questioned.

"It means someone managed to pierce through the Bounded Field around the island."

"Oh great…" Shirou muttered in frustration. 'This isn't going to end well, is it?'

'Probably not,' Siegfried rebutted.

"Be ready for anything," Lucretia urged.

"Understood," Xenovia answered, gripping Destruction tightly.

"Agreed," Stheno added. "It's highly possible the Brigade is already here and lying in wait."

Shirou narrowed his eyes in thought. "They'd need someone skilled in magic to get through a Bounded Field of that power."

"From what Euryale and I managed to gather on them, their leader is the Ouroboros Dragon."

Lucretia's face almost went pale. "Y – You can't be serious…!"

"I am."

Soon, the group made their way through the forests of a small island, the woods covered in mist, twists and turns boggling the mind and branches in all directions.

Shirou huffed as he looked around. "The paths through the forests here sure are obtuse…"

Stheno nodded and added, "Euryale and I made it this way to keep out undesirables. That way if anyone managed to get beyond the Bounded Field, they had a further problem to deal with. Nothing discourages men more than a branch slashing threw their balls."

"… Ah," he muttered, his pace suddenly becoming stiff.

Eventually, they approached a large stone wall, leading into a long, winding hallway.

Pointing to it, Stheno explained, "It's not far, just through this maze."

Asia blinked in thought as she looked to the side before pointing. "Um… how about we go through these holes in the walls?"

Stheno and the others turned and saw that a series of holes had been blasted straight through the maze, causing the purple-haired cutie to gape. "… These walls are supposed to be unbreakable."

"Tell that to the person who broke them," Xenovia deadpanned.

Stheno merely huffed. "Just what kind of force of nature do they have that could do this…?"

After a short travel they neared the end, where they saw a huge temple in the distance.

"There it is," Stheno remarked as they approached, Lucretia suddenly putting a hand to stop the group.

"Wait, there's someone in front of it."

The group stopped when they saw a woman with long, bright red hair and plain clothes standing in front of the temple.

The woman stood with a frown, her arms folded under her ample bust, and exclaimed, "Stop right there!"

"What the…?" Shirou muttered in confusion.

"I won't let you bastards go any farther!" she continued.

Shirou blinked in confusion. "The hell…? Who are you? Whatever, I'm pretty sure I'm the only guy here and I am also pretty sure my parents were married. I think."

Xenovia narrowed her eyes and instantly summoned both of her swords in a flash of light.

Stheno frowned and formed blasts of energy in her hands. "I won't let a demon king stand in my way!"

Shirou nodded in agreement. "Ri – wait…" he trailed off before he and the others all shouted in unison, "WHAT!?"

Lucretia blinked in thought. "That… explains a lot."

The redhead growled in frustration and pointed at Stheno angrily. "Ah great! Look what you did brat! Why did you say that!? You went and ruined my peaceful life of being the Blue!"

Stheno twitched an eyebrow as Shirou, somewhat perplexed, raised an eyebrow. "The Blue…? Why does that sound familiar…?"

Lucretia smirked and explained, "Aoko Aozaki, Magic Blue. The one famed to have the Second True Magic, the ability to control time. But seems that's all a big sham."

Aoko scratched her head furiously. "Gah! My secret is out! Damn it, brat! If you didn't blurt that out, they'd still believe I wasn't one!"

"So, what now?" Xenovia asked, readying both of her swords.

"Now I'm gonna beat you down and stop you from unleashing an Evil God!"

"My little sister isn't evil you bitch!" Stheno spat venomously. "Damn demon king. I'll make you move!" She threw several powerful blasts of energy towards the redhead.

Aoko merely raised a hand, and the blasts were enveloped with golden energy, causing them to quickly wither away and vanish.

'This isn't good,' Siegfried growled.

'You're telling me…' Shirou grumbled, trying to plan a battle.

Siegfried sighed and argued, 'No, you don't understand. That power she just used comes from Chronos, the God of Time.'

'Meaning what exactly…?'

'That she has the Authority of a Primal God.'

Shirou's blood ran cold at that realization.

Aoko raised her hands as energy began swirling around her. "Now, if you stand down, I'll just vaporize you quickly."

'She seems insanely strong…'

Siegfried, interjected, 'She is. Her Authority deals with the control of time itself. Any wound you deal her can be reversed to non-existence and any magic attack can be nullified by speeding up and wasting the mana in it. If you want to beat her, use my Authority.'

'And how exactly do I do that…?' Shirou asked, his mind racing for solutions.

'Seriously?'

'I need some kind of a chant to activate it, or something. I don't even really know what your Authority is.'

Siegfried twitched an eyebrow at the response. '… Benny never told you about my brother Sigurd and I?'

Brunhilde stammered nervously. 'Th – There's… been a lot going on…'

She sighed heavily. 'Good grief… okay, I'll give you the short version. By utilizing the dragon blood that flowed through my veins, your body becomes as hard as dragon scales, making you immune to most forms of physical damage.'

'Her control over time would just undo it, or simply erode my armor.'

'I'm getting to that,' she snapped lightly. 'Dragons are ageless, existences outside of the normal confines of time itself. If you can get the Body of Steel activated high enough, her magic won't have any effect on you.'

Shirou's eyes widened at the idea.

'And if you can imbue the Aspect of Dragon into a traced weapon, they will also be hard for her to destroy as well. That or just use Balmung or Gram.'

'It'd be nice if I had either of them, but I'm kind of stuck on that one. So, how do I get that thing to activate?'

Lucretia, a niggling question poking her mind, decided to ask Aoko plainly. "How'd you know we would be coming?"

Aoko pointed angrily at the group. "Atheny told me about you creeps!"

The others remained silent in confusion. "… Eh?"

"Atheny, the cute li'l mage!"

Yuri twitched an eyebrow before groaning in disbelief. "Sh… She's a moron… The Blue is… complete… moron… The Seventh King… why are they all idiots!?"

Nodding to himself, Shirou looked around at the others. "Hey, everyone, I know this is asking a lot, but can you keep her attention for a bit?"

Erica, intrigued, asked, "Got a plan?"

"Yeah, but it needs time to charge."

Erica nodded before smirking. "Then we will keep her occupied." Raising a hand, she called out, "Cuore di Leone!" before her rapier appeared in her grasp and she charged.

Inside Shirou's mind, amongst the sea of swords, Siegfried looked at Brunhilde curiously. "He does know he has Balmung and part of Gram in here, doesn't he?"

Brunhilde merely shook her head in denial. "No, he's completely unaware."

Siegfried frowned conspicuously at her.

Brunhilde folded her arms under her bust with a huff. "Don't give me that look. Until recently I wasn't even sure if they were just figments that he can create like everything else here, or if they were actually attached to his soul."

Siegfried's suspicion grew only further. "… And you thought it best not to tell him Gram's blade is in here because…?"

Brunhilde's gaze fell to her feet sadly. "Because… how it got here is connected to things he's better off not knowing."

Siegfried's expression soured in response as she listened. "… Benny… what happened to him…?"

Brunhilde's fingers clenched around her thin arms. "It… isn't necessarily about what happened to him, but how he came into this world."

Shirou kept his mind focused, mana swirling around him and condensing onto his skin, flecks of light visible from the sheer amount of it. "I think… I've got it…" Taking a breath, he began the incantation. "Even if the body is crushed and scattered, the sword never dies! The broken blade shall be melted down in the furnace, forged once more to be reborn as a new sword! Flames cannot destroy me! Steel Body!" His body was suddenly enveloped in bright, lavender light, his body beginning to slowly sink into the ground as if immense weight pressed on him. "Now then…" he muttered to himself before pressing off with one foot, rushing with high speed.

"Whoa!" Aoko gasped as she saw him soaring towards her, responding by firing off a blast of magic energy.

Shirou grit his teeth apprehensively. 'This had better work…'

As the attack collided with him, it dispersed around him, causing the grass and leaves nearby to whither and fade, but left him completely unaffected.

Aoko's eyes shot wide in disbelief. "Wh – What the…?!"

Shirou raced towards her and reared an arm back to hit her, however, she was suddenly encased in blue energy and jumped back at almost impossible speeds just as his fist would have connected. Twitching an eyebrow, he grumbled, '… Well I'm immune to her magic, but it doesn't stop her from dodging.'

Siegfried interjected, 'She didn't. Not completely.'

Shirou just cocked an eyebrow, confused. 'Huh?'

'Look. Her shirt is torn and she used her Authority to reverse the damage to her body. Without that, you probably would've knocked her out instantly.'

Shirou nodded to himself in reply. 'Still… without something to get her with all I can do is defend.' Looking back at where her attack had bounced off of him, he noticed the withered plants and decayed dirt. 'And the longer that happens the more damaged this place gets…'

'Then use alchemy to force her into a situation that makes her unable to avoid you,' Brunhilde urged.

Irina nodded to herself and unwound Mimic from her arm, balled it up, and threw it towards him. "Shirou!"

"H – Huh?" he stammered before seeing it coming to him.

He caught Mimic as it reached him. He took a deep breath and then chanted, "Oh silver arm, upon my oath, turn into the invincible blade! Ripping Silver Arm!" his arm quickly turning silver and enveloping the thread, which morphed into the shape of a long, dark red, double-edged sword with a second, smaller blade at the hilt, both blades glowing radiantly.

Xenovia widened her eyes in disbelief and looked at Irina in shock. "What are you doing?!"

"Helping him, duh," the brunette answered bluntly.

"Only you are supposed to wield Mimic!"

Irina frowned and rebuffed, "I'm with him first, Church second. You took the same vow after all. We are sworn to aid Shirou."

Xenovia frowned unsurely. "… R – Right…"

Aoko gaped as she looked at Issei's silver-encased arm. "The heck?! How'd you get Doni Dummy's Authority?!"

Shirou flattened his brow in disbelief. "I killed him, how else."

"… Campiones can die?"

Shirou nodded. "Anything that can bleed can die."

Aoko folded her arms in thought. "… Well if there's any Campione to die guess it's best it's him." Her eyes suddenly snapped open in realization. "Wait, that means you're a Campione too…"

"I am pretty sure my Authorities should have made it obvious. You're only now catching on…?"

"Um… yeah?"

Shirou's jaw dropped in utter disbelief, his eyebrows twitching furiously before a small trail of blood dripped from his nose.

Aoko frowned in confusion. "Um… you okay over there?"

"F – Fine… I simply had an aneurysm from listening to you."

Aoko just looked at him curiously.

"Now stand still so I can beat the stupid out of you."

"Nope!" she chirped back before kicking off the ground at him.

Gripping the sword, he lunged as well, stepping to the side at the last moment as she swung her fist, dodging.

Aoko, however, spun deftly on her heel, swinging her other leg in a wide arc at him.

Shirou did not have time to dodge so raised the broad side of the sword to block the strike, which he did, but his entire body trembled from the force of the impact. 'Now!' Almost immediately, the blade separated, opening up, where her leg had impacted, causing her to stumble and lose her balance, before the hole snapped shut.

Aoko stared in disbelief before watching her severed foot tumble to the ground. "… Huh… Well… I didn't see that coming." After a moment her severed foot healed itself and regenerated, after which she shrugged before smirking with joy. "Ooh, how exciting. Let's keep going!"

Shirou growled as he dodged another of her blasts. "Stop and listen to us! You're being deceived!"

Aoko grumbled and tossed more shots at him. "Atheny wouldn't lie to me!"

Stheno raised both of her hands and launched a massive mana beam. "Die so I can save my sister!"

Aoko dodged the shot and then looked at the girl in confusion. "… Eh? Sister?"

Shirou took the moment to his advantage and caused Mimic to morph, changing from the bright red sword into a long spike that shot out towards Aoko, splitting its head into four pieces, and shooting towards her, stabbing through each of Aoko's limbs and impaling her against the rock wall behind her.

Before anyone could respond, an object crashed into the ground nearby.

"What now…?" Asia muttered in fear, hiding behind Irina.

After a moment, Perseus emerged from the smoke atop Pegasus, Athena behind him.

Shirou stared at the man in silence for a moment. "… Who's this pedo?"

Siegfried snarled with rage as Brunhilde demanded coldly, 'End him. Now.'

"Atheny?!" Aoko exclaimed upon seeing Athena on the back of Pegasus, trying to wrench herself free. "Why are you here with that creepy looking guy!? Wait, don't tell me he's gonna rape you…!"

Stheno could barely hold back her snickering.

Perseus merely hissed before vanishing.

"The hell!?" Shirou snarled, looking around for the man, before hearing Stheno gasp, he turned and saw as Perseus ran his sword through Stheno's back.

Perseus smirked and tossed Stheno to the side. "There, that's one problem dealt with. Now to smash that annoying rock."

"STHENO!" Shirou howled before preparing to charge, stopping himself at the last minute. 'Dammit! I've got Mimic impaling Aoko, I don't have anything to fight with…!'

Siegfried growled and shouted, 'Bring out Balmung already you dumbass!'

'What are you talking about? I don't have Balmung!'

'Yes you do! Or did you think Dumbass' sword was his, you moron!?'

'… Hah?!'

'Summon it! Summon Balmung to you and do it fast!' she shouted, growing increasingly frustrated.

'What, wish upon a star?'

'I don't care! I'm standing right fucking next to it so I know it's here along with a copy of it you Traced!'

Shirou clenched his fists and extended a hand out.

Perseus watched in curiousity, before his eyes widened as Balmung appeared in Shirou's grasp in a flash. "Th – That sword…"

Shirou stared at the blade in surprise, still shocked he even had it, before Siegfried demanded, 'Now! Gut him like a fish!'

Responding instantly, Shirou slammed his foot into the ground and took off at the blonde.

Perseus winced, preparing to bring out his own weapon when he suddenly smirked before calling out, "Athena!" the girl appearing in front of him and raising a hand to stop the blade mid-swing.

Brunhilde growled angrily. 'Dammit! Athena, move!'

Shirou then saw Perseus jabbing with his sword and realized what the man's plan was. Taking immediate action, he knocked Athena out of the way.

Athena stared at Shirou in disbelief. 'H – He… saved me…?'

Perseus grinned maniacally as his sword thrust at Shirou, only for the blade to clang off as if hitting a wall. "Wh – What!?"

"My turn!" Shirou howled as he readied his own attack, slamming the flat side of Balmung into Perseus' head, sending him flying into a boulder.

Perseus howled in pain as he hit the rock, slumping to the ground.

"Good, you're still alive," Shirou noted coldly as he approached the downed man.

"Tch… this is getting irritating," Perseus huffed before looking over at Xenovia and the others, resulting in a smirk forming on his face.

'What is he planning…?' Shirou wondered as he approached him.

Brunhilde suddenly gasped with horror. 'No… Shirou! Tell Lucretia to teleport the others away now!'

Shirou turned to the busty witch without a moment's thought and shouted, "Lucretia! Get the girls out of here!"

Perseus huffed in annoyance. "Oh no you don't!" He then pointed at Xenovia. "You, the one with blue, keep them from leaving."

Xenovia stiffened as her eyes clouded and she went slack before turning to the others and pointing Durandal at them.

Irina stiffened in confused fear. "H – Huh? Xenovia… what's wrong…?"

Shirou howled angrily. "You keep finding new ways to piss me off you bastard! Now I'm going to skin you alive and throw you in the ocean before killing you!"

Perseus merely smirked as Shirou charged at him.

As the battle continued, Pegasus watched the battle in thought before trotting over to the Gorgoneion, lying on the ground, and picked it up with its teeth and walked into the large temple's doorway.

Shirou, meanwhile, swung his sword to the ground forcefully, a blast of blue energy shooting from it.

Perseus easily stepped to the side as the attack slammed into the ground. "You're rather new to this, aren't you, boy?"

"And you're weak," Shirou spat back.

Perseus just smirked confidently. "And yet you haven't beaten me yet."

"Yet."

'Well?' Brunhilde asked.

'Well what? He's barely done anything yet, just dodge this bastard's moves!' Siegfried snapped, annoyed.

Brunhilde chided her, 'Sorry Sieg, I wasn't talking to you.'

'Eh?'

Shirou answered in his mind, 'He's a coward, clearly. He tries to avoid direct combat unless he can use a distraction or a smokescreen. Anytime I try and close the distance he distracts me and then puts space between us. All I need to do is force him into a position where that isn't an option.'

Siegfried was silent for several seconds. '… Damn you're good.'

'Then let's get to it,' Brunhilde urged confidently.

Shirou took a slow breath for a moment before his eyes snapped open and he kicked off the ground from where he stood, almost in a blur.

Perseus winced in surprise. "Th – The hell…?!" He dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a kick from the red-haired teen that turned the boulder behind him into dust. "Where did all this speed come from!?"

Shirou slammed a foot down and spun, swinging Balmung with all his strength.

Perseus tried to jump back but could only bring his blade up in time to block the strike.

Shirou stuck his other foot into the ground, swung his off leg up into the air and slammed it against the side of Perseus' head, sending the man stumbling back.

"Damn you… where did all this come from!?"

Shirou merely stood, readying his sword.

And done! Thus ends the fourth chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, be sure to let me know with a review if you did. If you were confused, unsure, or just have any questions on anything, such as the origins for certain characters, be sure to let me know with a review and I will do what I can to address your concerns in the next reviewer response. If you did not like it, review if you must, though might I suggest something you enjoy instead?

Anyway, that concludes all this, and I will do my best to ensure you do not have to wait another year for the next chapter.