5 Chapter 4: Kyrie Eleison

The smell of blood and rotting flesh clogged his nose. The air was tinged red, though if it was because of the Boundary Field or the sheer amount of blood being gathered, he did not know.

Shirou ignored his primary method of sensing Magic. It would only hinder him in this situation, grating on his nerves and slowing his mind. Mana flow towards the sensory organ was halted, the smell faded. The air now felt stale.

A bright red light erupted from the tarmac metres in front of him. Corpses arose from the Magic Circles. Yet he did not stop running. Shirou projected Black Keys, weapons used by Church Executors back in his home dimension, while reaching inside his jacket.

The experience within those Black Keys was drawn upon. He ducked underneath a wild swing, taking care to avoid the following blood splatter and jammed the Black Key through the corpse's lower jaw, the blade protruding from it's skull. A swift jerk of the wrist ensured that the head was ripped off.

He kept up the illusion that he stored his weapons underneath his jacket, pulling out three pairs of Black Keys. Each blade gripped between his knuckles, reminiscent of claws. It was the preferred fighting style of Kotomine Kirei. Shirou hated the bastard of a Priest, but held a grudging respect for his skills in combat.

The undead groaned, rushing at him. One tripped over their own intestines and ended up crawling, a detail Shirou hadn't failed to exploit by throwing a Black Key. The corpse spasmed then fell limp.

Despite the Vampire's presence in his range of awareness, Shirou couldn't help but put more focus than necessary towards the horde in front of him.

He didn't pause to think why the bodies seemed to jog his memory. He didn't stop when the realisation dawned upon him that these bodies were from before he was called Shirou Emiya once more. He didn't bother to acknowledge the horror from what he was about to do. He faced them head on.

Don't think about it

The Undead woman looked sickeningly familiar, from the torn and ragged corset, it's rosey pattern barely visible underneath all the dirt covering it. What caught his eye was the brush still stuck in it's hair, blackened as if it were burnt with a hint of colour remaining. The flash of steel met flesh and bone. A sickening squelch as he pulled out the Black Key from the corpse's, Amelia's, chest.

Don't think about it

He ducked under a clumsy haymaker, his hand stabbing upwards. The tip of the Black Key protruded from the corpse's skull. He jerked his hand upwards, breaking its neck for good measure. George, the bouncer, he had always fussed about when Shirou coo-

No. Don't think about it

Shirou jumped over a lunge. The decrepit corpse stumbled to the ground, it's head crushed under his heel with a Black Key through the heart. Granny Clarisse smiled-

I'm telling you. Don't think about it

His mother-

Why did you think about it?

There was no overwhelming guilt. No flashback or faltering in his steps. His Mind was of Steel. The burning sensation in his throat was ignored, so was the vile taste in his mouth, and even the stinging in his eyes was disregarded. This is a battlefield, there was no place for tears, he thought to himself even while a clear liquid dripped down his chin.

Four glints of steel, four downed bodies. Seven left. The last two keys were held in a grip, a bastardised version of dual wielding. Usually they would have shattered upon usage, but Reinforcement carried its weight in battle. The blades were abnormally strong for its make, despite having it's form crafted by Prana, stabilised by ritualised Scriptures imbued within its handles.

Shirou's pace had never wavered from the beginning. Less than five seconds had passed since he engaged in combat, and even less was needed to take down what enemies were left in front of him. Blood spurted from where the Black Keys were stabbed. An oddly morbid part of his mind was reminded of the unicorns Illya liked.

Weird how someone so murder-happy turned into a child, delighted by Mahou Shoujo anime of all things.

He did not see it, rather the only things he noticed was a subtle spike in Mana and a slightly stronger scent of blood. Shirou Altered the Black Keys, turning them from thin, nimble blades into unwieldy and thick ones. His arms blurred, blocking pellets of black, hardened blood as they rained upon him.

Johann observed from his perch in sadistic amusement. A wave of his hand, and another shower of Blood Bullets shot forth. Shirou idly noted the Magic Circles churning out more behind the Vampire.

The Blessed Blades cut through the air, sparks dancing as he dashed forward. An action that intrigued Johann. The Vampire grinned menacingly, his arms spread wide in a welcoming gesture.

"Oh? So you're approaching me?"

A spear forms in his hand. Shirou barely manages to raise his blades in time, the force behind the chucked spear shattering the Reinforced Black Keys. Even while stumbling to the side, Shirou whipped his arms to his sides, making another pair emerge from his jacket sleeves.

"Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"

Several orbs of Blood pool in front of the Circles. Killing intent filled the air, but it was the amount of Prana being generated that put Shirou on edge. Possibly acts similar to Medea's Prana Blasts. And so, he played on the hypothesis and hurled the Black Keys at hand at the Blood Orbs.

They exploded even before they reached their targets in a blinding flash. Johann was forced to close his eyes, an opening that Shirou didn't fail to take advantage of. From the lingering smoke screen, two more Black Keys were thrown, piercing the Blood Orbs. The natures of Holy and Undead were in conflict, the Prana in the Orbs were disrupted.

Johann only had time to erect a barrier before they exploded.

"YOU DARE HARM M-?!" A burst of Prana blew the smoke away, only to reveal Shirou a few feet away from the downed Vampire. Johann blocked a punch to the ribs, only to hiss in pain as his arm burned. He noticed it then, the glowing Scriptures on the gloves. Gloves that his prey had certainly not had worn before.

Just how many Holy Armaments does this mongrel have?!

Unknown to the Vampire, it was a pet project of Shirou's. Isolating and copying certain parts of the Scriptures inside the Black Keys and engraving them in other objects. His only result so far was a pair of gloves, but the screen of deception he had put on so far kept Johann guessing.

His steadily decreased procurement of Black Keys only fed Johann's growing delusion that he was running out. And his most recent action had only cemented that thought.

Not that the Vampire could act on it just yet.

Johann's snarl was silenced by a swift jab to the face.

"I can't beat-", he swayed away from a wild grab by the Vampire. Shirou grabbed the offending limb and punched it right at the elbow. The limb snapped, yet the Vampire did not let out a response on par with the damage dealt. A suspicion grew in Shirou's mind. He leaned back, the lunging bite missing his neck by inches. A fist slammed into Johann's gut.

Untrained in close combat. Prefers long to medium range artillery in direct fights. Energy based attacks and Holy based Armaments preferred for combat against Undead.

"-the shit out of you-", He sidestepped the sudden Blood Sword that Johann pulled out, retaliating with a bone shattering kick to the thigh. The Vampire lost balance, and a pair of open palms slammed onto Johann's ears. The Vampire stumbled back, disoriented from the blow. Shirou took a second to assess the damage he had wrought.

His eyes narrowed at the sight of Johann's healed arm and took note that the burn mark from where the gloves made contact had remained.

Mana parameters rank around B, closer to A compared to Servants. Does not feel pain unless using Holy based Armament, responsive to assault to senses contradictorily enough.

"-without getting-", he finally took a risk, letting the blatantly telegraphed haymaker land on his forearm. Even with Reinforcement running its course, Shirou could feel the bone groan under the pressure, close to snapping. The snarl on Johann's face melted away, replaced by palpable shock.

Durability at E rank, Strength and Agility below Servant Parameters.

"-CLOSER!" His fist was coiled at the hip, his body tensed and Scriptures burning across the gloves.

Just as he was about to throw the punch, Shirou felt the spike of Prana behind him. Unlike other summonings, there was no deluge of light. A blackened fist shot towards him as he turned. His forearms blocked the blow, crossing in an X-formation, but the strength behind them sent Shirou skidding across the street.

His senses screamed at him. Shirou shaped the momentum carrying, turning from a skidding motion into a backflip and pushed himself further away during a handstand. Blood Constructs erupted from the ground, a collection of disease coated spikes.

One of them even skewered a fire hydrant, sending a fountain of water in the air. The road began to flood. Shirou's eyes locked onto the sight. An implication was set in his mind.

Prana surged once more.

"I.. have to admit."

Shirou was forced to dodge once again, Blood Constructs fell one after another, ramping up in intensity. He was forced to abandon his attempt at deception and pulled out more Black Keys. The dull ringing of metal striking was drowned by the sheer sound of weapons whipping through the air. Prana kept on rising in intensity.

Shirou knew what he had to do to win.

I will kill.

"I came today for an easy hunt, to snack on some unassuming blood bags in this blasted city."

A deafening roar from his left side. He stood in the middle of a crossroad, a massive Blackened Undead, the one that had struck him earlier, barrelled down the road. Shirou put it at a lower priority. He couldn't stay in a single spot for more than a second. The barrage of Constructs followed where he was, not to mention the mass of limbs, rotting flesh and blood that spawned where he had stepped.

I will let live.

"Never did I think that I, Johann Rel, would be pushed this far."

The rain of Blood Constructs petered out along with the spawning of those grotesque masses of flesh. A pressure settled upon Shirou's shoulders. Something compelled him to look up.

I will harm and I will heal.

The sky was painted red. A mirror-like disk of what Shirou assumed to be blood floated above him, spanning several blocks of city-scape. Its presence was only dwarfed by the bone chilling ocean of Prana flooding out from the Vampire. But even then, the mental prayer did not stray.

None shall escape my grasp. None shall escape my sight.

You were strong, mongrel. I will feel great … pleasure defiling your corpse.

Be crushed. I welcome those who have grown old and those have lost. Devote yourself to me, learn from me, and obey me.

A dark aura grew stronger around the Blackened Undead. Each step sent a tremor down the road as he grew closer. Each step let it draw on it's Master's Prana, thickening the miasma further. Shirou knew he could not end the creature easily now. The opportunity was lost.

Rest. Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, and do not forget me. I am light and relieve you of all your burdens.

"This..", the Vampire finally spoke after moments of silence, looking condescendingly at the ex-Counter Guardian. There was arrogance, but it was subdued by the fact that a mere human had been able to injure him.

Do not pretend.

"This is the end for you."

Retribution for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope -

Shirou finally let himself smirk.

-darkness for light, dark death for the living.

"You see…"

Relief is in my hands.

He traced a Black Key, pulling it out from his jacket once more and threw it down. The blade impaled the tarmac hilt first.

"..that's where you're wrong."

I will add oil to your sins -

He threw any regards for safety to the air and ignored the blackened Undead bull-rushing towards him, all the while staring at Johann straight in the eyes.

-and leave a mark.

The Vampire was unnerved.

The cracked and beaten roads shook, the massive Undead ran on all fours seeking to rip out his throat. Then, the unimaginable happened.

It tripped.

Eternal life is given through death.

The road beneath it buckled when it's deformed hands had crashed upon it, crumbling as the tarmac gave in and formed a pothole. The Blackened Undead stumbled, the force behind its movement proved to be the being's unmaking as it flew, limbs flailing all the while.

Ask for forgiveness here.

Right into the Black Key by Shirou's foot.

I, the incarnation, will swear.

Any words ready to disapprove Shirou's remark died in Johann's throat. His gaze was fixed to the Undead Behemoth crumbling away from the Black Keys purification.

"...What?"

A flying corpse was his only answer.

Johann snarled. A wave of his hand and the body blew apart into chunks of gorey salsa. The bloody mist was blown away by two blurs.

Kyrie Eleison.

The Vampire only got a glimpse of it, a twisted steel arrow, before it blew apart his arm. But even that did not distract him from the ethereal bluish light. It spread out from the Black Key where Shirou was kneeling, rebounding off each Black Key impaled on corpses lining the street.

The light of Ritual of Kyrie Eleison spread. Usually the Bounded Field would be circular, but the version he had used normally would require an even larger prayer, but he brute forced it by stuffing the Ritual with Prana. In the end, it served its purpose. The very air turned to acid for the Vampire.

Johann screeched in agony, clawing his own skin as smoke rose from his body. The mirror-like disc of Blood hissed and bubbled, evaporating as it fell onto the Bounded Field.

Od flooded his body, Reinforcement was cast. His body blurred forward, moving at speeds that bordered superhuman, yet lesser than a Servant's. The sudden boost in speed caught the Vampire off guard. Shirou capitalised on his disorientation

A surge of Prana flowed through his body unexpectedly, the Magic Core shifted within. Shirou's eyes widened and his face contorted into a grimace. A painful concentration of Od had Reinforced his leg.

Damnit, not now!

He was moving faster than intended, his fist was still coiled at his waist despite being less than a foot away from his enemy. The plan to impale him with Black Keys was discarded, a decision was made in a split second.

Trace on. Projection, Standby.

Blades formed silently from an ethereal flame in a pristine lobby, hovering with their tips aimed towards an unassuming wall, out of sight of both their owner and the Vampire. Shirou turned his punch into a shoulder tackle. Shirou managed to halt himself with a stomp of his foot.

Shirou managed to halt himself with a stomp of his Vampire wasn't so lucky. The bones in his chest creaked, air rushed out of his lungs and spittle flew from his mouth. Whatever mockery of organs he had ruptured, adding to the shock. The injury would not kill him, not that Shirou had expected that.

Johann's body broke through the wall behind him, sending bricks and plaster flying into the polished and prim looking hotel lobby. The Vampire didn't even get the chance to fall before a singular Black Key pierced his heart.

He screamed. A roar that blew away the dust around him, revealing swords hovering mid-air, each poised to pierce him. Not that Johann could notice it in the first place, he was preoccupied with the feeling of liquid fire being poured into his body, courtesy of the Black Key beginning it's cleansing process

Shirou watched the Vampire struggle, his remaining arm shook in exertion, latching around the hilt of the Black Key, even as the Scriptures within burnt away at his skin. He ignored the pain from his dislocated shoulder while walking through the rubble, gazing down at the Vampire.

Structural Analysis finally found results, now that the flow of Mana around the Supernatural Being had abated significantly. His identity was revealed.

Johann Rel-Vladi, formerly a Lesser Vampire under the ownership of a Branch Family member of the House of Vladi of the Tepes Faction. He had been exiled till he had brought in contributions towards their Civil War, a punishment for running away from an attack by the Carmilla Faction. His strength was comparable to a Virtue Class Angel.

Nobody of significance.

With that thought, the blades descended.

The blood-tinged Bounded Field crumbled seconds after Johann's death. All signs of battle had vanished along with the pseudo-pocket dimension. The only hints of what had transpired were the numerous splotches of rotten blood on Shirou's jacket and his swords in the middle of a pile of ash.

The sun was setting when he stepped foot into that Bounded Field. Now, the light had faded. All that illuminated the once abused streets were aged lamp posts.

Shirou looked up.

Ah.. There's less stars now..That's sad.

Despite his idle thoughts, his body was still tense. His guard was still up, senses sharpened to detect the slightest disturbance that would hint the presence of enemies.

His weapons dissipated into motes of Prana, floating into the sky to join similarly glowing stars.

He took a moment to admire the sight. A declining starry night sky, the glamour of the sparkling gems in the sky unobstructed by the moon always put him in a nostalgic mood.

Rin always did like comparing anything shining to her gems.

Tearing his eyes away from the sight, he swept the area with a steely look. Structural Analysis fed information directly into his mind. The results deemed him safe enough to walk home.

Even then, his paranoia ran at full throttle.

Shirou ended up spending an entire hour backtracking, sneaking through alleys, looping through complicated routes and even walking through buildings and popping out the back in order to throw off any potential tails. Well, the more mundane ones.

For the more Supernatural ones, he had left an engraving of a specific set of Runes that would react and notify him of any unnatural spike in Prana.

In hindsight, I should have done that a long time ago. He thought to himself with a scowl set on his face.

His keys jingled, the apartment door opened. He sniffed the air.

No change here.

He stepped into the apartment. The familiar feeling of a Bounded Field washed over him, except it was a more familiar one. One that he had gotten used to over several years. Throwing his blood jacket into the bathroom, Shirou wasted no time in checking the blades holding up his Bounded Field.

No signs of tampering.

The cement of the wall folded onto itself, revealing a set of leather bound books inside the hollow space. His research notes on Magecraft. A quick cast of Structural Analysis confirmed that none of his belongings were tampered with.

Only then did Shirou finally let out a sigh.

It was as if an invisible weight fell from his shoulders. A stab of pain made itself known, emanating from his dislocated shoulder, a problem he fixed by jerking it back into place a second later. Aside from that, fatigue creeped up on him, followed by the feeling of torn muscles and cracked bones from several places on his body.

All he wanted to do at this point was go to bed.

But his habits didn't let him do that. Instead, Shirou ignored his protesting body and trudged to his bathroom. Minutes later, the water steamed as it flowed down his body, soothing his injuries to an extent. He could feel remnants of tension melting away as he scrubbed his hair, getting out any flecks of dried blood and dirt.

Soon enough, Shirou walked out fully clothed and his tower over his head. He glanced at the clock and groaned internally.

All that, and it's not even past 10pm yet.

His eyes lingered on his bed, the warm embrace beckoned to him temptingly, then switched to the laptop sitting on his table.

"...Fuck. I still have to write that essay, don't I?"

I was jolted awake. A familiar face was on top of me. Her lips moved, but I could not hear what she said. I noticed the clock out of the corner of my eye. It was still night.

So why was it so bright outside?

Loud noises reached my ears, but I still could not hear what she said. Mom pushed me towards dad, who held me as he ran through the hallway. It was weird, wasn't that thing called fire supposed to stay in the stove? Then why is it here? Why was it warm?

It's painful.

Knock Knock Knock

I heard my mom- or at least I thought I did, behind me. I couldn't control my movements and let myself be carried. My dad's mouth moved, I still couldn't hear anything, but I knew what he said. "You'll be fine by yourself, right?" He says while patting my head. I nod my head, despite the instinctive urge to say no.

It hurts.

Knock Knock Knock

It wasn't much different outside. My eyes were hurting, everything was red. It felt much warmer, much brighter than the hallway had been. So I closed my eyes and ran. I wanted to go to a place that wasn't hot, where it didn't hurt. It was then I remembered what my dad had said, his instructions to stay in place. I turned back.

My house was no longer there.

Did I get punished for not doing as I was told to?

Knock Knock Knock

The dream fades and his eyes open. All of his sleep had disappeared in the blink of an eye, literally.

I thought I had sealed those away…

Shirou Emiya laid still on his bed, amber eyes tinged with grey staring straight up at the ceiling.

Knock Knock Knock

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming!" He yelled with a grumble. The incessant knocking stopped immediately, showing that the person had heard him.

His body was still aching from last night, a sore reminder that he no longer had Avalon within him to take care of such injuries. The connection was still there, Shirou could feel it at the edge of his Reality Marble, a wraithlike thing that would slip from his grasp any moment.

It was a thing that should have faded a long time ago, when he had first summoned Saber during his Holy Grail War. But it was renewed each time EMIYA was summoned to the Fuyuki Grail War, his copies brought back the barest semblance of that long lost memory.

And so he grasped it desperately, using every single method he could to keep that connection in place. It led to the Golden Sword of Victory being an anchor for the memory of Avalon.

It was something he held precious, not just as a memento of his time with the King of Knights, but as a last resort as well.

Avalon was just not a sheathe, it was an EX-Class Defensive Noble Phantasm that overlapped reality around the user with the Land of Avalon. A Bounded Field that expresses the domain of the Fey that keeps the user shielded from the concept of harm, whether it be physical, trans-dimensional or multidimensional interference, even acting beyond the Five True Magics.

Even as he reminisced about the Sheath of The Ever Distant Utopia, he trudged towards his apartment door, not caring about his state of dress.

The door opened, and Shirou was pretty sure that it was still eight in the morning. So why was the sun shining so bri-

"Good morning Shirou~!"

Oh, that explains a lot.

Standing in front of him was Gabriel, almost being the definition of beaming with that smile of hers, with her hands locked behind her back. She leaned forward, showing a dangerous amount of cleavage with her low cut top.

I thought Angels were supposed to be symbols of Purity. He forced his eyes not to wander below her neckline, which was exceedingly difficult due to his height and her leaning forward. He stifled the urge to sigh.

And who the hell chose her wardrobe?

"Good morning Gabriel. Any particular reason that the most esteemed Archangel of Heaven has dropped by my humble abode?"

Shirou defaulted to an annoyed drawl, drawing an even bigger smile from the Seraph. She had gotten used to his mannerisms way too fast. She sprung back to her upright position, the motion causing several interesting wobbles that defied the law of physics to happen.

It also showed Shirou a fact he really didn't need to know.

"I thought I could have breakfast with you today, maybe even take a walk around the marketplace before visiting the children at Marie's Orphanage. Oh, Oh! And there was this new cafe that opened up recently that I've wanted to take you to!"

Each statement was emphasised by movements denoting Gabriel's genuine, but excessive cheer. It also built up the sense of exasperation that Shirou was feeling.

He pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the urge to retort with his scathing sarcasm, the same one he had managed to dial down over the years.

"Gabriel.. That's good and all, but tell me this first."

Gabriel tilted her head cutely.

"Why in the world aren't you wearing a bra"

Her next sentence brought up a deep sense of dread in him.

"What's a bra?"

He managed to look at her impassively, all the while screaming bloody murder inside his head.

"... We're going to have a talk about human clothing and public decency later Gabriel."

Gabriel could only look at the tensed scowl etched onto Shirou's face and feel downcast.

"Ah.. I suppose I really have much to learn about humans, don't I?"

"But you'll teach me, right Shirou?" He could only shake his head exasperatedly, letting a small smile creep onto his face.

"You really are the best!"

Her top half leaned onto his torso, bending at the waist as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. The Seraph immediately stiffened. Shirou's mind wandered as his usual frown settled upon his face, wondering why she had tensed all of the sudden. Then it hit him.

He was in his apartment.

His Bounded Field was the exact size of his apartment, which functioned as both a security alarm and to keep signs of Prana usage hidden. Effectively, it was the Prana version of "air-tight".

He hadn't "aired" out the lingering Prana of the Vampire that had clung to him since last night.

Shit.

"Shirouuu."

The usually cutesy and air-headed voice lowered to a low, bone chilling whisper.

He looked down. The sight would have been adorable at any other given moment, her chin propped against his ribs while she glared up with a pout. Gabriel's usually warm, green eyes had hardened, yet there was an obvious amount of concern.

"When were you going to tell me you met a Vampire?"

Her grip tightened imperceptibly. Shirou knew there would be no getting out of this one.

He could only sigh when the Seraph's glare intensified.

Yup. I'm screwed.