Chapter 22 - 1

=== CHERNOBOG ===

Nearl slowly opened her eyes.

Something wasn't right. She quickly seized on it and forced herself to shake off the shackles of sleep.

Danger.

Her instincts warned her of danger. A sharp suffocating sensation she learned to grasp and use against her opponent during her days as a competition knight in Kazimierz. Margaret Nearl was a talented knight, trained and pushed to the very top of the league. Danger wasn't a threat to her, it was only a warning that her opponent was attacking her. Nearl leaned into the feeling, judging where it spiked and countering the opponent's move with one of her own.

But...it was that effective when you couldn't see your opponent.

A crunch- followed by sharp blades unsheathing were heard. Muffled impacts and thumps registered on Nearl's hearing before steps closed in on her prison.

Stay calm.

Nearl controlled her breath and forced her body to relax. She evened it out, putting on the illusion that she was still asleep. It was night and the interior of the building- her cell much deeper inside- would be dark if not pitch black to most. Unless the person had decent night vision, then they'd have the same disadvantage she had.

Nearl would spring the trap on them once they entered her range.

The person stopped right in front of her cell.

Nearl readied herself...

"Nearl, are you awake?"

-and jerked up.

She opened her eyes to darkness, but the recognizable outline of a person stood outside her bars.

"Shirou? What's going on?" What Nearl heard was definitely a scuffle. Why was Shirou fighting Reunion guards now?

"Nearl, do you trust me?" Shirou quietly asked.

"...not particularly." Nearl admitted. Sure, Shirou helped extract Rhodes Island during the Chernobog invasion. Yes, he delivered her delicious food. But that wasn't enough for Nearl to give him her trust. She knew he was a good person, he wouldn't have saved those children if he wasn't.

But that was the thing. Nearl didn't particularly trust his decisions. Not until he explained why he joined the Reunion.

"I don't have time to explain everything, but will you help me rescue the prisoners?" Shirou wanted to save the civilians, but doing so alone was inefficient. Asking Patriot's forces was an option, though it would pull valuable manpower away from battle. Shirou needed someone else that could protect the civilians aside from him.

Nearl wanted to say yes right away. It was in her character to protect others. "Of course. But can you tell me what's going on first?" She needed to know more. A few hours ago the city came alive. What was the Reunion planning?

"Remember the Draco leader?" Shirou pulled out the key he took from the guards and unlocked her cell.

"Talulah?" Nearl was very well aware of the Reunion's leader. She was the figurehead of the entire Infected movement and was a wanted criminal.

"I'm not sure, but we think she plans to run Chernobog's core into Lungmen."

"What?!"

"It's complicated..." Shirou could try and explain it to her, but it wasn't the best time. He was supposed to be bringing her to meet Patriot and FrostNova. "I'll explain some other time." He started walking to the exit with Nearl following close behind. She noted the dead Sarkaz lying on the floor with a small pool of blood around their necks.

"They aren't your guards if that was your question." Shirou answered before she could ask. "Your guards were killed outside." Talulah was devious. The woman sent Sarkaz mercenaries to overwhelm the guards and kill Nearl before she became a problem. The Kazimierz champion would've been a thorn in her side if she escaped. Talulah wanted to remove wild cards on the battlefield as much as possible.

"Can you fight with this?" Shirou picked up one of the fallen Sarkaz weapons. It was fortunately a sword, a generic weapon one picked up. The other Sarkaz carried a halberd which didn't help him survive the fight in close quarters- not that any of them survived Shirou.

"I can." Nearl took the weapon from Shirou's hand and swung the weapon around a few times to test its weight. It was a bit on the heavy side, more favored for a Sarkaz whose physical strength is greater than that of a Kuranta like her.

"Good, because they're coming." Shirou looked outside to see a group of Sarkaz heading for the entrance. He spotted them scattered around the area earlier. Reinforcements if the first mercs failed to kill Nearl. Shirou traced Nearl's weapons during the Chernobog invasion, but he wasn't going to reveal his ability to materialize them until the situation needed it. For now, he'd just let Nearl rely on her own to adapt.

Nearl blinked as Shirou grabbed the halberd from the fallen Sarkaz and rushed outside on his own. "Wait! We should ambush them here..." Her hand reached out before she watched as Shirou launched himself at the half-dozen strong platoon.

They weren't prepared for the speed Shirou rushed at them at.

So fast! Nearl blinked when Shirou cut down the distance between him and the Sarkaz mercenaries in the span of two seconds. Even the Sarkaz were surprised. The two in front of the group only managed to draw their weapons halfway before two heads flew off the bodies. Nearl and the remaining Sarkaz momentarily paused while watching Shirou draw the halberd back in a spin around him. The way he carried the weapon was more like a balanced staff rather than a heavy two-handed axe.

That...that wasn't how you used halberds.

The four instantly backed off while spreading themselves. Despite the surprising deaths of the first two, they were veterans. Shock wasn't an emotion one brought to the battlefield. They eyed Shirou between them until one of them talked.

"Aren't you a doctor?"

"Not really." Shirou answered before leaping forwards with another decapitating blow. He used the range of the halberd's shaft to strike at the Sarkaz, but the attack was dodged when the mercenary threw his body completely on the floor. The rest took the opportunity to close the gap behind him.

Nearl ran forwards. Her speed wasn't the same, slower than usual with the heavy Sarkaz sword she carried. Not fast enough! She hissed when the Sarkaz closed the distance to Shirou faster than she did.

There was no other choice.

She swung the scavenged sword and threw it at the closest Sarkaz. It reached him faster and the mercenary angled his shield to block the flying weapon. Nearl grabbed a sword from one of the fallen mercenaries mid-sprint but it was too late. One Sarkaz leapt in the air behind Shirou while swinging a dagger on his head. The other dashed sideways and swung his sword for his body.

Blood splattered on the ground and two more bodies fell on the floor. The figure midair was cut in half while the one dashing to the side fell forwards with momentum, his head bouncing once and rolling on the ground for a moment.

"Sorry. I tried to make it quick."

The halved Sarkaz coughed blood while patting his hand over his lost torso. He didn't last a second longer as the halberd crushed his head instantly.

Nearl slowed to a stop as she watched the cause of the bloody scene in front of her raise the bloody halberd. Just like earlier, Shirou used a single attack to eliminate two enemies. Powerful enemies. Sarkaz weren't just any race. They were known to be one of the stronger races in Terra, if not some of the strongest. Few races could compete with them on strength and durability. A Kuranta like her could train all her life at the gym and her strength would still fall short compared to the average Sarkaz warrior. That was why the Kuranta relied on charging together in groups. Their speed and numbers made their momentum near unstoppable.

Yet, the man in front of her just eliminated them with ease- with a weapon she would've had some trouble using in normal circumstances in addition to its heavy weight. The way Shirou used the weapon screamed experience, if not mastery. He was using it in ways Nearl would struggle to replicate. Spinning it around the shaft like a staff should've been extremely physically demanding with how the weight was distributed, yet Shirou wielded it smoothly.

Nearl knew that the man in front of her was a stranger despite the few exchanges they've had. She knew that he was good- really wanted to believe in it, but seeing him cut down those men without hesitation made her realize just how much she didn't know about him.

Nearl had seen death. Nearl had seen destruction. Nearl had seen sickness.

But she had never seen someone with so much contrast as the man in front of her.

A doctor? With the combat ability she had seen? An archer?! What kind of archer masterfully fought with a halberd?!

The last two Sarkaz shuffled on their feet while looking at Shirou and the four corpses. It hadn't even been a quarter of a minute and they were down to the last two of their number.

Mercenaries. They were mercenaries.

The one in front of Shirou dropped his weapon and raised his arms in surrender.

"Fuck this. We're not paid enough for this bullshit."

Shirou looked at the one between him and Nearl. The masked Sarkaz also dropped his weapon and shrugged.

"We're not going to give up our lives for a hopeless mission. Better to just take another job."

"Aren't you afraid of failing Talulah?" Shirou asked.

"Not if she doesn't find us."

"We're not allowing you to go back and report." Shirou hefted his halberd.

"..."

"..."

The two Sarkaz looked at each other.

"Don't worry. I won't harm you. Just follow me." Shirou motioned his head towards the closest building.

Well if that wasn't suspicious.

"Shirou, I won't let you kill them after they surrender." Nearl glowered. She tapped her sword menacingly to warn him. She wasn't beyond fighting if it meant stopping him. Though Nearl didn't know how she'd fare against the crazy halberd-wielding archer. "If you kill them-" She'd what? Threaten to leave? It was too dangerous now that she'd considered it. There wasn't much she could do but stick to him until they were somewhere safer. Even then, there was no place in Chernobog she would consider safe.

"Fine, I'll leave the halberd here." Shirou lowered the weapon. Nearl narrowed her eyes then slowly nodded. The two Sarkaz walked in front of Shirou until they entered the building.

A few moments later, Shirou walked out without the two mercs.

Nearl looked at Shirou quizzically. "What did you do to them?" It was too fast. Shirou just walked in with the two and left in a span of two seconds. That wasn't even enough time to tie and gag the two. He didn't even have any rope on him to secure the mercenaries.

"I made sure they wouldn't be able to move anywhere." He answered while picking up the halberd and grabbing a sword off the ground.

Nearl looked at him suspiciously. His answer nudged her wrongly. Whatever Shirou did, she needed to see. She headed over and popped her head into the building.

Lo and behold, two unconscious bodies slumped against the wall. They weren't dead because Nearl could see their chests breathing. Seeing that her fears were wrong, she admitted that Shirou's method wasn't bad. By the time the Sarkaz woke up, they'd be long gone.

"Happy?" Shirou asked when she returned.

"Satisfied." Nearl wasn't going to mention Shirou's mysterious skill and strength. That topic could be dealt with another time...if she could draw out an answer from him. Shirou began walking in a direction with the blonde horse knight following behind him.

Inside the building Nearl left, two souls were screaming for her to return. Not a single sound left them. They couldn't move. They couldn't speak. They couldn't do anything despite nothing holding them down. Struggle as with all their might, but their bodies refused to bulge.

Nothing except for two unusual blades stabbed into the floor beside them.

=== RHODES ISLAND ===

"How are the preparations coming along?" Rin didn't need to explain. Kal'tsit knew exactly what she wanted. Just a little before the attack on the city, Rhodes Island failed to negotiate with Lungmen's Chief Executive. After the meeting, the two Fuyuki doctors approached Kal'tsit for a meeting. There, they explained to the Rhodes Island leader that they wanted to hire the organization's paramilitary branch for a rescue operation on their third member.

Stupid idiot. Rin was pissed. Worse, Sakura was worried. That was enough for Rin's older sister instincts to kick in and take action.

It wasn't the best time to hold such an operation. Chernobog was swamped with Reunion fighters. The infamous Patriot and his vice commander were also stationed back in the city. Infiltrating against such odds was unlikely, but Rin and Sakura assured her that they were bringing a trump card with them.

"Most of the preparations are finished. It will take us a few hours to debrief our operators before we head over to Chernobog." Kal'tsit answered. She will be part of the operation herself due to other objectives. The elite operators will be in charge of heading the rescue mission for both the missing Fuyuki doctor and their captured comrade.

Amiya and the Doctor stood off to the side while watching the conversation play out. They didn't take part because they lacked information about the arrangement. It was Kal'tsit who the sisters initiated contact with, not them.

"A-ah...Kal'tsit can I talk to them?" Amiya perked up in the middle of the conversation. She looked determined, a different look compared to the one she carried throughout the previous day.

Technically it was just an hour ago, it was one in the morning and none of them had slept since the Reunion retreated. Kal'tsit ordered the operators to rest while she, Amiya, and the doctor continued to work.

She'd be damned if she didn't at least use the brain behind the amnesiac that caused the greatest betrayal in her life.

Kal'tsit glanced at Amiya before looking at the two doctors in front of her. Rin didn't answer whereas Sakura smiled and nodded at the young girl.

"Of course. What is it?" Her gentle voice gave off waves of warmth and comfort. Amiya leaned forwards until her body was a straight ninety-degree angle bow.

"T-thank you! Thank you so much for funding the rescue mission!" Kal'tsit had been against Amiya's plan to rescue Nearl. It was a surprise to the young Cautus when the older feline informed her and the Doctor about the rescue operation that was being put together with the funds and resources that the Fuyuki Clinic duo forwarded to Rhodes Island.

Amiya understood that the plan wouldn't have pushed through if they were any other customer. Kal'tsit wouldn't risk more lives to rescue one operator. It was the importance of the target that made the Rhodes Island leader reconsider.

Having one Oripathy doctor in the Reunion's hands was too dangerous.

"Miss Amiya, right?" Sakura asked out of courtesy. The young Rhodes Island leader returned to her standing position and nodded. "It was nothing, really. We were doing it for our friend."

Friend.

Rin wanted to smack herself. For all of Sakura's brilliance when it came to magecraft, the girl was still too shy to call Shirou her boyfriend out in public. After everything they've been through, after all the work Rin did to push the girl out of her shell. When it came to love, Sakura was just as much a wreck like the boy they both loved.

Seriously, why is she the guidance counselor of the group?

Rin sighed.

"Be that as it may, this operation cannot fail. To increase the chances of success, Sakura and I will be participating with your rescue teams." The older Tohsaka sister announced.

Kal'tsit inwardly frowned. The sisters had their fair share of secrets. They seemed confident in their abilities to fight in a warzone. Still, Kal'tsit didn't want them anywhere near danger despite what they have shown.

"That is too dangerous. We cannot allow you to be within range of the Reunion."

"We will bring support. A trump card, if you will. Enough to face anything the Reunion can throw at us." Rin answered.

Years of researching the Holy Grail after the deconstruction of the ritual in Fuyuki allowed Rin to tap into the Minor Grail within Sakura's body. The Holy Grail with Shirou was out of their hands right now so they had to work with what they had.

Kal'tsit looked at Rin and Sakura. They didn't seem bothered by her warning. Considering how they secured Misha before Lungmen did, Kal'tsit knew that they had a few cards up their sleeves.

"That depends on what you show to us before we deploy our teams to Chernobog." Kal'tsit would have to see it first.

Rin and Sakura looked at each other. It was time to use that.