Void Bladeworks

(A Zero no Tsukaima and Fate / Stay Night crossover)

Disclaimer: My god, i don't own this!

AN : dun dun dun update!

Kinunatzs: it's at the very bottom of the chapter

Taeniaea: Thankies!

Fangking2: That is a secret~

Zaralam: Thanks again!

Sacchin: It's all in this chapter

PrivateSargent: May your impatientness be cured with this chapter 3

KenZe: glad you like this story!

Fan of Fanfics21: People die when they are killed...

MWkillkenny84: And it's gonna keep getting better~

NecroMac: Harem...? Sounds appealing...

Trans: There'll be lots of "Dafuq" moments incoming

XxBlademaster79xX: F/SN shirou is summoned

"So let me guess this straight, the name of this country is Albion? Your name is Tiffania? And I'm supposed to be your familiar?" Shirou asked. He was sitting on a dead log while Tiffania, accompanied by Maria tried to explain to him what was going on.

"I'm sorry sir-…" Tiffania struggled to find the name to call her new found familiar.

"Shirou Emiya…" Shirou said after seeing the helpless expression on the elf's face.

"I'm sorry sir Shirou Emiya but I was trying to summon a powerful dragon or beast to help us. It wasn't my intention to summon you." The elf apologized with her head bowed.

"I wonder… is this how Saber felt?" The red haired man placed one his leg over the other then used it as support for his arm which held his drooping chin as he sighed. He remembered how he unintentionally summoned Saber before when Lancer attempted to liberate his life from his flesh.

"We were just trying to do everything we can to save our brothers, sisters and our friend." Maria defended Tiffania and tried to rationalize their mistake of calling the young man to their world.

"I wish I can say 'I understand' but I'm really lost here. What is this place? A completely different world?" Shirou stood up and surveyed his surroundings. The green forest did remind him of the lush beautiful forest of earth but the sky was a combination of blue and red and he could see two moons.

"Eh?" Tiffania and Maria looked at each other. The man was speaking about an alternate world different from theirs; they merely thought he was from another country before.

"We're not sure what you mean sir…" Tiffania replied.

"Well I'm from…"

Shirou sighed. He knew that any explanation he will give will just confuse them more.

"Anyway… you wanted to save your friends? What trouble are they in?" Shirou asked. He knew that if he wanted answers from them he had to help them solve their problem first. After all that was the reason he was summoned.

"A bunch of bandits attacked our small village. Some of the children got left behind and our friend stayed behind to help them. It has been hours since then and they still haven't come." Tiffania paused as she welcomed the scary thought of the children's and Sebastian's death.

"There they are! After them!" Shouted a voice from inside the forest. The voice didn't sound too far away.

Everybody looked in the direction where the voice came from to see three bandits wielding rapiers and cutlasses charging in. The children panicked behind Maria and Tiffania at the sight of the bandit's scary faces and sinister intent.

"H-How did they follow us?" Maria screamed. The place is supposed to be really hard to find as it stood to be their secret place before the new West Wood Village was founded.

"Are those the bandits you were talking about?" Shirou stepped in front of Tiffania to shield her from incoming brutes.

"Yes they're the ones who ransacked our village."

Tiffania replied while gathering the children in one place as they attempted to make an escape.

"Please run away sir Emiya you don't have to be involved here." Tiffania apologized once again and urged Shirou to save his own life.

Shirou looked at the elf's face for a second and paused. Then, just as the bandits neared he snapped a twig from a dead tree and walked forward the direction of the three bandits.

"M-Mister!" Tiffania cried out as she tried to reach for the back of the man who seemed to be walking towards his own doom.

"Trace… On!" Shirou shouted and the meter long branch he was holding glowed for a fraction of a second.

The brutes continued to rush towards them despite seeing an opposition.

"Who's that?" One of the bandits asked as he raised his cutlass for an immediate coup de grace when he nears his opponent.

"Probably another good Samaritan. That elf sure knows how to use her boobs." A second bandit replied implying that Tiffania might have seduced the man into helping them.

"Bah he will soon meet the same fate of that other man! Kill him!" Said the third bandit who prepared to thrust his rapier into the man's heart.

Shirou continued to walk forward without flinching or batting his eyelashes. Instead he held his chest high as he raised the branch he reinforced with his magic.

"Stay behind me." Shirou commanded to the girls and children who he now placed under his care.

"Urah!" Roared the first bandit as he lunged at the young man.

"What do you think that stick is going to do to us huh?" The second bandit waited for his turn to attack as the first covered his path.

The cutlass and the dead tree branch collided as Shirou delivered a head level horizontal strike to block the bandit's vertical lunging attack. Everybody expected to see a chopped up lumber and a bleeding fool but what they saw was the complete opposite. The cutlass broke against the blunt force of the reinforced branch and shattered into tiny shards which rebounded on the man's face.

"Ah my eyes!" Cried the bandit whose face now bleeds due to the small broken shards of his own sword.

"W-What?" The second bandit doubled back as he saw his comrade fell on his knees crying about his face.

The third bandit who did not see what and how it happened charged in with his rapier. A swift thrust to the young man's heart would end this conflict once and for all and they would have a new sex slave and some money from selling children into slavery.

"This level of thrust is nothing compared to that of lancer's…" Shirou said with an almost disappointed tone. He noticed a similar branch from another dead tree broke it off and held it with his free hand. Then using the two branches like dual blades he caught the rapier between them as he feinted sideways.

"Let go of my sword you bastard!" Shouted the bandit whose rapier was stuck between Shirou's sticks.

"Hwah!" The boy ignored the bandit's threats and kicked him hard in the abdomen. The brute lost his grip on his rapier and fell on his back on the muddy ground. On his way to sitting up his face was met by the tip of Shirou's leather shoes. A piece of tooth from bandit's broken jaw flew out of his mouth and landed beside the foot of his fear stricken comrade.

"W-Who are you?" The last remaining bandit who pursued Tiffania and children asked while still firmly gripping his cutlass.

"I don't think you understand we're the one entitled to ask questions here…" Shirou raised his right hand with the blunt tip of his branch pointed at his opponent.

"Die!" In a desperate attempt to escape, the bandit threw his cutlass at Shirou and started running the opposite direction.

Behind Shirou were an innocent maiden and some little children. If he dodged the spinning cutlass there's a chance that it will cause harm to the innocent bystanders behind him. However, dodging the cutlass was never a part of his choice. Compared to the Mach speedof hrunting or Saber's instantaneous movements, the cutlass was moving rather slow. With a swing of his stick, the cutlass threat was immediately resolved. Then, before the bandit could gain a far enough distance to lose them, he threw his own reinforced weapons spinning at the running coward. The dead branches flew apart from each other then met again crushing the bandit's right knee in between. He fell on one leg crying in pain.

"These guys should be able to tell us where your friends are." Said Shirou who clapped his hands as if he was removing the dust from the two dirty branches he used as weapons.

"Ah…" Tiffania and Maria were speechless after seeing the new familiar's performance.

"I-Is this the power of a familiar big sister?" Maria grabbed Tiffania's right sleeve in sheer awe.

"I d-don't know…" replied Tiffania who was turning dizzy thanks to Maria's shaking.

"I am not sure what this familiar business is all about but I'm going to help you find your friends."

Shirou raised his right fist to show his determination.

"First we have to make them talk."

He said as he walked to the bandit who was hugging his knee in anguish.

"But even before that."

Shirou tossed one of the cups of 'Häagen-Dazs' Ice Cream to one of the children who caught it with both hands.

"Let's eat… If there's something I learned from these past few years it's that hunger is the enemy." Quoted Shirou from a famous king known for her unparalleled ability to finish a whole feast in one sitting.

In the opposite side of the forest, after a night of rest, a wagon is about to depart. On the driver's seat, holding the belt to steer the horses was the Old Store/Farm owner. Behind him and inside the cart were four people. Nearest to him was the little girl who calls herself Tessa. She was wearing a pink shirt inside her blue jumper. She was busy associating herself with the girl she just met yesterday and now looks up to. This girl's name is Archerko.

Archerko, the silver haired singer, was wearing a collared pink blouse with matching blue pants. The outfit almost made her look boyish if not for her beautifully carved breast that she allowed to shape freely inside her bra. On her face, she wore an opera mask that puzzled her little admirer. The opera masked covered only her eyes and nose with white plastic. The nose part of the mask was pointy which almost mimics the beak of a bird.

"Big-sis Archerko! Why are you wearing a mask?" Asked Tessa. She had the most curious look on her face as she tilted her head sideways while looking at Archerko.

"It's a birthday party. It's more fun wearing masks right?"

Replied Archerko before pulling out another mask inside a leather bag.

"Here, I got you one too." The silver-haired smiled as she handed the little girl another white opera mask. Unlike her mask, this mask didn't have a pointy nose and covered only the little girls eyes and a part of her cheeks.

"It's so cool and pretty!" Tessa cheered as she received her first gift from Archerko.

"Thank you for inviting us as well Tessa." A girl with long pink hair interrupted. This girl was no other than the noble Louise Francoise Le Blanc de la Valliere. She was wearing a rather dashing black two piece tube and dress which skirt stretches to her knees. She too was wearing a mask; her mask was colored white too and revealed most of her face except for her left cheek.

"Um!" Tessa nodded and smiled. Her smile mirrored an innocent little angel.

"We're traveling on a cart like this wearing these? I like it! Not conspicuous at all!" Said the fourth person in the carriage. The person calls herself Bazett Fraga McRemitz. Unlike the others, the clothes she's wearing stands out as she's the only one with a cape. The edge of the upper end of her red cape which she wore on her shoulders had expensive eagle feathers sticking out. The mask she wore only covered her eyes but was colored red, blood red. She also wore a black cowboy cap that's complete with a string. She wore a black shirt with a red stripe around its borders and black leather pants and shoes.

"B-Bazett… couldn't you find a more… err… lighthearted outfit?" Archerko who was worried that her companion might scare the other children when they arrived there asked.

"What? From where I come from children loved these kinds of costumes. Also, I find this costume very handy because it can help with stealth in the jungle. In case of bandit attacks." Bazett replied and rationalized her choice of garment.

"Don't jinx it Bazett… besides I doubt there are bandits in these parts of the forest." Archerko giggled with the attempt to change the topic.

"Actually, she's right lady Archerko."

The old man steering the horses interrupted and joined their conversation.

"There are opportunistic scalawags lurking in these roads. Why, just yesterday a couple of thugs stopped us and we had to cough up some gold just to pass thru." Explained the old man.

"I- I see…" Archerko had to gulp down her own saliva that formed on the top of her tongue. She felt rather apprehensive now that she knows that there's a chance they'd need to ruffle some bad guys. She wasn't scared of them, for she has no reason to, but she rather not show the little girl her special abilities.

"Nothing to worry about, I've prepared all my runes just in case…" Bazett flashed Archerko her gloves filled with different runes laid on top of each other.

"By the way Bazett where's that guy?" Asked Archerko with 'that' pertaining to the blue haired man who constantly tries to woo her.

"Miss Tabitha said that she would scout ahead with her dragon so I had him accompany her. I think it was the best decision since I know how you feel about going with him." Replied Bazett.

The five travelled while merrily chatting about random stuff as they made their way to the forest.

"We're near!" Tessa cheered as soon as they see a glimpse of the jungle.

"Everyone please, whatever happens keep calm." The old man turned to them and warned them while steering the horses.

"Is this the place?" Archerko remembered the old man talking about bandits stopping them yesterday. She wondered if it was there where they were halted by such thugs.

"Yes we're actually very near. It feels weird though. Yesterday just before we entered the forest we already saw a couple of muscular lowlifes grinning at us before we were stopped." The old man carefully surveyed his surroundings for any signs of hostility. He was very suspicious about the unusually serenity of the road.

"Well they're bandits right? They're probably raiding a random cart somewhere." Louise replied to try and ease the worries of the old man.

"I don't want to sound mean but I hope you're right." Said the old man.

"Dad that's so mean of you!" Tessa puffed up her cheeks and looked at her new father with a disappointed expression.

"Ahaha I'm only kidding Tessa, I'm only kidding." The father laughed and was amazed at the sincere purity of his new daughter. Deep inside though, he meant what he said. He rather have someone else take the misfortune than have Tessa and his guests in danger because of the thugs.

Archerko and Bazett looked at each and nodded. They had very serious looks on their faces but both of them did not say a word until they entered the forest.

"Is there a problem Big Sister Archerko?" Tessa noticed the silver-haired girl rub her nose gently and had an irritated look on her face.

"N-nothing I'm just allergic with some of the plants." Replied Archerko. It was a good lie for the forest greenery they were now crossing were filled with hundreds of varieties of plants.

"Eh? We should have brought some medicine then…" Tessa pouted. She felt bad seeing her idol look irritated.

"Don't worry Tessa it's only a mild allergy." Archerko patted the girl's head who responded by rubbing her hair on the singer's palm.

Archerko turned to Bazett again and this time she tilted her head to a direction. Bazett nodded her head.

"I'll go check for these plants of yours." Bazett said before jumping and back flipping off the carriage.

"Miss!" The old man was surprised as his passenger passed him and his horses.

"W-What are you doing Bazett?" Louise reached for Bazett who started running forward ahead of the carriage.

"I'm just going to get rid of those plants!" Replied Bazett who waved back before running off.

"T-That's one interesting body guard you have Miss ar- what the!"

The old man almost froze to death as Archerko appeared beside him.

"H-How did you…!" He stuttered and almost lost control of the horses.

"Heeeeeh! Miss Archerko how did you get there?" Tessa was shocked to see the silver locks of the girl flutter in front of her beside her father while Archerko was beside her petting her head just a minute ago.

"It's a special skill." Archerko turned behind her and winked at the little girl.

"So cool!" The girl looked astonished as her eyes sparkled with admiration.

"Anyway…"

Archerko kept her voice down and made sure only she and the old man can hear her.

"Do you think you can stop the carriage for a while?" Archerko asked.

"Eh? W-Why?"

The old man was surprised with Archerko's request that he almost raised his voice.

"Is it because of your allergy?" The old man asked wondering if the silver-haired girl wanted to wait for her bodyguard to come back first before pushing through.

Archerko looked at the old man in the eye before letting out a sigh. She paused her breath for a moment and leaned closer to the man's ear.

"Sir, I don't have an allergy. I said that to not upset or scare Tessa but, we think there are corpses ahead." Archerko whispered with a serious look on her face.

"What? T-That's ridiculous. How can you be so sure?" The old man faked a laugh to hide his nervousness.

"Please sir. That pungent smell of blood is in that direction. I don't want to have Tessa see something she's not prepared for." Archerko pleaded. This time, she grasped the man's wrist gently while begging for his decision to stop for a while.

The old man hesitated for a moment then looked at the thick greenery in front of them. How he wished that she was wrong and that the blood scent they smell was only from a deer killed by a lion. However, deep inside his mind he feared that he might have lost one son in favor of a new daughter.

"Oh okay…"

The father sighed before turning behind him to find a wondering Tessa.

"We'll stop for a bit and rest." He said to the little girl.

"Eh? But why?"

Tessa asked with curiosity written all over her face.

"T-There are some blockade up ahead that we need to clear first. Please be patient my dear." The old man struggled to formulate a lie then patted her daughter's head.

"Mmm…"

Tessa placed her finger inside her mouth and tilted her head as she examined her father's face.

"Okay!" She replied cheerfully and surprised everyone who thought that she wouldn't fall for the obvious lie.

"Well! I'm going to check it out please stay here!" Archerko jumped off the carriage while keeping her cheerful and calm composure.

"Archerko what's going on?" Louise wanted to jump off the cart too but she was stopped by Archerko with a hand signal.

"Louise please take care of Tessa and the good sir. I won't be gone long." With a smile and a wave, Archerko turned away from them and disappeared through the forest.

Louise wanted to go with her but the look Archerko gave her before she sprinted away was very familiar. From that glance Louise knew that her familiar just gave her an important task to protect the two people with her.

"A familiar giving orders to her master… I will have to punish her later." Louise gritted her teeth while imagining a long leather whip inside her hands.

"L-Louise is scary." Tessa noticed the change in Louise's face and backed away almost in tears.

"W-Wah?"

Louise gasped and remembered that she had a child next to her.

"I- I'm sorry I imagined something annoying. A-ha…a-ha… Ahaha."

She forced a laugh before grabbing something in her bag.

"H-here have some delicious cupcakes that your big sister Archerko cooked." She offered the girl a bunch of muffins to soothe her.

"Yayyyyy!" The girl cheered as she accepted and munched on the offering.

A bit further in the forest a tomboy was kneeling on one knee on the ground while carefully examining what seems to be the body of a young boy lying on his back. Though the lifeless body of another human being usually deters most people away or make them choke and puke, the enforcer was calm as she observed the jagged cuts on the boy's body.

"So it's a corpse after all." Said a voice behind Bazett.

"No… this one is still alive. But he won't make it. I say he has a minute at best…" Said Bazett. She sounded sad per se but not mortified.

"I see… we should at least ask him for any last wish he might still have."

Archerko frowned as she knelt with one knee beside her friend.

"Hey there…"

She touched the boy's cheek which caused the boy to twitch a bit before weakly opening his eyes. She removed her mask and kept it inside her pocket to look at the boy directly.

"You're about to go to a far off place. Do you have anything you want or anything you want done before you go off in your journey?" Archerko tried to be subtle in telling the boy of his own eminent death.

"P-Please… save… my friends… save my brothers and sisters… please…" The boy jolted. It was a sign that his punctured lungs were beginning to fail. The lack of oxygen in his blood has already affected his heart which in turn could no longer pump oxygen in his lungs and other parts of his body. It was a cycle that equates to death.

"Did… the bandits do this?" Archerko asked. She hoped that the boy could at least give them some information before he leaves this world.

The boy nodded in response then weakly stretched out his arm to the silver-haired girl in front of him. Archerko grasped the boy's hand tightly and felt his pulse began to drop. It's coming, she could tell that the grim ripper is just behind the boy but she was thankful that death was still patient.

"I will use everything in my disposal to look for your friends. The bandits' blades will pierce my chest first before they harm a strand of your brothers' and sisters' hair. Leave this mortal realm knowing that your murderers will face justice in trial or by the tip of my blade." Archerko assured the dying child of his comrades' safety. She had a determined look on her face as she made her vow.

The boy smiled gently at former servant before his head collapsed side-wards. His eyes failed to close completely as life left his human shell. Before the last breath was made his lips uttered one final word as the grim reaper embraced his soul. That word was 'thank you'.

Archerko paused for a moment until she was sure that the boy was dead. She used her right hand to close the boy's eyes.

"Rest in peace." She said while smiling before she stood up and turned to Bazett who was standing beside her.

"There you are! What took you girls so long?" A third voice came to join the two girls. It was the old man, the father of Tessa.

Both Archerko and Bazett turned to the old man. Archerko moved aside so that the old man may see what it is that caught their attention.

"What is it? Is it a… wait that's…!"

The old man's face distorted with mortified despair and anguish as he recognized the face of the lifeless young boy.

"T-Thomas!" The old man cried. He knew that the boy was the eldest male orphan in West Wood Village. Like Tessa, Thomas was a child pretty close to the old couple. He was the first to be introduced to them for he was Tiffania's escort the first time she bought goods in their shop. The sight of the boy's

Archerko and Bazett were wide eyed as soon as they found out that the old man knew the child. They were now about ninety percent sure that the bandits attacked the place of their destination. It was now apparent that they could not continue on with young Tessa on board mainly because the little girl would be traumatized if she saw her loved ones dead.

"W-Who? Who did this?" Asked the old man in an angry tone at the girls.

"We had an idea who did it. So before the young boy lost his life… we asked him… 'was it the bandits?' and he nodded." It was hard for Archerko to describe the state of the boy when he helped them find out who his murderers were.

"Gas… Gas… Gaspard!"

The old man shouted angrily almost as if he was at war with the earth and skies. He froze when he remembers the entire village with his son in it. What could have happened to those children that he loved so dearly? What could have happened with his only son and the girl that son wanted to marry? The old man hurried to Archerko and grabbed her by her collar.

"W-We must find my son and the rest of the orphans!" Said the old man in a desperate tone. He was shaking so much like was having a bad case of epilepsy.

Archerko looked at the old man and pitied him. She could only imagine the pain he was in.

"We can't simply take Tessa there with us. I'll get Louise and Tessa home while Bazett can accompany you there. Is that alright?" Archerko shared her plans with the two.

The old man nodded. He couldn't talks as his throat was still dry after seeing the corpse of the boy. He felt ashamed that a stranger like Archerko prioritized Tessa's safety more than he did in this situation.

"Please take care of my daughter…" The old man said this softly yet in his voice you could sense a lot of determination.

"Um!"

Archerko nodded with a confident and reassuring smile on her face.

"Bazett I don't have to worry about a few mishaps of society overpowering The Answerer right?" Archerko jokingly said to Bazett who grinned in reply.

"I might mess my costume up and might have to change before the party." The enforcer returned a confident comment before turning away to accompany the old man forward.

It didn't take a few minutes and Archerko was finally back with Louise and Tessa on where she left them and the carriage.

"Archerko you sure have some explaining to do!" Louise jumped off the carriage as soon as Archerko was near it.

"I'll explain everything later. For now we have to go back to the town." Archerko replied while unbuckling one of the horses from the carriage.

"E-Eh? Something happened hasn't it?" Louise can already imagine what Archerko and Bazett found.

Archerko nodded and placed her finger on her lips as a signal for Louise to keep quiet about it. She turned her eyes to Tessa which meant that the reason Louise had to be quiet about it was for the little girl.

"Tessa uncle said we have a change of plans. We're going to have the party in the town so your brothers and sisters can enjoy the place as well!" Archerko called to Tessa who leaned over curiously as to what is happening.

"Eh? What's wrong with the village?" Tessa asked while tilting her head as a sign of her wonder.

"It's unfair if it's only Tessa who gets to see the club rand other fun parts of the town right? Uncle will fetch the others. He said we need to go back first." Archerko explained. Even though it was a lie, she explained this very calmly.

"But…" Tessa pouted. Though she likes the town, she also wanted to celebrate her birthday in the village she once lived. Especially now that she will live in the town with the old couple.

"Ne, ne Tessa look at this!" With a wave of her hands Archerko summoned three golden swords around her and made them spin slowly above her head. She made sure that the swords looked elegant to not frighten the little girl.

"Waaaah!" Tessa's eyes gleamed with awe as the swords spin and move around them. They too were gleaming in golden shine which lured the little girl further in.

"I can do magic tricks like this! I have some more for Tessa and everybody else but I left them in the village. Can you help me get them?" Archerko faked a small frown to beg Tessa for her permission to travel back to the town.

"Um…"

Tessa paused for a bit while the shiny harmless swords paraded themselves in front of her. She was suspicious of why Archerko was adamant to go back but her love for shiny objects and magic got the better of her.

"Sure~!" She shouted cheerfully.

"Waaaii now we can get prepared!"

Archerko picked up Tessa and placed her on the horse. She jumped on the horse and sat behind the little girl before reaching her hand for Louise who used her as support to get on the horse behind Archerko.

"We're not taking the carriage?" Tessa asked.

"It's faster and more fun on a horse! Besides we're leaving the carriage in case uncle and the other children need it." Archerko lied. With a shout and a tap with her feet, Archerko rode off to the town with Tessa and Louise.

About five hours ago, and a few hours before the sun rises one man a woman and a few children were quietly sneaking in the bushes. Their leader, the red headed man was wearing an armor made of cheap leather and a leather helmet that covered his entire face and had holes for his eyes mouth and ears. The woman beside him was wearing a traveling cape, a hood and a wand in her right hand. Behind them were children wearing different kinds of kitchen utensils on them like frying pans on their heads to act as helmets while wielding thick branches as weapons.

"Sure is kind of the three sirs to tell us where they are." Said Tiffania while following the man in front of her through the bush.

"Neh…"

Shirou called out softly behind him.

"Why are you guys coming again?" He asked the girl and the children with her in a tired voice.

A small portion of the orphans excluding Maria and some very young little girls joined Shirou and Tiffania. Shirou tried to stop them before going here but they were too persistent.

"We can't just let Shirou-san go alone. That would be so much trouble for you…" Tiffania replied with a lonely voice. Shirou could see how depressed she is about this situation.

"No offense but, does anyone of you have any actual experience in combat?" Shirou asked worriedly. As much as he appreciated the extra help, there's a thin line between helping and being a burden in the field of battle.

"No but I believe that everyone needs a first time to gain experience!" Tiffania replied optimistically.

"…" Shirou paused. That logic is indeed true but he hoped that their first time wouldn't be so life threatening. Maybe a sparring? A small skirmish? Both of those mentioned are okay but having to rescue a bunch of kids from a whole gang of blood thirsty bandits is past that line.

"The man before said that they were going to use our village as a second base of operations. We have an advantage because we know all the corners and secret doors in the village." Tiffania said to encourage Shirou.

"Okay but… everyone come here first and gather."

Shirou ordered everyone to come in front of him.

"Put all your weapons and kitchen utensils err… armor… down in front of me."

The red haired boy felt awkward about calling such things as 'armor' when he already witnessed true armors like Saber's dress and Gilgamesh's garb. Everybody including Tiffania placed their weapons and armor in front of Shirou. They wondered what the boy would do with such unorthodox fighting items.

"Hmm…"

Shirou took each one of those items and applied his magic on them, reinforcement.

"There, those things are a hundred times stronger and sturdier now." He said as he handed the last item to the last boy in the group.

"Wow! Is that magic?" One of the children asked. He used his reinforced branch to hit the trunk of a tree and surprisingly the three centimeter thick branch carved a four centimeter dent on the tree.

"I wouldn't call it that…" Replied Shirou. Despite the reinforcement he was still unsure of their victory against the bandits. He would pretty much like to go in by himself.

Then again, he would rather have Saber by his side to fight with him as she always did. A few hours ago just after they defeated the three bandits he tried summoning Arturia to his side only to find out that his command spells were gone. In place of it was a different rune which he did not know anything about.

Thirty minutes of sneaking and tiptoeing they finally reached the back wall of the village the children used to call home. Surprisingly, even after only a few hours since they abandoned it, the bandits have already created a small platform to act as a watch tower for enemies. Thankfully none of the bandits knew any form of magic and the light of the torches outside the gates were too dim to spot their group.

"Okay guys here's the plan. It's really late in the night I can bet that the bandit guard standing on that tower is probably half asleep. Three of us will go there, which will be me and two of you children, then take out the guy, tie him up then use that tower to scout and pan the area." Shirou explained.

"O-okay b-but how do we let everyone know about the situation?" One of the older children asked. It's a real worry. Even if their sentry would see any nearby bandit there was no way to shout it out without causing their enemies to be on alert.

"Here…" Shirou took out of his pocket a large handkerchief almost the size of a scarf. It was large but surprisingly thin because it was made from very fine silk just double the thickness that of a Japanese Paper.

"A hanky?" The boy scratched his head confused.

"When someone is nearby let that hang off the ledge. Don't wave it! Just let it hang."

Shirou had a very serious expression on his face when he said this.

"And everybody else. I need you to always keep attention on that tower. If you see the white handkerchief hanging make sure you either stand still until I clear everything or hide behind something!There will be no way to tell their positions so be alert." He commanded. Right now he wished he had access to his world's technology for a simple walky-talky that would really make things much easier. He remembered Rin using some form of magic before that allowed them to communicate inside their minds but he was never good at those so 'fuck that' he thought to himself.

Shirou knew the plan they came up with was a shitty make-do plan that will probably fail ninety percent of the time. But it's the only thing they've got and they had to rescue those kids who are still probably inside. Without further ado he tiptoed to the stairs that led up the tower and climbed it silently. He signaled for the two boys to wait below while he took care of business above.

Shirou's luck could not have been better. It was as he expected. The bandit guard was lazily snoozing while sitting on a chair. He was never one to hit someone in their weakest state but this wasn't a battle for honor but a skirmish to save lives. Using his Gradation Air ability, he summoned an iron pipe in his right hand. Then with one swoop he struck the bandit guard directly on the back of the head. The poor thug couldn't even yelp before he once again fell unconscious on the floor. Shirou did not kill the man but tied him up with a rope that was conveniently near the man. He was thankful that he could tie the guy instead of taking his life.

The boy signaled for his two watchers to climb up to fulfill their roles. Like brave little soldiers, the two climbed the tower hastily and took their post. From there they could see the entire area. Shirou explained to them again their job one last time before jumping down the tower to rejoin Tiffania and the remaining children.

"Okay, there's no more going back after this. Is everyone ready?" He asked Tiffania and the other children. He needed to make sure if they were truly up to it because once they raid the houses they'll have to commit.

Using what their captives told them, the children were being housed in the house where Gaspar was and that was the main shelter of the West Wood Village. Why would he want to stay with his hostages you ask? Well since Gaspar is known to be a pedophile and most of his hostages are female children it's easy to put two and two together.

The group silently made their way to the main house at the center of the small village. They crept ever slowly that it took them five minutes to travel ten meters while keeping a close look at the tower where their sentry was and their surroundings. Thankfully the handkerchief never showed and they reached the house.

"What good luck these bandits might never have thought that we would come for them."

Shirou smiled. He didn't think that their skirmish would be this easy. He tried to open the door knob but it was locked. To that, he frowned.

"Well… it can't be all good can it?" He sighed. The quickest way would be to kick the door down but that would also waste all that effort of creeping inside the complex silently as every thug inside the orphanage would jump to their feet wielding swords and spears.

"Mister Shirou we have a secret entrance follow me." One of the children stepped up beside him.

"We have?" Tiffania asked. She never knew of all the entrances the children made in the houses.

"Me and Tessa sort of had to make secret doors to get some food at night." The boy snickered.

"So you're who took the missing milk and other snacks…" Tiffania said with a bit of disappointment in her voice.

"Tee-hee…" the boy scratched his head shyly.

"It is clearly not the time for this. Where's the secret entrance?" Shirou interrupted. He wanted their mission to be as silent and as careful as possible but also as quick as possible. The longer they stayed in the enemy's nest means the more chance they have of sounding an alarm.

The boy took them around the back of the house where there were crates stacked on each other.

"It's just behind these crates." Said the boy.

Shirou nodded and pushed the crates aside. They were surprisingly light because they had nothing inside them. Apparently they were there only to hide the loose wooden part of the wall that opens the secret entrance was only big enough for children to enter. Shirou and Tiffania will never be able to squeeze inside even if they took their clothes off.

"That's not good…" Tiffania sighed. She knew that letting a group of children in to handle tough and brutish bandits was like throwing crumbs of bread to a fish pond filled with hungry ducks.

"Indeed… but this is our only way in. Someone needs to go in and unlock the main door for us…" Said Shirou who was hesitant to assign someone for the job.

"I will." Said the same boy who led them to the secret entrance.

"No Eric it's too dangerous!" Scolded Tiffania.

"Big sister it's the only way! Besides I've been sneaking every night without waking a single one of you so I'm confident I can do this!" Eric said with full confidence.

"But…" Tiffania held her hands near her chest. She couldn't bear the thought of sending a lone child behind enemy lines.

"As much as I hate this… but he's right." Shirou sided with Eric's idea. He felt bitter inside because he felt helpless that he had to put that burden on a little boy.

"… O- Okay…" After a few seconds of convincing herself, Tiffania finally gave the thumbs up for the plan. Without delaying, Eric crawled in the small hole and the group scurried back to the front of the house where they expect the door to be unlocked.

Inside the house was very dark. The bandits left no torch or candle to light the place. Eric who knew the place very well had to be very careful not to wake anyone up as he zigzagged across the room only using his memory of the place as a guide. For a moment he thought about rescuing his brothers and sisters by himself while he was there but he couldn't even see where the beds were. He gave up on the idea immediately and hurried for the door where Shirou, Tiffania and the others were waiting.

It only took Eric about thirty seconds to open the door but for Shirou and Tiffania it seemed like hours. When the door swung open they expected a bandit holding a child in his arms while wielding a cutlass to appear and charge at them. Thankfully the silhouette of Eric gave them a sigh of relief as they take their first step inside the house.

The dim light of the moon and the stars lit the room enough for them to see who were inside. There were five beds in the room and on those beds were bandits. One for each bed. Two of them were disgustingly naked while the other three slept with their sweaty clothes on. Tiffania didn't know which disgusted her more. They crept inside slowly to look for the children until they reached a small junction. If they turn right the largest bed previously owned by Tiffania and Maria who slept together always should contain Gaspar and hopefully his captives. Indeed, they found someone on the bed but Tiffania groaned after seeing the face of the man. It wasn't Gaspar and the children were not in the house. Did the bandits they caught lie to them?

"This isn't…" Tiffania sighed with disappointment as she faced the truth that the missing children and Sebastian weren't there.

"They must have relocated them in another house?" One of the children with them asked.

"What do we do Mister Shirou?" Tiffania asked her familiar who was still calm even after the failure.

"It's too much if we have to search every house in the village. We will ask this one." Shirou pointed at the snoring bandit on the huge bed.

"E-Eh?" Tiffania gasped. She wondered what Shirou would do get information from the snoozing thug.

Using his iron pipe, Shirou grabbed the man's throat from behind and barred his throat with the pipe. The bandit choked as he woke up and tried to shout but he couldn't even breathe enough to yelp. Shirou dragged him to a corner of the bed where he was sure the bandit can't struggle free.

"We're looking for the children that you hold captive somewhere in here. Tell us where they are." Tiffania's familiar asked as he threatened to squeeze the man's throat tighter with the pipe.

"Krkkk! Nrt er…" The bandit struggled to say something but the pipe was blocking his air.

"Are they here?" Shirou followed a question as he loosened his grip on the man's throat to let him whisper.

"T-The boss took them to the hideout a few hours ago." Said the bandit who was holding unto the pipe in an attempt to pull it off his assailant.

"Damn it where is your hideout?" Shirou tried his best to sound intimidating without raising his voice. It was very hard since he himself was losing to his own anger. If not thanks to Rin's constant training and Saber's advice he'd be screaming on the top of his lungs right now while shaking the man by his collar like a woman on her period.

"N-North West from here in this forest Krkkk…"

The man struggled to give out directions as he continued to gasp for his breath inside Shirou's arms.

"If you walk far enough you'll see a ruined elven village. We turned it into our safe haven!" The thug grunted as he continued to gasp and breathe heavily.

"What does your boss plan with the children?" Shirou asked one last question after seeing Tiffania's worried expression. Although this might defeat the purpose of calming the elf it will also give them the idea of what they should do to save the children.

"T-They will be sold to a slaver by tomorrow afternoon! O-Of course the boss would also want to keep one or two for himself." The bandit answered.

"Thank you now please go back to sleep!" With a twist of his muscles, Shirou severed the blood sustaining the man's brain causing a temporary nerve failure and sent him sleeping. Shirou was already pretty familiar with such moves thanks to Arturia's training.

"What should we do mister Shirou?" Tiffania asked with worried and tearful eyes. Hearing that her orphans will be turned into slave urchins made her feel frantic.

"First thing's first: we need to get out of here." Shirou replied. Now that their objective there is gone the best thing to do is disappear from the vicinity as fast as possible. They would tiptoe across the room until they reach the door and go for their comrades on top of the tower before going outside the village using the opposite gate from where they entered. At least that's the plan.

For some reason it felt harder sneaking outside than inside. Probably because the point of being there was gone and most of them were in a hurry to leave the place. The floor creaked louder than before, every step felt like a loud thud and the door felt like it was kilometers away. Some of the children would yelp after hearing one of the thugs groan in his sleep and they would be chastised and silenced by their peers.

After a minute of utter carefulness they finally got outside. They immediately looked at the tower where two of the children were and saw nothing to be worried about. Shirou immediately called for the kids as he reached the bottom of the stairs that led up the frail wooden tower. Unbeknownst to them one of the hooligans is currently slapping himself awake thanks to fierce mosquitos lingering outside.

"Stupid mosquitos! These things are as fierce as those orphans!"

Grunted the thug as he tried to catch one of the flying buggers buzzing around his ears.

"Huh?"

Something caught his attention as he failed to send the mosquito to oblivion. He saw what looks like to be a man aiding a child in climbing off the tower stairs. He quickly recognized them to be intruders as they were clean unlike his rugged and grimy comrades.

"I-Intruders!" He shrieked. The bandit alarmed Shirou, Tiffania and the children as he stumbled to the main gate where a small bell rested.

"Oh shit!" Shirou watched in horror as he saw the man ring the bell. As experienced as he is, he still felt panic race through him as the sound of the bell rang through the village waking up every single lowlife inside with the exception of those he personally put to sleep.

The bandits looked drowsy and weary as they got off their beds and mats to face their intruders. Though most of them lazily went out of the houses, some of them were thrilled to face their enemies with their swords in their hands: these were the bandits that Shirou had to kick Spartan style away from the children.

The first thing his instinct told him to do was to flee through the backgate with the children. Unfortunately, his greatest fears manifested, three of the children froze on the spot as they heard the angry and terrifying pirate like roars of the bandits. Even worse, one of them panicked so much that he charged in headfirst into the bloodthirsty fray.

"God damn it!" Shirou pulled the boy backwards by his shirt and threw him to Tiffania. He leaped forward in front of the fear stricken children with his steel pipe.

The bandits paused their attack after seeing the man wave the pipe around brazenly. They all had a mocking grin on their faces before they erupted into laughter.

"A pipe? You're challenging a platoon of the strongest warriors with a pipe?" One of the bandits who was so full of himself mocked the red headed familiar. He laughed so hard that Shirou was sure that he would take himself out with laughter and faint.

"Tiffania get the kids out of here. I'll take these guys on." Shirou whispered to the elven girl beside him whose hands were on her lips.

"No! I'm going to stay and fight!"

Tiffania replied rebelliously.

"A friend of mine said the same thing and now I'm not even sure if he's alright or not!" Tiffania remembered the man who calls himself Sebastian. That young man stayed in order to save the remaining children and hasn't come back since.

"Tsk!" Shirou clicked his tongue as he faced three attackers in front of him.

So it begins fourteen bandits against Shirou, Tiffania and a few little children. Shirou's main concern is to avoid getting surrounded by the enemy and take them all on in front. If they get surrounded he wouldn't know how he would be able to protect Tiffania and all the others while fighting for his own life.

The first wave of three bandits was a cinch. Because of their own fault of underestimating the boy they were easily parried and repelled. This irritated them that they lunged blindly at their pipe wielding enemy.

Once again, to Shirou, the bandits were moving in slow motion. No, not super slow, just below an average man. Or rather, as Shirou's senses were trained beyond that of the best athlete but below a servant's, these thugs look sluggish. Shirou easily dodged the short sword coming at him vertically with a simple side step. Before the enemy went past him he made sure to deliver a crushing low kick that flipped the man over his head and landed with his face on the ground behind Shirou.

"Let's get him!" The children who saw the bandit fall in front of them took their reinforced kitchen utensils and started wailing on him. The poor thug cried in pain as lumps and bruises appeared throughout his body before a frying pan finally claimed his consciousness.

The other two remaining attackers in that first wave met an easier fate. One of them missed a thrust and was punished with a smashing hit to the face and broke his nose. He was unconscious before he could land on the ground. The other one was repelled by a sidekick to his waist only to charge again, miss, fall off-balance forward, and receive a blunt blow on the back of his head.

"You guys are scum! Come at me! Don't even think about laying your filthy hands on the children!" Shirou tried to provoke the others to aim at him and away from the children.

"Don't get ahead of yourself boy!" One of the thugs who looked stronger than the rest led the charge. This time all of the remaining eleven stampeded towards Shirou and the children.

"Ha!" Shouted a voice from behind Shirou. It was Tiffania who had her wand raised. A flash of light went past Shirou and the bandits. The gang of thugs were divided into two groups as an explosion forced them apart.

Shirou looked behind him with an astonished look.

"Was that magic?" Shirou asked. He knew of course that it was indeed magic. It's just that it's his first time seeing someone actually use a wand. He remembered Rin just throw gems or just make a 'gun' gesture with her fingers.

"Um…"

Tiffania nodded.

"I- I am a magician of the Void element." Said the elf.

Shirou who was new to that world did not understand the significance of what he just heard. However at the same time she said that, the new rune on Shirou's hand began to glow ominously. A hawk, which was supposed to be Sebastian's familiar, appeared and started pecking and scratching on the bandits.

"What the fu…! What is this?" One of the bandits cried as a big chunk of his flesh got ripped off by the hawk's unforgiving talons.

"I- Is this?" Shirou looked at his hand and noticed that a copy of the rune on his hand glowed on the head of the bird.

"Die you stupid bird!" One of the thugs who finally managed to get up took his Morningstar and attacked the hawk.

"Oh no, dodge it!" Shirou who saw the man aiming for the hawk cried as he prayed for the hawk to fly. To his surprise the hawk did as he imagined, almost as if it was following his commands. It dodged the attack and flew over their heads.

"I don't know what you did you bastards but don't think your pet chicken can help you!" A bandit stanced himself to attack.

"Wait they have a mage!" Another who was obviously worried about the magic that almost turned them into bits hesitated to attack.

"She will need time to use her incantations! We just need to attack them fast and relentless!" Replied the other bandit before screaming out another charge command.

"Damn it! Trace… On!" Shirou said out loud as he threw away the steel pipe. He didn't want to use this ability because he didn't want anything to lead to fatality. As much as possible, the justice he wanted to give the thugs was not death but repentance. However against eleven nasty men, even with the help of a beautiful busty mage and a hawk proved to be too much without his ability.

Two short swords appeared inside both of his hands. They were European short swords, the normal weaponry of the medeval ages. He thought about using his trademark weapons Kanshou and Bakuya but those two blades would almost mean death to anyone he accidentally stabs or slashes.

The bandits immediately paused after they saw the man conjure two killing weapons inside his hands. More than awed, they were afraid. Most of them denied it to themselves but they could feel that there's something different about the man in front of them compared to the boy that their boss massacred a few hours ago.

"H-How did he…?" One of the bandits began doubling back in fear.

"Don't run away you shameful rats! He's only one! So what if he took out two swords from his secret pockets? Haven't we seen better tricks?" The bandit who seemed to act as their current leader persuaded them to stand their ground.

"I do not wish to feed the rich soil of these parts with your blood. So please give up as soon as you feel like dying!" Shirou's attitude seemed to change as soon as he traced the swords. He charged in with an angry roar as he prepared to clash swords with his opponents.

Shirou's style was never elegant to begin with so his game plan was to beat them up until they're out cold or nearly dying. This is most seen in how he dealt with the first unfortunate bandit that met his blade. Without waiting for the thug to strike, Shirou swung down his sword aimed at the man's left collarbone. This prompted the man to defend himself with his small axe. Between the blades of a short sword and a small axe the bigger and sturdier axe usually prevails but to everyone's surprise the axe's blade broke into chunks of metal, like how cookies crumble. Without anything to defend him, his face met with Shirou's fist. The bandits behind were forced to dodge the body of their own member who was sent flying in one blow.

Undeterred by their comrades folly the bandits only paused for a moment then continued their attack. To them, it was only a matter of time before they wear the man down. When that happens they'll have more children to sell and one hot girl to molest.

This time his opponent is a rugged man with a huge five feet axe. The blade of the axe was three feet wide and at least ten centimeters thick. The man swung his axe horizontally at Shirou's face. Shirou tried to stop the axe with one sword but the heavy blade of that axe proved to be too much. His sword shattered and his body was sent spinning in position because of the force. After rotating three hundred and sixty degrees, everybody was surprised to see a new sword in his hand where his broken sword used to be. It's not like he switched the other sword from his left hand to his right hand, there was literally a new sword in his right. Furthermore this sword is not a short sword but a more refined Damascus Sword.

Shirou used his newly projected Damascus Sword to crush the center of the axe's blade. What was left of the axe was its wooden hold which too was cut by the short sword in Shirou's other hand. Unwilling to give up the man tried to tackle Shirou and dived to grab Shirou by his waist. He expected to land on the ground with the boy under him and he will be in a position for a ground and pound. What he did not expect is that the boy's body felt almost like steel. It was as if he dived unto a concrete wall. Needless to say, he ricocheted back which gave Shirou the opening to attack. The Damascus sword cut diagonally from the man's left waist to his right shoulder and sent him flying a meter back where the other bandits had their mouths dropped wide open.

"The feeling of cutting human flesh… I can never get used to it!" Shirou grunted. He had a sincere look of displeasure on his face. Even after fighting servants, church executioners and mages he still cringes every time he takes the blood of others it didn't matter if they were dead or alive.

"H- He's a devil run!" One of the bandits finally broke upon seeing a stronger comrade fall so easily in front of the red haired familiar.

"You idiot come back!" Their current leader tried to reach out for his fleeing member but it was too late. The scream of the man reached the ears of similar and weaker members who too dropped their blades and stumbled away running. In just an instant their number was reduced to seven.

"Naudiz Isaz Ehwaz"

An incantation echoed from behind Shirou. It was Tiffania who was already nearly finished with her spell.

"Hagalaz Yr Beorc" She continued to chant until the seven remaining bandits finally noticed her.

"W-what is she doing?" One bandit panicked as he saw the maiden's eyes closed as if she was heavily concentrating on a highly offensive spell.

"No matter! Aim for the children! That's their weakness!" Finally, their current leader figured out the best method of subduing Shirou and Tiffania: through the little elven children.

"Damn it you bastards!" Shirou cursed as the bandits dispersed to take attack the children from all sides.

"Nyd Is Algiz." Tiffania continued to chant despite the bandits' actions.

"Don't mind her! Go get a child!" Their leader ordered.

"I won't let you!" Shirou dashed for the bandit who was closest to an orphan then swung his sword diagonally upwards. The thug's right arm which was reaching for a girl's shoulder flew thirty meters above everybody and landed eight feet away on the ground. The man screamed in pain as he fell on the ground grasping his severed arm.

"Gotcha!" One of the hooligans managed to get pass Shirou who hasn't recovered from attacking one of them and reached out for Tiffania. The logic was simple really, he thought that if he could catch the mage, then he could stop her spell.

"Tiffania!" Shirou shouted to alert the elf of her attacker. The elf however was motionless as she was still busy with her spell. As a desperate effort to save the maiden, Shirou threw both of his swords at the bandit. His Damascus pierced the right side waist of the thug while his short sword pierced through the man's knee. The man fell on the dirt bleeding from his waist and leg and his cries filled the place.

"You fool! You left yourself defenseless!" The man who seemed to lead the bandits took the opportunity to blindside the weaponless Shirou.

The acting leader's weapon was a jeweled short saber. Its silver blade is said to repel creatures of the night while its hilt was almost golden. This weapon came from a wealthy noble who was unfortunate enough to pass along the way. Why is a simple member using such an exquisite weapon you ask? In a thieves' guild or a bandit's troupe there are still rules and regulations no matter how lawless they are. In this bandit's band a member can trade anything for anything to anyone including their leader. It just so happened that this one managed to kidnap a girl who suited the taste of the big boss of the gang and he traded her for the blade.

Between a thrust and a slash, a thrust is always harder to dodge simply because you can't always tell the exact distance between you and the enemy. If you dodge too soon then they can simply change the direction of their thrust and you will be off balanced to do anything. If you dodge too late then you'll have holes in your body and you'll start sprouting out jam. A thrust is what this bandit decided on.

It was a swift thrust aimed at Shirou's heart. Truly it would be a certain kill if it succeeds. The acting leader had both of his hands around the hilt of the saber. This way, he'll have more leverage and his weight will pin down the red head in case he's still alive. A few seconds ago, Shirou could have easily counter attacked with his dual swords but now that he's unarmed he only had few choices to choose from. The bandit knew these choices. He could either, dodge left, dodge right, bend his knees and dodge below and the worst of all is to leap back. The acting leader has anticipated all of those mentioned above and he had scenarios planned in his mind for each.

Shirou could see the blade near him. Halfway through, he did what the bandit did not think of. He raised his hand and blocked the saber with his palm. About three centimeters of the saber's tip passed through his flesh and 'THUNK' something rung. It was the sound of metal colliding against metal. Shirou had no protection around his palm and the blood rushing it is a testament of that but it is also apparent that the saber's tip has not penetrated his palm completely. In fact when the bandit pulled it out of Shirou's wound the tip was horribly bent as if something sturdier pounded it.

"W-What are you? Do you have metal inside your body?" The acting leader panicked as he saw Shirou shrug the wound off.

Shirou did not bother answering that question. Right now there were other members of that bandit band who are relentlessly going after Tiffania and the children. He needed to act as fast as possible.

"Huwarah!" Shouted Shirou. He projected Kanshou in his wounded hand and slashed at the chest of the bandit. The wound was deep enough to make the bearded thug fall on his butt but wasn't deep enough to make him unconscious or take his life.

"You're a demon!" The man on the floor shouted.

"Drop the sword!" Another bandit cried out. This one had a crying orphan girl inside his arms.

"You coward!" Grunted Shirou who had his sword fixated on the fallen bandit's neck.

"You heard him! Drop it or the girl dies!" The acting leader was happy to see one of his comrades succeed in taking a hostage. He was sure that he was about to pee his pants from Kanshou trailing his neck.

Shirou gritted his teeth in anger. He remembered some words said to him by someone before. Sacrifice one to save ten, ten to save hundreds, hundreds to save thousands and thousands to save hundred thousands. Will he need to make the painful choice of igniting the first link of that chain? He knew that if he dropped his sword now then the other children and Tiffania will suffer the consequences.

"Drop it or-…! Huh?" The bandit tried to shout again but a thin layer of mist began to appear that covered the entire area.

"Berkanan Man Laguz!" Tiffania uttered and shouted the final words of her spell.

The air around the bandits distorted. The thug holding the orphan released the girl as if he was in a trance then sent her off with her friends behind Tiffania and Shirou. It wasn't only him the other five remaining bandits had their mouths open as if their minds were forcefully taken away from their body. Only the acting leader who was lying on the ground was still conscious.

"W-What's going on? What did you do to them?" The acting leader shouted at Tiffania who walked close to Shirou and the fallen thug.

"This is the spell I usually use to erase the memories of travelers who lose their way in the forest and accidentally come across our village. With proper usage I can also use it like this."

Tiffania explained.

"I guess the reason why Mr. Bandit still has his consciousness is because of the pain caused by the wound on his chest which is making it harder for my spell to take control." Tiffania pointed at the horizontal slash on the man which stretched from his left armpit to his right bottom ribs.

"Hwoah… you saved us Big Sister!" One of the children hugged Tiffania by the waist from behind. He was trembling in relief.

Shirou smiled and eased his grip around his Kanshou. He felt relieved that he didn't have to sacrifice the life of an innocent girl to save the many.

"You will take us to your hide out…" Shirou pressed the sharp edge of the Kanshou on the acting leader's neck. He whined and yelped in fear as Shirou knelt down to interrogate him closer.

"Please let me do this Mr. Shirou. I always hesitated to use my magic but to save the children, I will have Mr. Bandit here lend me his mind and body temporarily."

Tiffania knelt and raised her wand at the bandit. She started chanting the same chant she used before with the tip of her wand concentrated on the man's forehead.

"Because I'm using it on a single person. The effects of this spell might be stronger. Please don't die Mr. Bandit." She said before she continued the chant.

"N-N-Noooooooooo!" The bandit shrieked as his body started to get numb the image of the girl started to fade from his mind.

Five hours later, in the same village, Bazett who was still wearing her red mask and cape, and the old man have arrived to witness the scene of carnage. Five men were drooling unconscious on the ground. Now that it's daytime it's apparent that burnt wood were scattered everywhere and the confetti, banner papers and other party making items were flying around. It was obvious that the village was purposely engulfed in flames not too long ago and the most worrying part of the scene is the blood splattered on some parts of the ground. Even some of the unconscious thugs had shallow wounds on them.

"T-Those are…" The old man immediately recognized the men. Some of them were a part of the party that ambushed them two days ago.

"They are the lowlife bandits you speak of, correct?" Bazett went near the man and knelt on one knee to check on his condition.

"W-Where is my son?"

The man panicked and frantically tried to look for his son Sebastian amongst the fallen men. He turned them over, kicked them off and even tried shouting at one to find his son.

"Where are the children? Where's my son? Where have you taken them you sons of bitches!" He angrily screamed at one ruffian whose collar he had his hands on. That thug had his eyes wide opened while seemingly asleep. He almost looked as if he was dead.

"Calm down old man I think these men are in some sort of spell."

Bazett tapped the old man by his shoulders and took her turn to examine the bandit.

"Yes. I'm sure now. This is an enchantment. He's still alive and breathing. Whatever magic that was casted took the control of his brain away from him." Bazett concluded as she let go of the man and left him to fall on the ground.

"I- I know! This must be the work of my son! He was practicing magic. That son of mine… He always wanted to be an outstanding mage." The old man smiled and grinned. He looked sure that it was his son that caused these men to be in the way they are but in truth he was just convincing himself that Sebastian was still alright, that he beat his attackers with magic.

Bazett looked at the old man by the side of her eye. She knew that the old man could not afford to send his son to a good magical academy and that his son had only trained for a short time, not enough to be able to use of a spell of that caliber. She allowed the man to keep this way of thinking if only to calm him down.

"Mmm! Mmf! Mmm!" Muffled groans could be heard from the top of what seemed to be a small tower. Bazett took notice of it immediately and climbed the tower. There, she saw a man bound by rope and gagged.

"Have you found anything?" The old man asked from below the tower.

"There's another one here! He's still conscious." Bazett replied before taking the man by his collar and jumped down with him without using the fragile stairs. She threw the man on the ground where he whimpered and squirmed.

"This is good. Maybe we can ask him where the children are." The old man hurried to remove the scarf that was restraining the man from speaking. Upon having his gag removed the thug took a deep breath and gasped.

"You cowards! Untie me this instant or I swear I will have my brothers take your heads!" The bandit threatened the two as if he did not notice the unconscious bodies of his 'brothers'.

"Is that right?"

Bazett approached the man and knelt down on one knee to talk to him.

"Maybe I want to meet these 'brothers' of yours. Are they with the children you kidnapped?" She asked as she leaned over to hear the man better.

"J-Just who do you think you are? Hiding yourself behind that mask! Untie me and show your face! Then we'll see just how brave you are!" The bandit tried to provoke Bazett over and over.

"Oh? Are you saying that if I win then you'd tell me everything?" Bazett smiled a bit. She found the idea quite interesting.

"M-Miss don't do anything careless now. You may be Miss Archerko's body guard but these are blood thirsty killers!" The old man warned Bazett.

"I'll keep that in mind." The enforcer nodded before untying the captive man. Almost immediately the man cartwheeled away and back-flipped before picking up a saber on the ground.

"You're going to regret it now!" The man seemed to stretch and limber up as if to awaken his sleeping muscles which were numb from being tied up for so long.

"I'm impressed. You seemed like the lazy type." Bazett touched her wrist as if she was fixing her glove.

"Hah! In our band I'm considered as one of the fastest! Now I'll show you how we bandits instill fear on our victims!"

This man felt the wind on his face as he charged towards the enforcer. His aim was to slice the soft spots a cut above the back of her feet. That way she'd lose control of them and fall of balance. Then from there he'd torture her and humiliate her before killing her. He was pretty confident about his speed and agility; halfway through his charge he began ducking low to maneuver himself beneath and behind the enforcer. With his speed the masked girl seemed unmoving, or so he thought. She did seem unmoving simply because she wasn't moving. As he reached behind his target he found her looking at her sideways as if she allowed him reach that position.

"You…" The man took another huge leap sideways to repeat his maneuver. He did not bother to look at her this time for he knew how many steps it'd take to get behind her. When he finally got to his target point he prepared use his saber but to his surprise Bazett was already facing him. It was almost like she was already standing like that before he even made his move.

"I'm sorry but I have faced more impressive cunning tactics before." Said the enforcer. She casually reached out for the man's forehead. The bandit did not move as Bazett's glove touched his skin. No, he couldn't move, for at that time he was completely engulfed in Bazett's fighting pressure. In every fight, fighters emit energies that intimidate their opponents consciously or unconsciously. Some people refer to this as aura, chi, martial energy or even spiritual pressure. However despite the many names, this is simply the combination of talent and experiences in battle. For those who are especially experienced, this manifests into an unexplainable energy that can affect the will of their foes.

Bazett grasped the man by his forehead. She was gentle but also merciless. She applied enough pressure to cause the man severe headaches but not enough to crush his skull. The man screamed in terror as he felt his brain melt by the sheer power of the enemy before him. It was only a matter of three seconds before he fell face first on the ground unconscious.

"Oh damn… I forgot that we had to question him." Bazett gasped as she noticed that the man was no longer conscious at the tip of her boots.

"M-Miss behind you!" The old man shouted.

Like a butterfly mistakenly landing in a Venus Fly Trap, the blade of a short sword wielded by another bandit was caught inside the skillful fingers of the enforcer. She caught the blade between her middle finger and point finger while her hand was still half closed.

"I-Impossible!" Said this other bandit. This bandit was the man who was interrogated by a certain read haired familiar. He was put to sleep with a choke and just woke up to this fight. Using his comrade as bait, he planned on backstabbing the masked person and take the glory for himself. Unfortunately, right now he's facing someone he thinks of as a demon who just caught his swing so easily.

"Another one… I hope you'll be more cooperative." Said Bazett as she pulled the blade down. The bandit let go his sword as soon as he was convinced that he was not even worth the dirt under her feet.

"I- I concede." Said the bandit with a crest fallen face. He was utterly humiliated but still he was thankful that he had a choice to give up. He knew that further resistance would only lead to pain if not death.

"Where are the children? You are going to take us to them." Bazett said with authority as she lifted the man up to his feet.

It was an hour ago when a blue haired girl and a blue haired man were tasked to join together to scout the land of what probably will be a battle zone. These people are no other than Tabitha and Chuchulain of the Lancer class. Though Lancer is not a familiar of Tabitha, as the chevalier had her own familiar dragon, Bazett had ordered him to look after the blue haired nymphet. Using Sylphid , Tabitha's blue dragon, they flew together to scout the terrain and the road to their group's destination.

It hasn't been thirty minutes since they departed and they have yet to see anything peculiar. They focused on the road of dirt that branched throughout the forests. They had to find the best path to their destination and Tabitha was there to look for it. There were very little road signs and since it's really early in the morning they could see very few people traveling.

"It looks clear." Lancer gave his input while using his servant eyes that could magnify his vision to the point that he could see someone's nipples from a kilometer away.

"Um…" Tabitha was as silent as usual and just nodded. She had ordered her dragon to pass them by certain areas which looked suspicious. There essentially were three points she wanted to check: the waterfalls near east, a camp filled with carts and carriages on the center of the way north and a huge tree located at the west.

"Seriously why can't I go with Archerko in that party…"

Lancer sighed. He could imagine Archerko dancing for the children and guests in the birthday party she was invited to. He would give anything to see that.

"N-Not that I dislike being with you Tabitha, I mean you're cute and all but Archerko is…"

Lancer apologized and tried to have a casual talk with Tabitha. He stopped talking after he noticed Tabitha's unchanging expression.

"You know you need to talk more. You're cute when silent and all but sometimes people just want to see you smile."

Lancer sighed. Then, he suddenly got a smirk on his face while he sheepishly wrapped his hands around the blue mage's waist.

"I'll get you to react, one way or another."

Lancer said this in a flirtatious tone. Tabitha still had her unchanging expression on her face as Lancer groped her waist and steadily creeping up near her chest.

"Let's see what little Tabitha has in… wait…"

Lancer reached 'that' sensitive part of the girl's small body. As a result, for the first time ever, the blue haired mage gave out a soft yelp.

"There's nothing in here… are you wearing some sort of corset or ah!"

As soon as Lancer made that rude comment towards the flat chested mage he found himself hanging on the dragon's foot while the dragon continuously tried to shake him off. Tabitha's face was a little red as she paid no attention to her passenger who was on the verge of doom.

"Ah! Y-You're seriously after my life you stupid dragon! Tabitha tell this guy to let me on!" Lancer requested of the ice mage as he squirmed with his legs as he hanged on for dear life.

"Let him on." Tabitha caressed the dragon's back after she gave the command. Sylphid stopped shaking the blue haired man off her and started flying steadily enough for him to climb on. Lancer was gasping hard and out of breath when he got on. He had a terrified look on his face, the same look he had when Hercules the Berserker used him as 'Blue Lancer' the anti-Archer weapon.

"Geez you're one protective dragon aren't you?" Lancer scratched the back of his head lazily. He was feeling a little resentful about it but it was his fault anyway.

Taking the incident aside they carried on with their mission. The point on the plane they now wanted to check was the ominous tree in the west. It's not too far from the fastest and safest route to their group's destination so Tabitha had placed that place in her priorities.

The tree looked incredible. It was huge, bigger than the other trees in the area. It stood magnificently amongst the other trees and plants. Normally one would be astounded of its glory and sing praises of its might but no matter how impressive it was, something felt off about the tree. Tabitha and Lancer frowned at the purple mist surrounding the tree. The mist extended to that road that they planned on taking and they were worried about it.

"That mist is not normal. I can sense something evil from it." Chuchulain clicked his tongue. In his previous life, no not his life as a servant, but rather his life as a demi-god, he had encountered different varieties of poison and the mist exhibited some similar traits of those he encountered.

Tabitha had the dragon fly around it while being careful not to come near the ominous mist.

"Tabitha there's a house on top of that hill. Maybe we can ask the residents there about the tree." Lancer pointed at a shack on top of a small hill a kilometer away east from the tree. Tabitha nodded and had Sylphid fly them there.

Upon reaching the hill, it became clearer that the shack wasn't really a shack but a descent sized house. It even had two stories but something about it made it look like a shack. It was worn down and looked really old. The door was closed yet it was tilted adjacently that if you're tall enough you can peep through the big crack. The windows were in fine condition but they were so dusty that it's opaque. The walls were almost rotten that if you punctured it you'd probably find a fat and juicy worm living inside them.

"Excuse me is anybody home?" Lancer knocked for Tabitha. Taking Tabitha's attitude to consideration he felt that he had to take charge.

It took approximately thirty seconds and Lancer almost gave up after calling four times before an old woman opened the door for them. The old man looked as if she was in her seventies, she had her white hair tied in a knot and her back was curved to the point that her body was disfigured. She wore big glasses that tells anyone that met her that she was nearly going blind.

"E-Excuse me ma'am but, we're travelers and we just want to ask, what's the story with that tree?" Lancer asked the old lady. He felt awkward because being surrounded mostly by beautiful girls have taken away his ability to socialize with other women, including old women.

"Ah? That tree you ask?"

The old woman turned her head to the tree nearly a kilometer away from them. It was so big that it was still clearly visible from there including the mist that it was generating.

"Why would you inquire of such a silly thing?" The old woman asked with a disgusted sounding voice. It was as if she was scolding stubborn children.

"W-well, we were thinking of traveling to the capital of Albion but we were worried about that mist so we wondered if you could tell something about it." Lancer replied. He tried his best to sound polite despite the rude impression the old woman gave him.

"Is that right?"

The old woman placed her old and wrinkled hands on her chin. She looked at Lancer then turned to Tabitha.

"Isn't she a little too young?" Said the old woman.

"A little too young?" Lancer was confused. He did not know on what the old woman was talking about.

"Aren't you a bunch of elopers who want to try their luck in the capital? Kids these days." The old woman sneered and clicked her tongue with utter disappointment in her voice.

"W-We're not like that."

Lancer immediately denied the accusation.

"We're only a part of our group. We came here to check ahead." Lancer explained. He was careful not to say any unnecessary information that would put their mission in danger.

"A group you say?"

Once again the old woman turned to Tabitha and placed her hand on her chin.

"Shameful of you to put such a fine young lady into such humiliation. You would do her in a group? For shame!" The old lady gave a disgusted gasp and jeered the former demi-god.

"N-Now listen here you old witch!"

Lancer snarled but the blue haired mage suddenly stepped forward.

"We are here on an expedition for the capital to bring urgent news to his majesty. Please answer our inquiry." Tabitha said in such a formal manner that it melted the ears of the Blue Haired Servant.

"Oh… the noble tongue, someone of noble lineage? Has someone finally come to save this part of this poor country?"

The old woman sighed in relief before smiling.

"Then why didn't you say so? Come in let's have tea." The granny allowed the two in and offered them a seat on the dusty sofa before heading to the kitchen to make tea.

"So you talk from time to time too…" Lancer smiled at Tabitha who didn't return the favor. That did not stop Lancer from putting his hand on the girl's head and patting it like he would a cute puppy.

It only took a couple of minutes before the granny returned with a tray of tea and bread on her hands. Her hands were shaking terribly while she made her way to the two.

"Ah, please let me help you with that granny." Lancer stood up and offered his help.

"Don't try to sweet talk me you perverted pedophile!" Shouted the old woman.

"This old fart…" Lancer groaned to himself as he kept his anger contained.

"Now my dear, you wanted to inquire about that tree?" The old lady asked as she served the tea to her visitors.

Tabitha nodded as she took a zip from a cup of tea. Lancer did not dare utter a word for he was worried that he would trigger the grannie to make another false comment.

"To tell you truth that tree appeared just recently, just three months ago." The old lady started.

"Three months ago? But it's already that huge!" Lancer couldn't help himself but to be surprised. Trees don't grow that fast and that big in over just three months. He thought that it would be something ancient.

"Uhmhm. The locals said that they saw a man in green enter the forest before that tree suddenly appeared. At first they were greatly amused but the tree started releasing that vile purple mist." The grannie looked beyond the window as if she was reminiscing.

"So it is poisonous…" Lancer groaned to have his worries proven. He would have preferred it if the old lady said that it was safe.

"That part of the forest used to be filled with life but now look at it. Only plants grow there and no more people nor animals dare go in. Those who take in a certain amount of that mist just pass out. In only a matter of hours their health falters and it wouldn't take them a day to die." The granny continued to share her stories of the tree. She shared the experiences and rumors she has heard about people affected by the mist.

"Granny you said 'a certain amount', does that mean we don't get affected immediately?" Lancer asked. Tabitha looked like it was the same question she wanted to ask the old lady too.

"You have brains after all. Yes, after inhaling the mist continuously for a few minutes you will begin to feel nauseated. That's your cue to leave, or you will find yourself unconscious if not dead." The old lady warned.

"That's troubling…" Lancer had his arms crossed. This matter is a serious one. They only had a week at most to finish their mission and this was the fastest route. If they did not want war to break out they will have to find a way to bypass the tree or deal with it.

"If only someone could destroy that huge abomination for us…"

The old lady sighed.

"Because of that tree, people from the capital have stopped coming so the villages nearby are suffering because they're not getting rations and other help from the capital. It would do us good to have that tree disappear…" The old lady looked very sad as she said this. It was as if she lost someone in that mist that her hatred for the tree was unbearable.

"I see… Tabitha let's go we have the information we need. Thanks a lot granny!" Lancer waved and bowed before taking Tabitha outside who too bowed respectfully to the old lady who helped them.

Outside the house, the granny saw them off as they got on Sylphid and headed towards the tree. The old lady asked them to be careful but Lancer replied that she shouldn't worry about them.

"Tabitha can you hover us steadily above that tree from a safe vertical distance?" Lancer asked the ice mage. He had a confident look on his face, it was obvious that this blue Lancer had a plan.

Tabitha nodded and had Sylphid do exactly that. The dragon hovered a safe distance away from the tree, far enough from the mist but near enough for Lancer's taste.

"I was planning this from the beginning but I was a bit worried. But now I'm sure."

Lancer raised his hand and inside it a red spear appeared. A spear so red that it looked like solidified blood manifested in steel. Like how most athletes throw their javelins, he raised it and pulled it back while aiming at the roots of the tree.

"Now, flying spear of d-…!"

Before Lancer could say his noble phantasm's move two arrows swiftly rocketed towards him. Using his spear, he blocked knocked the arrows away.

"Who in the world?" Lancer checked to see who was capable of firing arrows at him from such a distance. To his surprise, someone standing on a branch of that tree was an archer wearing green tights. That archer had his bow aimed at him and had a smirk on his face almost as if he was taunting Lancer to come to him.

"I guess he's the man dressed in green who grew this tree…" Said Lancer as he prepared to battle the archer. He was calculating his chances. He was not sure if that man was a normal man or someone close to his caliber. Whatever the case, that archer seemed to be immune to the mist and it's all too apparent that Lancer wasn't. He'd be diving into a pool of crocodiles if he decided to fight on that man's level.

Before Lancer could make a decision the Archer fired another arrow at him. This time it was aimed at the dragon Sylphid. Tabitha had the dragon evade the attack while Lancer jumped to catch the arrow. The falling Lancer was caught by Sylphid before he could get near the mist.

"As I thought… this arrow is made of Yew… and that's the Yew tree… Yew Arrow… Yew Tree… Dressed in Green… Forest… The only thing missing is to name this place Sherwood Forest. You're him aren't you? Robin Hood?" Lancer shouted the name of his enemy before preparing a fighting stance on Sylphid's back.

Let's move three hours forward in time, when the enforcer Bazett and the old man were finally close on the trail of the bandit's hideout. In front of them was their captive, leading the way to the place. Bazett did not bother tying him up because he was already restrained by the fear of her. This middle aged bandit knew that if he tried to escape he'd be caught in no time and his life will certainly hang in the balance.

"We should pick up the pace. You said that the bandit boss is planning on selling some of the children right?" Bazett patted the bandit's shoulder from behind.

"Y-yes I'm sorry!" Almost as if it was the king that commanded him, he immediately hastened his pace of walking while buckets of sweat trailed his face.

"This hideout of yours… what is it like? Do you keep your prisoners tide up like dogs? You scums! I lost my daughter years ago to people like you! I'm happy to know that my son beat the hell out of you guys!" The old man asked while trying to keep up with Bazett and their prisoner.

"Your son?" The bandit had a confused look on his face as if he heard the silliest thing ever.

"Yeah! He's the one who knocked all you pathetic failures in that village! I bet he's the one who choked you out!" The old man sneered as he mocked the bandit.

"Heh, your boy was-…!" Before the captive could tell the man the truth he was nudged hard by Bazett on the back.

"Keep walking." Commanded Bazett.

That simple nudge easily put the prisoner in his place. It was as if Bazett frankly told him 'to shut up or die' about the topic. For now he'll just have to put up with the old man's provocations. Although he could hardly believe that this was the same old man that scolded his son Sebastian a few days ago for being too hot headed.

It didn't take too long and they were greeted by an unusual scene. In a clearing an hour away from the village, was a small camp. They could tell because of the blankets and other things that were there. The camp looked deserted but the burnt wood on the ground which probably served as the campfire told Bazett that it was extinguished not too long ago.

"People were here recently." Said Bazett as she went ahead to check the camp for anything useful.

"T-That's impossible, the boss left long before we went to sleep." The thug replied. It's estimated to be about 12 hours since their boss left and it's impossible that it would be them who left that camp which was vacated just about an hour ago.

"Whoever were here they have not gone far. If I'm correct, if we hurry now we might catch up to them if they're heading the same direction." Bazett gave the bandit another nudge. This was the signal for him to continue on and hasten his pace.

The bandit wasted no time. It was easy leading the way because the bushes on the roads have already been cleared as if someone meant to have them removed earlier. Bazett easily kept up with the captive but the old man was trailing a few meters away from them. The enforcer made sure to leave twigs and even left indications on some of the trees to make sure that the old man followed. These signs will also be Archerko's guide if in case she followed them.

"The forest here is getting thicker! Are you sure he's not leading us to the wrong direction?" The oldman was skeptical about the bandit leading them.

"Bandit hideouts, murderer secret houses or thieves' guilds are usually hidden aren't they? I am not surprised. Also, if this man knows what's good for him, he wouldn't dare lead us to a trap." Bazett said this with a little murderous intent which made the thug beside him take a gulp of saliva down his throat.

"I- I assure you we're going the right way." The bandit did his best to convince the two.

Thirty minutes later they arrived in a small clearing. The clearing was filled with fallen leaves that covered the ground entirely.

"We're almost there; this was usually easy with mules and horses." The bandit panted as he tried to catch his breath while leaning down.

"Get back." Whispered Bazett.

"Huh?" The bandit wondered. He just received command from his captor to get back.

"Get back if you don't want to die." Ordered Bazett again. This time the bandit did as he was told and took five steps back.

From behind the bushes just ahead of them something brown and big leapt towards them. It had huge fangs and its entire body was covered in fur. It was a brown grizzly bear charging at them with its claws and teeth bared at them. Bazett was surprised not because it was a bear but because of what it had that made it different, a pink rune on its forehead. The enforcer placed her right palm on the bear's head and stopped it from its charge. As a result of their collision the ground beneath Bazett slid back until it rose to look like a small hump in the forest.

"I-It's a monster bear!" Cried the bandit, as if they couldn't already tell.

"Bears… humans… they will all perish when I rip their heart out!" Using her free hand, she made a fist with it and had one rune on her glove increase her strength. The punch was so strong that it created a shockwave that passed the bear and swept even the leaves behind it to fly over them.

Despite the power of the punch the bear only slid back and tumbled once before getting back up poised to strike.

"You clearly are not a normal bear are you?" Said Bazett. From the tone of her voice, it was clear that she was a little happy to be presented such a challenge after the pathetic fights she had awhile ago. It was obvious to her that she would need to get a little serious against this animal if she wanted to leave with the old man and her captive alive.

Just as she was getting ready to focus on the bear, an angry snarl echoed from the top of the trees. A black cat like creature that was very similar to a leopard pounced at Bazett from the top of a fifteen feet tall tree. It sank its teeth in Bazett's arms but the enforcer was quick enough to knock it away with a back fist before it could do some real damage.

The enforcer, as her usual self, took the initiative to attack even after getting slightly bitten. She used one foot to launch herself at the bear immediately closing their gap. She already had her right fist charge up ready to fertilize the soil there with the bear's bloody vomit.

Just before her punch connected. Something flew beside her that made her immediately leap back and dodge. They were two shortswords that flew from behind the bushes aimed at her. From that same bush, a man fully clothed in leather armor and leather helmet appeared with a long sword in his hand. He was confidently shouting while sprinting at Bazett.

Bazett met that man with the same amount of confidence and leapt forward. When the man swung his blade at her she feinted sideways and knocked the blade off course with a tap of the back of her fist. Then she countered with a palm thrust straight at his heart. The man used his remaining blade's side to cover his chest and protect himself from the thrust. The sound of vibrating steel echoed throughout the forest as the man was knocked back three meters away from the enforcer.

"She blocked that guy's blade with her fist and that guy blocked her fist with his blade. This is amazing!" Said the bandit who couldn't help but be amazed at what he sees. He has never seen such high level fights before inside the bandit guild.

"Sometimes I wonder if she's really just a bodyguard." The old man said.

Both the fighters did not bother waiting for each other, as if they were in a time limit, both of them charged again both aiming to end the fight early. The man threw one of his blades straight at Bazett to pierce her chest. It wasn't a bad throw and the aim was dead on but for the enforcer it was easy to make a simple sidestep and avoid the attack. Using the same momentum, she spun around and prepared a fist aimed at crushing the enemy's intestines. She imbued her glove with the power of a rune to increase penetration for she anticipated that the man will use his remaining blade to block again.

The enforcer's predictions are usually on the spot, but this time she was far off from the truth. Instead of blocking, the man accepted her fist willingly to strike his abdomen and wrapped his hands around her arm before her punch could dig in deeper. A shockwave erupted behind the man from the force of this encounter but the man was still standing. There were some blood coming out from his stomach but it was nothing more than flesh wound.

What came next was out of Bazett's realm of expectations. The black jaguar that attacked her reappeared holding the sword the boy threw between its teeth. Almost as if it was a part of the man's body, it precisely sliced through Bazett's upper leg. The cut was no more than four inches long but the blade did go through her leg which meant a tissue was cleanly severed.

Bazett, however, was a trained soldier. Cuts of the sort were already a part of her training. Even if her limbs were removed or her internal organs were jumbled she would still be able to fight on until the last breath escapes her lungs. A simple cut like this only slowed her down but not stop her. Before the jaguar and the man could do anything more she pushed forward and struck the man's bleeding abdomen with an elbow crash. This sent the man flying, yet still the man managed to get up immediately while Bazett leaped back to tend to her wound.

"Is this man your comrade? He's awfully good!" The old man asked the bandit beside him.

"N-No I don't recognize him at all." The bandit replied. If it was one of their comrades he was confident that he'd be able to immediately tell.

Just as it seemed that they were in a stalemate. The man uttered two words that changed the flow of battle.

"Trace… On!" A huge long sword appeared inside the man's hands after it shined a few seconds of golden light.

"T-This is!" Bazett gasped as she recognized that form of magic. She is all too aware of it for she has seen it countless of times in her own world and in this world. The power that surpasses Gradation Air: tracing. As the sword was made not by Gradation Air but by tracing the enforcer knew that the sword was not a normal sword. She immediately had her runic defenses up as the man prepared to attack.

The man roared valiantly as he charged towards The Answerer. His vertical swing was met by Bazett's runic barriers on her gloves. She was literally blocking a blade's edge with both of her fists coated by an invisible magical barrier.

"This is my win Slaver-san!"

The man spoke for the first time in this battle. He continued to Push Bazett forward who kept defending with her rune barrier.

"Do it now! Tiffania!" Shouted Shirou.

Immediately after Shirou screamed, an elven girl appeared from the bushes with her wand held high. Apparently she was preparing the same void spell she used against the bandits to use against the person they thought to be a slaver. It was unfortunate but the old man was too far back for her to notice for if she did then this battle would never have happened. But it was too late, she has casted the void spell that altered, changed and control memories to the extent of mind control. The air around Shirou, Bazett, the bandit and the old man distorted.

Those who had weak will immediately drooled and fainted. Shirou who was never a target of the spell to begin with was fine but Bazett who was considered as an enemy showed signs of fatigue as her brain battled with Tiffania's spell.

"S-So this is the spell that…" Bazett ended the clash with Shirou's blade and leapt back while clutching her head. She could literally feel Tiffania enter her mind. She grunted and shouted in pain as she started losing control of herself. Everything was beginning to get dark until another voice echoed throughout the forest.

"Dispel!" Shouted the new comer. The voice was coming from above.

A pink flash of ray seemed to crash to the ground from the sky and formed waves and ripples as it met the forest floor. Bazett felt freed and her mind went clear as the pink light eradicated the distortions in the air. The mist from Tiffania's spell was also vanquished and the forest looked clear once more.

From the sky, two masked girls could be seen floating, no, riding a floating sword. One of them had pink hair and held a wand while another one who was carrying the pink haired girl had silver hair while wearing a cabby hat. Both of them wore similar luxurious outfits as Bazett minus the cape. Shirou and Tiffania had their mouths wide opened as they felt a new kind of pressure fill their bodies.

The floating broad sword which the silver-haired stood on while holding the pink-haired like a princess started to fall down directly on Shirou. The red-haired familiar leaped back to avoid getting pinned to the ground by the blade of the giant sword. The leaves on the forest floor were all scattered as a blast of wind erupted in waves from the point where the sword landed. After the leaves have fallen and everything was clear Shirou found the silver haired girl standing on the hilt of that sword while the pink haired girl rushed to the enforcer's side.

"You guys finally arrived." Said Bazett as she laid her head on Louise's lap.

"Are you okay? We're sorry it was very hard to find you in this thick wilderness, even if we were searching from above." Louise apologized. She was sincerely worried about Bazett who looked like she was about to faint.

"B-Be careful… they're not normal… they're strong…" those were the last words Bazett uttered before she succumbed to fatigue due to the power of the void spell earlier. She won against Tiffania's control but in doing so she was over-exhausted mentally and fainted on Louise's lap as a result.

"Nobody can beat me when I'm with Archerko. Please leave it to us." Louise assured the enforcer before Bazett slept. Louise laid Bazett's sleeping body on a pile of leaves before standing beside Archerko who jumped from the hilt of the sword to face the man and the blonde elf.

"Two on two? You're lacking a thousand more…" Archerko said these words cockily as she drew a sword from a sheath she took with her from the place she was staying. It was no other than her current favorite sword, Derflinger. Archerko's rune on her left hand began glowing a bright shade of blue the moment she held Derflinger with the intent to do battle.

"Let's do this aibo!" Derflinger said, he seemed very fired up for his first battle after weeks of rest.

"Get back Tiffania, this one's stronger than that other one," Shirou ordered the elf to move back further as he raised his runed hand which too started glowing along with the runes on the animals' foreheads which he had in control.

Archerko versus Shirou. The silver haired familiar was smiling as she met the red haired familiar's frown. Because Archerko wore an opera mask and Shirou wore a leather helmet that covered the entirety of his face, each knew of each other but each did not know they were fighting the other. Beside them were void magicians who knew different kinds of spells. Each of them owned a rune imbued to them by that world for simply being the familiar of their masters. One has the ability use all weapons with the highest proficiency while the other had utter dominance over all animals.

The leaves on the forest floor scattered once more as both the familiars dashed for each other while shouting. The jaguar and the bear aided Shirou and tried to receive Archerko but the girl just zigzagged her way past them. Without the animals to stand between them their blades clash for the first time, and that clash had a clear winner. Shirou's traced long sword immediately shattered upon contact with Derflinger which had the ability to counter most if not all magic. Shirou was stunned about this but he did not allow himself to show it and leapt back immediately to grab his short sword which was lying on the forest floor.

Archerko followed Shirou as he got up with his sword. She poised herself to stab his shoulder with Derflinger as he rose up but something got in her way. The hawk Sebastian previously owned entered the battle and dove for Archerko's face. It would have gotten her mask if she didn't dodge it and that would have ended the battle right there. But fortune would have it that she sensed the bird of prey coming and leapt back before it could strike.

Seeing the girl go on the defensive Shirou took his short sword and leaped at the counter-counter-guardian. Archerko easily blocked a jumping vertical strike from Shirou. But this time Shirou's blade did not shatter. The sword he was using was one of the swords he took from the bandits in the village. As it was not magical, Derflinger had no authority to crush it. That clash echoed ripples in the forest for it signaled the true start of their battle. Both of them pushed at each other and were forced to slide back beside their respective masters. Who will dominate as the Silver meets the Crimson Red?

At that same time blue and green were also at war as the blue Lancer prepares to have his spear go through the green Archer. That crimson spear he held truly was a weapon graced to kill, but everything, every class may it be Saber or Archer, Caster or Berserker, Assassin or Lancer, everyone is humbled by the Faceless King.

AN: andddddd that's it for this chapter

And also as mentioned in the review section here is Archerko's Servant status sheet

Archerko

Strength D

Endurence C

Agility B

Mana A+

Luck D

Noble Phantasm A++