Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra Chapter 2

Amiya, caught in the middle, hastily stopped the two from arguing.

"..."

Shirou and W both looked at Amiya, then turned their heads away, no longer looking at each other.

Rumble... The car engine roared to life, and W drove the car back in the direction they had just come from.

Shirou, meanwhile, sat in the back seat, his eyes slightly narrowed as he rested.

He hadn't closed his eyes in three days, and he didn't know how busy he would be once they got back.

Amiya and W in the car both saw Shirou's condition in the rearview mirror. W let out a soft snort and focused on driving.

If the little rabbit hadn't been unable to find anyone else to drive, she wouldn't have bothered coming.

As for the bomb attached to the car's hood before they left?

She didn't know who put it there, but she had removed it before they departed.

"Is he in bad shape?"

After driving for a short while, W noticed Amiya's expression seemed off and asked.

"...Very bad. He could disappear at any moment."

Glancing at the rearview mirror, Amiya replied.

At this moment, Shirou's condition wasn't just bad; the data being transmitted from the data ring on his left hand was also grim.

Amiya knew very well that Shirou was like a castle built of sand.

Though it looked tall and sturdy, it would crumble at the slightest touch.

But... there was no other choice. Rhodes Island had no one better.

Shirou was the only one they could rely on.

They could only rely on someone whose very existence was as ephemeral as mist.

"Tch, let the Doctor and that old hag see what they've done?"

Upon hearing Amiya's words, W couldn't be bothered to say more on the matter.

It was definitely those two's fault, and they needed to see how they had pushed a promising young man to this state.

When she first met him, he was such a fine young man? She had even mistaken him for Theresia for a moment.

And now?

Rhodes Island's vengeful spirit, was it?

"There's no other way. The only one in Rhodes Island who can contend with the Sea Creatures is Shirou. The mental pollution's damage to a person is too severe."

Amiya knew this was wrong.

Shirou was practically holding on by sheer will.

She shouldn't force someone who could dissipate at any moment to fight.

But there was truly no other option.

The Abyssal and Siracusan operators in Rhodes Island had already left. The remaining operators didn't understand the Sea Creatures well.

If there were any other choice, Amiya would have asked the Doctor and Doctor Kal'tsit to find a replacement.

But as it stood... it was all up to Shirou.

"I told you, it's fine."

From the back, Shirou's low voice emerged.

He was only resting with his eyes slightly narrowed; he hadn't completely fallen asleep.

He had heard their conversation.

The two in front also knew he was awake, which was why they had said so much.

They just wanted him to have a moment to relax and stabilize his body first.

But there was no time for him to rest now.

"Yes, yes, yes, you fragile doll, go to sleep and stop talking, okay?"

W, driving, immediately retorted when she heard Shirou.

I know you're awake, but you butting in is wrong.

"..."

Shirou fell silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes again.

"Ahahaha... Only Miss W can get Shirou to listen."

Seeing this, Amiya let out an awkward laugh.

She had known for a long time that W and Shirou wouldn't get along, but there was nothing she could do. Before they left, a potato-faced smiley bomb was placed on the car, and it was obvious who did it. Some people were just stubborn, always saying they didn't want to care or were too lazy to care, but they still used this method to get the chance to drive Shirou.

In the Doctor's words, wasn't this tsundere?

It's good this way; no other operators could move Shirou, only the straightforward W could get through to him.

He wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing.

The car continued to drive, maintaining a quiet atmosphere inside.

Soon, a massive city appeared in the distance—the Ark.

An Ark built by the civilization of the ancients, obtained through transactions between Doctor Kal'tsit, the great beasts, and the Beastmasters of this land.

Noah's Ark, carrying the last hope of life.

The Ark carrying Terra's civilization towards tomorrow.

In Shirou's opinion, neither of them was particularly impressive.

Yet Kal'tsit chose these two words as the city's name.

Civilization and technology, any one of which could make a person famous or secure their livelihood for the rest of their lives, had now become a cage trapping the remaining humans.

A cage that could resist the Sea Creatures, impregnable...

What Shirou needed to do was simple: buy time to build this cage and find a way to effectively defeat the Sea Creatures.

He had a method; attacking with Gan Jiang Mo Ye's guns could deal with them effectively.

Noble Phantasms might also work, but one sword could kill at most two Sea Creatures, which wasn't very efficient.

If he had enough mana, he could use Unlimited Blade Works combined with Reality Marble, but his body would likely give out first.

Now, he could only hope that the Sea Creature cells he brought back could be researched to develop targeted weapons.

Silence filled the car, with only W humming a tune from somewhere as she drove.

In the passenger seat, Amiya held a terminal, organizing the documents that would be presented to the Doctor later.

In the back seat, Shirou, though his eyes were half-closed, remained constantly vigilant of his surroundings.

Even with W and Amiya present, he maintained his guard.

He couldn't remember clearly, but he just felt that he should do this.

Memories... felt a bit distant to him.

But it didn't matter; if his own past could pave the way for Amiya and the others' future, he wouldn't mind giving it all up.

01 That Day, Penguin Logistics Found...

Clang—clang—clang—the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out, and his consciousness cleared slightly.

"Shirou, don't give up, you must defeat that Golden Flash..."

Whose... voice was that?

"Shirou, I was so happy when you called out to me that day."

Called out to... whom?

"Shirou Emiya! Since you've held someone's hand, don't let go! Live on! And go defeat that guy!"

Held whose hand...?

"May I ask, are you my Master?"

Master? Who? Are they talking about me?

Countless voices echoed in his mind, followed by fleeting images.

A golden-haired knight in blue and silver armor, holding a golden sword; a white-haired man in a red coat, wielding black and white twin blades; a small girl with white hair and red eyes, like a snow spirit; and a girl with black hair tied in twin ponytails...

The images continued, but he couldn't remember their names.

"Shirou, what's for dinner tonight?"

A woman with brown hair asked, lying by the dining table.

"Senpai, you'll catch a cold sleeping here,"

A girl with purple hair said.

"You really go too far. If you keep this up, you'll break,"

A boy with blue hair and glasses said.

"Congratulations, you are the victor of this Holy Grail War. You may do as you please with the Holy Grail."

A priest, who looked utterly despicable and annoying, covered in blood, announced his victory.

Holy Grail War...?

Ah, right, I must destroy the Holy Grail, otherwise, the Holy Grail will grant that Golden Flash's wish...

No... the Holy Grail has already been destroyed. He projected Saber's golden sword using that guy's arm and paid with his own life to destroy the Holy Grail.

Then, can I rest now? He was so tired, and his body ached all over, as if something had pierced him. His head hurt too, his memories fragmented.

Stinging pain, cold, dizziness, difficulty breathing.

Thump-thump—thump-thump—thump-thump—but he could still feel his heartbeat.

Consciousness was gradually returning, followed by more images.

"Saber, complete your mission."

Facing the Holy Grail overflowing with black mud, he chose to let Saber do what she needed to do.

"I want to become a hero of justice."

He declared this while pointing a sword at Archer.

"I want to become a hero of justice for Sakura alone."

In the rainy night, he declared this while holding the crying Sakura.

"I hope you can find happiness."

He prayed this, holding Miyu's hand as she wore a formal dress on the altar.

Although everyone within these memories was Shirou Emiya, they were also not him, yet their memories kept flooding in.

Where did these memories come from?

He didn't know, he couldn't think. As the memories poured in one after another, he could no longer pay attention to the pain in his body. It felt like a swarm of ants were crawling in his head, itching, heating, stinging, and causing immense discomfort.

"If doing this can stop anyone from shedding tears..."

He muttered to himself, wearing a combat suit, looking at the blue orb of light before him.

"Did you escape? Did you escape to hell, Kiyohime!"

He was being suppressed by many people, yet he still roared at the corpse of the woman lying on the ground before him.

The images flickered continuously.

In one, he calmly faced his destined death, standing composedly on the execution platform.

Thump— The scene changed.