Just before collapsing, Shirou still managed to move slightly and fall onto his right side.
If the left side of his body hit the ground...
He would suffer a second injury.
"Ah... did I miscalculate?"
In his dazed state, Shirou seemed to realize something and muttered to himself.
Under normal circumstances, things should not have turned out like this.
The problem was that the bottle itself had already been damaged beforehand.
And where there was damage, there was weakness.
With the holy shroud whose role had been reinforcing the bottle suddenly disappearing, it was only natural that the bottle could no longer bear the strain.
Similar incidents had occurred in the past.
However, the magical energy contained within the Shroud had always suppressed them.
After having the problem suppressed once, then twice, Shirou had gradually formed an incorrect judgment.
He believed he could handle it.
In reality, he could not.
Looking on the bright side, at least all of the immediate threats had been resolved.
As long as he rested for a while, everything should be fine...
Probably.
Even Shirou was not entirely sure.
The piercing pain made it difficult for him to think any further.
All he could hear were the voices of Amiya and the others outside.
"Everyone calm down! Why are you panicking? Instead of wasting time, hurry up and notify the people outside!"
The others who had arrived were equally confused and shocked by Shirou's condition.
But under Blaze's firm direction, they forced themselves to settle down and follow her instructions.
In truth, Blaze was only slightly calmer than everyone else.
However, if even she stopped thinking clearly, then Shirou would truly be beyond saving.
Penguin Logistics could be ruled out immediately.
They had practically no experience dealing with Oripathy.
Rosmontis and Amiya were not in much better condition themselves.
Naturally, the responsibility fell upon the tallest person present.
"...The Originium concentration inside Chernobog still has not dropped. Communications are still unavailable."
Exusiai immediately pulled out her communicator.
Unfortunately, only a short time had passed since the Catastrophe.
Originium levels remained too high.
The communicators could not contact people outside the city.
They could not even reach the Rhodes Island emergency medical teams still inside.
"Then, Rosmontis, put Shirou onto your tactical equipment. We will carry him out ourselves. Exusiai, Texas, you are with me and clear the way. Croissant and Sora, watch Shirou and make sure he does not fall off."
After hearing Exusiai's report, Blaze decided not to wait for medical personnel.
Given the circumstances, it was better to get Shirou out immediately.
Otherwise, if certain people learned about his current condition, they might return and cause trouble again.
"Understood."
Following the order, Rosmontis lowered her tactical equipment onto the ground.
The four members of Penguin Logistics helped lift Shirou onto it.
As for Amiya, she brought a Rhodes Island terminal close to the infection-monitoring device on Shirou's left arm.
"The monitor... The readings are slightly elevated, but still within normal parameters."
Although she had briefly lost control of her emotions, Amiya had quickly regained her composure under Blaze's leadership and returned to following proper procedures.
There were no professional medics or advanced medical equipment available here.
All they could do was rely on the limited data provided by the infection monitor.
The displayed values were few, but they all remained within safe ranges.
That was what made the situation so contradictory.
The crystal-like protrusions covering Shirou's body resembled symptoms normally seen only in severely infected patients.
Yet the monitor indicated nothing was wrong.
Amiya had never encountered a case like this before.
The standard procedure came to a complete halt.
For now, all they could do was treat Shirou's wounds.
Fortunately, they had basic medical kits available.
Stopping the bleeding took priority.
"We should help as well. We cannot contribute much medically, but clearing a path is something we can do."
After confirming that the group intended to escort Shirou out of Chernobog, Talulah and the others who had been standing guard nearby stepped forward with the offer.
They were warriors.
Their medical knowledge extended little beyond applying pressure to wounds and wrapping bandages.
A case like Shirou's was beyond them.
As a result, they had simply remained nearby ever since he collapsed.
"...Then we will gratefully accept the help."
Blaze did not make the decision herself.
Instead, she turned toward Amiya.
Only after seeing Amiya nod did she agree.
"It is nothing. We have received help and kindness ourselves. Doing this is only natural."
Talulah shook her head.
Then she immediately organized the forces present.
Frostnova and part of the Yeti Squadron were assigned to protect the convoy's perimeter.
The remaining members received different tasks.
After all, if both Reunion's leader and one of its commanders suddenly disappeared without explanation, it would create serious problems.
Thus, with the combined efforts of all three factions, Shirou was quickly escorted out of the city.
With both Talulah and Frostnova present, most potential threats were eliminated before they could even approach.
The medical operators waiting outside had rarely encountered injuries on Shirou's level.
Without proper equipment or an operating room, there was little they could do.
However, basic examinations were still possible.
"There are two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news."
Some time after Shirou had been taken into a tent, one of the medical operators emerged carrying a handwritten report.
"The first piece of good news is that the protrusions on Operator Shirou's body are not Originium. They are closer to some kind of metallic substance. Furthermore, when they erupted, they did not damage any vital organs. At present, all of his injuries are purely external."
Without any suspenseful buildup, the medic immediately explained the results of the examination.
"Steel...?"
Hearing the medic's explanation, Amiya seemed to recall something.
"Then what is the bad news?"
Texas, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke up.
"The bad news is that we cannot determine the cause of Operator Shirou's condition. Every instrument currently available indicates that his physical state is merely somewhat weakened. The primary reason for that weakness appears to be mild blood loss."
Looking at the bewildered expressions around him, the medic found their reaction understandable.
Not just the others.
Even the medical operators still working inside the tent were encountering a situation like this for the first time.
"..."
After hearing the medic's explanation, the members of Penguin Logistics fell silent.
What they could roughly understand was that the protrusions on Shirou's body were not Originium and that his internal organs had not been damaged.
That was unquestionably good news.
It meant that if they could somehow remove those things, Shirou should recover.
The problem was that they still could not identify the root cause.
And if they could not identify the cause, then the condition itself could not truly be cured.
In that case, removing the protrusions once or even multiple times would be meaningless.
Furthermore, removing them would likely be extremely difficult.
Unlike Originium, they were metal.
Far harder and tougher.
"What in the world has Shirou been doing to himself? How did he manage to end up like this?!"
The more Exusiai thought about it, the more her head hurt.
Finally unable to hold it in any longer, she blurted out everything on her mind.
This incident was far more serious than any of his previous mishaps.
How exactly did one person manage to end up in such a state?
Just thinking about it made Exusiai feel as though her brain was overheating.
"In any case, whatever is happening to Shirou is definitely connected to this card."
As she spoke, Amiya held up the card between her fingers for everyone to see.
The card itself was black.
Etched across its surface in golden lines was the image of a person drawing a bow.
"This card was originally formed from a magic crystal. And when Shirou came into contact with that crystal before, he also experienced a loss of control."
Amiya explained the conclusions she had reached so far.
After all, among everyone present, she was the only one with even a basic understanding of magecraft.
If magecraft was viewed as something similar to Arts, then overusing it could naturally result in backlash.
For Arts users, that backlash could take many forms.
Their Oripathy might worsen.
Or, in Frostnova's case, their body temperature could plummet drastically.
Shirou's ability revolved around projecting swords and similar weapons.
Therefore, it was reasonable to assume that the metallic protrusions covering his body were fundamentally swords as well.
Amiya's reasoning was supported by considerable evidence.
From Shirou's abilities to the chants he occasionally recited during combat.
Those were some of the strongest clues.
This body is made of swords—
I am the bone of my sword—
Both phrases were directly connected to swords.
The final thing that convinced Amiya of her theory was the technique Shirou had used with his gunblade earlier.
The bullet had exploded.
And from that single point, countless swords had burst forth.
The phenomenon was remarkably similar to Shirou's current condition.
"If it is magecraft, then it really is beyond our ability to handle."
After hearing Amiya's analysis, most of those present found themselves agreeing with her.
Just as Shirou considered Arts mysterious and difficult to understand, they viewed magecraft the same way.
There was a shared sense that if magecraft was involved, then such an absurd situation might genuinely be possible.
And when it came to understanding magecraft, even if everyone present including Shirou himself combined their knowledge, they probably still could not provide a definitive answer.
By Shirou's own admission, he treated magecraft as a tool.
He had never shown much interest in studying its underlying principles in depth.
"Magic crystal? What is that?"
Unlike the others, Talulah and Frostnova had never heard of such a thing.
If it had not sounded important, they would not have bothered asking.
"It looks like a diamond-shaped stone. To ordinary people, it is just a rock. But the magical energy inside it has a significant effect on Shirou."
Amiya gave a simple explanation.
After listening, Frostnova frowned thoughtfully.
"I feel like I have seen something similar somewhere before... Talulah, do you remember anything?"
Unlike Frostnova, Talulah answered almost immediately.
"A diamond-shaped stone... the one Alina used to carry?"
"Though hers was red."
Talulah remembered it clearly.
After all, Alina had always kept it with her.
It would have been difficult not to notice it.
"...! Can someone help me contact Miss Alina?"
Hearing their conversation, Amiya suddenly seemed to think of something. She hurriedly turned to Talulah and Frostnova.
"Of course. I will go right away."
Although she did not understand why Amiya had suddenly become so anxious, Talulah did not ask any questions. She immediately ran toward Reunion's camp.
She could more or less guess the reason. The red stone in Alina's possession was probably one of those so-called magical energy crystals as well.
Talulah moved quickly and soon found Alina, who was tending to the wounded. After briefly explaining the situation, the two of them hurried back to where Amiya and the others were waiting.
"Whew... Amiya, are you looking for this?"
After arriving, slightly out of breath from running, Alina immediately took out the red magical energy crystal and asked.
Talulah had already explained the general situation to her on the way, so she had a rough understanding of Shirou's condition.
If everything was as Amiya had analyzed, then the stone in her hand or rather, this magical energy crystal might be able to help.
"Yes," Amiya replied with a nod.
"...Then I will leave it to you."
Looking at the magical energy crystal in her hand, Alina hesitated briefly before handing it over.
Keeping it with her only served as a kind of lucky charm. If it could be used to save someone's life, then there was no question which option she would choose.
"..."
The expressions on everyone else's faces became somewhat complicated as they looked at the identical red magical energy crystal in Alina's hand.
While Talulah had gone to find Alina, Amiya had already explained her thoughts and theories.
Although there was no guarantee that Alina's magical energy crystal would react to Shirou, they had to try.
As for whether the result would be good or bad, even Amiya could not say.
After all, if they did nothing in Shirou's current state, they could only watch helplessly as he was slowly driven to death.
They had no choice but to try.
If it worked, Shirou could still be saved.
If it failed... things probably could not get much worse.
"Thank you..."
Accepting the red magical energy crystal from Alina, Amiya encountered a new problem.
She had no idea how to use it.
Unlike the magical energy crystal she had possessed before, this red crystal was completely inactive.
She first tried bringing the crystal into contact with the card, but nothing happened.
Then she waved the crystal in the direction of the tent where Shirou was resting, but there was still no response.
"No reaction...?"
After trying all sorts of methods, Amiya stood there holding the card and the crystal, looking dejected.
This was their last hope.
Yet the red magical energy crystal remained completely unresponsive.
"How about just throwing it directly at Shirou?"
Seeing Amiya become more and more discouraged after trying every possible method without success, Exusiai offered her own suggestion.
At the same time, she received the stares of everyone present, causing a chill to run down her spine.
"Ahem... I mean, when Shirou came into contact with that black magical energy crystal before, there was a reaction. So maybe touching this red one would produce a reaction too, right?"
Under everyone's gaze, Exusiai quickly grabbed Croissant and pulled her in front as a shield, sticking her own head out from behind while explaining her reasoning.
Her thought process was that simple.
"Then let us give it a try."
After hearing Exusiai's suggestion, Amiya felt that it was worth attempting.
With the card and the magical energy crystal in hand, she headed toward the tent where Shirou lay.