Although Shirou looked steady as hell right now, even somewhat capable, inside he was panicking like an old dog.
He kept telling himself, No, I have to be fast. Mind Image Projection can't last long. I have to finish this guy even faster!
A grand magecraft like a Reality Marble, one that distorted the world itself, was naturally rejected by the world. Thus, Reality Marbles not only consumed enormous amounts of magical energy, but could only be maintained for a short time.
Although Shirou's Mind Image Projection was merely an incomplete Reality Marble, it still forcibly connected a world to reality and would likewise be rejected by the world. The only difference was how long it could last.
It wasn't that Shirou would be unable to maintain his Resurrección after leaving this place. Rather, using Mind Image Projection as the battlefield prevented the power released after Resurrección from causing too much collateral damage.
As the owner of this power, Shirou understood its strength deeply. Without a sufficiently powerful soul, any life within his range of influence would die within seconds as its soul collapsed. And if there were people nearby, ordinary people would be the ones to die in the greatest numbers.
Perhaps influenced by Emiya Shirou himself, Shirou could not accept others losing their lives because of his unintentional actions.
With a Sonido, he appeared behind the White-Winged Duke and swung the Moonlight Greatswords in both hands forward in a cross slash.
In close combat, Shirou could wrap magical energy around his opponent's wounds to prevent them from healing, achieving an effect similar to Gáe Buidhe's inescapable lethality.
Therefore, the White-Winged Duke did not dare engage Shirou in close combat and hurriedly fled.
But how could the White-Winged Duke possibly outrun Shirou in his Resurrección state? With one flap of his black wings, Shirou broke the speed of sound and instantly arrived in front of the White-Winged Duke, thrusting his sword forward.
Unable to evade, the White-Winged Duke could only raise his sword to block. At once, he felt tremendous force surge through his blade, numbing the web of his hand.
But the White-Winged Duke had only one sword, while Shirou had two Moonlight Greatswords. With a sweep of the other blade, Shirou knocked the rapier from the White-Winged Duke's hand.
The white sword flew far away, but the White-Winged Duke had no spare attention to retrieve it. Shirou had already closed in again, and that absurd speed and strength filled him with fear.
Damn it, this can't go on. There's something unnatural about this brat. At this rate, sooner or later I'll die by his hand.
The White-Winged Duke thought as a scroll appeared in his hand.
This magecraft scroll from the Age of Gods was one of the White-Winged Duke's finest collectibles. Since all its makers were dead, it was a genuine discontinued item—the kind where using one meant having one less.
One only had to look at those old geezers to know that the longer one lived, the more one feared death. Thus, even when sleeping, the White-Winged Duke kept such life-saving treasures by his side. Using one in a place like this pained him dearly, but now was clearly not the time to think about that.
What the hell was the use of a scroll if he was dead?
The magecraft activated. The radiance of the Age of Gods illuminated the night within the Mind Image Projection. A repulsive force from nowhere blasted Shirou away, but that was not all—the force continued tearing at his body.
A grave crisis!
Faced with the powerful magecraft from the White-Winged Duke's scroll, Shirou's first thought was, That move is impressive. I can't learn it!
Then Shirou remembered Uchiha Itachi's words: "No technique is perfect. They all have weaknesses."
A weakness... with Shirou's powers of observation and brain, how the hell was he supposed to find one?
Since he could not find one, he would use a more universal method—an area-of-effect attack!
With a spin, Shirou hurled the two Moonlight Greatswords toward the center of that power, one after the other, while using Broken Phantasm to detonate the massive magical energy contained within them.
The scenery around him had already begun to dim. Shirou knew that Mind Image Projection was about to fail.
He could no longer worry about anything else. He had one final chance—one last chance to kill the White-Winged Duke.
Shirou understood that neither Cero nor Gran Rey Cero could inflict decisive damage on the White-Winged Duke. He needed a stronger move.
A faint glimmer flashed from Shirou's fingertips, but it was immediately swallowed by an even deeper darkness.
Black Cero—the strongest offensive technique Shirou had mastered in this state. Combined with the White-Winged Duke's poor condition, it gave Shirou a high chance of ending this battle outright. Note this: only a high chance.
Darkness roared past like a tsunami. For one instant, the entire world seemed to turn murky and dim.
The darkness devoured everything in its path. The extinction of that profound darkness lasted for a while before finally fading.
When the darkness dispersed, only Shirou remained, standing beneath the hazy moonlight.
After a battle like a raging storm, the Mind Image Projection had not changed in the slightest. That made sense. After all, Mind Image Projection reflected Shirou's inner landscape; it was conceptual. Unless it was an anti-world attack like Ea, no amount of destruction would change it as long as Shirou's heart remained unchanged.
"Where are you?"
Shirou vigilantly watched his surroundings. Although the White-Winged Duke had vanished, his instincts told him the battle was not over.
Squelch!
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out. Shirou felt a sharp pain in his chest and instinctively looked down, only to see a blood-red blade protruding through it.
The White-Winged Duke's figure reappeared behind Shirou. What shocked Shirou was that the White-Winged Duke was completely uninjured!
There had clearly been magical energy on his wounds to prevent them from healing.
"I have to admit, you are stronger," the White-Winged Duke said. "Your power even frightens me, but now it is all over. A pierced chest is a grievous wound even for me. I assume it is no different for you!"
If Resurrección had not turned him expressionless, Shirou would definitely have laughed.
Soul Split! Starting from the edges of his body, Shirou himself broke apart into countless bats. The bats flew into the distance, gathered together, and reformed into a human shape.
"Over?" Shirou tilted his head in a chilling manner. "What kind of joke is that? If anyone is finished, it's you!"
Shirou placed his hand over his chest. The next moment, countless bats appeared out of thin air. With another wave of his hand, all the bats flew toward the White-Winged Duke.
Killing the White-Winged Duke was already impossible, but before this Mind Image Projection vanished, Shirou absolutely would not let him get off easy.
The bats self-destructed the moment they entered a certain range around the White-Winged Duke. In that instant, the White-Winged Duke recalled the terror of being ruled by a bomb maniac.