Shirou's Kiss of Love / After a Night of Revelry

They work as movers, but the things they move are a little unusual. If they go unnoticed, they're just slightly rough movers. But if they are discovered, they'll probably be called something more fitting, like... kidnappers.

That van was the group's work vehicle. Although they still didn't know the other party's intentions, they were certain that the van behind them was definitely coming for them. Because there were clearly several other vehicles around, yet it drove right up to their van without any hesitation.

"Hey, wait a minute, this is bad! This is really bad! If what's inside the car is exposed, we're doomed! This is terrible, what should we do? Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! What is he doing? What do they want?"

At that moment, the door of the van facing the box truck was pushed open, and Shirou, along with two older men and women, greeted the thugs in the opposite van with friendly smiles:

"Hey everyone!"

"Could you please return the girl you kidnapped to us?"

"That's my classmate, please, brothers," Shirou said, waving his hand.

"We've been exposed!"

The thugs inside the car exchanged fearful glances.

An emotion seeped through their skin, through their blood vessels, and surged into their heads. Their minds were already overflowing with apprehension and fear about this matter, and now another sense of fear welled up from a deeper place.

Two conflicting fears swirled in the thug's mind. One was an overwhelming, unreal fear, the other a stark, tangible one. If the contents of the van were exposed, he'd definitely be at the police station, and in serious cases, he might even be arrested!

The thug imagined himself as a corpse, buried in the Fuji Sea of Trees, and his legs trembled even more violently. He desperately wanted to find a way to kill this self-proclaimed champion of justice.

"You bastards! Who are you people?!" The people in the van also pushed open the side door. Both vehicles appeared to have been modified for loading and unloading cargo.

At that moment, the boy opposite him stood up and made a sprinting motion.

'He's not trying to jump over here, is he? That madman! That damn madman!'

"Shirou ~! Go for it~! Go for it!"

"Athlete, Jack! So cool!" A woman in black wearing a hat stood to the side, having somehow found a sand stick, cheering on the boy.

'Why don't you stop him?'

"Wow, that's really touching. Such a striking and dynamic scene is reminiscent of the anime 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,' which aired back in the day," the mixed-race man with broad eyes said with a smile.

"What is that?! I haven't watched any cartoons like that since elementary school!" the thug roared angrily. "Hey! Kid! Don't jump! If you dare jump, I'll slam the car door shut! If you fall and die, it's not our problem!"

Shirou hesitated briefly, then decided to continue towards the van, still facing his original goal.

He originally intended to rush to a very close distance and jump directly into the other person's car, but the thug, driven by fear, was focused on accelerating and prevented the boy from succeeding. Just as his legs slightly bent, the thug also turned the steering wheel all the way in the same direction.

A deafening roar followed.

Then the boy's body twisted and flew through the air. Finally, there was a thud as he crashed onto the concrete ground in a sorry state.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Ahhhhh! You know how powerful I am now, right? You know how powerful I am now, you bastard!" the thug roared.

The impact that had just hit the car gave the thug an exhilarating feeling. He excitedly slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the driver's seat before the car came to a complete stop.

The thug picked up an iron pipe, preparing to deliver the final blow to his opponent, but...

Some distance in front of the shadow lying on the ground, there was a black object lying there.

The thug's face turned ashen. He recalled the sound of the collision. When the cars crashed together, the boy who had just jumped out was trapped in the middle, half his body outside and half inside, as if he had been broken like shattered ice.

The boy's body was now lying face down on the ground, but where his head should have been was empty.

He hit me!? How could that be? Impossible! Did I kill someone? I was acting in self-defense!

But something's not right? Why? It was just a bump, why did his head break off? Wait a minute! No way!

The series of unusual events brought the hoodlum's mind to a fever pitch.

Therefore, he was completely unaware.

Not a single drop of blood flowed from this decapitated body.

The thug approached the headless body with trepidation.

Without warning, the head that had been thrown out suddenly leaped up, bouncing like a basketball, inching closer and closer to the thug. Then it bounced up to the same height as the thug, eye to eye.

The black head opened its monstrous crimson eyes, and then snakes and venomous insects crawled out of the severed head's mouth, seemingly trying to burrow into the thug's body.

Inside the body, replace it.

Wow!!!!

One after another, the thugs let out extremely pitiful howls.

In reality, these thugs were still in the car, but they were parked on the side of the road, their faces ashen, as if they had been frightened into unconsciousness.

Shirou didn't jump out of the car; it was all an illusion he created for the thugs, a kind of illusion between a dream and reality. It was just so real that there was now a strong smell of urine coming from inside the van.

Shirou is reflecting on his actions. Next time he uses illusion magic on someone, he will choose a gentler method. He still doesn't understand human emergency mechanisms well enough.

"What's wrong with them? They suddenly drove up and then stopped?" Karizawa Erika asked curiously, hooking her arm around Shirou's neck.

"I just let him have a daydream." Shirou waved his hand at the thugs in the car, and they were freed from their pained expressions. The wrinkles on their faces smoothed out, and then they tilted their heads and fell asleep.

There were still seven hours until Celty's battle with Artoria.

There are still eight hours until Shirou buys the ring at the jewelry store and puts it on Artoria's hand.

There are still nine hours until Shirou is brought to the blonde girl's room.

There are still ten hours until Shirou pounces on the blonde girl and gets slapped.

Chapter 964 Shirou's Kiss That sealed their love

"He's foaming at the mouth! So stupid! Shirou-kun, are you... you know...? Hey, tell me! I'm so curious!" Karizawa Erika used her body to sway Shirou's head from side to side.

Judging from Shirou's actions just now, it's clear that Shirou did something to him.

"Flame Haze Warrior! Messengers who made a pact with the Crimson Realm Demon King to prevent the world from becoming distorted, and who fight using the 'Power of Existence'!" Karizawa Erika shouted excitedly.

"Hmm? That... it's not some kind of warrior." Shirou wasn't quite sure which one it was.

"Wait, then are you Dream Eater? Dream Eater Marie-chan ~!" The squinty-eyed mixed-race youth said, waving his hands exaggeratedly.

"That doesn't seem quite right either," Shirou tilted his head.

"Well, whatever, at least this way it saves us a lot of trouble." Kadota got out of the front seat, opened the car door, pushed the sleeping guy in, and then opened the trunk. Inside, sure enough, was a girl who was fastened and fast asleep, with a scar around her neck that looked like it had been sawed off.

Back in Ikebukuro that night, between two buildings that ran erotic businesses, Artoria had already taken Shirou to buy a ring, and the remaining small fry were no match for Celty.

"Go ahead. Once you see that person, it will all be over. Shirou promised you you would be safe, right? I don't think the black motorcycle will hurt you." Kadota said to the somewhat frightened girl inside the motorcycle.

"Um... thank you." The scarred girl nodded gently, then walked outside.

Celty got out of the car and walked over to the scarred girl, looking at the shocking stitches around her neck.

Celty pointed to the phone, handed it over, and only asked, "What's your name?"

Celty couldn't speak, but her mind was in turmoil. 'But she's lost her memory, so she probably can't answer anyway.'

Celtic had held such pessimistic expectations, but received the worst possible response.

The scarred girl stared blankly at Celty's helmet and uttered her name briefly:

"Selty."

'I'm free...' Hearing her say that, Celty took two steps back. Besides feeling a deep sense of despair, she also felt a refreshing sense of liberation from the constraints that had bound her body and mind.

She turned around, summoned her beloved chariot, the headless horse Ksheda Bawa, leaped high onto it, and began to climb upwards.

Seeing the Namie Corps completely isolated from the crowd, Celty seemed to be showing off its presence, causing the black motorcycle to roar loudly.

The DOLLARS crowd, which had been facing Namie and the others, suddenly turned their gazes toward the roof of the massive building where Celty was located. Celty seemed quite pleased with the reaction and spread his arms wide.

Ignoring Newton's laws, it plunged vertically downwards along the exterior wall of the tall building.

Before the crowd on the ground began to scream, she expanded the "shadow" enveloping her to its maximum extent, appearing as a cloud darker than the night itself emerging in the darkness.

Before long, the "shadow" enveloped the motorcycle again, entwining itself between the wheels and the wall, making them seem to attract each other, causing the motorcycle to speed recklessly along the vertical wall.

The DOLLARS members and the Namie Corps gathered on Satsurou Avenue —where they witnessed a world that defied the laws of physics.

Selty leaped off the wall, landing between Namie and Dollars.

Faced with the scene unfolding before them like a movie, some people held their breath, some trembled with fear, and some burst into tears for no apparent reason.

Ignoring everyone's gaze, Celty unhesitatingly pulled a "shadow" from her back, creating a giant scythe.

One of Namie's men, trembling, approached Celty from behind and struck her on the shoulder and neck with a special baton.

The helmet that was on her shoulder was knocked off, revealing an empty space.

Screams and cries of alarm suddenly rang out, but those standing at the back had no idea what had happened, and the entire crowd was plunged into panic.

But this time, Celty showed no hesitation or retreat. She had no reason to Gil anymore. What was wrong with living a simpler life, like a blonde girl or Shirou?

Yes, I have no head. I am a monster. I have no mouth to speak my mind, nor eyes to convey my passion.

But so what?

What's wrong with that?

I am here. I truly exist here. Those who dare not believe, open your eyes and see clearly my every move. Cleanse your ears and hear clearly the cries of those who have angered the monster.

I'm here. Look! I'm right here. Listen, I'm already shouting at the top of my lungs.

I was born here, so that my existence may be etched in this place—

And so, they all "heard" it. The scene before them transformed into intense sounds in their minds.

The Headless Knight's inaudible shouts cast a battlefield-like hue over the entire avenue.

On this night, a woman named Celty attempted to relinquish her head and be reborn as an independent individual.

"Wow! As expected of Celty, he's so handsome!" From his vantage point, the red-haired boy looked down at everything below and laughed heartily in admiration.

Seeing the handsome Celty, Shirou hesitated, wondering whether he should tell her that the scarred girl wasn't actually related to her at all; she had simply undergone surgery to resemble Celty's face. Celty's head was hidden elsewhere. However, it seemed that Shinra had performed the scarred girl's plastic surgery, and he too had his own plans.

Shirou didn't want to deceive Celty, but he also couldn't put Shinra in a difficult position. Besides, he had already spent all his allowance on buying the ring, but it wasn't good to keep spending a girl's money.

What should he do?

"Shirou." A girl's cool voice came from behind, interrupting the boy's thoughts.

"What's wrong, Ria? Hmm!" Shirou turned his head in confusion, only to have his face cupped and his mouth covered.

After a passionate three-minute kiss, the blonde girl released the boy, a blush spreading across her fair face, but she still spoke firmly:

"It's enough that you're looking at me."

"Hmm..." Shirou gazed at the girl, and kissed her as if by instinct, then whispered, "I was just afraid that if I kept looking at you, I wouldn't be able to resist kissing you like this. Ria, you're even prettier than the moon."

Artoria told Shirou about his lost memories, his relationship with the sleeping gods in the universe, and the things his alternate counterpart in a parallel world had done.

And now, it seems he became a monster because of a bad guy called the Magus of Flowers. However, Shirou doesn't hate him, because it was with his help that he met Ria.

Perhaps influenced by Merlin, or perhaps it's just my nature, but in any case, this thing called 'love' is truly something else entirely!

"Shirou..." the girl uttered a seductive call.

"Ria," the boy responded.

There are still many things the girl and boy will have to say and many experiences to share, but for now, they have put everything aside and kissed each other once again.

Under the full moon, the light shone on the two people pressed together. The screams and noise from the ground echoed in the air, but they could not disturb the two people's tender embrace on the highest rooftop.

Chapter 965 After a Night of Revelry

The next morning, Ryugamine Mikado rubbed his eyes, looking sleepy, and arrived at school.

Everything that happened last night felt like a dream, and everything has returned to the ordinary routine.

His friend, Kida Masaomi, waved his hands excitedly like a primary school student, just as he did when he wanted to discuss the previous day's cartoon plot back in elementary school, his face beaming with an innocent smile. Only this time, he wanted to talk about a video circulating online about a DOLLARS party in Ikebukuro.

"Hey, Teito, I saw it online... I heard there was a DOLLARS gathering yesterday! And Simon and Shizuo seem to be members of DOLLARS too! That Izaya Orihara! He didn't even fight with Shizuo!"

And there's more! And there's more! That black motorcycle really seems to have no head, and it's racing along the wall! Then a foreign woman appears riding a heavy motorcycle, and in her hand, the black motorcycle conjures a long, super cool scythe. The two of them engage in a fierce battle in the air, even more exaggerated than in Hollywood movies!

And it seems like it can suddenly pop out something with a "Wow!" sound, wow~! Anyway, it's really amazing!

"I don't understand what you're saying at all," Teito replied casually with a slight smile.

Despite the major event that had just occurred, the school would not disappear. The clock on the school building continued to tick as if nothing had happened, and another ordinary school day passed by as usual.

That day, during lunch break, Teito went up to the roof of the first school building. At this time, almost everyone in the school went to the student cafeteria, which was comparable to a private university cafeteria, or went to find a shop on the street to eat—but there were still some students who were different from the others and liked to bring their own lunches to eat on the roof.

The sky he looked up at from here was exactly the same as the one he saw on the street, and Teito realized that it was the same sky as back home, something perfectly natural. Strangely, despite having just experienced such an extraordinary event, he felt an incredible sense of peace. It was as if he had just finished a long-awaited hike the day before.

When he entered the classroom, he found Yagiri Seiji sitting in his seat as if nothing had happened.

During class, Seiji didn't even glance at Teito. He only came to Teito's desk at the end of the first period and coolly said, "Sorry for causing you a lot of trouble before."