Chapter 35 Noble Phantasm: Nine Lives
Since he was about to release his Noble Phantasm, Alcides no longer had any reason not to win. The battle of Heroic Spirits is a battle of Noble Phantasms; although his opponent was not even a Heroic Spirit, the logic remained the same.
Alcides did not begin the release immediately. He intended to verify a few final things. First, he drew his bowstring to its limit, attempting to fire ten split-arrows imbued with heavy magical energy. Any single one of them was enough to shatter the ground where it struck, crush iron, or even break low-ranking Noble Phantasms.
However, a massive rain of swords appeared behind the human.
It was an attack method identical to the [Gate of Babylon].
Each Noble Phantasm ranked between B and A. The human momentarily clutched the glowing lines on his arm, and in the next instant, projected twin swords. The stream of arrows and the rain of swords ground against each other. The red-haired youth broke through the hurtling arrows, manually shattering the residual force with his dual blades.
Alcides felt no impatience and drew his bow again. This time, he did not fire immediately, for he intended to pour a massive amount of magical energy into a single shot. A ten-second charge. But Alcides' charge could not be completed. Sensing a light-bullet fired by the human in kind, Alcides' expression remained unchanged as he immediately let the half-finished product fly.
Three laser-like arrows split apart and reconverged from different directions, striking the light-bullet in succession. The light-bullet was detonated prematurely halfway through its trajectory. Because the distance was not great, the resulting massive sphere of light even engulfed the building, forcing Alcides to land on a different corner of the structure.
Another Broken Phantasm. Relying on his excellent adaptability, the human had mastered a way to harm Alcides. The power of this strike was comparable to an A-rank Noble Phantasm. If it were even a glancing blow, even Alcides would surely suffer a great loss.
'In that case—it is indeed worth it. No objections.'
Alcides thought this after confirming the results of two consecutive attacks. There was no longer a need for ordinary attack methods that had no practical effect.
From not exposing himself at all, to accepting the risk of exposure to shoot down the girl. And then, to the point of using a Noble Phantasm to kill this overly stubborn and hardened human before his eyes. This group of Sons of Man had undoubtedly thoroughly disrupted the Heroic Spirit's train of thought.
The time it took for him to grow to this point seemed like only the blink of an eye. He didn't know how long it had taken him to reach Alcides' presence. Thus, the Heroic Spirit found them radiant.
What Alcides had to do was simple. Since close combat couldn't yield a quick victory and level shots couldn't wound him, he would simply compete with Anti-Army Noble Phantasms. If an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm didn't work, he would use an Anti-Fortress one. It was like a competition spanning every category. Just like the duels Alcides had observed during the Age of Gods.
The man spoke: "This is enough." Though it had been a fulfilling period of time for both the man and the monster, this battle had already gone on too long.
"Let us begin. 'Emiya Shirou.'"
The voice traveled inconspicuously to the ground below. Before the human below could even begin to show surprise, he spoke a step ahead: "[Nine Lives]." The raspy voice signaled death.
"?" Shirou had never told him his name. How could he possibly know Shirou's name? Where did he learn it from? There was a discrepancy here, Shirou was certain, but he immediately refused to let himself think about it. Before the goosebumps caused by the monster Heroic Spirit calling his name could subside:
"[Rho Aias]!"
Shirou felt goosebumps of a different kind. The amount of magical energy was abnormal. The movements were terrifyingly familiar. Alcides' arrow was already notched. Shirou knew that movement all too well. Because he used that same school of technique himself. Even if the weapon wasn't the same. Because that was—[Nine Lives].
As if to demonstrate that all the monster's previous actions were merely non-decisive child's play, or a game to pass the time. Magical light rampaged, first blasting through the floor of the building. In the instant his expression changed drastically, Shirou funneled every bit of magical energy he could squeeze from his body into the floral canopy from the very start, meeting the enemy at maximum output.
Nine black, dragon-shaped lasers cut through the sky. Panic and residual bravery coexisted as nine arrows collided with seven petals. Each petal possessed the hardness of an ancient city wall. Each arrow carried the momentum of one witnessing a true red-and-black dragon's head.
First, one of the dragon heads shattered; then, as if as a price, one layer of the petals also broke. The remaining eight lasers, carrying a magical explosion reminiscent of agony, all rampaged against the neighboring walls of the shield. If the thin barrier broke, Shirou would be swallowed without mercy. But Shirou could do nothing, only watch with wide eyes as the shield fractured.
The electrical discharge of magical energy struck the surface of the shield along with the arrows. Fragments of the shattered shield vanished into the air. Shirou truly received the intent Rin had sent. Bracing his right hand, he threw the entire torrent of magical energy from
his Crest into the release of the Noble Phantasm. At this moment, the magical energy Shirou could use was limitless.
One arrow shattered, one layer broke. One arrow shattered, one layer broke. This couldn't continue. One arrow, one layer. One arrow, still one layer. Correction: two arrows shattered, one layer broke.
"—!!!"
With only two layers of petals left, [Nine Lives] flashed with intense magical light, letting out an unprecedented, thunderous roar. The fierce explosion shattered the penultimate petal. Only one layer remained. The final layer of the petal showed cracks.
At this very moment—the nine lasers finally dispersed. Red-black lightning struck through the final shield, reaching Shirou's fragile body, carving gaps in him that he momentarily couldn't perceive due to adrenaline.
His flickering consciousness gasped for air behind the dispersing fragments of the shield. His chest was incredibly heavy, and a powerful sense of exhaustion washed over his body. His magical energy began to recover from total emptiness. Ignoring his body's abnormalities, Shirou immediately began the projection process.
What he was about to project was—
...
"..."
It shattered in Shirou's hand. Shirou had indeed blocked the strike, but his body, which had exceeded its limits for too long, could not keep up with the battle. The final straw was the overloaded use of a defensive Noble Phantasm, which resulted in the burning out of his magic circuits.
To use an analogy, it was like a load that suddenly jumped to hundreds of kilowatts meeting an aging household circuit; after struggling to finish the operation, both went on strike together. If either of these two conditions were absent, the circuits could have continued to operate seemingly normally.
Of course, while he said "burned out," in reality, it was mostly just a "tripped breaker" caused by overload. Optimistically, restarting the circuits would take about twenty seconds.
However... Alcides certainly wouldn't wait twenty seconds for Shirou. Shirou looked up and saw the movement of Alcides' hands. His next arrow was about to be aimed. Truly, there was no way out.
In his current state, Shirou could not resist; he could only wait quietly for the arrow that would take his life to be loosed. Shirou remained standing, looking up at the high-rise where the magical aura around Alcides, which had become loose after firing the Noble Phantasm, was
reconsolidating. At such a close distance, Alcides could sense Shirou's magical energy; finding cover wouldn't save him from the arrow.
The sky was a vast, hazy night. The moonlight, just as it had on the first night he entered the Holy Grail War, shone down on Shirou before gradually being obscured by the clouds. Shirou was not feeling regret. But he felt very sorry.
Even though Rin had provided such support, in the end, Shirou couldn't satisfy even one small wish of hers.
...Illya, Shirou couldn't comfort her.
Sakura, he couldn't hold her.
Rider, he couldn't say "thank you for looking after me" one more time.
...And if there was something slightly regrettable, like a dream, it was that despite such a moonlit night, Shirou had not seen the person who had etched a scene into his mind that he would never forget in his lifetime.
Persisting in a lifestyle of realizing his ideals, Shirou had finally reached the end of the road alone, just as he had once imagined.
Since Shirou had been neutralized after canceling out the Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, the monster Heroic Spirit did not release a new Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm. He straightened his right hand—the one not holding the bow—at his side, and a new piece of "cloth" appeared.
At a glance, that cloth looked only like a belt printed with a simple pattern, yet Shirou could clearly feel the dense divine aura spreading through the surrounding space. The arrow touched the "cloth," was placed on the bow, and drawn to full strength. It was a shot more powerful than any of his usual ones.
The monster Heroic Spirit stood with solemn posture. In a gesture of sending someone off, he loosened half of his fingers and began to scatter the final handful of earth.
Then... a golden light flashed by, and Alcides' body, which hadn't been able to distract itself in time, was violently torn open.
A single sword strike. Repelling the monster with her body, she quietly turned her head.
The wind was very strong today. The clouds flowed, and the moon revealed itself for a brief moment.
The silver moonlight shining onto the rooftop illuminated the girl in knightly attire.
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