Dicks.
Dicks everywhere.
Flying dicks. Slithering dicks. Groaning dicks. Chittering dicks.
Just… so many dicks.
They blew out from under the dirt yard in droves, like a black swarm of bees. A particularly disgusting swarm of bees that made me want to empty my lunch, breakfast, and even all I ate the day before. Never before in my life had I unleashed Infinity faster than I did then.
I even yelped. There was no shame in it.
Not even the daemon bearing the name of the archangel Gabriel, or that Dead Apostle capable of feeding on kinetic energy came close to how horrifying this was.
"HELL NO!"
Looking cool was the last thing on my mind. I began wondering if running was a better option than facing this… abomination.
"Hm."
Kirei stepped in front of me, his dark coat fluttered as he shoved both hands inside and ripped out six black keys, three in either hand. A moment before the bugs touched him, his hands blurred. Somehow, those dicks passing through a human meat grinder was even more disgusting. The gore washed up against my barrier. I put a hand over my mouth, retching.
"Henry. He will flee." The priest called out.
"The fuck he will. I'll kill every single one of these bugs myself if I have to."
I snapped my fingers. A curtain expanded around us. A defensive bounded field turned inside out. Knowing how these bugs were capable of burrowing, I made sure to extend the field under the earth as well. Then, I brought my hands together. The air burned. When I pulled them apart, red-hot flames danced within.
"Fuga."
With a dead face, I pinched the fire, and pulled back as though I were drawing a bow string. The flames morphed into a flaming arrow.
I let go.
The air sizzled.
Flames exploded outwards.
"Πῦρ (pyr/fire)."
When I snapped my fingers, they split. Hundreds of bolts struck the damned creatures and erupted in miniature explosions that swept away any others around them. Only when I saw them screeching in pain as their forms crumbled apart, did I finally let out a sigh.
Zouken never moved, even as the bugs swarmed over him. He still stood there now, a thin smile on his sunken face.
"You know I can not die."
"You who have abandoned your humanity. As an Executor of the Holy Church, I will fulfill my duty to God and His creations."
The old creature cackled at the proclamation. A nasty sound reminiscent of his chittering dick-things. I swung my arm. His torso fell off, detached from his body. No blood came spilling out, instead I saw those same creatures writhing about inside him. The upper half broke down into the earth, and he re-grew from the waist up.
I wanted to cry.
"If I were so easily killable, the many that came before you would have succeeded." He laughed heartily, at me.
Kirei glanced at me, "Trap him. Leave the rest to me."
For a moment, I considered denying the priest's request. Divine Magecraft was easily capable of deleting this man from existence with not even a trace left behind. I quickly decided against that. There was no point in revealing my hand when there was no need to.
I nodded with a hum.
"I can do that."
Zouken laughed louder. "Youngster, do you really think I made no preparations for an upstart to come barging into my home?"
I wasn't nearly stupid enough to assume that. He was stupid enough to assume I didn't know.
From the moment I stepped foot upon this tainted soil, my aviators had been shoved in my pockets. I saw all that happened. I understood all that happened. His magecraft, his familiars; those disgusting insects I regretted looking at from the depths of my heart were also him too, and the base of his magecraft. The reason for his regeneration and longevity. The reason he was so assured he'd survive this.
"They're not all here, are they?" I pursed my lips.
Surprise flickered through his white eyes for a brief moment.
"Surprising."
The worms pooled beneath him. Kirei lunged at him but Zouken was gone before he ever neared, submerged in those creatures. I felt the intelligence leave the monstrosities around us. I sensed multitudes of them burrowing into the ground.
"He has fled." Kirei breathed out. "But, I suppose this works to our advantage."
I raised a brow.
"I had thought to end him here. That is no longer possible. But, his home is the breeding ground for those creatures."
"You want to destroy this place?"
"He will be immensely weakened. The next time we meet shall be his last."
There it was again, that odd ghost of a smile even his own face wasn't used to. Kirei Kotomine was playing me, I could tell… just, I wasn't able to work out his angle yet. He was an overseer for the Holy Church, his ultimate agenda was certainly my death for no reason other than my being a magus. But, beyond that, maybe he had something more to gain from this war as well.
I needed to ask around.
"I leave this task to you. See me at the Church."
I hummed. "Mm, sure."
The priest turned, hands once again behind his back, and walked off. With narrowed eyes, I opened the curtain just enough for him to leave, before sealing it off once again.
I could figure him out later.
For now, every last one of those creatures needed to die.
"Nobu." I spoke through our mental connection.
"That was terribly disgusting. Kill it with fire?"
"Kill it with fire." I nodded, backing off to the edge of the compound.
"What? You don't want to investigate this place? He wasn't the Master, you know?"
I shivered. "I think I'm fine cutting my losses here for now."
The mere thought of stepping inside made me want to retch.
"Fine with me!"
A good moment passed in silence. Then, abruptly, I heard the sound of something tearing through the air. The sort of noise a bomb being dropped tended to make. I looked up to spot Nobunaga free-falling through the air.
"Close enough."
The air around her burned as she held out her hands to either side. Hundreds of rifles formed around her. The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven gave me a wink, knowing I could see it even from the distance between us.
Then, all hell broke loose.
Fire rained down from the skies. Smouldering bullets that looked closer to beams of fire shot from the rifles. When they touched down, the ground burst. A bomb had been an apt analogy I decided. Suddenly, it looked like a bombing raid was taking place, contained to the Matou compound.
My inner American preened at the loud, red explosions that decimated the decidedly beautiful mansion. The ground was torn asunder, and even the rubble torn to shreds. When Nobunaga finally stopped, nothing remained at all except a charred black crater a fifty meters deep.
She appeared next to me with a hand over her hat.
"Quite splendid of me, if I do say so myself."
"Personally, I would've kept firing for at least ten minutes."
That was how disgusted I'd been.
Her crimson eyes shimmered as she tip-toed, "Can I? Can I?! I was just being considerate towards your mana reserves!"
"The time's passed. Actually, you know what?"
She deflated.
"Imaginary Technique-"
Bringing my fingers together for a snap, I raised my hand to point at the crater. Purple lightning waded off my fingertips as the very world groaned under an imaginary mass. With a grin, I let my fingers go.
"Hollow Purple."
Under divine law, the world became white.
Just like the original, I only needed the flimsiest excuse to whip out the strongest technique in my arsenal. This particular use however, I felt was more than justified.
"Way to go over the top, Master." Nobunaga crossed her arms.
I smacked her side. "You don't get to say that."
"Fair."
The Sun had nearly set now, and even though I wanted to go to the Church so I could push Kirei for an answer, I had a promise to fulfill. If Bazett responded to my challenge, then she'd made her decision. The damn woman wasn't really giving me any choice here.
Sighing, I shook my head and turned to leave.
In my wake, I left the decimated Matou household.
Yet, the patriarch lived. Sure, I'd destroyed his base of operations and the place he got his insects from but… the victory didn't really feel like one. He'd fled. His progeny, if he had any, survived also.
"Well, I guess I'll hunt them down too."
There was a certain joy to be found in hunting down magi the likes of Zouken Matou.
I wondered what the rest of his family was like.
I didn't have to wonder for long.
The moment I actually rounded the corner to finally leave the property, I spotted a blue-haired youth lying on his ass. There was a school bag lying next to him, with stationery and books scattered about. His jaw was slack, and his violet eyes were wide from shock.
Yet, what drew my eye was,
"Did your parents plant some seaweed in your skull when you were born?"
"W-Who the hell are you?"
"Hey, don't you think it's rude to ask for someone's name without giving your own." I cleaned my aviators against my coat.
He yelped, crawling backwards.
"S-Shinji…"
Oh?
"S-Shinji Matou! Don't… Don't you know who you're dealing with?!"
Oh my.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Please, don't hesitate to point out any difference in quality or some such.
Has anyone figured out Kirei's angle?