The Painful Power of Immortality

At a speed too fast to follow, the little girl leaped up and threw a punch at Ritsuka. Ritsuka took a step back and shoved Miyu away, raising her left hand, coated in Reinforcement Magic, to block it.

Bang—!!

"Big Sis!?"

The ground shattered, and the impact spread outward, forming fan-shaped, spiderweb-like cracks.

The buildings beside the street collapsed outright. Ritsuka's slender body slammed into them, and the astonishing force acting upon her brought down the entire convenience store, burying her beneath the rubble.

Miyu sat on the ground, staring blankly in the direction where Ritsuka had vanished. Then, a hand pressed down on her head.

"Ugh—!!"

"Sakutsuki Miyu, I have been searching for you—the miracle left behind in this world. You belong to me now."

The magical energy released from his palm knocked Miyu unconscious. Erika stepped forward and caught the unconscious Miyu.

Then, a beautiful smile blossomed across Erika's face.

"With a big sister who can undo everything from five years ago, we won't have to fear another accident this time."

At those words, Julian lowered his head. "This time, it will definitely succeed. This vessel is sufficient."

It was all over. Julian withdrew his hand and coldly glanced at the rubble that had once been the convenience store. If nothing unexpected happened, Ritsuka should have died inside... if she had been an ordinary person.

Julian's eyes suddenly widened in slight astonishment—

"Projection Magic... to develop such magecraft to the point of projecting Noble Phantasms."

"Emiya Ritsuka, just who are you?"

The black-and-white twin blades cleaved through the rubble. Like a pair of wings unfurling, the two anti-magic blades were grasped in Ritsuka's hands, while her left arm hung limply at her side.

A force filled her severed arm, attempting to restore it.

Immortality until transferred to Prometheus: something received from his mentor Chiron when he captured the Erymanthian Boar during his lifetime. It was the "immortality" possessed by Chiron, the great sage of ancient Greece.

The power of immortality rapidly repaired Ritsuka's injuries. She forcefully wiped the blood from her cheek.

"Just an ordinary kind-hearted passerby."

"I have a question."

Gan Jiang Mo Ye unfolded as Ritsuka, whose arm had already repaired itself, raised them and pointed them directly at Julian, who stood with both hands in his pockets.

Ritsuka's expression turned vicious.

"Julian, five years ago, was it you... who caused that darkness?"

"—It was."

Julian admitted it outright and nodded without a care. To him, that disaster which had claimed countless lives seemed like nothing worth worrying about.

Kiritsugu's death had been related to the appearance of that darkness. Something inside Kiritsugu had been activated because of that darkness.

After witnessing that darkness, Kiritsugu had often vomited black clots of blood...

It was the man in front of her who had killed Kiritsugu Emiya!

Ritsuka's expression gradually twisted into madness. "Julian!!"

A crimson aura rose from Ritsuka's body, then transformed toward black. Her figure vanished from the spot like an arrow released from a bowstring.

The two blades swung down from above. Ritsuka's attack on Julian finally carried killing aura. Her furious expression seemed ready to spit fire, and the sudden eruption startled Julian.

They crossed paths. Gan Jiang Mo Ye struck empty air as Julian used the strange magecraft that had appeared in his memories, completely replacing the space where her attack landed.

Something bizarre swallowed Ritsuka whole. The next moment, she appeared in midair, at least several dozen meters above the ground.

Several streaks of light rapidly closed in from afar. Ritsuka's expression changed slightly as she sensed danger approaching. "What...!?"

Swords, spears, sabers, halberds—more than a dozen weapons were knocked down by Gan Jiang Mo Ye. Yet Gan Jiang Mo Ye themselves shattered due to the poor quality of the projection, turning into countless motes of magical light that fell to the ground. Then Ritsuka fell freely onto the ruins of the convenience store.

The red-haired girl stepped into the rubble and attacked the instant Ritsuka landed. A massive Axe Sword cleaved down head-on.

The Axe Sword looked incredibly familiar, but Ritsuka had no time to think. A large amount of magical energy poured into her palm, immediately projecting a shield to meet that weapon of unknown material head-on.

"Gah—!!"

The shield was smashed to pieces by the terrifying force. The impact exploded across her hand, sending Ritsuka flying backward.

Both her arms broke. Ritsuka's back smashed through a wall, then collapsed another house. She fell amid the ruins.

At that moment, Ritsuka understood. That girl, who did not even reach her chest, possessed power similar to her own—the power of Heracles.

But the gap between them was enormous. As she was now, Ritsuka had no ability to contend against her.

"Urgh—! Damn it..."

Blood spilled from her mouth as immortality repaired her body. Ritsuka struggled to use her broken arms to push away the debris on top of her. She was deeply buried in the ruins.

The Crystal Dice lit up once more. This time, it was the great bow of the nine-headed Hydra. As an incredible Noble Phantasm, if she took it out and widened the distance, she would still have a chance to fight.

But this time, she failed to take it out.

A chilling glint flashed through the air. Silver chains bound her tightly and locked her amid the rubble. Immediately afterward, a golden lance descended from the sky, piercing directly through Ritsuka's chest and pinning her, as she struggled to rise, to the ground.

Countless Divine Weapons floated in the air. In the blink of an eye, they crossed a hundred meters and nailed Ritsuka's limbs and body completely in place.

Her arms, legs, waist, abdomen, chest...

Ritsuka's eyes went still, and she gradually lost all signs of life.

PS: Let me clarify here. This book is light yuri, and it probably will not involve sexual topics much, if at all. Whether it ends up single or harem depends on the situation; I have not decided yet.

What I am hoping for more is Matou Sakura from the world of The Chivalry of a Failed Knight as the sole heroine, while the other girls can have some ambiguous interactions, or perhaps some other girls can have unrequited feelings for Ritsuka.

This is a crossover battle story. I cannot write a single fanfic for very long, and personally, I feel crossover stories are not that difficult beyond the opening few arcs.

Worlds I expect to visit, though not guaranteed: Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World, The Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, and so on.

Painful Immortality

"Remember, you absolutely must be careful. Even after losing Divine Child's power, Miyu is still being watched by countless people."

Kiritsugu's face appeared before her eyes, while his stern warning at the end of his life echoed in her ears.

The peaceful situation had made Ritsuka lower her guard. Along with countless coincidences, that was why Miyu had been able to attend elementary school at Hogwarts Academy. But it was all over now.

With little time remaining, all of Enzō had mobilized. Being a legend of the part-time work world, capable of doing the work of three people alone, did not mean she could handle three magi by herself.

When all was said and done—

She was still too weak... both mentally and in ability...

There had been many options. At the beginning, she had chosen the option that would let Miyu be happy, yet she had lacked the ability to protect her.

Even with a Golden Finger that might have been a cheat, she had still failed.

Perhaps from the very beginning, Kiritsugu should not have saved her. It would have been better if she had died alone in that fire.

Within endless darkness, Ritsuka fell into the abyss...

"Dad..."

"You're awake... I'm sorry, but the person who saved you was not your father."

A cold-faced man wearing a ramen chef's headscarf sat quietly in the chair beside her, refuting Ritsuka's instinctive murmur.

Before her were an unfamiliar ceiling and an unfamiliar person. In the somewhat cramped room, an oil lamp hung high overhead.

It was a little glaring. Ritsuka lay on the bed and narrowed her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Fuyuki Church."

The man closed the Bible in his hands and met Ritsuka's gaze.

The next moment, something seemed to suddenly return to Ritsuka's blank mind. She pressed against the bed and tried to rise immediately—

"Hiss—! It hurts!!"

There were no obvious injuries on her body, but a tearing agony still entwined her flesh, as though it wanted to break her apart from deep within.

Seeing Ritsuka's puzzled expression, the middle-aged man sitting nearby sighed. "I suggest you do not move around too much. Rest for a while."

"Although healing has been performed, there is also a force in your body repairing you. But that comes at a price."

Ritsuka froze at those words and instinctively raised her right hand. The Crystal Dice emitted a faint glow.

Immortality until transferred to Prometheus

This was the immortality of Chiron, Greece's great sage and mentor, the centaur. Ritsuka, who now possessed this power, had naturally gained self-restoration ability comparable to that of a god—but this ability actually came at a terrible cost.

According to legend, Chiron had been accidentally shot by Heracles and suffered unbearable agony from Hydra Poison.

In the end, to end his suffering, Chiron gave his immortality to Heracles. He then lost his life and was finally freed.

With this power, even Hydra's deadly poison could no longer kill Ritsuka. However, pain equivalent to Chiron's suffering had also been synchronized with her.

This was agony severe enough to torture that sage into wanting to kill himself!

"Ungh—"

Forcing herself up from the bed, Ritsuka glanced at her untouched, tattered clothes and instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

The middle-aged man dressed as a ramen chef fixed his gaze on her. "I would not do something so tasteless. Personally, compared to molesting an underage maiden, I prefer making myself a bowl of Mapo Tofu noodles."

"Huh? S-sorry. I'm very sorry for doubting you."

Ritsuka lowered her head of her own accord and apologized to the man who had picked her up. The ramen chef generously waved his hand.

"Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome. As a clergyman, I should do at least this much."

? ?

Ritsuka looked at the man who was clearly dressed as a ramen chef yet claimed to be a clergyman. It was as if a string of question marks floated above her head.

Clearly, she did not believe him.

From the beginning, her impression of the person who had saved her was that he was a ramen chef who understood magecraft. Though it felt rather surreal, that was truly what she thought.

"Judging someone's identity by their clothes is somewhat foolish, though it is also my mistake... Come with me and you will understand."

The man rose from his chair, placed the Bible on the table, and walked toward the door. He looked back at her. "Oh, right. My name is Kirei Kotomine."

Bang. The door closed. Ritsuka took deep breaths to ease the intense pain inside her body, then jumped down from the bed.

The Crystal Dice unfolded, and she took out a set of casual clothes to change into. Her tattered school uniform was stored inside the Crystal Dice, replacing the casual clothes' previous position.

She opened the door and walked down the stairs. The stairwell was illuminated by oil lamps hanging on the walls.

Passing through a door at the bottom of the stairs, she saw the interior of a modestly sized church. Kirei Kotomine, already changed into priestly robes, spread his hands toward Ritsuka as though to say, That should settle it this time, right?

"Those drowning in reality, welcome to Fuyuki Church. I am Kirei Kotomine, a priest who bears witness to the end of the world."

So he really is a priest.

Watching the priest's strange smile, as though he were preparing to enlighten a lost lamb, Ritsuka felt a faint sense of realization.

She tugged at her tracksuit, took several deep breaths, then bowed to Kirei Kotomine. "Thank you for saving me."

She bowed a little too deeply, and the pain made Ritsuka's brows knit together.

"I'm sorry, but I have something I need to do. I will definitely come by later to thank you properly."

Ritsuka turned and left. Her fingers pinched the Crystal Dice, and a screen of light appeared in her vision, followed by the images and related data of two people.

Emiya Shirou (Archer)

Synchronization Value 45%

Alcides (Archer/Avenger)

Synchronization Value (31%)