Chapter 19

Sorry about the delay was sick for the latter part of December and then I had an essay to do at school that took up most of my time. But I didn't want to blueball you all with that cliffhanger so I pushed myself to make this chapter to get us started on the final part of this arc.

With that said enjoy the chapter

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~Shinji Matou POV~

Cold. That was the first thing that came to mind as soon as I opened my eyes. Sitting up slowly, snow fell off my chest. Flipping on my circuits and magic core, I then surrounded myself in flames that melted the snow around me and warmed me up.

"Ah." Releasing a satisfied sigh, I stood up off the ground. "Ddriag's flames are great for cold weather."

Using Arc of Embodiment, I made myself a shirt and jacket before I began going over my current situation.

For one with my origin released, I now have a better understanding of myself and my powers. Alexander was reincarnated in this world, but him asking that God for Arc of Embodiment was just a hallucination, a fake memory to protect his mind when so much information was being pushed inside it.

Alexander's soul traveled from his universe to the Nasuverse, and the moment he passed through, he caught a glimpse of Akasha. He wasn't there long—only a tenth of a millisecond—but it was enough as knowledge began flowing through his mind.

His mind was unable to cope with that information, and his mind substituted that information with stuff he knew about his life.

So my Arc of Embodiment was actually an inferior version of the first true magic.

"I'm still going to call it Arc of Embodiment, though."

Other than that, I could now start using my dragon abilities and stronger devil abilities as my bloodlines got a boost as they became more refined due to releasing my origin.

"Anyway, I better do this now." On my finger was the space ring that I gave to my clone before my second fight with Gilgamesh. He was able to get back just in time for us to be transported to Miyu's world.

Reaching inside, I pulled out Kunzite. "I really am sorry, Kunzite. Hopefully, this works." If I was remembering this right, the Kaleidosticks had artificial spirits that shaped their personalities. And if that's the case, then this should work. In my hand was a purple queen chess piece.

Placing the piece on Kunzite, I waited a couple of seconds before a purple magic circle appeared above him, and the chess piece seemed to be absorbed into him.

I stared at Kunzite for a couple of seconds with baited breath as I waited for any kind of reaction from my partner.

After a couple of minutes of waiting, I watched with wide eyes as the damage to Kunzite's frame fixed itself until he looked brand new.

Slowly, Kunzite floated out of my hand and hovered in front of me. "Kunzite, are you okay?"

Kunzite didn't say a word, only continuing to float for several seconds in silence.

"Damn, did it fail?" I could help but curse in frustration as my vision grew blurry and my warm tears ran down my face.

"Don't worry, Kunzite; I'll definitely find a way to bring you back." Placing Kunzite back in my space ring, I then opened my devil wings and flew up in the air.

There, I was able to see Fuyuki City covered in a blanket of snow and a giant crater in the center. I was taken out of my thoughts by the sounds of thunder coming from the far side of the city, followed by a huge explosion.

Seeing that lightning caused my anger to bubble up like bile, but I took a deep breath and calmed down. Illya should be there along with Tanaka, and while I would love nothing more than to beat the snot out of that brat Beatrice, there was a time and place, and I didn't have the Assassin card to deal with the ever-watchful Darius.

So with reluctance, I made my way over to the sounds of raging thunder at a slow pace.

And now that I had time to debilitate, I noticed how easy it was to fly. Not that it wasn't easy back in Illya's world, but I felt like I could clear the city in five minutes at full speed. Aside from that, in general, I felt more free here than in the Illyaverse.

Maybe it has to do with Gaia not having as much influence here due to the Earth dying? But I have to wonder why this timeline hasn't been pruned already, given the route Darius was going with his plan.

Also, thinking about Darius got me thinking about Zouken. There was no deny that they were fucked up, but I can't deny that I see myself in them somewhat. They were, in the end, just humans who wanted to achieve their goals. I mean, I literally turned myself into an amalgamation of races so I could survive and go back and save my sister.

I have to wonder. Will I end up like them in the end? A man so obsessed with achieving my goal that I become a husk of my former self.

It's quite a scary thought, but it's one that can definitely happen.

But that's future me's problem for now; I think I can speed up now. Seeing the thunder and lightning had stopped, I spread my wings out and sped up.

After flying for a couple seconds, I spotted Illya and quickly landed beside her.

"Shinji-san!?" Illya said in surprise and relief, but I ignored her in favor of looking at Tanaka, who was likewise looking at me.

"Illya, who's your friend here?"

"Um, she says her name is Tanaka. Though she also says she has amnesia, so I really don't know." Illya said before gaining a serious expression. "But she also said her goal is to destroy the Ainsworth's."

Yeah, also because she's a goddamn counter guardian, though obviously weaker than the others out there and not the best Alaya has, but that's to be expected of the unconscious will of humanity. Only using the bare minimum to get the job done.

"Alright, then we can work together. After all, we need to save Miyu, and any help we can get will be helpful." I said before turning around slightly toward the presence behind me. "So are you going to come out, priest?"

After a couple of seconds, the sounds of shoes tapping the ground echoed through the empty streets before he came around the corner.

He was just like in my memories, wearing a black cassock, a golden cross around his neck, and a pair of empty brown eyes.

Kirei Kotomine the man who does not know what gives him pleasure. I wonder if you are like the man in my world. Or are you still ignorant of your desires?

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"Thank you for carrying Tanaka, sir." Illya said to Kotomine as she sat on the stool beside me.

After speaking for a bit and seeing Tanaka's condition, which was faking sickness for some reason, Kotomine took us to the ramen shop he owned with him cooking behind the counter.

"It's nothing. Your friend was hungry enough to drop, right? As a ramen shop owner, I couldn't ignore that."

Yeah, right, I still don't trust any version of you, Kotomine. Especially considering I know where this is going.

"What is that smell!?" Tanaka yelled out, leaning over the counter.

Kotomine turned around and looked at Tanaka with a confused expression. "Do you not know what ramen is?"

"I don't! But it smells like fortified wheat flour that was kneaded in some water and then boiled!" Tanaka said with stars in her eyes.

That was way too specific, Tanaka. I thought with a deadpan.

"Alright done." Kirei said as he placed the bowls in front of us one by one. "I hope the taste is to your liking."

But instead of the smell of ramen, I was greeted by the heavy smell of the red liquid that was in the bowl, along with the tofu floating in the liquid as well.

Alright, this confirms you're definitely a sadist, Kotomine. But I can't say I'm not curious. So ignoring Illya and Tanaka as well as every instinct in my body that was saying this was a bad idea, I picked up the big spoon used for soup and scooped up the mapo tofu.

After blowing softly for a couple of seconds, I then placed the spoon in my mouth. The moment I put a spoonful of the soft tofu and minced meat in my mouth, I felt a surge of heat that made me gasp.

Damn I admit, that's good. I then picked up another spoonful and took another bite of the tofu. This cycle of pain continued until I had completely finished the bowl.

I was taken out of my thoughts due to a surge of bloodlust. Looking up, I saw Kotomine looking at Illya with a serious expression.

Did she bring up the Ainsworth's already? That means Gilgamesh should be making his appearance soon.

"Anyway, more importantly, the bill. Three bowls of mapo ramen comes to 4,800 yen."

That's fucking highway robbery! With a click of my tongue, I reached into my pocket, went into my space ring, pulled out the cash, and slammed it onto the counter. "Here's your money scam artist! Now come on, Illya were leaving." Standing up, I grabbed my jacket and made my way over to the door.

As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by a pair of inhuman red eyes. But instead of them being attached to a man, they were attached to a girl with long golden hair who was looking at me with a smirk.

"Hello Shinji-kun, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

Without any hesitation, I slammed the door shut before taking a deep breath. I then slowly opened the door again, and my eyes didn't deceive me; indeed, the girl was still there.

"Kotomine, do you have a back entrance I can use?" I asked while closing the door.

"Oh, are you embarrassed, Shinji, to see me in this form?" Gilgamesh said through the door.

"Of course not; I just don't want to deal with anything that has to do with this route!"

Damnnit why couldn't stuff just stay the same as canon? I even would have taken having no magic circuits over this clusterfuck of a situation.