Chapter Index (Shamelessly stolen from hero's idea)
Magical Vanguard Shirou
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Status Menu
Kotomine Kirei, Tohsaka Rin, Emiya Shirou
Souichirou Kuzuki (deceased), Matou Sakura
Kiritsugu Emiya (deceased), Illyasviel von Einzbern
THE FIRST DAEVA
Questions & Answers
Q&A 1
Q&A 2
Magical Vanguard Shirou
All Evils of the World (I)
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The Greater Holy Grail.
A vessel of such a vast amount of prana that it is capable of granting any wish, capable of accomplishing the Third true magic. With it, the dreams of the Einzberns, Makiri, and Toshaka could be realized.
Right now, however, Zelretch was having a very bad feeling about what they had created. He knew perfectly well that anything could go wrong with this, yet he didn't know exactly what was the issue that was nagging him. He had traveled through parallel realities, and knew that some of the worst case scenarios were horrendous, to say the least. He was shaken out of his thoughts by his comrade, Makiri Zouken.
"Such a wonderful thing, isn't it, Tohsaka?" Mentioned the man, looking up at the vessel towering over them. "I wish Justica could see it with us..." Zouken then lowered his sight, saddened by the sacrifice of his love.
Zelretch slowly nodded. "It is quite a sight, but I'm feeling that something bad's up."
"'Something bad?' Whatever are you talking about, Tohsaka...?" Zouken glared at him. "We are at one of the ley lines, a center of huge amounts of prana, places which we've set as the access points of the Great Grail. Justica designed this. It's impossible for an error to occur."
The Second Sorcerer scoffed. "You know impossible is a word that doesn't exist to me. I respect Justica's abilities, but I believe we have overlooked something. I just don't know exactly what..."
"...?" Zouken looked at him questioningly. 'What is he talking about?'
Zelretch sank into deep thought. What had they overlooked? What blind spot was there on the system? The lack of a core? No, Justica had sacrificed herself to become the core. The prana? Impossible, the Great Grail was placed over four ley lines, and is an immense magic circuit. It can gather more than enough prana to function. Administration of the system? It could only be manipulated through the access points, which only activated after the vessel had been summoned. Then... what!?
"...Yeah, perhaps I'm just getting paranoid." Zelretch shook his head, then spoke to Zouken. "Then, let's turn the system on standby. I should leave soon."
Zouken nodded. "Are you coming back?" He asked, knowing that the Sorcerer liked to stay long amounts of time in parallel worlds.
Zelretch frowned. "I'm not sure. My children seem to be pretty incompetent. I don't think it possible that they will be able to reproduce my magic, even though I left them the blueprints."
Zouken grinned. "Well, this is as closest to the root we can get. I can't wait to see it completed. These Grail Wars are going to be interesting."
Zelretch sighed. "I should be going now. Are you sure you can handle everything?" He said, referring to the system.
Zouken gravely nodded.. "I wouldn't dare screw up Justica's dream."
Zelretch smirked. "Whipped until the very end, heh? Well then, I'm of-"
RUMBLE!
At that instant. The cave started to tremble. Both magi stumbled, eyes wide as they looked at each other.
"What in the name of the Root..." Zouken started.
RUMBLE!
There it was again. Zelretch searched for the source of the sound. The roof was intact, so it wasn't natural. The structure of the cave seemed untouched, so what...?
He saw it then. It was small at first, a bubbling shadow that started to rise from the base of the Grail, slowly crawling up the towering vessel, corroding it. A form started to shape itself, quickly growing massive. It was a black darkness, a prana so foul, so evil, that could be said to be the foulest of curses. An uncountable number of eyes stared at the two magi from the towering black shape, and Zelretch realized what they had overlooked.
Something that was material couldn't affect the grail... But a spirit with no body?
Infiltration. A god-damned spirit had infiltrated the Grail. Zelretch saw no other option. He nodded at Zouken, and they began to do what was necessary.
They proceeded to purge the being.
------
"What the hell was that!?" Exclaimed Zouken. "That thing was no joke... How did we even win?"
Zelretch couldn't answer. He was too tired to answer. That thing had been inhuman. An uncountable amount of curses incarnate, it was something that he never again wanted to face. If he hadn't been a Sorcerer, he was sure he couldn't have won against that thing. Hell, it wasn't even complete! There was only one thing it could be...
"Do you know of Zoroastrianism, Makiri?" Asked Zelretch, glaring at the magus of absorption.
Zouken's eyes widened. "Zoroastrianism... Are you saying that thing was a divine spirit!?"
Zelretch nodded. "Something like that, but not quite. I believe it is the original devil, Angra Mainyu. Or at least, a shadow of that being. Did you see how it spread into various parts?"
Zouken nodded. After they had defeated the being (Which hadn't been easy at all), it had spread into various parts which had gotten away before they had been able to destroy them. "What of it? Well, besides that it could end up being a threat to the world."
Zelretch explained. "I think they are going to reform. You know, that thing possessed immense amounts of prana, amounts no magus could gather even in ten lifetimes. So, what if, after each shadow has recovered, they try to infiltrate the system?" Zelretch shook his head. "Looks like we are going to have to modify the Holy Grail system. I don't think we can start wars with such an obvious threat looming behind us."
Zouken winced. Certainly, starting a Grail war at the same time all evils of the world try to take the prize for itself would be a very... unwise decision. He frowned. "What do you propose we do, then?"
Zelretch grinned. "Hehehe..." Well, if he had to reprogram the system to fight against a terrible evil, then he could have fun while doing so...
...right???
------
CLANG!
The sound of clashing swords.
CLANG!
It resounded through the dark sky, black clouds looming overhead. There was fire everywhere, a horrible fire of an otherwordly nature. Houses burned, people with them. A terrifying presence of destruction which destroyed all it touched, a horrendous conflagration.
And in the middle of this conflagration, two humans- No, they could not be called humans- faced each other. Near them was a black puddle, untouched by the fire, the remains of a vicious monster which had almost destroyed humanity.
The first person glared at the other one. "What do you think you're doing, Kotomine? No, I shouldn't be asking that. I'm not surprised that you did all this."
The person now known as Kotomine remained passive, an ever-present, hollow smile plastered on his face. "Oh? Kiritsugu, you should know... My only joy in life is to watch others suffer. That is why this devastation is exactly what I wanted. Also, I should thank you for helping me defeat Avenger." He paused, as his grin widened. "After all, I wouldn't want it stealing the joy of causing all this suffering from me."
Kiritsugu's glare turned fierce. "KOTOMINE KIREI! You used the Grail system to create this, of your own will! You are the most miserable kind of being I have ever seen." He then drew his gun. "I pity you."
Kotomine's visage turned into a frown. Pity. If there was one thing he hated, it was being pitied. Hollow beings had no need for something such as pity. He then turned back to his usual smiling facade. "You expect to kill me with that gun?"
Kiritsugu remained impassive. "I will kill you by any means necessary." He then extended his left arm. "No matter how ridiculous they may be."
Kotomine raised an eyebrow. "That? That ridiculous system?" He then sighed. "Then, Kiritsugu..." He extended his right arm. "I will show you despair."
Then there was a flash of light, as a massive amount of prana went into both magi. It overwhelmed the fires, the sky, and the ground, a blinding flash that blocked all sight. Soon, it receded, and the two beings there had now changed.
Kiritsugu now sported a suit of armour, composed of steel greaves, gauntlets, and a steel plate, held together by chain mail. Over that he had a grey trenchcoat, and he now held a shotgun on each hand. He winced. "This is ridiculous... But it's also absurd how much power is coursing through me."
On the other hand, Kotomine's coat had been replaced with a completely black one, with torn sleeves. It exhuded an aura of foulness, as if something was just not right with it. On one hand he held three Black keys, and his other hand seemed demonic in appearance, and was surrounded by a crimson aura; a cursed hand. "No comment," Nodded the fake priest.
Kiritsugu stared at the source of this destruction, and turned his mind into steel. 'Let's end this.'
The Vanguard system had been a change made to the Great Grail System. By establishing a link between the system and a Master, Masters were able to recieve immense amounts of prana which resulted in a transformation. Sometimes, these transformations were ridiculous, similar to the Magical Girl shows that were so popular. Others, not so much. One thing they all had in common, was that they boosted the Master's abilities and granted them innate skills that allowed them to fight at the level of Servants, though Servants still possessed Noble Phantasms which made them stronger than Vanguards.
Kiritsugu leaped at Kirei, immediately activating his trump card. 'Double Accel.' Suddenly, Kiritsugu's body accelerated in time, moving at double the speed he should be able to move. Still, Kirei saw it coming from a mile away, and quickly jumped to avoid Kiritsugu's charge. He managed to dodge with plenty of time, avoiding the shells Kiritsugu had planned to shoot at him from point-blank range.
He threw his black keys at him, immediately drawing three other ones form his coat. Kiritsugu avoided them thanks to his accelerated body, grazing through them with masterful skill. Thanks to his Vanguard ability, his Innate Time Control ability no longer destroyed his body with each use, though he couldn't go faster than Quad Accel before suffering damage regardless of his power. He accelerated into triple Accel, knowing that Kotomine possessed superhuman speed. He quickly changed direction and jumped at Kirei, firing a barrage of shotgun shells.
Kotomine extended his right arm, which somehow took all the shots into its flesh. Kotomine felt the pain of each barrage, and his hand glowed with the curse. "If you want to deliver pain unto others..." He then clenched his cursed arm into a fist. "You should be ready to recieve that pain tenfold."
Kiritsugu stopped when he felt a tremendous pain, similar to his body being ripped apart several times. He almost doubled over, but his mind was steel, so he could ignore the pain to an extent. 'That won't work on me, you hollow monster.' He knew he had to end this quickly. People were dying. He had to save them. He was a hero, after all. So he went all out, and rushed Kirei at Quad Accel speed.
Kotomine almost staggered at the sudden speed at which Kiritsugu came at him, as he concentrated in order to evade the shells the man fired at him with monstruous speed, and blinking at how easily he evaded the black keys he threw at him. He launched one at the ground near him, but Kiritsugu quickly moved his shadow out of the way, and resumed attacking him. However, even with Quad Accel Kiritsugu was having trouble reaching him, his shots grazing Kirei's body.
Suddenly there was a flash of light, and both magi jumped away from the wave of energy that almost razed them. 'That was... Excalibur!'. It seems the battle between the two magi's servants was coming to an end. Kotomine had stumbled as the wave had passed.
That had been his mistake.
In that moment, Kiritsugu had gotten into Kotomine's guard, and aimed a shotgun at his heart. "It's over." Claimed the hero, as he pressed the trigger.
BANG!
The force of the blow sent Kotomine flying away, and he was overcome by pain, as the shell had impacted against his heart. Or rather, what was now left of it. With darkness surrounding his vision Kotomine faced where he was landing.
He fell into the black puddle which housed the remains of the most evil of the curses.
There was a moment of silence, until it was broken by a sigh. "Goodbye, Kotomine Kirei." murmured Emiya Kiritsugu. He then stood up, and went to where Saber had been fighting Kotomine's Servant. But when he arrived there, no one was present. 'Looks like she's already gone. Of course, since Kotomine wasted the Grail with a ridiculous wish like destruction, Saber couldn't realize her wish.' He then put on a determined face, as he ran through the fire, searching for someone who could be alive. 'There has to be someone, anyone!' Before his battle with Kotomine, he had been tainted by Avenger's curse. He knew that if he was to save someone, he would most likely have to use the one thing keeping him alive.
But he didn't care.
He had to save someone. He needed to, otherwise he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for what he had done.
He needed to...
It was then he heard it. It was a faint whisper, the last breaths of someone who was on the verge of death.
"Help me..." Called the voice.
And he answered the call. When he saw who it was, he grimaced. It was a little child, no more than about seven years old, and he was in a horrible state. He felt a rush of relief when he felt the boy was alive.
'Don't worry... I'm here for you. I'll save you...'
There was a flash of light, and Kiritsugu held an ornate sheath in his hand. There was another flash of light, and the boy now glowed with a faint golden light, even now his wounds starting to heal. He picked up the boy with his arms, and ran to the nearest hospital, dispelling the outfit he had donned during the battle.
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GLOSSARY
Angra Mainyu: In Zoroastrianism, it is the original devil, all evils of the world. In reality, it is a being as ancient as humanity, who was given form 200 years ago, in Heaven's Feel.
Heaven's Feel: Originally intended to create a system for an omnipotent vessel capable of granting any wish, it was the incident where the system was taken over by Angra Mainyu, who until then had no form, giving it an incomplete form on this world. Together, Zelretch and Makiri Zouken managed to shatter Angra Mainyu's incomplete form, which then shattered into many pieces which went into hiding. Every 60 years, Angra Mainyu's fragments come to gather to Fuyuki City, where it may take form once again. To defend itself from Angra Mainyu, the Greater Grail System summons seven Heroic Spirits, borrowed from the Throne of Heroes to destroy the various pieces of Shadows. These are the Heaven's Feel that happen every 60 years.
As I said, very AU.
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