The Hunt Continues

After spending a few days in El-Melloi, Shirou and Natalia began preparing for work again.

Although his time with Webber had been relatively harmonious, their relationship remained that of a patron and a bounty hunter.

Besides, the one who issued the mission was Lady Reines. It had little to do with Webber, so the work had to continue.

After the last incident, Natalia had formed a general understanding of Shirou—if Kiritsugu was a born killer, then Shirou was a born hunter.

He possessed absolute power but wasn't in a hurry to kill his target. Instead, he toyed around before finishing the necessary slaughter.

She had to admit, it was a nasty habit. It made him seem less like a human and more like a beast. And his method of killing was brutally direct—just stab straight through.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. In conflicts between mages, a one-hit kill was the best outcome. It cut through all the flashy nonsense, and Shirou's approach was tailor-made to counter such tricks.

But the problem was how practiced his movements were. This wasn't a matter of asking, "Why are you so skilled?" His killing motions were as instinctive as a reflex, which clearly wasn't something an ordinary person could pull off.

Then there was the sheer volume of magical energy he possessed—enough to make an average mage despair.

Natalia had no idea where Kiritsugu had dug up such a little monster, nor what was going on with Shirou, nor whether this was a good or bad thing. So she decided to let nature take its course.

That was the Emiya family's style—as long as nothing went wrong, they didn't interfere.

This time, the target was designated by Reines. The name caught Shirou's interest: the Buffilo Family.

Hey, buddy, do you have a brother family named Buffett? Do you guys make your fortune from stocks too?

And this family's way of doing things was incredibly stubborn. They were the ones clashing most fiercely with El-Melloi head-on, even now that El-Melloi had restored its former glory as one of the Twelve Lords. They never backed down.

In Shirou's eyes, this peculiar family perfectly embodied the motto, "Life and death don't matter; if you're not convinced, fight it out." It suited his taste. And it was better that they took things lightly—they'd be checking into the funeral home soon anyway.

Additionally, the Buffilo family was a fairly orthodox mage family. They followed the old traditions, holed up in the mountains as expected.

But they never thought to step out of those mountains. A poor, rural family daring to go toe-to-toe with El-Melloi—where did they get the courage?

This time, Shirou's formation was the same as before. He'd take the front line, charging straight in—basically, kill gods, kill Buddhas, break down doors, smash through walls, and carve a path of destruction straight to the target, making them hand over their head with his big blade.

Natalia would stay behind, ready to snipe. Though it was still a precaution, this time it was to ensure no one escaped alive.

According to the intelligence Reines provided, the Buffilo family specialized in earth magic. Shirou just snorted at that.

Screw that. According to the info from Type-Moon's scapegoat, Tokiomi Tohsaka, the Matou family's magic was supposed to be water magic. But when his daughter got there, she found out—

What the hell kind of water magic is that? Whose water looks like arthropods?

So mage intelligence was total bullshit. In this line of work, there was only one rule: mystery!

If it was public knowledge, what kind of mystery was it?

Even the cat owned by a kindergarten kid knew that!

Shirou decided to take an airborne route this time. He could fly, after all. Not using an advantage like that would be stupid.

What? You're asking why I didn't fly last time? Because of that line, "kick the door open with one foot"! Even though the door ended up being blown open instead of kicked.

"This prey looks a lot more interesting than last time, Natalia-san. What do you think?" Shirou asked over the radio.

I'm looking through a scope. Natalia couldn't be that cheeky, though—that line was Shirou's own imagination. "Something's off. You'd better be careful, Kid. I've got a bad feeling. This job isn't simple."

Natalia's voice came through the radio. Shirou knew she wouldn't lie at a time like this, but he still asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Professional instinct. Do you believe it?"

Believe it? Of course he did! Instinct was a mysterious thing in this world—better to believe it than not.

"Of course. When was the last time you felt this way?"

"The last time Kiritsugu blew up a plane with me on it," Natalia said after a serious pause.

"That's not a good feeling." Shirou wiped imaginary cold sweat from his brow. "But one thing, Natalia-san, you can rest easy. Dad would sacrifice the people around him for the world. I'm the opposite—I'd destroy the world for the people around me!"

"Don't be an idiot, Kid. Deal with what's in front of you first!" Shirou's chuunibyou was flaring up again, so Natalia snapped at him. She couldn't understand it—such a good kid, capable, versatile, and a good cook—why was he so delusional?

"Yes, sir! On it!"

Shirou's voice rang in Natalia's ears. She pressed a hand to her forehead. This kid was terminal with chuunibyou. No saving him.

Standing dozens of meters in the air using Hierro, Shirou was grateful he didn't have a fear of heights. Otherwise, forget the next move—just one look down and he'd fall.

Truce on!

Shirou projected Fake Kanesada again, raised it above his head, and then began freefall. This was the first move of Assassin's Creed—the Leap of Faith!

When a steel coin fell from a height of over ten meters, it hit with the force of an anti-materiel rifle. That showed just how much acceleration was at play.

If a tiny coin had that much power, then Shirou, as big as he was, slammed straight into the ground, creating a massive crater.

As for the barrier? It was already toast. Under Kanesada, any barrier was just decoration!

Just as he climbed out of the crater, Shirou noticed a problem—he was surrounded!

All around him were those shit-yellow earth Golems. They showed up in every event in games, and they were here too!

He estimated at least eight hundred of them. And the one right next to him had already swung a fist bigger than a basin straight at Shirou. If that hit landed, the fist would basically be wrecked.

Shirou vanished with a whoosh, using Sonido to dodge that bone-shattering punch. Then, with another whoosh, he appeared behind the Golem that had tried to crush him. A single chop of his hand, and crack—he shattered the Golem into pieces.

This was a reflex, a habit from playing games. These were all Berserker-class mobs, and Shirou subconsciously thought they could hurt him.

So, what should an assassin do when surrounded?

Naturally, go full rampage mode!

This is the ultimate Assassin's Creed technique: Peerless!

At the Clock Tower.

The lord of Bartholomew was furiously berating his intelligence personnel: "Are you all just eating your pay? One of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, and that damned Ortolocke at that! He's been on Clock Tower turf for a month, and I knew about it before you did!"

The aged Lord Barthomeloi caught his breath. Seizing the moment, a slightly bolder underling stepped forward: "My Lord, what do we do now?"

Lord Barthomeloi calmed himself, glanced at the man, and said, "Gather everyone competent from the house, and summon the Animal Department as well. This time, we hunt a True Ancestor."

"Yes, My Lord. Understood."

Wait!

"Is there something else, My Lord?"

"What's your name?"

The man paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Rolleia, My Lord. My name is Rolleia."

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