Fate/Magus Path

126 Bizarre Adventure

"Back again, are we, murderer?"

A striking figure with golden hair blocked Shiki Tohno's path on his way home, her piercing presence halting him in his tracks.

Everything that mysterious person had warned him about was coming true. Once again, he found himself face-to-face with this beautiful blonde woman.

"A blonde woman... No, it can't be!!"

The instant Shiki caught sight of Arcueid, his face turned pale. A sinking feeling clawed its way into his chest.

"What... what is going on here?"

Noticing Shiki's expression darken, Arcueid smiled faintly, her crimson eyes locking onto him like a predator cornering its prey.

"So, you do remember me, murderer."

Though her lips curved into a smile, her words dripped with an unmasked fury.

"You're Shiki Tohno, aren't you?"

Shiki felt like he was dreaming. Though he recognized her the moment their eyes met, the memory was too fragmented, too surreal. He kept telling himself it was just a dream.

But Arcueid would never forget the agony of being cut into seventeen pieces just days ago. Not only had she died, but she'd lost a significant portion of her power. If it weren't for Roy nursing her back to health, she wouldn't have recovered for a long time... if ever.

Worse yet, her weakened state could've left her vulnerable to Roa or Nrvnqsr Chaos. Had they found her, it would've been the end.

The hatred between them was now irreconcilable. So when Roy located Shiki for her, she wasted no time intercepting him on his way home.

She had only one goal: to teach this murderer a lesson.

He would pay. She would carve him into seventeen pieces, just as he had done to her.

Arcueid's murderous intent was palpable.

Shiki, meanwhile, still clung to the notion that this was some kind of nightmare.

The moment he caught a glimpse of her from afar, that familiar silhouette sent chills down his spine. But the notion was too absurd, too implausible for him to accept. It wasn't until her face came into full view that he realized the horrifying truth.

This was no dream.

This was the same woman he had killed. The one he'd sliced into seventeen pieces.

How could she be here?

Was she immortal?

"This... this can't be real."

A monster...

Faced with the sheer impossibility of the situation, Shiki froze. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as Arcueid slowly closed the distance between them, her steps deliberate and unyielding.

Driven by instinct, Shiki made the only choice his humanity could muster: he ran.

There was no reasoning with someone whose eyes glowed a malevolent crimson, not when they were someone he'd killed with his own hands. Her tone alone betrayed the wrath she harbored toward him.

It was a wrath drenched in murderous intent.

Shiki could understand why she despised him so deeply. But that didn't mean he could face her.

He couldn't do it... not when the person before him was someone he'd already killed once.

He could feel her gaze searing into his back, a gaze that seemed capable of slicing him to ribbons. If looks could kill, he would have been eviscerated on the spot.