Kirunax

Chapter 28

A/N. Sorry for the long wait. As I had explained in DMs, the girl at my workplace quit, a few weeks ago and I had to do her job in addition

Emiya

Without much prompting, Carlos rushed him.

Where others were apprehensive, the boy was confident. Tanya and Chris sparred with him regularly, with Missy overseeing, and thus knew his capabilities firsthand. Dean had ...

Chapter 27

“Thank you all for attending this meeting,” I said, addressing the assembled Wards ENE team.

We had gathered in the Wards training area purpose-built for powered combat—no sharp edges, no corners to clip your skull on during a fall, and steel-reinforced walls to catch anything that might otherwise blast through drywall.

In the center, the sparring ring was marked by colored sq...

Chapter 26

She studied her reflection in the mirror, fingertip brushing the cool glass. The faint scent of her shampoo still clung

Chapter 26

Lisa

She studied her reflection in the mirror, fingertip brushing the cool glass. The faint scent of her shampoo still clung to the bathroom air, sharp and clean, undercut by the distant hum of the fridge in the ne...

Chapter 25

Thomas Calvert

“We’ve got confirmation, Director. Alabaster’s transport has reached its destination,” Deputy Director Renick reported.

They sat in the command center, hours after the chaos had subsided. Whether the riots had truly been suppressed or if the Empire had simply achieved their goals and withdrawn was debatable.

Emily ground her teeth in sil...

Chapter 24

“I’m simply stating my opinion,” Shirou said as we patrolled through the city.

Today’s patrol route took us through what local authorities might charitably label a “lower-income zone.” A more accurate term, at least by my standards, would be economically terminal. In any sane urban environment, this would be categorized as a developing slum—already metastasized, just waiting...

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

A wooden staff smacked Chris’s training spear aside, and a swift kick to the gut folded him in half with a pitiful whine.

Now, my brother didn’t believe in pausing during spars. The moment Chris bent over, he was punished with a follow-up strike to the side.

“Damn, that’s what you two always do in the mornings?” Sophia asked, letting out a...

Chapter 22

I tried to deflect the incoming strike but failed miserably. Shirou’s striped shinai smacked into my shoulder, sending a jolt of pain sharp enough to make me wince.

“Strike!” Missy announced cheerfully from the side.

I groaned and rubbed my shoulder.

I’d never been in a kendo club in my first life, but I was pretty sure shinai weren’t supposed to hurt this much. Not ...

Chapter 21

Another day, another opportunity to network.

Earlier, I contacted Armsmaster to inquire whether he was experiencing any lingering discomfort from his healed injuries. In truth, I just wanted to remind him that I existed.

It’s a standard strategy—one that translates cleanly from the world of sales to the battlefield of career advancement. Visibility matters. People forget, impres...

Chapter 20

Emiya

Magical energy. The source of power that allows a reenactment of possible phenomena, bypassing all the required means of the mundane world.

Well, that is, if you were talking about magecraft.

Traditionally divided into two categories of its raw state: mana — the external magical energy, the very breath of a living planet — and od — the magical ener...

Chapter 19

Dennis

Saturdays were Dennis’ favorite days of the week. No school from the very start of the day, and the knowledge that you won’t have to go there the next day either.

Sure, there were patrols sometimes, but Dennis would take a walk down the Boardwalk or smack around a few gangsters over school any day.

Normally, he’d roll into HQ closer to noon, after...

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

A/N Sorry for missing last week. I've been really sick, and then I had to catch up on work. But she should be back on schedule now.

Armsmaster

“This concludes my report,” Colin said, adjusting bracers on his arm.

They were seated in the PRT HQ briefing room, where Colin just finished delivering his report....

Chapter 17

As we soared through the city on a sidecar attached to the Armsmaster’s motorcycle, I kept running the events of the night through my head.

The meeting with Armsmaster went extremely well.

The Protectorate leader had been suitably impressed with my brother’s capabilities. As he should be.

I did some research on Tinkers and how they operated. For established Tinkers, the on...

Chapter 16

Emiya

The elevator doors slid open with a soft mechanical hiss, revealing a sealed corridor lined with reinforced glass. Beyond it, Armsmaster’s workshop stretched out — not sprawling, but dense, compact, alive with purpose.

Emiya stepped inside without hesitation. Tanya lingered half a step behind him, surveying the space with cool calculation.

It was a w...

Chapter 15

A/N: It turned out that Black Keys can be used for shadow paralysis only on spiritual entities. Will have to edit power-testing chapter.

I was sitting at the kitchen table in the Wards' quarters, enjoying a light evening snack and coffee together with Missy, when Carlos entered the area and joined us at the table with a defeated air about him.

“What happened to yo...

Chapter 14

Shadow Stalker

Babysitting was not Sophia’s idea of a fun patrol. Wards' assigned patrol routes weren’t fun to begin with, but tonight she was also supposed to put up with a kid.

She had hoped that by now Aegis would learn to let her patrol solo, but no, the stuck-up prick wanted to pretend he was in control and could dictate Sophia’s actions. Make her into a ...

Chapter 13

“She attacked my daughter!”

“Thank you, Brandish. I heard you the first time,” Director Piggot replied dryly.

In Emiya’s honest opinion, the situation with Dean’s girlfriend had ended amicably. It turned out the girl had an emotional aura— the very power that convinced Glory Girl that Dean and her were in this cluster thing. The aura caused those around her to focus on...

Chapter 12

It started with little things.

Battery offered congratulations. Assault made inane jokes. Dauntless told Colin to ask him if he needed advice, which Colin didn’t appreciate. Velocity nodded at him in a manner that his algorithm pinged as his colleague trying to convey some meaning beyond ‘affirmative’.

Then Miss Militia started to bother him about being more involved with the ...

Chapter 11

A/N Added another tier with 2 additional chapters. Look it up if you are interested.

Emiya

The helmet was irritating. There was a reason he never bothered with one, preferring an unobstructed line of sight over additional protection. Reinforcement his flesh did not make Emiya completely bulletproof, but it was enough to deflect handgun rounds, as well as de...

Chapter 10

Two weeks after our introduction to the public, my life settled into a comfortable routine. The arrangements for my schooling were finalized. My request to skip a grade had been approved after I made my argument and passed the tests. Actually, I tried to see if I would be allowed to skip middle school altogether, but I was denied due to concerns that it would draw too much attention to me, as w...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 9)

A/N: Double update today. Make sure you haven't missed Chapter 8.

There was a lot Emiya did not like about these ‘heroes’. As someone intimately familiar with the topic, the way it was handled in this timeline grated on him.

Case in point: today was the day he and his sister were to be introduced to the public as the city’s newest Wards. Apparently, such an event call...