My Fates Codex in Type-Moon

But the Executor was not one to merely defend. Unafraid of the razor-sharp hooked claws, he unleashed a Bajiquan strike, swinging with all his strength in an attempt to knock the eagle down.

The diving eagle could no longer change course. The iron fist struck it squarely in the belly.

"Ugh!?" Yet it was Kirei who cried out in surprise. The instant his fist connected, the eagle's body twisted, reverting into amorphous silver threads that coiled around his right fist like climbing vines.

Kirei Kotomine immediately tried to tear them off with his left hand, but the silver threads curled and rolled, trapping that hand as well. The silver threads that had just been soaring through the air in the shape of an eagle now bound Kirei's hands tightly like handcuffs.

"...Hmph."

As a warrior who had fought countless life-and-death battles against magi, Kirei Kotomine merely snorted and suddenly charged at Irisviel.

His hands were only restrained. There was nothing to fear. As long as he got close enough to kick this woman, the battle would be over.

"You underestimate me!" Irisviel shouted, pouring more mana into the silver threads. A bundle of threads unwound and extended outward, shooting through the air like a long serpent before wrapping around the trunk of a nearby tree.

Even an exceptionally strong Executor had to obey the basic laws of mechanics. As Kirei Kotomine lost his balance and staggered, the silver threads wound tighter and tighter around the tree, dragging him over until his hands were firmly bound to the trunk.

The tree's trunk was more than thirty centimeters thick. To an ordinary person, it was as immovable as a concrete pillar. Even so, Irisviel nearly yielded to Kirei Kotomine's wrist strength—she had intended to use the pressure of the silver threads to crush Kirei's hands, but his steel-like muscles and bones were unimaginably strong. Her metal wires had been stretched to their limit and could snap at any moment.

To keep the threads from breaking, Irisviel had to continuously use all her mana to reinforce the metal and keep it taut. But that meant she could neither escape nor even muster the strength to move.

For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate.

If she continued restraining Kirei Kotomine, Irisviel's mana would run out first, leaving her unable to fight.

If she released the reinforced metal threads, the man in priestly robes would break free and kill her without mercy.

At present, Irisviel seemed trapped in a dead end.

But besides her and Kirei Kotomine, who were locked in their struggle, there was one more person present.

"...Maiya, miss... hurry!"

The one now holding the chance for victory was Maiya, who was still lying on the ground. Only she could kill the immobilized Kirei. She did not need to get close enough to enter the range of his kicks. All she had to do was fire a bullet into that defenseless head. Kirei could no longer use the sleeves of his bulletproof vest to protect his head as he had before.

Though not much time had passed, Maiya had gradually begun to recover. Her hands and feet had regained feeling. Even as her broken ribs hurt badly enough to draw groans from her, she slowly crawled across the ground toward the Calico submachine gun lying nearby.

The key to victory lay in these few seconds of endurance—gritting her teeth against the pain in her magic circuits, Irisviel encouraged herself with that thought.

But they had still underestimated just how terrifying an Executor of the Holy Church could be.

If Irisviel had acted directly, releasing her alchemy to entangle Kirei before he realized the illusion and then restraining the Executor with the aim of fighting a war of attrition, perhaps she would not have fallen into such an awkward situation.

But in order to protect Kiritsugu Emiya, coupled with Maiya Hisau's desire to kill Kirei Kotomine, Irisviel had made the wrong judgment—not to mention that she knew nothing of the terror of Chinese martial arts.

Could merely tying a martial artist's hands to a tree paralyze him?

"Bang!" The thunderous boom gave its answer.

As her mana drained violently, Irisviel discovered in shock that the trunk restraining Kirei shook fiercely, as though someone had struck it with a full-force straight punch.

"Bang!" A second deafening boom rang out. This time, through the sensation transmitted by the magical threads, Irisviel finally understood what was happening.

With both hands pressed against the bark, Kirei was striking the trunk with his palms at full force.

Chinese martial arts did not rely solely on the strength of the arms. They drew upon the force of feet planted on Gaia, the rotation of the waist, the twist of the shoulders, and every joint in the arms and wrists, gathering all that power into a single blow beyond ordinary imagination. When necessary, it was even possible to generate force from parts of the body other than the arms—this was the so-called "Inch Punch."

If this continued, the tree supporting the silver threads would collapse sooner or later, and Kirei Kotomine would break free. Those liberated hands would surely strangle his enemies without mercy.

But both Irisviel and Maiya Hisau had lost the ability to move. They could not stop the Executor's assault.

"Sure enough, I should have listened to Sakutsuki and Saber..." Irisviel gritted her teeth and gave the bitter smile of a defeated woman.

Then, a leisurely voice belonging to someone other than the three of them rang out.

"That's right. I may be young, but you'll suffer if you don't listen to me, Madam."

That voice was—!

Kirei Kotomine's pupils constricted sharply. The pounding against the trunk came to an abrupt stop, only to resume with even greater violence. Amid the tree's anguished groan, the freed Executor tore apart the silver threads at blinding speed, drew out a Black Key, and fired it toward the exhausted Irisviel.

"Madam!" Maiya Hisau cried out in despair, a scream more desperate than any she had made even when grievously wounded.

"My, that was dangerous."

The tone remained as lazy as ever, but two arcs of light, one black and one white, cut through the night and struck the Black Key flying toward Irisviel with incredible precision, knocking the projectile aside.

Looking closely, the ones who had saved Irisviel at the last possible moment were two familiar blades—at least, to Kirei Kotomine, those weapons were unforgettable.

The cold eyes that lacked all expression finally wavered. The Executor's gaze swept across the surroundings before lifting and locking firmly onto the branch of a tree.

White hair, golden eyes.

Bright moonlight outlined the young man's neat kimono and the faintly smiling expression on his face.

The can in his hand reflected a cold gleam. Its drink had already been finished, and he casually tossed it into Imaginary Space.

"...Sakutsuki." He forced out the name with some difficulty. The Executor who had just fought two opponents alone silently took a step back, preparing to retreat.

But all around him, fluorescent light suddenly surged. The radiance of the Leyline rose from below, forming an unshakable magical barrier and enclosing a battlefield in Einzbern Forest where only death would end the fight.

He had nowhere left to retreat.

"You're leaving already? Why not stay a little longer?"

The young man, like a wandering swordsman, landed lightly from midair. Ignoring the Executor whose entire body was tensed, he helped the mana-depleted Irisviel to her feet, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"What did I tell you, Madam?"

"I know, I know, it was my fault." Irisviel admitted it with a blush, then hurriedly added, "Go save Maiya. I'll be fine."

"Sure, sure."

After briefly treating them with healing magecraft, Irisviel supported Maiya Hisau as they moved aside. Sakutsuki, who had descended from above, finally stood before the target of his trip: Kirei Kotomine.

"I've kept you waiting, Kirei Kotomine."

"You... why are you here?" More than resentment at facing death, Kirei Kotomine felt overwhelming confusion.

Why had his actions been seen through yet again and again and again? (Former Servant Hundred Faces: OMO!)

Had this man put a GPS tracker on him?

"Huh, didn't you know?" Sakutsuki feigned surprise, then coolly flicked his hair.

"The protagonist always makes his entrance last."

"Pfft." Irisviel snickered.

But Kirei Kotomine did not laugh, because the undisguised pressure emanating from Sakutsuki vividly reminded him how resolute the killing intent of the man before him was.

When people said the protagonist appeared last, it did not mean they arrived late. It meant that once they appeared, the crisis was resolved and the disaster reached its end.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you for now." As he spoke, Sakutsuki slowly assumed an opening stance.

"This is..." Kirei Kotomine, who had trained in martial arts since childhood, showed a slight change in expression.

"I won't use any other magecraft. Come on!" With that, the golden-eyed young man strode steadily toward Kirei Kotomine.

"Let's settle this with Bajiquan!"

If you want to see the famous scene of Mapo beating up a tree, the original plot is necessary. I have also tried my best to revise and add to the original, and I hope everyone will have a fresh reading experience.

Rage corroded Kayneth's heart like sulfuric acid.

He was a first-rate magus. Logically, he should never lose his composure because of emotion, especially when facing formal competition.

In fact, if this battle had been a duel in which first-rate magi each used every skill at their disposal, Kayneth would not have been so angry. He would have admired and respected his opponent's techniques, calmly evaluated the enemy's true strength, and responded with the appropriate magecraft—with all his heart. Just as in the clash between him and Sakutsuki at the Hyatt Hotel.

Such noble and dignified gentlemanly competition was the kind of "battle" Kayneth knew. He had traveled all the way to this remote nation in the Far East to stake his right to obtain the Holy Grail and compete against Tokiomi Tohsaka, Zouken Matou, and the other four contestants.

But—the gunshot wound through his right shoulder stimulated his pain receptors. As though mocking and humiliating Kayneth, it throbbed without end.

It was the result of a shot fired by Kiritsugu Emiya when he pulled the trigger of his beloved Contender.

It had nothing to do with magecraft or Mystic Codes. It was merely a ridiculous toy assembled from mechanical parts, yet it had breached the barrier between mystery and reality, pierced Volumen Hydrargyrum's defenses, and left a wound on a Clock Tower Lord.

This wound had not been sustained in battle. That sort of act—could not possibly be called "battle."

It was like stepping through a rotten floorboard; like knocking over a pot of food cooking on the stove; like having mud splash onto his finest clothes. The other party was a cowardly insect not even worthy of being called an opponent. The very sight of him felt like an insult to Kayneth's eyes. He was nothing but revolting trash.

By the honor of Lord El-Melloi, he would never regard such a thing as an object worthy of his "anger."

These were merely trivial matters. He only needed to laugh them off as bad luck.

Yet even as Kayneth told himself that—the wound in his shoulder continued to cry out. The burning pain tormented him and gnawed at his pride.

Kayneth's pale face was expressionless, as though he wore a Noh mask. It was absolutely not the face of "someone who was angry," because Kayneth did not resent anyone. His rage was directed entirely at himself. He was only furious at this abnormal situation.

"Impossible—"

His rage, with nowhere to go, transformed into an urge to destroy and was conveyed to Volumen Hydrargyrum. Mercury blades and whips slashed wildly across the walls of the surrounding corridor.

"How could lowly scum like that make me bleed... Impossible! How could such a thing happen!?"

With the steps of a sleepwalker, Kayneth pursued the fleeing Kiritsugu Emiya.

The doors blocking his path were not opened. They were smashed apart beneath the weight of mercury.

Vases, paintings, lavish furniture—every decorative object in sight was sliced apart and thoroughly destroyed. There were also many traps along the way.

Whenever Kayneth's unguarded toes caught on steel wire or stepped on detonators hidden beneath the carpet, pre-set grenades exploded and mines scattered shrapnel through the air. The mercury defense membrane that spread in an instant easily blocked every attack time and again.

The enemy's traps were like toys meant to fool children, so ridiculous that even Kayneth felt like laughing. But while he mocked his opponent, he was also mocking himself for having been so easily wounded by such childish tricks.

Self-mockery sliced through his pride like a razor, and that humiliation stoked the flames of anger in Kayneth's heart even higher.

His prized Mystic Code was not meant to deal with such despicable methods. His mercury should have received Gandr, deflected spiritual blades, broken through magical armaments of flame, ice, and lightning, and sent magi who hated him to their deaths amid awe and fear.

Then what exactly was this pathetic spectacle he was making of himself?

Fortunately, this humiliating pursuit was finally about to end.

No matter how vast the castle was, fleeing upward greatly limited the escape routes. The rat had been driven to the end of the third-floor corridor. This time, Volumen Hydrargyrum had accurately found his location. The target seemed to have given up and stood motionless, likely intending to make his final stand there.

"A duel? No, this is not a duel. It is an execution. A slaughter!" Kayneth's entire body surged with cruel killing intent as he turned the final corner, reached the end of the corridor, and faced the prey holding two guns.

"You don't think that trick from before will work again, do you? Trash, you were able to wound me not because you seized the right moment, nor because your ambush succeeded. It was nothing more than an unreasonable coincidence."

The arrogant magus spoke in a grim voice as he slowly advanced toward Kiritsugu step by step. Volumen Hydrargyrum spinning at his side extended and contracted countless whips threateningly, its sharp tips swaying.

"I will not kill you easily. I will heal your lungs and heart again and again, then use blades to cut you into pieces from head to toe. You will die in pain, regret, and despair. And when you die, curse—curse the Einzbern who dared insult the Holy Grail War!"

Faced with Kayneth's declaration of execution, Kiritsugu Emiya did not panic in the slightest. Instead, he laughed inwardly.

Good. Very good—

He had suppressed his bodily functions with Time Alter, thereby deceiving the mercury's detection of temperature and heartbeat and neutralizing Volumen Hydrargyrum's search capabilities.

He had used the bullets from the Calico submachine gun to suppress Volumen Hydrargyrum's transformations, then used a Springfield round with seven times the destructive power of a nine-millimeter bullet to pierce Volumen Hydrargyrum and punch through Kayneth's shoulder, neutralizing Volumen Hydrargyrum's defensive capabilities.

As for Volumen Hydrargyrum's offensive capabilities, when the mercury transformed into long whips, only the root portions swung at extreme speed. The tips carried no force at all. The blade tips' power and speed came purely from centrifugal force, and such ultrafast attacks meant predictable movements. Thus, no matter how Kayneth attacked, he had never struck Kiritsugu Emiya.

With that, Kiritsugu Emiya had effortlessly neutralized all three of Volumen Hydrargyrum's major capabilities. An ordinary person would surely retreat without hesitation once they realized their trump cards no longer worked.

Yet Kayneth did not. Rage had devoured his reason, making his actions as reckless as those of an enraged bull.

That magus's pride, that stubborn refusal to acknowledge the changing times, was the finest weapon with which to kill himself.

And now, as the Magus Killer, Kiritsugu only needed to add one more spark.

The Calico submachine gun spat fire, beginning an unbroken barrage of suppressive bullets.

"Fevor, meisanguis! (Boil, my blood!)"

After being shot in the shoulder, Kayneth was naturally not foolish enough to defend himself the same way again. He reconstructed the mercury's defenses. No longer a thin membrane, it became pillars.

Countless reverse thorns rose from floor to ceiling, covering Kayneth's body like a dense bamboo forest and completely blocking the incoming bullets.

The bullets were stopped by the silver mountain of blades. Amid deafening metallic clanging, they ricocheted repeatedly through the gaps between the barbs before losing their force and falling to the floor. Not a single bullet touched Kayneth's body.

But Kiritsugu Emiya showed no intention of changing tactics. The instant the M950 magazine ran dry, the Contender in his right hand roared. This single bullet possessed far greater destructive force than a nine-millimeter round. It had previously pierced Volumen Hydrargyrum's barrier for the first time and wounded Kayneth.

"You don't think that trick will work again, do you, bitch?" Kayneth taunted from within Volumen Hydrargyrum's protection.

Unlike before, the sword-mountain-shaped mercury possessed far greater freedom than its membrane form. The moment that killing shot touched the silver barbs, every other barb closed in like a Venus flytrap and wrapped around the bullet together. In an instant, the dense, slender barbs transformed into a thick pillar, sealing off the .30-06 Springfield round.