Chapter 240

"Silver-white hair, black bodysuit and pants, and tanned skin, right?"

Not only Amiya, but even Shirou realized that something was wrong.

Could it be that they've been confusing people from the very beginning?

"Oh."

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Blaze knew that the situation had gone from bad to incomprehensible.

It turns out the two sides weren't on the same wavelength from the very beginning!

"Um... wait a minute! Rosemary! Do you have any photos stored in your terminal?"

Amiya put down what she was halfway through organizing and jogged towards the Rosemary.

"... So, does this cooperation still count?"

Seeing the commotion, Exusiai quietly asked Texas, who was standing nearby.

Who knows?

Ignoring his teammates' words, Texas silently gathered up the documents scattered on the ground.

Anyway, the deal has been settled, and the information provided by the other party is what Shirou wanted, so whether he knows the person or not is not that important.

However, it's too much trouble to explain to Exusiai; she won't agree unless you give her a Pocky stick.

Seemingly noticing Texas's irritability due to a lack of Pocky energy, Exusiai obediently quieted down.

"Seriously... isn't this a bit too hasty?"

Looking at the chaotic scene, Chen said helplessly.

They had only been gone for a short while when the situation inside had completely changed, and they had reached a cooperation agreement in one fell swoop.

So now they're saying even the people were wrong?

That's pretty outrageous!

"... Here is a photo of Mr. Wuming. Please handle the terminal carefully, as it contains very precious Rosemary."

After obtaining the photos from Rosemary, Amiya carefully carried the terminal in her hands and jogged over to Shirou.

"...ah?"

Looking at the man with silver-white hair, black clothes, and dark skin on the terminal, Shirou's brain went blank for a moment.

221 Black Stone

Hmm... how should I put it?

The features did match, but the person was not someone he knew.

It's a bit subtle, I'd say?

"There are a few more photos from the battle later..."

Looking at Shirou's expression, Amiya knew that both sides seemed to have really misunderstood this matter.

But who knows, maybe the two haven't seen each other in a long time? Looking at a few more photos might reveal something else?

"Let me see..."

After hearing Amiya's words, Shirou did as she said.

Meanwhile, the four members of Penguin Logistics, filled with curiosity, and the three members of the Knights of the Round Table also joined in to watch.

"Wow, this gun has a nice design. This person has great taste."

Looking at the photos in the background, Exusiai, who loves guns, naturally focuses on the pair of gun blades in the opponent's hands.

Two huge pistols, one black and one white, with blades on them—aren't they awesome?

"Shut up."

Texas immediately covered Exusiai's mouth, preventing her from commenting on the gun.

We're clearly discussing something else, and you're telling me this human gun has good taste?

Could you focus your attention on what matters most?

"It does look somewhat familiar... Did they leave anything behind? Perhaps I can find something from it?"

Shirou paid no attention to the commotion behind him. As he flipped through the photos, he felt as if he had seen the other person somewhere before.

It shouldn't be someone I met before I traveled through time... after all, that memory is still a bit hazy.

It seems that at the very beginning, after a series of scenes in the dream, the final image was of Archer back to back?

I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but now it seems...

Could it be that he took a bath after being drenched in that guy's Black Mud?

Looking at that somewhat familiar black figure, Shirou thought to himself.

After all, Saber turned completely black after bathing in the Black Mud...

After having this idea, Shirou felt that this possibility was plausible.

So now the question is, can he trust this guy?

... There's no need to worry so much. No matter how much you hate that guy, he's still Shirou Emiya.

He has sacrificed so much for the ideal of being a partner in justice, so there's no reason for him not to trust the other party.

After all, the other party can distinguish between public and private matters and wouldn't set a trap in this kind of situation.

Moreover, the other party might not even know that they would be here.

However, just to be on the safe side, Shirou asked Amiya if she had any Projection left behind by that guy, hoping to get some useful information from them.

"Um... I still have something they left behind, is that alright?"

Seeing that Shirou's expression was gradually becoming serious, Amiya then remembered that she still had something left behind by Wuming, which she now carried with her as a talisman.

Amiya took out a small cloth bag from the inner pocket of her coat, and then took out a black stone with faint golden cracks on it.

"This is..."

After handing the terminal back to Rosemary, Shirou quickly turned his attention to the stone in Amiya's hand.

The moment he saw it again, Shirou felt a strong sense of crisis.

It was as if it was reminding itself to stay away from that rock.

But... that stone exuded something that drew him closer.

Torn by this dilemma, Shirou decided to investigate further.

After all, it's just a rock; what danger could it possibly pose?

He extended his left hand, and when it was only a few centimeters away from the stone, a wisp of black magic pierced into Shirou's hand like lightning.

Shirou then felt something connect to him.

Blood was everywhere, and people lay scattered on the ground.

Similar to the nightmare he had that morning, the only difference was that Shirou could now clearly see the person in the reflection with blood on their hands.

The man holding the blood-stained black and white twin swords... was himself.

He could clearly sense what "himself" was thinking at that moment.

He felt remorse for the indiscriminate killing of innocent people and disgust for his own actions.

Then it felt like it was sinking into some kind of liquid, constantly sinking.

An unknown liquid kept pouring into his mouth and nose, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Even if I open my eyes, I can't see anything.

Fear, Shirou clearly felt that he was feeling fear.

The man's fragmented memories, along with the liquid, surged into Shirou's body and began to erode him.

Chasing after that bewitching woman, he was forced to kill innocent believers in order to corner her.

In the end, as if for the lives lost by those innocent people, the man fell into the abyss of demonic possession, all to kill that demonic woman.

He was wrong from the very beginning. The other person was not Archer who had been bathed in the Black Mud of the Holy Grail, but Shirou Emiya, who had truly burned himself out for the ideal of being a heroine of justice.

Even after death, they did not find peace, but instead became guardians and Executor of willpower.

Although he gained a lot of combat experience from it, Shirou did not feel any joy, only a strong sense of unease.

It felt like... something was about to burst out of my body.

"Shirou?"

Although it felt like a long time had passed on Shirou's side, only a few seconds had passed outside from when Shirou touched the black stone.

Saying it was just a touch isn't quite accurate, since Shirou's hand stopped after being touched by the black lightning emanating from the black stone, and his hand was still a few centimeters away from the stone.

Shirou was stunned.

While the others were wondering if Shirou had been electrocuted and that was why he was so stunned.

Amiya, who was standing directly in front of Shirou, noticed that something seemed amiss with him.

At this moment, the other person's eyes lost focus, and a great deal of negative emotion was being transmitted from Shirou's body.

"Amiya, get away from Shirou!"

Upon hearing Amiya's somewhat puzzled voice, Kal'tsit immediately realized that it was the stone left behind after Wuming turned into magic and dissipated that had affected Shirou.

"...!"

Upon hearing Kal'tsit's words, Amiya immediately took several steps back until Blaze caught her.

Shirou only began to take action after Amiya had moved away.

"Ha-ha-ha-"

The discomfort he felt in his mind was brought into reality. Shirou pressed his hands tightly against his left chest and breathed heavily.

"... Shirou?"

Seeing Shirou's current state, the Penguin Logistics team immediately rushed forward to check on Shirou condition.

"Go find a doctor right away!"

Seeing that Shirou seemed to be in a bad state, Chen shouted loudly, while blocking the path between Rhodes Island and Shirou.

Of course, she hadn't forgotten that Rhodes Island had doctors, but Shirou's current condition was clearly caused by Rhodes Island, so she certainly wouldn't let them get close to Shirou.

Unlike the verbal provocation from the other party just now, this time even she herself didn't understand what had happened.

"Chen – I'm fine. I just saw some unpleasant things. It's not Amiya's fault."

At this moment, Shirou was still not in a good state, but in order to avoid a fight between Chen and Rhodes Island, Shirou still endured his discomfort and gave an explanation.

"You don't look like you're alright."

Chen didn't believe Shirou's words. Who would believe someone who was constantly sweating, pale-faced, and trembling in his voice, saying he was fine?

"... It's really nothing."

Shirou felt that he was truly not trusted in this regard. Even yesterday, when he said he was fine, the others still insisted that he get a thorough check-up.

That feeling of unease only lasted for a moment; Shirou could feel the Holy Shroud on his right hand releasing magical power to suppress what was inside him.

He just needs a short rest to recover.

"Let the doctor take a look. Um... Dr. Kal'tsit? Could I trouble you?"

As she wiped Shirou's face with a handkerchief, Sora could clearly feel that his body temperature was a little low.

Compared to Chen's group, who didn't trust the Rhodes Island staff, Penguin Logistics didn't think that much about it.

The main reason is to trust the judgment of one's own boss and Shirou's own words.

Since Shirou said it wasn't a problem with Rhodes Island, then it wasn't. Worrying about it too much would only make things more complicated.

"Open your eyes wide."