My Goddess - NO.3 - Genesis

Night.

The rustling trees trembled as if sensing something.

The moon, emitting a faint glow, hung high in the night sky.

In the past.

A certain famous person once said:

"The weak and powerless are never qualified to stand at the top, and likewise, those who stand at the top will never be weak and powerless."

Xia felt a deep resonance with this statement at this very moment.

Whoosh!

Shirou, narrowly missing Xia's nose, quickly cupped his head with both hands and bowed, dispersing the impact of his collision with the wall as much as possible. Even so, Shirou grimaced from the powerful force.

Cold sweat trickled down Xia's forehead.

The crescent moon hanging in the sky emanated its chilling aura.

Thin clouds drifted silently across the sky.

In the Emiya Residence's warehouse.

Xia's dark eyes were fixed on the strange person before him.

This fellow had arrogant, spiky blue hair, wore an earring, and was clad in blue light armor. He held a crimson spear and was slowly walking towards Xia, his back to the moonlight.

"What a pain... that black-haired kid over there is really unlucky to have gotten caught up in this. But there's no helping it. Since you've both seen my true form, I have to kill you according to the rules. Although I've already killed that red-haired brat once... how did you come back to life again?

Well, it doesn't matter how you came back to life."

The spearman, with his crimson spear pointed directly at Xia's forehead, looked at Xia with a stern expression.

"Any last words? This is my final act of mercy."

Facing the arrogant question from the man in blue light armor, Xia was filled with both anger and hatred! He was angry at his own constant bad luck! Why couldn't fate let him live a peaceful, ordinary life? And if it granted him one, why did it have to come and destroy it with its own hands?! He hated that he had lost his ability to protect himself! To gain a new life, Xia had personally dug out his magical core (heart) and sealed it in a deserted ruin. His current power source was a substitute condensed from magic. (The Evil Power, although he could control it proficiently, still brought misfortune to those around him as the source of evil. Refer to a certain unlucky guy from A Certain Magical Index.)

"You... you bastard! Don't touch Xia! Cough, cough, cough...! This has nothing to do with you and me... Cough! It's fine!!" Shirou, clutching his chest and struggling to get up, shouted at the Lancer. However, due to the heavy blow to his chest, he couldn't even speak coherently.

"...I'm genuinely curious about you now, red-haired brat. That kick just now was meant to shatter all your ribs, and even if it didn't completely break them, there's no reason you should be able to stand up so quickly?!"

Facing Shirou's almost unkillable body, the Lancer showed a troubled expression for the first time in front of the two of them.

As a proud Heroic Spirit, having to kill the same person twice in one day was already enough to make the Lancer feel ashamed. Now, facing Shirou's body, which seemed indifferent to his attacks, the Lancer's shame grew even greater!

Casually shaking the spear in his hand, the Lancer bypassed Xia and walked towards Shirou.

"I've changed my mind... before I kill that black-haired kid, I should make sure to kill you first. After all... I don't want to kill you a third time."

With that, the Lancer instantly kicked up a gust of wind!

"Damn it! Hey! Wait...?!" Xia shouted, trying to stop him, as the gust of wind was about to engulf his good friend.

But halfway through his shout, Xia suddenly felt his heartbeat quicken!

Thump-thump!! A violent heartbeat, a powerful vibration.

"Ugh...!" The sudden increase in pressure on his heart caused Xia to groan in pain, clutching his chest.

In the sudden gust of wind, the Lancer, with an eerie red glow, lunged towards Shirou's head. Facing the rapidly approaching eerie red light, Shirou quickly raised the reinforced iron bar in his hand.

With a sharp crack, the reinforced iron bar was pierced by the spear without any suspense. However, due to the sudden impact of the iron bar, the spear, which was originally aimed at his head, was deflected slightly. Shirou, narrowly escaping death, was only impaled through his left arm.

"Cough...!" A cold, piercing pain shot through his left arm, and Shirou gritted his teeth tightly, enduring the agonizing sensation.

Then, to the Lancer's astonished gaze, Shirou tightly gripped the spear embedded in his left shoulder with his still-intact right hand.

"Quick... hurry and escape! ...Xia!" Shirou said to Xia, enduring the piercing pain as if making a heroic sacrifice.

However, Shirou's heroic moment lasted only a few seconds before it was over. The Lancer twitched his spear slightly, directly shaking off Shirou's right hand, and then casually swung the spear, flinging Shirou, along with his shoulder, to the side.

"Puhah!" Shirou's body, flung to the ground, spewed a mouthful of blood from his throat, staining the ground.

Xia, watching all of this unfold, bit his lip fiercely, remaining silent.

He was also enduring considerable "internal distress."

And his dark eyes, fixed on the blue-clad Lancer, were filled with endless fury.

"Hm?" Sensing the awkward gaze from behind, the Lancer slowly turned around, resting his chin on one hand with an amused expression, looking down at Xia, who was slumped on the ground.

"Kid, are you worried about your companion's life?" the Lancer asked Xia with a smirk.

"Hmph! You stray dog! Stop your pathetic barking!" Seeing the Lancer's smug face, and thinking of the happy life he had finally obtained, Xia angrily blurted out without thinking.

"Huh?! ...You've got some nerve! Consider that your last words before your trip to hell!" Upon hearing the word "dog," the Lancer's expression clearly changed. His originally handsome face instantly contorted into a grimace, and he thrust his spear at Xia!

"Who's afraid of whom?!" Facing the rapidly approaching spear, Xia slammed his right hand onto the ground, and a complex magic circle suddenly appeared beneath the Lancer's feet! It instantly transformed into an extreme red light that engulfed the Lancer.

"Pre-Magic: Crucifix Stone Prison!"

Although Xia had lost his greatest power, the "Evil Power," the memories and skills from his early battles with mages were still intact. Therefore, he managed to recall this magic from memory, which required a relatively short casting time and was quite practical.

Seeing the Lancer fall into his magic circle, Xia hurriedly scrambled to his feet and rushed towards Shirou.

If you like this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

"Shirou! Are you okay?!" Xia asked, his voice laced with concern as he saw Shirou's trembling body.

"Cough... cough, cough, cough!!!... M-manageable... cough!" Shirou's pale face, ragged breathing, and sunken eyes told Xia that his condition was far from what he claimed.

{Damn it! Did the shattered bone fragments pierce his lung?! And I can't heal Shirou right now... Plus, that little trick can only trap that guy for a few minutes, maybe not even...}

BOOM!!! A violent explosion interrupted Xia's thoughts.

"Damn brat! To think I was outsmarted by a mere magus! You will never leave here alive!!" The enraged Lancer burst forth from the explosion's smoke! His crimson eyes appeared even more demonic at that moment!

"This is insane! Are you a monster?! That's a magic circle that even a Grand Magus would be trapped in for a while!" Terrified by the Lancer's overwhelming power, Xia quickly pulled the severely injured Shirou to his feet and tried to flee towards the exit.

Thump, thump!

His heart skipped another beat, as if about to erupt.

{Ugh... it's happening again?!} Xia grimaced, enduring the discomfort as he began to run towards the exit.

Meanwhile, in a spot unnoticed by both Xia and the Lancer, a faint blue light briefly flashed.

"Think you can escape?!" The Lancer, in hot pursuit, leaped and instantly closed the distance between them. The spear in his hand transformed into a crimson meteor, violently striking towards Xia's back.

"No good!" The intense premonition of death caused Xia's pupils to contract sharply! Pushing Shirou off him, Xia twisted his body at the last second, narrowly dodging the Lancer's thrust.

Thud!

Thud!

With two heavy thuds, Shirou, gritting his teeth, clutched his side and writhed in pain. The previous shove had driven the bone deeper!

As for Xia, the moment he hit the ground, he quickly flipped over, facing his formidable enemy head-on.

The situation returned to how it was moments before.

Shirou, lying on the ground as if mortally wounded, Xia on his knees, on guard, and the Lancer standing not far in front of them.

Drip...

A crisp sound echoed as a drop of blood slid from Xia's forehead and landed on the ground in the empty warehouse.

Swish!!

The drop of blood that fell to the ground was instantly absorbed, as if the ground itself were alive.

And from the spot where the faint blue light had briefly flashed, a surge of immense magical power suddenly rose!

The magic circle, which had been emitting a faint blue glow, erupted with the support of the massive magical flow!

At this very moment, Xia, who had been guarding against the enemy in front of him, suddenly felt his heart clench again!

"Ugh!! My heart...?!" Xia clutched his left chest tightly with his right hand, his wide black eyes filled with disbelief.

Indeed, the magical core, sealed by Xia himself, had broken free and returned to his body! And it was rapidly growing stronger!

Attracted by the sudden surge of magical energy, the Lancer cast a deep glance at the magic circle that clearly indicated the summoning of a Heroic Spirit. Then, he looked back at Xia's pained expression and nodded as if he understood something.

He then instantly charged towards Xia with his spear.

"I never expected you to be the last Master! You died well, kid!!!" the Lancer sneered as he swiftly thrust his spear towards Xia's heart!

Thump-thump-thump-thump!! His heart pounded violently, beating at a rate of 300 times per second. The immense pressure prevented Xia from even glancing at the Lancer's abilities.

{Why this exhilarating joy that feels like it's bursting through my brain?!}

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!!!

{Why this intense emotion that makes me want to go mad?!}

Thump-thump-thump-thump!!!

{Who is it?! Who is here?!!}

Thump-thump-thump!!

{Who is it??!!! Who is it that makes my very soul roar?!!}

Thump-thump-thump!! Thump-thump-thump!! Thump-thump-thump!!

An explosive blue light, a rapidly approaching crimson spear, a cry that threatened to shatter his soul!!

Thump! The heart, beating nearly a thousand times per second, suddenly stopped!

"Gah!" Xia's beautiful eyes snapped open. The sensation of suddenly stopping in his tracks after running at full speed left Xia unable to feel his own body for nearly two seconds.

Swish!!

?!

Whoosh~ Clang!

A brief metallic collision.

Two figures, one blue and one green, flashed past each other.

In those two seconds when Xia couldn't feel his own body, the fated reunion had quietly arrived...

"Is... it Xia Ya?"