"Tch."
Looking at the man's expression, Shirou clicked his tongue.
The provocation was so obvious that there was undoubtedly a trap waiting for him over there.
But if he wanted information, he would have to approach. The other party had clearly counted on that.
There was one thing they had misjudged, however.
For Shirou, killing him was the highest priority.
He did not need whatever scraps of information that person possessed.
After all, that information was nowhere near as important as Blaze and Amiya at his side, or Frostnova and the others who were still holding back the Imperial Guards.
The man probably thought those shots had merely been intended to disable him.
Then so be it.
"I am the bone of my sword—"
A black-and-crimson bullet formed in Shirou's hand.
At the same time, he distinctly felt something peel away from within his body.
It was an incredibly subtle sensation, so slight that it could almost be ignored.
But if it happened often enough, even dripping water could eventually bore through stone.
The man himself did not seem particularly concerned.
Problems for the future could be left to his future self.
If his future self became fed up enough to come back and complain, then he could deal with it then.
Assuming he could even come back.
And even if he did, perhaps he would have forgotten everything by that point.
...This way of thinking felt a little too awful, did it not?
Returning to his senses, Shirou silently mocked himself.
At the same time, he loaded the gunblade in his hand, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger.
"So as I pray... Unlimited Lost Works!"
Only a few seconds had passed between the provocation and Shirou firing the shot.
Even Blaze had not realized what was happening before the bullet was already in flight.
Under the watchful eyes of Blaze and Amiya, the shot which should have missed entirely suddenly exploded the instant Shirou finished his chant.
Countless swords burst forth from the bullet's point of detonation.
Since the projectile had not struck the target directly, the man was only caught in the resulting blast of blades.
Even so, his right arm and right leg suffered considerable damage.
Most of his combat capability and mobility were gone.
The provocative confidence that had filled his eyes moments earlier was replaced by utter shock.
Seeing that expression, Shirou finally felt some of his frustration dissipate.
He could have poured far more magical energy into the Noble Phantasm.
However, if the disturbance became too large, the target would have noticed.
His original plan had been to cripple the man first and then finish him with a second shot.
Unfortunately, before he could fire again, a pitch-black figure arrived and intervened.
An Imperial Guard.
The Guard's body was covered in severe burn marks and fragments of shattered ice.
Shirou immediately understood that he had come from Talulah and Frostnova's side.
In addition, Shirou spotted wounds left by his own gunblade and projected weapons.
"So, we meet again. How did you end up looking this miserable after such a short time?"
After confirming that this was the same Imperial Guard he had fought earlier, Shirou smiled warmly and offered his concern.
As for continuing his attempt to snipe that irritating man...
That was no longer possible.
The target had already been taken away by another Imperial Guard.
If Shirou chose to pursue them, Amiya and Blaze would be forced to fight the Guard standing before him.
Considering that this Guard had willingly suffered additional injuries just to rescue the man, Shirou suspected that chasing after them might cause him to abandon his principles altogether.
And a person who had discarded their principles was far more troublesome than one who still clung to them.
Shirou understood that much.
"Hiss... You really are formidable."
Looking at Shirou's current state, the Imperial Guard felt that the aura radiating from him was far more dangerous than when they had first met.
"Oh, not at all. I cannot compare to people like you, people who claim to love Ursus while constantly harming it."
Faced with the praise, Shirou shook his head modestly.
"..."
The Imperial Guard fell silent.
Raising the blade in his hand, he adopted a combat stance.
Continuing this conversation would only sour his mood further.
"Heh. You know exactly what you have done, do you not?"
Seeing the Guard abandon words and raise his weapon, Shirou let out a mocking laugh.
He had been deliberately provoking him the entire time, trying to focus the Guard's attention solely on himself.
"Hiss... There is no point in talking further."
The Imperial Guard knew very well that Shirou was attempting to anger him.
But he had no intention of lingering here.
Once his companion had retreated far enough, he would look for an opportunity to withdraw as well.
He knew that Shirou would never allow the thing inside his body to emerge in a place like this.
That was the card he held in reserve.
Unless...
Unless Shirou could once again unleash the attack that had split apart the Catastrophe itself.
If he were struck by that light, both he and the creature within him would be erased beneath its radiance.
That was precisely why they feared the young man standing before them so much.
"Yeah... there is no point talking to people like you who are no longer human."
Shirou let out a sigh.
Then, in the next instant, his figure vanished from where he stood and appeared directly in front of the Imperial Guard.
He could not simply open fire with his gunblade.
After all, Rhodes Island personnel and Reunion members were positioned behind both of them.
Shirou knew exactly how destructive his weapon was. There was a high chance he would hit innocent people as well.
Even if he could not fire it, merely holding the gunblade was enough to pressure his opponent.
After all, he had already forced the Guard back once with a barrage of gunfire.
Using a sword was not an option either.
He had no desire to spill whatever was living inside the Guard's body all over the battlefield.
So Shirou chose to strike first.
His goal was to knock the sword out of the Guard's hand and force him into hand-to-hand combat.
At the same time, he did not forget his original objective and continued provoking the Imperial Guard with words.
He could have been much ruder about it.
But there were children nearby, so he decided against it.
After all, what he had learned while working at the Guard Department was not limited to official duties.
Listening to Ch'en and Swire argue day after day had naturally caused certain things to become permanently engraved into his memory.
"...!"
Unlike when he had first encountered Shirou, the situation now clearly favored the latter.
Not only had their plans been ruined, but the Guard had already fought through several battles and no longer possessed the reserves of strength he had earlier.
After weighing his options, the Imperial Guard finally stopped holding back.
Shirou might not kill him.
But as one of Ursus's greatest warriors, he could not allow himself to become someone else's prisoner.
"Tch. Giving up your principles already?"
Seeing the Guard barely manage to defend against his surprise attack, and sensing the thing inside him beginning to stir, Shirou realized that his opponent was finally getting serious.
He had no intention of giving him that opportunity.
Immediately abandoning the sword in his right hand after it was blocked, Shirou launched a powerful side kick that sent the Guard flying.
He did not know exactly what the Imperial Guard intended to do.
But if the man planned to fight using the thing inside him, then the fewer people nearby, the better.
The instant the Guard was sent flying, black snow began to fall from the sky.
"Get farther away."
Shirou threw two projected cloaks toward the pair behind him.
Then he charged after the Imperial Guard once more.
"No, no, no, no. Too much is happening. I feel like my brain is about to burn out."
The moment Blaze caught the cloaks, she immediately wrapped both of them around Amiya before scooping her up and sprinting in the opposite direction.
As she ran, she continued complaining about the situation.
It was far too complicated.
She could not make sense of any of it.
What in Victoria was actually going on here?
Could somebody please explain?
Everything happening to Shirou, the appearance of the two Imperial Guards, each individual event was enough to occupy her thoughts for quite a while.
Experiencing all of them at once was simply overwhelming.
"Blaze, calm down."
Wrapped inside the two cloaks, Amiya struggled slightly.
She understood how Blaze felt.
However, as someone directly involved and someone whose mind worked a little faster than Blaze's, she had already pieced together most of what was happening.
As for the Imperial Guards, she had known about them for quite some time, so their appearance had not shocked her too much.
Shirou's transformation, on the other hand, was connected to her.
There had already been examples suggesting that contact with magical crystals could influence Shirou to some extent.
But she had never expected the effect to be this significant.
The gentle and kind Shirou she knew had become someone fiercely aggressive.
The contrast was simply too extreme.
Still, this was not the time to dwell on that.
The person Shirou had attacked earlier was the real danger.
Although the distance was considerable, Amiya could still sense the overwhelming malice that had wrapped itself around Shirou.
That person's target was very likely Shirou himself.
The only problem was that Shirou had wounded him first.
The fact that an Imperial Guard had personally rescued him was enough to identify him as the mastermind behind everything.
Had the mastermind targeted Shirou because his plans had been ruined?
No.
That did not quite fit.
The feeling she had sensed was closer to someone viewing Shirou as their own possession.
...Or perhaps they wanted to recruit Shirou.
Someone capable of splitting apart a Catastrophe would certainly be a prize worth obtaining.
After thinking it through, that was the only explanation Amiya could come up with.
"I am already calm. If I was not, I would have grabbed my chainsaw and charged in alongside Shirou."
After carrying Amiya beyond the range of the black snow, Blaze finally set her down.
The two cloaks, however, remained draped over the young rabbit's head.
"...You have a point."
Amiya nodded.
Then she immediately assigned Blaze a task.
"Go find Rosmontis and the others. I am worried they might run into some of the rioters who escaped."
"Then what about you?" Blaze asked in confusion.
"I need to stay here."
Amiya did not elaborate.
Instead, she simply showed Blaze the crimson pattern on her right hand.
Compared to before, the crown-shaped mark had become noticeably brighter and redder.
"I understand. Be careful, Amiya."
Blaze did not object to Amiya's orders.
Although Amiya was younger than her, she was still Rhodes Island's leader.
"Mm, do not worry. As long as Shirou is here, everything should be fine."
Seeing the concern on Blaze's face, Amiya tried to reassure her.
"Alright, I understand."
With that, Blaze took off at incredible speed toward their previously designated rendezvous point.
"..."
Watching Blaze's rapidly disappearing figure, Amiya turned her attention back to Shirou.
The reason she had remained here was simple.
If Shirou found himself in danger, she could use the power in her right hand to support him.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the fight between Shirou and the Imperial Guard had reached a stalemate.
At this point, the only real threat the Imperial Guard posed to Shirou was the thing inside his body.
However, because he could not unleash it here, he remained at a disadvantage.
Shirou, on the other hand, possessed a much wider variety of options.
Yet he could not damage the armor covering the Guard's body, leaving him in an awkward position as well.
He could attempt to capture and imprison the man for interrogation.
But if the battle dragged on and reinforcements arrived, things would become troublesome.
And if he took the Imperial Guard away from Chernobog, the man would no longer have any reason to hold back.
That would be even more dangerous.
Fighting someone like this was a headache.
At the moment, Shirou did not possess any particularly effective means of restraining him.
"You are really troublesome. Just get lost already!"
Even as he voiced his irritation, Shirou raised both gunblades and began firing.
The Imperial Guard's back was toward a building, so there was no need to worry about hitting other people.
Furthermore, Shirou was only using ordinary bullets with the lowest magical-energy consumption.
The kind that could barely penetrate a building, let alone the armor covering the Guard's body.
Of course, the Imperial Guard did not know that.
And he could not afford to gamble.
As a result, he could only continue dodging the incoming shots.
Under Shirou's deliberate aim, most of the bullets chased after the man rather than directly striking him.
At that moment, the Imperial Guard resembled a sheep being herded, forced to follow the path Shirou dictated.
Shirou no longer intended to waste additional time on him.
Although Install had granted him tremendous combat power, it was not without a price.
After all, how could an ordinary bottle possibly contain a corrosive liquid?
The more it was used, the faster the bottle would erode.
Until eventually it cracked apart completely.
Of course, if he continuously reinforced the bottle itself until it could contain that corrosive liquid, then there would be no problem.
Unfortunately, there was no time for that now.
"Is it finally over?"
Watching the Imperial Guard finally retreat into the distance, Shirou let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he surveyed his surroundings.
There seemed to be more people around Talulah and Frostnova now, but they appeared to be merely observing rather than causing trouble.
As for Amiya's side, Blaze was nowhere to be seen.
Only Amiya remained, wrapped in a cloak and waving toward him.
Seeing this, Shirou decided that he should first check on Amiya's condition.
He withdrew the magical energy from the two weapons in his hands and began walking toward her.
At the same time, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Presumably, the others were beginning to gather here as well.
As he walked toward Amiya, Shirou also released the Install state.
The card popped out from his chest.
His appearance returned to normal.
This time, however, even the holy shroud had disappeared.
It was somewhat regrettable.
But the Shroud had not truly vanished.
It had merely changed the way it remained by his side...
Squelch.
Suddenly, the sound of flesh being pierced echoed through the air.
Shirou stopped walking.
Looking around, he noticed the frightened expression on Amiya's face.
Only then did he lower his gaze.
A crystalline spike resembling an Originium crystal blade had erupted through the left side of his chest.
Shirou knew very well that it was not Originium.
It was...
A sword.
His body was made of swords.
Swords was his Origin.
What was happening now was the result of overusing the card's power, causing his Origin to run wild.
He had thought he still had some room to spare...
But the moment the Shroud disappeared, it became impossible to suppress it any longer.
As the card fell to the ground, small spikes also began emerging from his left arm.
The next moment, his body collapsed onto the ground.
"Shirou!"
Although Amiya's mind had not yet fully processed what had happened, Shirou suddenly collapsing was enough to snap her out of her shock.
She immediately ran toward him.
The two cloaks covering her body were swept into the air by the wind.
They dissolved into blue particles of magical energy and scattered into nothingness.