First Round

They say when a man's down on his luck, even farting can stub his toe!

Maybe it's because Red Archer is cursed with Luck E, but Shirou is a textbook example.

He used a blade technique descending from the sky, only to get surrounded; he carved a path of destruction toward the enemy base, smashed through a wall, and fell straight into a pit; climbed out, pushed through the Buffilo family, and then ran into a max-level big shot who beat him senseless!

That's right, a max-level big shot—not the Buffilo family head who only got one line of dialogue. It was the tenth seat among the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, the White Wing Lord Ortensia of the True Ancestors. Shirou couldn't understand it—was he really that unlucky? Just grinding a quest and he runs into something like this?

Sure enough, I'm cursed with Luck E just like Red Archer, huh? Shirou grumbled inwardly.

"Hey! Kid, you okay?" Natalia's slightly worried voice came through the radio, cutting off Shirou's internal complaints.

"I'm fine, just a bit sore."

Shirou picked himself up off the ground. The White Wing Lord lived up to his reputation as a top-tier figure among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors—that single blow had even pierced through Shirou's Steel Skin defense and dealt him damage. It hurt, but he'd already recovered. High-Speed Regeneration was just that unreasonable.

Not fighting back wasn't Shirou's style. He immediately asked, "Natalia-san, you brought silver bullets, right? The kind for dealing with Dead Apostles."

"I did. Why are you asking?" Since Dead Apostles had long lifespans, many magi studied them. As a precaution, carrying silver bullets with special effectiveness against Dead Apostles had become Natalia's habit.

"Know why the Buffilo family head hasn't been blown to bits? Take a look at that white-haired guy. That bastard is one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors—the White Wing Lord, the one going head-to-head with Barthomeloi."

Hearing Shirou's words, even Natalia broke out in a cold sweat. "Hey, kid, you're joking, right? You know that guy's a kin of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, and you still want to fight?"

It wasn't that those True Ancestors were overly protective of their own—it was more about saving face. Killing a Dead Apostle he'd converted would be a slap in the face, and there was no way he wouldn't retaliate and hunt them down.

"That's why I'm telling you to act. I've thought of a permanent solution!" Shirou flashed a smile—warm, and... terrifying! As he spoke, he pointed a finger at the White Wing Lord.

"A permanent solution... Hey, kid, you're not thinking—"

Before Natalia could finish, Shirou had already moved. He did something that most magi would consider suicide: the Cero Oscuras bloomed for the first time in this world!

Of course, don't expect warmth or happiness.

Under this attack, even space trembled, accompanied by Shirou's almost emotionless, cold voice, "If I just kill this old bastard, won't everything be fine?"

For the first time, someone had taken the initiative to attack him, and the White Wing Lord was a bit surprised. Unfortunately, that split second of surprise cost him the chance to dodge.

Judging how threatening a technique is comes down to three things: stability, accuracy, and power!

The Cero Oscuras had stable output, immense force, and plenty of charge—it met all three criteria. Caught off guard, the White Wing Lord could only raise his hands to block. That was almost enough, though. A True Ancestor's body was terrifyingly tough. While he couldn't completely ignore the Cero Oscuras, under the True Ancestor's regenerative ability, the White Wing Lord healed quickly.

"That little madman!" Natalia cursed bitterly from afar, but she still made her choice. She pulled out the magazine, loaded silver bullets, and from eight hundred meters away, blew the head off that poor Buffilo family head with a single shot. Then she quickly withdrew. The fight that followed was already beyond her level.

Since his debut, this extra had only one line of dialogue. Battle Continuation wasn't something everyone had, so he could only die on the spot.

"What?" Seeing the Buffilo family head die right in front of him, the White Wing Lord felt a burning sting on his face, but he couldn't let up his guard. The ground, lacking his durability, was gouged into two long trenches.

"This power—"

"Old fiend, take my Serious Punch!" Shirou's voice rang out from behind him. The latter's pupils shrank sharply. "And this speed—"

Shirou's fist, glowing with green light, blasted the White Wing Lord flying. In midair, the White Wing Lord spread a pair of pure white wings and quickly stabilized himself.

A pair of white wings, paired with his equally pure white long hair and his imposing, dignified face—he truly lived up to his title of White Wing Lord.

In the air, the White Wing Lord spoke, "Kid, if I'm not mistaken, you're not human, are you?"

"Whether I'm human or not isn't for you to decide!" Shirou revealed a dangerous smile. "From a species perspective, I'm human. From my appearance and heart, I am as well."

"But," Shirou's tone shifted, "from the power I use and my soul, I'm an out-and-out monster!"

As they spoke, the White Wing Lord couldn't help but sense a hint of danger. Relying on his body's instincts, he instinctively dodged to the side.

His actions proved correct. Another Cero Oscuras howled past from a different direction, grazing the spot where the White Wing Lord had been.

"Tch! I thought that would hit! What a shame, don't you think, Ulquiorra?" Shirou put on a regretful expression, addressing the one who'd ambushed them. But the latter had no intention of playing along.

"What's there to regret? You never expected that attack to succeed in the first place, did you?" Ulquiorra said in his uniquely hollow voice.

"Oh? Is it because that guy's in the air?" Ulquiorra's lack of cooperation was entirely within Shirou's expectations. He looked up at the White Wing Lord. The next moment, Sonido activated. Shirou vanished, then reappeared above the White Wing Lord, driving a leg down. The latter immediately raised his arms to block Shirou's attack, snarling, "Don't underestimate me, kid. I am the tenth seat of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, the White Wing Lord Ortensia!"

"Is that so? So what?" Ulquiorra swung a fist from the White Wing Lord's flank, aiming straight at his exposed side.

As it turned out, the White Wing Lord was still the White Wing Lord. Holding a dominant position among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors was no simple feat. He pushed Shirou away with a burst of force, then spun around with a roundhouse kick to send him flying, grabbed Ulquiorra's fist, and hurled him at Shirou.

The entire sequence was fluid, completed in less than a second. Shirou couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, Holy crap, this guy's definitely an Archer!

There was no time for idle thoughts in battle. Shirou immediately shot a look at Ulquiorra, who was flying toward him. Though the latter didn't understand the look, their souls were connected—if they wanted, they could transmit their thoughts to each other.

Shirou reached out a hand. Ulquiorra grabbed it as he flew past, using the centrifugal force to spin several times in the air before launching Shirou like a projectile at the White Wing Lord, locking the two into combat again.

When it came to hand-to-hand combat, Shirou was completely clueless—one out of seven orifices open, the rest blocked. He fought entirely on instinct from the Great Void and the relentless tenacity of High-Speed Regeneration.

Now, neither side could gain the upper hand. In terms of recovery, one was a True Ancestor and the other had High-Speed Regeneration—they were evenly matched. In combat technique, the White Wing Lord, who'd lived for centuries, was leagues ahead of Shirou. But Shirou had two fighters on his side—when the White Wing Lord shook one off, the other immediately pounced back. If the White Wing Lord had been born in China's northeast, he'd have cursed them as sticky plasters.

After dozens of exchanges, both sides tacitly pulled back. With that, their mutual probing officially ended.

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author—maybe it's just been renamed!