37 - Falling Star

"Tell me, do you understand what you have done wrong?"

"…I slept in a bed with a man I do not have relations with."

"And why is that an issue?"

"…Because it creates a misunderstanding."

Shirou was sitting atop the throne, scolding Artoria with a haughty expression on his face. He was back to fulfilling his role as the Sword of Selection.

It seemed that they shouldn't expect another attack from the Underworld for awhile. It seems that the Obsidian Chimera was specifically made to be strong enough to kill Artoria. It seems that it would take awhile for another to be made.

Supposedly, Artoria had received this information from the gods, proving that she was serving them.

Currently, she had a scowl on her face, which meant that she wanted to kill Shirou, but couldn't due to his position.

"In order for you to remember this lesson, you must rub my shoulders as punishment."

Her scowl deepened.

She got up, walked behind the throne, and started to massage Shirou's shoulders. He had a cocky expression on his face, one that belonged on a person who was in a position of power.

Ah… I deserve this. This is less of a Nightmare and more of a dream. A vacation for a Hero of Justice.

Shirou had some things to check however, so he dove into his soul sea to check the place.

…Woah.

The scenery of his soul sea had changed. The cogs in the sky were oozing darkness. His Forge Cores were covered in black flames instead of the crimson ones from before. Overall, it seemed a lot darker.

Shirou scratched the back of his head before deciding to check his new Attribute.

Attributes: [Ember of Divinity], [Lord of Swords], [Mind of Steel], [Anomaly], [Karmic Eye], [Clairvoyance], [Chronos Rose(Blade Works)], [Abysswalker].

He had received a new Attribute called [Abysswalker]. As he looked through the list, he realized that he might have too many Attributes. He didn't think the average Awakened had more than four.

[Abysswalker]

Attribute Description: [The darkness tried to consume you, but instead, you consumed it. The abyss now flows through your soul.]

Indeed, his forge essence had taken the form of the black flames. His forge essence had gotten potent enough that he was able to give it physical shape.

Shirou exited his soul sea. Artoria was still giving him a shoulder massage, causing him to smirk to himself.

I got darkness powers, women in my bed, and a shoulder massage from a king! Try and beat that Sunny!

As Shirou was having his internal monologue, Artoria was planning out her next move. If he noticed her face, he would probably be worried for his life right now.

In truth, there was something else he should be more worried about, but that wasn't important currently.

After a few minutes, Shirou decided that she should stop rubbing his shoulders. No matter how nice it feels, he didn't want to get himself killed.

Shirou had quite a bit of free time now. He had eleven months before Artoria becomes corrupted. His Blades were currently looking for the real Caliburn, so he could simply spend his time teaching her about being human.

Shirou could not stay after that time, as having Artoria hunt him down as a Corrupted is not on his bingo card. He needed to find Caliburn, make sure that she doesn't get corrupted, and try to get out of this Nightmare.

Shirou knew that simply killing her would get him out, but he would prefer not to. That will be a last resort if she ends up succumbing to corruption.

Shirou got out of his throne and walked over to Artoria.

"Is there anything you want to do?"

She made a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think that it is difficult to understand. We don't have much to do, so is there anything you want to do?"

"…Are you not supposed to teach me what I need to become king?"

Shirou deadpanned.

"You know, humans have things that they want to do."

A clicking sound can be heard.

"I see."

What a dry conversation.

After hearing that clicking sound, Shirou had the urge to say something like 'The ability of this Transcendent is to adapt to any and all phenomena', but restrained himself.

"I would like to free my knights."

Shirou snapped out of his lobotomy.

"Huh? Aren't they all dead. I'm sure that you killed them."

She shook her head.

"No, my Knights of the Roundtable have left Camelot after the first signs of corruption. I'm sure that they are still out there, mindlessly slaughtering any living things."

She had a distant expression, regret seeping into her voice.

Shirou tilted his head, as this seemed quite out-of-character for her.

"How many of them are there?"

"Unless something changed, only three of them had survived."

She looked rather conflicted, glancing at Shirou a few times.

"…Of course, if you would prefer to do something else, then you can forget about what I have said."

Huh?! You can't act all meek like that if you want to be a king!

Although Shirou was thinking that her hesitance was quite cute, he figured that something is definitely wrong if she was willing to not do this just for him.

"Whether or not I want to do it doesn't matter. If you want to go finish them, then that's what we'll do."

Artoria was stunned for a few moments before nodding.

"They are all in this illusionary world, so we don't have to go to the real one."

Shirou thought for a few moments on transportation, and decided that he shouldn't interrupt Draconis's search.

"Since my steed is busy, you'll have to do."

"…I must have misheard you."

"I said that you are going to have to carry me around. Preferably in a princess carry."

Without an ounce of hesitation, she held up Shirou with ease. He was baffled at how willing she was, but decided to enjoy the ride while he can.

…Why is she breathing heavily?

On this day, [Eroge Protagonist EX] had birthed a yandere.

No, perhaps she was one from the start?

Instead of going through the halls, she simply jumped through the wall. Shirou would have been disappointed if he didn't know that the castle can reconstruct itself.

As they rushed through the air, Shirou shouted over the wind:

"Do you even know where they are?!"

"Of course."

Shirou shivered, feeling that he was the target for something that should be restrained. At the same time however, he was strangely looking forward to it.

Am I going insane?

Not even the host is free from the effects of [Eroge Protagonist EX].

————————————————————

Once they landed, Shirou caught sight of something burning. With [Clairvoyance] he saw that it was actually a person. They were wielding a burning sword in their hand.

Was it just him, or does the sun seem really bright?

Artoria started to walk in the Nightmare Creatures direction. It seemed that it was one of her knights. The burning body turned around, facing her with hidden eyes. It started to step in her direction, moving with unrestrained bloodlust.

Artoria summoned her sword, and rushed towards the burning figure. However, the burning knight seemed to have retained some of it's skill. They clashed against each other, making there fight look more like a battle between knights, rather than a human against a monster.

The field that they fought on started to burn, as the burning abomination jumped back. It threw up it's weapon toward the sun. Artoria stopped for a moment, erecting a shield of golden energy in front of her.

The Nightmare Creature caught the sword, and swung the blade. A slash of flames rushed in her direction. Shirou was able to feel the heat from where he was, causing him to believe that the flames were special.

The golden barrier did not seem fazed by the attack, as Artoria immediately dashed forward to take advantage of the opening. She sliced the head of the knight clean off.

The body kept burning, until there was nothing left.

Artoria stood still for a moment, before turning around to walk towards Shirou.

He figured that the knight was most likely of the Fallen rank, since Artoria seemed to be holding back. She most likely wanted a fair duel with her knight.

As Shirou was lost in thought, he was picked up again, and they went towards the next knight.

Shirou thought about Artoria's power for a moment, and ended up having a question stuck in his head.

What is her transformation ability?

All Transcendents get an Aspect Ability that allows them to transform. It could range from becoming a dragon, to something like cloning yourself.

What Shirou did not know however, was that he was going to find out on this day.

————————————————————

Shirou gulped as he looked at the pile of weapons in front of him. On top of it was a black knight with a red visor. Shirou noticed that there was elemental darkness leaking from the knight.

The knight saw Artoria, and jumped into the sky, holding two swords in it's hands, which were coated in darkness. It let out a ferocious roar.

"AAAARTHUUUUR!"

Shirou had never heard a Nightmare Creature talk before. He was quite intrigued, but also horrified at the implications.

A smart Nightmare Creature?! We're screwed!

The knight dove towards Artoria, locking swords with her. It swung in a wild manner, much unlike the burning knight from before.

It's like a berserker going berserk.

Shirou felt that he broke something he shouldn't have.

Artoria easily parried the unpredictable attacks of the black knight. After a while, the armor started to crack, and Artoria plunged her sword in with a burst of soul essence. A corrupted golden light pierced through the knights body.

The armor crumbled, showing a deformed man beneath the armor. Artoria seemed to say something to the knight, but Shirou couldn't quite make it out. He only had enhanced sight after all.

Artoria pulled the sword out, allowing the Nightmare Creature to fall to the floor. The man started to slowly dissolve into darkness, but instead of it fading away, it rushed towards Shirou, as if excited.

Shirou allowed the darkness to be absorbed, and unlike last time, it was easily integrated into his soul. His forge essence felt slightly stronger, but nothing else had changed.

Actually, Shirou felt like he do something similar to what the knight had done with the swords. However, that was simply speculation.

————————————————————

The sun was starting to set, as Shirou and Artoria looked into the sky. Clouds started to gather, and sparks of red lightning crackled through the air.

It seemed that this last knight would be quite the hassle.

In the blink of an eye, a large draconic figure can be seen falling towards them. It had a red and silver armor around it's body, and two horns protruding from the armor.

I should call Draconis here for the heart.

Shirou used [Chronos Rose] to make some distance, as he didn't want to be caught anywhere near that devastating fight.

Once he had gotten a safe distance away, he saw golden light start to spread. It had some dark energy mixed in, as it started to coalesce. It exploded in a massive pillar of corrupted light, and a silhouette appeared.

Another draconic figure appeared, but this one seemed to be weaved out of energy. Artoria had a mostly golden body, with sparks of black spreading across. There were two majestic horns sprouted atop the ethereal body's head. It had glowing green eyes, and a halo floating above.

Shirou watched in awe as the dragons clashed, red lightning coursing through the air. It was a battle between a Transcendent and a Corrupted Titan.

They grappled each other, tried to bite each other, and fought in a wild manner. Two beasts fighting for dominance over the other. After a while, Shirou grew confused.

The red dragon had… warped away?

Shirou turned his head a few times, trying to see if it was anywhere nearby. As he looked up, his eyes widened at the absurdity of what was happening.

There was a meteor falling from the sky. Red lightning trailed behind it as it fell towards Artoria.

The dragon was the meteor.

Shirou didn't know if he was in the blast radius, but he wasn't going to stick around to find out. He activated [Chronos Rose] and absolutely sprinted away.

Once he felt that he was far enough, he deactivated it. He was almost dry of essence, but it was either that or get vaporized.

As the meteor fell, Artoria opened her jaws. Shirou felt the same force he had when she shot out that beam from her sword. However, this time, it was much more pronounced. He heard the words, not with his ears, but with his soul.

"EX-"

The meteor was almost there.

"-CALIBUR!"

The beam of light fired out of Artoria's jaws, fighting against the crimson meteor. From where he was standing, Shirou saw a red star glowing in the sky, and a beam of golden light shooting towards it.

This scene engraved itself into his mind.

The red star started to go dim, before suddenly increasing in intensity. Artoria did the same, as she pumped every last drop of soul essence into this attack.

This battle was completely different than hee fight against the Great Titan. This was a battle of destructive force, while her fight against the Obsidian Chimera was a battle of attrition.

As he watched the scene in front of him, he heard something break. The meteor of crimson lightning had disappeared. The corrupted golden light shot towards the sky. It pierced the very heavens itself.

The crimson dragon fell. It's armor was destroyed, revealing the red scales underneath. Meanwhile, Artoria's transformation dissolved, causing her to drop down from the sky.

She landed on the ground, looking at the corpse of her knight for a moment, and started to walk towards Shirou to leave.

Shirou had different plans however.

He ran to the body of the dragon, and summoned Draconis using [Soul Storage]. The wyvern was interrupted from his search, but it would at least get a free communion.

Artoria watched in confusion as Draconis tore out the heart of the red dragon. The heart lit aflame, and spread to Draconis. Once the heart burnt away, Draconis suddenly disappeared in cyan light.

Shirou looked on in confusion. This had never happened before, but he figured it out when he had new runes appear.

[Your Blade is evolving.]

Oh.

The previous times, Shirou was not around to see the process, meaning he didn't know what it looked like when they were evolving.

He looked towards Artoria, who seemed quite startled by what had happened. He called out to her to snap her out of her stupor.

She grabbed him once more in order to return to Camelot.

————————————————————

Shirou laid in his bed. The day was quite eventful, so he didn't understand everything that had just happened. However, he wasn't too worried about it, so he closed his eyes in order to sleep.

It seemed that the world had other plans for him, as he heard his door freak open.

Didn't I talk to her about this earlier?! Does she not have her own room?!

Shirou had taken her room.

He decided to see where she was going with this, so he simply kept his eyes closed. He felt the bed move a few moments, until he felt a body atop his.

…Huh?

Shirou felt hair brush against his chin, and a head laying on his chest. Shirou steeled himself. He was not going to let [Eroge Protagonist EX] get the best of him.

"Thank you."

Shirou froze.

He started to feel a wetness on his chest.

…Fine. Maybe I shouldn't try to kick her out.