After sending the four girls back to their rooms, Shirou began his daily routine.
In his hand, the form of the Caladbolg was being reshaped, gradually becoming long and slender.
This was one of the extended applications of Projection allowing him to alter the form of projected Noble Phantasms to a certain degree. Archer often used this ability to reshape most swords into long, arrow-like forms and fire them.
"…Still a bit slow…"
Shirou lifted the elongated Caladbolg and examined it carefully. Ever since the last time his Magic Circuits went into shock he had been able to fully project Noble Phantasms, not just empty shells with appearance, but the real thing.
The problem was speed.
Or rather, his proficiency was nowhere near Archer's.
Just projecting the Caladbolg already took some time. Adding shape alteration on top of that would probably take over ten seconds.
Still, as a finishing move, it was more than enough. After all, this was originally something Archer used together with Broken Phantasm for long-range explosive attacks.
If there was any issue…
It consumed a lot of mana. Shirou found it somewhat hard to use.
However, for some reason, his mana recovery speed was quite fast, almost as if something was constantly supplying him with magical energy.
After thinking about it for a while, he could not come up with an explanation and gave up.
He withdrew the mana from the Caladbolg in his hand, and it dissolved into blue particles of light.
In his hands, Caladbolg was ultimately better used as an arrow. If he wanted a sword for close combat, projecting Kanshou and Bakuya would be more efficient, they had less consumption and were easier to handle.
"But Unlimited Blade Works…"
Shirou muttered to himself.
For some reason, he could not deploy it at all. Maybe it was because this was another world?
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not figure it out. For now, he decided to put that issue and his abnormal mana recovery aside.
His current priority was improving projection speed and precision.
Before, he had been conserving energy to take care of everyone in Penguin Logistics, so he had not pushed himself like he used to. Now, he needed to return to that level of training intensity.
He did not want to disappoint the trust Texas had placed in him.
What Texas said earlier was not just about not minding his presence, it also showed that they trusted him deeply.
And he did not want to betray that trust.
So he had to work even harder.
Only when dizziness began to set in did Shirou finally stop training. After wiping off his sweat, he lay down on his bed and quickly fell asleep.
Perhaps because of exhaustion, his sleep felt unusually deep.
"..."
"…Shirou, Shirou! Are you okay?!"
In the haze, he heard someone calling out to him.
It sounded like a woman and very familiar. Someone he knew?
As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw two blurry figures.
One was a black-haired girl in red, the other a white-haired girl in purple.
"He opened his eyes! Shirou—Shirou, can you hear me? Do not close your eyes! Stay awake!"
The white figure tightly held his left hand, speaking urgently.
Shirou felt overwhelmed by the noise. He was so tired… so sleepy… all he wanted was to rest.
But hearing her voice, he forced himself to stay conscious.
For some reason, if it was her request, he would try.
"We need to stop the bleeding first. Archer is holding off that golden bastard—we need to hurry and treat Shirou, then get him somewhere safe."
The red figure seemed to tear something apart, then worked on his right side.
His consciousness was fading, but the faint pain brought him back a little.
What… just happened?
Berserker had fought the golden Archer and lost.
That golden Archer had tried to attack Illya, but at the last moment, Shirou had pushed her away.
The price… was his right arm.
…Was he going to die?
Fortunately, Berserker had kicked that golden Archer away in the end. If not for those strange golden chains, he might have crushed him outright with an axe.
But the Noble Phantasm's damage had completely destroyed Shirou's right hand, there was no way to reattach it.
He did not regret it.
If he had not pushed Illya away, she would have been pierced by that attack.
"Archer? Where's that flashy golden guy?"
Seeing Archer appear, Illya frowned and asked. Since both were Archers, she used Rin's nickname to distinguish the other one.
Archer's attitude toward Shirou had always been harsh, so Illya did not give him a good look—she was even on guard.
"As you can see, the black mud drove him off. Though I was a bit tainted myself."
Archer pointed at a small wound on his abdomen, where faint crimson patterns were spreading. But he did not seem to care, instead looking down at Shirou.
"You look terrible. How does it feel to give your life for someone else?"
"Archer!"
Rin glared at him. She knew their relationship was bad, but she did not expect him to joke at a time like this.
Even Illya looked displeased.
"So the right hand is completely gone…There's no way to reconnect it. If Saber had not been corrupted and had her contract broken, at least Avalon could have healed him"
Archer crouched down to inspect Shirou's injuries, but his words caused the two beside him to frown slightly.
"Archer, you..."
Rin had originally intended for Archer to wait aside and recover, but unexpectedly, Archer suddenly projected a black sword, holding it in his left hand.
"What do you want to do?"
Illya immediately stepped in front of Shirou. There was no point using magic, nothing she could cast would be faster than Archer's blade.
"Archer… why are you trying to kill Shirou?"
Rin knew there was no room for negotiation. Even using a Command Spell would not help.
The only thing she could do was ask.
"...Is it not obvious, Tohsaka?"
Archer paused, then spoke in a tone and with a way of addressing her that Rin found deeply familiar.
"Archer, you…"
Memories flashed through Rin's mind, every encounter between Archer and Shirou, and the fragments of Archer's past she had seen in dreams.
At last, she understood their relationship.
Archer did not answer. He simply raised the blade in his hand.
Illya tried to intervene—
But Rin stopped her.
"Rin! What are you doing? Let me go!"
Held back by Rin, Illya struggled desperately.