Sella stared worriedly at her young charge as he shambled forward like a zombie and sat down at the table, grabbing the mug of coffee that she prepared for Liz.
She knew that her 'sister' would raise hell for losing her morning coffee to Shirou, but that was a thought for later.
For now, Sella concentrated more on the fact that the boy she had never seen fall sick was suddenly looking like death warmed over.
"Shirou? Are you alright?"
The boy's tired golden eyes turned to her as he gave a brittle smile.
"Yeah. Nothing to worry about. It's just nightmares."
"...You seem to be having more of them these days than ever before."
"Yeah. But like I said, nothing to worry about."
Sella was not convinced, but let it be, knowing how stubborn this boy was.
After all, she was there when Kiritsugu and Irisviel brought him home from that orphanage.
Back then, they all thought Irisviel was barren and could not have children due to her nature as a Homonculous created by the Einzbern, just like Sella and Liz were created by them. And given that Kitirtsugu had already annihilated the Einzbern by that point with the help of a few old allies and Irisviel, the possibility of them discovering a way to reverse that barren nature by interrogating any survivors was next to none.
Sella did not blame Kiritsugu for what happened. After all, any normal human would do the same in his place when they learn the truth of the monstrous deeds that the Einzberns did behind their guise as a family of mages with a connection to the Nose Pantheon. Not to mention that he was well within his rights to annihilate that accursed family after they took away Irisviel from him and wanted to turn her soul into a tool for advancing their magical arts due to the discovery of how unique Irisviel was compared to the rest of her fellow Homonculous.
Hell, there was a reason why the Norse Pantheon did not even send down a single Valkyrie to help out the Einzbern when Kiritsugu killed Jubstacheit von Einzbern, the head of the Einzbern, and proceeded to either kill or imprison the human mages while freeing the Homonculus, like Sella and Liz, who were treated like slaves most of the time by the humans of the Einzbern family.
It also did not help that the Einzbern provided their homunculus designs, which were originally derived from studying the body of the famous Norse hero, Siegfried, to the Church of the Christian faction, enraging the Norse Pantheon to no end.
Anyways, after that incident with the Einzbern, Irisviel spent a long time in depression, thinking that she would never have any children of her own, prompting Kiritsugu to look around and take his wife to pick up Shirou from that orphanage.
Then, a miracle happened, as a few years after Shirou walked into their lives, Irisviel became pregnant with Illya.
However, there was one thing that they all had long since noticed about Shirou.
Shirou Emiya was not a normal child. It was a fact that they were all aware of from the very moment he set foot in this household as a three-year-old child.
He was quite, too quiet for a child. Too mature. Too aware of his surroundings.
His golden eyes held no emotions in those days, and he did everything he was told to do, as if he were a machine.
For all intents and purposes, he was no different than a robot.
It was only thanks to Irisveil's constant attention and love, combined with Kiritsugu's awkward attempts, along with Sella and Liz's constant care, that the boy who looked more like a homonculous than the actual homonculi slowly started to express emotions.
A change that was further amplified when Illya came into the world.
Sella still remembered that precious moment when Irisviel and Kiritsugu came back from the hospital with little Illya in her carrier.
The way Shirou looked at her with muted curiosity, a curiosity that turned to profound awe when Illya caught his extended finger as if it were her lifeline.
Sella liked to think that it was at that moment that the doll truly turned into a real boy.
It was because of all these experiences, this familial bond over the past thirteen years, that Sella knew Shirou's nature better than anyone aside from his parents.
And right now, she knew that he was hiding something from them.
Yet, she would not press him for the truth because she trusted his judgment.
Shirou is many things in her eyes. Stubborn to a fault. Far too prideful in his cooking (which felt justified, which felt very frustrating for her to admit since it hurt her own pride as a cook). Far too serious about everything. And extremely oblivious when it came to his own charm and his effect on the opposite gender. (Sell could not help but pity the many girls who tried to subtly approach him over the years, only for this dense fool to unintentionally friendzone them all).
However, the one thing he was not was a bad judge of a situation.
More often than not, his intuition and reasons turn out to be the right thing in the end in many situations. Something that the household has come to trust him completely about.
That is why she will trust his judgement this time as well, and wait for him to come clean himself.
Sella watched silently as Shirou downed the last of the coffee and got up, heading out in that new outfit that he had taken to wearing these days.
Honestly, Sella could say that the new look suited him. The red jacket and white shirt combo worked really well with his crimson hair and golden eyes, while the black pants and boots added a rugged charm to his already ridiculous charm, thanks to his personality.
But something about the outfit rubbed her the wrong way. The same feeling she would get whenever Kiritsugu went out for one of his 'jobs'.
Shaking her head to get rid of thoughts, she called out behind him.
"Not eating any breakfast?"
"I'll eat something later. I've got some stuff to do."
Sella sighed as Shirou briskly walked out of the house, not even bothering to take his bike with him.
Yes, Sella knew that Shirou Emiya was hiding something from her and the rest of the family. But she will trust the boy she watched grow up and wait for him to tell them what is happening to him these days.
"..Nee-san. Where is my coffee?"
Because right now, she has a lazy 'little sister' to take care of before she blows up and turns the house upside down lest she get her fix of coffee.
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Near the commercial district of Kuoh, there is a boy with short brown hair and eyes walking alongside a girl with black hair and violet eyes.
They walked all over the place. Sometimes visiting a clothing store, other times visiting a cafe.
All in all, it looked like an ordinary date, a sweet sight of two teenagers in love.
Of course, things looked much different for people who know of the unseen like me.
To me, it looked more like a predator leading its prey around, charming its prey into a lull through such normal actions before going for the kill at the moment the prey would least expect it.
Thats just how most Phantasmals are.
Not to mention the tainted holy energy I can feel all the way from over here, a few rooftops away from the unaware human and the phantasmal.
A feeling of disgust rose from deep within me as several weapons within me bristled at the woman's energy.
I knew what she was based on her energy, thanks to Zelretch's lessons.
A Fallen Angel. An Angel of heaven that fell from grace after committing a sin.
In the many worlds out there where my counterparts live, it is a known fact that all pantheons that humanity recorded in their myths exist. This meant that the heavens and the angels within also existed.
However, in those worlds, due to the end of the Age of Gods, the Angels no longer descended to the mortal world, choosing to retreat to the Reverse Side of the World along with the rest of the divine spirits and gods out there.
So it is a rare sight that an angel, fallen or not, is spotted by any human in those worlds.
However, this world is different.
Case in point? The way this Fallen Angel so brazenly walked around in the open with a human. Worse still, she is not the only one.
I can sense three other signatures nearby in a rough range of a kilometer or two.
The way they kept moving with the two down there meant that they could either somehow keep track of the Fallen Angel down there, or she was secretly communicating with those three through some kind of magical ability.
It really did not bode well for Hyoudou with the way things are turning out right now, and I cannot help but thank my instincts that led me to investigate this 'Yuuma' and tail these two today.
Soon, the day turned to dusk as the Fallen led Hyoudou to the central park.
'Who would have thought I would return to this place again after the fight last night?'
I pushed away those thoughts just in time for a pulse of mana to wash over me, forcing me to become alert, anticipating an attack.
However, as no attack came, I realized that it was not some directional detection spell, but some kind of a bounded field-barrier spell.
Peeking through the bushes, I saw the smile on Yuuma's face twist for a single second into something utterly revolting.
'Looks like you are done playing with your prey then?'
Without hesitation, I cranked open the imaginary valve within my mind to the limit, flooding my body with magical energy.
When it comes to Phantasmal creatures, it is better to go all out from the very beginning since you can't tell what they are capable of if you give them the time.
"Trace. On."
"I am the bone of my sword."
The familiar Black Bow materialized in my hand.
With my body flooded with magical energy, I reinforced myself to the absolute limit.
Now comes the next part.
A spiraling sword shaped like a drill materialized in my hand.
Placing the Rainbow Sword on the bow, I applied Alteration, turning it into an arrow, while also pushing magical energy into it, directly channeling the power from my dagger to the Noble Phantasm, reducing the strain on my circuits while also gaining the maximum effect possible.
Instantly, it became a Broken Phantasm.
Just in time for the Fallen Angel to shed her guise.
"Time to die."
Those cold words from the Fallen resounded across the clearing as tainted light gathered in her extended arm, forming a spear of energy that was aimed right at Hyoudou's stomach.
It would be a fatal blow, but by targeting the abdomen, the Fallen was making sure that he would die in agony, drawing out his death as much as possible.
Unacceptable.
"My Core is twisted in madness"
She must have sensed the sheer conceptual weight behind my aria since her neck snapped towards my location with alarm.
Unfortunately for her, I will not give her the chance to escape.
"Caladbolg!"
The broken phantasm shot forward like a ballistic missile, with speeds far beyond anything that a human could ever hope to perceive.
Space itself twisted as the sword turned arrow drilled through the air.
Of course, I was not done yet.
It felt like the world came to a standstill with a few more seconds before the broken phantasm made contact with the Fallen.
Of course, this was merely the illusion born from my enhanced perception born from my reinforcement, but this will work in my favor at the moment.
"Chains of Earth that Bind the Divine: Enkidu!"
I called on the chains of heaven, calling out its full name to maximize its power as much as possible.
In the split second before Caladbolg made contact with the Fallen, the chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the creature, locking down her divinity then and there and immobilizing her power of light.
Then came the spiral sword that skewered through her as if she were a kebab, taking her away from Hyoudou before exploding with the force of a bomb.
If it were not for Rho Aias I projected in front of myself and Hyoudou, closing the gap between us in the single second before Caladbolg exploded, I have no doubt the boy would be a smear on the ground right now from the sheer kinetic impact of the explosion.
Of course, I would not allow that to happen since everything was within my calculation from the beginning.
Once the explosion that was probably loud enough to be heard from a few kilometers away and flashy enough to be seen from the other side of the town subsided, I immediately projected Kanshou and Bakuya, ready to initiate Overedge and cut down the Fallen who should be heavily injured at least from that explosion.
However, no attack came as I expected. There was no moment either.
Suspicious. Very suspicious. I don't remember Phantasmal creatures being so easy to defeat. Especially higher-tier Phantasmals like Angels, who would be categorized as lesser Divine Spirits in the magus terminology.
Cautiously, I walked forward, keeping my guard up the entire time, until I arrived at the edge of the crater.
What I saw left me dumbfounded.
At the center of the smoking crater, there is just a lump of charred flesh that I can't even identify anymore.
Given that I could not feel anything from down there, she is definitely dead beyond doubt.
.....It really was that easy? How?
Suddenly, I felt the barrier around us start to crumble, probably because the caster is dead.
'Shit! No time to waste.'
I took out the dagger and sliced the air, opening a gateway straight to Ryuudou Temple's ruins, while also using the dagger's pocket dimension that Zelretch provided me for storage to put away the corpse.
Turning around, I prepared to calm down a catatonic boy, only to see that he had passed out sometime during the whole incident.
'Damn my luck!'
With no choice, I carried him like a sack of potatoes and hightailed it out of there, heading straight for the ruins of Ryuudou temple.
I would normally take him back home, but there is no telling if the other Fallen in the area would track him down to his home. Given how petty Phantasmals tend to be most of the time, it is better for Hyoudou to stay at the temple for the moment. At least until he recovers from this ordeal and I find out why those Fallen were after him.
'Man, it's one thing after another, huh?'
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1