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"What's the situation, Kerry?"
"Natalie" The young man acknowledged, his gaze transfixed on the building in front of him "It's currently under control"
The freelancers duo, Kiritsugu Emiya and his mentor Natalie stood before one of the more average hotel in the upper district of London. It's name was irrelevant compared to the mission they'd been tasked with today
Dead Apostle. Entities turned into Vampire through supernatural means. Monster with their blood sucking impulses and penchant to create chaos wherever they go. Just earlier this day an emergency notice about the sighting of one in the middle of the coty has come from the Mage's Association in a contract for their aid
His hands curled slightly in agitation, before it relaxed. Kiritsugu haven't had the best experience with the likes of them, not after what his father did back at the island years ago
"Why here?" He turned to the side, eyeing the suit cases they bought with them with a calculating glance "Last I know, most of them were spotted on the other side of the world at Misaki town, and even then they were taken care of by the Church's executors. Why would they chose such a public and unsafe place to operate?"
"Look above you"
He did. What Kiritsugu saw when he stared at the sky was the looming planet above him, shining it's ethereal light in the night sky
"It's full moon tonight, meaning this particular Dead Apostle is confident since it's also the time when he was the strongest. See that bounded Field?" She gestured toward the faint purple barrier surrounding above the hotel "It's an inverse type, made for those inside so they cannot escape. By the time this field disappear he would have killed everyone inside and complete whatever he's doing"
"So it's the direct approach then?" Unlocking the suitcase placed on the car, he gazed at the various weaponry stored inside, before settling with the rifle and several gadgets as his loadout
"Indeed" The veteran freelancer confirmed, taking arms with her own "Right after we enter, a secondary barrier will be placed to prevent curious bystander to trespass, as per the standard protocol. Our objective is like the usual: Extermination of all infested inside"
They began walking toward the entrance, guns at the ready
<><><><><><><><><><>
The hallway was silent as I stepped outside from my room. Closing the door behind me, I turned around with the flashlight created using [Projection] in my hand
While technology cannot be used in conjunction with magecraft and supernatural skills, nobody said a magical construct with the same internal working as modern appliances is included in that list
I flicked the light forward, only to stop as the sight of blood entered my sight
"Ahhh shit" No amount of word could describe my feeling at this point "Not a single day in this new world and trouble's already brewing for me"
Judging from the brutality displayed here, it could only be a ghoul or a Dead Apostle. There are other options of course, but this one is more probable considering the supernatural nature of this incident
A Magus would have known to work more efficiently and cover up his work. Furthermore, he wouldn't risk violating the safety and secrecy protocol established for the sake of attaining new lab rats
Not that the Mage's Association would abstain from the idea of using human sacrifice, but there's a limit to everything
Meanwhile, a Magical Beast wouldn't know how to erect such an intricate Bounded Field. The only exception to that is the Succubus and several others learned from "my" knowledge of Zoology, most of them went extinct decades ago
A faint groan echoed down the hall behind me, making me turn around with a raised eyebrow
A ghoulish looking corpse shuffled around the corner. It's slow movement seems to reflect the state of a newly-turned undead. Slow, aimless, disoriented, but there's no mistaken the red gleam behind those eyes
It's eyes, which was staring ahead, immediately switched direction and swiveled around to meet mine. Inside those cold orbs contained nothing but malevolence and madness, but the dominant expression was that of a primal hunger for blood
"Human...food"
"No"
It only took a moment for to close the distance between us, it's jaw opened as it lunged for my neck
"FOOOOOOOD!"
"NO MEANS NO!"
My Reinforced fist met it halfway, adding to the sudden acceleration mid-burst and the speed at which it travels. With my calculations, such an attack should be enough to temporarily daze it, allowing me time to either escape or incapacitate it before it can regain it's bearing
But at that moment, unknown to him, (Y/n) has made a mistake
The one thing he haven't taken into account is just how powerful a maxed out [Reinforcement] could be. It's basis is mostly filling up the gap between the object's structure to it's utmost limit to increase the purpose of their existence, which is extremely difficult since one must first have a grasp of their inner structure before attempting an in-depth enhancement of the object
But what if an object is complete, yet still capable of change?
In this case, with the skill [Unlimited Growth] he can reinforce his body with as much magical energy as he can, since now the biological structure inside have taken in the ability to adapt to to external stimulation, thus constantly changing evolving when met with resistance.
If (Y/n) accidentally inject too much energy into my own limb, his own body will evolve past it's limit so that it can withstand that energy. In that moment, every cells in the boy's system worked with optimal efficiency to change the composition of his veins to a superior one
Enhanced Strength. Enhanced Dexterity. Increased Magic Circuit Quality
Thus, the result is the Dead Apostle's head being pulverized by the force behind his punch, since the magician have accidentally put too many magic into it
But it's not like he's aware of it as of this moment
"Huh?" I stared at the headless corpse that is already on it's way to becoming ash, then looked down at my fist "...."
Wordlessly, I closed it again and punched myself. There was a little bit of pain with the sizzling of magic running along my cheek, but aside form that I felt nothing
"There's no way that can be a Dead Apostle" I frowned "He's too weak"
Most likely the guy's a ghoul, or just a mindless dead puppet controlled by it's master. A REAL Dead Apostle is said to possess supernatural reflex and strength since their body structure isn't bind by normal tissue. Against such a punch, I had expected to hurt it a bit, though not certainly to this degree
I was about to continue toward the stairs but multiple groans stopped me from doing that. Looking down at the corridor, I came face to face with another hoard of "Dead Apostles", their red eyes gleaming in the dark as they all rushed toward me with supernatural speed
"I've had enough of this shit"
A Thompson materialized in my hand as I unleashed a hail of bullets upon the incoming undead.
Contrary to common sense, these supernatural bloodsuckers can be kill by conventional weapon, though their enhanced reflexes enable them to dodge with ease
That's when magecraft comes in
Multiple projections of the same Thompson materialized midair and also began firing at the horde in a one-sided volley of intense firepower. The powerful rain of projectiles mowed them down like cattle upon their slaughtering day, spattering blood and organs over the corridor's interior
Admittedly, I did think of this idea when seeing Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. Od intensive as it may be, you can't deny it's effectiveness as an anti-army technique when used on a larger scale than usual
the projections and mana bullets shattered into nothingness upon my command. With most of the Apostles on this floor now dealt with, I casually walked down the stairs with hands in my pocket
...Only to come face to face with yet another hoard of Dead Apostles, all of which are grinning at me
"Oh come the fuck on"
<><><><><><><><><>
CRASH
"Kerry!"
"I'm fine" Twisting himself out of a vampire's swiping claw, Kiritsugu killed it with a well-aimed shot at it's back. As flexible as they are, most Dead Apostles won't be able to evade a projectile at point-blank range, especially if it's coming from a pistol reinforced with acceleration magic beforehand
"[Time Alter- Accel]" The world flashed as his inner time perception contradict reality, allowing him to narrowly dodge another strike that would have been too fast for him to react. He pulled the trigger on his rifle, unleashing several burst shot that ended up penetrating through the vampire's skull and spine "[Release Alter]"
His body's movement slowed to the flow of time, once again resuming a normal stance as he rammed his combat knife into the chest of another Dead Apostle
Something isn't right. They could tell that the moment these things ambushed them at the entrance
For one thing, Dead Apostles usually do not flock together, especially with such a large quantity of them. They are known as solitary creature that works alone, bar for the exception of their Ancestors who has all been neutralized til this day
For the other, they are not the only one here
It was a single magic signal, strangely powerful. An individual was moving on the upper floor from what their sensory had told them. Possibly a veteran Magus
Part of Kiritsugu - the naive, idealistic part - hope for it to be a survivor that they can save. The other, more rational part reasoned that it could be the one behind this bloody massacre. Nonetheless he concluded that they will have to clear their way before they can afford to care about that
"Watch out"
Unpinning a grenade from her belt with hardly a word of warning, Natalie tossed them toward the mass of undead in front of them before grabbing Kiri by the collar and jumped back. The boy covered his ear, knowing what's about to come next as his mentor detonated the bomb midair by shooting it
BOOM
Both of them were slightly blown back from the force of the explosion, but the gadgets served their intended purpose - Most of the Dead Apostles were cleared with the remaining ones in a daze from the sudden noise. The two assassins made quick work of them, gunning down the scattered survivors with practiced efficiency
The silence reigned shortly after as the duo paused to temporarily catch a breath. Natalie to reload her guns and him to slightly recover his use of time-control magecraft
They certainly hadn't expect a clap to sounded behind them. Both of them whipped around, unloading a hail of bullets at the source by pure instinct, only to blink as the projectiles embedded themselves in the wall with noone in sight
'Sound misdirection' Natalie growled
"A marvelous performance, I must say" Standing on the floor above and peering at them from the balcony was a man in this thirties. His colorless eyes narrowed in concentration "But did you think that was enough?"
Their only answer is to shot at him, to which he nimbly dodge by tilting his head sideway
it would be expected after all. He is a veteran Dead Apostle with physical abilities far outstripped his younger brethren. To use normal weaponry against him would be almost useless at this range
"Natalie, it's nice to meet you again" Odd Borzak smiled
"Aye. I've missed you honey" The woman snarked back as she loaded another bullet to her gun and aimed it at him "Enough so that I can put a bullet in your head"
However, before she could do so, a swarm of bees began pouring out from the ceiling's ventilator as they surround the pair. The red gleam in their eyes point to their nature as being related to the Dead Apostle standing behind them
'So this was him, the bee user' Kiritsugu eyed their target with caution 'the only target who ever evaded Natalie's hunt. We'll have to be careful against him'
"Such enmity from an old friend" Borzak smiled, before spreading his arm "Nonetheless, you had come at the right time to witness one of my latest experiment"
the bee familiar's eyes glowed a sinister crimson as their movement became more erratic, seemingly itching to inject their venom into their target
"A recent advancement in my own Magecraft has enabled me to bolster the power of my familiar" He boasted "Behold, under the effect of the full moon even powerless civilians are turned into full-fledged Apostles by being attacked by the bees. Imagine what they would turn you into"
The bees began closing around them, their aggressive buzzing echoed in the hotel's empty hall. Borzak watched with joy as his own creation were about to achieve the pinnacle of his power tonight
That joy was dashed away when the sound of footstep echoed behind him
"Oi"
"Huh?"
He turned around in annoyance
...only to come face to face with the muzzle of a Tommy gun, and an angry pair of eyes behind it
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT
Odd Borzak screamed in agony as the projectile ripped through him, breaking apart the blood stored in his body one by one.
He attempted to retaliate, but a hand shot out and wrapped around his throat, preventing him from moving from his spot
With a click of the trigger being released, the hail of bullet stopped, leaving behind an injured and confused man with blood dripping from numerous holes on his body
He choked out some incoherent words, before the person behind him throw the Dead Apostle off the balcony. He fell through the air, his limp body landing on the ground with a wet splat.
The man laid there, his mouth a gaping "O" in surprise at the suddenness of his failure. The bees - having lost their master and mana supply - began falling to the ground one by one.Their souls already left the body at the moment of his death
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack
In front of the stunned freelancers, (Y/n) slowly walked down the spiral stair to the ground floor, his shoe clacking with every steps he take upon the marble platform
Finally, the mysterious Magus stopped in front of them
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