the living [comprehensive]

Shirou fell into a deep sleep with peace of mind, while the Heroic Spirit who was close at hand fell into distress.

Encountering my former self—this is something completely beyond my expectations.

Because of the long-term killing, he had already fallen into deep self-blame, and even made a wish to "destroy Emiya Shirou completely".However, just a very small hope revived that stupid ideal in his heart.

It is obviously a hopeless ideal, but it cannot be given up because of its inherent correctness. "Shiro Emiya" is really stupid.

Thinking of this, Ying Ling sighed.Looking at the peacefully sleeping boy, the killing intent that had been suppressed earlier began to stir again.

Although it is impossible to completely deny the soul of "Shiro Emiya" who adheres to the ideal of justice, it is not very difficult for him to kill this little devil, right?

Although it is theoretically true that it is the former Emiya Shirou, this guy can be said to be a completely different existence from himself.At that time, I was not such a stupid and rascal who hated little brats.

Just kill "myself".For myself who slaughtered countless creatures, it was no big deal at all.

Thinking like this, the heroic spirit gently put his hand on the young man's neck, and slightly gathered his five fingers until he could feel the pulsation under the thin layer of skin.

——As long as you continue to tighten your fingers, you can kill everything before the tragedy begins——

The steel gray eyes of Heroic Spirit narrowed slightly, and a dangerous light penetrated from the center of the cold pupils.His strong fingers trembled slightly, but he didn't strangle the boy by the throat.

Time passed minute by minute.The sleeping teenager moved his head uncomfortably due to the pressure on his neck, but he didn't wake up.The heroic spirit continued to compete with himself, and the hand that fell on the young man's neck was slightly rigid.

The cold wind pouring in from the leaky window of the broken house made the young man shrink back into Ying Ling's arms unconsciously, and also awakened Ying Ling in an instant.

The hand that could have taken the opponent's life moved away, and moved to the young man's shoulder, wrapping the slipped robe tighter.After that, Heroic Spirit, who was afraid that the boy would catch a cold and have a fever, touched the other person's forehead with his hand, and was relieved after confirming that the other person's body temperature was normal.

...Wait, didn't you want to kill this brat?Why are you starting to care about each other again!

The heroic spirit who came back to his senses had the urge to slap himself.

At this point, Yingling can finally be sure of one thing: it is impossible to let go of the ideal self, and it is impossible to kill the former "Shiro Emiya".

It's better to leave this kid behind for the time being, and talk about it after you have completely calmed down; by the way, you can also see how the other party behaves in a strange world.

Heroic Spirit finally made up his mind after calming down the turbulent emotions that had been surging since meeting the boy.He continued to keep the boy in his arms to keep him warm from the wind, and left quietly when the sun rose.

***

The dark sky before dawn was reflected in a dull red by the battlefield on earth.Huge gears hang from the sky like a bloody dome, heralding a desperate cycle that cannot be escaped.

——This is Archer's unique barrier.

After realizing this, Shirou, standing under the bloody sky, began to look for the figure of the heroic spirit.

His gaze flicked across the forest of weapons and fixed on the only person in sight, Shirou recognized the tall figure wrapped in a cloak without any effort.

As if he had just experienced a fight, the heroic spirit's cloak was already in tatters, his exposed body was also covered with scars, and the two knives in his hands were covered by smoke and blood.

Even though he was injured to the point where it was difficult to move, Heroic Spirit still held on and walked far away.When standing under the hill, he hesitated for a moment, but finally took a step.

Although he knew nothing about the other side of the hill, Shirou had an inexplicable urge to stop the other side from moving forward.

"Archer, wait a minute!" shouted desperately, and the young man rushed towards the direction of the heroic spirit like an arrow.He desperately wanted to stop the other party, as if the unknown world the other party wanted to explore existed like a scourge.

Heroic Spirit turned around slowly.When he looked at Shirou, his cold face showed some signs of softening, but his eyes without emotion were gradually filled with sorrow: "It's you," he said clearly in a low voice, "Emiya Shirou. "

The shock caused by the other party's name was so great that the boy stopped a few meters away from the other party.He had a thousand words in his heart, but in the end he only called out the address that had always been exclusive to the other party: "Archer..."

—Archer!

Shirou woke up, and found that there was no one else in the dilapidated house except himself.All that the heroic spirit left behind was a long sword in good condition, and the heat from being tightly gripped on the back of his hand.

Shirou was not surprised at Heroic Spirit's leaving without saying goodbye.Holding the sharp weapon in his palm, he showed a helpless smile.

That guy seemed to leave without hesitation, but in fact he was still worried about himself, right?Maybe, he will secretly observe himself in the spirit body mode later.It's... so dishonest.

The sound of voices came from the street outside, and Shirou, who was silently sighing, couldn't help becoming alert.Hiding himself in the shadows of the room, he listened carefully to the sounds outside.

The older man speaks fluent English, so he should be a white man from outside; and the childish voice is probably a child born and raised here.

However, the instigators of the wars in the Middle East are not those white people?Why do you bring local children with you?

As if to answer the question in Shirou's mind, the man outside began to ask questions.

"Why are you walking alone in the desert? What about your family?"

"They were bombed to death. I didn't have time to bury their bodies, and they were all torn apart and eaten by black monsters." The boy described his experience in a calm to numb voice.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No...I've been hungry for nearly two days."

"Oh, that's really pitiful." The man said, with irritating indifference, "Then, will you come with us? We will guarantee your basic necessities, and teach you the ability to protect yourself?"

"Self-defense?"

"Yeah, save yourself from that enigmatic black creature and other bad guys."

Listening to this conversation, Shirou thought of Archer's broken words before, and suddenly felt chills all over his body.

These invading guys are not trying to adopt orphans with good intentions, but to instigate the children to take up arms and kill their compatriots.The so-called civil war continued like this.

What's more, a guardian like Archer, whose mission is to prevent war and eradicate evil, must have killed the "boy scouts" formed by these children as a last resort.

Wanting to understand all this, Shirou found that the outside world had changed again.

The man whose voice turned into impatience before but still persuaded the child screamed in fear and stopped abruptly when the sound of blood and flesh was being torn apart.Realizing that something terrible had happened, Shirou stuck his head out and observed the movement outside through the open window.

The tall black figure stood up straight in the young man's field of vision. There were faintly discernible spots of blood on the chaotic and dirty black body. The black sharp claws tore the human arm into pieces and stuffed it into the mouth.

Surprised by this shocking scene, Shirou covered his lips in astonishment.

The black shadow that feeds on human flesh and blood has already devoured a grown man, but it seems that he is not satisfied.It turned its tall body violently, and stretched out its sharp claws towards the boy who was standing still.

That child would be torn apart and eaten—Shirou, who realized this, had no time to care about Archer's movements at this moment.

This child must be saved!

Throwing the sharp blade left by Archer to attract the attention of the shadow, the boy projected his usual double swords.

Having said that, the self remembered by Archer can finally use magic unabashedly; this can be regarded as a blessing among misfortunes.

Realizing that he was thinking about Heroic Spirits again, Shirou smiled a little shyly.After that, he put on a straight face and seriously attacked the black shadow.

The young man aimed at the black shadow's neck wholeheartedly, and slashed accurately and sharply with a fatal blow.As the black shadow's head fell to the ground, pure black blood sprayed out, staining the pale sand red.

Although he killed the monster cleanly, Shirou fell into confusion: "What the hell is this...?"

"Aren't you running away?" The boy who was watching all this suddenly said.

"Escape?" Puzzled by the question, Shirou turned to face the boy who was still standing there, "You mean..."

"The smell of human flesh and blood will attract monster companions. I will definitely be torn apart here." The boy said calmly in slightly broken English, "But you look like a soldier, maybe you can escape."

Facing the boy who calmly talked about death, Shirou frowned.However, he had no time to delve into the boy's psychology.

The pure black shadow spread on the surrounding dilapidated walls, and finally formed a monster in the air that was no different from the previous black shadow.As more and more black shadows surrounded the boy and boy, the surrounding world was gradually filled with a stench.

Shirou has no choice but to keep fighting.However, while slashing at the black shadow with his knife, he involuntarily turned his attention to the boy who stood calmly from the beginning to the end.

What the boy sees is not bravery, but the complete despair after having nothing.For him, whether it was drawing swords against fellow-suffering compatriots or being brutally killed by unknown monsters, it seemed to have become so-called.

Shirou gritted his teeth and accelerated the speed of the battle.The cold light of the sharp blade flashed across like lightning, tearing the shadows apart one by one.After killing the last monster cleanly, Shirou came to the boy and knelt down: "Are you alright?"

Or is the other party already used to these cruel scenes?

Feeling sorry for the numb-eyed child in front of him, Shirou softened his voice: "Compared to going with the bad guy just now or staying alone in the dangerous area, it is better for you to join your compatriots. If necessary, I can help you. But, still Don't take the first two paths. I'm afraid you don't even know what that means..."

"I understand." The boy spit out shocking words in a childish voice, "I have seen our childhood playmates shoot us with guns, and I have seen patients who cannot be separated be killed by monsters. However, whether it’s betraying my compatriots or being brutally murdered, none of these are worse than my current life.”

Shirou was at a loss for words, his heart stinging.

No matter when, people should not give up hope.I have always believed so firmly.

But it would be cruel to ask children who live in endless misery not to give up hope.

"I'm sorry," Shirou rubbed the top of the boy's head with his clean hand, "'Hope' is something like an unattainable luxury here."

In a place where the boy could not see, the Heroic Spirit who was watching him closely in an invisible form raised his eyebrows.

On the other side, Shirou continued: "However, there must be something worthy of your belief."

"Believe it?" The boy showed a puzzled look.

"Hmm. For example, 'make yourself a better person', 'make yourself and the people around you happier than before', and so on."

"Not really..." The boy thought for a while, "But what you said seems to make sense."

"Of course," Shirou smiled slightly, "Then, if you think it makes sense, please try to make yourself and your compatriots as happy as possible. Even if you can't get out of the predicament for a while, make yourself and Wouldn’t it be great if the people around you were a little bit happier? As long as you work hard for what you can, you have nothing to be afraid of.”

Standing on a high place, the heroic spirit looked down at the boy's smiling face, which was smeared with golden powder by the sunlight.

The bright smile that bloomed under the newborn sun did not have the slightest shadow, it was frighteningly clean.

The author has something to say: So Archer completely misunderstood, he thought that Shirou was really the former self that no one knew about 233, so Shirou chose to make mistakes [No]