Muscle Monster

Humming an unfamiliar tune, Shirou walked alone down the pitch-black hospital corridor. If you asked just how dark that corridor was, Shirou could tell you straight up—it was as dark as Doraemon!

What? You're asking me how Doraemon, who's obviously blue, could be dark? The point is, Doraemon can't see his hand in front of his face—can you?

Shirou walked deep into the corridor and arrived at Kirie's room. Pushing open the door, he saw a man in a long trench coat standing inside.

"Souren Araya?" Shirou paused at the sight of him, then asked tentatively.

"That's right. Who are you?" Araya's voice rang out, full and steady.

"Let's just say I'm something like a friend of Fujou Kirie's. For now, I'm still a nobody," Shirou said unhurriedly.

"A nobody? Then how would a nobody know my name?" Araya asked. He wasn't like Touko—famous in the Clock Tower for her masterful puppetcraft and a rare Grand Magus. Araya had only lived a little longer and was a little stronger in martial arts; beyond that, he was just someone who could fight.

"Because of Touko—you two know each other!" Shirou sold her out without hesitation. "Maybe you don't remember, but there's a photo of you two together. I happened to see it once, and when I asked her, she told me."

"Aozaki? A pity she's fallen. And you—are you her disciple?" Araya asked again.

Toward Touko, Araya harbored an indescribable feeling. They'd studied together, pursued the Root together, and maybe even had feelings for each other once. But none of that mattered anymore.

"No, not yet."

"Is that so?" Araya didn't press Shirou further, nor did he say things like, "Why refuse? She's a top-tier magus." That would be meaningless. If he asked, he wouldn't be Souren Araya.

"Hey, Kirie, this guy didn't do anything to you, did he?" Shirou turned to ask Kirie.

"Mm," Kirie replied with a smile. To her, Shirou was the first person in a long time who cared about her. Being cared for made her happy. "I'm fine, Shirou. That man said he'd give me a body that can move freely."

Shirou trusted Kirie. He never doubted that she would lie to him—because Kirie wouldn't, and she had no reason to.

Even though Araya had raised her for over a decade, Kirie had never known. Think about it: a young man with a kind face versus a creepy old guy who looked like trouble—anyone without special tastes knew which one to pick.

"That's good!" Hearing Kirie's answer, Shirou smiled. He smiled like a child—or rather, a child who could level Kanbiko City.

"But..." Shirou shifted his gaze back to Araya. "That said, I can't let you go around bewitching my companion. That'd be a real headache for me, Mr. Araya."

A faint smile hung on Shirou's face, but there was no warmth in his eyes. Instead, they were filled with an icy coldness.

Trying to mess with his people?

Sure, no problem!

But at least be prepared to face a monster!

Channeling his magical energy, a golden triple barrier unfolded beneath Araya's feet. Like the magi of the Emiya Family, Araya was also an aberrant magus.

But unlike Kiritsugu and Shirou—both of whom had decent magical aptitude—Araya's talent as a magus was extremely low. He could barely use any magecraft.

And sometimes, combat strength didn't reflect magical achievement.

Though his fighting ability stood at the peak of pure-blooded ordinary humans in this world, his overwhelming power was built entirely on his exceptional martial arts, two centuries of accumulated combat experience, and his unique barrier—the Sixfold Boundary.

Yes, even though Araya had only deployed three barriers now, there were actually six in total. He just hadn't spread them all yet.

Seeing that Araya was already in a combat stance, Shirou didn't hesitate.

With a single Sonido, he appeared before Araya, grabbing the man's face. Then, activating Sonido again, he transferred both of them out of the hospital room together.

On the hospital rooftop, two figures—one large, one small—suddenly appeared. The moment they materialized, they quickly distanced themselves from each other. These two were Shirou and Araya.

If they fought inside the room, Kirie would inevitably be caught in the crossfire, so shifting the battlefield was a necessity.

"A peculiar movement technique. Somewhat reminiscent of the rumored Second Magic," Araya commented.

"Yeah, somewhat. That's all. I've got nothing to do with Zelretch," Shirou said, too lazy to explain.

The principle behind Sonido was tearing through space to achieve point-to-point teleportation. Both the activation and the technique itself granted invincibility frames.

Most people who'd played King of Glory knew that Diaochan's second skill made her invincible during use—Sonido was similar. And since Sonido involved spatial movement, it was only natural that it bore some resemblance to the Second Magic, which controlled space.

"I've heard from Touko that you're an old magus who's lived two hundred years. You should be my senior on the path of magecraft. So let me, your junior, show you a little trick!"

Trace On!

The glow of magical energy faded, and a tachi appeared in Shirou's hand. He couldn't always carry the Black Winged Great Demon around—that'd be too troublesome—so Projection Magecraft became the best option.

"Foolish! Projection Magecraft can only create the form of an object. In essence, it's just an empty shell—fundamentally different from the original!"

Whether mocking Shirou or critiquing him, Araya actually bothered to evaluate Shirou's projection.

"No—that's true for ordinary projection. Mine is special. And a fake isn't necessarily inferior to the real thing. Souren Araya, you'd better watch out!"

Shirou backflipped onto the water tank on the hospital rooftop. With the moonlight as his backdrop, he raised the tachi from below, rotating it clockwise 180 degrees until it was held above his head.

"Saying this before a fight is pretty stupid... ah, whatever..." Shirou muttered to himself in self-deprecation, then called out to Araya, "Hey, I'm coming. Don't die on me!"

With that, Shirou pushed off the water tank, tachi in hand, and shot toward Araya like a flying blade—fast and fierce.

His speed broke the sound barrier, producing a sonic boom. A magus like Kayneth, who neglected his own physical conditioning, might not even have time to chant before being cut down if he reacted too slowly.

But Araya wasn't like Kayneth—someone who dropped to a five-on-the-power-scale the moment his Mystic Code was gone. Facing this supersonic slash, he didn't even deploy a barrier. He simply raised his left arm and blocked the fierce strike.

The clash of arm and blade rang out like metal striking metal.

Shirou clicked his tongue inwardly. He blocked that? Guess that's Souren Araya for you. At the same time, he was frustrated—why was everyone he went toe-to-toe with a strength monster?