"But, Dad..."
"What?"
"You're a mage. Since they could make you marry into their family, then the Einzbern family should be a family of mages too, right?"
"That's right, but could you stop bringing up the fact that I married into the family? They're a family with two thousand years of history, after all. See that forest? That's the Einzbern barrier."
"I see... Then let's start with one shot!"
Shirou extended a finger forward. The next moment, an enormous amount of mana gathered at his fingertip, then compressed, compressed, and compressed again. This was the signature ability of a Great Void—
—"Cero!"
To test just how strong he had become, Shirou had used his full strength in that attack. It had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary Cero.
According to Ulquiorra, in order to avoid destroying Las Noches, the top four Espada were forbidden from releasing their Cero at full power beneath the dome. Their Cero was known as the "Royal Hollow Flash," and Shirou's attack had belonged to that category.
Starting things off by forming a Light Cannon with his bare hands had produced remarkable results. Most of the walnut trees before the two Emiya had been wiped out, leaving behind only an oval crater nearly a kilometer wide and roughly a meter deep.
The Einzbern family did have a protective barrier, but even Kiritsugu at his peak could force his way through something like that. Before the Royal Hollow Flash, it was no different from paper—one poke and it tore through.
With Kiritsugu's exceptional eyesight, he could even see the castle where he had once lived beyond the few sparse trees at the far end... Einzbern Castle.
"Great, the barrier's taken care of!" Shirou said energetically, waving his little fist.
...That had already surpassed the scope of an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm. No, wait!
"Hey, hey, Shirou, what exactly are you doing? You made such a huge commotion. Doesn't that mean everyone knows we're here now?" Kiritsugu's face was full of helplessness. Why had he adopted such a troublemaking son?
If Shirou had known what Kiritsugu was thinking, he definitely would have told him: What am I compared to that? Do you know Mordred? She's the true embodiment of screwing over one's father!
"It's fine, Dad! The great assassin First Hassan, King Hassan once taught his juniors: Don't assassinate people—charge in and crush them! Life doesn't give you that much time for Presence Concealment. If you hate someone, go cut them down! What use is Presence Concealment anyway? You'll still get discovered..."
"Um... Shirou." Seeing that Shirou showed no signs of stopping, Kiritsugu interrupted him. "I don't know, nor do I want to know, where you heard all that from, but this is obviously not the time to talk about it."
As he spoke, Kiritsugu decisively drew his gun and aimed it ahead. "We've already been surrounded."
Looking forward, Ahad had already appeared before Shirou and Kiritsugu, leading several dozen Combat Homunculi.
A barrier was like the front door of a mage's home. The Einzbern family's front door had just been blasted apart by a Light Cannon. If no one reacted, that would be far too strange, so they had come.
"You shameless traitor, you actually dare show your face here again!" Ahad was the first to speak. The moment he opened his mouth, he called Kiritsugu a traitor, as if Kiritsugu had truly committed some unforgivable crime.
Before Kiritsugu could reply, Shirou pointed at Ahad and spoke first. "Old man, quit spouting that nonsense. You've already been surrounded by the two of us. You have thirty seconds to disarm and surrender, or don't blame me for nuking you into peace!"
"Don't say that, Shirou. We only came to bring Illya back. Elder Ahad, as long as you return Illya to me, we'll leave immediately," Kiritsugu said amiably. Well, he would have seemed more amiable if he had put down his gun.
"Wishful thinking! Traitor, you failed to bring back the Holy Grail. We will never let you see Ilyasviel! Or do you think that having a Mystic Code with immense power means you can defeat me and so many Combat Homunculi? Don't forget that this old man is a mage as well."
In Ahad's eyes, whatever had destroyed the barrier could only have been one of Kiritsugu's Mystic Codes. The world of mages emphasized equivalent exchange. If one wanted to unleash an attack with such power, the price should also be enormous. After all, that last shot had already been beyond all normal standards. (Wolf Uncle: What did you say?)
As for why he did not believe that attack had been a grand spell, everyone knew that Kiritsugu Emiya was a firearms enthusiast and also an oddity among mages.
Unlike other mages, Kiritsugu believed that magecraft, like machinery, was merely a means to achieve one's goals.
Kiritsugu advocated treating magecraft entirely as a tool. He was basically a magical 007 whose guiding principle was to rely on high technology whenever modern science could replace the method.
Kiritsugu had even considered creating a Kiritsugu Car loaded with amazing equipment and making a grand showing with it.
Emmm... How should one put it? That had been a chuunibyou era.
"Dad, I think we can kill this old man. Didn't you say you hadn't infiltrated the place yet? In my opinion, the best infiltration is killing every witness."
Shirou said this with a completely calm expression, while cold sweat streamed down Kiritsugu's face. This brat—could he stop saying such horrifying things with such an innocent-looking face?!
"You arrogant little brat, attack!" Ahad waved his hand and ordered the Homunculi behind him.
The Einzbern family was not skilled at combat, but sometimes quantity could make up for quality.
Upon receiving the order, several dozen Homunculi charged at the two men named Emiya, carrying weapons forged from dozens of kilograms of refined steel. Kiritsugu Emiya was about to make a move when Shirou stopped him.
"Wait, Dad. I'll handle it. I should get some exercise, after all," Emiya Shirou said.
"Can you do it?" Although Kiritsugu knew Shirou was strong, he still asked. He was not worried about Ahad. He was afraid Shirou would just erase Ahad outright, which would make things troublesome.
"In that case, tear this brat to pieces first!" Ahad said.
These Combat Homunculi had been created based on the previous Holy Grail Wars.
The enhanced Homunculi possessed strength several times greater than that of ordinary humans. They could swing axes weighing dozens of kilograms as if they were nothing. They also had high-quality, stable Magic Circuits, and most importantly, they were obedient.
With these, Ahad firmly believed that the victor of the next Holy Grail War would definitely be the Einzbern family. (As if anyone would believe that.)
"Ah... Trash that cannot comprehend the height of the starry sky, yet reaches out like a child, thinking it can touch the stars? How utterly naive."
Shirou let out a long sigh. His gaze turned cold and sharp as a pressure from the depths of his soul spread outward, accompanied by dense killing intent.
This was not Shirou's full strength. After all, his original intention had merely been to show off, not to utterly destroy the Homunculi before him.
"The battle has already begun. Now then, Homunculi, are your reserves of strength still sufficient?"
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