The wind howled, the distant demon's wails forming a grim backdrop. Kiritsugu Emiya and Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald locked eyes like duelists in a Western, each waiting to strike with lethal precision.
Kiritsugu's eagle-like gaze scanned Kayneth, particularly the liquid mercury sphere—akin to a slime—hovering beside him.
Kayneth, meanwhile, wore a confident, predatory smile, like a tiger sneering at its prey.
Suddenly...
Kiritsugu acted first, raising his submachine gun and firing at Kayneth.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
"Automatoportum defensio! (Automatic Defense!)"
Clang, clang, clang!
Bullets flew toward Kayneth, but the Volumen Hydrargyrum activated, forming a seemingly fragile yet impregnable mercury wall before him.
"Scalp! (Slash!)"
Kayneth countered, the Volumen Hydrargyrum extending whip-like tendrils from four corners, slashing at Kiritsugu.
"Time Alter—Double Accel!"
Kiritsugu's speed doubled abruptly, dodging the mercury's strikes and fleeing toward Fuyuki's city center.
In open terrain, defeating Kayneth posed a significant challenge for Kiritsugu.
The Volumen Hydrargyrum shattered the ground where Kiritsugu had stood, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Oh?"
Kayneth lowered his crossed arms, surprised, instantly grasping Kiritsugu's tactic.
"Accelerating time within yourself as an inherent barrier? You've got some skill in magecraft! Tainted by it, yet resorting to base tricks—a despicable cur. Death will teach you your place."
With his vast knowledge, Kayneth scoffed, crossing his arms again.
His "base tricks" referred to Kiritsugu's use of modern firearms.
Mages, often antiquated and elitist, typically disdained technology.
Kiritsugu darted across the street, slipping into the city. Kayneth, carried aloft by the Volumen Hydrargyrum, pursued with elegance.
The city's crowded population hindered the Volumen Hydrargyrum's tracking by heartbeat or heat, but in the relatively open urban expanse, Kayneth's eyes locked onto Kiritsugu from above.
Kiritsugu felt the surveillance and the immense pressure from Kayneth's pursuit.
His mind raced for a strategy.
"That magical armament is troublesome—automatic defense, impervious to this submachine gun's firepower. A detection spell locks onto me, preventing ambushes. He's tailing me, so traps are out. The Origin Bullet... with his current magical circuits, it'd hurt but not kill. He'd take it as acceptable damage, and once he's wary, it won't work again..."
Rational analysis was Kiritsugu's greatest asset for survival, and now he sought Kayneth's biggest weakness.
Pride.
"Maybe... I don't need to fight him directly. Maybe... I can let someone else do it!"
Kiritsugu devised a plan to use his "ally," the chilling mage Matou Zouken.
With Kayneth's arrogance, he'd confront Zouken head-on, pitting the magical world's genius against its "monster."
But... he'd need to goad this "Lord" first!
Kiritsugu veered sharply, firing his submachine gun behind him.
Kayneth stood atop the Volumen Hydrargyrum, arms crossed, unfazed by the incoming bullets. The mercury extended dozens of tendrils, swatting every projectile away.
"Pathetic... pathetic. You and your weapons are laughable."
Kayneth mocked Kiritsugu with haughty disdain.
Unfazed by the taunts, Kiritsugu saw them as childish. He ducked into an alley, casting Concealment and Disguise spells on himself.
Kayneth lost track of Kiritsugu momentarily but was unconcerned. Kiritsugu's magecraft was inferior; he'd be found soon enough.
He activated the Volumen Hydrargyrum's tracking, as heat and heartbeats were hard for mages to mask.
Kayneth reached the alley's entrance, a straight path with a dumpster in the middle.
"Hmph."
He ordered the Volumen Hydrargyrum to smash the dumpster, advancing forward.
"Kayneth!"
A shout came from behind.
Kiritsugu leaped down from above, firing his submachine gun.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Kayneth flinched, not fearing the bullets—his Volumen Hydrargyrum would defend him—but baffled at how Kiritsugu evaded its detection.
A momentary lapse was plausible, but continuous evasion?
Through the transparent mercury wall, Kayneth saw Kiritsugu, panting, pale, as if starved of blood and oxygen.
"I see—Time Alter? You endured it through sheer willpower! Interesting, Kiritsugu Emiya!"
For the first time, Kayneth regarded his foe seriously—not just a lowlife using cheap tricks, but a tenacious lowlife using cheap tricks.
Suddenly, Kiritsugu discarded his submachine gun, drew a pistol, and aimed at Kayneth... with a faint smile Kayneth didn't notice.
Bang!
The bullet's immense force pierced the mercury wall point-blank. Kayneth dodged instinctively, but it grazed his left shoulder.
"Ah!"
Kayneth cried out, clutching his shoulder, blood staining his white glove. He glared at Kiritsugu, who still held the pistol.
"Scalp! (Slash!)"
To prevent a follow-up, Kayneth attacked. The scattered Volumen Hydrargyrum reformed into a whip, lashing at Kiritsugu.
Kiritsugu dodged, grabbing his submachine gun and resuming suppressive fire.
The mercury wall blocked the bullets. Kiritsugu vanished around a corner.
"The Volumen Hydrargyrum's defense was breached? No—I was careless, fooled by his juvenile attack. I need to react faster, more efficiently!"
"He'll know its power now. The same attack won't work twice—he'll pour all his mana into defense next time. But that's what I want. Still... let my ally test him first!"
Kiritsugu was now just a hundred meters from the Matou residence, sensing the surveillance again. This time, he smiled.
***
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