Chapter 5 Part 2, Fated Future...

"A trap? From whom?"

"From old Ortenrosse, of course. He's the dead apostle who leads the largest faction that opposes the mine, and we've been at odds for centuries."

Shirou started to put the puzzle together in his mind, "So, Ortenrosse set up this trap. He made you believe that the Aylesbury ritual would take place one more time, and so he made you come to the city to be attacked by the Association and the Church."

"Jackpot," she said smiling, "high praise for our detective," the girl's teasing embarrassed the redhead.

"The truth is that it seemed strange to me, you will see, for the ritual to be ready, we had to prepare it for centuries, so... it was unlikely that only thirty years would be enough to perform it once again," then she turned to him smiling, "but even so, I must thank you".

This confused the apprentice magus, "Why?"

"I haven't been able to have a conversation like this in years, in general, everyone is too scared of me to even try it," however, her smile faded as a sad face replaced it, "it's a shame this one has to finish."

These words confused and alert Shirou, "What do you mean?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? You've come here to kill me and get a reward, haven't you?"

"Reward? The only reward there is if someone manages to kill the Princess of the Dead Apostles," at that moment, he realized, "D-Don't tell me you're...!? "

She nodded, and, taking her beautiful evening dress, the girl bowed as she introduced herself, "My name is Altrouge Brunestud, The Princess of the Dead Apostles, enchanted, and Shirou... I am your target," she said while smiling threateningly at him.

"W-Wait, I have no reason to stand up against you!" Shirou tried to reason with the Princess.

"You do not have it...?" Altrouge asked smiling, but this smile was not like the previous ones, it was a bone-chilling smile, a ruthless smile, "so, why did you come to this town, kid?"

Shaking slightly, Shirou replied, "I needed to prove my usefulness to regain my family magic crest, which is important to achieve my goal."

"Your family magic crest? Your goal?" the Princess asked curiously.

Shirou nodded. "My family magic crest is being held by the Association, I believed that by helping to stop the ritual, they would be willing to give it back to me, and that will bring me closer to completing my goal."

"Your goal...? Which?"

Shirou lowered his gaze as if he knew that his dream would be nothing more than a joke before the Princess, "I want to create a sword..."

This disappointed the Princess, "A sword, is that all?"

"Not just any sword, I want to create a sword that is capable of cutting it..."

"Cut it? Cut what?" this rekindled the girl's curiosity, "says it at once! Your doubts are making me angry..." she said as she released a bit of her aura terrifying the boy.

The apprentice blacksmith steeled himself and declared, "What I seek to forge is a sword that is capable of cutting more than just steel, flesh, and bone. I am talking about a sword that can cut any entity, a sword that cuts resentment, certainty, causality, and even karma itself," Shirou emboldened himself to say the last part, "in short, a sword that can cut through and dispose of fate."

This stunned the ancestor, and, for a moment, her face was unreadable, but then what he anticipated would happen, she laughed, laughed very hard, "A-Are you serious? Just when I tell you that the world and humanity are destined to come to an end, and you come to tell me that you want to create a weapon that cuts and rid of fate. Is that your goal? What, do you want to be like those heroes from fairy tales and save the world with your legendary sword, or something like that?"

To the Princess's surprise, Shirou's response was not filled with anger, but it was accurate, "No, most of the stories of the heroes of the past end in disgrace, and, I... I was able to see first-hand what that path can take you to."

This made the apostle stop laughing, "So you're serious... Well, it's kind of sad, since you won't be able to create such a weapon."

"No, I will create it, you can be sure of it."

She shook her head, "You will not be able to create it. The world has its days numbered and what you are seeking to create surpasses several divine creations. It is impossible."

He responded with more force, "I'll still try!"

She showed quite annoyed, "You are very stubborn, you know?"

"I'm a sword, I don't break easily," he said, smiling.

That absurd statement brought a smile to the Princess, "So, let's make a deal: Show me your skills, and, if you manage to harm me with any of your weapons, then I will not only let you live, but I will help you however I can create that sword."

"What!?" exclaimed the surprised boy.

"Oh, come on, it's not that strange either. The goal of the dead apostles is to achieve perfect immortality, and if humanity is exterminated, my fellow men will die. And even if that doesn't apply to me, or at least, not entirely, thanks to being a half ancestor, that doesn't change that I will die too."

"Why?"

"In the end, the Harvest Star will come for all equally, and, even if we negotiate with the Ultimate Ones, the star is something else entirely. In short, we are all going to die, do you understand...?"

Shirou nodded.

"If you can create a weapon that can cut through this dire fate, then it will be a win-win for me. But first, show me what you are capable of, show me that there is a slim chance of creating something like that," making a gesture with her hands, she invited him to attack her.

As they both spoke, Fou walked away, placing himself in a place where he would not interrupt his master's games.

Shirou took a deep breath and transformed his determination so that it was harder than steel, "Okay, Altrouge, I'll cut off the defeatist expression you had when you spoke about our future," Shirou unsheathed his two katanas, "I am not a hero, I am a blacksmith, but precisely because I am a blacksmith, I will create a weapon that will free us from fate and save us all."

She smiled defiantly, "Then come blacksmith, show me your creations."

Shirou reinforced his body and, before charging at the ancestor, he whispered the command to activate his magecraft, "Time alter, Double accel!"

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AN: Chapter for the 9th review, I will post 5 more chapters for the powerstones! There is only one more chapter for reviews!