An Archer's Promise

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi

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-Ken-

Archer did many things he wasn't exactly proud of in his life.

Killing an entire city to eliminate a handful of terrorists. Condemning the innocent to an early death from a reality they couldn't control. Doing the same to another city in modern times, but this one was infested with the dead when an Apostle Ancestor decided to conduct some research. He even copied Kiritsugu's actions and shot down an airplane that happened to have a single infected inside it.

Of course, these feelings did not only originate from battlefields and killing people. He had on many occasions resorted to blackmail, hostage-taking, and even emotional manipulation in the latter part of his life.

That did not mean he regretted them, the situation demanded a hard choice to be made.

Counter Guardians were not heroes here to save the day. Just like him, they were merely cleaners here to terminate a threat to the world. Even if that means sacrificing millions of lives to save billions, then they will carry out the task. Winning and completing their mission was all that mattered in the end to Counter Guardians... nothing else.

But today was different.

He wasn't going up against a horde of undead and chimaera monsters. He wasn't facing an army of Dragon Tooth Warriors or even an opposing servant.

If Rin were to ever find out about this, she would probably master the Second Magic in an instant and reach across time and space to beat the living crap out of him.

Now, what he was facing in front of him, might not be his biggest headache; but it certainly was up there among the rest.

"Bianca."

"Yes, master?" It was worse than he thought, she even resorted to calling him by that name.

Sigh, he had to keep it together.

"Why are you naked? And please, stop calling me master."

Yes, out of everything he had faced in his life, he was now dealing with a girl with her body uncovered, shyly sitting on the bed waiting for him to express his carnal lust onto her.

It hadn't even been an hour since he arrived in Ken and he already couldn't wait to leave.

Curse his luck!

"Ano… you paid for the service… a gold coin grants you a VIP service and you can get to spend a day with a girl for free every week," Bianca said, feeling unsure of what her customer wanted. One moment he was ignoring her and didn't want anything to do with her and the next he dropped one of the most valuable currencies like it was nothing and was now questioning what she was doing?

And he did that after hearing that the Kuroinu's third in command, Hicks, announced that she was his and for no one to lay a hand on her.

He was weird.

And will most probably get killed.

Mother Ivanka did say to always act politely with customers, so she kept smiling at him.

"Yes, I wanted your time and information… not your body," Archer said while rubbing his eyes. It was his fault, the girl looked new to this whole thing.

Back during his travels, brothels would be a major hub of information and rumors. He had many connections with people working in such establishments, back in his old world. So he expected the girl to be familiar or at least have the inkling of an idea of what was going on.

"Oh…" Bianca didn't know if she should feel sad or happy about the piece of news. On one hand, she kept herself pure, but on the other hand; she'll suffer more under the hand of Hicks. "Wh-What do you want from me then?" She asked.

"Information." He replied.

"But… I don't… never mind. May I know what it is you want to know?"

"Tell me more about Hicks."

That startled Bianca, for a stranger to suddenly ask for information on Hicks of all people? The last thing she wanted was to be hounded by the Knights in assisting a potential assassin. Not when she still had her father to save and repay the debt!

"I-I'm sorry sir, I can't divulge information on any other customers. Please underst—Cling~" Another gold coin was flipped on her lap. Her words got stuck to her throat as she watched the coin with wide eyes.

"I have way more of these… you just need to talk and you'll get rewarded each time. Do not worry about people finding out about you feeding me information; I'm a professional."

Bianca picked up the gold and stared at it for a while with a conflicted face.

"Who… who are you?" She asked after gathering enough courage.

She was afraid of him, he could clearly see it.

"Look, there is nothing to be afraid of. I give you my word that no one shall know of your involvement in any way shape or form." They won't know it's her even after he "bought" her service in the middle of the street, because they wouldn't know the culprit, to begin with.

Cling~

Another coin landed on the bed near Bianca. At this point, she was convinced that this man was some sort of noble or rich merchant from somewhere outside Ken. Who else could toss gold coins so casually!?

And that fancy clothing with black metal armor just reinforced that idea in her head.

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"Alright, I'll talk…"

Archer nodded his head, "Good, then tell me."

The last bit of hesitation was pushing her back, but looking at the golden coin and the possibility of being given more was too enticing to ignore.

It was a gamble she was willing to take.

"Hicks… is one of Vault's two Co-Dragons or Co-commanders—the second one being Kin—and field leader when the leader isn't around. He is a dangerous and cunning man, unlike Kin who is always occupied with his research and barely interacts with the public; Hicks can be considered the second image of the Kuroinu. He is one of Maia-sama's most trusted friends and former comrades. They fought side by side with Vault, he had been granted nobility and land by the Princess Knight." She explained his general background to Archer. But the red bowman still found some missing points.

"This is interesting and all, but what makes him so dangerous?" If Vault was described to be an unstoppable warrior and Kin to be the genius Magus; then Hicks could be considered similar to an assassin. Lurking in the shadows and striking at any moment. At least, that's what Archer found out to be more likely after seeing the history of the weapon and how it was used.

"Asides from being a skilled fighter. Hicks is heavily intertwined with the Church of Lucross and nobility of the Kingdom. He is influential enough to have even barons at his beck and call. With Maia's support, he can do anything wants." Then no wonder he acted so openly vulgar in public. He is protected by the church and authority Maia intentionally or unintentionally gave him on a silver platter.

'He is out of town, I have enough time to get rid of other people. There is that Henry Blueborn that I have to take care of as well…' He had a lot to do in Ken before he could leave, so he better get to it.

"Do you happen to know where Marquis Henry Blueborn happens to live?"

"Hm?" Bianca thought deeply for a moment before recalling something. "Yes, he lives up north in the upper region of the Kingdom, where all the rich and powerful stay. His mansion is right next to the cathedral on the right, so you can't miss it."

He gave Bianca her fourth and last gold coin, as a way to thank her for the information. "I appreciate everything you've done for me. But tell me, you don't look to be the kind of girl who would work at such a place." That made her flinch. "You are clearly a virgin, inexperienced, childish and basically lack any sort of sex appeal. From the moment you started disrobing, your movements were stiff and I could sense the unwillingness from a mile away."

The more he talked, the more damage he was doing to her self-esteem. Even if she was doing this as a necessity, she still considered herself to be young and beautiful. Able to attract all sorts of men with a beautiful smile and flirtatious wink… at least, that's what the other girls she knew would claim.

"I-I am paying off a debt." She stopped to see if Archer wanted to hear more and he just continued to stand there. "I used to be the daughter of a wealthy family of merchants. Last month, I don't know what happened, but my father was imprisoned for a massive debt he couldn't repay. Hicks is my ticket to get him out, or else, I need to gather 700 gold coins on my own. Having sold off the house, I came here to find a place to live and earn a living."

"..."

"..."

Creak

The door to the room opened and Archer slowly walked out. Watching his back, Bianca felt conflicted that she might have helped someone dangerous. But, these four gold coins are more than anything she could have imagined earning on her first day.

She clenched her fist with the money and encouraged herself to work harder in the future.

"I'll be coming back to visit for another small talk. Be sure to keep yourself informed. The more information you gather for me, the higher your reward will be, so keep that in mind." He said before closing the door and leaving the 'Bards and Bees'. "Oh, and by the way… do ruffle up your clothes and mess up your hair a bit. Don't want the other girls to think that there was something else going on here, right?"

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"Wait, what!?"

{Break}

"Thank you for your patronage, master~" A chorus of voices belonging to a young woman came from the building he just left. Yeah, the girls were definitely interested in him, as it's not everyday someone who could easily hand out a gold coin could just appear on the streets.

Some immediately glued to his side and pressed their bodies against him to try to seduce him.

Unfortunately for them, he was both out of time and lacked any interest to indulge in any sexual activity any time soon.

Some may call him a prude but he was just too busy.

Walking around the lower part of Ken for a minutes, he managed to draw the general outline of the place in his head. The number of adventurers and mercenaries were quite high. He would see more them than actual civilians walking on the street. This led to there being a large number of shops for weapons and armors which he found some interesting ones to revisit later on.

"Hm?" He felt some people tailing him. 'Thieves?' Probably, with the show he gave this morning, he wouldn't be surprised if these people were waiting for him to come out.

'Honestly, there are always idiots out there that try to rob me. It can get incredibly tiring after so many times.' A routine he was familiar with, after going through it hundreds of times in every mission he'd be sent on by Alaya.

It was nearing sundown and the streets weren't as crowded as before. It was getting dark, this being the perfect time for whatever they were planning.

Archer stayed calm and continued to walk at a leisure pace, neither signaling the people behind that he knew of their presence.

Their numbers kept increasing.

"Hohoho, now what do we have here?" As he walked on the increasingly empty street, a group of men approached him in a circle.

They were by the dozen. Both armed with scimitars and clubs, they all had a nasty grin on their faces; their were intentions anything but pure.

"Can I help you?" None of them had any dog-shaped tags, which he found to be odd, since he recognized a few of these people who were accompanying Hicks back then. All had worn and torn leather armor which shouldn't be a big problem if the worst came to pass. Even they had worn metal armor, it wouldn't have made a difference to him.

"Hey Gall, is this the guy who you saw getting comfortable with the boss's girl?" One of the grunts called out another mercenary.

"Hehehehe, it's this dark elf-looking guy alright. Hey, which hole did ya crawl out of? Stupid enough to make a move on the girl even after Hicks' warning."

"..."

"The silent treatment, heh? Ha! I like your attitude. Say… why don't you treat us to a drink? We saw you give a gold coin to the girl, surely you must have more on you." That sly grin on his face showed anything but kind intentions.

"What's so wrong about me wanting to have some good time with a lady?" Archer asked with an eye roll.

"No one touches the boss' girl! So shut your mouth and hand over the bag!"

He was being mugged.

Why wasn't he surprised…

They still preferred to do this in a secluded area, meaning that they couldn't act too rashly in public. 'A useless endeavor, but let's see how far they'll go.'

They were all laughing, expecting him to fold and go along with them. Then these people would either kill him or beat him up and steal all of his money. Since many hid their dog tags with the rags they wore, even if some Knights were to find him; they would think of these people as simple bandits. At least this meant that they weren't as carefree as the likes of Hicks. So, they could could still get in trouble if caught.

"No."

"What did you say?"

"I'm not in the mood."

"..."

The leader approached him, bringing out his chipped blade and placing it dangerously close to his neck. It wasn't dull by any means, its broken edge would only cause more laceration and internal damage if cut by it. But it still couldn't compare to a finely forged sword with a fine edge.

"Hehehehe, I think I misheard you… 'friend'. We wouldn't want the others to get angry now, do we?" The sounds of swords being drawn were enough to tell Archer that these people would definitely try to kill him. Try being the key word here.

"1…" Archer started counting.

Some of the thugs raised their eyebrows in confusion, asking themselves what this guy was doing. When they heard about a guy casually tossing a gold coin at a whore and on top of that, to bed the personal girl of Hicks—he was bound to be killed in the future. So might as well bleed him dry before that happened.

"... 5, 6, 7… "

The leader seemed to have had enough of his attitude. "Do you think this is funny? Are you mocking us?"

"...8, 9, 10…" Archer just continued to ignore him and continued counting without the slightest care of the increasing amount of force being put on the blade pushing against his skin.

What the leader didn't notice, because of his rising anger, was the faint traces of blue lines starting to appear on his skin. They did feel an uncomfortable chill passing over them, but didn't attribute it to the man in front of them.

"The fuck ya doing!?" The thug had enough of his antics and shouted in anger.

"So twelve in total… Oh? Nothing, just counting how many holes I'll have to dig in the forest to bury your corpses. No, you don't deserve to be buried, I might just burn you all up." He whispered to the leader.

The latter exploded in rage.

"Kill him!"

All the surrounding goons advanced on Archer with their weapons drawn and their bloodlust at an all-time high. Some raised their swords while the rest prepared to swing their maces at this man's face.

"Uh? My sword…" Only now did the leader notice that even after putting so much weight on his blade, no blood was spilt. In fact, not once had Archer even displayed a look of pain or discomfort—his cold grey eyes locked on to him, chilling him to the bones.

Archer wasn't immune to cuts, he could die by human hands like any other person. It just so happened that his Reinforcement coupled as both an offensive measure against battling enemies and even as a defensive shield. The other factor was that the man himself was anything but a swordsman. There was no technique, no proper stance or even hold of the sword. The weapon itself was hardly used in anything but display and basic attacks. He wasn't even pushing the blade at a correct angle and couldn't even hold it properly.

All these factors made the supposedly lethal attack, not even bypass his basic level of reinforcing his body

Grip!

"Aaah!"

He felt Archer grip his wrist so tightly that his bones nearly broke from the pressure. No matter how much he tried to pry his hands away, he couldn't budge. The leader witnessed the blue lines slowly creeping from his neck to his face and even covered the hands of the person who was supposed to be an easy target.

It was Archer who had a smirk on his face.

"You asked for it."

He broke his wrist.

{Break}

-Filhem-

"Ah!"

"Help!"

"Nooooo!

In a dark dungeon on the outskirts of the border of Rad, a ritual was being performed by a group of people dressed in dark robes. Their facial features were completely hidden from the outside with dirtied and bloody bandages that wrapped around their faces leaving only the mouth and eyes exposed.

"Mommy!"

"Haa!"

"Stop it, please!' begged one of the many girls.

The moans and cries for help of many women echoed throughout the halls of the underground basement which happened to be the temple of the masked figures.

The room they were all standing in, were rows of stone beds with bound women who were being violated by the most disgusting looking insects and abominations. Some of these disproportionately large insects had their way on these innocent souls.

Many of these girls had been broken both mentally and physically by the none stop rapes from these monstrosities.

The masked people kept praying and repeating incantations in an unknown language.

A man stood forward, just like the rest, his face was wrapped with many layers of bandages with only his yellow eyes and mouth left open.

"Oh great lord slumbering in the chaos of infinity! Lord of all sins! Bring forth your true form from these sacrifices we present! May your true form be bequeathed to one of your many soon-to-come children! Through the indiscriminate carnal sin of lust, death, and through our prayer, return to the land of the living and reclaim your throne as the one and only God!"

All at once, the many insects screeched as theiy further tortured their victims.

"Show us your might, our Insect God!" Shimuhaza screamed with a crazed laugh following after.

Soon, the world of Eostia will see the light of their god.

And that accursed Kagura will pay for her blasphemous deeds with her own body! She will give birth to the ultimate being!

"Hahahahaha!!!!!!"

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu and Fate are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.