Kapitel 56: C56
The inferno blazed out of control, consuming everything in its path with reckless abandon. The fiery red flames danced wildly, painting the landscape a dark black with each brush stroke. The scene was one of destruction, the acrid scent of burnt earth carried on the wind.
The smoke was thick and black, obscuring Shirou's vision. He held two swords at the ready as he searched through the ruins for the two prey he had set his sights on.
He refrained from merging with his Saint Graph, unwilling to act recklessly. If he revealed his Servant's aura, Tokiomi or Kiritsugu would likely summon their own servants on the spot.
His demi-servant's aura was unique and if he used it, it would be like playing a melody on the battlefield. Even with the thick black fog, it would not be able to conceal his presence. The only way to have a chance of killing Tokiomi and Kiritsugu would be if he merged with his Saint Graph at the crucial moment.
Half a month ago, if Shirou had found himself in this situation, he would have fled without hesitation. But this was his only chance to defeat Gilgamesh!
He was willing to take any risk to make Gilgamesh withdraw. Shirou's heart was filled with hate. He knew that he had no chance of victory if he faced Gilgamesh head-on. His only option was to eliminate Gilgamesh by killing Tohsaka Tokiomi. And now, with Tokiomi finally emerging from his magical workshop, was there a better opportunity than this?
Shirou forced down his surging emotions and cautiously advanced through the thick black smoke. He needed to be careful not to merge with his Saint Graph in order to have a chance to kill Tokiomi and Kiritsugu, but that also meant that he would be extremely vulnerable to being killed!
But the opportunity was right in front of him, if he didn't take action, would he just wait for Gilgamesh to kill him at the end of the war?
That was not an option!
However, even without merging with his Saint Graph, Shirou had protected himself to the teeth. He used Projection to create impenetrable armor, added a helmet that protected his eyes like a Crusader's, and then used Reinforcement to increase the armor and helmet's hardness.
Finally, he projected a few shield attached to his armor. He also split thirteen magic circuits to strengthen his body, so as not to be burdened with too much weight and affect his speed.
With this triple defense on his body, as long as it's not a special bullet like a sniper rifle, he should be able to withstand it.
"——!!!!"
Suddenly, his intuition kicked in again, and Shirou felt a gaze fixed firmly upon him.
The next moment—
"Whoosh!"
The sound of a bullet slicing through the air reached Shirou's ears, and he instinctively turned his head in the direction of the noise. Before he could react, however, he felt the rush of air slice against his skin like a knife. In the next moment, a loud thud echoed through the air as the shield he had projected behind him was pierced, as if it were no more than a flimsy piece of paper.
Shirou crouched behind a pile of ruins, his body was covered in a cold sweat. He reached out with his mind, manifesting several spears and firing them toward the source of the gunfire, using the collapsed wall as cover.
"Clang, clang, clang"
The spears collided with the rocks, producing a sharp metallic ring. A thick, black fog enveloped the area, and smoke billowed through the air, obscuring everything in sight amidst a raging inferno. Shirou was left unsure of what was happening on the other side of the smoke.
He cautiously peered out, trying to assess the situation, but a sudden "whoosh" of wind caught his attention once again. Before he could react, a sharp bullet pierced through his shield and lodged itself in a nearby stone pillar. Shirou quickly retreated and pressed himself against the ruins, his heart pounding and adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"Kiritsugu!" Shirou muttered under his breath. "There's no mistaking it. This must be Kiritsugu's doing."
He was surprised by the ambush and had the impulse to merge with his Saint Graph, but his reason held him back. If he had given into that impulse, he would not have been facing bullets, but rather, Artoria's holy sword and Gilgamesh's treasury.
"Stay calm, stay calm," Shirou repeated to himself as he fought to keep his nerves under control. He then took a deep breath, and removed the helmet from his head, using his sword to push it away.
"Ping——!"
His arm dropped as a bullet pierced straight through his helmet. He swallowed hard and quickly put the helmet back on, his forehead now slick with cold sweat.
Shirou was puzzled. "This is strange," he thought. "Kiritsugu is using a sniper rifle, but how did he manage to aim at me under these conditions? The black smoke from the sea of fire would have made it impossible to locate me. Yet, he found me and shot with incredible accuracy. Did he use something to pinpoint my position?"
He scanned his surroundings and finally, about twenty meters above his head, he spotted a very small flying device.
"--Drone!" Shirou gnashed his teeth.
This guy is too dirty!
Shirou quickly summoned a sharp sword with his projection and aimed it at the small flying drone, shooting it down.
"Buzz--"
Kiritsugu held his sniper rifle, watching his opponent on the other side, when he heard the sound of static on the monitoring screen, indicating that the drone had been discovered. But it didn't matter, he had already locked in on his opponent's position.
As the helmet of his opponent came back into view of his telescope, Kiritsugu hesitated before taking the shot.
"Bang!"
Through the scope, Kiritsugu watched as his opponent's helmet swayed for a moment before slowly dropping. But something was off, he had fired several shots in succession and yet his opponent was still able to lift his head, indicating that he was still alive and had even managed to destroy the drone.
Kiritsugu thought for a moment and made a decision in his heart.
...
Shirou, feeling a sense of relief now that he had dismantled Kiritsugu's surveillance drone, quickly came to the realization that his current location was no longer secure.
He knew that if Kiritsugu decided to use an RPG, he would be in grave danger. In an effort to throw Kiritsugu off his trail, Shirou employed the use of "Broken Phantasm" to ignite the shield he had projected, creating an explosion and a sandstorm that would obscure Kiritsugu's line of sight.
Putting his escape plan into action, Shirou sprinted toward the prison while taking cover behind a large stone pillar. Summoning five spears, he hurled them in the direction from which Kiritsugu's previous shots had originated. He then activated the "Broken Phantasm" once more, causing a series of deafening explosions to erupt.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!"
"Broken Phantasm" is a relatively simple technique, which involves a servant detonating their Noble Phantasm. Shirou had frequently employed this method during his Saint Graph fusion, allowing him to master it without activating his own Saint Graph.
However, in comparison to when he used Saint Graph, this "Broken Phantasm" is significantly weaker. The weapons that are detonated are only those that have been projected by Shirou, and their power is quite low, akin to that of small hand grenades.
Shirou continued to project and detonate thirteen weapons in succession in order to create a smokescreen. He then slowly advanced toward Kiritsugu's position.
While the 'Broken Phantasm' bombing might not have been enough to kill Kiritsugu outright, the real aim was to land a fatal blow in close combat. As they say, it's always best to go for the head - the safest and surest way to end a threat!
Despite being outmatched against a Servant, Shirou retained confidence in his ability to deal with these magi.
Although he would risk being discovered by Tokiomi if he approached Kiritsugu, Shirou believed that he could kill Kiritsugu swiftly enough to minimize the danger!
However, after finally finding Kiritsugu's latest location, the scene he saw made Shirou's face turn ashen.
Instead of finding him, all Shirou could see was a sniper rifle and a surveillance monitor left behind. It was clear that Kiritsugu had fled before Shirou had carried out his fire suppression attack.
No, Kiritsugu is not someone that would run away from a fight!
It was an ambush!
As this realization dawned on him, Shirou's mind automatically projected and strengthened several barriers around him, creating a protective shell around his body. But before he could react further, a hand grenade landed at his feet.
"BOOM!"
The barriers were impacted, swaying violently as several layers were instantly destroyed. Shirou quickly replenished the barriers, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. He was grateful that he had reacted in time, as even a delay of a second or two would have resulted in his demise.
Feeling safer with the barriers in place, Shirou started to retreat slowly. Believing himself to be secure, he didn't notice that Kiritsugu was watching him from a distance, swapping out his ammunition. He unzipped his coat, took out armor-piercing incendiary rounds from the clip on his waist, and loaded them into his rifle.
These bullets were specifically designed by Kiritsugu to deal with opponents like Shirou, who believed they were safe behind steel armor. Usually loaded into Type 53 rifles, but they are not very mobile. So Kiritsugu modified them to fit into his own rifle.
"Bang----!"
"Shua----"
While the sound of bullets striking the barrier echoed from outside, Shirou paid it no mind. However, when a small hole appeared in the barrier and flames burst through, he was taken aback. Without hesitation, he dismissed the barrier and projected another one to extinguish the flames, cutting off the source of the fire from his fortress.
Shirou retreated rapidly and projected a spear towards the source of the bullets. In mid-air, the spear exploded with a resounding boom. Kiritsugu, who was firing, rolled on the ground and made a hasty escape. However, the heatwave from the blast stirred up sand and debris, pelting Kiritsugu with small stones that dug into his arm, drawing blood.
Cradling his wounded arm, Kiritsugu vanished into the thick fog and fearlessly plucked the stones from his flesh. Blood streamed from the wounds, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
...
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