When a person was unlucky, even a fart could smash their heel!
Maybe because Red Archer had Luck E, Shirou was a textbook example.
He had used a blade technique that descended from the heavens, only to get surrounded; he had bulldozed his way through enemies and was about to wipe out their base, but the moment he smashed through a wall, he fell into a pit; after climbing out, he wiped out the Buffilo Family too, only to run into some max-level powerhouse who beat him up!
Yes, a max-level powerhouse—not the Buffilo Family head who had only gotten one line of dialogue. This was the tenth of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, the White-Winged Duke Ortensia among the True Ancestors. Shirou simply could not understand it. Was he really so unlucky that he could encounter something this screwed up just doing a quest?
So I have Luck E just like Red Archer? Shirou complained inwardly.
"Hey! Little brat, are you all right?" Natalia's somewhat worried voice came through the radio, interrupting Shirou's internal grumbling.
"I'm fine. It just hurts a little."
Shirou climbed to his feet. The White-Winged Duke truly deserved to be one of the foremost figures among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors. That blow had even pierced Shirou's Steel Skin and injured him. It hurt badly, but he had already recovered. High-Speed Regeneration was just that unreasonable.
Taking a beating without hitting back was not Shirou's style. He immediately asked, "Natalia, you brought silver bullets, right? The kind used against Dead Apostles."
"I did. Why are you asking?" Because Dead Apostles possessed such long lives, quite a few magi had studied them. Carrying silver bullets especially effective against Dead Apostles had become Natalia's habit, just in case.
"Do you know why Buffilo didn't get blown up? Just look at that white-haired uncle. That bastard is the White-Winged Duke, one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors—the one who went head-to-head with Barthomeloi."
Even Natalia broke out in a cold sweat when she heard Shirou's words. "Hey, kid, you're joking, right? You knew that guy was one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors' dependents, and you still attacked?"
It was not that those True Ancestors were especially protective of their own. It was mainly about pride. Killing a Dead Apostle they had transformed was an affront to their dignity. Retaliation and pursuit would be inevitable.
"That's why I'm asking you to make a move. I came up with a permanent solution!" Shirou revealed a smile, warm and... terrifying! As he spoke, he pointed at the White-Winged Duke.
"A permanent solution... Hey! Kid, don't tell me you're—"
Before Natalia could finish, Shirou had already acted. He did something that most magi would consider no different from suicide: Grand Rey Cero bloomed in this world for the first time!
Warmth and happiness were naturally out of the question.
Even space trembled beneath that attack, accompanied by Shirou's icy voice, nearly devoid of emotion. "If we kill this old bastard, won't all our problems disappear?"
It was the first time someone had taken the initiative to attack him, and the White-Winged Duke was somewhat surprised. Unfortunately for him, that moment of surprise cost him his best chance to dodge.
To judge how threatening a move was, there were mainly three points: stability, accuracy, and ruthlessness!
Grand Rey Cero had steady output, immense force, and plenty of power. It fully satisfied all three requirements. Caught off guard, the White-Winged Duke could only raise his hands to block. Still, that was nearly enough. A True Ancestor's body was terrifyingly strong. Though he could not completely ignore Grand Rey Cero, the White-Winged Duke quickly recovered under a True Ancestor's regenerative abilities.
"That little lunatic!" Natalia cursed bitterly from afar, but she still made her choice. She removed the magazine and loaded silver bullets, then blew the unfortunate Buffilo Family head's head apart with a shot from eight hundred meters away. Then she swiftly withdrew. The coming battle was no longer on a level she could involve herself in.
Since his appearance, this disposable extra had gotten only one line. Not everyone had Battle Continuation, so he could only die on the spot.
"What?" Seeing the Buffilo Family head die right before him, the White-Winged Duke felt his face burn with humiliation. Yet he did not dare relax the force in his hands. The ground lacked his durability, and two long trenches were plowed through it.
"This kind of power—"
"Old bastard, take my Serious Punch!" Shirou's voice rang out behind him. The White-Winged Duke's pupils abruptly contracted. "And this kind of speed—"
Shirou's green-glowing fist blasted the White-Winged Duke away. In midair, the White-Winged Duke spread a pair of pristine white wings and swiftly stabilized himself.
Those white wings, paired with his equally snow-white long hair and imposing face, made him worthy of the title White-Winged Duke.
In the air, the White-Winged Duke said, "Kid, if I'm not mistaken, you aren't human, are you?"
"Whether I'm human or not isn't for you to decide!" Shirou showed a dangerous smile. "From the perspective of species, I'm human. In appearance and in heart, I'm human as well."
"However," Shirou abruptly changed his tone, "judging by the power I use and my soul, I'm a monster through and through!"
As they spoke, the White-Winged Duke suddenly sensed danger. Relying on his body's instincts, he subconsciously dodged to the side.
The facts proved that his reaction was correct. Another Grand Rey Cero howled past from another direction, passing through the place where the White-Winged Duke had been moments earlier.
"Tch! I thought that would finish him! What a pity, right, Ulquiorra?" Shirou wore a regretful expression as he spoke to the person who had launched the sneak attack, but Ulquiorra had no intention of playing along.
"What do you mean, pity? You never expected that attack to succeed in the first place," Ulquiorra said in his uniquely hollow voice.
"Oh? Was it because that guy was in the air?" Ulquiorra's lack of cooperation was entirely within Shirou's expectations. He looked up at the White-Winged Duke. The next moment, Sonido activated. Shirou suddenly vanished, then suddenly appeared above the White-Winged Duke and brought down a kicking strike. The latter immediately raised his guard to block Shirou's attack, saying angrily, "Don't underestimate me, kid. I am the tenth of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, White Wing Lord Ortensia!"
"Is that so? So what?" Ulquiorra threw a punch from the White-Winged Duke's side, aiming straight for the defenseless opening in his guard.
The facts proved that the White-Winged Duke was the White-Winged Duke, no matter what. His dominant position among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors was definitely not something easily earned. With one burst of strength, he forced Shirou away, then followed with a spinning kick that sent him flying. He caught Ulquiorra's fist as well and hurled him at Shirou.
The entire sequence flowed like water and was completed in less than a second. Shirou could not help shouting inwardly, Holy shit, you're definitely an Archer!
There was no time for idle thoughts in battle. Shirou immediately gave Ulquiorra, who was flying toward him, a look. Although Ulquiorra did not understand its meaning, their souls were connected. As long as they wished it, they could convey their thoughts to one another.
Shirou extended his hand forward, allowing Ulquiorra to grab it as he flew over. Using centrifugal force, Ulquiorra spun through the air several times before launching Shirou at the White-Winged Duke, causing the two to become entangled in combat once more.
When it came to hand-to-hand combat, Shirou was completely clueless—he knew nothing at all. In a fight, he relied entirely on the combat instincts he had inherited from the Great Void and the relentless persistence granted by High-Speed Regeneration.
At this point, neither side could do anything to the other. In terms of recovery, one was a True Ancestor while the other possessed High-Speed Regeneration; they were evenly matched. In combat technique, the White-Winged Duke, who had lived for centuries, was leagues beyond Shirou. But Shirou had two fighters on his side. Whenever the White-Winged Duke threw one off, the other immediately pounced. If the White-Winged Duke had been born in northeastern China, he would definitely have cursed them as stubborn leeches.
After dozens of exchanges, both sides tacitly pulled apart. With that, their probing was officially over.