Wrought King of Iron

Chapter 19: Thundering Chorus

Standing tall in the centre of the chaos was a large man clad in full black armour, more like an ethereal demon than that of a human.

In a deep voice which rung loudly throughout the house, filled with conviction and purpose, he shouted, 'Bring me the man who goes by the name of Shirou Emiya. I have been tasked with his annihilation. If he does not make an appearance, I will search for him myself.'

And by searching for me, he intends to leave behind a trail of bodies? This b*stard...

Approaching this mysterious monster, I shouted 'I'm right here!'

Getting closer, I was able to see through the fog, large pools of blood, and there was no shortage of dead bodies. Rather, the presence of blood was obvious by each step I took, being in a viscous liquid. How many people had he killed, in only a minute of appearing?

'If you came for me, then why the hell was it necessary for you to kill so many innocent people?' Filled with anger, I couldn't help but shout at the man before me as I walked towards him, without care of how it would make him react.

However, despite seeming like a viscous monster, his response was more logical than I thought it would be. That isn't to say it was actually a reason I could understand.
'My liege sent me here specifically for you, and so I had no intention of killing anyone. However, others did not take lightly to my appearance, and several tried to attack me. I merely defended myself from them. Their deaths were a consequence of unprovoked violence against me.'

'Even so, if you are as strong as you are, then you could easily defeat those who attacked you without killing them. Hell, they wouldn't be able to so much as cut you, not with your armour. So, why go that far?'

'It seems you do not understand. This armour of mine is a precious gift I received from my liege, as a symbol of faith in my ability to protect their life. Those insolent fools who dare attack me, left a scratch on this gift. Such insolence, I daresay, should cost much more than just their pathetic lives. Or are you to say, that you have mercy for beings so insignificant and weak compared to you? Say, as I have not been human for thousands of years, do you always control your strength of your step in consideration for the insects which are beneath you?'

I see. This is the sort of person that, having become so incredibly strong, they look down on others. Humans are merely insects to this man? Every soul has value to this world, and to equate it to that of what he views as the lowest of the low is just... If anything, the life of an insect is worth more to me than of the murderer before me. I refuse to allow anyone to die at the hands of someone who kills like it's nothing.

I stopped before him, and his figure was looming over me. His size was quite a bit larger than mine, which would intimidate most people, but I was in an absolute state of calm. It was much clearer to me now, what he looked like. He was certainly humanoid, wearing armour for knights, though the design was nothing I had ever seen in real life before. It was likely a conceptual item. Though, strangely enough, I could not see any weapon yet, which was strange despite having heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart, unless he was using brute strength to tear off limbs. However, his hands, nor his armour had blood on it, which was peculiar for a man who killed at least fifteen people since his appearance.

'Who are you, and who sent you to me? What do they want with me? Answer me now, before I have to force them out of you.'

'My name is Rizo-Waal Strout, the Black Knight Strout. My liege will appear if you are able to survive this encounter, however unlikely that may be. My task is simple. Killing you, whom I cannot sense even the faintest amount of mana emanating from you.'
I, on the other hand, was being overwhelmed by his dominating mana, leaking through the tiny spaces between the joints of the armour.