Author: me
Type-Moon (Nasuverse)
Chapter 3: Burning City
*****
- What the hell happened here? - he muttered in bewilderment.
The level of anger in the air was unbelievable, as if he had returned to the battlefield with the Moon Lord. The night sky was an ominous red hue, along with thick clouds of black ash and smoke. Buildings burn and crumble with unbearable heat as metal structures bend and melt into puddles of rubble. But the nightmare lies in the charred corpses of the dead, where looks of horror, agony, and suffering are forever frozen on what is left untouched. Everything burned and died in what was once a residential neighborhood, as if the wrath of some unholy god had descended upon the area. Without a doubt, it was hell.
- The atmosphere is not pleasant, I agree. - A rather familiar voice sounded off to the side.
- You, how dare you. Leaving me at the mercy of this world's defenses, you're running off somewhere. - Clearly dissatisfied, the protagonist looked reproachfully at the feline.
- I acted as a friend! Seeing such a beautiful lady, how could I take her attention away from you? - Lucy began to make excuses.
- So you'd take her attention for yourself? - As if he'd had an epiphany, the Root's favorite spoke. - That's why you ran away. You're a coward!
- It was not cowardice, but a tactical retreat. - Duqi still didn't admit his guilt.
- No, you just ran away cowardly, afraid you wouldn't even be dealt with and wiped out your weak little soul.
- That's not true, but if you want to argue about it, after you get out of here. - At that moment, the metal beams in the building next to them bent because of the incredible heat, and as a result, multi-ton stone blocks began to fall on them. In a combination of adrenaline, instincts, and their abilities, the fall of these blocks for the Monster Hunter was like in slow motion, two steps to the side and a long somersault forward, a few seconds later there was a clatter of stones behind, and the ground followed the vibration of the fall of a clearly not easy boulder.
- What's happened here is clearly a magical catastrophe - Lucy decided to flaunt his knowledge?
- Of course, Captain Obviousness, looking at the black sun, I had no idea.
Immediately after his words, something exploded at his side, and he only had time to cover his face with his hands as the fire hit his body, purely as a reflex he jumped back, hitting his back on the recently collapsed building. Damn, sarcasm would drive a go to his grave.
- We have to get out. We head west, about five kilometers that way the anger begins to subside. - At least this koi was useful in some way.
Without giving an answer, or rather giving one by actions, the protagonist turned and ran through the burning building west in the same second, as if seeing what the others did not see. [The method of solving all equations] - this ability expands his vision many times, one such expansion allowed him to see the energy of this world, and since this fire is magical, he was perfectly aware of its direction, its volume.
He ran through the fire and the ruined buildings, and around him could be heard cries for help, cries of agony and suffering. He kept seeing the bodies crushed under a pile of rocks or the burned corpses of adults and children. If he was not clearly aware of himself, he would have thought he had been running for a couple of hours, the effect of what he saw made time drag on slower and slower.
But before he'd even run halfway, he felt out of breath; the crappy physique and the hot, musty air didn't help. Stopping for a minute to catch his breath, he looked at his hands; they were already burned and wounded. But strangest of all, his hands were much smaller than before. Turning his head, he accidentally saw a broken window in which was reflected a 6-7 year old child with snow-white hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.
Before he had time to comprehend the situation, the building began to fall on him again. The fatigue after a long run and his frail body did not allow him to jump back in time, so after a somersault away from where the huge, burning stone had fallen, he fell and cut himself on the broken glass, and shards of concrete block flew into his back.
Glass-cut hands, burns all over his body except his face, and hematomas with wounds on his back. This world probably doesn't want to see him alive. But at the moment he is more worried about his mental state. He began to ramble, On the horizon, an upside-down tree was visible, composed of dark light, with a black sun in its roots.
Stop! Biting his tongue, he felt pain all over his body anew, which brought him to consciousness and forced him to keep going.
We have to keep going. There wasn't much left. Despite the fatigue and the pain. There was only half of the journey left. One step at a time, one step at a time.
◊◊◊
In the midst of the fire that shook the city, in the carnage caused by the cruelty and madness of evil, a boy walked. The infernal fire devoured everything in its path, like a hungry beast, not paying attention to anything, but the child with white hair walked as if hypnotized, walking forward.
The scorched earth snaked beneath his feet, and a cloud of black ash and smoke hovered over his head, like a beast staring at its prey. The world, illuminated by the ominous glow of the black sun, was denuded and degraded by the black filth that seemed to absorb all light.
There were screams, though the child heard no one alive. All he heard were mythical and distorted voices, as if expressing their anger and resentment, trying to drive him mad. There were corpses burned beyond recognition, but the boy could no longer see that. Before his eyes constantly flashed images of an overturned tree, and on it hanging ghostly bodies, and then the picture changed to an area dotted with overturned crosses on which were hung creatures with one eye, consisting of a completely white or black substance.
Every step taken, despite the pain, despite the fatigue, despite the horror, reflected the boy's still unwavering will to survive.
And so, after an indefinite time, the boy stepped onto living ground. He watched as the city burned in bright red fire, as if begging for help, and the ruined buildings and burnt corpses represented the cruelty of this world. But the boy did not go on, did not fall from exhaustion or cry in despair, he continued to stand, unconscious from exhaustion and pain.
It was a true feat, a feat that hadn't happened in this world for a long time. It was something lost in time, an unwavering will and unbreakable tenacity. It was a Heroic Spirit in this time, a time forgotten by the gods.
- Thank God! - A cry was heard from behind the boy. Strong male arms picked up the exhausted and unconscious child.
- You're alive! - he was dressed in a black suit and coat. The man whose hair and eyes were the same color - black. However, his black eyes would have looked dead and empty if not for the tears rolling down the man's face and the smile of absolute relief. Constantly repeating the word "Thank you," as if the child lying in his arms had saved him.
- No matter what happens, I'll save you. - whispered the man.
Holding the completely exhausted child, who was barely breathing and on the verge of death, in his hand a scabbard of the same holy, golden color materialized out of a golden glow. At the same second, the smell of flowers spread around the area, and the dirt that was ten meters from their location, as if meeting the most terrible enemy, trembled, stepped back. Such a mystical scene ended only when the man put the scabbard into the boy's body, which dissolved into his body without seeing any obstacles.
- Thank you. - The man could only repeat himself.