Author's Note : Before you begin reading the chapter, I apologise for the delay.  Truth be told I've not exactly been the most active on wattpad since the recent months. Honestly, I had even stopped reading any fanfics and was just replying to any messages or comments ( because not responding would have just been rude, not to mention a pretty dickish move ).  I had a few personal issues in the family, so I couldn't get any time to focus on wattpad.  That and college was hell too I suppose...... Honestly, I can't give a perfect promise but I'll still try to at least try to be more consistent with the chapters in the future. And I apologise to my readers as well as my friends here on wattpad.  Damn, I still remember I'm still on the Hades part on Winterwanderer's Shield Of The Waves book...... Well, I will start it back soon too, that's for sure. Still, I once again apologize for the delay and hope you enjoy the chapter. 

The Main Command Hall, Fraxinus

     There was a strange silence through the air as Shido sat down beside the Knights with Kotori and Reine right in front of him. Origami and her parents were at her side and even the generally useless Kannazuki seemed to be alert. Shido let out a sigh and spoke up and said, " As I had said before, the summoning ritual was supposed to summon a heroic spirit, that is to say a Hero from the past era. However, for reasons yet unknown, the ritual malfunctioned and caused the summoning of more than one heroic spirit. However, all of them have agreed to help us. "

        Shido's words were interrupted when Kotori slammed her hand on the table and asked angrily, " What the hell is going on Shido ?! Who are these people ? And what do you mean by Heroic Spirits ?! And how the hell did you do….. all this ?! " Shido let out a heavy sigh and spoke up and said, " Heroic Spirits, as the name suggests are the spirits of Heroes from the past. Should a human manage to gain enough fame for themselves and become well known to the world at large, their souls are placed in the Throne Of Heroes in a stasis-like state upon their deaths. Because of this, it's possible to summon the spirit and essentially resurrect them by recreating a physical body and then placing the soul inside it. It's not a true resurrection but something more along the lines of transferring soul to a new body.  Of course, it's a bit more nuanced than that, but that's the gist of it. Because of this, theoretically speaking, people like Oda Nobunaga, Uesegi Kenshin , Siegfried, Heracles or even Ashiya douman can be summoned. Of course, creating the body and then reviving it is something that requires so much energy that even if you harvested energy from several spirits, you'll still find it inadequate. Luckily, I had my bloodline powering it all. "

     Shido then took a deep breath and continued, " And to answer how I did it, that is because I'm a Magus. And as a practitioner of Magecraft, I was able to summon them here. " While the others had confused looks on their faces, Kotori and Reine were understandably shocked. After all, the rest had no idea about the existence of Magi in the past, considering that they were nearly extinct, and one of the few survivors, Elliott, one of the founders of Ratatoskr himself was one. So to find that Shido was one was certainly unexpected. 

        Their thoughts were interrupted when Daisuke spoke up in a hesitant tone, "Come now Shido. You're just messing with us, right ? There's no way magic can be real , right ? " His reactions were certainly understandable. After all, despite the craziness around him, magic still remained the stuff of legends and myths. Shido simply rolled his eyes and did something completely unexpected. He simply picked up the glass table in front of them with a single hand and flipped it like a rag doll in an instant. However, instead of shattering into pieces, the instant the table made contact, it simply turned into a large pile of red spider lilies.

      While everyone kept staring at the pile with gobsmacked expressions, Shido simply had a ' I told you so ' expression on his face. Tristan spoke with Shido telepathically and inquired, " Was it really necessary ? Wouldn't a simple fire ball or any other basic spell have sufficed ? " Shido telepathically replied by saying, " Not quite. Remember, Kotori's powers are sealed away by me due to the connection we share. That also allows me to access some of her powers and authority over flames, even though they're weaker and useless compared to my own. As such , they can't serve as valid proof. Besides, this particular spell shouldn't be quite unfamiliar to Lady Pendragon at least. "

        While Shido was only addressing Tristan, all of the Knights could actually hear him as it was an open connection of sorts. Upon hearing his words, Artoria pondered over them for a second before smacking her face in frustration as she uttered a single name, " Merlin…." Shido simply smiled and turned to Kotori and the others and said, " Will this be enough proof ? If so, then I believe we should continue instead of wasting time staring at a pile of flowers. " Saying this, he tapped his feet on the ground twice which caused the flowers to swirl around in a miniature tornado before turning into an ornate wooden table. Nodding to himself, Shido sat down calmly while gesturing to Kotori to do the same.

         After everyone had sat down, Shido spoke up again and said, " I believe that I should introduce you to the Heroic Spirits gathered here. They're extremely powerful, easily capable of going toe to toe against the Spirits. Gathered in front of you are the Knights of The Round Table themselves ! " Shido then got up and started to introduce the Knights as he said, " Sir Tristan, Sir Agravain, Sir Mordred, Sir Gawain, Lady Gareth, Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere. " Finally turning towards Artoria, Shido pointed towards her and said, " And the one who led them and laid the foundations of the Round Table itself, Daughter of Uther Pendragon, Rightful Heir to the Throne, Artoria Pendragon herself. Though you may perhaps know her better by her other name, King Arthur….. "

    To say that everyone was shocked was an understatement. Most of them had their mouths wide open with shock and wonder. It was Kotori who spoke up and screamed as she said, " King Arthur was a woman ?! What the hell is this ?! "  Shido sighed again, but before he could speak, Artoria spoke up and said, " The people of that era wouldn't have accepted me as a ruler given my gender. So I had to portray myself as a man. History hence remembered me as a man. " Kotori sighed in exasperation and said," And no one figured it out ? " Shido simply replied and said, " Her mentor and the Court Wizard Merlin was skilled in illusions to the point that they're indistinguishable from reality. "

       Before Kotori could question further, it was origami who spoke up and asked, " There's… one thing I need to ask Itsuka-kun. How did you know how to summon the…. Heroic Spirits ? The summoning ritual that you conducted, who taught about it to you ?..... " Shido sighed once again. He felt that he'd be doing that a lot for the upcoming debacles he'd have to see. He then spoke calmly as he said, " Indeed. The correct terminology would be Magecraft. Magecraft in a certain sense, isn't too different from science. Magecraft has rules. Rules that you must follow. Certainly, navigate the rules properly, and you can bypass quite a few rules of science too, though it has its limitations. For example, suppose a Magus uses his magecraft to create a full 360 degree barrier that protects him from all sides. If it's powerful enough, it'll easily even block the fire from the likes of an anti aircraft cannon. However, if you use a flamethrower on the barrier, sure , maybe the flames won't hurt the Magus inside, but it'll still heat up the air within, thereby essentially cooking the Magus from within. It may seem gruesome, but that's generally how battles between Magi go. It's not just throwing the biggest and most destructive attacks, but rather calmly, meticulously analyzing your opponent's craft, how it works and it's weaknesses and limitations. Know your enemy, know thyself and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. "

    Shido paused for a moment before continuing as he said, " And to explain how I knew how to do Magecraft, well, that's because I'm the inheritor of the Emiya Crest. The crest provided me with several spells and knowledge of the Emiya family." Origami had a confused expression as she inquired, " What's a crest ? And I don't think I ever heard you mention this, ' Emiya family ' …. " It was Artoria who answered origami's question as she said, " A crest is something that can be considered as the most precious thing to a family of Magi. A Magic Crest carries the information of several spells, rituals and thaumaturgies unique to the family. Of course, it doesn't contain all of the family secrets, just the most important ones. The only limitation with the crest is that it can only be passed down to blood descendants. And even then, it has to be done at a young age. "

        Kotori was surprised by this as she asked, " Wait, our parents were Magi ? But that's not possible ! No, you said you had the Emiya family crest. Was that….. your real family before adoption ?..... " Shido sighed once again as he understood the significance of this revelation. Kotori had seen him as family since a young age. This revelation from her view could very well bring a divide between them. So he had to be careful with his words. He spoke in a hesitant tone and replied, " That would be correct. The crest can, if one wishes, store knowledge about the last holder if one wishes. My father's name was Norikata Emiya. Don't bother searching for him, he's long dead. And I don't think you'll find any information about him since given the nature of his research, he was hunted by a group of people, causing him to go into hiding with fake identities. It is a distant memory that I'd rather not talk too much about. That said, I cannot disclose too much about the Crest or the Emiya family. "

      Hearing this, everyone had a frown on their faces. Origami was the first to speak up as she said, " Itsuka-kun, please. I can understand how difficult it must be for you to speak about these things, but you can trust us ! Please, just talk to- " Her words however were interrupted when Shido raised his hand and gestured to her to pause and said, " Make no mistake origami, I do trust you. However, it's a simple fact that I cannot disclose the secrets of the Crest simply because of the restrictions. It was standard practice among several Magus families to attach several Geasses on the crest to prevent accidental or intentional disclosure of the secrets of the Crest. Remember, for a Magus family, their crest is the most important thing. For most Magi, children were nothing more than tools to further their research and carry their crest. Nothing more. It is because of this reason I can't say too much about it, at least not without suffering consequences. "

      Kotori and Reine were both worried about this and were determined to speak with Elliott afterwards regarding this. Shido had a hesitant look on his face before he continued speaking and said, " Though I don't think that such things will be necessary in today's era I don't think that they're probably no Magi around. And even if they are, they'll probably just be useless. " Reine adjusted her glasses and inquired curiously, " What makes you so confident about it, Shin ? "

       Shido calmly replied by saying, " It's the mana in the air. For reasons unknown, the amount of mana in the air has degraded horribly. I doubt that the phantasmals of the old era which depended on mana to live could even survive here. Even in the modern era any Magi exists, I'd doubt they'd be able to do anything more than a few basic spells and at best be able to take down a few normal people before keeling over in exhaustion. "

      Reine glanced at Kotori as it was in line with what Elliott had told them. Any modern day magician couldn't do anything more than a few simple spells. Even a Magus as powerful and skilled as Elliot was capable of casting only a couple dozen spells before feeling exhaustion. Kotori paused momentarily before asking in a suspicious tone, " But how do YOU know about it,  Shido ? You sure weren't around that time. And you often keep referring to the past. So unless you found some super secret documents, I don't think you can just comment on things like this. And I don't think you just find those in the history section of the library. "

       Shido sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration and told Agravain telepathically to not interrupt him as he had a plan. He spoke up with a smirk and said, " On the contrary, your first hypothesis was indeed correct. I did live in that era. And died too. Several times, as a matter of fact. " Kotori was confused for a moment before she understood the meaning of his words as she started screaming and said,
" What the hell is going on ?! You've reincarnated ?! What is wrong with you ?! This has to some sort of fuc- "

       Before she could continue however, a quick hand was on her ear as Shido pulled it with an annoyed expression. Speaking in a firm tone, he said, " I didn't raise you to speak a language this foul young lady. " Kotori escaped his grasp and shouted, " You didn't raise me you idiot ! You're not my mother ! " Shido shook his head and said, " No, I did raise you from a young age and I AM your brother. But coming back to the issue at hand. Tell me, why IS it impossible that I'm a reincarnated human ? We're facing off against a bunch of young girls with superpowers who can level entire cities. I just showed you bloody magic. We literally have half of the Round Table itself with us. Is it so far-fetched to believe in reincarnation ? "

    Kotori groaned before finally saying, " Fine ! I believe you ! So what, did magic in the past ? "  Shido shook his head and said, " While I did learn some magecraft in some of my lives, most of my experience with dealing with magecraft actually comes from my time with the Church. I was actually part of a small group within the Church. " Origami, asked curiously,
" Were you a priest, Itsuka-kun ? Did the Church teach magic to the priests ? "

        Shido chuckled softly and replied, " Well, I'd be lying if I said I haven't been trained to perform the duties of a priest. But no. Rather, our group was more focused on knowing how to fight against individuals using magecraft rather than learning it. Besides, we were a combat oriented group. " Kotori snorted and spoke in a mocking tone, " Like what ? The inquisition ? Burning Witches and all that
stuff ? "

         Shido sighed and replied, " Thankfully, that wasn't our job. We actually did have a special department exclusively for organising those mass burnings. Though I didn't associate much with those weirdos. That said, there was that one time when one of them crossed my path, but before I could say anything to him, he fell to the ground and tried running or rather crawling away from me and screamed in fear for a final time before dying of heart attack. But then again, perhaps that was to be expected given my reputation….. "

       Kotori and the others were having a hard time wrapping their heads around his words. They didn't know what was more surprising, the fact that there was an entire department exclusively for burning Witches or the fact that for some reason, her brother had a reputation so bad that people were afraid of him to the point of dying of heart attacks in fear. Shido shook his head and said, " But enough of that. I suppose I should introduce my past identity. And I don't mean to brag, but I'm sure that you'll at least recognise my name, though in a different context….. "

       Before Kotori could say anything, she saw that Shido's clothes had started  to morph as his well dressed suit was replaced with what could only be described as a strange black t-shirt and black leathery trousers. Draped over him was a black leathery trench coat made of the same material. Along the belt he wore on his waist, were several seemingly small vials made of some crystalline material. The most interesting thing however, was what seemed to be a pair of handguns on his waist. She couldn't make them out properly due to the coat blocking her view, but they seemed to be made of some silvery material considering that it was glistening more than any iron made article. The design of the guns however was quite strange too. They had long barrels, nearly two thirds of a foot long. They were quite thick too. Perhaps more than an inch in thickness. Compared to the sleek design of most modern handguns, these seemed to be more like two cuboidal metal pieces joined together. They for all intents and purposes, seemed completely unwieldy.

      Before she could say anything however, she felt as if she was hit by a wave of endless darkness. There was no actual change in the surroundings. No flashy light shows or dazzling effects. Yet it's effects were more than obvious. She felt FEAR. True, unadulterated fear. Even during the Tengu city fire she hadn't felt fear of this sort. She felt like a prey in front of a predator. Death. IT was going to kill her. There was no escape. She wished to run. Yet it would catch her. She knew it. IT would kill her.  RUN. RUN. She screamed to her body. Yet it refused to comply. However, the fear and pressure disappeared just as abruptly as it had appeared and she saw Shido being right in front of her face as he was pushing the contents of some vial down her mouth. Considering the fact that she wasn't paying attention, she ended up downing all of the contents of the crystalline vial.

        Kotori was taking deep breaths and was drenched in sweat. From the corner of her eye, she could see that the Knights as well as Kannazuki and Reine had rushed towards her but Shido seemed to be explaining something to them, but her mind was too much of a mess to interpret it. After catching her breath, she turned to Shido and screamed, " What The Hell Was That ?! " Shido rubbed his temples in frustration and spoke, " It seems I underestimated your sensitivity to deathly aura due to your nature as a spirit. It seemed that my armour had a more remnant deathly aura than I expected. Er, think of it like dipping a rock in water. The armour is the rock and the remnants are the water on the wet rock. "

        Kotori screamed once again at him and asked, " What the hell is even a deathly aura ?! Answer my question, you idiot ! " Shido had a complicated expression on his face as he let out a heavy sigh. It was the first step in his plan. Her reaction to his words would determine the future plans. He spoke in a completely calm and collected voice and said, " Once you kill enough people, your SELF gets tainted by the essence of death. That is, deathly aura. It's not something that you can achieve with just killing a couple hundred people. You need to up those numbers. Another thing is that it can even be imprinted upon weapons and objects. Kill enough people with a sword, and it'll become a cursed blade. "

           As the realisation of his words finally set in, Kotori covered her mouth in horror. It was one thing to know that the Knights of The Round Table, warriors from the past era who had wiped out entire armies were in front of them. Perhaps because of that disconnect, none of them had any strong opinions on the fact that they had essentially killed hundreds of people. But when faced with the fact that someone they knew, someone so close to them had taken lives, to the point that it was actually able to cause an actual reaction to anyone in front of him was something so horrifying that each of them had a difficult time trying to come to terms with it. Origami, who's eyes had started to moisten, asked in a trembling tone, " Its-Itsuka….. I....Why did you kill all those….. ? "

      Shido still maintained a firm look in his eyes and answered, " I killed not for my self interests, but rather as a necessity, Tobichi-san. " Origami screamed hysterically as she asked, " What was the necessity that you had to kill so many people ?! And why don't the Knights have any of this aura ?!  " She had started to break down into sobs as her parents desperately tried to comfort her. Shido still maintained a stern face, not flinching in the slightest despite this. The watching Knights were seeing more and more similarities between him and Agravain by each passing second.

       Shido spoke once again in a calm tone and said, " Because the Knights together combined haven't even killed half as many people as I have killed in that single life. They were Knights. Warriors. They wiped out entire armies. But I ? I was none of that. I was but a single WEAPON created for a sole purpose. To Hunt. Our organisation was never created to hunt humans. We were Hunters, first and foremost. Not even the members of the Church were to be spared should they interrupt our Hunts. "

       Taking a deep breath, Shido spoke in a firm tone and proclaimed, " Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am the Fifth Seat of The Burial Agency, One given the title, The Heretical Blade Of The Lord, Slayer of Fourteen Dead Apostle Ancestors, Vampire Hunter, Van Helsing. " Everyone was stunned upon hearing this revelation. Kotori was conflicted over what to say. Whether the fact that apparently vampires existed, or the fact that SOMEHOW was the renowned vampire hunter, Van Helsing. Did that mean all of Bram Stoker's work was real ? Did Dracula really exist too ?!

       On the other side, all of the Knights were quite shocked too. After all, being affiliated with the Church, especially the Burial Agency was quite the achievement. The worst affected however, was Agravain, who was quite literally choking on air. THE Burial Agency. The guys who were called monsters by even the likes of literal  monsters like vampires. Even his mother, Morgan Le Fay warned him to stay ten steps away from them. According to his mother, despite her powers, she wouldn't even want to face off against any of them in a direct confrontation. In the eternal game between the Church and the Vampires, the only winning move was not to play the game at all. It was best to keep away from both sides. Many things his mother was, but a fool was not one of them. And according to her, a couple of Members of the Burial Agency coming together to kill even a single Dead Apostle Ancestor was a huge deal. And here in front of him was his master who claimed to have killed FOURTEEN of them. And he didn't sense that he was lying. Just what sort of horrifying person was their master ?......

      Reine snapped out of her stupor and composed herself and asked Shido, " Are you telling me that vampires did truly exist, Shin ? And that you're Abraham Van Helsing ? So are the other events from Bram Stoker's work true too ? Did you truly face Dracula ? " Shido nearly screamed as he said, " I AM not Abraham ! It's ADAM damn it ! "  Everyone was slightly taken aback by his sudden outburst, though Shido calmed himself down by taking a deep breath. He then spoke and said, " Sorry about that. It's just that I kinda got pissed at how much even my name is corrupted by that bastard. And yes, vampires were real. No, they did not sparkle, and no, salt doesn't work on them. And before anyone asks, Bram Stoker's work was COMPLETE fiction. None of that happened. Vlad Tlepes wasn't a vampire. Stoker just wrote what accounts to a fanfiction by taking my as well as Vlad's name and even somehow managing to butcher it…… "

        Kotori rubbed her temples in frustration and asked, " Wait, so vampires are real, but Dracula wasn't, and somehow Stoker butchered your name and you were part of a super secret Church department meant for hunting vampires ? And you gained this deathly aura because you killed too many vampires ? " Shido sighed and replied, " Yes. Those were… desperate times that we lived in. Humanity didn't have much of a chance against the vampires. Their numbers grew day by day. So, the Church took desperate measures. There was a reason I was given the name Adam upon being taken in by the Church. Essentially, I was supposed to be in the first in a line of specialised warriors who'd be trained and modified since birth to be perfect killing machines. "

         Mordred had a surprised look on her face as she asked, " Wait, you were a homunculus too ? "  Shido shook his head and replied, " No, nothing like that. I was an orphan picked up from the streets because of my potential compatibility with the sacraments. Though they still did mess with my body to make me a better killing machine, with the trade that it essentially decreased my lifespan. I did die at the age of 24, around seven years before I was expected to die. Had I been trained in the ordinary manner, I still would have ended up as a good enough executor for the Church. " Origami who was wiping her tears asked him in a concerned tone, " Wh-What do you mean by an executor ? And were you forced or tortured to kill ?..... "

          Shido shook his head and said, " An executor is, well to put it simply, are people who have the same job as us, just lesser in position. Think of us at the Burial Agency like special forces while the executors are the ordinary policemen. Except instead of arresting people, they just kill any vampire they come across…. And…. No, I wasn't forced. I did take the lives of the vampires of my own free will. It was a necessary evil. " Origami was genuinely in a conundrum. On one hand, she still felt horrible that Shido was essentially raised as a child soldier and was experimented upon. And she was still unsure how to feel about Shido committing all those murders. The vampires were still at one point human, right ?

          It was Agravain who spoke up and inquired, " You claimed to have killed more beings, that is vampires, than all of us Knights have killed humans, combined. Just how many vampires did you hunt ? And more importantly, did you truly kill Fourteen Dead Apostle Ancestors ? " Shido pondered over the question for a moment before replying, " Well, on a bad day, that is a day when I didn't encounter too many vampires, I'd kill around 200 to 300 Dead Apostle ( Inferior ). The lesser ones like nightkin, dead and ghouls weren't even worth counting, that is, they were too many to count. I was definitely spending hours of the day just travelling from one town to another on horseback. Quite the faithful friend, Albus was. Though like me, those bastards messed with his body too. Added several parts from magical beasts in him essentially making him a chimera. Though I'll admit, he could easily leave even modern race cars in the dust because of it ……. And as for Dead Apostle Ancestors, yes, I did kill Fourteen of them, however, the fact is, I never managed to go beyond the number 21, other than one exception.  It's just that I kept killing a lot of the ones in the same positions. Hell, the number 23 was even started to be considered cursed by them due to the fact that  I killed the 23rd positioned Dead Apostle Ancestor over 5 separate times. "

       Kotori rubbed her temples in frustration as she released a heavy sigh and said, " Shido. I want to know everything. Now. Tell me everything about your life as Van Helsing. " Shido shrugged and said, " Sure. Let's see… Uh, I was born some few miles away from the region of what's considered modern day Italy. Was an orphan. Again. Later I was picked up by one of the members of the Abbeys, due to my high spiritual potential. Originally, the Abbey where I was housed temporarily held an artifact from the Age Of Gods, that is the era when gods were physically present in the world. It was found in an old crypt where it's creator buried himself alive by sealing himself and the artifact from within. Had a bunch of ramblings scribbled on the wall with his own blood. Like a lot of mad geniuses, his Magnum Opus was the thing that led to his demise. The artifact he created was of superior quality, yes, but the material he used was what caused his death. "

             Shido sighed and continued speaking and said, " Truthfully, the Church had no true interest in the artifact, considering that it wasn't related to Christianity in any way, but due to its sheer capability to cause havoc, it was decided to be sealed away in the vaults of the Vatican. The Abbey where I was temporarily placed also held the artifact until the members from the Assembly Of The Eighth Sacrament would come take it away. Unfortunately, SOMEHOW some vampires got hold of news about it, and they stormed the Abbey. We did have a few executors there, but against a literal onslaught of vampires, and two Dead Apostle Superiors, not much we could do. So to save their lives, everyone scattered. I accidentally ended up in the room where the artifact was kept until I was cornered by one of the Dead Apostle Superiors. "

          Three collective sighs were heard in unison as Kotori, origami and Artoria spoke up at the same time and said, " You ended up doing something absolutely stupid and reckless…… "  The three girls turned to each other, first in confusion, then understanding and then a strange sense of camaraderie. Kotori turned to Artoria and asked, " I take it you came to know about some of Shido's ' Courageous ' actions ? " Artoria had an amused expression on her face as she replied, " Indeed. I must say, I haven't been with him, but even I can say already, he has quite the penchant for trouble, doesn't he ? " Origami had a hollow expression on her face as she replied in a monotonous voice, one that reminded Shido of the past, " Indeed. Like that one time Itsuka-kun had the bright Idea of stepping in front of and getting shot by an AST sniper rifle which was powerful enough to pierce through several territory protected tanks. Or to perhaps put it in terms you'd understand given your era, a bullet that could travel through several walls of a castle and still kill you and the person standing behind you ….. "

         While the other Knights had looks of wonder and admiration in their eyes for his heroic act, Artoria's gaze was more of that of a parent chiding her son. Shido sighed mentally as he thought to himself, " What the hell did I do wrong ?.....Is it my fate to always be chided by a version of King Arthur ?...... " Before Kotori could say anything more, he spoke up and said, " As I was saying, I took the artifact from the seal in which it was placed, though I did manage to injure my hand to the point that part of my bones were exposed in the process. The artifact itself was a scythe, though it was deemed completely unusable due to the fact that no matter who touched it, it killed them instantly. "

           Mordred snickered as she interrupted him and asked, " Let me guess. You somehow survived ? " Shido scoffed and said, " Obviously. Apparently, the crystal from which it was made from nullified all magecraft and even the regenerative powers of even the strongest vampires. The only problem was that even with the several specialised and unknown seals placed on it, whoever touched the scythe, would have their bodies turned into a similar crystal which could then infect other things and so on and so forth. Of course, to this day I have no idea why I wasn't affected by the crystal's anomalous properties, even though I did find out a lot about its source and origin. Regardless, the  vampire took out one of my eyes while attacking me. I simply repaid the favour.  Bastard took my eye, I took his head. Equivalent exchange, if I say so myself. "

       Most of the crew of Ratatoskr flinched slightly upon hearing his crude words, but then again, it was difficult to use polite words on a creature that was about to, or was about to kill you in the past. Gawain hummed in approval as he asked, " It must be quite a powerful weapon considering it allowed a young child with no training to kill a vampire so easily. " Shido nodded in agreement and replied, " Oh it definitely was. I'm not even going to lie, that thing saved my ass more times than I can count. Honestly, without it, I don't think that a mere four year old kid like me could have done anything. "

       Sighing, Shido continued speaking and said, " Regardless, after the attack was over and the rest of the executors dispatched the normal vampires, they immediately hauled me off to the Assembly Of The Eighth Sacrament, which also served as a research department of sorts. They tried a lot, but couldn't find what was it that allowed me to survive holding the artifact. Of course, it was simply survival, not immunity. The artifact was still affecting me, just at a much slower rate. It would have turned a normal being, human or vampire upon touching it into crystal in a single instant. For me however, it was expected that I'd last till the age of forty or so until I finally died. However, considering my huge potential, the Church conscripted me immediately into Project Eden under the Pope's direct orders. The project was supposed to create a new breed of humans, only for the sake of war. The reasoning they gave for playing god was that they weren't messing with life, they were just ' Creating Weapons and thus were no different from forging a sword '. I was the only survivor of the project. Rest all two hundred subjects died before they even reached the age of five. Ironically, I was the one given the least chances of survival, considering the extensive modifications made to my body, more so than the other test subjects. "

          Kotori was quite horrified upon hearing this. Certainly, she had heard about some members of the AST undergoing surgical procedures to increase their capabilities, but like in most cases, it came at the cost of degradation and early aging of the body. In those cases however, they were simple statistics, or words on a report. Here however, it was much more personal. It was someone she knew all her life. She couldn't even imagine what horrors he must have endured in the past.

        Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Shido taking out a cigarette from his coat and lighting it with some tiny fireball on his fingers before smoking it. Seeing him smoke, Kotori was furious as she screamed, " Shido ! Why the hell are you smoking ?! " Seeing her shout, Shido merely rolled his eyes and answered, " Come on. Adding my collective life spans from various lives, I'm older than the people in this room combined. And it's not like I have to worry about something like Cancer. My cells are capable of self repair, even without Camael's regenerative powers. " Kotori gritted her teeth and said, '' But I still don't want MY ship to smell like a smoker's den ! " Instead of replying, Shido simply directed her attention to the table where she saw that the smoke around him was gathering in a small white marble of sorts instead of dispersing in the room. As she turned to Shido, she saw him smirking as he took puffs from his cigarette. Kotori raised her hands but put them down as if barely restraining herself from strangling him, which just caused further amusement in Shido. Oh yeah, he may be some hotshot vampire hunter, but he was still her stupid Onii-Chan.

         Seeing their antics, Artoria smiled slightly as she was reminded about her own training sessions with Kay. Her thoughts were interrupted however, when Reine sighed and asked Shido, " I believe that you should continue to elaborate on your modifications and other combat capabilities, Shin. " Shido nodded and replied, " Indeed. Regardless,as I was saying, the modifications turned me into a powerful weapon, even compared to the likes of trained executors. At the age of ten, I could tear a Dead Apostle Inferior into two pieces with my bare hands. Of course, it wouldn't have outright killed them, but it would at least give me a chance to use a black key to then kill them. "

         Everyone other than the Knights were quite surprised by this. Origami asked curiously, " Are vampires that resilient ? Can vampires handle being torn in half ? " Shido paused for a moment, then replied, " Yes. It's near impossible to kill a vampire with normal Weapons. Oh, the lesser kind like the dead, which are just your stereotypical zombies or ghouls are still manageable, but above their ranks, eh….. not so much. There are only two ways to kill a vampire. First, use a sacrament. They're essentially magical artifacts made by using the remains of saints. However, as you might expect, it's not exactly a feasible solution. So that's why we executors have these things called Black Keys. They're essentially short swords which inflict natural death and cause a vampire to return to ashes upon being struck. "

        Shido hummed softly for a moment, then said, " Considering that you are a bit in the dark, allow me to give you an example. Sir Lancelot here possesses the sword Arondight. It's a sword forged by the Fae themselves and was powerful enough to have slain several dragons. Not only that, his other ability is ' Knight Of Owner ' . With it, even if he picks up a stick, he can use it to take down several soldiers as it essentially turns into a magical weapon. Now imagine that you're in a base with Sir Lancelot and a normal human, no superpowers Executor. And now a vampire is approaching your base. So who do you send out ? The super powerful and skilled Knight Of The Round Table, or an ordinary human ? "

             While Kotori was slightly confused by the sudden question, she pondered over it for a moment then replied, " Normally, I'd say that the circumstances are stacked in Sir Lancelot's favour, but considering that you're asking this question, I'll say it's a trick one and the answer should be the Executor. " Shido smirked and said, " Precisely. Honestly, if you're facing something like a dragon or so, Sir Lancelot is your best bet. However, remember as I said, only a black key or a sacrament can kill a vampire. Of course, Sir Lancelot with a black key could probably cut down several times more vampires than even a bunch of well trained executors in combination with his skills and Knight Of Owner, but yeah, without a proper weapon to kill it, his best bet would be to simply stall it until sunrise. And uh, no offense to you Sir Lancelot. It's just how these bastard's powers work. "

        Lancelot smiled and said, " None taken. I myself was taught a lot about vampires by my mother, so it's not like I'm unaware of what they're capable of. " Agravain seemed to be in deep thought as he turned to Shido and then asked, " I may not have as much expertise as compared to you in this matter, but I believe Gawain should fare better than Lancelot in a fight against a vampire ? " Shido nodded in agreement and said, " Indeed. After all, Sir Gawain's sword is Galatine, which is a replica of the sun. As such, it has the concept of the Sun embedded in its existence. So getting hit by it will be worse than even being struck by a Black Key even for a Dead Apostle Ancestor. Of course, if I had to say, the best suited for fighting against a vampire from all of the Round Table would be Sir Percival. "

        While he was momentarily confused, Agravain soon had a look of realization as he understood what Shido meant. It was Gareth who exclaimed cheerfully, " Oh ! I know ! It must be because of Sir Percival's Holy Spear, right ? " Shido smiled and said, " Indeed. Sir Percival wielded the Longinus, the same spear that pierced the body of the Son Of God. Obviously it was a more powerful artifact than anything you could ever hope to achieve from a saint's remains. It's the bane of any vampire, even Dead Apostle Ancestors too. I did once have the chance to see the Holy Spear with my own eyes though. It was in possession of the Assembly Of The Eighth Sacrament, and then placed in the vaults of the Vatican due to its significance. "

          Shido shook his head and said, " But I digress. We're straying from the topic. As I was saying, alongside the modifications, I was retrofitted with two powerful and ancient mystics. Both of them were recovered from a rather famous spot. Of course, there were reports of buried treasure alongside the artifacts too, but the countless traps made it impossible to access them, so the Church simply took the artifacts and bailed out of there. The place was a small island. An island by the name of Monte Cristo. "

       Kotori and the others simply let out a collective sigh. Of course the count of Monte Cristo was real. Why wouldn't he be ? If the characters from Le Morte D'arthur could be real, why couldn't those from Dumas's works be real ? Kotori simply shook her head and asked, " So what were those artifacts ? Some medieval era nuclear bomb ? " Shido scoffed at her and said, " Nope. Something even better. The first was a Mystic Eye. Now Mystic Eyes are essentially sort of random mutations that can occur in the magic circuits near your eyes which can physically change your eyes to give you various powers like charming people without spells, or lighting things on fire and so on. And since Mystic Eyes are physical organs, like any other organ, they can be transplanted from one person to another, but like any ordinary organ transplant, there's the chance of rejection, especially from the mystical side of things. The artifact was a Mystic Eye, considering that only a single eyeball was recovered instead of a pair, and even then it didn't show signs of any degradation, owing it's mystery from the Age Of Gods. The eye in question, was actually the Eye Of Moses himself. "

           Kotori now was most certainly shocked as she asked, " Wait Moses ?! As in that, uh… Sea Splitting guy ?! " Shido snickered a bit as he said, " I don't think he led his people through an exodus to be remembered as the ' Sea Splitting Guy ' , but regardless, yes , that same Moses from the ten plagues and the ten commandments. The eye was hellishly painful and difficult to use and I could use it for extremely short bursts only. But it was a fairly powerful tool. It's technical name was the ' Mystic Eye Of Revelation ' . Essentially, when activated, it allowed me to see seven seconds into the future with one hundred percent accuracy. Now seven seconds don't sound a lot, but in a fight against vampires where a split second decides your fate between being alive or dead, or worse, undead, seven seconds is a hell of a lot of time. "

        Everyone present was quite surprised by this, especially the Knights and origami. After all, they very well knew how much even milliseconds mattered on the battlefield, so the ability to see seven seconds into the future with perfect accuracy was quite useful and a terrifying one to face against. Shido continued speaking and said, " While I do understand that it may seem pretty powerful, and to a certain extent it was, but the biggest problem was the fact that I could barely keep it active for three seconds, maybe four if I tried hard enough. Beyond that however, bleeding from my eyes, nose and mouth was the least of my worries. So yeah, pretty good, but pretty limited too. Another treasure from Monte Cristo island was even more overpowered, but as one might expect, even more demanding and difficult to use as I used it less than five times when I was alive. The artifact in question was named the Monte Cristo Mythologie. It manifested in the form of black flames more terrifying than anything I had ever seen at least, at that time….. "

                 Reine raised a brow and asked, " Was there anything special about those flames ? Considering that you were fighting against monsters capable of surviving being torn in half, fire doesn't sound all that impressive, even if it's some sort of magical fire. "  Shido shook his head and replied, " Oh trust me, it was special alright. Do you remember the story of how Moses received the revelation to lead his people away from Egypt ? It was through the Voice of God from a Burning Bush at Mount Horeb. The Monte Cristo Mythologie, was that same flame from The Burning Bush. It was capable of killing Immortal beings and even Gods by quite literally burning away their very souls and Divinities. Theoretically speaking, had I encountered the likes of Tatari, I still could have ended him for good. Hell, a vampire who used to reincarnate continuously called Roa was on my hit list but I never got a chance to find him. Of course, like any other flame, it too required fuel to burn. That fuel would be my own soul. So yes, everytime I used it, I had to burn away small parts of my soul. And let me tell you, any bodily pain you can ever experience can NEVER be compared to damage to the soul, especially when it's from burning. Trust me, it's painful as hell. "

       Artoria released a heavy sigh. Certainly, the power to kill even gods and Immortal beings sounded nice, but having to burn away one's very soul in exchange wasn't a good deal. Origami asked Shido curiously, " So what happened to the Eye and those flames, Itsuka-kun ? " Shido shrugged and said, " Well, after my death, my body had to be disposed of properly. Remember, the crystallization effect from the scythe was being slowed because of my soul, not my body. So the moment I died, my body became a biohazard which had to be disposed of immediately. So they didn't even bother trying to retrieve the artifacts and just threw my dead body into Void Space, that is, the space between different dimensions, the space that separates reality and existence. Look, just think about it as empty…. Space, well technically it isn't space because it's true emptiness, so ' Space ' as such doesn't exist there….. Eh, you get the idea ! Tldr, they threw away my body far, far away from earth. "

         Kotori winced slightly about how casually he treated his own death, but considering what his job was, perhaps he was more used to  considering his death as a possible outcome after every fight. Shido fake coughed to get her attention and continued speaking and said,
" As I was saying, these were the two major weapons of mine alongside my scythe. Other than that, I also had the bread and butter of every vampire hunter. Black Keys.  " Saying this, Shido suddenly manifested three strange short swords between his fingers. They were long and slender rapier-like swords with blades measuring over one meter and extremely short hilts, looking extremely impractical, though Kotori refrained from saying it, considering that she knew nothing about any magical properties about them. Hell, for all she knew, if Shido told her that they shot out rainbow beams, she'd still believe it.

         Shido gazed at the black keys in his hand with an appreciative look and said, " These are the lifeline of every vampire hunter, black keys. Generally, they're used in a thrusting motion rather than a slashing one.  For dealing with most vampires, one stab is enough to take them down. Executors generally hold them in this fan-like formation to launch them at the target. "  Reine narrowed her eyes at his words and said, " Launch them ? Forgive me Shin, but they look like a cross between short swords and skewers. I hardly see their combat potential…… "

          Shido smirked and said, " Oh trust me, they're pretty dangerous. Here's how you generally use them. " As he said this, Shido suddenly entered a combat stance as several wooden handles similar to the ones on the black keys floated in front of him, spinning in a circular pattern. The next thing that Kotori assumed she saw was blurry movement of Shido's hands as it was too fast to make out anything. What she did hear, however, was the sound of something like a loud cannon going off and screeching metal. Turning to the side she saw that SOMEHOW Shido had attacked the wall by throwing those weapons in his hands at the wall which caused them to pierce straight through three walls in their path and partially managing to pass through the fourth. Walls made out of specialised metal which while wouldn't have outright stopped a powerful spirit like Tohka, would have at least slowed her down. And Shido had just torn through them like they were paper.

     Kotori turned to him to chew off his head for such reckless usage of magic but he raised his hands in surrender as a star inside a circle spun on his hands like a disc and suddenly the several feet wide holes on the walls closed up like they never existed. Seeing her surprised reaction, Shido simply smirked in amusement. Kotori gritted her teeth and screamed, " Just because you can undo it isn't a valid reason to destroy MY ship with magic you idiot ! " Shido rolled his eyes and answered, " Technically speaking, the only magic I used was for creating the black keys. The whole wall destruction had no magic involved. "

      Kotori and everyone else was quite surprised by this. Kotori screamed in shock, " What the hell ?! "  Shido shrugged his shoulders and said, " Well, yeah. That was the Church's prized Iron Plate Technique. It's a feat of pure physical strength and skill without using any magecraft that can allow a normal executor to throw black keys through solid concrete. Of course, it's pretty difficult to learn. That being said, normally it isn't supposed to cause this much damage. It's just that given my skill, experience and superior physique to a normal human, I can do much better than your average executor. Not only that, I can launch around eighteen keys in a single second. And I can actually keep that level of firing for hours on end, without any drop in performance. Enhancing my keys with some basic reinforcement, essentially a simple spell that makes stuff harder, I can easily break through castle walls with continued fire after a few minutes at best, essentially making me a living siege weapon. Oh, and did I mention that you can even apply spells to the keys like making things burst into flames when hit by them ? Yeah, you can also do that. And let me remind you one thing. This is, or rather used to be the weakest link in my arsenal. "

   Kotori was quite surprised as well as horrified to hear that what essentially counted as the ammunition for the living siege weapon ( which just so happened to be her own brother ) were actually the weakest part of his arsenal. Shido smiled and continued speaking and removed the two guns(?) from his belt and gazed at them almost lovingly and spoke as he said, " These beauties used to be my most trusted companions, Hope And Salvation. They run on special crystals the Church actually managed to obtain from the Archibald family, in exchange for several significant favours. Funny how in an ironic twist that the thing who's creation led to their rise to power, was also the thing which led to the demise of their last family head…… "

     Shido chuckled mirthfully then shook his head and said, " Well, firstly, this is Hope. Essentially, it rapidly circulates mana and rotates it externally with the crystal's help. Honestly, it's extremely similar to what Miss Blue does, but in a more artificial manner. It fires off bullets of magical energy at such high speeds that an almost deafening sound like an HMG. It can melt right through enchanted iron like it's paper. Not only that, because of the fact that both it as well as it's partner, Salvation are technically speaking Sacraments, as they were forged by adding the remains from eight saints, so they're essentially anti vampire weapons at their core, so while not on the same level as a black key, each shot from them hurts like hell and causes immense damage to a vampire or Dead Apostle Ancestor, not counting the fact that they now essentially have an unhealable hole in their body. Oh, yeah, both the guns had a curse from the Age Of Gods engraved on them which prevented healing of any sort, and in the cases of Dead Apostle Ancestors, slowed it down greatly. It was actually something the Church got from the Temple of Solomon. "

         Shido sighed and continued speaking and said, " Regardless. This other beauty over here is Salvation. Contrasting to her sister, Salvation focuses more on a single powerful shot rather than multiple, individually weaker ones. After firing it once, I have to wait around three minutes to fire it off again, so I do have to make it's shot count. However, generally, nothing really survives for a second shot. There was that one time when I was hunting the Twenty Fourth Dead Apostle Ancestor and he ran to his workshop, which was the most secured location in his base, to escape from there. There was a two way teleporter, which he would have used to escape. The entire workshop was like a vault, made out of iron reinforced with Primordial Runes to protect against most Magecraft. With my Mystic Eye, I saw that there were no hostages inside the workshop, so I simply took Salvation and blew up the damn place to smithereens. A single shot and not even ashes remained of the place, much less the vampire. Make no mistake, Salvation is disgustingly powerful. It's single shot can easily level a small building into nothingness. And I do mean it. There will be no rubble at the site of destruction, just some slag at best. And all this is without even mentioning that since the shot was so concentrated with mana, it could travel for several hundred metres without any drop in performance. I once managed a shot from nearly 800 m away. So yeah, Salvation here also doubled as a sniper rifle of sorts. Pretty neat, huh ? "

          Kotori gritted her teeth and said, " Why the hell do all of your weapons amount to the magical equivalent of weapons of mass destruction ?! Couldn't you have used something simpler or normal ?! "  Shido scoffed at her and replied, " Oh be real Kotori. Do you really expect me to face against Dead Apostle Ancestors with fucking iron swords ? Honestly, I'm a certified Fool, but even I'm not mentally retarded to do something so stupid. "

         Kotori was slightly surprised by his words. Reine raised a brow and asked, " On that note, you keep mentioning these ' Dead Apostle Ancestors ' extensively. Are they somehow different from normal vampires ? And if yes, how so ? " Shido nodded and replied, " Yes. Well, to put it in simpler terms, imagine A Dead Apostle Ancestor as the final stage, like some sort of mega evolution, but instead of your Digimon getting new additions like guns and cannons, your vampire becomes powerful enough that a single lower ranked Dead Apostle Ancestor can easily dispatch several weaker spirits like Yoshino with ease. And even with Tohka and Kotori working together, maybe they could defeat one…. But regardless, as I was saying, they're arranged in a sort of hierarchy, with Twenty Seven of them being present at any time. The Twenty Seventh will be the weakest amongst them, with the higher ones like Merem, Fina or god forbid, Nrvnsqr…. I only managed to kill up to the Twenty First Ancestor as I said. Well, there was The Forest Of Einnashe, which was technically speaking, a vampire forest. It was a high ranking Dead Apostle Ancestor, but I only managed to kill it with trickery considering it lacked intelligence like the other ancestors and a shit ton of Vietnam War tactics…… "

         Kotori narrowed her eyes and told Shido in a stern tone, " Shido. Explain. Now. Leave no details. " Shido shrugged and said, " Very well. The Forest Of Einnashe was formed when a Dead Apostle Ancestor named Einnashe who specialized in hypnotism and memory manipulation died near a tree and essentially, the tree and subsequently the entire forest the tree was part of fused with the remnants of his soul and became a sort of sentient vampiric being, though it lacked any intelligence other than the basic survival instincts of a vampire. As a vampiric forest, whenever it would awaken from its long hibernations, it would actually move and drain the blood of humans in its vicinity. And yes, it DID move, and was notorious for devouring entire towns and turning them into lesser vampires like undead and ghouls. The thing was powerful. Notoriously powerful, to the point that it was generally agreed upon that even if all Seven members of the Burial Agency were to come together, it would still not be enough to kill it. "

          Agravain had a gobsmacked expression on his face as he asked in an unsure tone, " Was….. was it really that powerful ?..... "  Shido chuckled and replied, " It was fifty kilometres in diameter, Sir Agravain. It was powerful enough that even if Kotori in her full potential, Tohka, Yoshino and Kurumi, one of the spirits who has a degree of control over time itself wouldn't be so much as able to destroy a small section of it, let alone destroy it entirely. Even amongst the entirety of the Round Table, the only ones I do see having a Slight chance against it are Lady Pendragon due to Rhongomyniad, but even that would prove inadequate ; Sir Percival with his Holy Spear could perhaps hold it at bay for a while ; and perhaps Sir Gawain during the day, but even I daresay it's nearly impossible considering that inside the forest, it acts like a powerful bounded field and thereby it retains pitch black darkness even in the hours of day. Indeed, that thing was a monster through and through. "

         Everyone was quite shocked and terrified by Shido's words. The fact that this monstrous being could easily defeat three spirits over AA class was definitely a chilling fact. The Knights on the other hand were even more shocked. They were quite confident in their might, yet had at least inferred from the short time that they were with their new master that he wasn't one to simply brag about his actions. Accompanying his words when he spoke of the monstrous being was a grim expression, as if a reminder of the harrowing battle he must have once fought.

      Artoria asked curiously, " While I do not doubt your words Shido, could you please elaborate what made it so dangerous that even my Knights would have a hard time against
it ? " Shido nodded and replied, " Indeed. While it is not my intention to belittle you or your Knights, it is a simple matter of fact how horrific that thing was. Inside the forest, everything was your enemy. The ground that you walked on ? That was a part of the forest too and could, at any moment, have vines sprouting out of it , ready to either impale you and give you a quick death if you're lucky, or drain your blood slowly like a spider's prey if you're not. Even the trees were no different. The trees too were part of the monstrosity. With my modifications to my body and a bit of reinforcement, I could easily tear through the enchanted metal armours of The Chivalric Order of the Church. But even I struggled to cut through the branches and vines spread across the forest. "

          Shido let out a heavy sigh and continued speaking and said, " However, the thing that made that wretched beast so terrifying was its ability to peer into the minds of anyone who entered it and create illusions. Once in, it didn't matter if you were a human, a god, an elemental or even another Dead Apostle Ancestor. Regardless of what you were, your mind would be pierced and everything about you, the forest would know. It would then create illusions based on your loved ones, either them calling for you , asking you to join them into ' happiness ' or so ; or maybe it'd manifest some severely injured form of your loved ones and then have that illusion blame you for their death. And it's not like logic or rationality on how they found their way in this danger zone would work, since the thing messed with your head.  Logic didn't quite work logically. How do you fight against something that exists only in your head ? That was the conundrum that I faced…... "

         Mordred narrowed her eyes and asked, " So how exactly did you kill it ? There must have been some way, right ? " Shido smiled and said, " Indeed. Essentially, the forest had a core, which worked as its heart, no , perhaps the brain would be more appropriate…. Regardless, my goal was to destroy the core, which would have killed the forest. However, to bring out the core, you have to inflict devastating amounts of damage to the forest first. Which is kinda a difficult task when it's fucking fifty kilometres in diameter. So…. I had to get some additional help. So I just asked the Assembly Of The Eighth Sacrament for help. "

      Kotori released a sigh at Shido's smiling face and said, " What did you do, Shido ?.... " Shido simply reacted by saying, " Eh ? " Kotori gritted her teeth and said, " Come on Shido. I've known you for years. Call it my instinct, but something tells me you didn't just go in and ask the guys at the Eighth Sacrament or whatever for help and they just gave you some super secret ancient weapon to use. So. What. Did. You. Do ? "

         Shido chuckled nervously before finally releasing a sigh and then said, " Well technically speaking, I DID do just that. See, I knew I was going against a forest. A vampiric forest, yes, but a forest nonetheless. So what's the best way to clear a forest ? Well, It Is Elementary My Dear. You burn it. But even I knew that normal fire wasn't going to cut it. I needed something with a bit more firepower. So I remembered, the Assembly Of The Eighth Sacrament also functions as a library of sorts for all knowledge that is confiscated by the Church, regardless of whether it bears any importance to Christianity. If it's an artifact and has connection to Christianity ? It stays at the Assembly. It's an artifact but no connection to Christianity ? It still stays at the Assembly. It is an artifact , and has a connection to Christianity but it is too important ? Then it goes into the Vatican vaults. "

        Shido smirked and continued speaking and said, " The thing that I wanted was the method to create Greek Fire. Yes, that same Greek Fire which was considered as a precursor to modern day napalm. I knew it was at the library in their headquarters. So I did the first thing that came to mind. I barged into their headquarters, fired a couple of shots with Hope in the air and said, " My Name is Adam Van Helsing. I'm the Fifth Seat of The Burial Agency. I want the formula for Greek Fire. Hand it over. "

      There was a moment of stunned silence in the room upon hearing this. Kotori screamed as she said, " What the hell were you thinking you were, some dacoit ?! " Shido winced slightly and said, " Hey, it's not my fault that I was raised as a human weapon with no social interactions or etiquette to speak of. I just did what I knew had to be done. " Kotori rubbed her temples in frustration and asked, " So how did it turn out ? "

      Shido smirked and said, "Surprisingly, well. My name was notorious throughout the Church for how prolific of a hunter I was, especially stories of how I was notorious for lifting and tearing vampires in half and then finally stabbing them with black keys to kill them. So not a lot of people actually had the guts to confront me, much less attack me. Of course, not many did not mean none at all. A small number of them did try to attack me, but I knew how to take care of them in a less lethal manner. Pebbles ! "

        Seeing their confused expressions, Shido spoke in a proud manner and said, " See, I couldn't just use my guns or the black keys on the humans. But I was mediocre with Magecraft at best. So, I just did the simplest thing that came to my mind. I picked a small bag and filled it with smoothened pebbles from a riverbank. And then I started throwing them at whoever tried to attack me. Of course, I did avoid the vitals and only targeted their limbs. That's because of the fact that with my strength and the iron plate technique, each pebble was hitting with the same force as a hunting rifle. Oh sure, they were hurt, but due to the smaller size of the wound being similar to bullet wounds, they were much easier to heal with healing magecraft than stab wounds and gashes from swords or the like. So at the end, other than one guy, everyone who I shot at was completely fine ! And since my scythe completely nullified all magecraft, none of the bounded fields were able to stop me !  "

       Kotori groaned in frustration, unsure whether to cry out in anger for the sheer stupidity of the plan or scream that it actually worked. She turned to Shido and asked, " So what happened to that one guy ? " Shido chuckled nervously and replied, " Well, he actually thought it was a good idea to jump on me from behind. And I was someone who had a habit of being on guard twenty four seven due to the nature of my job. So out of pure instinct, I kinda ended up swatting him away like a fly. Poor guy almost had his stomach collapse inward and crumple like a car post crash, but he survived ! That's what matters, right ?!.... Okay, I won't lie. It was my fault, but it's not my fault, okay  ?! "

       Shido released a heavy sigh and paused momentarily before continuing to speak and said, " Regardless, I got the formula for Greek Fire, then I bailed out of there. However, that was just part one of the plan. Part two was enhancing the Greek Fire. As powerful as it was, it's not too useful against the regeneration of vampires. So, I had to…. Tinker with it…..  So I may or may not have raided the underground tombs of several saints and desecrated the remains of over a hundred saints just for their bones….. "

          Kotori screamed out, " You did what ?! " Shido flinched slightly and replied, " I mean, it was for a good cause ! Besides, I didn't desecrate the entire body ! I just borrowed the limbs from all the tombs ! " Kotori rubbed her temples in frustration and asked, " And WHAT exactly, did you do with them ?! "  Shido chuckled nervously and replied, " Well, I did at one point, ' Borrowed ' the method of….. Oh , who am I kidding, I did totally plunder the method of making sacraments for myself ! Using them, I essentially created a version of Greek Fire, which had the properties of the Holy Sacraments, essentially having the power to even kill vampires regardless of their healing factor. I carried them around in these small cylindrical vials. They won't shatter no matter how much force I apply, and will only burst into flames over a large area of around eight feet or so whenever I pass my magical energy through them, and ONLY my magical energy, kinda like a fingerprint identified napalm grenade. And so, I used it to face the Forest of Einnashe. "

           Reine narrowed her eyes and asked, " I fail to see what difference a little bit of fire, even if it's what can essentially be classified as magical napalm can do.  Was that all you did for facing this supposedly monstrous being ? " Shido smirked and said, " Of course not. I didn't have any delusions that I'd take down the forest with just a couple of grenades. However, what sort of stupid general hopes to win a war with just a handful of bullets ? "

      Seeing their confused expressions, Shido had a smile that was bordering between sadistic and downright creepy, as if he had a bunch of young children in his basement…..  Shido continued speaking and said, " Well, did you really think I desecrated the remains of over a hundred saints just to create a few grenades ? Hell no ! I created over eight hundred litres of Greek Fire fluid, then outfitted them in small quantities on small scale flying familiars, essentially miniature drones running on mana made of metal, wax and feathers. They had one order. Go over a designated point over the forest, then crash straight into it, lighting up that portion of flames. A single bird wouldn't cause that much damage to the forest ? But an entire legion of them ? If the thing had a mouth, it'd be screaming in agony. It was the equivalent of napalm air strikes in modern terms. The excessive damage would and did ultimately cause the core of the forest to surface. Of course, getting to it was another hurdle, since as I said, even the ground was dangerous. Thankfully, once again, it was the flames that served as the answer to my problems…… "

          While she was slightly unnerved by Shido's incendiary tendencies, she could say that she somewhat understood the need to use them, considering what he was up against. She curiously asked him, " So what did you do ? " Shido smiled innocently and said, " Well, firstly you need to know that this clothing of mine isn't just some ordinary piece of clothing. It's enchanted and actually made of dragon skin. Of course, it's not some super famous dragon like Albion , just an ordinary dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. So I can depend on it to block heavy artillery fire with ease. However, it's biggest advantage is its fireproof capabilities. So I did the most obvious and sensible thing. I wrapped myself from head to toe with it, left only one opening for my Mystic Eye and then lit myself on fire with the Greek Fire ! "

          While everyone had a gobsmacked expression on their faces, origami articulated everyone's thoughts into a simple statement. She spoke in a flat tone and said, " What ?! " Shido smiled sheepishly and said, " Well, it was a useful and logical tactic. I mean, because being continuously shrouded in what were essentially Holy flames, none of the tendrils from the ground were able to touch me. Sure, there was a minor inconvenience that because of the high temperature of the flames, my skin had started to slightly melt off…. "

          The ever calm and collected origami screamed hysterically as she shouted, " That's a sign of approaching Death, not a minor inconvenience you idiot ! " Shido flinched slightly and replied nervously, " Well, I mean, because of having used reinforcement on myself, my internal organs were completely fine ! It's just that my upper epidermal layers had melted off. Thankfully, one of the advantages of working with the Burial Agency is that you get the best class healers available for you. I had my injuries completely healed in just one hour after the hunt ! Oh the pain was slightly inconvenient to deal with, but eh ! Whatever ! I had lived through worse ! "

       Kotori had her mouth gaping in surprise. She didn't know what to say. Chastise her brother for such a stupid plan which SOMEHOW worked ? Or try to comfort him considering that somehow having your skin melted off your body only counted as a '  minor inconvenience ' compared to the other things he had faced. Seeing their reactions, Shido sighed and said, " Come on. I said it wasn't that bad. But regardless, moving on, yes, I did succeed. With my scythe in hand and body on fire, I kept slashing through the vines and trees, making my way to the centre of the forest, right where it's core was. Of course, I then had to face the forest's greatest defence, it's illusions…. "

     Shido chuckled softly and said, " There was no true way to protect yourself from the illusions. Even if you were an inhuman being like some god or an elemental or Fae, it was impossible to protect yourself. I was no different. The forest would and did indeed manage to penetrate my mind and see through my memories. And in that, lied its greatest flaw and the cause for its downfall……. "

       Shido smiled and continued speaking as he said, " Indeed. It tried to scrounge through my memories to find anyone who could be used as leverage against me. Friends, family or even acquaintances. However, the fact of the matter was, it was unable to conjure anything simply because I had none….. "  Seeing their confused expressions, Shido sighed and elaborated as he said, " Well, I was raised as a weapon since childhood. Even as an orphan, I had no one to look after me as I had to survive on the streets. As such, the act of ' Imprinting ' upon any person simply didn't happen with me. The researchers who experimented and modified my body ? They wore those large masks similar to plague doctor masks and so I never got to see their faces. My missions for hunting came directly from the Pope through an artifact. I never even got to see his face. Well, their. In my life, I saw the old Pope stepping down when I was around 16. Regardless, I had quite literally no one I could even call an acquaintance. Essentially, my Heart Was Hollow. And so, the Forest of Einnashe found nothing in it to turn against me. It simply couldn't conjure ANY illusion to fight against me, as I had literally no one I cared for. The only reason I even hunted Vampires was because I was raised from a young age to do so. I had no particular hatred against them to do so nor did I have any sort of particular love for humanity. I simply did what I did because it was the only thing I knew to do. "

       Releasing a sigh, he continued speaking and said, " But yes. When it found that there were no connections to draw from to use against me, it just started to throw random people from my memories, like random people who I saw walking across the street or Abbey, some random executor I had once seen to , hell, even the Dead Apostle Ancestors themselves ! It was honestly hilarious and outright pitiful at a point. So I kept swinging my scythe, I kept slashing through everything that stood in my path. Honestly, I am glad for the fact that I was raised as a hollow weapon in that life. Had I not been, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to last against that thing's mental attacks…… There was a reason for my creation. Regardless of the reasons for my creation, or the morality of the actions of the Church, I represented the tenacity of mankind in all its aspects. Oh, make no mistake, the executors and everyone in the Church, Absolutely did hate me, even disgusted by my very existence. I was nothing more than an abomination. However, this abomination was a symbol of despair for the monsters who preyed upon humanity, so I became a symbol of hope for Humanity. A twisted one to be sure, but a symbol nonetheless. I was the manifestation of the ideal that these things, these monsters ! They could bleed ! That they could be fought against ! That maybe, just maybe ! Humans stood a chance ! That was what I represented….    "

        Kotori genuinely was speechless. She had no idea what to say. The only reason why her brother survived in his past life was because the dead apostle fed on the relationships a person had and weaponized them against themselves. Her brother on the other hand had literally no one. No one that he could even call as an acquaintance. He was all alone…… Treated like he was some weapon….. It disgusted her to no end. Even the DEM industries researchers had yet to do something so horrific ( at least to their knowledge ) Was this his the Magi of old were ? She had heard from Elliott that the Magi of olden times didn't care much for morality. Was this how much they were willing to fall into depravity ?

         On the other side, Artoria felt the increasing need to have a long chat with her new master. His talks of symbols and ideals reminded her of too much of the past and she'd rather not have him walk on that path again….. Shido shook his head and continued as he said,
" Regardless, I did finally reach the core and struck it down with my scythe and The Monte Cristo Mythologie to completely kill it. Honestly, it was a difficult battle. Probably more so than any other I faced in my other lives….. "

        Origami spoke up nervously as she said, " Ummm…… aren't we all missing the point here ? It's not the fact that Itsuka-kun had faced some super powerful vampires in the past. I mean, that's a great achievement, don't get me wrong ! But vampires exist. Like REAL Vampires ! Why haven't we found out about any yet ?! Are they hiding ?! Have they discovered some new method that allowed them to - "

         Her ramblings were cut short when Shido interrupted her and said, " I do not believe that is a major concern, origami. After all, I can say with certainty that there aren't any vampires in the world currently….. "  Reine raised a brow and asked, " Are you implying that they went extinct, Shin ? How can you be so sure in your hypothesis ? " Shido calmly replied by saying, " Because it's obvious. Vampires do have vampiric impulses to drink blood, yes, but it's also accompanied by the fact that they require the mana in the blood to survive. Do keep this in mind, I'll come back to it in a minute. Also, the main reason why no vampire can survive today in this world is because The Planet Is Dead……. "

          Kotori and everyone else had confused looks on their faces as origami asked, " Dead ? What do you mean by that, Itsuka-kun ? " Shido hummed softly and replied, " Tell me origami. What do you know about ley lines ? " Origami was slightly taken aback due to the sudden question, but answered, " Um, aren't they some sort of magical pipelines for energy of sorts ? Well, at least that's how they portray them in the media ! Am I right ?...... " Shido nodded in agreement and said, " That is an oversimplification, but yes, the core premise is correct. Leylines are channels of sorts through which mana flows through the planet. Ley Lines are to the planet what blood vessels are to a human body. Of course, they're not exactly uniformly distributed throughout the planet. "

          Shido paused momentarily, almost as if reminiscing about something before continuing as he said, " At certain places, these ley lines are more powerful and more spiritually active. And in magecraft exist certain rituals which can't be carried out by a single Magus, or even a group of Magi. At times like these, they used to be generally conducted on top of leylines. Because of it, the leyline takes most of the brunt of energy costs, making even near impossible rituals possible. Any decent Magus knows how to search for a leyline. I tried searching for every leyline throughout the world. I however, got - "

        Kotori was confused as she asked, " Wait, when did you do that ?! We keep an eye on you 24/7 ! How did you go around the world ?! " Shido merely rolled his eyes and answered, " I can use magecraft. Tricking cameras is hardly a difficult matter for me. And I didn't exactly need to personally go to the locations. I sent tiny artificial familiars which were connected to my senses.  And with them, I came to one undeniable conclusion. I've checked all the leylines of the world. They're all dead. That is to say, the planet itself has died. I believe the cause for it is the same as whatever caused the spacequakes……. "

             Reine took a deep breath and asked, " What makes you think that, Shin ? And what do you mean that the planet is dead ? " Shido nodded and replied, " Essentially, the planet's leylines are completely run dry, as if someone just sucked away all the mana from them, which essentially ' killed ' the planet. Thankfully, there's no actual problems because of it, at least to the common humans. However, to any Magi, this was nothing short of disastrous. Without any mana in the surroundings, most Magi, if they do exist in the modern day, will probably have to use their internal reserves. That's like trying to light one of those old school incandescent bulbs with a bunch of lemons. Not gonna happen. And spacequakes are essentially destabilizations in the fabric of space. They're definitely an unnatural occurrence. So whatever was the cause for them, must also be the cause for the planet's death, considering that it's nearly impossible for a planet's mana to suddenly disappear like this, at least not without external meddling….. "

        Kotori thought about it earnestly for a moment before asking, " So you think that whatever caused the spacequakes also caused the planet's death. For now however, it's just a hypothesis. However, I still fail to see how it addresses the vampire problem. " Shido nodded and replied, " Actually it does. Remember, how I said that vampires need mana to survive alongside blood ? Well, in our era, that was the primary reason for their feeding habits. Blood contains mana in some quantities and as such, drinking blood is a good way to satisfy both the vampiric impulses as well as obtain mana to prevent their body's degradation. And yes, in case it wasn't clear, yes, the bodies of vampires degrade continuously and require mana to sustain themselves. The stronger the Dead Apostle Ancestor, the more mana they required to sustain themselves, especially if they had certain types of Idea Blood which required more mana to sustain it. "

          Kotori asked in confusion, " Wait, so the more powerful a vampire, the more people it has to hunt to survive ? And what's an ' Idea Blood ' ? " Shido sighed and said, " Basically yes. And about Idea Blood…. Well, to not bore you with the jargon, Idea Blood manifests as a blessing from the Crimson Brunestud Of The Moon, the Progenitor of Vampires. It's like a prime directive for vampires, something that helps them to establish their domain over the external world, kinda like the Authority of a deity. For example, The Principle,' Castle, Therefore Kingdom ', creates an absolute bounded field in the form of a cathedral, 30 kilometres in diameter. With it, anything that the user designates as the target, it'll be able to cause any damage to the external world and even remain locked in its territory. For example, if I designate Kotori as the target, neither will any of your attacks be able to affect anything outside the boundaries nor will you be able to leave it, unless you've got some attack that can destroy the fabric of space. And in our days, we didn't have these spacequakes. So it's nearly impossible to escape from it…. "

        Shido shook his head and continued, " So, as I said, Dead Apostle Ancestors were hellishly powerful. Regardless, coming back to the point, the more powerful a vampire, the more mana it needs. However, do keep in mind that a Vampire doesn't get all of their mana requirements from blood. Hell, blood is actually a VERY inefficient method to transfer mana. Hell, only around forty percent of the mana is actually transferred through blood generally. The only reason vampires drink blood is because of their vampiric impulses. Their mana needs are generally fulfilled by them on their own, from the mana in the surroundings, much like how a fish in water. Do you see where I'm going with this ?....... "

         Kotori pondered over his words momentarily before she had a look of realization on her face as she exclaimed, " And since the planet is dead and the mana in the world is depleted, vampires can't survive ! " Shido smiled and said,
" Precisely. Remember. Vampires are more connected to the world like other phantasmals like unicorns, dragons and the sort than humans. As such, in today's world, they'd find it impossible to survive. Even the low ranking Dead Apostle would have to drain countless humans dry everyday just to survive. Modern day humans have disgustingly low amounts of mana. I'd require around forty ordinary humans to equal the amount of mana within an ordinary human from my time period. Regardless, even consuming the blood from these humans, they'd be unable to move, much less attack anyone and essentially be just full body paralyzed patients. For a powerful Dead Apostle Ancestor like, the Forest of Einnashe for example, by my estimates, I'd say it'd require around eight thousand humans everyday to keep itself alive. Not exactly something that'd be hidden, especially in today's modern era with the internet being present. Honestly, in a strange twist of fate, the spacequakes for all their devastation have ensured that Earth will belong to humans alone. I'm sure that most of the members of The Burial Agency would be ecstatic to hear this. Well, not all. Some of those fuckers would probably be angry that they wouldn't get to hunt anymore…… "

         Reine hummed in approval and asked, " I suppose it's a likely assumption given the data available. And I think that it's safe to at least consider it given your expertise on the matter. That said, I am curious. Is there no other way to transfer mana efficiently ? Is blood the only medium ? "  Shido and the Knights other than Agravain had a hesitant and uncomfortable expression on their faces, while Agravain simply let out a sigh. Reine narrowed her eyes and said,
" Shin. I believe it would be best for everyone if you answered all our questions. This is extremely important data, something that can greatly help our efforts, especially in sealing the spirits. "

        Shido seemed to nearly choke on air upon hearing these words. Kotori gritted her teeth and said, " Shido, I'm asking you as the commanding officer of Fraxinus to answer my question. It is imperative to our efforts to seal the spirits. So I do hope that you'll help us. " Shido opened his mouth to speak something but quickly closed it as he released a sigh. He then spoke up and said, " Alright. The most efficient way to transfer mana is through a Contract. It's exactly what it says, a mutually agreed upon bond between two individuals. When established between two Magi, they can pool their mana together and can share it as a single common pool. Though if one is more low than the other, if both consent, the one with more mana can provide mana to the other. Of course, the problem is, it's pretty difficult to establish. Things like Magic Circuit compatibility, Elements compatibility, Origin rejection, Thaumaturgical base rejection and so on have to be taken into account. Essentially, it's Hella difficult to establish. And the farther away you go, the more difficult it is to send mana. Essentially, it's like those shitty wireless chargers. "

   Kotori had a sudden look of realization on her face. Seeing it, Shido sighed and said, " Yes. I too came to the same conclusion. Somehow, I'm able to form a Contract with the spirits without all of the technicalities. An interesting thing to be sure, yes, but beyond the scope of our requirements. I am no researcher. The knowledge I had of Magecraft was just so I could use it to fight better. Nothing more. Regardless, as you might expect, it's not exactly feasible for a vampire to form a Contract for extracting mana. That said, it's not like the second method is any more feasible…… Well, the second method does have a better mana transfer efficiency than blood, closer to seventy percent as a matter of fact. It also just so happens to be one of the oldest methods for transferring mana…… "

      Kotori raised a brow and asked, " And what is it ? " Shido rubbed his temples in frustration and spoke with sigh and spoke " It is through Coitus….. "  Reine seemed to be momentarily thinking as if trying to remember the meaning of the word before remembering it as she spoke and said, " Ah, I remember. It's actually the Latin word for Sexual Intercourse. " There was a moment of silence before a bright red blush appeared on the face of the ever expressionless and stoic Reine too. Both Kotori and origami had blushes on their faces as they finally understood the meaning of Shido's words. 

         Kotori spoke while stuttering,
" Oni-Chan, st-stop joking around li-like this ! " Shido sighed as he replied, " As I said, like it or not, sexual intercourse is the other most optimal way to transfer mana efficiently. Semen in the case of males and vaginal fluids in the case of females is what is used for mana transfers. Also, whether it's blood or semen, it can only hold mana for a limited time. After that, it starts to dissipate into the outer world, much like how hot tea loses heat when poured on a saucer. However, compared to blood, semen and vaginal fluids are actually able to hold mana for longer periods. It was because of this reason that a lot of poor Magi in the olden days used to sell their semen for money……. "

       Kotori and origami were halfway torn between being genuinely surprised by the new information and being outright disgusted that doing magic required you to apparently drink other people's….. ' discharge ' if your reserves were low. Seeing their reactions, Shido shook his head and said, " Don't think too much about it. Regardless, coming back to the point, I don't think I have to worry about vampires in today's world anymore. Hell, I'll probably shoot myself in the head with my gun if I ever find a normal vampire, much less anything above an inferior Dead Apostle. "

         Kotori sighed and said, " Stop joking like an idiot about killing yourself, Shido. We have enough of your reckless tendencies already. " Shido scoffed at her and replied, " Unfortunately, a dark sense of humour is something you naturally develop in my field. Besides, considering my other lives, I died more times than all the people in this room combined. "

       Kotori raised a brow in curiosity and asked, " What do you mean by your other lives ? " Shido paused for a moment, then said, " Under normal circumstances, upon your death, your soul travels to the Sea Of Souls within the Collective Unconscious, a metaphysical existence where souls undergo the cycle of reincarnation. The base of an individual, the soul remains the same, but the memories and other such aspects are completely erased upon reincarnation. I myself have the memories of several past reincarnations of mine. Sometimes as an ordinary farmer, at others as a somewhat mediocre swordsman, I've had quite a few incarnations. Of course, that isn't to say I have all of the memories of the various lives. I am, for certain reasons, missing the memories from a few previous lives…... "

          If one observed carefully, they'd find Reine's eyes twitching ever so slightly as she asked Shido in a seemingly calm tone, " What do you mean, Shin ? Why exactly are you missing those memories ? " Shido shrugged and said,
" Well, as I said, memories aren't technically supposed to be retained after reincarnation, especially not with this level of accuracy. I mean, there was one life where I died because my parents abandoned me during a famine at just a few months of age, or that one time I was born is a small feudal lord who died because of, well, let's just say certain miscellaneous causes. Then there was that one time I was born as an Oni hunter. Huh, I'll definitely have to keep the promise I made to Lady Raikou. Perhaps I should look into it after I resolve the issue with the spirits…...  Regardless, missing a few lives worth of memories isn't just expected, it's completely normal. It would be abnormal if I wasn't losing the memories from a few lives, though I'd suppose my bloodline does help immensely…."

       Reine for some reason almost had a relieved expression on her face for a moment before she regained her composure and asked, " What do you mean by your bloodline ? You did mention it before repeatedly, so what exactly do you mean ? " Shido sighed then cleared his throat and said, " That's because I'm not quite human. I'm the last of the Pharaohs of Egypt, incarnation of Ra himself. Someone who has divine blood running through his veins….. "

         Kotori was nearly ready to scream at her brother for insinuating that he was now some sort of God from Egypt. Magic , she could understand. But what's with the bullshit about gods ?! Shido sighed and said, " I see you don't believe me. Then tell me, would you accept a demonstration ? Though you have to promise me you won't freak out. " Kotori scoffed at him and said, " Do your worst, Shido. " Shido sighed once again and pulled out a sword out of nowhere ( probably with magic ) and had in a single instant  separated his head from the body. Both she and origami cried hysterically at him as they screamed,
" Shido ! " Reine too screamed out his name, though calling him ' Shin ' as usual. However, before they could say anything or even the others could react, they saw that his body was holding his head with his hands as his head merely rolled it's eyes and said, " What did I say about not freaking out ?...... "

                Seeing him speak, origami nearly tackled him as she spoke with tears in her eyes, " You're fine ! You're alive Shido ! I thought I'd almost lost you ! "  Shido winced slightly and replied, " Er…. I'm genuinely sorry….  Though I believe it's for the best if I put my head back ?..... "  Origami jumped back like a startled cat as she finally realised that Shido's head was separated from its body. As everyone kept staring at him with wide eyes, Shido placed his head on his body as the sound of squelching and wet sloshing emerged as the wounds closed as they were never there without Camael's regenerative powers so much doing a single thing.

        Artoria gritted her teeth as she looked genuinely annoyed and asked,
" Was that really necessary, Shido ?..... " Shido winced slightly on the stress that she emphasized when saying his name as he answered, " In my defense, it was either doing this, or plunging all of Japan into darkness for a few seconds to demonstrate the power of my divine blood ...."  Kotori was genuinely shocked as she asked, " Wait, you can do that ?! Wait, no ! First explain what the hell was that ?! Even Camael's powers couldn't heal a wound like that ! So what did you do ?! "

      Shido raised a brow and answered,
" Didn't I say it already ? I am One Of The Pharaohs Of Egypt. Incarnation of Ra himself. As such, I hold dominion over the sun itself. As such, plunging a nation under my rule is well within my Authority. And yes, as long as it's daytime, that is under the sun's light, I CANNOT be killed, regardless of whatever happens. It's something that is unchangeable. "

       Kotori started to bang her head on the table repeatedly before finally getting up and screaming, " So you're telling me that you have the memories of several past lives and on top of being a magician, you're also ADAM Van Helsing, a vampire hunter who just so happens to be a demigod ?! If so, why now ? What is your purpose in telling us this ?! What are you trying to accomplish ?! "  Shido calmly replied, " My purpose remains the same as before. I simply wish to save the spirits. The Knights of The Round Table themselves have agreed to fight against the forces of AST as well as DEM. And I too intend to do the same. Make no mistake Kotori, I will not let any harm come to the spirits. That, I shall make sure not just as Shido Itsuka or Van Helsing, but as a Pharaoh to whom this land belongs to. That much, I'll personally make sure of….... "

       Kotori and the others were slightly taken aback by the sheer aura he radiated and the sudden change in his demeanor. It was prideful, yes, but not arrogant. It was the authoritative tone of a Ruler who simply wouldn't allow chaos in his land. Shido sighed and spoke in a more calm tone and said, " While I understand your reactions to these revelations, do try to understand that I have only one primary goal, to help the spirits. That is all I wish for. To the best of my abilities, I shall do it, on that you have my word as The Pharaoh. "

         Artoria herself spoke up and said,
" While this may be a different war from what we fought in the past, nonetheless it's goals are still the same. Protect the innocents and strike the guilty. I assure you as The King of Knights that I and my Knights will help you out in any way that we can.  " Shido nodded at her words and turned to Kotori and said, " Indeed. For now however, I think we should make arrangements for their stay and normal lives. I'll be setting up a bounded field, essentially a territory of sorts on both our house as well as the spirits residence. Also, I'd like it if you made arrangements in one of the houses nearby so that the Knights can be close to us in the off chance that we are attacked by an enemy. I'll lend a hand too. If the neighbors aren't ready to move even with fair compensation, I can use a few hypnosis spells to convince them. Unless they're an AST wizard, they should have no resistance to it.  "

        Kotori sighed and said, " Slow down a bit Shido. While I am going to make arrangements for them, there is still proper procedure that has to be followed. I still have to report the higher ups about …. All this ! And no, I don't want you hypnotizing people, we'll figure a solution. Besides, money doesn't grow on trees, Onii-Chan. So unless you have some hidden stash or piggy bank full of coins, we aren't going to purchase any new apartment complexes soon. "

        Kotori was unnerved as she saw that same creepy smile that looked like Shido had several kids in his basement return to his face. He smiled and said, " Then you're just in luck, Kotori…. " He then got up from his seat and walked away a few feet from everyone and stretched out his hands sideways, as if a PRIEST was giving a sermon and proclaimed, " YOROKOBE SHOUJO ! KIMI NO NEGAI WA YOUYAKU KANAU ! " Soon, glistening treasures of gold started to appear out of thin air while everyone stared with wide eyes as the treasures only finally stopped after they were piled up in a large pile the size of a human and several feet in width. 

        The pile seemed to glisten with gold with the intention to blind the eyes of all the people present there. Golden coins, golden jewelry and necklaces, golden urns and golden staves seemed to lie in the pile, all seemingly Egyptian in origin considering the prominent use of Egyptian symbols and the presence of hieroglyphs on the urns. Seeing their wide eyed expressions, Shido smiled proudly and boldly proclaimed, " These are the riches of Egypt ! The bounties of The Nile itself ! I have already said that I'll provide aid to this mission in any way possible. So I would be insulting my ancestors if I went back on my word. Take as much as you need Kotori ! If required, I shall provide even more ! The coffers of the Pharaohs aren't to be underestimated ! "

        Kotori merely forced out an indignant word while stuttering as she asked, " H-How ?! "  Shido smiled and said, " As the Pharaoh, I have inherited all the might as well as the wealth of Egypt ! The accumulated wealth of every Pharaoh is passed down to me ! And don't worry about me being a spendthrift. I have enough gold in my treasury to bury all of Tengu city several feet under gold and still be left with a sizable amount !

     Kotori was literally speechless upon hearing this. Just what sort of messed up wealth did her brother have ?! However, the shock soon turned into confusion as she saw the corner of his lips twitching, as if trying to hold back his laughter. It was at that moment that Kotori realized her situation. He could have totally given her the gold in a calm manner instead of all this theatrics. However, he did all this just to mess with her. That damn Bastard !

         Kotori started picking up random objects from the pile and throwing them at Shido's face. However, he was able to dodge all of them, all while laughing, enraging her even more. Artoria, Gawain and Bedivere understood that their master had just done all these theatrics for his sister and were laughing softly too at the scene. Reine finally stepped in with a sigh and held back Kotori physically and said to Shido, " Shin, please leave for now. I believe that the Knights can stay temporarily at your house until the things are…... sorted and Kotori has calmed down. I'll inform you afterwards. "

        Shido and the Knights gathered together as Kannazuki seemed to be inputting commands on his wrist mounted device while seemingly trying to hold his laughter at his commander's antics. Soon, a white light surrounded Shido and they found themselves in front of a house, Shido's house in fact. Once in front of the house, Lancelot asked " Was there really a need for all that ? " Shido smiled and replied, " Yes, Sir Lancelot. While even I will admit that my sister is a capable leader, at the end of the day, she's still young. All of those revelations from my end, especially being reminded that I'm not her biological brother and my blood stained past must have been… concerning to say the least for her. Essentially, that small prank of mine was to remind her that I'm still her brother, that same idiot who messes with her from time to time. Was it deceitful on my part ? Absolutely. Do I regret it ? No.  I'm willing to lie to myself as well as the world if it means ensuring the happiness of others. "

       Saying this, Shido opened the door and asked everyone to come in. Thankfully, similar to the summoning ritual of the Grail War, they had at least basic knowledge about a lot of modern objects. That, and the fact that they had their experiences with Chaldea that ensured that they knew a lot about modern civilization and its inventions.

       After entering, Shido guided them into the living room. He quickly came back from his room, carrying a large pile of clothes in his hands. His original intentions were to give some of the less well built Knights lime Tristan and Bedivere his clothes, but considering that the others were there too, he simply decided to screw it and projected clothes for everyone. Handing them out to each of them, he said, " I'll be asking Kotori to bring you more clothes afterwards. However, for the time being, please use this. And you should still be able to materialize and dematerialize your armour and weapons much like how you'd do as a servant. It's just that you'd be left with nothing to cover your body, so that's why please use these. "

        Mordred narrowed her eyes while the others were moving to the other rooms to change clothes and asked Shido, " How did you know what clothes to get for us anyway ? " Shido sighed and replied, " Your weapons, once again. That's how I knew your body structure, and took clothes accordingly. " Mordred simply clicked her tongue in annoyance, though she didn't say anything. Because while she was slightly annoyed, she chose not to do so, considering her new master at least wasn't a wimp and was actually capable of holding his ground considering that the sheer aura that he was radiating while wearing that armour wasn't something that you have after a life of pacifism.

       Once everyone had changed into their clothes, Shido took a look at them and nodded in appreciation. They were here to help in his war. The least he could do was at least ensure that they had a normal and comfortable life. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw that Tohka and Yoshino had entered the room. While Yoshino seemed slightly surprised by the presence of so many people, Tohka had her eyes widened with shock as she exclaimed, " You've already sealed so many spirits, Shido ?! And why are there male spirits too ?! " Yoshinon, Yoshino's puppet, spoke in a teasing tone and asked, " Oya ? Is there something that you're not telling us about yourself, Shido-kun ? Don't worry, you can speak with us freely ! "

( This is what they look like )

       Shido sighed and turned to the Knights as he said, " Everyone, allow me to introduce you to my friends. They also are the two spirits that I spoke about. The purple haired lady is Tohka Yatogami. She was the first spirit I had managed to seal. The young girl besides her is Yoshino, someone I consider my younger sister similar to Kotori. The one on her hand is her familiar of sorts, Yoshinon. " The Knights eyed the two girls curiously, as they had been told that these were the sort of girls that were unintentionally causing disasters. Seeing them in front of them, they were even more convinced that there was merit to Shido's words.

          Shido then turned to Tohka and Yoshino and said, " These are our guests and allies. They'll be staying with us and helping against the AST. And before you ask, yes you did detect powerful energy from them Tohka. You're not wrong, they're just as powerful as any other spirit. However, they're actually something called Heroic Spirits, who're essentially resurrected heroes from the past. I've summoned them here with Magic, as I'm a Magus.  "

      Both Tohka and Yoshino were surprised to hear this as Tohka exclaimed, " You can do Magic Shido ?! And you called these super ultra powerful heroes to defeat the AST and protect the spirits, right ?! Umu….. Eh, does that mean you can make lots of kinako bread with magic ?! " Shido chuckled softly upon hearing this and simply waved his hand around as a large bag full of kinako bread manifested in his hands.

      Tohka nearly drooled as Shido handed her the kinako bread bag. While she took the bread and placed it in her mouth, he told her, " While I hardly have a problem with providing you with food like this, keep in mind that any food conjured like this contains traces of the Caster's mana. While not harmful in small quantities, prolonged ingestion is not recommended. So I'd suggest not eating too much of magically made food. Don't worry though. I'll cook for you as much as you want. "

         Tohka happily replied, " Umu ! Besides, Shido's food is much tastier than the magic bread ! " Yoshino on the other side had an awestruck expression on her face as she asked, " That was amazing, Shido-san ! Can you do even more magic ?! " Yoshinon too joined in and asked, " Indeed ! Who knew you were a magician too, Shido-kun. Were you hiding it from us ? " Shido sighed and kneeled down and placed a hand on Yoshino's head and ruffled her hair and said, " Yes, I can do a lot more things. However, I've only recently activated my Magic Crest. Think of it as an inheritance that allows me to use magic. Had I known about it before, I would have used it already. Regardless, at least it'll make our future battles easier, especially with the Knights on our side. "

       Yoshino then turned to Artoria and asked in a nervous tone, " Are you…. Are you really magical heroes ?! " Artoria smiled gently and replied, " Indeed. While I or my Knights may not know magic, we certainly are Heroic Spirits. My name is Artoria Pendragon. These are my Knights, Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedivere, Sir Tristan, Sir Mordred, Sir Agravain and of course, Sir… forgive me, Lady Gareth. I have heard from Shido about you. Rest assured, now that we are here, no harm will come to you, young miss. "

       Yoshino's eyes were literally sparkling in admiration after hearing Artoria's words.  Shido smiled seeing Yoshino and Tohka getting along with everyone. He turned to both of them and said, " Well, it's afternoon anyway, so I was thinking of making lunch for all of us as well as the Knights. Can you guys go ahead and set up the tables ? " Yoshino and Tohka nodded quickly and went on happily ahead. 

     Gawain turned to Shido and asked inquisitively, " So you cook too, Shido ? "  Shido smiled and replied, " Indeed. I was the one who had to take care of Kotori from the beginning, so I quickly learnt how to cook.  Honestly, cooking and forging weapons are the two things I'm most confident and proud of. Other than that, I genuinely have no pride in my other skills. "

         Mordred smirked and said," Hah ! Doesn't matter how good you are, you'll still never be as good as the Red Bowman in Chaldea ! He was an ass, but he definitely knew how to cook amazing food ! " Suddenly, a chill travelled up everyone's spines as they nearly summoned their weapons out of instinct by the sudden sense of impending danger. To everyone's surprise, it actually came from Shido who now sported a bloodthirsty grin on his face as he spoke, " Oh ? Is that a CHALLENGE Sir Mordred ? "

         Everyone was quite surprised to see Shido release an aura similar to a battle maniac simply because of mentioning cooking.  Shido too realised this and immediately calmed down as he sighed and replied, " I…… apologize.  It seemed you accidentally triggered my instincts….. " Mordred spoke with a bewildered expression and asked, " What the Hell was that ?! " Shido chuckled nervously and answered, " That was my draconian instincts acting up.  Dragons by nature are prideful creatures. While I would like to say that I'm a man completely devoid of pride, that would be a lie.  I do take pride in my skills as a Bladesmith and as a chef, nothing else.  And you questioning my skills as a chef was essentially the same as challenging me, at least as per my instincts.  Of course, you need not fret, I wouldn't have done something outrageous like attack you or anything. I'm in more than control of myself, thank you very much. "

         Mordred and the others were stumped. What sort of Dragon feels insulted just because his Cooking skills were challenged ?! Shido had an expression that suggested that he just remembered something as he said, " Ah, also. Please do not enter the kitchen.  Anywhere else in the house, as long as it's not the girls' rooms you're free to enter.  I'm saying this because the kitchen is actually my Territory. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Yes, I DO mean Territory in that sense.  As in the cave or area in which a dragon resides and doesn't allow anyone else to enter.  For me the most important place is my kitchen hence my instincts recognise it as my territory. Had I been a stereotypical Magus, it would have been my workshop, but I'm not and I don't even have a workshop technically speaking. So yes, my kitchen is my territory. So please do not enter it.  I'll be setting up some non damaging bounded fields around it, so you'll still be safe even if you do try.  "

        Artoria had an unsure expression on her face as she replied, " I….. see……  I and my Knights will keep that in mind…… " Shido let out a sigh as he spoke with an apologetic expression as he said, " Yeah…… Sorry about that.  I understand it must be weird for you, but I'm still trying to keep my Draconian instincts in check. I'm a Pure Blooded Dragon for the most part, but thankfully I have enough willpower to reign them in for the most part. Still, once we're done with having a meal, I'll set up a couple of Strong Bounded fields around the residence. I'm not taking any chances with the safety of anyone.  Please excuse me.  I'll be starting preparations for the meal.  You can wait in the dining room until then. "

         As the knights made their way out, they realised that one thing was for certain.  It was that Their current life with their new master would certainly be an interesting one……..

And with that, the chapter is done ! In case any of you were wondering, More information about Van Helsing will be given in the next chapter.  Shido won't be using his noble phantasms as Van Helsing considering that they're too specialised for dealing with Vampires and date a live world has none.  But his charecterization of his past life will give you a fair bit of idea on his mentality, so do keep that in mind.

Word count : 19315 words