Beta read and Coowritten by Gamercrusher55, Shigiya and Fluffy Slayer
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Within a dimly lit room, walls were covered in dried-up bloody stains and sticky mucus that had hardened into a substance stronger than wood. A stench of pure decay and rot permeated the very air, where even breathing could potentially act as self-poisoning.
Through all this horrifying environment, a single individual stood. Overseeing everything, he saw with cold, emotionless eyes as an army of giant insects had their way with several slaves he had procured from a local slaver at a low price. Mandeville proved himself to be a reliable ally time and time again… as long they had the coin to spare.
Where previously the walls were filled by the indignant, pleading, and despair-filled voices of those they captured — now all are silenced with their minds broken from the constant sexual torture.
They mostly acted as a furnace to incubate the insect eggs and give birth to even more insects as they continued to grow their army endlessly; at least, that was his secondary goal.
His primary objective had remained the same since that accursed moment he became a fool and lost their most precious possession. "Any luck on the outcome?" asked the bandaged leader whose face was half-lit by a flickering candlelight.
One of his followers, with physical signs of exhaustion evident but spoke carefully. "No, Lord Shamuhaza, there has been no fluctuation of any sort of energy, and we have not had our calls answered."
Once again, nothing. The same answer had been reported over and over for a long time. Biting into his finger, a habit he formed out of stress and frustration that once more, thanks to his strength, drew blood, and soaking the bandages around his face — he cursed under his breath.
Seeing the change, the nameless follower trembled and quickly made a follow-up. "Just give us more time, my Lord, I shall have what you have asked of me soon enough," he said while tentatively staring at the figure ahead, the latter looking over at a large mural depicting an insect deity bursting out of a giant body. A corpse wide enough to fill the land itself, making mountains look no different to a bundle of sand… this image represented a tale as old as time that acted as the very foundation of his religion.
Shamuhaza hummed.
Yes, even though it had been so long, the regret of that day remained clear in his mind.
The day he gave away that gem to Kin, having never even once so much as suspected what it truly represented. Not just a strange conduit for power, but rather an egg! One is incubating the essences of a god. One who his own deity had taken an interest in the moment it exposed itself back in the battle at the dark keep.
What Shamuhaza had believed to have been a gift from the insect God itself turned out to be something completely different. A revelation that came far too late to rectify.
But the more he learned about this object, no, this entity from his deity, the more clear it became that it held an even more than he ever could have anticipated. And just how much of a fool he was to carelessly hand it to an outsider. Shamuhaza even held beliefs that it could perfectly serve as a substitute for Kaguya's body? A possibility that started to gain more weight the more he started to ponder upon it.
Aside from Kaguya, till now, there was no one else capable of hosting his god. Not even Celestine, as that body of hers would be no different to poison even if he somehow managed to accomplish it, its purifying power would kill his lord, lest he weaken it enough thoroughly. But this one differed greatly from the Goddess Reborn, for she did not possess a purifying power that would harm it, but instead an aura of negativity and malice that would only bolster his lord's growth.
With this in mind, he worked tirelessly as he wished to get her attention once more. To have her brought back as soon as possible to them, so she could help them finally get a perfect vessel to have their god descend upon the mortal world. If things didn't work out, Shamuhaza then would act on his lingering thoughts of using that entity's own blood and flesh as material to incubate a one-of-a-kind egg that would soon give birth to his true God.
But just like many things, it in the end remained but a mere idea. A goddess, at the end, still remained a goddess even after descending upon the mortal world. He knew nothing of her power, let alone the number of his finest creations it would take to bring her down. With the Kuroinu gone, that further dampened such plots.
But he could not give up so easily!
'Now she is impossible to reach, not just by force, but by contact as well. Every single one of my insects in Feoh I had sent to observe was destroyed.' He had watched her from the shadows as best he could as she conquered the forces of his circumstantial allies for over a full month. He couldn't act so openly, not with Kaguya, Celestine, and the rest of the Princess Knights in that city. He had at last found an opportunity to approach during Beardsley's mad attack on Feoh; he had even tried to approach her peacefully.
Bringing her offering through a follower that would make even kings jealous: a mountain of gold, an endless supply of slaves willing to die for their masters, rights to land, and precious artifacts. All of these had just been the tip of the iceberg, yet she did not even spare them a glance. She stated she had been curious about them and why they continued to spy on her for a month. But then claimed disappointment that they had revealed to be no more than that, mere rats scurring in the shadows of their betters. Going so far as to even show a look of disgust when he spoke so highly about his lord, and with just a simple snap of her finger, turned his messenger into a fine pulp of flesh.
Going so far as to…the gall to insult their one true god!
'I even swallowed that loss and told her the truth, but she still acted the same way.' Through his efforts, she came to learn that it was through their influence that she had gained passage to this world, gaining access when others could not… yet she offered them nothing in return. There was no blessing, no acknowledgment, not even the barest show of gratitude. She admitted curiosity to those who summoned her, but stated that it changed nothing of what she would do. Instead of any reward, the foreign goddess abandoned them entirely, leaving them behind and allowing their existence to fade from her thoughts as if they had never mattered in the first place.
This went on for days, the messages sent over by his deity, demanding answers, for results that left the man under an immense, unruly pressure.
'You are not the only Outer God out there. If you do not wish to help us, and I cannot use that help to bring forth my own god, then so be it. I still have other options, and there are more of your kind out there to defend us.'
But the issues arose from the fact that he had still not found anything, and no one from the beyond answered. The rituals went on for weeks and on even much grander scales that should have produced results, but he was still left empty-handed.
'Do I truly have no other choice but to seek 'her' aid?'
The words echoed through his mind as he stood there alone, thinking them over and over again in his head as he considered his options. As his thoughts continued to churn, another of his followers arrived, dropping to one knee and bowing his head deeply before speaking.
"Lord Shamuhaza, the second parcel has been successfully delivered and, from observation, well received."
At once, his earlier sour mood lifted. The earlier frustration that filled his posture eased, if only slightly, and a thin smile crept onto his face. Being forced to step back from Feoh and retreating all the way to Fullstar hadn't been easy after the foreign god took hold of that place from the shadows. Despite that, though, he still maintained a solid foundation here in Fullstar, waiting to be used to the fullest. There was another war waiting to be fought, another enemy standing in opposition to the so-called Kaguya's Gods, whom he dismissed as a false insect god that he had been preparing war against, and that foresight had proven fortuitous.
To start, he had made use of one of Kaguya's priestesses for the delivery, and now he awaited to see if his second gift would also serve its purpose. He hoped the message carried by it was clear enough. This time, they would not run. This time, she would not be able to push him back as easily as she believed.
"Good. It is a shame. Astrid Flamel proved herself to be a magnificent budding flower with great potential. It truly is unfortunate that Kaguya reached her before I could."
His cult was predominantly filled with men, given that most of the women were used as material to give birth to more of their insect numbers. Still, that was not the case for all of them. They maintained an assortment of people who served in other roles, such as spreading their influence, expanding operations across the different regions of the world, and lastly boosting their power to destroy anyone who stood in their way.
Astrid was one such individual who had drawn such attention long ago.
He had learned from his spies that she possessed a strong interest in recreating the Philosopher's Stone. Such an artifact could not be ignored. It was something he had even once desired, as a potential power source to create a vessel meant to house his lord. While it was not strictly necessary, and he had never devoted much effort toward pursuing it himself, he still knew having someone under his influence capable of recreating such an item was a boon he could not dismiss.
…Pity.
Slowly, the walking mummy of a man closed his eyes and established a link with the hive mind that controlled their insects. Through his familiar, the brood mare that acted as the core for the swarm, his vision shifted. Hundreds, then thousands of fragmented scenes flooded his awareness all at once. To a normal human, such an experience would have been incomprehensible, a chaos of overlapping images and sensations. But through his main familiar, however, those countless perspectives began to compress and align, merging into a single, cohesive vision.
Within moments, he could see his surroundings with almost no blind spots; the world lay bare through innumerable watching eyes. As his vision began to narrow at the sight of their quarry, he expected to find her screaming in fear, but instead, he found the faint satisfaction he had felt no longer lasted. His smile faded the instant a sword filled his vision, rushing forward as if aimed directly at his own face. The blade cut through one of the insects, splitting it cleanly apart, and cutting off one of the many sights his familiar saw.
"It… It's him!"
The scene was painfully familiar. He had witnessed it before, long ago, while infiltrating Lulu's kingdom. He was just how he remembered: a white-haired man with tan skin, clad in red and black, wielding either a black and white sword or a large black bow. One by one, his insects had fallen to that figure, dispatched without hesitation.
"I should have known she would call for his help." He'd known the man had been in contact with Kaguya in Feoh, so he should have been prepared for him.
The man was an anomaly. A blank existence from which no information could be drawn. His followers stationed outside the kingdom, even those scattered halfway across the world, had failed to uncover anything meaningful. No records, no rumors, there was nothing that came close to describing him; nobody knew anything. Not only that, but this was the same individual who had wiped out the Black Dogs in a single day. The same one who had somehow drawn the interest of a foreign god who still would not gaze at them, for reasons Shemehaza still could not grasp.
Because of the risk of Kaguya noticing his insects surrounding Feoh, Shemehaza knew very little about what the man had done after arriving there. The lack of information irritated him, but still did not deter him, as he pressed on.
"No matter. I was going to deal with you sooner or later."
With a simple command transmitted through the hive mind, he ordered the swarm to change its target.
Astrid was no longer the priority.
The focus shifted entirely to the one known as Archer. Instantly, hundreds and thousands of perspectives adjusted, all locking onto him from countless angles. Every movement was tracked, every position monitored, leaving no room for escape.
While Shamuhaza was not a fighter himself, he did not need to be. Overwhelming a target through sheer numbers, parried with constant observation of their blind spots, was more than enough, and through his swarm, he would read every action Archer took.
"Humph, so what if you destroyed the Kuroinu? Here you are nothing but food for my subjects," said the man with a smirk on his face as if he stated a fact written in stone. One of his beetles behind Archer acted, shooting out a spray of acid so condensed that it was no different from a sharp needle capable of piercing skin. Once mixing with the inner blood, it would quickly and surely poison him.
Clang!
Yet that attack was blocked with the black sword, as Archer brought it behind his back and casually blocked the attack.
"Let's see how long you can keep this going." Wanting to play with his prey, he had several launch attacks simultaneously from all sides.
Yet just like earlier on, the man kept dodging each one of them with ease. With but one of his swords, he blocked the various attacks aimed at his blind spots, sometimes several attacks at once. He moved his head and body away just in time as a bee stinger passed right by his head. No matter the attack, he dodged regardless of where the insects attacked from.
"Does this man have no blind spot?"
No matter the angle he chose, the speed he pushed those insects to, or the layers of deception he wove into his attacks, every attempt was noticed the instant it began and shut down just as quickly. Each move was intercepted effortlessly, as though nothing he tried ever truly bothered his opponent or even presented any form of threat.
As the battle continued, it felt less like he was being reacted to and more like he was being anticipated. As if his target already knew every action he would take, reading his intentions before Shamuhaza himself had fully committed to them.
'How? How does he know? What secret is he using to anticipate my attacks? Is it some form of clairvoyance? Maybe a mind that was full of battle experience to the point he could read the flow of battle? Or maybe—'
"If I can't touch you, then might as well have you fight till exhaustion—!?"
It happened in an instant, from his point of view, Archer's lips moved as he merely uttered two words as he raised one hand into the sky. In the next moment, all the surroundings turned dark while the buildings in the distance remained normal, basking under the sunlight. And with his omnidirectional vision, he saw the sky suddenly filled with a plethora of weapons all hovering right above every single one of the insects. Descending downwards swiftly, He ordered his insects to get out of the way, but his brain had not transferred it fast enough since it did not even have enough time to understand what was going on.
The insects were tiny and difficult targets, so some managed to escape the initial bombardment, but all it took was a wave of that man's hand for the blades to change direction. He summoned even more, and before he knew it, a literal storm of blades was created that swallowed countless of his insects.
"Argh!" The man recoiled backward as the backlash hit him all at once. His true family reeled under the strain, overwhelmed as thousands of her children were erased in a single moment. Their deaths echoed through their bond, her shrieks spilling into his skull and setting his nerves on fire. Pain mixed with anger, and the anger boiled into pure fury, something that made his teeth clench.
"C-Calm down," he hissed under his breath, forcing the words through the connection. "I swear it. I will have his body delivered to you. You can use his flesh and blood. You can turn it into those you have lost."
The promise steadied her, little by little. He could feel the noise recede, replaced by a low tremor of grief and waiting hunger. His back pressed against the sticky surface of the slimy wall, the material clinging to his clothes and skin. His heart hammered in his chest, fast and uneven, while sweat soaked through the bandages wrapped around his torso.
"I knew that man had access to power," he thought, his breathing shallow. "But this is absurd. He does not carry a blessing like the princess knights. This is something else entirely, something I've never seen or heard of."
The frustration built until his thoughts started tripping over each other. Finally, at the point where he could no longer think about it straight, he forced his mind out of the loop. Only then did his focus snap back to what truly mattered.
"Damn it, Astrid," he muttered.
His sources had verified what he feared most: Kaguya and the girl had made contact. That insufferable child who boasted of an ability to find him anywhere, no matter how far he fled or how well he hid. He had laughed it off initially—surely an empty threat, a child's fantasy. But watching his precious familiars cut down with such ease changed everything. The risk was too great now. If her claims held even a fragment of truth, her existence could no longer be tolerated.
No hesitation. No delay.
He pushed his will outward, forcing his familiar to reconnect. The bond thinned and stretched, and through the eyes of the few survivors, he looked again.
What he saw made his stomach tighten.
The remaining familiars, the airborne insects, were already retreating. They kept their distance while maintaining observation, tiny bodies gliding high above the streets. These were not ordinary creatures. Years of selective breeding and reinforcement had refined them into living instruments. Their eyes, reinforced by the mystic arts and granted a portion of the enhancing power all these compatible insects could obtain, could rival those of an eagle. They could track movement far beyond human limits, even in the low light of the night.
Through those eyes, Shamuhaza saw him.
The man stood alone in the street, surrounded by the remains of the swarm. Severed insect bodies littered the ground, green ichor splashed across stone and pavement. Mixed in with it was red blood, thicker and heavier, nutrients from those they had feasted on, and kept within them for storage.
But the red did not spread naturally.
It crept. It moved on its own, drawn toward something at the man's side.
A sword.
It had not been there a moment earlier, much like the others that he saw appear in a flash of blue light. One instant, the man's hand was empty; the next, the blade existed, embedded in the ground beside him. The creeping blood slid toward it in thin streams, clinging to the metal as if pulled by a quiet force. It looked less like staining and more like feeding, as though the weapon itself were alive.
As the last of the blood gathered, the process slowed. The sword rose from the ground, lifted into the man's grasp. Its surface had gained a red color now, as if it had absorbed the blood, coated along the edges especially. Archer raised it and turned it slightly, angling the blade in different directions, as if testing its weight or listening for something only he could hear.
A chill crawled up Shamuhaza's spine. He had always trusted his instincts, and right now they screamed at him to pull back.
"Keep going," he ordered through the link. "Do not stop. Maintain distance."
Yet he did not listen to his instincts. Curiosity gnawed at him despite the fear. He leaned into it, forcing himself to observe and acquire more intel on this mysterious threat.
"I have heard reports," he thought. "I have even seen him wield strange blades, each with its own properties. I had thought he had merely collected them, but the way he pulls them out of nothing points to magic at work. If there is even a chance to learn more, then this is it. These losses cannot be meaningless."
For a brief moment, he wondered if this weapon came from Lulu's kingdom. The thought fell apart almost immediately. The design did not match the young princess knight's usual craftsmanship. Her people favored clean lines and careful balance. This sword was neither. He had also not heard of any blade that wielded the power to drink blood.
Besides, the man had used similar weapons long before meeting her.
"Some of those swords resemble relics from the far north," he recalled. "This one does not match any kingdom that I know, not even those across the continent."
The unnatural blade's shape, its edges designed to be jagged in several places. It looked more like a decorative piece rather than a weapon for war, almost crude, yet the effect it produced was undeniable. The blood it absorbed continued causing a dull glow to spread along the metal, not bright, not radiant, but present all the same. There was no visible magic circle. No formula. No trace of a foundation he could identify.
Nothing.
"—!"
His musing and moment of observation did not last long. In the next instant, the blade moved and angled upward, its length catching what little light filtered through the open sky. Along with it, silver grey eyes stared straight back at him as the blade was pointed directly towards someone. Even as the insects continued to scatter farther away, those eyes remained fixed, unblinking, following them along with the sword as if the distance meant nothing at all. To Shamuhaza, it felt like Archer was looking directly at him, so assuredly it was like he was within their hideout. There were insects between them, dozens of them, yet the man with the sword might as well have been standing an arm's length away.
In his other hand, now, a bow formed as if drawn out of thin air. At the same time, the strange bloody sword began to twist. He could not hear the sound, but his mind supplied it anyway, metal grinding against itself, edges bending and folding as if alive. The blade reshaped into something unnatural, its serrated edges interlocking until it no longer resembled a sword at all. What emerged was a spiked pillar like a vortex. As if the edges had been turned into spears and the blade had warped into a spiral on itself. As he loaded his bow with the jagged arrow, he could see its uneven and brutal design, its surface still wet with a dark sheen.
The arrow settled against the bowstring. Even below them as they continued to gather altitude, far beneath the airborne swarm, within the middle of an expansive kingdom, the tiny figure of Emiya began to glow — flaring with a muted crimson hue. The moment it did, understanding struck him, and he knew then that he had been noticed.
Once more, going back to the memories of what happened in Luu-Luu's kingdom, as he walked straight to them, he simply brought his blade down.
"K-Kill him!"
The order escaped him without hesitation. It was not born of anger or pride, but from a deep sensation of wrongness that pressed against his senses. Something about their exchange, that silent meeting of gazes, made his stomach tighten. The feeling only grew worse as the seconds passed, settling into his bones. In that instant, he knew with certainty that this man would be a greater danger than Astrid had ever been.
The insects surged forward at his command, wings buzzing in unison as they obeyed. Or rather, they tried to. For the first time since he had bound it, the brood mare hesitated.
Instead of diving toward the target, the insects faltered midair. Their formation broke, bodies turning back toward the direction where his familiar rested. They retreated as one, fleeing rather than attacking.
"You fools! How dare you disobey me!?"
The response did not come from defiance. Shamuhaza felt it clearly through the link. It was instinct, raw and unfiltered, strong enough to slip past his absolute control even at the cost of its own life. The fear pouring through the bond was not aimed at him, but at the white-haired man holding the bow.
It was already too late. The bowstring… released.
The projectile tore through the sky, leaving a crimson trail in its wake. It moved with a speed that defied sense, crossing the distance in less than a second. To Shamuhaza, time seemed to compress around it. The insects reacted on instinct, scattering at the last moment. Several were torn apart by the passing force, but the main body of the swarm survived, the arrow streaking past and disappearing beyond them.
"Tch. His eyes must be reinforced with some kind of spell or a blessing! That is the only way he could have spotted them from such a distance."
The thought steadied him somewhat. Insects could be replaced. He could always breed more. Still, the loss of thousands in an instant left a hollow ache in his chest. Through the link, he felt the familiar's agitation, its fear bleeding into his own thoughts. Shamuhaza hesitated. Part of him considered forcing the command again, overriding instinct and sending the swarm back in. Another part urged restraint, telling him to withdraw and try again later under better conditions.
The earlier panic began to fade as reason crept back in. Perhaps he had been too quick to judge. Perhaps it was nothing more than exceptional sight and some degree of foresight.
"Never mind. It is just a pair of eyes and enchanted senses. I got nervous for nothing. It's most likely safe to have them come back."
The words had barely finished forming when everything changed.
With his connection to the insects still open, their surroundings suddenly washed over in crimson. Alarm surged through him. He ordered them to turn around at once, forcing their bodies to pivot midair. What they faced made his thoughts stutter.
The same projectile. The arrow that should have missed and vanished was coming back. It wasn't going in a straight line.
It closed the distance with equal speed, perhaps even faster than before. This time, there was no space to escape. Shamuhaza saw the tip clearly through the eyes of the swarm, its uneven point filling their visions, stopping but a mere inch away before...
Then there was nothing.
Complete darkness swallowed the link.
The swarm, every last insect he had sent, was gone. Their deaths crashed into him all at once, a sudden silence where constant sensation had been. A cry echoed through the bond as his familiar recoiled, its anguish raw and uncontrolled. Fear wrapped around its rage, all of it focused on the white-haired man.
Though it had no voice, he understood the meaning without effort.
"This is not over."
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.
.
"Damn it, so it didn't work after all."
Back on the ground, Archer let out a low grunt of disappointment as he watched Hrunting tear through several wasps at high speed before detonating against the final target.
Truth be told, with killing those insects earlier and seeing the strange amount of red blood inside their bodies, he had hoped that using that would lead him straight to Shamuhaza's hideout and end this in one decisive move. At the very least, he had expected the Noble Phantasm to pull towards wherever they came from, revealing a nest or gathering place where others of its kind might still be hiding.
"What the hell was that!?" The shout came from behind him. Archer turned his head to see Astrid staring at him, her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide with disbelief. "What kind of artifact was that!? It appeared with so much energy in such a short amount of time. I have never seen a sword design like that before. I am not even a weapon expert, but still! A-And did that thing actually change its course to reach the target? That was incredible! Why did you not use that from the beginning? Not to mention how you even cast such a large spell capable of creating all those swords at once? Was it all storage magic or something?"
The questions came out one after another without pause, without even taking the time to breath. She no longer looked frightened, nor did she seem bothered by the ground around them, which was covered in shredded insect bodies, strange green liquid, and ordinary blood soaking into the cracks between stones.
"I was not trying to just kill the ones that ran away," Archer replied exasperatedly. "I hoped it would lead us back to its hideout. I thought it might fly to where the others are." He gave a small shrug. "Seems I was wrong, and there wasn't enough blood. Still, it was worth trying. But this is more troublesome than I expected."
"C-Can I study that sword?" Astrid's voice trembled with barely contained academic lust, drooling a little. Archer's flat stare was an answer enough, draining the color from her hopes. She slapped her cheeks to focus, the impact sending a ripple through her large bountiful assets that would've momentarily hypnotized anyone in the vicinity. She froze, then cleared her throat with professional dignity that didn't quite match her flushed cheeks nor how her gaze lingered to his blades. "Like I said before, leave that tracking part to me. I won't get paid if you do my job for me."
"Ah, sorry about that," Archer said, offering an awkward smile as he scratched his head. "I just wanted to finish this as quickly as possible. That man is too dangerous to keep leaving alone."
He scanned the area again, stepping carefully between all the twitching remains. After a moment, an idea seemed to settle in his mind. "You mentioned earlier that the more specimens you had, the easier it would be to complete whatever spell or tool you are working on to track Shamuhaza down." He gestured broadly at the surroundings, at the countless severed limbs and split carapaces scattered across the ground. "I think with this, I have given you more than enough material. They are as fresh as it gets. Their insides are still fresh."
"Eew," Astrid said immediately, her face draining of color as she covered her mouth. "Did you really have to say it like that?"
"You were the one who seemed completely unfazed by that female corpse covered in these things earlier," Archer replied. "Why does this bother you more?"
"I don't know. It just feels gross to wade through all this." She swallowed hard and then forced herself to look around again. "And you are right. This is excellent material. I can improve the design further and find our target ahead of schedule with this."
Archer nodded, glancing toward the far end of the street. "Then I suggest you gather as much as you can. It won't be long before this place attracts another problem. The guards have probably already heard the commotion and are coming here." Not wanting a repeat of what happened in Maia's kingdom, though he was not that worried.
He reached into his pack and handed her a large trash bag that he had traced earlier before they headed out.
She stared at it, clearly confused. "What is this supposed to be for?"
"It's a bag for carrying waste. You don't expect me to pick them all up by myself," he said flatly.
Astrid batted her eyelashes and thrust her chest forward, the fabric of her blouse straining against her generous bosoms. "P-Pretty please?" she cooed, her voice trembling before dropping to a sweet tone that would've melted a man's resolve right then and there.
Archer's expression remained as unmoved as stone.
"Pretty sure that goes beyond what I was paid for." He said jokingly, but the young mage took it seriously. "I already did my part in defending you. Now it's your turn to help pull your weight. Roll up your sleeves and let's get started."
"…Oh." Astrid looked down at the nearest insect, which still twitched despite being cut cleanly in half. Its legs scraped weakly against the stone as green fluid slowly pooled beneath it. The sight made her stomach churn. "I'm going to empty my stomach at this rate."
"Wouldn't be surprised. Still, after watching you dissect a corpse, I'm certain you'll be fine," he replied, a faint smile crossing his face as he retrieved another bag and went to work.
From time to time, he would watch with clear amusement as she hesitantly reached down, flinched, pulled back, then finally forced herself to grab one of the pieces. Every few seconds, she would gag or mutter complaints under her breath while trying not to look at them too closely.
He found the scene oddly entertaining.
All that was missing was a cup of tea or coffee.
Astrid stopped moving as she gained a look of contemplation. "Hold on a second… Are these insects edible? Would help with saving a ton of money."
His smile froze, seeing the pink-haired woman actually contemplating that ridiculous statement, while holding onto an unknown insect that resembled a lobster, made him lose whatever enjoyment he had in this real fast.
"You know what? Just let me handle this." Archer moved to the corpses while tossing a small pouch that jingled with coin at Astrid, "Go grab something to eat, I rather not see you try to eat our clues."
{Break}
"You do not seem like you are in a good mood."
Back at the main palace, deep within the maze-like garden, both Radomira and Mistiora walked along an unfamiliar path as they explored the castle grounds. Pale stone walls stood tall on either side, carved with patterns that looked old yet carefully maintained, and decorated at their feet with luscious rose bushes. The place felt different from the palace in Feoh, yet the similarities lingered in the arches, the quiet air, and the way sound carried just a little too far. Their footsteps echoed softly as they moved, neither of them in a hurry, as they maneuvered through the path.
"Of course I am in a bad mood," Radomira admitted without hesitation, answering the dark elf beside her.
"Is it because of me?"
The moment Mistiora asked that question, she received a strange look from the tiefling. Radomira slowed her steps and turned her head slightly, one of her brows lifting in curiosity.
"Depends," she said. "Did you also fuck him?"
"What? No! I did not," Mistiora replied quickly—almost 'too' quickly. The speed of her answer made Radomira narrow her eyes, as she studied the white-haired woman more closely. Mistiora noticed the look and let out a quiet sigh as she rubbed her temples.
"I didn't know where he was taking me. I was so glad when it was Olga, though." Mistiora continued. "We caught up and spent some time together. We had a bit to drink, and I think I drank a little too much in all the excitement. Next thing I know, I went to sleep, and just when I woke up, it was to the sight of him and her about to do it. I had to intervene quickly before it went too far."
"Eh, you did?" Radomira asked, not understanding her actions. "Why?"
That earned her a confused look from Mistiora, who stopped walking entirely and turned to face her. "What do you mean by why?" she asked. "Should that not make you happy?"
"I mean, I am not angry that he slept with another woman, technically," Radomira said, her voice slower now. "I am just a bit sour that he… he…" Her words trailed off as she searched for the right ones. Several thoughts came to mind, but none of them seemed to settle, as she tried to force her feelings out. "I guess I am not sure myself, you know if it is jealousy or just anger that he'll be with other women besides me. It is not like I don't want him to be happy and get along with the others. Plus, I mean, both of those two really helped me when I was at my lowest. Olga taught me a lot about magic and who I am, so I know at least how to control myself now, and without him I wouldn't even be here. I'd probably be some sex slave for some fat pig monsters."
Mistiora listened quietly as they resumed walking. She showed some surprise at that last part, before, for the first time, a gentle smile appeared on her face, softening her features as she stared at Radomira.
"You do care about him a lot, do you not?"
"Of course," Radomira replied immediately, her tone firm and leaving no room for doubt. "I care about him so much that even if he wanted to disappear one day, I would travel to the ends of the earth to be with him. Whether it be by foot or flying, it doesn't matter. He is not getting rid of me ever, and he is stuck with me for life, whether he likes it or not. I can't imagine a future without him by my side." She paused mid-step. "Wait. Hold on. Speaking of which, didn't you try to sleep with him, too? Why are you suddenly sounding so put off by the idea?" She said with surprise in her voice now.
Radomira still remembered the sight clearly. Her first time seeing Mistiora with Archer as he was pressing the dark elf against the wall, their bodies squishing against one another.
"...I do not trust most men, human men especially. I can't count the number of times they have hunted me," the white-haired Dark Elf answered after a few seconds of silence. Her smile faded as she spoke, replaced by something more guarded. "And I know my sister dislikes them. To be fair, she hates them. She always has, even before I disappeared, if I'm not mistaken, she must have mentioned the reasons behind her distaste of humans to you?"
"A bit."
"It's difficult to put into words, but to an elf, a human's life is short, and for the majority of that, they spend their time indulging in their greed."
"Is that a bad thing, to be greedy?" Radomira asked curiously.
"Depends on the extent, I suppose. Humph, slavers trying to capture our kind have been going around for millennia. Individuals wishing to capture the dark elves, to do with as they pleased, some even saw them as being no different from animals who would die before we even realized they were there — or perhaps that was just our hubris telling us that we were above them, placing ourselves on a pedestal because of our benefits. Still, Nidavellir was not completely absent from foreign interaction. Human traders worked hard to prove they meant no harm, but remained closely watched, from what I remember. Because of this, humans rarely caused trouble in our city, and would have been detained the moment they tried. Still, I can't say much about how it may be today."
"Sounds rough."
Mistiora shrugged, "Discrimination went both ways at the end of the day. My kind has been known for its arrogance against short-lived races; I won't deny that. Our affinity with magic and knowledge of mystic arts is above what humans were born with and know. It contributed to that point of view. Olga held a similar kind of arrogance, too; those humans probably looked like pests trying to destroy her home. She wasn't the only one who thought they needed to be put down, or tried to act on it."
A curt explanation, yet enough to tell her everything she needed to know.
"...I see, then Olga really did love her fellow dark elves even way back then. But still, I know not all humans are like that. Archer, Brynn, and the other Princess Knights aren't for sure.
"…"
"But you didn't answer my first question. You tried to seduce him, didn't you? So then why were you so against Olga doing so?"
"She… she is not like me… despite my lack of trust, I've learned how the minds of men work. After so much time, I've figured out how to use my body to entice and control them, to keep them from acting against my wishes. I know now how to get what I want from them without them turning on me, and I know how to satisfy their desires to keep them placid. It is because I know them so well that I do not want Olga to get involved so deeply in their affairs."
"Are you suggesting Archer will hurt her?" Radomira asked. Her tone hardened as her eyes narrowed, looking at the dark elf.
Mistiora did not seem bothered by it. Instead, answered calmly.
"That is what I should be asking you," she said. "How can you expect me to trust someone I know so little about? He indeed helped me fulfill a dream I had for years. For that, I am grateful, and I hope to return the favor one day. Still, there is so much about him that does not make sense, and if he becomes a danger to Olga or me, then I must be ready."
"Well, that is Archer for you," Radomira replied. "You get used to that feeling of mystery when you are around him, and at some point, just stop questioning it."
"It is when you stop questioning humans that they start taking advantage of you," Mistiora said quietly.
"But he is different. Just you wait and see."
Mistiora did not argue. She did not raise her voice or show irritation. Instead, she spoke with the same calm patience, as if recalling something unpleasant from her past.
"That is what I used to think in the distant past whenever I believed I had met someone special," she said. "I told myself they were different. I learned my lesson. I do not want you to learn the same one."
"You're impossible!"
The back and forth between the two of them continued for a while, until both of them heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from behind. The noise echoed faintly against the stone paths of the garden, growing closer by the second. Looking around, Radomira was momentarily taken aback upon seeing a lightly built man in a black tuxedo suit. He appeared to be in his middle ages, his blonde hair neatly combed despite the obvious rush, and he moved toward them with hastened steps.
"Lady Radomira, Lady Mistiora, thank the goddess I found you," the elven man said as soon as he reached them. His breathing was uneven, his hand quickly retrieving a small towel from inside his coat, then dabbing his forehead clean, before straightening his posture and standing properly. "You really should tell me whenever either of you is roaming around the castle. If I lose sight of you, the queen will have my head on a silver platter."
Both of the women couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Though Radomira thought that the bratty queen would throw a fit if the platter wasn't made of gold instead.
He cleared his throat, his tone shifting into something more formal. "Like I mentioned yesterday, if you need any help or wish to visit a particular establishment, please inform me in advance. I shall prepare a guide and provide sufficient security so that you do not encounter any trouble along the way."
Despite their arrival in Fullstar not being well-received earlier, most of the elves nearby carried out their duties seriously after their queen allowed the guests to remain. Radomira crossed her arms lightly and let out a quiet sigh. "We were just taking a walk. It is boring to stay inside all day, and I do not want to keep meeting that screaming elf."
The man coughed awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with her wording. "Please respect our queen. She may be different from what you are used to, but she is still a capable ruler whom we respect. As invited guests, it would not be wise to speak like this behind her back."
"But she is the one who w—" Radomira started, only to be stopped when Mistiora gently placed a hand against her mouth.
"We shall keep that in mind and will not repeat this mistake," she said, her voice regal beneath her veil. "We will also make sure to inform you next time. However, is there a reason you came running after us so hastily? Is there perhaps something we should know?"
The man blinked, mesmerized by her for a bit, before nodding, having remembered something important. "Y-Yes! I almost forgot. Lady Celestine has gone to check on Lady Maia. I was told to inform you that her recovery is progressing quite well, and she should be waking up at any moment."
"Really?" Radomira's eyes widened slightly, the tension in her shoulders easing. "Then we should go over there. She might wake up, and if we're not by her side, it will make her a bit sad."
"Certainly," the man replied. "Please follow me."
With that, the butler turned around and began walking away. Radomira and Mistiora followed along the stone wall, keeping a respectful distance behind him as he led them out of the maze. As they walked, Radomira found herself staring at the man's back for several seconds, her brow furrowed and her expression thoughtful as she stared at his elven ears. The look did not escape Mistiora's notice.
"Is something the matter?" Mistiora asked.
"Nothing," Radomira replied after a moment. "I am just surprised to see a male elf."
"You have not seen any in Feoh?"
She shook her head slowly. "It is not that I never saw any. I was just not mingling with the other people aside from Archer, Brynn, and the other Princess Knights. Furthermore, most of the people there were human. Aside from me, Olga, and Luu-Luu, I did not really go outside to meet others that often."
"That is understandable," Mistiora said. "Unlike Feoh, Fullstar is a hub for several different species, and the human population here is quite small in comparison. They are a minority, with light elves and high elves making up most of the population."
"It is still kind of strange," Radomira said quietly. "Even here, I have not seen any male dark elves."
"That is because they do not exist," Mistiora replied.
Radomira stopped walking for a moment, her face clearly confused. Mistiora noticed and continued to elaborate, slowing her pace slightly so they would not fall behind.
"Unlike our opposite elven brothers and sisters, dark elves are only born as females, regardless of the method used. This curse, I suppose, has remained unbroken for thousands of years."
"That is a strange curse to have," Radomira said. "Would your kind not go extinct over time?"
"There are ways we try to combat this through our secret selective breeding," Mistiora explained. "You do not have to look far. Olga and I are products of this method. Unlike others whose bloodlines are mixed with other races, we are among the closest to full pure-blooded dark elves one could find; pure enough to be chosen to be part of a certain ritual."
Her eyes dimmed slightly as memories surfaced, and her steps slowed again. "That ritual is another reason why my sister cannot simply sleep with Archer, even if she wanted to. She has a duty that she wishes to uphold, and I do not want her to live with regret over a moment of lust that clouded her rationality."
"What ritual exactly?" Radomira asked.
"Something that should have been done by me," Mistiora replied quietly. "But just like always, I ended up failing everyone."
She said nothing more and walked ahead, clearly wishing to leave the subject behind. Radomira could tell there was more to the story, but she held her tongue. Forcing the issue would only reopen old wounds, and she knew that would lead nowhere good.
As they exited the maze, Radomira looked out over the sprawling kingdom in the distance. Tall structures rose beyond the gardens, their pale surfaces catching the light. Feeling a faint sense of disappointment, having wanted to explore the area with Mistiora after leaving the maze. Still, her mood recovered when she realized there would be time for that later, once Maia had fully awakened and recovered.
.
.
.
"If you need any assistance, then please do not hesitate to call for me."
After making their way back to the castle, the kind butler offered them a polite bow before turning and walking away down the corridor; his figure disappeared around the corner. Ever since their arrival, he had not shown a hint of hostility or arrogance, nor had he treated her or Mistiora with any form of disdain. The contrast stood out clearly in Radomira's mind, especially when compared to the queen's earlier gaze, one filled with open disgust and barely concealed contempt toward their race.
"I suppose not everyone is the same," the woman murmured to herself as she watched the empty hallway for a few seconds longer.
Turning away, both girls opened the door to the room, but the dark elf did not enter — for she had no connection to Maia nor wished to converse with Celestine. The soft creak of the hinges broke the silence, revealing another presence inside. Celestine was on the side of the bed, resting one palm gently atop Maia's head, fingers spread through her hair. A faint green glow spilled from her hand, steady and controlled, until it gradually dimmed and vanished the moment she noticed their arrival.
"She is doing well," Celestine answered, withdrawing her hand. "I purified any remaining residue of poison from within her body. What remains now is exhaustion from fighting the ailment. She is resting and should wake up in a few hours."
The words immediately lifted a large weight from Radomira's shoulders. Aside from Archer and Olga, the uncertainty surrounding whether Maia would wake again occupied her thoughts. Now, at last, some good news helped ease the stress. Soon, things could return to how they once were, or at least closer to it.
Soon, the doors behind closed with an audible click. This left Radomira and Celestine alone together in the room, the first time it had happened without others present.
Calling it awkward would not be entirely accurate. Radomira simply did not know what Celestine thought of her, and she herself carried a tangled set of thoughts about the woman before her. Celestine was composed and undeniably beautiful, yet something about her made it difficult to read her emotions. For now, she pushed those thoughts aside. Moving to the other side of the bed, she took Maia's hands in her own.
They were warm.
Earlier, when she had first seen Maia brought in, her body had been cold. Now there was warmth, and with it the slow return of color to the redhead's face.
"Thank you for everything you have done, Celestine," Radomira said quietly.
"You do not need to thank me," the blonde woman replied, her eyes lingered on Maia for several seconds. Whatever thoughts passed through her mind remained hidden from the tiefling. "She is a fellow Princess Knight. It is my responsibility to care for her."
"I see… makes sense."
Silence followed.
What was there to even talk about? With Brynn, a casual conversation came easily. She could step outside with her, laugh, race through corridors, and watch her struggle to keep up. With Maia, everything felt natural. The former knew how to joke, how to keep a conversation going for hours, how to act like they had been friends for years. But with Celestine, despite having spent time together during the search for Olga and Chloe, Radomira realized she did not truly understand her. Most of what she knew came from Archer, along with his reactions toward the Goddess Reborn, reactions that, in hindsight, were not particularly flattering.
"Maia has been smiling quite a bit lately, hasn't she?" Celestine asked suddenly.
The question caught Radomira off guard. Still, she answered quickly. "She is always happy. I do not remember seeing her truly sad or in a bad mood, aside from certain moments where she has a bit too much to drink. Overall, she is a free spirit who likes fun. Just being around her makes everything feel lighter."
Maia had a way of brightening the atmosphere simply by existing within it. Perhaps that was why Radomira enjoyed her presence so much. She had noticed the effect it had on Archer as well. Around Maia, he smiled more often and allowed himself to joke, even if only briefly. He got along with Olga and Brynn, too, of course, but it was different.
"Maia has a gift," Celestine said. "She can hide her emotions so well that she can even fool a goddess, despite appearing like an open book. More accurately, she can fool herself into believing she is happy during difficult moments. But around Archer, ever since his arrival, even I can see that the smile she wears is different from the one she had around Vault. It's more accepting of herself."
The name echoed in Radomira's mind. "Vault."
For several seconds, she could not place it. Then it clicked. Recalling one of many Brynn's stories, told with far too many… uh, exaggerated details. Tales of how Archer destroyed the Kuroinu by firing a single arrow into the sky, one that fell back down and somehow flattened the entirety of Castle Discordia along with Vault's group. Another story claimed he split an entire mountain in half with a single sword swing, the destruction so vast that all seven kingdoms were forced to redraw their maps. According to Brynn, anyone who approached the site would be crushed by some invisible pressure.
Radomira had never believed those exaggerated stories. Archer himself had told her to ignore them, brushing them off as nonsense. Still, she suspected there was some truth to it, as her protector had the tendency to downplay his actions.
"Well," Radomira said after a moment, her grip tightening slightly around Maia's hands, "she does love Archer. And unlike Vault, he is not trying to take advantage of her, nor is he trying to take over her kingdom to make a, what was it again? Oh right, a 'cuntry'…"
Even saying it now made the woman question if there was something wrong with Vault's head with such a lame name. Even a child could come up with a better name than that.
"I can understand her infatuation," Celestine said, her hand gently tugging some hair strands from Maia's face, sliding downwards till her fingertip stopped right at her throat. "She has helped him a lot, always looking after her fellow Princess Knights, too. But, a small part of me can't help but hate her."
"—!"
Goosebumps spread across Radomira's skin. For a moment, she felt the redhead's life was in danger.
Celestine continued, her hand still caressing Maia's throat, "Every time I see her laughing with him, sharing intimate moments and living a life that should have been mine… I can't help but get some of those lingering thoughts. Sometimes I ask myself, would things have been easy for me if the Princess Knights were no longer in the picture?"
"..."
"Would he then come to me to seek warmth? That should have been the case from the beginning, but I suppose life had other plans. Even Alicia managed to establish something… while I am left wondering how to get him to even look at me like he does with others. Hardly anything has changed, and I can't find myself smiling when I see others living a different life with him."
"..."
"She is a friend, yet I still despise all of this."
The temperature itself felt like it had fallen several degrees, with Celestine continuing to stare at Maia with a blank expression. Radomira wanted to move, yet her body refused, as if an invisible arm had grabbed onto her and made sure such a thing was not possible.
As sweat started to stream down her forehead, Celestine's smile returned, and she retracted her hand with the strange sensation from earlier disappearing as if it were never there to begin with.
"Fufufufu~! Just kidding~! Shirou has a bad habit of making many fall for him. I can't even fault the others, I too see his charm." She whispered with love, showing such a beautiful smile that it rendered Radomira mentally stunned, and the prior fear evaporated instantly. For even a creature, a person like her, who could exude a potent aphrodisiac and make others completely slaves to their own carnal instincts. Immune to that very power, yet now she found herself momentarily dazed by the person in front of her.
But quickly, a single train of thought pulled her back and snapped her out of that earlier haze, the lingering dissatisfaction tightening in her chest the moment she replayed what the woman had just said. It refused to fade, clinging to her thoughts in an irritating loop. With Archer not around, this felt like the right moment to confront it directly, and she had no intention of letting the chance slip away.
"Hey. Why do you call him Shirou?" she asked, her brow drawing together as she turned fully toward her.
Celestine paused mid-motion and looked back at her, visibly caught off guard. "Eh? Because that is his name?"
"No, it is not." Her frown deepened. "Or at least, it is obvious he does not like being called that. He calls himself Archer and Emiya. Emiya is what Maia uses, and Archer is what he prefers most of the time. Why do you insist on using the other one when he clearly does not like it?"
The question had bothered her for quite some time. If Celestine truly had feelings for Archer, then deliberately calling him something he rejected felt unnecessary at best and hostile at worst. It did not line up with the concern she claimed to have, and the contradiction grated on her nerves.
Instead of answering right away, the elven goddess shook her head slowly.
"You would not understand," she said. "It is complicated. Shirou has lived for a very long time and has gone through more trials than most could endure. Everything he did, he did for the sake of others. He walked through hell willingly and gave up pieces of himself just to save people. Somewhere along that path, he lost who he was and became consumed by regret."
She took a breath, her expression tightening as if choosing her words carefully.
"I use that name as a reminder of who he used to be. As an anchor. A promise that one day, I can help bring back the old Shirou, the one who smiled without forcing it and still believed the world was worth saving."
She listened in silence, arms at her sides, eyes fixed on Celestine. The longer the explanation went on, the more unsettled she felt. To an outsider, the words might have sounded noble, even touching. To her, they felt wrong in a way she could not easily put into words.
"But what about Archer? Isn't that basically him?" she asked quietly.
Celestine glanced toward her, eyes narrowing just slightly, as the purple-haired girl continued.
"I will admit I do not know much about his past. I do not know how you know so much, and I am not going to dig deeper into that," she continued. "But that does not matter. The Archer I know right now is not miserable. Sure, he joked about it at times, but he also helps people and smiles when he's around us. He is doing his best in the present. Why does that not count? What makes him any different from this Shirou you're comparing him to?"
Celestine did not answer immediately. The silence stretched on, heavy and uncomfortable.
"The way you are talking makes it feel like you refuse to acknowledge who he is now," she pressed on. "Like you are rejecting this version of him entirely. How can you say you love him if you cannot accept who he is in the present?"
"I have accepted him," Celestine replied sharply, with an audible irritation in her voice. "I accepted him when others turned away. I chose to love him when others decided he was easier to hate. I will not stop until both his mind and his soul are healed."
"If that is true, then you are doing a terrible job right now in showing how you'll make that happen," she shot back, her tone sour as she crossed her arms. She did not step away and did not give Celestine space to retreat from the conversation, her hair taking on a darker shade. "Archer does not talk about his past for a reason. Right now, he's trying to move on from it. I do not need to know that reason to make him feel accepted. I do not need to know every detail of his life to want him to be at peace."
She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay calm.
"I care about who he is now. I want his present self to be happy. You, on the other hand, keep pushing him toward someone he used to be. You keep treating his current self like a mistake that needs fixing. How do you expect him to find happiness if you refuse to acknowledge what he has become?"
"Because I believe he has not let go of the past," Celestine answered. "That shadow is still inside him. Enslaved by the world, bound by chains you cannot see. Until that part of him is freed, he will never truly know warmth or rest."
This woman and her strange riddles were starting to annoy the tiefling. So what if he was inside? So what if he had not fully let go of his past self? Her thoughts circled back to the same irritation as she listened to the goddess speak again, calm and convinced in a way that felt almost dismissive. "If I were in your shoes, I would accept all of it," the goddess said. "The present, the past, and even the future. They are all parts of him."
"That's not how it works!" Surprisingly, this time it was the Goddess Reborn who raised her voice. She pushed herself up from the bed and huffed, planting her feet on the floor as she stared back at the Tiefling with a frustrated expression. "You weren't there! You didn't see the kind of atrocities these people were willing to commit against someone who saved them. Not from the beginning until the end. I saw everything. Not you, not Maia, not anyone else!"
She took a breath, but it did nothing to slow her words. "I understand that it may be a hard concept to grasp, but Shirou needs help. He is hurting, and he cannot cry for help even when he wants to. He will continue to sacrifice himself for others whether he wants to or not. He will continue to smile even when their hatred is aimed straight at him. He will continue to walk down this path for the rest of his life and live in misery! That is what the current Archer is! That is why I am trying to change that outcome."
"..."
She did not know how to even argue against that or where to start.
"I want to save him, one way or another. I want to make sure he no longer has to suffer. You… you and the rest wouldn't understand. You won't…"
The words caught in her throat before she could finish. Whether she was unwilling to say the rest or unsure of them herself, one could not tell. Radomira only watched as the blonde elf turned on her heel and walked out of the room. For a moment, it looked less like confidence and more like retreat.
"Phew, what the heck?" Radomira muttered under my breath after a few seconds passed. No wonder he was always angry when dealing with her.
Honestly, the girl did not care about his past, or what kind of story he carried with him, or how this woman believed she could save him better than anyone else. As long as his current self was happy, that was enough for her. What more could she want than that?
Lost in those thoughts, Radomira remained there for several minutes in silence. Eventually, the door opened again, and Mistiora stepped inside. Glancing between Maia and Radomira a few times before taking a seat on a chair across the room.
"I take it that the conversation between you and the Goddess Reborn did not go well," she said.
"That's an understatement," Radomira replied with a bitter voice. "We got mad at each other and couldn't come to an understanding."
"I can tell," Mistiora said in a dry tone. She leaned back slightly in her chair. "Is there anyone in your group that is not in love with him?"
"What kind of question is that?" Radomira asked, caught off guard.
"A genuine one," she answered without hesitation.
She sighed and humored her, thinking about it carefully instead of brushing it off. "I guess… no, not her. She's just acting like that, maybe… I could be wrong, since she doesn't even know the difference between liking someone and liking weapons. I can never get a good read on her. Kaguya, though. Yes, she most definitely. She hates him. And… uh… Chloe?"
"No, not her," Mistiora said, still sounding dry, rolling her eyes for some reason. "I saw enough to make that judgment. Alright. Even if this person is not a danger to you or anyone else like the ones I've dealt with before, he is another kind of danger entirely. A danger to women."
"You mean like you," Radomira wasted no time to shoot back, "who makes other men fall for you without even trying?"
"..."
The older woman did not answer, deciding instead to watch the open terraces, the blue sky, and the birds chirping. The silence itself was contrastingly loud.
Wanting to dispel the awkward atmosphere, an idea popped into her mind. "Why don't we have a small outing around the kingdom? I saw some good places earlier. I even heard about a few areas we can visit where they do not discriminate against different species."
"Now?"
"Yes," Radomira replied. "I can just fly over there and carry you if needed."
"Are you trying to give the poor old butler a heart attack?" The question slipped out with a teasing tone, light enough that it made her giggle the moment she heard it herself. True, she did feel bad for doing this without telling him anything first. The image of the old man discovering the situation on his own made her shoulders lift slightly in quiet embarrassment.
"Fine. Let's go find him first."
With that settled, the two of them stepped out of Maia's room. The door closed behind them with a soft click, the sound swallowed by the carpeted hallway. They had only taken a few steps when she slowed, her foot stopping mid-stride.
The room next to Maia's was not fully closed.
Her eyes lingered on the narrow gap between the door and the frame. Light from inside spilled out in a thin line across the floor.
"Is Archer back?" she asked quietly.
She knew whose room it was. He had only used it briefly and had left not that long ago. That was exactly why it confused her. If he had returned, he would have looked for her first. Curiosity pulled at her harder than caution, and she moved closer, her steps careful as she reached out and pushed the door open just enough to see inside.
Both froze.
On the bed, sleeping soundly, was not the white-haired man she expected. Instead, a blonde elf lay sprawled across the sheets. Her long hair had come loose and scattered across the white fabric, strands clinging to the pillow she hugged tightly to her chest. Her face was buried into it, as if she had pressed herself there before sleep took her, lingering on a scent left behind. The sheets were slightly wrinkled beneath her weight, the mattress dipping gently with each slow breath.
Celestine rested peacefully. Her breathing was steady, soft enough that it barely disturbed the room. She did not stir when the door opened further, nor when the two of them stepped inside. Radomira stood beside her, arms crossed, her expression tightening as she took in the sight.
"Damn it," Radomira muttered. "Now, if I go near the bed, it will smell like her perfume. His scent is now gone!"
"You are weird." Mistiora resisted the urge to press her palm into her face. Her shoulders tensed, and she exhaled through her nose, already regretting stepping into the room at all.
"...Shirou..."
The name slipped from Celestine's lips, barely loud enough for the two women to hear. She shifted slightly in her sleep, fingers curling into the pillow. That single word was enough to snap something within the young girl's mind. Radomira's expression twitched, her eyes narrowing as her brow began to move in uneven irritation.
"This woman," she muttered with an irritated tone. "When will she learn?"
Her fists clenched at her sides. Whatever irritation she carried from earlier had not faded yet, and now it came back in full force. She drew in a slow breath, straightened her back, and then glanced back at Mistiora.
"Hey," she said, lowering her voice. "Remember the spell we were discussing earlier? The one I said Olga taught me once. The one I could alter or enhance using my power."
Mistiora frowned. "The dream walking one? That is a simple spell. I have used it myself. What about it?"
A small mischievous smile formed on Radomira's face. Mistiora watched in stunned silence as the girl moved closer to the bed. Reaching out and resting her palm gently against Celestine's forehead. A faint magic circle bloomed beneath her hand, carrying the same color as her own hair. Along with it came a thin wisp of her aphrodisiac scent, barely visible as it drifted into the air.
The sight made Mistiora panic.
"Wh-What the hell are you doing!? Are you crazy!?" she hissed, genuine disbelief clear in her voice.
"Just making sure this woman learns her lesson," Radomira replied calmly. "She keeps ignoring who he is really with, clinging to all this Shirou nonsense — so I have an idea on how to fix that. Don't worry. It is just a harmless prank."
"Mmm..."
Celestine stirred. Her body shifted, her legs moving slightly beneath the sheets as her brow furrowed. The sound she made carried the clear sign of someone drifting closer to waking. Mistiora's heart jumped.
"Urgh!"
Before another second passed, the dark elf lunged forward and grabbed Radomira from behind. Her arm locked around her neck in a clean, practiced chokehold and dragged her backward toward the door. Radomira struggled immediately, heels scraping against the floor as she tried to resist.
"W-Wait, wait," Radomira protested in a strained whisper. "The spell is not fully finished! I did not have time to insert myself in there!"
"Doesn't matter," Mistiora snapped. "She is about to wake up any moment, you idiot!"
"N-No," Radomira insisted, still struggling. "I wanted to see it for myself! I only managed to get her and him involved! It will not work properly if I am not present!"
Unfortunately for her, Mistiora did not listen and, upon seeing signs of Celestine about to open her eyes at any moment to come up, pulled the young Tiefling with more force and dragged the girl away with her voice in the distance. "This is unfair! L-Let me finish it, please! I promise I'll also add you too!"
"Shut up! She will just treat this as a nightmare and nothing more!"
Their voices disappeared in the distance. All the while, Celestine, who had not yet truly woke up, fell back into her slumber, but this time a slight shift took place within her dreams. Enough for her face to change and a crimson blush to start appearing on her face as her legs started to rub against each other, her face getting even further buried into the pillow with Radomira's spell taking full effect.
"...A-Ah~!"
A sensual moan escaped her lips, one of many that soon followed after.
{Break}
-Fullstar docks-
Around the same time, on the other side of the kingdom, a group of men slowly opened a giant wooden container, the holes from its side closed with iron bars, as the sound of chains rattled within it, and one of the dockmen pulled it along with a rope. "Alright, get moving! Any more delays and all of you will get whipped till your skin falls off!"
From the container, a handful of women walked out in tattered clothing, in a completely dishevelled state, and riddled with wounds of all sorts. Though one common characteristic between all of them, despite their haggard state, was their beauty, pointed ears, and dark skin. Common trait amongst dark elves and one of the many shipments delivered to the slaver who controlled the market in Fullstar.
"This month's batch number seems to be a bit on the lower end, don't you think so?" One of the beastman dock workers commented as he carried around a wooden crate filled with fish, minding his own business while curiously looking over as did so many others like him nearby. "Poor girls, can't help but feel bad for them."
"Does seem like they're on the low end. You would think after the fall of the dark queen that the old man would be able to acquire more of them."
"I heard it's because Mandeville is more preoccupied with other matters. Just recently, there have been rumours that he employed the white wolves, and from the looks of it, it doesn't look like he used them to hunt down more dark elves." Someone else mentioned quietly, making sure their voices were not overheard by those slavers.
"Leona is known not to accept taking on missions like that. She usually just targets single bounties when they need to fight some large groups of enemies like demons, monsters, mercenaries, or just for simple protection."
Leona and her group were famously known around these parts. For both her beauty and achievements as a mercenary who easily managed to accomplish any mission given to her.
"Weren't they detained recently at the castle? Something about attacking the Queen?"
"That's crazy, doesn't that mean Mandeville wants to kill the queen and take her place? But that also doesn't make sense. Why the hell would she even accept this suicide mission? Either the pay must have been too good to refuse, or we're being straight-up lied to."
That comment made many shudder and glare at the guy who said that. "Hush! Don't say such stupid things, are you looking to get hanged!? Also, how can a human take the place of the Queen of Elves? Makes no sense."
"Aaaah maaan, with everything going on around here lately, you can't be sure of what's going on anymore. …Well, as long as I don't lose my job."
These were the types of conversations happening lately around the docks, rumours, stories, and hushed whispers of what could have happened had become the norm around here. The first man who had spoken continued on, still confused about this entire thing. He went on to drop the crate to its designated place, only for a cloaked figure to bump against him and nearly make him drop what he held. "Hey! Watch where you're going, dumbass! If I drop this, then it's on my head—!"
His last few words got stuck in his throat as the cloaked figure glanced back at him, and what gazed back were cold eyes filled with bloodlust, strands of blonde hair, and dark skin splattered with blood. Dread formed in his mind, but the figure did not linger for long, as they turned their focus and walked away. Taking the same path as those slavers took earlier, quietly blending into the crowd.
The man could only let out a sigh of relief that whoever they were wasn't interested in him.
"Fuck, this place keeps getting more dangerous by the day. I really should find a better job." The beastman said while continuing down his path, just wanting to forget about what happened, finish his duties, and get paid. Unfortunately, things just kept getting worse, as a stench of iron filled his nose, and from the corner where he was pretty sure that cloaked figure had come from, hidden in the darkness of the dock building's alleys was a dead body of one of them slavers from earlier on.
The same one who worked for Mandeville.
His throat was cut open, and blood poured everywhere.
"...Ah shit."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.