8 The Great Orcus Labyrinth V

(A/N: Your author here! I published a book where I would write every idea I have of fanfic! Please check it out in my profile and give me your opinion! Also, don't forget to join my discord server! https://discord.gg/g2cuwuqM)

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(Shirou's P.O.V)

"I congratulate you on overcoming my trial." The man said and bowed slightly, as if he was introducing himself, "My name is Oscar Orcus. I am the one who created this labyrinth. I suppose to the world I'm known as a Maverick."

I wasn't so surprised because I kinda expected that the corpse belonged to Oscar Orcus.

"By the way, please spare me the questions. This is nothing more than a recording I left behind, so I, unfortunately, cannot answer any queries you may have. I wanted to tell those who made it this far why it was that we, who learned the Truth of the World, chose to fight against the Gods... so I decided to leave a message. And this was the simplest form to convey that message in. I want you to know... that though we were mavericks, we were not truly rebels."

The story he told was completely different from the Holy Church's records. His story started with one of the mad Gods and their descendants who fought against them.

A short time after the Age of the Gods, the world was engulfed in strife. Humans, Demons, and even Beastmen all fought against each other in a never-ending war. Their reasons for going to war were as numerous as their battles. Land, resources, personal values, greed, but the most important among them was theology.

At that time, the races and countries were split up into numerous factions, each of which had their own God. And it was each tribe's God that incited its people to fight against those who worshipped others.

Suddenly, a group appeared that sought to put an end to this centuries-long war. They called themselves the Liberators.

They were different from each other but they had one thing in common, they all were direct descendants of Gods. Their leader was someone who had, by coincidence, happened to learn of the Gods' true intentions. He discovered that the Gods were using the various races like pawns, playing a grand game of chess with the world as their board. The leader couldn't stand their sickening disregard for life and began looking for comrades who felt the same way he did.

After an arduous search, they were able to discover the location of Asgard, the home of the Gods. There were seven among the Liberators who were exceptionally powerful, and they were chosen to be the vanguard in the battle against them.

However, their plans failed before the battle could even begin. The Gods manipulated the sentient races and made them believe the Liberators were trying to destroy the world. They were marked as enemies of the Gods, and every Human, Demon, and Beastman considered them their mortal enemies.

After a great many conspiracies, events, and dramatic encounters, the Liberators found themselves running from every race. They couldn't bring themselves to fight the people they had sworn to protect, but those very people believed they were ungrateful heretics trying to bring about the end of the world. Their true names were forgotten, and they were known simply as Mavericks throughout history.

The Liberators were killed off one by one until only the strongest seven remained. With the entire world against them, they realized they wouldn't be able to defeat the Gods. So they scattered to the ends of the earth and built huge labyrinths to hide themselves in. They created a series of trials, praying that someone who could clear them might one day appear, so that they could bequeath their powers onto them in hopes that these new warriors would carry out their dreams.

After he finished his long speech, Oscar smiled peacefully.

"I have no idea who you are, or why you chose to fight your way down here. Nor do I have any intention of forcing my own dreams of the Gods' demise onto you. I simply wanted you to know what we fought and died for... As a reward for hearing me out, I shall grant you my strength. How you use it is entirely up to you. I can only pray you won't use it for evil. That's all I have to say. Thank you for listening to the end. May the 'blessings' of the Gods never reach you." Oscar's hologram disappeared and at the same time, I felt something scanning my mind before a flow of information entered my mind. I let it in because I expected this. The process caused a headache which I frowned slightly at and it seems that my companions noticed it.

"Shirou, are you okay?" Yue asked me in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I didn't expect the sudden flow of information," I said with a weak smile.

The pain faded eventually and the magic circle stopped shining.

"Hmn, what are we going to do?" Yue asked. I knew she was referring to Oscar's tale. I was still thinking when Hajime replied first.

"To be honest, I don't care. It was those good-for-nothing Gods that summoned me here in the first place and told me to go fight in their war. I hate them as it is anyway. Still, what happens in this world has nothing to do with me. All I care about is to return to the surface and find a way to return to our world."

"I think the same. Although I don't mind lending a hand if needed, I won't fight for them nor do I intend to save everyone. But I am sure if we want to return to our world, the Gods won't be quiet. After all, they were the ones who brought us to this world and I am sure they'll stand in our way and won't let us go easily. So we have to get stronger first before challenging them." I said before turning to Yue, "Did his story bother you, Yue?" I asked in concern, since unlike me and Hajime, Yue was someone of this world. So she might want to do something about it. If she does, then I might help her.

However, Yue shook her head without hesitation.

"I don't care. I just want to be with you, even if you choose to fight the entire world, I would be with you." Yue declared with a serious expression, which put a smile on my face as I patted her head.

"I see. By the way, I've learned magic from the Age of Gods, I think?"

"Really?" Yue asked excitedly. It made sense, since it was magic from Age of Gods and also because magic was her main weapon.

"Yea. This magic circle imprinted the magic directly onto my mind and I suddenly understood how it works."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hajime asked me with concern.

"I'm totally fine. And this magic fits the both of us."

"Are you serious? What does it do?" He asked and I could feel the excitement from his eyes- no, wait, in this situation, it should be from his eye.

"It's called [Creation Magic], and it grants me control over any object, structure or mineral, allowing me to shape or transform them in any way I wish.."

Yue had her mouth hung open in surprise while Hajime only said "I see" with a sagely nod, but I saw his grin and I am sure he is imagining himself making tons of vehicles and firearms.

"Does it mean you can make Artifacts?",Yue asked, almost shouting.

"Yes."

I could feel that this magic would improve my magecraft, more specifically [Projection] and [Alteration].

"Hey, you guys should learn it too, especially you, Hajime. You just have to step into the magic circle and it will transfer the knowledge into your mind. Oscar said something about the trial, so I think only the ones who cleared the labyrinth can learn this magic and since we cleared it together, you should be able to learn it too."

Hajime nodded, but Yue looked somewhat depressed.

"Why are you so down?" I asked and approached Yue, while Hajime stepped into the magic circle, making it glowing again and Oscar's hologram appeared again.

"I don't think I have any affinity to this magic…"

Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile wryly and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Well...Even if that ends up being true, it won't hurt to give it a shot, will it? There's no need to waste this chance. Its magic from the Age of Gods, after all."

"Okay…"

Well, I think I succeeded in convincing her to learn the magic. When Hajime finished learning the magic he stepped out of it and it was Yue's turn to enter the magic circle.

"I congratulate you on overcoming my trial. My name is Oscar..."

The hologram repeated all over again and Hajime went beside me.

"This magic is incredible, with this I can make a lot of things that I wanted to make when we were still on Earth!"

When I heard him, I couldn't help but snicker.

"What are you laughing at?" Hajime asked me in an annoyed tone, but seeing that I wasn't stopping, his frown deepened. "Hey, I asked why are you laughing?!"

"Sorry, sorry," I said while wiping some tears from my eyes, "It's just that after all that happened to us, you're still the same otaku that never stopped talking about weapons or vehicles for hours on end."

"Shut up!" He shouted in embarrassment since I brought out his hobbies.

(A/N: So Tsundere Hajime?)

(E/N: Always has been *Shoots Haaton in the back and revives him*)

At the same time, the hologram finished what it was saying for the 3rd time and Yue stepped out of the magic circle and walked towards us.

"So, how'd it go?" I asked.

"I learned the magic, but as I expected, I still don't understand how to make Artifacts as it doesn't make much sense to me." She said in a frustrated tone.

"So even magic from the Age of Gods is useless if you don't have an affinity for it huh…" I heard Hajime saying and I nodded in agreement.

"Well, changing topics," I said while stretching my arms, "Since this mansion is basically ours, we should get rid of the skeleton first."

"I agree, I don't want to sleep with a skeleton in the house, it's creepy." Yue said.

"And he will also make a good fertilizer." Hajime said.

In the end, we buried him in the garden and made a small grave with his name on it. But before we buried him, we took his ring from his skeleton finger. The ring had a symbol of a circle with a cross splitting it into even sections engraved on it.

First, we went to the library to search for a way to return to the surface. We broke the lock on the bookshelves with [Creation Magic] and started reading book after books. During the investigation, we found out that the magic circle was connected to the surface and we needed Orcus' ring to use this feature. There was also a blueprint of the mansion and although it can't be compared to the modern day blueprints, it had a lot of memos.

We also found the Orcus Diary, where he described his and his other 6 companions' daily lives, including information about the other 6 labyrinths that his companions made. And according to his diary, his six comrades had also designed their labyrinths so that anyone who made it all the way to its furthest depths would be granted magic from the Age of the Gods. Unfortunately, it didn't go into the specifics of what kind of magic each had. And only 2 labyrinths' location was known, which were the Grand Gruen Volcano and the Haltina Woods, the others were unknown or hidden.

"So, in order to acquire the other ancient magics, we have to clear the other labyrinths," I concluded.

"Maybe," Hajime replied, "But if there are 7 labyrinths then that means there exists 7 ancient magics, and we only have 1."

(A/N: Ancient Magic = Magic from Age of Gods.)

(E/N: You don't say...)

"One of them might help us return to your world." Yue said, which made sense since there was teleportation magic that summoned us from Age of Gods.

"Now that our goals are clear," I declared to both of them, "After we go back to the surface, we will clear the other 6 labyrinths and- Hmn?" I noticed that there was a rectangular box laying in the corner of the bookshelves so I got curious and grabbed it. "What is this?"

"Hm? What is that Shirou?" Yue asked me with curiosity.

"I dunno, I found it hidden in the bookshelf."

"Why don't you open it?" Hajime suggested.

I opened slowly and I expected a key to a secret room or a weapon that can kill Gods, but it wasn't either of those two. What was inside the box was a yellow star in a ring that had two small purple beads with 2 pairs of bat wings, the big pair of wings were purple and the smaller ones were black, it also had a purple handle. There was also a card in the box.

"This is...!" I widened my eyes as I picked this object from the box and beads of sweat started forming on my forehead.

"What is this Shirou?" Yue asked.

"Oi, isn't that similar to 'that' show?" Hajime asked in surprise while pointing at it, to which I nodded. "How can it be here?"

"I don't know."

"What are you talking about?" Yue asked cluelessly.

"Hmm..." I thought for a little while before explaining to her, "In our world, there's something called "anime", which is a form of entertainment for people of various ages. And this thing is very similar to a weapon from an anime called "World Guardian: Mil-tan ⭐". This weapon is used by Magical Girls, young girls who possess magical abilities and use their power to save the world. I never thought I would encounter one of these in this world." I said.

"Is it powerful?" Yue asked.

"I don't know," I shook my head, but then I looked at Yue. Although she is over 300 years old, she is a perfect candidate for a magical girl.

"Are you thinking of something rude?"

"N-No! I was just thinking you should try it since you are the only girl here." I sweatdropped at her sixth sense.

"Hmn," She pouted and extended her arm, indicating to give her the staff. I handed over the staff and she started inspecting it from all angles, but when she touched the bat wings, it suddenly hardened and made a small cut on her finger.

"Yue, are you alright?"

"Hmn, it's just a small cut." Yue replied, but then the staff flew out of her hand and floated in the air.

"Hello, hello everyone! I am the Kaleido Stick Amethyst desu~" The staff(?) introduced itself as Amethyst. We immediately raised our guards, but Amethyst didn't seem bothered by it. "Maa maa~, don't get so tense, I won't bite anyone. I am just a harmless Magical Girl Stick desu~."

'Wait, Magical Girl Stick? Are you fucking serious?' I thought.

"Who created you?" I asked since it was the most logical question.

"By the Second True Magic-user, Zelretch-sama!"

'Zelretch? That fuck-mothering vampire Zelretch!? What's he doing here?!'

"Zelretch? Who's that?"

"But changing topics!" Amethyst floated in front of Yue, "Why don't you become a Magical Girl? You will get awesome powers~!"

Yue looked at me, waiting for my approval, but I shook my head since I don't know what to do in this situation.

"I accept, if this will help Shirou and Hajime return to their world, I am willing to do anything!" She said as she grabbed the handle.

"Certified Master's blood! Contract activated by touch And the key start: the determination to help her friends! All checked without a problem! Now tell me your name!"

"Yue!"

"Master registered! Please take care of me from now on~!" Amethyst said enthusiastically as Yue glowed intensely which blinded me again for the second time in the same day. When the light died down, it revealed Yue with a purple magical girl outfit with 2 pairs of bat wings behind her and purple hair decorations.

"The new Kaleido Amethyst Prisma Yue!"

"Wow, I feel tons of mana flowing so intensely inside me!" Yue said as she inspected her new outfit. "Shirou, am I cute?" She asked me with her most innocent voice.

"Y-Yeah." I was caught off guard by her sudden question.

"Hehehe," She giggled a little, which was pretty cute.

"*Cough* *Cough* Well, before we start anything, we need to do something first…"

"Do first?" Hajime and Yue asked, confused.

I noticed their confusion and a grin formed on my face as I projected a few brooms, mops, etc. "We will clean the house!"

""Eh?"" Yue and Hajime had blank faces as if they didn't understand what I meant.

"What's with your faces? Although it seems clean on the surface, I am sure that there is dust all over the mansion and since we will live here for some time, we have to clean this place first!"

"Living here?"

"Yes, we will live here for some time. I don't think we are prepared to go back to the surface yet, especially in our current state. So it's better if we rest here and maybe we'll find something useful in this mansion, while also using this time to train ourselves."

"... Point taken." Both of them nodded.

Then I sent them the cleaning utensils and we started cleaning the mansion.

(Timeskip - A Few Hours Later/Night)

(A/N: Due to horny readers on this site, I will write a slightly dirty scene here. (I tried my best ;-;))

(E/N: *Sigh* That's why I left this site and returned to ff.net; couldn't stand the retardness of some denizens here...)

After we finished cleaning the whole mansion, we decided to explore every part of the mansion, since, with the Orcus ring, we had access to all the rooms that were locked. For example, the workshop, where we found many ores, tools, books, notes, etc.

Currently, I am in the bath alone. Hajime said that he was tired, so he went to sleep first.

"Haaaa," I sighed, "This feels so good." I felt the warm water on my skin and felt refreshed as I finally relaxed after all the near-death experiences and days without taking a bath. It was as if I was hugged by mother nature in a forest while the animals played orchestra in the background.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps from… wait footsteps?

*Splash*

My eyes widened and my body tensed. Hajime wasn't here since he said he was tired, and there is only one person in this mansion besides me and Hajime.

"Haaaa, this feels great!" I heard Yue's voice beside me.

"Y-Yue, w-what are you doing here?" I asked nervously without looking at my side. I could still see her golden hair at the corner of my eyes,

(A/N: Before you ask "Why does Shirou look like a beta protagonist?" or some shit like that and let me remind you piece of cheesecake, Shirou is a virgin like most of you (including me *Proud Author Noises*) and he will be embarrassed, etc. And why wasn't he like that when he first met her? Well, I will just say this, different situations require different reactions. Ciao!~)

(E/N: *Proud Editor Noises*)

"What do you mean? I am here to take a bath." She said as if it was obvious.

"You know that's not what I mean!" I shouted as I could feel the heat rising inside me, and it wasn't caused by the warm water.

'Something's rising and it isn't the gun hero,' I thought.

"Well, you looked lonely so I thought if I accompanied you, you will be glad *Slurp*."

What was that sound? Did she just lick her lips? I'm not ready for whatever shit that's coming… yet.

"W-Well, I think I'm done bathing, I will go out first." I got up and hurriedly tried to get out, but suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Why are you leaving? I just got in, so you have to stay with me too." She said, which made me look into her eyes, which I avoided looking down.

*Sigh* I entered the water again and avoided looking at her.

"Shirou, why are you looking away?" She asked.

"W-Well, you see…" I was so nervous that the words were stuck in my throat. Then I heard her moving in the water and stopped in front of me and a pair of hands touched my cheeks and moved my head to her direction.

"Shirou, look at me," She said with a smile on her face. Her golden wet hair and red eyes were almost hypnotizing. Hadn't I known better I would've thought that she had the Mystic Eyes of Enchanting.

"Yue…"

"Am I pretty?" She asked me with a smile.

"*Gulp* Y-Yea you are, Yue", I looked nervously at her.

"Hehe," She made a cute chuckle, "I am happy Shirou. I love you.", she said before launching at me.

"Wai-" I tried to protest but it was a useless attempt.

Forgive me mom, old slouch, everyone, for I have sinned and I can't get married anymore.

(A/N: By the way, this is my first time writing something like this, so I don't know if it was good or not.)

(7th POV)

(Timeskip - 2 months later)

2 months have passed. Shirou, Hajime and Yue trained at maximum pace during this time. Shirou trained his projection along with [Creation Magic]. He also made an armour from ores and a pair of guns resembling Kanshou and Bakuya, which belonged to EMIYA (Alter). Hajime trained his transmutation with [Creation Magic]. He also created an artificial arm and eye for himself, along with a variety of weapons and vehicles. Yue mostly trained her magical girl form, and also, we discovered that the card from the box could be used in her magical girl form. The card was connected to the Heroic Spirit Arjuna, an Archer Class Servant.

Currently, they were in the magic circle in the same room where they received [Creation Magic].

"Hajime, Yue, we will probably be considered as a heretic by the Holy Church and I doubt the kingdoms will let us roam around freely. They will probably try to get our weapons and try to force us into war."

"Yes..."

"And probably the humans won't be the only ones we have to deal with. Those Gods will pull some strings and we might end up making the entire world our enemy. But if that happens, I won't regret it. After all, I am with you guys." Shirou said with a smile.

"You won't die, stupid. I am here, so I won't let you die no matter what happens. And if you die, I'm gonna find a way to get you alive just to beat the shit outta you," Hajime said while putting his hand on Shirou's shoulder with a thumbs up.

"UmU, I am here too," Yue said while holding Shirou's hand and nodding.

"Don't forget about me!" Amethyst shouted.

Shirou smiled and shouted "Are you ready to go back guys?!"

"""Yes!"""

And they disappeared from the room.

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[Emiya Shirou | Age: 17 | Male | Level: ???

Job: Counter Guardian (Magus)

Strength: 23560

Vitality: 24650

Defense: 23560

Agility: 23200

Magic: 26000

Magic Defense: 26000

Skills: Incarnation of Sword [+Weapon Appraisal] [+Swordsmanship] [+Sword Birth] [+Sword Transformation] - Archery [+Arrow Projection] - Clairvoyance [+Hawkeye] - Eye of the Mind (True) - Magecraft [+Unlimited Blade Works] [Unlimited Lost Works] - Projection [+Tracing] - Reinforcement [+Alteration]- Structural Analysis [+History Visualization] - Magic Manipulation [+Mana Discharge] [+Mana Compression] [+Remote Manipulation] - Iron Stomach - Lightning Field - Air Dance [+Aerodynamics] [+Flash Step] [+Steel Legs] - Night Vision - Presence Concealment - Presence Detection - Heat Detection - Magic Resistance - Abnormal Status Resistance - Mental Attack Resistance - Diamond Skin - Language Comprehension...]

(A/N: Avalon isn't a skill and UBW/ULW are magecraft. By the way, UBW and ULW should be impossible to coexist but due to Author POWAH its possible. And there are a bunch of other skills mentioned in the LN that I am too lazy to copy pasta.)