Chapter 32 Methods to Break Through the Nemean Lion's Pelt · II
The countdown for a life that should not exist hit zero.
Since it is the hourglass of a life steadily trickling away, it naturally cannot be inverted. At this very moment, Emiya Shirou should have been dead.
However, the man who failed to die used his arm to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and stared at Alcides.
"You dodged."
He spoke slowly, his eyes as unwavering as ever.
At the instant that decided life or death, Alcides had proactively retreated to clear the rain of swords. That was the only reason Shirou remained standing there, intact.
Shirou had never expected Alcides to actually dodge.
The attacks were simultaneous.
Of course, Alcides would have been hit. But at the moment he was hit, his bow-staff would have also taken Shirou's life.
One dead, one wounded—that was all.
"..."
As long as Alcides held to his conviction, he could have killed Shirou. As long as Alcides disregarded sacrifice, it would have been Shirou's defeat.
But... rather than taking Emiya Shirou's life right then and there, Alcides was still unwilling to be touched even once by those crooked ritual daggers.
A terrifying intuition told him that the result of being touched by that Noble Phantasm even once would be catastrophic.
Alcides' Master was not by his side; they were in a safe zone far away. If he were nicked by those daggers...
There was no room for maneuver. If other Heroic Spirits noticed, Alcides' Holy Grail War would end on the spot.
Alcides very rationally chose the best outcome. However, Alcides also felt as if he had betrayed someone.
Why?—Alcides questioned himself in anger, and then he realized.
Alcides frankly admitted that, despite being a former hero, in that brief moment just now, he had lost to a human in terms of the resolve to throw away his life.
Alcides did not view the youth as an equal "opponent."
"I see. I thought I had exerted myself to grant you respect."
This human deserved to be an "opponent."
Though once acknowledged as an "opponent," he would likely be unable to endure any longer.
However, the attitude toward such a noble figure was the dividing line between who he was now and his original self.
—It seemed that in order to trample an existence identical to that arrogant King, Alcides' very soul was burning to the point of becoming of the same nature.
He must not yet view Emiya Shirou as an "opponent."
Through this, Alcides realized his current depravity.
"...They are effective against you."
Shirou slightly adjusted the angle of the blades he was about to launch.
"Naturally. Since I have retreated, hypocritical concealment is meaningless."
The monster's bow-staff swept across the ground. "Then, allow me to witness—facing me, who has shown 'carelessness,' how long you can last."
.
.
.
The Noble Phantasm Shirou used just now was called [Rule Breaker].
[Rule Breaker: All Spells Must Be Broken].
A Noble Phantasm sublimated from a legend. The ultimate anti-thaumaturgy armament, it can forcibly reset objects reinforced by magical energy, contracts, or lifeforms created from magical energy to their state prior to the application of the spell.
If a Servant is stabbed by it, their magical energy supply is directly severed, rendering them incredibly weak.
And then...
This Noble Phantasm is the manifestation of the divinity of the Witch of Betrayal. In legend, Medea is the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. It is likely that the reason "Divinity" is absent from Medea's parameters is precisely because all her divinity constitutes her Noble Phantasm.
The gamble paid off. Shirou now understood the principle of the pelt on Alcides' body.
"Trace on."
Goading a body that was screaming of its own accord, Shirou reached out, and double-digit fakes of the ritual dagger appeared before him once more.
However, the size of all the [Rule Breakers] swelled to an abnormal degree.
The monster opposite him signaled with his aura—Do you really think these can hit me?
Shirou ignored him. A wearying number of the same Noble Phantasm pressed toward the monster. The monster was truly a monster; with just a few sweeps of his bow-staff, he cleared them all.
Taking a step, Shirou charged at him once more.
Even Shirou himself hadn't noticed—at this moment, the hundredth move had finally passed.
Refusing to admit defeat, Shirou swung the giant-sized Crane Wing sword again.
The bow-staff blocked and countered. Shirou took a step back with a clarity of mind he had never experienced before.
He stepped exactly behind a blade left on the ground.
Alcides' body, intending to pursue, appeared stiff—exactly. Alcides did not want to touch the blade portion of that Noble Phantasm, not even with his feet.
If Shirou touched the Rule Breaker, at most his superficial magical reinforcements would be canceled; but for Alcides, his entire magical energy supply would be severed.
Untouchable edges—thirty of them were still laid out on the ground.
The positions he could step on were restricted. This way, they could fight.
Thirty Noble Phantasms were thirty man-made gravestones. Shirou, who had apprenticed under the girl, perfectly inherited Saber's techniques.
Horizontal slash. Thrust. Cleave. Whirling dance.
Parry. Dodge. Shift. Induce.
Whenever the situation was about to tilt back, he would immediately drive one of the Yin-Yang swords into the ground.
The floor collapsed.
Shirou fell toward the next floor of the abandoned building. While suspended in mid-air, he projected the daggers of betrayal again, scattering them in all directions.
The monster pursued, and the battle resumed. Shirou traced an eerie footwork amidst the cluster of Noble Phantasms, continuing to fight for his existence.
The Crane Wing twin blades danced with a sword-glint he had never been conscious of before. The storm flashing from the intersection of the weapons seemed ready to swallow everything around them. No light, no color, nothing else existed.
Shirou raised his hand. Just as the monster thought Shirou was going to project a Rule Breaker—the large number of Noble Phantasms Shirou fired suddenly plunged downward, causing the ground beneath them to cave in once more. Shirou fell through the air.
Finally, at this move, a fleeting hesitation appeared in Alcides—a brief delay born from the unexpected.
It's here!
Based on known information, Alcides has at least two Noble Phantasms. The first is his pelt—no, correction: seeing as his Berserker self had an immunity that was actually twelve lives, the pelt is likely just one of the twelve proofs. The second is the [Nine Lives] that Shirou knows well.
A Noble Phantasm he had never used before rapidly appeared in Shirou's hand—one of a thousand armaments. He leveled the 40cm long black ritual knife at the monster, and it began to take on the color of True Name Release.
To defeat an uncanny opponent, one must use unorthodox strategies and trick moves.
There were two possibilities. Alcides would trust his pelt and not intercept it. Or, because the opponent was suddenly about to release an Anti-Personnel Noble Phantasm before his eyes, he would certainly use his most familiar [Nine Lives] to intercept.
Actually, either way was a trap.
Because he would be unable to successfully fire [Nine Lives] with that bow. This was the precious opportunity Shirou had gained by deciphering his primary Noble Phantasm ahead of time.
"Try taking this hit and see if you can remain unaffected, if you have the nerve..."
The blade aimed forward like a wand melted. It wasn't dissolving; it was rotting.
At the moment it broke down, the Noble Phantasm's effect activated.
"[Obsidian: The Underworld Talisman of the Eroding Broken Blade]"
This Noble Phantasm, through its own destruction, forces the erosion and ruin of armaments two ranks lower than itself or more.
In actual combat, it can only be used against C-rank or lower Noble Phantasms, making it almost useless.
But if Shirou's guess was correct—Alcides' bow was merely an extension created by his own strength; it wasn't even a Noble Phantasm.
Just as he was about to fire an arrow with the bow out of caution, influenced by the curse of the Noble Phantasm, the bow in the monster's hand twisted uneasily, causing this arrow to collapse. He showed an expression of surprise.
The weapon-breaking attribute had taken effect.
As if they had been hidden all along, a bow and arrow manifested simultaneously in Shirou's hands, which were already in stance.
Shirou had already figured out how to break through the Nemean Lion's pelt.
The appearing Pseudo-Caladbolg thinned out sharply. The internal structure of the Noble Phantasm began to emit the sound of cracking.
Alcides did not immediately abandon the bow. He knew that if he discarded the weapon first and then took a stance, it would be unsuitable to forcibly strike out a sufficient [Nine Lives] with his fists alone, and he might not make it in time.
Seeing this, Shirou flashed a burning smile.
By playing all his cards, he had finally engineered this situation.
The only problem was—after seeing something, Shirou froze. The abnormality of the longbow captured his vision.
Even knowing they were in the middle of a battle, Shirou could not look away.
Because that was something that absolutely could not be ignored. Even if he were to die, he couldn't look away.
Something far too familiar was flowing down from the bow.
The bow's body became as magnificent as lapis lazuli. The portion belonging to divine spirit was not shaken in the slightest; the main structure did not twist as Shirou had expected, but continued to exist dutifully.
Only a portion had accepted the curse. And that, too, was a curse.
As if curse had resonated with curse, the "Mud" squirmed joyfully.
An absolute evil that ate the curse and slumped to the ground like it was full—Shirou stared blankly at Alcides.
Then, inside Alcides' body, it was as if countless creatures of the same kind were becoming restless. The black lacquer patterns on his body's surface twisted weirdly.
He was already so eerie he didn't seem human, nor like a Servant; a blasphemous "altered thing," accumulating the curse of "All the World's Evils" that Shirou knew all too well, spoke calmly:
"Indeed, I am exactly that kind of existence."
[Obsidian: The Underworld Talisman of the Eroding Broken Blade]
Rank: ?? → A (Projection) Type: Anti-Personnel Noble Phantasm A 40cm long black ritual knife. Rather than an armament, it is more of a ritual object that cannot be used normally for combat. Upon releasing its True Name, it erodes and destroys armaments (Noble Phantasms) two ranks lower than its own rank. In this process, the Noble Phantasm itself is also destroyed. It only works on physical armaments and cannot affect non-physical Noble Phantasms. Special attack against metal. The more active the magical nature of a magical creation, the worse the effect of the Noble Phantasm. Originally a Noble Phantasm passed down through a branch family of magi. Weapon Breaker. Although the "mutual destruction" effect is very powerful, its practical use is very subtle. The highest-level original can only be used once, while the A-rank projection can only affect physical Noble Phantasms of C-rank and below. Therefore, it is an idle item stored within Unlimited Blade Works. The original was already used in an attack against Kanshou and Bakuya.
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