Chapter 16 - Chapter 15

Descendant of a god? Me?

I froze, the notion that I had even the smallest drop of divine blood in my veins before meeting Astraea making my mind go blank.

"...I don't think I am," I answered after a moment, the answer coming easily. Whatever Astraea might have felt must have been something different. "The Age of Gods ended thousands of years ago in my world, it would be ridiculous for me to be a demigod or something."

"Is it so?" She insisted, turning around and getting close enough that our noses almost touched. I relaxed against the headboard, letting her weight press on me. "Could it not be that alongside the belief of their existence, the knowledge of their lineage also became matters of legend? Maybe so much time has passed that their presence in your ancestry became muddled, and the Divinity you inherited has all but faded… And maybe acquiring a Falna has reinvigorated it."

…Could it be? It sounds… fantastical, the fact that I could have descended from divinity, but I could not one hundred percent be sure that her assumptions were wrong. There is, what, forty, fifty generations of people in a thousand years? How many millions of people worth of blood could intermingle in that time?

How about in two thousand years, or three? Or how many since the inception of humanity?

If anything, wouldn't it be weirder for someone to not have a speck of god's blood in their veins?

"Is that something that happens?" I asked, trying to come to terms with the possibility. "Falna making descendants of gods closer to-? No, wait, gods don't have… actual children with mortals here, right?" Right, one of the of the bigger differences between our worlds was the fact that there were no demigods around, only Blessed mortals.

Astraea smiled, but there was something lonely in her expression. "Indeed. Although some would say -me included- that the children we bless with a Falna are just as ours as they are their parents', there are not actual children born from gods," she said, softly cupping my jaw with both her hands. "I… didn't consider the possibility of you being one, before. Not even after hearing your story. But what I felt today… It was something new in this world, an impossibility, an irregularity."

She was looking at me like I was something precious. Something she didn't know she had been looking for, and yet she found it anyway.

"An Authority, you said," I continued softly, not knowing how to react to her expression, so I did my best to ignore it. "Astraea- What I do is not even magic, it's just magecraft. I'm a third-rate. My arias are just a way to hypnotize myself to better use my Magic Circuits and make my spells more efficient. They're not… divine intervention."

Astraea giggled. "An Authority is not something so grand, It's just… a god's identity, our domain, and how we express it. It doesn't even need our Arcanum to work, it's who we are. We can contain it, but it's always there."

"Like Hephaestus' affinity with crafting?"

"Indeed, Hephaestus is one of us who prefers to keep it contained as much as possible, but she still is a master artisan. It's part of who she is. And, to name some other gods I know, Demeter's crops will always grow better, and Freya's beauty will always entrance those around her."

"And my body will always be made of blades," I whispered, being careful to not have any of my Circuits activated… and yet I felt something deep within. A thrum, deep inside my soul.

And the aria came to me when Hephaestus reminded me of Archer's words. Of who, or what, I truly was. A maker.

Was she right, then? Was this a sign that I was becoming something more than just a blessed mortal?

I… didn't know, and if Astraea wasn't really sure either, then I would remain uncertain until something truly shifted in my being.

"Can't even fully contain it, hm?" Astraea asked knowingly. Pressing herself more against me, an impish smile on her face … and I did my best to not react at the fact that she was almost sitting on me, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. And that I was still shirtless. "Now that I know what to look for, I can't ignore it. Your aria shifts the magic of the world around you, changes it. It's just for a moment but it imprints it with… you," she whispered, the warmth of her breath making goosebumps raise on my skin.

In spite of the topic, my heart began to speed up.

"Maybe I'm wrong," she said after a moment, ignorant of my plight. "Maybe it's just a weird interaction of your type of magic with the Falna, maybe it's something else we ignore. But I want you to promise me to be careful with this."

I breathed deeply, forcefully calming myself, this was important. Astraea was truly concerned.

It wasn't just the curiosity she had shown about my abilities and my life that was making her question this. She seemed worried.

Afraid.

"What is it?" I asked softly, tilting my head. "Ah, this is the kind of thing that will attract the attention of other gods, huh." I grimaced with distaste, remembering Apollo.

She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, but then shook her head. "It's not that," she finally said. "I am worried about something else." She sighed. "But maybe I'm overthinking it. Like I said, the reaction to your words was very faint. Ganesha and Apollo were in the same room and didn't notice, so it probably won't notice either."

"It?"

Astraea hesitated for a moment, but then continued. "I'm speaking of the Dungeon. It… hates gods, and will react the moment it notices one inside. Violently." Astraea grimaced. "It is why we are forbidden from entering, it's dangerous not only for us, but for all the children that are in it."

It took me a second, but I soon grasped the meaning of her words. "Do you think that I will make things dangerous for everyone in the Dungeon?" If that was the case…

In spite of my concerns, Astraea shook her head.

"I don't really think so –not as it is presently– which is why I'm not really worried about now, but about the future. If the feeling grows stronger, if the shifts of magic grow more pronounced… it will take notice." Her indigo eyes looked at me seriously. "From now on, please tell me the moment you get another breakthrough in your magic. It's imperative we are careful with this, Shirou."

I nodded.

"I will, my goddess," I swore.

-Line Break-

The seriousness lingered for a moment, before Astraea let out a deep sigh, and slumped against me. She shifted slightly, now fully sitting sideways on my legs, the right side of her body against mine and her arms wrapping around my shoulders.

"Tired?" I asked, one of my hands automatically raising to caress her hair, the long tresses slipping through my fingers like silk. "It's been a long day."

"It was~. And here I thought I could enjoy my afternoon with my Ryuu, relaxing with a nice cup of tea. I even had some pastries ready," she sighed, burying her head on my shoulder. "Buut my other child can't seem to stop getting into trouble." I raised an eyebrow, amused despite myself. Is she complaining about me to me? "Just today he got into a fight with Level Two when he only became an Adventurer last month. Ah~ what will I do with him, I wonder."

I grinned, playing along. "He sounds reckless. I don't know what my goddess would do with such a troublesome guy," I leaned in, whispering in her ear. "She is kind of a worrywart, you know?"

Astraea pouted, "Maybe because you give her plenty of reasons to worry, mister," she complained, but couldn't hide the merriment in her eyes. "But if she is anything like me… she will probably consider it worth it."

"Is he? Even if he worries you to death?"

"Even so. Even if he is so noble he often fails to consider his own safety, even if he is so concerned about everyone around him that he recklessly wants to rush ahead and grow stronger." As Astraea spoke, her voice got softer and softer. "Even if his dream is to make everyone around him smile, ignoring his own happiness- He is worth it."

"He really sounds like a troublesome fellow," I said, my voice growing as soft as hers. "I'm beginning to worry he doesn't deserve you."

"He does," she said firmly, and then she smiled impishly, a small blush on her face "And he doesn't seem to share your worries. He is the man that daringly stole my first kiss, after all."

I smiled back, feeling myself blush as well, "Did he?" I asked, caressing her cheek with a thumb. "Stole it, I mean. Or did you let him take it?"

Astraea tilted her head, humming. "A little bit of both?" she admitted. "I was so surprised about his confession that I could barely keep up with what was happening. It was all so fast I couldn't truly enjoy it." She tilted her head up slightly, an invitation in her eyes. "A shame, isn't it?"

"It is," I whispered, my eyes closing as I closed the distance.

Astraea let out a pleased hum when our lips met, her hands moving and meeting behind the back of my head, where they began playing with my hair.

I kept one of my hands on her cheek, and the other slid across her back drawing shivers from her until I reached her waist, just above the swell of her butt. I drew her close, feeling the softness of her chest shift and meld against my hard body.

Astraea gasped against my mouth, and then her lips tentatively pressed deeper against mine, and I answered in kind, deepening the kiss.

Our second kiss, and it didn't feel any less pleasant than the first. It felt better, actually, now that I could feel her actually respond.

Before I could lose myself in her, I broke the connection, drawing a small whine of complaint from her mouth. Astraea opened her eyes and I smiled at the pleasant haze that I found there.

"Was that better, Astraea?" I asked softly, quickly regaining my breath. Another advantage of my blessed Endurance, it seems. "Or do I need to steal more kisses from you until you are satisfied?"

"Ah," Astraea uttered, her breath escaping her lips in little gasps. Taking a moment to gather herself, she soon smiled, a glint of challenge in her eyes. "If you are stealing them, you don't need to ask, do you?"

I breathed in, feeling her sweet scent reach deep into my brain. It seemed sharper somehow, sweeter.

I couldn't get enough of it.

"I guess I don't," I answered, my voice coming out gruff. I cupped her soft cheek, and her eyes closed, awaiting.

Our lips met again, and then again, the third kiss turning into the fourth, and then the fifth, the need for words fading as our breath was used for much more pleasant endeavours.

The kisses were almost chaste. Astraea's -and my own, to be honest- inexperience showed with the clumsy movements of our lips as we grew curious enough to explore. Our noses bumped more than a few times, drawing giggles from her, and Astraea had to pull away quite often herself when she ran out of breath.

She always returned for more, though, growing more confident -more bold- with each repetition. The slight awkwardness wasn't remotely enough to make us stop. Soon, the air of the room was filled with the sound of our lips meeting, our breath intermingling, and the gasps of breath we let out every time we separated.

Something that wasn't chaste, however, was the way Astraea's hand began to explore my body. It started slowly, moving from my hair to the back of my neck and then to my shoulders. Her touch was soft as silk, but incessant. She touched, squeezed and prodded, even lightly scratched, her hands dancing across my back and shoulders, and sometimes ghosting across my collarbones and the top of my chest.

She was curious. Looking for places where I was more sensitive, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes whenever she drew small gasps from me, or made goosebumps raise across my skin.

"So ticklish~," she whispered hotly when she found a particular spot in my back, in between my ribs, that made me shiver, and then giggled when I silenced her with another kiss.

When we separated, I shivered again, lost in the passion in her eyes. The blush on her cheeks was incandescent, her lips were a little swollen, and the way her chest shifted and moved along with her heaving breaths told me that the thin nightgown was the only thing covering her breasts from my eyes.

I wanted- no, needed it gone.

I breathed in sharply, the intoxicating scent eroding my self control.

Did she see it then? The lust in my eyes? Or was she in the same precipice of reason that I was standing on and decided to take a step back? Regardless of the reason, Astraea drew back slightly from my hug. "I think," she began, her breath still slightly rushed. "I think that we should stop. I believe… we are getting a little too excited. It's… too soon."

A small, baser part of me wanted to… ignore her words, and listen instead to her body, but the bigger part, the one that was more than an animal made of instinct, won handily. Clarity returned like a bucket of cold water thrown to my face.

I must stop. Forcing myself on her was the last thing I wanted to do.

Chains of reason shackled the lust that had been bubbling up and smothered it ruthlessly. "...Yeah," I said once I got my libido under a semblance of control. "We should."

Astraea shifted then and let out a little gasp, and I noticed for the first time how erect I was. I felt a flash of mortification. She noticed, of course –she was sitting on top of it–, but didn't say anything, letting me save some face. I let out a deep breath, and moved her slightly, making sure I wasn't… poking her anymore.

It would calm on its own, eventually, but I didn't want to bring more attention to it while it did so.

We were silent for a few moments, but then we met eyes and we both smiled, awkward and amused at the same time.

Astraea let out a soft laugh, placing a hand on her chest. "My~ I can feel my heart wanting to leap out of my chest. It has never beaten so fast before."

"My heart is doing the same," I held her free hand and placed it on my chest, right over my thumping heart. "Can you feel it?" Even with all the changes the Falna made to my physiology, you couldn't change human nature. It was starting to relax, but being with Astraea was enough to make it beat a thousand beats per minute, the blood in my veins burning.

"I can… It's so fast…" Astraea whispered, mystified. She smiled softly. "It may be silly after what we just did, but for some reason I feel so relieved that I'm able to make your heart race."

I grinned, not being able to hold back the amusement. "Of course you do. I told you many times when you teased me, how dangerous your antics are to my heart."

"This and that are different things," she said primly. "Teasing you was not much different from what I did with my other children, but this… I'm not familiar with… being a woman instead of a goddess. This is all new territory to me. I'm still unsure how to react."

"Do you regret it? What we did?" She didn't seem to, but I've been called thick many times before.

But Astraea shook her head, "No, of course not. It was wonderful, truly." Then she lowered her eyes, her face turning red, this time seemingly out of embarrassment rather than the excitement from before. "It's just a little frightening, how hard it was to resist my body's urges." She looked at me with upturned eyes, looking shy. "I trusted you would, but I'm still glad you stopped when I asked. If you hadn't, I don't know if I would have denied you… but I know I would have regretted it afterwards."

"I'm glad I stopped, then. Sorry if I got a little carried away."

Astraea huffed, "You didn't, that's what I said, silly. I let myself get a little carried away, knowing you wouldn't take advantage of me." She finally removed herself from my lap, and sat on my side, letting her head rest on my shoulder. "Thank you for holding back for my sake."

I huffed, "Lion would have killed me if I didn't, so it wasn't hard to find reasons to do so."

Astraea laughed softly, "Oh she did threaten you, then. I thought she might," she said with a mischievous smile. "You should have seen her face when I told her you kissed me~ My Ryuu is so pretty when she gets all flustered. She blushes from the tips of her ears all the way to her che-" "Astraea, don't." I interjected, before she could say things that would get me murdered. "Oh, you're no fun~" she giggled.

After a few moments, when her giggles petered out, we fell into comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the presence of the other..

"It's growing late," she said softly. "You have to wake up early tomorrow, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, Lion leaves early for work, but she promised me a spar." I felt a little excitement, in spite of myself. It would be the first time I would see how much of a difference a Level Up makes in an Adventurer. How strong Lion got after turning Level Five? "Then, after breakfast, I'm going to Hephaestus' forge." It was finally time to start my apprenticeship. With how busy both our timetables were, it wasn't until now that we could find a time to begin. "So, I better go to sleep soon or I will make an elf and a goddess angry with me."

"No rest for the wicked, it seems,"

"Wicked, am I?" I snarked back a little and Astraea giggled.

"You're corrupting the Goddess of Purity herself with your kisses, what else could you be?"

I shook my head, and began to move. Standing by the side of the bed, I reached down and was about to pick up my shirt, when Astraea spoke. "...Do you have to leave, Shirou?"

I turned, confused. "Astraea?"

She hesitated, but then let out a sigh and looked at me seriously. "I'm sorry if it feels like I'm provoking you, even after I told you to hold back for me, but… Just tonight, I might need some comfort. I don't want to take advantage of your kindness, but I…"

Ah. Realization came to me quickly. Lion's Update.

She had seemed to be handling it so well that I left the matter alone… but there was no way that experiencing what Lion did the day she lost all her family, and her subsequent quest for revenge didn't affect Astraea at all.

Memories of how I met her in a small town flashed through my mind, how the first thing she did after meeting a stranger was to brag about her children and their adventures.

No, there was no way she was unaffected.

I approached her and held one of her hands softly. "Idiot, what makes you think you are taking advantage of me?" I said. "If being with me is enough to make your sleep easier, then I'm glad to help." I smiled, and kneeled, like a knight to his queen. "Ask me, and I will deliver, my goddess. What do you need?"

Astraea smiled, warm relief in her expression. "Shirou, will you stay with me tonight, and keep the nightmares of my past away?"

And so, I did.

-Line Break-

The light of dawn shone upon Astraea. The horizon was shining in gleaming gold

A battle had just finished, perhaps the most important one. One that had decided the fate of humanity.

A fight to save the world.

Ironic that there was no one who would praise the heroes that saved them.

There was no one to witness the glow of victory as it faded, having destroyed the void that threatened to spill upon the world. There was no one to witness the sacrifice that their saviours had paid for the miracle they had brought forth with their own will.

No one but each other. And me, now that I'm witnessing this.

Shirou stood, his back straight as he watched the sun rising over the lake in Mount Enzou. His clothes were tattered, wounds littered his body, and yet he stood victorious.

Behind him laid a corpse, a man in priestly clothes, a great part of his chest just gone. Kotomine Kirei, she recognized him from Shirou's descriptions. The man that almost ended the world.

To the side, there was a waif of a girl, looking to be around ten years old, skin pale as marble, hair white as snow, her nudity covered by a white sheet. She was unconscious, but Astraea knew that if she opened her eyes, she would find them to be ruby red. Illyasviel, Shirou's sister.

"In the end, there is one thing I must tell you."

The voice, clear as the tinkling of bells, came from the last person in this place. The woman who stood in front of the lake, wearing a long blue dress. Her golden hair was bound in a braided bun behind her head, tied by a blue ribbon.

She turned around, the glow of dawn framing her figure. Astraea was met with determined green eyes, the colour of the purest emeralds. She was beautiful, Shirou's Saber.

This is… another memory. A memory of a time before he was a part of her life, more recent than the last one.

Three months before he came to her world and met her.

It was the end of The Holy Grail War.

It was a scene of triumph and hope, and yet she found her heart breaking.

"…What is it?"

No, not mine. His heart.

Shirou kept his face impassive, his voice light, but she could see his hands shaking.

It was the end of the contract that bound them, the fulfillment of their oath. To save the world, Saber had to fulfill her role and destroy the grail. And without it, their fates would separate, the miracle of their meeting would end with the waning darkness.

But in spite of the pain she knew he was feeling, Shirou's eyes were firm. There were no regrets in his heart, this was the only way.

"Shirou — I love you."

A wind blew, making Shirou close his eyes, and Artoria Pendragon disappeared in motes of golden light, leaving only a sheath in her place.

When his eyes opened, Shirou smiled.

"Yeah – it really is just like you." There was no surprise in his voice, he expected their parting to be like this. For she had entered his life out of thin air, and now left it the same way.

Standing alone on a hill, he stared across the distance, a promise to never forget this branded in his soul.

The sheath that remained, the only proof of her existence, turned into motes of starlight and entered his chest, and Astraea saw it for a moment. A land far away glowing in sunlight.

An Ever Distant Utopia.

The first time I woke up with Astraea in my arms I had been so surprised that I didn't allow myself to really… enjoy it, once I became aware of the situation.

My mind had been a whirlwind of embarrassment and nervousness, and that was before the weight of the realization of the feelings I had for her hit me.

But now, after the initial bout of confusion at waking up and not finding myself in my own bed, I relaxed. Right, I slept in her bed last night. Even before I opened my eyes, the scent of flowers told me that.

-Line Break-

There was still some embarrassment in the thought, but it was miniscule against the feeling of, well, being with her.

I let myself sink deeper into the bed, letting out a sigh, basking in the warmth that only another person can bring. Her weight on me, her scent, and the ticklish feeling of her breath as it hit my chest only relaxed me more. My arm was still wrapped around her waist, I realized, so I tightened my hold, pressing her tightly against me. Astraea let out a hum of contentment and snuggled deeper into me.

I should be getting up soon. The thought, unwanted as it was, snuck up on me.

The room was dark, there was some light entering from the window, but the sun hadn't yet fully risen.

The winter equinox– the shortest day of the year – was just a day ahead, and it showed. With my habit of waking up early, these days I often got up before the sun was even up.

…But today I found it harder than ever.

I looked to my side. I could get addicted to this. The silhouette of Astraea in the dark, the sound of her breathing, the softness of her body, it almost was enough to lull me back to sleep.

Maybe I can stay a little longer… I thought, almost childishly, but I knew I couldn't. I had matters to attend to this morning, so slowly, carefully, I removed myself from her embrace, cringing a little when she whined in her sleep.

I sat on the bed and fumbled a little in the dark, looking for my shirt on the floor and putting it on, before carefully covering Astraea with the blankets. Before I could stop myself, I reached out with a hand and caressed her soft cheek.

I sighed. Better go, before I wake her up. But just as I was removing my hand, a smaller one reached and grabbed it.

Astraea's eyes fluttered open and found me. She probably could only see my outline against the faint light coming from the window, but she smiled sleepily and tightened her hold.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't want to wake you up."

Astraea shook her head. "Mm, you don't need to apologize. I slept placidly thanks to you, after all," she smiled. "You kept the nightmares away, like you promised. I dreamt of you, actually." I raised an eyebrow, her tone was a little confused, and she was looking at me curiously.

"Oh? I'm glad then.That I could be there for you, even in your dreams." Unfortunately my dreams were a little less desirable.

Like I always, I dreamt of blades.

Blades of all kinds, stabbed deeply into the ground, their hilts waiting. Remembering. Mourning.

"You have, and it's not the first time it happened," she said, smiling softly. "However, there is… something curious about those dreams. I have the feeling that they are something more than mere fantasies I conjure in my sleep..."

Something… more? What does she mean? Her words, for some reason they brought to mind the dream cycle that I experienced during the Holy Grail War. How Saber and I saw each other's lives while we slept. Was I overthinking it?

"Now I'm really curious," I smiled, keeping my thoughts out of my face. "But we'll have to talk about it later."

"Are you leaving already, Shirou?" she asked. "The bed's cold without you, stay a little longer."

I overcame the temptation and shook my head guiltily. "Sorry, Lion's probably waiting for me for that spar."

Astraea sighed. "You have all the time in the world, and you choose to do it before the sun even rises."

"You know me. I can be a little impatient." I shrugged and then looked out of the window, where the first rays of sunlight began to brighten the snow covered city. Her other hand rose and wrapped around my wrist, almost petulantly. "Astraea…" I whispered, amused despite myself. "I need to go."

"Pooh~, go then. Go to another woman and leave me here all alone. See how much I care." She harrumphed with an exaggerated pout, but there was a twinkling of amusement in her eyes. She then stretched a little, letting out a groan.

"You can go back to sleep, it's still early."

"No, I want to see you two fight." Then her eyes grew a little serious. "So wait for me before you begin, please."

I nodded and raised one of her hands to my mouth. "Of course," I whispered and left a lingering kiss on the back of it, and then let go. "I'll do my best to impress you as well, then."

I stood up, saw the fetching red her cheeks had blossomed into, and grinned. It was nice to be the one teasing her for once. "I'll see you then, Astraea," I said, and left towards the door. Astraea didn't answer, she just hid her face in the covers.

"Go.. luc.., my …ve."

Just as I was opening the door I heard her whisper something under her breath, but then I didn't have time to ponder on it.

Because Ryuu Lion was standing on the hallway, hand raised as if to knock. Her eyes widened slightly and she took a step backwards.

She was wearing what I assume was her Adventuring gear. Half of her face was covered by a green face mask, and most of her body was similarly covered in a forest-green hooded cloak, a golden clasp etched with Astraea's symbol keeping it closed. Under the cloak I could see she was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with black details, brown leather gloves that went up to her elbows, long tan trousers and knee-high boots.

Finally, Alf's Lumina was strapped to a green belt around her waist. The belt, similar to the cloak, had a golden clasp etched with Astraea's symbol.

I swallowed.

I suddenly realized how constrained, how muted, she usually was in her work uniform. How delicate she looked in her casual clothes.

There was something in her posture that screamed danger. It wasn't like she looked angry or that she exuded bloodlust, it just seemed that her whole bearing changed by just wearing these clothes.

It was like seeing for the first time the naked blade of sword that had been kept sheathed, and realizing how sharp it truly was.

So this is a high-level Adventurer, huh.

Then she scowled, and I could swear the temperature descended a few degrees.

"Emiya," she whispered. "I've been looking for you. I went to your room to wake you up and you weren't there, what do you think you are doing here?" Her eyes narrowed even more, and glanced to the room, and back to me, and my disheveled appearance after just waking up. Realization hit her and her scowl got fiercer. "You are not even married and yet to share a bed, and possibly- No, Lady Astraea wouldn't, not so soon… But what if she…"

Lion started to mutter to herself, her eyes going between me and the open door I had just come out of.

"Ah," I uttered, and her cold eyes focused back on me like a laser. I swallowed. "This is really not what it looks like. Just let me explain before you kill me." I fumbled with my words, my mind rushing. No one will find your body, she'd said.

Lion looked deeply into my eyes, almost like she was reading me, and then her shoulders relaxed a smidgen. Whatever she found in my gaze seemed to have calmed her. She let out an annoyed sigh. "It looks to me that you are sneaking out of our goddess' room first thing in the morning," she said dully. "Like a thief."

"...Not sneaking, I've got nothing to hide," I answered ruefully. I took a step forward and closed the door behind me. "Nothing… suspicious happened. We just slept together after my Update."

And we spoke about my possible nascent divinity… and kissed quite a few times, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

Especially the last part.

"I sincerely hope not. I'd like to think you aren't stupid enough to try something after I just warned you." She sighed again, exasperated. "…I'm guessing that it was Lady Astraea the one that asked you to spend the night in her room?"

"...She was." I hesitated. "I wasn't going to stay, but she said she didn't want to sleep alone. Not after-" I cut myself off, knowing Lion she'd…

"Not after what she saw in my Update?" She asked, her volume low. "That's why I didn't want to do it, but Lady Astraea, she-" Astraea probably insisted, not caring that she was going to suffer as well. She just wanted to help Lion and, like she once said, share her burden.

…And knowing Lion, she'd probably feel guilty about it.

Proving my thoughts correct, there was a flash of pain in her eyes and she lowered her face, the fearsome warrior in front of me fading into a normal girl.

She looked small.

Tentatively, I put a comforting hand on her shoulder, part of me wondering how her slight, fragile-seeming frame could hold so much weight and guilt without being shattering. Lion twitched minutely, …No, the weight did shatter her. She was just strong enough to begin to put herself back together.

But Lion was not thinking of herself now. No, she worries about hurting Astraea.

"Astraea is strong," I said, finally. "After seeing what she saw, what happened to all of you…" I grimaced. "She loves all of you too much for it to not hurt her…but she won't crumble. You know that, better than I do, right?" She raised her head, meeting my eyes and I smiled confidently, squeezing her shoulder. "So don't crumble either, Lion."

"Emiya…" Lion still looked a little lost, but the pain in her eyes had faded somewhat. No, not faded, but buried once more. Hidden.

Words alone wouldn't be enough to make that kind of trauma disappear, but at least I could distract her from it.

I smiled awkwardly. "Because our goddess will need us. Last night was my turn to comfort her, but knowing myself, she will need you as well. If only to have someone to complain to when I end up doing something stupid."

Lion huffed, her eyes crinkling slightly in a smile. "Was that meant to be comforting, you fool?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't intentionally add more worries to Lady Astraea's mind."

I shrugged. "It wouldn't be intentional, I promise. Stuff just happens to me."

"Still not comforting," she muttered, but there was some humor in her eyes.

I smiled back, relaxing slightly.

And then Lion's breath hitched and she flinched almost violently. She suddenly took a step backwards and slapped my hand away from her shoulder.

Lion looked at me with wide eyes, disbelief clear in her expression.

I hissed in pain, confused, but after a moment I remembered. Right, elves are extremely reserved about other people touching them. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking," I said, raising my hand guiltily. I tried to smile but it came off as a grimace. "Like I said, I do stupid things unintentionally."

More reserved than even us Japanese people, it seems. I cringed.

Lion stood frozen for a moment, but after a few seconds of tense silence, she let out a deep breath, her shoulders slumping.

"He…uly …ike Alise…" she whispered, the words said so silently that I struggled to make them out. Then she shook her head, almost like she was shaking off something. She took another step backwards, and then another, widening the space between us until I wouldn't be able to touch her even if I reached out. "Emiya," she said coldly. "You are with Lady Astraea, you shouldn't carelessly touch other women. Not even me." Her eyes narrowed. "Especially not me."

I grimaced. "Sorry, I won't do it again. I promise."

"See that you don't," she warned, before shivering in… disgust. Ouch. "Ah, shameless, truly shameless. To be so forward with someone else while your mouth is still smudged with her lipstick."

Hm..?

…Ah, crap.

My hand flew to my mouth and tried to rub away the marks… but when I checked my hand came clear. Huh?

"I'm lying, of course, Lady Astraea wouldn't wear makeup for bed, fool," Lion said, her voice a little far. I looked up, a little surprised at seeing her already walking away, her cloak fluttering after her. "'We just slept', was it?"

I groaned, feeling my cheeks burn at being caught so easily, "Okay, maybe not just slept," I admitted, starting to walk after her. "I thought you'd prefer less details."

"Don't misunderstand me, I don't want to hear it, but I'm not stupid. Lady Astraea is the most beautiful woman in the world. It wasn't hard to realize that after kissing her once you wouldn't be able to resist doing it again," she said. "Don't worry, I don't have any intention to get in the way of you two, as long as you don't force her."

Oh, I didn't. I thought, Astraea's eyes clouded with passion flashing in my mind. Lion stopped near the stairs.

"...Whatever you are picturing, don't. At least not in my presence."

"...Are you a mind-reader now, Lion?"

"You are a man, it's not hard to imagine what you are thinking about," she said without turning around. "Now, stop wasting time with your delusions and go change. I told you I don't have much time today."

"What do you mean, my delusions? You are the one that brought the whole thing up," I grumbled under my breath.

"Did you say something, Vice-Captain?" she asked archly, walking down the stairs. "Speak up, please."

"...Nothing, Captain. Just speaking to myself." It was too early for this type of talk, and I wouldn't trust myself to not shove my foot in my mouth again.

Especially after angering her with my touch.

Although… a thought crossed my head as followed after her.

Was it my imagination or were the tips of her ears red?

'She blushes from the tips of her ears all the way to her che-'

Goddammit, Astraea.

-Line Break-

I took a few steps into the garden, feeling the snow crunch under my boots. I breathed in deeply, the frozen air of the morning filling my lungs and making the last dregs of drowsiness fade.

I looked around. The snow had continued to fall over most of the night, covering everything in a thin layer of white. It wasn't more than a few inches, and it would likely melt into slush in a couple of hours, but it was… nice, nonetheless. It reminded me of home.

The backyard of Stardust Garden was more spacious than the one in my house back in Japan, and the walls surrounding it were taller and made in western design, but the sight and the scent of the snow covered grass brought me back to my winter mornings in Fuyuki.

Of course, then I saw the green haired elf standing in the middle of the garden, and I was starkly reminded that I was not back home.

Lion was standing still, looking in the direction of Babel, her eyes far away. As soon as I put a foot on the snow, though, she turned slightly to me.

Her eyes were clinical as she inspected me.

Unlike the last time we fought– although such a short bout could not really be considered a fight– I was fully armored.

I wonder if I invoke the same feeling as her, now that I'm wearing my equipment… Probably not. Almost a month had passed since I first became an Adventurer and the feel of the plates of steel on my body had… not become second-nature, but at least something I had grown used to.

Most of my equipment had changed since I came to Orario. I still wore the brown leather coat made by Ann's mother– now quite a bit tighter that it had been the first time I tried it on– and the gauntlets Ann had spent a few nights making for me, but the pieces of armor the guards of Westmount had gifted me were replaced by the armor Atticus forged for me in exchange for the spare prosthetics.

I was quite happy with the set but according to him it had been a rush job, and he would work on making a more complete one once he -or I- got proper materials to work with.

Maybe I could even help him, eventually.

…Although I was actually not wearing my actual armor, but freshly traced copies.

Remembering how Lion had destroyed a sword made of monster materials made me hesitant to use my equipment for what amounted to be a spar. Better to be smart about it.

I approached her, the clinking of my armor and the crunching of snow the only sounds around us. Stardust Garden was in a pretty remote spot of Orario, few other buildings around it, so there were hardly any people around at this time of day.

That also meant that we wouldn't need to worry about angry neighbours if we ended up making a ruckus during our fight.

"So?" I asked, once I was a couple of metres away. "How are we doing this?"

Lion turned fully to me. "First, we wait for the spectators," she said with a sigh. "While you were putting on your armor, Lady Astraea came to me and said she wanted to watch the fight, and that she would bring Daphne and Cassandra as well. Give them a demonstration of our Famila's strength."

That sounded… kind of embarrassing. I didn't have a lot of pride, so I didn't have any qualms in admitting Lion would wipe the ground with me, but having people see it? A small part of me wasn't so sure about it.

Sighing, and ignoring that childish part, I nodded. If this was what Astraea wished, I'd do my best to accommodate her.

"...right, better do my best to make a good showing, then."

Lion frowned slightly. "We can ask them not to, if you want. Lady Astraea mentioned you are quite reserved about your abilities."

I shook my head. "No, I think it's about time I stopped hiding so much, especially around the Familia," I sighed. "Besides, they already saw almost everything yesterday with Apollo." Lion nodded, satisfied with my explanation. "Do you mind if I prepare a little while we wait?" I asked. I had already done some stretches before getting into my armor, but I still could do some more… esoteric preparations.

Lion shrugged. "Feel free, I did tell you to act like this was the Dungeon."

I nodded, and breathed in deep. "Trace on." The hammer of a gun struck.

The mana of the world rushed inwards, the scalding hot sensation of the volatile energy coursing through my veins and into my Magic Circuits.

It hurt, it always did–especially since coming to this world–, but the efficiency of using external mana was worth it. Besides, I was used to pain. Compared to the sensation of shoving a hot metal rod down my spine, this is a walk in the park.

I sighed, the air misting in front of my mouth, my twenty-seven circuits steadily filling. I chose a couple and got to work.

I decided to take my time, as my body was different than it was yesterday. My Structural Analysis told me how much I changed with just a week of work.

It felt clearer now that my Falna had been updated a second time.

When I first got it, the boost the Falna gave me was all encompassing: every muscle, every bone, my magic, my senses, everything had improved.

The boosts I got from Updates were slightly different.

My Endurance still toughened my bones and skin, and, obviously, improved my endurance and lung capacity. My Magic made my Od reserves grow, made my Magic Circuits more efficient and gave them better capacity. That was still consistent.

But the Strength, Dexterity, and Agility?

It was subtle, but I could tell that the physical improvements those Stats gave me were geared towards sword fighting.

The tendons and ligaments in my hands to better grip my sword, the muscles in my core, my arms, my shoulders, my back and chest, everything I use to swing a sword was strengthened, improved. They were more flexible, they could handle more punishment. The strength of my legs to maintain my balance, to keep my stance firm. To rush and attack.

It was months of training and physical conditioning, gained in one single moment.

I was a better swordsman than I had been yesterday. My body was being changed, molded, to be so. My Falna was forging me into a better warrior, just like I wanted.

"The Falna… it enhances the body of the user, yes, but it also makes it so the physical changes are… tailor made for them," Astraea had said so when she explained the improvements to me, but now I began to see how it worked in truth.

I let out the air in my lungs, trying to not get lost in all the changes in my body.

I extended one hand, calling one blueprint to my mind and going through the seven steps of my Tracing. The speed I did so was the culmination of years of hardheaded stubbornness, a few months of actual magical education, and weeks of combat in the Dungeon.

The growingly familiar leather grip of my sword appeared on my hand, the freshly forged steel glinting in the light of the morning sun, contrasting with the dull red of the rough material coming from the infant dragon horn.

Now, reinforcement… Slowly, taking advantage of the in-depth analysis I just made, I let my magic energy flood my body, filling gaps and imperfections, strengthening my already supernatural body even more.

I felt some satisfaction when I realized how much smoother my Circuits were working, and how much less energy I was using to reinforce myself compared to yesterday. Only two ranks of difference, just below the D rank– the threshold needed for a Level Up-, and I was amazed once more at the improvements.

Is this how Tohsaka feels with her high-quality circuits? Were the Ranks I earned in Magic enough to compete with generations of careful magical cultivation? Probably not yet, but I was getting closer to her level of quality, even if my quantity wasn't increasing.

I could see Lion's curiosity when the green lines that represented my Reinforcement at its strongest appeared on my skin, but she didn't say anything and let me work in silence.

Then the glow extended to my armor and clothing, altering and improving the durability of my fake equipment until I was sure they could handle even gunfire without getting damaged. Then, my sword.

Last time Lion had shattered it easily, so I would at least make a token effort to not have it happen again.

"'Trace on'..." I startled slightly, hearing my trigger words coming from Lion. "Strengthening, enchanting items, creating weapons. It's amazing how much you can do with just that short chant. It's almost unfair," she said, but there was no heat in her words. "My Luminous Wind uses seven lines of chanting and it's not nearly as versatile as your one spell."

A seven count aria, huh. That would be considered almost a grand ritual back home, if I remember what Tohsaka taught me correctly. Must be quite a powerful spell, even if she is complaining about it.

"Three spells, actually," I corrected her and she cocked her head. "I used three spells just now. One to check the changes the Update made to my body, then another to strengthen myself and my equipment, and then the last one to create my sword."

"...three spells with just one chant, because that's better," she said flatly and I shrugged, smiling awkwardly.

"It's not so simple. I do most of the work to make the spell in my mind. Chanting… helps, and can even make magic more effective, but it's not really necessary if the spells are simple enough."

"So it's more like chantless magic?" Now there was some actual disbelief in her tone.

"You could say that, I do need the opening chant to prime my mind for it," I shrugged. "And then I have to follow a series of predefined steps to shape the spell." I scratched my cheek, not really used to actually explaining the hows of my magic. "There are more complex explanations, and a lot of theory and equations behind it, but I was never good at that. I'm good at these spells because I spent a lot of time practicing them, theory has never been my forte."

Lion looked a little overwhelmed. "I never knew humans used magic that way. It sounds so… methodical."

"It's how I learned. I'm not sure how the rest of the world does it." I felt a little bad for maintaining the lie, but it wasn't really the moment to explain multidimensional shenanigans to her. Would she even believe me, anyways? "Is that not the way elves do it?"

Lion hesitated for a second, but then sighed. "...It's not. I'm not really trained in it– I left the forest young, before my training started– but I'm aware that elves' magic is mostly done by communing with spirits of nature. Some consist of days-long rituals, entire volumes worth of chanting, there's even fasting involved, I think. It's nothing like you describe."

Her voice was clinical but I could detect a hint of disdain in her words as she spoke. She left her birth home young…I'm guessing she didn't do so in the best of terms.

"Depending on how you interpret them, you could even say my own chants involve asking the spirits of wind and the forest for assistance." She shrugged, seeming to not care one way or another for that comparison. "What about Ignis Fatuus? Do you experience it, even if most of your chanting is internal?"

I nodded. It wasn't the term I would use, but there was no need to complain about semantics. "To be a mage is to walk with death, my father said to me when he started teaching me. There's always the possibility of the spell backlashing if I lose my focus. Meditation and self-hypnosis helps, but it can happen."

Lion let out a sigh, crossing her arms. "I was expecting you to say you don't, and was about to smack you. I spent years of my life training to learn how to do Concurrent Casting, and I was going to be cross if you told me you didn't have to worry about it," she said… and I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Hopefully, she was.

"I can give you some tips to keep calm, if you need. Help you focus," I joked, she surely knew more about magic and meditation than a mere third-rate like me would ever know. Lion narrowed her eyes at me, but then cocked her head.

"...Actually, what's that about self-" The sound of the door to the garden opening made Lion cut herself off. We both looked to the side, where Astraea came out of the home, Cassandra and Daphne in tow.

"Sorry for the delay, you two," Astraea said with a guilty smile, a tray with a tea set on her hand. "That took longer than I expected."

"You didn't wake them up, did you, Astraea?" I asked with an exasperated smile.

"S-she didn't! I was already awake!" Cassandra exclaimed, jumping to her defense. She had a small satchel in her hands, I noticed. I wonder what's that for. "We got only delayed, because of me. I-!" she trailed off, her face burning in embarrassment.

Daphne grinned. "Cassandra got lost on the way to the bathroom so we had to fetch her." "D-Daphne!" "How on earth did you end up on the third floor, I will never know."

"I-I just had a feeling it was there!" Daphne just let out a deep sigh, shaking her head.

"Now, what's this about a demonstration?" Daphne asked, eyeing us with undisguised curiosity. Though I noticed her focus was mostly on Lion.

"We're going to spar," Lion said, taking a few steps away from me. "Emiya here feels he is ready to go deeper into the Dungeon, and I want to test that. Lady Astraea figured you might want to see this, if only to assure you of our strength should something come to head with Apollo."

Cassandra gasped in delight, probably overjoyed that she was about to see one of her idols fight, Daphne was a little more subtle, but the way she was looking at us grew more intense.

It was a small lie, of course, as Apollo didn't seem to be interested in the girls anymore after that meeting, but Lion probably didn't want to tell them that it was part of the recruitment drive, and ruin her goddess' fun. It still seemed to bother her, though, if the exasperated look she sent her goddess was any indication. I wonder how long Astraea is going to pretend that those two don't know of her intentions.

If Astraea doesn't mention it to them today, I had the feeling that Daphne at least was going to ask to join herself. She didn't seem the patient type.

"Sounds fun," Daphne said, seemingly nonchalant, but I could see the smile threatening to ruin her coolness. She followed Astraea, who had placed the tray on the garden table near her, her steps a little too hurried.

Cassandra followed after, her eyes still gleaming like stars. She didn't seem to know where to focus as her eyes kept flitting from me to Lion. She seemed so excited she was almost hyperventilating.

I was a little worried she would pass out from excitement, but hopefully Astraea would keep an eye on her, because I was about to be busy.

Astraea approached us, standing in the middle of the garden. "Ryuu, Shirou," she began, looking at each of us in turn. Her voice was serious, firm. "I'm sorry for making you go along with my selfishness during your spar, but I thought it fitting that those that admired the Familia led by Alise were the first to see how strong the Familia led by Ryuu will be."

Lion stiffened, "My lady, I still-"

"I know," Astraea interjected. "We still haven't done much, but this is the beginning. I'm coming to realize how unfamiliar I am with the situation in Orario and how it has shifted during my time away. We must begin to act, and assessing our strength is the first step."

Astraea turned to me. "Shirou, don't hold back. If Ryuu feels you are not ready, then no matter your desires, I will forbid you from going deeper. Use whatever you deem necessary to earn the right to advance," she said seriously, her usually warm indigo eyes unyielding, but then she smiled slightly. "Ryuu, do try to hold back a little bit this time. You are a Level Five, after all." And the pride she felt for that couldn't be more obvious.

Lion flushed, but then nodded seriously. I smiled in spite of the tension and nodded as well. "As you say, my lady." "Understood, my goddess."

Astraea nodded, "Good," she said and began to walk back to the table where Cassandra and Daphne were watching with wide eyes. "I have ready some potions, just in case, and an elixir, should the worst happen." She sat down, and grabbed the satchel Cassandra brought. "I will not meddle anymore, begin whenever you are ready."

"We'll start light," Lion said to me, slowly unsheathing Alf's Lumina. "Let's see if you have learned something since last time, Emiya."

She pointed her wooden sword at me, her blue eyes sharp, and I felt a tension not unlike the one I had felt when I faced Servants in the Holy Grail War. A pressure I could only call intent flooded the garden. Not to the point it could be called bloodlust, but I still felt a bead of sweat forming on my brow in spite of the cold, a shiver going down my spine.

I didn't freeze, though. After standing face to face with Heracles himself, not much could compare.

I shifted my stance, turning sideways to Lion, holding my sword with both hands, the tip dipping behind me at an angle. I bent my knees slightly, lowering my centre of gravity, my muscles coiling with strength.

The air grew tense between us.

And in an explosion of movement, I attacked.

Snow burst behind me as I rushed forwards. With speed that I could only dream of reaching just a month ago, the distance between us was gone in a few seconds.

I got into the range of my blade, and I stepped heavily, snow exploding around me. Putting the entire strength of my body in it, I swung upwards, my sword a blur of silver and red. "Hah!"

CLANG !

And I found her sword.

Without any indication of movement, Alf's Lumina was blocking my swing at an angle. I gritted my teeth, my arms shaking as my sword scraped against hers, sparks dancing between them. Lion's expression was inscrutable as she parried my attack effortlessly.

My sword finished its crescent up, and I shifted my hands around. I swung down, CLANG!, and Lion parried me again. Then I took a step backwards and slashed again and again, CLANG, CLANG!

From every angle I tried, circling around her, striking multiple times to no avail. No matter how she was positioned before, I always found her sword waiting, ready to redirect mine away from her body.

Sparks rained down from our clashes, the symphony of our swords meeting filling the silent garden… until Lion decided it was enough.

"Kgh!" The next time I struck, instead of finding a rock that diverted the course of my attacks, I found a wall. My sword bounced, the suddenly unyielding Alf's Lumina redirecting my strength backwards, and my stance broke for a moment.

A moment was all she needed. Lion struck, but not with her sword. Faster than a whip, her hand lashed out, the palm striking me in the middle of the chest. My chest plate groaned as I was pushed backwards. If it wasn't for my reinforcement, it would dented at the very least.

And then I was flying.

I grimaced, seeing the cold look in her eyes as I struggled to keep my feet down. Leaving grooves on the snow, I finally stopped.

As soon as I did so, I wound my arm back and threw the sword at her. The blade spun in the air as it flew. Lion just raised an eyebrow at the silver and red disk that approached her. She slightly shifted to the side, and it swooshed by her, her cloak rustled by the wind.

"Curious decision, to let go of your weapon," she said lightly, ignoring the sound of my sword burying itself in the ground behind her. "Your hands are empty now."

"You know they won't stay that way for long." I smiled, and another sword appeared in my hands.

"True, but even a moment could be fatal, alone in the Dungeon." She took a calm step forward. "I did tell you to treat this as if it was the Dungeon."

And then she was in front of me, her cloak billowing behind her, Alf's Lumina already in motion.

CLANG!

"Kuh-!" It was only some sort of instinct that let me raise my blade to block her strike in time. Our swords clashed and I was forced to take a few steps back, her strength dwarfing mine. I squared my feet and readied my stance, and Lion weaved to the side, striking again, her blue eyes gaining a glint of curiosity.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

I blocked, again and again, our swords meeting in a deadly dance that I could just barely keep up with. My strength, my speed, I fell short on everything. And, considering the speed she had used to close the distance, she was holding back by a lot while attacking me.

Even if I had Ashes active, I wasn't sure I would be able to compare.

And she knew that as well, and thus her curiosity grew.

CLANG! CLANG!

Because I kept blocking. Because, even though I shouldn't be able to keep up with her onslaught, I did.

It wasn't my experience, or my skill with the sword that let me do so.

It was hers.

The countless hours of dedication she put into the sword, the skill she had poured sweat, blood and tears into developing across hundreds of battles. With a look at Alf's Lumina, I knew it all.

I knew how she usually moved before a slash, which were the movements she often weaved together in a chain.

I was cheating, plain and simple. I could predict what her next attack was going to be, so it was only a matter of putting my sword in the way and blocking it.

And she helped, by holding back not only her strength but also her skill, only using simple slashes and short combinations.

But even then, it took me everything I had to keep doing it.

"Hah, hah! Hng!" I struggled, I fumbled. My arms and shoulders burned with exertion, my sword groaned with every strike, and yet I kept blocking. Lion looked almost fascinated by the impossibility.

By the tenth strike, I knew I wouldn't last much longer, by the fifteenth, my arms felt that they would soon give in.

And so, I acted. I called a blueprint and went through the seven steps of my tracing, while keeping my guard up for the following attack.

CLANG! My arms shuddered as I blocked one last time. It wasn't hard to pretend to be tired. I let my guard drop slightly, leaving my head and shoulders less protected. Nothing too obvious, but to Lion's experienced eyes…

Her eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction in them, but she didn't let the opening pass. Her years of fighting wouldn't allow it.

"You're open!" she said sharply.

By the moment her sword started to move, an horizontal slash aimed at my head, I was already moving. My hold on my weapon loosened, letting it fall from my hands and disappear as I ducked under her swing. I spun, my empty right hand moving as if I was holding an invisible weapon.

A dagger appeared in my grip.

I flooded the brittle weapon with as much magic as I could, so inefficiently that Tohsaka would have a conniption if she was here, and swung.

Wind howled, a gale exploding from my hand.

Only to hit nothing but air.

I stumbled, the strength of the wind strike making me lose some of my balance, my breath coming in short gasps. Where…? I looked around, and let out a resigned sigh.

"I didn't know you could create magic weapons," Lion said simply, standing right where she had been when the bout started, untouched, like the wind my dagger conjured barely rustled her hair.

"...If it's a weapon and I can see it, I can copy it," I said, before amending. "Well, mostly. There are some I can't copy, no matter how much I try."

She glanced at her sword, probably wondering if hers was one of those. Unfortunately, well-forged as Alf's Lumina was, it wasn't made by the fae or the divine.

"Good to know, it will certainly be useful in the Dungeon," she said, almost to herself. Then, like something occurred to her, she looked at me intently for a moment, before shaking her head.

"Regardless, that was impressive," I tried not to feel some pride at the approval in her tone. "I was attacking at the speed of an average Level Two, and you managed to keep up. Had that been my true speed, you would have hit me with that last slash." She tilted her head slightly, the curiosity still present in her eyes. "It seems the defensive approach works much better for you, Emiya."

The strength of a Level Two, huh. Was the chasm between us so large?

"Only against armed opponents," I said, finally getting my breath under control. "I know swords, so I can react better to them."

"I see, something related to your magic, then?" I raised an eyebrow, did Astraea not tell her of my Skills, or of my other abilities?

"That's right." With a flex of my will, the magic dagger disappeared and Failnaught, the bow of Sir Tristan, appeared in my hands. "But I'll explain later, I'd like to keep the advantage for now."

I pulled the string, my muscles straining with the effort, and an arrow appeared knocked on it, the fletching tickling my nose.

"That's fair," Lion answered and took a calm step forward, uncaring of the arrow pointed at her face. "You certainly need it." She smirked and my eyes narrowed.

You don't have to rub it in, you know.

I breathed in, and let go of the string.

My arrow pierced the air, the cold wind howling. Less than a moment later there was a blur of movement, a crack like thunder, and the arrow shattered in thousands of pieces, falling uselessly to the ground in front of Lion.

…Just when it entered the reach of her sword.

Ridiculous.

She took another step forward in the same time it took me to pull the string, create another arrow, and shoot.

Crack!

"You know," she began calmly, like it took her nothing to parry an almost supersonic arrow out of the air. "Around the 25th floor of the Dungeon-" I shot again, and her sword became a blur once more and parried it. "-there is a bird-type monster named Iguazu." A shower of splinters, another step. Pull, create, shoot, crack! "It ambushes unwary adventurers, flying at speeds faster than sound. It's probably one of the deadliest monsters around those floors."

I kept shooting, the wind howling and the crack of thunder filling the silent garden, my arms moving with precision gained from years of training, burning with the effort of pulling the string time and time again.

In spite of myself, I felt some pride at the fact that my fingertips remained intact even after firing so many arrows. I guess the Falna made me a better archer as well.

And yet it was for nothing.

"I had just turned Level 3 when I first killed one. Your arrows remind me of them."

I could do that when I was younger, so what you are doing now it's useless. I don't know if that's what she meant, or if it was just plain boasting. Maybe she was doing it to teach me a lesson in humility, or perhaps she was trying to dissuade me about my decision to rush forward.

But I guess this is what I amount to.

I couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. I tried everything that was truly mine, the skills I earned through my own efforts and no one else's… and it wasn't enough.

'Emiya Shirou. Understand, you are a maker, not a fighter.'

…No, that wasn't quite right. My true strength lied elsewhere.

'You may want to be a warrior but I know you were born to create.'

Once more, I tried to deceive myself.

If I can't beat my opponent, then I should imagine something that could.

And one such thing came to mind, a weapon that felt like it was asking to be traced on its own. An idea came forth, using the knowledge it contained and the fact that Lion seemed unaware of the details of my abilities.

I only hope she can forgive me for this.

"Lion, I'm going to kick it up a notch," I said, letting Failnaught disappear. Lion raised a curious eyebrow and stopped her slow advance. "Don't die, please."

"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed, the smirk returning to her face. "I'll do my best." She didn't take my words seriously.

That's fine. I didn't even know if this would work, after all. I took a deep breath, and declared, "My body is made out of blades."

In spite of Astraea's words, I didn't feel anything divine from my aria, nor did I feel the world react to it in any significant way. No, the change I felt was internal.

It just gave me control.

Control of myself, of my magic, of my soul.

Of my swords.

My twenty-seven magic circuits burst to life.

I hadn't used much magic energy during the fight, so it was a matter of moments before they were refilled once more.

I focused, my mind feeling like it parted twenty-seven different ways. With every circuit, I Traced.

Seven steps.

Judging the concept of creation.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

Duplicating the composition material.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

One sword appeared in my left hand. There wasn't anything particularly special about it, it was just a normal one handed steel sword, but my whole plan rested on it.

And that was only the beginning. Soon, more began to appear, blades manifesting around me, brought forth from the depths of my soul. Lion's eyes widened as she watched how my armory took form. Swords, lances, daggers, even arrows, taken from soldiers, guards, adventurers, knights and bandits alike.

Their history passed through my mind, hundreds of years of fighting amongst them all. If I closed my eyes, I could see them, like they were standing behind me holding their weapons. Ghosts. Memories.

Waiting. For the next battle/For the battles to be over.

Remembering. The fights they fought/The lives they lived.

Mourning. The ones they lost/The memory they left behind.

My head throbbed, the staggering amount of information threatening to unravel my mind. But I was in control.

There was a moment of silence in the garden, -though I could swear I could hear some muffled squealing-. I met eyes with Lion, and raised one hand.

And then, like the king I wasn't, I lowered it, ordering the memories to fight once more.

They obeyed.

One sword rushed forward, going from standstill to flying as fast as a bullet in a single moment, followed by another, and then another. Lion moved, her eyes still wide, and dodged the first sword, letting it pass by her. She parried the second one, an iron sword that was shattered by the strike. The third was dodged, and buried itself in the ground behind her, a plume of snow exploding from the impact. By then, her eyes looked calm once more.

She stood still, her stance gaining a seriousness that had lacked before.

As I watched, I sunk deeper and deeper into the memories of the blade still on my hand. If my own skills aren't enough yet… It was cowardly, but this too was part of my abilities.

Lion weaved under a dagger, parried a spear, swatted a sword out of the air, and jumped over another. Then, in the air, her sword slashed and destroyed three more. She fell, and on the way down she kicked a lance, making it get in the way of a tachi.

Falling into a crouch, her cloak flaring around her, I could see her blue eyes move rapidly, cataloging every weapon approaching her.

Her arm blurred and Lion slashed multiple times, her speed dwarfing everything she had used against me. Weapons exploded around her. Truly ridiculous. Each slash had hit a different one, the materials my blades were made of not being able to withstand her strength.

Just to test it as well, I tried throwing magic swords a couple of times, but I couldn't seem to manage to activate them at a distance…and so Lion destroyed them just as easily as the normal weapons.

More easily, in fact, as you could breathe at them wrong and they would shatter.

But there were more coming.

It was a scene I was acquaintanced with. The first time I saw Gilgamesh was when he used a similar tactic to kill Caster, the second time, he used it against Saber.

I tried to copy it once, but manipulating my creations after I traced them was something I couldn't get to do, no matter how much I tried. There was something missing, a connection I was lacking.

It was only yesterday, when my swords shifted in the air behind me, aiming themselves at Apollo, that I realized the amount of control I had over them after chanting.

It was obvious, when I thought about it, why I couldn't before. I had to realize they were part of my body, after all.

It wasn't perfect, my focus could only split so many times and, in spite of my accuracy with the bow, some veered slightly too far from my target

I'd have to practice more.

Now, it would be a matter of time until I could do this with Noble Phantasms. Just like Gilgamesh.

Just like him.

I shook my head, my grip on my sword tightening. Even if I had the ability to trace waves of legendary weapons, I wouldn't do it against Lion. Level Five or not, I can't see her survive that.

…Or maybe I could.

I hadn't noticed, but at some point the slight discomfort that had plagued her movements had diminished. Her moves had grown surer. Her footwork was impeccable as she weaved around the attacks thrown at her.

She remained untouched, even as blade after blade came after her. I don't know if they would be able to hurt her even if they touched her but she treated every attack like something that was a threat.

…but at some point the discarded weapons around her started to get in the way. Instead of cleanly shifting to evade an attack, she had to block it. Instead of stepping back to dodge another, she had to jump over it.

So she stopped touching the ground.

Using the hilt and shafts of the discarded, buried weapons near her, Lion kept herself in the air, gracefully moving amongst a storm of swords, her cloak fluttering around her like they were wings.

She looked like a fairy, dancing around in the winds.

Lion's a beauty, isn't she?

Piercing through my focus, the thought came to me unbidden, accompanied by fragments of admiration and pride that almost overwhelmed me… and I had to glance at the sword in my hand.

Had I sunk so deep in it that her memories began to affect my thoughts and feelings?

I shook my head, doing my best to ignore the foreign thoughts by tracing more weapons, feeling my body burn with the strain of using so much magic energy. I had to finish this soon.

And soon the chance came.

After evading another weapon, Lion met my eyes for a second. In spite of the constant threat, she still seemed calm. Is this it?, she seemed to ask. Is this your best? Her eyes were assessing, curious. She was waiting for more to come.

When I didn't answer, nor moved, Lion spoke.

"Distant forest sky. Infinite stars inlaid upon the eternal night sky."

Finally having grown tired of my attacks, she began chanting, her words steady even as she kept moving around.

Concurrent Casting, Lion had called this. The ability to cast magic even while moving or attacking.

Light began to gather around her, and the wind began to gain strength.

"Heed this foolish one's voice, and once more grant the starfire's divine protection. Grant the light of compassion to the one who forsook you."

I focused inwards as her words continued, doing my best to ignore the sight of the emerald green circle that followed her around, or of the green spheres of stardust that began to hover around her.

Using my newfound control of my circuits, I reinforced my body even more. Finding smaller gaps, and focusing more and more magic in strengthening my body.

Not to be faster, or stronger.

But to be tougher. I was going to need it.

"Come, wandering wind, fellow traveler. Cross the skies and sprint through the wilderness, swifter than anything."

I was going to use a Level Four's strength and speed, after all.

My stance shifted into something unfamiliar/familiar. I stood straight with my right side to Lion, my right hand raised in front of me, my left holding the sword aloft, horizontal to the ground.

"Imbue the light of stardust and strike down my enemy. Luminous-" The spheres of light and green wind mirrored the swords surrounding me. Lion jumped up, her hand extended in front of her, "-Wind!"

The mass of green light advanced, swallowing everything in front of it. In less than a moment, the swords that were threatening Lion were crushed and turned to dust.

It was overwhelming, unstoppable, and the pieces of starlight were advancing so fast that I wouldn't be able to evade them.

But she could.

So, like my first day in the Dungeon, I relinquished control. Lend me your help, Alise.

In spite of Lion's constant warnings of being bad at holding back, there weren't many attacks coming directly my way. Most of Luminous Wind was aimed at the weapons floating behind me.

Sorry, Lion. I'll take advantage of your kindness. My body leapt into motion, covering half the distance between us in a fraction of a second. Then, when the wave of green magic drew close, I leaped.

My body spun in the air with grace I did not possess, letting the Luminous Wind pass under me.

I touched the ground at the same time Lion did. She looked at me with shock, the calm she was exuding before, gone. My legs coiled, my muscles bursting at the seams with strength.

I pulled Alise's sword back, the blade that had clashed in multiple spars with Lion in the past. The blade that knew her habits and how to take advantage of them. The blade that longed to clash with hers again after such a long time, to the point that it was almost leading me forward.

I moved, feeling the ground beneath my feet crumble as the world blurred around me. Lion seemed to have frozen in time, her hand still extended after her spell.

Was it because I evaded her attack, showing speed and reactions far above my Level? Was it because of the sword in my hand, her Captain's sword?

Or was it the smile that bloomed on my face, bright and wild, as I came closer?

"You still leave yourself open!" I found myself yelling when I got her into my weapon's reach, almost without thinking. "Lion!"

Or maybe it was because she had the bad habit of lowering her guard for a moment after unleashing her magic.

And a moment was all Alise ever needed.

Alise's sword lunged, my arm moving with her speed. The steel blade pierced through the air so fast it became a flash of silver.

And when it was just a few inches away, Lion finally reacted.

I heard the ripping of cloth, and then a vise-like grip grabbed my extended arm, twisting it and making me let go of my sword. I felt a stabbing pain as her grip crumpled the armguard I was wearing like it was made of paper mache.

And then the world blurred around me. "Kuh- ah!" My breath left my lungs in a gasp of pain as the ground caved under my back and snow exploded around me.

The blue sky greeted me as I struggled to regain my breath. A strand of green hair fell to the ground.

Was that… a judo throw?

Everything hurt. My legs, my arms, every muscle of my body felt like it had been wrung. My left arm, still held in a tight grip throbbed, and I could feel the pieces of metal trying to pierce through my enhanced skin.

I breathed out, the heat of my breath misting the air in front of my mouth. I was burning.

Every sword I created had been destroyed, I noticed dimly.

It was over.

All of that…

Lion eyed me coldly from her position, standing on top of me, still holding my arm. The only proof of my attack being her tattered hood fluttering behind her… And a small, almost imperceptible, cut on her cheek.

So small the only reason I noticed it was because of the tear on her mask and the ruby red droplet that fell from it.

All of that, for a single drop of blood.

"What… was that?" Lion asked coldly after a moment, her hold tightening. I grimaced. "How? How did you move like-?" She cut herself off, the words seeming to lodge themselves in her throat.

"Like a high-level Adventurer?" I asked for her, and then I smiled guiltily. "Or you mean like Alise?"

She breathed in sharply, and let go of my arm like it burned her. She took a few steps backwards, her narrowed eyes demanding an explanation.

I sat up, holding my left shoulder with my right hand and rolling it. I grimaced again at the sharp pain that still remained. She almost dislocated it, I think.

"Sorry, I knew that it might piss you off, but I still did it." It was probably the only way to surprise her. "It's my magic. I told you I know weapons, right? I might have… undersold it a little bit."

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and I shrugged. "Hey, you said it was fine to not tell you," I reminded her, but her eyebrow remained in place. "One of my abilities lets me read the history of a weapon by only looking at it, it's one of the steps to create my copies."

While I talked, I let whatever remained of my weapons disappear, and then I did the same with the pieces of my armor, leaving me in my leather coat and pants. Most of it had been broken or dented, from my greaves that didn't take moving at such high speeds well, to the arm guard that had been crushed against my wrist during the last attack.

Even the chest plate had cracked when I hit the ground at the end.

Thankfully, my reinforcement had been at its best during the last exchange, so nothing pierced my skin, but I would probably bruise all over.

And speaking of… I let the glow of my magic fade as well, my reinforcement having done its job well.

"So the reason you were able to counter me before…"

"Was because I knew how you usually attack with Alf's Lumina. It wasn't easy, but I could predict what you were going to do thanks to that." Lion's eyes narrowed, and she looked at her sword like it betrayed her. I shrugged, a grin on my face. "You helped a little by not going all in, thankfully."

Lion sighed. "I was just following my lady's orders… even if it now seems I could have held back a little less." She shook her head. "And that speed at the end?"

"That's… a little harder to explain." I sighed, and scratched the back of my head. "If I focus enough on the experience I find in a weapon, I can… imitate it, force my body to move like the original user, copying their strength and their fighting skill."

Lion's eyes widened with realization. "And you- the last attack, you were wielding Alise's sword. That's how-"

"Of all the weapons left in the armory, hers was the most experienced in fighting you."

Lion let out a shuddering breath. "We used to spar a lot back then, she was the one that was always willing to fight me," she said softly. There was a deep melancholy in her voice as she spoke. "You are saying you can copy the skill and stats of a Level Four. That's… a little hard to believe."

"I know, but it's the truth. You can ask Astraea if you want." I made to stand, but my legs wobbled, the exhaustion and strain catching up to them, and I fell back on my butt.

Seeing that, Lion let out a deep sigh and approached me, lowering her mask. "I'm guessing doing that kind of thing doesn't come cheap, huh."

"Using magic beyond your means can destroy you, or so my father used to say," I said, focusing my magic energy to begin to feed Avalon. "I shouldn't be surprised that the same can happen with physical prowess."

Before I could activate the sheath, however, Lion extended one hand. "I sing now of a distant forest. A familiar melody of life. Noah Heal."

A soft light enveloped my body, the glow reminiscent of dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves of a forest. Soon relief flooded me as the pain I was feeling began to slowly fade: the strain I put on my muscles, the ache of forming bruises, the sharp pain on my shoulder. I even felt some of my stamina return. A healing spell. I felt a pang of envy.

To have the ability to heal others on demand… I wished I had such a kind and selfless magic.

"Let me handle it, don't strain yourself more than necessary," she said softly, her attention on her spell. "It might not be as good as your artifact, but it will at least put you back on your feet,"

Still, I shook my head.

"There's no need, really, I can-" Lion glared sharply at me. "...I'll take advantage of your kindness."

"You're Lady Astraea's man. I won't have you return to her a wreck because of me," she muttered, and I had to keep myself from flushing. After a few moments of silence, she spoke. "...Your abilities, it would be stupid to consider something so ridiculous to be true… but I believe you. Otherwise, I would have to admit that a Level One managed to hurt me on his own." She grumbled the last part, touching the small cut on her cheek.

I smiled awkwardly. I guess that hurt her pride a little.

"Besides, the way you moved at the end, there's no way I would not recognize the way Alise moved." She sighed. "And, when you berated me for lowering my guard, you spoke with her tone then, and smiled her smile."

I grimaced. "Sorry. I got a little carried away, and let some of her memories overwhelm me for a bit. I think that the spar made the feelings stronger." A training session with one of her loved ones, I guess it made sense that it was easy to sink so deep in the echoes in her sword.

Lion shook her head, and her spell faded from her hand. "It's fine," she whispered. "It was like hearing her speaking again. Thank you." And then she smiled at me, a soft upturning of her lips that made her look younger. Or rather, it made her look her age.

She was so pretty, I realized once more. This time the thought came not from the recollections of a sword, but from me.

I cleared my throat awkwardly and shook my head, both to answer her and to clear my mind, and then focused on my body. I moved experimentally and found most of the pain gone. There was some lingering discomfort, but nothing that a second or two with Avalon wouldn't fix.

"So?" she asked when I stood up as well. "Are we done here? Or do you have any other secret abilities you didn't get to show?" Her voice was once more dry, but there was a softness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

Something else I didn't show…"Hm."

The softness faded. "Really?"

"It's not something secret, but I have some stronger weapons I can use. Much stronger than the dagger I used against you."

Lion eyed me dully. "And you didn't use them against me- why?"

I felt a flicker of amusement, and looked around. "Besides the fact that I didn't want to destroy the garden?"

Lion froze for a moment and then looked around as well. The gouges on the ground that my onslaught of weapons had left, the actual crater my body had made when Lion threw me to the ground… and the destruction that Luminous Wind had left in its wake.

"...Besides that, yes." she said after a few seconds, before muttering. "At least one of us remembered to hold back."

"They are my… last resort. Had I used one of them I probably would have killed you."

Caliburn, Gae Bolg, Merodach, Durandal. Hell, even Kanshou and Bakuya would probably easily cut through Alf's Lumina, and kill her if I wasn't careful.

Lion froze for a second, and then watched me seriously. "You are so ridiculous that I might as well believe that…" She sighed, looking exasperated. "If you feel that was for the best, then I won't say anything. But remember that last resorts are useless if you die before you can use them… or if someone dies because you chose not to use them."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Captain." I nodded. If there ever is a need for them, I won't hesitate to use Noble Phantasms if it meant to save someone.

Pride has no place in a situation where lives are at risk.

"See that you do." She nodded, and then turned around. "Let's report to Lady Astraea. I have made my decision."

"And it is…?"

She glanced at me, some disbelief coloring her expression, before she huffed. "Just come, you fool."

I was just asking, there's no need to be rude. I rolled my eyes and followed behind her.

We started to walk back to the table where Astraea and the girls were still waiting when Lion asked me a question. "Say, you said you could recreate weapons by just seeing them, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

Lion hummed. "Even broken ones?"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was asking. Does she have a broken weapon she wants me to copy?

"One of the best weapons I can create is one that was broken hundreds of years ago," she gave me a curious glance but then returned her eyes forward. "So, I'd say yes."

"...I see."

Without elaborating, she kept walking. I shrugged and followed behind.

-Line Break-

"That was amazing, Sir Shirou, Miss Ryuu! It was like watching something out of a tale!" Cassandra gushed. She had her hands clasped over her chest, and was squirming in her seat.

Lion and I exchanged uncomfortable looks, both equally awkward about seeing the stars in the younger girl's eyes. "You were moving so fast, I couldn't really see everything, but it was amazing! Your swords, Sir Shirou, there were so many! And Miss Ryuu's magic was so beautiful and powerful!"

By Cassandra's side Daphne was a little more controlled in her reactions, but there was a flush of excitement in her cheeks. "I never saw Adventurers fight before, I didn't know it was so intense!" she exclaimed, and then got closer to me. "I thought about it when you did your weapon thing yesterday, but you are strong, huh?"

I shook my head. "I'm not, not really. Lion would have crushed me easily if she wasn't holding back so much. And she did in the end, anyway."

"Hmm… is that how it is? Well, I guess that compared to her, you would obviously fall short," she said, looking at Lion with some intensity.

"B-but you looked so strong, Sir Shirou!" Cassandra complained with a pout. "Daphne might not have thought of it before now, but I did. Even before we met I knew you were special!"

Daphne rolled her eyes, muttering something like "Those dreams again…"

I smiled a little indulgent and patted her head. "I see, thanks Cassandra." She let out a soft "Uuh~" and flushed scarlet red.

"City boys…" Daphne muttered again, giving me a side eye. "Say, Emiya," she said a little louder, making Cassandra snap of her state and retreat from my hand. "Didn't know you were a good archer as well. I kinda want you to teach me now."

I smiled, a little amused at her straightforwardness. "If your future Familia doesn't mind, then I don't mind giving you some tips." Her eyes narrowed, and she glanced at Astraea. Yeah, she will ask herself today.

While I was drawn to their antics, Astraea watched with a placid smile. A smile that widened when Lion approached her.

"So?" She asked, almost knowingly. "Your verdict?"

Cassandra and Daphne fell silent at the question, looking curiously at the interaction. I felt some nerves, waiting for the answer.

"He cut me. A Level One cut me." There was a weird mixture of shame and fascination in her tone. "Kaguya and Lyra would have never let me live this down."

Astraea giggled. "They would have not, I imagine. You underestimated him, my silly child. Do you perhaps need a potion?"

Lion's eyes narrowed at the mischief in her tone, but then simply shook her head. "Something like this will heal on its own," she said. "If it scars, it would serve as a reminder to not do it again."

Astraea raised an amused eyebrow. "You could just look at our garden, wouldn't that serve as a proper reminder?"

Lion flushed, shrinking into herself. "Forgive me, my lady,"

"It's fine," Astraea said with a giggle. "Now that it needs fixing, it gives me an excuse to go talk to Demeter. It's been some time since I've last seen her." After that, there was a moment of silence. "You didn't use it," Astraea noted.

"I didn't feel it was necessary," Lion answered with a shrug. "I underestimated him, after all."

"A pity, I wanted to see it."

I wondered what they were talking about, but I kept my silence.

Lion glanced at me, and a small challenging smile appeared on her face. "I also want to see it, now. How Alise's sword techniques would fare against her magic. His Tracing against my Record."

…what? Alise's magic?

Seeing my confusion, Lion's smile just widened and she turned back to Astraea. Her back straightened.

"You ask for my verdict? He's ready," Lion declared and I let out a sigh of relief. "He could probably survive on his own on the middle floors, but I will accompany him and make sure that he does. With your permission, I will make sure he lives to become stronger, Lady Astraea."

I was a little surprised at the intensity in her voice. More than just willing, she seemed determined to do so.

Astraea smiled brightly. "Of course, there's no one else I would trust more with our family's safety." Then she turned to me, and her eyes softened. "Congratulations, Shirou, you did well. It seems we will continue to enable your recklessness."

I smiled back. "I did warn you last night, that I might worry you to death."

Astraea's eyes narrowed, "And I did give my reply to that, mister."

I felt some heat gather in my cheeks when the memory of what followed her reply returned to me and Astraea's face turned a slight rosy color. Was she thinking the same?

We fell silent for a moment, lost in each other's eyes… And then Lion cleared her throat, snapping out of our trance. I shook my head, doing my best to dismiss those dangerous thoughts from my head.

Lion's eyes were slightly narrowed at me, but then she sighed, and spoke. "With whatever that was out of the way– Emiya, forgive me for asking, but would you mind showing me your Status page? Or maybe explain your Skills and magic in more detail? It would be more efficient for me to know your limits for the expedition." I raised an eyebrow at how hesitant she sounded.

"Of course, I don't mind." I answered instantly. "If anything, I thought Astraea had already shown you."

Astraea chimed in then, "Shirou, the Status is deeply personal to an Adventurer. I wouldn't show yours to others without your permission, not even to other members of the Familia," she said with a slightly exasperated smile. Lion shook her head with a similar expression.

"Ah, I didn't know that. But, well, it's Lion. If I didn't trust her, then I wouldn't have asked her to accompany me to the Dungeon." I looked to the sky. The sun was still a little low, not much time had passed since we came out to the garden. "Maybe we can talk over breakfast? You still have time, right Lion?"

Lion hesitated, but when Astraea grabbed her hand with a warm smile she finally nodded. "...I do."

"Great, then let's go back in." I glanced at Cassandra and Daphne who were standing a little bit to the side. "You two can join us, of course." Cassandra clapped her hands delightedly and Daphne nodded with gratitude. "I was thinking of making some dishes from back home. I've been wanting to use some of those gifts Lion's boss gave us."

I already seem to have impressed Lion with my fighting abilities, now it was time to do the same with Japanese food.

Hm. Cooking breakfast for a group of women after being beaten black and blue by one of them…

It was like being back at the Holy Grail War.

-Line Break-

This is the last chapter of book 2 and the last chapter I have pre-written. Following chapters will come out as I write them, but nowhere near as fast as the previous ones.